New Pictures

Alisha right after her preschool concert.
The kids waiting to go into school for the concert.
Michael learning to play baseball.
Alisha's attempt at batting.
Matthew at his field trip.

I'm a Proud Mommy!!

My sweet little Alisha has been with us for exactly five years as of this afternoon. Wow! Time sure does fly and things change so much. My little tiny baby girl is now a sassy, energetic 5 year old. Alisha has her last day of preschool today. They are having a picnic at the park and she is excited that Papa B. is going with her. Then tonight is her preschool concert. She can't wait to sing Miss Mary Mack for us.

Matthew is being honored this afternoon in their school assembly for being a "super bee" of the month. This is the monthly award for behavior and academics. This is the second time this year that Matthew has been awarded this honor. I am so proud of him.

Michael is still a challenge but is doing a little better each month. I can't believe it has been almost a year since he came home.

Kevin is changing so much. He is really starting to talk a lot and play pretend. He loves his John Deere tractor and playing outside in the sandbox. He is so much like Matthew. But I think he is definitely more verbal than Matthew was at this age and smaller in size.

Thank you Lord for allowing these four blessings to be in my life!

Happy Birthday!!

Seven years ago today it was Mother's Day, my first mother's day as a mother. Because it was seven years ago today that Matthew was born. He has amazed me each year as he has become smarter and more inquisitive. He loves to learn. He is finishing up 1st grade and is already done with our school districts 2nd grade spelling curriculum, is at a middle of 2nd grade reading level, and is excelling in math (go figure!). He is already adding multiple digit numbers including carrying (there are 3rd & 4th graders at my school that can't do that). He is starting to multiply single digit numbers. He enjoys reading the Bible together as a family and reading Bible stories.
As I was going through college and as Aaron and I began our married life, I wondered if I would be able to have kids. I loved children and dreamt of the day that I would be a mother. God was very gracious and gave us Matthew right away and I will always be thankful for my wonderful baby boy.
I LOVE YOU MATTHEW!!!!!!!!!!

HE IS RISEN!

He is RISEN indeed!! Thank you Jesus for dieing for our sins and offering us your free gift of salvation. John 3:16

She's Five Already!

I can't believe my little girl is five already. We have enjoyed celebrating Alisha's fifth birthday today. We didn't get to celebrate quite how we wanted because Matthew is sick, but we had a good day anyway. Alisha and I went shopping together in the afternoon and bought eggs to color tomorrow and stuff to make cupcakes for her party tomorrow. The red dress in the pictures came straight from Germany (Thanks Aunt Nikki!).

Please Pray for this Dear Friend of Mine

Read here for more info.

Please join me in prayer for this family and their adoption process. Please pray that God would allow J to come home very soon. Please a comment of support here or on her post to let us know that you are joining us in prayer for this young boy to come home to join his family.

Reading with Rosco

Since March is reading month, the Alisha's preschool had a Reading with Rosco program. I took Matthew, Alisha, Brandon, and Ashley. Beck needed a break and Kevin has been really crabby lately, so I had Aaron keep two of ours and I took two of Beck's to give her a little break. The kids had a blast. Rosco did balloon animals, magic tricks, read stories, and did some activities with the kids. Then all of the kids got a free book and a goodie bag. It was really fun. Now Beck and I are working on getting Brandon and Michael into preschool in the fall. This will Michael's second try at it if he gets in. Please pray with us that the boys would both qualify for the free program and that they would do well in it once they are in. Michael has improved a lot since he came home, but he is like a rollercoaster. He has his constant ups and downs. Today has been a pretty good day for him. But he usually only has at most four good days in a row. Please pray with us that he would continue to improve. Pray that he will bond with us. He says he loves us, but sometimes it doesn't seem like he is really bonded completely with us.