SLEEPING
Is there anything more precious than sleeping children? I wanted to remember how cute everyone is when they are sleeping...so I snapped some shots one night.

Amber...yes, she really sleeps like this!

Jason is wrapped around Jacob's "Diego" pillow.















Jacob almost always sleeps with his hands up like this.



















This is Yoda's favorite sleeping spot of the month. She looks like she's holding on for dear life.



















Padme is always sleeping in our bed...on this particular night, she is sleeping in my spot.

"ALMOST" ADOPTION DAY
May 1, 2008

At the courthouse, waiting to go in to the courtroom.

Amber and Mommy looking at the cake. It had our picture on it.

Each child got their own balloon bouquet. They were a big hit!

Jacob helped Mommy clean up after the party.

We almost had our adoption finalized on May 1st...made it all the way to the courthouse, and then found out the judge wanted to see more documentation of the adoptive placement before he would grant the adoption. Having already planned a huge party, we celebrated "Almost" Adoption Day with our friends. Our newly scheduled court date is July 10th - we're praying for everything to go smoothly this time. :)

School Music Programs!

April 2008

At Jason's recent pre-school program, not only did he refuse to sing, but refused to stand as well :)! He's the one sitting in the green shirt.

Here is Jacob (in the orange shirt) not really singing at his pre-school program. But the boy can clap!

Amber's debut performance at a recent Kindergarten program at school.

We recently had our portraits done - and we got some great shots! The poor photographer had a time with J&J - it was hard to get them to smile on cue...but a lot of "boinking" himself on the head seemed to do the trick :)

I call this one "monkey boy."

It is rare to capture Jacob's smile on camera!

Amber's new Easter dress - she and I had a blast searching the mall for just the right look!

Granny Onia's cane was a big hit when my parents visited - and the funny faces are courtesy of our friend, Mr. Potato Head.

Eggstravaganza 2008

We went to our first Easter egg hunt together - and mommy organized this event for the entire Southwestern Seminary community! The kids heard an Easter story (the Christian one :), hunted for eggs, got their face painted, ate cookies & cupcakes, and rode on a miniature train. It was a fun day - but very cold!

Cat for sale...good for hours of family fun. Ages 4 & up.

So we put up Mark's old fish tank...Yoda DEFINITELY noticed! There have been no injuries or deaths reported...YET.

The new fish have NO Star Wars names (only b/c Mark didn't name any). We have added: Ashley (Amber's choice), Ashton (Jason's choice), Mickey & Minnie (the have a mouse shape on their tails), and Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I, Smell (Jacob's choice - the kid loves the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk and Goliath from the Bible, which he thinks are the same giant) :)

FIRST FISH!

Okay, this is the one Mark is most excited about...the kids all caught their first fish on a recent trip to the local park pond. It was everyone's first time fishing and the sunfish were biting! Amber must have hooked 15 fish on her own. She caught on to the whole casting and reeling thing. Jason often couldn't reel fast enough to prevent the fish from getting away, but he did get the hang of it after some time. Jacob mostly watched, but did get to reel in a live one with some help from Mark.

Playin' in the Mud!

Well, I went to get Jason and Jacob to come in from outside for lunch the other day and this is what I found...2 VERY muddy boys! Covered head to toe, with watery mud pouring out of their boots. Mark was ticked, but I thought it was pretty adorable. :) He said, "Don't ever play in the mud again."
"Unless Mommy says it's okay," I added! Sometimes, you gotta let boys be boys - even if you're stuck with the mess.

Christmas at the Ranch
We headed down to San Antonio the day after Christmas to spend time with the grandma, grandpa, Uncle Dave, Aunt Kir, and Uncle Tom. The kids loved the farm. They got to ride on the tractor with grandpa, the cart to "check the fence" and deliver hay and other feed to the cows, and feed the donkey carrots. We also took a trip with grandma to the botanical gardens, where we went to a "Dora and Diego" adventure. We had a blast and the kids can't wait to go back!