Triathlon!

Carter entered his second triathlon! I am so impressed with him! He finished it and was still standing when he finished!!

More summer pics!

It's a band!!

Children's Museum!

Ah, Kellan!! We love Kellan!!

C.B. is a very patient dog! He gets lots of kisses!

I think they were playing restaurant!

Fourth of July!

Maya's first 4th! First in America, first as a citizen, first with our family, first fireworks, lots of firsts on this day!! It was a great day, courtesy of some wonderful friends, the Lengefelds!!

Ms. Personality!

Her personality is so much bigger than we ever imagined!!!!

Happy Birthday!

It's been awhile but we've had a great summer so far! Here is Maya's second birthday. She gets more amazing everyday! Yesterday was our adoption year anniversary! Where a judge in Ethiopia said "YES!" and helped create our family. Celebrating her birthday was a joy but for me, it was mixed with sadness as I thought of a beautiful young woman half a world away. She knew what day it was, she knew the significance of that special day. I pray that she knows how happy and healthy our daughter is today. I can't imagine her grief, her sacrifice and her love. I am so thankful to her for this amazing gift, Sitota.

She also has the greatest big brothers in the world! Happy Birthday Maya Sitota!

Wildflowers!

Maya's Baby Dedication

Maya's "baby" dedication!! Her dress is one that we brought home from Ethiopia and yes, I did her hair!! She loved being the "it" girl at church Sunday. Her brothers also loved being right there with her. These three kids are some of the best in the world!! What a great mother's day I had!!!

Mother's Day

Today is mother's day. I am so thankful for my mother, grandmothers, and mother-in-law! They have all been such amazing models for me and so supportive through all of my life. I am also very thankful for my children who allow me to be their mom on good days and not so good days!!! This year though, I am very aware of a young woman on the other side of the world, who so loved her daughter that she gave her to another amazing woman named T. so that her daughter could be fed and cared for because she was unable to provide for her. She sacrificed everything so that her daughter could live. She made it possible for me to become that little girl's other mother! I pray that she knows her daughter is safe and healthy and extremely bright and full of life!!! I pray that she is safe, that she is happy and that she has found peace in knowing that she saved a life that day in June. I have never met her, but I owe her everything and I love her from the bottom of my heart. She will always have a place in our lives and in our hearts and mother's day will always have an extra special meaning for us. Maya has two mothers, one who gave her life and one who is doing her best to help her live life and live it to the fullest!! What a wonderful day this has been for us, even though there is an element of sadness and loss, we celebrate the love and sacrifice and hopefully, learn more what it means to love.

First Easter together!

We celebrated Easter with Maya this year!! Last year we just had pictures of her and were waiting for our court date! It was so much fun seeing things through her eyes!!

She loved decorating eggs!!

She was very happy to see the Easter Bunny had come to visit! I think her brothers enjoyed seeing her check out her gifts more than anything!!

Beautiful!!!! She wouldn't really sit still for picture time so I chased her around the house with the camera and then we just did the best we could!

Hunting eggs!! It took a little while to get her to actually go get more eggs. Once she opened the first one and saw the jelly beans she decided it was a good idea to just stand there and eat them all! It didn't take long to get the hang of it though!!