80's flashback

No, that's not a little boy on that bicycle with a basket, and no, that's not JFK pushing the bicylcle. That was me and my dad back in 1984....the very first day he took the training wheels off for me. I was in Kindergarten, and my mom wrote beneath the picture that I kept telling him to let go that I could do it by myself.



This is Alyssa and her dad 27 years later on her first day to have the training wheels come off, same age as I was, in Kindergarten. We heard the same words a few times come out of her mouth...."let go, I can do it by myself," followed by some crying and frustrating rants, then joyful celebration once she went a little ways by herself.



Aaron made the comment that this was such a sweet time for him. He looks forward to things like this, and Alyssa was so over-the-moon excited. It's a sweet memory that she will have forever...the day her dad took the training wheels off. That's a memory with my dad that I will forever remember, and I know Alyssa will too. As I have gotten a little older (not much older, just a little) I have come to appreciate and cherish days like these. It was an exciting day at our house!

Oh, and little Aubrey also learned to pedal the tricycle like a champ :)

Esther Havens

I accidentally came upon a photographer's website, which I am in love with. Esther Havens is her name, and she has traveled the world as a humanitarian photographer. Her pictures are so beautiful and eye-opening, and in my opinion, capture the Father's heart for His beautiful people. I wish I could buy every one of them! Check out her website. 100% of the profit of the prints bought goes towards future humanitarian story projects.
http://store.estherhavens.com/

Update

I haven't written in a while about where we are in our adoption, because we have been in this waiting mode for the past month. A LOT of VERY exciting things have happened and I can't wait to spill the testimony, but we are still waiting on some things before I feel comfortable telling the whole world just yet! Let me just say that God LOVES to stun us and knock our socks off! He is so good at it too :)
But in the meantime, we will just continue to wait. We had a minor setback with some extra paperwork that needed to be gathered, but in the end it will all be for the best. I have been ok with the waiting for the most part...but in the last 2 weeks, I have just wanted to go get my son. In church the other morning I was dreaming about him, and I could literally almost feel him on me, laying on my chest, me cradling him. Maybe God is just preparing my heart even more for his arrival, and maybe it will be sooner than we all expect :) But as we wait, please continue to pray for our little guy and us, and for provision for the remainder of the cost of everything. Just FYI...we still have plenty of men's and women's t-shirts available that you can purchase on our blog here. Check out the top right-hand corner.

How about another recipe for a cold winter day..Taco Soup

Since it's so darn cold outside again, I thought I would share another family favorite recipe.....TACO SOUP
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 onion chopped
1 16 oz can corn undrained
2 16 oz cans white homony undrained
1 16 oz can ranch style beans undrained
1 16 oz can drained and rinsed dark kidney beans
1 32 oz can diced tomaotes undrained
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 10z can of rotel
1 packet of ranch dressing seasoning
1 packet of taco seasoning

-Brown meat and onion together in a big stew pot.
Add all the canned ingredients plus about 3 cups of water or more if needed. Simmer on low heat for about 30-45 min.

*We like to serve with cheese and avocado slices on top. It's also great with fritos in the bottom of it! Perfect hearty dish for such cold days in!

Happy 3rd Aubrey Faith!

Aubrey Faith was born 3 years ago today weighing in at 9 lbs and 7 oz. I had her all natural in a birthing tub. It was altogether, the hardest, most painful, and most wonderful thing I have ever done. When she came up out of the water, her eyes were as wide and bright as they could be. This is our first picture together...I was obviously a little worn out :)

We were so happy to be able to bring her home the same day we had her. Here is our first family photo the day Aubrey was born :)

And this is our little sweetheart at 3 years old. Where does the time go? Aubrey is truly full of so much joy and is such a fun little person to be around. She is outgoing and happy most of the time. She is an encourager and a cuddler. Right now she loves Dora, baby dolls, playing dressup, coloring on anything and everything, orange juice and cheetos. She has a little grin that makes my heart melt everytime she smiles at me. She is such a sweet and protective little sister and she CANNOT WAIT to give her little brother kisses. Aubrey Faith we love you so much and are blessed every single day by you and your sweet smiles and vibrant personailty. You are one-of-a-kind. Happy Birthday my baby!

Snowy Fun!

So this is what we woke up to yesterday morning! Once again, for the 4th day...no school!

Never before in our neck of the woods have I seen such beautiful, perfectly glistening snow! It was so fluffy and so shimmery!


Enormous Snowman we drove past :)

Look at this snowflake! It's not a great picture (blurry), but it was so miraculous! All these beautiful perfect snowflakes were falling most of the day. Even the smallest things, God puts so much detail into!

We had to get out and play in this.....
Running start


2 peas in a pod...Dad and Alyssa played ALL DAY LONG!

Alyssa is like her Dad...she is our adventurous child...she loved every minute of it!

Aubrey says..."forget that cold weather, I will cheer you on from the truck!"

And then we came home and ate nachos :)

FUN TIMES WITH THE REEVES FAMILY!!!!

Cold days in

In Texas, we aren't very use to super cold, so if you live here now, you may hear a lot of complaining, because it is COLD! We have had a big ice storm, not snow, ICE, which caused our electricity to go out for a few hours, and my daughter to be out of school for 3 days. On top of that, me and my little one had the flu for those 3 days, which was AWFUL, but all is better now. In saying all that, I do not like the ice on the roads, but I don't mind the cold at all. I kinda like it. I enjoy being forced inside with my 3 favorite people, and I love snuggling by the fireplace and watching movies. Our summers are so busy and hectic, I enjoy the peaceful stay-ins of the winter. One of our favorite things to do is s'mores, of course, in the fireplace. We do it up right over here. Have you ever made a s'more with Nutella? It's to die for! You gotta try it!