My brothers

Everything got a little chaotic on Sunday afternoon as we were preparing brunch for Easter, so I put my brothers to work :-) They're pretty much master chefs at breakfast ... so I knew the scrambled eggs and sausage (gross) were in good hands. That gave me just enough time to snap off a few (and I do mean just a few) shots of the preparation. I had the 50mm on and didn't change my aperture from f/1.8, so the depth of field is really shallow, but I think I like it. It's kind of funny to look at my brothers side-by-side because, really, they look nothing alike. LOL.

Easter Eggs & Update

We actually did these on Saturday ... I have gotten behind with getting everything blogged! I still have a few more posts to go, but I'm catching up! You can see the kids definitely had fun doing these! You might also be able to see they are really suffering with their allergies this year - poor kids! No matter what we do, they are still struggling. Let's pray there are only a few more weeks of it!

Also, today Sunshine is 11 MONTHS OLD! I was hoping and praying that this would be the last month we'd celebrate without her but I don't see that happening. Sadly, I think we will celebrate her 1st birthday while she is still in China and we are still here. We've had a recent delay on our Article 5 paperwork - it got unexplicably held up in customs. Soooo, what should have only taken 2 weeks will now take over a month to get. Quite honestly, I wanted to cry when I found out ... actually I still want to cry if I think too hard about it. And although I am immeasurably happy for all of my adoptive cyber-friends, I'm not gonna lie ... it's been difficult to see them get their Article 5 approvals and Travel Approvals while we still wait ... for no reason. I know, I know, I know that everything will happen in its own time ... but my emotions don't understand that. We should get our Art. 5 approval this Friday, Apr 29th. After that, we begin the wait for Travel Approval (TA), which takes 2-4 weeks. I am praying, praying, praying for a quick TA so we can bring our girl home. She has been waiting too long and we have been waiting too long! Will you please pray with me?

Easter Obituary

This is not mine, I borrowed it from a forwarded email.

I do not know it's origins, otherwise I would give credit.

Singing in the rain ...

... or maybe just walking in the rain? :-) LOL. In between rainstorms we tried to get a quick walk in but the rain beat us and we got rained on. So here's a quick iPhone pic of Lovebug trying to catch raindrops.

I kind of enjoy the rain ... it's cleansing or refreshing or something like that. And we've certainly gotten plenty of it over the past several weeks ... in fact, to say we've gotten a ton of rain would be an understatement! I have been forced to reschedule so many of my sessions - even if it's not raining, everything is wet and muddy. At least we can expect some nice, lush, green grass and lots of beautiful blooms in May!

And this funny story has nothing to do with rain, but everything to do with Lovebug - I just had to share ... last night while putting Lovebug to bed, it somehow came up that babies start in mommys' bellies. When I told him that he used to be in my belly and that he got really big in there, he asked me in a very serious and concerned voice: "Mommy, WHY did you eat me?!" LOL. I literally *laughed out loud* ... I guess I can understand where he's coming from though - I tell him I want to eat him up all the time, so I'm sure it made perfect sense to him!

Sunshine's Dreaming Tree

This project for Sunshine has been ONE YEAR in the making! One year! I bought the applique pattern for this "Dreaming Tree" one year ago, shortly after we made the decision to adopt. I stored it away until a time when I had a face to put with our daughter's name. Fast-forward several months after that, and here we are today - a beautifully finished Dreaming Tree for Sunshine's room!

I am so thrilled with my results. Some of the fabric is new to coordinate with her room, and some of it was "borrowed" from my mom. There are some fabrics in there that were used for dresses for Angel! After a few mishaps here and there (all projects have them, right?), I finally got the tree put together just the way I wanted. I custom-ordered an unfinished frame and painted it myself, go me! I still may go back and add a bit of rick rack for a border ... I want to live with it a bit before I do that though, we'll see. It will look awesome when it's hung up on the wall either way - I still need DH to add the hardware to the back though. Once it's hung, it will wait just a little while longer for our special little girl to finally set eyes on it.

I took one quick macro shot to show off all of the detail - I love the background fabric and you can't see the design from far away! I also love the little love birds, which perfectly match Sunshine's bedding (that *still* hasn't been ordered!).

And here's one last shot without anything else on the bureau - just adore it ... really I'm so tickled with how it turned out! Lots of love went into this - I hope it leads to all of Sunshine's dreams coming true and that in some small (or big!) way, our family can help fulfill them with her. Oh how this little girl is loved and cherished!

Granddad

I got inspired by a fellow photographer to capture my kids with their grandparents. She lost her Dad suddenly about a year ago and she talks about him the way I feel about my parents. She has made me tear up more than once. Life is so fleeting ... and the kids just love their grandparents. In a lot of ways they are like extra parents - it's a seamless transition whenever they come over to babysit ... just like it's meant to be. It takes a village to raise a child, right? Or at least the entire immediate family :-)

So this is a start of a series of posts about our amazing parents. Today is Granddad's day ... MY Dad ... the extra parent and playmate that is always willing to get down on the floor and play a game ... that is always ready and willing to help out when needed. He's the one that always keeps them up just a little bit extra so they can play for another 15 (or 30?) minutes. He will always give the kids what they ask for, because as he reminds me, it's his job to spoil them. The kids adore him and I think the feelings are pretty darn mutual. It's priceless to watch my kiddos with my Dad ... it's such a blessing to have him in our lives. Thanks Dad ... for everything.

Sunday Snapshot {My Little Cowboy}

I took the kids out yesterday for some portraits with my dad (those shots to come later). The goal for the day was a few lifestyle shots with the kids and my dad. This one of Lovebug though, was quite the bonus for me. I adore this shot. Absolutely adore it. I adore it so much that it deserves its own post. So here's my not-so-little guy in all of his cowboy glory.

This shot is also my entry for the new Picture Perfect monthly photo contest. The first month's challenge - "Your Muse" ... Lovebug is definitely it. He is always willing and ready to be my guinea pig - he is one of the *easiest* children I have ever photographed and will always put up with me. How fortunate that's he's mine :-) You should head over to Nancy's blog with the link below and check out the Picture Perfect contest - anyone can enter! Who is your muse?

A new interest

Well Lovebug has finally discovered the Wii. He has been content watching others play for a long time but he is now getting the hang of it. The kids got several new "kid" games for Christmas and play them quite a bit. But the favorite du jour is Mario Kart - go figure! Today was another rainy day = inside play. He loves playing with this thing though, I can tell that I will have to start limiting his time in the future, yikes!

PS - That last one cracks me up so much, I had to include it. I told him to make a "scary face" and that's what he did. LOL. Gotta love him.

So happy together

Uh, they kinda love each other ... a lot. Granted, they have their days just like any other siblings, but those "days" are so few and far between. Mostly, they play together so well. My heart sings when I see them ...

laughing ...

imaginating ...

coloring ...

playdoh-ing ...

dressing up ...

plotting ...

playing jokes on me ...

watching TV together ...

acting like secret agents ...

creating a new universe ...

pretending to be mommy & daddy ...

honestly, pretending to do ANYTHING ...

creating inside jokes with made-up words ...

and of course, curling up on the sofa together.

They are so good together. And their goodness will only be strengthened when Sunshine is finally home. Finally. I can't wait for her to be a part of all of their shenanigans. Then I'll have THREE kids to gang up on me. Bring it on, I am so ready.

(PS - that shot is a little OOF ... not enough light to get a fast SS - whatever though - waaaay too cute to keep to myself!)

This is normal, right?

So, *of course* when you get a shipment of frames wrapped in a boatload of bubble wrap, it's perfectly normal to roll out said bubble wrap to make a big race track!! Right? LOL. The popping noise this stuff makes when running across it is just delightful. I may have even partaken a time or two ... thank goodness there are no pictures of that :-) After awhile Angel (still sick) joined in and got really smart - she road her bike over the track. What a fun loud noise THAT made!!

And if seeing the delight in Lovebug's face through pictures wasn't quite enough for you ... here is a little video I shot with my iPhone. Love this thing. Love my little guy more though. It worked out quite nicely that he was wearing his racing PJ's. LOL. If you don't at least crack a little smile while watching this, then I don't know WHAT will make you!