WaterColor

I finally got hundreds of pictures downloaded & sorted from our trip to Santa Rosa, Florida - WaterColor. I love playing photographer on vacation & have my camera handy every second, so I had a hard time picking just a few to blog.



What's Not To Love About....
Waking in the morning to a "Baba brewed" cup of Costa Rican coffee & sitting on a balcony overlooking the beauty of WaterColor.... Bike riding through Seaside towns..... Hanging at the pool and beach for hours... Watching our kiddos enjoy a gigantic sandbox and all kinds of beach fun.... Eating lots of mighty fine "food stuff" and critiquing restaurants along the way :).....Ice Cream....Shopping with my mama..... Being spoiled silly on Mother's Day by the entire family... Relaxing... Playing..... more relaxing and did I say ICE CREAM from Sugar Pies!

This year we had another wonderful time at the beach with our family. It was made even more special because we were able to be a part of my brother and almost new sister's engagement. Blake, the romantic in our family, surprised Laura with a dream-come-true engagement on the sugar white beach as they walked into a spectacular sunset. We were blessed to be there afterwards to video them walking back, take pictures and celebrate with them. Congrats Blake and Laura. May you experience great joy during this time!

Some other trip highlights..... watching Cade enjoy the sand and water for the first time was an absolute joy. He loved laying his face right in the sand & eating it too. He would splash so hard in the water and squeal with excitement. Baba and Mama followed closely behind Cade on the beach trying to catch him before handfuls of sand entered the mouth. So, if he looks a tad swollen in the pictures it may be all of the sand meals he enjoyed. We are pretty sure Cade had a ball on his morning bike rides as Daddy or Papa pulled him around in his bike trailer, but he seemed to have a very serious look on his face during these rides. I can only imagine what the Cadester was thinking as he bumped his way from one Seaside town to the next!

Luke, our social bug, made friends with EVERYONE he encountered at the pool & beach. It is hard to even describe in words all of the funny stories we have of Luke's "encounters" with new friends. On several different occasions, Luke managed to find someone on the beach with a cooler full of drinks. He knew how to time it perfectly and before we knew it the hooligan was walking to us w/ a juice box in hand and a huge grin. Mommy was of course so embarrassed that her "precious" would walk up to a complete stranger asking for a drink or saying, "I am so thirsty". Luke thought it was super cool that everyone came for his "beach party" & that some brought juice boxes. Luke made a different little friend each day on the beach & would run and play with them until it was time to go. He often managed to end up with their toys or try to boogie board on the waves w/ boys that were much older and skilled at "boogie boarding" or whatever they were doing :). This made Baba a bit nervous and also meant a lot of chasing for Daddy as he tried to make sure Luke was leaving friends play areas with only his body and not their toys. He had every beach toy you can imagine, but all of us mamas know that other kiddos toys are much more fun & worth taking (even if it is the exact same toy from the exact same grocery store in WaterColor).

However, I do believe the best "Luke" story happened on our 3rd story balcony where he spent a lot of time playing. It was not rare to find Luke yelling down at people as they rode by on bikes, pushed strollers, took leisurely walks...etc. However, on this particular morning I woke to find a pajama-clad Luke yelling at two men that were eye to eye with him on a very large machine that had them standing way up in the sky (I have no idea what it was but the contraption was fascinating to him - I think it was a boom lift or cherry picker type machine). These men were taking pictures of something in the distance & were up very, very high. I walked out w/ my cup of coffee to relax for a bit and found Luke carrying on some serious big boy talk with these men about what they were doing. He asked many times if he could help them. All Baba and I could do was stand by watching, laughing & hoping soon they would make their way down and escape from curious George.... I mean Luke! Both of these guys, architects working on a building project for the resort company, were laughing at him but only one of the guys was talking to Luke. And then we heard Luke yelling to the man that was talking with him, "Hey, can the other boy talk?" I thought both of these guys were going to fall off the huge machine that was holding them hundreds of feet up in the air because they were laughing hysterically. Luke has certainly never met a stranger and is so curious about all that is taking place around him. We should have named him George :)!

Thanks for loving us Baba and Papa and for taking us on this wonderful vacation. Enjoy these pics.... until next time....

"Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea."
Psalm 139: 17-22

Praying for Chapmans

My heart has been so heavy and sad all weekend for the Chapman family who lost their precious daughter, Maria, last week in a tragic accident- (http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/). I can't get their family off my mind & there are no words at a time like this.
Like many of my friends, I grew up listening to Steven Curtis Chapman's music. The Chapman's are tremendous advocates for adoption and the fatherless. One of Luke's favorite bedtime stories is an adoption book written by Steven and Mary Beth Chapman (Shaoey and Dot) . They are an amazing family and have used their influence in mighty ways on behalf of the orphan and fatherless. We admire them greatly. Anthony and I also had the opportunity to hear Steven & his daughter Emily share at an adoption conference last year in Colorado. It was a refreshing evening to sit and listen to Steven Curtis Chapman encourage all who were at this adoption summit to "continue on" in their "adoption/orphan care work". He really made us all feel so special (like we were the famous ones) - what an incredible guy. We are heart broken for their family & praying.
Father God, hold this family ever so close as they "continue on" in the days & months ahead. Trusting that you will carry them through this unthinkable time.

Beth Moore's blog and the scripture she shared on LPMs Blog....

The Living Proof Ministries blog will go dark for three days as a representation of silent mourners sitting beside our friends and co-laborers in the Gospel, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman and their children. We pray that this small effort will serve as a reminder to all who visit here to go face down and intercede for this dear and loving family at this terrible time of loss. We have chosen three days as a symbol of resurrection as we plead with God to comfort them, tend deeply to each one of them, and raise them in the months and years to come from this place of unimaginable grief.

Faithful family of God, our deepest thoughts, love, and prayers are with you and will remain with you for many months to come.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:1-4

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
-Beth Moore - LPM Blog

Happy Birthday Nona!!

We had a great time celebrating Nona's birthday at our house! We enjoyed dinner and a DELICIOUS bundt cake - http://www.nothingbundtcakes.com/ - one of my new favorite places! I would highly recommend this precious cake place for any occasion when you want to splurge a little. Hope you enjoyed your B-DAY Nona.

Day Out With Thomas

Luke went with Nona & Pa to a Day Out With Thomas. He had great fun on his train trip and even enjoyed a pony ride. He also loves his new Thomas cap :)!

Family Visits

This weekend we had family in town. It was wonderful to see them and introduce them to Cade. We enjoyed a delicious spaghetti meal together & there is just nothing quite like Nona's homemade spaghetti & meatballs. We were so glad to see you guys & look forward to another visit. Enjoy these pictures - I think there are some really special ones.



Luke and Cade's Great Grandparents - Nona and Pa
I love this picture!!

Uncle Mike and Luke - always up to trouble :)!

Spaghetti dinner evening

Luke & Pa going to water Nona and Pa's new garden that Great Pa planted while visiting!

Nona & Aunt Marianne loving on Cade

Chrissy & Cade

Mike, Anthony, Pa and Great Pa - handsome group

Cade, On the Move....

I am all over the place these days. Pulling up to any and everything I can get my hands on. I love looking out this window and banging, banging, banging... Mommy and Daddy say I am a strong dude & it is just a matter of time before I am letting go and taking off.

For now, I can get to things faster crawling..... here I go....

And I'm off to find the lamp cords or maybe something else that I shouldn't have... I crawl super fast and mommy finds me all over the place these days. Exploring is so much fun & Luke LOVES chasing after me. He is a great helper & likes to tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing :). He gets especially bossy when I take his big boy toys.

Natasha visits Texas

It is hard to even describe how special Natasha is to our family. Natasha and her husband, Roman, were instrumental in helping us bring Luke home. This week Natasha came to visit Texas and we had the privilege of spending some time with her. We absolutely cherish any amount of time with her & it is truly a joy to hug her neck and say hello. I love that she always gets so excited to see Luke and talk about how much he has changed. She also absolutely loved seeing Luke with his baby brother. We will never forget all that Natasha did for us and the friend that she and Roman became as we spent many weeks with them in St. Pete. We pray that God will abundantly bless them.


Natasha, Luke and friend Rachel - April, 2008

Masha, Natasha & Luke - July, 2006

July, 2006

Luke & Natasha - St. Petersburg, 2005
Luke was not feeling great on this particular day, but Natasha was so gentle with him & had a way of making him smile w/ her Russian coos :).

Natasha capturing every minute of our first meeting with Luke - May, 2005!!