Happy Valentine's Day!!!

It's amazing how much has happened over the past year...last year at this time, we were waiting and wondering when we would be approved by the PGN in Guatemala so we could bring Savannah home. I was so hoping that we would receive our OUT on Valentine's Day last year, but that day came and went with still no word. We finally received our good news on March 28, 2007 (just 4 days after our 6th wedding anniversary!!) and then it took an additional 6.5 weeks before we were able to travel to Guatemala to bring her home forever! When we started our adoption journey in November of 2005, we had no idea that it would take over 18 months to bring our daughter home and that she'd be almost 1 year old by that time. Of course, 7 months of the process consisted of compiling our paperwork for our dossier and then waiting for our referral, but a majority of the time was spent waiting...

I feel like I have grown so much over this past year and that God has taught me a lot about myself and about life, especially through the waiting. I am not the most patient person and I definitely am the type of person who likes to be in control, so our adoption journey was extremely difficult for me. But, I know that God used our long journey to teach me to be more like Him. The lessons I learned will stay with me forever. Over the past year, with God's guidance, I have been learning to be a better wife, a better mother, and a better homemaker! Although it's still not easy and I struggle a lot!! I am thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters. I am so thankful to have 3 special valentine's in my life this year! All of the daily trials, routines, highs & lows...all of it is worth it! I would not trade my 3 special valentine's for anything in this world!

Happy Valentine's Day to my honey and my girls! I love you all so very much! Here are some pictures from the past few weeks...I tried to post some little video clips, but for some reason, they only work in the "preview" mode and when I publish them, they do not work. There are also some pictures of our dog Newman, AKA "The Boy," he is a big part of our family so I thought I'd include a couple of our furry baby! Oh, I also had to include the ones of Savannah with the silly face...we call this "monkey lips" and I have no idea where that name came from, but Savannah will now do "monkey lips" on command! It is the most hilarious thing to see! The picture of Savannah touching my face is actually of her saying "You okay?" This is her newest phrase and if we say "ouch" or "owie" then Savannah will pat you with her hand and ask "You okay?" Imagine her saying this in the cutest, high pitched voice! It's adorable! Anyway, enough commentary, just enjoy the pictures!!