Isaiah is an Honor Student

Isaiah just finished 5th grade. We have one year of junior high done around here. Isaiah had to work so hard all year, but he did it!!! He finished the year with all A's and B's!!!! He spent MANY nights doing 3+ hours of homework, but it paid off. Not only did he get A's and B's all year but he graduated out of title one reading mid-year and is working at the same level as his peers!!!! He came to America reading at an early 2nd grade level and 15 months later he is reading at the 5th grade level!! We are so proud of you Isaiah!! 

First Day of Summer

Schools out for the summer!!!!!! All of us are excited about summer!! It's been raining everyday for a week but thankfully it stopped for a little bit so we could get outside and play today!! I started to make lunch and fill the kiddie pool and I turned around to see Jacob and Kaleb ready to jump in without any clothes. They were so excited they didn't want to wait for their swim suits, lol. (Isaiah did put a suit on :) )

I am looking forward to many family filled days and making memories with my boys!! 

Zoo Fun

We went to the zoo for the first time this season. The boys love the animals! So thankful to Meekie and Poppa for the membership so we can enjoy it many more times!
Jacob loved having his picture taken and wanted to sit on the all statue animals that we saw. The other two ran from my camera! ") Isaiah has caught on that his friends can see FB pictures from their moms accounts, so he doesn't want anything that could be embarrassing on FB. Ha! Here's the few I was able to get from our day.

Mother's Day

A child born to another woman calls me mommy. The magnitude of that tragedy & the depth of that privilege are not lost on me. -Jody Landers

As we spent Mother's Day as a family with our 3 sons, there are two special women in Ethiopia that weren't far from my mind. It's a bittersweet joy as I celebrate with my boys but I also think of all the loss for two women on the other side of the world. I got to wake up to 3 precious boys giving hugs and kisses and calling me mama, a joy that I am ever grateful for. I often pray that their birth families know how loved the boys are and that they feel peace in their hearts that the boys bring so much JOY to so many people. 
We spent the day out at the camper (FREEZING and windy) and I didn't even got my camera out. The boys got to play outside and we spent time together, that's all a mom can ask for :)

Disney World

We had the best week at Disney World!!! The boys LOVED everything and they were excellent! We spent 5 days at Disney and a few days at our condo. The weather was perfect (low 80's) and we were all so thankful to spend such a wonderful week together. Jacob and Kaleb keep asking if we can go see the Disney castle again and Isaiah wants to go on more rides.
Here are just a few of the 800+ photos that I took :)
Our first picture with Woody and Buzz, at Downtown Disney at the Lego store

 loving the warm weather and beautiful flowers

 taking the monorail into Magic Kingdom

 my little Mickeys in front of the Disney Castle

 our first ride Dumbo, we rode it 4 times in a row :)

 Kaleb fell asleep waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean

 meeting Woody and Jessie, their first hugs were so sweet

 pirate faces

 he was embarrassed by the Mickey ears at first, but he posed for a few pictures

 parade watching

 first Mickey sighting

 in front of Norway at Epcot

 Brad holding up his baby like Simba

 Woody made out of flowers

 Meekie and Jacob

 Meekie and Isaiah in front of the Epcot ball

 Best fireworks we have ever seen!

 such a magical night at Magic Kingdom

 Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios

 Kaleb and Jacob finally got to ride a horsey

 3rd time meeting Woody and Jessie, their favorite part of the day

 Jafar from Aladdin for our Jacob Jafar

 Breakfast with Donald Duck and friends at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

 Isaiah's 12th birthday!!! Breakfast with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy

 a card and cupcake for the birthday boy