Whats up Andrew- curiosity about their brother

I caught Jesse just leaning towards Andrew and holding his hand...

Then Judah was just looking at Andrew as he stood by the door

Andrew will walk to the door and if he wants to he will let himself out ....Jesse stood by him wanting to sneak out too and he just watched Andrew. The boys are not afraid of Andrew but they are still trying to figure him out...It was sweet just watching Jesse holding his hand. Andrew is blind, and can be loud. He will often hit himself or complain ( way less than he used to fotunately he has really mellowed out ) . It is always interesting to watch a new child discover their brother , Andrew.

Happy Birthday to our sweet grandaugter, Mady

Party time :)

Jesse got the hang of hitting the pinata....

We love to celebrate everyone's b-day...Mady turned 2 and her party was at our home. She had a Dora party . It was lots of fun celebrating her .

Fitting right in and this is how the boys tell us they are hungry :)

 The boys have walked over to the table, gotten themselves up in their booster seats, and they sit with the hands folded like we do when we say grace. They do this to tell us "we are hungry." It is the cutest thing :) They are doing so well as they have been home now for 4 and a half weeks. They eat well, take their naps easily and sleep all nite. Both boys have gained 5 plus lbs each....both boys lab tests have all been normal - Praise God for that ! If you remember Judah ( Samuel) was very ill in Ghana and almost died and was hospitalized at least once for a week we were told with a bleeding issue and severe abdominal pain. He has not had any of this at all since he has been home. They only thing he had was a boil come on his hip...I was able to treat it myself and when the doctor saw him for the first time he cultured it and it came back as a staph infection and he was placed on bactrim. It was not mersa thankfully. Both boys had ear infections as well and had been on amoxicylllian so we just switched Judah's to the other one. They had to have all of their shots since we never got a medical or knew anything about their previous health records...which has been one of the most frustrating parts about our adoptions in Ghana but now that they are home we are making sure they get what they need medically. They have the sweetest personalities and are definitely twins- meaning what one does the other follows- even crying if the other one does. It has been alot of fun having them and it is starting to feel like we can't remember life without them :)

Sari is also doing extremely well. As you can see she does what the other girls do. She has been a sweetheart as well....willing to try new foods, new experiences with a very positive attitude. She eats well, and sleeps great. Having so many older and younger kids just helps so much . She loves having older sisters and she desires to help....We have to give her chores to do and she is a hard worker and seems to enjoy being like everyone else here. She still tries to "mother" the twins but a lot less and she seems to " trust " us with their care now. She is coming out of her shell and seems very comfortable living in her new family. I love watching her develope into the person she was created to be....

We were gifted again :)

Our neighbor and friend brought us "some" cottage cheese :) She also shared gallons of whipping creme and half and half with us. She drives a tractor trailer and this was extra...thank you for remembering us. Also for the past 2 Saturdays another neighbor brought us bread ( 30 loaves of french bread), croisants, lots of dessert and many other items...We feel very loved . I used lots of the french bread in one nite when we made french bread pizza and each kid could have at least one half of a loaf or more .

Does anyone have some recipes using cottage cheese, or whipping creme ? I have 3 but can use more :) We add cottage cheese to ramen noodle soup. I make a Hungarian noodle called Tasta with egg noodles, butter, salt and pepper, parmesan cheese and cottage cheese. Then I just recently came across this recipe that Helen another friend of ours makes. She and Dick take 5 or 6 kids every week and love on them and she always cooks dinner for them... The kids always come home raving about the cottage cheese "salad" that Helen makes...It is about 3 containers of this size cottage cheese, a lg. jello dry, cans of fruit, 1 lg. whip cream, a bag of small marshmellows. So I guess for awhile we will be eating lots of these unless you all can share some other yummy recipes with me.

You know why these make me smile big ?

Watching Mya and Luke ride a bike all by themselves is an amazing accomplishment...Especially if you know their story....

Mya came home at just over 1 yr.. She was paralyzed on her left side. We learned a yr later that she had polio and it significantly affected her l leg and also her r arm. She is/was a spitfire and has an inner strength that gives her the gumption to overcome...and overcome she has. If she can't do something she modifies and compensates to get it done another way. This is exactly what she did to ride her bike and it makes my heart fill with joy to watch her ride her bike and she is fast and quite capable of manuvering it like any other kid.

Luke my superman, my hero also has accomplished something many thought he might not do...First it was to walk at all. He was born with his r leg folded like an accordian and attached to the middle of his back. His l leg was webbed and he had a severe clubfoot ( also no palate, a bilateral cleft lip and a vsd and aortic valve that was damaged when it prolapsed) . Watching him ride his bike and actually peddling has been no small feat for him but now he does ride his bike. He has had many surgeries to get to where he is at today and it has all been worth it.

Just hanging around....

The weather has been warm with no humidity so we have enjoyed being outside....

Pool Time Fun

If it is sunny and warm you can pretty much know we are enjoying the pools. We swim all day, and sometimes at nite and in the rain. This weekend when Jenn and the kids came up we swam lots. The grand kids can all swim this year without arm bands or help.... So proud of them all .

 Do you see a few more people at our tables last nite ? Jenn and her kids came up for a few days....

Zoe meeting Jesse

The boys playing out front on the climbing toy.

How many kids can we fit into the baby pool ?

Ella and Ava - cooked up a storm.

 Mommy and Zoe with Mya

Tonite we had a camp out- This is the boys and girls tent....We will see how many make it all thru the nite :)

We are having a wonderful time with Jenn and the kids....