19 weeks

"you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." psalm 139:13,14

we had our big ultrasound this week. technology is incredible and seeing our new baby makes us all the more excited for september! God is truly amazing and seeing the tiny details of this gift from him makes me wonder how anyone could doubt his existence and hand upon our lives.

we chose not to discover the gender and will enjoy the surprise in the delivery room. however, for those few of you who are astonished by our decision and just have to know, our ultrasound tech knows, as does the radiologist... and maybe they take bribes... :)

welcome home!

we greeted the newest addition to our family at the airport this afternoon. joshua arrived from china with his mommy and daddy and we were so excited to meet him. the shock of seeing all of us seemed to wear off slightly and we got some smiles out of him. unfortunately, the camera battery died and i missed those shots. but more to come...

welcome, joshua. we have been waiting for you and praying for you and we already love you!

horse rides, a tipi, and purple hair

after our fun filled trip to california, we (me and the kids) decided to head up to grammy and poppa's to "help" out while grace and caleb are staying there with their parents still in china. yeah, taking a 1 year-old and a 3 year-old to "help" is not the brightest idea i have ever had, but i would like to think its the thought that counts.

we did have a great time the first day (before bennett pulled an all nighter after coming down with a miserable cold). we went to our dear friend karen's house where she has an authentic tipi and a very nice horse. ella and bennett enjoyed riding a horse for the first time and we all enjoyed the special love and attention from karen.

we also had the treat of hanging out with uncle chad, playing with our cousins, and purple hair for april fool's day. (although i must add that ella abstained from the purple hair and acted like everyone else was crazy. hopefully this is another sign of her independence and refusal to cave to peer pressure.)

surprise!

we braved the journey to california with our 2 restless children in order to surprise papa for his 70th birthday. we had a wonderful time with family and friends... and we must add that papa looks very good for 70 and what a privilege to be able to celebrate with him.

we also enjoyed our time with cousins, aunts and uncles. here's wishing we could celebrate with you all more often...