So much to be thankful for...

I am so behind in my posts...our dear little Ella just celebrated her first gotcha day last week and I have yet to post some pictures...they are coming...Abbie turned 6 months today...that post is coming as well...

Today was a very hard day and I just had to post so that I could share how thankful I am for my family. I work as a school psychologist in a very small rural district (650 students K-12) and today I got the news that we lost one of our students...he passed away after a terrible sledding accident...only 14 years old. He was one of four boys and my heart breaks at how much his brothers must be hurting... and of course his parents too...it's a sad reminder that tomorrow is never a guarantee!

I made sure to hug my little ones a little longer when I got home today... Thank you God for giving me such an amazing family...

I kept looking at this picture of Abbie thinking that it reminded me of something...I knew it was a stuffed animal and I knew it was from the 80's because I remember playing with them when I was around 8 or 9...then it came to me!!!

Abbie looks like a Monchichi (with a little less hair)!!!!!

What do you think??

Wordless Wednesday

Not too much exciting going on so I have not posted in a while...still unpacking...it's neverending! We are getting there though...everyday I love this house more than the day before...I think we finally found the house that we will be in forever...it only took 2 other houses in the matter of 3 years but that's ok...this house is a keeper (UNLESS-all of our family would move down to Hilton Head with us...then we would be out of here in a second...although NY is pretty the taxes are a killer...anyway....here are some recent pics of the girls...

I had left the room for a couple minutes the other day and came back to see Abbie looking like this...thanks Sophie!

Abbie has a lot of hand me downs...therefore this justified me buying her this adorable cashmere outfit from Strasburg...she's so cuddly in this outfit!!

Wait...where is Abbie????

There she is!!

Sophie in her new cute pinafore...

Abbie (aka-The Blob)

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Ella

Happy Third Birthday Ella!!!!

My dear Ella turned 3 on Sunday. It was her first birthday with us and it was such an amazing day. I love this child so much...she has such an amazing heart...

On this day it's hard for me not to think back three years ago and wonder about her mother's story ...was she a single mother? Was she abandoned because of her cleft lip/palate? Was she the second child? My mind races with so many possibilities. I wonder how her mother felt when she left this tiny child in the freezing cold outside of the orphanage...how heavy her heart must of felt...and how heavy it must continue to feel. I pray for Ella's birth mother everyday and thank her for this amazing gift we call Ella Irene!

And here are some things I love love love about Ella

-She has the biggest heart of any child I have ever met.

-She loves to help whenever she can.

-She is so polite, always saying thankyou and please.

-She is freakishly strong and we have to laugh as she picks up heavy heavy objects with such ease.

-She is such a clown and loves to make Sophie laugh.

-She gets ready with mommy in the morning and always dips her fingers in my contact case after mommy and pretends to put her contacts in.

-She always volunteers to say Grace before dinner...and her prayer consists of looking around the room and thanking God for anything she sees (ex. Thank God for milk, chicken, Sophie, mommy, daddy, Grampy)

-Whenever I dress her up she has to run and show Daddy

-She has more energy than any child I have ever seen!! From the moment her feet hit her bedroom floor in the morning she is on the go (OK...I admit this trait does get a little tiring for mommy!)

There are so many more...I love you my Dear Sweet Ella!

oh my little Abbie...

I love this girl!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Here are a couple cute pics of my little pumpkins and sleepy black kitty. The girls had a great time trick or treating until the "monsters" started to hit the streets...my poor little Ella was sooo scared (this was her first Halloween with us)...Our village has set hours for trick or treating...so at 5 o'clock we ventured down our street and the girls were loving it...we were the only ones at this time...well once dusk arrived so did the "monsters"...Ella cried hysterically and had to go home with Daddy...so mommy and Sophie braved the streets (and monsters) alone...and of course our sleepy little kitty only lasted one house...

Reunited...after a night apart!