I am totally unsure of how they keep up with four beautiful, lively, and totally snuggly children 5 and under, but Eric and Morgan absolutely do! And while Morgan has assured me she is not always so adorable, I really find it hard to believe. I am lost as to how she remains so fashionable and lovely with so many little ones to care for. I have a hard time just getting dressed for the day, and I only have 2 wee ones. ;)

Getting to spend a couple hours with Eric and Morgan and their sweet family was truly precious. Seeing their littlest one sitting up on her own, the boys snuggling their Mommy and Daddy, and the tickling fun simply made my heart melt. How could I not smile and giggle right along with them?

While the older boys weren't so sure of the whole experience at first, they quickly allowed me to slip into the background of their familiar routine to watch the beautiful everyday moments that they cherish unfold before me and my camera. I will admit it; I fell in love. I fell in love with every precious face, delightful giggle, and chubby roll. And even now, I find myself smiling as I look through the pictures from my brief time with them.

Thanks, Eric and Morgan, for allowing me to have a front row seat in your home for a little while. I hope that these pictures will bring smiles to your faces for generations to come. Enjoy!

Click here to see the photos...

Anna's First Year Series

The UPS man rocked my world today. He brought me my print order, and I will confess that I was as giddy as a kid at Christmas. There are 3 16x20 artistic prints, which means they are on 2mm styrene boards for easy hanging. :)

Every time I look at these prints, I smile. The memories they represent are precious to me. The first was the day Anna was born and we got to meet her for the very first time. The second was taken about 7 months and is a fun scale shot to show how little she still was. The last was just taken a few weeks ago on Anna's adoption day. Look how much she has changed!

I can't got back in time to those moments, but these prints help me to remember. How much are your precious memories worth? For me, they are worth every penny. I ♥ big prints.

Happy Friday!

Anna and Ovidah

It is not often anymore that I get the opportunity to watch a child that is not my own. As a teenager, I babysat all the time and for the most part really enjoyed it. Well, after a recent conversation and a little convincing, my best friend Crystal agreed to finally have her first post-Ovidah birth date with her husband minus Ovidah. Ovidah was awesome; she thinks I am hilarious for some reason. ;)

Watching Ovidah and Anna is just too cute. Anna is twice Ovidah's age, weight, and probably height. They find each other fascinating, to say the least. Tonight Greg was teaching Anna to be super gentle with Ovidah as they so sweetly touched each other in utter fascination. So adorable.

Crystal and Agus, thanks for letting us have a little time with Ovidah. I am glad that you guys enjoyed your date. :)

Anna Raving About Sissy's Meal Skills

Since in just a few more months I will have yet another "adult" child I have been trying to help prepare Ariana for living on her own. I figured one of the necessities was learning to cook. So over the last couple of weeks I have been having her learn some of the basic skills necessary for cooking—ya know, something other than in the microwave. ;) After surviving a few rounds of leather-ed chicken the experience has become quite enjoyable. Tonight she did an awesome job on every detail of our meal. As I finished up I asked Anna how she liked sissy's cooking, and she got so excited. She started jabbering away like crazy. I think Ariana could not possibly get higher reviews than she did from her little sis tonight. It was so funny. :) I have become a firm believer that the only praise sweeter then that of God is that which comes from a small child.

Good job, sissy Ariana!

Anna with Mini Pigtails

Ah, the feeling that comes with the accomplishment of having unpacked all your luggage after returning from vacation is marvelous. Even more marvelous would be all my Christmas decorations mysteriously packing themselves back up for the year, but I am not holding my breath on that happening. Oh well, I will get to that tomorrow or maybe this weekend. :)

Today was full of unpacking, running errands, returning emails, buying Greg’s birthday present, and randomly playing with Anna’s hair. Yeah, I know, sometimes inspiration—or maybe it was determination—hits, and I just have to act on it. Well, it hit today when I was getting the kids ready to leave. I decided to try something new with Anna’s hair. Isn’t it adorable?

I know you are wondering, "How in the world did she get her to sit still for that?" The answer: cheese crackers. Seriously. I put her in her high chair and had her big sister Ariana feed her some cheese crackers, and twenty minutes later, voila!

I simply love Anna’s hair. She just makes me smile. :)