Friday, October 31, 2014

Humphrey Halloween Dinner

We love living in the country but one disadvantage is that we don't get any little ghosts or goblins knocking on our door, asking for treats. And since we don't need mountains of candy around here and for various other reasons, we don't go trick-or-treating either. So, I decided to surprise the boys with a disgusting Halloween Menu for dinner tonight:

 Apple Teeth
 Severed Fingers
 Mummy Dogs
 Dried Bloody Scabs
 Dragon Eggs
 Complete with candlelight and Vampire Blood Punch
The boys loved it and we had a blast, eating in the dark and convincing them we heard noises and saw glowing eyes from around the house.
Happy Halloween!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Happy Birthday, Ian!

April 2009 - We took our 2nd mission trip to Jamaica. Mostly we went to spend time with Ian and learn as much as we could about him.  Our good friends from First Baptist (now, Westbridge) in Danville, along with Gary and Marty Crawford (Elizabeth's parents) were gracious to oblige. This is also when we told Ian we were adopting him and introduced him (via a scrapbook) to his siblings and grandparents. 4 months after this photo, we traveled back to bring him home. Of course, he had no clue what he was in for!
 And, look at him now! Our handsome man turns 15 tomorrow. He's changed so, so much but still has that great smile and such an amazingly joyful spirit! 
We had his birthday party this afternoon. Here are a few pictures from the celebration:
 Ready to open gifts! He's been telling us (with his communication device) for months that "My birthday is October 26th." Just in case the old people might forget.
 Watching the new hover craft
 Ian loves clothes and is pretty particular about them!
 A new nerf ball that has holes in it which is perfect for him to grasp
See.....the kid loves clothes!

He's also been telling me for months that he wants a red sports car for his birthday, so of course he got one!


Birthday cake under construction!

 Sweet Felicia, hanging out with Pops
 Brenna and her Daddy
 Langston and his Momma

Felicia wore her new Jamaica dress in honor of Ian!

Although we weren't there when Ian entered the world and don't know much about it, we are so thankful for his birth mom who took care of him and loved him as long as she could and for Michelle Robinette and the staff at Robin's Nest Children's Home for taking him in and caring for him until God led us to him. He has changed our lives and keeps us going (sometimes, literally - he doesn't forget a thing!)
Happy 15th Birthday to our Ian!
We love you!!!

Friday, October 24, 2014

Rejuvenation!

Thanks to some really, REALLY good friends, Tom and I were able to get away for a few days to beautiful Ft. Myers Beach in the Sunshine State! We determined to not plan a bunch of activities (which is what I normally do) and instead to focus on sleeping, reading and enjoying each other again! Life can get so crazy, we tend to forget each other and let our most important, earthly relationship slip. And that's what we did. We spent every day at the beach and/or pool with snacks, water and books. And we went out every night for delicious dinners! It was a WONDERFUL 4 days and we hated to see it come to an end as we reluctantly boarded the plane this morning, but are SO thankful for the alone time!!!! 
I didn't take my camera so these pictures are from Tom's phone and either it doesn't take great pictures or we don't know how to use it very well but here are what we have:

 Selfie on our before-dinner walk
 View of the pool area
 IF I had taken my camera, I would have been obsessed with the wildlife. There are awesome birds everywhere!
 View of the condo
 Another selfie on the beach
 Camped out on the beach for the day. (Tom did my toenails. You read that right!)
 There were so many shells to sort through!
 View of "our" beach....we pretty much had it to ourselves most of the time. :-)
One last selfie at the Watermark Grille on our last night there. Delicious!!!!
We did branch out yesterday and took a dolphin tour on a jet ski and boy was it AMAZING! We drove 46 mph, fearing for our lives, but attempting to keep up with our guide until we got to the dolphin hot spots and were not disappointed. There were dolphins everywhere, jumping and playing and swimming so close that we could almost reach out and touch them. Awesome experience!
To those of you who made this trip possible for us (and you know who you are), we are forever grateful and so appreciate your sacrifice on our behalf!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

4 years old!

4 years ago this evening, Tom and I had a sitter scheduled to stay with Ian so we could have an early anniversary dinner out. We never made it to the restaurant but instead, spent our evening at the hospital, waiting for and meeting Brenna Noelle! It was the best anniversary date ever! The birthday girl is celebrating in Jamaica today but we got to celebrate with her before she left. 

 Ready to party!
 The cute, Pinterest-worthy treats that her clever mommy made
 Getting a little help from Felicia
 A hug for Great Mamma
 The only thing this girl has been asking for (for months) was a jump rope!
 Drew Brees crashed the party.....oh wait! That's Lucas, wearing a ribbon on his head!
 Blowing out the candles
 Princess Anna and Princess Elsa
 Mimi and Pa with the girls
 Great Mamma with the girls
 And we tried to get Langston in a picture. Look at those eyes!
 2 handsome men with their great grandmother
And, 2 more handsome men!

Happy, Happy Birthday sweet Brenna! We love you and are so thankful for you!