CATCHING UP!

Wow...it has been awhile since I posted anything. Our lives seem to get busier as the months go. We have celebrated Elijah's first year home, His dedication, had fun playing outside and went and seen Toy Story on Ice. For his one year celebration we decided to go to the Great Wolf Lodge as a family. It was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed it. It was nice to spend time just us. Elijah LOVES the water so much that we have enrolled him in swim lessons. This helps Mom not panic as much. The boy thinks he can swim on his own already! The instructor says it will not be long since he is already trying to doggie paddle on his own. We had his baby dedication at Church. I know he has been home a year but we had a hard time trying to find a date that fit and finally we just decided to get it done with or without everyone. His grandparents were able to attend and be a part of it, which was great! Elijah was done after about 2 minutes. It is hard to keep a toddler still! We had a small window of great weather a few weeks ago so we spent as much time as possible outside. Elijah loves bubbles so we purchased a bubble gun for him to play with. it didn't work very well but he enjoyed walking around with it and saying BANG BANG. A wonderful thing his Sissy taught him. Elijah loves Toy Story. His favorites are 1 and 2. When we saw that Toy Story on Ice was coming to KC we knew we had to take him. He did great and was so very excited to see it. In the first few minutes he kept saying "Look Mommy...See!" He did so well just sitting and watching. He only got antsy a couple of times and it only last a minute or two and then he was staring again. Well worth the money spent to take him. Emilie said she even enjoyed it...which is really big for a almost teenager! Other things we are preparing for: Well...Elijah's bday party is coming up. We moved it up to the end of April because May is so full. We are planning a fun Toy Story party. Randy graduates in May and the guys are going on a little trip to celebrate. 4 Dads and and 4 young men returning to where they did their high adventure a few years ago. They are all looking forward to it. It looks like Don and Randy are both leaving on the same day. Don is headed to another year overseas and Randy will leave for basic training. The beginning of Aug will be difficult for all of us. I am dreading it already but going to enjoy these few months I have! =) Elijah is learning and growing. he is now in mostly 24 months with some 18 month pants still (little short legs). He weighs almost 29 lbs. He is now counting to 15 and can sing the abc song. I love the way he says w. (guddlgu) He is beginning to count objects and is a commercial junkie! He can repeat way too many commercial for you! AND I promise he does not sit in front of a tv all day. He has just begun with the imaginative play. I have loved just watching all of my kids do this. He will pretend talk like Buzz or other little toys. SO CUTE! Well...catching up takes too long. I must try to do better and posting! Hope everyone is doing well! God Bless, Tina Baby dedication 2/20/11

Celebrating One year home at GWL hanging out with Bubby

GO BUBBLES!!!

At Toy Story on Ice!

Making Daddy his tunnel slide... He climbed up and made Daddy put his hands on his head then proceeded to climb through and slide down him. =)

ONE YEAR HOME...

One year ago today we landed at KCI in the middle of a very bad snow storm with our precious boy. Here is a video of the last year we have spent with our gift. What a blessing he is to our family and everyone around him. We thank God daily for our family of 6!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Valentine's Day...

Valentine's Day will always hold a special meaning to us. Yes, it was always a special day to show our love to one another and to our kiddos BUT Valentine's Day 09 made it even more special. That was the day we held our sweet baby boy for the first time. The day our hopes and dreams became reality! The day 3 years of prayers were answered. That moment will forever be a wonderful memory. It was just like when I gave birth 3 different times and finally got to hold my babies but different also. I had been waiting 5 long months to get ahold of this little guy and 3 long years in the process. To say I was ready to get my arms around him was an understatement! I figured I would cry the first I held him but instead I just took in the moment. I didn't want to ever forget it. Elijah has blessed our family in so many ways. I knew God meant for us to be his family and for him to be our son...but I never imagined the joy this little guy would bring to everyone he meets. He is amazing!
My Dearest Elijah,
I have thought for weeks about what I would write to you on this day. I want you to know how loved you are by so many people. I want to tell you how much you mean to us. But most of all I want you to know that God did an amazing thing when he told Mommy and Daddy about you. We knew you were going to be someone very special and now we get to see it. I love the way you sing Praise songs or fold your little hands to pray. I love how you firmly remind us if we forget to say your night time prayers with you. God has big plans for you precious boy and your Daddy and I can't wait to see how they play out.
Our lives are so much richer with you around. You have brought such joy to our home. I love seeing your eyes light up when your sisters or brother walk in to the room. The way you wrestle with them and play with them makes my heart sing. And when you say I love you to us....oh how this Mommy heart melts!
You have already blessed so many in your 21 months. We will continue to thank God for you, our precious gift!
I am looking forward to sharing our first family day with you in just one more week!
Love you baby boy,
Mommy

FINAL HOME VISIT...

Today is our final post placement visit. It will be nice to have this out of the way, although we are still required to send a notarized report yearly until he is 18. The good thing is we can do that on our own. AND we are happy to do it! I love sharing how much he has grown and all of things he is learning! It amazes us to look at pics we have sent at 3, 6 and now 12 months. He has changed so much. He is becoming a little boy and leaving that baby look far behind. (which makes me sad!)
I love watching his personality shine. He is such a people person. I always say he needs his "peeps". He loves to show off and get people to clap for him. I lvoe watching how quickly he picks up on things. He is working on counting to 15 now. He has to 10 down so we figured we might as well keep going. He can sing most of the abc song and loves his vtech alphabet toy. He LOVES to sing songs and to dance. He got 2 drum sets for Christmas and plays them all the time. We think he will be a drummer. He is putting words together now. I was folding laundry the other day and he climbed up on my bed and pointed to a pair of pants and said "this is Daddy's". My favorite is "cup all gone" it is so much better than him yelling GWINK!
Here are a few pics...

Sharing a chicken salad with Daddy!

Our little drummer

Blessings~

Tina

2011...A NEW YEAR!

It is hard to believe we are already into another year! This year went a little fast having our 4th little one home finally. It will be hard to top 2010 in our minds although we know God has bigger and better plans for our family in the future. We shall just sit and wait upon Him to see what those are. (easy to say...harder to do!)
2011 will bring some changes to our household. Some changes that I am not sure I am ready to face but will do so anyway!
In May, Randy will graduate from High School. (UUGH...how am I old enough o have 2 kids out of HS???) Then on July 31st my baby boy will leave for basic training. I can not imagine not seeing him everyday or just talking to him. That will be a LONG 16 weeks for me. I survived it with my husband but I was 18 and clueless. Now this is my baby and...well...it is going to be tough.
Also, there is a possibility that hubby will be going "somewhere" this year as well. We are still waiting for a confirmation on that one. SO...as I said 2011 may be a year of changes for us.
As usual, our year always begins with a BIGGER celebration than New Years. That is the day we celebrate the arrival of our oldest son, Randall Earl Hubbard. He was born at 1229 am and was the first one born in 1993 at Ft Leonardwood, MO. He weighed 5 lbs 15.1 oz and 20.5 inches long. HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY SON! We are very proud of the man you are becoming. Love you, Mom

*This was one of the newspaper clippings.

*Elijah is helping Bubby blow out the candles

Blessings~

Tina

ELIJAH'S FIRST CHRISTMAS HOME!

Don and I were just as excited as any little kid this Christmas. We couldn't wait to see Elijah's reaction to everything about the season and to our family traditions.
We spent Christmas Eve as a family and went out to dinner then on to Christmas Eve candlelight service. (One of my favorite services!) Elijah and Emilie stayed in the nursery until communion time and then after our family made it through the line for communion we got Elijah to share in the final candlelight part. WELL...this is a very solemn, quiet time and Elijah decided to make his voice heard! He said "Hi Mama" and I whispered back to him "hi baby"...then louder he said "HI MAMA" and I whispered back "hi baby"...this went on for about 10 times. He really wanted me to say it louder! Then as we made our way around the circle, he saw his Sissy handing out candles to people and very loudly he said "HI SISSY". We attend a very small Church who understand kiddos and afterwards several came up and said...Hi Mama...with smiles! =) A great memory to share in the years to come.
Christmas morning was filled with all of the joys we could have imagined. I think even the older kids were excited to have a little one in the house again. Elijah was thrilled with all of it. He loved his car and basketball goal and opening presents was fun too!
We feel so truly blessed to have him home this year to celebrate these holidays with us. As we drove to my in-laws in the afternoon, I took in the sight in my car. I had all 4 of my kids together with me. WOW~ God has been so good to us. These kids hold my heart and I love them more than I could have ever imagined. Knowing that next year will bring many changes to our house and that we may not all be together for the season next year made this year even more memorable to me. SO...I shed a few tears and thanked God for blessing me with an amazing husband and 4 really great kids!
Here are a few pics from our holidays...
*Santa came and then the older kids decided to play their nintendo!

*Elijah enjoying his car AND his basketball goal

*Weeble treehouse...Loads of fun!

*BIG Hubbard Christmas (12/26) seeing Santa again! He did enjoy them much more this time. Walked right up to them and talked and climbed up on their lap to open his gift!

I hope your Christmas season was filled with lots of love and joy!

Blessings~

Tina

ONE YEAR AGO...(another celebration!)

One year ago today we became the legal parents (In Ethiopia) to this precious boy! We did not hear on Christmas Eve but on Christmas Day we received this wonderful news. I struggled through Christmas Eve and the morning of Christmas until we heard we had passed. It was tough having him so far away from us on his first Christmas.
It still amazes me to walk into his room at night and see him laying in the crib. For so many nights and days I would walk in there and pray for him and wish to see his face or just to know who he was. Now I get to hold him...hear him call me Mommy and watch him learn new things daily. I love watching the wonders of Christmas through his eyes! I love to hear him pray and and say "cank you Jesus!" This boy has opened our eyes to many things in this world.

(If you look close you will see an ornament with his referral pic in it!)

I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas! We are so excited to share it with ALL 4 of our kiddos this year.

Blessings~

Tina

THE SANTA EXPERIENCE...

I have been anxiously waiting to take Elijah to see Santa. I knew I could not take him alone because someone would have to chase while the other stood in line. Plus, both of us wanted to be a part of the 1st Santa experience.

**Elijah walking into the mall to get in line for Santa! He was on a mission...
**Seeing Santa. He did fine walking up to him and he said "HI Santa...then he babbled something and said "tree" and then said "car and cruck" were things he wanted. THEN Mommy put him on Santa's lap! At first he cried then he just got his serious "I am not comfortable with this" face on. They snapped the pic and he got his candy cane said "cank u" and BYE!

**After all of that he needed a drink and to get out of there! Another mission...

**The Santa experience just took it all out of him! He fell asleep about 2 minutes after we got him in the car!

Praying you are all enjoying your season of CHRISTmas!

Blessings~

Tina

RE-ADOPTION COMPLETE!

YES! I said complete...finally, after having 2 extra home visits AND tons of changes and "stuff" it is final. When we got there last Friday were told the judge may make us wait another 6 months to finalize and that was going to make me MAD! We have already been home 10 months (TODAY!) so I knew there was no need in the wait period again.
It was pretty quick and easy once we got in the courtroom. Elijah ran around the whole time and even took the microphone at the end and sang to them. He is such a ham!!!! Here are a few pics of the event!
***Celebrating after with lunch at Red Robin. The boy loves lemons!!!

**Checking in and really wanting to push the button on the snowmen (AGAIN!).

Bereket Donald Hubbard is now officially Elijah Simon Bereket Hubbard...WOOHOO!!!!!

Blessings to all~

Tina

SATURDAY FUN...

***We brought Elijah home in a snowstorm but at 9 months old he never really got to experience a snowfall. SO...I took him outside to watch it for a few minutes. You can't see the snowflakes coming down but he thought it was "COOL"...although, very windy and cold!

***Elijah LOVES to drink my peach tea when we eat at Olive Garden so for a treat we got him his own. He was very happy...later we were not! He only drank half of it...but oh my gosh did this guy wet! He peed through his clothes. YIKES...thinking no more peach tea of his own.

***Waiting for the Christmas in Park light show to begin. (This was when we realized he had soaked through his clothes! UUGH~)

***The fuzzy CHOO-CHOO

***My sweet boy all cozy in his bed with blankie and thumb! And to think a year ago I was so sad to see this crib still empty!! SO very thankful for this little guy.

Have a wonderful week!

Tina

FUN IN THE HUBBARD HOUSE!

We have been busy this week with some fun things and some not so fun things. Earlier in the week we were preparing for ANOTHER homevisit (our second) just for the re-adoption. Long story really but made simple by the fact that the adoption judge here in our county is very picky about some things and not so happy about you using a "friend" lawyer. Her clerk is also new so things did not happen as they should have. Quite interesting really! Anyway...with that under our belt we now have a court date for Dec 17 for our re-adoption (it only took about 5 months to get this done!) We are pleased to get it finished and move on to the next round of paperwork for citizenship. Elijah was his cute adorable self during the meeting, of course. We told her he is a huge people person.
We made some Christmas ornaments this week. Heidi was here and I had promised her and Em we would get them done. I wanted to make some with our very cool Africa cookie cutter. My house smelled of cinnamon for awhile but it was fun to see them working hard on them. Elijah made an Africa one with his thumb print in the place of Ethiopia. Something I hope we can treasure for a long time!
Friday we spent the day baking for the Holidays. I usually get this done earlier in Dec but we just did not have any openings PLUS I still have a lot to do. My friend, Debra and I like to get together and get it done. We made banana bread, pumpkin bread, peanut butter balls, haystacks, oreo balls, pressed cookies, and choc covered pretzels. YUMMY!! Tifanie joined in on the fun as did Elijah. I still have some to do but we got a great start to it.
We are enjoying the Christmas season very much here. It is fun to see it through a toddler's eyes again! He loves SANTA but has yet to see him in person. That is coming this week. I am excited to see what his reaction will be.
Hope you are enjoying the season!!
Blessings~
Tina
***Making his ornament

***After enjoying some powdered donuts

***He loves to cover his head with blankets and this time he got my table cloth and was roaring at everyone

***Rolling peanut butter balls with Sissy

***Baking with Mommy

TIME FOR A HAIR CUT...

Since we are a "military" family, we like short clean cut boy hair cuts. I had been debating about keeping Elijah's longer for a little while. I was enjoying being able to rub those soft curls! BUT he hated having it brushed out and it was starting to get a little frizzy on the ends. SO...when Daddy said he may try to shave it himself...Mommy rushed him to get it professionally done. =)
Oh my, does he look so much older! That is always tough for me. They start looking more like little boys and not so much like babies. =( He did a great job getting it cut BUT was very unhappy when she was combing it out to cut it. There was hair everywhere!!!! You don't realize how long it is until those curls are combed out. And of course, I didn't have my camera. When he was all done and had schmoozed all of the ladies there, he got his sucker! He was then a very happy boy.
BEFORE

AFTER

**The kid loves to have his picture taken!

Blessings~

Tina

HUBBARD HAPPENINGS...

*Playing wii*

*Loving the singing snowmen*

*Putting the angel on the tree*

*Having his first Thanksgiving Dinner*

Well...As you see I fell off the wagon once again! I check several blogs almost daily and see no recent bloggings and feel sad and the disconnect I feel and then I remember..."UH...how long has been since I have blogged!?"

So...to catch you all up: Elijah is now 18 months old. He is amazing! He can count to five very well and we are working on going to 10 now. He sings almost non-stop but you can't always make out what he is singing. He loves quinkle quinkle little tar. =) He weighs 25 lbs and is a big boy for sure! He is finally saying Mommy (the sweetest sound EVER!) Everytime I hear my heart skips a beat. He is ALL BOY! He gets into everything all the time. He loves Mommy's tea (and I normally do not share with anyone (including kiddos or hubby!) because it gags me. A few days ago I put away all of the 12 month clothes as he is now in all 18 months. I was very sad. He came home wearing 6-9 months a little over 9 months ago and has grown by leaps and bounds. He saw his Pedi this week (sinus infection) and she is SO amazed at him and how well he is doing. She kept saying how advanced he is. Funny thing is he kep telling her "all done!" and "BYE" as she was trying to exam him. He does not like going to Dr.

I am so looking forward to the Holidays and the joy of having a little one again. We put the tree up and he was so excited. He loves everything musical so all of those were big hits. He helped Daddy put the angel on the tree and was eager to help with ornaments. Now he tries to take them off the tree and eat them! As I said he is ALL BOY!

The other kiddos are doing good. Randy is almost half way through his SR year! UUGH~ We have had Sr pics taken and family pics taken as I am not sure where he will be next yr. =( Tifanie is doing well and is now going to college and working at QT part time. She is here a lot more now that Elijah is here. He lights up when she walks in and yells SIS SIS or Sissy! Em is doing well in school and getting much better at her flute playing. She seems to be growing way too fast as well!

Well....there's an update on the kiddos. Hope you are having a wonderful start to the Christmas Season!

Blessings to all~

Tina

THANKFUL DAY #13...

I am SOOOOO thankful for my dear husband. He is a wonderful husband, father , and friend. He works very hard to provide for our family so that I can stay home with our kids. There are times when he goes without sleep because he is working which I know I could never do! I love watching him with our kids. He has always been a very hands on Dad, involved in everything the kids are doing. Last night when I left for Bible study he was putting together the outside Christmas decorations with lots of help from Elijah. When I returned from Bible study he was sitting quietly in our living room with Emilie watching and explaining a movie to her. Even our older kids know when they need their Dad, he will be there.
I have been blessed with a man that will love me unconditionally baggage and all. And let me tell you sometimes that baggage can get pretty heavy!
I am amazed that God placed this man in my life! We are pretty opposite on some things...he is more outgoing than I am. (Never knows a stranger!) He LOVES the outdoors and I could care less about the camping and ickiness of the outdoors. But we share so many wonderful things, Our LOVE for Christ and to raise our family in a Christian home. Our love of children and the want to help as many as we can!
Thank you God for giving me the "perfect" husband for me!!

THANKFUL DAYS 11 & 12...

DAY 11: I am thankful for my baby girl Emilie. With Em around there is never a dull moment. She is either telling you a story or reading you something. She is such a joy, even when she is being difficult. I love the quiet serious moments with her. They are few but when we sit and read together or just talk I can see what a brilliant mind God has blessed her with. She was much prayed for and I know God has wonderful things planned for her.

DAY 12: I am VERY thankful for our baby boy, Elijah. I could write a book about how thankful I am but I won't. Over the last 3 Thanksgiving holidays I have begged God that he just be here next year. Well...the year is here. I look so forward to sharing this holiday and many others with him. To see things through a young ones eyes again and watch them experience it all for the first time is amazing. I am so thankful he is ours and God blessed us with such an active healthy baby boy.

Blessings~
Tina

BEING THANKFUL...DAYS 4-10...

I did not forget my thankful post countdown to Thanksgiving. I just got sick with a wonderful bug for a few days and fell behind. (Poor excuse, I know!) I am going to try and catch up...so here it goes!

DAY 4: I am thankful for all of the wonderful people we have met, either in person or via blog, facebook, or yahoo group, that are such wonderful adoption support. I know without a doubt if I have any questions or concerns that these people are there to help and support. What a great gift that is. We have made some tremendous friendships throughout our adoption. Such a wonderful blessing!

DAY 5: I am thankful for my friends. The ones that I can call when I am happy, sad, mad, or just blah! I know these friends will listen without out judging me! They will pray for me when I ask them to and lift me up when I need it. They will laugh with me, cry with me, vent with me and or just be with me. Thank you my wonderful friends!

DAY 6: I am thankful for ALL of my parents. This includes the in-laws as well! I know when needed they are all always there. They have helped us through the last few years and longed for our little guy as much we have. They take care of our kiddos when needed and what a blessing that has been. It is tough when they end up sick because you just never think you will be there! Recently my Dad had 2 stints put in and was diagnosed diabetic. It has been tough and they are still working to get things regulated and right through the VA. I remember thinking...I am not ready to be here yet! I felt the same way a few years ago when we were going through all of this with my in laws as well! SO...today I am thankful they are all 4 here and doing pretty well.

DAY 7: I am thankful for my sibling in laws. I have the best! They are all more like my bios than in laws. I love each one of them and am so thankful to be a part of their families!

DAY 8: I am thankful for my sister and brothers. They are a HUGE blessing to me. My sister and I have found a new closeness the last few years and I love that! We have shared SO much together and it so helps when you are just having a moment and she gets it like no one else would. My life is so much more full with her in it. I have one older brother and one younger. They are both good men. They have struggled throughout their lives but they have overcome so much to be who they are now. I love that my kiddos LOVE their Uncle Joe and all of his wacky ideas and jokes. He can make them laugh like no one else. Elijah is still figuring Uncle Joe out but he thinks he is pretty cool.

Day 9: I am thankful for my oldest girl Tifanie. What a blessing she is. She has been so helpful coming and watching the younger two when we need it. It is hard for us because we don't like leaving them with a sitter. I see our relationship shifting some the older she gets. I love talking and visiting with her. I know she is headed for great things. My first born...what a blessing!

Day 10: I am thankful for my oldest son, Randy. Randy is growing up and all too soon it will be his turn to leave the nest. He is such a joy to have around that I know I will struggle when he is gone. I love that he will still come to be and talk and ask my advice. I also love the relationship he has with his older sister now. I see their relationship growing and I love seeing their friendship grow!

SO...now I am caught up. Hopefully, I will get on track since Thanksgiving is THIS week! A few special notes:
1. I turned 40 today!!!!!!! My goodness where did those years go? I remember when I thought 40 was SO old. HA
2. Elijah has been home with us exactly 9 months today. YEAH! That means tomorrow he will have officially been with us longer than he was without us! I LOVE that. He is one of my greatest joys!!

Blessings to all~
Tina

THANKFUL DAY #3

Today I am thankful for the freedom to go to Church and worship God. What a blessing that is. There are times when I just sit and look around the room at our Church family and I am filled with love and peace. God placed us in this small Church about 3 yrs ago and we have been blessed by them every since. It is filled with wonderful loving people.
I love watching Elijah now walk in (as if he owned the place!) and tell everyone hi. He is not shy...young and old get his wonderful smile and a very loud HI! They love us as much as we love them!! They have helped pray our little guy home and so many other thing they have prayed us through.
We are blessed by Clay County Christian.

Blessings~
Tina

BEING THANKFUL...

It is not hard this year to come up with several reasons that I am thankful. We have truly had a blessed 2010. In years past I would choose something I was thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving Day. Let me tell you as we journeyed through the last 2 years of our adoption it got a little harder to put on that thankful face! (I know BAD me!) I was and am always and forever thankful for my children, husband, family and many other things. BUT during the last of our wait...I didn't really want to be thankful about anything! I know that sounds bad but it was how I began to feel.
SO...as I start this year's Thankful posts, I will begin with God first! I am thankful He walked with me throughout all of it and continues to walk with me today. I am thankful He never said "well since she is not really being sincere I shall turn my back on her until she comes around." I never doubted His love for me BUT there were times when I was begging him for a reason why!!!??? I have learned a lot in the almost 4 yrs since we decided to adopt. A lot about God and so much more about me!
SO...Thank you God for ALWAYS being there and for carrying us through those dark days!

Blessings~
Tina

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!

YES...I am a day late get this done. But none-the-less, I am so very thankful for the many freedoms I take advantage of and many are due to the fact that many veterans were willing to sacrifice for me and everyone else. I am especially proud of my Dad and father-in-law, who both served in Vietnam. Then there is my hubby, who is still serving his country willingly and proudly. And last and certainly not least my son who has just begun his journey of serving his country. He says he is not yet a veteran but I tell him that he will be and that is what matters when I am thanking him.
I went shopping yesterday and as I walked in HyVee and saw so many Veterans (young and old) sharing their breakfast together and sharing their stories together, it brought tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the connection that Don and our Dads share. They just get it with each other, almost without the words but with a look. I know that connection will be shared between him and our son as well.
So...I am going to begin my yearly "THANKFUL" posts with this today. I am VERY thankful to all of the men and women who are willing to go where so many of us are not! May you all be blessed abundantly!

Blessings~
Tina

PARTY AND TRICK OR TREAT...

Emilie had her very first "costume" party on the 30th. We don't do "scary" here so we sent out invitations requesting kids dress as their favorite tv or movie character and in nothing scary. Elijah would have been stressed anyway! I think they all had a good time. They played Fear Factor, which was fun and then played some other games as well. Emilie was a CSI agent and Elijah was the very famous BLUE from Blues Clues! :) Tifanie and Randy were AWESOME to stick around on their Saturday night and help me. They even dressed up for the occasion as well. I have pretty great kids!
We did go trick or treating in our home town. Elijah just went visiting as I did not really want him to have the candy! Em decided this was to be her last year. She was kind of bored by the time we were done. When we got home, Don had to take our little Blue around to show his buddies. Elijah enjoyed the attention and this time he DID get candy. In fact, at one of the houses he thought he would just take their entire candy bowl. He sat his bucket down and picked their bowl full of candy up! It was pretty funny.
It is hard to believe we are already into November. Some days I feel like we just got home from Ethiopia and others it feels like a lifetime ago.
Many changes are headed our way in 2011. Some are good and some not so good so I think I will hold tight to 2010 and try to enjoy every minute of it!
Here are a few pics of our Halloween weekend:

"Here's the mail it never fails it makes me want to wag my tail and when it comes I want to wail MMMAAAIIILLL!" The little guy LOVES when mail comes on Blues Clues. I love how his little hands are crossed here.

This is one of the teams for the games...Randy's team along with Elijah who tried to get involved as much as he could!!

This was the other team...Tifanie's team. They were having fun!!

We only did a little decorating...a spider web with orange and black spiders.

*My thankful posts will follow in a week or so. I really think about blogging everyday...but then I just run out of time! Chasing a toddler keeps me very busy!! BUT I am loving every minute of it!! Hoping our re-adoption will be completed soon. Who knew we lived in such a finicky county in MO!!

Blessing to all~