Mountain fun

We were blessed a little over a year ago to meet a couple that were also in the process of adopting from Russia. We immediately clicked, and now I feel like I have known them all my life. Turns out we ended up adopting our kiddos from the same region about 6 months apart, so we have been in the process pretty much together. It is incredible having them to share this journey with. It is so wonderful to have someone that you can just talk to who shares similiar experiences, and who just knows where you are coming from. I definitely believe that the Lord put our lives together as they will forever be very very dear to us and our families will forever share a special bond. This past weekend we met up for a little weekend getaway to the mountains. We had such a good time and the boys have asked daily to go back to the mountains with Aunt Tara, Uncle Jonathan and "Baby Masha".


We joke that Daniel and Masha are going to marry one day. Don't they make such a cute couple?

Such a special family:)

Three special kiddos born in Russia but destined for the US.A friend once told me "To be a mother means having pieces of your heart walking around outside of your body" (not sure that I quoted that 100% accurately..but thanks Hannah...that quote has stuck with me:). These 2 kiddos are proof that your heart can be outside your body. I absolutely cannnot imagine loving anything more than I love these two boys. They make being a Mama such an easy job.

Anyone that knows us knows that Santa has always been a huge part of our lives. Heck...Santa still comes to see us. My Daddy alwas said "Santa will come as long as you believe"...so by golly I still believe to this day. HA!!! I hope to carry on the wonderful, magical presence of Santa with my boys as my parents did for us. (Not that the birth of Christ is not the center of the season, because it absolutely will be), Santa was just huge for us as a child and I just hope and pray that the boys get that awesome magical feeling that I always had as a child.

I say all that to say...here is our first pic with Santa:):) The boys were so excited over this statue so I know that Christmas is going to be a blast.

Meeting our boys 1 year ago

One year ago today (well actually yesterday but I didn't post this is time) we met our precious boys for the first time. We were so incredibly excited to see and touch what we had fallen in love with a month prior. I'd be lying if I said that the first meeting was this magical moment to where the boys just knew that Daddy and Mama were there. It wasn't like that at all truthfully. They brought the boys into the room while we were in the middle of talking to the doctor. So we sat there for a few moments watching them in awe pulling out toys and playing quietly. We we completely oblivious to anything the doc said...we were seeing or sons for the first time. The boys were quite disconnected from us to say the least...which was hard, but that is part of the process. It took a while before they would let us play with them but before long they opened up to us ever so slightly. I think back on this day one year ago then I think about how far we have come. I stand so in awe of God and all that he has done to get us where we are today. One year ago today, we hugged our boys and truthfully it was like hugging a board. This very morning I got woke up by one crawling in the bed saying "Mama, I need you to snuggle me." There is nothing like coming home from work to two precious boys running, almost knocking me down to get hugs.

God is amazing! I have no other words than just that...God is amazing!

Here is a couple of pics from our the day that we first met our boys:

This was the expression that we got for the first 2 days. There were some occasional smiles, but they were hard to come across.

This is now. (yes I am aware there is a Christmas tree and it is Oct...but I needed a Christmas pic and I just love it...don't judge:)