Still alive and....THRIVING!!

Wow, it has been a very looooong time. We have been growing in so many ways as a family....God has done great things! I am going to spend some time on all the members of this family and get everyone caught up! I have failed to blog about so many wonderful things; I'm almost mad at myself:) We have had so many experiences, so many firsts for the boys, and have taken literally 1000s of pictures since they came home. Thanks for continuing to care and pray for our family; it means so much to us!

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
Psalms 40:5

Let's get started.....Happy Birthday, sweet hubby!

Eyob and Daddy at the apple orchard!
Daddy and Abel on the boat late summer! Abel has a love/hate relationship with that life vest.
**I have discovered that Daddy is in far too few pictures:/

Erica RaNae...our sophomore in college!

Erica and Eyob...Beautiful!

Erica with the special man in her life, Zach! They joined us at the apple orchard this fall. Erica never misses out on a family event:) Erica is a great young woman, a wonderful sister, and a dear friend to her mother. I look so forward to watching Erica's life unfold over the next couple of years; I can't wait to see what God has planned for her!

Alison Kae....freshman in high school!

All dressed up for Homecoming....Erica, Ali, and Mom!

Helping Eyob to "fly" like Spider Man!

>Ali loves to drive....ANYTHING! Even a golf cart will do!

Alison is now in high school, and loving it! We just finished up her volleyball season, so things are settling down around here for the winter. She is also a great big sister and brings so much life to this house. She is the crazy one of the bunch and keeps all of us laughing, sometimes when we don't even feel like laughing:) This mom loves her spunk!

Elaina Marie...my 5th grader!

We have had incredible weather here in the Midwest and were able to get in one last really late summer boat ride:) Elaina loves the boat; she really just loves being outside!

Mom, Elaina, and Ali

Elaina is having a great year in school. She is becoming such a young lady. She has a special relationship with Abel; he thinks she's pretty great. It really helps when John and I go out, because Abel is really starting to feel comfort in her. It is very nice for me as I spent 3 months not being able to leave Abel's sight without major screaming...I mean SCREAMING! It was rough for everyone during that time, but we persevered and now have a much happier, and more confident little man, Yeah! What a blessing Elaina is to Abel all because she took some extra time with her little brother!

Eyob Scott....4 years old!

One of Eyob's favorite places....the boat!

Another favorite place....on the back of a horse! Eyob loves horses and can spot one anywhere!

Eyob on a nice autunm hike!

Oh, what a young man! We have been enjoying months of more firsts and many transitions. Eyob is awesome! He is FULL of love and life. He goes to a Pre-K program at our elementary school and loves it. He is learning so much and doing very well; his English ROCKS! I believe he is at a point where we can say he is our typical four year old. Which means sometimes he's very wild, very loud, and very loving:) He does sneek a bit of an attitude in there every now and then for good measure as well. I have to tell you he received his first timeout at school last week for pushing another student, but this mom has been assured that it is normal and it doesn't mean Eyob is going to be beating kids up;) It was a push in good fun; I think the timeout was a bit of a surprise to him. Eyob has been home almost 9 months and the first 5 months were spent in a pretty low valley, but I am praising God that at this point we're reaching the top of a very high mountian. I am confident that we are going to lay in green pasture for awhile, at least until Eyob shows us some more of what it means to be a boy;)

Amelia Raye....3 years old!

Amelia loves making silly faces for the camera!

Amelia celebrated her golden birthday on Oct 3rd, so it was a three layer cake all in gold:)

It was a birthday all about dress up! She received her very own "Amelia's Closet" stocked full of clothes, accessories, and of course shoes:)

Some fun at the orchard with one of her favorite people, Zach!

Miss Amelia brings me so much joy in the day to day around here. She is our baby girl and she loves being the baby girl. She is developing the sweetest relationship with Eyob. It is a relationship that we pray over and work on daily, but they are beginning to be true siblings and best of all friends:) She likes to give Abel more love then he cares to receive, so if he's screaming she's probably kissin' and huggin'

Last, but certainly not least.....Abel John, who just celebrated his 1st birthday!

Momma's sweet little man!

Got to love that cheese!

Precious!

Did you know that I have four sisters?

Happy 1st Birthday, my baby boy!

Little man loved his Ethiopian cake!

Yes, I have a mouthful of teeth and I love my walking feet!

We have been so blessed by this little guy! We had a few months that proved to be pretty rough, not that he cut 6 teeth all at the same time. That's right he cut his first two and then the next 6 teeth came in ALL at the SAME time, well all within about a week and a half of each other:/ He is so happy, content, and loves to wear his cheesy smile. He has been walking since about 10.5 months, so he's a runner now. He loves to give kisses right now; they are precious! The sound affects are great too. He is so much fun and I can see so much of Eyob in him. This little boy has a family that has fallen so in love with him.

We continue to grow in love as a family. This adoption has forever changed the members of this family; we ALL have learn so much about priorities and perspective. We all walk around with new priorities and a far clearer perspective of what this life on earth is to be made of....and for that I thank God!