happy birthday caedmon.

caedmon is 7 years old today.

7 years old.

i can't possibly have a 7 year old...can i?

i remember his birth day, just like it was yesterday:

{me and my little asian nugget, exhausted after 40+ hours of labor}

enjoy a few pics of caedmon through the years:



dear caedmon,

as the oldest of our children, you have not always had it the easiest.  you've had to become a big brother 3 times (almost 4 times) and basically grow up the quickest.  you do hold the title of big brother, very well though.  God couldn't have given us a more perfect first son.  you are compassionate, just as much as you are stubborn.  when you put your heart and mind into something, you succeed.

we have our moments (all too often) of not being the best parents to you...but i am amazed at how God has given you the ability to forgive and to move forward, loving us just the same.  if only we all could have that much grace for others.

7 years have come and gone so quickly.  and i know the next 7 will do the same.

from the moment you entered this world, you have changed me.  from that moment, i knew what it felt like to have my heart on the outside.

i am proud to call you my son.

love,

mama

twinsies.

a friend bought elsa a baby doll...a baby doll that is her color.

that baby doll sat in her box, for a long while.

i always saw milo eyeing it...he often asked if we could open it and i would reply with "no, it's elsa's doll...we'll wait till she gets home".

one afternoon, milo was especially quiet in his room.

i noticed the baby doll was missing too.

i later figured out that he spent a good portion of his rest time, trying to get that baby doll out of the box.

but, if you've ever tried to get a toy or doll out of a box, it's nearly impossible for adults.

so, i gave in and helped him.

i cut the last wires that were holding her in.

milo was so excited.

he named her baby ollie {which is one of my favorite names}.

he fed her often with the bottle she came with.

gave her a pucky {pacifier}.

carried her around in a baby sling.

made sure she was okay before he moved on to something else.

i walked into their room the other night and found milo sleeping with baby ollie:

and i realized that baby ollie is going to need a twin, because i'm pretty sure milo won't be giving her up anytime soon.
she has taken the place on his pillow, of the beloved monster truck {now down by his feet}.
{yes, milo is sleeping on the floor.  that's how our kids roll.  and yes he's wearing slippers.  he insists on getting as sweaty as possible when he sleeps.  which makes for some very delicious smelling feet in the morning.}

and i love that they will have twin babies, because did you realize that milo and elsa will practically be twins because of their age?
such a fun thought.

happy weekend ya'll!

give-a-way day winner!

if your name is lauren and you wrote that comment, then contact me so you can get all of your loot! 

you have till monday, 2/28 to contact me, otherwise i'll have to draw a new winner.

{and congrats on getting your son from ethiopia---how exciting!}

{image from here}

embrace the camera: feb. 24th

***i will post the winner of the give-a-way later today***

 

hiya, it's thursday.

time to embrace.

this week is family style embracing.

this picture was taken back in december...here in florida, it doesn't snow, but it does "snoap".

that's snow + soap combined.

anywho, we went to this little town nearby that had nightly "snoaping"...the night was perfect.

chilly enough to feel like winter, but not chilly enough that we needed to be bundled up.

that's exactly how i like my winter, thankyouverymuch.

i love my little family.

not the most flattering angle, but a picture of all of us together and looking at the camera is a win in my book. (and no tootsie roll bribes involved in this one)

and i'm pretty sure that kohen got my white skin genes.

finally.  a child that has something from my gene pool.

so, are you ready to embrace the camera?

here's the nitty gritty:

1.  take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.

2.  blog about that picture and include a link to our blog, or grab our button.

3.  link your blog post up on mr. linky below.

4.  visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair and sweatpants velour jogging suits on.  cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.

5.  have fun!

this week, if you do not put the link to your ACTUAL post, i will be deleting it.  (i had to delete about 10 last week---if you don't see your link, it's because you have it linked wrong).   if you don't know how to do this, please email me and i can help you.  if somebody is ever perusing through old link lists, and you've only linked up your blog, they won't see the embrace the camera post.

thanks much, ladies!

an elsa fix.

i don't know about you, but sometimes i need an elsa fix (okay, really, i need an elsa fix at all times of the day).

there, that's better.

sweet, sweet elsa, could you be any more scrumptious?

i swear, that girl is not going to know what to do when i attack her with love, the first time i see her.

look out!

***edited to add***
we found out that the embassy has requested MORE paperwork for our case.   which basically sets us back another week, 2 weeks or month.  who knows.
such a bummer to find this out.
but, ironically, look what my daily truth from the brave girls club was this morning:

the lord never fails to use what he can to speak to me.
so now, i learn to wait with joy.

girl time.

it's always fun to hang out with a friend.

it's even more fun when that friend is a blogger and can totally relate to what your talking about.

i mean, not that i don't love mr. anderson, but it's nice to talk about blogging with somebody who understands and gets it.

mr. anderson just stares at me and i'm pretty sure i usually hear crickets chirping when i try to talk about something blogger related.

he just doesn't get it.

but amy gets it.

thank goodness.

we hung out the other night and had a bit of a photo sesh.

there are only about a handful of people in this world who i feel comfortable enough with to take my photos.

amy is one of them.

here is some of the results from our time together:

i know, she is as cute as a button.

go ahead and tell her.

oh hello skinny jeans.

i love you.

she also looks like a total bad ass on her pink townie:



twas a good time...

that is until we ate at a mexican restaurant afterwards and i almost barfed cause the food was so spicy.

my mouth is still on fire.

i just don't understand spicy.

give-a-way day, hooray!

have i mentioned how much i LOVE my sponsors?

well, it's true.  i love them.

and i know you'll love them too!

after commenting, please, please take a moment and visit their shops or blogs...there is so much more than what i've listed here---not to mention some fabulous ladies behind these shops and blogs.

let's begin, shall we?

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first up is miss andi:

she is the owner of a fun shop that features lots of accessories and note cards.

aren't those note cards cuuuute?

well, score, the winner will receive 1 pack of note cards!

thanks andi!

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up next is my newest sponsor, laura from lillypie accessories:

she makes adorable ruffly accessories for mama AND baby.

i love her tag line which states:

accessories make an outfit {even at nine months}.

so true my friend.  so true.

the lucky winner will receive this beautiful ruffle flower ribbon necklace:

yes, i know.  it's gorgeous.

thanks laura!

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now it's time for one of the loveliest bloggers i know.

{and i'm not just saying that cause she's my best friend}

jami is giving away this hilarious print, in an 8x10 size:

oh yes, blogs do smell good in the morning.

thanks james!

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up next is another new sponsor this month, sunkissed cotton:

remember those adorable africa shirts my kids wore?

chelsea is the maker of those:

she also makes great baby gift sets--how adorable is this vintage sewing machine one?

she is generously giving away a $25 store credit!

thanks chelsea!

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up next is one of my favorite shops:

i love ashlee and her shop.

plain and simple.

she is the teething necklace gal:

and the chomping necklace gal as well :)

{and no, sweet baby mercy is not part of this give-a-way}

ashlee will be giving away a cherry amber anklet and a chomping necklace!

thanks so much, friend!

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up next is mollie and her adorable shop, wild olive:

her embroidery patterns are some of the cutest things i've ever seen.

seriously.

she is giving away the teeny tiny collection, which includes 4 sets of embroidery patterns and 2 printables!

thanks mollie!

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and last {but certainly not least} we have miss erin from the vintage pearl:

hand stamped jewelry, need i say more?

no, i'll let her pictures do the talking: 



erin is generously giving away a $50 store credit!

thanks erin!

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don't forget to check out my other fun sponsors and their adorable blogs!

Create.Inspire.Give. is about creativity with a purpose...in other words, use your skills to bring some good to the world.

i really like jessica and the idea behind her blog.  she is supah cute and getting married too!

I hope that this blog inspires you to create lovely things, to invest in the relationships you have in your own life, and to not take yourself to seriously. I certainly don't.

savannah is adorable.  check her out.

and she's getting married too...apparently if you sign up to be one of my sponsors, you also get engaged.

good times.

This is my place to brag on my kids and my perfect life. OK, totally kidding on that second part. Really this is the only way to capture memories with my family and friends. As a mom of three little gals, all under the age of four, my brain only remembers that which is crucial: feeding my children and remembering to brush my teeth! I post about complete randomness and change things up often.

3 little ladies is the blog of my other best friend, hannah.  she's cute, and has 3 adorable little mini me's.

no seriously, they look exactly like hannah.

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so, a HUGE thank you to all of my sponsors.

without their continued support, we would not be where we are in this adoption process...y'all are the best.

let's recap what 1 lucky person will win, shall we?

1 set of note cards - andi adams

1 pink ruffle flower ribbon necklace - lillypie accessories

1 8x10 blog print - jami nato

teeny tiny embroidery collection - wild olive

$25 shop credit - sunkissed cotton

1 chomping necklace and 1 amber teething anklet - tweet baby designs

$50 shop credit - the vintage pearl

a whole lot of loot for one lucky person!

simply leave 1 comment on this post, and you're entered :)

easy enough.

the give-a-way will close wednesday 2/23 at 8:00 pm eastern, and a winner will be announced on thursday.

have fun :)

{kohen and his new smile---full of teeth}