Today, SIX years ago William and I were at Spence- Chapin in NYC awaiting the arrival of our new baby girl....ISABELLA FAITH! We were so excited for the day to finally arrive. We had no clue what our girl would look like until about 18 hours before we arrived.....and boy was she just a precious little porcelain doll. She was perfect!!!

She has brought us so many laughs over the last six years..we are so honored to be chosen by GOD to be her parents forever! Bella you were a answered prayer!

I love you forever,

MOMMY

March 25th was the mark of TWENTY TWO YEARS that I have spent married to my best friend! On this date in 1989, I was a nervous wreck....I was about to walk down that "short isle" in the store front new church and marry the guy God had created just for me! My life had been such a crazy whirlwind the past few years with moving from south FL to northwest FL and leaving my high school behind....Well God sure did have a plan for me! I would meet my future husband in the 11th grade, while we both worked at Hardees, the only fast food restaurant in town....and marry him when we both graduated high school.....WOW what a wonderful surprise.

I LOVE YOU WILLIAM ANDREWS! HERE'S TO THE NEXT 22 YEARS!

Our spring break 2011....spending a day at the zoo

Two peas in a pod! Gabby and Giovanna and of course the groovy girls! If you see one of the girls, the other isnt far behind! They sure do love each other! This is exactly what we prayed for when adopting the girls, that they would always have a best friend-sister by their side, when they grew up....Lyndsey and michael and Lily, would by far pass them up....but they would ALWAYS have a sister going through the same thing as them!!! Thank you Jesus for the miracle of adoption!

Bella loving the train ride...I think this is one of her favorite things to do!

During spring break, I took the girls to the zoo....here we are! Lily enjoying the train ride.

Good morning all!!!!

Sorry it's been a few weeks since I wrote. Life is good right now...the girls are doing great in school, spring break is over so the down hill race to the end of the school year is on!

Construction is STILL going on in the back yard...the new garage and storage shed are still going up...they are finishing with the vinyl hopefully today (if it doesnt rain again) and then the garage door...laying the new sod is the last thing they will do. Im ready for this to be done...Monday started the third week. I dont think I would have the patience to ever build a house from start to finish! I guess that's why the Lord blessed us with our new fantastic home....nothing to build!

Gee has her travel dates home...June 4th. Boo hoo we are going to miss having her around! The girls love her! and well so do we!!!

Lyndsey has her R & R travel dates home from Iraq!!!!!!!! She leaves Iraq around April around the 20th and gets home around the 24th and leaves somewhere around the 14-15th. She is trying to cram alot into her time home, but we will enjoy as much as we can get. It will be so nice to have her in OUR home out of harms way!!!! WE are not telling the girls she is coming until she arrives home...they will drive us crazy waiting on the day! This will be a great surprise!

Michael will be in California doing his Army Reserve training, getting ready for a possible deployment! Oh this is going to be hard if he too goes! My Momma heart is going to go CRAZY!

Sorry its short, but I must get to the grocery store before the rain comes in.....

Blessings and happiness for your day!!

Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day 2011

Groovy girl books/dolls

I know I have mentioned this before but I must do it again........

Our girls are IN LOVE with these toys! Giovanna will not go anywhere without her "Vanessa" and it is just so sweet. I discovered these little dolls about a year or so ago and they have been the best thing ever! They are soft, almost like a infant soft baby doll, cute and stylish for the older girls and each have a cute "personality" that is fun and appealing to the girls. You can purchase different clothes for them, cars, scooters, animals you name it...They are very cute, but so hard to find!

Giovanna and Gabby are turning NINE in May and I think we are going to have a Groovy Girl party! But I am in need of some more Groovy Girls and different accessories. I thought that giving each girl that comes to the party a Groovy Girl would be a perfect and practical thank you gift....and even better, we can spread the "joy" that these little dolls bring to our girls each and every day. If you come across any of these dolls, books, or any of the accessories please let me know!

WEll today we are hosting a get together for the ETC Exchange students at our house. There will be 14 students from our town and about 10 adults....this should be fun!!! Im so bummed out because when we planned this we had planned on grilling out, making smores and doing some games as well all outside on a gorgeous day....and well now...we are all inside!

Thanks to God for blessing us with our new home that does have room, but now Im trying to get board games together for us to play. All the kids are excited about the get together so either way, no matter what we do, Im sure they will all enjoy! In June we will be loosing Gee, she will return home to South Korea....we will so miss her. She has been a joy to get to know and we pray one day that our paths will cross again.

I will post pictures later this weekend of all our students. If you have any ideas of things to do ...send me a comment so I can have some more good ideas...

Have a blessed day.

For those of you who dont know...the "R-word" is "retard(ed)". PLEASE think before you speak. Using this word not only makes fun of our girls but anyone with a disability!

Today is Spread the Word to End the Word Day. I ask you to please think before you speak. Using the word "retard(ed)" is using someone's disability as an insult whether you are speaking to them or not. It is not about being politically correct. It is about speaking with respect and treating all people with dignity.