Man trip

Tory and his dad took the boys to their first Ranger's game this past week. Papa does it right, he made sure everyone was sporting the appropriate clothing in case their was any doubt of where their hearts belonged. For sure we have 2 more Ranger's fans in this house! They had such a great time that Nate is still asking when Daddy is going to take him back.

A ration well spent...

It seems that water and mud is becoming one of our favorite family past-times. See here, here, here and here. AND, it looks as if Texas will hold up the tradition for us. Though Wellington has almost reached desert status and our lawn watering has been limited to Thursday and Sunday before 10 a.m. and/or after 8 p.m. for only 20 minutes, we used our ration wisely on this day...

Pinwheels & Pearls

A little family party to celebrate our Hannah...

(Keeping photos short due to rough lighting.)

Hannah turns ONE!

Happy birthday, Sweet Girl! You're One! You have been in our arms for 3 months now and yes, there was so much we missed out on with you this year. But we are thankful. God is perfect in his plan. He knew before the beginning of time that you would be born in a small village in E. Africa on August 16, 2010. He planned your stay with Nanny Hywot at the transition house until you were 9 months old. And He determined that I would get to hear you call me "Mama" for all the years to come. He is good sweet Hannah.

You are growing so much each day and God is teaching us so much about himself, his grace, and our sanctification. Oh how I love you more with each day we are together! You are walking like a champ (totally skipped your "first steps"). You love to laugh when your brothers and sisters are laughing even though you have no clue what is going on at all. You can confidently sign "please", "more", "all done", and "thank you". You love to dance. You have gone from sitting straight up to watch me sing to you at night when you first arrived, to relaxing and listening in my arms, and now you sing along. I love that.

Praising God for our little Hannah today!

My boy, Nate

Photo taken by Luke Giddens.

This is my middle man. He is typically the reserved one of the bunch. Quiet in public and one to let the others have their way in order not to stand out much. The one you really have to make effort to know his deep, deep thoughts and desires. But oh when you do, you will find a fun loving, big hearted, ready to have a good time, play golf (or his newest love...the wii) kind of guy. And one of my favorite things about this guy is his "heard around the world", big oh belly laugh which is very soon to follow his ear to ear smile. And this smile/laugh combo are really starting to pop out more often these days. Usually best heard during the Sunday morning sermon when his Daddy says something just hilariously funny that only Nate gets. I love it! I love YOU, Nate!

She loves the camera.

Tonight, my baby girl put on quite the show for the camera. Oh my, was she giddy and sweet all at the same time! Can't wait to show you the little treasure of a spot we found in our quiet small town and how she rocked it.

A creature

The guys were out one night in the backyard while I had the girls in the tub. We had forgotten how prominent these lovely creatures were in this neck of the woods until Tory happened upon this friendly fellow. And because its what every brother would do, they decided to give their sisters a little swim with their new friend. It didn't quite play out as they had expected seeing as they are brothers to the animal lover of all the animal lovers in the land and fearful of no such creature to this day. Boy did that little guy get a run for his money!? We practiced our God given dominion and had a little entertainment for the night. And then I of course had them shower off AGAIN after we let the poor guy go.

Kate's Craft Fair

Dear Readers of Our Blog,

You have been so faithful to walk with us, pray with us, and assist us financially through the adoption of our little Hannah. And just like our little Hannah once was, there are more. More specifically, there is a little Kate, waiting in Ethiopia to be brought home to her family and our friends, the Marshman's. And Kate's Mama is making big efforts to make it happen financially through a Craft blog she has set up. Rachel and friends from all over the country have come together to make homemade crafts to sell in hopes of raising money for the adoption costs. PLEASE, go check out Kate's Craft Fair today, hear their story and be a part of something really great by purchasing something for you or a loved one. It means caring about the orphan.

Coming soon to Kate's Craft Fair! Girl's handbag and matching pinwheel hair pin.

Also, if you are in the L.A. area and want to help the Marshman's even more to bring home their baby girl, all proceeds made at Magnolia Road Photography through the end of August go directly towards their adoption! These are some very talented folks, ya'll!

We Heart The Park

On Thursdays we go to the park. Yes, every Thursday since our arrival to Wellington the Giddens' crew can be found heading down Park Lane on our bikes no later than 9:30 a.m. And this park is complete with the best from the '80s. Seriously, it takes me way back. So fun to see my kids love and play on the same kind of "playground goods" that we use to play on. I just don't know that they make slides this high and merry-go-rounds this fast anymore. Enjoy some pics and our top 5 reasons we love the park.

#5 The park means that all the household tasks and business are left at home and all my attention is right where it really longs to be anyway.

#4 It brings us to some of the happiest places. (for Abigail, way up high)

#3 We need each other to experience the park to the fullest.

#2 Did I mention our smiles?

And the #1 reason we love to go to the park is because...the next stop is DADDY'S OFFICE!