Nothin' But Nets

Did you know that the leading killer in Africa is Malaria? And all that families need to be protected is a $10 net. My church is participating in the Nothing but Nets campaign to send nets to families in Africa. One net protects a family of 4 for up to 4 years. If you click on the link below and play the game, a net will be sent to Africa on your behalf. This is for a limited time so play now. And while you are there go ahead and donate $10 to send a net to a family of 4 in Africa!

Updated my Design Site

I have been getting more e-mails about redesigning blogs. I redesigned my "Design" blog today and like it a lot. If you know of anyone interested in a Blog Makeover please forward my info. Thanks!! You can click on the link below to get there.

Ladybug Designs By Carla

Happy 5 Month Gotcha!!

Today is April 5th that means 5 months ago today Charlotte was in our arms for the very first time. It is hard to believe how much she has changed since then. I knew that once she was with us for a while that she would be different than when we first got her but I did not realize how quickly time would fly. Each day that we look at our Happy Sha Sha, we are so thankful for her and how far she has come. When you think of where she is now compared to 5 months ago it really makes your heart want to bring more home. I know, I know be content with where I am now, I just got finished saying these 5 months had flown by, right. And I am content with where our family is right now. I love our family and I am grateful every second of everyday for all of the amazing blessings we have. Here is a little look back at 5 months ago and then a picture I got today. We serve one AWESOME GOD!!!!

More Pictures from my new camera.....

New Camera!!!

Okay, I have moved into the world of SLR-I purchased my first DSLR camera yesterday. It will have a much faster shutter speed, and takes awesome closeups. I know for you professionals out there that you know it does much more than that, but I am learning and I am super excited to get some amazing pictures. Here are a couple of my test photos, I am liking it already. I haven't even played with the software or with the RAW images yet. So look for more pics soon.

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to do a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Easter and to share a couple of cute pictures from our day. We had lots of fun finding our Easter treats. Ethan had to go a hunt, from clue to clue to find his surprise, and of course Charlotte followed close behind. Ethan got his own Catcher's Gear for baseball and Charlotte got a push buggy car. She loves getting on and off of it. My mom brought my neice and nephew to church, those are the other children in the pics. We had a nice service at church and then headed out to lunch with Jay's family at my family's resteraunt. The food was delicious and we had a wonderful day together. Enjoy the pictures, we will have many more to share from our Spring Break this week.

Thankful Thursday!!!

Here are some things I am thankful for today:
1. Thankful that Charlotte did so well having her infected ear tube taken out and put back in yesterday-she was a little trooper.
2. Thankful for my wonderful husband who sent me flowers on my first day back at work on Monday.
3. Thankful that next week is spring break and I have a whole week to spend with my family.
4. Thankful that I have such a kind, gentle, and caring son, who is always thinking of others.
5. Thankful for this journey of LIFE!!!!

Thankful Thursday!

When we all wear our crocs at the same time Ethan says, hey we are a croc family today. We waited a long time to say that we were a croc family of four. That is what I am most thankful for today. Thankful that Charlotte is now with her Forvever Family, and that we can take care of her every need. It is so awesome to see her giving us and others kisses now and showing affection. You can just see the love in her eyes and heart and it warms my heart to know that together we were able to bring about this miracle. So today I am thankful to God for leading us on this journey of adoption, for choosing us to be Charlotte's family, and for making the ultimate sacrifice to adopt each of us into His Kingdom. Thank you, Lord.

Found this on another blog and wanted to share.....

You know you're an adoptive parent (or should be) if:

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actually pronounce it!

13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

Charlotte playing Patty Cake-kind of!

Charlotte just being cute!!

Charlotte's First Professional Pictures

We finally went to my favorite place (picture people)to have some portraits taken of Charlotte. They turned out so great. It was hard to choose which ones to purchase. It is so amazing to see the difference in our little girl in just 4 short months. Not just physical differences but the love that we see her in her eyes. She knows now that she is loved and wants to share that love with others. It is truely amazing and an answer to prayer.