Today = Perfection

We live in a very small three bedroom apartment. It's cozy but small. Most of the time I adore our little Hobbit hole (can you guess which of us nicknamed it that?), but every so often, it starts to feel a bit tight. Thankfully, we have a wonderful backyard. It's the perfect retreat for a very active toddler and Mommy who feels trapped indoors! I spent the bulk of my day outside with the boys. Charlie lounged on a blanket, Duncan splashed in his pool, and we played baseball and soccer. When Kyle got home, we took a walk around the neighborhood and Duncan rode his tricycle next to us. He is finally tall enough to pedal it all by himself! Today was the perfect cure for claustrophobia!

A New Normal

The past two weeks have been blissfully wonderful. Starbucks gave Kyle 10 days of paid adoption leave! It was beyond wonderful to have Kyle home. It gave us time for fun with the boys (i.e. museum trips, hiking trips, park trips), and it gave Kyle and I time to take turns sleeping in and trading off during night time feedings. It was a perfect 10 day vacay!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Kyle returned to work yesterday. Though I wish it were true, we can't just live on love. We need some income. Thus, I am adjusting to being on my own with two boys. So far, so good. It certainly helps that they are both so stinking cute!

ATL --> CHI

This weekend, my sister and brother-in-law flew in to meet the newest addition. Needless to say, they were quite smitten with Charlie. I even managed to capture a sweet smile he gave CJ. 

The weekend was filled with impromptu concerts, good food, long chats, visits from friends, and much fun. As usual, it left me wishing all of my siblings lived much closer so that our visits could be a regular thing!

Thanks for coming to visit CJ and Tay! We are ready for you to plan another trip to visit soon!

so much to say...

Our past few weeks have been full..of late nights, bottle feedings, burpings, diaper changes, and family visits. In spite of the lack of sleep, I have never felt so happy and full. At the beginning of March, I had no idea that a birthmom had chosen us to parent her boy. I would never have predicted that we would be a two child household. In fact, I was actually discouraged and calling out to the Lord to grow our family. Little did I know, that my baby was in Chicago just waiting for the perfect time to make his appearance (on Kyle's birthday no less!).

I'm processing many thoughts about domestic adoption, meeting our beautiful birthmom, and Charlie's story. My brain is full of unwritten blog posts, but I haven't had the energy or time yet to put my thoughts into words. Until then, I hope these pictures will satisfy your craving for updates!

brothers

Life has been wonderfully full the past few days as we've adjusted to a new person living in our home. Charles is incredibly easy going and happy which makes the adjustment that much smoother. I've been so proud of Duncan. He has slipped into the role of big brother effortlessly and is enjoying helping do things for Charles. He is especially eager to hold him. When he first met Charles, he said, "I love him. I love my baby brother." Kyle and I both melted right then. Love these precious boys that the Lord has given us! 

I'll post more in the coming days about the two and a half weeks leading up to Charlie joining our home. Needless to say, it's been a bit of a whirlwind! 

Go Green!

This morning we ventured downtown with some friends to see the Chicago River get dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. We found a great grassy spot to sit and really enjoyed the river dyeing festivities. It certainly made for great people watching - though I was a little surprised by how many people were already throwing back beers at 10:00 am! Thankfully, we survived the crowds unscathed in spite of an extremely crowded and rowdy Red Line train. Eating Chik-fil-a after the river dyeing helped fortify us for the return home! If you are in Chicago during St. Patty's Day, I would recommend seeing the river dyeing. We would definitely go again!

Waiting for the Action 

The boat with the flags had three people on board who were dumping the dye into the water.  

It's getting greener!

All done!

down south

During the week leading up to President's Day weekend, we headed down south to spend some time with our family and friends in Birmingham. Our days were jam-packed with fun! We enjoyed great food, spent lots of time with family, reunited with friends from Uganda, moved our brother and sister-in-law into their new home, saw our missionary friends who just happened to be in town from Brazil, and cuddled with two newborn babies! 

my travel buddy

getting prepared in the event of a water landing

Cocina Superior with Pop

golf cart riding with Poppa at UCP

Bar-B-Que Time!

Mean Mugging with Brian and Abbey

Chik-fil-a with Friends

buddies

Thanks everyone for making our visit to Birmingham so much fun! We enjoyed every minute! Now it's your turn to come up our way!