Forever Family Day...one year later

Sweet Lily...one year ago today we held you in our arms for the first time. Every detail of that day will be etched in my heart forever.



You clung tightly to an apple in your right hand and a little dum dum sucker in your left. It was the only thing left of what you had known to be safe and secure.
You were sad and grieving the loss of your foster family...the place you knew as home.



Our hearts broke for you but we knew that the grieving must happen to give space in your heart to accept our love. Oh...how eager we were to pour every ounce of love we had into your broken heart.



You were sweating through layers and layers of clothes and your rosy cheeks were warm to the touch. Slowly we began peeling off the layers to give you some relief.



You were hungry and tired from your long journey to meet us. Your dad knew just what do and you slowly began to relax...looking into his eyes and feeling the  the comfort of his arms.


These tender moments were the beginning of our life together as a family.


Beautiful and hard.


God was making all things new.



Today, one year later, you are full of smiles and laughter.


You are my LIGHT and my hope.


You bring so much JOY to our family. I can't imagine life without you and I am so thankful that we did not miss out on the blessing of having you as our daughter.


You make being a Mom easy because you are so much fun. You are wise beyond your years.


You are perceptive, smart, playful, logical (like your daddy and brother!), and full of personality!


I would love to freeze you at this age but I know God has BIG plans for you and I look forward to watching that unfold.


Today is your special day and we celebrate the wonderful gift we have been given in YOU.


You were born in my heart and I am forever grateful for the privilege of being your Mom.


I love you sweet angel...beautiful child of God.

Enjoy the following video that tells the story of our adoption journey to bring Lily home to her forever family. I am working on a "year in reflection" video that will be coming soon :)

Beautiful Black and White {I Heart Faces}

This month's I Heart Faces photo challenge is black and white.  


This reflections picture is one of my favorite pictures I have taken of Lily.  I especially love it in color but thought I would try it in black and white.    


March 14th will be one year since Lily was placed in our arms.  As we reflect over this past year we are humbled at the beauty and joy that has entered our home because of this little girl. 


The miracle of one astounds us every day.


So incredibly thankful for the gift of Lily in our lives.  


To see more beautiful b&w photos visit I Heart Faces.  

Family Fun in Colorado {Part 2}

We arrived back home last Sunday night and hit the ground running which is why I am just now updating about the reminder of our trip to Colorado.


One of the highlights of our time with Nancie and Chuck was experiencing Raclette for the first time. We spent the afternoon chopping up lots of veggies and meat to prepare for dinner and it was well worth the effort!


Raclette is like an indoor grill that makes dinner such a fun interactive experience for everyone. You grill the meats/veggies on top and the bottom is like a warming tray where you can melt cheese over sausage, bread, etc. 


They invited some friends over for dinner to join us which added to the fun and Lily had fun playing with their twin girls. Spencer was hooked from the start and has hinted around several times that we should invest in one for our family :) 


Steak, chicken, squash, peppers, zucchini, onions, sausage, cheese, potatoes, bread equals super YUMMMY! We had enough left over for seconds our last night there which made one 12 year old boy VERY happy after a full day of skiing and sledding.


Here is a picture of the Raclette grill and Spencer with his purple unicorn...let's just say he decided to join the girls in playing with their flannel boards before dinner started :)




Michael got in a lot of good skiing and Spencer stuck with the snowboard. He improved each day and by the end of our time was carving through the snow and loving every minute of it!



The top picture is a view from the top of the mountain where they were skiing. The bottom picture is our view of the mountains when we went sledding the last day.



Our last day we stayed in that morning and Lily had fun exploring and sharing her love with everyone.







Spencer was content to rest up for his last day of snowboarding while Lily decided to try on Nancie's ski boots for size:)



Lily consistently took 3+ hour naps every day (maybe I should invest in some black out liners for her room!) so she was ready to go when the boys got back home and we headed out for some family fun sledding.







Lily and I didn't last long because of the wind and cold but she left with a smile which is always a good thing. 


After we got home from sledding, I brown-nosed the boys into letting me take a picture with them in their ski boots and Lily in Nancie's boots...of course it was freezing outside and they didn't really want to comply but I'm glad that did because it is one of my favorite ones from the week!



Below are a couple of videos...one Nancie took of Michael doing his thing in the Copper bowl and one of Lily's first attempt at skiing.  We failed to get one of Spencer snowboarding which just gives us a good reason to go back next year :)

Thank you Chuck and Nancie for sharing your love and home with our family!  

Favorite Photo Friday {Fun in Frisco}

Lily is fascinated with all of the snow gear. This morning while the boys were getting ready to go skiing she decided to put on a few items herself.


She started with the neck warmer and then moved to the boots...



She stopped to read a book...



Then went for the shades...



We sent Michael and Spencer off for a day of skiing and then got dressed to take a sled ride up to the park a couple of blocks away.



She had fun on the swings and we tried out a few snow angels but she wasn't sure about being immersed in the deep snow :)


We came back and took a walk through the quaint town of Frisco until her piggies were getting cold and it was time to warm up.



Our neighbors from Nashville that we love spend the winter months here in Copper Mountain.  When they offered for us to come out and visit we decided it would be a fun getaway for our family.  They are so much fun and so gracious to have our family invade their space for a few days.  

Yesterday Lily skied with Michael for the first time and LOVED it...she kept saying "more" each time they finished their short run.


Spencer is rockin' the snowboard (need to get some pictures from Michael since I haven't been on the slopes) and Michael is in his element skiing again.


Our friend Nancie took him skiing in the Copper bowl today and they cut new tracks in the freshly fallen snow.  Ahhhh...I'm not a skier but it sounds absolutely incredible. 
  
The beauty and majesty of this place is overwhelming..truly the work of a great and mighty God.



Praying for all of our family and friends at home right now as severe storms are going through TN.  

The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  

Psalm 19:1

For more beautiful photos visit my friend Lisa's blog.