January 2011
I took a couple of sewing classes that my mom gave me as a Christmas gift. I began learning to sew using her machine, which she also gifted me. I made this apron for my little chefs. I cut out two, but alas only one was/is complete! What a cute little model I have though!
Our school district closed schools for a "snow" day that turned out to include no actual snow and was quite sunny instead. Angel's teacher had assigned homework to make a snowman and so we did, out of paper. We enjoyed making paper snowflakes as well!
We continued to enjoy Daddy working from home and the blessings of the job God gave him in September 2010 making that possible.
February 2011:
Jeff and I attended a couple's retreat with our Life Bible Study class and enjoyed this opportunity to celebrate Valentines' Day, just the two of us.
Meme stayed with the boys at home and they had a great time too!
March 2011
We went to the Rodeo, aka "Radio."
And crossed the state borders of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado for a Spring Break trip for the record books! 1,025 pictures taken, countless miles driven (all by Daddy), and so many firsts to share with our precious boys-all wrapped up in one fabulous trip!
We celebrated Jeff's birthday with a weekend trip to visit friends, but our camera was on the blitz so the few pictures we have are blurry.
April 2011
We kicked off April with some family fun at Opening Day at the ballpark.
We spent a fun day on the farm with our church's adoption ministry and our boys got dirtier than I have ever seen them. But they were also happy as could be...I guess it's a boy thing!
Also this month, Jonathan and I tagged along on Angel's field trip and Jeff and I attended Aid Sudan's gala.
May 2011
I celebrated my second Mother's Day and was truly blessed by the sweet handmade cuteness my boys' delivered.
Angel completed 1st grade and his first research project on penguins. We all went to see all the hard work he had done at Open House.
We went to the zoo with some dear friends and fed the giraffes for the first time! What a way to kick off summer!
Our sweet nephew/cousin Owen was born this month and we also met Bebo Norman (my favorite singer) in person!
June 2011
School officially got out for the summer on June 2 and we began enjoying some fun in the sun and summer play dates. As if Pre-K graduation and kindergarten registration wasn't enough evidence our youngest son was growing up too fast, he lost his first tooth! And his second one followed the next month!
The boys also attended VBS at our church and LOVED the Big Apple Adventure theme.
July 2011
We celebrated Independence Day with a HOT Houston day of family fun and fireworks!
We did Houston Project with our church for the first time as a family of 4! The boys also attended VBS at another church and Angel went forward to show an interest in accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior. We began discussing his decision at home and prayed with him on August 10, 2011. We are so proud of his decision to follow Jesus! He is already talking about becoming a missionary when he grows up!
August 2011
We soaked up the last days of summer vacation before the boys went back to school. For the first time they were at the same school and big brother showed his lil' bro the ropes!
I also started working part time as a home study worker this month.
September 2011
As school got under way we met up with the boys' previous foster mom, Mo, for dinner. She is one of our favorite people and we can't thank her, J, and B enough for caring for and loving our boys.
We went to Dallas to celebrate a big day for the Carpenters! Cousin Clayton was baptized and baby Owen was dedicated.
October 2011
"Fall" arrived and it still felt like summer. Pumpkin patch pictures are just as cute in shorts though. You gotta love the crazy Houston weather. We had a great day at Dewberry Farms the first weekend in October.
Meme and Papa gave us tickets to TGR Exotics and we had another day of fall fun!
We had Darth Vader and a Transformer (Bumble Bee) grace us with their presence at our church's fall festival and again at Trunk or Treat at the school. I will not waste my valuable blog space on this soap box, but as the boys get older, I am finding fewer options for appropriate costumes. I may have to start getting creative and make them next year!
November 2011
We kicked off the holiday season in full swing. The rest of the year was a blur of activity. The boys finished up a season of soccer.
I cannot take any credit for this next picture though. It was taken by Brittany Avenue Photography at our Christmas card family photo shoot. If you are on Facebook, we'd love you to vote for their picture for the photographer's Favorite Photo of 2011 contest.
We celebrated the anniversary of the boys' adoption with a get together at our house. All the kids enjoyed drawing pictures of the things they are thankful for. It made a very sweet banner.
December 2011
On December 10, I started my 30th year of life 90 pounds lighter and feeling so much healthier and energetic. Our family also went on a overnight trip to stay on the USS Lexington with the Cub Scouts. It was a lot of fun and I slept on the top bunk of three. That was quite an experience and would not have been possible 90 pounds ago.
We headed home New Year's day ready to start a whole new year of adventures in 2012.
