2011

Sometimes you look back on a year and think, "Phew, we made it!" 2011 is that kind of year and I am tired. But my heart and my home are full of love and joy.

This precious girl started out her year with surgery, having her adenoids removed. She continued to struggle with asthma most of the winter and spring until we discovered allegra, got her off regular milk, and bought new couches. Now, she has been pretty healthy for months. She turned three in July and has been an absolute joy. She rarely gets in trouble, eats much better, has a huge imagination, is really understanding so much about God, and constantly make us laugh. She's quite the gymnast too and goes to gymnastics twice a week. She loves to play with baby dolls, do our hair, play dress up, run around outside, and has discovered the fun of computer games. She can say her ABC's but she gets tripped up on the letter "h". She can count to 13. She knows her address. She can sing a lot of different songs. And she knows some of the Books of the Bible. We are proud of the big girl she is becoming!

Tom and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. We had a really great year and even got to give a talk about marriage at a church retreat for youth. Tom sacrificed a lot for our family this year and I am so thankful for him.

The big news of 2011 was obviously our trip to China and the addition of Caleb to our family on July 4. We got our referral in February and were over the moon. It has been quite the adjustment but Caleb is such a great little guy and has grown so much in 5 months. We ended the year with his palate surgery which didn't go exactly as planned. Plus, I've been sick. But we're making it and we're happy. We're excited to see what 2012 has in store.