Bethany

Bethany brings so much joy to our lives.

She is now 18 months old and is really showing her personality.

Bethany's a tough girl, and it takes a lot to make her cry.

And she'll let you know if she doesn't like something!

At one point Kaden was scared of her because she was so aggressive in how she

acted towards him at times.

But she can really be a sweetie, too!
Tonight she before bed she blew a kiss after signing "thank you" for reading her a book.

Moments like that are so sweet and something to look forward to every day.

So many times I take for granted the amazing gifts God has given us through Bethany and Kaden.

They are both doing SO, SO well, and it's really amazing.

It's hard to remember what life was like before them.

Even though moments are hard and frustrating,

I'm so thankful God has made me the sister of these two treasures!

 

 

 

 



Kaden Quotes #3

Yep, I have another Kaden quote!

 

Today we were shopping for a coat for Bethany,

 and Kaden was looking at shoes.

Something that is really cool about having an internationally adopted brother is that he doesn't

really understand how most people view pink things and dolls as "girl" things.

He likes pink things and baby dolls almost as much as his other toys.

Anyway, he picked out a pair of bright pink crocs and was looking at them.

After trying them on he set them down for a minute to look at something else.

An older lady who didn't know he was has been looking at the shoes

 walked up and began to examine them.

Kaden, not know what to do and wanting his shoes back looked up at her and said,

"That your size, NO."



Then and Now

What a difference a year makes...

Kaden and Bethany have gone from babies to little kids so quickly.

it seams like they just got home sometimes,

and yet it's been over a year.

We took a picture like the one taken in Congo to compare them.

How different they are!

2013:

2012:



Our Saturday Adventure

Yesterday we did something fun.

We went to a nearby creek to look for shark's teeth.

 

the water was cold,

and Kaden soaked himself about 5 minutes in,

but that's ok. 

 



he didn't mind being wet, and

it was a nice day.

we had fun!

We had a great Saturday!

How was yours?

 

Kaden Quotes #2

Kaden can say the funniest things!

 

While we were out on a walk,

 he bent down to pick up a golf ball.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "I rescue you!"

He picked it up and put in in the bike's basket.

Then with a cruel smile on his face he said,

"Hah! I putta you in a cage!"



Kaden Quotes

We were looking through a container of animals earlier today,

and Kaden pulled one out and said turning to us,

"Caterpillars turn into a butterflies!"

"yes, that's right!  My mom answered.  "Where did you learn that?"
"At church," replied Kaden.

"That caterpillar can turn into a butterfly [just like this ]

 bumble bee can turn into a grasshopper!"



David

Recently something hit me.

David has grown up.

A lot. 

He's gone from a little boy with an adult personality to

a very talented athletic young man

 

Now:

 

David is really amazing.

He is great with Kaden and Bethany and we can always count on him to make them laugh.

He loves anything challenging and athletic

and is in level 5 men's gymnastics.

He goes to practice 2.5 hours Monday - Thursday and in thriving in it.

He really doesn't like school,

but is good at it.

 

He is really a goof ball and tries to get us to laugh,

but he can also be really sweet and sensitive.

 

 

David can drive us bananas sometimes,

but we love him soooo much and are so thankful for him.

You rock, David!