Happy 18 months Sakari!!!

I can't believe it...when our sweet baby wakes up in the morning she will be 18 months old...Time FLIES when your having fun!! What a COMPLETE JOY she continues to be in our lives...we can't imagine life without her :0)

Here is the first picture we ever saw of her...Referral picture 6 months old...




And here is one of her now...one year later...18 months old...





Our GORGEOUS "Heart of Sweetness"...thank you Jesus for bringing her to us!!!

8 months since GOTCHA!!

We realized that today has been 8 months since we first met our sweet girl face to face in Ethiopia...what an amazing, life changing experience...we are so grateful that Jesus had her for us and that she is a part of our family...sigh...SO AMAZED just thinking about it :0)

here is a new video of this little sweetness...enjoying life and laughter...thanks for checking in on us :0)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

a few new pics...

I have been taking TONS of pictures with my new camera...and I am taking digital photography class and I LOVE IT...so here is some of my recent work :0)

I did Christmas pics for my sister's kids and we had to put Sakari in a couple...







Here are some of Sakari...outside...we are LOVIN' the fallish weather!!

I LOVE FALL...REPRISE...

I (Caleb) was looking back over some of our old posts in our adoption journey...and found the below blog and just felt that it was time to re-post it due to my unusual love of fall! I noticed it was posted exactly a year ago...hmm, coincidence...I think not. Now I get to instill my addiction to fall to my daughter...I basically reposted the exact blog with a few edits :-)

What is it about fall that is so incredible? I woke up this morning feeling the crisp fall air...which we don't usually get enough of in Tulsa...and something in me just explodes when fall comes. It is different than any other time of year...is it my New England blood? Does it remind me of basketball season in high school? Thanksgiving? Family? or maybe just one huge reminder of God's faithfulness in every season of life. But still something about fall is so giant and personal all at the same time. And maybe this year it means more with the pending season change as we wait for Sakari (and now she's home!!!!!!!!!!)...seriously though, I think maybe on the 7th day God created fall...

Knowing from last night's weather that today would be amazing, I got ready quickly to enjoy as much of the weather as possible...also in order was a drive (with windows down, of course) to Starbucks for my new favorite drink - Triple Grande Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Dolce Latte. I love the smells, flavors and feelings of fall.

My metaphors for fall:

Fall is like Mayan Hot Chocolate
Fall is the climate of Heaven
Fall is like a blanket of comfort
Fall is like Mom's corn chowder
Fall is like Becca's pumpkin roll
Fall is so perfect, fresh and crisp that if you put it in a bottle I would choose that smell over any expensive cologne on the market
Fall is like Indian food
Fall is the essence of New England
Fall is eating at Murray's for breakfast in Walpole, NH
Fall is like every great emotion exploding inside me
Fall is like spiced cider, maple syrup and pumpkin spice lattes
Fall is gratefulness
Fall is my daughter smiling at me...giving me a squeeze (hug) and kisses

How could you not LOVE fall???!!!

New video and stuff..

Well...life is good and crazy around here....Caleb and I celebrated our 9th anniversary and Sakari turned 17 months old, she is such a blessing and SO BUSY!!! OH...and we are done with the bottle...I took away all her daytime bottles about a month ago, and it took her a couple of weeks to start drinking milk from a sippy cup, but she finally got the hang of it and so Sunday night we took the plunge...nighttime milk in a sippy cup...she CRIED the first night for about a minute but seems to have adjusted to it just fine...YAY!!! It is GREAT but kinda sad...her babyhood is fading...onto to TODDLER land!! Here is a video of some of the fun we have been having around here...ENJOY!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sakari's Christmas photo shoot...

I know...it is only September, but I just started my photography business (www.treasuredcaptures.com) and I am putting together a special for Christmas and so I did a photo shoot with Sakari yesterday for my promo shots. It was really fun...she looked SO CUTE and she REALLY LOVED her dress, she actually cried when I took it off. So let me know what you think...

Adoptive Families - Interesting Links about John McCain and his Adoption Views...

http://themediansib.com/2008/06/23/bridget-mccain-john-mccains-daughter/

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm