We've been baking Amish Cinnamon Friendship Bread
for months. Olivia loves to help!

Sweet Pea and her daddy are inseparable.

We love spring at the lake. These baby geese have been
hanging out in our yard. We've also seen baby fox and bluebirds.

When Mark was in Iraq we sent him a pillowcase
with our photo on it. When he came home Olivia claimed it
and it's worn out. We decided to give her one with the whole family!

Our Baby is 5!

Our sweet baby turned five on May 22!
She is fascinated with the solar system and
has decided being an astronomer is ONE
of the things she wants to be when she grows!

Fun in the Moon Bounce!

Tori, Olivia and Julianna on a boat ride!

Olivia received so many wonderful gifts from her friends.
I was so proud of her; she read each card and said thank you
to each child. What a blessing to have good friends!

She loves her Leapster 2 from papa and nana!

Olivia and her cousin Dayton Lee!

This was our first "invite kids" party and
I never could have pulled it off without the
assistance of my precious sister-in-law Tina.

Playing on the swing with Uncle Matthew.

MerleFest 2009

We had a blast at MerleFest student day!
The kids area was great - face painting, crafts,
dancing and Gorriligan's Island.
The music was fun and it was good to see
so many friends - old and new!

Olivia and Tori had so much fun together!

Hickory Dickory Dock

What a wonderful way to spend a Monday ~
Olivia playing with her cousins while moms
sit and chat! Family is such a blessing and the
kids play for free through December 2009.

"Carousel of Cousins"
See the one in the yellow striped shirt?
Olivia said "mommy I want a brother just like Jesse."
He is the sweetest little boy you could ever meet.

Lookout...future Nascar drivers.

Macy and Olivia

We completed our first year of Classical Conversations.
If you are planning to homeschool this is a great program!
Olivia learned so much and had fun doing it.

Learning about medical missions at Mission Friends.

I love this black and white photo of me with my brothers and sisters.
I'm the one on the right with the pixie haircut and dark dress.


Mark wrestling with a llama in Bolivia.
He was actually helping with vaccinations.

Our Easter Miracle

He is not here, he has risen, just as he said. Matthew 28:6

With a grateful heart I share what God did for us this Easter. On Monday morning, March 6, I took Olivia to the doctor to talk about headaches she has been having for some time. They sent us for a CT scan and the technician said she saw no problems. On Tuesday they called to tell us the scan revealed a 14 x 17 mm cyst on the left side of Olivia's brain. She would need to have an MRI and from there we would meet with a pediatric neurosurgeon at Baptist hospital. I contacted Mark in Bolivia and he was on the next plane home. Family and friends all over the world began praying with us for Olivia.

On Thursday morning we walked into the hospital for the MRI. We were met by Tonya, a precious lady we attend church with. She performed the MRI and half way through the test said, "I don't see anything, there is nothing there!" Only eternity will show whether it was never there or God removed it but no matter how you see it to us "IT WAS A MIRACLE!" We praise God for His goodness and for those who went before Him in prayer for Olivia.

Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28: 6-7

Planting flowers with mommy!

Enjoying friends at the church Easter party!

Olivia and her special friend Wu Ming.

Resurrection Easter eggs.

Our precious gift from God!

The perfect ending to a perfect weekend
"a visit from papa and nana."

Gotcha Day!

On April 4th we celebrated "Gotcha Day" ~ that special day four years ago when Olivia was placed in our arms. She is a precious gift from God that I cherish more each day. What a joy to see her grow and change and blossom into the person God created her to be. Thank you Lord for the blessing of children and the joy of motherhood. Each year we give her a gift we purchased from China. This year she received a beautiful butterfly kite...that daddy needs to put together!