Way To Go Lori!!!!

Our dear friend, Lori, ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon today!!!! We are SOOOOOOOOO proud of her. Her training schedule has been grueling. Her commitment has amazed and inspired me. There were days that she didn't want to run, didn't feel like running and just wanted to give up...but she stuck with it and accomplished her goal. Lori ran her first 5K race in 2005. She ran Dillon's Run for the Children. Since then, she has run several other 5K's...but this was her first half marathon. She had great training buddies too that gave her lots of encouragement.....Missy especially.

Lori...we love you and are so proud of you. Now put that 13.1 sticker on your car and relax for a couple of day. We love you!!

Sweetest Boy In the World

I've said it before, but it's so true....Ian is the sweetest boy in the WORLD.

When I was gone to St. Louis in March, Charlie taught Ian to say "I Love Momma." That just melted my heart when he said it to me over the phone a mere 24 hours after I left home. Since then, we've worked on it and he'll have fun with it when I'm trying to get him to say "I love Momma"...he says "I love Daddy"...then he giggles.

The past few days whenever we say "I love you"...either to one another or to Ian...he repeats it. Cute, cute, cute.

Tonight, as I was rocking him to sleep....Ian looked right at me and said "I love you". I didn't think I heard him right, so I said "what honey?". He looked at me and smiled and said "I love you".

Made my day!!!

I'm serious...sweetest boy in the world!!!!

Boys Will Be Boys

I'm still amazed at how filthy dirty a little guy can get. This week at daycare, there's something special or different going on each day. Today was "Silly hat /wear your clothes backwards" day. Tomorrow is "Teddy Bear & PJ's Day".

I'm not sure if it was because his shirt was on backwards or what...but...I don't think there was a clean spot on his shirt. He looked like a little piglet when I got home. Plus his hands were dirty, dirty, dirty. I suppose he had fun playing outside this afternoon. It looks like he rolled around on the ground.

They also had a fire truck visit daycare today. Miss India (one of his teachers) told Charlie that most of the little kiddos were afraid of the truck....but not our Ian. He wanted to touch the truck, get in the truck and DRIVE the truck. He is a determined little guy.

I know we're in for many more "dirty" days...and I'm sure I'll be "amazed" every time. You can tell I'm a first time mom. :)

It Finally Happened

Ian finally has skinned his knees. I can't believe it. He's two years old and both knees are skinned. This may sound trivial, but it's one of those "firsts" for us. When I got home this evening, Charlie said "well, we have a milestone today." Excitedly I asked...what? He said "look at his knees". Ian then points to his little knees and says "knees". So I look...sure enough...skinned. He was running at school and fell. Their not skinned badly...just skinned. I kissed them and then we put a Curious George band-aid on them....all was better after that. Until, of course, when I started to take the band aid off before bath time. He loved his "sticker" on his "boo-boo". I promised that we'd put another one on. After bath time he'd forgotten all about the "sticker".

Last night when it was bed time, out of the blue he said "blanket". He NEVER sleeps with any sort of cover. He never has. He just kept repeating it, so Charlie went in to his room and got a blanket and brought it back to us in the living room. He wanted to be covered up. I started to take it off him, and he told me, in no uncertain terms..."mine". So I covered him back up. Tonight, he wanted his blanket again. Not sure what's up with that, but he has a blanket now. We'll see how long this lasts.

Tomorrow we're going to Ponca City, OK to see some friends. A group of old Jaycees will be together for a meeting. Last week, at Amanda's birthday party, we saw Cheryl. I didn't realize that she had never met Ian. That started me thinking....a lot of people we were in Jaycees with in Oklahoma have never met Ian. So, we're going to take this opportunity to make a road trip to Ponca City. It should be a gorgeous day and it'll be great to catch up with some old friends.

Smile Baby Smile

This smile can brighten even the darkest of days. We're so in love with this little guy and his big, big smile.

ELMO

Tonight, we saw ELMO!!! Woo, hoo!!! Ian had a GREAT time (and so did Momma and Daddy). We had so much fun just watching Ian. He laughed, giggled, talked, squealed, danced, clapped his little hands, waved....cute, cute, cute. Charlie and I both laughed hysterically when he tried to "rush the stage". He was ready to go up on stage and dance with Elmo. The picture of him above with his back to the camera is him trying to get by me to get to the stage. He made several attempts. It was a great evening.

There's nothing better than seeing the world through the eyes of a child. Thank you God for allowing us to be parents to this amazing little guy!!!

The Journey Begins----Again

And so it goes.....

We are beginning the process to adopt a second child. This time, God closed the door to India but He graciously opened the door to Vietnam. So, before long...Ian will be a big brother.

Please pray for us during this long process....you all know that patience is not one of my strengths. Hopefully waiting for Ian helped me become a little more patient....NOT.

Here's the link to the blog for our Vietnam journey http://connervietnamadoptionjourney.blogspot.com

I will continue to update Ian's Story.

Here we go......

A Different Easter

Today was not the Easter I had planned at all. I had planned to help the Easter Bunny hide eggs, have a great time at church, take some great pictures of Ian, etc., etc. Things don't always turn out as I plan :(

First of all...it was 26 degrees this morning. Way too cold to hide eggs in the back yard.

Second...I'm sick as a dog. I have been home from work since Wednesday evening. I had a temp of 102 this morning and I'm still coughing my head off. So...no going to church for me. Charlie didn't want to go on Easter Sunday without me.

So...instead....Charlie got the card table from the garage, ran to McDonald's (so Mommy wouldn't have to cook breakfast), and we turned the computer on the our office and watched our church service on the internet. It was not your typical Easter Sunday...but it worked.

Ian liked his Easter basket...he loved the Hershey's kisses. He's such a sweet little guy.

Even though today was not the day I had imagined, God again showed me that He is in control. We had a wonderful time just sitting around the computer, worshipping together as a family. That's what it's all about anyway....Family...God's love in our family.

OUT-TIDE

Our word of the day, week, hour, minute....OUT-TIDE (outside). How are we ever going to get this child to come in side later this summer. He wants to be "out-tide" all the time. These are a few pictures of Ian on Sunday playing at Lafortune Park, during Reanna Beth's 4th Birthday party and then at home. Notice the dog that's like 10 times his size....he loved it.

He has a bit of a cough and a runny nose...but with the amount of pollen and gunk in the air, it's no wonder.

We are so enjoying the new daily discoveries of Ian. His vocabulary is increasing almost daily and he tries to repeat everything (ooops, guess I need to watch my mouth a bit :) ).