Two Already

Opening presents.


Blowing out candles, she knew just what to do.


Ready for bed with her new baby doll and Dora p.j.'s.


We had a fun day today packed with a lot of excitement. I dressed Austin and Lily up in their Halloween costumes and headed to the library for their little trick-or-treat parade. They both had a blast, and it was good to be inside away from the freezing cold. I treated them to lunch at MacDonald's where they played for over and hour and then I took Austin to his tumbling class, it was also dress up day. Lily wants to join in every week and I always end up in the car with her. After tumbling we headed home for a much needed nap and then went to the school for Sivai's parent teacher conference. Let's just say there's going to be a lot more reading going on at our house.... I guess the recommended 20 min. a day isn't cutting it.
We came home and had dinner and then waited for presents and cake. Lily was really patient all day and I think her brothers were more excited than her. She had a blast ripping open her gifts and seemed to love them all, most of them ended up in bed with her. It was a long day, notice Miss Lily's frazzled hair, but it was fun.

Samoa

Many of you have probably heard of the tsunami that hit Samoa this past week. We were so worried about so many people there, but through the grace of God we have found out that none of our closest friends and family were injured.
This is a picture of the fale (house) that Sivai spent a year of his life in. It's where we met him for the first time. It's where we stayed for two weeks getting to know him and his beautiful foster family. It's where we had so much fun dancing and singing in Samoan.
We learned that it was swept into the ocean, and I can't imagine the devastation that must be left. I'll always remember the first morning there waking up to the sounds of the ocean splashing up against the rocks about 5 feet from us, and the feel of the cool ocean breeze. We could see the sunrise from our window and we lay there in aw watching it rise over the ocean.
I hope that we can visit our friends and family there soon and make some new memories, but I'm so greatful for the ones that I have to cherish.