The time has come...

The time has come for me to officially say good-bye to this blog. It has served its purpose. Addison and Solomon now have a written document explaining my heartfelt emotions from my journey to them and our early times together. Through my words, I hope I've encouraged others during their own journey of adoption. I've met many great people because of this blog and continue to enjoy reading about others' adoptions and child rearing stories.

Addison and Solomon are our hearts. Adopting these two sweeties was the best thing we could ever have done. Of course there are times when good parenting seems impossible, but all in all, they are such a joy. Addi and Soli act like typical siblings- loving each other's company one minute, fighting over space on the couch or something equally as silly the next minute. They are very protective of each other and will clearly be the best of friends as they grow older. Addison is very girly but tough, while "little brother" Solomon is 100% boy. They provide everyone in their presence with great entertainment and emotional sunshine.

Addison is now in 2nd grade and Solomon is close behind in the 1st grade. They are both doing extremely well in school. These two are smart little cookies and keep us on our toes. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by! I am going to try to stay in touch on Facebook. Haven't done too well with consistency on that social network either! I leave you for now with pictures of our two little ones.

Peace to All,
Pat

Happy Belated New Year!

My sweet kiddos are growing up so fast! Addi is a kindergartner and Soli is now in Pre-K. Addi is such a good big sister, but Soli has found his own voice, independence, and interests. They are both as sweet as pie, but certainly have different personalities. Addi is the "teacher's pet" type of student, while Soli can make a teacher smile and frustrated at the same time. He asks "WHY?" a hundred times a day and continues to need to work on impulse control. However, he is clearly loved by his peers, has a smile that can melt your heart, and is very intelligent.

As you know, keeping up this blog is not my forte, so who knows when I'll post again. I can't even keep up with Facebook! Anyway, here is a recent picture of my two favorite children in the whole world!

No Words...Just Cute Photos

It's Been Sooooooooo Long!

Hello my blogging friends. I know it's been since last Spring since I've posted, and this will likely be one of the few posts before I officially say goodbye to this blog. I've pretty much given up trying to keep this blog going while raising two young active kids. However, since I'm thinking about turning this blog into a keepsake book for my little ones, I wanted to make a few more post to share some of my favorite 2010 photos.

All is well with our family. Addison and Solomon are such a cute little pair. They love and argue with each other as if they have been together forever. It's hard to believe that Addison has been with our family for over four years now, while Solomon has been with us for a little over a year and a half. Addison is quite the big sister with sage advice, but Solomon certainly has his own opinions and ideas. Together, they make quite the team. When they're not bickering or telling on each other, they're taking up and looking out for the other. It's heart warming seeing the sweet connection between them and knowing they'll have each other throughout the years. As I write these words, I'm hoping that someone who is considering adopting will stumble across this blog, be led to other adoption blogs, and ultimately make a firm decision to build their family through adopting. I will forever be grateful for the courage, emotional energy, and support I sustained from adoption blogs during our journey to parenthood.

Enjoy the photos!

Summer 2010, Destin, FL / Solomon's first trip to the beach

Solomon's sweet smile when seeing the beach for the first time.






Addison was saying, "C'mon buddy, we won't let the waves get us!"


Following are some of my favorite Miss Addison picstures. Here are Addison and Ceci at an Ethiopian cultural dance class:




Addison's 4th birthday party. Nothing could hold this little princess on a mission back...not even while dressed in her royal attire. Solomon, on the other hand was slowed down at the party by a badly injured tongue which resulted in a trip to the ER. While Aaron handled that emergency, I served up pizza and cupcakes without Addison and her friends missing a beat. Fortunately, they didn't know Solomon had injured himself. Hours later, Solomon returned home with a deep gash in his tongue, in pain, and refusing to eat or take in liquids. The next morning, we took him to an ER specializing in children's medical services and were given different meds to ease his pain. It took about three days for him to resume eating and drinking normally. What a day!





Fall 2010 Favorite Photos

Don't overlook Solomon in the lower right corner offering up some of his water on this warm October day.



Aaron, the best father in the world, was determined to dress up as Woody since Solomon's favorite character is Buzz Lightyear. How cool is that?!!









Well that's it for now. I'll try to post more photos tomorrow in an attempt to catch you up on the growth and happenings of our little family.

Pat