Always making faces!

I have a feeling that he just may be the life of the party when he grows up!!!

I absolutely love this one …

Shootin’

While in the States, Samuel got a chance to go to a shooting range with Cohen and Ray, a good friend of ours.  He had so much fun and it looks like he is a pretty good shot!

Iva’s 7th Birthday

This was the morning of her birthday.  I was still in the hospital so, sadly, I missed this moment.  The birthday breakfast is always a special time in our house.  Here she is with her birthday pancakes …

  

She wasn’t the only one excited that morning.  Her brothers were excited too.  They were all getting ready for their trip to the hospital. Just two days before Iva’s birthday, their new baby brother was born.  They got to meet him for the first time on Iva’s birthday. What a neat birthday present!

I wonder what Levi was saying here?

Getting to hold baby brother …

Let me see if I can remember what each of them said as they held him for the first time.

Iva said, “He’s cute.”

Levi said, “He’s soft.”

Nathanael said, “He’s heavy.”

Samuel said, “He’s awesome!”

We did have a party for her, but we had to postpone it for a couple of weeks. She was so excited! Check out her cake!  Thank you Aunt Julie :-)

 

And, as I type this I realize that our little princess will soon be 8!  Only about 6 months to go!  How time flies!  We love you Iva Dough … you bring so much joy to our family!

I Love Family Portraits . . .

While in the States we had the wonderful opportunity to have our family portraits made by some sweet friends of ours.  You guys should check them out if you are in the Birmingham area and need some quality photographs made.  Samantha and Cory did such a wonderful job!  Here is the link, His Hands Photographs and they are on Facebook too.

Never before have I had a maternity session or a newborn session.  I have always wanted one, but for whatever reason, just never did it.  This was so much fun!  Stress free, beautiful family memories . . .

          

Thank you so much Samantha and Cory! We will treasure these always!

Catching up …

Let’s be honest, trying to keep up with a blog is not so easy these days.  The truth is, I really enjoy doing a blog, but life right now just doesn’t always allow me to do so. I know if I can just set a “small” goal of once a week, it just might be doable, but I have tried this in the past and well . . . we will just have to see.

So much has happened these past 8 months since I last posted.  I’m not much of a writer, so I am going to share some of these moments in pictures.

For starters, our children got to experience snow while we were in the States for Benjamin’s birth.  For some of our children, this was the first snow or at least the first one they could remember. This was a treat for them as they had been asking if they would get to see snow while we were in.  Snow isn’t a norm in Alabama, so we told them that it was a possibility, but not to expect it.  Well, not too long after our arrival, they got to experience that snow that they were hoping for.  It was such a blessing and a joy to see them live that moment.

This is when it first started.  I just love Levi’s expression!

Throwing snowballs at the window, good times!

And then there were our visits to the McWane Science Center. Check out that baby belly!

        

And the Zoo …

Oh, and Levi had his first trip to the dentist!  He did so great!  Check out those shades that they let him wear!  He just thought that light was too bright! Great idea Diane!

Well, I will leave you with that for now.  Hopefully I will be able to upload some more pictures soon.  Hope you have a great week!