Our "not-so-lazy summer"

I knooooooooooooow it's been forever since I've blogged. But GOOD GRACIOUS we've been busy this summer! I'm now working full-time for our church, working part-time as a photographer, and doing a lot of it from home which means, of course, I've got four little "helpers" with me all the time. Life is GOOD, but it is BUSY! On top of that, I've had some major computer problems, so the fact that I actually got this blog post up and running is nothing short of a miracle.

So here's some pics of Miss Macy from our beach trip. She LOVED the ocean and the pools. The waterslide...ummmm...not so much. We had a wonderful time. This was the first year since becoming parents that we've actually been able to just watch our kids play, and not have to hold or chase a baby the entire time. I'll be honest....it was lovely. As crazy as my 2 toddlers and 2 preschoolers are, they sure are a lot of fun.

One year.

One year ago today our sweet Macy was relinquished by her birthmother at a local government office, and then taken to an orphanage to wait five months to join her Forever Family.

That was a year ago.

This was today.

We are so thankful that Macy had two and a half years with her birthmother. We firmly believe that is why she was able to bond so quickly with us. She knew the love of a Momma. She had experienced bonding and attachment before. And as soon as she was placed in my arms, the process started with her new Momma.

So a year ago today our little girl was scared and alone. Today she jumped waves with her family.

Life's good, folks.

Macy sees the ocean for the first time...

We arrived in Gulf Shores yesterday and are having a BLAST! We spent yesterday and this morning at the rockin' awesome pools they have here on sight, and this evening after dinner decided to take a walk on the beach across the street. Macy had seen the ocean from the condo balcony, but not up close yet, so I wanted to document her reaction to seeing the vastness of the the ocean. And for the record, her reaction was absolutely priceless.

Here she is walking up the boardwalk to the beach....

And just LOOK AT HER SWEET FACE when she sees the ocean for the first time in her life!
She was in AWE...this beautiful little girl from Ethiopia just took in the wonder of the ocean!

She loved the sand, the waves, all of it!

Yes, we came to the ocean to walk and look for shells.

All four kids ended up soaked and sandy. Lovely.

This is how Jason had to finally get her to leave.

We will be back first thing tomorrow morning!

Oh, and by the way, as of yesterday Miss Macy has been home SEVEN MONTHS! Yay!!!

Beach Trip 2010

We just got back from our first (and last!) vacation as a family of five! We went with my Mom to Perdido Key, which is right next to Gulf Shores. By day three of our trip the oil started washing up, but luckily our condo had a great pool as well, so all was good! We were very "busy" with our three young'uns, and Jason and I just laughed at the thought of doing this next year with FOUR kiddos. How wonderful thinking about our next trip to the beach including Macy (and hopefully a babysitter)! Enjoy the pics above AND below in the previous post. (And if you know how I can add more than 5 pics to a post at a time, PLEASE let me know!)