Ben's first trip to the zoo!

Ben and Mommy at the entrance to the zoo.
Ben looking confused about what we are doing!
Ben enjoying his time outdoors

Today Ben, my niece, and I went to the zoo with our friends. It was Ben's first trip, although I did first hear that we were being considered to be Ben's family while I was at the zoo too! Ben was pretty oblivious to the whole thing, although he loves being outdoors. The other kids really enjoyed it and the weather was perfect. There is a traveling exhibit of Koalas, so that was pretty cool to see. They look just like the pictures! Belle kept saying one was having a snack of leaves.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Will,
We all love you and wish that you could be here with us on Father's Day. I know that this is officially your first, but you really have been a father without the title for much longer. The love you have for my nephews and the sacrifices you have made for them are so far beyond what "just an uncle" could ever be expected to do and I love you so much for that. Now, I get to see you with our son, and you are exactly the kind of Daddy I knew you would be. You are loving, gentle, patient beyond measure, and oh so sweet with our baby boy. I fall in love with you just a little more every time I see you with Ben in your arms, rough housing with the boys, or reading a story to our sweet niece. You are such a wonderful husband, Daddy, and Uncle and we are all so blessed to have you in our lives. Happy Father's Day, my love.

Water, water everywhere....

As many of you probably heard, we've had some crazy flooding in central Indiana. Our county is one of many what had heavy damage from the floods, but, thank goodness, our neighborhood didn't have any damage to homes or people. We are grateful to the planners who planned all of the drainage in our neighborhood, because the water all went right where it was supposed to and stayed away from our houses. The common areas (playground, walking trails, volleyball court, etc) were not quite as lucky, but at least nobody lost their home or belongings here. Please pray for the people in our county who did lose their homes, farms, cars, etc in our county and the other 22 counties with major damage. Here are some pictures from our neighborhood. Will took them yesterday morning after the rain finally stopped.

This is the sign that is normally about 5 feet away from the retention pond. By the time the water stopped rising, you could only read half of the sign.

This is a portion of the walking trail near our home.
This is a bridge over what is normally a dry creekbed or ravine with no water at all! The other end of the bridge was actually under water for a short time when the water peaked. Today the creekbed is empty again. Amazing.

Baby Dedication

Last Sunday was Ben's baby dedication at church. It was a beautiful service all about children and families. My niece and another preschooler from church even took up the offering (too cute!). Ben, of course, slept through the entire service. Our church family has been so supportive and they all love Ben so much. We are truly blessed beyond measure.

My uncle was nice enough to take some pictures for us, so the pics in this post are all courtesy of Uncle Jeff.

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures done yesterday. A lady who goes to our church is a professional photographer, and the pictures were her baby shower gift to us. We love that she takes the pictures and then gives us the film so that we can decide where, when, and if to make enlargements and wallets. She did ones of just Ben as well as ones of our whole family-including ones that have my sister and niece. My favorites, though, are ones she took of my nephews, niece, and Ben with photos of my other niece and Ariana (who are both deceased). It's the only way we'll ever have a picture of all of them together, and they turned out beautiful. If you're in Indiana and want the photographer's contact info, just let me know!

Even more wonderful than I imagined

Today I am so thankful for my family. My two teenaged nephews, along with a few friends, spent the night just hanging out at our house, playing pool, watching movies, just chatting. I love the sound of all of those kids upstairs just being kids. I love knowing that they are comfortable here and so are their friends. I love knowing that they are here and safe, not off at some party doing who knows what. And then downstairs my wonderful husband and I were enjoying our time with our son. I never really thought I'd ever get to write that. "Our son". I don't think there are any sweeter words in the whole English language. Ben is, of course, a joy. He is so cuddly and sweet and I am savoring every moment of being his mom-even those 2 AM feedings and even the one time that he didn't sleep AT ALL for 24 hours straight. It's funny how much more you appreciate those middle of the night playtimes when you've waited so long to bring your child home. So, tonight, I am grateful and thankful to God for all of my blessings-the rowdy teens upstairs (even the ones who don't live here!), my amazing husband, my beautiful baby boy, and so many more. God is so good and I am the world's most grateful, thankful, and happy mom!

Sweet baby boy

Every day I am amazed by how sweet and precious you are, baby boy. I snapped this picture today. You fell asleep in my arms, snuggling on the couch. It was a rare moment for just the two of us since Daddy, Tony, and Drew were at youth group. After you fell asleep, I laid you down in your boppy pillow and took a bunch of pictures of you. I could watch you sleep for hours, my little man. Mommy loves you so much, and I can honestly say that now I understand God's plan in our adoption journey. He knew you were perfect for us, so we had to wait until now or we would have missed out on you. The plaque in your nursery says, "I am a dream come true", and there has never been anything more true than that. I love you, sweet son of mine.