Weekend Fun!

Rachael, Hope, Ben, and I, relaxing in White River Gardens
Hope and Ben getting to know each other!
We are in the Wedding Garden and White River Gardens. Notice the city in the background??

Hope checking out Ben, who was more interested in Daddy with the camera in this shot!

We spent the weekend re-discovering our area with friends from out-of-town. It's amazing how we had forgotten just how beautiful it is around here, and what wonderful things there are to do! We sure are glad that we got to see it again through the eyes of Chanan, Rachael, and Hope. It really reminded us of how wonderful God's creation is and how lucky we are to live here!

I met Rachael while we were waiting for Hope and Ariana to come home from Guatemala. She is one of the "gentle whisper" miracles that I wrote about over on Ariana's blog. If it weren't for sweet Ariana, I would have missed out on meeting a wonderful person. Chanan and Will had not met before this past weekend, but, boy, did they hit it off! I think they might have talked even more than Rachael and I! We are so thankful that we know them and can't wait for more fun-filled weekends of exploring each other's neighborhoods and communities!

Three months ago today...

Sweet, precious baby Ben, three months ago today I saw you and held you in my arms for the very first time. For me, it was love at first sight. I remember holding back tears as I stared down at you in that NICU isolette and you stared right back up at me. Even then, you were so curious about what was going on around you. I could barely get past the lump in my throat to ask if it was okay for me to pick you up. I'll never forget the words Joy (from the adoption agency) said to me, "Of course you can. He's your son." Those were words more precious than gold. Holding you for the first time was a miracle and a blessing that I will never forget. Each day I spend with you, every moment, every breath, every heartbeat, is a gift from God that I cherish more and more as the days pass. I cannot imagine my life without you in it. You are our dream come true, darling son of mine.

All my love always,
Mommy

Smiles!

For a baby who is always smiling, it sure is hard to catch a picture of this little guy with his dimples showing! The minute he sees me with the camera, he seems to turn off the smiles. This week, though, with help from Ben's daddy and cousins, I have been able to actually catch a few of those priceless smiles in pictures. The bottom one is my favorite-Ben is giving Daddy a peace sign! If only the whole world could see him, maybe there would be a lot more peace and a lot less fighting out there!

3 months already????

I can hardly believe that my sweet baby boy is already three months old. It doesn't even seem possible that so much time has passed. And yet, it also seems like he has always been a part of us and our family. He is so much sunshine and joy. We are so thankful for every minute with him!

Ben's first adventure in spelunking!

This weekend we went with our church youth group on a camping, caving, and canoeing trip in southern Indiana. Ben and I skipped the canoeing part, but we did go on two cave tours. Ben slept through both of them in his Moby wrap. I guess the cool air, quiet, and darkness were more conducive to sleeping than adventures if you are a baby! I have to say that the Moby wrap is the greatest adventure ever. I carried Ben in it for more than a hour and a half, up steps, down steps, everything, and it was like he was just a part of me. No sore back or arms! My sister used my other Moby wrap to carry my 3 year old niece on her hip, and she said her back and arms weren't sore or tired at all either. (I promise I don't work for the Moby wrap company-I just think every mom should have one!)

I hope you enjoy the pictures with this post. The top picture is one of the cave formations. The middle one is Mommy and Ben in the cave. The last one I had to throw in because it is the first really big smile we've managed to capture in a picture.

Holiday weekend pics....

We had a busy, fun 4th of July weekend. We kicked it off with a Chuck E. Cheese party for my little niece's 3rd birthday on July 3rd. It was her "friend" party, but Ben had to go anyway because he is her friend AND her cousin (how do you argue with logic like that??). On the 4th we just stayed at home and had my sister and niece over for dinner. Lots of people in our neighborhood set off tons of fireworks, so we decided to watch them from the relative quiet of my house. Ben slept right through most of them-he only woke up once the whole time. On the 5th, we went to my niece's "family" birthday party (I'm convinced that she invited us to both parties because she knows her Aunt buys the best presents and this way she would get two!) Ben slept through most of the party in the Moby wrap, but I did get one smiling picture of him there (it's the top pic on this post). And, to top it off, that night we went to the drive-in theater and saw Wall E and Prince Caspian, also with my sister and niece. Of course, Ben slept through both of those in my arms.

The middle picture on this post is Ben in his "Born in the USA" outfit that a friend bought us. It is a great reminder to me of just how glad I am that he was, indeed, born in the USA. It is a sad and scary thought that he could just as easily be one of the orphans in Guatemala who are left with no option for adoption while the government there and here try to figure out a way to make the new adoption law work. Please, everyone, take a minute to pray for all of those children and their birthfamilies. But for the grace of God, Ben would be included in those numbers. Please pray also that Guatemala figures out a way to allow adoptions to resume so that those same children can have forever families.

Ben's birthday surprise for Mommy...

This morning I awoke at 6:30 to the terrifying realization that Ben had not woken up for his 4 AM feeding. Keeping in mind that he has woken up between 3:45 and 4:15 EVERY DAY of his life, I was really freaked out. I went racing upstairs to his nursery only to find him laying there looking at his mobile, cooing, and smiling. Apparently, his birthday present to me was to sleep through the night for the very first time! When he saw me, his little face burst into the biggest smile I've ever seen and he started cooing loudly at me. What an amazing birthday present. It was definitely the best one I have ever received in my entire life. Mommy loves you beyond measure, Ben!