Alex & Bria's Birthday!

Today, my husband is 40! I can't believe it! I remember celebrating my dad's 40th birthday at our old house, and now we are that old. 😁 It is also Bria's 3rd birthday! 💗

Yesterday, I took Bria for her 3 yr well check. She's a little half pint! At 25lbs and 33 inches, she's smaller than our other 2 bio girls were on their 2nd birthdays! She's less than 3% for both height & weight. She doesn't seem to be deterred by her size though as she's quite the little boss. ha!

Dr. Ruff telling her secrets-- including that monsters aren't real so she doesn't have to worry about being scared at night.  😄 

Now when I put her in the car seat, she says, "I buckle!"

Late night snuggles with my girl on her last night of being 2.

Our new 3 yr old this morning! It's not fair that she wakes up looking this cute! 😉

We met daddy for a birthday lunch.

Then I let them look through all of the toys at Walmart.

Then it was time to celebrate with the whole family at dinner.

He's my favorite of favorites!

We gave Alex a list of "Top 40" things we love about him, and Braylee created a video montage of him with the girls over the years. Brynna played a song on the flute and the girls gave him other homemade gifts as well. My gift to him is Celtic tickets!  He's a big fan of Brad Stevens!

We love our smiley-eyes little girly!

She is a gift we never expected! So very grateful!

And the video Braylee made for Alex...

It was a special day celebrating Alex and Bria! 💕💗💖

Bria's Peppa Pig Party {3rd birthday!}

Between two girls having fevers and BellaMei getting something stuck in her throat again (We thought we were going to have to take her in for surgery today, but she passed whatever it was during the night! She couldn't even keep down water yesterday and was so thirsty this morning!), we weren't even sure the party would happen! Thankfully, everyone is on the mend and we pulled it together!

We surprised Alex with a dreamsicle cake with 40 candles on it!

With Gramma & Pappy

With Mamaw & Papaw

Aunt Trista

The birthday twins, exactly 37 years apart. 

Bria seemed to love everything about her party! 

And we love everything about her! 💗

Gingerbread Houses

We went to church this morning to make gingerbread houses! Brielle & Bria had fevers last night so they had to stay home, but we were able to take some supplies home for them too.

My favorite part of Brielle's is the hot tub  with the floating lounge chair. 😆

"I yu you!"

BellaMei is 20 months old today! Ignore the messy play room, jammies, and bedhead (We didn't have to leave the house today! yay!) and listen to this sweet little sugar! 😍 When she re-enacts her whimper from the fall... 💖melt my heart!

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Awareness Month! 

Our girls' referral pictures and now!

November is a special month for us and our girls personally too.  Six years ago today, our Beilyn's birth family chose hope for their 2 month old daughter...leaving their blue baby at the gate of a hospital in Nanchang with hope that she would be found and receive the medical care she desperately needed to save her life. Alex and I talked this morning about how Moses' mother left her infant son in an attempt to save his life too, strategically placing him in a basket among the reeds to be found. Beilyn and I prayed for her birth family tonight...asking the Lord to give them peace that she was found, is safe and dearly loved. While we wish her story didn't begin with loss, we are thankful that through His sovereignty, we get the high calling of raising this fighter girl. God used Moses, a boy named by his adoptive mother, to save His people.  God is using Beilyn, a girl named by her adoptive mother, to change hearts too. Love wins!

Braver than most.

 November is also the month that we first learned about our Beilyn (on 11/11/13) and our BellaMei (on 11/14/17). Adoption is broken and sad but also beautiful and redemptive! It has completely changed our hearts!

 I love this project Brielle had to make for her class. Our family wouldn't be complete without one of those little hands in it! ♥