Our Graduate....

This past week we celebrated with Noah as he graduated from preschool. Graduating from preschool is a huge milestone for all children, but we were especially proud of Noah, as he has only been in our country for 6 months, and began preschool after only being home for one month. I remember worrying if it was the right decision for Noah to begin preschool, and I still remember the look on his face when I left took him for his first day of preschool- I think I called about every thirty minutes that day to check on him. After a few days, we knew he was going to be fine, and after just a couple weeks he was thriving, learning so much and making so many new friends. It was a decision that was covered in much prayer, contemplation, and faith, and watching Noah walk into the gym and accept his diploma with a beaming smile was total affirmation that preschool had been the right decision for Noah. Thank you God!


While we plan to continue to work on learning sight words, counting to 100, and writing the alphabet, it is now time to enjoy summer break and all the fun that hot summer days and cool summer evenings (hopefully) entail. And yes, Noah is already talking about Kindergarten, and Caleb is already talking about preschool. Not so fast boys, not so fast :)

Belonging.....

If you notice, the blog got a little makeover- a new banner with some family photos taken by wonderful photographer, Ben Keeling http://www.benkeeling.com/ .

We knew family photos were going to be a necessity when from the moment Noah was able to speak English, he let us know that he wanted to see photos of him on the walls, too. So, we told Noah that as soon as the flowers began blooming outside we would have pictures taken of our family of four- Daddy, mommy, Caleb and Noah. It was a long winter, and he made sure we didn't forget our promise :)

So, the day finally came when the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming, and so on a beautiful afternoon on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University (mine and Zack's first home together :) we had our family photos taken. It was a blast! The boys did great (maybe because we promised them a trip to Chik-fil-a for big smiles :)

When I saw the photos for the first time, I really had to hold back tears. The love that was captured in these pictures is just amazing, and to see the boys smiles, laughs and silly faces brings me such great joy. But more than that, they are a symbol of belonging, of being part of a family, something that meant so much to Noah, and really means so much to all of us (I think we just take it for granted more than him).

So we now have the pictures hanging throughout our home. I put them up one day while Noah was at school, and you should have seen him smile when he came home and saw his pictures on the walls of our. You could tell, he felt like he belonged :)