Brielle's 4th B-day Party!

This is Brielle, Our oldest daughter, whom we adopted when she was just 5 days old!...

Her party was so fun but a bit crazy. i about lost it there for a bit when all the kids started ran-sacking her presents.I was trying to just at least get a few pics of her and a bit of recording done so, she could remember when she was four forever.








The kids blew out her candles before she could even get to them so, we had to re-light them for her! It's kind of humorous now!



The bouncy castle was a success and resulted in only 2 injuries. one being Aria's noggin! The man who set it up said that this was the first time he has ever seen the 13 x 13 ft. castle ever fit IN someone's home.


Most people i guess underestimate it's size but, man, we pushed around the 800 lbs piano and moved the furniture before he came so, he could just blow it on up. Brielle liked controlling the house and turning the blower off when she felt like it. Not really a good idea. Luckily, she didn't do it with kids in it!



There were about 40 peeps there and it was fun but, NEXT TIME... I will throw it at the Bounce U or Pump it Up or have it in a Backyard ( for Aria's B-day) for sure. It was so big, it just kinda felt cramped but after all the friends were gone and the ice cream was all melted, I whisked the girls off to bed and brushed their teeth and tucked them in and Brielle said:


" Mom, this was the Best Birthday Party ever. I love you!"
It was all worth it!






It was so nice to have Brielle's Birth-mom come for a bit too! She is expecting a boy in a few weeks! We are excited for her and nervous- birth is crazy sometimes!

Man, I just can't believe 4 years have gone by sooooo fast!

The Playroom [ couple looking to adopt [ adoptive parents [ adoption

This is the place my girls pratically LIVE in! The play tea party, dress up, watch movies, do puzzles, play house in the kitchen...


play chef and make wooden cake or felt cookies...

they invite the bunnies and dollies too.

And this mini furniture fits them perfectly and It's neutral and goes with everything. If or when we have a boy who grows into the Playroom age, I will redo the colors in Lime, Aqua, red and Lavender There will be a pink girl section with the doll house, dolls and dress up still. I have a feeling a little brother would be invited to a lot of tea parties!

When the girls have friends over to play... This place gets TORE UP but, thank goodness for bins b/s most toys have their own bins or storage area. It makes for a fast clean up!

4 years ago... Adoptive parents [ adoptive couples [ couple looking to adopt

4 years ago, an amazing Birthmother had our sweet daughter, Brielle. We got a call, shortly after she was born and were invited to come to the hospital to see this new baby girl. I just couldn't believe they even wanted us there. I felt like an intruder and an honored guest all at once.
5 days after her birth, she came home with us! Her placement was heavenly and many tears of joy and pain were shed on both sides of the room. It was a sacred occasion for us all!


And this tiny baby changed our lives FOREVER!

We can't Thank her Birthmother enough. We are eternally in her debt and not a day goes by that we don't think of her enormous courage and love.

And Yesterday, She turned 4! Man, those years have flown by! Now... we wait for this amazing Miracle to happen again!

a glimpse into... Our Daily life [ couples looking to adopt / adoptive couple

Well, honestly, the girls wake up too early most days, I'd rather get at least 1 hour more than i get. They arise around 6:30 or 7 and we make breakfast while Aria chases the puppy around and Brielle watches a cartoon or does some coloring. Then we eat and laugh and get ready for preschool. Brielle attends a private preschool that my friend runs called the Learning Loft. She loves it and is doing very well in school. It's 2-3 days a week and only for 2 hours. I am glad for that b/c I'm not quite ready to let her go to half day or full day school yet.

While Brielle is off at School, Brandon is working on loans or Real Estate school online, Aria kicks it with me and we either run errands or go to the gym and get my sweat on! The playroom at the Gym is Insanely great too! It has 3 separate areas for the kids to play in according to age. A bounce house and slides and tunnels that looks like a small Children's museum!

On days that Brielle doesn't have school, we go for a jog in the double stroller, hit up the park and play there for a while or we go shopping! I LOVE to find good deals on matching outfits for the girls! We also have membership to the Discovery Children's Museum and to many other play facilities as well. We meet up with friends for walks and lunches and such too.
Brielle is such a good example for Aria when it's time to clean up around the house or in the playroom. We make it a contest to see who can clean up the most and the fastest!!!
Then, Aria ( and sometimes Brielle) goes down for a nap around 1 or 2 and Brielle has reading or drawing or whatever to do while i get some photos edited or hair clips made for my small businesses. When Brandon is home sometimes, me and Brielle will go for a bike ride around the neighborhood, play dress up in our playroom, we jump on the trampoline, in the summer we swim in our pool and Aria has no clue what us BIG GIRLS are doing during her nap! It's like a secret play time!!!

Then when Aria gets up, we make a snack and play in the playroom or a game or playdough or whatever before any classes start ( gymnastics, dance etc...) and then after our classes we make dinner and welcome daddy back with hugs. Currently we are taking a break from classes to get ready for our big move to CO soon!

I love making Italian food, Mexican food, Filipino food and anything yummy. After dinner we like going for walks together as a family when it's warm enough. We play chase the kids and tickle them or pretend daddy is a monster or a dinosaur or a puppy dog (Aria's Favorite) until it's time to get ready for bed. We share the tasks of getting the girls bathed and changed and then we read a book, say a prayer and give kisses and spin them around right into their beds!
I try and get some of the house picked up, some photos edited and snuggle with Brandon while we watch a movie or fold laundry and the like. (Ps. I hate folding laundry but, when i watch a movie it seems to go so fast!!!)
That's a glimpse into what we daily do!!!

A bit about Our Girls

Our oldest daughter, Brielle, was our first Miracle! After 4 yrs of trying and less than a month of having our adoption profile in, her courageous birth mother chose to place her with us. We were there at the hospital a few minutes after she was born and greeted by her whole family on both sides. The placement was more than we ever hoped for and our whole adoption with her has been such bliss. We still have open communication with her birth-mother and family and visit with them throughout the year.
Brielle is 4 now and loves being an older sister to Aria, playing dolls, dancing, dressing up, going to preschool, riding her bike, doing gymnastics and is a natural born swimmer! She's excellent at addition and is learning her letters so fast! I love our time together when Aria naps too. It's almost like Aria doesn't know what she's missing. We do big girl things like paint with real paints, make crafts and learn recipes or practice songs. Brielle is so sweet and sensitive and is the type of girl who would share with anyone and she's a social diva too! She loves to memorize and tell stories and say big words that don't make much sense in her sentences. She is the BEST big sister and I'm so glad God blessed our lives with her first!

Our Younger daughter, Aria is 18 months younger than Brielle and is almost 3 now. So, when Brielle was 9 months, i got miracle #2 and GOT Pregnant! I was stunned and so excited. Her birth was incredible and she made Brielle a big sister and me an even better mother.

She loves playing with her sister, any kind of doll or puppy toy, our dogs, and loves to sings songs throughout our home. She is really strong for her age and can kick a ball really far for a little girl! She also loves dance and gymnastics and her and Brielle get pretty high on our trampoline and both are learning to flip over. Aria is very expressive and social too and she loves to tell everyone about everything and will hug just about anyone she sees! She's not afraid of getting dirty in the backyard and loves to swing and slide more than she likes to swim.
She will talk your ear off too and tell you how she put her dolls in time out! Se cracks us up almost daily! She's more sensitive than Brielle and will cry at the drop of a hat or a NO! But she's learning that she Can't always get her way all the time. I guess she's been the baby for too long and now it's time for her to be a real big kid toddler instead of a baby toddler!

Both of the girls are our pride and joy and we can't wait to see what other amazing children God will grant us.