First Hike of the Season

Today felt like summer! My mom, nephew and his friend Sadie and I ventured out to do some hiking. First off Shellburg Falls. A relatively short hike in with a lot of intermingled trails, including some mountain bike trails.

Thanks to Julie and Christian for letting us borrow this awesome backpack carrier for Norah!

We were able to walk behind this waterfall.

Ben, thinking about what a glorious day it is.

Me and Norah.

Second hike, same day. We decided our first hike wasn't enough, so we drove another 30 minutes east, to Triangular Peak.

Just a 4.2 mile hike round trip, it is a rewarding view at the top. Check out the view of Mt. Jefferson!

Three Fingered Jack in the distance.

It was a great day, little Norah did splendid. She definitely didn't get the normal two naps that she normally does. She had about 4 or 5 "power naps" and somehow survived her first hiking adventure. I hope there are many more.

Adoption Update:

We've paid our first application fee! Let the paperwork, prayer and fundraising begin!

First Food

On Sunday we fed Norah for the first time. Rice cereal of course, a nice bland, somewhat liquidy food. She yummied it right up. We were impressed. Of course some went down the front of her...

I know you can't tell from the look on her face, but she did like it.

Today I tried some ground up quinoa, she didn't like that so much. I won't try it again for awhile. Next up: brown rice cereal!

Also on Sunday she has started sitting up on her own. Norah can balance pretty well, until she starts to lean a little too much one way or the other, then she topples over. 

Felix Child #2

Well our little Norah bean is almost 6 months old now and Wendy and I are about to begin a process that is very near to our hearts, adopting our next child. Adopting is such a cool way that a family can grow because of the fact that inheriting a child instead of birthing them shows that family is such a larger idea than just blood. This child will be 100% our child, the exact same as Norah who is our "blood" girly.

After researching all the agencies, we felt like Nightlight had the best opportunities for us. Each agency has connections with different countries and this is the route we want to go. 

We have chosen to adopt from Kyrgyzstan... and if you are thinking "where in the world is that?" It is a fairly small country so don't feel like you failed the geography quiz. 

The children in Kyrgyzstan are absolutely beautiful. To be honest they really remind me of Alaskan Eskimo facial features. The child we will adopt will be age 1-2 years old.

Just to wet your appetite about Kyrgyz culture. This game is called Ulak Tartysh aka Dead Goat Polo. I can't really explain to you the rules yet, but this gives you an idea of how AWESOME their culture is. I guess this game is very popular in their culture.


We will keep everyone up to date on how the process is going. To all our friends and family, thanks for reading.

Almost Springtime!

It's been unusually dry this spring, (except for last weekend) and I was able to rota til my garden last week to prepare it for planing!

I still have some chard from last year that survived our winter. Obviously it didn't get very cold. We even ate some for dinner tonight!

My mom and I started some seeds in her greenhouse! Hoping they grow well before planting them here. I also stole some raspberry starts from her and planted along the house. See below picture, right side. Brian also extended out my raised bed so I have some more room to plant whatever I wish. Lucky me!

I'm sure it will be quite the adventure planting/gardening with Norah around. I'm sure she will be crawling by summertime, maybe she will help me pull weeds???

Meet Hudson and Charlotte

 Two friends from church came over the other day with their little ones. both Hudson and Charlotte are 5 weeks old in this picture. Norah looks pretty big next to them! They'll be able to play in a few years!

I was attempting to put Norah down for a nap in this next picture. She wasn't very happy about it, so we came back out and laid with Hudson for a while. 

5 1/2 months old. Pretty baby! She loves taking baths and loves to lay on her diaper table. She lays up on it and eats her toes or whatever else we will allow in her mouth.

I think in a few weeks we will give her some REAL food! Yum! Start with the simple stuff, rice cereal.

Fun in February

Bath time has become a very fun activity for Norah, Brian and I. She loves to sit in the bathtub.

Last week Jeremiah and Gwyndolyn wanted to watch the bath. Then they got in. Then they really got in. (See below picture.) Norah just kept chewing on her wash cloth. 

Norah's many faces. We love them all.

We had another breakfast with good friends Sarah and Darla, Sarah's little Calvin is one week older than Norah. They are learning to chew on each other. Ha!

Gabe also enjoyed breakfast with us.