Honeymoon, here we come!

Ok. So, Andrew and I have never had a honeymoon or anything close to one..... Everywhere we've gone since we've been together has included the kids. First, we took Logan and Hayden with us everywhere..... We wanted to be a family. Our next trips were to Guatemala! over and over and over and over.....wonderful times seeing the babies but not very romantic. Our 5th wedding anniversary is July 8, AND WE ARE FINALLY GOING ON A HONEYMOON!!!! WHOOO HOOOOOO!!!! We think we are going to Cancun to the Sun Palace..... It's a short trip for us from Alabama, and we can be back in 5 days......close but oh so far away at the same time...... I can't imagine having my honey to myself for 5 whole days..... Can you say smooch, smooch, smooch????? Oh, I can't wait!!!! Just wanted to share....

Another thought: OH CRAP! I have to walk around in a bathing suit for 5 days.... Operation lose 20 pounds begins tomorrow. I want to wear a bikini!

love love love and hugs,

Happy Birthday, Sweet Andrew....

This man means so much to me..... More than words can describe. He is my everything..... my best friend, my companion, fabric folder, diaper changer, food cooker, laundry washer..... Above all else he is my one true love.... I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a blessing. He is such a godly man and is the best husband and father to all the kiddos and me. We are all better people for having Andrew in our lives..... I love you, darlin'....... Happy Birthday.


How gorgeous is this man of mine??

Cute Essie with snotty nose and all.....

This is probably mean, BUT I couldn't resist....

These are the only pictures I took at the Art show today except for Anne Pearce eating a chicken on a stick.... It was TOO hard to pull the ol' camera out while pushing a fussy Essie.... Anyway, when mama and I came upon this dude by himself, in the middle of the road, trying to get people to dance I HAD to stop and click.....

Can you guess what song this is from his action????

A far off shot to show you that NO one (besides those 2 preteens by the blue garbage can) were paying him ANY attention. I ALMOST went to dance with him..... I promise to take more pictures tomorrow when we go back.... I want you guys to see how fabulous this Art show really is!

Kiss kiss kiss

These are what we call Kissy Lips around our house. Anne Pearce is the originator of the kissy lip. When we want kisses she's happy to oblige..... She is so cute I can barely stand it!

Essie's Kissy Lips aren't quite as poochy as AP's, but we're working on it..... They're still sweet though!

Side view of kissy lips

This is usually what we get from Essie......

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, Essie... You call THOSE kissy lips??"

Sometimes the babies like each other for a few minutes.....

Anne Pearce likes to take her pj's off every chance she gets....

Night night, folks!

Hello all,

I couldn't help it..... I had to share these pictures of my sweet girlies. Their daddy took them tonight before bedtime..... It's been a very rainy weekend here in Alabama..... no going outside..... we all have cabin fever. Here's hoping for some sunshine tomorrow....

Hugs,

Loulou

Is it wrong to be SO in love with a blog???

Well, if lovin' you is wrong.... I don't wanna be right.... I am IN LOVE with my new blog design by Hannah Craner at Sherbet Blossoms designs... She rocks.... I told her some about me, and this is what she came up with.... I LOVE IT....... It's so......... loulou! Speaking of Loulou... I have been sewing like crazy and will be doing more this weekend... I leave for Utah in less than 2 weeks, and I don't want to have to be worrying about finishing things when I get back. I have A LOT to do. Yesterday I walked (yes walked) to get my hair cut and hilighted. Have I mentioned that Fairhope is fabulous?? We walk EVERYWHERE. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get some fat off of my bum! I go back to my hair girlie today for some kind of Hawaiian hair relaxer...no chemicals, all natural. It's supposed to make curly hair MUCH more manageable and take ALL the frizz away. Believe me. If you live in SOUTHERN Alabama with curly hair no frizz will be like Heaven on Earth. I'll let you gals know how it turns out.

Happy Friday!
loulou

Playing around with my girlies in the backyard....

One of the best things about our new digs is the fenced in amazing backyard. The babies love it..... It's already in the high 70's and low 80's here in Alabama, so we've been enjoying outside while we can..... It'll be in the 90's before we know it..... I've been sewing like a maniac and trying to get all the little things straight in the house...... I'll take some pictures after this weekend when we get some more little things taken care of...... For now, I'll leave you with some pictures of the princessas:

Can you just see the attitude this girl has??

I know I'm cool......

This picture cracks me up..... It looks like she's doing crunches!

Yesterday was Kennedy's 8th birthday....

I miss that little girlie.... I AM headed to Utah in 19 days. Essie and I are going for Kennedy's baptism. Anne Pearce is staying home with Daddy and Grandmama.... Andrew couldn't get time off to go with me, and there's NO way I can handle the 2 of them alone on a plane..... I whipped up this little skirt for KT from some DELICIOUS Jennifer Paganelli fabric..... Doesn't it just scream SPRING??!?!?! Jennifer can do NO wrong in my eyes, and I love all her stuff. She's an amazing designer, and is always so nice to people who love her (like me) ;)....... Anyway, I'm rambling.... I just wanted to show you all Kennedy's birthday skirt...... Have a fabulous and fun weekend!

I also made a little skirt for Kennedy's American Girl Doll, Julie...... She LOVED it......

One year ago today...

This is what I wrote on my adoption blog:

Sad, sad, sad, sad day. I hate the give back days. I do miss all my family at home, but it is SO HARD to leave Essiebabycakes. She is an angel straight from heaven. I don't have the heart to post pictures right now. I will after I've been home for a couple of days. You know we need your prayers to make it home without these babies. Our children. I'm leaving my child again.

Oh, what a hard hard hard hard day that was...... I can still remember leaving that sweet baby for the 2nd of many times.... It never got easier. Now she's sitting in her high chair with her big sister eating her breakfast. Wow. What a difference a year makes. Essie has been home over 6 months, and it feels like she's always been here.... The heartache of the waiting has faded, and we are living life..... That's the happy part of this story. The devastating part of this story is still in Guatemala. Donalson. He's still there.... We don't know where, and we don't know how, BUT we believe that the story of Donalson is NOT over..... I truly BELIEVE with all my heart and soul that he is Nat's son. He is a part of that family, and I pray that one day soon he is home where he belongs. It was one year ago today that Natalie saw Donalson for the last time in person. That sweet baby. We love and miss him so......

Last March.....


Little Boy, we love and miss you so. We NEVER stop praying for you and thinking about you.


This morning.


My precious Anne Pearce....

Settling in.....

It's amazing..... I feel like we've lived here forever..... I have most of the house straight with just a few more things to do. The babies LOVE it. No more stairs, and I don't worry near as much. I already feel better not having to climb those stairs OVER and OVER all day long. The boys are happy having their own rooms again and their own man den..... Logan is back in school. THAT is a blessing in itself. When we moved we changed school districts..... That's one of the main reasons for this fast move. Logan NEEDED to be back in regular school, and I NEEDED him back for my sanity. It was SO hard trying to homeschool while taking care of 2 wild girlies and sewing..... not to mention all the duties that come with being a mama..... My parents are 5 minutes away, and they pop over all the time. It's great for me and the babies..... They load them up in their strollers and take them strolling in downtown Fairhope. The girls love it, and so does their mommy. It's great having a break for 30 minutes here and there..... From our house we can hear the clock chiming from downtown. It wakes us up at 8 every morning......much better than a beep beep beep beep of an alarm clock. This is definitely WHERE we're supposed to be. I miss Daisy and her kiddos, but Fairhope's only about 20 minutes away..... I hope to get them down here one day this week for a playdate at the park. One job I've given myself is to find some friends.... I have TONS of friends all over the place but not many here. Ever since Jenny moved I've kinda been lost. I love hanging out with my parents, but I NEED some girlfriends.... I was in such a depression before that I just couldn't reach out..... Now I feel the sun shining again. ALL my children are doing well, and life is better. I have a sewing date tomorrow with a girl I met eating lunch around Christmas. We're going to sew and let the babies play (she has a little girl AP's age). It's a start. I'm also thinking of joining the MOPS group here in Fairhope. We still have to visit some churches to decide WHERE we should be spending our Sundays. We're planning on visiting Fairhope UMC. It's right around the corner from our house..... We'll see..... For now I'm just enjoying my family one day at a time. God has blessed us in some very unlikely ways, and we are thankful for His love and guidance. To all my blogging friends I say, "Come on down!" Fairhope is a great place to visit! I can show you the town.......

On another note I'm getting a blog redo this week..... I can't wait to see it. The girl that's doing it is AMAZING. I don't want a froo froo blog anymore. I want a grown up mommy blog.... Be checking back to see it.....

love to you all,
loulou

Yeah for the AT&T man!!!!

My Internet is up and running...... Oh......where to start?? Full post later.

We're alive.....

STILL no internet service.... There was a problem with the outside line. I am DYING here....loving the new house but DYING....It's supposed to be fixed today. I just ran over to mama and daddy's to check email....

We

We're moving to the new house tomorrow....

I'll be offline until Wednesday. Just wanted to let you know.....

So what's up with us??

Well, we're moving. Monday. Yep. That's right..... We're moving back to Fairhope, and we're thrilled..... I'm sure you can imagine the total craziness going on in my household right now. Insanity. BUT, the insanity will lead us to a fabulous (bigger) house one block from downtown Fairhope. That location is also called Heaven. The boys will have their own rooms again as well as their own den.... Mama will have sanity, as Logan goes back to regular high school on Wednesday after our Mardi Gras holiday... (Yes, we get 2 days off for Mardi Gras in southern Alabama). Andrew and I took our clothes down and all the pictures from our walls today. The packers and movers come Monday. We've never had the luxury of movers before, but my poor sickly body can't handle doing it this time.....You would be amazed at how cheaply these people are packing, moving, and UNPACKING all our things. It was too low to pass up..... (Thank you adoption tax credit refund)..... Anyway, my next post will be from our new "cottage"..... All the original houses in Fairhope are called cottages. Isn't that delicious?? I'm going to be living in a cottage. In heaven. 5 minutes from my parents. People, sometimes life is just good.


Babies. Hold hands. You love each other. You really do. Trust us.

Just some funny Essieness....

and Anne Pearceness

Essie loves to put on some socks..... Those are also her bubba's underwear (clean I hope) that she was planning on putting on next....

New life= New blog

Hello all! I have decided to start a blog for (gasp).... ME.....! Not just the kids but ME. MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME. You get the picture. Of course my kiddos will make appearances on this blog, as they are a HUGE part of who I am and my life. How could I blog without them?? I will also be sharing some of my sewing and crafting, as that is who I am as well...... So, here we go..... The world according to Lou. That would be me.

Some of my newest creations....