Easter

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We took Landon to an Easter Egg Hunt at one of the local churches in our town. Since we have been getting so much rain these days, the hunt was indoors. As we walked down the hall to the room where Landon's age group would be hunting eggs, Landon was so excited (not because he loves Easter egg hunts, but because he could see all the "balls" laying all over the floor.) As soon as we were in the room the lady announced that the kids could go. Landon took off running and kicking the eggs. Ian has been playing soccer with Landon since he was able to walk so it just made sense for him to kick the eggs. I did manage to catch up with him and tried to explain what he was to do with the eggs but he wanted nothing to do with it. As soon as we did fill his bucket he took it and dumped it out all over the floor. Oh well, the kids around him where happy and we really didn't need the candy. He did leave with a few eggs and his prize possession (peanut butter cup). He savored every minute of this wonderful treat. It took him 20 minutes to eat it because all he would do is lick it. Nothing wrong with savoring a good piece of chocolate.





Notice Landon's empty bucket!!! Poor guy!!!






Family pictures before church.

Landon at the Museum

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A few weeks ago we visited the " Bloomsburg Children's Museum". To say that Landon enjoyed himself would be a huge understatement!!!! The minute we walked through the doors he was off running!!! He was so busy just taking it all in, this boy loves life. Ian and I feel completely blessed to be able to experience the world through Landon's eyes. Just a few pictures from our day.

My sister-in-law Amy and my adorable nephew, Liam.



Landon was having a great time playing with these Lego- like toys until I discovered that he was trying to eat one of the pieces. I had to remove it from his mouth and that caused a little heart break for the little guy. Uncle Wes was able to catch the whole tantrum with pictures. Landon is really good at throwing a tantrum but also really quick to get over them. These last four pictures are proof. Usually a little drink from RUBA (the name that Landon made up for sippy cup!! Don't know where it came from) is all it takes to make him happy again.





Extreme "Wabba"

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For about the last two weeks Landon has become obsessed with washing his hands. It has nothing to do with having good hygiene and everything to do with making a huge mess with the water and soap. As soon as he hears the water running anywhere he runs to the bathroom yelling "wabba, wabba" (landon language for wash). This particular day he got a little carried away. I had just finished changing his diaper and he ran away from me as soon as I had his onesie snapped. It is always a chore to actually get his pants back on because my little guy can only lay for so long before he runs off. So, I went into the bathroom to wash (wabba) my hands whenLandon came charging after me. I think he had this planned in advance!! I lifted him on my knee so he could wash too. Before I knew it he was in the sink and had the biggest smile on his face. He fit perfectly and looked so adorable. I thought, If he is actually going to sit then I will take advantage of it. He played in the sink for one full hour. He had so much fun just looking at his reflection in the faucet and then smearing it with soap. It's the little things that make him so happy. I took a half hour shift watching him until Ian got home from work and then he sat and watched him for the second half hour. Landon was a little sad when EXTREME WABBA came to an end but he still had bath time to look forward to.

Fun in the Tub!!!

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Celebration

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Ian and I were looking forward to taking Landon to the Ethiopian restaurant in Lancaster to celebrate his Gotcha Day. We were curious to see if he liked the food. Landon has tried some spicy foods in the past and really seemed to enjoy it. He was typical Landon at the restaurant. He loved the first bite, then would spit the next bite out acting as if it were poison. He didn't seem to mind the spice. He did however love the Mango juice. It was delicious. I don't remember having this while we were in Ethiopia but is was amazing. It was so thick, kindof like drinking a pure mango. Landon wouldn't stop drinking until it was gone and when we finally got the cup away from him, he was smiling from ear to ear. That's our boy!!! The food tasted very much like what we had while in Ethiopia only a LOT more expensive. Oh well, it was worth it.

My Boys

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I don't know who has more fun, Landon playing in the fort or Daddy building the fort!!

100% Boy!!

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We have had a couple of really nice days around here this last week and Landon and I have really been enjoying being able to get out and walk. He is loving the independence that comes with actually walking instead of being in this stroller. As soon as I open the door now he literally jumps out of my arms and shouts "walk, walk walk." Yesterday I had planned to take him to target to get diapers and some other really boring things but I decided to take him to the Marina for a nice, peaceful walk instead. It started out wonderful and the Marina was packed with people and their children. Landon started out walking slowly just taking it all in. Pointing to birds and squirrels and then would stop to pick up leaves and sticks. It wasn't long before he was running all over the park and shouting his new favorite word- "NO" everytime I got near him or tried to hold his hand. I really had no idea that at 17 months old he would be to cool to hold him mommy's hand!! I was a little sad. It wasn't long before he was running through huge fields of mud. I saw it coming but couldn't stop it in time. My little man and myself were covered in mud. The walk just kept getting better and better in the eyes of my precious son. There were large piles of filthy snow to climb, and puddles everywhere that were great for jumping in. I figured since we were already a mess he should just do it 100% and that he did. I taught him how to clean his hands in the puddle and he thought that was absolutely hilarious. I actually had to try and force him to play at the playground. He wanted nothing to do with it, the swings and slides just didn't compare to the mud and puddles. I kept looking around to see if any of the other kids were as filthy as my son was but all I kept seeing was little girls with pretty pink shoes holding their mommy's hands!! We really did have a great time and thank goodness the weather was so nice because I had to take off Landon's shoes and pants before I could even put him in his car seat.






The God We Serve

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My pastor sent me this passage. He said it made him think of Landon.
Psalms 68:5-6
5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

What an awesome God we do serve! He take those who are alone and places them in families. I have been lately wondering as we head into our second adoption, what all God has ahead for us. I know for Amy and I, we have been growing in our desire to be advocates in our area for adoption. At times this can be encouraging those who are ready to step out. We also know that we must speak out against complacency in the church. To be surrounded by kids who have found new homes and finding fellowship with believers who are actively living out the Gospel, that is all I wish for in my future.

Great Quote

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"We look back upon history, and what do we see? Empires rising and falling, revolutions and counterrevolutions, wealth accumulated and wealth disbursed. Shakespeare has written of the rise and fall of great ones, that ebb and flow with the moon.

I look back upon my own fellow countrymen (Great Britain), once upon a time dominating a quarter of the world, most of them convinced, in the words of what is still a popular song, that ‘the God who made them mighty, shall make them mightier yet.’

I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian (Hitler) announce to the world the establishment of a Reich that would last a thousand years. I have seen an Italian clown (Mussolini) say he was going to stop and restart the calendar with his own ascension to power. I’ve heard a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin (Stalin), acclaimed by the intellectual elite of the world as being wiser than Solomon, more humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than Ashoka.

I have seen America wealthier and, in terms of military weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put together–so that had the American people so desired, they could have outdone a Caesar, or an Alexander in the range and scale of their conquests.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone! Gone with the wind!

England, now part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe, threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running out of those precious fluids that keeps their motorways roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don Quixote’s of the media as they charged the windmills of Watergate.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone! Gone with the wind!

Behind the debris of these solemn supermen, and self-styled imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of One: because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone, mankind may still have peace–the person of Jesus Christ.

I present him as the way, the truth, and the life. Do you know Him?"

- Malcolm Muggeridge