Oh how they grow....

People are always commenting on how quickly Alex & Eliana are growing.  I look at them myself and think, "They look just like they did when we first held them!" 

It's difficult for me to see the changes when I am with them day in and day out.  But every once in awhile, I step back, and see what is really happening to my tiny babies....they are growing.  They aren't so tiny anymore, and when I look at these pictures we took yesterday, I realize that they are getting so much bigger. 

Both of them are walking (Eliana started 3 months after Alex...she's her own woman, and nobody get her to walk but herself!).  They eat like little piglets, no matter what we put on their plates.  They talk all the time, but we still don't know what they are saying.  They are quite good at signing, "Please, Thank you, Milk, Banana, and I love you."  And as you can see in the pictures below, they LOVE being outside, and they are quite the little dare devils.  Oh how I love our babies!

We continue to be quite amused by our little comedian.  She's a laugh a second.

First time on the slide, and she went for it over and over again.

Alex also loves the slide.  Isn't he nice and squeaky clean?

This is what happens when Mamma & Daddy don't catch them at the bottom of the slide.  Face plant.  That boys mouth is FULL of dirt.  I LOVE this picture!

They love walking through the grass, especially with Daddy.

A year ago we saw their faces...

A year ago yesterday, on September 9, 2010, we received the phone call of a lifetime. The phone call that everyone going through adoption waits for. The referral call. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. That is the day when we saw these beautiful faces.

Eliana Tizita

Alexander Mikiyas

I remember when I couldn't tell the difference between them.  I felt awful when I would go through their pictures (we got 7 pics for each of them that day), and I couldn't tell who was who.  When I look at them now, it is so obvious.  My how far we have come.

I never could have imagined the journey we had yet to endure once we received that call, but every little part of it was worth it.

A year later we are healthy and happy in our home here in Kentucky. We are blessed beyond measure.
Here are a few pics of them now.

Timeout.

Miss T.  "I pity the fool."

Alex the cutey.

I think they are SO cute at bath time.

They LOVE to comb their hair.

When she first got her ears pierced (yesterday).  She's so proud.

That little turtle chair used to be Wes's. 

Once they go on, they stay on.  She loves sunglasses.

Doctor Visit

"Cause I am livin' in a material world, and I am a material girl...or boy." Oh my they are so 80's!

When we first saw their pictures they weren't even 3 months old yet.  Today they are almost 15 months old.  Crazy!

And just for nostalgia's sake, here is our referral day video.  What an emotional day!



I can't even imagine the adventures and dramas yet to come, but for now I will cherish this baby time.  Mamma & Daddy love you, Alex & Eliana!

So after all that has happened this past year, good and bad, I feel things stirring within me again. I feel the power and utter importance of the Gospel, and it's need to be taken to all the nations. I feel the need to do something, not just dream something.  I feel the need to take action, and not just talk about taking action.  When will we take ourselves beyond just talking about what we want to do for the Kingdom, and actually start doing them?  Oh Lord take us beyond ourselves.

The trailer below is just one sampling of what others around the world are sacrificing for their faith in Christ.  It is about the persecution of Christians around the world.  You'll even see Francis Chan in this trailer for a second.  My friend has been a part of writing the original score for it (from what I've heard so far, is beautiful!).  Check it out, and see what it stirs up within you.


"Love Costs Every Thing" Trailer from CIY Move on Vimeo.