Summer is sizzling to an end and we just wanted to post some photos of all that has happened.  We continue to post assuming (with some vanity) that someone is actually reading this! 

These photos are from our trip to the coast with uncle, auntie and cousin, bike riding, hanging out with friends, church camp, boating, and of course Ava's first American HAIRCUT! 

Hard to believe the summer is ending, it has been quite a ride.  Now we look ahead this month to the addition of our new baby girl, Ellis Mae Jones (it's official) and all of the joy and life change that she will bring! 

 

It is time!  The first day of school was monday and Ava nearly exploded with excitement!  So far so good.  Mrs King and class are everything that was promised.  She is so tired by the end of the day she can hardly keep her eyes open. (woo-hoo)

Monday when kate walked in to waked her up for her first day, she was laying there perfectly still with her eyes wide open just waiting! Enjoy the pictures!

Also included are some pictures of the flood damage to our basement.

We have just returned from a few not-so-lazy days on the lake in McCall.  The trip was great, our annual church camp, the girls had an awesome time.  In fact it would have been the perfect week away, if only our basement had not flooded while we were gone!  Thats right, a day or two after we left our sump-pump (grey water/sewage removal pump)  decided to release it's wonderfully smelling contents all over our downstairs.  Thank God for a few close friends and family that stepped up to the plate and did more than their share.  Thanks everyone who gave their time and resources to get it livable for our return we can't tell you how much we appreciate it (Mom, Dad, Kane, Tara, Jeff, Alan and the amazing crew at Xtreme Carpet Cleaning).  We have taken up the tack strip and deep clened the cement.  We moved the coach and TV back down and put down a few area rugs until we decide what to do next.  Pretty sweet!  I'm sure that basements have been flooding since the beginning of time, but still when it's yours it reall stinks (both literally and figurativelly).  I am posting a few pictures so you can get the idea!  Unfortunatly they haven't invented the tech for me to share the smell with you, so just use your imagination!

Kate's parents came down this weekend and helped us also, then we put together the girls new bunk beds, who new what a hit these would be!  They have been turned into forts, houses, mountains, you name it they've played it!

We, like the rest of the world, have been glued to the Olympics.  This is the first actual live TV (not a video or Tivo) that the girls have watched.  The are in awe of the swimming and gymnastics (aren't we all) and just can't get enough.  I can already see olympic rings bouncing around in Ava's brain.  She is not quite sure why all of these athletes do it, but she loves it!

 

Enjoy the pictures! (Kate took the camera to work!  I will post tonight)

We are back from the coast and trying to come to grips with the fact that the girls have been home for a whole year.  They have changed so much from they're accents (or lack there-of) to their health, size and weight.  It is truly amazing.  Leora could talk the hind leg off a mule, if she hadn't charmed him out of it first!  and Ava is getting so tall, I feel like we buy her new pants once a week.  Time is moving so quickly.

We bought a bigger car last weekend.  I know, gas prices, yada, yada, yada, but they made us a deal that we just couldn't refuse!  (it actually was a great deal)  Anyway, we are now the proud owners of a 7 passenger Jeep Commander.  Jeep, I know, seems odd for us, but it is working out great.  The girls love being able to see out from their seats and I have to admit I like the power and look of it!  The Passat was a great car, but since it was about to roll over 100,000 miles, I am glad to pass it on.

We head up to Summer Camp next week with the church and it should be a blast, the girls love camp.

We just bought bunk beds for the girls' room, I have yet to assemble them, but we own them none-the-less!  They are stoked to move their "baby beds" out and get big girl beds, ah, the little things.  Speaking of little things, this morning we brought an old wagon from our neighbors yard sale and Ava towed Leo around the yard for the entire day except for lunhtime and when they rode their bikes!  She is going to be tired tonight, then again Leo hardly moved her legs all day so...

 

 

o we have some sad news.  Last month we found out that our precious (though annoying) bulldog Ruby had cancer, and this last week she died.  It was very sad, but we are so glad that she is not in pain.  The girls miss her but they are excited of the prospect of getting a puppy in the future. (because puppies aren't dogs you know)  Ava, who never really cared for Ruby, said "we don't have a dog now, that's great!"  I have to admit, I am sad this week, she was my dog (christmas 2003) and kind of like our first child (or at least she thought she was). 

Enough with the sad stuff, We are settling in to the house just fine and it totally feels like home.  the neighbors are sweet and helpful and already we have had an exploding sump pump, broken sprinklers and the wall paper removal from hades!  Aaaaahhh, home ownership.

We celebrated the girls birthdays in style with a joint party and all their church friends.  It was mass pandamonium[sp] and completely overwhelming for all of us.  It was fun having grandma and grandpa there as well as nana and papi and auntie, uncle and cousin from Washington.  Woo Hoo!

The girls just had a great week at VBS, though Kate and I are thoroughly exausted.  Next week we head to the coast to celebrate our Gotcha Day with the girls.  Hard to believe it has been a year now.  We feel so blessed to have our girls here with us and we don't take our blessing for granted. Chris and Mandy are joining us at the coast, and we are all looking forward to a little R-n-R, the ocean, and some all-night scrabble.  After that it's off to Summer Camp on the lake in McCall and somehow after all of that, Ava gets to start kindergarden at Monroe which she is totally excited about!  And her best friend Cassie is starting kinder. there as well!  So fun. 

It's good to be back in the Land of Blog, I will talk Kate into bloggin g again soon i'm sure!

 

From snow to the warmth of April all in one blog!  So much has been happening lately that we are sorry to say that we left everyone behind here in Blogland.  Our little house sold in just 41 days (a miracle in this market) and we moved 2.5 weeks later into our new house!  Much like our old house, it was built in the same year but this one has twice the space, a great back yard for the girls, covered patio (for us) and the general old-home quirks and cuteness required by it's new owners.

The girls are loving it and now have a "bedroom" for their toys and a bedroom to sleep in.  In her typical type-A style, Kate got us painting the house the day we moved in (almost) and we were finished in a week.  We still have a few small things left, but all of the living space is complete and put together.  None too soon either, as we hosted Easter at our house this year!  It was a little crazy, we know, but what we lacked in organization we made up for with extra square footage.  Just before Easter, I had to go to Baton Rouge for a conference, which was excellent but it was the longest I have been away from the girls yet and that stunk.

They are growing so much and Leora is speaking very clearly (clear is a relative term at our house) and Ava is funnier everyday 9yesterday she renamed Ruby "Ruby-Michele" just like her moms name, they are such a joy.  A joyful handful.  Kate is working about 2 days a week, it is ok but she hates being apart from the girls.  I take them with me to work most of those days or someone watches them for us. 

I  have to get the camera out of the car to show you pictures of the house, hopefully that will happen today!  Today the girls and I are working in the yard, cleaning it up for spring. If this 70* weather is any indicator, summer will be here before you know it.

More soon, we promise (I know, you've heard that before)

 

So it seems like this has been a GOOD snow year in Boise, as I am writing this right now it is snowing like crazy!! I think that God cares about the little things, like two little girls who needed some snow fun.  Ii has been years since I have been sleading and playing in the snow.  We went last week to Brent's Aunts and Uncles in Garden Valley and went sleading.  We played until their little lips where blue, and then on the truck ride back to the house we get stuck in the snow.  It took us about 45 minutes, and a tractor to get the truck down to the house.   I dont know which Ava thought was more fun... sleading or a bunch of adults trying to get the truck un-stuck, she sat in the cab and had a grand time! After that day I went to buy my little snow bunny (Ava, she really likes to roll, dive, eat, etc in the snow) some snow pants,  we found a pair at Target that fit just right... THEY ARE 18 months!!!  My 4 1/2 year old wears 18 month snow pants!!! She loved them because they were purple, so we got them.  She did agree that next year she would pass them onto Leo and get bigger ones :)  

This week (with our new snow pants) we went sleading at Camel's back park... the hills are small, but fast and fun.  My brother, Mandy and Malachi were in town, and all three of the kinds played like great guns.  Ava took to screaming all the way down, and Leo thought that she should do that as well.It was really cute. Leo was much braver on our second sleading adventure, and almost pushed her sister off the slead a few times (she is not a huge fan of waiting her turn, but what 2 year old is?).   Malachi had just gotten a kids snow board and was trying it out, we had some good falls, and lots of fun.  Both Malachi and Ava ran into hay bails that were strapped to trees, but jumped up like champs!!! I'm hoping to post a few good snow fun pictures.

Happy new year to you all...

I was just looking over our photo albums from Africa until now and was blown away by the amazing year that we have had.  God has been so faithful to us every step of the way.  He provided a way where there was no way and brought us together as a forever family. 

The girls are SO excited about Christmas!  In their Sunday School classes and at home we have been talking about the Christmas story non-stop for weeks!  Highlighting Ava's intense interest in being born!  She talks about it all the time.  From our friends that are exspecting, to Jesus being born to Mary and all of the many Christmas songs that have the word "born" in them (there are many we have realized), it is definately a hot topic around our house!

We went a got our tree and had a blast decorating it.  The girls have made several ornaments for it and we love to walk in to the room and see them both just standing there silently staring at it all lit up! 

They are singing two songs with the big kids during the Christmas pageant at church and Ava practices several times a day.  They love to come to Worship Team practice with us and sing into their little microphones and dance.  Leo likes to play a few notes on the piano while I am playing.  It makes for a nice duet.

Leora has been under the weather but she is on the mend and fiesty as ever.

They are both stoked about our cousins (Justin and Jennifer Jollife) who are leaving the day after Christmas to bring home their little girl from China!  The girls fly their little airplanes around the house and the other day I heard Ava say "see you later Leo, I'm flying to China to bring home my baby"!  Yes, I cried a little!  They look at China on the globe all the time and they asked if we could go and see them at the airport when they get home.  Her name is Kaili (kay-lee) but the girls call her China Baby.  Please pray for Justin and Jennifer and the family that all will go smoothly for them in China and back at home!

 

This time of year we like to be near those we love.  With friends all over the place that makes it a little bit difficult.  We love you all and hope to see you or talk to you soon.

 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year From the Jones'

 

Brent, Kate, Ava, Leora (& Ruby)

For our first Thanksgiving together as a family we packed up the wagon and headed north to Spokane to visit Kate's family.  The long drive makes the girls a little stir crazy but the promise of seeing Poppi, Nana, unca Chris, auntie Mandy and Malachi does much to ease the pain of the 7 hours drive.  We had a great time and they played their little hearts out with their cousin and poppi, it was loads of fun! 

While there we tried (emphasis added) to get a family picture taken... right.  Anyhoo.  We all ate more food than we should have, except the girls who prefered chicken nuggets to turkey and stuffing, shocking!  This week the girls really started to zero in on Christmas (who needs Thanksgiving anyway) and on Black Friday KAte and I and Nana and Poppi headed out into the land of malls, target, weird promotions, and tired, crazed and overstuffed shoppers to pick out a few things for the girls christmas.  The girls must have sensed our intent because when we called to check in with them and their auntie at home the first thing they asked was "what did you get me"?  Oh how American they have become in just four short months!

Leo is talking so much and the scary thing is that you can understand her!  Everyday they seem more and more at home and peaceful.  They love church and sunday school, Ava especially loves her friends!  She talks about them all the time.  Ava is also very much into her birthday since she has attended several b-day gatherings and saw the gifts!  She was particularly enthralled with grandma's birthday party a few days before we left for Washington.

The Ava and Leo-isms continue on a daily basis with hysterical facial exspressionas and great words like "lesterday" (yesterday) and "shersh" (finished) and to Leo, Kate and I are always referred to in plural; mommies, daddies and of course my time-saving favorite; mommiedaddies.  Good times had by all!

Everyday we are more and more thankful for these amazing little being that have taken us by storm, God has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined possible.

We will try to post some pictures of our trip asap.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

So I am just getting online to blog this morning and I was shocked to see that the last time I blogged was the end of September!!  What a horrible blogger I have become!!! I am so SORRY. I have to say that I love to see when people update their blogs regularly, and I can see all that is going on in their lives.  Anywho... we has a great October.  LOTS of playing in the leaves and playing with friends.  Those of you who have been to our house know that we have more leaves than any human should have to deal with :)  Ava loves to not only play in them, but she even helps rake!!! YEAH! We curently have about 8 huge piles of leaves in our front yard, that I just dont have the heart to put into bags because they are they girls favorite toy! Just lately the girls have really started to enjoy playing with friends and are taking a lot of ownership of their friends.  Leo likes to play with the big girls, and really dosen't like to stoop down to playing with other two year olds.  Ava loves to go to class at church, and talks about it all week.  I worried so much those first weeks about her, but she is a champ and loves very minute of it.  Leo will only stay if she is allowed to go in (with her sister) to the 3,4,5 year old class.  But she refuses to mingle in to 2 year old class. 

The highlight of our month was Halloween! We told the girls that it was a day that you got to wear something special, and people (Grandma and miss Betty) gave you candy! since we went so early in the afternoon, no one else was out trick or treating, so we are pretty sure that the girls think that this is a day just for them!  I think this was a fun first "holiday". I'll put up some pictures! They were two of the cutest princesses that you have ever seen.  They loved dressing up, and I did their hair special. (I started early, just in case)

Other than that we are starting to fall into a really good routine, and that is nice. 

On an unrelated topic... Brent and I have been trying to buy a new house (or add on, or add a basement or something to give us more space) and we have had no luck!! We have made a few offers and none of them have worked out... in the process of looking at house after house, we have realised that we are real estate addicts!!! We told our realtor the other day that we promise to enroll in a 12-step program :) I know that God has the perfect thing out there for us.  I guess all the patience that I learned from our adoption is coming in handy!!!

 

 

 I thought that I would put a few new pictures on here :) Yesterday we went to the corn maze/pumpkin patch and had a BLAST!!! We are all doing really well.  The girls are getting bigger by the day and are talking more and more, somedays I can't get a edgewise! Enjoy the pictures! And Happy FALL

This had been a hard/ weird week! Last weekend a friend of ours passed away suddenly, after a massive heart attack.   He was a drummer on our River Valley Worship Team, and just a good man.  He was 39.  Tomarrow is his funeral, and I think that like many others it just hasn't totally sunk in yet.  I know that HE is with the Lord, and there is comfort in that, but it is never easy to face these tragic things.  PLEASE pray for his wife and children, that God would hold them up in this time, and be their strength. That God would give them the comfort that only He can. And that our friends life would be a testimony of Jesus' saving power, and many would come to know Christ through this time. 

Times like these make me reflect on life and realise that I cannot take it for granted.  I spend to much time worrying about little things when the BIG things are whats important! God gave me the most amazing husband, and I am forever grateful that he and I get to travel this road, with all its ups and downs together.  I cannot imagine this life without Brent, and I never want to take him or our wonderful marriage for granted!!! God blessed us with two amazing Liberian Daughters!! I know that GOD brought Ava and Leo to us and He is trusting us with them.  I pray everday that He will help us raise amazing young women that serve him.  And that our bond as a family will be SO tight that it can never be broken!

Tonight... tell the ones you love how much they mean to you, I know I will.

I want to start by saying that I am sorry that it has been almost two weeks since I have blogged!!!  Actually right now everyone is asleep (including Brent, it is his day off) and I thought that this would be a nice way to spend afternoon rest.  Things in the Jones household are going really well.  It so many ways I feel like I have had twins (going from 0 to 2 children), and most days I am just trying to wear them out so that they will sleep at night.   BUT in a little more than two months things are going really well, and I cannot imagine life without my beautiful daughters. 

Ava is doing really well, she just figured out what her "last name" is and has been calling herself AVA JONES most of the time.  She seems to really like her new name.  That was one of my biggest worries, (will she like it? how to introduce it? etc.)  She has learned hide and seek (or 1,2,3 here I come, as she calls it) a few weeks ago and she loves it, everything in the house has become a hiding spot, Including the dirty laundrey basket! NASTY-- thanks Nana for that idea!  Whenever it is quite for more than a few seconds that means she has marched her sister into a hiding spot and they are waiting for me to notice.  As I get close to the spot of choice I can always hear them shushing each other (I love that).  They always LOVE to be found, they laugh and scream like it was the first time I ever found them!  

Ava had to go with me to the chiropractor the other day and she was really quite and good.  She seemed really interested in whatever it was that he was doing, and you could almost see her 4 year old wheels turning.  We got out to the car, I buckled her in to her seat in silence (and that is VERY rare) and just as I am pulling out of the parking lot she says "Mama, that man touched your butt"  it was all I could do to not die laughing!

Leo has really started to be TWO years old, she is starting to talk a lot and has decided that she shouldnt have to do what anyone tells her.  It is funny because she has not been like this until about 2 weeks ago.  All the sudden she just starting "putting her little two year old foot down".  As you can imagine this has made Brent and I have to be really consistant with our discipline.  But we are already seeing results. 

She is growing like a weed!!! When she came home from Liberia she wore a size 2 shoe (at 27 months) and she is already in a 4 and i am buying her size 5!!!  The best part is along with the stubborness has come The True Leora, I think we are finally starting to see this little thing for who she really is.  Lots of smiles, laughs, and LOTS of "doing hair"... (her doing ours, with pretend grease and all)

They both are so GREAT and I have been so blessed to see how well they are doing.  With everthing that they have been through they are truly amazing little girls and I am thankful that God brought them into our forever family!

 

PS... We have had some really great nights!!! many with only 1 or 2 times that we are getting up, and a few that Ava has slept all the way through.  Thanks for all your prayers.  My sanity is slowly returning to me :)

So i was thinking this morning (as i was being kicked by a whiney 2 year old) that this has become a bad habit.  The truth is that both Brent and I love to sleep in... suprise, suprise.  If you have read our blog at all you know that sleeping has been one of the hardest challenges since we have been home with the girls.  I have to say that it is getting MUCH better, but in the wee hours of the morning i am weak! And i am willing to do things that i would not normally advocate! LIKE letting the girls into our bed!!! Even as i am writing this I am thinking i shouldn't let them do that, but like i said i am weak when i have not had enough sleep.   The worst part is that Brent and i still sleep in a full size bed.  This bed feels fine with just the two of us (we like to snuggle) but with two little floppers there is not enough room.  I have even moved to the couch after putting them into our bed!  The hardest part is that the can be crying, hungry, whiney and NOT want to go back to sleep, but as soon as i put them in our bed they are OUT till about 8:30.  How can i resist sleeping till 8:30!!! All in all i guess if that is the worst bad habit that we pick up, then we will live.  Although we may have to get a bigger bed :) (i am going to try to post a picture of Leo snuggled up in our bed)

Other than that we are doing well,  we went to Spokane a few weeks ago and had a BLAST.  The girls did awesome, as we met a lot of new family(Brent may have blogged about this already).   I am glad that my children have finally met Uncle Chris, Antie Mandy and the infamous cousin MALACHI (i posting a picture of him and the girls "riding" on Brent)

 September is here and we have just returned from a road trip to Washington so the girls could meet their aunt, uncle, cousin and other extended family members.  It went great and everyone had a good time.  Leora has now gained enough weight that her car seat can be turned around and faced front.  This is HUGE!!!  It makes going in the car (particularly road trips) so much easier!

They are both growing so much and everyday it seems like our bond as a forever family is growing.  Tonight we left them for the first time to go for a short date!  That's right, for two hours they had the time of their lives with their Uncka Trey!  They adore Trey, and Kate and I had a wonderful (if not a little apprehensive) time, just the two of us.  As we walked to the restaraunt we talked about just how blessed we are as a family and how amazed we are at the progress we are making day by day.

Yesterday it was my turn to preach at church and so the night before i made the mistake of asking Ava if she would rather listen to daddy preach or go to class, to which she answered "Go to class" without missing a beat!  As a children's pastor I should know that you never ask a child a question that you don't want the answer to!

Kate just reminded me that we are supposed to be blogging about "Ava-izms" so in closing I will share this:

Today we were headed to Costco when we suddenly realized that we had forgotten our Costco card ( I know this has never happened to any of you) this would have been no big deal except that Ava absolutely LOVES Costco and was so disapointed.  Just then Kate said that we could just go across the street to Walmart and get a few things that we needed to get by, so instead of Costco we went to Walmart.

In lew of this switch, Ava now calls Walmart "Dirty Costco" (thank you Kate)!

well i was thinking all day yesterday about blogging and honestly never found a free moment, (as a new mom this is a concept that i still am getting use to) So today i am going to take advantage of this free moment... IE nap-time... and blog instead of cleaning up my house and folding the huge pile of laundry that is still sitting on the couch next to me :)  I was thinking how much fun we are having!!! The girls are amazing and they have me laughing most of the time.  Ava with the FUNNY things that she says and Leo with her crazy faces.   Dont get me wrong we still have out challenges EVERYDAY and some times i would do anything for a quite moment just me, a cup of coffee, and someone giving me a pedi :) That still seems like a dream a few thousand miles away!

So... I though that i would give you all a more bit of insight into this crazy family a month later!!!

The girls have been sleeping better, but we are still up at least once every night.  Ava use to wake up crying and whining, but she has been learning to just say MAMA and i will come right in.  I must admit this is a MUCH better way to wake in the middle of the night.  She always wants someone to lay with her untill she falls asleep, and i am amazed at all the ways i have contorted my body into a toddler bed. We have spent a few nights on the floor (she loves this) so mama or daddy can stretch out.  I have decided that since i am already awake in the night to start giving Leo a bottle at night.  This seems to be working, she is now up to 19ish LBS!!! She sleeps really well most nights, but once she is awake she is a pill to get back to sleep, she want to fall asleep in your arms ONLY! Not in your bed, not in her crib, not laying next to you on the floor.  I havent been to the gym in months, but my arms are getting stronger by the day.  Many nights this is an hour or more of standing and rocking her in our arms.   Ava is a great eater, and wants breakfast ASAP when she wakes, this is abnormal for me but i'm learning. She loves Pizza, corn flakes, eggs, french toast, peanut butter, ice cream and ANYTHING MEAT.  She pulls apart everything and and asks whats the meat part :) The other night we were eating tacos and i tryed to mix the ground beef and black beans, and she promptly told me that the beans we NOT MEAT!!! i have yet to find a veggie either one of them will eat, and i just this week got them to eat a few fruit items!!! YEAH. Leo is the pickest eater known to man, i try to tell her that she can not still be ona bottle at three, but i think that she is going to try.  She thinks that any meal is PLAY time and silverware it just another toy.  She has a grand time most days at the table, but there is very little eating that actually happens.  She has started eating bananas, and the other night she proved to us that she cound eat by eating a whole bowl of ice cream, when my fokes to us to dinner.  So i know that there is an appitite down there somewhere!!! Both girls LOVE the prak down the hill from our house, they swing and slide there little hearts out.  They also love to go on walks (i walk, they sit in the stroller) they always comment on everything and sing these little rymthic song, either one they heard or made-up.  They both LOVE music, Ava will be singing a song sfter just hearing it once. Hearing Leo sing in her little voice is one of the cutest things i hvae ever heard!!!  They dance and shake their tiny booties (YES-- they really do) anytime they hear misic.  They like to go to "DADDY WORK" (Brent works at our church) and see him and play in his office.   They love their babies, and are really good players, they love books and have attached to a few that we end up reading two or three times a day!!! i really dont even need the books anymore, i know they by heart.  Tickling is one of their VERY favorite games ("this little piggie" is high on the chart too).  They ask for more and more, and are starting the understand that they can tickle each other too :) It has been amazing seeing their little personalities come out, and it is a blessing to see them in action. Both girls love to cuddle and to be held, they hug and kiss us a lot and i love that. 

Well i wanted to post a few picts before they wake up so i better end for today, i'll try to do a few of my favorite "AVA QUOTES" next time i blog:)

 

So we have to say SORRY for not posting for such a long time!!! Mostly we are enjoying some VERY busy days and blogging just never seems better the sleep!!! Also we went up and spent 5 days with the girls in beautiful McCall. We all had a blast and spent heaps of time at the beach.

This is our churches annual Family Camp, and this is the first year for us to have a family! It was a much different experence then years past, Gone are the days of getting up as we hear breakfast being served, or falling asleep basking in the sun.  The hardest past was doing our "job" at camp, leading worship.  We have always been able to do it together, but this year one tried... and i mean tried, to wrangle the troops, while the other one lead worship.  Brent ended up getting sick, and that added to the craziness. 

Other then that things are going really well, everyday the girls do more and more.  They both are so fun and outgoing.  They love to sing, dance and be tickled.  I have to say Ava amazes me everyday, she talks up a blue streak, and says some really funny, adult-like things. The other day she was preaching hellfire and brimstone to us... she told us that we would BURN in the FIRE!!! I almost died! Leo is really coming out of her shell.  She will babble all day and point her tiny little finger, and nod at you when she is talking to you.  It is really cute. She scoots around the house like she runs the show, and i think that she might!

Blessing, and we hope you are loving the last of your summer!!!

So today has really been a wonderful day, mostly beacuse it started with only minor wake up through the night, and they went right back to sleep!!! Brent and I decided that it would count as the first time they slept throught the night!!! AND that makes me a very happy mama! ( i do not function well on little to no sleep.)  We went to the doctor for our first visit today, it really was quite smooth.  Ava did awesome, and Leo was scared, but only cryed twice.  I had to admit i was expecting the worst, and A LOT of screaming.  Really there were no major issues right off the bat.  Their weights are a big deal, Ava is 27 lbs (up two lbs from when we picked her up), and Leora is 17 lbs and 9 ounces (she has not gained at all!!!).  We are going to go and do a blood draw tomarrow, that should be fun...HeHe.  We are also going to treat them both for worms, just in case.  Also is was a good day because i was able to add some photos!!! Sorry to leave you all hanging, Brent the Wonder Boy was some how albe to make it work, after i had been trying for days.  Plus we took a nap with no crying!!! God is so good. 

I promised pictures, but i cannot seem to get them to work! Sorry, i'll try again later 

Home at last!  We thought we would put some pictures on here of the girls at home with us.  Everyonr is adjusting well, even Ruby, and the girls are getting a little better about sleeping through the night. (that was faith speaking)

We have been laying pretty low, just hanging out at home, playing in the pool, walking to the park and things like that.  We went in to the church today so the girls could see where i go when i drive away and go to work.  They found my pistures of them on my desk and were pleased as punch, they cried when they had to leave them there. 

They love to sing and dance and play their drum.  We are also learning a lot of Liberian phrases/words such as trousers=pants (makes sense now)  and their use of interesting words like when Ruby walked by Ava and slobbered on her leg Ava screamed "Daddy, Ruby got something nasty on my leg"  That is the first four year old I have ever heard that uses the word nasty and in context! 

Pray that both will start sleeping at night and that the jeglag will end - this in our number one priority at the moment.  We are doing well and enjoying life as a family, enjoy the pictures!