Rainy Day Fun

Wonder what to do on a rainy day when you can't get outside and play?  Play in the sink of course!

Could She Be Your Jewel?

This precious little doll is the child of the month on Reece's Rainbow.  Her name is "Gemma" which means jewel.  Isn't that beautiful?!  She is just so stunning and her beautiful smile caught my eye.

Gemma lives in China and recently turned 6 years old.  Here is what Reece's Rainbow says about her...

"At the age of 2 years, Gemma was sent to a foster family. She learned to walk, likes to ride children’s slide. At the age of 3 years, she can eat with a spoon and cooperate when dressing. At the age of 4 years, she received education in a kindergarten near the institute. Under the guidance of the teacher there, she has improved much in language and can say phases of 3-4 words like “I want to be cool” and “I want a car.” At the age of 5 years, she likes to imitate adults. Now with the increasing of age and knowledge, she does well in other aspects but is a little delayed in mental development due to Down syndrome. She can use mandarin and Hakka to express her needs or wills. She can basically take care of herself. She has learned to take on or off clothes and shoes. She can point out her five sense organs and she is a very good child.

Gemma is active, outgoing and lovely. She likes to be with familiars and likes to be cuddled and play with toys or games. Sometimes, she would be tender. Like if she is not happy, she would cry. But she would calm down after comforting or being alone for a while. If you give her little snacks, she would be very happy. When she is happy, she would share food and toys with other children. But when she is naughty, she would also rob other children of their toys. She gets on well with other children and everyone adores her and we hope she would have her own family as soon as possible."

If you or someone you know is in the process of adopting from China, I just know that sweet Gemma would make a precious daughter!  Feel free to share her beautiful story as I prayerfully ask the Lord to bring her a family!

Here is a link to Gemma's Reece's Rainbow page!

Children's Day

Each year on May 5, Children's Day is celebrated in South Korea.  It is an official holiday and a time when families celebrate the future of the county....the kids!  You can read more about it here.

We wanted to make the weekend extra special for Beau as a way of celebrating Children's Day!

Saturday night we made homemade ice cream! Yum!  It is actually more of a dairy free sorbet and it is so yummy!

Sunday we planned to go to the Children's Museum.  We arrived and it was really crowded and Beau was really content to just ride in his stroller, so we decided to go the the aquarium instead.  (Erica...if you are reading this, don't worry.  We totally want to go back with you and Matt!)

We all loved the aquarium.  We have lived in Atlanta for 5 years, and this was our first time to go.  It was great because many of the exhibits are so large that Beau could easily stay in his stroller and still see everything.  Other times, we got him out of the stroller and let him explore!

Just in case you are interested, here is the recipe for the ice-cream:

~ 2-3 cartons of strawberries (or any other fruit you like)
~ 2 large cans of coconut milk
~ vanilla to taste (start with a tablespoon and add more to your liking)
~ a few squirts of agave syrup

Mix all of your ingredients and add to an ice-cream machine!  Enjoy!

Bread Anyone?

Apparently Beau was tired of playing with his pretend food, so he found the bread! What a clever guy!

Date Night

Raleigh and I spent the weekend in Nashville and enjoyed a date night to the movies Saturday night.  It was our first date since Beau came home and it was fun to go out as a couple.  We put Beau to bed before we left and my parents "babysat" the monitor while we were away.  

Here we are getting ready to leave for our date!  We went to a 9:00pm movie, and I am usually going to bed at that time. LOL! Luckily, I stayed awake for the whole movie!  

We also took a walk down memory lane and took a few pictures in front of the chapel where we got married.  We will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary this month!  Yay! 

A Few Pictures from the Week

I hope you are having a great week! Here are a few snapshots from our week!

Beau likes to show us how flexible he is! He can totally put his feet in his mouth! 

My "go to" meal for lunch is pasta because it is so fast and easy to prepare.  Beau loves marinara sauce!

Unfortunately, it takes longer to clean up our pasta lunch than it does to prepare. 

The mess is worth it to see that adorable smile! 

One thing we love about our neighborhood is that there is a wonderful playground.

Beau is learning how to play in the sand! 

I think he is going to love the beach this summer!

Look, mom! I'm driving! 

Beau loves looking for rocks! 

Beau is never too far from his beloved pillows!  They were our couch pillows, but Beau attached to them as his "lovie" when he came home.  He has definitely left his mark on the pillows...chewed corners and all! 

And just keeping it real...this is Beau's mad face!  He is a normal 22 month old boy, so we have plenty of smiles and plenty of tears too!  I think this little mini melt-down  was because I gave him water instead of orange juice in his sippy cup.  Oh sweet boy.  

What I'm Reading

Raleigh has started a little tradition to buy me a few new books for my birthday each year.  If you know me, you know I love a good tradition! :)

This year I opened four new books.  In no particular order, here is my current reading list.

Bloom  by Kelle Hampton




Radical Together by David Platt

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

Father Fiction by Donald Miller

I also got an Am*zon gift card from Raleigh's parents, and I have ordered 2 other books.


Spirit-Led Parenting by Megan Tiez and Laura Oyer

Love Does by Bob Goff

So, what are you reading?