Celebrating a year since...

I LOVE November 5th! The LONG awaited for day in which we received our "match" for beautiful Shani Mihret! Here is her match photo taken just 2 days after coming into Holt's care...


And... here she is one year later!

What a happy girl... and we are SO incredibly blessed that the Lord brought this little one into our family!

It's Harvest time...

And the kiddos are lookin' cute! Here's the cutest train conductor showing off his dimples! :)

And... check out this happy little lady bug!

What a pair!

Cuteness continued...

Some little cutie's hair is getting long... so someone else has started "playing"... the first result...



What does Shani think? She was ALL giggles!!! (That is... after the hair ties were in place! oh dear...)



Now... as promised... little more walking and talking...

She walks!

For all her adoring fans... here she is! Big Brother Micah started BIG walking the day after he turned 13 months... hmm... so did Little Sister! Way to go cutie!

Coming soon... an update of other "1sts"!... 1st b-day, 1st pony ride, 1st car! tee... hee...

Adventure Day!

We took our first "REAL" hike as a family yesterday! We explored a bit of the Tillamook National Forest and found some awesome campgrounds and trails to explore! Micah was a TROOPER! 1 hour uphill with only 2 stops for snacks! Not bad little buddy! :)



Shani, of course, rode in style!!! And was all smiles! She's an outdoor girl just like our boy!

Once we made it back down the trail, we conquered a STEEP embankment and found the COOLEST swimming hole! We weren't prepared for getting wet... but we are quickly learning that to a 3 1/2 year old... whatever clothes you have on... WORK!!!

What is that you are holding Micah? Hmm.... take a guess... and scroll down...

The big AWESOME surprise of our adventure was finding a massive population of pollywogs! Pure delight for Micah!!!!

Baby Dedication & Family Celebration Day!

We were blessed to dedicate Shani's sweet life to Jesus today at church! Both Micah and Shani did wonderfully up on stage in front of the "big church". Micah was so excited that he got to give Pastor John "knuckles"!!! (Thanks John!!!)

My favorite picture from the dedication... prayer time... 3 heads bowed (good boy Micah!!!!) ... 1 looking up to heaven and talking to Jesus himself I am sure! :)


Look at this angel in her first "full length gown"! We purchased this dress at the leprosy hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a special occasion for Shani! This was it! What a beautiful angel!

Thank you to all our family and friends who were able to share in this wonderful occasion with us! We are so thankful for your loving support, prayers and encouragement and so blessed by this precious life that we have been entrusted with!

I cried at the barbershop...

Ok... I know I have a soft heart... but last night I found myself watching my 3 1/2 year-old transform into a really BIG boy while sitting in the barber's chair. I believe my exact words were... "Maybe a little shorter for summer"... one swoop of "the buzzer"... AND...



... I found myself teary-eyed and looking at David and mouthing the words "I'm going to cry... I need to leave..." Shani and I rapidly excused ourselves for a short walk while the buzzing continued! Ok... he's seriously WAY cute! But I think that was one of the last stages of baby-hood for mommy's little guy!

And the winner is....

The movin' and groovin' stage has begun! Check out this video... the official taste test!

That's my girl!!!!

1st Trip to the Beach!

We took our first trip to the beach over the 4th of July weekend!

First stop? Seaside Outlet Mall for some WARM clothes!!! We were dressed for the 90 degree weather in Forest Grove... not the 60 degree haze that greeted us at the coast! :)

Second stop? The Seaside Aquarium!

Shani tried SO hard to grab the fish in this tank. I held her here for about 10 minutes while she rapped on the glass (sorry fishies... it was just so cute!!!)!!!

Meanwhile, big brother Micah was REALLY enjoying the "touch me" bins! His favorite of course was letting the hermit crab walk all over his hand. REALLY... he is ALL boy! I love you my brave little dude!

Next stop? SAND! I call Shani our texture girl! She LOVES to explore all the different textures around her... (Example: she is fascinated where our carpet in our living room turns into the hardwood floor!) So, her response to sand? WONDERFUL excitement and total analyzation (is that a word?)!

Time for lunch! At our family tradition spot! Mo's! Bring on the chowder! Yummy for our tummies! Where's Shani? FAST ASLEEP!!!!!

4th of July Water Fun!

What are you watching cutie???

Oh! I see... you're looking at the Reece boys having a BALL of fun on the 4th of July! While we didn't catch any major fireworks... we sure did have fun outside in the yard!

Seriously... look at that face! TOTAL enjoyment! tee... hee... How many kids ARE in the Reece family anyway? :) Love you honey!

4th of July Fun!

Prepare yourself to giggle...

Really... there is nothing more to say!

It's Not Easy Being GREEN... or is it?

Ok... when I was 3... I don't remember it being so "fun" to be sick...

Fast forward to 2009... let's see... movies in bed... a blue cup for ice water... a green cup for apple juice... cuddly buddies, blankies, and pillows... sign me up (OK... maybe not the sickness... but I'll take a day of relaxation!)!



And what about baby sister... she's zonked out too!


So, what does Mommy do on a "quiet day"... catch up on blogging! tee... hee...

The Blessings of Mother's Day!

The girls started celebrating Mother's Day on Saturday at a Teddy Bear Picnic Tea at church with Great Grandma, Grammie, Great Auntie Dodo, Mommy & Shani! Shani was escorted to the tea by Pookie Bear (Mommy's special teddy bear from Daddy that he gave her when he proposed over 5 years ago!)

Mommy's Day on Sunday was a special family day that started with a yummy meal made by Micah and Daddy while Mommy and Shani worked on getting pretty for the day...

Baby doll you are drooling too... are you getting teeth like me?

Funny girl!!!!


After breakfast we took a few pics outside before church... Shani tells good stories, doesn't she Micah? :)



During nap-time Daddy and I put together a special Mommy's Day present for the family to enjoy!

Welcome to Fort Rock!


Look! A perfect fit! :)

Ok... maybe the kiddos fit a bit better!

May Birthday Bashes!

Great Grandpa turned 97 on May 3rd! What a blessing to be able to share yet another b-day with him! Look at these smiles... I remember thinking that his grandchildren (ie. me, my sister & cousin) were his joy... hmm... I think we've been replaced by his GREAT-grandchildren! tee... hee...

I just can't help but think how when Grandpa was born in 1912 his parents probably never imagined that the family line would include this precious girl! God is so faithful to make our families!

Mommy (that's me) turned 28 (AGAIN... tee... hee...) on the 8th... and had fun making cupcakes and a cake with my little buddy Micah! He got to decorate the cake all on his own... it had a nice hole in the middle... but it is amazing how a "little" frosting can fix any boo-boo!!!

And... we celebrated in style at Out of This World Pizza with Daddy & the kiddos! What a wonderful place to be a kid (and a kid-at-heart!!!)

8 months old and...

What a big month this has been! Shani is doing great and continuing to transition wonderfully into our family!

This month's highlights for her include:

Rolling over from tummy to back!

Eating solid foods! (And growing like crazy!!!)


Sitting up and playing!!!!

And her first tooth is coming in, so this may be the last of the gummy smiles! Oh... sad.... that went TOO fast!!!

Big Brother Micah had his own share of milestones!!! His first trip to Disneyland with Daddy! Wow! Now that's a Boy's Adventure!!!!

And his first fishing trip with Grammie and Papa O. at a wonderful stocked lake newar our home... AWESOME for toddlers and newbies...

Look at the concentration... (on all our faces!!! tee... hee...)

Ahh!!! The CATCH!

And... Every BOYS dream... salamanders! Micah had SO much fun catching these with a net and his bare hands... and he loved showing (scaring) his sweet mommy as well!!!

Yeah Big Brother! You are a great fisher-dude!!!

Easter Blessings!

What a wonderful start to spring! We've had wonderful warm sunny days mixed with breezy rainy Oregon days! We've had so much fun watching everthing SPRING up in the yard and are working on getting some natural Vitamin D.

Last week at church we had the joy of watching Micah wave a palm branch as the children paraded through the church as we sang "Hosanna in the Highest"!

This week we enjoyed coloring Easter eggs...

Hiding and hunting and enjoying the goods!!!!...

...and celebrating the true reason for this wonderful day... as best said by Micah...

And... looking cute in our Easter clothes....

It was such a joy-filled day at church as well! We love our church family and were surprised to be greeted by so many people we had never even met before! As we sat down for service... and opened the program entitled "Joy in the morning!" we rejoiced in reading the announcement of Shani's arrival to our family! What a fun day!

7 months old & 100 WISHES!!!

We ALL did it! We just received our 100th quilt piece so we can joyfully begin piecing Shani's beautiful quilt together! Yippee!!! Be sure to check out the quilt blog!!!

Thank you to all who contributed to this beautiful family tapestry and representation of God's love for our precious girl!

Here she is... 7 months old! Happy & healthy!

And having fun with her AWESOME big brother Micah!