Family, Family Everywhere!

This weekend our little family of three headed down to Houston for a weekend full of family!



First, we packed for our first trip with Landrie. It took forever! Here's a shot of her little suitcase. Do you see the entire container of bows? :) On the way home, we could barely fit everything; poor Max just had a tiny spot next to Landrie's carseat. Mark said he thinks we need a bigger car already!!

On Friday Mark, Landrie and I spent time with my parents and Nonny. We all just passed her around and loved on her. They couldn't believe how much she's grown!

Saturday morning we headed over to Mark's grandma's. It's so nice that she lives in Houston now!
Grandma was completely taken with Landrie and thinks she is beautiful!! We missed seeing the rest of Mark's Houston family, but we gave Grandma lots of pictures, so be sure to ask her about them! We can't wait to introduce the rest of you to Landrie too. :)

Saturday afternoon we got Landrie all dressed up in her orange and black cuteness and headed over to Melissa's parent's Annual Chowder Party. I think it's been a tradition for about 40 years! I started going when my brother started dating Melissa, back when I was in elementary school!

Aunt Melissa, Aunt Christy, and Melissa's parents, Granny and Pops loved on Landrie at the Chowder Party.

Cousins Braiden, Brooke and Abbie couldn't get enough of holding the newest addition to the family. Braiden was the master at getting her to smile at him. :) Several times during the party there was a line of people wanting to hold her! She did great being passed around, and didn't even cry! Bennett got a big kick out of kissing her tiny toes!
Mark and my brothers, Eric and Kevin, relaxing at the party. They were all holding her too, but I never got pictures! Knowing my family, I'm sure someone else did!



We headed over to Webb and Tristan's to go trick or treating. Everyone looked so cute in their costumes.
Bennett was sooo excited about his candy!


Adelynn the fairy loves all things girlie and was in heaven when I did her hair and makeup. :)

Abbie's costume was so creative! I still can't believe she's almost 10!

Brooke LOVES Toy Story and made the most adorable Woody ever!!

I asked Anna for her best Hannah Montana pose, and I got a full performance! Lori, I'm sure she'd let you borrow her costume if you'd like... :)

They made it about 2 feet inside the front door before they dumped their candy and started sampling their loot. YUM!
The whirlwind continued on Sunday with a baby shower for Landrie.

It was so good to see Laura again!


My sweet hostesses, Melissa, Gail and Christy, did a fantastic job on the shower!!

Melissa got Landrie these ADORABLE shoes!


This life jacket will be perfect for next summer!

Mark's Granny sent Landrie her first Christmas dress. I love it!

Don't these cookies look good? You can't tell in the picture, but they even had shimmery frosting.

Landrie was passed around the table the whole time. She's such a little snuggler!

In the middle of this weekend, a MIRACLE happened. We were ALL so excited, because I had shared Dave and Bethany's story with my family, and they had been praying too. We were both adopting babies just a few weeks apart. After they took care of Isaac for the 48 hour waiting period, their birth parents decided not sign the paperwork. We've been heartbroken and praying with them as we all waited to see how God would answer our prayers.

On Saturday, their birth parents suddenly changed their minds, signed the papers and chose Dave and Bethany to be Isaac's parents! We drove back into town, dropped Max off at the house, and went straight over to their house to meet this sweet baby. I loved hearing about everything, and I cried and cried!! He's so beautiful!

I am so bummed that I didn't take any pictures last Thursday! I had my shower with all my friends from school. At the last minute, I decided to bring Landrie along. I'm glad I did! I'm not so sure they would have let me in empty handed. :) The shower was scheduled for the Tuesday when we were still in the hospital. We're teachers, so we're good at being flexible, right? :) We had Ruthie's world famous chocolate cake, and Landrie got all kinds of great gifts. She slept through the whole thing!


Our school has GREAT teachers, and it was so good to see everyone again! We started trying to have a baby when I started working there, so many of them have been a great support for me through these years! I'll be heading back for a few weeks of work on Monday, and it's good to know I'll be going back to friendly faces!