Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!  We had such a busy weekend, and I have so many pictures to show you, but I will start with these...

We started our Valentine's weekend by making Valentine's cookies...

By last night, all the cookies were gone!!!;)  Stay tuned for more pics...

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Edited to add our Valentine's Breakfast photos...

We woke up at 5am for cinnamon rolls made with love...

Elli had a hard time waking up... 

Until her big brother Brandon woke up...

 

We ate cinnamon rolls... 

And then we tackled our mountain of homemade valentines...

 

I tried to take pictures as we were opening valentines, but it was taking too long and we had to get through the opening of valentines so that the boys could go to school.  Sooooo, I took photos of the AMAZING valentines that the boys made for each other and for Elli and Daddy and myself after the boys went to school.  These were the valentines Trevor received...

Joshua's valentine to Trevor included a coupon for a free putting of the clothes away...

These are the valentines Brandon received...

Joshua's valentine to Brandon included a coupon for a free bed making...

 

These are the valentines Joshua received...

These are the valentines I received from my boys... 

Joshua's valentine to me was so creative...

These are the valentines Daddy received... 

These are the valentines Reagan received... 

He loved them!!

These are the valentines Jason received... 

He loved his as well...

These are the valentines Elli received... 

Elli had a fun time opening her valentines... 

Joshua's favorite valentine was the one mommy and daddy gave him - a homemade marionette... 

Soooooo much love!!!!  I am a blessed Mommy!  Stay tuned for Valentine's Day dinner photos...

Agenda...

The focus of my "family" blog today may not appear to be family oriented, but it is...only from a different perspective.  My family and I watched a documentary today called Agenda.  If you are an American, you need to watch this documentary.  If you are a Christian American, you have a responsibility to not only watch this documentary, but to share it with as many people as you can!!  Here is a little of what you will see...

AGENDA: Grinding America Down (Trailer) from Copybook Heading Productions LLC on Vimeo.


Happy Updates!!

I just finished reading about the family that Olga is going to belong to - God is so good.  If you can, you should go and see for yourself how good He is!!!  AND - I still cannot tell you about Peter's new family, but you are not going to believe how amazing this set-up is!!!!  I cannot put enough exclamation points in this post - it is all so AWESOME!!  I have to admit that I am getting a little "high" off of all of this - I love praying for these kids and watching as God puts everything together so perfectly for all of them.  So, on that note, meet Artem...

Artem is another little boy with little time left before being transferred to the Mental Institution.  I mentioned in an earlier post about how yucky the mental institutions in America are, and how utterly horrid they must be in other countries.  The TODAY show did a segment on these institutions back in 2008 - it is pretty hard to watch, but it is an eye opener.  I am once again asking you to pray and spread the news about Artem.  Also, there are still 2 days left for the Pure Love Giveaway.  Donate $10 to Artem and you are entered into a drawing to win some amazing prizes!!! 

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Had to put some pictures of my cutie pies in here....

Elli looking very pretty for church...

Joshua looking so handsome in his new Boyscout Uniform...

Mommy and her most favorite twins in the whole world.... 

I am such a blessed Mommy!!!

PETER HAS A FAMILY!!!

PETER HAS A FAMILY!!!

How amazing is that!!!  I do know a little about the family that is adopting him and it is truly amazing - I said that it was going to take a special kind of family and God delivered!!  Patti hasn't posted anything about the family on her blog yet, so I am thinking I shouldn't say too much yet, but stay tuned to be amazed...

And now for Elli...

Following in her Daddy's footsteps, Elli is rarely without her gun...

Happy Birthday Joshua!!

No - not my Joshua - Brian and Luciana Kopp from Georgia, flew in to NJ this past weekend, so that they could celebrate their son's, Joshua Brian (we call him BABY Joshua), first birthday with the family. He is so cute and we had so much fun spending the day with our family!!

He had a Cowboy party...

 

We spent the day playing with all the cousins, and watching Joshua and Elli play

(Luciana took a lot of pictures and has promised to email them to me, so stay tuned to see how cute they were together!!!)

Brian told us that Joshua had never had any "Sweets" before his first birthday, so cake was a whole new experience for Joshua;)... 

Joshua played so hard and had so much fun that he was ready to go to bed when we left...

As soon as I get more pics I will post them - Luciana got a group shot of all the kids in their "Cowboy" hats and I am sure it is going to be so cute...

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UPDATE ON THE GIVEAWAY!!

If you haven't visited Patti's blog to get the updates for the giveaway, I will give them to you here...

Olga's and Kareen's goals have been met!! Olga's total is at $13,154.00 and Kareen's total is at $7,450.00 AND both girls have permanent "Forever Families" that are in the process of bringing them home!!!  ALSO - Today it was announced that there is good news for Peter in the wings - so keep checking - AND he is officially 1/2 way to his goal of a full adoption grant of $20,000.00.  Amazing!!  Is anyone as amazed as I am at how generous people can be, and how Awesome God is in His orchestration of circumstances...I will not be one who "chalks" it off to coincidence...

Elli shoots a gun!!

While Elli is indeed the princess of this household, she is a gun-toting princess...

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY!!!  THE DRAWING IS FEB. 10 AT MIDNIGHT!!

A Kopp Family Valentine's Day - BUT DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY - SCROLL DOWN!!

One of my MOST FAVORITE family traditions is making Valentines for one another. I think my love for this tradition stems from my very early school years when we would decorate shoe boxes to make special mailboxes for Valentine's Day, and a whole lesson on "How to address and envelope" and "How does the Post Office work" would ensue. My husband and I began this tradition with Brandon very early on, and we have continued the tradition with all of our children. Quite a few years back - can't exactly remember how long ago - we came into the possession of this....

 and all our Valentine's to eachother go into it...

(as you can see, we already have some Valentine's inside;))

I have set up a VALENTINE MAKING STATION...

and everyone has been busy thinking, planning, and making Valentines.  I cannot wait to show you what everyone has come up with:)...

Don't forget about the "Pure Love Giveaway"....Look below!