Elfie returns

Look where Elfie showed up this am? yes Will named him Elfie! Will hunted for him for a half hour this am until he found him. Kept the little guy busy! He giggled so hard when he saw him hanging out in the light in our hallway!

Elf on a Shelf!!!!!

If you haven't heard of Elf on a Shelf you should google in and check it out. I'm starting this tradition with Will this year and he is absolutely fired up about the whole thing. I introduced the elf with the book today and he went hunting around the house for the elf. We still have to give him a name, but all in all Will is pretty enthusiastic about this little elf visiting his home and watching him and then going to Santa every night. When I ordered it, I got to choose between dark and light skin, but really the dark skinned elf kinda just looks like he has a good tan. No worries though, the skin color doesn't seem to bother Will. It is so fun seeing the magic in Will's eyes. He truly does have a twinkle in his brown beauties! So the hunt is on every morning at the Googins household! We will be searching different hiding spots where the Elf returns every morning til Christmas! Should be fun!

A day of thanks!

Being thankful takes on a whole new meaning once you visit a third world country. My heart has never been the same since leaving Ethiopia, and never will be the same. I struggle a lot more with "things". Not wanting my children to have everything because so many have nothing. Yet wanting to show and teach them about being thankful for the little things in life and knowing that is what matters. The simple frozen cube we all call ice is what I truly missed while in Ethiopia. It is a luxury to me now, and I give thanks every time I press my cup up to the lever on the fridge and I hear the beautiful sound of ice falling! It is a daily reminder to me of little things in life we are to be thankful for. Family and health are top on my list of things to be thankful for. I had a scare with breast cancer this year. It is mind blowing what one goes through when the dr. comes through the door saying they see something that they want to further investigate. My thoughts during that ordeal go directly to my children and not wanting them to go through that journey with me. They are the reason I go in for a yearly mammogram for early detection. My hubby is my soul mate and I also am so thankful for him. His ability to juggle work, school and family continue to amaze me. I'm so thankful that his heart opened to adoption. So many families out there have the means to adopt.......so why don't they? I open up about adoption when I am approached and hope that I make an impact on the hearts of those who inquire. I am thankful for those who do inquire, as it is a first step to do what He has wanted us to do and that is to take care of orphans and widows. Will does know he is from Africa and will once in a while ask some questions, but he has never spoken of another mother or father as his memory may not remember. I sing praises of thanks to his biological parents and hope they are at peace knowing he is well cared for and loved or they are watching from heaven as their little boy grows up surrounded by love. Of course we all know I am forever thankful for the timing of Will and when he came into care at the orphanage we were adopting from. We were the next family in line waiting for a toddler right when his paperwork was complete. It is an unexplainable joy watching Will as he grows and thrives in a family that can provide for him and showers him with love. My children,my husband, my family, our health.... and ice! we are blessed and we are thankful! Happy Thanksgiving!

Fav foto Friday!!! TGIF

Mommy and her little man!

Here is me and my little man before we left for preschool this am. Will has a performance in preschool today that I get to go watch. I sure he will look adorable on stage! It's been busy around the Googins' household. The girls stay busy with lots of homework and projects. For Thanksgiving this year we get to travel down the street to the neighboring subdivision to my sisters. I'm in charge of bringing the beverages! I'm always assigned the beverages. Must be my culinary skills that my family is not to thrilled with. The weather here in NC is still spoiling us! Leaves are still on the trees and we can go outside without bundling up! I'm enjoying that a lot! I will never take this weather for granted. I love it~Well off to preschool we go!!!

a little Will update!

This little ham has been home with us for almost 21mo now. Just a few short months and I will be working on my 2 year post placement report. Wow, Will has added so much to our family. He continues to do so daily for us. His relationship with each family member is so special. Lately this little guy has been astounding us with his number sense. Numbers are his thing (just like his daddy) and his memory is so good too. He is adding numbers like 7+5 and rather quickly too. He knows when zero is added to a number the number remains the same and can add one to a number without even thinking. He also counts to 100 and beyond without a hitch. Will has a NBA logo memory game that he plays with Jeffrey a lot. A little brainwashing on Jeffreys part to get Will to learn his NBA teams. He knows them though and recognizes the icons when he watches basketball on tv with Jeffrey. He knows how to read the scores and which team has what score. It is pretty amazing to watch and I love that he loves sports. He is going to keep Jeffrey busy on fields and courts from here on out that is for sure. Thats the latest little update on our little man. I get to spend the day with him all day today as he does not have preschool. Lucky me!

Halloween 2010

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