November 2009 Catch Up

We've had an action packed month and enjoyed a beautiful East TN fall.

1. Jelly and SJ on Thanksgiving. The girls looooove being together.

2. SJ enjoying a hike, she loves to be outside and walk in the woods.

3. B with his favorite current subject- BUGS! He's reading every bug book we can find and is also into the Magic Treehouse series.

4. All 4 Coffey kids playing in SJ's room. O is a super older cousin and is so good with the little ones.

5. B and BJB, these guys crack themselves up. :)

Halloween 2009

1. Pre-junk food

2. Post-junk food

3. Cousins acting crazy at our church Harvest Fest

4. Punkins- SJ's is on the bottom left, she drew the face with a marker and Mama carved it. B did the same for his, pumpkin in the middle on the bottom. Notice B's has one large eye, he's so creative.

We had a fun Halloween, SJ dressed as an angel and B was Indiana Jones. We had a great time at our church's Harvest Fest and then going out in the rain to trick or treat. SuperDaddy also decorated our foyer to be spooky and scared some of our visitors! Lots of candy, fun with our neighbors, and great family memories.

Disney Trip

We took a quick Disney trip during B's Fall Break. Exhausting, but fun to watch the little ones' faces. B loved the Lego store, SJ loved the rides (she was EXACTLY the right height-whew!), Mama loved Animal Kingdom and the Safari, and Daddy liked packing a whirlwind of fun into 3 days!

Soccer!

B started playing soccer this season and has enjoyed the chance to run run run!

He got the Gold Star award for his first game, the award is for Effort. SuperDaddy has been practicing lots with B in the front yard, and working on B's knowledge of the game.

Birthday Girls

SJ turned 4 in late August and our niece Jelly turned 3. We celebrated our girls' birthdays with a joint party, with the requested Care Bear cake.

Auntie Jo got the girls matching Care Bear outfits and I made the cake. We had a blast!

In gratitude for our girl, my four favorite things about her:

1-Her love of art and music. SJ can paint for hours, enjoys her ballet class and loves to take piano lessons with Miss Jeannie.

2-Her sense of humor. She loves a good joke and has the cutest giggle.

3-Her sense of adventure. This girl is fearless and loves to go go go.

4-Her caring for her Wendom. SJ loves her brother and often asks to get him a treat if we are out while he's at co-op.

SJ is an amazing little girl and we are so thrilled to get to be her family.

Back to School

After a fun, crazy summer, it's time to get back to school.

B started back to school yesterday. He is a 1st grader! His teacher is fantastic and we are still so pleased with our choice to homeschool with our co-op. B is reading chapter books on his own and is very into Legos these days.

SJ started ballet lessons, she has been so excited to get started. It was a huge blessing to arrive at class to find the other girl in class was a Liberian adoptee we had previously met! SJ has been taking piano lessons all summer. It's been very hard to get her practice time in, but I think the structure of the school year will help us.

We Coffeys are headed into our Birthday Season, more on that to come...

July Catch-Up

A few pictures to catch up. We had such a busy and fun summer!

1- cute kids lounging

2-SuperDaddy at Eagle Falls at Cumberland Falls State Park. SuperDaddy and I took a little trip there, just us grown-ups.

3-SuperDaddy had his 4 best buds over. The 5 of them hadn't been all together in 15+ years.

4-cute cousins. B and SJ are crazy for their cousins!

Wading at Metcalf Bottoms

We took a little day trip to the mountains to wade at Metcalf Bottoms. Lola was in town to visit, so it was a great opportunity to show her the beauty of the Smokies.

Papaw made little wooden boats for the kids to float. And the kids had fun looking for pretty rocks while cooling off in the water. We also visited the Little Greenbrier School after our picnic lunch. So much fun!

Catching Up, May 2009

It has been very busy around Our Coffey House so far this summer, so I'll catch up the best I can.

B participated in his school's Art Fair with a Lego diorama. He titled it Attack of the Robots. B also graduated from kindergarden, complete with ceremony and cap and gown.

We also got to go strawberry picking at our favorite local You-Pick farm. SJ's strawberries had a little bite out of each one. We went with my best friend and her daughters, seen left acting silly.

More fun times to come!

Community

One of the many blessings of adopting our SJ is finding an incredible new circle of friends! We had SO MUCH FUN at our Ethiopian picnic! We had great Ethiopian food, met new children now home with Forever Families like KB and Katie, and shared about our journeys to our children. This group gives me girlfriends who fully understand my passion for orphans, sweet Julie who brings beads for the kids, Tracie who takes amazing pictures, Stacy who happily runs to the store for more plates, Julia and Theresa who are instant friends, and Danielle who is our walking adoption encyclopedia. And also there's Karey, and Kelly, and Robyn, and Julie B, and Amy, and...
<--------Click over to The A Team for more about our day.

East TN Ethiopian Families Picnic

You are invited to join us on this Saturday from 11-3 at Nicholas Ball Park for a picnic lunch and fun in the sun! Please bring a dish or two to share, your lawn chairs and drinks for your family. Feel free to pass this info along to any interested folks!

Pool's Open!

It's been barely warm enough to swim, and the kids are READY! SJ went in fast, B took it slow. :)

Coffey Kids Fun

Famiversary Trip

To celebrate our Famiversary, we took an overnight trip to NC to visit SuperDaddy's extended family (love them!). We got to visit with the kids' Great Great Aunt Edda, Aunt Jeep, cousins Eddie, Rachel and Jeff and their sweet kids M and SG, Uncle Bill and Aunt Jan. Rachel was kind enough to let us crash M's birthday party! We had a blast and it was the perfect way to celebrate.

1 Year Home

This weekend marks one year of being a family of 4 at Our Coffey House. One year since we arrived home with our SJ from Ethiopia. She arrived here a lonely, scared, confused little girl. One year later, she is confident (loud!), active, and loved by so many.

During our travels, we were so enamoured with our girl. We still are, I'm amazed at her resilience, beauty and smarts. We are head over heels in love! When we arrived home, our son ran to meet us and I collapsed in sobs. I was overwhelmed with joy and relief at the answer to our prayers. Our family was finally whole.

During this past year, we have grown to fit together. The practicalities of having 2 kids feels normal and easy now. B and SJ have a typical sibling relationship, and I smile watching them play and interact. I like that they have each other, now and in the future.

Our 3 favorite things about our 3 1/2 yr old girl:

*her sense of humor, she knows how to get laughs and keep 'em coming.

*her willingness to help out and work together. She likes to tell Daddy when his coffee is ready, and likes to help Mommy clear the table after meals.

*her love for music. She loves to listen to music, sing and dance. She holds a pretend microphone, sings every word of songs, and dances!

To celebrate our "Famiversary", we're going on a quick trip to North Carolina. We'll get to introduce SJ to SuperDaddy's extended family (hi Jeep!) and take her to see her favorite band, Donna the Buffalo. She is so excited to meet everyone and see DTB play!

We also remember SJ's First Mother, that every year we enjoy with our daughter, is another year she misses her. I often think of how proud and amazed she would be of SJ. We all are.

PICTURES: Cuddling with Granny for the first time (May 08).

Going to see Dora Live with cousin Jelly (March 09).