4th of July, an FFD, and Andy's Baptism

We'll start off with a very short clip of Andy playing soccer. Watch him closely in the background. He makes a sweet kick, then does a happy dance. This boy LOVES himself some soccer!

That was on the 4th of July. And I must say that the 4th of July is the most perfect holiday for newly adopted foreign kids to enjoy as their first holiday!
I was a bad mom and neglected to get photos of all my kids that day. Take my word for it. They are all gorgeous.
It was a lot of fun. We got to spend it with my siblings, Anna, Tim and Andy, and their families. Thanks to Andy and Amber for making the trip up here from California to see us!
Watching Hana and Andy do little fireworks and watch a real fireworks show for the very first time in their lives was absolutely priceless.
I heard them shout "Happy Birthday America!" and "WOW!" with the most adorable enthusiasm.
The other day the kids dragged me off my lazy bum to go outside and see what they made me out of water on the driveway. It was quickly drying away, but it read "We love you Mom & Dad Sincerely, The Kids" in case you can't tell. Cute cute kids.
Hana and Becca in a firetruck at an FFD activity we had.
Celeste and Hana in a police car they got to take a little ride in at the same FFD.
And finally, we had a really special event happen just a couple of days ago. Andy was baptized! Unfortunately, I was too caught up with all the kids to remember to take photos, but I did get this great one of two of my cute men after the baptism.
Steve baptized Andy and the day was just wonderful. Andy was so excited (and nervous), and he did great. We had a dinner afterwards with our family and guests. We are so grateful to the awesome missionaries who taught him and our translator who sacrificed so much of her time to be with our family and translate for Hana and Andy during those lessons. We are so proud of Andy and what a faithful and good boy he is.

***

I have been kind of surprised by something that I thought was worth mentioning and remembering here. I love all of my children so very much. All you mothers out there know how that is. As I was preparing to welcome two more children into our home, I would on occasion think about how it was going to be and how I was going to love them too. I believed that I would love them. And I even believed that I would come to love them as much as my biological children. But I thought it would be a little different. Not less love, but different. Well, as it turns out, for me it isn't. Not only did I start loving Hana and Andy as much as my biological kids quite soon after bringing them home, but I have come to realize that I love them pretty much exactly the same, in the same way as my biological children. That may sound bad to some that I wasn't expecting that, but it's honestly how I felt and feel.

That's all for now folks.