Back Home to Virginia and Shane's Third Anniversary for Gotcha Day

Shane in his "King's Kid" t-shirt (a program for young ones at our church)
Shane in August 2006 (17 months old) opening up the gift package we sent him.

Shane as a baby at New Day. How cute was he???

Shane at 7 months old when he arrived at New Day.

Luci and Shane spending some bonding time together.

Luci just had her hair washed and a nice warm bath!

Luci likes her cousin Kelsey!

Luci really enjoys the outdoors and being strolled.

Great-granddaddy Leroy getting to know Luci

Luci's first morning in Virginia! She is happy to see grandma!

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou riseth up". Deuteronomy 6:18

We left Boise, Idaho on Saturday, October 24th. Saying good-bye wasn't as nearly as difficult as it normally was because John and Melissa had already purchased airline tickets to fly home to Virginia on Saturday, November 7th so we knew that we would see them in two weeks! I mentioned on my last post that we had a new addition in our house and it is Luci! We brought our precious granddaughter home with us to meet the rest of our extended family and to give her mommy and daddy a little "down time" as they both work full-time and share the babysitting responsibility. I respect and admire them for this but know how hard it must be to work full-time and to watch a 3 month old baby full-time when you are not at work. We were overjoyed to have the opportunity to bring her home with us. We arrived home around 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. We were all exhausted but glad to be home. As usual, my sisters stepped in and help out even when I am not home. Sharon and Andy put up the crib, boiled water for Luci as we have a well, put the car seat in the van for little Luci, etc. so when we arrived home, all was was set!

Saturday, October 24th was a big day for several reasons and one of them was that October 24th is Shane's adoption day. It is hard to believe how quickly 3 years have passed by. We brought a 19 month old home with us and now we have a 4 1/2 year old that is in pre-school. I am including pictures of him at 7 months old when he arrived at New Day and a few as he has grown into the big boy that he is today!

Two weeks have flown by and Luci did wonderfully! She slept all night every night except for one in which she woke up briefly. I had to go out of town for work for two nights so she stayed with her great-aunt Sharon during the night and with Mandy, Susie and Lorene during the daytime. We call her the "community baby" as she was sometimes as three different houses in one day! She even went to church several times and did great with all the strangers admiring her. On the days that I was home, we went for a stroll every day and she loved her stroll! Our house is overfull with a car seat, bouncy chair, stroller, baby crib, swing, etc. and I love it!

Shane and Abigail adore Luci even though Abigail has had to adjust to not "being the baby" of the house. She seems to have great motherly instincts and tries to take care of Luci. Our big family "early Thanksgiving celebration" is the next post. As always, God is go GREAT!