Cali Pics

Well, we've been back from our trip to California for a little over a week now. We had a great time with the friends and family we visited while we were there. It was wonderful to introduce Sam to so many of his extended family, including his fourth great-grandma. Even though he doesn't understand the idea of family yet, I know that having so many people love on him is good for his soul.

These are our dear friends who work for The Navigators in Riverside. The last time we were all together, none of us had these beautiful children. It was fun to meet Silas and Noelle (and see their parents too!). It was a blessing to spend a couple days with these friends.

We got to celebrate Halloween with some of Ben's cousins and their kids. The older kids were so excited about their candy that they didn't always wait for Sam to keep up, but he had a great time walking up to the door, choosing a piece of candy, and then signing thank you to the people. I was very proud of him! I was also shocked that he kept his costume on all night--including the hat.
Our adorable little lion cub. The only animal sound he does is a dog barking, so we had a barking lion!

The original reason for our trip to California was for Ben's cousin's wedding. Sam was a little too rambunctious to sit through the ceremony, so I sat in the nursery with him. I was able to hear the whole thing through the sound system, and that was nice. After the ceremony, we went out for family pictures. Whew. That was an adventure. What kid likes to stand around all dressed up and not be able to run around? We were able to get a great family picture though. I haven't seen the big group shots yet. With four kids five and under, I'm guessing there's not going to be a "perfect" one!

We recently had a social worker visit our family to complete our six-month post-placement report. Her two-page report, along with eight photos we chose, will be sent to Russia to give them an update on how Sam is doing. Today we have been home from Russia for five months. (The report has to be IN Russia at the six-month mark, so it gets done a little early.) It's amazing to look back on pictures and see how much Sam has grown and changed. We can't believe all that he has learned, and how much we have all grown to love each other. We love being a family, and look forward to the fun adventures ahead. This will be our first holiday season as parents, and I can't wait to start some family traditions for us!