Happy 10th Birthday, Emma!

Today our daughter, Emma, has hit the double digits. She is 10 years old. Unbelievable that it happened so fast. We are amazed at her calm spirit and goofy nature all rolled into one. We have found ourselves saying some interesting phrases over the years due to this sweet girl--for instance "No bouncing before breakfast," and "Where did you put your ears?" Happy birthday, Emma Gracie Girl!! Your are an amazing blessing!!!

Merry CHRISTmas!

We hope all of you had a blessed Christmas. We enjoyed seeing it all through Eliza's eyes. Even though it was new to her she really tore up the wrapping paper! We have been snowed in for over a week now. We are trying to not let it get us down. Nothing like quality time with the sweetest family ever!!!!

Happy 12th Birthday, Ethan!

It was twelve years ago today that we sat in awe of the baby boy God had given us just shortly after midnight. Since then he has grown to be a sweet boy--sensitive to other's feelings and striving to obey the Lord. We love you, Ethan!!!! We are forever grateful for the blessings of being your parents. Have a wonderful day!

Eliza Praying

Our sweet girl is learning to pray! These last few days Eliza has been putting her hands up to her face to "pray" at meals. I just had to share this picture of our sweetie!

Christmas Fun

We have had an interesting week. Just today we had 3 inches of snow fall at our house. It has been fun to play in. It's turning out to be a white Christmas--this is the first time since we have lived here that we have had this kind of weather before Christmas.

We have had a truly blessed season so far. It has been such a joy to take Eliza for her first visit to Santa and get our Christmas tree with all of our children. We have been loving every minute of it all. The pure joy and enthusiasm in a child experiencing it all for the first time is so precious.






Emma and Faith were able to sing "Silent Night" at church with their friend Shawna Ashley. I'm posting the video. Nothing like sisters to push each other around on stage during a church performance. It is pretty cute regardless of the pushing.

We hope you are all having a wonderful and blessed Christmas. I can't help but marvel at the birth of a baby born to save us all so that we can be adopted into God's family. I am in awe of such a gift.

Emma Plays Piano

Although I just posted a few days ago, I could not resist posting a video of Emma playing piano at the library with her teacher. She has only been playing since September and has worked very hard. We are all proud of her. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving and Other Fun Times

It has been a while since my last post. We have had an exciting November! We were able to visit the Fortlanders and see how big Emily is getting. The girls were so cute playing together. We had to say good-bye to our dog, Lucy, after realizing how much pain her hips were truly causing her. Eliza also had her hair cut for the first time in the U.S.A.. She did not like the hairdresser messing with her heard. Also, we had a great Thanksgiving with family. It was a big group with all 12 of the cousins on my side along with their parents and grandparents. (There are actually 13 cousins but Jason's wife is not due until next summer.) I am also going to try to post a video I just took today of Eliza learning the countries of South Africa with the girls. Sorry about the camera rotation--I will work on it for next time. She is still very cute!!!! I hope all of you have a blessed holiday and your Christmas is full of the joy of the Lord! Take this time to remember the first gift of Christmas, Jesus.

Eliza's Yangxi girlfriend, Emily
Eliza's hair cut
"I want you for the Zimmerman family"
Eliza and Grandpa
Eliza and cousin Olivia
Eliza and Grandma
All the cousins