Thank You to the Giver of Good Things

Trampolines bring so much joy and laughter

12 years from now...a glimpse into the future

Brothers

I love thanksgiving...spending time with friends and family reflecting on God's gracious gifts.  Today Elli thanked Jesus for "turkeys and cozy homes and hands that she can get dressed with".  Dawson thanked Jesus for each person he knows plus water and napkins and forks.  Karis said "thank Jesus for Eric".  Yes, Eric joined us from Arizona!  It was a beautiful day and "Uncle Rafa" is always a fav at our house.

Fav Wheels

Dawson and Elli received bikes for their birthdays and they are a hit!  Dawson even crashed big time with chunks out of his skin, but he only cried when he thought that he wouldn't be able to get back on the bike.  It has sealed the deal of best friends between Elli and Dawson.  They love to pretend going all over town on those bikes.  Karis and Zach love their wheels, too. 

Happy Halloween!

Our First Fam Vacation

After naps, puddles were a fav...yes our kids normally wear pants

So much joy in a small puddle

Zach feels pretty big eating his green beans

Dawson has learned how to "fly" down the hill...he usually wore a helmet

"we do the hokey pokey"

Firetrucks rock in Karis' world because that means she gets to wear a hat

Sisters who LOVE their Fruit Loops

I love that God has crazily blessed us with 4 little ones.  I can't get enough of them and their small clothes

Can you tell that Dawson's daddy has been doing A LOT of wheelbarrow projects this summer?

 Ahh...summer...this has been one rockin' summer.  We started out the summer with an amazing trip to Kansas and Minnesota.  Then the Yutzys all met in the mountains for another fun filled week. I will catch up with those memorable times, but want to blog with most recent...our first family vacation just as a family.  We spent 10 days in Keystone with the theme of playgrounds, sand,  more sand, puddles and cars.  Needless to say, it's pretty inexpensive outings!  My favorite days were heading to Keystone Lake when we woke up.  We would walk to breakfast (a nice lady would clean up after we ate) on the lake and we would play in the sand and playground.  The kids loved eating sugar cereal there (a rare treat)!  Another  highlight was meeting a firefighter in Breckenridge especially after our crazy week of Colorado Springs fires.   What was hilarious was that Dawson use to talk all day about firetrucks.  So we thought this would be the ultimate...sitting in a truck, wearing a hat and even running the siren.  He HATED it and does not like fire trucks anymore.  Oops!  But we made up for it by taking him on a fast, very fast water slide (Paul holding him).  When he would go down, the only thing I could see was his dark skin contrasting with his pearly whites beaming.  He now talks about that all day:)  Zach's highlight was the sand.  He loved squeezing, throwing and eating sand.  He is quite the crawler/wanna be walker.  He bear crawls quickly to keep up with his siblings.  He also thinks he is too big to eat baby food.  He is always a smiling , laughing mess these days.  We found out that Karis LOVES the water.  She could hang out in Keystone Lake (pretty cold for me) for hours if we let her.  She wants to "get wet", as she says, any chance.  Elli is growing up...sniff sniff...she is the ultimate big sister.  She gets the sippy cups ready, tends to each child and "reads" to them during the day.  She also has the most hilarious comments and stories.  She asked me if I could tell her "a sweet story about when she was a baby". I told her that we prayed and prayed for a baby and Jesus gave us her.  Her question was "now did God and Jesus hold me  then gave me to you or did I walk from their house to yours?"  Hmmm...Anyways, this vacation took away the distractions of projects and life at home and a bond grew deeper than I could imagine between all of us.  Thank you Jesus for time away!!

One Year Ago

 May 20, 2011

 May 20, 2012

One Year ago Paul and John got to meet Dawson for the first time in Kolkata. The first days he didn't say or do much...but Uncle John got him laughing with a red ball and he has had a contagious smile ever since. 

Dawson, I cannot get enough of your laugh!  When something strikes you funny or you are getting tickled, our whole household is laughing because of you.  You have the most energy in our family as well as anyone would say you have the smarts, too.  You already know your colors, you are starting to count and a couple of months ago were still speaking Bengali (you may be still, but Daddy and Mommy are Bengali clueless).  Your BSF teacher is always so proud of you in language and picking up on concepts quickly.  My favorite thing is when you spontaneously plop on my lap and ask me to rock you like a baby, then you snuggle in tight.  At dinner you say, "I pray" and start thanking Jesus.  You ADORE your sister, Elli, and defend her in an instant...already a gentleman.  You love to rub on Zach's head and say "ahh, baby Zach".  .  You have learned to help Mommy with Zach by bringing toys to him or making him laugh when he is sad. The first thing you say to strangers is that you are 2.  You have the most adventurous spirit and are willing to try anything.  Honestly I cannot believe it's only been a year.  It feels like you have always been in our family.  You have come so far this last year in learning how to play with toys, speaking/comprehending English and bonding with all of us.  May 20 is a day of celebration and the little Houge that God brought to us!

Lots 'o Posts and Pics

Trying to catch up and I took a photo class so I am working hard on my skills.  Confession though, a few of these are Rafa's.  My fav Craigslist buy is the Lincoln Log Cabin pictured.  We spend hours on end in that thing.  This Mothers Day Week, I am so thankful to be a mom to these precious little ones.  Mothers Day used to be the worst day of the year, but now overwhelmed with thankfulness. 

Give Me More!

Zach LOVES eating!  The first time we fed him, he was gobbling it down.  He loves it so much that last month he went on a nursing strike (nightmare) so we had to shut him down with solids for a while.  But when he sees that cereal coming out, his hands start shaking and a huge smile overtakes him.