Our Adoption Story Featured in Parents Newsletter

My first adoption publication!! This month our church newsletter for parents features our adoption story that I wrote. Check it out at this link (pg.2) http://www.journeyoffaith.com/wp-content/uploads/february-newsletter.pdf

Bunkbed for the Big Bros

Here's a picture of the boys in their new bunkbed and needless to say, they're loving it. Not to mention (but I will) that there is a whole lot more space to move around in now which is always nice especially in a boys's room where there are legos, dinosaurs, trains, trucks, etc all over the place all the time! Big thanks goes out to daddy-o for putting it together too ;-) Yeah for bunkbeds!!

Reunion!!

Last weekend we had the awesome opportunity to get together with 2 other families in SoCal who have also recently adopted from Ghana, what a blast! The real cool thing was that our kids not only had known each other in Ghana but Ama & Jonathan got to see their second cousin again, who was adopted by one of the families' here. We are all so happy that our kids have biological family here now!! The adults had some good laughs as we reminisced about life in Ghana and the kids had a great time playing together which was really special to witness. We are hoping this will be the begining of a beautiful relationship between all of us. More pics posted on my facebook picture album ;-)

A New (furry) Padilla

So I gave in, yep. Ever since our rottweiler, Morena, passed away this summer our other dog Tux has been in the dog house (ha, no pun intended). Ok, so it's not that bad but he is a mopey mess who spends hours on end by himself. So last week we 'adopted' a 3 month old puppy (mix of Rottie, German Shep, Lab) mainly to keep him happy ;-). Her name is Abena, which means in Ghanian 'born on Tuesday'. She is a great pup, so sweet and playful and loves to roll and jump with Tux, it's so much fun to watch them together. She has even adjusted to being an outside-dog, sleeping in the dog igloo with Tux at night, aaawwwww. Surprisingly, she's already a pretty protective pup who barks at strangers (or cats/birds) - ah, another little home protection plan in the works!!

Child Hope International

I know there are a plethora of ways to donate to Haiti at this time, however, it's on my heart to let you know about a ministry that will serve and protect the orphans in Haiti. A family that had attended our church runs an orphanage there and needs our help desperately. Please visit their website at http://www.childhope.org/. Their faith and perseverance through this horrible situation is amazing, to say the least, an incredible testimony. Please join us in supporting their efforts!
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_14218212

*CARING FOR ORPHANS IN HAITI
Child Hope International is a charitable, Christian organization, dedicated to rescuing suffering and abandoned children in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Through child sponsorships and donations, we are able to provide a loving and nurturing home for boys and girls.Please take some time to learn about our ministry and how you can give a child hope.

Hume Lake - Playin' in the snow

I've added a slideshow of pictures above of our recent trip to Hume Lake. First time in the snow for Ama and Jonathan and they LOVED it, needless to say. Sledding down the slopes, building a snowman (or rather snowGIRL), shopping at the giftshop, exploring and celebrating the New Year were some of the highlights of our trip. Maybe one of these times I'll learn how to post video so you can watch some of the wipeouts on the slopes ;-)

Christmas 2009

Happy New Year!! We just got back home from a great week in the snow at Hume Lake up in the beautiful California Sequoias. I had a chance to load our Christmas pics from last month so check out our slideshow above. I'll be putting together another slideshow soon of our trip to Hume...first time in the snow for Amaleah and Jonathan! Stay tuned. Hoping y'all had a fabulous as well as relaxing Christmas and NYs celebration.