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Turning trash into text books

I'm so excited as I write this post, I wish my fingers could type faster and my thoughts would slow down :-) Since August, our kids have been collecting cans and bottles from friends and neighbors, co-workers and family, in order to recycle them for money to give to charity. So far they've earned over $180!! It's truly amazing that our once small effort of going around to about 8-10 neighbors has turned into a much bigger and unexpected blessing than we'd ever imagined. God has a way of doing that, doesn't He. As I mentioned, we started out by going to some of our neighbors with the hopes that they would save their empty cans/bottles and we would come back every other sunday to collect them. Many of them have graciously jumped on board and been saving their recycleables for us, even dropping them off on our porch sometimes to our pleasant surprise! How many times have you heard your kids shout for joy when they drive up and see a trash bag sitting on their lawn or porch? (uh huh, thot so) Well, our kids do. They know better. Because inside that trash bag is money, in their eyes. Money for those in need. The first time they went to the recycling center to cash in their cans/bottles (pic above) they saw firsthand how what was once trash was turning into money and eventually textbooks for the kids at Christ Outreach Orphanage in Ghana (once home for Jonathan & Amaleah), pic above, Ama's Grama Rose in dress on right; Ama's sister Olivia in red shirt on left side. Soon, some of our family was handing us bags of bottles/cans and once word got around at my husband's work of what we were doing, his co-workers started saving them too (even the janitor!). Then, the cherry on top was this afternoon when I received a call from Ama's teacher saying that the teachers at school decided that they would dedicate Nat'l Make A Difference Day (October 23) to our cause, asking all the families at school to bring in their cans/bottles to support our orphanage in Ghana. WOW!! How does the old adage go...be careful what you wish for?? At times, our garage is overflowing with cans/bottles, but we couldn't be happier. We are truly humbled by the outpowering of support we've received from so many people. Something tells me that we will never look at an empty bottle or can the same again, in fact, I'm confident we won't. On more than one occasion one of our kids will see a disregarded can/bottle sitting somewhere and I can see a light turn on in their eyes as they go to grab it ;-) Because that 5 or 10 cents that it's worth to us is priceless in the hands of a young orphan who was just handed a brand new book or fresh drinking water, or maybe even the only meal they will have that day.

Six years ago....

On August 21, 2004 our little guy made his entrance into the world...Reece David Padilla! Life has certainly not been the same since that day :-). We celebrated his 6th birthday starting with a birthday breakfast of pancakes (thank you daddy) and some family presents: scuba mask, superhero shirt, homemade cards from the girls, Lego sets and a plane. Reece chose to celebrate at Medieval Times for dinner that night with his friend Glorien. If you've never been there, you need to go with your kids, it's a treat... step back in time with epic battles, jousting tournaments, a royal feast, knights and romance~ Inside the stone walls of an 11th century castle, Medieval Spain came to life as six knights clashed in a jousting tournament for the title of King's Champion - and our Knight won (Black n White)!! It was a fun evening for us to share together. We also invited our family over the next day to celebrate over an Italian dinner (the bday boy's request)...lasagna, garlic bread, salad and watermelon, and of course a huge cake with a football across it to top it off. The cousins had a great time running around and shooting some hoops. Always a special time to have the family together. Safe to say that Reece felt "celebrated" this year, by the looks on his face. We love our little boy from the inside out, growing up so quickly but still 100% kid in every way. Reece, your enthusiasm and humor in life reminds us to live each day ALIVE, not taking anything or anyone for granted. We thank God for you and love you lots Reecie Reece*

Shayley Grace turns NINE!!

I just can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that it has already been 9 years since our sweet Shayley girl entered our lives. Arriving via C-section in the early morning hours on June 7, she came out with a full head of curly black hair (sure this is MY kid??). Our lives certainly changed at that moment, becoming parents for the first time. Of course, changed for the better :-). Shayley continues to amaze us with her compassion and kindness for others, the way she has embraced her new siblings, and her giftedness in art. Speaking of art, she took about 7 of her closest girlfriends to an art studio called Color Me Mine to celebrate her 9th bday. Check out the slideshow above. They had a wonderful time painting their ceramic pieces and devouring their huge cupcakes. As we celebrate your life Shayley, we also thank God for the testimony your life is to us as your parents. Love Love Love You Shayley Bayley, Shayley Shoo, sweetie pie!!

Amaleah's first birthday in America!

(slideshow above) Yesterday, April 27, our daughter Ama turned 11 and we spent most of the day celebrating! A couple days before we also took Ama, best friend Ayanna and Shayley to the American Girl Cafe/Store at The Grove in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, it was also Ama's American Girl doll, Molly's birthday on April 25 so they had a double celebration ;-) It was the first time to AG Place for Amaleah and Ayanna so they were in for a treat. Ayanna also bought an American Girl Just Like Me doll that day and named her Summer. We spent some time doing a craft when we arrived, the Molly Stand Up Star Craft, and then the girls wanted to get their dolls ears pierced. We visited the doll hospital (yep you read that right) to make sure they were "healthy" and everything checked out fine. Then we looked around the store and they bought a few things for their dolls like outfits and the Molly movie. At 4pm we had a birthday tea for Ama and her doll Molly. Some of the treats we shared were blueberry scones, herbed cream cheese & ham/cheese sandwiches, egg salad daisies, turkey stars, chocolate-dipped cheesecake and a chocolate mousse flowerpot to top it off. It was a special day with great memories. On the 27th, we celebrated with a birthday breakfast and then for dinner we invited the family to join us at Joe's Crab Shack. There were buckets of crab, lobster and shrimp that all 23 of us gobbled up. Then our servers dressed up Ama as the Birthday Fairy and had her flutter around to the other tables to shower them with birthday magic. It was lots of fun and laughs and Ama was a good sport to put up with the fun. A wonderful evening and so encouraging to see all of our family there to support our sweet Ama at her first American birthday party. Ama, the past 8 months have been amazing watching you adjust so beautifully and embrace the changes in your life. You are an inspiration to so many people. We are so excited to watch how God moves in your life as you continue to live out your Faith. Your gentle spirit and strength is a testimony to your love for Jesus. We couldn't be more proud of you and we're so blessed and humbled that we have been chosen to be your family, we love you more than words. Happy Birthday precious girl, Mommy

*Double Celebration*

(slideshow above)On Friday, March 19 our sweet baby boy, Jonathan, turned 3!! The night before we decorated the living room and his bedroom so when he woke up in the morning he would be surprised. Daddy made everyone pancakes topped with raspberries and whip cream, yummy, and we stuck a bday candle in his pancake and sang to him ;-). The kids had all made him birthday cards and wrapped him up a present (something "special" from their room, heehee) .... an ATV (toy) from mom & dad, a flute from Shayley, a ukelele from Reece and a moto-psycho from Ama. As you can tell by the pictures, he had a fabulous birthday, safe to say he's pretty keen on how we celebrate birthdays over here in the USA. March 19 also marked exactly one year since we had accepted the referral to adopt Ama and Jonathan so it was a pretty special day for us! We ended the day by celebrating at Red Robin Restaurant. Jonathan, you are such a blessing to us in so many ways... your sweet spirit, generous soul, sense of humor that keeps us smiling, those big brown eyes that melt our hearts, and your contagious smile are just a few of them. We thank God for you every day and we look forward to watching you grow up. God has amazing plans for you. We love you!!

Girls trip to SLO town

This past weekend I took Amaleah and Shayley to San Luis Obispo and we had an amazing time(slideshow above)!! SLO is where I spent about 5 years getting my Nutritional Science degree and so it was a great time for me too to reconnect with some "old roots" ;-). We arrived safely on Friday night in a downpour of rain and the girls were so excited to check into the hotel . After a good night's sleep we had breakfast and then jumped in the car to head to Cal Poly SLO, just up the road. I gave them a mini tour of the campus (Rec Center, School of Agriculture, student housing/dorms, University Union Square, Dining Halls, football stadium), with the sneaky hope that they would fall in love with this place and want to apply to college here someday, haha ;-). Then we drove into downtown SLO and saw the San Luis Obipso Mission. Ama is studying California missions right now so she was particularly interested in seeing it. We took a tour through the mission and spent time reading about how the indians and the early settlers lived back then. What a beautiful place with so much rich history of our state! We headed downtown and crossed the creek which was roaring b/c of all the recent rainfall. And what would a trip to SLO be without seeing the famous Bubble Gum Alley?! This is a long narrow passageway behind one of the shops in town that's literally covered in gum. People have written messages in gum, drawn pictures in gum and it's been there for over 20 years, I'll just leave that one to your imagination ;-). We went in a couple shops and then grabbed some lunch at a cafe with delicious 'natural' foood. Ama and Shayley really had their hopes set on going in the jacuzzi at the hotel so we went back and changed into bathing suits for some wet fun. That afternoon we spent time in our Mother-Daughter memory books i had bought them for Christmas. We had fun writing down some special memories, our 'firsts' and 'favorites'. We'll continue to work on them as they provide time to bond and create some really special memories together. Finally, we walked down to the famous Apple Farm and had dinner and did some shopping at their fabulous boutique shop(s). They have a Mill House on the property too that was fun to visit while we tasted their homemade ice-cream and apple cider, mmmm. It was a beautifully scenic drive home to L.A. with the green hills and wildflowers coming into bloom, breathtaking. The girls continually thanked me throughout the trip for taking them on a special weekend and asked if they could come back, that makes me smile :-) and we shared so many great moments together that will last a lifetime. We're already planning our next trip.... San Fran maybe??