The girls!

 

Sooooo cute!!!

Best Valentine's Day EVER

Matt surprised us on Valentine's Day with a helicopter ride over Kauai. It was AMAZING! This island is called the "Garden Island" - it's green EVERYWHERE and rains quite a bit (much less though on the southern tip where we're staying) so the waterfalls were plentiful and strong.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to sit up by the pilot? I've always wanted to do it and I got the chance today! Enjoy our takeoff!

One of our biggest adventures to date!

The Na Pali Coast

The Jurassic Park Waterfall where the helicopter lands in the beginning of the movie

Matt and Ellie's cute head (she didn't like the headphones at all)

Valentine's Day Dinner

Schmoopie!

Heartbreaking but important to see

I can't imagine what my life would be like without our sweet girl Ellie. She is the greatest blessing in our lives. Truly. We feel so lucky to have someone so special be part of our family. I watched the video below and felt so sad.

There is a website that is dedicated to the adoption of kids with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe....I constantly follow other people's adoptions through this organization and it's so exciting! It's amazing to see how much the kids progress (physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, etc) once they are in a loving home. If you get a chance, here's a link to their youngest kids: http://reecesrainbow.org/category/waitingchildren/ds-0-2 They remind me of Ellie. :(

Sorry for the bummer post but I think it's so important that people are aware. I just want others to realize it's a blessing to have a child with special needs and they should not be ashamed. EVER.

EYE see you!

The eye doctor finally prescribed glasses for Ellie. We've been patching her left eye to strengthen the right eye which is crossed and is weaker in vision but it doesn't seem to be making a huge difference so they want to try glasses as a last ditch effort before surgery. Although I'm sad to cover her pretty blue eyes, I think the glasses are cute. They make special glasses for kids with Down syndrome...some cute and some not so cute! The nice guy at the eye store held Ellie's arms so she wouldn't take them off in the pics. Which ones do you hope I ordered?