.............Princess Ava Grace.............

The whole world seems to be obsessed with Prince William and his soon to be wife Princess Kate. There is one little girl, that I am obsessed with.... My own little Princess Ava....


Dearest sweet baby girl,

My heart is filled with emotion as I recall this time last year. Your precious birth mother was about to endure the most difficult time of her entire life. I was excited/nervous/stressed etc... preparing for the birth of our new baby girl. The crib was ready with fresh sheets and blankets, the car seat was waiting by the door, the cupboards were filled with sparkly new bottles, the changing table was stocked with crisp nappies, The closets brimming with beautiful baby dresses, I was just aching to dress you in. I was already in love with you Ava, I just couldn't wait to meet you. I wanted you soo much, I was so helpless and vulnerable. We were putting our hearts on the line in the hope of you. With adoption ANYTHING can happen.

On Friday 23rd April, I got the call, that your birth mother was in labor and was heading to the hospital. Your daddy and I raced to the hospital with every emotion but mostly just excitement. We ran into the hospital and were stopped by the front desk workers, they told us that we needed to wait. Auntie Mayte was talking to me on my mobile and told us you were born!!! By this time I was crying and pleading with the lady at the front desk, I was desperate to hold you, to look at you, to smell you. I waited impatiently. Then a nurse came down with a digital camera with pictures of you. I stared at the pictures of you, you were soo beautiful Ava. It felt like an eternity when finally I was allowed to come and meet you. This little angel that we had spent soo many hours discussing and planning for. I couldnt help but cry when I held you, It was love.

A month later, we said a heartfelt goodbye to your beautiful birth-mother, A woman who will forever be a hero in our family.

The adoption process was the hardest roller coaster we have ever experienced, but the lessons along the way were priceless, we found our friends, our testimonies were strengthened, and most importantly we were able to kneel across the alter and be sealed to you forever. What a special day that was!


You are such a blessing Ava. You have filled our home with sparkle, you have such a bright personality. you are beautiful and we love you more than I know how to express. You are so loved Ava!

Tomorrow is your 1st birthday, you are growing up way too fast. You love your daddy and your 3 big brothers. You love to play with your stuffed animals. You love to play in the dirt, you love to EAT everything!! You are good at standing, not walking yet, you are girly, sociable and happy.

I am soo grateful to have you, It is an honor to be your mummy.


Happy birthday darling girl
we love you xxx

We love our white haired, toothy, darling boy OWEN

some of my fave owen pics....






A little story.........



Last year as we were otherwise engaged, working on adoption paperwork, Owen had his 1st birthday. We rummaged through some drawers and found a wrinkly orange balloon. We blew it up and alas .... it became Owen's birthday present.
At grandmas house after dinner we wanted to sing happy birthday to our darling little boy. But, we had no such cake to put the candle in. Horrified at the idea of a handheld candle, Grandma insisted that we put the candle in a marshmallow. We all sang happy birthday as Mark held a marshmallow with a candle to the birthday boy. We gave the marshmallow to Owen, who seemed offended and threw it on the ground.

This year we wanted to celebrate in style and pulled out all the stops for our little man. We had a BIG party at the park with family and friends, our neighbour made a fabulous mickey cake and we had pizza. it was perfect!!

Owen's new obsession!



my brothers would be sooo proud




Owen is at a fun age as he is constantly learning new things. He is the cleanest of my children. He hates having dirt on his hands, and is helpful about cleaning up his toys, he loves to put rubbish in the bin.
He wants to be independent and likes to do things by himself. He likes to sit in a big chair like his brothers. He is 24 lbs and in the 20th percentile for his age. His fave foods are strawberries, grapes, pizza, milk. He has a love hate relationship with Ava. She is his partner in crime, but he does get jealous of all the ava attention . Owen loves to sing and dance, he gets all happy and sticks his little front teeth out, he is soo funny and cute. He is still not saying many words, most often he says... "aggy" (daddy) "mummy", "A-ah" (ava), "bye bye" "aah coo" (thank you)"

He is a ray of sunshine in our home, he loves to make everyone happy. We are very blessed to have him. We love you Owen xxx