Schuknecht's, Bath Time, and a wedding

Troy, Stevi, and Jude are in Spokane for a a few weeks visiting family and we were able to have them over tonight. We all had a great time...Ezra especially loved having another person who would look at books with him and Olivia loved having Jude around to climb on & play with. (Jude is 11 months old and Olivia is 9 months)

Olivia and Jude using the walker.

Olivia and Ezra LOVE bath time as you can see from this picture

Ezra gets a bit over-dramatic when we pour water on him.

We are blessed having a baby who loves her car seat. We know that is not always the case with every child, but we are thankful nevertheless.

Lisa Skaer and Logan Peabody were married a few weeks back...and Ezra got to dress up in a suit for the wedding.

This picture was taken right after bath time. Two things Ezra loves...wearing hats (especially daddy's) and running around commando. So, it was especially funny when he ran out of the bathroom after we dried him off and the next second we saw him in the middle of the living room with daddy's hat on, saying 'cheese'.

(This picture is edited for good reason)

Snow, Snow, Snow

In Spokane, it has snowed the past 24 hours continuously. Here are a few pictures of the snow around our house. Thus far, I think we have around 16-18 inches in the past 24 hours will more on the way.

That green object you see is our yard waste bin and all that snow on top of it is from the past 24 hours.

Underneath all that snow is my car, which isn't even a whole day of the snow.

Christmas Smiles

Finch Arboretum, Fall, Frowns, and Family Fotos :)

So, this year we braved trying to take a family photo with the kiddos. Needless to say, Ezra did not want to smile or be out in the fresh fall air and Olivia's pose kept with the 'deer in the headlights' look for much of the time. Thanks Robert and Megan Huggins for doing such a great job taking the photos.

Ezra loved all the leaves to play in.

Great Video - November is National Adoption Month

Thanks Sanchez's for the link to this video

Fall and the Finch Arboretum

Every year the Greenup family goes to the Finch Arboretum to have lunch and take pictures. It was a very fun day for all the cousins. Here's Nanna and Papa G.

Papa Greenup and Ezra walking up the hill.

We think Olivia's ready to start walking. She had to tolerate being strolled around that day.

An Evening Out

Our good friends, the Armstrong's had extra tickets to the Phantom of the Opera so we unexpectantly got to go see it. It was our first time and it was wonderful! Now we know why everyone always raves about it.
Karie and I. We ate out at The Melting Pot which was a 3 hour experience with fondu. The food was amazing but because it went so long we had to take a rain check on dessert and leave to make the show. Who knew it would take so long?

All dressed up for the Opera House

Thoughts?

Any suggestions on an appropriate caption?

Montana Trip

This past weekend we went over to Montana to visit Grandma Emily (Papa Jim Greenup's mother) in Shelby, MT. We had a great time and we hope/think Grandma did also. Having 2 kids 2 years old and younger definately heightens the pace and activity level.

We stayed at John & Mary Righter's (Nana Greenup's sister & husband) on the way over and Ezra got to learn up close about horses.

The kids did exceptionally well in the car for the trip over to Montana and back. We didn't know what to expect, but our expectations of traveling were not that high to begin with. Overall, Ezra did way better than we could have hoped.

In this picture, he is holding his lamby, his bible, a giraffe, sippy cup, toy plier's, & his minature lion. He was so excited to travel in the car, but he wanted to make sure nothing got left behind.

Crawling Birthdays. . . . er, I mean Birthdays and Crawling

It's official! Heidi is now 26 years old. Our friends made a special non-dairy chocolate cake for her at our bible study that night. Thanks Alison!

Wait a minute! 6 months and crawling? Olivia weighs 12#13.5 oz now and she's so strong. She does baby push-ups all the time- we think she's trying to buff up to keep up with older brother.
Olivia's response at being able to get around now. Yeah!

Baby Shower!

Mrs. Julie White and the future Isaiah Owen pictured here

with Heidi at Julie's baby shower in Marysville, WA
It was fun the have some old friends back together again

Do they look like siblings or what? Olivia watches her big brother a lot and tries to copy him. Although with the bowl on the head, she doesn't look too sure this was a good idea.

Ezra turned 2...on Sept. 1st

Ezra's classic smile...along with Papa Greenuyp's smile

Ezra got a new book for his birthday and he successfully had each person there him the whole story.

This bike was gift that he was pretty excited about...even though his feet don't touch the pedals...yet.
Ezra loves ice cream. The first time we gave him ice cream he turned his head away and didn't want to eat it...he is a quick learner.

Olivia Bouncing....

The voice you hear laughing is Ezra...not Olivia.

One year ago...

Today is an anniversary of sorts for Heidi and I. It was 1 year ago today, that by God's graciousness, Ezra Abera Greenup, was placed in our arms to love & care for as our son. As we look back over the course of this last year, we are humbled by how God has provided a huge measure of grace to our family. We love Ezra with all our heart and are so thankful he is in our family. It is hard to believe that it has only been 12 months since we were in Ethiopia picking him up.

Much has happened over the course of this last year, the biggest change being the arrival of his sister Olivia in March of this year. We don't know what the Lord has in store for us next, but we look forward to see how He will lead us.

Heidi and I looked through our pictures of our trip to Ethiopia as a reminder of that long week in Ethiopia a year ago, but in the end we are so humbled by God's goodness in our lives. We want to be faithful parents who live out the Gospel and point our children to the centrality of the Cross of Christ on a daily basis.

We also look back and have many thanks for so many people who prayed for us and financially helped us in this adoption process.

If any of you are considering adopting a child or children, we would wholeheartedly encourage you to take that step of faith and extend your life, family and home to one or more of the 143 million + orphans in the world. Adopting a child or children has many countless trials, but our Risen Savior provides the necessary faith and endurance to trust Him through it all.

A family picture
He hasn't worn that pink sleeper since he has been with us.
Learning to play and use his nuk


Ezra's first finger food meal