Snow day!

Harper loved playing in the snow yesterday!

There wasn't a lot of snow so Daddy pulled the sled behind the 4 wheeler.

Every time he would stop, Harper would shout, "More! More! More!"

Playing in the snow was lots of fun!

Early Christmas Celebrations!

Last Sunday night, we celebrated Christmas with the Spangler family.

We had pizza and presents and lots of laughs!

On Friday night, we celebrated with the Braley side of the family.

We had BBQ from Oklahoma Joe's and more presents and fun!

 

On Saturday night, we celebrated with the Beckett side of the family.

We had great food from Abuelo's and LOTS of yummy desserts 

and of course more presents and laughter!

 

Harper loves spending time with her family and is 

definitely going to be spoiled by the time Christmas arrives!

 

Santa Visit 2013

On Friday, we went to Zona Rosa to see Santa Claus!

So Santa will bring more presents and leave them here?

Harper was being very sweet on the way to see Santa--

hoping to make the Nice List!

She quickly reverted to her "normal" behavior.

Harper played in an igloo while waiting to see Santa.

As we got closer to the front of the line,

Harper kept shouting a very friendly "Hi!" to Santa.

But when it was our turn, she wouldn't let go of me.

Look closely and you will see that I'm holding her and cropped out of the picture.

Harper was happy again when we got to the playground.

Dear Santa, 

We have been good girls this year!

Love, 

Ashley & Harper

So blessed

I just stumbled onto the blog where I first saw Harper's picture.

It is a blog that advocates for orphans.

On the blog, they called her Chelsea.

It brought tears to my eyes when I saw the post

CHELSEA HAS HER FAMILY!!!

Yes-- she most certainly does!

I just LOVE the shirt Harper is wearing in this picture. 

 It is a bit big, but that just means it will fit for years to come! 

 It says Loved, Prayed For, Adopted, Worth the Wait, 

Blessing from God, Psalms 68: 5-6
We are so thankful for this blessing!

Fall fun!

We decided it was time to get Harper a big girl bed!

She thinks it is pretty neat, but she hasn't actually slept in it yet.

She decided to turn the bed railing into a ladder.

Harper learned how to turn the lights and ceiling fans off and on.

She insists on having the ceiling fans on, even when it is 15 degrees outside!

Recently, she has developed an infatuation with wearing our shoes.

Harper colored with markers for the first time.

Opening an early Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa Braley

Snuggling with Grandpa Braley

Laughing with Sissy

On Thanksgiving, Harper tried Cool Whip for the first time.

I think she likes it!

Watching TV with Grandpa Scott

We've been having lots of fun this fall!

 

Ashley was home!

Ashley was home for the weekend!  On Saturday, the weather was great so 

we spent the morning shopping at Zona Rosa.  We ate lunch at 54th Street.

Harper loved her buttered noodles.........

until she discovered my gringo dip!

As you can see from the look of horror on my face,

I was certain Harper would make a huge mess with cheese dip!

Ashley was always such a clean child.  Harper, however, enjoys a mess!

After naptime, we headed outside to play.

Of course, Harper chose a messy activity -- sidewalk chalk!

I snapped this picture of her before she started drawing and rolling in the chalk.

Next, she wanted to play in the sandbox.  Not surprisingly, another messy choice!

Harper rode a bicycle for the first time.

Ashley got the dog to pose for a picture.

Before we went inside, Harper wanted to blow bubbles.

Yep, she spilled it all over herself.

We've been blessed with two beautiful girls.  

One clean, one messy........ but both perfect in our eyes!

 

First trip to the Emergency Room

Harper started feeling sick on Halloween.  By Saturday morning,

her cough had intensified and she had developed a fever. 

I took her to the doctor, they diagnosed an ear infection and started an antibiotic.  On Sunday night, she still had a fever despite taking Tylenol and Motrin around the clock.

We could see she was miserable, so we decided to go to the Emergency Room.

They did a lot of tests and a chest x-ray.  They confirmed that she does have a

pretty severe ear infection and also bronchitis.  They gave her an antibiotic injection, a breathing treatment, and some pain relieving ear drops.  She's feeling a bit better today, but still has a bad cough, a fever, a runny nose and a stuffy head.  

If she still has a fever tomorrow, we will head back to the doctor again.

Poor baby-- just doesn't feel well!

Although she wasn't feeling well, Harper was pretty tolerant 

of all of the tests and procedures done at the hospital.

As you can see, Zebra came along too!