Loyet Family Odyssey

We have had one of those weeks in KY; it went from sunny and 75* to snow and 25* in a span of four days. March is always an interesting month here and we have to get in outdoor fun when we can because the weather changes on a dime in KY.

Tarini and Abraham - He is 13 yrs old and almost as big as she is :)

I simply love them!

I just so happened to be perusing pictures on my camera when I glanced over and there were my boys enjoying a moment.

OK, so this picture has a story behind it. We went to Aunt Heather's one afternoon and Avy was playing with makeup when we got there. We barely got in the door before Tarini wanted to join her. They played for a little while in Aunt Heather's bathroom and apparently at some point someone got into the real makeup. Tarini waltzed out and all I could see were her eyes - the girl put on black eyeliner by herself...perfectly! I cannot even come close to getting my eyeliner this close to my eye. This one is definitely worth clicking on to see the bigger image :)

The kids enjoyed a bike ride to, and on, a nearby church parking lot. As Tarini is new to bike riding, we have had to take it slow. We like to take her to this parking lot because she doesn't have the fear that she associates with the narrow sidewalks and changing elevation. And she feels brave enough to ride around and practice without one of us holding on to the handle bars. She's getting better every time we take her out and she LOVES her fairie bike. She really identifies with the character Iridessa :)

My sister and I decided to get pictures of the kids together for the Grandparents. It marks the first time the four cousins have had their pictures taken together since Tarini came home. The occasion just so happened to coincide with the Valentine's Day holiday so we went with pinks and reds. We had a great time and the resulting pictures were a huge hit with Grandma and Grandpa.

Avy - simply gorgeous

Anakin, Avy, Benjamin and Tarini

Anakin - I love that smile!

We went to dinner with my parents and the kids had a blast. We laughed and ate and entertained the restaurant staff. Tarini even had a waitress in the bathroom in stitches listening to her talk. She loved that the bathroom was pink from top to bottom and couldn't say enough about it. I have the silliest kids!

"Mmmm chicken!"

Grandma and Tarini

Look out Grandpa!

During the ice storm and winter weather we had - Aunt Heather, Uncle Dusty, Anakin and Avy stayed with us as they had no power. After being shut in the house for so long we tried to find creative ways to stay busy and keep the kids entertained. One such thing was curling the girls' hair. Tarini sat still for a ridiculously long time and was so excited to see the results. I think it turned out adorable and she loved it. Now if I can just get Aunt Heather back to do it again...I don't have the patience :)

Tarini with the ever present "Toby" who is so well loved that Grandma has had to sew him back together already :) The puppy was a gift from Eric's friend, Arshad, while we were in Bangalore India. Eric has the most amazing friends in India and I am so happy that we got to meet them. They were so kind to my children and I am proud to call them friends. I only wish that we lived on the same continent so we could visit more often.

Tarini has been asking why there are no "baby" pictures of her. I knew it would eventually come but it surprised me that she was already asking. I guess it is no wonder, considering how much she loves pictures. She loves to spend hours looking at pictures on the computer and of course there are pictures of Benjamin. They are not exactly baby pictures, but he is much younger and obviously smaller. I have explained it as best and simply as I could but it hasn't completely satisfied her.

For some reason, I felt like I should ask our agency if they would check with the children's home Tarini was in to see if there happened to be any pictures that hadn't been shared with us. We had only been given pictures that were taken since November 2007. We have not had any luck with getting anymore pictures from the children's home but our agency did give us a very special gift. They found 10 pictures that had been taken by an agency associate during a visit in January 2007. In the pictures, our sweet girl is tiny and still has the roundness of a baby, although she is 3 1/2 at the time they were taken. What matters is this...when she saw them you could not have contained the excitement in her eyes. She immediately identified them as her "baby pictures, just like Benjamin's" and all was well in her world.

I am so thankful for the gift of these pictures, not only for my daughter, but for our family as well. I know how amazing it is that we even have these pictures and I will not forget that blessing.