For The Love of a Child...

Orphan Sunday, November 6th, 2011

2011-11-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel's 1st Day of Preschool!!!

2011-09-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Outside our front door with our shadows next to him. I really like how this turned out!

Meeting his teacher for the first time

Have so much to catch up on...

2011-07-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

So it was been way too long since I updated my blog. I promise to catch up for the time missed (we have had a lot going on), but in the meantime, let me introduce to you my new nephew, Alvin IV, born April 15th, 2011.

My sister and the adorable Baby Alvin

Nathaniel and Baby Alvin, or "Ice Cream" as Nathaniel calls him!

Me and the boys!

Celebrating Our 3rd Gotcha Day!

2011-06-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Celebrating my 33rd Birthday in Pictures!

2011-06-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Me and my little man out for lunch on my birthday

I LOVE DQ Ice cream cakes

Nate wanted a picture with the cake! :-)

My mommy sent me "A Party in a Box"!

Having a party!

Nathaniel trying REALLY hard to blow!

Chewy even joined in on the party (I'm not sure if he liked it though) :-)

He finally got it to work!

The beautiful flowers my mom sent me!

Easter Sunday - I love my family!

2011-04-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday is an early busy morning for the Wests. It starts with Sunrise service at 7am followed by a potluck breakfast, then our regular service at 10am. Paul does an afternoon service for the nursing home once a month as well, and it just happened to land on Easter Sunday to add more to the madness!

He is SOOOO handsome!!! I couldn't get over how incredible he looked in his Easter outfit!

Excited about opening his Easter baskets/boxes from the Grandparents. It was so special for Nathaniel to receive boxes in the mail for Easter!

Looking at the card from Poppa Goodell

Poppa Goodell sent Nate a solid chocolate Easter basket with all kinds of yummy treats!!!

Nate's first piece of candy on Easter. :-)

Opening an Easter bag from Papa & G-G in Oregon.

He really loved his little school bus.

Opening the box sent by Grandma Amen.

Showing all the goodies. We watched the new Veggie Tales Easter movie in between services! It was so cute! :-)

Our annual Easter family picture. I LOVE my little family!!!

Easter Saturday - the Egg Hunts :-)

2011-04-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Bayard Community Easter Egg Hunt! We really enjoy it and Nate gets excited because they don't put candy in the eggs they put money! His favorite part is putting the coins in his piggy bank.

Last year was Nate's very first hunt, so I was kind of expecting him to be an "old pro"...that is not exactly what happened...

Here is Nate waiting for the fire truck to sound the siren.

When the siren finally sounded, Nate took off running around! He bypassed at least 15 eggs and just ran!!! Paul had to remind him to pick up some eggs...he only ended up with 3 but he sure had fun!! :-)

He is heading back to show us his eggs. 2 green and 1 orange. He really just wanted green but he settled for the orange ones too.

We decided that because of Nate's confusion with the egg hunt, we held our own egg hunt in our back yard to "practice". While he napped, I collected every quarter I could find and filled as many plastic eggs as I could.

We also had confetti eggs that I lovingly cracked over my son's head...

...then he cracked one over daddy's head...

...mommy's head...

...and, of course we couldn't leave Chewy out!! :-)

Nate was very proud of his loot! He wanted to show everyone that Abe Lincoln was on this money.

Loading up his piggy bank!

Have you seen my son's eyes?! Incredible!!!

2011-04-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel's First Day of Preschool!!!!

2011-03-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st day of Preschool!!!!

Time to get up!

Very excited to go!

Out in front of the preschool

Distracted by a book about trains so I can leave to go to work. :-)

Just Love Coffee Adoption Fundraiser!

2011-03-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

We have a great opportunity for family and friends to support our adoption while enjoying DELICIOUS coffee!

An organization called Just Love Coffee is owned by a fellow adoptive family. It is a simple way to raise funds for our adoption expenses.

Please visit www.justlovecoffee.com/westadoption and check out what products are available. I have also added a link on the right side that you can click on. Be sure that you see "West Adoption" across the front to ensure that we receive the credit.

Here are the proceeds that we receive based on your purchase:

Coffee: $5.00 each

T-Shirt: $5.00 each

Travel Mug: $3.00 each

Tote Bag: $3.00 each

Hat: $3.00 each

Coffee Scoop: $1.00 each

Thank you all in advance for your help!!!

Just For Fun...

2011-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel was pretending that my hair was his own today in church. I decided to capture the moment on camera!!!! I have already had other's comment that he looks like Tina Turner!!!!!!

Nate & Mommy Go To Washington (Catching up - February)

2011-02-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel & I went traveled to Washington to throw my sister a Baby Shower! It was such a wonderful time and Nate was such a trooper with all the traveling!

This was Nate's first time on a plane since we brought him home at 5 months! He LOVED being on the airplane, and he captured the hearts and attention of the flight attendants and other travelers quickly!!!

Nate often pulled out the safety information and "read" it to me! :-)

Nate & I got to visit with Angie, a dear friend from college. It was SO good to catch up!

Nate with Auntie Heather and Uncle Alvin! My sissy is glowing! :-)

Nate & Papa Goodell

Nate telling Papa something very important.

Nate & Uncle Alvin

Nate & Jim

Nate loved going to the kids program at my mom's church. He made this craft and wore it proud! :-)

Nate's first Krispy Kreme

Visiting Grandma Amen at work

Umm, is it just me or does Nate's legs look incredibly long in this picture?

Nate & Papa Goodell at Red Robin.

Grandma & Clare celebrating Clare's birthday

Mommy & Son

The night before we left, right after Heather's Shower, we spent time hanging out at Starbucks. We had such a good time visiting, and it was so hard to say good bye...

Random Photos, Just Cause He's Cute! (Catching Up - January)

2011-01-31T19:52:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel's Certificate of Citizenship! (Catching up - January 2011)

2011-01-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

The cutest little US Citizen!!!

Look closely at the photo on the certificate. He looks like a thug...a really cute little thug though!

Our Dossier Is Complete - Officially DTE 01/28/2011! (Catching Up - January)

2011-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

After 18 months of paperchasing (long, long, long story), we finally completed all the paperwork for our 2nd Ethiopian Adoption!

It was a very, very snowy Wednesday afternoon. I drove through 3 ft snow drifts to get my passport photos and to get our completed dossier to the FedEx office near the airport (on an un-plowed road). I am not sure if I was shaking because of the excitement or because I wasn't sure if I would make it! :-)

Our finished paperwork in the FedEx envelope!!

My new "friend" at FedEx. She was such a good sport and willing to take photos! :-)

Me, our Dossier and my FedEx "friend". It is so emotional leaving our Dossier in someone else's hands. A lot of time, energy, money and tears went into putting it together...

After our Dossier was received by America World Adoption Association (AWAA), it receives 2 staff checks and then goes on for Authentication in Washington DC. Our official date for our Dossier being sent to Ethiopia was supposed to be Friday, January 28th, 2011, but due to weather conditions, they were not able to be sent until Monday. Even so, our official DTE is 01/28/2011!

This is the FedEx confirmation that our Dossier was delivered to Ethiopia!

Let the wait begin!!!!!!

Estes Park Winter Festival (Catching up - January)

2011-01-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

We took a spontaneous trip to Estes Park for the 3 day weekend (MLK Jr. Day) . Paul got to ski, I got to shop and Nathaniel got to ride a pony for the first time! Enjoy the photos:

Nate (and Daddy) had so much fun with the riding the pony.

The Winter Festival had a ice sculpture maze.

Nate posing outside the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. It was so beautiful!

More if Nate and the Stanley Hotel

My boys! :-)

Nathaniel's 3rd Birthday Celebration

2011-01-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

We really had a great time celebrating Nate's 3rd Birthday, yesterday and today!

Yesterday, we first asked where he wanted to go to lunch. We assumed the answer would be McDonalds, but were pleasantly surprised when he said Taco Johns!

Nate loves the potatoes!

After lunch, we asked him where he wanted to go. He said "Kmart". I am not sure why, but my little boy LOVES Kmart! We decided we would let him choose 1 toy. We made a line of all the toys he said he likes and let him choose 1. He chose a Tonka garbage truck that he can carry around his little Tonkas in. He is all boy! :-)

After picking up his cupcake birthday cake, Nate took a short nap (key word: short) in the car on the way home. We just got home when Estille from church knocked on the door with a birthday gift for Nate. She made him a huge blanket in bright colors. It is so beautiful! Nate was so excited about it.

I made Nate's favorite for dinner. He loves meatloaf (with ground turkey), mashed potatoes and green beans.

After dinner he opened presents and cards from us and from our family that sent them in the mail. Then it was bath and night-night time.

Today after church, we invited the church to join us for cupcakes in honor of Nate's birthday. It was wonderful to celebrate with our church family.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Nathaniel!

Blowing out the candle (he only spit a little!)

He face is saying "Don't touch my cupcake!"

Everyday I am reminded what an awesome priviledge and blessing it is to be Nathaniel's mommy! We love you!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Nathaniel!

2011-01-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 3 today!!! What a blessing and miracle he is! Mommy & Daddy love you, Nathaniel!!!

As far as we know, this is the first picture taken of our sweet baby boy. We estimate he was 1 1/2 months old here.

Here he is on Christmas day wearing the blanket his Great Grandma & Great Grandpa had made for him.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Sung by Nathaniel West

2010-12-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel Meets Santa Clause

2010-12-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight the City of Bayard had some fun activities for kids in town! Santa Clause came, there was a hayride in town and a soup supper with live music.

This is only the 2nd time in Nate's life that he has experienced meeting Santa Clause.

Waiting in line to see Santa. Getting really excited!

Having a hard time waiting his turn, so daddy distracted him with a ride on his shoulders.

Nate was a little insure at first...Santa was a little scary to him.

Warming up a little bit. When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said, "An Apple". That's my boy! The great part is that there was an apple in his goodie bag that he got from Santa!

Finally feeling comfortable with Santa, Nate began telling him quite a story. It was all about how when he got older he was going to go to school.

Back home after seeing Santa, posing in front of our Christmas tree. Nathaniel has an obsession with putting his bare belly down on the cold floor. For some reason he thinks it is hilarious!

My sweet boy and the Veggie Tales nativity :-)

Nate's Dance to Rockin Around the Christmas Tree!

2010-12-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

My little boy LOVES to dance! When I ask him what he is doing he says, "Shaking my booty!" When I ask him where he learns it, he says "Ellen"! He LOVES to watch the Ellen show (mommy and daddy do too) and dances with her. Enjoy!

Nate and the Presidents 0001

2010-12-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

We finally got our son on video reciting all the Presidents of the United States! His obsession with Mt Rushmore led to his obsession with all the Presidents! Enjoy! I think my kid is rather smart! :-)

Orphan Sunday 11.07.2010

2010-11-07T08:27:00.001-08:00

Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Seriously?!

2010-11-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm in LOVE!!!

For Grandma Amen :-)

2010-11-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

My Little Blue Dinosaur

2010-10-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel made the CUTEST little blue dinosaur for Halloween!!! He was so excited about giving out candy to our trick-or-treaters, but quickly got scared by some of their costumes. :-( All-in-all we all had a great time!

Photos for Christmas....ALREADY!!

2010-10-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how it happened, but we already have our Christmas pictures for our friends and family this year! We are feeling pretty good about being so far ahead! :-)

I think this picture really shows you how tall his is!

"I'm THIS big, Mommy!" :-)

This is one of my favorites! He LOVES trains and this shows it! It was hard to get him to pose because he just wanted to play with them!

There is something about this photo that captures the beauty of my son in a different way. I don't know...I love it though!

Visiting "Auntie Grandma"

2010-10-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a short trip to Denver, Colorado to meet our dear friend Jaye. Nate calls Jaye "Auntie Grandma" and was so excited to see her! I wish I would have had my camera rolling for his greeting of her at the airport. It was like something you would see in a movie.

A little over 2 years ago, I took this picture of Nathaniel and "Auntie Grandma" Jaye.

Here is Jaye & Nate now! (Please note Nate's new cheesy, forced smile!)

We consider Jaye to be family and love her dearly.

Nate and His Big Boy Underwear!

2010-10-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today Nate got to wear Big Boy underwear for the first time! He was so excited AND he stayed dry the whole time (we started with just 1/2 day from after nap until bedtime). I am so proud of him...and I am enjoying the idea of a diaper-less life for just a little while! :-)

Yet Another Trip to Rushmore...And One VERY Happy Boy!

2010-10-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Because Nathaniel LOVES Mt Rushmore, we surprised him with a trip to watch the very last evening ceremony for the season!

Church Hayride and Potluck

2010-09-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

We had the most amazing privilege of spending last Sunday evening with our Church family! A wonderful family in our church invited the whole church to their ranch for a hayride through the hills and a potluck dinner in the barn. SO MUCH FUN!!! Enjoy the pictures.

Nathaniel was quite antsy to get on the trailer.

Our chariot :-)

LOVE this picture, except you can see Nate's slobber falling on Paul's head! Ha ha ha!!

Nathaniel and his Belford siblings...yes, Nathaniel's 2nd last name is Belford! :-)

Nate was enthralled with large tires

The group all loaded up and ready to go! We are such a good looking bunch of people! :-)

This picture was taken right after we started moving. The expression on his face says it all!!

I love my little family!!!

Nate checking out...well...nothing! He just loved the binoculars!

More cute faces

True Nebraskans! :-)

Nathaniel and one of his Belford "sisters"

This was about as close as Nate would get to the cow. :-)

Vacation Part 9 - Auntie She-She, Dominic and Desi

2010-08-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel LOVES his Auntie She-She and his cousins Dominic and Desi. You can see from their smiles in the pictures that they love him too! :-)

Nate with Autie and Desi

Nate and Desi. Desi was such a good sport! Nate's favorite thing to do was to pull Desi around by the arm. She was such a good cousin!

At Harris beach near Brookings, OR

Looks like Dominic and Desi are playing "Keep Away" with Nate! :-)

With Dominic. Nate just adore's Dominic. A normal conversation always centered around Dominic and how he plays the drums!

Digging in the sand. Yes, that is me. I felt like a little kid again enjoying the beach with my son!

Vacation Part 8 - Papa, Grandma & G-G in Oregon

2010-08-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

After the trip west and a week with my family, we traveled to Southern Oregon to visit with Paul's family.

Nathaniel loved to go in the spa with Grandma G-G (FYI they set their spa at the temperature of a pool, so it is not hot. I figured mom's like me would want to know that).

Paul's mom celebrated her 60th birthday while we were in Rogue River! We had a "surprise" birthday party for her in the park.

Eating lunch at the Station in Rogue River for Grandma G-G's birthday! The strawberry shortcake it a MUST HAVE!!!!

Nate teaching Grandma G-G how to play xylophone! :-)

G-G teaching Nate how to play the guitar! :-)

Vacation Part 7 - Visiting With Friends

2010-08-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Although our focus for our trip was spending quality time with family, we had the priviledge of visiting with some very dear friends.

Toby...I mean Abdiel & Ashley Robles! :-) Nathaniel was convinced that Abdiel's name was Toby and he wouldn't believe anything different. The funny part is, Nathaniel doesn't know anyone named Toby!

The amazing Zach & Tabitha Badley and their beautiful new little baby Sterling!

My sweet friend, Cheryl and her adorable new baby girl Lauren!

Bob & Cheryl are Associate Pastor at a church near Rogue River. We are so blessed to call them friends!

We were surprised to run into Rusty at the Station! It was great to see him again. Such silly boys!

We had a picnic in the park with Augustus & Karlie Garcia AND their 5 girls!! Nathaniel was in heaven!

Nathaniel and the girls feeding the geese....

...and still feeding them...

It was great to see our long time friend Melisma the afternoon before we left Oregon.

We truly are blessed with such wonerful people in our lives!

Vacation Part 6 - Great Grandpa and Great Grandma

2010-08-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

One of the most important stops on our trip was visiting with my Grandparents. My grandma had a stroke this last spring, and I was very anxious to see and spend time with her. We were so thankful for how well she is recovering! Thank you Lord!

Nathaniel really loves his Great Grandparents! Great Grandpa helped him put together an airplane!

Nathaniel likes to smile and say cheese for a second and then quickly look away. As you can see from his smile, this is exactly what he was doing in the picture.

Of course he looks at the camera when he is being silly with a sticker on his nose!

Vacation Part 5 - Grandma Amen, Clare and the Baseball Game

2010-08-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

It is always a wonderful time when we are with Grandma Amen (my mom)! Nathaniel just adores her (and so do we)! This visit we visited our dear family friends, Joan & Dave, and went to Nathaniel's very first baseball game!

Nate made another friend. He just loves dogs, and they love him too!

Visiting with Joan at her home. The Robinsons are very special to our family.

Nathaniel at the baseball game. Go Tacoma Rainers!!!

Notice we are representing my son's obsession of Mt Rushmore :-)

CRACKER JACKS BABY!

Nathaniel having his very first taste of cotton candy. Paul kept saying, "Don't forget we need to double brush his teeth before bed." Stink! We forgot!!

Ok, so as I said before, my kid is terrified of people dressed up as characters. Rhubarb the mascot for the Rainers was no exception. He didn't even have to be close for him to start screaming and crying. As you can see from my face, I am trying not to laugh, and of course Paul just wants to make sure to get a picture of it! :-)

Our first baseball game as a family! I promise Nate loved it, although he doesn't look like it in this picture.

Vacation Part 4 - Papa Goodell and Jim

2010-08-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend some time with Papa Goodell (my dad) and Jim. Nathaniel was so excited to see them and spent much of his time saying their names just to get their attention and asking to go to their house!

Meeting Papa Goodell at Ivars for lunch in Seattle. Nate ran up to him and gives him and hug and says "I'm Nathaniel!"

Nate's mask from lunch. I thought it was pretty cute!

Papa and Jim gave him a dinosaur. When you hug it or squeeze it's stomach it roars. Nate loves it!

Nate's favorite place to sit at Red Robin was right in between Papa and Jim! :-) While we were waiting for our meal, someone dressed up as the Red Robin came around to visit with kids. Nate is terrified of characters dressed up like that. Luckily the person got the picture and went out of sight.

Nathaniel was telling Papa a very important story. He was very passionate about what he was saying!

Vacation Part 3 - Auntie Heather, Uncle Alvin & Lois Lane (the Pug)

2010-08-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

We drove straight to my sister's & bro-in-law's house the second day driving. We spent several days at their house and had such a great time! I noticed as I was going through my pictures that I don't have any pictures of Alvin. :-( I must be because he was always whipping up incredible dinners for us! (The pictures did not upload in order.)

Auntie Heather bought this shirt for Nate at Pikes Place Market in Seattle!

Auntie Heather enjoying a Pumpkin Cookie

Nate and his Starbucks teddy bear from the Original Starbucks

Nate and Auntie. Do you see the hand on the hip? That is a little boy with attitude!

On the waterfront on Lake Union, waiting for Ivars

A must stop while in Seattle

The sister, me, my mom, Lois Lane (the Pug) and Nate on the Everett waterfront

My beautiful boy!!

Nathaniel LOVED to give Lois kisses!

More kisses

Nate making friends at the park. He is quite the social bug!

The coolest swings I have ever seen! Swinging with Auntie Heather!

Daddy enjoying the swings too!

Vacation Part 2 - Still Driving

2010-08-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

After driving over 950 miles in one day, we stopped in Kellogg, ID for the night.

The next day (July 27th) we left early to meet my Aunt & Uncle in Spokane for breakfast! Nathaniel with is Great Aunt Joyce and Great Uncle Allan

Vacation Part 1 - The Driving

2010-08-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

The day was July 26th...
The time was 4:45 AM...
The place was our van...

The most incredible little 2-year-old traveler

Playing Peek-A-Boo

Look! He's peeking!

The not-so-enthusiastic driver :-)

Vacation Stats

2010-08-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

We are back from our first vacation since moving to Nebraska. We spent the last 2 1/2 weeks visiting our family in Washington and Oregon. Here is a little about our trip. Pictures coming soon! :-)

Our Vacation stats:

We left at 4:45 AM on Monday, July 26th and returned home at about 10 PM on Friday, August 13th.
We drove approx 4,000 miles.
We traveled through Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.
1 speeding ticket was issued in the state of Wyoming. I will not mention that it was Paul...oops! I just did!
We stayed in 3 different hotels - 1 on the way there (Kellogg, ID), 2 on the way home (Salt Lake City, UT and Steamboat Springs, CO) .
We stayed at 3 family members houses - My sister & mom in WA; Paul's parents in Oregon.
We had 2 oil changes - 1 in Billings, MT and 1 in Denver, CO.
We had to have 1 tire replaced in Denver, CO. Somewhere along the way we had a nail puncture our tire straight through. We didn't notice it had happened and we feel blessed that God kept us safe while we traveled. The total cost to replace the tire was only $32 because it was under warranty from Costco! :-) Gotta love Costco.
I did laundry 4 times (total of 7 loads) to come home with almost all clean clothes.
Other than sunburns from being on the beach in OR, we all remained very healthy on the trip! PTL!
Nathaniel is a dream when it comes to travelingr! He was so content riding in his car seat. He played with his toys, slept, danced to music, played I-Spy with mommy and was just all around great to travel with! Every morning he would get up and say, "Go bye-bye?" :-) Nate even continued to be successful with potty training on the road. Every stop I would take him to the bathroom right away and 98% of the time his Pull up was completely dry! Go Nathaniel!!! :-)
We had such a great time with friends and family on our trip, yet we were so excited to get back home again!

Brooke Fraser - Albertine video

2010-07-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel's Dance -- Watch Those Hips Move!

2010-07-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel has a girlfriend! :-)

2010-07-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

We went to the dentist for the first time since we moved here, and it just so happened that our dentist has a little girl they adopted domestically. Nathaniel and Reagan are about a month apart, and pretty much the same size (i.e. big for their age). It was so much fun to watch and listen to them play! I really believe it wasn't by accident that we ended up at this particular dentist. What a blessing!

The picture quality isn't the best because it was taken by my phone. :-)

My 2-year-old Is Obsessed!

2010-07-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel is very obsessed with Mt Rushmore. He literally talks about Mt Rushmore at least 3-4 times a day. This video show you how deep the obsession goes!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel & Grandma Amen*

2010-06-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed a little over a week ago to have my mom visit for a whole week. Nathaniel just LOVES his Grandma Amen (*Nathaniel calls my mom 'Grandma Amen' because she is the one who taught him the "Amen" song after praying).

We actually had to be careful not talk about Grandma's visit too much because he couldn't understand that he had to wait until June. We told him, "Grandma Amen is coming in June". The whole time my mom was here, he kept asking, "Is it June?". :-)

I couldn't help but snap lots of pictures of them together!!! Enjoy!

Nathaniel Swims!

2010-05-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel LOVES water and LOVES to swim!! We went out and bought a cheap 12 dollar kids pool last night and Nathaniel ENJOYED himself this afternoon! Be sure to watch the videos at the bottom of this post. They are hilarious!

Our 11th Anniversary Trip to Mt Rushmore Part 5

2010-05-23T22:06:00.001-07:00

The second night in SD, we chose to go back to watch the 9PM program at Mt Rushmore. We spent a little more time in Keystone first.

Even though I had tons of pictures from the day before, Paul insisted I take this one because it looks like George Washington is crying. :-) Is was stormy and raining so that probably explains it.

After the program, they illuminated the mountain. It was incredible! Pictures don't do it justice (especially with a camera that doesn't do night pictures well).

We had such a wonderful time and were so glad we could share this piece of America history with Nathaniel at such a young age.

Our 11th Anniversary Trip to Mt Rushmore Part 4

2010-05-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hanging out at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City.

Nathaniel has officially become obsessed with Dinosaurs. When we left the park, he kept saying, "I miss dinosaurs." He also continued to ask to go back to the dinosaur park constantly once we left.

Our 11th Anniversary Trip to Mt Rushmore Part 3

2010-05-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

My boys and the Presidents

Mommy and Nate

I love my family :-)

Nathaniel became really attached to the Presidents on Mt Rushmore and all the way to the hotel he kept saying, "I miss the Presidents (sounds like 'Pants')"!
Mt Rushmore would be even better with little Nathaniel's cute face carved in the mountain! :-)

Our 11th Anniversary Trip to Mt Rushmore Part 2

2010-05-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to South Dakota!

We were so excited to go to the Flintstones Bed Rock City...only to find out it was closed. :-(

Although Paul & I were upset it was closed, Nathaniel seemed to enjoy the little stuff outside the gates. He is such an easy going kid.

I have seen the pictures and heard how amazing it is, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing Mt Rushmore with my own eyes. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Our 11th Anniversary Trip to Mt Rushmore Part 1

2010-05-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

For our 11th anniversary, Paul & I decided it would be fun to do something we had never done before. A few months ago, we discovered that Mt Rushmore was a short 3 hour drive from where we live! Neither of us have ever been before so we made the plan!

Here is our trip in pictures:

We started off driving through Alliance, NE to see Carhenge.

My boys standing under Paul's favorite truck. :-)

Mommy and her son

Our family...and a dinosaur LOL

Just down the road from Carhenge we saw this. We actually turned around to go back for a picture!

Catching up...

2010-05-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

It has been several busy weeks since my last post. Here is an update in photos...

One of my new favorite pictures. I bought this hat on clearance cause I thought it would be cute on him! I think I was right *pat on the back for mommy*

Nathaniel's very first dentist appointment. The dentist gave him rave reviews! It may have something to do with the Veggie Tales toothbrush that plays music for 2 minutes so that he brushes his teeth for 2 minutes every time. We have made it a game and he LOVES it!

Skype-ing with Auntie Heather and Grandma Amen for Mother's Day! So much fun!!!! This was our view.

Courtesy of my brother-in-law, Alvin, here is their view.

Just a spontaneous photo I took tonight...seriously? Isn't he the cutest little boy on the planet?!?!?!

Pictures Only - Fun @ District Council

2010-04-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil...

2010-04-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hear no evil...

See no evil...

Speak no evil!

Nathaniel and His Tractor (on his vest) :-)

2010-04-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

We figured Nathaniel needed to embrace Nebraska life with this adorable tractor vest. Now he is a true Ethiopian-Nebraskan! :-)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Nate Goes On His First Easter Egg Hunt!

2010-04-03T12:52:00.001-07:00

Standing at the starting line getting ready

He isn't crying, I think the wind was bothering his eyes, plus he is overdue for his nap. LOL

Examining his loot

"Look mommy, I got an egg!"

"I think there is something in there!"

The Face

2010-04-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Mommy takes away the chocolate (which he doesn't even eat) and it is past Nate's bedtime...

Old Time Photos of Nathaniel

2010-03-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we took part in a fundraiser for a young lady in our church to go on a mission trip. We had Nate's pictures taken, and we given a huge package of pictures for free!!! We are so blessed with these beautiful pictures of our adorable son! Enjoy!

**Note: These are professional and copyrighted pictures. Please do not copy or print.

Happy 2 Year Referral-versary!!!!

2010-03-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Exactly 2 years ago today we saw our little boys face for the first time! Now 2 years later I couldn't imagine life without our miracle! Thank you, Lord, for blessing our family with Nathaniel Mesfin Paul West!

Our Mini-trip to Colorado

2010-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Teaching Nate early about the amazing tea at McAlister's!

This is how much fun we can have with something that costs a dollar! :-)

Happy St Patricks Day!!!

2010-03-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today we got a care package from my mom for St Patricks Day!! It is always so much fun to get a package from my mom. Nate now thinks that when a box comes in the mail that it is from "Grandma Amen"! : -)

He decided the green silverware were drumsticks instead!

Getting very excited about it!!

Loves this face

Enjoying the green presents!

Thank you Grandma Amen! We love you!!!

Oops! Maybe I shouldn't have video taped this!

2010-03-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty...umm...I mean Sleeping Handsome :-)

2010-03-16T18:20:00.001-07:00

Nathaniel Plays in the Snow -- For the VERY FIRST TIME!!!

2010-02-18T12:59:00.003-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T12:54:00.001-08:00

Nathaniel and His Big Boy Bed!

2010-02-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

This week Nathaniel had his first night of sleep in his Big boy bed!!! We had the bed put together and in his room for several days before using it to get him used to it, and I think it helped BIG time with the transition. It got to the point where he would be upset if he had to sleep in his pack-n-play because he wanted to sleep in his "truck" (it is a firetruck toddler bed).

Here he is just before the big event! He was so excited!!!

All tucked in with his special little doggy and blanket.

I was so excited and suprised at the same time for how smoothly this transition was! I braced myself for a sleepless night with having to constantly put Nate back to bed. For those who may not know, my son has been a champion sleeper since the first night he was with us in the hotel in Ethiopia! He sleeps minimum of 12 hours at night (7 or 7:30 PM thru 7:30 - 8AM) and around a 2 hour nap everyday.

So I put him to bed and he only got up once because he took off his socks (a BIG no-no to mommy and daddy), but quickly went back to bed and fell asleep. He woke up once around 11PM crying, but nothing a little mommy comfort and kiss couldn't take care of. He slept through to the next morning about 7:45 AM! His nap was a breeze too! I feel completely spoiled after hearing some of the horror stories people have told me about their crib/toddler bed transition. Thank you, Lord!

Singing ...Or Should I Call it Screaming?! :-)

2010-02-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Nathaniel singing his ABC's.

Nathaniel screaming Jesus Loves Me! :-)

SNOW!!!!!

2010-02-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today was our first snow since we moved to Nebraska almost 4 weeks ago (I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN HERE ALMOST A MONTH!!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Chewy barking wanting to come inside rather than to have his picture taken. Snow is cold for a little doggy like Chewy! :-)

The Parsonage....my home :-)
From the window upstairs looking out at the large snowflakes

Our cute little church in the snow!!!!

Paul took this incredible picture today! You can see the HUGE snowflakes falling. We live in a true winter wonderland.

Nathaniel's Very 1st Hair Cut!!!!

2010-01-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

Today was the day we finally decided to get Nathaniel's hair cut. It was terribly overdue and yet we couldn't bring ourselves to get his hair cut because we love his little frow!!!

He look a little curious and confused, but was ok...at first....

As you can see with the look on Nate's face, this is about the time when he decided he was done with getting his hair cut.

I ended up letting him hold on and hug me while Terra (the brave hair stylist) continued to cut.

The change in his dimeanor was incredible when she was finished. He even asked her for a kiss...

...and then proceeded to kiss mommy and daddy, and blow kisses to the doggy outside! :-)

Instead of keeping just his first cut curl, I couldn't bring myself to part with ANY of his hair. I put it all in a baggy and stuffed it in this little box. :-) Forever a memory of my little bogger.

Moving to Nebraska

2010-01-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

My lack of blogging over the last several months has a lot to do with some significant changes in our family. In October, Paul resigned from our church in Rogue River. It was a very scary and uncertain time, as we did not have a church we were going to.

After much prayer and stepping out in faith, Paul was voted into a church in Bayard, Nebraska the beginning of December! Here are some photos of our trip and the first week here.

Such a wonderful welcome to our new home and church!

Nathaniel on our first Sunday here! SO CUTE!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nathaniel!!!! We love you!!!!

2010-01-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed by family and friends to celebrate Nathaniel's 2nd Birthday!

Yep, Nathaniel is spoiled rotten!

Playing with his cousins.

Spitting on the cake...I mean blowing out his candle! :-)

Enjoying his cake.

We took over more than half of Abby's. What a wonderful night celebrating my baby boy!

Nathaniel's 2 year Doctor's Appointment

2010-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Weighing in at 36 lbs and measuring at 36 inches high, Nathaniel is officially off the charts for his age! Nate's doctor is extremely pleased with his growth and development. :-)

Here is Nate with daddy...right before his 4 shots. Poor kid!!!!

Christmas Family Photo Shoot

2009-11-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

*Note: these are professional pictures and copyrighted. Please do not copy and print :-)

Just Pictures :-)

2009-11-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

African Children's Choir Concert!!!!

2009-11-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the most amazing night!! We had the incredible night...one that I will never forget! I truly have no words...

The choir arrives

They got their energy out by playing on the playground in the rain!

Each of every one of these kids are BEAUTIFUL inside and out!!!!

Eating dinner. I made lasagna for the group and they ate every last bit!

Having devotions before the concert started.

Lining up to go on stage

Dancing. WHEW!!! It wears me out just looking at them dance! They have so much energy

Dancing some more!

The kids loved Nathaniel and he loved them back!!!

Just looking at this picture brings tears to my eyes...such beautiful children! Their smiles light up the room!!!

Backing Up ~ Our Trip To Washington To Celebrate My Grandparent's 60th Anniversary

2009-11-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel's first experience at the Spaghetti Factory. He LOVED it. I am not even sure if I got to eat any of my food. :-)

Grandma found a giant Elmo that Nathaniel just LOVED!!!

Elmo attacking grandma LOL

My new ALL TIME FAVORITE picture! My guys all dressed up for the 60th wedding anniversary.

My beautiful grandma walking down the aisle! I feel so blessed to get to celebrate such a memorable occasion with my family!!!

Nate and Grandpa

Nathaniel learned the color "yellow" on the drive home :-)

Backing Up ~ A Trip To The Pumpkin Patch Part 2

2009-10-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Backing Up ~ A Trip To The Pumpkin Patch Part 1

2009-10-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Backing Up ~ My Kid's Crazy Outfit

2009-10-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Like mother, like son - this is how we dress when no one else is around :-)

Backing Up ~ Nate Uses the Big Boy Potty!!!!

2009-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

Out of blue, my little boy decided he wanted to go poo poo in the potty!!! I was so super excited that I didn't even think about my camera until after he had done his business...I don't think it is appropriate to post a picture of my son's poo poo, although I do have them! :-)

Here he is right after he did his "business".

Here is the very next day after he decided to go pee pee too!!!!

PS For some this may be TMI, but it is so excited for me to watch my little boy grow and learn new things...plus I am definitely looking forward to him being out of diapers. :-)

Backing Up ~ Nate Goes To Hunting Camp

2009-10-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Every October, Paul's family goes over to Eastern Oregon to hunt. Enjoy the pics...

Special Day With My Guys

2009-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

With my new work schedule, I rarely get a Saturday off. I wanted to take the opportunity to have a special day as a family.

We decided early on to go to Crater Lake for the day. It was free to get into state parks, so it seemed like the perfect time. :-) Unfortunately, the smoke from the Umpqua national forest fires clouded the incredible view. Oh well, we still had a great time. Enjoy the pictures.

Toys R Us was having a special celebration for Geoffrey's Birthday. It was pretty cool, but...

...this is about as close and Nate would let us get to the over sized giraffe. He was super scared of him.

Me and my little boy at Crater Lake. See all the smoke in the background?

Silly boy!

My two guys...aren't they SO CUTE!!!

He he he...this is a normal daddy/son thing.

On the way back, we stopped at the Natural bridge just down the road from the Rogue River Gorge. It was a short easy trail and a beautiful water view. (you can see the smoke in the air, it was actually a sunny day)

What a mischievous face

Looking at the water with the park rangers. The nice park ranger gave him a little Smokey the Bear pin. :-)

Nate was mesmerized with the water.

Mission's Sunday

2009-09-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

I LOVE missionaries! They are a special people with incredible hearts. This Sunday we had a missionary from Romania, Tamara Henkes. Check our her blog.

Happy 2nd Birthday Elijah!

2009-09-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel was invited to his friend, Elijah's 2nd birthday! It was a Pirate theme and Nathaniel had a great time.

The birthday boy! Happy Birthday Eli!!!

Cindy (Eli's mom) giving my son a bat *SCARY* to hit the pinata.

Nathaniel taking a break from the scavenger hunt to jump on the trampoline.

Nate spent most of the night trying to take everyone elses food...especially Cindy's food! :-)

Grandma's Visit

2009-09-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to have my mom come and visit over Labor Day weekend.

LOVE this picture!!!!

Grandma became his new jungle gym :-)

Cuddling in the cold morning (while watching Elmo of course)

We took mom to one of our favorite restaurants "The Soup Station" in Rogue River. I finally got Nathaniel saying "I love you" on video. SO CUTE! :-)

Teaching him young

2009-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday, we had an early Turkey dinner because my nephew (my sis-in-law's step son) is leaving for Boot Camp and he will be missing the holidays with our family. I decided Nathaniel was old enough to begin a VERY important tradition involving black olives. Now he will know what to do with Thanksgiving comes around! :-)

Nate thought it was pretty funny that mama was eating his fingers! :-)

He wouldn't eat the olives off of his own fingers, but he ate them off of mine...he bit me pretty hard! :-)

I love this picture. There is so much expression in his face.

My future football player :-)

2009-08-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

I still haven't figured out what the oven ever did to Nathaniel, but he sure didn't want the oven to get away with it. LOL :-)

Wordless Tuesday...Well, Almost Wordless

2009-08-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

Last week at concerts in the park, Nathaniel and Elijah had fun playing :-)

Nate LOVES the kids toys at the mall. He also enjoys watching and trying to keep up with the older kids.

Nathaniel LOVED going up and coming down the slide!!!

Nate gets so excited when we open his door to get him out of the car!

The most incredible smile in the world!!!

Nathaniel saying "shoes" his new favorite word!!!

The video is a little dark, but you can kind of see my sweet boy trying to say "Ethiopia". SO cute! We were trying so hard to not laugh!!! :-)

Nathaniel likes to cook :-)

2009-07-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was chopping vegetables in preparation of wrapping lumpia, Nathaniel really enjoyed watching! He thought my chopping was just for him to dance to. :-)

Catching up

2009-07-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Wow I didn't realize how much time passed since my last post! I guess that is what happens when you start a new job ;-). I have been training for the last several weeks so when I get home at night, I try to enjoy my little family before Nate goes to bed. Needless to say we are all going through an adjustment period.

We all were so excited to celebrate Nate's best friend's 1st birthday! Sawyer turned 1 year old this month! Exactly 1 year ago all three of us had the priviledge of visiting baby Sawyer and his new parents in the hospital the day he was born. Now Nathaniel and Sawyer play together a lot!

Sawyer's birthday was a cowboy theme held in a barn! It was awesome! Here is the cake made by Sawyer's aunt. She did amazing!

Sawyer got to eat the whole top! Lucky kid! :-)

There were horses (Nate was a little unsure of who he felt about the horse)...

...and bunnies...

...and pin the tail on the donkey... ...and saddles! It was such a fun party!

More 4tf of July Pictures

2009-07-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Grandma sent a special 4th of July care package! Nathaniel looks so cute in the stripes! :-)

Daddy was working on getting him to smile...I had just given him a bath, it was bed time, so he was starting to get a little grumpy.

Nathaniel finally couldn't handle it anymore. He was saying and using his sign language to say "All Done". I just LOVE his "boo-boo" face. I just want to squeeze him and kiss him.

We record the Gospel Music station when they have Christian Music videos. We have watched them so many times that Nathaniel has his "favorites". He dances and sings along to the music. This is his ALL TIME favorite song by Israel.

Happy 4th of July -- Morning pictures

2009-07-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

I decided to try something new this morning...I made Red, White and Blueberry pancakes!

Nathaniel loves it...well, mostly the fruit and just nibbled on a little of the pancake.
Nate sporting his special 4th of July shirt from Old Navy...a family tradition.
Ah, yes. Nathaniel got stuck in his little toy corner. Poor kid was really upset, and I took the time to grab the camera again.

MORE PICTURES TONIGHT AFTER OUR BBQ AND FIREWORKS! :-)

Silly Sunday

2009-06-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, those are my toes in the background! :-)

Chewy is such a good sport. He gets picked on even when the baby is napping!

LOVE this picture! The amazing men in my life!

Nathaniel has a fascination with telephones lately. Here he is talking on his telephone rattle!

A Boy and His Dog

2009-06-28T22:24:00.001-07:00

Sharing his cracker. Nathaniel is really good with sharing...he takes a bite, then Chewy takes a bite, etc. :-)

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T15:14:00.001-07:00

Nathaniel Gets Stuck...AGAIN! :-)

2009-06-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I assumed my usual position as the photographer for my son's situation! :-) Lesson from this experience: Nathaniel should not stand on the couch!

Nathaniel's 1 year Post Placement and the Oregon Zoo!

2009-06-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Paul, Nathaniel & I were up in Portland to do our 1 year Post-Placement for Nathaniel, as well as our new Home Study meetings for Rwanda...did I mention that we are paper chasing for Rwanda now?!?!?! :-)

Here are some pictures from our weekend: