The Raffray Family

Four litle Elves

2008-12-12T14:57:00.002-05:00

Just thought you would want to see Santa's sweet little helpers!!!

Santa Please!!!

2008-12-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

We visited Santa at the North Pole,again, it was great. This year the North Pole was located at the Bass Pro Shop in Gwinnett (hahaha or should I say HOHOHO). They have all sorts of fun activities for the kids like, shooting red rider guns, bows, coloring, a remote control monster truck arena, free pictures with Santa and all sorts of amazingly expensive things your children will want. All in all it was actually fun and Caleb had a great time. Caleb waited very patiently in line to see Santa and the Santa was awesome, surprisingly he new Caleb's name and just was so attentive. Of course like our last visit with Santa Caleb asked for a rubber tire 4 wheeler and a guitar, to which Santa replied "yes Caleb you shall have them" (GREAT!!!) Hope you enjoy the pictures!!! Oh, Sophie enjoyed Santa as well.

Where does the time go??

2008-12-03T16:13:00.004-05:00

Sorry to all my fans who look for updates.....we have been so busy with LIFE!!!

Alot has been going on over the last few weeks. The kids continue to grow and change, especially Sophia who has been such joy. Of course we had Thanksgiving all by our selves this year, it was quiet and different, but not bad. I cooked the big meal all by myself and it was alot of fun. While I was cooking Brad and Caleb put he Christmas tree up. Caleb loves Christmas trees, he was so organized about it. He laid out all the ornaments he liked and put them all in one spot on the tree and topped it off with 100 candy canes in the same place. I just watched a laughed as he put so much thought into his tree. We have also been to see Santa, of course I will have to add the picture later. That was fun Caleb proudly informed Santa he wanted a four wheeler with rubber tires and a guitar with strings. Sophia was unfazed by Santa, that is her norm. More exciting news.....we had some changes to our finally court hearing for Sophia's adoption. It is now Dec. 17 at 1:15pm. Brad and I signed the last of the papers and we just have to wait till the 17th where we will talk to the judge over the phone. We are so excited. What an amazing blessing HE has given us. She is just a doll baby and we love her so much. Caleb is already planning our next adoption. He wants a brother that we will call Caleb and he is going to look just like him. Maybe next year!!! ( i will add more pictures later )

My funny funny little man!!!

2008-11-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

So tonight my mom kept the kids while Brad and I went out for our anniversary. When we got home Brad went immediately to check on Caleb, who was sleeping. Brad came out of Caleb's room and said "Pam did you let Caleb sleep naked"....my mom and I both were like "what". we went into Calebs room and sure enough he was completely naked, laying side ways in bed with his butt in the air and no blanket over him. Crazy, crazy....man he is so cute I could just eat him up. So...I have pictures BUTT I am going to spare him the embarrassment and not post them...I will save those for when he has a girlfriend.

Playgroup!!

2008-11-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

Today we had playgroup at the pumpkin farm. It was great, we were the only people there, and the weather was awesome. We took all the kids on a hay ride and had a picnic lunch by a little creek. The kids had a great time and played so well together. Caleb loves this group of kids, we pray for each of them almost everyday.

This is the only picture he would smile for!!

The whole gang!

From left to right: Lydia, Ruth, Avery, Shannnon, AJ, Elliot, Amelia, Caleb and Sydney

I'm a Big Boy Now!!

2008-11-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

Caleb got up this morning and got himself dressed for the day. Didn't he do a great job!!!

Election Day!!

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

So I don't have pictures of us voting but I do have a good story. Brad and I have been talking with Caleb about voting and presidents, and how important it is to vote. So today Brad took Caleb to vote and Caleb was very good as he waited in line with Brad. They get to the voting booth and Caleb was devastated to hear that he was not allowed to vote (we failed to mention that part) and even more upset when Brad was not allowed to let Caleb push the buttons on the screen. So after restraining himself from laying on the floor screaming( as many of you know he would do) Brad and Caleb finish voting and go to get a sticker. Caleb waits again, very patiently, gets to the woman who is handing out stickers only to have her look at him and say "I'm sorry little boy you can not have a sticker because you did not vote". Poor Caleb he was so confused, he wanted to vote but they would not let him and after all that he still did not get a sticker for being so good.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T20:33:00.001-04:00

This past Friday was Halloween and we celebrated at Brad sisters, Brandy, home. Brandy and her husband had a big party and decorated their garage and had a fire outside for people to sit around and roast marsh mellows. This year Caleb is really been into dressing up, so finding perfect costume was hard. But finally after mush thought from our three year old he decided upon this dragon costume. Sophia was a sweet fat butterfly, she hated the costume but looked so cute in it. Brad and I also dressed up. I was a cow girl and Brad was a pirate. ( he was so cute). Brad's mom was a tiger and his dad was dressed from head to toe in camo ( but I am not really sure what that made him). Brad's sisters costume was the best she was a crow and her husband was a scare crow.

Brad's mom and dad

Me and Sophia

Brandy the crow and her husband, Trent, the scare crow.

Brad's dad Marty

Dalton and Caleb

Brandy and Sophia

Terra and Sophia

Sophia and her praying hands

Caleb and Sophie

Alana and Caleb

Brad and Trent

Brad and his grandmother, Mildred.

The whole gang

Check up!!!!

2008-10-31T11:15:00.000-04:00

Today Caleb and Sophia both had check ups with Dr. Gottsman. Sophia weighs 8'12oz and Caleb is 31lbs. Both, Caleb and Sophia are growing fast and looking great. Also, they both got vaccinations for the first time today. Caleb has never had vaccinations so he was not happy with us.

Sophia's Adoption!!!

2008-10-30T14:29:00.003-04:00

Guess what!!! I just got a phone call from the lawyer and on December 10, 2008 Sophia's adoption will be final. We are so excited. Only 41 days to go. Lets give God all the glory!!!

Carving our Pumpkin!!!

2008-10-29T19:00:00.000-04:00

Last night we carved our pumpkin!!! Isn't Sophie so alert and she is starting to look so big. I got a pattern from the Internet and traced it onto our pumpkin. Then Caleb and Brad cleaned and cut the pumpkins face.

At this point Caleb became very grossed out and was not liking the pumpkins insides. At one point he actually gaged.

The Finally Product!!!

Sweet pictures of Sophia and Daddy!!!

2008-10-29T16:38:00.002-04:00

Here is a cute picture of Brad a Sophie sleeping. She loves her daddy!!! When he comes home he gets right in her face and she looks in his eyes and instantly starts kicking her legs and getting excited.

Caleb really likes this head band!!

Sleepy Caleb

2008-10-29T14:35:00.000-04:00

Caleb was watching the new movie trailer for Madagascar and fell asleep. Poor thing....we don't let him nap in his bed we make him sit at the table to sleep!!!

The Naked Witch!!

2008-10-27T13:49:00.000-04:00

Caleb is really into Dress up or maybe I should say dressing down!!!! Either way he was pretending to be a witch.....Caleb the naked witch!

Burt's Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

Last week we went to Burts Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville. Caleb really enjoyed the farm last year but it was so hot ans crowded. This year it was beautiful and actually felt like fall. Sophie had a good time too, she slept in her little sac the whole time.

Caleb played in the rows of pumpkins, he was "hiding and seeking" or at least he thought he was.

I thought this was a pretty picture!!

These next pictures are from the hay ride

This is Caleb and a friend of ours daughter, Aubrey. They surprised us and meet us there.

Aubrey, Caleb and Jackson

Sophia's last post placement homestudy!!

2008-10-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

On the 14th we had out last in home post placement home study with our social worker. We are so excited, the only thing left for us to do is to have our phone conference with the judge. Below is a picture of Sophie and our awesome social worker Tonya. Tonya was so amazing, she made this whole process easy and painless. Thanks!!

Day at the park!!

2008-10-08T16:24:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures of a play date we had with the Hicks Family. Caleb loves AJ and Elliot!!! Caleb also Loves to come to the park because he can ride his bike in the parking lot.

Elliot and AJ

Here is a great story. The boys were playing with acorns, they would throw them down the slide and then laugh. Well Elliot came to me to tell on Caleb because "Caleb was not sharing his nuts with everyone else" then Elliot proceeds to go and find his own nuts to play with. He then stood at the top of the slide and said "Ms. Erin do you see my nuts" It was so funny, this is a story I am holding onto for years, it will be great to tell when they graduate.

And then there were Four!

2008-10-05T16:41:00.005-04:00

Just wanted everyone to see the four children in our life......Caleb, Alana, Dalton and Sophia!!!

Playing with our Hair!

2008-10-05T16:18:00.005-04:00

On Friday Caleb found an old set of my curlers and put them in his hair. It was so funny, he kept saying "look mom is my hair pretty." Caleb ended up wearing them is his hair for hour.

Sophia did not get curled but she got a pretty head band!!

Caleb's 3rd Birthday Party!!

2008-10-04T16:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we finally celebrated Calebs 3rd Birthday. If you did not remember we were in Florida on Calebs B-day getting Sophia over a month ago. We had Calebs party at a toy store called The Lollipop Store and Jumpin Safari. My parents actually won this party in an auction last spring. It was a great party, so many of our friends and family came to help us celebrate sweet Calebs big day.

Calebs Party was a pirate theme party. I went a little over board on his cake. It was like a 3d pirate ship cake and we only ate the ship.

The store was really great they provide party girls that do everything, set up clean up, they even write down who each present is from.
Below is a picture of Maggie, Amelia and Ruth
This is Bennett and Shannon
It was also Shannons 4th birthday so he and Caleb both got to blow out candles
This is my cousins little girl Mackenzie

Below is Joshua
Brad and Ty
Terra and Tozer
Caleb and Dalton
This is a giant slide and the adults were able to play. Caleb, Mrs. Corie, Avery and Mrs. Jenny
There was also train table

My dad and Avery

All and all it was a great day, thank to all of our friends and family for loving Caleb so much.

Brad's 30th Birthday!!!

2008-10-01T11:10:00.002-04:00

Brad turned 30 on the 27th of September. I was so excited for him. We had a party for him on the 26th. It was supposed to be a surprise but somehow he found out. We had some of our friends and family over and alot of kids. Brad is such a great guy....and I want to take a moment to give him a big shout out. I love you Brad and I am so blessed to be a part of your life. Happy 30th Birthday.

Caleb, Alana and Sophie

2008-10-01T10:43:00.002-04:00

Last week I kept Alana and she and Caleb held Sophie the whole time...they were so cute.....If you see in the picture Caleb is holding a baby doll and cried when he had to give the doll back to Alana.

Sophia's first pictures

2008-09-23T17:38:00.003-04:00

My great friend Jackie took these pictures of Sophia and has allowed me to share some with you. I still have 29 more to choose from....but I think I have narrowed it down.

Play dough fun and so much more!

2008-09-23T17:25:00.002-04:00

Just thought everyone would want to see this cute picture. Caleb and Mimi were playing play dough and this is what they made. Caleb is so creative and loves to make things.

2008-09-22T12:48:00.003-04:00

Today, Caleb wanted to help give Sophie a bath.....if you notice she is screaming..that is because Caleb thought she needed water poured over her face. I also added some sweet pictures of her in the bouncy chair....she is so cute.

Our first week home!!!

2008-09-22T12:06:00.002-04:00

Well our first week home with Sophia was so busy. I forgot that new babies are supposed to stay at home for a couple of weeks. On Monday of last week we stayed home and unpacked, our friends Debi and Sue came over to visit and see Sophia. It was a rough day, just getting used to staying up all night feeding and changing and having two kids again. On Tuesday morning we got up and took Sophia to get pictures taken at my friends Jackie home. The pictures turned out so sweet and you can all be expecting an announcement soon. Also on Tuesday we got locked out of the house, HAHAHA, that was alot of fun. Fortunately Dr. Gottsman was able to fit us in for a quick appt. for Sophie so the day was not all lost. On Wed. we went to Chickfila to play and have lunch with our friends the Myer's. The kids had alot of fun, and actually got along very well. Also on Wed. I had my first outing to Walmart with the kids by myself....it went very well. On Thursday we had play group at Corie's house, as always it was alot fun and Caleb loves to go. Brave Corie invited Caleb and several other children to stay over all day and play. Thursday night we went back to Corie's house for dinner. Friday, we went to Burger king to play with our friends Misti and Joshua. Misti and her family are getting ready to adopt a baby. It has been a neat friendship we have so much in common and we have been able to help each other with adoption stuff. Friday Evening we met Brad in Gainesville to go to a funeral. Our Brother in law Trent's Grandmother passed away. Witch ( yes that is what we called her), was a sweet woman, she and Trent were very close, we will miss her. The Picture below is Caleb and Sophie dressed up for the Funeral.

On Saturday, we got up and got ready for Clermont days. Clermont days is a festival that our very small town has every year, there is a parade, food, music and at night there are fire works. We walk to main street about noon for the parade. Caleb loved it, he waved for an hour. I think his favorite part was the marching band. Saturday, we had a Party for my dads 50th Birthday. My grandparents surprised my dad with a quick visit from VA. We had a great time, it was the first time they had seen Sophia. Sunday was spent recovering from our busy week. Really we are the busiest people. I am thinking that this week we will slow down a little.

OUR FIRST WEEK WITH SOPHIA!!!!

2008-09-14T14:15:00.010-04:00

So sorry I have not been able to blog. We had no Internet service at the condo in Panama City. This 1st week has been amazing. Let me start off my praising our Lord and Saviour, with out Him this amazing experience would not be possible. I would also like to comment that my baby is so beautiful!!!!

When I last blogged Sophia was only 12 hours old and I was actually holding her while I typed. Sophia was born on Thursday, Sept 4. Our first night was great, I nursed her all night long and we bonded great. She almost never cried and it was a great opportunity for me to talk with our birth mother.

The next day, Friday, the lawyers assistant Leah (picture below) came to the hospital and had our birth mom sign her consent to adoption papers. It was a very precious moment. Laura and I just cried and hugged and we thanked her. Initially she wanted 2 hours with Sophia to say good bye, but when I brought her Sophia she asked us to stay with her while she said goodbye. Laura said she did not need 2 hours, she hugged Sophia and kissed her. Then told us to take care of "Our Baby". We will always remember Laura and the fact that she chose life over death, and that she chose us.

These pictures below are when Sophia was officially our baby. Laura left the hospital and we stayed another 24hours. Caleb was so amazed by Sophia and he just hugged and loved on her, he kept telling us that Sophia was telling him secrets. It was really sweet.

Saturday morning, the adoption consultant for the lawyer came to the hospital for Brad and I to sign our set of papers. It was so exciting to be leaving with our baby. We had like a 2 hour drive to Panama City from the hospital.

Marilu, Adoption Advisor
Saturday also was Caleb's 3rd. He was such a good sport. He was so excited to just have the 3 of us there with him. I don't think he cared that he did not have a big party. When we got unpacked at the hotel we went and found Caleb a birth cake. It was so much fun just having his birthday party with us, I think more in life needs to be this simple. Caleb had a few presents to open. The one he was most excited about was a hot wheels parking garage. It was so funny, when he opened the "parking garage" he screamed oh daddy it is a "poker game". I am not sure where he got that from put it was hilarious

The "poker game"
Our family picture, taken from the balcony of the condo.

On Sunday Brad took Caleb to play golf for his birthday. Brad said Caleb loved it, he even got a hole in one.

Me and Sophia sleeping.

Isn't she so cute.
Sophia and her parents!
This is at home is Georgia, she is sleeping on me.

Sophia and her Aunt Terra
Poppy, mommy and Sophia

This week has been crazy, but awesome!! How Awesome is our God!

Coming Home!!!

2008-09-12T14:37:00.002-04:00

Erin just called me to let me know that they got the call and they will be coming home tomorrow. Yeah!!! Everyone is doing great and they are all excited to be coming home. Please pray for there safety as they are traveling tomorrow.

-Terra

Family Update!!!

2008-09-08T11:20:00.005-04:00

Brad & Erin don't get service where they are so they asked me to post an update on how everything is going. They took Sophie to the doctor today for a check-up. She weighs 5lb 7oz which is what she weighed when they left the hospital. The doctor said that it is good that she is maintaining her weight. They are all doing great and Caleb is adjusting to having a little sister. There is a possibility that they could come home sometime next weekend or the first of next week. Please continue to pray for them as the all adjust to a growing family and for their safety when they travel back home.

Terra :-)

SOPHIA HAS ARRIVED!!!!

2008-09-04T22:19:00.006-04:00

Today, at 12:51pm Sophia Virginia Raffray graced us with her presence. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had. To watch your child be born and to be such a part of it and yet to not have to go through all that pain. Our birth mother Laura is wonderful. Even thought she has a terrible drug addiction she truly wanted the opportunity to meet me, she really cared about who Sophia was going to. I got the opportunity to spend several hours with her before the birth. I really got to know who she is and what she wants for her children. Laura is terribly convicted about her addiction , yet it controls her. My heart longs for her know peace, that peace that passes all understanding. After spending time with her, labor really kicked in and after an epidural things got going fast. Laura allowed me to be in the room and even allowed Brad and Caleb to listen from a private waiting room. When Sophia was born Laura only pushed 3 times and then they lifted her and placed her on Laura's tummy. Laura just cried and of course so did I. Then Laura allowed me to cut the cord. That was so special, Laura's family was there with her and she could have easily allowed them to be apart. Laura told every that I was the mother, she was just the carrier. I got to nurse Sophie right away and I think she must have gotten colostrum because she latched on great and after 40 minutes!!!....she never fussed or anything . She weighed 5lbs and 11oz and was 18.75 inches long. Brad and Caleb came into the delivery room after they cleaned Laura up. I heard Caleb say " Is that my baby"...he was totally blown away. Brad just smiled and I think he was in love from the beginning. Sophie has recovered from her birth well and is just wonderful...she is with me is a separate room fro Laura. Tomorrow we will finalize the adoption and Sophia will be ours. Thanks you for all your love and support...yall are going to just love her.

Sucking her hand

Daddy and his girl

Brad falling in love
She weighed 5'11oz
Laura's sister Tonya is showing Caleb his new baby....Tonya was amazing

Our first Family picture
Tonya's mom cut the rest of the umbilical cord

Sophia is on her way!!!!

2008-09-03T16:46:00.002-04:00

Tonya called about 3pm today and said that they are inducing Laura tonight. SO...we are packing the car and headed to FL. I will post more news when we get to FL...

Update on Sophia!

2008-09-02T21:29:00.002-04:00

OK so I talked with Tonya a little while ago and she is taking Laura to the Doctor tomorrow at 2pm. We are hoping that they will induce her, she is trying really hard to not do anymore drugs but is really struggling. Please be praying for her and that God will protect them both. Also with these 3 new hurricanes approaching we are hoping God will get us in and out of FL quickly. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I will be letting you know that we have a baby on the way!!!

Hurricane Gustav!!!!

2008-09-01T16:55:00.020-04:00

HURRICANE GUSTAV!!!!!!!

Hurricane Gustav brought a host of interesting activities this week for the Raffray Family. The biggest surprise was the unexpected evacuees from Louisiana. Early Sunday morning Brad's
Grandparents and Unlce Richie arrived here in Ga. We are very happy they choose to leave LA early and avoid a lot of the traffic and the storm. We still have not heard how their homes are but I am sure they are fine as the storm was not as bad as they thought it was going to be. Today, we had a cookout at Brad's parents house. We had a great time, including Caleb who found the cake that Stephanie made and hide. Yes, I turned my back and for a split second I was not sure what Caleb and Dalton were up to. But as you can see we found out when Caleb came out of the back bedroom with chocolate all over him and the carpet. He said he just had little bite. Somehow I don't believe him.
Brad and the kids went out to the pond after lunch to catch frogs. They were so cute, Caleb had a little net and was scooping everything out of the pond in hopes he would catch a frog. Dalton spent a lot of time carrying around the frog and tad pole in a large plastic jar. He was so proud of them and wanted to keep them. Alana, being our princess, was sure not to get to close to anything dirty. Actually she and I took a long nap on the couch together watching "scoliboo" or scooby do ( i like the way she says it).

Also today Caleb and Aunt Brandy picked Muscadine grapes in Stephanie's back yard. Granny loves those grapes and on Sunday had a very large plat of nothing but muscadines. All though I don't have any pictures the kids also sang Karaoke on the porch and played Frisbee. We had a great Hurricane Party!!!!

More news on Sophia

2008-08-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

About 10pm tonight Tonya called and said that Laura had lost her Mucus plug and was not feeling well. Also, Tonya said that tom. she was going to take Laura to the Dr. and see if they would just induce her and at least check her and see how far dilated she was. OK well maybe I will have more news to come.

Update on Sophia

2008-08-28T07:14:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I spoke with Tonya Our birth mom's sister, she said that Laura was not feeling great and felt like birth was going to be soon. Please keep them in your prayers. Also lets prayer that hurricane away.

Baby Shower!

2008-08-27T16:49:00.010-04:00

Brad and Caleb were invited.

Our nephew Dalton
Frineds from Challenged Child, Kathy Cook, Lee Highsmith, and Gail Schneider
My cake was to Beautiful to eat.

This past Saturday my family through a shower for Brad and I to celebrate the up coming arrival of Sophia Virginia. We had such a wonderful time, and so many people came by. We got so many beautiful gifts like a new bouncy chair, a rain forest bath tube, tons a cloths, a diaper bag with Sophia's name on it, alot of diapers and bath products, gifts cards to babies r us, um..um and a whole lot more. Thank you to everyone who came and blessed us we had such a wonderful time. Hopefully it will not be long now till our baby arrives.

Dinner at Applebees

2008-08-22T08:32:00.004-04:00

Hello again it is I. I thought everyone would enjoy some pictures I took when we had dinner last week at Applebees. We went to the Dawsonville Outlet Malls with Katie and Terra and then had dinner. We bought baby Sophie and Caleb some late summer and fall cloths. Enjoy our crazy dinner

Week 2 of potty training

2008-08-15T09:43:00.006-04:00

We have officially entered week 2 of potty training. Caleb is doing so well, we have had almost no accidents. Today we are going to be gone all day so we will see how he does telling me he has to go. Hurray for no diapers

More potty training news.

2008-08-13T09:17:00.007-04:00

Ok today is day six of Caleb's self Potty training. I am so excited that Caleb just decided to do this, he even did #2 again last night again all by himself. So i think I am going to get like 2 maybe three weeks that I will not have to buy diapers. Maybe God knew that we could only afford diapers for one. Oh I included a picture of Caleb wearing underwear on his head, he said it was his cool hat.

Our First picture of Sophia

2008-08-11T20:52:00.004-04:00

Today we got the ultrasound pictures of our beautiful daughter. It is not the greatest picture but that is ok. If you look you can see her forehead, her eyes, nose, and the beginning of her lips. Her arm is covering her mouth. We were so excited, we can not wait to meet her. We are also looking forward to meeting the women ( our baby's mother and aunt) who have made this whole thing possible. Please continue to pray for Laura as she carries our baby and please lift us up as we go from 3 to....... 4 again.

Caleb is potty training himself !!!

2008-08-11T13:43:00.003-04:00

OH the joys of parenting....I never new I could get so excited about poop in a potty, but I did. Caleb decided on Friday that he was big boy and he needed to wear big boy underwear. So I let him thinking that it would never last...I was very wrong. He has been wearing them ever since ( not that exact pair) and today he came and told me needed to hide ( which is code for #2) so I suggested that he hide on the potty. I left and came back to find him overjoyed to show me his surprise. I actually almost cried I was so excited..I danced around the bathroom and Caleb was so proud. I love being a mom.....it really is the simple things in life that are so exciting.

Fourth of July.....a little late!

2008-08-07T22:12:00.005-04:00

Caleb playing with a sparkler!

Brandy and Alana
Dalton

Granny, Caleb and Pa Boone

Here are some pictures from the fourth of July. Brads grandparents and Uncle were in from LA visiting. We actually celebrated the 4th at our house. Brad and his grandfather cooked ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers and the kids played on the back porch. After we ate we went swimming and had a great time. Then we watched fire works and Brad and Uncle Richie nearly set my house of fire.

Playgroup

2008-08-06T11:55:00.005-04:00

Our Tuesday Playgroup!!!

Ameila
Elliot
Rhonda, Kendell, and Avery
Avery, Shannon and AJ
Avery and AJ

Every Tuesday we go to play group. This week it was our turn to host it, we had it at Mimi and Poppi's pool. All of our Friends were there, the Himstedt's, the Hicks, the Pittman's, the St. Pierre's, we also had some friends who could not come. The kids all swam for about 2 hours then we had lunch and swam some more. Caleb and I were at the pool a total of 4.5 hours. Caleb was so tired when he went to bed, he did not get up till 9 am.

Swimming with Mimi and Poppi

2008-08-05T20:57:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we had a little Spell Family get together. It has been a while since we all just had fun together. We had dinner and then we all went swimming. Caleb had a wonderful time. It was fun to see Caleb swimming with my parents he looked so much like Emily.

Caleb's Bicycle

2008-08-03T21:20:00.005-04:00

This weekend Brad's mom found a really cute bicycle at a garage sale and bought it for Caleb. When she gave it to him he was so excited. He said "it's my big motorcycle" and he screamed with joy. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed watching him.

Done with our Homestudy!!!

2008-07-31T22:12:00.002-04:00

Today our FBI fingerprints came in and we are now officially done with our home study. For those of you who do not know a home study is what a social worker does to determine if you are qualified to be a parent. It looks at all aspects of your life, how you were raised, your marriage, your parenting techniques etc.... then the social worker determines what type of child you should have and if you are even capable of having more. It was a ton of paperwork, but I am happy it is done. I am going to pick up the home study on Friday morning and then all we have to do is wait for the big day......Sophia's Birthday! Please keep praying for our birth mother and that she takes care of herself.

The Raffray Family Farm

2008-07-30T21:28:00.006-04:00

For those of you who do not know we have our own little farm here in Clermont. We have a horse named Dotty May. We rescued her in May from a family who could not take care of her. We have a dog named Deacon, he is a handful, he thinks he is a lap dog. We also have a bunny rabbit named Snow, he is Caleb's pride and joy. We got Snow at a farm auction a couple of weeks ago. Caleb knew exactly what he wanted at the auction, he pointed at the rabbits and said "I want a rabbit that looks like snow". It was really cool to see how proud he was of his rabbit. I have wanted chickens for a while now and I finally got them. We have a rooster named Bruster, he has a harem of hens. The oldest hen is Henrietta, and the three younger ones are Mary, Sarah and Winnifred (named after the three witches from Hocas Pocas). We get eggs on a daily basis, it is alot of fun to go out to the hen house and see what is there. This spring we planted a huge garden, we got squash and zucchini for 10 weeks and we are still getting tons of tomatoes. We are getting ready to pick corn, and green beans just came in as well. I have canned tons of banana peppers and hopefully we will get some watermelons and pumpkins soon. We love our little place her in Clermont.

Great Friends

2008-07-30T16:55:00.002-04:00

We received a letter today from wonderful friends of ours, it said " because we have four we want you to have one more"... inside the card was a check for $1000.00. WOW.... God just continues to bless our family with amazing friends. We are so amazed by how so many people have just stepped up to help us. Thank you so much......your friendship has been my rock when things were unsteady ( you know who you are, oh you can have visitation rights with Caleb...how does that sound?)Thank you, thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family!

Fun with Aubrey and Jackson

2008-07-30T15:57:00.004-04:00

Today our friends, Aubrey, Jackson, Laney and Mrs. Stephanie, came over to play. We had so much fun, we played in the pool on the back porch and then the kids took and bubble bath. We love Aubrey and Jackson and love our play days.

More Adoption News!

2008-07-29T12:05:00.002-04:00

I talked with the lawyer's assistant this morning and she told us that the birth father had been served with his notice of adoption papers. The great part is they found him on the first attempt to serve him, he was in jail. We were going to have to pay for every attempt to locate this man. God is so good. The birth father has 30 days from last friday to register with the state of Flordia. Please keep your prayers going for us as we travel down this new and exicting road and for our sweet baby Sophia.

Fun at a Birthday Party!

2008-07-28T08:48:00.005-04:00

On Sunday we went to a friends birthday party at the lake. We had a great time. Caleb swam so well, he was jumping off the dock and and playing with a kick board. Brad did not swim, but he did find something fun to do!!!!

More great news

2008-07-27T22:17:00.003-04:00

God is so amazing, today at a birthday party my friend Corie told me that here Sunday School class took up a collection for us. I honestly forgot about it, so on the way home I decided to open the envelope and see what was in it. OH MY.... it was almost 900. dollars. I almost screamed!!!! God just continues to provide for this adoption. Someone told me that God would not start something and then not finish it. I am just in total AWE of how great HE is. This whole road to adoption has been amazing. We wanted to adopt from Ethiopia but every time I thought about sending the papers in I would decide to wait a little longer. Then we prayed about adopting domestically and I looked into tons of adoptions agency's but just could not make a decision. Then one Sunday evening when I least expect it my sister Katie told me that my mom had talked with someone who wanted to tell us about a baby that needed a home. I made a few phone calls, and here it is 2 weeks later and we have been blessed with 8000.00, our home study is done and now all we have to so is just wait for B-Day. I am speechless by His great works.

Fundraiser

2008-07-26T14:22:00.002-04:00

Today we had a Garage Sale to help raise money for the Adoption. My mom and Katie made the whole thing happen with the help of lots of our Friends. We made $703.00!!!!! We are so excited. These past two weeks we needed $6500.00 for the lawyer and the social worker and we raised $7000.00. We only need $4800.00 more. Thanks so much to everyone who helped. Hopefully we will be bringing baby Sophie home soon.

Fun things you have missed!

2008-07-24T10:42:00.000-04:00

So, i was doing some thinking about all the fun things going on this summer that everyone has missed. I decided to add some pictures of all the funny things going on this summer. Hope you enjoy.

Recently Brad was working outside, and was very dirty and he smelled terrible. When he came inside for the evening we had a storm and lost power, so Brad decided to take a shower on the back porch and save water. We are over achievers when it comes to water conservation!!!!

Big Surprise!!!!

2008-07-23T18:33:00.000-04:00

We just got the call with the ultrasound information. Everything looks good but as it would be we have started preparing for a boy and to our surprise, it's a gril!

Exciting News

2008-07-23T17:50:00.002-04:00

Hello, We have some exciting news for those who don,t know. We were contacted about 2 weeks ago from a family in FL, they have a baby that is due to be born in 6 weeks. They would like us to adopt him when he is born. We are so excited and are very busy with paperwork and other legal issues. The birth mother had an ultrasound today and we are waiting the news of how the baby is doing. So look for ultrasound pictures to come. Please pray for the birth mother who has struggled for years with addiction, and for the health of the baby. Today we signed the

contract with the lawyer.

Welcome to our Blogspot

2008-07-23T09:14:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends and Family, We are so excited to finally have a blogspot to share with our loved ones.We want everyone to get to see our family and the exciting changes taking place. We also want you to be able to see Caleb and everything he has going on. We hope you enjoy and look forward to hearing back from everyone