Two Become One

The reason we went to Huntington last weekend was because my MIL was getting married on Saturday! We were/are, of course, very excited for her and M! It was a simple wedding, with 13 family members there to witness the event. We had a really nice time at the wedding and followed that up with a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant (who's name is escaping me right now!). It was so nice, relaxed and just fun to be with family and to see our two families come together. Below are photos of the big day. Oh, I was the photographer for the day. I tried my best, we'll see how the bride likes them! :)

The new West family

Sister hug!

We had a time of prayer for the bride and groom after the ceremony.

Mom and son

You may now kiss your bride!

The cutest baby there! :)

Cora with her new Aunt "Dee" (Deirdre)

The whole gang--Johnsons on the left, Wests on the right

attempting to be artsy

And, just because she's so darn cute!

Cora with Grandma and Pops

Cora's Party #1

Well, as we all know, Cora turned 1 on Saturday (the 27th). We are having a themed party this coming Saturday in Akron, but we thought that since we were going to be in Huntington over Cora's b-day we ought to have a party then! I mean, you're only 1 once, right? :) So, we had a small gathering at Gino's. They sell yummy things like "Pubwiches" and gelato! :) Cora had a great time eating pizza, a cupcake and even got a free little dish of gelato from the waitress! :) We had the restaurant almost to ourselves and just enjoyed celebrating our little girl with family! Here are a few photos of the time.

She's here!

I have much to blog about (since we just had a jam-packed weekend) but didn't want to wait on this one any longer! I have a new niece!!!! Hadassah Anne Abrusci was born Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 11:09 a.m.! She weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz. and was 19 inches long. I have not met her yet (which I'm very sad about) so have no photo to share, but will get to meet her this weekend and will take lots of photos then! :) We are most excited for the addition of "Haddie" and can't wait to meet her!!!! Welcome little one!

She is ONE!

Dear Cora Ann,
You are one year old today. I can't hardly believe it's been a year already that you've been here with us. This year has flown by. It's not been an easy year for Mommy and Daddy, but YOU have made it so much better, brighter and more special. I truly don't know if we would've made it through this year without you. You are so full of life, love, cuddles and laughter that we can't help but smile when we see you. As you finish your first year of life you are doing a lot of things, least of all is walking, babbling, eating just about anything, chasing Molly the dog, smiling, pushing your limits and letting us know when you're not happy. You LOVE bananas and HATE green beans! I can not WAIT to see what this next year holds for us! I love you Cora and am so thankful God saw fit to add you to our family!

Below is a picture "montage" of Cora's 1st year! Enjoy!

Me, large and in charge. A couple days before Cora was born.

Holding her for the first time.

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORA ANN!!!

Upcoming Events

This weekend is going to be full of activity. Tomorrow (TH) we'll be heading down the lonely highway to WV. It'll be a long day, but worth it as we'll be seeing all of David's family. We plan to have dinner with his Dad and step mom TH night, and then the rest of the weekend will be concentrated on David's mom. Why? She's getting married!!!! YEAH!!! Friday we're having a small family b-day party for Cora and Saturday is Cora's 1st b-day and my MIL's wedding! It'll be a fun weekend, lots of activity, lots of family, and I'm sure lots of laughter! I'll do more posts as we finish up these activities with photos included.

I hope you have a great end of your week and weekend!

Praying...

David and I have literally been on our knees the last couple of weeks praying about our current situation. We're praying it's coming to an end, praying God has a church for us amongst the ones David met with 2 weeks ago, praying about 1 church in particular. Will you pray with us? Would you please present this request to the Lord with us?

David has a 2ND interview Sunday evening at 6:00 via Skype with the church he (and I) are most drawn to. David has felt, from the moment he met with them, a special connection and has felt very drawn to them. We're praying this is a "God thing." Will you please pray concerning this interview? Pray it'll go well, and that this church will also be very drawn to David?

Thank you for praying! We appreciate it and covet your prayers. I'll keep you posted!

A Series of Numbers

13 = how many churches David met with 2 weeks ago

4= how many have said "no"

4 = how many want to continue talking to him

5 = how many we haven't even heard from yet!

12 = the most steps Cora has taken at one time so far

8 = the number of hours before my weekend can begin

9 = how many days until David gets to talk to the church he's most interested in

435 = the number of days we've been living where we are

?? = how many more days until we get to move on

countless = the number of blessings the Lord has given us