Sunday Naps

Levi and I started a little Sunday ritual. Sunday Naps together in my bed. He knows now that every Sunday after church he gets to take a nap in my bed. It is such a sweet time with my little snuggler!

Basketball

Brody has enjoyed his first season of basketball! He has definitely gotten better and understands more about the game since his first practice:) Its been fun to watch!

And he had quite the fan club at one of his last games!

Massanutten Resort

Meme and Poppy surprised the kids this year with a trip with all of the cousins to Massanutten Resort for a few days after Christmas! They told the kids over Facetime and the kids were so excited!

We enjoyed a weekend away with all 11 cousins together! 

Brody did the Zip-line course!

 

We went Snow Tubing!

And enjoyed a day in the Indoor Waterpark! 

(of which I have no pictures!)

Christmas 2013

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas this year! I feel like we completely missed December last year between last minute flights to pick up Aven, a week in Ethiopia, and nurturing a scared little girl.  December 2012 was a whirlwind to say the least, so we enjoyed every single minute of Brian's two weeks off and soaking up some much needed family time!

We enjoyed some time with Parker, Lindsay, Emme and Lennon a couple of weeks before Christmas and celebrated it a little early with them!

 

Mom and Dad took us all to see the Hillridge Christmas Lights!

Christmas morning was so fun this year with all 3 kids being able to enjoy it!

The most exciting part was new 4wheelers for the boys!! They were so excited!

Merry Christmas from the Kohouts!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

30 years young

I must say I have been slightly dreading my birthday. I'm just not quite ready to leave my 20's. But the 30's are here whether i like it or not! My sweet husband surprised me with a party at my best friend Sara's house. It was fun to be with my dearest friends on my birthday!

The highlight of the night was Melissa and Carolina's parody of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" called "Your 30s will be divine". I laughed the entire three and a half minutes of the choreographed, personalized lyrics all about me! They definitely got some good stories out of my parents and husband for the song:) It was memorable to say the least! The time and effort that went into it, definitely made it one of my favorite "gifts"! I am so thankful for my friends!

Brian and Sara did a great job of surprising me. They both had me convinced we were just going out for dinner and really didn't have a plan for the night (which drove me crazy!). Sara even tried to back out a few times! Great job, guys:)

1 year Home and 2 years old!

It is so hard to believe we were in Ethiopia 1 year ago bringing Aven home. It seems like yesterday.....but then again it seems like she has almost always been a part of our family. We cant imagine life without her! One year later, her brothers still ADORE her. They still act like she came home yesterday. They cant wait for her to wake up in the morning! They still run to her room to tell her good morning!

On her birthday, I cant help but wonder if the woman that gave birth to her is thinking about her. I cant help but wish that she knew how loved and happy Aven is. I continue to pray that the Lord would give her a peace and that she would somehow feel that Aven is ok. We can't begin to guess the circumstances that surrounded her giving Aven up.  I was not present at Aven's birth and didnt even see her face to face until she was 7 months old, so in all honesty I don't feel sentimental about her birthday. Her birthday just makes me wonder about alot of things....things that will never be answered. It's hard not to think of those things on her birthday. BUT I realized this year, that although the 2 months of delays waiting for her to come home were tough, the Lord gave me a gift in that......She came home just a few days before her birthday and I am extremely sentimental about that! I watched our adoption video several times and went through all of the pictures taken at the airport and her first few days home. We do alot of celebrating around her birthday between Gotcha day, the day we became a forever family, and the day of her birth. 

A little about Aven....

She is finally opening up to other people. I would say just in the past 2 months has she gotten to the point where she willingly goes to some of our friends. She has been great with our families, but is finally loving some of our friends too! 

She is an amazing sleeper! She loves her crib and never makes a peep at night or nap time. And this has been every single night and day since day one! It's crazy. She has blessed us in that department!

She is very determined!

She is finally starting to put some words together. 2 or 3 at the most. 

She is struggling in the teeth department! She has all of 9 teeth. 2 on the top, 3 on the bottom, and 4 molars. 

She loves to sing! Although she doesnt say alot of words, she can sing all of the words to Jesus Loves Me! 

She is finally starting to show some interest in girl toys, although she prefers to follow her brothers around and play what they play:)

We are so blessed by this girl! She is a constant reminder of God's love to us!