One year ago....

One year ago, a terrible blizzard came through Oklahoma on Christmas Eve.
 Roads were closed. Our plans were ruined.
 It was the first time in my life that I did not go to my grandparent's house on Christmas Eve.
 It was the first time Brian had not been with his family.
 Luckily, we were at least snowed in at my parents house. 
It would be a Christmas Eve we would never forget.

We had no idea how true that would be.

Little did we know that on that very day halfway across the world, a little boy was being born. 

Our lives changed forever.

Happy Birthday 1st Birthday Tate Engida Plumb! 
It brings tear to my eyes to think about the moment you were born.
I wish I could have been there. 
But I am so thankful that I am with you now.
You have brought more joy and love into our lives than we ever thought was even  possible.

WE LOVE YOU!

A double dose of Santa may be too much.

A couple of weeks ago we went to see Santa Clause. 

Tate did great.  At first he just stared at him, but then he gave us one of his trademark big smiles!

Tonight, we made a last minute visit.
I guess we should have left it on a good note.

Maybe the reindeer scared him?

Hope he's not traumatized!:)

It's a Birthday Party: Dr. Seuss style!

I have a friend that was born on Christmas day and I have heard her horror stories about not getting parties or getting ornaments for presents.  I told Brian a long ago that I never wanted to have a child born on Christmas Day.  When  we got our referral for Tate we were told that he was born on December 24.  Christmas Eve.  Well, I guess that is not Christmas Day!  God makes me laugh.:)

So, in order to try and separate his birthday from Christmas a little bit, we had Tate's first Birthday Party today!

The picture for the invites!  Seriously, could he be any cuter?

 The cupcakes!

 Green Eggs and Ham

 One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

 Cat in the Hat

 Thing 1 and Thing 2

Luckily we got the picture before the cotton candy melted!

 Ready to party!

 The Birthday Boy!

 Aunt Kelli started things off with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

Tate and his buds Drew and Hudson.  I have a feeling these three are going to get into a lot of trouble together!:)

 Presents!

 He liked the cake!

 He really liked the cake!

 Ok, he LOVED it!

We can't believe that we almost have a one year old in this house!  What a fun way to celebrate an amazing boy with wonderful family and friends! 

Happy Early Birthday Tate!

We love you!

Excuses...

So, I could bore you with a million excuses of why I have been terrible at blogging: unpacking, cleaning, playing, holidays, and just enjoying Tate.  I assure you that all of them would be true. However, I think the main reason I have stopped blogging is that I feel the pressure of writing about our trip to Ethiopia to pick up Tate.  We spent five amazing, hard, short, long, weeks there.  How do I describe a trip that completely changed our lives forever? There is no way I could give it justice. So I have decided to take the pressure off of myself  and just start blogging again.  I assure you that I will blog about our journey, trip, and experience, but it will be in no order.  I will tell stories, show pictures, and describe our feelings, but there is no time frame. 

Ahhhh.  I feel better already!:)