our journey : March 2017

Hey everyone,
It has been a while.... too long. I have been meaning to post for a long time as so much has happened in our lives the last year that we can hardly even put into words (and 1 post) how thankful we are for you, friends and family. Your support through everything has been amazing and we couldn't have gotten through this (almost) year without you!

Here is a snapshot of our last year...

> March 2016 our little girl turned 1. Though we did not know at the time she was ours. Josh also applied to architecture school in Halifax at Dalhousie University.

>April 2016 we received our referral about our little girl who had just turned 1. We travelled shortly after to bring her home.

>May 2016 was spent in the beautiful country of South Africa getting to know our daughter and completing so much paperwork to bring her home! (The two weeks at the beach were an amazing bonus!) We were told that Josh had been put on the wait list for Dalhousie University.

>June 2016 we came home with our little girl.

>July 2016 we were enjoying our summer. Josh got ACCEPTED into Dalhousie University for the Masters in Architecture program.

>August 2016 we took advantage of our time together as family. We put our house up for sale. We started sorting, packing, selling, getting rid of things that we knew we wouldn't need in an apartment in HALIFAX. We took an amazing family camping trip to introduce our daughter who had been home for 3 months to what camping in the mountains feels and looks like. She LOVED it. Especially all the puddles as it rained the entire time we were there :)

>September 2016 Josh left on a one way airplane ticket to begin his lifelong dream of becoming an architect. I stayed back with our two kiddos to finish getting everything into order on my end. Packing, selling, sorting, getting rid of stuff, storing. Phew--- it was a job.

>October 2016 we left with my parents for a 6 day road trip across the country (We went through the United States) to be reunited with Josh. The kiddos missed him (especially Solomon) and we were all very excited to be done driving. My parents stayed for an extra week to help us unpack and get settled. Couldn't have done it without them!

>November 2016 we begin to settle into the east coast life. Meeting people. Figuring a new city out. Finding places to take the kids. Josh's parents came for a visit which was so nice to see familiar faces again!

>December 2016 we flew home for Christmas. SO thankful this could happen this year as it had only been 3 months but we missed everyone terribly.

>January 2017 Josh begins a new semester. Solomon started preschool. Ezri started a music class. Settling back into life here. I rebranded my business and am officially launching my photography here in Halifax.

>February 2017 we begin to find a rhythm in life again. Josh is busy with school but works so hard to find a balance at home too. We explored a bit of Nova Scotia and look forward to doing it in the summer!

>March 2017 and here we are. A year later and we get to celebrate our little girl's birthday for the FIRST time with her and we are so excited. We are missing the fact that we won't have family and our close friends surrounding her and us in person but we know they are here in spirit. We are having a little celebration with some new friends here on Sunday and we are so thankful for the beginning of our community here.

Ezri... she is so amazing. With all the changes that have gone on in her little life the last year she is doing well. We have our days and we have our moments but overall she is attaching well and starting to settle in to life. She ADORES her brother. She LOVES to be outside, play with her dolly, building with her blocks, reading stories ("story momma, story momma, story momma"), having bath time, SWIMMING and she LOVES to dance. Her speaking has exploded the last couple months and we love to watch her just soak up every word, action, information that she possibly can.
She is adventurous, curious, spunky and so so loveable. Her smile is contagious and her hearty giggle (that just started coming through this month) is so unbelievable! We are thankful for her quick snuggles, kisses and grabbing of our legs (even when i'm trying to make supper).

Below are some snapshots of our life from the last year. We hope this gives you a small glimpse into what life has looked like for us the last little while. My goal is to get better at posting here as well as on my business page. We are thankful for you. For our village. Our last year could not have been possible without you. So one last THANK YOU!