Some Photos of Her Sweetness

These photos range through weeks one and two!

Her first morning home















My favorite bug on her cute bottom

My sisters came out for the day.

Her first Rockies game.

Friends

Eye contact with Grandma F

Her very cute cherry dress from Aunt Krissy

She's Here! She's Here!

We have been given an incredible gift this weekend.

On July 3rd we were staying at my dad's house when we received a phone call at 3:30 saying that K had been admitted to the hospital because she was in labor. We got to the hospital at 5:00 and our baby girl was born 2 hours and 58 minutes later.

Isabella Harmony was born weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 19 inches. She is tiny but she is healthy and GORGEOUS!

(Here is a little size comparison example-big dad vs. little baby girl)

There aren't words to describe how we feel. It is incredible how your heart can just love this little one so much. She truly is an angel and we feel so blessed to be able to have her in our family. We are excited for this journey!

Isabella means "consecrated to God" and is a derivitive of Elizabeth which means "a gift from God." Bella means "beautiful" in Italian. We felt that her name explains exactly what she is! Harmony is the name her birth parents had chosen to name her. We want her to remember how very loved she is by both families.

We feel so blessed. Miracles happen!

I think I'm nesting...

I actually think I've been nesting for a year!

This week we have cleaned walls, vents, cupboards, and windows! We finally put together the nursery, washed all of the clothing and bedding we bought or have been given, and sterilized all of the toys and bottles that we have. It feels pretty great to know that we are ready!

I'm not normally a purple or butterfly fan, but for some reason, I love this nursery set.

It just seems so sweet.

Shawn has turned into a Tigger fan ever since we went to Disneyland and bought a stuffed Tigger for little miss.

I hope she likes it and comes to enjoy it soon!

As we've had the opportunity to put this all together, I can't help but be so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity. I just walk around thinking, Thank you! Thank you so much! I daydream about hearing her and smell the lotion and the clean clothes and imagine her here. We pray for her and K and D every day. They are amazing and strong. We are so blessed!

"Celebrate Today!"

We decided to go to Disneyland to CELEBRATE!

We have many things to celebrate so we decided to give each day a different focus. No matter how much we tried to celebrate our 4 year marriage, the end of school, and adoption. Each day we came back to celebrating our baby girl and the gift of adoption-we couldn't help it. We bought her a prize nearly every day of our 5 day stay and we made a family plan to return in a couple of years with her. Is it possible to love her already?

We found $49 plane tickets and a discounted rental car. We got a smoking deal on a room right across the street from the entrance to the park with a 5 day pass for the price of a three day pass and a military discount. Stars aligned!

Of course, we traveled the six minutes to an Angels game where, while in line to buy our tickets, some lady gave us her tickets because she wasn't going to use them. That is right...FREE!

The free tickets made it easier to leave and go back to Disneyland because the game was lame!

We learned how to draw Piglet. For a man who always freaks out whenever I ask him to cut or draw anything-he did a pretty great job! (Right pic)

We cheered with the Disney cast as they yelled out things to celebrate!

We played our (perhaps it is just mine) FAVORITE game-wherein I walloped Shawn every time! (It's called Midway Mania and I challenge anyone to compete with me...he he he!)

We rode a whole bunch of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...

...and as much Indiana Jones as was possible!

We also perfected our self-picture taking abilities. Our students do them all of the time, but I never tried until this trip. It took us a while to get it right.

We had an amazing trip together. We didn't have any responsibilities or pressure and we just unabashedly laughed, joked, snuggled and teased. It was magical!!!

Crazy May Daze Part 3: Pencils, Books, Teachers' Dirty Looks

We had a family date as a birthday gift from my sister and brother-in-law. It was my first time at Tuacanos and it was pretty darn delish.


Our Spring isn't complete without track season. This year our school received a new track from the base and it has been a spectacular improvement. Our students competed well at the state track tournament- in fact, one of our students took first place in 1A state for 300 meter hurdles. Go Mustangs!

Our May wouldn't be complete without the spectacular theatrical event of the year- William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The students did an incredible job and our costumes truly made the play. We worked with our biggest cast ever and tried Shakespeare for the first time. I don't think we'll do Shakespeare for a while.

As I caught these boys in said position in the hallway-I immediately asked what they were doing. Without hesitation, the one in jeans (a Senior next year) proclaimed, "We are contemplating philosophy!" I think this is why teenagers aren't so bad to work with-they are weird and silly one minute, but in the next, we can truly discuss philosophy. Love them.

Lady Capulet and Juliet

The Prince announcing Romeo's banishment. What you can't see is the fact that Tybalt and Mercutio are both bleeding. (We did Shakespeare, scene changes, and special effects...holla!) (Perhaps "holla" isn't the approprate interjection in the same sentence with Shakespeare!)

The End of the Crazy May Daze parts.

Crazy May Daze Part 2: Las Vegas

Shawn and Brett had a coaching conference the second weekend in May. The wives (Alexis and I) decided to join! We spent some quality time at the wax museum-which was a little trippy. It was kind of hard to tell between the real people and the wax figures.

All of us with Mr. President.

Shawn and I with some past Mr. Presidents.

Did you know Shawn was a member of the Rat Pack? I'm actually glad he wasn't...he would be old enough to be my grandfather.

Brett and Shawn playing defensively with Shaq. I wonder if they learned their skills at the conference during the day? Is there a way to be a defensive player against Shaq?

Go Andre!

For some reason, my friends and I have always had a little/big crush on Harrison Ford. Love him...even though he seems a little weird outside of acting.

I think we were at Harrahs. I have been through Vegas quite a few times, but this was officially my first time walking down The Strip.

Crazy May Daze Part 1: Philly

Happy Birthday Mom-Mom Beach!

The first weekend in May, we had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia and celebrate Shawn's great-grandmother's 100th birthday. We had a great time visiting with Shawn's family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). We spent time with some family that Shawn hasn't seen for years. We love them! It is amazing to get to know our family, and as I get to know them better, I seem to get to know Shawn better.
I have enjoyed Mom-Mom Beach (as Shawn calls her) since I met her the year Shawn and I got married. Two years ago we spent some time with her in her home and we were able to hear enlightening stories about her and her family. As she talked about struggle and hardship, she would always end with a shoulder shrug and a statement, "That's the way it goes." I am grateful for her example and for the opportunity to have celebrated her birthday with her.

Surprise!!!!

The evening before the birthday bash, all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins met together for a Ferriola Game Night. As Shawn and I walked in the door, we noticed that everyone was in a central location in his aunt's house. As we turned the corner, we noticed balloons, crepe paper, and a cake-but I didn't read it- and everyone yelled, "Surprise!" I then started noticing the colors of the balloons and crepe paper to be pink and purple. I also noticed some gifts wrapped in baby paper sitting on the floor. I whispered to his aunt, "What is the surprise for?" She laughed and told me to go read the cake again. It all made sense after a minute. I felt really stupid for my original reaction that is caught on film, but at least the real reaction isn't caught in many pictures. After a second, I started to cry. It seemed our waiting to be parents was going to take forever and I often bristled at baby showers. Now it was for our baby-for us. I couldn't help but smile really big and be a little overcome.
We received wonderful gifts and came home with an entire suitcase of gifts!

Ferriola Game Night

I believe that we played the biggest game of Nertz that I have ever seen! We had two long tables and a card table lined up through a dining room and living room. It was extremely intense-and a lot of fun...like only the Ferriolas can do!


Mustache May...for some reason, it is tradition!

The Ladies



The Gents
Shawn really does have a 'stache but it just doesn't grow like his dad's!

Breakfast

Although the weekend was extremely speedy (we arrived Friday night and came home Sunday afternoon) we were able to get a little family time with Grandma and Grandpa and Sam and Gina. We sure miss not being able to see them more often.