New Red Wagon

A couple weeks ago we got Meron a new Radio Flyer wagon - but the weather hasn't been all that "wagon-friendly."

Every time we'd walk past it in the garage she would proudly proclaim "That's Meron's new red wagon!"

Well today the weather was screaming "WAGON!" so we all hit the streets and wagoned through the neighborhood. I think she enjoyed it.

I know we did.

In Memory of Maggie Pressler

We seem to be in the midst of a weird season here at Camp Hoffman. 2 weeks ago Laura's Papa went home and this morning at 6:24 AM my grandma finished up her race.

She left a lasting impression on me that I never fully realized and appreciated until adulthood. I spent a lot of my childhood with her at her house and I will never forget her laugh, her smile, her hugs, her cooking, her nickname for me (Favorite Grandson - I was also her only grandson), her joy - but most of all her love.

If she lived by anything - it was this: Love is the most important thing.

Grams - I get it now - and I realize that you got it too. You will be missed tremendously but Heaven grew by one this morning and it gives me great peace to know you are holding your great grandson for us.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

The next picture might be my all-time favorite one of my grandma - and it is how I intend to remember her - laughing, smiling and being as goofy as I was!

Gimmee That Ear-Monkey!

About 2 weeks ago Meron grabbed my head, turned it and peered deep down in to my ear. She studied it and then said

"You got a monkey in there!

Then she reached up, grabbed it and ate it!

That's the running joke at Camp Hoffman now - so be warned - if you're around here anytime soon you might wanna protect those ears!

Happy Birthday...!!

Meron and I share something in common - we both know how lucky and blessed we are to have the same incredible woman in our lives. She keeps us both in order and makes sure life runs smooth around here.

Today - the world's best wife and the world's best mommy had another birthday! Laura - we love you more than we show you and we just want you to know how thankful we are for you!

Happy Birthday Mommy!
(and happy birthday to Meron's Uncle James too - he and mommy share the same birthday!)

Let The Wait Begin!

We found out via email from our super dope agency that we were officially placed on the waiting list today. SWEET!

What does that mean? Well - based on the age range our dossier specifies - we could be looking at anywhere from 4-8 months to a referral of Baby Hoffman #3! And with Laura heading to Ethiopia and Uganda this summer on a mission trip theres a good chance she'll be in country AFTER we have our referral. EVEN SWEETER!

So - heads up to all you prayer warriors out there who spent a lot of time in prayer for Brighton and Meron - we're probably gonna fire back up the email update list so we can get our prayer on again! We believe in it and believe we see the fruits of that labor every time we look at Meron...

We're all pretty excited over here but trying to lean on our faith and remember who is in control (not us!). Meron pretty much sums up how we all feel today...

Cozy PJs

On the way home from school this afternoon Meron said what may be her longest sentence and definitely one of her cutest. Out of the blue she said:

"I wanna... go home... put my cozy PJs... and slippers on."

The girl is definitely her mother's daughter. Laura likes nothing better than getting in her "comfies" and just chillin'.

Apparently Meron does too...

Say What...??

When Fake Food Attacks

Well, I, dreamt one mornin' that I woke up to see,
All the pepperoni pizza was a-lookin' at me.
It screamed, "Why do you burn me and serve me up cold?"
I said, "I got the spatula, Just do what you're told."
Then the liver and onions started joinin' the fight'
And the chocolate pudding pushed me with all its might;
And the chop suey slapped me and it kicked me in the head...

Gentlemen - Start Your Engines...!

One of Meron's favorite activities lately has involved lining up some race cars in the kitchen and giving them a big push to see which one has the better linoleum driving skills. The she sprints to the other end and does it again.

Who needs babydolls anyways??

On The Road Again...

Quick road trip to NC and the obligatory Cracker Barrel dinner (all you road warriors know what I'm talkin' about...)

Spaghetti...

Awesome, messy, fun and delicious!

You'd Never Know...

Nasty cough. Gnarly runny nose. Loose booty. 104 fever....

But man... you would never know it! The girl has a passion for life and she won't let no little virus slow her down!

Treasures

Every now and then I think God takes the opportunity to show us - through what we know on Earth - just a slight glimpse of what the treasures in Heaven must be like.

Today He showed me this.



I can't even begin to imagine what the treasures there are like - I didn't think these were able to be topped!

Pure Religion

Waiting Patiently For Dinner

The Difference in a Year!

I mean seriously - who sprinkled some Miracle-Gro on our baby?

Look Into My Eyes...

My black eye! And yeah - you should see the other guy...

Tunnel Fun

Rockin' Barber

Meron wanted to play barber/hairstylist tonight. The kicker? She had to be in the rocking chair with it moving while she did people's hair... luckily for me my hair-do doesn't require a barber.

No such luck for mommy...

Mommy Love

Tonight Laura had her bible study that she does with some college-age girls. Meron and I were flying solo with some errands to run and on the way home we drove right by the Chick-Fil-A they were at.

When I told Meron that's where they were she said:

"Stop. Tell mommy night night. Tell girls night night."

So stop we did. The girl loves her mommy.