Back-to-back & Head-to-head

Isn't that just the cutest picture? Okay, so Isabella had a few tears beforehand...but hey, she's a girl...she can pull it off. :) And you try to get two kids to smile at the same time at this age. haha

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, so I apologize.

Things have been really good over here, and we are having a great time with the kids. We are getting ready for summertime and a few vacations (back-to-back) that we have planned. It has been awhile since we have been able to plan for vacations. Usually, we were saving all of our vacation time for our trips to Colombia. So, as of right now, we are getting ready to head to a couple weddings. Yes, I said a couple. Our family will be attending two different weddings on the same day - in two different states. Pretty creative , huh? Actually, Gary will be attending a wedding of one of his college friends; and the kids and I will be traveling to a family wedding.

After we attend the two weddings, then we will all come home for a day and half and then we will be heading up to Virginia to see Gary's parents and family. It should be a lot of fun.

We hope you and your families are enjoying the summer. We'll post more photos soon!

Hugs to you all.

Time with Family

It has been a busy couple months around here. We have been having a great time spending time with our family and friends. In fact, just a couple weeks ago, all of our family came to town for Isabella's Baptism. It was such a nice time to be able to see all of our family, and of course, it was wonderful to see all of the cousins playing together. Some of our family had not met Isabella yet, so it was even more special to introduce her to everyone. We definitely had a nice time and are looking forward to later in the summer when we will be going on vacation with both sides of the family.

In addition to spending time with our family, Isabella had some special time with Mommy. We went together to get Isabella's ears pierced. She did a great job, and just looks adorable. Many people in Colombia asked us if we were going to pierce her ears (as it is a tradition there, and in a lot of Latin America). I knew I wanted to do that, but we waited to do it once we got home. So, Isabella sported her new birthstone earrings for her Baptism.

We hope you enjoy the new pictures of our growing children. It's hard to believe that in a couple days Sean will be 2 years and 9 months old, and Isabella will be 9 months old. Wow. Where does the time go?





Our little family

I got my ears pierced!!

Rockin' with my FL cousins

Hangin' with my VA cousins

Springtime with Friends

Everyone says that when you have children time flies. Well, they are right. I can't believe that it has been more than a month since we posted. The month of February flew by. We had a lot of fun times with the kids - in the middle of cold/flu season. haha Unfortuntely both kids got sick this month and so did Gary. But "Mommy" stayed healthy - so Mommy took care of everyone. However, thankfully all of that has passed and we were able to have a fun weekend last weekend. Our entire family took a trip to Tampa for our adoption agency's annual picnic. It was so nice see so many of our "Colombian Family". We even went a day early so that we could get together with a few friends for dinner the night before. We had a great time seeing everyone, and of course watching the kids play. It was also nice to be able to introduce Isabella to everyone. It's hard to believe she is seven-months-old now!

As usual, here are some recent pictures of the kids. We hope you enjoy them:


Isabella posing with Daddy















Isabella not posing with Mommy (aka -distracted by a light)

Sean showing off his big muscles

What Mom?















Serious Sean

My Big Brother, My Little Sister

Wow, it is amazing how fast time flies. I can't believe we have been home almost two months now. Things are going very well over here, and Sean and Isabella are having a great time together. We are slowly getting into a routine with both of the kids, and getting used to being parents of two. We are having a great time, and so are they. Here are some pictures of them playing together:


Playing with our puppies

My chair, your chair

I'm six-months-old today!

Playing on the floor

Going for a run with Daddy

Happy New Year from our Home!

Happy New Year to all of you! As you can see we made it home! We arrived in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, December 19th. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone at the airport and especially nice to get a huge hug and kiss from Sean....okay, and Gary too! :) Obviously, it has been quite a bit since I posted, but it has been very busy since we got home. Between getting Isabella settled and celebrating the holidays, it has been pretty hectic over here. But we are loving every minute of it. We truly enjoyed celebrating Christmas with the kids, as well as watching them get to know one another. They are doing great, and having fun with one another. It's just so cute to see.

As I write this, we are approaching the new year in about an hour. We are so thankful to have had a wonderful year last year, with it ending with the adoption of Isabella. Our hope is that we have an even better one next year, with lots of happiness, good health, and wonderful memories. Our hope is the same for all of you. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support, love, and of course comments and emails. Our adoption journey was even more special, as we were able to share it with you.

I am going to sign off to get ready for the new year, but please know that we will continue to post to this blog and give you updates on our family. Happy Holidays to all fo you, and have a wonderful New Year.

Hopefully we'll get to see you all soon, and introduce you to Isabella.

Lots of love -

The Lees

Gary, Deborah, Sean and Isabella

Muchas Gracias Colombia!!

I can't believe this will be my last post from Colombia. Wow, it has defintely been an exciting journey and a wonderful adventure. As I write this, it is very bittersweet for me. As much as I have wanted to come home, I am very sad about leaving Colombia. This place will always be very special to us. This country gave us our children. Colombia will always hold a very special place in our hearts for that very reason. I remember that when I signed off from our other blog, when we were adopting Sean, I wrote that I knew we would be back for a sibling for him. Well, this time, it is different. We don't know if we will be back for more children or not. We will have to see what life holds for us. But I do know, that we will be back to Colombia someday. This is Sean and Isabella's country and I know that we would like to bring them back here and show it to them. So, on that note, I will not say good-bye.... I will just say, we will see you again one day.

With all of my heart, I am signing off from Colombia. Thank you, Muchas Gracias, y Mi Todo Amor (all my love).

Buenas Noches from Colombia

Besos (Kisses) y Abrazos (Hugs),

The Lee Family

Gary, Deborah, Sean and Isabella

Visa - Check!

Now that's one tired girl. After all, she had a very busy day today, and had to go to the U.S. Embassy to apply for her Visa. Thankfully, everything went well and I will go back tomorrow afternoon to pick it up. Isabella will stay home with Nana, and will enjoy her last day in Colombia. But I think she is so tired from her busy day, plus her excitement to go home and see Daddy and Sean! And she's not the only one.... both Nana and I are extremely excited. We have most of our luggage packed, and will finish the rest tomorrow. Our day will be begin very early on Wednesday, and our driver will be coming to get us at 4:45 a.m. Yikes! But hey, we don't care...we're just so excited to go home.

So, tonight's post is going to be very short. We're feeling like how Isabella looks in this picture. It was just too cute, that I had to take the shot. She had just gotten done drinking a bottle and just fell asleep. She didn't even care that I was changing her diaper and trying to put her in some PJs without waking her up. And of coure, don't forget the sock, it is half off....and that is usually the state they are in...she is always trying to take them off.

Well, I better get to bed. I'm tired. I hope you all had a wonderful day. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, as it will be our last one from Colombia!

Love you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia