Merry Christmas Grandma & Grandpa

We had the most amazing, most relaxing, most wonderful Christmas (with one exception).

The day was just perfect (almost).

The kids woke up (after 9am!). We opened presents....

Sadie the techy girl received lots of gifts that needed to downloaded/uploaded, synched, etc.

Ethan is an official spy. Complete with glasses that allow him to see behind him, a watch that can record and video your conversations and a helicopter that looks like a helicopter but *really* its a cool spy tool that takes pictures in mid air.

Madison (still the princess) received lots of make up, movies, nail polish and for the wannabe hunter in her, she got a pink camouflage sleeping bag for their upcoming hunting trip.

Jake who wants so badly to be a BIG BOY received his very own (age appropriate) lap top. He LOVES LOVES LOVES it.

The kids were blessed beyond measure.

But the one thing nobody could deny was we MISSED Grandma and Grandpa. This was the kids first Christmas without you here and they NOTICED! It was weird. It was different. They missed, really missed, you being here. We all did.

We love you SO very much and can't wait for January to see you again.

Until then, Big Hugs and ALL our LOVE.

Merry CHRISTmas

It was a MERRY Christmas indeed!

Christmas Eve with Nana & Pepe

Nana and Pepe sure know how to S.P.O.I.L. their grandkids :)

Thank you Nana and Pepe...for EVERYTHING EVERYDAY! You are a cherished and MUCH LOVE Gift day after day!

My favorite Christmas gift

My favorite gift of all was taking the time to capture some precious moments with precious people.

A gift we will all cherish for years on end.

Merry CHRISTmas from our Family to Yours

It’s that time of year again…that time of year where I sit at my computer for hours trying to sum up the year’s news, events, mile stones and blessings in one short and sweet letter.

This year was especially difficult because we have had SO many of the above.

For starters our family has grown again. Most of you know about our Miracle Baby, Jacob! He is the most amazing, tender hearted yet spunky, with the BIGGEST smile EVER, sweet boy the Lord could have hand picked for our family. He has completed us and brought more JOY to our family than we could have ever imagined and definitely more than we can express in one short annual Christmas letter. Jake is indeed our biggest 2010 blessing but the blessings didn’t stop there…

Brian traveled to Haiti twice this year and is planning his 3rd trip before the years end. Ethan at his tender age of 8 is already mission minded and has a heart to serve the Lord in a capacity beyond his years. He will be going on his first mission’s trip THIS year. He is going to Haiti with Brian in just a few short days. I must confess that as his mom I am a “little bit” scared for him but mostly I am overjoyed that he has a servants heart and he WANTS to go with his daddy to deliver Christmas presents to the children living in an orphanage. I must also confess there is not much more that can make me more PROUD of my boy!

Madison our beautiful child ~also known as HOLLYWOOD~ has grown and blossomed so much this year. Almost all credit goes to her 2nd grade teacher. She has found a way to connect and relate to Madison like no one else. Madison adores her, LOVES school and wants to be a “cowgirl” like her teacher. So much so that she asked her daddy to buy her a pink rifle :). Of course those of you that know Brian, know that just tickled him inside and out. And as if that wasn’t enough the girl now wants to go hunting. OH MY!!! Needless to say Brian is in his Glory with his 3 mini hunters :)

Sadie on the other hand has NO interest in hunting or guns or even eating meat for that matter. In fact, she would be a vegan if we allowed her and she prays daily for safety for the “poor animals”. It is the sweetest thing ever!!! She has the biggest kindest heart of anyone I have ever known. She is tender and thoughtful, generous and giving. Forgiving and truly truly loves with Agape love. I hope to be half the person she is one day.

I am honored beyond words to be the Mother of these 4 kids. I will never know why I was chosen but I will forever be THANKFUL.

My life is so full that if I receive nothing more in 2011 I can honestly say I am so content, so happy, so at peace, so IN love and loved….

This has been a wonderful blessing filled year indeed. Oh!! I almost forgot Molly (our absolutely PERFECT dog) needed a play mate so when Brian found a stray pup on his job site he brought him home for Molly and the family. While Lincoln is not quite “perfect” he is perfect for us and we are most hopeful that Molly will be a good influence and help him quickly out grow some of his less than desirable puppy habits.

Well, I am certain I left out many many things but I do think I at least covered the big things. My 2011 resolution is to keep this blog better updated and when that fails you can always count on facebook for news about our Growing Garcia’s. :)

May you and your family embrace this holiday season and all the chaos it has to offer all while remembering the Reason for the Season ~~ A King is Born.

Much Love and Many Blessings,
Brian, Jennifer, Sadie, Ethan, Madison, Jacob, Molly & Lincoln

One Big Happy Family

That's what we are...









Not pictured:
SIL- Leslie
Niece- Chrissy
Nephew- Timmy

Sure wish you all could have been there.

Maybe "someone" else should get married so we can have another shot at a family photo :)

Cast of Character's

Today at school the kids and their classmates dressed up as Character's and paraded through the school while showing of their favorite books.

Fabulous F.U.N. idea!!!

My Miracle Baby

Today we finalized the adoption of our of Miracle Baby ~ Jacob Thomas Garcia.

I now feel completely at peace sharing a piece of his amazing story and journey into our family.

Many of you know that our boy Ethan has prayed without ceasing for a baby brother since August of 2006. Long after Brian and I gave up on the possibility of adding to our family – Ethan kept praying.

Just recently he began praying specifically that his baby brother would come from Russia. Sadly, the relationship between Russia and the U.S. has been compromised over the years and even more so when the little boy in TN was returned to Russia by the women who adopted him.

Brian did his best to explain to Ethan that shy of a miracle his little brother would not be coming from Russia – if he was even to have a little brother.

So….Ethan prayed for a miracle! He prayed and asked God for a brother from Russia.

Just a few short weeks later I received an email from a long time friend. She had heard of a little boy who was adopted from Russia in November of 2009.

His former family had 2 biological children and felt called to adopt from Russia. They went through the long process and even traveled to Russia 3 times.

While in Russia they did not feel like they were to be his parents. They didn’t quite “get it” but they knew they were to complete the process and bring him home.

Several weeks after coming home from Russia with him they realized they were not bonding with him as they had with their biological children. They were kind to him. They nurtured and took care of him but they knew they were not his forever family and so they begin seeking placement for him.

I have to pause for a moment and give thanks to my dear friend Nicole who saw the email about this little guy and forwarded it on to me. Nicole THANK YOU from the very bottom of my heart. Words will never express our sincere gratitude to you!!

As a result of that email we contacted the family. We exchanged emails, photos and agreed to meet. They were just an hour North and so we made regular trips to get to know him and for him to get to know us.

I can honestly say that within the first 5 minutes we knew, that we knew, he was a GARCIA! Just look at him!

And they knew too! They knew that for a reason none of us could explain they were called to travel half way around the world ~collect our son~ and deliver him to us.

This story is nothing short of a miracle. And no words or amount of details will give God the Glory He so deserves…all I can say is that the Lord has shown our family incredible favor and once again has blessed us beyond all that we could have ever hoped, dreamed or imagined.

Jake is an amazing kid, a terrific little brother and the most perfect completion of our family.

Please join us in officially welcoming him into the Growing Garcia’s.

Jamboree Day 8~28~2010

GO CANES!!!

In a Million Words or Less

In an effort to get to know her students better, Madison's teacher asked each parent to write a paper and "In a Million Words or Less" share as much about our child as possible.

I love to write and share about my kids so this "paper" was a fun homework assignment for me. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a Million Words or Less

Madison. Madison. Madison.

Out of all 4 of my kids, this assignment was most appropriate for Madison. I will do my best to keep my comments to a “Million Words or Less”. 

Madison is #3 in a family of 4. Until May 19th of this year she was the “baby” of the family. That position has recently been handed down to our new son Jacob (he is 4 and adopted from Russia– but that is another paper).

While Madison LOVED the “baby” position she gladly surrendered it to her new little brother. She is a tender, kind, loving and MOTHERLY big sister.

She looks up to and respects her (not so much) older brother (Ethan) and sister (Sadie).

Madison like all her siblings was also adopted. She though (unlike all of her siblings) does not like to talk about or share with others that she is adopted. She only wants to talk about being a “Garcia”.

Madison is sensational, dramatic, fun, emotional, very raw and real about her feelings. You ALWAYS know where you stand with Madison and what kind of mood she is in. She has been nick named “Hollywood” and has earned that name time and time again. 

Madison is very sensitive and can get her feelings hurt when things don’t quite go as she expected but she has a heart of gold and is quick to forgive. She can be slow to let people into her circle because when she does she loves with her whole being and is loyal beyond words.

She LOVES to read and will read daily without being asked or reminded. She enjoys everything pink, princess, Fancy Nancy or anything frilly and girly. She is our girly girl!

She likes to swim, dance, sing, perform, draw, play games, have play dates and sleepovers with her friends.

She is an interactive and social child. She does not spend much time watching TV or on the computer and although she has a DS she does not play it often.

We are Christians and our walk with the Lord is very important to our family. We attend church regularly, and we are actively involved in the local community as well as communities abroad. It is our hope that we raise all of children with a thankful and GIVING heart.

I hope this summary of our little girl has given you a little insight to her (and us). Please never hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Back to School Cuties

Looking Sharp!

and so hip!

Gator Surprise

My BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, GENEROUS, KIND, AMAZING AND SUPER TALENTED MOTHER

made these cool candy treats for all the teachers

and little gator classmates to say Welcome Back!

Thank you Mom for NEVER ceasing to amaze me and the kids and for making EVERY occasion a special and memorable one.

School Spirit

WELCOME BACK ~ Madison :~)

WELCOME BACK ~ Sadie :~)

WELCOME BACK ~ Ethan :~)

HAPPY 2010-2011 School Year.

Back to school Mani/Pedi's

Every little girl NEEDS a mani/pedi before going back to school, right?

Well that's what we and about 30 other little ladies and mommas thought...so that's what we did!!

And we LOVED LOVED LOVED every minute of it :)

Jake's thoughts...

After his first week of school...

Jake's thoughts are: Pre-School ROCKS! :)

Jake's first day of School

My BIG boy on his first day of VPK

all dressed up and SO very handsome!

His first "homework" assignment was to to decorate a Mickey Mouse

Which he and his Daddy did together the night before Jake's first day :)

Nana created and made these Back to School candy treats for Jake's new teachers

and all his little classmates.


Jake, its only been 3 months and yet I can't remember life without you. I am SO proud of how far you have come in such a short time and thankful beyond words that you are MINE!!!

While I am sad to "share" you with others 3 hours day I am SO excited about all that you will learn and do and experience. Not to mention the friends and memories you will make.

It is my prayer that you enjoy this year and this time to the fullest my precious and deeply loved son!

Happy Birthday MOM

Pause my music at the bottom before pressing play

and hearing the SWEETEST birthday gift ever to ME!

Eat FREE @ Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill will take part in the tax “free” weekend by offering Food With Integrity for FREE.

Eat at any West Palm Beach Chipotle on Tuesday, August 10, or Wednesday, August 11, and save the receipt. Then go back any time during tax “free” weekend, August 13 – 15 and receive a free burrito, salad, order of tacos or bowl with your receipt. No charge. No tax. No strings attached.

CARHA Video

In May Brian had a the privledge of traveling to Haiti with an amazing organization called CARHA.

Brian and some other folks spent 5 hard days in Haiti and countless hours among the survivors of the Earthquake that litterally shook Haiti and the locals to their very core.

Below is short video that captures just a bit of that trip. (remember to pause my music at the bottom this page before pressing play on the video)

Haiti CARHA Video from Billy Almaguer on Vimeo.

If you are interested in making a difference in Haiti PLEASE contact me. Brian and I will be happy to tell you how YOU can help meet the basics needs of thousands who are struggling just to taste clean water...Together we CAN make a difference!

Fabulous Florida Day