Beautiful Canvas » Dave ©

Photos of Carmen – Cristina

Dave © — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:33:57 +0000

Del and Cristina are an amazing couple who live near us in MD. They have pretty much “been there, done that” and have great wisdom from all of their life experiences. Thankfully, they openly share their wisdom and hopefully a tiny bit rubs off on Lana and me!

This photo was submitted by Cristina.

Carmen has never been to San Diego…but she did move recently. Lana will tell you all about it in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Photos of Carmen – NY Grandpa

Dave © — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:21:17 +0000

Today’s photo was submitted by NY Grandpa, who just “happens” to show up when we really need him.

Photos of Carmen – Uncle Steve and Aunt Sarah

Dave © — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:19:53 +0000

Today’s photos were submitted by my younger brother (Uncle Steve), his wife (Aunt Sarah) and their son Nathan. Quite an impressive assortment!

For whom or what do you swing?

Photos of Carmen – Cristie

Dave © — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:34:53 +0000

Cristie is one of Lana’s closest friends. She is always willing to drop everything and run over to help. While that’s impressive by itself, it’s even more impressive that she does it with her three kids along too. She is a true servant and has a heart of gold!

Cristie was “on call” for Hope’s birth. She carried her phone around for weeks, expecting a phone call to come over because Hope was on her way. Thankfully, Lana’s water broke at 7:00pm and not 3:00 in the morning! As soon as Lana called, Cristie drove over in the snow and spent the night with Lauren and Carmen.

Thanks Cristie for everything.

Photos of Carmen – Larry

Dave © — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:41:22 +0000

My father-in-law has a vivid imagination!

Poor Carmen Cooper.

Photos of Carmen – Aunt Trish

Dave © — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:02:18 +0000

I find it a bit humorous that everyone’s name changes when kids show up on the scene. My sister, Trish, has been known as Aunt Trish since our nephew Dakota was born almost ten years ago. Now, I find myself occasionally referring to her as “Aunt Trish” when speaking about her to Lana, even when none of the kids are around!

Trish is one of the most compassionate and caring people I know. She is also extremely artistic, always involved in some sort of art and craft project. Here are a few artistic creations she submitted to celebrate Carmen:

So, how would you arrange the letters in the last photo to include HOPE? Don’t take the easy way out!

Photos of Carmen – Ritha

Dave © — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:55:43 +0000

Salih, Ritha and their daughter, Bianca, were our next-door neighbors when we brought Carmen home from Guatemala. They are the most generous people we know, are friendly and cook amazing food! Even if they didn’t cook scrumptious food, we would still consider them to be the greatest neighbors we’ve ever had (no offense, Reena and Chris, you guys are great neighbors too!). Although I have to be honest with you all; the random knocks on our front door from Salih at 10pm to drop off a monstrous plate of food or to invite us out to enjoy a glass of wine on the front steps certainly helped.

Anyone would be ecstatic to have them as neighbors! Their enthusiasm for life is contagious and we are so grateful that God crossed our paths.

Here are a couple of photos submitted by Ritha:

How do you suppose that stuff smells?

Photos of Carmen – From Stephanie in NC

Stephanie is another parent of adopted children from Guatemala. She sent us this photo of her kids holding a “Carmen” sign. This picture meant a lot to us. We will always feel a special connection with families who have also adopted from Guatemala.

Thank you Stephanie!

Happy 4th Birthday Carmen!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Carmen! We love you very much and hope you have a wonderful day. Love, Mom, Dad, Lauren and Hope

Our friends, Ted and Karen, submitted this animation of Carmen’s name.

Great song Karen!

Photos of Carmen – From Joe

We’ve all come to love and appreciate Joe Jordan for his consistent encouragement, prayer support and wisdom that he provides to so many families who are going through difficult circumstances. Here are a couple of photos submitted by Joe.

Above and Below: Joe holding a bucket of Carman’s Ice Cream

I think everyone needs a Joe Jordan in their life. I’m sure grateful that he’s part of our lives!