Where A Kid Can Be A Kid!

Ok...I have to laugh while writing this post seeing that our YG had a little discussion about Chuck-E-Cheese recently! There were several who said they would not take their newly adopted children to CEC b/c it may be overwhelming to them! I stayed out of that discussion as we had just gone!! Too funny! Well, we opted out of Disney World on our vacation b/c we knew that would be total overload for Myli and Grandma wanted to take the kids this summer to CEC so it all worked out! We went to CEC while we were in Orlando and everyone had a blast, including Myli! She rode all of the rides, played in the toddler area and enjoyed it immensly! I guess she won't be scarred too badly!

Disney Resort....Here We Come!

We finally squeezed in a little Summer vacation!! We stayed at the Walt Disney World All Star Music Resort! No Disney World this time! Decided we did not want to put Myli through that torture just yet!! We'll give her a good year or so before we do that to her.
Our first night there was pretty crazy. We got all settled in and went to the movie at the pool but the night quickly turned tragic when a little girl was found floating at the bottom of the pool. The lifeguards worked on her for what seemed like an hour before the paramedics came and then they worked on her for what seemed like another hour! It was so sad! They used the AED on her and when they took her to the ambulance she was breathing again. We prayed for this family and hope that she recovered quickly.
The rest of the trip was wonderful. We got a Family Suite that had a bedroom where Mark, Myli and I slept. The living room had a pull out couch that slept two, it had a chair that turned into a bed and the ottoman also turned into a bed! We brought one sleeping bag and the three youngest took turns on the floor. We had two bathrooms which was a lifesaver and a nice kitchen area! It was great!! When we arrived in the room, in usual Disney stlye, there were towels in the shape of Mickey! We took full advantage of the photo op! There were all kinds of activities scheduled throughout the day poolside so that is where we spent most of our time. Myli did great! She loves her pool floaty and chilled out as we danced, watched movies and played games.
We did most of our school shopping while in Orlando too!

More Vacation Pics!

More Vacation Pics!

Happy 1st Birthday Myliah!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS MYLIAH!!
We celebrated Myli's birthday with family and friends this weekend! (Her Birthday was actually July 6th) Of course she only took about a 20 minute nap before the party so I was expecting her to be pretty grouchy! She surprised me and once again was the perfect little angel we have all come to love so much! It was a great party and she had a blast running around and playing! Myli did very well with her cake until we lit her candle and she tried to put it out with her fingers! She didn't get burnt but was highly upset that I pulled the cake away from her! As with all of our children that have been with us for their first birthday, we got Myli her own little cake and let her go at it. She wasn't sure what to do with it at first until Taylor shoved her hand in it and then.....it was all good from there! She ate and ate and was terribly upset when I took it from her when we thought she had eaten enough! She did not agree! We were afraid that she would be awake for the next 24 hours straight but she did very well at bedtime and slept all night! I guess she was experiencing the crash after the sugar rush!
Here are some pics from the party...enjoy!

More Birthday Pics!

Grandma & Grandpa Harpold

Uncle David, Aunt Karen & Katherine

Henry, Nicole, Taylor & Baby Zoey

Miss Kim, Mr Frank, Anton, Atanas, Nathan, Noah, Joshua, Jeremy, Hannah, Savannah, Gabriel, Madison, Josiah, Sarah, Caleb, Zachary, Christian, Eli, Isaiah, Emma and Assata
Tommy & Taylor

Again....More Birthday Pics!

Can you say "CRASHING FROM SUGAR RUSH"??

3 Month Post Placement Fun!

We are happy to report that our 3 month post placement visit went extremely well!
We greeted a very sweet SW at our front door who was totally smitten with our little Angel Myli! It was fairly easy and although Amy (SW) had not ever completed a post placement report for ET, it went flawlessly! We are dealing with a couple of issues, one being we now have three different birth dates for Myliah! One on her birth certificate, one on her Green Card, and the last would be in the paperwork we received with her referral. We have decided that we will have to use the date on her birth certificate (which has her 3 months older) since it is the legal birth date but we still don't believe that it is correct. I guess it really won't matter later in life! What is three months?! We now need to have her Green Card corrected so we can proceed with re-adoption "stuff". Overall, we were very happy and look forward to our 6 month post placement visit with Amy.

Just for those who may be interested in what a post placement will involve, see the following:

· Physical Stamina-mobility, etc.
· Intellectual Development-cognitive, speech and language skills
· Appearance, personality and character of child
· Health status of child-at time of adoption and now
· Include weight, height, head circumference, results of most recent physical examination & immunizations
· Report on any medical treatments for child with special needs, as well as any medical or developmental conditions
· Discuss child's and family's adjustment & attachment
· Discuss community and extended family’s response to child Discuss feelings and views of all.
· Education of child, if age appropriate. Discuss childcare arrangements, if applicable. Discuss method of education used by adoptive parents.
· Any changes in the family situation since the home study was completed (i.e. move, employment changes, health of parents, marital status, etc.) Discuss how adoption has changed the family situation.
· Daily routine and life of the adopted child (i.e. diet, sleep, play, etc…)
· Status of naturalization-family’s plans on re-adoption
4 color photos (one being a family photo) four copies of each.
**NOTE
Typing everything up will help with future pp visits. You can just go in and update your info quickly.

Happy 4th of July!!

What a great time we had! For the last 5 years, we have been celebrating 4th of July with our friends Frank and Kim and their 20 children! Yes, I said 20, it's not a typo!! We travel to Vero Beach to a beautiful park on the river and enjoy the fireworks together! We cause quite a stir with our 25 children in tow!! (their oldest was not there)
We actually had more this year because our friends Henry & Nicole joined us with their two sweetie's Taylor and Baby Zoey and Jack and his two dolls Kiley & Brandon!
So a total of 29 children and 5 adults! We are waaaaay outnumbered and the children could easily take over if they wanted! We just don't tell them!! They all played football, frisbee, and enjoyed running around until about 9pm when the fireworks started and then it was overcrowded blankets on the ground where you heard Ohhhs' and ahhhs' after each firework! Too cute!
Myli celebrated her first 4th with us and she was a trooper! LOVED the fireworks and looked at us after each one was rocketed into the air to see our reaction. She didn't even flinch at the noise and it is really loud! It was great to watch her and see her clap and enjoy her new family and freedom!

Summer Fun!!

Summer is going by so fast! Thanks to all of the thunderstorms almost daily, our outdoor activities have been limited. It's also very different this Summer having a baby in tow! Naptimes, bottles, fussiness seem to override anything else!!
We have had fun going to the pool, park, movies, some shopping and camps! Taylor and Blake went to Centri-Kid and had a blast! This was Taylor's second and last year to go and Blake's first year. Leyla and Blake will go together next year! Tommy went to Ecuador and Alabama on a mission trip and M-Fuge camp. We will start school supply shopping this week and looking for new clothes for school! This can either be really fun or really frustrating! Both Blake and Leyla are so small that it can be frustrating trying to find clothes to fit them! Thank God for the person who came up with the adjustable waist for pants/shorts/jeans!! We don't know you but we love you!! Everyone has grown so much this Summer and they ALL need new clothes! I am trying to decide how to split them all up this year. Sophi is not a shopper so she doesn't do well with "Marathon Shopping" so I may have to take her by herself to just a couple of stores!
So, that's how our Summer is going. Still trying to decide what/where we will vacation. Due to the price of gas, the lakehouse idea is out! We will stay closer to home but try to find somewhere to have some fun for a few days!
Enjoy the pics!

More Summer Pics!

Tommy's Trip To Ecuador

Tommy had the opportunity to go to Ecuador this Summer with our Student Revolution team at church! He was one of approx 25 to go! This was his 2nd trip! He drew and painted a mural for the school site they were assigned to! He made many friends and memories! We are so proud of him! He has such a heart for God and missions!