FUN, FUN, FUN!

Dad set up a helicopter ride for Taylor & Blake! They had an amazing time and enjoyed the scenery!

Dinner @ Uncle Wayne's

Can't remember the last time we were all together with our kiddos under the same roof! What a great time we ALL had! Thanks for inviting us over Wayne & Danielle!! LOVE YOU!!

Christmas Morning!

What a wonderful Christmas morning! Jonathan got to come over too!

Christmas Eve @ Mimi's & Pawpaw's

We love getting together with Mark's side of the family at Mimi & Pawpaw's house on Christmas Eve! It ends up being super late though because of the two services at the church but it's worth it. The kids had so much fun playing and opening gifts! We are blessed to have such a wonderful family!

Fun Times!

He's getting more and more comfortable! We are loving the added chaos around here!

Bubby's Home!!

Bubby's home and making Christmas cookies with Myli! As you can see, she loves her bubby!! We love having Bubby home for Christmas!!!!

Sophi sings

A few girls were asked to sing at the church's annual Widow's Christmas banquet. Sophi was very excite about singing and had a great time! I think the ladies enjoyed it too!

MOPS Christmas Party

So this year, I decided to join MOPS and really make an effort at connecting with some other stay at home moms. Well, I made some new friends and so did my children! The ladies do a great job at putting together all of the meetings and this one was great as well. Myliah is petrified of Santa and so Jonathan decided to skip out too. Neither would sit on his lap but Santa & Mrs. Clause did manage to make their way over to the craft tables and carry on conversations with both of them. Maybe next year!

Oh Boy & Girl!

What can I say......life with two 2 year old's is CRAZY!!!
The amount of energy these two have is incredible! I wish I had just one ounce of it! Our days are filled with trying to figure out how to keep these two busy! We like to go to the park and this also makes it easier for us to get to know Jonathan. He is shy but seems to be adjusting pretty well. Myliah took to him very well and they are inseparable! We call them "Pete & Re-Pete" because Jonathan repeats everything Myliah says! Just what I needed, to hear it all twice!!! Jonathan is behind in his language skills but I have a feeling he will be caught up in no time!
We are still waiting on the judge to put an order together so that Jonathan can come and live with us full-time. (wink, wink!) Not much we can do but wait and have fun in the meantime!

Babysitting Baby Christian

So exciting!! We got to babysit Baby Christian OVER NIGHT!! He's such a good boy!

Update on Jonathan...

What a whirlwind this all has been! So much red tape to conquer! Why do they make things so difficult!!
Jonathan is visiting with us during the daytime and sleeping at his Grandma's house for now. Trying to make the transition a little easier on him and getting to know him at his pace. He is a scared little boy who really needs a mommy & daddy to care for and protect him. Please pray for all of us while we go through this time and seek what God wants for our family!

Here's a sneak peek at the cutest little red head I've ever seen.....

Say WHAT???

So I am sitting in the front yard watching the kiddos play and ride their bikes when Mark comes home. Little did I know what was about to happen! This is how the conversation went.......

Mark - "Did you see the e-mail on the church Yahoo Group?"
Me - "No" "Why?"
Mark - "Nevermind"...."Well, just check it out later when you get a chance!"

In true fashion, I forget that he told me and our night continues.

The following day, I get a phone call from Mark. Goes something like this....

Mark - "Did you see the message on the YG yet?"
Me - "No, I forgot all about it!" "I'll read it now"
(It reads something to the affect that there is a grandmother locally who is looking for a family to help with her 2.5 year old grandson. Long term.)
Mark - "I deleted the message off of my phone yesterday after reading it only to come in to work today and it pop up on my e-mail first thing this morning!" "What do we do?" "Why will it not go away?"
Me - "Ummmmm......I don't know....call the number and see what's going on and if we can help?"

Well, he called, and we met little Jonathan tonight! He is a precious 2.5 year old rambunctious little boy who was removed from his biological parents' home due to neglect. Grandma is unable to care for him b/c she already has his 4 year old bio sister ans is a single mom. In a nutshell, she is looking for a family who is willing to care for Jonathan long term and adopt him as his case progresses!!

I am really stunned & speechless! We were not actively looking for a child to adopt! Is this real? Does this really happen? What now?

**Knowing we will be dealing with the state is a little frightening to say the least but if this is what God is calling us to do.....we always have room!

stayed tuned....

Operation Christmas Child - 2009

 

What a great privilege for our children to get to show love to children all around the world with a simple little shoe box full of gifts!

Meeting Baby Christian

 

Mom, Sis & I got to meet Baby Christian! He is so BIG!! And ADORABLE! Loved kissing his sweet cheeks!

Halloween & Carvin' Punkins

 

Had our annual trip to "Trick or Treat" and eat pizza with the Farley Family!

Fall Festival - 2009

 

We LOVE the Fall Festival at our church! Each year LOTS of people volunteer to make this a special event for the community! The kiddos always have so much fun!

Not So Scary Halloween @ Disney World

 

We decided to go to the "Not So Scary Halloween Party" this year at Disney! It was soooo much fun! I was a little scared with it being late at night and trying to keep up with a 2 year old but it turned our fabulous!! We got a little bear harness for Myli and she loved it! We were able to relax and enjoy the evening! It was one of the best trips we've had at Disney. Not crowded! We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride 4 times in a row with no wait!! WOOHOO! Myliah's first trip to Disney & it was awesome!!!

BOYS TRIP - Miami Dolphin Game

 

See the smile on Blake's face? It didn't leave for weeks after he and Dad went to this game! Luckily, the Dolphins were on this night and won the game! Blake's first ever NFL game and he eats, drinks, sleeps, and talks non-stop Miami Dolphins! Who could ask for more!

Sophi's 7th Birthday

 

Can't believe our Taiwan Princess is already 7!! We love you Sophi!!!

Labor Day - Disney Resort

 

Had a great time @ Disney's All-Star Resort! Each one of our children picked a friend to join us for the weekend! It was GREAT!!

Care Package for Tommy!

Found out that Uncle David, Aunt Karen & Katherine are driving up to visit Nat at BU! They offered to take a care package to Tommy for us...along with a few items he forgot! He has been away for about a month and it has been quite the adjustment for ALL of us! The house is definitely not the same and MUCH too quiet! Tommy has a way of making chaos out of calm! We miss that here!!! He is also having a tough time adjusting to being away from all of his family and friends! He is very excited to see familiar faces though!! The kids worked all day baking Tommy's favorite cookies and making cards for him! Hope it brings a smile to his face!!

I DID IT!

So much has been going on this year that I sadly fell way behind on keeping up with the family blog! I love keeping the blog and find it very therapeutic, even if no one is interested! So.......I have been on a mission lately working like a mad woman to update it. There are a couple more posts that I am working on but for the most part, it is caught up FINALLY!

My sweet friend Kari told me how to make collages and that is the only thing that made this possible! It's kind of boring with having collages for each post but so much faster and when you are nine months behind, I'll take it!

JUST CLICK ON ANY OF THE COLLAGES AND THEY WILL GO FULL SCREEN SO YOU CAN VIEW THE PICTURES A LOT EASIER!

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Tommy's Going Away/Graduation Party

How sad it is to think that I do not have ONE picture of this party!! I was too busy making sure food was replenished and our guests were ok!

Thank you to all who came out to show your love for Tommy! We are so greatful to have friends and family like you!

Tommy will be leaving to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in a few short days! My momma heart is breaking but I know this is what he was called to do so I have to remain strong and believe that God will watch over him when I can't!
This is what we work so hard for and then when the time comes, it is most difficult to simply say good-bye. I am struggling but know in the end, God will provide the strength I need to understand His plan!

We love you Tommy and wish you all the best!! We are so proud of you and know that you will be strong and keep the faith!!

Family Vacay At Disney Resort!

 

 

We have visited the ALL-STAR MUSIC DISNEY RESORT for the past two Summers and have had a great time! They have so many activities for the kiddos from morning until night including family movie at the pool each evening! Myli is such a daredevil and the first night fell off the step in the pool and scared us to death! Well, we thought she "fell" off the step! Mark kept trying to take her out with him to float around the pool and she wanted nothing to do with that. I looked at him and said, "You know what she wants right?" and sure enough, I took her, turned her towards daddy and she took right off SWIMMING! Full on face under water and everything! She didn't stop for days! She woke up saying "wimming" and went to sleep saying the same! It was great to see the difference between this Summer and last! She just floated around last year taking it all in and this year she was part of the action! So cool! Tommy & Taylor tanned and napped a lot and Blake, Sophi and Josiah (Blake's friend) played until they couldn't play anymore each day! This was our last vacation before Tommy left for college. It was bittersweet! Vacations with a big family are so much work but oh so awesome!!

Myli Swimming!!

 

Here she is in action!

Meeting The David's!

 

When we started the adoption process for Ethiopia our agency had a Yahoo Group set up for families in the program. We shared the journey with so many families and over time grew to think of these people as our extended family! We shared our ups and downs, prayed for one another, and celebrated each small step along the way! A sweet couple named Caleb & Becca received their referral before us and as we followed (ok, stalked) their blog of their trip to Ethiopia to their beautiful daughter Sakari, we always thought it would be great if we could meet up with some of the families one day.
Well, as luck would have it...the David's were vacationing in Orlando the same time we were this Summer and we were able to work schedules out to finally meet up! They are a precious family and it was great to finally meet them in person and of course share in some yummy Ethiopian food at The Nile! The girls were so cute together!

Myli's 2nd Birthday!

 

 

SHE'S 2!!!! We had a great time celebrating Myli's birthday with a few of her little friends!
WE LOVE YOU BABY GIRL!!!