Vacation Pics-Day 2

Today we woke up and explored Pigeon Forge. This was actually Jadyn's Gotcha Day. So one of the activities we did was the black light putt-putt golf.  We also did some shopping.  Fun!

The kids all ready to go

Having fun at The Three Bears Store

Can you find the real "dolls" in here

Ethan playing golf

Tiff playing golf

Dad helping Abby

Abby glowing

Jadyn having fun

We saw these turkeys several times going to our cabin

Photos of the Cabin

We loved the cabin. We stayed right outside of Pigeon Forge.  Up on the mountain.  Such beautiful views.

The outside of the cabin

One of the bedrooms

Hot Tub

Indoor Pool

Views

Views

Cabin

Vacation Pics-Day 1

So, I tried doing this last week and blogger locked up.  So now lets hope this works.

We had a great time on vacation. We really needed to get away.  The cabin was beautiful and very spacious.  The kids had so much fun.  We could have stayed another week I think.  Here are pictures. I'll try to caption below them.

We made a visit to Babyland General.

The kids by the cabbage patch

Bill & Ethan having so much fun.  LOL

It's a Girl!  

Tiff & Maddy

Abby came home with this animal

Jadyn came home with this one

The outside of Babyland General

Ethan fell asleep as soon as we left

Having fun in the car going through tunnels

Jadyn's Gotcha Day

This post is late.  Only because we were on vacation last week (photos & blog will come soon about that).  But I wanted to put on here that we celebrated Jadyn's 6th Gotcha Day last Tuesday (March 13).

I think we were all thrown off by the travel day on Monday. Because we all forgot. And that is unlike Jadyn to forget a date.  She was surprised when we started singing to her.  :-)

She had a fun day.  We let her choose what to do. She chose black light putt-putt golf.  Everyone had fun.  Ethan was a little scared so after 1/2 way through he & I left and waited for the rest to finish.  Jadyn enjoyed her day and we enjoyed celebrating with her.

I can't believe it's been 6 years. I don't know where the time has gone.  Jadyn has changed SO much.  I love seeing how she has grown.

Happy Gotcha Day Jadyn Mei!  We love you so much.

Making New Friends

Today we had the privilege of meeting a new friend who just came home to his forever family.  We have been praying for Hudson for just about a year now.  We are so thankful he is FINALLY home.

Today we met him at the park with his mommy.  It was so much fun.  When I saw him, I immediately thought I was looking at Ethan (before surgery).  Looking at Hudson brought back so many memories of Ethan from 2 years ago, and made me realize how much Ethan has grown.  When I see Ethan, I don't see the changes.  Of course I see the lip changes, but not the growth changes.  He's not the little baby that we brought home 2 years ago.  He's a full blown toddler (even though he's still small for his age). 

Ethan 2 years ago

Ethan Now

Ethan and his friend Hudson

  

Tonight I pulled up photos of Ethan before surgery.  The look on his face was confusion.  Ethan does not remember having a cleft lip.  He does not remember the surgery.  He was surprised when we said "that's you Ethan".  Then when he looked at the photos from today again, he said "Awww, that Hudson".

I'm so thankful that he does not remember.  I'm so thankful that it did not scar him (emotionally).  But I do not want him to forget either.  I want him to grow up having compassion for others and to not judge.  Hopefully we'll be able to teach him (and our girls) to do this naturally.

I'm so thankful for adoption. I'm so thankful for the amazing friends we have made (and are meeting) who have adopted.  I'm so thankful for the new families who are coming home with their new forever sons & daughters.  Adoption is such a blessing.  I'm so thankful we took the leap of faith 8 years ago and followed God's lead.  We have truly been blessed by our amazing children.  Our eyes have been opened to things that we would have never experienced before. Our kids eyes have been opened to things that they would have never experienced before.  All very positive.  I'm so glad to be witness to the wonderful miracle of adoption.  :-)

Welcome Home Hudson.  We are looking forward to watching you grow. We are looking forward to getting to know.  We are so thankful that you are finally HOME!

A Much Needed Update!

I've slacked off on this blog. Not because there has not been much to write. Mainly because I've been busy with the kids and because I've been updating the adoption blog.

We are keeping busy. I can't believe it's almost March.  We have had our dossier off to China for 1 month now. That has gone by fast.  But it feels the wait for the next step is dragging. We're currently on day 18 of our wait.  And we have no real idea how long we'll be waiting.

So, I'll update you on the kiddos.  Tiff has chosen her senior year classes.  Goodness, have I been dreading this time in our lives.  Since the day she was born I knew it would go by fast. And it sure has.  She said to me the other day "I can't wait until I'm 18".  Ouch!

Abby & Jadyn are doing well.  Busy with Girl Scouts and AWANA at church.  They love it.  They just finished selling Girl Scout cookies and also went to the AWANA games. I'll post pictures below.

Ethan is our little Emperor still. We tried for a month to get him to potty train and he just could care less. So we're taking a break.  He has a runny nose right now and he'll come to us with stuff dripping out of his nose and say "wipe my nose".  Yes, I did say he's still our emperor right?

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks!  Enjoy!

The Red Team came in 1st place. They were thrilled.  The kids had so much fun. It was fun to watch them compete.  

The girls school had a Boosterthon Fun Run where they had to raise money for each lap they ran. They had a blast. I was so happy that I was able to go and watch them.  

The girls love selling Girl Scout cookies.  Last night they had a cookie booth at a local restaurant.  

I will do my best to keep this blog updated.  :-)
Until next time....

Valentine's Day Gift

So, with Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it would be fun to make the teachers a gift this year.  My new little "friend" where I can "pin" things came in handy.  I found something I thought was cute.  I did not do it exactly how they said. And I did not use all of what they used.  (mainly because I could not find what they used).  So I improvised.  And this was the end result.

What do you think?  I found the plastic glasses at Walmart.  I filled them with Valentine's Day M&M's. We bought a white styrofoam ball to stick on top. Then glued the peppermint candies on that to look like whipped cream. Then stuck a straw in the middle of the styrofoam ball.  Does it look like an ice cream sundae?  (or close to it?)  I hope so.  :-)

Now I have 4 more to make.  We're making one for each of the girls teachers, one for each of Ethan's speech teachers (he has 2) and one for the 2 amazing office ladies at their school.  Lets pray I can get the last 4 finished.  :-)