Weekend Fun

Garrett chose a paintball party as his birthday celebration this year. Upon arrival, we checked in, celebrated first with a cake and drinks,and then the guys got suited up and ready for play. Since it was a requirement that all players be 10 yrs old, the younger kids stayed behind with mom. Dad went with the older boys(you know that it was such a hard choice for him,haha). Mom and the kids hung around for a bit, and daddy quit just a little bit early. The girls were expected at a birthday party, and someone needed to look out for the younger guys. I am not sure who had the most fun,the boys or the girls at their party. We also had baseball practice scheduled for late Saturday afternoon;however, the weather had other ideas and a rainout was called. It allowed us the opportunity to share a dinner out and concluded a very fun but exhausting day.

Tagged

My friend Connie tagged me yesterday...I loved the questions, but it has taken a little thought on my part...not to mention finding a moment to sit still.
So here goes:
8Things I Look Forward To:
-watching all of my children accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior(3 have accepted him and 3 to go)
-hearing "Good Morning,Mommy...I love you" from my chili peppers
-summer--when all our school is done and we can spend hours in the sun and water
-our summer vacation--we are planning a trip to the beach
-a camping trip coming soon in which we get to spend time with another adoptive family and fellow bloggy friends
-being a grandma(now mind you, I am not ready even in the near future,but someday I think it will be the coolest thing to be "grammy"
-reading about(and following journeys)children joining their forever families
-getting to meet Jesus,face to face
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
-helped the kids get breakfast,get dressed and had their teeth brushed
-took all the kids and met friends for Garrett's Birthday party ...playing paintball
-took the girls to a birthday party
-drove Brad's mustang
-took the kids out to dinner
-read a few of my friends blogs
-did some laundry
-spent a little quiet time with the Lord and prayed
8 Things I wish I could do:
-sing well (be musically talented)
-swim with dolphins
-go on a second honeymoon with my hubby
- go on a short term mission trip
-share Jesus with those who don't know him
-be more patient with my kiddos
-convince more people to adopt children and help them understand its many blessings
-spend more time playing with my kids and less time worrying about parenting,housecleaning,etc...
8 TV Shows I watch:
**most shows I watch are reruns that I watch late at night(I'm a night owl);although,I do on rare occassion catch a few daytime shows(when school isn't in session,of course!). **
-Jon and Kate plus8
-18 Kids and Counting
-Food Network Shows
-Everybody Loves Raymond
-Army Wives (in Season)
-Fraiser
-Home Improvement
-Extreme Home Makeover
8 People I Tag:
(Not 8 but a few friends...)
Kim L at http://www.celebratingeverydaylife.blogspot.com/
Wendy at http://www.blessedbeyondmeasure-journeycontinues.blogspot.com/
Jill at http://www.ourmagnificentseven.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Garrett!!

Big Blue EYES!!(age 2)A Little Catcher in the making...(age3) Loving his baby brother...(age3)

"We'll be right back on G-baby Live...BAM! BAM! BAM!"...future chef

All Smiles...only days away from age 10

Garrett is 10 today! He has been excitedly waiting for this milestone in his life (mom,not so much). 10 means that he gets his "first-ever" pocket knife(he has so often reminded us in the last week). 10 means that he gets a "special" daddy day in which he and daddy share special guy things. 10 means that we are now the parents of two" double-digit"kiddos. 10 means our little boy is growing up much faster than we could ever want.

Garrett was born almost 2 months early, and in that pre-mature birth,God gave me an incredible peace. He allowed me a glimpse of the child he had created...a fighter! Garrett fought his way through all those obstacles at birth and has been a fighter ever since. He is very brave and very strong(physically,mentally, and spiritually). His dad and I continue to be humbled by this young man. He has always had a very giving spirit, and as he grows, we continue to see an amazing young person who loves people. He is outgoing, attentive, detail oriented, and so very compassionate.He would willingly give the shirt off of his back to anyone in need. He loves Jesus, his Lord and Savior, with all his heart, and he spends everyday striving to serve Him. We love his passionate nature and his zeal to make things right for everyone. Wow, ...and we get to call him our son!

Thank You, God, for this very beautiful gift, one of your children. We pray that we can continue to parent this child in a way that glorifies you. We pray that his life will be pleasing in your sight, and that he will always choose to serve you.

Happy Birthday, our beautiful baby boy!(Ok, so it's my blog and as momma I get to call him beautiful and he will always be my baby)

Come on and Celebrate...

Meet "Stripey" and "Olivia"Kindred Spirits...both girls are best friends and are soooo much alike...Birthday celebration...Happy B-day Garrett(April 15th),Ryan(April),Mandy and Levi (May)Two Cuties... The Race is on...The Crew... our 6 and my sister&hubby's 3They were tired of pictures...but aren't they cute...Aunt M...getting sweet,sweet hugs.Waiting for the Church Egg Hunt...

How many do you have,Mia?
Our princesses in their pretty dresses...

Our big boys...

Our Blessings...
Granpa and Granma with the kiddos...

Celebrate the Ressurection of our Lord!
Our celebration began on Thursday, and we kept celebrating through today,Easter Monday. We doubled up our school lessons and finished early last week and just in time for our family to arrive. We were blessed by a visit from my sister,her hubby, and my nieces and nephew. They stayed through Saturday at lunchtime, and we packed the days full of fun. Since Mandy's birthday is coming soon, I took she and Natalie(her cousin) to build a matching animal at our favorite bear place(Mandy chose to do this in lieu of a big birthday party...she will have a sleepover with a few girl friends around her birthday in May.). We started our girl's day(Mia and Meg came along too) with a fun lunch of appetizers at TGIFridays. Then it was off to build our animals. Mandy and Natalie got matching tigers. Mia got a outfit for her bear at home,and Meg didn't want to make anything (She has outgrown bears). We returned home in time to eat supper and celebrate all our family's April/ May birthdays. Saturday morning brought a quick breakfast, and then an Easter Egg Hunt with all the cousins. We were sad when my sister and family had to leave to get back for their church on Sunday. We miss having them live close by. Saturday afternoon, we had a great time going to a theatre production of "Fa Mulan". It was a production done by young people for young people. All the kids seemed to have a good time,even the boys who went reluctantly. It was nice to get to see a few friends,too! We then made a trip to OK to spend the night and Ressurection Sunday with Brad's parents. It was a semi-last minute decision;however, we at least planned enough in advance to get packed before the "play", and left immediately after the show. We arrived late at Brad's parents, went to bed shortly thereafter, got up early, got everyone dressed , and made it to church on time. We enjoyed the service and were reminded of the hope we have because of this day and the hope we have in our Lord Jesus. After the service, grandma had an egg hunt set up for the kids at the church(our kids brought the grand total to 8...not a lot of young people). They enjoyed the hunt none the less and got a bounty of candy,toys and prize eggs. We then ate a ton of good food that Grandma had fixed for Easter dinner including her famous "bunny"cake...yum,yum. We spent a couple more hours visiting(actually some of us took short naps, and daddy helped grandpa with a computer issue). Then it was time to head home... we had to make a stop in Tulsa for dinner...can you guess where? (of course, daddy had to make a stop at Whataburger). It was a crazy busy weekend, but we had such a great time. The kids were so exhausted that we slept in really late this morning, and I let them just relax today. It's back to school tomorrow and once again a busy week. We are so blessed!

Three Years...

Oh my...How we Love,Love,Love this precious little girl!! We stand in awe of God and the amazing plan he had for our family three years ago,today. We are so thankful that His plan was so much bigger than ours, and that he placed Mia into our family. He has blessed our lives with this beautiful child.
Happy Forever Family Day...sweet princess!!!
2006

2007

2009

One of mom's favorite pictures(2008)

HIP,HIP,HOORAY!!

We took Mandy back to Little Rock for her last appointment. The Doctor gave her the "all clear". She is done!! There will be no more surgeries and no more appoinments unless we have concerns. Her ear is looking terrific! She seems to be excited about the new ear but seemed a bit disappointed yesterday. She was very quiet after leaving the doctor's office. We suspect that she is probably feeling sad to be leaving her doctor, and she was unable to vocalize this sadness. I have to admit that you cannot go through a year and a half of this kind of surgery without growing an attachment to your surgeon. Dr Key was/is an amazingly talented surgeon and a wonderful person, and he was God's instrument to create "a miracle" for our little girl. She was able to fulfill a special dream that she had ...to have a "good ear". We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God orchestrated all of these event even before Mandy joined our family. Remember the God Thing... As we were considering Mandy's referral, we learned in a rather shocking way(medical bills not paid by insurance) that Brad's insurance coverage had changed and many of our current doctors weren't "in network";however, this change in coverage allowed us to have coverage at Little Rock Children's Hospital,which is where our other favorite Doctor(Mia's Cleft Surgeon and ENT) had recommended when she reviewed Mandy's file. Our God, the Great Physician and Healer, had already taken care of this. We just sing praises for his wonderful and mighty works!!
P.S. Our camera is broken... I wanted to share pictures of Mandy's ear reconstruction from beginning to end... so, when we take care of the camera "issue", I will post pictures of the amazing changes.

The Calm before the Storm

It has been a little quiet around here... well at least nothing very exciting is going on... it is always very loud in this house. We spent last week working on school assignments,hanging out and just enjoying all of our time together as a family.It is truly the calm before the storm. Baseball begins this week and that means the busy season has arrived for our family. All four boys will begin playing ball this year. Nolan and Garrett are on the same team in Little League;Nate is in PeeWee(Machine Pitch);and Levi is beginning T-ball. Brad is manager of the boys Little League team and helping coach on Nate's team. Mom and the girls will be #1 cheerleaders for each team, and will somehow make it around to all the fields to watch them play. Mia and Mandy are still loving dance, and this begins their busy time as well. They are learning routines and practicing for their Spring Recital. Mom will have to be extra organized in order to get everyone fed and to their proper places on time. All of this means that we will spend lots of time on the go for the next 12weeks.
We are so blessed to get to share this season with our children and are treasuring all these moments.