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.

Reunion(Gotcha Day...year 3)

2006 ... Red Couch Pictures ... 2009...Red Couch Pictures...

Just Beautiful... Can you believe these girls?...Where has the three years gone?

We love you sweet princesses!!

This year, we decided it was time for a Gotcha Day Reunion with our travel buddies. We all met here at our house and enjoyed a fun filled afternoon.There was lots of good food, lots of kids(we had 15 kids here), and lots of catching up. As we look back 3 years ago, we stand in awe of the mighty work of God and how he knit all of our families together,and the blessings he has given to all of us. We have seen our families grow, and it is amazing to see how the girls have all changed. In addition to the blessings of our children, God created an amazing connection between all three families. We aren't just friends...we are family!

The Girls actual "gotcha day" is in April, but the next 2 weeks bring back so many memories of the "miracle" God created in order for us to make the trip for our girls. (If you are interested in reading "our journey"you can check out our website http://www.blessingfromchina.com) It is 3 weeks forever etched in our memories. Enjoy the before and after pictures.

Spring Break Fun

First a Trip to the Zoo... we were joined by more friends. We had such a fun day and enjoyed a picnic lunch too. Then, we went to a George Washington Carver Monument....This is the house GWC grew up in ... we enjoyed looking at the house. We had the most fun exploring the great outdoors...

Walking through the park...

We played some rousing rounds of glow golf.... daddy was able to join us, and they all enjoyed the time together.

We took the week off from homeschooling and just enjoyed our week of Spring weather. We met some friends in Kansas and picked up their big kids to spend the week with our kiddos. We had such fun doing all kinds of things. At the end of the week, their parents and the littles joined us for a fun filled weekend. I think all of the kids were worn out... but they had a good time.

Some days...Some People

So... today after church, we took the kids to eat lunch at our favorite Mexican food place. The following is a conversation we had with our waitress...
Waitress: So,are they all yours? (to which she proceeds to count 1-6)
Us: Yes all of these children are ours.
Waitress: So, where are "those" three from (Refering to our Asian born children)?
Us: from *********,MO
Waitress: No where?
Us: They were born in China, and we have adopted them.
Waitress: Well, where are their parents?
Us: UMMM.right here...we are their parents.
Waitress: No, where are their Chinese parents?
Us: (trying to be understanding....there was a language barrier...her native language was Spanish) These children were orphans. There are many reasons why they might have been available for adoption, but we may never know
Waitress: Which ones of these kids are "yours"?(WHAT??!!!!)
Us: They are all our children!!! Three of which were born to us and three of which we have adopted, but THEY ARE ALL OUR CHILDREN!!!!
Some days... Some people.....sigh....
Then while shopping for some clothes...
Levi: "Daddy, why does she(referring to the saleslady)have "it" in her nose(she had her nose pierced)?
Daddy: "Levi, that is a piece of jewelry."
Now Nate:"Oh, I thought she had a "BB" stuck in her nose,HAHAHA"
Saleslady:"Oh I always have little kids ask me that...and if I had known how painful it was,I wouldn't have done it"
Then...Saleslady:"Are they twins (refering to Mia and Levi)?"
Us:(because we are a bit sarcastic at this point) "Yes, they are twins...he was born in May, and she was born in August."
Saleslady: "Oh, I would've guessed they were twins. They look exactly alike"
Some days... some people... Gotta Love IT....

Look what Daddy got...

It's official, the Mazda has seen better days. It has lived a very good life(10 yrs and 170,000+ miles), but it was time for Brad to get a new car. He and Nolan were busy sharing car information, and they looked at several different makes and models. Nolan is a Mustang fanatic(in fact we have recently decorated his room in Ford Mustangs), so he convinced his dad to at least look at the Mustang. After many weeks of research shared between father and son, Brad decided that he indeed thought the Mustang a better vehicle(compared to those he was looking at). Brad found this car "gently" used, and he was able to find a terrific deal! We will have to have many discussions with Nolan about the type of car he will be driving. I think he had a plan in mind...dad buys it now,he gets to drive it in 4 years(I don't even want to think of that day ): !). I think he just might be disappointed... Daddy will probably still be driving his "Stang".

Signs of Spring...

Chef Levi...helping daddy make our "hearty" breakfast...see that stack of toast,Nolan thought it was all for him Flying Planes in the breezy Spring weather...

See the daffodils,momma...

We love Spring!! It lifts all of our spirits, and we are so excited to be able to go outside and enjoy the warmer weather. Our yard is beginning to show signs of Spring. We are studying Birds and Flying creatures in science. As part of our study, we have set up a backyard Bird Sanctuary. We love to watch all the birds as they feed at our feeders. We have 6 male and 3 female cardinals that visit regularly. We have lots of yellow and purple finches, doves, blackbirds, 3 woodpeckers, wrens, titmouses, mockingbirds, purple martins, robins, and hummingbirds(although we haven't seen them out yet this year). We have had a few visitor birds including bluebirds, bluejays, and orioles. It is so cool to watch them interact and feed. We are able to watch out our windows, and it is great fun to hear the kids shout out when a new bird is discovered. It is our dream to expand our bird area and make a butterfly garden as well.

So each year we plan to add a few different plants to this area of our yard.

We are making plans for a vegetable garden which the kids will help me plant and cultivate starting after Easter. I love gardening and cooking the fresh vegetables that we are able to harvest. Come on Spring!!