simply having a wonderful Christmastime!

I have been a lazy blogger!  We had a very nice Christmas this year.     

A few days before Christmas, we were able to visit a special new addition.  A sweet family from our town recently adopted little Eisely from Henan province. Sarah brought her a Mulan doll as a gift and was very excited to meet her, even though she looks less than thrilled in the picture.  The third little sweetie is a mutual friend from our neighborhood.

 We had fun decorating cookies for Santa.  

 Jason is trying to make Justin smile!

Jason liked his Spiderman web shooter and the green cape that Logan gave him.  (notice "the aftermath" in the background!)

 Sarah liked her presents, too... especially these empty wrapping paper rolls.  ;)

We had visits from both sets of grandparents.  Here Sarah is instructing Grandma and Grandad the proper way to open their gifts.  

And here Sarah and Grandpa are taking a snooze on the couch.   

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

A family tradition

Every fall we get family pictures taken, although the last few years the parents have not joined in the fun.  ;)  
Is it just me, or are family pictures a somewhat stressful event?   Anyway, this year we did pretty well--  I have a friend who is a great photographer (thanks, Ferrill!) and off we went to get some pictures.

Needless to say, with five kids (and two of them are very squirmy), there were lots of out-takes.  But in the end we did manage to get some good shots 

This last one cracks me up because right before and right after this shot Sarah was whining and pouting.  But this one is great!

Do all parents get nostalgic when they see their kids shiny, clean, and smiling?
Because these pictures make me feel like even with all of our struggles, mistakes, and bad days... well, it just gives me hope that maybe we are doing OK.
Parenting is a hard gig, and sometimes I think it is really hard for me to see the forest for the trees...but when the day is done, and I fall into bed-- exhausted-- I pray that we are remembering what's most important.   


And then I get up in the morning and try a little harder to be a little better. :)  


And because I'm feeling nostalgic...here's a trip down memory lane:

Three years ago, this was our first picture as a family of five kiddos. Sarah had been home for only a few weeks and both Sarah and Jason still had their sweet baby cheeks!!   My, how they've all grown!   {sigh!}


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and now he's 6 !

Jason is now SIX!

Jason has learned a lot of new things lately.  He can ride his new birthday bike without training wheels.  He loves school and is a great little reader.  

I love the time we get to spend together in the afternoon. Sarah and I will both miss him when he goes off to first grade next year.

Happy birthday to my sweet boy!  We. love. you!

reunited

You may remember this post about a little boy and a very large dog.  

The little boy (who looks much older now!) was reunited with his favorite canine friend over Thanksgiving.   Columbo (the big hairy beast) belongs to my brother and his wife.  My brother is in the army and was recently sent to Germany.... so my parents got custody of the dog.    ;)

Jason was very excited to have both sets of grandparents and Columbo visit us over Thanksgiving weekend.  And I can't believe I didn't get one picture of our big family feast!  I snapped this shot the next morning.   Jason is in his pajamas because that's how we roll on a holiday weekend.

We have already gotten a few snowstorms.   The older I get, the less excited I am about winter/snow.   Blah.  Anyway, I had to take a picture of my three youngest.  I don' think Jason and Sarah are going to want to wear these cute snow hats much longer.   So it has to be documented.  :)  

I don't know if I've ever specifically mentioned it... but I am having the best time dressing my little girl.  I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to dresses and little girl shoes.  I have a serious weakness (my hubby would say addiction) when it comes to little girls' shoes.  And this comes from someone who is not particularly fond of shopping and doesn't have lots of clothes/shoes.  So it's like a whole new world.  The accessories!  The hairbows!  The shoes!! (have I mentioned the shoes?).   Anyway, you get the idea.   


We have one more birthday this week... and then I really need to switch into my Christmas "high gear."  :)  Wow, December is almost here!

the good stuff

 I love children's artwork.  Lucky for me I get to see it all the time.  

Especially the artwork of young children.  One of my students has been drawing me reindeer pictures for about a week now.  :)

Seriously, how cool is this truck?   Awesome.  

  Some of the fourth grade classes disguised their turkeys.

But this is my current favorite.  Sarah drew this picture at preschool.   

When I was in college I took an art class where we learned that there are stages of drawing that kids go through.   I can't remember the names of all the developmental stages, but I do know that Sarah drew a classic example of the stage where arms and legs stick out of the head!  ;)   I just love this.   

When I asked her about her picture, she said, "Mom, this is a picture of you.  You're walking in the grass barefoot and you're happy."  

My girl knows me well.   And just look how skinny I am.   haha

{ 17 }

'Tis the season at our house.... the birthday season!   We have three birthdays, a "gotcha day", Thanksgiving, and Christmas... all in a three month period.  Whew!
Justin is now 17.   Seventeen???   Seriously?   I'm speechless.  How is it possible that we have a 17 year old son?

His friends decorated his truck (I should say, the truck that dad lets him drive!) at school and filled it with balloons (apparently the truck was stuffed full of balloons when he first opened the door).

One of his friends gave him 2 goldfish.  Points for originality, but I am curious to see how the new owner keeps up with the maintenance.  ;)  Jason and Sarah were very interested in watching them eat the fish food.

Happy birthday, Justin!  You are a fine young man who loves God and strives to do what's right.  You are so smart and funny-- there's never a dull moment at our house!  You are a great example to others.  We are very proud of you and love you!

Has it really been *three* years?

From the first time we saw your sweet baby face, we knew you were the daughter we had been praying for. 

And this knowledge brought us amazing peace and comfort as we waded through paperwork and hoped and prayed that the process would go quickly and smoothly.

Ten months later,on November 2, 2008,  we were overjoyed (and a little overwhelmed!) to finally meet our daughter!  We were so excited that I could barely hold the pen to write things down that your foster parents were telling us!!  You slept through our arrival and only woke up when we were leaving New Day Foster Home.

Your foster mother told us that you were busy, smart and quite stubborn.  She emphasized that you were very busy.  We nodded our heads and smiled... after all, we were the parents of four boys! We felt like we were experts on busy toddlers.     

But in all honesty, we were surprised just how busy you were, from the very beginning.  

Busy, fearless, and very outgoing.  You loved your bath, you loved the buttons in the hotel elevator, you loved all the people we met. 

You loved the hotel swimming pool and were not at all happy when I held on to you in the deep water!!  

You loved Ike, our amazing guide.

And you loved Daddy, from the get go.   Daddy was completely smitten as well.   ;)

We had a wonderful experience in China, and I still think about our trip all the time.  

And I am humbled by the incredible gift that we have been given.  I am humbled and grateful for the gifts of five beautiful children.

One of the greatest pleasures in my life is to watch you experience and enjoy new things for the first time.

Happy forever family day, Sarah Mei.   We. love. you.

Fall favorites

This beauty (a treat from one of my students) is not just a carmel apple, but a carmel, chocolate, cinnamon covered apple.   My very favorite treat.  It's downright sinful and oh so good.   I was just going to eat half of it, but ended up eating the whole thing in one sitting.  (I had some help from Jason, as he was the only kiddo home at the time--which was probably good timing on my part!  ;)

Last weekend, we went to Grandad's and Grandma's property and had a fun afternoon of 4 wheel riding and campfire cooking.

And the light was perfect.   I love the fall, with its golden light and beautiful colors.

 Happy, happy kids.  (safety disclaimer- we had helmets)

Sharing a blanket with Granddad.  Sarah loves her grandparents, especially her grandpas.  Even when we first came home from China, she would happily sit on grandpa's lap.  I think it might be because her sweet foster parents in China were older.  She remembers that first bond.  We're so grateful for that.   

 Evan goes for a ride.

The campfire.  Jason and Sarah (city slickers who have limited experiences with campfires) were frustrated when the smoke changed directions and got in their eyes.  

A fun day and a much needed break.