School is out for spring break, and so we have enjoyed every single day of freedom.
Recently, we checked on the new donut shop in town and it was so much fun!
You can customize your donut to your liking, and watch them make it before your eyes.
It was also really affordable at just over $7.00 for a half dozen. Since Ellie is not eating donuts and we had Em with us, a half dozen suited us perfectly, and we thought they were delicious. My girls love donut dates!
This baby girl always wears this smile. Always. She is the most precious, happiest little thing I have ever known and she melts this momma's heart. I had a dear friend asked how she can pray for me now as I transition and I honestly couldn't name one thing , aside from generalities, because everything about adding this baby has been a true, true joy.
Would you just look at her..She LOVES life. She was adorable racing her big sister down the side by side slides and, you can see, it made her very happy.
I can't believe how she played at the park this week. She can do just about everything her sisters can. It is amazing. She is a tiny little peanut, but she is mighty.
She even went down the twisty slide all by herself. She climbed up two flights of stairs to the landing and off she went while I caught her at the bottom. She is only twenty pounds and 30 inches tall. She is only wearing 12 months clothes, but she doesn't let anything stop her. Unbelievable.
I just can't believe that God would bless me with these beauties as He has. How I love them. There is nothing in the world that makes me happier than an afternoon playing at the park with these girls.
They are learning so much about each other and, this morning, Molly Kate let Anna Mei feed her. Anna was over the moon. She kept saying.."she trusts me mom. she let me feed her. we belong together. she is my sister." PRECIOUS!
It is just the four of us this week as DH and our oldest are on a mission trip. We have enjoyed each moment, but when I stood back at the park and got this view of all three of them my heart was just full. It baffles me that God would create these beautiful children a half a world away and intend for them to be mine. AMAZING! Truly adoption is a miracle!
Jillian is crazy about the rock climbing wall lately. She conquered her fear of them while I was gone in China and now she is glued to them. It makes me so happy to see her overcoming her fears and enjoying life!
One of Jilly's games on the wall involves placing wood chips on the climbing spots. Molly Kate watched and watched her. Then, she started placing chips herself.
Loving these beauties and caring for them makes life so full and so busy, but so very good.
Awe..Summer! I absolutely love it. I love hanging in the backyard in our swim suits in the hot, sticky air more than just about anything. We live outside. Molly Kate is fitting right in with our summer activities as you can see. This girl was pretty pleased with holding the hose.
She is growing more and more comfortable with water which is a relief because we are a water loving family.
This lady of mine couldn't be happier with living outside. She stays out long after the younger two have had their fill.
She can splash, dig, and climb for hours. I mean hours, and be just as happy as a lark.
We recently built the girls a huge sandpit. Anna Mei is spending lots of time building and creating all sorts of things. Her little mind is always, always imagining something. Hoping for some more hot weather this week, and some breaks from the rain to enjoy our yard even more!
A family of six? Typing that makes me giggle as I never wanted a large family. I sure never dreamed any of this for our life, but it is so good. We love the beach. It is one of our favorite places in the whole wide world. It is only a twenty minute drive for us and it is totally free. What could be better? I remember sitting at the shores of this lake last August naming Molly Kate and now she is here with us!
This is definitely Jillian's absolute favorite activity. She LOVES the beach. She was thrilled to be here.
Molly Kate doesn't love water so she didn't go near it much, but she enjoyed shoveling the sand in her bucket. And isn't she adorable in her sun hat?
Anna Mei has grown so much since last summer. She is a big girl who is so helpful and she loved being at the beach. She said, "Thank you mom for this day. It is so fun to be at the beach." LOVE!
Molly Kate eventually asked Daddy to carry her out into the water a bit. He did exactly as he was told, and walked in the water while she was in his arms. She didn't smile too much as she was very unsure about this place, but she did enjoy sitting under the tree on the picnic blanket eating lunch. The girl is becoming such a good eater. Emily enjoyed the beach too, but wouldn't let me get any pictures of her. :) She is such a blessing with the girls. It was a blessed day. I marvel at how easy adding daughter number four has been. She fits right in with us perfectly!
We recently received a Christmas card in the mail and a photograph of one of Anna's roommates from Xuchang. She probably spent her entire life living with this little guy as they are close in age and are in the same room in many of the pictures we have from her orphanage. When she first came home, we had a photo of him in the orphanage that his new family sent us when they received his referral. After returning home from China with Anna, I would get the photo out and pray for this little fella as he waited for his family. When I would do this, the photos of him still the orphanage made my Anna so sad that she would shake her little head no and cry when I would show her his picture and so I had to stop praying with her for her little friend. I continued my praying over his photo though by myself until the day his family reached him. Well, now this little man is home and in the arms of a loving family. He doesn't even look like the same little man I prayed over in the photo from the orphanage. The sweetest part of receiving this card was Anna's reaction to seeing him. She is now so happy to see his picture-so different than her reaction to seeing him still in the orphanage-and even more overjoyed to look at all his siblings with him. She truly was really thrilled to see him when I opened the card and she smiled so big when I showed her his picture. I know she is only two, but truly this baby girl's heart is much older than that and she completely understands that this little man is home with a family and orphaned no more. Just look at her as she is calling out his Chinese name as she looks at his picture..
Merry Christmas B! Thank you for sharing your family with us.
It didn't take long for Anna Mei to get the hang of this tree decorating thing. She was thrilled with the lights.
She loved going over every detail of every decoration including her very own baby's first Christmas ornament with her picture. It wasn't long before she was organizing and running the show.
Jillian was a bit anxious with the process, but before long she was helping Daddy hang a few ornaments and signing light on.
She remembered this little music box that sits under our tree and loved being the big sister by showing Anna Mei how it worked. It is exciting to be in a new home (though it is not a permanent one) celebrating our Savior's birth as a family of five.
Just eleven weeks ago, this little treasure met her daddy for the first time.
She didn't know the meaning of the word before then.
She didn't understand the love behind it or all that having a Daddy means.
These days, just eleven short weeks later, she begs to talk to her daddy on the phone all day long.
She loves to hear his voice and report about her day.
She loves to call out Dadeeee in the loudest voice possible while running to him when he comes through the door at lunch time. She watches him from the window while he mows the lawn blowing kisses and screaming Dadeeee the entire time he works.
It has been so natural for her to accept her Daddy's love because God created us to be in families. God set our very hearts to respond to the love of a mother and father. Particularly a father who mirrors a love like His own. I hope I never get over the gut wrenching tears that I cried the first time I heard Anna Mei call for her Daddy. I hope I never forget that while Anna is home with a Godly man to love her like Christ and call her daughter there are millions more least of these waiting..waiting for just one momma and one daddy to say yes to bringing them home.
I am a Christ follower, wife of 20 years to my best friend, and a stay at home momma to five amazing daughters. I am currently waiting for one precious special needs treasure to come home from China. I am passionate about the orphan and special needs adoption. I love to teach God's word, am involved in youth ministry alongside my dh, and love,love, love cooking. Above all, I desire to serve God and surrender my life to His call.
