A Wedding in Pictures!

Heading to Athens, Georgia for Uncle Steven's (Matt's Brother) wedding to the beautiful Bekah Twiss!

Got all 5 strapped in!

Lounging at the Hotel!

Heading to the Rehersal Dinner

 The kids got to meet lots of extended family!

Matt's cousin, Micheal and his Great Aunt, Melissa!

 The Bride and Groom!

Uncle Steven and now...AUNT Bekah!

 Mother of the Groom (aka Nana) with Wills

 Bekah and Kate

 Hanging out with Great Granny for the first time in a long time!

Check out how excited Gray is!

 Pre Wedding day jitters! (Ha!)  Kate and Daddy had to go early because they were in the wedding!

 Sonia looked beautiful and kate was so excited to wear her fancy dress!

 Matt and I were so glad we were not getting married again, but really wished we were going on a honeymoon!

 Owen (pre dancing)

 Gray and Josh (Second cousins)

 Beautiful Couple.  The bride looked amazing.

 First dance as husband and wife

 On the drive home on Memorial Day, we saw this along the highway!

A dog wearing glasses.

School's Out!

My last walk up the hill (until mid August) to meet the bus!

Summer has officially arrived.

 2 very excited boys! 

Not exactly the weather we were hoping for on the last day of school, but Sunny days are ahead!

Poems and Pets

Have your kids been bringing home as much "stuff" from the school year as mine?
Folders, journals, papers, art, etc....backpacks loaded with stuff!
I was flipping through one of Wills writing workshop journals, only to stumble upon a poem titled MOM!
Here it what it said.....

MOM

My mom is nice, you should add a little spice,

She is cool.   She is not a school.

She is not a dad.  She doesn't let you grab.

She is sweet.  She isn't a creep.

But, most of all she loves our family!

The end.

Here is another poem dedicated to the 3 hermit crabs that I received for Mother's Day.  Yes, MOTHER'S DAY.  Note that I did not get a massage gift certificate, or perfume, or jewelry!  Nope!  I got 3 Hermit Crabs and this means, yet another thing for me to take care of.....

Here is the poem!

Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are nice.

Hermit Crabs sting.

Hermit Crabs crawl.

Hermit Crabs pinch.

Hermit Crabs can fit in your pocket!

 I see only 2 of my precious pets in this picture.  I guess "FLOWER" is under the log!

Each hermit crab has a special something painted on it.  The red one, which Owen picked out, is far more active than the rest.  He is a total camera hog! 

I must admit that I re-gifted these adorable lovable creatures back to my children!

Welcome Summer!

Kickin off the summer!  Pick Up Style!

We had a little lot of yard work to do this weekend, so we borrowed Matt's dads old pickup truck.

After dinner on Saturday night we went for a neighborhood back of the pick up drive. 

It was so fun.  We brought along the I-pad for music, as the truck has no radio and we so needed some music to go ridin!

Thanks to Wills' mad DJ skills,

 (A little Justin Beber, some Black Eyed Peas and Taio Cruz) it made the ride just that much more fun!

 That's how we roll!



Lots of LOVE!

It has been a busy, crazy week!  But, lots of fun!
Kate's 5th birthday party on Monday.  As you can see, it was a princess party! She LOVED every minute of it.  6 little princesses having a "ball".

 My sister, mom, and mother in law were troopers and dressed up perfectly!

LOVE their dresses!

 FIELD DAY!  I worked field day this year with Gray and Kate in tow.  It was actually a lot of fun and all the kids were so excited.  I remember so well how much I LOVED field day, and I still do!

 Here is Wills, the Strong man!

Kate and Gray's last day of Preschool.  Kate is now on her way to Kindergarten...

so, I will have a K, a 1st grader, and a 2nd grade next year...WOW! 

I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED Kate's teachers.

On top of all that, I started working this week.  I taught 3 classes this past week and am on the schedule for 4 classes next week.  I am having so much fun. 

I really LOVE my job!

And lastly, in my spare time this week, I have started some paperwork for our travel to China. 

We signed our LOA on Tuesday and have everything ready to send off for our travel VISAs on Monday!

It is a little overwhelming trying to wrap my head around all the "stuff" that needs to be done, but I

LOVE knowing I am one step closer to holding my baby girl!

LOA, LOA, LOA!

YES!  Another Acronym....but this one is HUGE! 
WE HAVE OUR LOA!   WE GOT IT!   YAY!  PRAISE GOD!
We are coming very soon little Avery.  Coming to bring you home! 
Coming to shower you with the love you deserve.  the love you need.  love from your mommy and daddy!!

We got the call today saying that we got our Letter of Approval (LOA) from China.  Basically, this means they have approved us "officially" to adopt Avery.  They have found us to be suitable parents for this little one.
Where do we go from here?  Well, we have  a few more "big" documents to get through, but basically this means best case scenario we could travel in TWO months!  Whoa.....
For those who have kept up with me throughout this journey, know that I have prayed that we would travel in July.  I have prayed that since we started on this roller coaster of a ride and am still praying for July travel!  Please pray for an unexplainable swiftness in our paperwork!  We feel such a sense of urgency to get Avery out of her orphanage and home where she is suppose to be!   
With that said, we are on cloud nine today!  So thankful to be onto the next step which will bring us closer to holding our girl.
I am so overwhelmed and humbled at God's amazing grace and for His almighty hand throughout this entire process.  Like I have said many times before, we have seen him in all the details.  Thank you for praying for us. 

The Birthdays Begin!

May 16, 2006, I was so ready to meet you!  I felt huge and could barely walk because you were positioned where my back was killing me.  But, oh it was so worth it!  My precious baby girl. 

An easy delivery and a very easy baby, minus the constant spit up.  (but that meant I got to change your outfits more!)  You stole my heart and you still do.

I am so very thankful for the gift of a daughter.

You bring so much joy, laughter and love to our family, Kate!

Yes, those would be your 2 big brothers.  Wills is 2 and Owen is 1!

Wow!  life was crazy...hasn't changed much, just more kids!

You were my easiest baby!

Mother and Daughter...a very special gift!

Happy 5th birthday Kate.  We love you and we are so proud of you!

Around the House!

We needed this!  A weekend where we had NOTHING going on.  It was a welcome change from the past few months of the busyness of Spring.  I tried my best to just enjoy being at home with not that much to do.  (I get bored and restless pretty easily, so my kids get it honest!)  But we all seemed to enjoy not having to be anywhere!

We had a picnic lunch, grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, relaxed and watch a little TV, rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline, and just enjoyed the nice cool spring day.

Gray is enjoying his bike much more now that he has figured out the pedaling thing.

We can't go one day without getting a little wrestling in....Kate is the moderator, I suppose!

New Bed, Empty Crib

I have one very happy boy tonight. 

First night in his big boy bed.  We haven't really set up the actual bed, but we had the mattresses so we just put it on the floor.  I needed to get him in it.  I wanted to have him well adjusted to a new room and a new bed before the baby came and he was so ready to be out of the crib.

With that said, I have an empty crib! 

The first time in almost 8 years that I have nobody in a crib! 

 Oh, how I wish Avery was in it, and not all alone in an orphanage clear across the world.    I am going to spend the next month or so getting her room ready for her.  I don't have a lot of money to work with, but I will figure something out to make it girly!  It is hard to think that for the next few months I will have an empty room where she should be!

 Good Night Sweet Gray!  You are growing up!

A Tough Day

Today has been one of those days that I am ready to throw the towel in!  For the past week, I have been battling head on my 2 1/2 year old, and his "strong as an ox" will!  Today the (you know what) hit the fan!
  I love my kid more than anything, but just did not like him one bit today.  And to be honest, I really didn't like myself either.  There is nothing that makes me feel more down on myself than when I am disciplining my kids and when they just aren't "getting it".  More than once today, I thought to myself, "What is wrong with my child?"  I am pretty sure that I went through all this with each child (to different extents with each unique personality) at 2 and 3 years old, but I just don't remember as to what extent, and from my jaded perspective of today...this is much worse!
Fear creeps in on me.  I am a horrible mom.  He is going to hate me.  I am angry at him.  I am angry at me.  I feel sorry for my other kids.  I feel sorry for me.  I want to quit.  Can I do this another day?  Maybe I am not cut to be a mommy to 1 more?
Thoughts in my head from the one who lies, steals and destroys! 
He cries.  I cry harder. 
I need a do over. I need tomorrow to come!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,  for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”  Lam. 3:22-23

Tomorrow is a new day!  I am training him up in the way he should go.  I will hold steadfast to that promise, that he will not depart from it one day.
Lord, give me patience.
Give me strength.
Give me courage.
Give me peace! 
I need it more than ever today!

Fullness

The last week has been a whirl wind!  Every May I feel like our schedule is jammed pack with lots to do.
End of the year business, I suppose.  I feel like I was up at one of the kid's schools every single day last week.  It is amazing how we are trying to cram everything into this last month of school....one thing after another.  It is hard to believe the school year is coming to a close.  I feel the pressure of getting everything I need to get done in the next few weeks as it approaches.  Thinking about it kind of overwhelms me.  I hope I can save some energy for the mountainous task of having 4 at home ALL THE TIME! 
On another note...Today was a great day.  I feel so blessed to be a  mommy to 5 healthy children!  I was a little sad though, as I wished Avery had a Mommy to hold her and love on her today.  I am so thankful for her birth mom who lovingly placed her where she would be found quickly!  I am coming soon Avery.  Next Mother's day will be extra special to have my quiver full!

So, this morning Matt went to the Regions Golf Tournament.  With my permission, of course!  He felt guilty about leaving me at 8:00 in the morning on Mother's Day, but I assured him it was fine as long as he was home by 2:00 and I got the rest of the day "off".

In church this morning, I arrived during worship and sat next to this elderly woman.  After worship was over, she grabbed my hand and said,
"Honey are you married?"
Me:  "Yes"
Lady:  " Well, is your husband not a believer?"
Me:  "Oh, yes mam, he sure is.  He is at the golf tournament this morning."
Lady (with a sad look on her face) :  "well, I just felt like I needed to ask you and pray for you if he was not a believer"

Gotta love living in the South!
I told Matt that my new friend and I prayed for his salvation this morning while he was out on the town skipping church!

I am Employed!

Yes, it is true!  I am now a working mom.  I think it is hilarious to say that, because in all honesty I am nowhere near a true working mom like so many of my friends, but I am still excited to be able to contribute just a little in the finance department to the fam! 
My new job is the perfect fit for me, and I am so excited to begin this journey, which I will no doubt probably do until my body can no longer handle it. 
I am officially employed by the YMCA to teach Spin classes, muscle works, and hopefully this Summer start to teach some YCross....(which is similar to a boot camp class).  I have been working on my certifications for a few months, applied for a job, interviewed, had to teach a class that the director was in on, and got the job!  I am so excited.  Basically it combines 3 things I love....teaching, coaching and exercise!  AND another great thing is that I will basically just teach 1 or 2 classes a day 5 or so days a week and then I can fill in for people if I can or if I want to!
Where will my kids go while I am "working"? 
If you do not already know, the Y has a wonderful nursery with the sweetest ladies to care for the kids.  I have gotten to know the women who work in childcare, and they are all great and I know my kids are in good hands for the hour or so I will be gone!  
God has opened doors to allow this to happen and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work for the largest non profit company in the world.  A Christian organization that promotes family, health, and community. 
I am not saying that I am going to soon be driving a new luxury SUV anytime soon (got my old beat up, dirty minivan still), or that I am going to start shopping at Saks (I am a loyal target and Old Navy girl), or that I will be sporting some new diamonds (my only piece of real jewelry is the ring I got 11 years ago)....
but I am thankful that I have found a job doing something that I love!
A small perk will be that my teeny tiny little paycheck each month will play a small part in helping our family in the future!

Game Night

Family Time! 

Not sure how 5 people can play Connect Four, but when we bring out this game, everyone sits down to watch.  I think it may be time to add a few more Connect Four games to the family .

I am pretty sure my 2 year old is not playing by the official Connect Four rules.

Anytime Daddy is down on the floor, the kids swarm to join him!

(usually right when I am trying to get everyone in bed!)