time passes

Well, life continues to pass me by and before I know it, it is mid-week and I cannot even remember if anything was accomplished in the past few days.  In fact, I had to ask my children what today was and if it was September yet!  The needs of 5 children are pretty, well...."needy".  You know how they say, my cup runneth over?  Well, my cup is continuously flooding...mostly with spilled juice, cereal bowls, milk, poo-poo, (you name it). 
Everyday, I have to talk myself into another day!  Ok, I think....this is my job!  My life right now literally consists of changing diapers, packing lunches, driving my car filled with screaming kids who cannot keep their hands off of each other, disciplining, hugging, bandaging, entertaining, bathing, cleaning, wiping nasty noses....I will stop now because I do not want anyone to cause anyone to get jealous, but the list goes on.
Honestly, I am trudging through what is "life" right now.  Avery is adjusting beautifully.  The kids are doing so much better than I could have ever anticipated. 
Mommy?  I am hanging in there.  Trying to remember that God has blessed me with 5 healthy children.  He has given me a husband who works hard so I can stay at home.  He has been the only constant in a world that is filled with ups and downs. 
Is my life perfect?  No! 
Does it have to be?  No!
Must my kids be perfectly put together and be fed gourmet organic meals.........ha!
So, I remind myself that it is ok to eat cereal for dinner (again)
It is fine to wear your Auburn jersey 3 days in a row.
It is ok to wear your polyester Superman costume all Summer.
Is is just fine to watch a few hours of TV while you play your DS.
It is ok to have your 4th juice box.
It is fine to have my laundry piled on the laundry room floor and just get what we need as we go, because I do not feel like folding it.
Bath Tonight....Nah!
So, in conclusion...I am learning to be ok with being a bit different.
My kids are loved. 
They are usually pretty clean.
And everyone is growing despite the lack of quality meals every night.
And one more thing.....
I am pretty darn happy that three of them go to Public School on the BUS! 

A week in pictures

A week ago today, we brought Avery home.  We had a long tiring week, but everyday gets a little better than the next. Here are some pictures of the "fun" we had this week!

 Loves her baby sister!

 Tea Party

 Hanging with friends

 swimming in our "pool"

first days

Since I was in China over the first day and first full week of school, I was just able to get "MY" back to school pictures of the kids.  It was their first day to ride the bus...so technically the first day of school for me!
So, Monday morning I walked my kindergartener, my first grader, and my second grader to the bus stop and sent them on their way. 
I cam back home to a house with 2 little ones.  One crawling all over the floor and the other one riding his big wheel in circles around the house--(a battle I am too tired to fight). 
I am excited to try to get into a routine.  I am fighting some jet lag and also the newness of 5 kids and lots of needs, but life is good. 

 very happy at home!

Not so happy at school! 

Survival with 5

We are alive and surviving!  I haven't had a spare moment to sit down and blog, but the update is....we are home and settling into life with 5 kids.  I look at my family and the overwhelming task of raising these 5 children that God has blessed us with and I can only acknowledge that I cannot do it on my own.  I am continually learning that it is always best to put God in control and not try to manage and do it on my own.  I am taking one day at a time, actually...one hour at a time right now! 
My kids are loving their baby sister.  In fact, she is like a new toy that they cannot get enough of...especially Wills and Kate.  But, they are all really sweet with her.  She is a very fiesty little girl who can hold her own.  She is also a screamer, which we are working on!  It is quite a high pitched squel, that, to be honest, hurts ALL of our ears!  
She has adjusted to being in our family beautifully.  Her smile lights up the room. 
I am so happy to finally be home with her....

I AM as tired as I look in this picture!

 Wills feeding Avery her yogurt!

Hip Hip Hooray--we are on our way~

I can hardly contain my excitement...we will begin our journey back home tomorrow!  We are more than ready (not really for the 15 + hour plane ride) but so ready to be home.  To be with our kids.  To see our family.  To sleep in our bed.  It has been a long trip.  A good trip, but the days have been creeping by slowly as we anticipate coming home to Birmingham.
Today we went to the US consulate and all the paperwork has "officially" been submitted and finished.  We get Avery's passport and VISA tomorrow and once we land in Detroit, she is a US citizen!  yay!
Tonight we took a river cruise.We all enjoyed it.  I dressed Avery in a traditional Chinese dress.  It was beautiful.  The company was good and the scenery beautiful. 
So, we are so thankful for the safety that God has provided on our trip and the amazing opportunity that He gave us...to adopt~  We realize that God is looking for people to just say "yes".  That is all he asks.  It may be uncomfortable.  You may not see the reward this side of heaven, but He just wants you to say Yes to whatever He lays on your heart.  We feel that He laid adoption on our hearts, and although it was difficult at times.  Uncomfortable at times.  Unstable at times.  We chose to say "yes".  And you know what?....I think we are more blessed by Avery than the other way around!
Do you have a heart for the orphan?  We need them, as much as they need us!

This was the entertainment on the cruise...it was hilarious!

She was actually very good and very funny at the same time--if you know what I mean!

 This is a glass of juice being balanced on a fan, which is on a fan, which is balanced on her forehead!

for my kids

This post is for my kids.  We took Avery to the zoo today!  It was actually a pretty nice zoo.  A few habitats were depressing, but overall, we thought it was nice.  It was so unbearably hot though, so we only stayed a few hours.  The highlight for us was seeing the pandas, since Birmingham doesn't have any and the 2 huge elephants that were so close to us.  Avery wasn't too interested in the animals, but she did seem to like the leopards the most.  The weather is very similar to Alabama, the difference is that I would never go the zoo in the snack middle of the day during the summer.  If there had been a pool in sight, I would have jumped in...actually I looked like I had been swimming in a pool...I was so sweaty. 
We are one day closer to being finished here!  Tomorrow, we go to the ACS to take our oath and submit our visa documents.  Thursday, we board the train for a 2 hour ride to Hong Kong and Friday morning we fly out from H.K. to Detroit (15 hours 30 min flight).  If everything is on time, we will arrive in Birmingham on Friday at 5:20 from Detroit. 
Here are some pictures from the zoo....just for you, Wills, Owen, Kate and Gray!

Avery playing with her baby doll before the zoo

Trying to pull up 

In front of the zoo....we did not get to see the carebear today! (or any of the other strange statues they are displaying) 

Very close to the Elephants 

Daddy and Avery 

 Can you find the house cat?  Very strange and gross!

I was so excited to see this....I ended up with way too many pics of the pandas! 

playtime

Today the group had to go to the  clinic to get their kids TB test checked.  Avery did not need a TB test because she is under 2, so Matt and I decided to just hang around the hotel today.  We took Avery to the pool and she is such a little water baby. 
We also spent some time in the "playroom" here at the hotel.  It is basically a tiny room that they have put toys in for kids staying at the hotel.  It is nothing great to us, but Avery thinks it is so fun!  I cannot wait to see her reaction when she gets home and sees all the "stuff" we have accumulated over the years.  I have been pretty good about cleaning out every so often, but it stuff seems to just pile up!
We went to the market today to get a few items for our room...bananas, snacks, etc...the market is quite an adventure.  It is very crowded and there is pretty much ZERO customer service...it is so different that Publix...a little more like Wal-mart, I suppose :)  Not knocking the Wal-mart, as most of our paycheck seems to go there.
We have skyped with our older 3 every morning.  It has been so fun.  I think they really look forward to it before they go to bed.  I am ready to get my hands on all 4 of them though!  Gray is hanging in Atlanta and doing good.  I sure miss seeing him!
I am counting down the days until I get home.  I am just a homebody.  I can handle a week away, but much more (especially without the kids) is too much for me.  You think that time away would be so nice and so relaxing, yada yada yada, and it was doable the first week.  Life just seems so different here.  I think we realize how wonderful it is to live in America and have all the comforts of what we know.  As I get older I seem to get more set in my ways.  I am trying to stay positive, knowing that these 2 weeks are just a blip on the radar, but the "blip" seems to be dragging on right now.  I can make it, I know I can.  I have to, right? 
I have my hands on a precious little girl who I have waited for so long to see.  She is the bright spot of this trip.  My focus is all on her and she is loving it.  Tomorrow we take her to the zoo.  I hope we get to see the pandas, but I think it may be too hot.  We are actually looking forward to seeing her reaction at the zoo...she loves the animal book I brought for her. 
Good night from China and 4 days to go....