Beach Weekend

In the interest of still trying to catch up (and I'm not happy that it's a post-a-month going on here), I'm going to spread our September activities out a little more. The highlight of the month was our quick overnight trip to Destin Beach in Florida with Mindy and Blake. Both Mindy and I had husbands out of town, so we decided to surprise the kids with a trip to the beach. Mine hadn't been since we went to Jacksonville, FL back in January, so this was a real treat!

We let the kids have a sleep over at Mindy's house the night before, and in the morning the kids were treated to a big breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon. Not the norm at my house, so my kids now think Mindy is a domestic goddess. I'll let them keep thinking that, so she's the one they go to for sleepovers.

We did not tell the kids we were going to the beach, so Merrilee and Jacob were pretty upset about missing their soccer games Saturday morning. Jacob was especially worried and when I told him we had a surprised planned that was even better than soccer, he was skeptical. It was initially kind of funny the way he worried that he was missing the game, but as the trip wore on it was a little less entertaining. Fortunately, he came around once he found out it was the beach.

We stayed at a hotel within walking distance to the beach, and everyone was eager to get in the sand once we got there. We made the kids have a quick sandwich first, then headed out. We had a wonderful time, but we all agreed time went too fast. We headed back to the room to clean up and change for dinner, went to Joe's Crab Shack to eat, and then took our exhausted crew back to the room for bed. They had way too much fun bouncing around and we thought they'd never get to sleep, but the excitement of the day finally overcame their enthusiasm and they zonked out.

We had so much fun, and I am convinced we need to make this an annual thing. But one day is just not enough. At least a weekend is required to really get the right amount of sand between our toes. And the fact that women can talk and laugh way late into the evening makes a best friend weekend all the more fun!

August--Cardiologists and Curricula

August kept us busy with finishing up summer fun and sliding back into another school year.  We had some summer rain, although we still have not gotten out of drought status. It was a very dry year and every bit of rain was welcome.  Katie Mei especially knows how to take advantage of the wet stuff, and it's always a joy to me to let her play in it.

We also had to take her to Atlanta for a heart catheterization.  At her appointment in June she had lower oxygen levels and had been more cyanotic than usual, so she was scheduled for the procedure in August.  Once we got up there she had a very thorough echocardiogram and after consulting with her cardiologist Dr. Mahle, the attending cardiologist decided she was doing well and did not need the heart cath at that time.  Her oxygen levels were back up and she did not have any complications or symptoms that made it worth the risk of having a cath.  So we were happy to be able to pack her back up and take her home.  It was  a long trip for an echo, but it was so worth it!

While Katie Mei was with us in Atlanta, Merrilee and Jacob stayed with Mindy and had the time of their lives!  Mindy is more fun than Mom, and they got to enjoy doing a few things they don't get to do with me.  Case in point:

There's no shopping cart riding with this mean mom!



Merrilee and Jacob spent the night with Mindy, and woke up to this:

And since Mindy likes to cook breakfast instead of throwing a box of cereal at her kid, my children were also treated to a hot meal.  They even got to help cook it!  I'm so blessed to have someone in my life who loves my kids as much as I do.  It's also nice that they absolutely adore spending time with her.  I couldn't have asked for a better best friend!

Thank you, Mindy, for taking such good care of my kids!

And as for serious business, we attempted to jump into the school year at the beginning of August.  Since I knew we were going to lose a couple weeks of school in October due to travel to China, I wanted to start early.  So we began on August 2.  The kids have been doing great, although I think their stamina has outlasted mine.  I still tend to have a hard time getting motivated some days, but we get through.  Jacob and Merrilee are sharing some classes such as science, ancient world history, and Latin.  For all their other subjects, Merrilee is doing 4th grade work and Jacob is doing 2nd grade work. And Katie Mei is now a Kindergartner!

How Far Behind Am I???

I am not sure how I got two months behind on this blog.  I was distracted this summer.  That's all I can say.

We spent most of the summer just hanging out and swimming, and it went too fast.  But it was so hot that this year I can honestly say I am glad to feel fall in the air.  Tonight it is supposed to get down into the 40s, and it's going to feel so good in the morning.

Just to mention a couple of highlights from July, Katie Mei progressed well with her swimming.  She decided she wasn't going to wear arm floaties anymore, so she put those aside and braved the waters on her own.  She now enjoys being thrown and flipped and comes up smiling.

She also decided it was time to jump off the diving board.  As long as we're standing by, we let her jump and swim to the side.  She's doing great and has learned how to come up for a breath before continuing.  She's not treading water yet, so we don't let her hang out in the deep end, but at least there is a little more confidence that if she falls in she can get to the side.

Jacob had his first sleep over with Mindy's son, Blake, in July as well. The boys had a great time, and even managed to get to sleep before 11 pm, although they had to have a few reminders to keep the noise level down.

July also brought us the exciting news that our newest daughter, Sarah Irene, is able to stand.  She does not appear to be able to do so without support, but we were very excited to get some new pictures of her.  Can't wait to bring both her and Joshua home!

I love these little insights...

...into Merrilee's head.  She really is who she says she is.  She loves the outdoors, and loves the Lord.

Today the two older kids had to get up early and get going for their first day of summer camp at the Flint RiverQuarium.  The theme of the camp is The Wonders of Nature.  Our schedule didn't work out for some of their first choices of camp this summer, but I really think they'll enjoy this one.  Merrilee loves nature, and  her "Exploring Backpack" is filled and ready at all times.  She keeps the backpack hanging in the garage, and I figured it had typical kid exploring junk in it, so I never really paid attention to it's contents.

The backpack itself is a very pretty quilted backpack/purse she received on her 5th birthday from Aunt Paige.  Today, Merrilee had planned to use the backpack to carry her lunch, hat, and a pencil to camp, so she dumped all the bag's contents (including the grass, dirt, and debris) onto the kitchen table, leaving the mess for me.  Since she was supposed to have her name written on the bag, she changed her mind at the last minute and left the bag in place and took her lunch in a paper bag.  When I came home from dropping the kids off, I curiously started to look through what she keeps in the bag.  I loved what I found!

Courtesy of her father's old military stuff, she has an official USMC issue first aid kit, complete with camouflage gauze bandages, Band-Aids, eye patches, and a card explaining how to perform artificial respiration.  She has also added a pencil and Nemo note pad, binoculars, gardening gloves, a bag of camellia seeds probably taken from Grandma's garden, and a treasure map.  Seems like a pretty good collection of junk for an eight-year old's exploring backpack.

But here's the part I liked the best:  her treasure map.

I think this is the only map any of us need.  So easy, even a child can draw it.  And this map always leads to the treasure.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."  Matthew 13:44

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:21

Good News!

We started our latest adoption paperwork back in September last year, had a three month delay due to fingerprint issues, and finally got the dossier logged in to China at the end of April.  That had to be the longest it has ever taken me to get a dossier complete, through no fault of my own.  Now, after waiting 76 days, we have gotten our approvals to adopt Joshua Fu Ning and Sarah Irene Xiao Jie!  Love that I can share photos with you!

Here are three photos of them taken together in May 2011, three photos of Joshua, and three photos of Sarah Irene. We hope to travel in October to bring them home.

Surprise Visit!

For about a month, I had a big secret to keep from Merrilee.  It wasn't easy, since this child manages to pick up on every clue and usually discovers secrets whether she wants to or not.  I had to do my best not to give it away, and a couple of times I thought I might have lost the fight, but secrecy did prevail, and Merrilee had the surprise of her life!

Last year we had planned to have our friends from Maryland, Katie and her three children Walt, Libby, and Annalee, come and visit, but things fell through and we were all so disappointed.  This year I decided to keep it a secret from Merrilee, and Katie and I plotted and planned to make it happen.  We even planned it down to how we were going to take photos when Merrilee answered the door.

The big day came two weeks ago, and sure enough, Merrilee was thunderstruck!  I was afraid she had figured it out because the day before she asked me if Katie and I had made plans for them to visit this summer.  But it was just an innocent question and she never knew.

Merrilee and Annalee were dear friends before we moved, and it was priceless to see them enjoy their time together again.  Merrilee has really missed having such a close friend.

Katie and the kids only stayed for two nights, but we packed in as much as we could.  We took the kids to the aquarium and the zoo, played in the pool for hours, and Merrilee and Libby even attempted piano/harp duets.

Jacob and Walt got to share bunk beds and Jacob really enjoyed having another boy in the house.

Libby also seemed taken with Katie Mei, and even remarked how much she loved feeling like a big sister.

Katie, we already miss all of you all over again, and hope we can do this once again next year.  Thanks for taking the time to come down here and stay with us!

Family Reunion Highlights

Jay has reminded me that I need to update the blog, but I really don't have much to share since school has been out.  The kids and I have been staying at home and swimming in the pool to try and beat the record-setting high temps we've been having here.  This was the temp on my back porch on May 29th.

The highlight of the past month was the impromptu family reunion at Mom and Dad's in South Carolina.  Paige and Allan flew in for a visit from Texas, so Patrick and his kids, and our family of five, all drove out there to enjoy a couple days together.  It has been several years since Patrick, Paige, and I have all been under the same roof, so this was quite a big deal.

The Original Five

Apparently I ended up being the short kid.

And the additional spouses and tax deductions.  We missed Patrick's wife, Becca, who did not join us, but we were very happy to meet their newest daughter, Evelynn, who just turned one.

Merrilee and Katie Mei loved their new little cousin, and spent most of their time playing with her.  Merrilee was absolutely smitten!

Hayden and Jacob had not seen each other in almost two years and it was wonderful to see them get along so well and play together.  Wish the boys lived closer and could spend more time together.

My brother Patrick with Evelynn.

Paige with the girls.

My nephew Pat and Katie Mei battling it out in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe at Olive Garden.  Pat, Jr. just turned 16 and he's growing into a wonderful young man.  I couldn't be more proud of him!  Not to mention, he's great with my kids. 

And finally, Paige's husband Allan holding Evelynn during her little birthday bash.  So glad we could enjoy a re-run of her first birthday.

I hope we can all get together like this more often.  We're all living a little bit closer now that Paige and Allan are in Texas.  The kids all grow up too fast to let too much time go between visits.