A Year Ago Today.....

It's hard to believe that a year ago today we were on a plane heading to China to meet our daughter. How can it possibly have already been a year?


I had no idea what I was getting into.


I had no way of knowing that a year later I would be watching my daughter dance a very silly dance in front of the glass doors while watching her reflection. I had no idea that her favorite thing to do is give kisses. I had no idea that she would have learned to say "Stop it" when she isn't getting her way! I had no idea that she would love shoes so much, and hats, and shorts, and NO shirt. I had no idea that I would have a daughter who loves to eat beets, asparagus, green peas, applesauce, but would decline cookies. WHO KNEW there was a kid out there like that? I had no idea that I would be witness to such incredible temper tantrums when she is placed in the shopping cart and forced to sit still for a few minutes while others are looking at you like you must be beating her.....


I had no idea that I was going to be so blessed. God chose our family for her and her for us. I had no idea that He was so good at His job.


I've felt very nostalgic over the last few days. It doesn't seem possible that the time could have gone so fast, but it always does. Time has a way of just marching on.


I miss China. When I think back over the time there I wish I could have enjoyed the experience more. It was so stressful at the time and I wasn't able to fully appreciate it all. I do hope to go back some day. It pulls at you. There is something about it that you can't get out of your system.


Above all, I had no idea just how much I could love his girl. I look at her and I think about her life so far and about her life ahead and I just can't imagine our lives without her. She is MY daughter. She is my little girl and it's already passing to quickly.

Just a Few Pics

Emma decided to dress herself this afternoon. Don't you love the look?

Playing with baby while sitting on a box. Little does she know that box contains a Christmas present for her. She was very loving with her baby and kept sitting her up and trying to make her do what she was doing.

Wake up baby!

This girl is certainly learning what it means to get her picture made. Look at that smile!
Oh, notice the clothes. She picked it out herself.

Wednesday

My dear first born. He is a sweet child. I love him dearly and can't believe that he is 15 and only has 3 more years in school (well, I'm hoping).


All that being said, the child is CLUELESS.


I have been getting up 30 minutes earlier every morning (meaning 4:30-4:45 a.m.) so that I can get some things done and have a little quiet time before the rat race begins. This morning I actually heard the shower running downstairs before 6:00 a.m. That doesn't necessarily mean that anyone is in it. Brady is notorious for turning it on and letting it run while he does whatever he does in the mornings. However, this morning he was bright eyed and bushy tailed and upstairs on time. Ashton, another story.


I got Emma up at 6:50 and gave her some bacon and Fruit Loops for the road and she was happy. I heard Brady playing the guitar while all this was going on. I yelled downstairs for the boys to come on and decided that Emma and I would just get in the car and wait to see how long it would take. Approximately 7:08 Brady appears at the door, leaning out and yelling to me "Mom, are we going to school today?" I in turn reply, "Well no Brady, Emma and I are just sitting in the car because it's such a nice morning." WHAT IS HE THINKING!!! Of course we are going to school and he makes a mad dash from the house without his shoes on and jumps in the car. "Let's go, just leave Ashton." Ashton finally ambles out at 7:14 a.m. and tells me he can't find any socks. I replied, he replied, he lost his cell phone. Another happy morning was had by all.


Brady was unaware of what time it was. "How am I supposed to know what time it is?" he asked. Well, I pointed out to him that there are at least 8 clocks in this house, not counting the computer and phones and it might be a good idea to actually look at them in the morning. Again I say, the child's main goal in life is for me to have an heart attack before I turn 42. He's well on his way.

Monday Madness

What is it about Monday mornings that are so hard?


We left our house is a huff this morning and I hate to start the day off that way. Brady was mad, Ashton was tired, Emma was mad, I was about to blow my top.....Again, I'm not a big fan of Monday morning.


Emma had to get more shots today but alas we are caught up on our immunizations except for flu. I premedicated her before we left this morning with Motrin and when she saw me coming at her with medicine she put her 2 fingers in her mouth, clamped down and all but refused to open her mouth. It was like wrestling a tiger to get her to take the Motrin. If I hadn't been running so behind it would have been funny and it actually was. Just watching her trying to keep her mouth closed was quite comical. We managed to get the medicine down and were on our way. She tolerated her shots pretty well and we made it back home without too much difficulty.


I managed to run into Kroger before her appointment and snag some of their good triple coupon deals. It wasn't exactly a relaxing shopping trip as Emma was mad that she had to sit in the cart and there were no car carts available. After a good screaming fit down the first couple of isles, she decided to quieten down. This girl is really revealing some personality and it AIN'T so pretty right now.



We had our small group meeting at Brian and Melissa's last night and the little kids had a blast. I managed to get a few shots of them but they were all so busy it was hard to get a good picture of them.


Rory was striking a pose.
Calling all superhero's. Bat girl is on the loose.

Notice the hand in the pocket.

Are you looking for me mom? I'm under here, don't you see me?

I'm sure that no evildoers would want to mess with these guys.

192 items. At long last they were priced and delivered to the consignment sale yesterday.

Our mandatory family picture for our 12 month post placement report. Pretty casual looking...

Off to complete a few tasks before she devil wakes up and it's time to get the boys.

Random Pics..Isn't She Cute

Emma is all about kissing now. She is constantly puckering up her cute little mouth to kiss us. Notice the huge bug bite she had just gotten on the side of her face. She has horrible reactions to bites.


This is one happy girl.

Puckering up with ice cream on her face.

This is the life. Relaxing by the pool.

Me and my favorite guy hanging out in the pool.

WOW. Mom has been holding out on me. These ice cream cones are the BOMB.

I'm not sure what she's doing here.

YUMMY.

My future accountant. As long as they let me go topless and wear my shades, I'm in.

Hope your Saturday was just as nice as ours.

Oh Happy Day....

Emma was busy playing with her doll (well, for about 5 minutes). They were shopping I think. Notice how my child never has on a shirt. The minute she gets up in the morning she starts screaming "off". I do make her wear it in public but she refuses to wear it at home.

These glasses can be such a pain. She wants them propped up on her head and they keep falling off and it makes her so mad.

First of all, let me say that I made the last payment on Ashton's braces today!! Praise the Lord. After 5 years of braces they are officially paid for. He gets them off in September and we will have to buy his retainers, but at long last the monthly payments are OVER.

The other big news of the day is that my husband is actually working on a Friday. He has been off on Fridays all this year and finally he is going back to work today. That's another praise item. I do miss having him home to take the kids to school and pick them up but I'm glad that he may be working full time again soon.

No big weekend news. I have to work tonight and the boys will probably hang out with friends. I have to deliver all of my consignment goods on Sunday after church. I still have to finish up a few loose ends with my pricing and I will be so glad to get it all out of my house.

Have a great weekend.

OH DEER.......

Yes, I do mean DEER. Bo was ambushed by a pretty little deer last night and it left a nice dent in my front passenger side fender. Thanks Bambi. The deer left with nothing but a headache. That's the second time he's been hit by a deer in my truck. The other story didn't have a happy ending.


So, as I suspected, my boys are beginning to move more slowly as the week goes on. The first day we left at 7:03, the second 7:05, today 7:10. I'm seeing a trend.


Ashton is liking his new school okay. He quit band because there were only 14 kids in the 8th grade band and the teacher made you sit in the corner if you misbehaved. HELLO. They are in the 8th grade. HARD LABOR maybe. That was the one sacrifice he thought he might have to make when he changed schools.


Brady seems okay with his schedule. After failing Algebra I last year he now has to take Algebra all year and I am certainly of the mind that he needs that. He's not too thrilled. I'm really hoping that he has learned a very valuable lesson from that experience but I guess time will tell.


Emma has done well with her therapies this week. Yesterday she cried and screamed when sweet Mrs. Jane took her back and today she went willingly. It was so sweet as she walked off she turned around and puckered up her lips for me to kiss her and waved bye. All of the moms in the room melted with a collective sigh. She really is sweet. Of course, she did scream like I was killing her when I made her get in the cart at Target yesterday and again at Kmart today. I'm no big fan of Kmart but I had some time to kill before therapy and I have been looking for some flash cards for Emma and have not been able to find any at Target. Kmart had a great supply and I was thrilled with some other things that I picked up for her to hopefully use those fine motor skills.

Okay, so you all know that I'm all about a good deal. If you don't subscribe to MoneySavingMom

you are so missing out. A daily feed to your inbox and she informs you of all the good deals out there. I went with coupons in hand to Harris Teeter last night for triples up to .99 cents and saved $102.66 in coupons. I'm planning another trip there next week when Emma goes to the doctor. But let me say, my Rite Aid trip was the bomb today. All of the things in the picture above were from Rite Aid.

• My total before taxes and coupons was $38.22
• Coupons were $35.99
• My total OOP (out of pocket) was $6.69 and I will be able to turn in $2.49 for a Single Check Rebate making my total $4.20. The cashier was very excited and kept asking me "how did you do that?" My best deal was the air fresheners that are regularly $12.99 and were on sale for $6.99 and I had $6.00 coupons. Yippee... .99 cents a piece. I'm hoping to make the boys downstairs smell MUCH better.
• My best Harris Teeter deals were: Purity Premium Ice Cream for .97 cents each. (I bought 3, Emma and Ashton love ice cream.)
• Grands Biscuits for .34 cents
• All Detergent $1.97
• Wish Bone Dressing - free
• Betty Crocker Warm Delights - .16 cents
• Shredded Wheat cereal - .35 cents
• Red Baron Pizza Singles - .75 cents
• Luzianne tea bags - .39 cents
• Welchs Grape Jelly - free
• Betty Crocker Supreme muffin mixes - .88 cents.

Okay, so enough about my boring life, but I love getting good deals. Apparently everyone else does because there were a lot of coupon shoppers at HT last night.

I have finally finished pricing the clothes for the consignment sale. I have a few pairs of shoes left and some toys to price and I AM DONE. I hope that I sell everything..... Emma needs fall clothes and this is how I intend to pay for them.

Have a great Thursday.

Where Did A Week Go...

This is Emma's new favorite hat that our friend Malina gave her. She looks like Gilligan in it.

Wearing Ashton's Titleist golf cap while talking on the phone. Are you seeing a trend? The girl loves hats.

A princess cap for eating bananas. Thanks for showing mom that big bite that you took.

This is one very happy little girl. Just give her food and a hat - that's how she rolls.

As hard as it is to believe, SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION. I'm not sure that I was completely ready this year but I suppose that doesn't matter.

Brady went back today and Ashton had a half day yesterday. It's weird this year because Ashton is attending a different middle school and we have to get an earlier start than before. We actually were ahead of schedule this morning and that is certainly a first. Of course the first day of school is always exciting, wait until next week! Reality will set in and they will be dragging themselves out of the house.

I have literally been undercover. Covered up in the many outfits that I'm trying to get ready for an upcoming consignment sale. I have priced over 100 items so far and I am still not finished. I'm completely exhausted with it. For a little girl that came into our lives with only the clothes on her back, my how the times have changed!

Emma is having some difficulty adjusting to the new school routine. She isn't liking getting up earlier and she woke up around 3 a.m. and wanted to go downstairs. She seems like she may be a little confused as to what is going on around here.

Well, I know that I have much more to blog, but I have to get some things done while little miss is napping otherwise it ain't happening:)

Testosterone, Sugar, and Caffeine...Need I Say More

5 a.m. "Mom, can we go swimming now? There's enough light out, we won't get hurt." Forget the alarm, that's what I awoke to.



Ashton and 5 of his friends have been up ALL night. They are jacked up on Mountain Dew, ice cream, brownies, and pizza. Throw in some powdered doughnuts and it's like pouring gas on a fire. At least 3 of them have some sort of practice this afternoon and I refuse to be held responsible for the extra laps they may have to run:)


Wouldn't you love to have enough energy or stupidity to want to be playing basketball at 5 a.m.? Oh for those days.....


So say a prayer for me and Emma. I don't know if we will survive a day with 6 teenagers high on sugar and caffeine.

Think About It - It Will Change YOUR LIFE

RainbowKids.Com is a web site full of information and pictures that will tug at your heart. They have a photo listing of children waiting on their forever families. Sign up for their newsletters and you will get the wonderful opportunity of seeing some of the most beautiful children that God has ever created. It's not an adoption agency but it can put you in contact with an agency if you are interested in adoption.


Even if you aren't interested in adopting, this gives you an opportunity to see the faces of waiting orphans from all over the world and allows you the opportunity to say a pray for them.


Think about it. It will change your life and those prayers can change their lives as well. They are beautiful and they all need just one thing, a family. Can you provide that for them?

Haircut Pics

Emma had her first haircut on Tuesday and you really can't tell much from the pictures that Bo took. Of course, it was like trying to photograph a wild cat, she was moving a lot. She did great however and her hair looks so much fuller in the back. It really has changed her appearance a lot. She looks more like a little girl and not a baby. She loved Mrs. Tisha and she got a candy bracelet that she wasn't too sure about. She managed to break it while we were at Aldi and screamed because I wouldn't let her eat the pieces off of the floor. What a rotten mom I am.



She moved around a lot while Tisha was working on her but she never cried.

This picture was taken before the haircut. Not the best photo, but look at those mischievous little eyes.

We have had Emma 11 months today. WOW! It's hard to believe that it's been that long. What an amazing 11 months. She has come so far and is making such progress. Her new favorite thing this week is to bump elbows with you. I'm not sure where that came from but she will just randomly come up and want to touch elbows together and just smile.

She has really missed Brady this week. She was pretty excited when she saw Daddy's car leaving to go get Brady yesterday. She was eating a banana and saw the car drive out of the driveway and looked at me. I told her that Daddy was going to get Bubba and she opened her mouth so wide (with banana still in place) and her eyes got so big and she said "Bubba" and hopped down to go look outside. It was adorable. She really loves her 2 Bubbas.

Brady enjoyed band camp and managed to come home with a ton of disgusting laundry. I think they marched in the rain everyday so you can imagine how wonderful his clothes smelled.

Another busy week ahead after we survive the weekend. They boys have doctor's appointments, I have a staff meeting, Ashton is having his belated birthday party, Emma has all of her appointments, golf practice, band practice, parent night at school. I'm already tired just thinking about it. No wonder I have such a hard time living in the moment.

I'm pretty proud of my 3 guys. They spent the morning mowing the yard of a friend of Bo's who is down on his luck right now. I hope that my boys learned something from that experience about helping others. They are just like most teenagers, everything revolves around them. I'm anxious to hear their take on the situation and I can assure you, they will be quick to give it.