Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween 2013

 Our traditional carving took place two nights before Halloween.  In the South, pumpkins tend to go south once they have been carved due to the rampant heat that sometimes lingers this time of year.  We carved and carved only for Colin to come as the pumpkin seeds were coming out of the oven - he paused and then asked, "Did you really carve the pumpkins without me???"  Oh dear.  

Back to the store I went to get C his very own pumpkin which, by the way, has still yet to feel the prick of a knife.  P, however, was very pleased with how his turned out! (For the record, C was doing school work and has selective hearing at times)

 Halloween morning began with the annual Boo Basket surprises, a few treats for everyone.

 And then it was photo time....our beautiful peacock....

 and our exquisite Aerial....

 and an original MindCraft Creeper

This guy was an original creation designed by P and handcrafted by Ry along with P's assistance....

With photos well behind us, it was time to set off for some good ole' candy loot....

 Trick or Treat.....

 Our sweet neighbor, Ann.  She always has such fun costumes on and never forgets to bring us sweet treats for special occasions!  

 A photo outtake....MK can be so photogenic.  And then there are the silly moments.

 Peacock radiance

 The great candy swap

Halloween 2013 proved to bring in a change for our family.....no C dressing up and dashing from house to house with us.  Instead, he made his way over to a friend's house where they all did a last minute costuming and hit the neighborhood together....

An Update

1. An update on where we are in the process to adopt our baby girl.....we are currently sitting and waiting.  It has been almost two months since our paperwork left our hands and made its way into the hands of the adoption affairs office in China.  Each month, though we missed the cutoff to be considered for the September list, a new list is released from China with available children.  There are always children waiting to be matched but we are requesting a baby girl, under the age of 2, with a minor/correctable special need, and these children are hard to come by.  Our agency has stated that we could likely wait up to six months.  Though we hope and pray this is NOT the case, we are settling into this lull and soaking up life as we know it for the time being.  
2. An update on fundraising....this is the first adoption we have fully funded through grants and fundraising.  We are so happy to report that we are down to what we hope will be the final stretch in our fundraising attempts - TROT TO ADOPT 2014.  This will occur in January.  We are one of three fabulous families, two adopting from China and one adopting from Ethiopia, participating in this fundraiser!  This will be the fourth annual trot and we look forward to spreading the word on adoption in our community!  
3. An update on the name of our little one....it changes DAILY.  Hourly some days.  I love the name Meryn.  But then there is Mary-Gentry.  And I love the family history with the name Mary-Gentry.  Mason-Kate says it is soooo boring being the only one in the family with a double name....her vote is, of course, for Mary-Gentry.  And so goes the naming....
4. And, drumroll please, who is going to China???  Each time we have adopted,everyone reacts with their initial, "Congratulations!" and then they move right into, "Now, are the children going with you to China?" We are preparing as if they will all go.  Again, the realistic part is that we do not have any one or two people who we feel are going to be able to keep all four children together for 2 1/2 weeks.  Our parents are long out of the stages of running to and fro from piano to multiple practices to ballet to youth while keeping in line with feeding them three times a day plus making sure they are bathed and showered with their teeth brushed before reading them night time stories only to go to bed and wake up bright and early again to do it all over again.....I am tired just typing that and I left out the schooling part, the children are with us 24/7....school is done at home so there is no time for an afternoon nap before the bus appears!  Ryan helps so much and we make a great team when doing all of the above together.   Separating them is out of the question.....little Maddox would not know what to do without all of the above....and MK would not know how to live without Pryce - she adores him and looks forward to each and every moment they spend together.  We want to take everyone to meet our baby girl and sister.  We are trusting that this will be possible.  

And, so, that is all for now on the adoption front....we are gearing up with excitement as we watch our friends travel to meet their baby boy in Ethiopia!  And right behind them, we will be THRILLED to see little Jonah come home - his mommy has waited too long for the moment she will become a mother!  

2013 Fall Fun

Pumpkin Patch 

The children made a specific request that we go a bit earlier this year.....it seems as though we are always the family that is out selecting their pumpkins on the eve of Halloween:/

 Colin makes friends with just about anyone....

 These four....the sun is too bright, but they stuck it out.....

 This guy....oh how I have LOVED watching him play football this season, his first season ever of football.  Admittedly so, I was a bit fearful of the whole idea.  However, he has loved every single minute of it....the tackling being his most favorite part - eeeek! 

 A little ray of sunshine....she is every bit the age of four, sometimes running from the camera and other times begging me to take her picture!  

 And my boys are all boy....the pumpkin patch used to be a quiet, nice family fun event - and then enters a teenage boy and a pre-teen boy - .....our trip this year turned into a three ring circus, the boys being in the first ring tossing a baby pumpkin back and forth....this does not bode well with the pumpkin patch managers in case one is wondering.  

 MK is all about some serious hoola-hooping fun and cartwheeling her way through the yard....

 "Hey Maddox, lets do the same thing!"  

 I loved taking these random photos of the girls....

 Maddox is actually watching our neighbor's dog through the fence.....

 And the highlight for MK this week - JEANS.

Yes, we actually purchased a pair of, gasp!, jeans.

She has been making her request for "real" jeans, aka no ruffle leg and must have real pockets, for quite sometime now and she could not be more happy with her first pair.  Sigh.