With MK sleeping soundly beside him in the car, Pryce said, "I just love Chinese babies." This guy is one of the best two big brothers there are!

China Gathering

Saturday we hosted our first China gathering with our newest member of the family, Maddox. Though only half of our members were present, we had a great time hunting eggs and playing with our very special friends. Maddox loved the entertainment and we learned that she, beyond a shadow of a doubt, LOVES Ms. Shari's chocolate cake! To say that my children love these times with our "China Friends" is an understatement. The minute everyone leaves, they will want to know when we are hosting another gathering.

During our gatherings, we name a dinner theme and ask each family to bring a dish. Saturday night the theme was Mexican. Good Mexican food, oh, how I have missed you! Our Mexican theme was a hit and the food was amazing!

Following our dinner, the children took part in an Easter egg hunt, Maddox's very first one! She was not quite sure what to do but quickly realized that eggs=candy so she decided to join in!

The children were told to collect 11 eggs each. MK, sometimes our little over achiever, collected quite a few more than 11. She was so disappointed when we asked her to return a few to a good hiding spot.

Maddox seems to just take all new experiences with a good nature. She is easy going until you place chocolate cake in front of her or when she gets tired. Aside from those two times, she is all smiles, giggles and laughs. Many have asked how we are adjusting to having four children versus three. I told Ryan last week that even numbers seem to be our thing. When our first child was born, we had to adjust. People said during my pregnancy that our lives were about to change drastically....I realized how true this was when C was born. C was a great baby who was always on the other page. The parenting books would say, "Most babies....." and then you would turn the page and it would say, "However, some babies....." That was our C. From what I remember, he was happy, healthy and full of spirit. He taught us so much about ourselves and our relationship and to cancel our newspaper subscription - we haven't read a full newspaper since his birth! Then came P. P was our child who slept through the night the very first night home from the hospital, he was the child that nursed well, he was the child that I put in the swing to nap even though all parenting books said not to, he was the calming factor, the child that was happy unless he was hungry or wet, the child that just fit and it was, dare I say, an easy adjustment to two children. Then came MK. MK came when we had been out of diapers, out of carseats, out of bottles, out of the baby-stage for quite sometime in our home. Top that all off with her spicy personality and you will find an adjustment period in our home from two to three children. It wasn't her, it was learning how to juggle the sports, the homework, the school volunteering, the bottles, the changing of the diapers - it was life with more than two children and only two parents. And then came Maddox. With Maddox, we are already used to the juggling more than two children with only two parents. We are not too far gone from the diaper stage, we still have carseats, we are homeschooling so there is no homework or volunteering - it just seems to be an almost seamless adjustment if there is such a thing. And she is easy going, just kind of smiles and goes about her day. So, to ask us how life is with four children, we will most likely all respond with a thumbs up!

Oh dear, who made that mess?!

I am sweet and innocent and did not make this mess although the evidence is stacked against me.

Ha! Maybe I did :)

And this is Maddox one month later! She is so much fun and continues to ooh and aah us with her sweet nature and her outgoing little personality....and her curiosity continues to get the best of her, example shown above. We now know not to give Maddox a cup full of milk and walk away, even for a minute. She is such a cutie, though, that taking pictures and laughing with her seemed to be the most appropriate thing to do after her "milk bath!"

This time....

This time, twenty months ago, there was a birth mother who chose life for her baby girl.

This time, last year, our family contacted our agency to adopt.

This time, seven months ago, there was a phone ringing and two very excited parents learned of their baby girl.

This time, one month ago, there was a little girl still waiting for her forever family in China.

This time, right now, there is a little girl, our little girl, who is sleeping peacefully surrounded by the love of her forever family.

Maddox blew her first kiss tonight. The receivers, her brothers. Her teacher, MK. They are all eating her up!

Maddox went swimming for the first time today. She has a complete love for the water!

MK said a prayer the other night with Ryan. She said, "Dear God, please help baby Maddox to grow up soon so we can take her to get her fingernails painted. Amen."

MK has a hurt foot. Tonight, after applying medicine to her infected spot, she said, "Hey, mom, can I please have one of those boo-boo bands?" AKA - bandaids.

Masters 2011

Masters has been our theme this week. When you live in Augusta, you live with the Masters....and you love it!

Ryan and I had a day with the boys. What fun for all four of us! The weather was beautiful, the Augusta National was amazing to see, the sandwiches were scrumptious and the golfing, well, it was different - being that we went during a practice round day, the golfers were, you know, practicing.



Pryce relaxed a bit during the early afternoon.....

Our favorite hole....there aren't many patrons who don't call this one a favorite, especially during practice round days. Here, the golfers will "skip" the ball across the water and attempt to make it to the green all in one shot....sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but always it is fun to watch.

Another favorite during the Masters, the people. This guy was seated in front of us. We thought his hat was very creative....he attached his tickets from previous years. The people you meet from all over the world are so fun to talk to and they all have something to share. It is great fun to meet people of different cultures who are gathered here for a golfing event.

As we were leaving, a kind gentleman offered to take our pic. Loved that we were able to get this shot in front of the leader board.

Little Maddox fell asleep early today and Finley decided to cuddle up with her too! So cute.

Funny Masters quote from MK: "Dad, you mean Holy Macaroni didn't win?"

Ryan: "Holy Macaroni? Who is that?"

Colin: "Dad, she is trying to say Rory Mcilroy!"

What a wonderful blessing it was for our family to be able to celebrate with our friends, the Bullington Family, today when they arrived home with their baby girl, Pearl, from China. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera handy to record the moment :( We were oh so excited to be there to greet them and their precious children! Feel free to visit their blog at www.thebullingtonboard.blogspot.com and read all about their family adventures in China. Maddox and Pearl are destined to be great friends. Maddox was beside herself with little Pearl. She held her hand and rubbed her little arm ever so sweetly. Also, welcome back to Donna and her family at www.myshelbybaby.blogspot.com. Donna and I became friends during our first adoptions together. Since then, Donna has adopted two more little ones from China and plays an active role in advocating for lots of little ones to come to their forever homes! She is amazing.

Following our trip to greet the Bullington family, we decided to make a day of it and visit Ryan's parents, aunts and uncles. This is an easy trip as they all live on the same exact street!

It was great fun and we loved sharing Maddox with them.

She hammed it up with her usual charming self and was all tuckered out when we got in the car to go to our next destination, the pond.

Maddox's first attraction, the lawn mower. She quickly climbed atop of this mower and took to the wheel like it was a long lost friend.

Meanwhile, Ryan taught Fishing 101 to the children.....

MK really wasn't sure what to think about the fish that were being caught....one minute she was excited and the next minute she was a squealing mess because the fish was wiggling...either way, the boys were both thrilled with their catch of the day.

A much needed paddle boat ride....

Ryan took the three older kiddos fishing, all caught a fish, MK caught her very first fish - she even casted out and caught the fish all.by.herself -, and they all enjoyed going for rides in the paddle boat. Meanwhile, Maddox and I stayed nearby watching cautiously for any snake-like creatures that would be/could be lurking around. Thankfully, we did not see any. Maddox did enjoy a bottle pond side and she really liked taking a look around at what nature has to offer. So funny to watch her. She was very careful to touch and she was not at all sure what to think of the horses.

As always, Ryan and I left the pond dreaming of our house that we would love to someday build on this property. So peaceful there....