Tuesday, Pryce went up to bat for his first game of baseball season!  And while he was at bat, he swung hard at the first ball pitched his way, and hit it out of the park!  Almost.  It hit the fence and while it traveled, so did P - all the way around every.single.base!  HOMERUN for P!  We were so excited for him!  And his teammates were ecstatic too - they all came onto the field to congratulate him before playing out the rest of the game.  LOVED this moment for P!

Maddox is a sweet girl, inside and out.  She loves her sweet food.  Silly me sometimes questions this....for example, she walked into our kitchen early Saturday morning and asked in her sweet, sing-song voice, "Mommy, can I have a brownie?  Please."  And my response?  "No, but you can have a donut."  I set her up for her love of sweets.  The end.

Colin was the man on Saturday.  Our family joined in on our neighborhood yard sale to help earn additional funds for our adoption.  Only, we waited and waited and waited while no one came our way.    We had an idea and asked C to go stand at the end of our street and dance around with a big neon sign. Oh.my.word.  Traffic jam began and did not end for several hours.  And they all commented on the "teenager with the sign" who caught their eye!  We sold most of our items and were very pleased with Colin's help!

MK continues to thrive in school - spelling and math tests galore, story writing, and reading books from front to back....the girl is good!  I had to laugh this week when she recounted an event that took place during her time in school.  There is a child who gets in trouble more often than not.  MK is always so proud of him and excited to tell me when this little guy actually has a good day, ie, stays on green and doesn't have to go to the office.  Well, lo and behold, little man had an issue last week and had to go sit in another classroom for the afternoon.  MK was sharing this with me and I asked, "How do you feel when he gets in trouble? "  And she got the most disgusted look on her face and said, "Ewww, he licked my whole pencil momma, how would you feel?"  Agreed.  YUCK.

And not to leave #5 out.....we are ALMOST to our match goal of $10,000!!!  This is amazing and truly God!  Many have asked if we have to do everything over - yes, unfortunately, we do.  And many have asked if we have a name.  No.  We are struggling a bit on this one but we know the perfect name will be found hopefully sooner rather than later.  And where will we put her?  Well, that is up in the air.  Our neighbors are empty-nesters so we are negotiating with them.  Kidding.  We have plenty of room and will figure it all out.  Our girls are so excited to have a new little sister and our boys are busy trying to figure out how they can swing getting their own rooms out of this transition.  Not.gonna.happen.  But, alas, everyone should have a dream.

An apple a day keeps the frowns away:)

 Or, rather, in this little one's world, lots of chocolate each day keeps the frowns away:)

 The ill-fated night when the flu hit....but we did have a lot of fun with these guys prior to the bottom dropping out!

 Maddox LOVED using the flashlight to hunt for eggs and then it was even more fun to spy the treasures she found in her loot!

 Pryce's bed for 8 days straight.  

 We managed to dye a few eggs though you will note that one guy is missing - he was in bed at this point and could bear the thought of getting up.

 The girls were very intent on watching the color changes on their eggs.  

 Easter morning 2013.  For a few moments, everyone was up and running.

 MK lost her first tooth and she was was thrilled.  A few days later, she lost another.

 Our nephew/cousin Jay is enjoying his season of baseball.  We got to enjoy watching him on the field this weekend.  He was johnny on the spot when the ball was hit into play.  

 After a morning of baseball and a pizza lunch, it was off to spend some time at the lake with cousins and grandparents....

 a little jet skiiing (yep, in pants no less!)

 a little boating, tubing and swimming....

and a whole lotta fun!  P deemed it the "best day of my life yet!"  

Mental pictures of the week.....

Maddox, her face quite unsettled as she took her first dip in the pool.  Not sure if she was ready to cry or if she was just about to squeal in delight.  Either way, she looked cold.  But, she loved it and played until her tiny little body could play no longer while shivering uncontrollably.

MK lost another tooth.  I love a good toothless grin.  She was so excited to write the tooth fairy a note all by herself requesting that she be allowed to keep her tooth.  Not sure what her plans are for the tooth, but the TF obliged her request AND gave her money.  Lucky girl.

Pryce.  I wish, wish, wish that I had been a fly on the wall (or his shoulder?) as he walked the Augusta National with one of the young men (ack, my age creeps up on me!) I grew up babysitting for.  His first Masters tournament day.  What a privilege.  And he had many a story to share with us - his favorite being that he met the uncle of the 14 year old Chinese golfer.....and he rubbed elbows with Dustin Johnson....and he saw Tiger.....and Freddie Couples....and he scored a sharp looking hat....and two bar-b-cue sandwiches....his day was one he will not forget, ever.  So happy for him.

Colin.  If ever there is a day that C claims he never learned how to clean, he is not telling the truth.  This guy helped me so very much while preparing our home for Masters guests.  He cleaned bathrooms and vacuumed and folded laundry and made the beds.....I know I am missing something.  He was my right-hand man.  So thankful for him and his helpful spirit.  I had to laugh, when at the end of our work, I took him to get yogurt.  An old  Michael Jackson song was playing on the radio and I told C I would give him $5 if he could tell me who the artist was.  First guess, Michael Jackson.  Ack, I was out $5.  I asked him how in the world he knew that and he responded, "Well, it was an educated guess.  I just thought of a dead singer and he was the first one who came to mind."

So thankful we are all back together again!

Finally, for the most part, we are all better.  Cough, cough, oh the nagging, won't-go-away-for-anything cough.  But better.
It all began the Thursday prior to Easter.  Pryce was the first victim to fall.  And, me, being the ever so attentive mother that I am, told Pryce to stop complaining and go outside and get some fresh air.  His complaint about being tired was not one I was up to hearing.  And, bless him, he went outside and played.  And then he came back, laid on the couch, and that is when I knew - and that is when the fever was first discovered.  And so I chalked it up to the onset of a cold, fever is typical with a cold for P.  And on Friday when he was still running a lowish temp, I still chalked it up to a cold.  And we had friends over for a flashlight Easter egg hunt.  And when they had all gone home, P's temp spiked for the first time.  That was Friday.
Saturday, P still didn't feel well and he still had a temp and the story began to unfold - our friends that he had been with on Wednesday tested positive for the flu on Thursday, the day he fell ill.  And Saturday afternoon, C started with a temp.
And on Sunday, I started.
And it just wasn't pretty.  No appetite.  Miserable headache.  My ears were POUNDING.  The boys were running temps so high that we were having to give them Motrin and Tylenol at the same time to make it go down a degree....
And in the midst of it all, I thought it would be a fabulous idea to get our carpets cleaned.  Huh?
And then the girls got sick.  And Ryan.  Thankfully, their version was much easier to tame than ours.
Alas, I am happy to report that we are all well.  Still coughing, but much, much better.

Getting Married?

Because I am sick, I have spent a lot of time in the bed....the boys each have a couch, MK has been in school, and Maddox has been at preschool most mornings.  Today, however, was Maddox's day off so she spent her day where she likes to be most - right beside me.  She has hugged me and kissed me and told me to get better over and over and over in the sweetest voice ever.  Then, out of the blue, she was rubbing my face and she looked straight into my eyes with this more mature voice than usual and said, "When I grow up, I am going to get married.  You do know that, right?"  Thankfully, Ryan came in and said that Maddox has been telling him that she is going to grow up and marry him!  Phew.  Glad she has a good pick in mind;)

***$10,000 Matching Grant Challenge

****Matching Grant Challenge****

We were informed last week that a $10,000 matching grant has been set up for our adoption!  If you’d like to help bring our daughter home, you can use the donate button on the right.  Every dollar you donate will be doubled, up to $10,000!

Someone is missing and we can't wait to get her home forever!  Won't you help?  Have you ever stopped to think about how much a couple of dollars can effect a life?  What if I told you that $2 could change the life of one little girl with special needs in China? If 5,000 people gave $2, our match would be met and 2/3 of our adoption would be paid for! Amazing! Will you spread the word by posting our link on Facebook or Twitter or emailing your friends?  We thank you for your help!

**In addition, if you would like to purchase raffle tickets, please use the donate button on the right and write the amount of raffle tickets you wish to purchase in the comments section.  Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $25.  Drawing will be held on Saturday, April 27, and the winner does not need to be present to win! We will fill your tickets out and send a confirmation email to you!  All proceeds from our Ipad Mini raffle will go towards our matching grant as well!  

Let the paperwork begin!  Being down and out with the "illness" has allowed me some time to get started on our adoption paperwork - so excited!  Maddox sat with me all afternoon and we talked about her baby sister and China....then she would notice that I needed some rest and she would rub my face and say, "It's ok mommy.  I will fix you."  Precious.