Christmas 2014

The Christmas season is in full swing in our home and the traditions continued this week beginning with our gingerbread houses....

 our sweet neighbors joined in on the fun....

 we had a boy house turned drizzle castle....

 and a little one who was busy taking candy from the decorating supplies....

 I love the differences between boys and girls....our boys were all about decorating the house as a whole while the girls were busy assigning specific walls on the house that each girl was responsible for placing the candied goodies on....

 a friend gave the girls some goodies this week....Maddox is all about some good dress-up attire!

 Even during schooltime, the dress-up fun isn't left out....

The girls have been practicing their Nutcracker dance routines and we were given the opportunity to watch in the classes....Maddox tends to get a bit shy in these situations.... 

 but our MK was in full shine mode!

 She was so proud to show us her candy cane dance....

 even after an afternoon of visiting the orthodontist and getting her palate expander positioned in, she was still smiling!

 Friday evening our family volunteered during a Steven Curtis Chapman concert....we received a grant for Maryn's adoption through his organization, Show Hope.  We were thrilled to have an opportunity to assist in making more people aware of the children who wait to come home forever.

In addition to SCC, we danced the night away to Brandon Heath and Third Day.  Maddox said, "Mom, this is the best rock concert ever!"  

Nutcracker 2014

It's a tradition....one that we began four years ago....

 a group of ballet friends and their mamas all get seating together and the girls are in awe as their teachers twirl and dance below onstage....

 it is always a load of fun and the cherry on top is when we go out for dessert afterwards!  This year the mamas may have been having a little too much fun for their biggest girls!  MK and her friend, Claire, were both fast asleep long before we arose from the table to go home!  

(Fun fact:  Claire's daddy grew up with Ryan....how fun that the girls will grow up together as well!)

 Even with our late night out, no one in the house could possibly forget the German Christmas tradition of putting out shoes for St. Nicholas to fill....a few goodies were left and all was well in the home....

 The next evening we had some adoption buddies over....the best part about this evening was having our newest little adoptee join us - Miss Anna is fitting in nicely with her forever family and Maryn is pretty fond of her too!  Also, we had a family over from church that has just begun the process to adopt a baby girl from China....so excited to be on this journey with them!

 Our girls wanted curls so curls were made....of course, Maryn asked for curls too but had to settle for a bow only....

 this pretty girl is growing up....

 and she loves the role of big sister - most of the time!

 Poor.sweet.girl.  

After spending our morning watching my most favorite Christmas play, A Christmas Carol, the children and I did our annual trek to the mall to do a meet-and-greet-and-picture with Santa....

 though Maryn was less than thrilled at first, she settled in and we got a good shot....so thankful for my boys and their willingness to take part in the photo!

 Radio Shack and Claires....the boys went one way and the girls went the other....and below is what happened!

 these girls are too much!

 We were blessed to have our 24 middle and high school homeschool co-op kiddos over for an evening of fun and games.....

 gifts were exchanged and the reindeer-made-with-panty-hose-and-balloons were made....and a bit of noise was made which may or may not have disturbed our neighbors - oh dear!  Such joy it brought to my heart to have these guys in our home for the evening.....I love the friendships/relationships that these kiddos have with one another.  They do life together and it is glorious picture to see firsthand.  

 Another Christmastime favorite is our day with Emma and Aunt Nellie....Emma and MK spent the morning painting together while my sister Kellie and I took on the town for some shopping adventures!  

 And then there was today.....so thankful for these girls and their giddiness as we ventured out to see our first ever singing Christmas tree production at a local church.  It was fabulous!  And in true Drafts form, ice cream was had by all following the show!

Clarks Hill Christmas Tree Farm

The Christmas traditions began this week with our annual visit to Clarks Hill Christmas Tree Farm....

The children were so excited to share this time with Maryn....

and she was thrilled to be on this journey....exploring is a favorite adventure of Maryn's!

Our oldest and youngest....I adore this picture for so many reasons.  Maryn squeals, "Col-win....Col-Col!" often and his face lights up!  

TREE HUGGGGG!....

After finding the perfect tree, it was off to the cafe for a few Christmas treats....

Maryn wasted no time at all digging into her Christmas cake,

while Maddox opted for boiled peanuts!

Then it was game-on.....hide-and-go-seek!

Maddox found a comfy, hidden spot and even sipped on her Sprite as she waited to be found....

Anything wrong with this tree?  Why, yes!  Two trunks???

Evidence of their growing up....just under 6'!  CRazY! 

Thankfully, this guy has a few more inches to spare - though he is not too far behind his brother.

This girl keeps growing too!  

And this one....she grew four inches this past year!  And she grew and grew in her spunkiness too!

Little bit was all about taking a picture in front of the tree so long as she did not have to give up her cake to do so!  

With full bellies, tired legs and a tree tied to the top of our car, we drove to our new home to begin the decorating!  

We are so thankful for our family - our five children are our hearts and we cherish every minute we are given with them.  I was so pleased to hear them all saying, "We always go to the Christmas tree farm the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving - it's tradition!" and "Let's listen to Christmas music!  Please!"  (No begging needed!)

We began our traditional reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever on Monday.  I am pretty sure that though they do enjoy this tale, I am the one who LOVES this particular treat each year!  

Our nice-and-naughty-at-times elf, Matthew, made his debut December 1....he has been up to his usual antics and the children all get a kick out of seeing what this little guy has gotten into during our slumber.

Yes, the Christmas season is in full swing and we are embracing each moment while remembering the true reason for the season!  

Today we celebrate five months home with this little girl!  She is the squishiest little bundle of love and we all adore her.  

Five months home meant it was time for our social worker to visit to assess how our post-adoption phase was going....she asked what our biggest adjustment has been and Ryan's wit shown with is candid response of, "Well, four, five, what's the difference?!  The biggest adjustment for us has been where is everyone going to sit in the van!"  I agree.  

Many have asked what her "special need" is.....she was labeled "delayed development" but MK said it perfect the other night when she exclaimed, "I think she needed our family!"  True.  And we needed her.

She talks and sings and jumps and dances and climbs and runs and rides toys as well as scooters....she is always on the heels of her big sisters!  She still has a bit of anxiety with the nursery at church but calms quickly. She has a love/hate relationship with her hairbows - she asks for them to be put in but they are always pulled out before the day ends!  She participates in occupational therapy each week and is meeting all of her goals - taking her clothes off, putting her shoes on, climbing up and down stairs, coloring, lacing, etc....she is doing all of this and so much more.  For this, we are thankful!   

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving 2014 was spent on my great-uncle's farm, the same farm that I grew up going to each year when I was young.  My parents were overjoyed to spend the day with all three of their children and spouses as well as their ten grandchildren....not to mention the added bonus of the remaining 100ish family members also present for the big annual feast.  

 In what has become true-Maryn form, she pranced right around the farm as if she had known it for her entire life....she explored and greeted everyone even letting several people hold her from time to time.  This is a true testament to just how attached she is, how she has come to know trust, and how peaceful she is in her new life with her forever family.  It has been five months and this little one is thriving.  MK often says, "Mom, I know we got the right one...." and the end of the sentence will be with another reason why Maryn is a perfect fit to our family.  She is a gift to us all.

 Cousins, I love that these three adore one another.

 Maddox kept asking, "Are you serious that we are going to a REAL farm?  Like a FARM?"  She was in all of her Maddox glory running from the cotton fields to the tractors to the barn....and eating her weight in every desert that could be found along the way.  

 My sweet Nannie turned 94 on November 5.  She has been a bit under the weather and we have all worried about her health while keeping a watchful eye on her.  We were so thankful to see her quite spry during our afternoon visit and her smile lit up the room when we all arrived!  She loves Thanksgiving and we loved getting to see her on a day that means so much to her!

 These two are quite the team.  Maddox loves for my dad to play "Horse Bite The Corn" with her.....the giggles are neverending.  This game is something my grandfather used to do with us and the reaction was always the same - laughter!  

Post-farm, we visited with Ryan's family for a bit, ate more goodies, and then it was time to head home....on our way home, we made an impromptu stop at Target....the children were all tired yet excited to experience a little of the Black Friday madness.....thankfully we were not really into shopping for the deals but more into getting what we needed and heading home for a good nights rest!  

A fabulous Thanksgiving indeed!

Catching Up

We began our month of November with the sweet homecoming of Anna!  We have prayed Anna home for months and we were filled with joy to see her as she walked off of the plane with her family!  Absolutely precious....

Dates with two of my girls are always fun....this date was to see Dolphin Tale 2!  This green-tongued beauty is a prime example of what can happen when you allow your five year old to eat a Fun Dip in the dark - eek!

Brrrr!  It has been especially cold in our neck of the woods!  The children all know that when the going gets cold, the cold get STARBUCKS hot chocolate.  Fun, spur of the moment outing with all of my kiddos....

Homeschooling is made so much more possible with the loving support of our co-op friends!  

MK got a blue ribbon on art night!  She was so proud and we were too!

Orphans no more!  So thankful for our adoption group!  We were more than pleased to have our friends over for our first adoption gathering in our new home!  Great memories!