Thanksgiving 2008

For as many years as I can remember, my family always did the same thing every Thanksgiving. My mom, sister, brother and I packed up the car on Wednesday evening, drove to my maternal grandparents house, ate waffles for dinner and then visited with everyone until bedtime (my dad would always join us later in the evening). On Thanksgiving Day, everyone woke up to a big breakfast, watched the Macy's Day Parade on tv and got ready to go to the "country", aka my paternal great-uncle's farm, located in the middle of nowhere SC. Our "country" Thanksgivings continue to be a hit. Everyone who is anyone on my father's side of the family is present for the feast. 2008 was no exception. There were over 100 people present on the farm. Most of the 100+ had never met MK so the day was a bit overwhelming for her. She took it all in and even shared a few hugs with some chosen ones. She loved feeding the goats and having her Pop help her jump off of the haystacks. My boys were in heaven as they jumped from haystack to haystack, played football, fed the goats and ate whatever they pleased. My grandmother, Nannie to all of us, was present. She is 88 years old. As we drove from our afternoon in the "country" to Ryan's family's gathering, I thought about how thankful I am to have had the opportunity to really know each one of my grandparents into my adult life. I love that my children have grandparents and a great grandparent in their lives to share with them about their own life experiences....I learned from mine and now my children are learning from theirs. Later we arrived at the Drafts' family gathering.....Thanksgiving is normally the only holiday when Ryan, his three siblings and all of the nieces and nephews are present under the same roof with his parents. It is a special time for us to be with them. Ryan is the baby of the family. His siblings were all in their teens when he was born. It is always fun to hear a good "little Ryan" story when we are with them. After our day was done, we were driving home and I realized that it was this time 13 years ago that Ryan and I first met....how time flies when you are having fun. I hope that all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!


Tisdale Family / Drafts Family
(a small portion of the 100+ crowd)

A surprise trip to cousin Glenn's firestation!

Pryce says "Life is Good" -

hangin with his two cousins Lauren and Olivia

Looking Back - Fall 2007

With the holidays arriving right before our eyes, I am reminded a lot of where we were as a family this time last year. It was during the later Fall days of 2007 that our hearts and minds began to think beyond what we had planned for our future. Meaning, we had been planning since April 2006 that our family of 4 would become a family of 5 through adopting a healthy baby girl from China. Last Fall we decided that maybe we could step outside of the box, think larger. I woke up early one Saturday morning and diligently typed our application online for our agency's waiting child program. I selected an age range, I selected several medical conditions I thought our family was equipped to handle, I answered questions about nearby hospitals, I wrote about the steps that Ryan and I would take as parents of two bio little boys in helping them to adjust to a child with special needs, I read over every word that I typed, I retyped some words, and then I hit SEND. Our application to adopt a waiting child had been sent and it was time for us to sit back and wait. After all, that is what you do when adopting, you wait and then wait some more. So, we waited. Not so long after, my niece came to visit for a few nights....she had just turned 3. To me, she was a baby. The boys were so much bigger and could do so much more than she could. So, I called the agency after Emma left and I talked with our Waiting Child coordinator. I told her that maybe we would like to consider a toddler.....our original age range had been 0-18 months but I thought we could branch out and make that age preference 0-2 years. She said great, she would make that note on our application. As we were saying our goodbyes, I said that I hoped she would have a great holiday season. Her reply was "I am sure we will be talking before then." HMMMM. I honestly had no idea about what was to come our way during the 2007 holiday season.

Colin's Travel Story

I'll never forget one spring morning in March, the day I went to China. It was the most exciting day in my entire life! We spent two hours on the road telling jokes and listening to music. We ate donuts for breakfast, then we finally made it to the airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Once I got inside, my mouth dropped open. I had never realized how busy an airport is! We put our suitcases on a conveyer belt, then we went through security. Thank goodness we were all good! After that, we got on the airplane. It was pretty loud! I was sitting right next to the engine. The flight was 1 hour long, but we finally landed in Detroit, Michigan. We went through security again, and then we got on a 747-400.

Once we got on, it was take-off, then PARTY. It was a 12-hour flight, but it was still fun. I borrowed a laptop from my cousin, so my brother and I watched movies. When my brother fell asleep, I turned the movie off and turned my Nintendo DS on. I played it until it was time for breakfast. After breakfast, we landed in Tokyo, Japan. We went through security again, and then we got on an A-320.

When we got on the A-320, I looked at the seat. TVs! It was a 3-hour flight, but my brother and I had Alvin and the Chipmunks to watch on the way. When we landed in Beijing, China, I was a little sad. I had so much fun on the planes!

More Colinisms

This morning Pryce came into my room bright and early to announce to me that life isn't fair. Colin comes in behind him and announces "yeah, well, Pryce, life isn't always a free ride!".....then as I was preparing breakfast for them, I said that something didn't look right. A squinting Colin says "if you squint, it looks real good"....so I asked him where he is getting these little phrases from and he says tv, of course.

Moms Gone Wild

Moms Gone Wild was the theme of our weekend adventure to the beach. My three girlfriends and I were fortunate enough to get away for a weekend in Charleston. We shopped, we laughed, we shopped some more, ate too much and continued to laugh. It was a lot of fun! The children had a great time with Ryan. I must say that I felt a little bad about leaving him with THREE children to man for one whole weekend, but he did a great job....he even got the bows appropriately placed in MK's hair, he taught Mason-Kate to ride a tricycle, he took the children to a birthday party, they went out to eat, they went to church and they even got to watch a little football in their spare time. My girlfriends kept asking if Ryan ever offers classes on how to be a good husband. He cooks, he cleans, he does homework, he gives baths....he is just a wonderful husband. So with Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I am thankful for him and all that he adds to our lives!



Over the weekend, Pryce created his "office" complete with a window view. MK decided to borrow it for some personal computer time.....

Checking In

We have had a great week thus far! Colin started us all off on a positive note Monday when he invited us to attend his Third Grade performance at school. He made his speaking debut and did a wonderful job. My favorite part was watching his little head bob up and down to the beat of the music as he sang. He is quite the musician! We were very excited, too, to have all 4 grandparents attend. As I put Colin to bed that night, he said "Mom, I am glad that Gran, Pop, G-Mom and G-Dad were all able to come see my performance. Did you see my big smile on stage? I smiled because everyone was there to watch me. I would have cried if they had not been there." He can be so sweet! Pryce continues to amaze us with what he is learning at school. He has been using such big words lately and I am sure he thinks I am crazy because I am forever saying "Pryce, where did you learn that?" School, of course. It is just so refreshing to see him excited to learn. Mason-Kate was described as a "spitfire" by her teacher at school on Tuesday. Hmmmm. The word that we hear most often out of her mouth lately is "MINE!!!" Despite the use of possessive, toddler words, she continues to be such a joy in our lives. My favorite thing lately is feeling her playing with my hair. I have always loved running my fingers through her hair when I read to her or when I soothe her or when I am just holding her. She has obviously picked up on this. Now when I pick her up, she will wrap her arms around my neck and twirl my hair. My three children are all such little blessings and I am so glad to be their mom.

Conversation with MK

We were all in MK's room after she had been playing outside with Ryan and the boys. I am thinking it was all a set up but here is the conversation.....

Mommy: Mason-Kate, is daddy a beast?
MK shakes her head no and has a little sly grin on her face.
Mommy: Mason-Kate, is mommy a beast?
MK shakes her head yes and laughs, hard.
Mommy: Oh my goodness, MK, is mommy really a beast? (I was laughing a tiny bit)
MK: Smiles, laughs and shakes her head with an affirmative yes.
Mommy: Is Finley a beast?
MK: Shakes her head no.
Mommy: Mason-Kate, is mommy really a beast?
MK: Shakes her head yes, continues laughing.
Mommy: Is Pryce a beast?
MK: Shakes her head no.
Mommy: Is Colin a beast?
MK: Says "Yeah"
Mommy: Do you love your mommy?
MK: Big grin followed by her infamous "Yeah"

Thank goodness for the love.