Our Swimming Sensation

Our swimming sensation was a bit apprehensive going into her big finale.  At the beginning of the summer swim season, MK had her mind set on one thing - "I want to go to that meet that I went to last year that my boys didn't go to."  AKA Allstars. 

 So all season, she worked HARD.  She swam HARD.  And she was very proud to tell others that she swam with the big kids during practice, the only six year old to do so.  She meant business.  And not once did she complain.  

And her hard work paid off.  Out of 190 Freestyle female swimmers, age 6 and under, MK placed number 5!  AND, drum roll, out of 154 Backstroke female swimmers, age 6 and under, MK placed FIRST!  

(It is also good to note that MK placed first in both backstroke and freestyle in our divisional meet that includes four teams.  The Allstar meet includes all area teams, a total of 21 teams, and takes the top 20 swimmers for a final competition.)

NOW,

I must continue....it got me last year and it got me this year, the emotion.  

I look at her, her competitive spirit, her determination to succeed, her goal-oriented mindset, and I can't help but tear up thinking of what her life would have been like had she not been deemed adoptable.  She would have never been given the opportunity to shine or even try to show off her capabilities.  Ever.  

Yet, today, at the age of 6, she is already defying the odds.  

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

NC Mountains

 The best of both worlds....my parents have a mountain cabin and Ryan's parents have a beach house.

 And each year, we spend a long weekend in the mountains, soaking up time on the ATVs, playing in the streams, tubing, strolling through the cute little town, eating at our favorite pancake house.....

 but this year was a bit different.  RAIN set in and our plans as we knew them were shot. Instead of doing the usual, we did the unusual and just relaxed.  

 Prior to the rain, our girls decided to give their seashells a bath....

 and Maddox cooked a bit with Pop's rocks and grass....her concoction was known to us as Rock Soup and she was more than proud of her invention.

 Sisters through and through....they are truly becoming the best of friends.

 And these four....our boys spent five days in the mountains with Gran and Pop prior to our arrival.  Oh how I missed them!  I have an admission to make....my boys are 13 and 11and in all of their years, I have never put them into a car for more than a thirty minute ride with someone other than me or Ryan.  Ever.  Maybe I am a bit protective.  Maybe.

The memories.  Yes, we are fortunate to have two homes to retreat to throughout the year.  But even more so, our children have two vacation homes to build a lifetime of memories in as they grow.  I am pretty sure their days of Mexican Train and Solitaire and just everyday fun are going to sit with them forever!

Beauty Rest

Being the baby of four is hard work.  With Colin, Pryce and Mason-Kate, I was religious about making sure they had a nap each day no matter what.  As a result, I was never really able to see what life with a child who was experiencing a lack of sleep was like.  And then came Maddox.  Unfortunately, Maddox's naptime is not able to be the number one concern in our family.....between practices and youth outings and games or just good ole' family time, her nap can sometimes be overlooked.  And when it is, we see what life is like with a child who has not had her beauty rest.  Last week was just one of those occasions.  We had been to the pool.  We came home and Maddox was so tired yet in complete denial of her need for a nap.  She cried big tears as I told her to go to her room and wait for me to come read to her.  Literally, in one minute, our home went from wails to total silence.  I was putting a load of laundry in to dry and when I finished, I walked around to go upstairs to read to miss Maddox, and this is what I found on our stairs....Maddox Ren, fast asleep with all of her favorite snuggly things and two hairbows.  Total sweetness.

Candybar

I went to do my nightly routine with Maddox at bedtime and she had taken the entire babydoll bed and put in into her bed, baby and all!  I asked Maddox what her baby's name was and she responded, "Candybar.  I named her Candybar because that is what I like.  Candy."  And that is the truth, candy is, unfortunately, the way to Maddox's heart.

Girls

I have to note that it is quite confusing with two little girls in our home constantly playing Barbies.  Daily I hear their cries, "Mommy!  Mommy! Mommy!" and then I call, "Yes?" and they say, "Oh, it's a game.  We aren't calling you."  And then I tune them out yet I am alerted when I, again, hear their mommy cries.  I choose to ignore it just knowing that they are playing a game.  And then it gets louder and the "mom!  where are you?" leads me to say, "Do you mean me?"  to which I get the response, "YES!  We have been calling you!  Why didn't you answer?"  And so goes the cycle.....

Just a mere two hours after returning from our vacation, MK and I hit the ground running in that thing called "reality."  Relaxing was a thing of the past and we were out for an evening with her Girl Scout friends.  

 Tuesday was a big day for two of our peeps - Pryce and MK.  With C out with his broken collar bone/shoulder, we have Pryce and MK to swim their part for our summer swim league.  

 What a difference two years makes!  This is MK's third year of swim team.  She is 6.  The first year she was so capable of swimming the events yet she was mortified that people were cheering her on....it scared our little girl and she cried many tears that year.  

 Last year she cried the very first meet after her very first event.  Again, too much yelling.  This year, though, this year is her year.  She is on full force and loving every.single.minute.

 She dives in and she is finished before you can blink your eyes.  She is the girl to beat!  

 And P is holding his own.  Poor P, he is the youngest one in his age group so this year is a bit more than he is used to.  No fear, he is hanging in there!

 Wednesday was a very exciting day for our family on the adoption front.  We got the email that our homestudy had been officially approved and was in the mail!  Yahoo!  

During our quest for Maddox, we always celebrated each little victory with dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, The Garlic Clove.  For Mary-Gentry, we believe our celebratory gatherings will be held at our favorite dessert location, Brusters!  yummo!

(Note: Taking pictures with our boys is a thing of the past.  They LOVE to be silly in front of the camera OR they run from the camera!  Either way, photographing them, even during a simple little moment, is beyond doable!)

My sweet girl.  She lives her life in two speeds - full-on or full-off.  All week, she worked so hard to keep up with the big kids, swimming with them, boogie boarding with them, building sand castles with them, finding shells, tending to the minnows....all this, yet when the time came and she was all tired out, she would crawl up into my lap, snuggle in close and fall asleep.  

 Moments with C are never quite right....this week for him each year, is his slice of heaven....he is currently counting how many days until next year's trip.  The highlight for him this year was making a film of our week.  He even included and trailer and we spent our last morning gathered around the table watching the final masterpiece.  

 Last year Jay would sit by the pool and watch everyone else swim as he shivered on the sidelines.  This year, he is a different child.  He can do amazing jumps and would be content for hours asking, "Aunt B, what jump do you want to see me do now?" Let's just say that Beautiful Aunt B came up with some pretty cool jumps for him to perform! 

 MK was happy to swim either in the ocean or in the pool all.day.long.  And when everyone else left and she was the last man standing, she would take the opportunity to brush up on her strokes for swim team.  

 Maddox adores my dad.  And I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual.  On this particular afternoon, she climbed up into his lap and they began writing her name.  

 The beach crew.  My parents, my aunt, two cousins, my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, and our family.  Every single one of these people make up the memories of our trip each year.  Some memories from this year include "Ja Croix", "Apples to Apples", "Ship My Pants", "Kabooyow", burnt trash, a theft which led to my sister composing her very own song....and many more.  

 My two boys.  Love these boys.  As I type this, I am listening to P laugh and it is music to my ears.  

 We made our annual morning trip to the pier.  One would think that the children would be looking for jelly fish or sharks yet my niece immediately squealed, "Hey, look guys, a love note!  Why would anybody write a love note on the pier?"  Thankfully, all four were quickly distracted when they noticed a fisherman had caught a baby shark so on we went without reading the many love notes that were present!  We went down to watch as a fisherman offered the baby shark as bait for the five foot long shark that was lurking in the waters....snap went the line and off swam the big shark.  

 Maddox never misses an opportunity to climb on anything that is higher than she is and this chair was no exception.    

 maddox with lollipop and busy making a sand castle = one happy three year old

 pure joy

 oh c.  he counted down the days until this beach trip.  his words as we drove out of our driveway were, "I cannot wait to go skim boarding!"  And skim board he did all.week.long.  He has a few tricks up his sleeve and he had some admirers who watched him daily as he did a 360 here and a jumping of the waves there.  He is my child that does not do anything without having pure confidence that he can do it without getting hurt.  Cautious.  Well, Friday afternoon C's board suddenly stopped which caused him to be launched into a full aerial flip and, boom, on his shoulder he landed.  Ryan and I both watched it happen and there was no question that he was hurt.  Sandy hair, wet bathing suit and shoes is how he entered the ER.  An xray revealed a fracture of the collar bone.  In typical Colin fashion, the bone was labeled "an atypical break" due to the location.....we will follow up with our orthopedist.

 and Pryce....minnow catcher, shark teeth finder, wave rider, body surfer, hole digger, repeat.  

 three amigos

 beach bums

 my parents, the ones who make it all come together each year

 the crew with Gran and Pop

thankful for each year.  39 years and counting for me.