Welcome summer!  

And swim team - year number NINE!

We have four swimmers this year and all are amazing to watch!

Ryan and I went out for a moment one evening and left the boys in charge....we came home to find sweet notes from our big girls who cannot wait to have their sister home with them!

Maddox prays for Chapman always and says, "Please take care of Chapman in China because we are far away from her in America."

Little Debbie

Our children have never really indulged in these little cookies so I thought it would be fun to have a Little Debbie a week during the summer and decide which one we like the best!

This girl is one tenderhearted baby!  We went to Publix one day this week and she asked for a balloon.  When we arrived home she ran upstairs and got a marker and wrote, "To Nannie.  I love you! Love, Maddox."  Oh my heart!  I am so thankful that my children knew my Nannie.  And, more importantly, I am so thankful they knew how much they were loved by her.  She was so proud of me and of them.  I miss her everyday.  Maddox later looked at me and said, "You know Nannie probably didn't get many presents on Mother's Day in heaven so I am glad I sent her that balloon!"

Our little Maddox has started a new era in her life.  She has asked and asked to do gymnastics.  I FINALLY signed her up and she was/is beside herself!  She loved every minute and told me she was going to be working hard in her class!

Miss Maryn is learning to write her name!  We began with the letter M and she was thrilled she could make it all by herself!

Maryn had her preschool performance and rocked every bit of it!  

These three were thick as thieves this year in school.  The one thing I worried most about with MK going to school were friends....I prayed for her to make good friends!  She met Caleigh and Camden and never looked back.  So thankful for their time together!

And Ms. Fortino

She made our third grade year a dream!  We are beyond thankful for her love for MK!

Lastly, we received 12 new photos of our girl!!!  We were so excited!  We can't share her sweet face just yet but here she is sharing candy with her friend!  Her hair is amazing!  And she just looks so happy in every picture!  

US National Whitewater Center

We are all about giving our children the gifts of experience.  With that in mind, we tend to do "experience" gifts for Christmas and birthdays.  This past weekend, we cashed in one of their Christmas experiences, a day at the US National Whitewater Center in North Carolina.

 The boys were in heaven!  And I was having a mixture of heart palpitations because I was worried and "aww man" moments because I wasn't going to get to experience it all with them!  They began their day with a whitewater rafting trip.  Listening to the guide do the pre-rafting chat, I could tell our guys were a bit nervous....all the talk about falling out of the boat, going under the boat, etc., etc., etc....they were white as ghosts as they made their way to get geared up for their whitewater experience.  

 However, they jumped onboard and off they went with smiles on their faces!

 And I was breathing a sigh of relief....

 well into their trip, they were looking like professional rafters, shifting side to side and gripping their paddles accordingly....

 and no one fell out....at least, no one fell out of their boat....their were people falling out here and there but the boys were thankful they were not one of them!

 Feeling good about the rafting experience, they decided to go over and do a zipline.  Or so we thought.  Next thing we know, we receive word that they are jumping!?!?!  Nothing huge, just 100 FEET!  

 And then they graced us with a zipline ride above our heads.....

 and though ziplining was a good fit for them, the jumping, by far, was their favorite!  

 And then there were the girls....Maddox is the female version of Spiderman....she is our climber and though she be but little, she has the strength of an ox.

 Gymnastics and/or yoga was always an option as we hung out in the great green grass!  The girls really had a fun time just being outdoors and having a large, grassy area to roam about.

 MK loved the ropes course and went back for more and more of this challenge!  

 There were moments when it was just me and Maryn watching the rafters/kayakers go drifting by.....she had a great time waving to all and just having a moment to herself with mommy.

So very thankful for our time together as a family this weekend!  I love that we all, age 42 to 3, enjoyed our day spent at the US National Whitewater Center.

Chapman

We began our paperwork for Chapman in late January of this year.  Four months later, all of our documents were signed, sealed and delivered to China!  WooHoo!  So thankful this part is behind us!  We received word that our paperwork officially arrived on someone's desk on Friday, May 13.  The email from our agency simply said "Congratulations!" and then it stated that our job now is to sit back and WAIT.  Imagine.  Adoption is ALL about waiting.....you wait on one thing and then you have to wait on another thing!  Many have asked if it has been easier this time being that it is our fourth adoption....it isn't.  And even though we have five children who are constantly keeping us on the go, our sixth child, Chapman, is always on our minds.
We miss her.  We want her here with us.  And we are constantly trying to figure out when we will most likely travel to get her....really, that is wasted time on our part because until we are on that plane with our seatbelts fastened, we won't know.  In the meantime, we did get 12 pictures of her last week and she has grown SOO much!  She is precious in every sense of the word and she has the thickest black hair of all!  She looks so happy in all of the pictures and she looks as if she has a bit of a sweet tooth!

Camping

Camping with our crew proved to be one of the best things yet!  We are fortunate in that we have several lakeside campgrounds 15ish minutes from our home....so with that in mind, a tent, and some borrowed kayaks, we were all set and on our way!

 The children all jumped in to help pitch the tent and the girls organized away!

 Kayaking turned out to be a treat for all of us!  We had two....one two seater and one single seater - both just perfect for us!  

 The girls got a little daring and jumped overboard!

 Maryn said, "I really like this camping."  But what you can't see in the picture is her face when she discovered there were all kinds of bugs that came along with our adventure....she is NOT a fan of any kind of creature! 

 MK kicked back and took it all in....

 some of us took to desperate measures when their throat began to hurt!

 Dirt was aplenty....

 the girls would have done this all day!  I was so thankful they enjoyed the goodness of being in the middle of nature!

 Pryce and Colin hung their Enos and Maddox scooted herself right in....

 meanwhile, Colin may have had a few issues getting settled into his.

 Campfire fun is always the best with smores involved!

 And, finally, it was time to go.....the boys hoisted the one kayak on top of the car and off we went!  

End of Year Ballet

Maryn made her ballet debut this year and joined her two sisters at their ballet school.  She LOVED her teachers and her class.....and the lion statue.  Each week as we walked into the studio she would ask to take a picture with the lion.  

 I was so proud of Maryn and watching her brought tears to my eyes.  This little one last almost two years of life to an orphanage in China.  Today, at 3 1/2 years old, she is so confident and so capable of doing everything that is set before her!

 Maryn loved learning the lingo and the positions of ballet.  She has heard it since she came home and now it was her turn to learn!

 The children are taught the correct French terms for the ballet positions and steps.  To hear a three year old say these and then do them is quite fascinating!

 It's fun to look at pictures because I know that in this particular one she is about to laugh her cute little belly laugh and she is full of joy!  

 Maddox Ren

 Reach for the stars baby girl because I know you will accomplish anything and everything that is set before you!  

 Maddox learned so much this year in ballet.  It is amazing to see the transformation from tiny, cute little ballerinas to a little bit older, trying harder to perfect the skills ballerinas.  

 Maddox takes on life with her positive attitude and determination that is an example to even the adults around her.  She is full of laughter and life!

 It isn't often that you will find Maddox without a smile on her face.  We are so thankful for this little girl!

 And then there is our oldest ballerina, MK.  

MK began ballet at the ripe old age of 2 1/2!  Seven years and counting for this ballerina!  

 Ballet looks good on her!  

 This year proved to be the most challenging yet and MK dove right in and danced her little heart away! 

 As they get older, taking pictures during their times of parent performances is a bit more tricky.....there is a level of self-conscience and embarrassment when you have mom clicking away on the camera:)  So, I refrained at times but did manage a few shots of her accomplishments!