China Gathering

Saturday we hosted our first China gathering with our newest member of the family, Maddox. Though only half of our members were present, we had a great time hunting eggs and playing with our very special friends. Maddox loved the entertainment and we learned that she, beyond a shadow of a doubt, LOVES Ms. Shari's chocolate cake! To say that my children love these times with our "China Friends" is an understatement. The minute everyone leaves, they will want to know when we are hosting another gathering.

During our gatherings, we name a dinner theme and ask each family to bring a dish. Saturday night the theme was Mexican. Good Mexican food, oh, how I have missed you! Our Mexican theme was a hit and the food was amazing!

Following our dinner, the children took part in an Easter egg hunt, Maddox's very first one! She was not quite sure what to do but quickly realized that eggs=candy so she decided to join in!

The children were told to collect 11 eggs each. MK, sometimes our little over achiever, collected quite a few more than 11. She was so disappointed when we asked her to return a few to a good hiding spot.

Maddox seems to just take all new experiences with a good nature. She is easy going until you place chocolate cake in front of her or when she gets tired. Aside from those two times, she is all smiles, giggles and laughs. Many have asked how we are adjusting to having four children versus three. I told Ryan last week that even numbers seem to be our thing. When our first child was born, we had to adjust. People said during my pregnancy that our lives were about to change drastically....I realized how true this was when C was born. C was a great baby who was always on the other page. The parenting books would say, "Most babies....." and then you would turn the page and it would say, "However, some babies....." That was our C. From what I remember, he was happy, healthy and full of spirit. He taught us so much about ourselves and our relationship and to cancel our newspaper subscription - we haven't read a full newspaper since his birth! Then came P. P was our child who slept through the night the very first night home from the hospital, he was the child that nursed well, he was the child that I put in the swing to nap even though all parenting books said not to, he was the calming factor, the child that was happy unless he was hungry or wet, the child that just fit and it was, dare I say, an easy adjustment to two children. Then came MK. MK came when we had been out of diapers, out of carseats, out of bottles, out of the baby-stage for quite sometime in our home. Top that all off with her spicy personality and you will find an adjustment period in our home from two to three children. It wasn't her, it was learning how to juggle the sports, the homework, the school volunteering, the bottles, the changing of the diapers - it was life with more than two children and only two parents. And then came Maddox. With Maddox, we are already used to the juggling more than two children with only two parents. We are not too far gone from the diaper stage, we still have carseats, we are homeschooling so there is no homework or volunteering - it just seems to be an almost seamless adjustment if there is such a thing. And she is easy going, just kind of smiles and goes about her day. So, to ask us how life is with four children, we will most likely all respond with a thumbs up!