Our last summertime hurrah at Seabrook began with a bit of time on the beach with G-Mom and 

G-Dad.  G-Mom was quickly whisked away by MK, Maddox immediately went for a swim in the ocean, Colin found his groove on the skim board and Pryce went hunting for minnows.....

 of course, being that it was technically a school day for most, Ryan demonstrated a little science lesson on the beach with a not so little crab.....

 yes, the most uncommon swim toy ever - a baster.....she had a good time with this little contraption but needed to wipe her eyes a few times on daddy's suit.....

 the children actually agreed for a little posing session on the beach for a family photo....amazing that I didn't even have to ask!  They were busy constructing a beach volcano and I got lucky with a quick shot of my fab four.....

 ahhh, the beach.....

Today, MK said, "Mom, when I think of vacation, I think of being with my family, being good, and eating ice cream!"  Love her kind of thinking!

The Faces of MK

Beautiful MK

Her smile can light up a room....

 and that lip can sometimes take a room down....we see the lip when she is pouting or when she is trying to sway favor in her direction or when she is sad....

 and her elegance....and thoughtfulness....

 and then there is her "hmmm, what can I do to make them laugh?" face as she can be quite sly at times....

 and that hair - if I could have just one strand:) LOVE it!

 And those eyes.....bright with wonder, deep with soul, lovely to stare into.

Our beautiful MK

Rescued?

Our adoption journey began when I was a little girl.  Growing up I lived next door to an adopted child. I always wondered what that would feel like, to be adopted.  And, of course, I sometimes wondered if I was an adopted child whose parents had not told me (unfortunately, not telling a child they are adopted is and was common).  Then, around the age of 10, I was introduced to Annie.  Still LOVE Annie and my girls do too!  In high school, I volunteered at a Special Olympics event and met a little girl around the age of six who did not have a family.  I even called to find out how she could be adopted - I was a teenager and thought maybe, just maybe....and then there was college.  My sophomore year in college, I walked into a local children's home.  What I expected to see were little half-clean faces wearing tattered clothing and very unkept hair.  Instead, I walked into a little house.  On a campus.  The house could sleep up to 10 children, boys and girls combined.  There were bedrooms, each with three or four beds, a community closet for clothing, and enough space for each child in that bedroom to call their own, though nothing was really their own.  There was a kitchen yet the children ate all three of their daily meals in a cafeteria on the campus.  And there was a living room as well as a private room for the house mother.  The "house mother" was actually three different people, on a good week.  On a not so good week, it was whoever they could get to show up to mother the children until the next person could come in to relieve them of their duties.
And in this one house situated on the campus, there was an eight year old little girl.  A little girl who had been in the children's home since the age of three.  A little girl who had seen more in her eight years of life than I am yet to see in all of my 30ish years of life.  She was beautiful, with the brightest brown eyes and yearning for life.  For a year, I had the privilege to love this little girl with all of my being, as if she were my own and I promised her I would NOT let her grow up in that home.  Now, keep in mind, I wasn't even twenty years old, I was in college, I worked for a local Senator, etc, etc....I had nothing to stand on with my promise.  But, for one year, I took her to church every Sunday; I took her to as many family events as possible; I signed her up for GirlScouts, ballet and modeling; I made sure she had friends over to play with after school - in my dorm, no less; I threw a birthday party for her - her first ever!  My thought was this - IF I cannot be her mother, and IF no one else will adopt her, I WILL do my best to introduce her to what life could look like for her in her future.    Not too long after her 9th birthday, a miracle happened and she was adopted.  There was a childless couple and they wished to adopt an older child.  It was a bittersweet time in my life.  Oh, how I missed her.  Truth be known, I still do, but she had been given the gift of a family.  She had been given back her childhood.  She had been given a chance on life.  She had been rescued.
Our adoptions have not been "rescue" driven.  Instead, they have been totally out of desire for more children.  However, as we continue in prayer, I hear a whispering in my ear and a tug at my heart  to "rescue" the unwanted.  One particular little girl has my heart - she is five, big, bright brown eyes and a smile that looks like the world could just take her in!  She is stinkin cute.  And she has no one. Yes, she is being cared for now thanks to an unfortunate series of events in her life.  But she doesn't have a mommy to cheer her on or a daddy to tuck her in; she doesn't know what it feels like to be snuggled deeply into her bed and kissed goodnight;  who kisses her?; has she ever heard the words, "I love you to the moon and back!"?  Probably not.  She needs to be given back her childhood, given a chance on life.  She needs to be rescued.
Before anyone jumps to conclusions, no, we are not going to get her.  But, her story, accompanied with an Orphanology class Ry and I are taking, plus our prayers,  makes me desire to do more to help and I constantly struggle with what we can do.  So I share all of this in hopes that it will challenge others to step up as well.  The unwanted are there - in our backyard as well as all over the world.  And what are we doing to help?

Our week began and ended with some of our favorite treats:)

 We are all diving into the new school year with smiles on our faces each day!  The boys are so easy - at this point, I ask them to do their work and they do it without any "awww, mom!"  We added in a bit PE this week by starting the Couch To Five K.....they tell me I am a bit slow.  MK is all smiles too!  She LOVES kindergarten, her teacher is so sweet, and we implemented the bus system this week which she was thrilled about!  She desires to eat the school cafeteria food each day and all of her work comes home with her name written in bubble-style letters.  Just a bit on the artistic side:)  And Maddox....she continues to whoo her teachers at school, she walks right in and begins playing.  She had her first show and tell experience this week - her item of choice was a Duplo block.  She proudly showed her jewel off to her friends.  

 On Monday, C received his Herbst appliance to better his jaw alignment.  His entire mouth is metal!  A bit uncomfortable but he has enjoyed his share of frozen yogurt dinners and milkshakes to better the pain.  

 Our homeschool co-op is in full swing with lots of arts and crafts for the little ones.  Meanwhile, C is thumbing his way through Physics and P is busy learning about Earth Science.  It is on this day in particular that I miss MK.  I see her sweet friends and they always want to know where she is!  While I know she is living the life in Kindergarten, I do miss her constant talking and giggly little self being with us.  

 Speaking of MK....notice anything different???  Thankfully, she hasn't asked to get her ears pierced yet anytime there is a way to wear a bit of bling without the pain, she is all smiles!  I found the most adorable collection of clip-on earrings and MK is in love!

 On the Friday that MK hurt her toe, we were supposed to take her out to her favorite restaurant, Miyabi, where "they cook in front of you!"  Needless to say, we all spent that night with our tummies empty in an ER.  Finally, we had the opportunity to celebrate Kindergarten with MK at Miyabi.  MK smiled the entire time!  However, I was a bit alarmed when the server brought out chopsticks for the girls.  Maddox began immediately to stir Ryan's drink with her set and MK promptly asked, "What are these things?"  Hmmm.  I am happy to report that both girls ate at least a portion of their dinner using the chopsticks appropriately!

 Maddox was a tad nervous about the flinging of knives and the massive displays of fire.  

 Random photo that could not be overlooked.....Maddox loves to take her own picture with my phone - there are more than plenty to look at but rarely is her whole face, not to mention someone else's whole face, in the photo.  

 The frozen yogurt craze has hit our family!  The little frozen treat is part of our weekly schedule now and a perfect way to celebrate our time together each week!  

No doubt we have our ups and downs, our hems and haws of life.  However, these days with them, not one of them, would I ever wish away.  My precious babies, each of them their own little person and perfect in every.single.way.  

Once upon a time there was a family who desperately yearned for a daughter from China.  During their search, God took a moment to introduce our family to their family - we know this was a God thing for we were the only two English speaking couples in line for fingerprinting on that day.  Two years later, they came home with their beautiful baby girl, Junie.

 And somewhere between our meeting and their referral, I introduced them to my other friend through adoption, Donna.  (Below, Junie and Donna's girls are ready for the fight - does it show that they all have older brothers?!)  Donna is my friend that makes me cringe when I see her emails pop up in my inbox.  She is the heart of hearts when it comes to matching children with their forever families.  Donna doesn't email to ask about what's for dinner; instead, she emails to show you the hundreds of children who are waiting for the families to come get them.  

 So on Saturday, our three families gathered together for a little swimming and outdoor fun and to meet the newest addition, Ian.  Though little Elise is screaming in this picture, we all had so much fun catching up and watching as our children went about their day together.....there were no dull moments:)  MK even braved the pool for the first time since her toe incident.  

 The little ones are hard to capture on camera due to their busy little bodies moving around so fast....who can keep up?!  However, just as Elise was about to leave, Maddox headed over to have a little one on one conversation with her....it was precious to see.  These two came home within a month of each other in 2011 and they are only a week apart in age.

 Me + AG (and sweet Junie) + Donna

Ever wonder what swimming, eating the hottest wings ever and pizza have in common?  Combined they make you feel a little loopy, as shown below. 

 The faces of adoption.  Love that all of these guys are home, safe, loved and celebrated forever!

Random

This week has been our first week of school, ballet, art, basketball and piano.....it is the beginning of the beginning.  We still have to add in IEW (writing), swimming, and baseball.  So this week I started something new, something new that I should have started a long, long time ago....a daily list of "to-dos."  Thankfully, it has helped keep this otherwise scatterbrained mother in one piece!

Having one in kindergarten and one in preschool has its advantages and disadvantages.....on one hand it is quiet and gives me a chance to keep up with the boys and their daily assignments as well instruct them without constant interruption from little people about the house.  On the other hand, it is quiet and I miss my little people and their constant interruption from time to time....that said, they are both thrilled with school - no tears, all smiles, all.week.long.

The bewitching hour is when MK gets home.  Our home goes from quiet to chaotic in a matter of 10 seconds flat.  Everyone misses MK so when she walks in the door it is all squeals and everyone wants to talk with her at once and they want her to answer their questions about her day.  All the while, she is wanting to share with everyone so she is talking while others are asking and it is just, well, chaotic.  Truly, I just want to curl up in a corner with her and soak up a moment of time with her all to myself...that, my friends, has yet to happen.  My "curl up in a corner moment" takes place in the car.  After this week, I have discovered that the only one-on-one time I am going to get with her will take place in the car when I pick her up from school....I have about 10 minutes and then we are home.

A toe update....tonight MK dropped a bottle of hair conditioner on her toe in the shower.  OUCH!  Her already falling off toenail is now hanging on by ONE stitch.  There was quite a bit of blood and many, many tears but nothing a little chocolate pudding and a Barbie movie couldn't take care of.  Here's hoping to better things to come in the future for her little broken toe.

My Maddox quote for the week.....we were taking a walk one day together.  She was on her bike and I was pushing her.  She kept steering into the grass, not on purpose but that is where she was headed a good bit of the time.  She looked up at me and said, "That grass driving me nuts!"

13 families, 13 beautiful, well adjusted, thriving kiddos plus three on the way home soon!  Celebrating adoption; it simply doesn't get any better!  The minute the last family leaves our home, our boys and girls are already asking when we will have another gathering!  

 Monday morning came too fast for me:)  MK requested donuts for her special breakfast.....after all, it was her first day of Kindergarten!  

 She was all smiles from the time she woke up until the time she went to bed.  When I asked her what her favorite part of her day was, she said, "Probably nap time!"  Then I asked her who she played with and she said, "Well, mom, I don't even know these people!"  She wanted so badly to purchase lunch at school so I let her.  After all, it was pizza day.  So I asked her what she had for lunch and she got the most excited look on her face and she squealed, "Oh mom, it was the best....we could make choices so I chose a peanut butter sandwich and it was the best!"  Hmmmm.

 Thankfully, Maddox was all smiles on her first day of school as well.  Her teachers were thankful too:)  It seems there are quite a few little ones who were less than happy in Maddox's class.  Maddox walked around telling them, "Mommy always comes back!"  Yep, that is right!  Mommy always comes back....I tell her that every time I leave her.  Granted, Maddox has a little advantage over the other children....she had the same teachers over the summer so they are all best buddies!

 Another first....our littlest ballerina.  She was so precious!  And oh so excited!  She walked right in and only looked back to blow me a kiss.  Melt.my.heart.

 She came out and promptly began showing me what she had learned!  One must take note of her tights.  They are beyond ginormous.  However, she was, under no circumstances, going to allow me to take them off.  So in she went with ginormous tights and she danced her heart out!  Gotta love her spirit!