Out of the Mouths of Babes

Maddox says to me as I am drying my hair, "Mommy, why is your hair all crazy when you wake up?  You know, when you don't have make-up and your hair is all over the place, like when you get out of bed?  That looks crazy."

So I asked, "Well, Maddox, what do I look like when I have make-up on and my hair has been brushed?"

Maddox, "You look like my mommy then, that's who!"

T-Shirts for Maryn

Finally, we are so excited to say to you all that we are on the homestretch of our third adoption journey and what an adventure it has been!  Just one year ago, we set out to bring our third daughter home from China and now we are but weeks away from meeting her face to face!  

We need your help in this final leg to raise the funds to cover our orphanage fees of $5500.  Our friend, Caleb Miller, has designed the t-shirt above and these will be on sale from now until Monday, May 12. All t-shirts will be adult sizes S-XL.  They are a poly-cotton blend and will be a unisex fit.  

Cost will be 1 shirt for $20; 2 shirts for $35; 3 shirts for $50; 4 shirts for $60.

To place your order, please click on the donate button located on the right.  Simply enter in the amount of your t-shirt costs total.  In the comments section, please put the sizes you wish to receive.  Then, please give us your email address and your mailing address for shipping purposes.  

We appreciate all of your support and look forward to seeing everyone in their shirts for Maryn!  

Thank you!

Easter 2014

Easter 2014

Tie dyed eggs?  Who comes up with these ideas?  Not sure, but my crew was digging it!

And this little guy was sticking with a bit of the traditional dye and loving it!  

Maddox, our "mad scientist"....she is always good to try everything!

Seriously, though, the tie-dye eggs were quite fun and took a bit of concentration, you know, so you wouldn't mix the colors and such:)

Rain was all around us on this particular day so we opted for an indoor egg hunt....

Easter morning

Anna and Elsa could not have arrived fast enough!  This little one LOVES Frozen!

P and his fun reading material....

My handsome guy:)

The good looking crew....

the children were actually ok with pictures so I took full advantage of the moment!

Daddy and his girls!  

Finally, Easter Sunday, the sun shone through and we were able to do an Easter egg hunt outside....Maddox enjoyed getting a little help for those higher placed eggs!  Thank you, Aunt Rachel.

And in true MK form, this girl was our determined egg hunter and came home with a bucket full!

Exploring My Childhood

The children and I took a visit to my childhood this week....

 At the age of 6, my family moved from a neighborhood life to country life....

 I have many memories of tromping through the woods, playing games, trying to cool off in the creek - 

 all with a carefree spirit! 

On this day, I loved watching my crew explore....their squeals of joy could be heard for miles when they spotted yet another "rock island" or a waterfall... 

pure joy!  

**On a sidenote, I was not so carefree in spirit during this time:)  My age is showing and I was constantly looking over my shoulder, above my head, behind my back, everywhere I stepped....I just knew a  snake was lurking somewhere!  Thankfully, we were spared. 

Our day at the zoo....Maddox was not impressed with the smell of the flamingos and she made that point quite clear by walking with her jacket over her nose for the first part of our day!

My crew of four....

P was quick to help Maddox up to see the fish and other animals....many people commented on how he must be a great big brother - yes, we will keep him!  

We love to take the tram over to the gardens....I always think what a great place for photos it would be yet my kiddos run ahead when they see me getting my camera out.  MK did find a beautiful spot and turned at just the right moment for me to snap a quick photo...she was our official map holder and led us through our day around the zoo!

Big chairs are always fun....

We got home and MK went to work to design a kite.  Though it did not fly as well as she hoped, it was quite the project and she was very proud!

Then it was walk/bike riding time....

and then we ended our evening with a family game of dodge ball....great fun for all!

Our Journey to Narnia

Our Firefly lit the stage as she tiptoed out on stage....

 And our beautiful Angel, our leader...

 Maddox looked so peaceful on stage, like she had been there her entire life.

 And MK led her group out and about the stage with pure grace.  

 So thankful for these two and their love for one another!  And thankful for Gran who always remembers the flowers!

 make-up and buns, oh my!

 sweet girl

 this year we enjoyed sharing the stage with dear friends - Ava....

 and MK's bestie Sara Kate with little sisters Maddox and Sophie...

we simply love this show each year!

MK on her 6th Gotcha Day

We loved celebrating with this precious girl - she had a day all to herself complete with shopping for new earrings!  Our girl does not care for cake - at all! - so it was brownies and cookies sort of night!

 And because our family clearly has not caught on to the health food binge, we have chosen to celebrate little Maryn's process at Brusters.  Each time there is a new development, it is off to Brusters we go!  This particular night we were celebrating the finding of Maryn!

 All five of my children and our little dog too!  

 Our middle school age kiddos who participated in the state Bible Drill program at church. 10 seconds to find bible versus and recite them for memory - truly an incredible task!

 And our youth drillers.  It really amazes me to watch as the teens are given a portion of a verse and then asked to find the exact verse and recite it in 8 seconds.  Again, simply amazing!