Life is catching up with us!  Our down time is over and the new routine of GO, GO, GO is all in place.  As crazy as it is, I am so thankful for our blessings....thankful for the many opportunities that my children have to grow in academics, sports, dance and social activities.  Thankful for our church and church leaders.  Thankful for our friends who entertain us and help us when we are in a bind.  It is so easy for me to get caught up in the craziness and forget what a thrill it is to have everything I have ever wanted right at my fingertips - my husband who is my best friend even though we may only see each other long enough for the dinnertime prayer; my eldest son who is continuously our guinea pig child, the trial and error one that we learn through; Pryce who calms me with his loving spirit and his sweet smile; MK who is so strong, and prissy beyond my own imagination; and little Maddox, sweet Maddox who continues to do everything that the other three would have NEVER dreamed of doing - in the past 24 hours she has colored our carpet with pretty purple marker and she colored her carseat a beautiful brown color, Maddox who grabs my cheeks randomly and strokes my face saying, "Mommy, I love you too more!" My daily prayer for my four children is that they will always know love and know how precious they are to me, even in this crazy season of life:)

 Colin has taken a liking to kayaking.  He has even gone as far as to suggest he may want one as a gift for Christmas or his birthday, both months away. I just do not see me, my husband, and our four children driving around town in our minivan with a kayak attached to the hood.  However, it was a pleasure to see the surprise on C's face when he was told he would be kayaking on our local canal for the afternoon with his father.   They had a marvelous time!  Next up, family kayaking, stay tuned....

 With MK being in school all.day.long, it makes for a lot of time for me to miss her!  Saturday was MK and mommy day so I could catch up with my sweet girl.  We began the day with a painting workshop....so much fun to see MK create her very own owl.  She chose the colors, I gave her a paintbrush, and my budding artist was on her way.  

And Maddox....she is my only hope in Gamecock land.  She says, "Me no like tigers!" On another note, I had an interesting conversation with her last night at bedtime.  She asked, "Where is my grandmother? She in China?  I was a baby in China."  She continued, "My grandmother take me to the doctor and my Papa hold me when the doctor give me shots."  I asked her where the doctor was and she said, "My grandmother hold me at the hospital.  That where the doctor is."  Then I asked her if I was there and she said, "No, you not there.  I cry, cry, cry."  

Interesting.  She was 13 months old when she had her lip repaired in China.  We have a picture, which she has not seen since we came home, of her foster mother holding her at the hospital just before her surgery and one of her foster mother holding her the day they were leaving the hospital after her repair. Doubtful she remembers all of this yet chilling to me that she said all of this unsolicited.  I then switched from my cuddle time with Maddox to my cuddle time with MK, who had heard all of the above.  MK asks, "Did Maddox have two moms too?"  I said, "Well, actually she had three."  MK eyes got wide and she exclaimed, "THREE?!"  So I explained that she had a birth mom - the mom that gave her life; the foster mom - the one who took care of her until we came to get her; and me, her forever mom - the one who will love her forever and teach her how to live life.  MK said, "Well, that is neat, we both had three moms!"  Hmmmm.....I just keep thinking, wow, I wonder how this will all be retold on the playground.  

All My Own

Aren't you glad you have two of your own and two who are adopted?

Earlier in the week, I was having a conversation with a lady I have known for years.  She knows our story.  She knows our hearts for adoption.  She adores my children.  But, she seriously asked me if I was glad to have two of my own and two who are adopted.  I kindly looked at her and said, "Well, they are all my own."  She said, "Well, yeah, you know what I mean."  For the sake of just letting it rest, I shook my head.  However, the comment has been on my mind ever since.

A better way to say "own" in adoption lingo is to say "biological."  I have two biological children and two who were born through adoption.

And, yes, I am grateful to have two biological children and two adopted children.  And I feel more than blessed to say they are all mine, all my own.

Kudos to Maddox.  Poor baby girl has poor baby teeth.  Not her fault.  Not our fault.  Yesterday I took her in to have two cavities filled.  She has been through this before and she knows the routine.  I lay on the chair, she lays on top of me.  No gas.  No numbing.  No nothing.  In the past, as would be expected, she has started out with a small whimper but ended up with a very unhappy scream.  Today, however, she sat as relaxed and calm as ever.  Our dentist spoke calmly to her and smiled at her and told her how well she was doing.  And she just sat.  Twenty minutes later, we were all done!

Earlier in the week, Maddox appeared early one morning in our bathroom as I was getting ready to tackle the day.  She was clutching a book and happily said, "Mommy, I have my Bible and I all ready to go to church!"  Hmmmm.....the book?  Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  The size of a Bible? Yes.  The Bible? No!

MK's teacher has been holding conferences with parents for the past two weeks.  We have spoken and she does not feel as though we need a conference at this time.  MK is doing GREAT!  However, MK has said repeatedly, "Mom, ****'s mother came in for their compliments.  When are you going to see Mrs. D for your compliments?"  Compliments, conference, hopefully same thing, right?

youngest and oldest

Sweet Maddox....oh my, she is growing each day and not thinking twice about it:)  At a whopping 23lbs, she is feisty, sassy, cuddly, giggly and silly.  She loves a good bandaid, hence the picture below. Just about everyday, she will parade into our bathroom and proclaim to have a boo-boo here and a boo-boo there in order to account for the bandaids that she has positioned all over her body.  Her favorite to date is the bandaid across her forehead.....everyone asks, "Maddox, what did you do to your head?  Do you have a boo-boo?"  And she just laughs and says, "I fell down and hurt my head."  Insert giggle.  She is so not telling the truth and she is so aware of this fact.  

 Maddox is LOVING school and everything associated with her time spent there.  She asks everyday when her teachers can come over to play with her at our home.  She is loving ballet too!  She and MK practice together and it is quite cute to watch!  She is loving her speech therapy sessions at MK's school ....she goes for 30 minutes, twice a week with 3 other little preschoolers....very cute.  And she continues to do speech therapy twice a week privately.  She sleeps well for the most part yet every now and then she will appear in our bed with her little blankies and pillow pet....who can say no to that?  My favorite saying lately is hearing her when she is trying to figure something out...."Ah, HAH, I know!...."  

 C....unreal to me that he is 12 1/2, officially.  We celebrated this event, of course, yet I was tempted to tell him once again to just slow down already.  He is in 7th grade studying Algebra, physics, latin....he is doing Institute for Excellence in Writing as well as swimming year round and playing middle school basketball....in his spare time he is busy trying to convince his little sisters why HE feels it is important to pull for the Clemson Tigers.  Good luck!  

 In addition to his other activities, Colin is participating in a local dance/etiquette group called Social.   To say that he was less than excited about this opportunity would be an huge understatement.  Of all of the things I have encouraged him to do this year, this is the one he did NOT want to do.  Ever.  At. All.  However, I am so happy to report that he is still speaking to me and that he is having FUN!  He loved his first night at class and cannot wait to go back!  I am so proud of this kiddo and the young man he is becoming!

From the beach to celebrating Jay-man's birthday!  At five years old, Jay is full of spunk and sweetness of all shapes and sizes.  Maddox adores him as well as his diet of Cheezits and chocolate milk, two of her favorites as well.  

 As tradition would have it, we were all up and comfortably seated on a friend's front lawn well before the annual Labor Day parade was to begin.  

 I am thinking Jay will likely grow up believing that this parade is in honor of him....each year we attend, cheer on the parade participants, gather too much candy that is always thrown askew and then we cook out with family and sing happy birthday....tradition.

 So on this day, some of us began with a sip of coffee....

 while others stood mesmerized at the sites and sounds before her....

 and two little girls nestled in for a bit of reading.....

 and some went for a little swinging.....

 candy was gathered as well as stickers being stuck....

 and lately, a celebration of any kind is not a celebration without a little entertainment, ie, baton twirling, singing, gymnastics....

 I am most positive that Jay's favorite part of the day was when he was allowed to open his gifts....

 the sounds of giggles and squeals of delight are never enough for me.....

 but for some, the excitement was just too much!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Last night we were going through our evening ritual of bedtime gimmicks when I noticed MK doing this little circular motion next to her ear.  It reminded me of when someone motions to another that they are acting a little loopy or crazy.  Round and round her finger went.  So I dared to ask her what in the world she was doing - I dared because I was fearful that she was trying to tell me I was acting crazy!  Her reply?  "Oh, I am just rewinding my thoughts in my head so I can remember what I was thinking.  There are a lot of thoughts in my little head, you know?!"

 And our little Lady GaGa.....G-Mom and G-Dad visited with us during our time at the beach.  A funny thing happened.....they left while we were on the beach and when we returned to the beach house, there lay a bit of a surprise on each child's pillow.  There were shrills of delight!  But my favorite part has been hearing Maddox ask, "Hey, where are my money dollars?" Thank you G-Mom and G-Dad for the "money dollars!"