Family Selfie....all families do this, right?  

 Maddox is quite the nail painter...little to no mess and she does a fantastic job!

 Our family made a day of roller skating and this little one was right in the middle of it!

 And Maddox went from holding on to my hand to speeding around the rink by herself!

 Speaking of Miss Maddox....

 seriously, there is never.a.dull.moment with Maddox.  She is full of antics and fun!

 These two cuties.  So hard to believe she is home....so hard to believe both are here really!  Maryn, our "surprise" baby....and Kendyl, to think just over a year ago both of their lives changed forever!  

 This month is full of annual doctor appointments.  And sometimes that means more than just the patient has to go for the visit.  Fun times.  He was thrilled with all of the above!

 MK is loving school.  We could not have asked for a better year for her!  And she is loving her time with friends....and playdates are always fun too, especially when Oreo balls are involved.  

 Oh this girl....

 she has roped us all in!

 Even on her worst days, she is a shining light in all of our lives!

 Love her and so thankful for her life.

What We Have Been Up To - Fall 2015

Family of 5 = Busy-ness times 5!

We are loving every minute of it and would not have it any other way!

Pryce began Social classes this year.  Social is a formal dance club for 7th grade and up.  Pryce and his friends have a great group attending their class....

watching these two young men grow together makes my heart smile.  They have been inseparable since first grade and I love their friendship!

And Kayley.  Kayley is Pryce's partner for Social.  Kayley was a fellow kindergarten classmate of Pryce's and now they homeschool together.  So fun to have them together on the dance floor!

After six years of homeschooling everyone, Colin and MK went to school this year.  Colin is adjusting and has gone from "hating" it to "sort of liking it".....we are almost two months in and neither has come home crying and that, my friends, is great news!  Where I did know that it was time for Colin to branch out, MK was another story.  I felt as though she would be happy at school and benefit BUT it wasn't something that I could be certain of.....

and then I found this - her math exercises from school and she wrote "I love school"....this made my heart happy and was confirmation that school is a great fit for her! 

And then there are these two....Chloe and MK together = laughter.  They are hilarious together! We are so glad to have Chloe right down the street from our home.  The girls go to school together, bike together, have sleep overs....who knew that God would put this sweet family in our path and they would become our extended family! 

Maddox and her friend Brooklyn are inseparable.

They call each other "sister friends" and I love hearing those words!

Maddox will tell B, "My number is bigger than yours but you are bigger than me so we match!"  

They had their first sleepover and they were both so sweet and so tired when it was all said and done!

Oh Maryn.

Our lives changed for the better when we met you!

This little one is all four of her older siblings balled into one three year old body....

there is silliness, stubborness, sassiness, hilariousness, seriousness....

she is a ray of sunshine to my soul!  

She has begged to go to her "bal-yay" class like her sisters....

finally, I had a moment and was able to take her to try out a class....and she loved it!  She was so excited to be like her sisters and she could not wait to show them what she had learned! 

And there are these two girlies....Kendyl was a baby in Maryn's orphanage that we met while we were visiting....Kendyl is now home and thriving in her family's care.  She is Maddox's friend, Brooklyn's, sister.  It is surreal to hold a baby girl that you first saw in an orphanage crib clinging to life....she was so sad and so fragile....now, she is full of life and part of a forever family!  And the girls will grow together!

And Noah.

Oh, this boy!

We do miss him so!

He is in Shanghai awaiting medical care for his heart.  The plan is to perform surgery on his heart.  We pray this is the answer to his health being healed once and for all!  His story is AMAZING and we know that God has big things in store for his life!

One last jaunt to Seabrook Island was in order for our Labor Day weekend!  

Our kiddos wasted no time at all planning our days and putting in the lunch orders for the beach picnic that always occurs because no one is ready to call it a day or go in for a break!

This baby girl asks every day if we can go to the beach!  To think that just five months ago, we were having to literally peel her off of her brothers so that she would put her feet in the sand!  She has come a long way and is now another Drafts beach bum!

These three girls.  Where you see one, there is always another and where there are two, there are usually three.  MK is most always the leader and her two followers are never far behind.  

I pray their relationships thrive as they grow together.

Sisters by chance, friends by choice....this is a quote MK shared with me the other day.  

All six of my loves.  Football, sand and water, that is all we need.

Walking on water:)

More of following the leader....

Late one afternoon, the rain began to fall.  So, in order to entertain everyone, I suggested we play a family game.

Beanboozled.

Bleck.

Not sure why anyone even does this but nonetheless, we were equipped with a trashcan and some good tasting jelly beans to help us when we came upon "baby wipe" or "lawn clipping" jelly beans. 

Bleck.

And the beach is not the beach without a good bowl of ice cream!  Maryn eats hers best!

Labor Day was spent celebrating Jay-man turning 8.  Maryn loves time with Pop!

Jay-man was most impressed by his baseball cake and by the Nerf wars that took place for the better part of our stay.  All boy.

Gran and Pop wanted a "grans" picture....these two pics will forever be some of my favorites.

MK is not about attention.  And she shies away from most people, even my parents.  

My dad teases her and makes her laugh a lot.  He loves her deeply and just wants a good smile from her!  So he took this opportunity to sneak in a kiss.....she had no idea!

And then she did....and the whole room was full of laughter.  Even MK! 

Three baby girls.  Crazy how fast they are growing up!

And our whole handful....5 seems to be our magic number!

And this guy.  He supports us all, through the crazy and the crazier....we love you Ry!

The "Giraffes"

Our name is so simple.  Drafts.  However, when you say it, no one seems to get it.  They are always asking to please spell our name.  When picking up pictures one day, the lady looked and looked for my pictures and could not find them anywhere.  I noticed she was looking in the "G" folder and the problem was solved when I told her to look in the "D" folder - Drafts, not Giraffes.
When I was doing reading recovery with a student one day, I was wearing a giraffe pin.  The child said, "Hey, your pin is just like your name! Giraffe!"
And, our kiddos' friends.  "Mrs. Giraffes" and "Mr. Giraffes" are what we respond to.
So, it was only fitting that we take a pic under this lovely giraffe!

Noah's HOPE

 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

 The moment when the picture of a child you have prayed for becomes a reality is always surreal.  Noah was so brave.  And so willing to go with us.  And so happy.  No tears.  No goodbyes to those who seemed familiar.  He acted as if he had known us for years and he never looked back.

 We all watched intently on the drive home wondering what he would do.  We were prepared for the seatbelt battle being that he had likely never been in a car much less buckled into a car.  We were prepared for car sickness - towels packed, bags ready, and change of clothes on hand.  Thankfully, none were needed.  We drove well into the wee hours of the morning, he slept on and off, played with a little fan on and off, and drank his beloved water on and off.  

I wondered what he could be thinking.  

He is only 6.

New country.  New language.  New smells.  New experiences.  

We arrived home and he excitedly unpacked his bag showing us all of the items inside.  And he checked out his room and a few toys.  

We said goodnight, tucked him in and asleep he went.  

 The next morning we all waited anxiously outside of his room for him to awake. 

Thankfully, he was all smiles and ready to take on the day when he awoke.  

He played and laughed and ate and immediately began to weasel his way into our hearts.

This was the beginning of his new life.

A life of hope and future.

 When we traveled to China last year to adopt Maryn, we met many families who were adopting the children they had hosted the previous summer.  This is where the seed was planted inside of me to host a child in our home.  We do feel like our family is full.  We have a whole hand of kiddos and we are navigating through teenager-hood and toddler-hood 24/7.  

But I do struggle with knowing that so many children wait.

Hosting allowed our family to do a "mission" trip of sorts together, in our own home, without traveling and within our financial means. 

And mission it was.  Our main goal for Noah was to find his forever family and to gain as much knowledge about his medical challenges for potential adoptive families.  This child's file was/is just that - a file with many words about a child who is much more precious than words can ever describe.  

 Fifteen years ago, while attending a Discovery Toys party, I met Connie and her baby girl, Abby.  We became fast friends and began a playgroup that included Abby and our son, Colin.  

On Colin's first birthday, we moved to Boston, MA.  

Not long after, baby Abby and her family moved away to SC - right to the town that I grew up in. 

Last summer, as God would orchestrate without us knowing, our family bumped into Connie.  We mentioned that we were in the process to adopt our Maryn and would be traveling very soon to bring her home.  Connie told me her dreams of adopting from China.  Their Abby was adopted domestically as an infant.  With Abby and their two bio boys support, they were praying about adopting once again. She felt a strong desire for China adoptions but also the domestic programs as well.  

That was that.  A conversation.  We became FB friends and life went on.

And then came this little guy! 

 I am pretty sure they were smitten at first sight - that first picture that I posted on FB.  

They met and the rest is history.  

The host program has changed this little guys life.

He came to us with one list of diagnoses and left with a new list.  Medically, he is fragile.

But, more importantly, he left us yesterday to go back to China with HOPE.  He has a family who adores him and will go to the ends of the earth to care for him.  

Our hearts hurt today that he is gone from our home.  Tears have been shed and our home is eerily quiet.  I would be lying if I said we have handled this all in stride.  Goodbyes are not my thing.  At all.  Even knowing that he will be home soon, even knowing that he has a family, even knowing he is loved by many....I am struggling today.  I miss him.  We all do.  

Our lives are once again changed by the needs of an innocent child.  We are humbled to have been allowed to be a part of his story.