Dance, Dance, Dance!

This was the weekend...the girl weekend. The weekend that I don't spend at the ballpark with my hair in a ponytail :) Well...Saturday, at least! Revue 2013!!





The girls were so excited to finally dance in "the big show".

 They were true to their personalities. Gracie was completely in her element and loved every minute of the stage. I truly believe she thinks the whole event is about her! Wesleigh was busy trying to make sure she remembered every step and executed it exactly right! I love how different they are. The crowd, however, seems to appreciate Gracie's style of dance a little more. She is definitely a crowd favorite and as we walked through the crowd afterward, we got lots of smiles and compliments. You can see their different styles in these pics :)

























It was my brother's turn to dance in the "daddy dance". Their theme was disco. OH MY...was it GREAT!!

Keep in mind, my brother is a city councilman in our city. I told him I think I have his next campaign photo here!!

Yes...he had a solo part :)



Are those costumes not the cutest???



The other themes for the daddy dances were Motown and Annie. SO cute!!

 After the show, the girls were thrilled to get flowers. Grandparents:

All my boys were happy to attend and support their sisters. They love to see what they do. They did, however, get a little antsy as we got into the 4th hour!! Especially since Braden had played 2 baseball games starting at 8:00 that morning! Next year, they will split the show into two :)




I just love these boys. My girls don't know how good they have it. Their brothers will do anything for them!!

I almost forgot. This might be my favorite pic! I happened to be able to see this backstage wing from my seat. Don't you know...I spent the whole dance before the girls' watching to see if I could get a shot of one of mine. LOVE how she's watching those big girls!!

It's Almost Time!

There's been lots of hard work happening these days in the dance studio!  Just 2 more weeks until it's revue time!!  Not only do I get to watch my girls perform, but my niece will be in the same revue.  Since she's younger, my brother will be joining her in the daddy dance.  I can't wait!  They have a disco themed dance :) Richard is very jealous!!  ;)

Here are a few pics I snapped during practice the other day:











Can't wait to see them in action on the big stage :)

The Big Question

There has been one question that has been asked, regarding my recent trip to China, more than any other:
"Are you going back to adopt again?"

I will be honest, I was a little worried that my trip would result in me falling in love with one special little brown eyed someone.  If I'm brutally honest, I even prayed that I would not!  I feel like I just got my feet under me from Gracie's adoption, and I also feel like I am stretched to the limit with the 5 children I have at home.  As I left for China, though, Richard and I agreed that we wanted God's best for our lives...even if it wasn't physically what we wanted to do.

I am happy to report that I did not fall in love with a special someone.

Instead, I fell in love with Faith...


...and Charlotte


...and Quinn


...and Sawyer


...and Leighton


...and Joseph and his best buddy Jamison


 In fact, I fell in love with 27+ special someones.  Instead of coming home with the burn to adopt again, God gave me a burn to help empty those metal orphanage cribs.

Perhaps, it was the babies that I have no pictures of that touched my heart the most.  After holding, kissing and loving on so many precious babies who live everyday in an orphanage, then returning them to their cribs to spend the rest of their day/week/month/year, I have to do something!  Right now, that means continuing my work with Pearl River.  Right now, that means asking for sponsors to step up and help us care for these precious children.  We have already seen 3 of those children moved out of the orphanage and into loving foster homes!!  If you haven't already, please join me on this mission...to empty the metal cribs!!

Want to know how?  Click HERE

My Flower Girl

Our lawnmower is having some issues these days, so I decided to take advantage of the wild flowers growing in the backyard :)  These girls never cease to amaze me in the difference between them and the way their brothers were when they were little.  These were actually taken a couple of weeks ago.  You won't believe how tan they have gotten since then.

Gracie is definitely my fairy tale, dream girl.  Every day is better if she gets to wear a dress that twirls :)  It is almost dance recital time and Gracie is in her element.  They actually have her placed in the front row...not quite sure what they're thinking.  One thing I do know, she will be worth watching!!


















Richard walked by and saw the flower show.  He took the camera from me and took a few.






Love these girls!

The coolest thing has been happening since I got home from China.  Gracie is actually talking about her memories from China.  She was 3 1/2 when she came home, so I know she remembers some things.  Before my trip, she would admit to remembering very little.  Since I've been home, she has actually been telling me about the house she lived in and some other little details .  Here are a few of the things she has shared:
*She took baths with bubbles, but no soap.  Guessing the bubbles were the soap :)
*She helped with the dishes and there were bubbles in the water.
*She saw a shark at the aquarium.  I know they went to the aquarium on a PRO field trip :)
*She told me the name of her goat/sheep stuffed toy that she came to us with.  "Si YaYa".

I'm not quite sure about the psychology of it all, but for some reason, seeing pictures of me in her foster home...with her foster mom has made it ok for her to share these things with me.  I am so happy about it!  I know she will forget all of those little details at some point and I would love to have them documented before she does.

You're OUT!

I have a love/hate relationship with photographing baseball...especially since the girls have come home!!  9 out of 10 times, you're not going to get the shot.  Chances are, when the play happens, you won't be sitting there ready with your camera focused through the fence.  Instead, you'll be fixing the DVD player for the 20th time, taking someone to the potty for the 100th time, or jabbering with the mom sitting next to you :)  Every once in a while, though, it works out.  And you capture the shot that makes you smile big.

This series makes me smile.  Cade is one of the biggest players on the team, but he's also fast.  He plays shortstop which means he is involved in pick-off plays and run-downs all the time.  There have been about 3 or 4 plays very similar to this one that Cade has been involved in this year already.  Last weekend, he did this exact thing with his catcher's equipment on!!!  You guessed it...I did not catch that shot :(

This base runner was trying to steal 2nd base.  Cade is standing on 2nd waiting for the ball to come from the catcher.


Here's the ball....love how you can see the runner put on the brakes!






Cade could have thrown the ball to the 1st baseman, but he decided to chase him down himself.


I love how they're running in sync, and the expressions on their faces!!






Got him!!  You're OUT!!


Baseball has definitely changed for me since Wesleigh came home.  I used to be the mom sitting on the fence watching every single second.  I have had to adjust that.  I might see it...I might not.  I won't say that I'm completely ok with this, but I've accepted that this is how it is.  Well...most of the time I accept it (unless I end up crying on my bathroom floor because I missed Cade's first homerun because I was sweating in the park bathroom with the littles!!!!)  :)   Oh well...that's my life....and I love it (except the sweating in the bathroom part!!)