What A Year!!

2010 is definitely a year to go down in the books for this family! Wow! When I look back and realize that it was just 11 months ago that we were in China...amazing!! Wesleigh has definitely been the "theme" of the year. Most of our time/energy has been spent making sure she was adjusting well and felt secure and loved. I'm pretty sure we accomplished that, as she has made herself right at home and fit right in to the craziness. She is the most amazing miracle. When I look at her, I can't help but think about her amazing journey to her forever family. She has been through more, in her 2 1/2 years, than most of us in our lifetimes. God has definitely had his hand on Wesleigh from the very beginning. Some ask, "How could God want her to be abandoned". He didn't, but he knew it would happen. And he turned what the enemy meant for harm, into good. I am in awe of all He has done. I am in awe of His perfect timing. I am in awe of a little 2 year old girl, from an orphanage in China, who has turned our lives upside down. She has changed our lives. My boys will never be the same because of her. I will never be the same because of her.

January 26, 2010


December 24, 2010




So what does 2011 hold for our family? Not too long ago, I would have said it would be a calmer year. No more paperwork, government agencies (especially USCIS which causes me to have chest pains just saying the name!), no planned life changing events. Hmmm.....well.....looks like it's going to be another exciting year in our house! Yes, as many of you have guessed, we do have news...
We are going back to China!!!

I will post details of where we are in the process in the next few days.

I wish you all a wonderful 2011. I hope that it brings you much joy, peace and love.
Thanks for being a part of my "wild ride"!! This bloggy world has been such a source of support, information, friendship and fun!! Many of you will be making a journey to China in the coming year, and I can't wait to see it unfold!
God is Good!!

In Case You Were Wondering...

You might have wondered what in the world Bryce would use his gilly suit for.
Well...Here you go!


As you can see, Bryce isn't the only one who likes to walk around looking like a bush! He's been planning this air soft war for a couple of weeks now, and it looks like he had a great turnout! He complained slightly about me taking the pictures, but the other boys were happy to ablidge!

Team 1. Bryce and Cade are both in this group. He didn't want to let Cade play, but I told him if I was willing to have all these boys all over my house, he could "put up with" Cade.

Team 2

I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't get any call about it ;) The neighborhood knows that they go out there (an empty filing) and do that, but today is alot of boys! The golf course is closed today so hopefully nobody will notice.

The Day After...

You might be wondering how I've had time to make all of these posts today. Well....it's because I'm still in my pj's...from this morning!!! Yep, my behind has been on the couch most of the day...and I've loved every minute of it! It has actually been really cold the past two days, so I was happy to stay put. Richard took Braden hunting, so things have been pretty quiet. Here are a couple of pics...

Wesleigh was pretty worn out from our big day yesterday. I think she was wishing she could crawl in the cradle with her baby!




Feeding her baby. I know, her outfit is hideous!! What can I say...it was a pj day!


Cade crawled in her tent with her and let her "put him to sleep".




One funny tidbit...Wesleigh is so imune to all the crazy boy things that go on here that when Bryce's friend came walking in the house with his crazy gilly suit on (yes, they now both have one), Wesleigh just looked at him and said "who dat?"...didn't phase her one bit! I love that!


I realized that I didn't share my favorite gift with you! I got this wonderful epiph@nie camera bag. It has so much room inside and looks like a great purse. It would be perfect for anytime you need a camera and your wallet/lipgloss, etc. It even has enough room to hold passports, etc., for a trip to...say...China!

Christmas Afternoon

The afternoon was spent playing with Wesleigh's kitchen and opening more presents. My family came over for the afternoon, and we all had a great time.

The boys were so sweet. They seemed to take turns playing with all of Wesleigh's loot. They had a great time with her.







My mom gave Bryce this shadow box with my grandfather's NAVY metal, his picture and an article about him returning home. A very special gift.


Bryce got all kinds of interresting gifts (he picked them out). This mask is one of them.


My parents gave Wesleigh this little baby highchair and this cradle that was mine when I was little. She loves them!!


You might not believe it, but that is my first born lying on the floor looking like a bush! He wanted this gilly suit and is thrilled about it! Sometimes I just don't know about these boys!! Just moments later, Auden looked over and saw him. She freaked out! Poor baby!




Braden got in on the "snuggie" Christmas.


Cade was actually helping Wesleigh put the baby's headband on. When he saw that I was going to snap a picture, he tried to get away. Now it just looks like he's strangling the baby! lol...


Cade is always good for a laugh, and he adores Auden. She kept taking his hat, so he traded with her ;)


My parents and the Louisiana grandkids.







Just a small portion of the aftermath!


Our Christmas was really great. It was so much fun having Wesleigh here this year. She was so excited about every single gift and made everything so much fun. She truly hasn't stopped playing with her toys.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was everything I hoped it would be. The boys ended up waking up before Wesleigh and we decided to let them enjoy their presents from Santa first so we could all focus on Wesleigh when she woke up. It worked out perfect and allowed us to enjoy the boys' reactions and focus on them for a while. It also allowed them to enjoy seeing Wesleigh with hers (they were very excited for her).





Cade had quite a Christmas list. He wanted a "real men wear pink" shirt, neon green shoelaces and a fedora!! Santa delivered and Cade was quite the fashion statement!! He also got a new baseball bat.


Bryce wanted a new air soft gun and stressed for weeks about whether Santa would deliver! He was very happy that Santa didn't leave him hangin'! He also got a tent and some other "supplies" for Sea Cadets.






Braden got a new rifle that he had hoped for and a baseball bat.


After the boys enjoyed seeing what Santa brought them, Wesleigh decided to join the fun.




How cute is this? The first thing she went for was that Cinderella doll.


Before long, though, she was cooking breakfast for everyone!




Richard is trying out Cade's snuggie. (I got one too!) In fact, I'm "wearing" it as I type!


The last part of the morning was opening presents. Highlights were Bryce's nook, Braden and Cade's Bibles and Wesleigh's princesses (of course).







Cade's fashion statement of the day: black fedora, pink tshirt and neon green shoelaces. Lord, help me!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve ended up being a very fun and very busy day! We started the day with a photo shoot.





Wesleigh's dress was given to us by a sweet, new friend. I recently met a mom through our church who has older children like I do and is waiting to travel to get her 2 yr. old daughter in India. We met for lunch a couple of weeks ago and she gave us this beautiful dress. She had bought it for her daughter expecting her to be home this Christmas. Since she isn't, she wanted Wesleigh to be able to wear it. It was such a sweet gesture and such a beautiful dress. I couldn't wait to put it on her!! I can't wait to see it on her beautiful daughter next year!

This picture of all 4 is my favorite. Richard was jumping out from behind me.



She loves to put her hand around our necks. So sweet.




We had Christmas with Richard's dad and lots of family. I did a horrible job taking pictures because they all seem to be of Wesleigh! This is Amanda, Richard's sister. Wesleigh adores her!


Time to open presents!! This is Wesleigh's reaction.




Anything pink and princess is sure to be a hit. She also has a special love for pillows ;)




After our time with family, we went to church and then headed home to have some gumbo with my parents. It was nice to get into sweats and enjoy the evening. The kids got to open a couple of presents...one of which was this sleeping bag for Miss W. It is precious!! Looks like Bryce likes it too!


Of course, we ended the night leaving our special Christmas cookies for Santa.


It was a great day, and such fun to see the magic of the season through Wesleigh's eyes for her first Christmas.

I'm going to work our our Christmas Day post next. It was such a great day for all of us! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!