A Sad Goodbye

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you've seen pictures of my friend Rachel and her children. Rachel and I were in kindergarten together and then my family moved to the other side of town. We ended up at the same high school and have been best friends ever since. (That was a long time ago) We have been through weddings, moves, deaths, births, fires, good times and bad. Her family is moving to TN to become head pasters of a great church. I am so happy and proud of them, but it is really hard to see them go. It's bad enough for she and I to be so far away, but the kids really break my heart. They truly love each other. I guess we'll be making road trips to TN now. You think next week is too soon?

Wesleigh bossed Caitlin around all night. Today, she actually thought I was going to ride the bike like that!

Our 7 children. Her 3 are in the same grades as my boys.

When they were leaving, they pretty much ran out the door so we wouldn't break down. It was effective but didn't keep me from crying half the night (and as I type this). This goodbye is really rough.

Just Hangin' Out

I've had a couple of questions lately that I thought I would answer:

*The swimsuit Wesleigh is wearing in The Bailey B0ys. I bought it on clearance a couple of years ago. I lucked out because it fits her perfectly! Kim, I think Kelly's Kds has one very similar. I would love for them to match!!

*My sister in law does monogramming here, so she does all my stuff. I have a collection of tank tops for W that came out adorable. I'll have to post a picture. In the south, there are monogramming shops all over. We love to monogram everyting!!

*The crawfish dress is Castles & Cr0wns. It's a trunk show, but you can find them online. They have some precious things.

That is all the questions I can remember right now. If I forgot one, let me know!

Here are some random pics from the past couple of weeks:

My girl has good taste! She went in my closet and picked these all by herself. They look pretty good, if you ask me ;) Having a girl has taught me one thing...my addiction to shoes and purses is completely inbread. There's nothing Richard can do to fight it, so he just as well give in! I can't help it...I was born that way ;)

Of course, a girl has to know how to hike a ball too!!

This one is so funny. You can't really tell, but Cade is filthy dirty in his baseball clothes after practice. Wesleigh brought a big bag of bows out of her room and laid them all out on the table. She then started to put different bows up to Cade's head. She would decide which one she liked better (like I do to her). You can see Cade wasn't paying one bit of attention to her, he was watching tv. How funny is that?!?!

Not a story here, I just thought I needed to show you this adorable MJ outfit!

The coffee table has become one of Wesleigh's favorite places. She was laying here watching tv.

One of the boys helped her with this. She was in hog heaven.

Hope you're having a great summer! We have enjoyed just hanging out and swimming. We'd better enjoy it now before it gets too hot!!

Sun Bathing Beauty

Wesleigh LOVES the pool!!

I am so excited because this is where we will spend our summer. I was a little worried about her reaction, but I had nothing to worry about.

This was Braden's end of the year party. All of his classmates watched our blog daily while we were in China and are absolutely in love with her. Look how the girls surrounded her. She thought she was hot stuff.

I just think she's so adorable in this suit. You can see just how tiny she is. We've been having a swimwear fashion show here lately. So far, this is my favorite!

Summertime in South Louisiana

Yep...it's crawfish time. My boys have learned to love eating boiled crawfish, but these were HOT! Bryce and Braden ate all they could but would run to the ice chest for some ice to cool their lips.

Bryce was using ice to cool his lips, and Wesleigh wanted to try it.

So funny! Isn't her dress perfect?!?!

Crazy Cade

I'm a little behind on this post, but as soon as Cade finished we were ready to start our summer!! The end of this year has definitely been emotional. We are having lots of transitions next school year. Bryce going to high school, Braden is changing schools and Cade leaving this wonderful teacher he's had the past 2 years.

We were so blessed to have Lauren as Cade's teacher for 2nd and 3rd grades. She has been such a wonderful influence in Cade's life. I have known Lauren since I was a student teacher MANY years ago. I even taught her class when she was on maternity leave 14 years ago!! She was magnificent then...and she is magnificent now. We are so sad to be leaving her classroom.

The school's theme this year was "rock-n-roll". Lauren gave each student in her class a rock-n-roll themed award. Cade got the "Bruce Springsteen Award". This is what she said, "He was 'Born in the USA' and will aways be my 'All American Boy'".

You can see in the picture that Cade really loves her.

Cade also got a number of other awards for honor roll, PE and AR. I am so proud of this boy! I can't believe he's going to the 4th grade!!!

I Have a High Schooler!!

I absolutely cannot believe that I now have a high schooler. There is NO WAY I'm that old! Bryce is officially done with jr. high and on to bigger and better things. He has really matured in these 3 years of jr. high. He is a friend to all and very responsible. He needs to work on his study habits and grades, but I think he'll rise to the occasion. We went to the high school today to meet the band director and get a French horn for him to use this summer. There was a class in there and it was very exciting to see where he would be next year. He was even able to get the music he'll be playing next year to practice. (A big advantage over the other 9th graders). I hope he is disciplined enough to use that to his advantage.

Bryce finished jr. high strong winning a number of awards. He received an award for attending Youth Legislature, for being a band officer, and for having the most Accelerated Reader points in the 8th grade. He had about 450 points!!!! If you're familiar with AR, you know that is ALOT!! He reads all the time and was so excited to win this award.

I am so proud of the young man he is becoming!

It is amazing how much these boys change in 1 school year! I made Bryce come out and take a picture in the same spot we took his 1st day of school picture. He was not happy about it, but looking at the two side by side is amazing!!

Bryce 8/7/09

Bryce 5/18/10

(Pay no attention to the awful hair! We get it cut tomorrow!!)

Sweet Braden

Braden is my sweetheart. From the time he was born, he has been a little cuddle bug. His sweet quiet spirit separates him from the other boys. He has talents and strengths that make me so proud. He is definitely not perfect but he's pretty darn close ;)

Today was Braden's 5th grade awards day. I knew this day would be emotional because he has spent the past 7 years at this school. We are very close to his teachers and friends and it's hard to think that he won't be back. Braden will be in jr. high next year and he's also switching to a private school, so he won't be with this same group of kids next year. It was sad to say goodbye.

He won the best award! It is the character award for his class. I am so proud of him! When I hugged his teacher, she told me that if she had a boy, she would want him to be just like Braden. That is quite a compliment from a teacher who has just spent a year with your child!

Braden and his teachers.

This teacher taught him kindergarten and 5th grade.

Braden and his sweet friend, Dawson.

Of course, Miss W was a huge attraction. She wanted to make sure she was in this picture of Braden.

Braden won 3rd place in the math speed game competition for the 5th grade. This is his collection of trophys from the past 5 years. He has won 1st, 2nd or 3rd place every year! I'm so proud of him!!

We're Still Here

I know I haven't been around the bloggy world lately. I've been either too busy or too lazy lately. This is the last full week of school here so we're in the middle of end of the year festivities. Bryce's baseball season has started, so we've added that to the schedule too. I'll try to do a good update in the next couple of days.

This picture cracks me up for a couple of reasons. First is that hair! Oh, Lord help us! It is going to be SO bad as it grows out. Thank goodness it's growing fast. Second is that she's "drinking" the tea straight from the pot. I'm wondering which boy taught her that ;)

And The Clock Starts....

NOW! Your mission, should you choose to take it, is to run around your house like a crazy person trying to accomplish multiple tasks during the 1 hr and 15 minute respite from your 2 year old. Yes, only 1 hr. and 15 minutes...well, it could be shorter, but definitely not longer! These tasks include, but are not limited to, vaccuuming your discusting floor, dusting, emptying (and refilling) the dishwasher, folding the piles of clean clothes, washing the piles of dirty clothes, cleaning your bathroom, well...you get the idea. You might even consider unpacking and putting away the carry-on from China that is still in the living room...

...or taking down the "welcome home Wesleigh" sign that has been hanging..well, since you got home (3 months ago!)...

...better yet, you might even decide to take down the Christmas wreath that is still hanging over your living room mantle!!!

Should you choose not to accept this mission, Well...just go on your back porch with your computer and a glass of sweet tea.

Whatever you decide...HURRY...you only have 56 minutes left!!!

What a Difference!

It's been 3 months since we've been home and it's hard to believe these two pictures are of the same girl. The difference is so much more than a pretty bow and a tutu. It's a light in her eyes. To be honest, looking at the two of these pictures together makes me want to sob. Three months ago we couldn't see the light that wasn't in those sweet eyes...now we do. It's amazing what a little love can do. How thankful I am that she is here with us, growing, changing, loving life and being loved. How sad I am for the thousands who still sit in orphanages.

This picture was taken the first time we saw this sweet face in person.

Taken 1 week ago after being home for 3 months.

Wesleigh has made so many strides since we got home. Her personality has really come out and she is definitely her mother's child! The biggest change we've had in this past month is her language. Just in the past few days has she started to use her language without repeating someone. She started by telling the boys "thank you" when they give her snacks. She will go to the bottom of the stairs and yell one of the boys' names to try to get them to come down. She initiates telling people "bye". Today in WM she started saying, "happy birthday" and then saying "yay!" with her hands raised. (she has a toy that has taught her that).

She loves seeing herself in pictures. Since we had our portraits taken, she's been looking at our family photo on the computer and points to everyone and says their name. So sweet. One reason I wanted to get those pics done when I did is because she loved to look at the different pics around the house. I wanted her to see herself in our family pics.

I can't believe we've only been home 3 months! She came running through the keeping room yesterday (brick floors). Richard and I looked at each other and said, "Can you believe how much better she is at that in only 3 months?". It is remarkable to see. What a blessing she is.