More Western Day

Here are a few more pics of our Western Day. They do so many cute things with the kids. I love preschool!




There was a teepee set up with an Indian there who showed the kids all kinds of items the Indians used.


We were all sitting inside the teepee.  This man was so cute and good with the kids.  He made a fire with a flint.


Musical chairs...where the chairs don't move :)  Their teacher decided to try taking a chair away and Gracie ended up being on the one without a chair (only because she found something else in the room to look at).  We all cheered for her like she had won, but she knew better than that.  Her classic "HEEYYY!" was pretty funny, and they added the chair back :)  Her bangs are almost grown out!  I use a barrette to hold them back but they still fall in her face.  I can't wait until they're grown!!!


Western dancing.  I don't remember the song, but they were showing their muscles.


They both love their teacher, and she is amazing with them.  She has been especially patient and creative as Gracie has learned English this school year.


Riding stick horses.


 Looking for the needles in the haystack :) How cute is this? They have this huge pile of shredded paper and put about 20 plastic needles in it. The kids are supposed to find them. It is not easy...but so fun!


It is always so much fun to sit back and watch the differences in the girls.  Sometimes, it's exactly what I expect and sometimes they surprise me.  The stick horses were especially funny.  Wesleigh gallopped exactly as they had practiced, but the gallop was just a little too slow for Gracie.  Although she is more coordinated and could probably do it better, she didn't have the patience and just ran instead.

Western Day!

I have to admit, I have planned this day since I started Wesleigh's paperwork! I love preschool. The girls go to the same school the boys went to years ago. This place is like a time warp. Everything is exactly the same as it was. I love that. A few years ago I saw this dress on a friend's daughter. She was dressed up for a rodeo with pink boots and everything. I knew right then that my little girl would wear that dress for Western day! Fast forward a few years and I not only have one little girl, but two to dress for Western day. No worries...ebay and I are good friends ;) I found two dresses and they are just as adorable as I have dreamed for all these years! Just see for yourself!

(This first pic is my favorite!!)



The girls were SO excited that we were both there~
 '

 

I have more!  I'll share in the next post.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!!

11 years ago today I gave birth to my last baby boy. They induced me 2 weeks early because he was so big and didn't think I would be able to do it by myself (I did!!). He was 9lbs 2oz and 22 1/4 inches long. He looked like a 2 month old :) I am so thankful they didn't make me wait any longer! Cade has always beat to his own drum. That has served him well, and he has turned into a wonderful, compassionate 11 yr. old. He keeps up laughing around here and we wouldn't trade him for the world! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!

Mine...

Not exactly a word you are usually happy to hear coming out of your toddler's mouth.  In my case, however, every time Wesleigh says it (alot), it gives me the warm fuzzies.  To Wesleigh, the boys are not "the boys", they are "my boys".  Her sister is "my sisser".  She talks constantly about "my boys", "my sisser", "my daddy", "my paw paw", etc.  The warm fuzzies come from the fact that for the first two years of her life, there was nothing in Wesleigh's life that was "mine".  No boys, no daddy, no mommy, no "sisser", no clothes of her own, no toys of her own...nothing.  Wesleigh truly loves her life, and everyone in it.  The thought that she could still be in an orphanage without any of this is more than I can truly comprehend.



 How many children wait and dream of being able to use the word "mine"??

When the thought of going back to China for Gracie first came up (she was SO not in "the plan"), this is what I told Richard, "I don't know if we are supposed to go back to China.  I don't even know if I want to.  But I know this, if she is ours, we can't leave her in China!".  She was "mine".  I do not believe that everyone in this world is called to adopt, but I do believe you should examine your heart and make sure you do not have a child waiting for you to call him/her "mine".

My Boy

Braden is probably the child you hear the least about.  He's a tough nut to crack.  He is extremely sweet, calm and quiet, but it has come to my attention, that he is quite the cut-up with his friends.  He is a texting machine.  I am not thrilled about that, but think it's so funny that he wants that constant communication.  The girls seem to love him (not surprised), and he loves them back :(  He is a country boy at heart, like his daddy, and wants to live in the middle of nowhere and drive a big bubba truck :)  (We'll see what all those girls think of that!! lol...)  He's 13, so he can be quite the pain in the behind, but I love him just the same and am so proud of him!



We have struggled with Braden and his grades this year.  He is a brainiac in math but he was really struggling the first half of the year.  He was slacking on assignments and making poor grades.  His phone was taken multiple times, brought me to tears and caused a meeting with the principal.  I am happy to report that he decided all on his own this past 9 weeks that he was going to get his work done...and he did!  He did not miss one assignment and this was all on his own.  I am so proud that he made a needed adjustment and took responsibility for his grades.

LOVE this boy, and I can't wait to see what God has planned for his life!!

Princess Cowgirls

Next week is Western Day at school! I have been looking forward to and planning for Western Day before we even got Wesleigh's referral! I have known what I wanted her (now them) to wear forever! This is not it :) But Gracie is completely addicted to the pink cowboy boots that have become part of her wardrobe. We went outside for a 10 minute impromptu photoshoot, inspired by the tutu and boots Gracie has been wearing around the house non-stop. I didn't even fix their hair because I wasn't planning on having their heads in the pic. I LOVE the way these came out!

 

She did this all on her own...

All About the Baseball

This weekend was all about the baseball in this house.  We had perfect weather to enjoy 4 games on Saturday and 4 games Sunday.  Sunday ended about 10:00pm with Braden's team winning the championship!  The highlight of the weekend, however, was Braden's VERY long homerun!  SO proud of him!!  He's one of the scrawniest on the team and one of the few who have hit it out of the park.  SO fun!

This picture is of Braden's teamates meeting him at homeplate to celebrate his homer.


Cade is playing around with the girls who were camped out by the fence.




Both grandmothers were there to watch the boys and help with the littles.




This chick cracks me up!  I have GOT to get her into gymnastics!  She's watching something on my phone in this comfortable pose :)


Pringles and a princess movie :)


Using bendables to make crowns and jewelry.


Lovin' her daddy.  I had a request to see more of the girls with their daddy :)






The champs!


I was such a fun weekend!  My SIL graciously kept the girls for me Sunday so I got to sit down, relax and cheer my loudest!  Thanks Amanda!!

Feeling Like Spring

We finally started having some nice weather here (and some of our new spring clothes started coming in!) so I got the girls out to take a few pics. They are still a pain in the rear to get pics of them together, so I really don't try very hard. In the words of Pinkalicious, "I get what I get and I don't get upset!" I don't even feel like I have to get the same number of pics each time we have a shoot. One will be a stinker one day and the other will have that covered the next :)



Awww...so sweet!


Yep...that's the real story!!



And the last one...
 

 Too bad they toppled over into the muddy irises right after!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geez!!!!

BTW...In case you're interrested, these outfits are from the spring line of Swanky Baby Vintage...SO cute!!