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!!)

We Graduated!

Our family has officially graduated from preschool!  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.  I am so sad to leave these precious years behind, but at the same time, am very happy to be moving on.  Here's a conversation I had with Wesleigh yesterday:

me: I don't want you to graduate from preschool, that means you're growing up!
W:  Why don't you want us to gwow up?
me:  Because you're just so cute and sweet.
W:  Well....we are still cute when we get bigger.
Yes...yes you are!

I've talked about the girls' teachers before, but I'm going to do it again.  These amazing women have loved my girls deeply this year.  They have contributed to these girls being confident, secure and happy.  I will never be able to thank them enough.




The girls were so excited about their graduation.  They have been practicing for a couple of weeks and couldn't wait to show us what they were going to do.












Maw Maw and Paw Paw


Richard's sister, Amanda, was their special guest.  They asked me for a week if she was coming.  Thankfully, when I finally asked her, she could come :)  They were thrilled!


Next school year Bryce will start his senior year, Braden will start high school and these two will start kindergarten.  It will be another big year in this house!  For now, though, I'm going to try to enjoy this summer with my children.  hmmm....I may or may not be a little nervous about it too :)

Braden's Award...SO proud ;)

I'm going to warn you before you read this post.  I am sarcastic, and my boys know it :)

Braden and Cade have attended the same Jr. High this year.  Braden is in 8th and Cade in 6th.  My boys are talented, sweet, wonderful boys however, academics isn't really their "thing".  They don't make bad grades, but neither of them made it on the honor roll this year.  Does this upset me?  Not really.  Do I wish they would work harder to make better grades?  Yes, but it has to come from them.  I don't have the brainpower or time to keep up with all 5 schedules and school work.  I was not a straight A student.  I did what I needed to do to make the grades I needed, and I think I turned out alright :)

I say all this to say that when I received a note from school saying Braden would be receiving an award, I was excited.  We knew it wasn't the honor roll or perfect attendance, so it must be one of the special teacher awards...right?  The girls had to miss school so I could attend because of the timing.  I sat through the ceremony, clapping for each student's accomplishment.

Each teacher got up and presented their special award for their sections. Braden's award had to be one of these, it was all that was left. Finally, his name was called: "Student of the Year"....in PE!!!!
All I could do is laugh. All he could do was grin. After the ceremony, he came up to me and we just laughed. I told him I was the proudest mom in the room...and he agreed that I should be :) lol...

I know you are all jealous...I'm sorry...not everyone can have such an outstanding child ;)  And...yes...you are correct...he IS my favorite!

Wesleigh Jane "Teacup"

I love this girl...she makes me laugh constantly and she makes me wonder how I was so blessed that God picked me to be her mommy!

I love this first picture. I feel like I can look into the future and see what she will look like when she's grown. I also get the feeling I can see what her birth mother might look like.



Wesleigh Jane has certainly come into her own in the past couple of months.  Her personality has taken a turn into quite the sassy know-it-all, and very talkative!  She is still her super sweet, adorable self but now it's just on steroids!  Here are some of the funny things she's said and done in the past couple of days:

*"why" has now turned into "did you know?".  I cannot even tell you how many times a day I hear this phrase:
"Mommy....did you know??  that I love you??"
"Mommy...mommy...did you know??  that the t-rex is a meat eater??"
"Mommy...mommy...mommy... did you know??  that MawMaw is your mommy??"
"Mommy...mommy...did you know??  I am very smart??"
"Mommy...did you know??  That I live in China and Weesiana??"

NON-STOP!!  But I must say, she tells me the "I love you" phrase about 100 times a day and it melts my heart every single time!  She also talks about "my family" alot, and it might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard.



Her other new word is "hypothesis"!  Yep...you read that right.  We were on our way home from school  yesterday talking about taking a nap and this is what I hear, "I have a hypothesis.  My hypothesis is if you don't take a nap, you'll be crabby.  But if you take a nap, you won't be crabby.  That's my hypothesis".  Seriously??  I don't know if Cade could use the word "hypothesis" in a sentence like that!!  :)

Over the last 2 days, these are the other hypothesis's she's come up with:
"if mommy looks back at Gracie, she'll wreck.  If she looks at the road, she won't wreck"
"if we wear a jacket, we won't be cold.  If we don't wear a jacket, we'll be cold"

She has become very outgoing!  Hard to believe, but she is the one who will walk up to anyone and start talking.  Gracie still hides behind my leg for a little while in some new situations (not all...but some).  Wesleigh goes right in and says "Nice to meet you".  So sweet!





She has started spelling all the road signs.  She knows all her letters very quickly, so she reads off all the letters and asks me what it says.  Have I mentioned that she talks 100% of the time we're in the car??

There was a painting on the wall of a building on our way to Disney on Ice today.  All of a sudden she says, "Hey...that's the state capitol in that painting".  The state capitol was a small part of the painting but she was right.  She has explained planets, meat-eating dinosaurs vs. plant eating dinosaurs, rainbows, sunsets, and many other concepts.  I am amazed by her.

She loves deep.  She knows how everyone in our family is related and she loves that she has "a weally big family".  She not only loves her family, but loves her teachers.  The report is that she will stop playing to come sit on the bench and tell her teacher how much she loves her.  How much do you bet, that sentence starts with "Did you know??"  lol...

I took all of these pics while we spent some alone time this afternoon.  Gracie had been in time out 3 times at school today...yes THREE!  So her punishment was a nap!  I loved spending some time with Wesleigh alone.  Her laugh is infectious and easy.  I adore this little girl and am amazed by her daily :)

Happy Mother's Day!

With the craziness of our schedule lately, I was thrilled to spend an afternoon at home with all my kiddos.  After church, we grilled at home and just hung out.  Honestly, I can't remember the last time we were able to do that!



The girls came home from school with Mother's Day presents earlier in the week. I made them wait until today to give them to me, but they could hardly wait. They are so proud of their creations :) I love their questionnaires! Their answers are so funny, and totally show the differences in their personalities!!








 Even though Gracie's eyes are closed, I wanted you to see her standing in this dress. I love it!! (It's Loves me Not)
 

 Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mom! She is such a blessing in my life and the lives of my children.