Life As We Know It

Christmas Happenings (lots of pictures)

2012-01-01T17:37:00.000-06:00

The kids in Huntsville.

Kylie dancing in church Christmas program.

Karli, Kenzie, and Kacee in our church's live nativity.

Karli and Kacee were sheep.

Kenzie was Mary.

The tree with all of the gifts under it.

Christmas Eve in their new pajamas.

The whole crew on Christmas eve.

Santa's gifts for Kacee.

Santa's gifts for Kenzie.

Santa's gifts for Karli.

Games that Santa left for the family.

Kenzie with her loot (notice the shark behind her).

Karli with her loot.

Kacee with her loot (and my messy computer desk).

The big girls on Christmas morning.

Keaton opening a gift.

Kenzie opening a gift.

Kacee opening a gift.

The big girls opening gifts.

Kari got a skateboard.

Karli opening a gift.

Keaton at Granny and PawPaw's

Kenzie at Granny and PawPaw's

Karli at Granny and PawPaw's

Kari at Granny and PawPaw's

Kacee at Granny and PawPaw's

Keaton riding his new electric scooter.

Santa Pics

2011-12-19T18:35:00.000-06:00

Some Group Shots of the Kids

2011-12-18T18:43:00.000-06:00

We spent the day in College Station and finally got some good pictures of all 7 kids.

A Family of 9

2011-12-11T18:47:00.000-06:00

We had to have a family photo for the one month post placement report. This is as good as it gets when you are trying to use the timer on the camera.

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-08T10:27:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we took the kids for Christmas photos. Here are a few that we liked. Some of you will be getting Christmas cards with one of the poses below. Enjoy!

Kari - One Month As a Member of Our Family

2011-12-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

Kari has officially been a member of our family for one month. Everything is going much better than we expected. There have been times when she is frustrated with the communication problems, but we working through it. We have decided that she will begin 7th grade in January - after the Christmas holidays. Kari is a little scared since she does not know English and won't know how to communicate with anyone. We have assured her that she will learn the language quickly once she begins school.

Kari, Kylie, and Kayla get along great. They have not been any disagreements so far, but I know they will come at some point. It's great to hear Kari and Kylie giggling in their room at bedtime after lights out. Kari has been clothes shopping, shoe shopping, gotten her ears pierced, had a manicure, and been on numerous Christmas shopping expeditions. She is attending the Chinese church on Sundays and Wednesdays and gets to speak with others who can understand her. She has met all of her grandparents and uncles and aunts. During the holidays, she will meet her great-grandmother.

Kylie's Christmas Band Concert

2011-12-06T11:49:00.000-06:00

Kenzie's MDO Christmas Program

2011-12-05T11:48:00.000-06:00

Kenzie's class sang 2 songs at her Mother's Day Out Program.

Kenzie's 5th Birthday

2011-12-04T21:40:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Kenzie's fifth birthday by having all of her grandparents (and a cousin) over for a small family party.

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

Karli's Daisy Girl SCout Investiture

2011-12-01T22:04:00.000-06:00

Karli's Girl Scout troop had their Investiture ceremony today in which they officially became Girl Scouts.

Kari - Pierced Ears

2011-11-22T22:19:00.000-06:00

When we were in China, Kari indicated that she wanted to have her ears pierced. Once we were home and recovered from some of the jet lag, we took her down to Claire's and let her pick out some earrings. She was so excited once she saw the earrings in her ears. She also picked out some to wear once she removes the original ones.

Bronze Statue

2011-11-22T15:04:00.001-06:00

Kenzie (turquoise stroller) - Sept. 2007

Karli & Kylie - Dec. 2008

Kacee - July 2010

Kari & Keaton - Nov. 2011

The Red Couch

2011-11-22T14:59:00.001-06:00

Kenzie - September 2007

Karli & Kylie - December 2008

Kacee - July 2010

Kari - November 2011

Kari & Keaton - November 2011

End-of-Season Soccer Awards

2011-11-20T21:39:00.000-06:00

Home - Airport Pictures

2011-11-19T20:28:00.000-06:00

My friends Debby and Heather met us at the airport along with the rest of our family. Thanks to Debby for sending me these pictures.

China Photos! :)

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! Here's some photo updates of mom, Keaton, Granny, and Kari in China! They are doing very well and they say that Kari is adjusting to her new family very well and enjoying herself in China. They took her to a salon to get her hair fixed, took her shopping, visited a Safari park, and are currently still in the city of Guangzhou. The other day Kari got her medical exam and they worked on finalizing paperwork. Mom and everybody else calls us every morning and some evenings on Skype and gives everyone a chance to talk. We are so excited to see Kari in our home in just about one week! Check out these photos! :)

One day....

2011-11-04T10:42:00.001-05:00

They're leaving tomorrow!!

Almost there....

2011-11-01T11:05:00.001-05:00

Just four days until they leave!!!

Halloween

2011-11-01T01:02:00.000-05:00

Kacee dressed as Elmo

Karli dressed as a fairy princess

Kenzie dressed as Batgirl

Look Out China, Here We Come!

2011-10-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

We have purchased the plane tickets and have our itinerary.

Saturday, 11/5 - We will fly to Guangzhou connecting through Chicago and Beijing.

Sunday, 11/6 - We will arrive in Guangzhou late in the evening.

Monday, 11/7 - We will meet Kari at 2pm.

Tuesday, 11/8 - The adoption will be finalized at 9am. We will go to the perl market, government store, and clothes shopping for Kari.

Wednesday, 11/9 - Apply for Kari's passport. She will have her medical exam, TB test, and immunizations.

Thursday, 11/10 - We will go to the Safari Park.

Friday, 11/11 - We will visit the orphanage and have the TB test read. Guide will pick up completed adoption paper work and passport.

Saturday, 11/12 - We will go to BaiYun Mountain (White Cloud Mountain) and Yuexiu Park.

Sunday, 11/13 - We will go shopping on Shamian Island.

Monday, 11/14 - We will go the American Consulate and apply for Kari's visa.

Tuesday, 11/15 - Our guide will pick up Kari's visa, and then we will fly to Beijing.

Wednesday, 11/16 - We will go to The Forbidden City, TianAnMen Square, The Summer Palace, and an acrobat show.

Thursday, 11/17 - We will go to the Great Wall and then fly home.

Soccer Pictures

2011-10-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

Consulate Appointment Confirmed

2011-10-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

Our Consulate Appointment is scheduled for November 14, 2011. We are working on purchasing the plane tickets and the itinerary.

Travel Approval is Here!!!

2011-10-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

We will hopefully know what days we are traveling soon. We are hoping to leave November 3 and return November 17.

Homecoming Portrait

2011-10-15T18:39:00.000-05:00

Kylie's School Picture

2011-10-13T20:36:00.000-05:00

Karli's school picture

2011-10-04T14:08:00.001-05:00

Kylie

2011-10-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

Kylie started seventh grade this year. She is in all Honors classes and is even taking Honor Band. She is taking althetics for track and hopes to make the basketball team. This year, she is taking Algebra 1 (2 years early since that is normally taken in 9th grade). Her extra-curricular activities include soccer, private lessons for clarinet, girl scouts, a helper at our church's preschool program (GIGL) and she is a Leader in Training at our church's AWANA. Her schedule is pretty packed, and she has lots of homework every night.

Kylie has played soccer every year since she was 4 years old.

Kylie's school had a night where all of the bands performed. The Honor Band did a great job. She also was one of a few kids picked to play a special song with the orchestra.

Kylie waiting to play.

Kylie playing

Homecoming

2011-10-01T23:07:00.001-05:00

Kayla and Adam

side view of Kayla's hair

Dragon Boat Races

2011-09-25T21:33:00.000-05:00

We went to the local Dragon Boat races today and had a great time.

Kayla and Adam

Happy Birthday Karli

2011-09-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today is Karli's 6th birthday. Her grandparents came by and gave her some gifts. She will have a party in a few weeks.

Kayla's School Picture

2011-09-23T16:04:00.001-05:00

Kacee's School Picture

2011-09-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Moon Festival

2011-09-17T23:39:00.000-05:00

Our local Chinese adoption group celebrated the Moon Festival at a Chinese restaurant. All of the children had a great time.

Group picture

Karli

Kenzie

Kacee

Kenzie won the door prize - a basket of candy.

Soccer

2011-09-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

This fall Kylie, Karli, and Kenzie are playing recreational soccer. Kenzie and Karli are playing on the same team since it makes it a lot easier for practices and games.

Karli and Kenzie before the game.

Kenzie (#4) making a goal.

Karli (second from right)

Karli (#3)

Kenzie (kicking ball) & Karli (behind Kenzie)

Kenzie (with ball) & Karli (on right)

Kenzie (with ball) and Karli (behind Kenzie)

Gotcha - 4 years

2011-09-16T23:14:00.000-05:00

Four years ago today, after a 22 month wait, we finally held our precious Kenzie in our arms.

Kayla's first time to hold Kenzie.

The room where we met Kenzie.

Kenzie

Catching Up With Pictures

2011-09-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

family photo

Karli lost her first tooth 9/5/11

family fun day in Galveston

Kenzie's first day of MDO

Kenzie

Kacee

Karli

First Day of School

2011-08-22T11:50:00.000-05:00

Everyone started back to school today. Kayla is in 11th grade, Kylie is in 7th, Keaton is in 5th, Karli is in Kindergraten, and Kacee is in preschool for auditory intervention. Kenzie will be going to Mother's Day Out in a few weeks. Here are some pictures of Karli and Kacee before school this morning.

Keaton - Fencing Class

2011-08-20T00:30:00.000-05:00

Our home school group is starting a fencing class. Keaton went this morning and tried it out. He enjoyed it very much. The pictures were taken with a cell phone camera so the quality is not that great.

Guess What?

2011-08-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

Kylie - Surgery

2011-08-18T00:23:00.000-05:00

Kylie had out-patient surgery today. We have been concerned for a couple of weeks because she has been breathing loudly and sounds like her nose is stuffy. We took her to the doctor and found out that her right nasal passage and sinus cavity is blocked by a polyp. Today's surgery removed the polyp. Here are some pictures of her before she was wheeled into the operating room and one gross one of the polyp after the removal. (It was huge - about the size of your index finger.)

July...

2011-07-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

July has been a busy month. Kayla finally got to go to Camp Electric. The 3 littles went to a birthday party. Kenzie is continuing with her swim lessons and has been invited to participate in an elite swim club. Kylie and Keaton went to nature camp. Everyone went to our church's VBS.

We also have had 3 Chinese students (Nancy, Helen, and Cindy) staying with us for almost 3 weeks. They are part of our church's program where 100 students from Sichuan Province come to the US for over a month. They spend several weeks with our church learning about religion, American culture, English and a bunch of other cool things.

We have been busy entertaining our new friends. We have taken them to the movies, Kemah Boardwalk, a Dude ranch, the mall, swimming, and out to eat several times.

The next few weeks will be busy too. We are gearing up for school which begins on August 22. Kylie has band camp and Keaton will go to church camp the week of August 7. We have school orientations, and Kayla will get her class ring.

We also received new photos of Kari and well as updated information and a short letter. We hope to travel before the end of the year.

Nancy, Helen, and Cindy

Happy 1st Gotcha Anniversary Kacee

2011-07-05T17:16:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, Kacee joined our family. God could not have picked a better little girl for us. She just fits right in with everyone.

Happy 16th Birthday Kayla!!!

2011-07-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

On July 5, 1995 at 11:33 AM, Kayla Brianne was born in College Station, Texas. She was the first grandchild on both sides of the family and was loved very much. Happy Birthday Kayla. We love you!!!

Kayla and Dad at 1 week

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-05T01:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight we celebrated by watching fireworks with some of our friends.

June - UPDATE

2011-06-20T21:23:00.000-05:00

The IPad at our house gets a lot of use. It is rarely put down without someone else picking it up right away. Here are Kenzie and Kacee with the IPad after they had played it for a while.

Kacee fell asleep playing the IPad.

Kenzie fell asleep playing the IPad.

Kenzie and Karli had their last day of gymnastics for the year. Here they are receiving their medals.

Karli had her last day of school.

Karli with her teacher, Mrs. Shaw.

We made another trip up to College Station and visited the grounds of the George Bush Library.

Kacee and Dad

As you can see, it was a hot day.

We went to a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese.

We had a family Fun day at Kemah Boardwalk. We rode all of the rides and ate at the Aquarium. According to Kenzie, "It was the best, best, best family fun day in my whole life."

Karli and Kenzie riding the small ferrris wheel

Kylie and Kacee riding the small ferris wheel

Kayla with her red hair (dyed for the summer)

Kylie (red & white shirt) and Keaton (gray shirt) are on the side that is up.

We have the social worker coming this week for the one year post-placement for Kacee. It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since she joined our family.

As far as news on the adoption, we just sent off all of our paper work to China, so we are now officially waiting.

The Month of May - In Review

2011-05-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

This has been a busy month for us. Most of our activities are finishing up for the school year, and we are looking forward to a relaxing (NOT!!!) summer.

outside the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco

outside the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station

Kacee finished up her first few months of school. She still enjoys riding the bus everyday and has learned a lot. In less than 2 months, she knows how to count to 10 and identify the written numbers. She knows all of the colors. She can recite and identify all of the letters of the alphabet. She knows several shapes and has learned many new songs.

asleep with the IPad

Kenzie and Karli had their ballet recital, finished their term at gymnastics, and completed their first level of swim lessons. Karli will be taking a class over the summer to help her transition to kindergarten. Kenzie will be going to MDO over the summer. Both will continue their swimming lessons.

before their first swimming lesson

Kenzie

Karli

before their ballet recital

Kenzie's AWANA award ceremony

Karli's AWANA award ceremony

Keaton finished flag football for the season, moved up to Webelos II in boy scouts and was promoted to fifth grade. He made the straight A honor roll and scored in the highest group on the state standardized test, TAKS. He will begin swimming lessons, too. Keaton will also go to boy scout camp, nature camp, and church camp.

moving up to Webelos II

Kylie has done remarkably well in her first year of public school. She was moved to Honors classes in January and has maintained a straight A average all year. She did extremely well on the Texas standardized test, TAKS. As a matter of fact, she is one of a few sixth grade students who will be starting Algebra I next year in seventh grade (instead of ninth grade). She auditioned for the highest band in middle school, Honor Band, and made it into the group. Kylie was selected for an end of year band award and language arts award for doing so well in those subjects. Her grade had a field day, and Kylie came in first in the 800 m race; her PE teacher wants her on the track team next year. Kylie will go to yo-yo camp, church camp, and nature camp this summer.

final band concert

award for straight "A" honor roll

award for language arts

award for band

Kayla has also done great this year. It is very hard entering high school (10th grade) without ever having been to school. She was inducted into the National Honor Society for having such a high GPA. She is a very active member of the Student Council and participates in several UIL events. Kayla was awarded the Spanish I and Theatre I awards for doing so well in those classes this year. Kayla now has her learner's permit and is driving around the neighborhood. This summer she will turn "16", go to church camp and Camp Electric in Nashville. Oh yeah, she also has a boyfriend, Adam.

Kayla and Adam

National Honor Society induction

award for Spanish I

award for Theatre I

Easter

2011-04-26T09:46:00.000-05:00

Enjoy some pictures from our day.

Happy Birthday Kylie

2011-04-14T21:46:00.000-05:00

Kylie turned 12 today. We celebrated her birthday by going out to a local Hibachi Steakhouse.

Pictures of the Kids

2011-04-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we went to Alto to visit the kids' grandparents. While there, we took some group pictures. Here are a few of the better ones.

Playing At the Park

2011-04-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

Kacee's First Day of School

2011-04-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

Kacee has been enrolled in the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program since she came home. However, once she turns 3, she is no longer eligible for ECI services. Therefore, today (her third birthday), she started preschool at the local elementary school. Here are some pictures taken this morning on the way to school.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kacee!

2011-04-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

We had a small family party to celebrate Kacee's first birthday with our family. She had a great time and really enjoyed opening her presents and eating the cake.

Busy, Busy, Busy (as usual)

2011-04-01T09:47:00.000-05:00

These past few weeks have just flown by. Here is a quick recap of what has been happening in our lives.

* Kayla is a nominee for the top Geometry student at her school.

* Keaton (finally) was able to celebrate his birthday with his friends.

virtual reality roller coaster ride

video from virtual reality roller coaster ride

* Sports have been continuing with practices during the week and games on Saturdays for Kylie, Keaton and Kenzie.

* The weather is finally warming up and we can wear shorts. Yay!!!

* school
* dance
* scouts
* gymnastics

When God Calls

2011-03-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

First off, I would like to say "THANK YOU" to Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity. She has a post up today that we can link to and ask others for prayer (and show off our family). My daughter (see sidebar) started this blog, but she is so busy this year with school that I have taken it over.

We are a family of 8, soon to be 9. We have adopted 3 times from China (2007, 2008, and 2010). After our last adopt this past July, we thought our family was complete, but God had other plans for us. Not only is He calling us to step out on faith and adopt again, He is asking us to adopt out of birth order and adopt a 13 year old girl that will be aging out soon.

See, in China, once a child turns 14, (s)he is no longer eligible to be adopted. Imagine never knowing the love of a family. We never thought we would be the family for an older orphan, but God is persistent when He calls. We didn't want to listen at first. I mean, our van only seats 8, so we will have to get another type of vehicle. We only have a 5 bedroom house, so where would we put another child? What about all of the time and attention she will need? Will we neglect our other children? Plus our family already thinks we're crazy. We voiced these and many more concerns to God, but ultimately, He calmed our fears. And we found peace knowing that we are following God's plan for our family.

We are asking for prayers:

that we will get our income tax refund for our previous adoption credit from 2010 - It seems like the IRS is holding a lot of them for some reason. We need this refund in order to pay our next fee that is due when we send our dossier to China.

for a speedy process (We hope to send our dossier to China (DTC) within the next 2 weeks.)

that we are able to communicate with our new daughter once we are DTC so she will know we are coming for her

that our new daughter agrees to be adopted - In China, older kids are asked if they want to be adopted on Adoption Day, and they must sign their name. Some are not even told ahead of time about their new family.

that we can use frequent flyer miles to travel

that our new daughter had an easy acclimation into our family

that our children at home accept their new sister without any major problems

Please let me know you dropped by. Our blog usually does not get a lot of visitors, and I would love to read your comments.

PS - If you scroll down to February, you will see a picture of our new daughter.

A Week In Review

2011-03-14T01:14:00.000-05:00

Thank God it is Spring Break here.

Last week was another jam packed week. My dad came home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. We had another sports filled weekend. Below are some pictures of Keaton at his flag football game. Kylie and Kenzie went to their grandparents for a few days. This week is a relaxing week at home with the family. Kayla was accepted into the National Honor Society this past week. Yay Kayla!!!

A Week In Review

2011-03-07T09:31:00.000-06:00

No pictures this week as I have been spending a lot of my time at the hospital with my dad. Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes. My dad is doing a lot better.

Anyway...our week was a normal, ordinary, busy week. We had sports, dance, gymnastics, school, babysitting, and church. I love having my kids in activities, but it does get a little difficult managing our schedule.

Kylie's School Picture

2011-03-01T11:35:00.000-06:00

This picture was taken in January before Kylie got her haircut. She looks a lot like Kayla.

A Week In Review

2011-02-28T11:18:00.000-06:00

I almost did not do a post this week. Last week was a normal week until Friday. My dad went in for a routine procedure at the hospital and ended up having a triple bypass Friday evening. Between keeping everything running at home and being up at the hospital during visiting hours, I am feeling a little run down. Hopefully next week will be better. Please pray for my dad's recovery.
Tabitha

Look what came in the mail

2011-02-22T21:06:00.000-06:00

Our official fingerprint notice appointments arrived in today's mail. We are scheduled to go 3/17.

Happy Birthday KEATON!!!

2011-02-21T21:04:00.001-06:00

Happy 10th birthday Keaton. We love you. Have a great day.

A Week In Review

2011-02-20T21:03:00.000-06:00

I had never realize how boring my life is until I started doing these posts.

Nothing new here this week. Just school and sports and scouts and life. We did decide on a name for our new addition (I think). She will be called Kaydi.

Enjoy the pictures from Kenzie and Kylie's weekly soccer games.

Kenzie scoring a goal

Go on over and read about Tiffany and her family. Tiffany is a great photographer and has some really neat pictures on her site.

A Week In Review

2011-02-15T17:02:00.000-06:00

Better late than never...

Last week was just another ordinary (boring) week. The only difference between this past week and the one prior is Valentine parties. Our home school group celebrated Valentine's day at the skating rink where the kids exchanged Valentines and candy and skated for two hours. Keaton has improved so much since last time he went skating. Usually he just wants to hang out in the arcade area, but this time I told him he had to skate. Kenzie and Karli had a Valentine party at the library with their age group. Everyone enjoyed themselves and their candy.

Flag football (Keaton) and soccer (Kenzie and Kylie) are starting up again, so we will be busy. I'm starting to think I need a clone in order to get everyone where they need to be at the correct time.

Here are some pictures of Kenzie (and one of Kacee) at her first soccer game this season. She made 4 goals and earned $4.00 from her dad.

Tabitha

My friend Tiffany is also doing a weekly post. Go check it out.

A Week In Review

2011-02-07T11:45:00.000-06:00

This week was, as usual, busy with life and activities. Kayla leaves the house and 6:30 in the morning and gets back 12 hours later since she is staying after school for Theater. Add in all of the other activities and lessons, and we never slow down - Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, clarinet lessons, AWANA, ECI for Kacee, speech for Kacee, chess club, dance club, writing tutoring, dance class, the rare doctor appointment, etc. Add in 4 different school pick ups through out the day too. We did have some excitement here on Friday when school was cancelled in the Houston area due to a forecast of snow - which never happened.

On Saturday, we went to the Houston FCC (Families of Children from China) group's Chinese New Year celebration. It was very fun, and everyone had a great time. The pictures are below.

***If you did not see my previous post, scroll down to see some big news!!!
Tabitha

Kayla - eating a baby octopus (She even went back for seconds.)

The kids first Dragon dance.

Thanks to my friend Tiffany for "making" me do this post every week.

INTRODUCING...

2011-02-01T10:29:00.000-06:00

...our new sister. She turned 13 years old today. We hope to meet her in July. We are still deciding on a new name that will be perfect for her; however, we do know if will start with a "K."

A Week In Review

2011-01-31T09:35:00.000-06:00

We had another week around here with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Kenzie and Karli went to ballet class on Monday. Tuesday was Student Council for Kayla and Girl Scouts for Kylie. On Wednesday, we had an Early Childhood meeting for Kacee and all of the kids had AWANA. Thursday was dance club for Kylie, Hational Honor Sociey meeting for Kayla, and a writing workshop for Keaton. On Friday Kylie had clarinet lessons after school and a sleepover. Keaton had Boy Scouts. Karli got an adorable hair cut. On Friday evening, the family (minus Kylie) went out to eat at the Red Robin. Saturday we went as a family (again minus Kylie) to The Forbidden Gardens and China Town. The Forbidden Gardens has The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang-di, the First Emperor, replicated in 1/3rd scale. It also has a 1/20th scale replica of the Forbidden City. Kenzie and Karli really enjoyed both the Forbidden Gardens and China Town. Kenzie especially like "going to China." Another exciting news that happened this week is that our home study was finally completed and mailed to our agency. It should be sent to the USCIS some time this week, so we wait again.
Tabitha

Go on over to my friend Tiffany's blog and see her cute Chinese New Year's crafts.

A Week in Review

2011-01-24T14:48:00.000-06:00

My friend Tiffany does "A Week in Review" post almost every week, and enjoy reading about her family. She is challenging her readers to do a weekly update on our blogs. So...here goes my first "Week in Review."
Tabitha

Last week was an exciting week at our house. We got new furniture and a new XBox 360 Kinnect. We have not had new furniture since October 2000. I wanted to try and wait until the little girls were a little older, but the spring that started to poke me in the back on the love seat had other plans. The kids have all enjoyed played the XBox and it's funny watching them move their bodies to move their character on screen. Hutson started working at a new law firm, and we are church shopping for a new church right now. Kayla and Kylie are still enjoying school. Kayla is involved in the Student Council and UIL. This past week, she tried out for a part in the UIL Once Act Play. Kayla did so well in school last semester that she is invited to apply for the National Honor Society. Kylie is also in Student Council. She did so well last semester that she has been moved to honors classes. She is taking Clarinet lessons and wants to try out for Honors band for next year. Keaton is still home schooling, but will probably go to school next year. He loves to play Yugioh with his friends. I have saved the best news for last - we are now a diaper free house. Yes, you read that right. Kacee has decided that she wants to use the big potty and has done great. We started last Monday (1/17/11) and she has had no accidents since the second day.

Here is a picture of our new furniture. We now have enough seating for our whole family.

Kacee dressed in her big girl panties - no pull ups for us, thank you very much!

Christmas Fun

2011-01-06T10:18:00.000-06:00

We've had a busy few weeks. We had a church hayride to look at Christmas lights, family gatherings, and, of course, Christmas. Enjoy these pictures of everyone.

Karli and Kenzie in our church's Christmas production

Kylie's first band peformance

Kylie (middle) plays the clarinet

Karli, Kenzie, and Kacee on our church's annual Christmas hayride

All of the kids with their great-grandma Poole

Kacee opening her first gift ever. She really did not know what to do. By the end of the Christmas season, she was a pro at unwrapping presents.

Annual Christmas Eve photo.

A Ride With Santa

2010-12-10T13:38:00.000-06:00

Last night, we went to a free Christmas celebration at a shopping center near our house. There were carriage rides, refreshments, and Santa. Our girls were so lucky. Santa walked up to them right before we got into the carriage and visited with them. Then he decided to ride with us around the parking lot. The girls were so thrilled to sit next to Santa and talk to him.

Santa :-)

2010-12-08T15:20:00.000-06:00

The girls went to see Santa this afternoon. We thought that Kacee might cry when she sat in his lap, but she just walked up to him and climbed on up. She had seen Karli and Kenzie do it, so she just did it too. As a matter of fact, the only time she cried was when she had to get out of his lap for the next family. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Karli's 2 Year Family Day

2010-12-08T11:54:00.000-06:00

Today has been 2 years since Karli has joined our family. It was definitely rough at first, but has gotten better every day. Kenzie and Karli are best friends and play together constantly. Here are two pictures of Karli on her Gotcha Day and one from last week. She sure has changed a lot.

Kenzie's 4th Birthday

2010-12-05T22:46:00.000-06:00

Kenzie turned 4 yesterday. We had a family party today and invited one close friend. She picked a Scooby Doo theme for her party and was so excited to be the center of attention. Here are some pictures of the day.

Catching Up...

2010-12-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

It is so hard to keep this blog going with everything else going on these past few months. Here are some highlights of the past month.

*Kylie and Kenzie finished their soccer season. Both of their teams did a great job.

* Kayla won 4th place in an invitational UIL meet. She participated in the Ready Writing event where she was given a quote by JFK and had to analyze it and write an essay telling its meaning.

*Keaton sold a lot of popcorn for Boy Scouts and won one of the top prizes for our Pack.

* We celebrated Thanksgiving in Alto, Texas with dad's parents. While we were there, we rode the Polar Express and saw Satnta at the North Pole.

* Kenzie and Karli went to Disney Princesses on Ice with dad.

* Kayla went to 2 concerts - Barlow Girl and Toby Mac.

* Kylie was chosen by her school to represent her Student Council in Austin.

Family Pictures

2010-11-16T11:49:00.000-06:00

We had our first family portrait taken for the directory at church. This one was the best out of the bunch.

This is the photo we purchased for our christmas card this year. Some of you will be seeing this in the mail soon.

We're Still Here...

2010-11-09T12:36:00.000-06:00

This past month has been busy for us. We have had activities almost everyday. With six kids we stay busy all of the time. We have:
* soccer practice and games for Kenzie and Kylie
* Girl Scouts for Kayla and Kylie
* Boy Scouts for Keaton
* Clarinet lessons for Kylie
* AWANA for Keaton, Karli, and Kenzie
* Bible study small groups one evening a week

In addition, Kayla and Kylie started public school this year, so they both have after school activities.

Enjoy the pictures from this past month's happenings.

Kenzie at soccer

Kenzie kicking the ball down the field.

Kenzie (being silly) and Kacee

Kacee's first snowcone

Kenzie

Karli

Dad, Kylie, & Keaton

Kayla's first Homecoming Dance

Kayla

Kacee at the pumpkin patch

YMCA Trunk or Treat

Kylie and Kenzie at our church's Fall Fest

Karli - face painting

Some of the girls hanging out with Dad

Kenzie's face painting

Our Little Princesses at the Space Center

Kacee - happy little girl

Dewberry Farm

2010-10-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

Moon Festival Celebration

2010-09-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

Last night we celebrated the Chinese Moon Festival with a few families from our area adoption group. As you can see, the Littles had a great time.

Karli's Birthday Party

2010-09-25T18:00:00.000-05:00

Karli turned 5 years old yesterday. We had a small party with just family and close friends. Here are some of the gifts she received,

Kenzie's First Soccer Game

2010-09-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Kenzie had her first soccer game today. She is playing with mostly 4 year olds and is the youngest on the team. She did a great job and even scored two goals!

Three Years Ago Today...

2010-09-16T09:13:00.000-05:00

We walked into a hot room on a Sunday afternoon to be united with the sixth member of our family. Kenzie was 9.5 months old and everything we had ever dreamed she would be. She fit into our family perfectly as only God could have known. Every day that we were waiting to meet her we wondered what she would be like and prayed to God for his protection over her. Below is a picture of Kenzie the day we met her.

Here are some pictures taken last night of Kenzie. It is usually very hard to get her to stay still long enough to snap a good picture, but I did manage to get a few decent ones.

Just for comparison, here are 2 pictures taken a few weeks after we returned home from China in the Fall of 2007 taken at the same soccer fields.

Here are some pictures of all three "Littles" together.

And even though this post is celebrating Kenzie, here a re some pictures of Karli and Kacee - just because.

Kenzie's Trip to CiCi's

2010-09-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

Kenzie went on a field trip to CiCi's this morning with our home school group. She got to tour the restaurant, stand in the big refridgerator, and make her own pizza. She had a great time.

2010-09-10T17:13:00.000-05:00

We went to Chuck-E-Cheese last week. Even though it wasn't Kenzie and Karli's first visit, neither of them remembered going before. We got there early while everyone was in school and had the place to ourselves. Everyone enjoyed it and combined their tickets for a total of almost 2300 tickets.

Kylie and Keaton are taking tennis lessons with our home school group. While they are practicing, the little girls play at the playground near the tennis courts.

Day Trip

2010-09-05T19:25:00.000-05:00

We spent Saturday as a family since it will be one of the last free weekends before soccer begins. We went to several different places in which Dad likes to take group pictures - Bellville, Brenham, Independence, and Washington-on-the Brazos. We did some shopping, some playing, and took lots of pictures.

Kacee's First Time at the Park

2010-09-01T18:50:00.000-05:00

Today we went to an outdoor playground for the first time since Kacee has been home. She really enjoyed playing on the slides and swing.

Peek-a-Boo

2010-08-30T18:16:00.000-05:00

First Family Photo

2010-08-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

Hamster Balls at the Mall

2010-08-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

We went to the mall and they had an area where the kids could pay to play in huge hamster balls in shallow water. Here are some pictures of them having fun.

Kenzie

Kylie

Keaton

All Dressed Up

2010-08-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

The girls all dressed up for church. The polka dot dresses were Karli and Kenzie's for Easter 2009.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

2010-08-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

The answer is...YES!!!!

Yesterday Kacee got her hearing aid. It's not really a hearing aid though; it is a bone anchored hearing system. It is worn on an elastic headband and sends the sound waves through the skull bone to the small ear bones. This allows her to hear just like everyone else. She is so excited to be hearing. When she hears a new noise, she points at her hearing aid and then whatever is making the noise. She woke up this morning and pointed to her ears indicating she wanted to wear it. The picture above is Kacee and mom at the doctor's office when they turned on the unit and mom was talking to her. The pictures below are Kacee wearing the headband and hearing aid today. You can see that the black headband blends in with her hair and is even covered by part of it. The picture with the side view shows her hearing aid. It is about the size of a small bluetooth phone. The small wire is attached to the hearing aid and a clip witch attaches to her shirt in case she knocks it loose from the headband.

For Fun...

2010-08-07T13:20:00.000-05:00

Today Kenzie and Karli got the fingernails painted. They picked the colors, too. I thought I'd add a picture of Kacee and her Kacee new shoes.

One Month Together

2010-08-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

It has been one month since Kacee's Gotcha Day. Since then, she has changed so much. When her adoption was completed, the orphanage gave us a memory stick with 107 photos of her. Below are a few of the ones from when she was younger. The first one is probably the earliest photo of Kacee since it was taken just a few weeks after she was brought to the orphanage.

This is a picture of Kacee in her crib at the orphanage.

A Day of Firsts

2010-08-04T00:53:00.000-05:00

Today we went to an indoor playground and the pool. Both were firsts for Kacee. At the playground, she was very timid at first, but by the time we were ready to leave, she was was climbing up and down the slides like a pro. We spent about an hour at the pool, and she was not steady enough to play by herself, but as long as someone was with her, she enjoyed the water. Oh, and I finally got a picture of Keaton jumping off the diving board. This is the first summer that he has swam well enough to go in the 12 foot part of the pool.

Happy 3 Year Anniversary!!!

2010-08-02T10:56:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today, we received an email from Great Wall China Adoption.

Dear Great Wall family,

The Stork Has Landed! If you have received this email we are pleased to announce that we have received your referral! Congratulations!

We are EXTREMELY busy getting everything prepared to contact you (sorting referrals, scanning your pictures, etc!) So, that all of you will have your child’s photo today! **We will contact each family by phone today and also email you your child’s photo!

We are working as quickly as we can to bring your referral to you! We thank ALL of you for your continued patience and support!

Congratulations!

We had been expecting the referral to arrive any day, but were not near a computer all morning. We came home around noon and read the above email. Then we waited anxiously for the phone to ring with information about our new family member. About 1:30, GWCA called and told us "It's a girl. She was born December 4, 2008." We were ecstatic. At 3:43, we opened an email from the agency and saw Kenzie for the first time.

Here is the post that was originally published when we received Kenzie's referral.

OK. OK. OK. So I KNOW I haven't posted since October last year, and when is it now? Yes, it's August. Wow, that's almost a year! And...a LOT can happen in that time. Trust me! We have been so busy, because (if you don't already know) we recently went from "matching room" to "having a referral" all in the last week! That's right. WE ACTUALLY GOT OUR REFERRAL! Finally. She is a beautiful baby girl who just recently turned eight-months-old last Saturday. She is from the Jiangxi Province, and her orphanage is in Ji'an. Her full Chinese name is Ji Lu Yang. That's pronounced Jee-Loo-Yawng. Her story is rather interesting, as well. She was abandoned at the doorstep of a retirement/assited living home. There the "older people" took care of her until she was almost five months old. Then she was taken to the orphanage, where she spent nearly three months before being matched with our family. Lucky for her, she will only spend a month-and-a-half longer there! At the retirement home, they called her YangYang (Yawng-Yawng), so to help her adjust, we will be calling her that when we first get her. Right now, it is just me, my mother, and my father traveling to pick her up in China. WE are all SO pysched for the trip. We are already packed halfway, and it seems to grow every day! Oh, how I've been waiting to pack. Pretty much ever since '05!!! But we haven't just been sitting around waiting for information. We got our referral on Thursday of last week, and we drove up to Austin to pick up the paperwork on Friday. (That way we could have it before anybody else!) Late Friday night, we took it to a Chinese restaurant we like to get the lab results and other papers translated. We found out about where she was abandoned, and some things about her. Like the fact that she has chubby cheeks. (Can't you tell?) She also likes to play with blocks, and enjoys toys that make noise, which is rather surprising for them. We were actually rather discouraged when our agency (GWCA) told us that they didn't think that there was anybody who was referred a baby from that orphanage. So sad...until we were looking at other blogs, and it turns out that a family in Georgia is getting a baby girl from there, too! The girls are only one month and one day apart (ours is born on December 4, 2006, and theirs is November 3, 2006). They may actually be cribmates! They may be together right now! And, the good thing is, unlike some people, they live within a semi-reasonable driving distance from us. How cool is that?! Anyway, we already FedEx'd our paperwork back to Austin, so it can go to China. Tomorrow, they will send everybody's out, and we will be expecting TA soon. I'm so excited! The projected travel date (from our agency) is September 13th!!! Yes! It actually seems real now! Before it was, 'oh,yeah, we're adopting from China...' But now we have something to look forward to! Earlier today, me and my Grandma picked up somebody from the airport and I said, 'Think. Next time, it's us you'll be picking up with the baby.' And those words are SO TRUE!!!

Here is picture of Kenzie taken the day we met her.

Here is a picture of Kenzie taken today.

Kacee

2010-08-01T11:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of Kacee. She's finally comfortable with the camera and will smile when she sees it instead of crying.

Here is a picture of all of "The Little" together. (This is the best one out of about 20 shots.)

Keaton's First Fish

2010-07-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

Keaton and Dad have been going fishing the past few weeks. (It's a guy bonding thing.) Today he caught his first fish. Way to go, Keaton!!!

First Group Picture

2010-07-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

This is the first picture with all of the kids in it. It sure is nice to finally have everyone together.

Finally...An Update

2010-07-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy two weeks since the last post. With Camp Electric and no computer access and then Kacee's first week home, we have been away from the computer for most of the time. Here is a quick summary of the rest of the China trip.

July 12 - We went to have Kacee's TB test read. After the nurse poked at it and marked it and measured it, she finally declared it to be negative. Afterwards, we went to the pearl store and bought a necklace and earrings for Kacee. Then we went to the government store and bought a jade pendant for her, too.

July 13 - Our guide went to the Consulate appointment and everything was fine. We also took the red couch pictures with Kacee. We were the only ones traveling from our agency, so it was just her in the pictures.

July 14 - We went to the Consulate for the swearing-in.

July 15 - Our guide delivered all of the paper work to us!! We packed up and got ready to leave China.

July 16 - We left the hotel at 5:45 AM. (This was 4:45 PM Thursday Houston time.) We arrived home in Houston at about 11:15 PM Friday night and walked in the door at home at about midnight. We were met at airport by Hutson, Kayla, and Kylie. Our friends Debbie, Rick, and Alana were also there. They brought Kacee some balloons and a stuffed animal. Donna's family were there to greet us also.

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The day after we got home, we went on a family outing and ride the train at the zoo. We did not walk around the zoo, just rode the train. Kacee, Kenzie, and Karli really enjoyed the train ride. On Sunday, Kacee made her debut at church where everyone wanted to see her; she did well and even enjoyed the nursery (with me in there with her). We had a busy first week: Keaton had nature camp, we went shopping a few times, out to eat, 2 doctor appointments, went to church 3 times, our family came to visit her, and Kylie and Keaton had friends over to play.

As for how Kacee is doing, she fits in well with our family. She is a go-with-the-flow type of person, which is good with 5 other siblings. God really knew what He was doing when He orchestrated the events for us to adopt Kacee. We really could not have asked for a better addition to the family. She eats any food she is given. She does not complain about waking up. She plays for hours quietly. She can say "mama" and "no." She likes to "sing" when she is playing. She is very observant and can already work our IPad after watching one of the kids play on it.

After adopting Karli, I was prepared for some behaviors that we would have to work on, such as hitting, biting, kicking, tantrums, etc. However, none of these have ever showed themselves. I'm not saying she is perfect, cause she's not. However, it is very rare that she cries because she is throwing a fit. And she has not tried any aggressive behaviors. She will say "no" when she doesn't want one of the other girls to play with something. She will cry if they take her toy. She cries at bedtime because she wants to stay up. However, she doesn't cry long or loudly. She has a very weak, quiet cry.

The pediatrician says everything looks good. We went to the ENT on Thursday, and we have an appointment with an ear specialist this coming Thursday. Hopefully, he will schedule an CAT Scan that will map her inner ears and can test her hearing.

Blog Post From Mom in China #6 -Safari Ride

2010-07-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the Xiangjiang Safari Park. We went by ourselves without a guide. The doorman at the hotel put us in a taxi and told the driver where to go. After about a 30 minute ride, we arrived at the safari park. Luckily, some of the employees spoke English and told us where to pay and where to catch the safari tram. We went on the first tram through the animal safari. Kacee loved seeing all of the animals. She pointed at all of them. The tram ride lasted 45 minutes and we saw lots of animals: deer, elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, white tigers, rhinos, hippos, camels, and lots of others. It was great. After the safari ride, we walked through the rest of the park. We paid 10 RMB to feed the giraffe. We paid to hold a baby white tiger. We saw koalas and lots of other animals. However, the best part was seeing the panda bears. This is my third trip to China, and the first time I've seen the panda bears. After the safari park, we took an "illegal" taxi back to the hotel and paid double the price for the ride back than we paid to get there. Tomorrow we go back to the medical office to get Kacee's TB test read.