Beach Trip

So before I post the photos from our family beach trip, I've got an Abby funny...  For the trip, I bought Abby some of her own books, she's reading great now and I thought it was time for some chapter books.  We found some she thought she'd like and she loved them.

The other night, she was finishing up one of the books and she said, "Mommy, I really like this book, but it has a bad word in it."  I tried to be calm, but inside I was livid...  A bad word in a child's book.  I was picturing walking into the local bookstore and having a good old fashioned rant...

"Abby, what kind of bad word?"

"You know mommy, the 'sh' word..."

At this point I'm flabbergasted...  Really?  The 'sh' word in a 2nd grader's book...

"Abby, are you sure it was the 'sh' word?"

At this point she leans in and whispers...  "Mommy, they said 'shut up'"

Ohhhhhh...  The 'sh' word!  I love innocence!!

So now for the beach pictures...

A couple of weeks ago, our family (29 of us) went to the beach...  We had to try a new place because our usual location is on the Gulf and we were worried about the oil and the beaches.  But we LOVED our new location and we had a blast...  (These are a few of my favorites!!)

(I just love seeing those sweet China angel faces as part of our family!)

(The boys with their grandmother...  YIKES...  My babies are growing up!)

It was truly a great week!!

Back From The Lake!

We just had an AWESOME week with our best friends, at the lake, somewhere else in the south! We met our friends, 10 years ago, within a few months of moving to the city we live in and we've been great friends ever since... Our kids have grown up together... The adults have grown up together... We go to church together... Scott and R. work together... L. and I are in Bible study together and we live 3 houses apart (we hired a sitter and went looking for our houses together!)...

They've ridden the ups and downs of our lives with us and they are such a blessing to us... I've lost track of how many summers we've gone to the lake, but every summer, L's parents are so generous to let us come to their lake house for a week and we have a BLAST! It's an extra treat when her parents come and hang out with us some... I LOVE her mom and dad...

But anyway, this was an extra special year since it was Abby's first trip to the lake... The girl is a trooper! She tried it all! Swimming... Tubing... An impossible photomosaic puzzle (L and I do puzzles every summer)... And get this... Fishing!! She LOVED fishing!!

I'll post some of my favorite photos here and put a bunch more on my photo blog...!











Uncle S... Nick is following in your footsteps!



2 Years ago, we did a family trip to the beach... My uncle S. (from a Tribute to Pocket T's) challenged Nick to a bet... Whoever caught the next fish, the other had to eat the eyeball (Totally gross!) So Uncle S lost the bet and had to eat the eyeball... Nick of course accepted the re-challenge and lost the second time... So this next photo is a tribute to my uncle!!









Ok... There's a taste... Stop by the photo blog and see the full size versions and lots more fun!

Our Super Fun Girls Road Trip!!

Ok, I think I'm a country girl at heart... I could move to R's neck of the woods on a moment's notice! It's ideal and beautiful!! Corn and wheat fields...rivers...local fairs...cotton candy...truck pulls (yep, you read that right)...a mule to ride...great cities not too far away...and AWESOME thunderstorms...I could go on and on...

We left last Wednesday to visit Abby's older foster sister from China... It was the first time the girls had seen each other in a year and we were so excited. Abby was a little unsure of what to do at first, but it didn't take too long for them to slip back into their sweet relationship! Penny has 3 other sisters, adopted from China also, and all the girls got along so great!

The photos really tell the story, but there are so many of them... I'm working with Alexis on a new blog and photo blog (thanks to some wonderful suggestions by some of you), so in the next week or so, we'll have that up and running and I'll post more of the photos...but until them, I'll overwhelm you with some of my favorites from each of our outings...

I'll start with a photo of Penny and Abby, from our trip to the river front...



Sad faces from a bowling trip that didn't work out...both bowling alleys were closed!





A stop at R's sister who has goats... I love this photo, it's going to eventually get a post all to itself...you'll just have to wonder and wait!



The girls putting their hands in the cows mouth! YUK...ok, the city girl in me screamed..."No Way!"



A detour by the windfarm... How cool is this?!



Then a trip IN the mule (I thought R. wanted me to ride ON a mule) to see the landscape... Just Stunning!

Their red barn...



A beautiful field...



Sunsets that will take your breath away...





A sweet moment with mommy and her precious little one...



Isn't she beautiful?!



A trip to the river...



K....just too hot...seeking shade!



Next was the carnival...







Sticky fingers from cotton candy!!



We did get to bowl...cosmic bowling...we had a blast...



And we made chinese pork dumplings in the midst of a crazy storm...



I have so many photos that I'd love to share, but this post is getting WAY too long... I'll do another post on some candids that I took...I tried a new technique that I love! I've also got some more posed photos of the girls that I'll save for another day...

But for now, I'll post some of my favorites that really grabbed my heart! (A...was earlier with her mom and Abby was just not cooperating in the photo department!)

A baby robin on the clothes line...



Beautiful...sweet K...



And V...





And Penny...





And Mackenzie...





Here's one of all the girls...



And here's my favorite of Abby and Penny... I love those candid moments!!



Thanks for hanging in there with me! It was such a great time...Thank you R & C for your incredible generosity! It was such a blessing to spend time with you at your beautiful home in your amazing state!

The Girls Are Going On A Road Trip!!!

Mackenzie, Abby and I are getting ready to board an airplane in a couple of hours! We're off to somewhere else in the US to spend a few days with Abby's older foster sister, and her family.

We were so blessed to be able to travel and adopt the girls at the same time...it was really a bit of a miracle!

I will never forget receiving an e-mail, out of the blue, from Penny's mom, Ruthi... "I think I'm adopting your daughter's older foster sister...call me!" That was in May of last year! Of all the billions of people in the world and of all the children being adopted, God found a way to bring us together!

From there we waited for our approvals to come... Letter of Approval... Travel Approval... Consulate Appointment... Everything had to be timed perfectly for us to travel at the same time. And it all happened, even though we were with 2 different agencies and our dossier log in dates were a few days apart... In fact, we arrived at the ChongQing Center for Adoption at the same time and received the girls together!

We were able to spend the next 2 weeks in China together, making the transition for the girls so much better! Ruthi and I became friends in the months we were waiting to travel and since coming home... and I'm so excited to be going to see her and her family after almost a year! She has been a wealth of wisdom for me this past year...she was definitely a gift from heaven! Penny is their 4th adopted daughter and they are waiting for approval to adopt 2 more...after having raised 4 sons! Yep...she and her sweet hubby will have a HUGE crown waiting for them in heaven...they are definitely living in light of eternity!

So, we'll be back on Monday... While I'm gone, don't forget to follow along with my cousin and her husband... just click on Rice And Grits over to the left, on the side bar...they left today to go to China to adopt their precious little girl Elizabeth. Please keep them in your prayers...

Have a great weekend!