What have we been up to?????

I'm sorry if you were thinking that maybe I'd given up blogging! A lot has been going on over the last two weeks. The week before Thanksgiving I had a job interview! Since I'd applied months ago it was quite a surprise. I found out the Monday of Thanksgiving week that I had the job and started the Monday after Thanksgiving (this week). Whew! It is a strange feeling to go from not working for over 11 years to suddenly having a job! I know it is going to be a really good feeling though when I'm able to help pay off the visa card that Christmas is going on! God really is good.

We also all had dental appointments during which we discovered that Paige had a cavity. I was definitely bummed since none of my kids have had any cavities up til now. But it also worries me a little to know that she has several pre-cavity spots on her teeth. We brush them just like the boys! I've been concerned for a long time though about her teeth knowing that she probably had no prenatal care and likely very low nutrients in general both before and after birth. Apparently there is little we will be able to do to combat that! I'm pretty sure this won't be the last but I'll be darned if it's gonna be my fault!!! So today was the big day to have it filled. She did WONDERFUL! The dentist said she was better than a lot of adults he sees. I don't think she moved a muscle or flinched the entire time. It was a much quicker process than I remember too!

Waiting for the numbing cream to work she got to do a puzzle.

I just love how tiny she is in that great big chair!

Once she was numb this was the best smile she could manage!

After Thanksgiving I suddenly got a wild hair and decided to paint our powder room. As if there isn't enough to do this time of year! I just couldn't take the dark red paint and pink lights another day. Don't get me wrong, I like the dark red paint - but NOT in a tiny powder room with pink lights! The bathroom is now a very light greenish color (celery?) with white lights and a cute little outhouse border that I bought several years ago and kept waiting to use! I'm quite happy with the new look.

So that is a little of what we've been up to around here. Of course you have to add in Caden's basketball and Trace's unicycle to make a more complete picture of the chaos! If I'm not checking in often enough for you the next few weeks just let me know.

Goofball

1st Band Concert

Trace had his first ever band concert Thursday night. I was very pleasantly surprised! It is required that all 5th graders take band therefore the 5th grade band is pretty big. Despite that I didn't hear any squeaking or honking as I'd expected! Trace thought it was pretty fun but also kinda boring. He certainly looked nice all dressed up! This is a picture of him and his best friend Seth just before it started.

p.s. I made it black and white because the lighting in the gym made their hair look green and I couldn't fix it! They were wearing black and white so it doesn't change much.

End of the season...

Caden's football team played in the Championship game this year. They were undefeated all season however due to several factors they did not win the championship title. The boys were so pumped up and excited that they didn't hear their parents telling them that, "someone has to loose." Caden held it together until we got in the car then the tears started flowing. I felt so bad for him. It's tough to be so disappointed when you're a kid. He did decide that lunch at Sonic might make him feel better though. After the game trophies were given to the coaches and ALL the boys got a medal and a league t-shirt which I thought was nice. Those boys had only each lost to the other so they all deserved to be rewarded! Caden has mentioned next year a couple of times so we'll see how he feels next spring at sign up time!

Major Defense. That's what Trace's coach called him when it was his turn to get his trophy. 9 times out of 10, if Trace was on the field, that ball was getting stopped. I was so proud of him as the coach talked about his playing and the season he had. I understood what it feels like to literally have your heart swell with pride. He improved so much this year and even scored one goal! That's hard to do when you always play defense! His whole team started out really struggling but by the end they had pulled it together and were really playing well. Three of the boys were even invited to try out for the select team next year. I'm hoping they don't because we need them! There was a potluck at one of the boy's houses last night and everyone had a great time. It was a nice end for the season.

Family Day

We celebrate the day our family was complete each year a little differently. It is a little challenging since we have just finished so many birthdays and are caked out. This year Paige and Rick opted for Chinese food. When we asked Paige and Caden if they wanted Chinese food she nodded yes as furiously as he shook his head no - it was pretty funny! So Caden had leftover pizza instead (Trace was at Nana and Papa's for the night). When she saw Daddy using chopsticks Paige had to have some too. She actually ate everything but the rice with them! After dinner Paige got to choose a movie to watch before bed. Her choice was Rack, Shack and Benny (Veggie Tales).

Many families refer to the day they received their child as "Gotcha Day." We've opted for "Family Day" for a couple of reasons. First, it is the day our family was completed. Second, Each child has a birthday so rather than have another day that celebrates just Paige we wanted it to be a day for everyone. I'm glad that we've opted to keep it low key instead of making a big deal. In many ways it is more like Paige's birthday than her actual one. I get to tell her HER story of joining the family and remember all the wonderfulness of it. But we have had a cake, gone out to eat and had Chinese food. It's flexible. It's special. The kids enjoy the fact that we have our own special day for our family (they probably think everyone has one). Happy Family Day to all of us!

Three years ago today...

I'll never forget that day. I'll never forget trying so hard to memorize every second of it. Willing my mind to never forget a single moment.

We got up really early to have our luggage outside our door then headed down to breakfast. After that we sat around in the hotel lobby, in Beijing, waiting until it was time to go to the airport (9 or 9:30 if I remember right). It seemed like forever. Once we were checked in at the airport we sat around for what seemed like hours. Oh wait, it was hours! There wasn't anywhere to sit or anything to eat and we were all just anxious to get on our way.

I remember leaving the airport in Jiangxi and walking across to the bus. Then the ride across town to the hotel. There was the bridge we crossed into the city, the rice paddies, the green hills. At the hotel we were told to wait in our rooms for our luggage, get ourselves organized and meet in the conference room at 4:30. The excitement was so hard to contain! The maids were busy delivering cribs to all of our rooms where we also found a baby bath and a stroller waiting. It was starting to feel very real. It was finally going to happen. Finally our turn after so many years!

Once our stuff was ready we headed down to Tom and Diana's room for a quick refresher course on making formula, last minute camera checks and gift wrapping. By four o'clock we couldn't stand it any more and decided to head down to the conference room where we discovered we were not alone in our inability to wait!

We stood in that hallway and later in the conference room listening to the sounds of babies and wondering if ours was there yet. Wondering what she would look like, how she would react to us and WHAT WERE WE THINKING!? A baby. Wow!

Before I knew it they were calling our name. I was shaking so hard that I could hardly walk and tripped over a chair in my haste.

Then we walked around that corner and there she was.

Our lives changed forever that day. Not only did we now have a daughter but we experienced the indescribable feelings of traveling along the path to adoption and seeing it come to completion. There just aren't the right words. We will never be the same.

We love you Paige, with all our hearts. We loved you before you ever were and we will love you forever more. God chose us for each other and He couldn't have chosen more perfectly!

Happy Family Day!

Conversation with a three year old...

"Mommy, what does the tooth fairy look like?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, have you ever seen her?"

"Um, no. Why?" (We strongly believe in telling our children the truth about everything! Ahem.)

"Well, I think she's a hippopotamus."

"Oh, really? What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm smart."

"I see." (Not really)

At the pumpkin patch

Just playing around with the computer.