Kiddie post & plea

 So if anyone is reading at all you've caught on that I have been horrible at posting about these sweet lil lovies these past few months.  So I wanted to give some updates on them!!!  They are the whole reason I started blogging in the first place :/   Here is Sadie this summer being her crazy self...she is SO strong and can do the monkey bars all by herself.  She has some serious upper body muscles.  She is FAST and can nearly out run me.  She is constantly smiling and giggling and mothering.  She loves everything and will make it her baby to love on and take care of.  She talks to babies, grown adults, dogs, bugs, balls, dolls, etc like they are her very best friend.  Its super sweet most times, but awfully scary when she grabs adult men by the hands to play with her.  Perhaps we need to cover stranger danger again! 

 Owen is an incredible young man.  He is a wonderful leader at school and a huge help to his teacher.  He is very active and loves playing basketball, riding scooters, playing football, soccer, golf and tennis.  He is sure having fun with a backyard, we missed that when living in an apartment last year.  He loves to read and often stays up with a flashlight reading past his bedtime.  He too is a fast runner, but it's not his favorite thing to do.  He is a great listener, master negotiator, & is sensitive to others needs.  Tonight as I walked in to scratch the boys backs Owen started singing a song we had sung in church...but he never sings during praise so I didn't know he was listening...he sung it perfectly pausing just as the song is written, "My heart will si-ing...no other na-ame...Jesus...Jesus" over and over.  Oh love, there couldn't be a sweeter sound for a mama to hear, and even more so for our Father to hear!  This year he turned 7!  I don't know how we have a 7 year old!

 Emery, who we usually call Emme, is at such a fun age...most of the time.  She is particularly frustrated when everyone else has someone to pick on and she does not :(  So we are working on talking about our frustrations rather than hitting them out.  Whoops.  Her favorite things to say right now are: I gonna tewl mommy!, I no wan to, I tootie, No Sadie pfthtttt (we have a minor spitting problem), Aw we goin?, Aw da guys? and I do it!!!!!  She still loves to cuddle, is left handed and is our best sleeper!  She is TALL and skinny.  Most people mistake her for being 3 and older, and she just turned 2.5 this month!  She talks really well, still loves to sing and knows a lot of songs and she loves to pray, even for large groups of people.  Be still my heart!

 Cooper!  Coop turned 6 in November and got a bouncy house of all things.  Have you ever checked out purchasing one of those boogers instead of buying one?  No?  You should.  Google it!  We just had a few grands chip in and vwa-la, we got to keep the dang thing UNTIL IT POPS!!!  It has been endless fun and can hold up to 500 lbs so that means that occasionally we have a mom that hops in and plays monster tickler.  Fun times.  It's even more fun when you have no furniture and can inflate it in room and just leave it out during the winter.  Cooper is another blessing of a kid.  He is bursting with passion, compassion, ambition, skills (he has wonderful penmanship as well as one heck of an arm) and love.  He often comes home from school and has drawn pictures of the crucifixion and resurrection during his brain break at school.  Just like with everyone of our kids, I cannot wait to see how this guy follows God through life. 

 One thing I have hesitated to share about our Sadie is that we have "lost" her birth mom.  I haven't wanted to share it for several reasons.  First, so many people don't get open adoption and quite frankly don't need another reason to not understand it.  Second, so many people don't try and understand birth parents, and I don't want people to judge these precious precious family members.  They are our family, so please understand how intimate and personal we hold them in our hearts.  But it's been nearly 2 years since we've seen Gerlisha, and we miss her terribly.  Sadie prays for her daily.  She cries for her.  She draws pictures of her.  She is only 4, so I am not sure what memories she has or if its just because we talk about her so much and tell her stories and look at pictures.  Whatever it is, it's real and it's painful.  I know adoption is layered and bittersweet, and we have been educated and counseled on how to walk through this with our loves.  I don't know where I would be without our adoption agency and their support.  But they don't know where she is either.  So this is me asking for prayer and only prayer.  Please do not judge our choices or Gerlisha's.  My hope is that she might follow the blog and see how desperately we need her, and that's why I am finally sharing this.  I am so thankful that I ALWAYS take pictures when we see our first families because we never want to take a day for granted. 

 Emery right before turning 2

 Cooper found a worm...he is such a boy loving dirt and bugs and all things boy!

 Priceless picture of me telling Owen thank you for smiling for the pictures...he HATES taking pictures so we bribed the kids with QT if they smiled!

 The girls had pajama day at school and watched Polar Express

 Owen's holiday party at school!  We had so much fun at his party and stole the idea to MOB the Neighborhood with love and give the holiday away.  It was cheap and helped the kids focus on OTHERS during the holiday instead of giving them a bunch of silly dinky knick-knacks.

 This was the girls party at school, even though we don't do Santa they got a kick out of seeing our pastor dress up and read a story. 

 Cooper's class party.  Isn't he such a handsome stud with that too cool smile? 

 I think since we never talk about Santa she was fascinated with him.  Ha!

Emery was just excited to get herself some candy!  This girl LOVES sweets! 

Pictures...

I really want to post some fun pictures and not try and think through what's going on in my head.

There is a lot there, and I am not sure what to share. 

Good things though...where as weeks ago I felt stir crazy, I feel such peace about the direction we have chosen.  Until then, enjoy these cuties!

 Emery, Sadie and cousin Ragon cheering on their other cousin in soccer!  What divas!

 This was a few weeks ago when we had my grandmother (who lives down the street from us) over for dinner.  She is 91 folks, and she either pretended to have, or really did have a fun time with our wild bunch.  Either way, we LOVED every minute of it.  This was when we were having our first hot chocolate of the fall!  Yummo!

 Sadie being silly!

 The boys all went out to hit some balls...one of their favorite things to do with their daddy!

 Lil Miss Thang.  This girl is absolutely gorgeous...and sassy as all get out too!  Her favorite thing to say right now..."I no want to!"  I will take that over ear piercing screams anyday, but sometimes I have to say, "Well, sister I no want to either, but we GOT TO!!!"  She still loves to sing, she prays the sweetest prayers, she is compassionate, she is still a huge cuddler, she loves talking and has quite the vocabulary...mostly from songs she sings.  She has an opinion about what clothes I put on her...and she is only 2 mind you.  She often says, "a pincess" meaning "I must wear a dressy dress to school mom!"  And that day will be followed by a day in which she wants to wear her jammies to school.  I give in when I can because let's be honest, it's just not a big deal every once in a while.   

 Emery could spend every waking minute on the swings.  And she likes to go HIGH!  In fact, if you don't push her high enough she will scream at you.  So if you think a small child has just had two limbs removed because you hear bloodcurdling screams coming from the intersection.  Fear not!  It is just Emery wanting to go HIGHER!!!  We are working on this people.  She is quickly learning, "Higher please!"

 Look at this smile!!!!  Man oh man!  I got some good pictures of this sweet Cooper swinging!  Cooper is quickly approaching 6 and is killing Kindergarten.  Not only is he doing fantastic with his school work, but evidently he is setting a wonderful example for his classmates.  Owen had just as remarkable of reports and has even been given extra responsibilities in class because of his leadership.  His reading is outstanding and he has made great friends already.  Blake and I were smiling like we had hangers stuck in our mouths when we left conferences.  Thank you Jesus for guiding these fellas!  The guys have both decided...drumroll please...to enroll in basketball this winter.  Their grandparents are elated!  Blake and I have truly enjoyed being so close to their school and have been able to join them for lunch several times.  It's such a blessing!

 Sadie found a funky pumpkin at the patch on Wednesday with her preschool class.  She also is learning sooo much at school.  She has made lots of friends and truly enjoys going.  Another huge blessing!  I still can't believe she is 4!!!!  She is still our social butterfly, she is sensitive (what kid isn't though?), she loves to play with anything except a ball, her new favorite thing is her doll house.  She has finally gained weight, but you'd never know it!  She loves to say the prayer before dinner, she adores her grandparents, shopping, cookies, candy, nail polish, high heels, lip gloss, purses, giggling, being tickled, her daddy and she desperately wants a real dog or baby.  Too bad so sad sister, the fish will have to do! 

 He is SO sweet to take pictures for me even though he dreads them.  They all enjoyed the pumpkin patch with the girls' school. 

 Emery found a pumpkin!!!

 I begged them all to get together for a pic.  You know how well that went over with the guys...gosh they are adorable though!!

Emery gave me this face when I asked her to smile.  She's a riot!

"MOM!!!"

At least once a day, but typically several times a day I hear, "Boy do you have your hands full."

The only reason I get annoyed is because of the tone in which MOST people say it. It sounds as if my children are some kind of burden to me. I realize that might not be one's intention when saying it...but I just think we need to be careful the things we say repeatedly in front of our kids...

Anywho, my usual response is a smile and, "I am really blessed, huh?" or "We prayed forever for these guys!" or "Aren't I the luckiest mom on earth?" But what I heard this afternoon made me giggle at all those times I've heard that statement.

I was helping Owen with homework after school today and heard this from Sadie who unbeknownst to me was in the bathroom, "MOM!!! Baby's playin my poop!" OH glory. Please say it's not so.

I ran into the bathroom and there she was, sure enough...hands in the potty splashin away.

I am so bummed this last pic came out fuzzy. Emery is a hoot with her expressions. This is her silly face and she knows it totally cracks us up!

So in case anyone is wondering today...4 is perfect for us! Our quiver is full. Our cup runneth over. Happy as clams.

"Don't you see that children are God's best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep." Psalm 127:5

I pray that our children always feel that they bless us daily, even when they are covered in poop!

Hair post

So we've finally gotten into a routine of doing hair Saturday at some point so that it's fixed for church on Sunday. The girls hair does not last a week, but we are getting closer to 4 days. That's a huge help not to have to do hair everyday, rather just moisturize it in the mornings and add some clips or barrettes.

Emery's hair is just gorgeous with nice curl pattern up top. She has tons of hair. At the nape of her neck it's more brittle and there is hardly ever a noticeable curl. I've been working with different products and trying to be more diligent about coconut oil and deep conditioner and her sleep cap (she hates the thing). I am praying that over the years as she gets older and naps less, the hair will be healthier. Our biggest hang-ups with her hair right now are: she's young and can't sit long and the short spots in her hair where Sadie gave her a trim months ago.

That's right. I don't think I ever blogged about it, but Sadie took kid scissors to her sisters head late May as I was cleaning our house for a showing. I was devastated. For lots of reasons. Blake finally convinced me that I was being prideful and he was right. I spend lots of time learning and practicing and taking care of the kids hair. So I take lots of pride in how it looks. And I want them to be proud of their hair too. This cut me deep. I felt like I hadn't protected Emme from this occurring. Blake reminded me that Emery would not remember this, nor be scarred by it.

So, all of this to say, it's caused some issues with sectioning her hair and putting it in protective styles. Anything but an Afro and you can see where there are chunks of short hair. At least Emme can rock an Afro, but this doesn't help the need to protect her hair and keep it growing well.

Sadie's hair is growing, slowly but surely. I feel like it's filling in better than it's gaining length. But that may just be because her curl pattern is so tight. She has gorgeous defined curls throughout. I am struggling to detangle using a 4 step process (finger detangle, wide tooth comb, fine tooth comb, then Tangle Teezer). I have to be honest; I mostly go straight to the TT. The girl just can't sit through 4 steps in the bath...she likes to swim in the bath and that doesn't work well when I am detangling! Am I the only one who goes straight to the TT brush?

I have sure enjoyed the flat twists, mostly because they don't take a ton of time to do 4 or 5 rows of them and I can't practice cornrows or braids on Sadie's head yet. The hair on her hairline is just still to short and thin. If I could start a row in the middle of her head it would look fantastic! HA! Here she is sporting a flat double rope twist along her hairline. I think it's adorable!

My sweet husband asked a nurse that he works with about a hairdresser she would recommend. Ah, I love that man. I love that he got all kinds of advice from her while they were chatting it up in the OR. I can't wait to take them in and start learning some new things.

Emery's 1st Birthday Party

Shocker that we couldn't get the other 3 to join us for a pic...but this sure is sweet!!!

My mom took these pics with her camera and I love this one where you can see the amazement in her eyes as we sing "Happy Birthday" and she stares at the candle! Whoops...the wind blew the candle out!She loved the cupcake! It was so cute because she wanted me to feed it to her so that her hands didn't get messy.She kept burying her face in it. It was hilarious.

The kids love the pool. Emery lays back and just floats.

Look at her new bathing suit that Noonie and Papa got her for her birthday! Yummy!

Emery is the sweetest, happiest, easiest baby we have ever had! She is a hoot and is babbling non-stop with facial expressions and tone changes and all. It's a riot because she really is saying something to us...we just have no clue. And she could care less that we have no clue, she's just as happy as could be to chat it up with us. She loves most any food we put in front of her, except oatmeal. She is a pincher, so you've gotta watch out or she'll get a hold of the fat under your arm and just pinch ya HARD. She smiles non-stop, she's a great sleeper, can occassionally fake a tantrum by throwing herself on the floor and shaking her whole body. But she only does that when one of the bigs takes her toy. She is more than our dream...she's a miracle for so many.

We got to see her birthfather on her birthday and it was bliss. We met her paternal grandmother for the first time. I got some incredible pics...they make me teary everytime I see them. Her birthdad was so proud to show her off. I was on cloud 9. We gave him the dog tag necklace for Father's Day that said "Forever in My Heart" and another small tag with "Faith". He was so touched. I pray we can always stay close with him...he is amazing and has such a deep love for this pumpkin. How blessed we all are to have him in our family forever.

Emery Faith...just like with your big brothers and sister...I can't stop praising God for choosing us to be your parents. I pray that you always feel loved by all 4 of your parents and the enormous family you have. You are a miracle and we are reminded of that everytime we see that great big grin and are covered in your slobbery kisses. It's unreal to think that God loves us this much to give you to us. We don't deserve you and we'll spend our lives thanking Him for such a blessing as you. Happy birthday BabyCakes!

BabyCakes Is ONE!!!

Her first popsicle! She loved it!

I simply cannot believe she is one! It's been a magical day, but I will have to share later. We've been packing like crazy and I swore I wouldn't spend Emme's birthday packing...but with her. SO, now it's go time!!! Closing is scheduled for tomorrow, but these things never happen on time anymore. Either way, we are outta here!