Bloopers Pictures

I have one child who is a ham. Alot of people watch Eleenah, then they comment to us, "Looks like you have got your hands full!" She is so active and quite the little drama queen. She is definitely my most difficult child to photograph. I generally have to put the zoom lens on, and just capture her moments as they happen. However, when I really want to get a picture of all three of them together, I tell her to sit down. Below are the disastrous results of me wanting to get a picture of all three of them together. Here Eleenah decided to drop out of the picture all together. Then I decided, I would shoot from that angle if she wasn't going to join us, I would just have them join her. Here is Hunter, now upset because Eleenah hit him upside the head! Now, Hunter is over it, and Eleenah is still hamming it up! Now, this was the best I got of them, and it is no gem, but it was the first picture I took of the 3 of them together. I actually took some pictures for a professional photographer the other day, because she said she just can't do her son. I may be in the same boat with the three of mine!

Happy Birthday Hunter

I can't believe that it has already been four years since the birth of my little man. Hunter is such a little lover! He is all boy, yet so snugly and loving. For his birthday, Hunter wanted to spend the day at Calloway Gardens. So, on Thursday, we spent the whole day on the beach at Calloway. Hunter had a blast. The picture above is of Hunter at the end of his special day after having a bath. He always cracks me up, after he gets out of the tub, he always goes and puts his head on Rags. We always tell him he is going to smell like a dog, and he says, "So, I like dogs!" Our plan was always to get Hunter a dog for his 4th birthday, but as most of you know, plans changed when we found Rags and got him last Summer. We can't imagine life without Rags! Even though Rags arrived 10 months early, I don't think there is a better birthday present around! Hunter is such a blessing to me, he is my continual reminder of the words by the great theologian, Garth Brooks. "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers." I prayed earnestly for a girl, and instead God gave me a boy. I was convinced at the time, that God had made a terrible mistake, but he knew exactly what our family needed. Hunter, happy birthday little man! I love you!

April Panda's Video

While waiting for the arrival of Eleenah, I found a group of friends, most of whom I would never meet. Over a span of a year, we would share tears, concerns, frustrations, and then finally joys with each other. We followed each others journeys to China to bring home our daughters, and we still remain friends now. Now, we support each other through the craziness of life, and we are watching now, as some of our Panda Families are back on the road to adoption. This video was put together by one of our Panda Sisters, Margie, so we could see how much our children have changed in the last year. The first picture of each child is the first pictures that we shared with one another on the days when our referrals were coming in. Then the second picture of each girl is taken close to their one year anniversary of being home. Thanks Margie for doing this, you are great, and we love you!

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs

With the arrival of summer, comes the arrival of all kinds of creatures. Drew, one of Hunter's older buddies, brought Hunter seven grey tree frogs on Friday. Hunter was so excited when he looked at what they had brought him. They have a swimming pool, and the tree frogs spend their day in their skimmer catching bugs. Now that swimming has started, they are trying to rid the pool of the frogs. They couldn't think of any better place to bring them then to Hunter. And trust me, Hunter was most appreciative! I love the last picture of him looking at the frogs in their new temporary habitat. To me that face just says contentment! I love it! Don't worry, we only keep our little friends for a few days, then they get to be free again, and we do feed them while they are in our care.

Summertime!

Our summer is off to a great start. The kids are having a blast playing outside, and we are blessed that it hasn't been to hot yet. Still though, the kids have pulled out the sprinkler and the tents. The small tent is our neighbors, that is Anna Kathryn in the tent with Noelle, Hunter, and Eleenah. Our tent is the blue one that Hunter is peeking out of. Our tent is definitely the preferred tent of the neighborhood. Ours is the shark tent that Uncle Chris and Aunt Demetria got for the kids for Christmas. All the kids bring their tents up to our yard, then they try to connect them all together. This is always great until the wind blows, and all the tents start rolling towards the street.

The Legend of Lightning Larry

First of all, let me set this up for you. Noelle wanted to be in our church's home school play, and I thought it would be a great idea, seeing as Noelle is great at drama. After the first play practice, the directors informed me that Noelle had specifically asked to be the bartender in this western play. I just started laughing seeing as we are members of a home school group of the Southern Baptist Church. So, last night was the performance of their play, and Noelle was an excellent Bartender in her sparkly pink cowboy hat. She also was a puppeteer for some songs. The whole theme of the play was that Lightning Larry would shoot bad people with a bolt of lightning, then they would be able to clearly see their sins and would change because the love of Jesus had entered their heart. At the end, all the kids shot the audience with their little guns. Again, I was overwhelmed when the first thing Noelle wanted to do was give Hunter her gun. She is really turning into a kind hearted child. I asked the directors if they were planning on doing a play again next year, and they said, "No, this was it!" So, at least I know Noelle won't miss out on that when she goes to school next year.

Majorette Camp

On Saturday, Noelle attended Majorette camp at our high school. She had a blast! At the end of the day, they put on a performance for the parents. Noelle did a great job twirling to Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid. Each little girl got a baton, certificate, and a T-shirt. My heart was really warmed when after the performance when Noelle took her new baton and gave it to Eleenah. It's moments like this, that I feel like maybe they do listen to me!