Happy Gotcha Day, LiYang!!

It is so hard to believe that it has been one whole year since we met LiYang in China!!  She has grown and changed, even in this short amount of time.  She is a lovely young lady, who has not had the easiest of times this year.  She has really missed all things China.  She misses her grandma, her aunt, her friends and teachers from China.  She has done really well with us, though.  She is smart, funny, very artistic, and very sweet.  She has made friends at school, and at church, and has started participating in the youth group activities.  We know that God has some majorly special plans for this young lady.  Her grandma is a Christian, so LiYang already knows a lot about God and the Bible.  He is working on her!!!  Here she is in the same outfit she had on when we met...

Happy Gotcha Day, Alyssa

One year ago today, in China, we received our third daughter, Alyssa.  It is so hard to believe she has been here a whole year.  She has learned so much - she knew no English, and now, has forgotten most of her Chinese.  She is a very smart young lady!  We can't wait to see what God has in store for this special little girl!

Our Sunday Smiles

Our good camera has been broken for a while now, so I haven't been able to post much.  Here are some pictures from Sunday, and a few of LiYang and some of her drawings - she is so talented!!!

Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 - slideshow with music

FCC Fall Get-Together

On Saturday, our local FCC group had our annual Fall gathering.  Everyone had a great time!  One of our families always hosts this event at their home.  They do a hayride and a bonfire, which everyone always loves and enjoys.  This year, we had 2 new families there - one who has been home since infancy, but new to our group, and one precious little boy, home 2 months now.  It is always exciting to see new families joining in!!  We are all so blessed to know each other, and to be able to share what God has blessed us with - the gift of adoption...

2011 Fall Get-together - slideshow with music

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, EMMA!!

Saturday was the 4th anniversary of Emma's "gotcha day" - we can't believe she has already been with us for 4 years!!!  She was 18 months old, and is now 5 1/2 and getting ready to start kindergarten next week.  She is a beautiful, sweet little girl, who loves to sing for Jesus, and has prayed to have Jesus in her heart!  We know He has amazing and wonderful things in store for this little girl!!  Here she is, still able to wear the outfit she came to us in!!...

Just some random summer pictures

Well, summer is almost over, and we've had a great one!  lots of fun in the sun, swimming, beach for two weeks, and, we were blessed to have "Ms. Sue" stay at the house with the girls this summer.   She is wonderful with them, and they love her so much!  Thank you Mrs. Sue for loving our girls!

Water balloon and Pool fun

The girls all love the water, and playing in anything to do with it.  Here are some pics of their water balloon fun and playing in the pool...(ignore the date - I forgot to set the camera date)

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY ALLIE!!!

Three years ago yesterday, sweet little Allie was placed in our arms in Shenyang, China.  She is such a blessing!  She is a rowdy, happy, playful, and tomboyish little girl, who has brought us many blessings and much joy!  Here she is in the same outfit (which will probably fit her for many more years)!

Beach Vacation 2011!!

We are so blessed that my grandma (MaMa) has a place at the beach!!  We get to spend the fourth of July week, every year on vacation at Myrtle Beach!!  This year, we were really lucky, and got to spend 2 full weeks!!  It was wonderful, and we all had a great time!!

Very Busy!!

The girls have been keeping us very busy, and I hardly ever have a chance to post any more!!  I have to do better!!  First, May 13, Emma graduated from Pre-K!  Can't believe it, but our youngest will be in kindergarten next month!!

The girls continue to do well together, and play together great! They love to play with water balloons, bubbles, anything outside, and Church/Sunday School!  Our local FCC group also had our annual picnic, which was lots of fun!!

Mostly LiYang

I am really loving having an older daughter - she is a very special young lady.  She has been through so much in her 14 years,  yet, she is kind, loving, and such a joy.  I would encourage anyone to adopt an older child.  There are tough times, and, of course, a lot of normal teen behavior, but, seeing her blossom as she has gained friends, as she's learning English, as she's taking on other interests such as choir, and guitar - she is a beautiful young lady!  She doesn't like us taking pictures of her all the time like we do the younger girls, so I am actually borrowing some of hers from her camera for this post...

Easter at the Beach

We spent Easter break at the beach this year.  The first day, our camera broke, so we used LiYang's to take a few pictures.  The girls had a great time playing in the sand, the beach, and, in the pool!  They built castles, found sharks teeth, and, LiYang and Alyssa began learning to swim!!  Can't wait until our summer vacation - we get to spend 2 weeks at the beach!!  Enjoy a few pictures...

Last few pictures

We spent the week of Easter break at the beach, and, my camera broke!!  I can't believe I have no pictures of Alyssa and LiYang at the beach for the first time!!  Here are the last few pics from before we left - LiYang won an award in an art show, Allie was in a program at school, and Alyssa sang a Chinese song in the talent show!!

Very Busy Girls!!

The girls have been very

busy with school, softball, birthday parties, and just playing and having fun...

Sunday Smiles

The Fashion Show

Yesterday, the little girls decided they wanted to try on a few of their summer dresses - they did, and had to model, and dance a little too!!  We had a great time!  Enjoy some of the great pictures I got of them...

We love outside!!!

The girls love to play outside, and with the warmer weather we've had, they've been out quite a bit!!

Sunday Smiles

We got a few pictures of the girls before church this morning, and, Justin came to church, then Josh came by - so, we had to get a few of all six of our children together!!  I still have a hard time believing we have six kids!!

Sunday Smiles

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Sweet Lucy is now 5 years old!!  We had a great time at her birthday party on Saturday afternoon!!

Oath of Allegiance

On Friday, we traveled to Fairfax so that LiYang could take her Oath of Allegiance, and receive her Certificate of Citizenship!!  It was a great day!  LiYang was already a citizen, but due to her age, had to participate in the ceremony in order to receive her certificate..