Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit with the Tillery Family

Each year we visit the pumpkin patch with our precious friends, the Tillerys.  Hollie and I have been best friends for 19 years (yikes!).  Our children love each other so much and it warms our hearts to see them interact and enjoy each other, even though they don't see each other often enough.

This was also Emalyn, Myla Grant and Levi's first visit to the pumpkin patch.  Emalyn loved it!  She followed the big girls around and did everything they did (and more).  The littlest in the group just chilled out and went with the flow.  We are both thankful for our laid back third children!

Emalyn and Addyline (6)

Emalyn, Addyline, Adair and Anabelle (4)

Emalyn loved sliding on the huge inflatable slide with Daddy!

And by HERSELF!  So brave!

Adair and Anabelle

Emalyn, Addyline, Adair and Anabelle

Emalyn found her pumpkin

Adair was very picky about her pumpkin this year.

Our family of five

Myla Grant and Levi (8 1/2 months)

Playing Outside

We've been enjoying the cooler afternoons and taking time to play outside more.  Myla Grant loves to lay on a quilt and soak up the nature surrounding her while the big girls love to explore it.

Recently, while we are laid across a quilt looking up at the sky, we noticed a faint rainbow.  What a sweet reminder of God's love and care for us.

One of the big girls' favorite things to do outside lately is dig in the dirt.  They fill buckets with dirt, collect rocks they find, and build dirt "castles" for hours.

They get extremely excited when they find an earth worm or roly poly among the dirt. 

Being a mom to three girls doesn't exempt me from playing in the dirt or with bugs!  I am thankful our girls love to explore nature and their surroundings, even if that includes dirt and bugs.

Emalyn and Myla Grant's Dedication

This Sunday was a very special one. We dedicated our sweet girls to the Lord before friends, family and our church community. It is such a privilege to have these little lives entrusted to our care. They are the Lord's and we are thankful He has allowed us love them and tell them about Him. We are also incredible thankful for the community of believers who will walk beside us as we raise our girls...our church family, sweet friends and families mean the world to us and will all play a special role in our girls' lives.

Time for School

Adair and Emalyn both started school this week. After debating over moving Adair to a different school, we finally decided that being close to home and having the girls at the same school would be best for our family. They are going to Trinity and are literally three blocks from our house. Hank and I had the opportunity to meet their teachers on Tuesday night and they are all precious and wonderful! I know it's going to be a great year!

In her own handwriting: 4K

The excitement...

is written...

all over her face!

Adair's teacher is Ms. Anne. She is super sweet and Adair really likes her! Adair started on Wednesday. She came home excited about school and with several new friends. The first new friend she told us about was Sarah, she said, "Sarah has really dark hair. She kind of looks like Emalyn. She's from China, too." I thought it was so sweet that Adair seemed drawn to Sarah because she reminded her of Emalyn. She has looked forward to going to school every day this week. I'm so thankful that she loves school and learning!

First day of 2 year old Mother's Day Out

Emalyn's first day was today. We went last week and met her teachers and saw her classroom. We even met several children that would be in her class. We talked and talked about school. I wanted her to be excited, but most of the time when I mentioned it, she said "no". I worried that it might take weeks for her to adjust.  Adair had heard me express my concern more than once, and as she was going to bed last night she prayed this prayer for Emalyn, "God, please let Emalyn have a good day on her first day of school tomorrow and be happy.  Help Emalyn to love school like me.  I love school.  In your name I pray, amen." 

As we were getting ready to walk to school this morning, I asked Adair if she wanted to pray for Emalyn and she prayed a very similar prayer.  God answered our prayers!  This morning when Adair and I walked Emalyn to carpool to drop her off, she did great! One of her teachers, Mrs. Michelle, came right over to greet her and she went to her willingly when I handed her off. She waved to us and said goodbye with no tears!

She was with me on Wednesday and Thursday when I dropped Adair off and then went back to pick her up, so I think she fully understood that I would be back to get her, but part of me kept expecting to get a call to come get her. When I picked her up, her teacher and the director said she had done great and had only gotten upset during the last thirty minutes. We are so proud of her! I know she is going to learn so much this year and grow in so many ways. We are definitely thankful for sweet and patient teachers!

Here's to a great year and to getting back into a routine! I think all of us will be happier with some structure in our days.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

One Year Ago: Emalyn's Refferal Day

One year ago today, we saw this precious face for the first time.  We opened an email that would forever change our lives, because we saw our daughter starring back at us. 

Emalyn at about 12 months

Emalyn at about 15 months

Mommy's Birthday

Last year, two days before my 30th birthday, we found out Myla Grant was coming.  This year, I got to celebrate my 31st with all three of my girls.  Hank and the girls made this birthday very special and so much fun.  I am looking forward to a great year...and hopefully my 31st year will be a little less eventful than the 30th was.

Emalyn: Six Months in our Arms

SIX MONTHS! I can hardly believe we made it; we survived! When we headed to China, being home six months was the point in the adoption process that I looked forward to reaching. Most other people's experiences showed that six months as a family was a huge milestone, so I longed to get there with our family in one piece. In a lot of ways, we have had our heads above the water for some time now, but I have looked forward to Emalyn being in our arms for six months in spite of that.

I am not sure when it happened, but at some unknown point during the last six months, our family solidified.  At some point, we started to feel normal again.  At some point, our hearts merged. 

Emalyn is an unbelievable little girl.  She loves people, she loves attention, she loves her sisters, she loves going places, she loves learning, she loves helping, and she really loves eating!  We are smitten by her and she truly fills in the gap we didn't even know our family had. 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Myla Grant is Four Months Old

This month was one of tremendous growth and development for Myla Grant! At birth she weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces, at two months she weighed 11 pounds and 4 ounces, and at four months she is 16 pounds 4 ounces! We affectionately call her our "chunky monkey" because she is so round and covered in precious little rolls.

Over the last month she started reaching for and grasping toys. She quickly figured out which ones make noise when she pulls on them and enjoys making them sing over and over again.

She is also enjoying being upright a lot more. Her favorite new place to sit is in the bumbo seat. (I think she really likes being able to see what her wild and crazy older sisters are doing to make so much noise.

She has to be the easiest and sweetest baby on the planet. She rarely gets upset if she isn't hungry or sleepy. She loves to go places and enjoys being held or sitting in her stroller, swing, bumbo, or bouncy seat. She is so laid back and tends to go with the flow almost always. We are definitely thankful for her sweet disposition and easy personality. It has made these last months of transition much easier than they could have been.

Our sweet girl is finally sleeping through the night! For weeks, her biological clock was stuck at 3:30 am, but after a little "sleep training" we have turned a corner. Now, she is on a great schedule and loves to sleep! She wakes up about 7:00 am, naps from 9:00-11:00 am, naps again from 1:00-4:00 pm and goes to bed at 7:30 pm.

She is loving playing on her play mat or the bed when she is awake and loves to kick her chubby little legs. She has recently discovered that screaming gets our attention, so she will scream at us if she thinks we haven't paid her enough attention...and I don't mean crying screams, I mean happy, loud, piercing screams.

On August 20, 2011 Hank and I got the surprise of a lifetime when we found out Myla Grant was coming. As we recently passed that "anniversary", it's amazing to evaluate our life "then" and "now". Despite the long days, moments of chaos, and more limited flexibility, we wouldn't change a thing!!!

Myla Grant grasping her monkey ring

Sweet little chunky monkey

As I was snapping a few pictures of Myla Grant, Emalyn decided to pull up a stool to "help".

Joe pa and his girls

Loving the Bumbo seat...

Myla Grant is loving this rocking horse toy...it was also one of Adair's favorites as baby.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Loving the Olympics

One of the highlights of our summer has been cheering on America and China during the Olympics.  Adair and Emalyn both loved the opening ceremony, swimming and gymnastics.  They loved mimicking the athletes and pretending to swim in the Olympics.

The week before they started, we did several Olympic-related crafts which was a fun opportunity to explain many of the Olympic traditions to Adair.  We made flags, medals, rings and torches.  The girls ran around for weeks carrying their torches and wearing their medals.

Ready and waiting for the opening ceremony to start.

Proud artists.

Adair and Emalyn's versions of the Chinese and American flags.

Transformation Challenge: Weeks Three and Four

Despite my lack of blogging, we have not fallen off of the Paleo bandwagon.  I found time last week to plan our meals and grocery shop, but never to share our menu.  Here is week three with a few notes.  Let's just say, we tried a few new recipes and, sadly, two were complete failures.

Note...alot of these menu items are links to recipes, but sometimes it's hard to see that on the blog.  Mouse over to see if it's a link so you don't miss out on these great recipes.

WEEK THREE:

Dinner.

Chicken “parmesan” / green beans

Asparagus stuffed chicken / grilled cabbage with bacon / sweet potato hash

Peach chicken* / roasted Brussels sprouts with avocado and pecans / fried okra

Beef fajitas with onions & peppers / guacamole / salsa / lettuce / tomato

Coconut mango chicken* / green beans / sweet potato rounds

*Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend either of these recipes.  In theory they sounded really good, but they were not.  I would love to find a Paleo crock pot meal that we love for busy nights and had hoped the coconut mango chicken would be the one, but it was not.

WEEK FOUR:

Dinner.

Eggplant with turkey sausage marinara

Beef stir fry / broccoli / mushrooms / red peppers / onions

Coconut shrimp / grilled okra / sweet potato hash

Orange chicken with pineapple, green peppers / broccoli

Steak / sweet potato rounds / green beans

TREATS & SPECIAL RECIPES:

Chocolate Cake.

We discovered this amazing Paleo chocolate cake this week.  It's actually hard to believe it is Paleo!  Top it with this Paleo chocolate frosting and a sprinkling of sea salt and it's a wonderful treat. 

Apple cinnamon muffins.

These apple cinnamon muffins are delicious.  They contain no sweeteners other than fruit and were wonderful for breakfast and snacks.

Pineapple popsicles.

These pineapple popsicles are delicious.  Adair enjoyed them so much and heard me say so often that they are healthy that she asked Hank if she and Emalyn could eat them for breakfast.  I did use two bananas and two cans of pineapple in mine for more flavor.  I think next time I will use one of each and just half of a can of coconut milk, as it made a huge recipe. 

Blend and freeze the following ingredients:

1 can pineapple chunks, in juice

1 banana

1 can coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla