Bonfire Blast

We have really enjoyed our new property for many reasons, but the kids love the bonfires the best. (Well, I take that back, bonfires are second to the creek.) There is just something very therapeutic about sitting around a fire. We had our good friends, Greg and Patty and their two girls out for a bonfire and we had such a great night. The kids are in constant motion and we adults so enjoyed watching them play. Kate picked handful after handful of wild "flowers." They truly were beautiful. They romped and played and looked for treasures. We ate dinner around the fire and of course had to make messy gooey S'mores! It was NOT chilly though so we did NOT need the warmth! It was a great kick off to summer. Mitchell went out to The Glen FULLY prepared with his completed school work books from fourth grade and everyone enthusiastically helped him burn them piece by piece! As dark fell, the moon was pretty and the fire just sparkled and glowed. The kids were thrilled to see their first Lightning Bug or two of the season. Home for a FIERCE scrubbing and off to bed exhausted and happy!

WELCOME SUMMER!!!!

GRADUATION DAY!

Madeleine graduated from The Cedarville Learning Center! She was SO excited for her program. She has learned and grown so much this year. Her teacher, Mrs. Winey has been wonderful. Madeleine absolutely LOVES school and is so eager to start Kindergarten...her Dad and Mom are not quite as anxious but happy that she is so pleased to go!
I love her smile in this photo...she is SO VERY pleased with her little diploma!

Each child's diploma had a character quality that they display at school, Madeleine's was "Friendliness," eager to share myself with others.
These three gals have such fun together. They are so precious! Cousin Grace in the middle and super friend, Meg on the right! We all went for icecream after graduation to celebrate!
The day after graduation CLC had an all school BBQ picnic. Sam and Madeleine both had an awesome time at the park. They are both officially done with school for the year.

End of year school projects and fun...

Mitchell posing as President McKinley for his Fourth grade project "The Wax Museum." Isn't he a handsome guy??

Mitchell and Emma on their way to the SPRING concert. Emma loved singing The Purple People Eater and Mitchell's class played songs on their recorders.
Three adorable friends at the Mother's Day Tea, Madeleine, Gracie and Meggie! Love those smiles!
Mother's Day Tea at CLC - Eva, Meg, Sam, Grace and Madeleine
Field Day at school ~ the BIG fourth grade class TUG O WAR!!! The competition was FIERCE!
Emma posing at International Days...she presented CHINA as her country. The kids loved the Chinese kite, Yo-Yo and feather ball she brought to school.

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!

The photo is my wonderful Mother's Day surprise! I have ALWAYS wanted a Weeping Willow...there is just something amazing about them...I have loved them my entire life! As a child I called them "Hang Down Trees" which my kids think is funny. Bob and the kids managed to COMPLETELY suprise me with this Willow on Mother's Day. I am so looking forward to watching it grow up at Killeny Glen!

It is Mother's Day and I just want to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you! What a great job it is...I would NEVER trade it...NEVER!!!

Oh, mother's love is glorifying,

On the cheek like sunset lying;

In the eyes a moisten'd light,

Softer than the moon at night!

Thomas Burbidge, Mother's Love

Being an adoptive mom is just a role and a blessing beyond all blessings. I pray a very special prayer for all the birthmoms, many of whom have no idea where those beautiful babies are that they gave life to...may God fill their hearts with peace in knowing that their children are loved beyond measure. What gifts!!

Thanks to my mom who is just an awesome, Godly example of a loving, hardworking, strong, selfless mom!

Unicycle success!

That CRAZY NATE!!


Nate has always been ACTIVE and along with his activity he is incredibly coordinated. Over the course of his short life I have advised him MANY times not to do some dare devil stunt as I was sure that we would be on our way to the emergency room. He has certainly had his fair share of scrapes, bumps and bruises but, thankfully, has been spared from anything worse than that! He rode a two wheeler bicycle before he turned four and now spends a HUGE amount of time with his buddies skateboarding. The jumps and tricks they do are really fun to watch. Nate got this unicycle for a birthday some time ago and became disgusted that he could NOT master it and pretty much abandoned it. Suddenly, a week or so ago he decided to attack and conquer the unicycle and HE DID! He is not ready to ride in a parade yet but he is getting it!

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

Okay, here it is...Madeleine has been BEGGING to cut her hair since Christmas. Daddy nor I have been particularly on board with this idea. Before Christmas we had a hair "snafoo" involving Madeleine and a self hair cutting incident that led Mommy to make a Beppie 9-1-1 call to fix the badly damaged hair. (Beppie is code for cousin Beth who cuts hair professionally...well almost graduated!) I took Sam in for his monthly haircut and Madeleine begged to have her hair cut into a "bob," that is what I call it and so we did it! Now, there is more...our Daddy was in Boston on business at the time and Madeleine called him to tell him she had a BIG suprise...he didn't think he would like it but we all LOVE it...especially Miss Madeleine! She is already talking about getting it trimmed again!

Kindergarten?? Already?

These are two special little girls! Grace and Madeleine are both cousins and friends...they are growing up so fast that I just get a bit "ferclempt" looking at them! When Bob and I recieved our referral to adopt Madeleine, Grace was about five months old...we knew that they would spend time together and it was such a blessing to have Grace to see her grow and flourish as we waited to travel to bring Madeleine home. What wonderful little gifts!

Now, fast forward FIVE years! We just took those two little babies to register for KINDERGARTEN!! Are they worried about starting school?!?!? NO WAY!! It was a party as they looked at their room, met their teacher and saw many famliar faces...I say WATCH OUT as the ladies are coming to school with BELLS on!!

Birthday Bash Number EIGHT!

Emma's eighth birthday was a HUGE success! She had such a wonderful celebration! She had several gal pals over for a GROOVY GIRL party and it was a glorious day outside. All those girls screaming made me worry that my neighbors would feel compelled to call 911! One of the highlights of her "Dad's Day Out" this year was ice cream with her pancakes for breakfast at Youngs. They also went to Build A Bear to make her new Hello Kitty, whom she named Kristin. Gramps took Emma shopping earlier in the week for a new BIG bike and allowed her to choose the one she liked from Gram and Grampie. He put it together and then she had to wait until her actual birthday to ride it! Well, she tried to pull all kinds of excuses to get Gram and Gramps to let her take that bike on a joy ride! They called her to come and get it on her big day and she bee-lined it over there! She is loving it! All the kids have been out on their bikes traveling at HIGH speed!

Emma crashed BIG time after staying up WAY TOO late partying with cousin Beth and her friend Tim. It was the perfect end to a really great day! We are so thankful for this little girl! She is a treasure!

Countdown to EIGHT!

Emma will be eight years old on Friday! The magic that a birthday brings never ceases to entertain us! I thought it would be fun to put a few photos of Emma's previous birthdays here. She is three, four, six and seven years in the order of photos. (We did not go digital until the year she turned three!)

Hasn't she changed SO MUCH?? She is such a great gal! My Nana Boo once said she is full of "Spit and Vinegar" and I'll throw in a big dash of pink and sequins and that's our sweet Emma Boo!