Belated Birthdays Galore

Happy 3rd Birthday Ellie!

Ellie had a birthday back on September 20 while we were at the beach! It was so much fun being at the beach with no homeschooling to do and with her daddy home all day for a week! I had a bad sinus infection at the time, but we still managed to celebrate thanks to Ellie's 2 oldest sisters. Shelby and Katie made her strawberry cupcakes with princess holders and balloon candies to go on top. Last year we celebrated Ellie's birthday in China so it was nice to all be together as a family this year on her special day. Ellie is a sweet, gentle, loving little girl who loves her baby dolls and loves to have books read to her. She is progressing well with her speech therapy, and we are really proud of all that she has overcome in the last year.

A Princess Party for our 2 Little Princesses:

Happy 4th Birthday Lilly!

Lilly, our spunky girl! We know it was her spunk that enabled her to survive those first 19 months in an orphanage in China with a very large VSD in need of surgical repair. She was a tiny, malnourished, and sick little girl when we first met her, but you should see her now! She is a precious little girl who is almost in constant motion. She is extremely smart and learns new things very easily. She loves to write and color and watch TV. She wants to go to kindergarten and take ballet- she asks me all the time "When can I go to kindergarten and ballet school?" (She also loves reading about Angelina Ballerina- hence the ballet school reference!) We know that God certainly has something special planned for her future!

We spent Lilly's birthday, October 17, with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was apple picking time where they live so we braved the unseasonably cold weather, picked lots of apples, and most importantly had lots of fun making lots of memories!

Happy 6th Birthday, Ethan!

Ethan turned 6 back on October 22 and wanted to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese. He certainly had a blast, and his parents survived! He is being homescholed this year for the first time as before he attended a half-day kindergarten. Although I feared bringing Ethan home because he has been quite a challenge from age 2 until now, this decision has resulted in huge blessings. I am so thankful that despite my fears, I listened to God's calling. Ethan and I have grown much closer, and he has also developed closer relationships with each of his siblings. Ethan is quite an eager helper around the house. At 6, he often does his chores without being reminded- he needs to teach some of his older siblings a thing or 2 : ) Ethan is so excited about Hudson joining our family. The two boys will share bunk beds in Ethan's room- soon to be Ethan & Hudson's room. I am sure the 1st few months will be challenging, but I am confident that Ethan will be a great big brother to Hudson!

Happy 13th Birthday, Shelby!

Shelby's BIG birthday present, her horse Oreo. He arrived back in May, but I wrapped a picture of him so she would be sure to remember that he was indeed quite the 13th bday gift.

It is difficult to believe that my baby is now a teenager. Wow, that really did fly by! Shelby surprised us and decided to come into the world 5 days early on Christmas Eve. She is a delightful young lady with such a kind, loving and gentle spirit. She is laidback like her father which can sometime cause her mother to stress since I am most definitely a Type A personality. Shelby seldom gets in a hurry. . .seldom gets stressed. . .seldom gets angry. She is truly a gift from the Lord, and I am so thankful that God chose to give her to us first. I don't know that I would be the mother of almost 7 kids, if I did not have such a wonderful daughter as Shelby as the oldest of the bunch. She is a tremendous help to me and is so good with her youngest siblings. She loves the Lord and this is so evident in how she lives each and every day . . . a blessing indeed!