The Boys

Hudson's way of entertaining himself on laundry day.  He loves his (sister's) ride-on toy car.  On this day, he kept zooming up and down our long hallway.  He would manuever around the laundry baskets and head back out again.  Fulton had a great time chasing Hudson and trying to catch a picture of him as he sped by.  Hudson did take a rest on the watermelon which I thought was just so cute.  I don't normally laugh much as I do load after load of laundry for our mega family, but on this day, I laughed a lot!

Towards the end of the summer, meaning when we had carefree days before our rigorous homeschool schedule started, I was reading a Clifford book to Lilly, Ellie, and Ethan.  Ethan saw a boat similar to this one in the book and immediately began to talk Fulton into making one with him.  Thankfully we had an empty OJ container on hand.  These 2 boys had a blast working on their boats.  Fulton especially took his task very seriously and spent a lot of time on his.  Then the best part was sailing the boats in our kitchen sink.

Now that we are homeschooling, I feel as though I barely have time to breathe.  Updating the blog just isn't as high on the priority list as say math, fixing lunch, or doing laundry.  I will spotlight the girls the next chance I get though.

I Survived. . .

my first week of homeschooling 4 students while having not 2 but 3 toddlers running around!

Fulton started the school year off quite early.  This was at 6:40 AM!

Shelby is in 8th grade this year and is taking 2 courses for high school credit - a little scary for me!  Katie is in 6th grade and really wants to go to "real school".  Fulton is in 4th grade while Ethan is starting 1st grade this year.

These 2 little ones did great.  Since they are going to preschool at a local church in a few weeks, they simply enjoyed themselves without any real "school work".  They entertained themselves while the "big kids" and I were busy doing school.  Here they are in our "play closet" playing Leapsters.

This little guy caused a bit more stress for this homeschooling mom and her students.  Here he is in "time in" for . . .well, I really can't remember.

Only by God's grace have I made it this far in my homeschooling journey.  I remember when I first started prayerfully considering homeschooling back when Shelby was in kindergarten, I thought I would homeschool only one child at the time - when Katie graduated 5K at the church kindergarten, then she would come home for school.  Shelby would then leave homeschooling and go to a local private school and that would continue until the last one came home for school.  Obviously God had a much different plan.  It certainly is a challenge now that we have 7 children, but God strengthens me and equips me to get the job done.

Overall, it was a good first week, and we hope and pray it only gets better!

It's Been 16 Years!

Yes, my high school sweetheart and I were married 16 years ago today.  I can remember that day so vividly in my mind.  The wedding ceremony and reception were all I had ever dreamed they would be, but more importantly than the festivities of that day, these last 16 years have been so much more than I could have ever envisioned.  I never would have imagined the spiritual growth that we have both experienced or the abundant blessings that God has lavished on us - not  finanacial ones (we could use some of those blessings after 3 adoptions : ) - but the love we share between the 2 of us,  the supersized family He has created for us, the trials we have been through where we have seen the hand of God so clearly.   This journey that  He has led us on together these last 16 years has been far richer than I ever thought possible.  Today I thank God for a wonderful, loving husband who seeks to know the Lord more and more each day and who leads our family to know and love Him more deeply too.  Prince Charming will be arriving soon to steal me away from the 7 who consume most of my time so that I can spend a few hours focused only on him!  Can't wait!

The Rest of the 4th

There was so much fun to be had that even Lilly who is usually in constant motion had to take a break.  Here she is warming up in the sun after coming out of the pool with chattering teeth!

We spent the Fourth of July at my sister Michelle's house which just happens to be on a lake and have a pool - not fair I know!  As I said in the last post, the other children did venture out a bit more than Hudson who was most content either eating his chips or sitting on the edge of the pool playing with cups.  Shelby, Katie, and Fulton enjoyed kayaking - a first for all 3 of them.  They even got me to give it a try, and I actually loved it also!  Ethan, Lilly, and Ellie had the most fun in the pool which is where they spent the majority of their time.  They did take a few spins on our jet ski, and Ethan also rode in Uncle Trip's boat.  In between eating, swimming, kayaking, jet skiing, and boating,  Katie and Shelby did find a few spare minutes to hold their newest little cousin, baby Dargan.  Needless to say, we all had a blast at Aunt Michelle and Uncle Nick's house.  And we tried to be on our very best behavior in hopes of being invited back : ) 

Hudson's Way of Eating Chips

Reach in slowly and grab at least one

Study it carefully

Show it off

Put it in your mouth before they decide to take it for themselves

Push it in to make sure it doesn't fall out

Study the next one in detail

Chew slowly to enjoy each and every morsel

                                                   Think it over and then savor the last bite

                                 Then repeat the above as you surely can't eat just one or two or three!

Hudson really enjoyed his chips on July 4th.  Check back later to see what his siblings enjoyed - needless to say they ventured out a bit more than Hudson and were a tad more adventurous!

Happy 4th of July. . .

from our newest little American citizen!

(Look who snuck in on our photo shoot!  These 2 had the best time after the photo shoot running around with their American flags.  It was the most that they have played together so far and it was precious!)

A Bit about Our Little Guy

Piano -playing

Coloring

Daddy - loving Junior Gamecock

(National Champs as of last night - GO COCKS!)

Water and Jie Jie loving

Blueberry -picking and eating

Temper -tantrum throwing

(Mama wouldn't let him have any more berries. Needless to say, he LOVES blueberries, and he ate a TON)

Car - pulling

(day after arriving home - note suitcase is still on bathroom floor!)

Dirt- digging

Cozy  Coupe driving

Gu-Gu loving. . . . special little guy!

I don't have enough time to share just how wonderful these first 2 weeks home have been but let me try. . . 

Hudson is truly  a different child than the one we met and spent 14 days with in China.  He has literally blossomed before our very eyes.  In looking back, it appears that Hudson put up walls and was almost refusing to let us in for a while.  Then he went threw an anger stageI suppose as part of his grieving.  Now he has become a happy-go-lucky-little fellow!  We have had one rough night, a few very early mornings, and temper tantrums here and there, but overall, Hudson has been a delight.  He still likes to be held while you are walking, but he is getting better at tolerating us sitting down.  He still speaks Chinese mostly, but he has added a few English words like Daddy, car, ball, cat, and Bubba (for Fulton).  He hasn't learned "Go Gamecocks" yet or "We are the National Champs in baseball" but we are working on that!  He calls me "Mama" now but only recently was calling me "Ayi" - nannie in Chinese. And he blew me a kiss today after I put him down for a nap.  I smacked my lips as if kissing him, and he did it back - so sweet! 

Our other children are doing amazingly well with Hudson.  There has been really no sibling jealousy to speak of - yet.  Lilly tells me all the time how much she likes Hudson.  He has even made her "best friend" list.  So all is well here for which we are so very grateful.  God has blessed us with a remarkable little boy who fits in beautifully with our family.  Once again I have been amazed by the miracle of adoption.  Once again I am thanking the Father for calling us to adopt - again - even though many thought we were definitely insane (with Ellie they thought we were just bordering insanity but now we are really there).  Once again I am thanking the Father for giving us the courage, faith, and strength to obey His call. Is He calling you to care for one of the 147 million orphans who wait for a family ???

We Are Home!

In our hotel in Hong Kong waiting for the shuttle.  Caught a great pouty look from Hudson.  He can get the lip out pretty far just like his 2 older brothers.

Once again Ethan amazed us with how well he did on the 14 1/2 hour plane ride.  That doesn't even count the extra 1/2 hour we had due to having to wait for clearance to take off.  Ethan enjoyed playing with play dough, his toy plane, and matchbox cars.  He also took walks on the plane to talk with Wei's family who were seated a few rows up from us.  Thankfully he did sleep 2 different times and woke up happy and cheerful. 

This little fellow did pretty good as well considering his age and all the changes he endured prior to the flight.  He had 2 good temper tantrums in the beginning which got us a few concerning looks from those around us.  I am sure they were hoping that his screaming would not last the entire trip.  Thankfully, it did not.  Hudson also played well with his stacking cups and toy cars.  He had a short nap and then later slept about 5 1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, he did not wake up happy and cheerful!  However, once we got off the plane, and he got back into his Baba's arms, the crying subsided.  He took another short nap in David's arms and then he did wake up  happy and cheerful - full of smiles - as we all enjoyed dinner at Chili's in the Chicago airport.

This was right before his nap as we stood in line to eat at Chili's.  David and I wanted to sit at a table rather than on the floor, and I was craving a salad which of course was off limits in China.  Ethan and Hudson enjoyed chicken and fries.We left there thinking we only had an hour til our already delayed flight would take off.  No such luck.  The terrible thunderstorms had flights backed up considerably and some even cancelled like Wei's family who had to overnight in Chicago.  Thankfully our multiple delayed flight did finally depart around 8:45 PM CST.  Although I smocked Hudson's "coming home outfit" and had it packed in my backpack, David and I decided it was not worth putting Hudson through changing his clothes as he was so tired, and we knew that would not go over well!   

We were so happy to see our family waiting for us.  Lilly and Ellie were so excited that they ran pass the secured point and all the bells started sounding.  Thankfully the airport was deserted and the security guard just smiled and reset the alarms.  It was late - 11:45 PM - but Lilly and Ellie weren't the least bit tired as they were SO excited to have us home.  We got lots of hugs and kisses.  Hudson was not too thrilled with the hugs and kisses though.    

Ethan was so happy to see Lilly and Ellie - his 2 favorite playmates.  As we were walking out of the airport, the 3 of them were in front of me hand in hand.  I was too tired to pull out the camera, but it was a sweet moment.

Hudson screamed the entire way home.  He wanted David who was driving and thus he screamed.  I am really glad we don't live too far from the airport.  We all had heard enough screaming.  Once home, we quickly got everyone ready for bed and SLEPT! 

Some thank yous to some very special people:
Thank you to my dear cousin Sheri who stayed with my children for the first 10 days of our trip.  She only has one son so that was a huge change for her to care for 6 children in all.  Thank you also to her mom, my dear Aunt Lulu (I couldn't say Louise when I was little so "Lulu" stuck) who came to give Sheri a helping hand for several days.  Thank you both so very much!

Thank you also to Drew and Linda, friends of ours from church, who kept the children after Sheri returned  home.  Drew and Linda went from NO children to 5 children in an instant.  The children had a wonderful time staying at their home with their many pets - cats, chinchillas, visiting raccoon and babies, bunny who is litter boxed train, etc.  Thank you also for staying up late and driving the children to the airport so they could welcome us home.  We are so thankful for your sacrifice.

Last but not least, thank you to my dear friend Jen who kept the blog running for us.  Jen has 5 children of her on and is a teacher who didn't finish school for the summer until June 10.  I know you are extremely busy, Jen, so thank you for sacrificing your time to update the blog for us.

It's great to be home and a family of 9!  We are still trying to recover from jet lag and are waking up way too early.  Hudson is doing better now that we are no longer living like nomads and seems to be enjoying getting to know his new siblings and his new home!