Fun at the Fountains

Today, Sophie, Riley, and Corban all had dentist appointments. This was little miss Sophie's very first visit. I know she is young for check-ups, but I had a few concerns about her teeth and I needed her to be checked out. I wasn't sure how it was going to go though. I had visions of us holding her down while the dentist tried to pry open her mouth. Surprisingly, it was nothing like that!

She did GREAT. After watching the boys get their teeth cleaned, she just jumped right up in the chair. Y'all, I was totally SHOCKED!

The dentist got a good look in her mouth and was able to address the concerns I had.
Of course, just like her brothers, she got to pick out a new tooth brush as a reward!
Wonderful news...NO cavities for anyone! YES!!!

After our appointments, we picked up lunch, and met some friends at a nearby shopping center to play in the fountains.

Oh.my. goodness...the kids had a BLAST running through the water,

and hanging out with their friends!

What a great way to keep cool on a hot summer day!

This is my sweet friend Serena's daughter, Alaethia.

Serena and I can't get over how much these two look alike.
They totally could pass for sisters--don't ya think?

CAS--picnic and celebration

Saturday, our family spent the day at Dan Nicholas Park, celebrating life and family with Christian Adoption Services (our adoption agency). Families who have adopted, or who are in the process were there to enjoy a fun day together. I have to tell you...just being there and seeing all the beautiful families who have been created through the gift of adoption was breath taking. All skin colors in the heavenly rainbow were represented.
It was truly remarkable!

The day started out somewhat cloudy and rainy, but then turned into a BEAUTIFUL day.

When we arrived at the park, we enjoyed a picnic lunch with everyone. Our family cheated a bit and picked up some Bojangles on our way up to the park.

For this southern girl...nothing screams "PICNIC" more than a chicken leg, a side of mac n'cheese, a biscuit, and some sweet tea;)!
YUM!

We enjoyed delicious cake which was provided by CAS for dessert!

After our bellies were full, we were off, and ready to explore all the attractions the park had to offer. The park slogan boasts "Your best entertainment bargain", and with four little ones and LOTS to do, we put their claims to the test. We were pleasantly surprised at all they had to offer and how inexpensive everything really was!

First on every one's list was the carousal.

After that, everyone was ready for a train ride.

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We then explored the wildlife center (which is home to over 50 wild animals)!

The BIG black grizzly bears were the biggest hit, of course!

Sophie and Hudson were both captivated by the fish and turtles swimming below!

Then we headed to the petting zoo.

The kids had a blast looking at all the cute barn animals.

Sophie's favorite was the sheep!

After a quick break, we were ready for a game of putt putt!

Actually, Shane, Corban, and Riley played while KK , the babies and I hung out on the playground.

Riley got TWO holes in one!! Way to go Ri!!!

We never actually made it over to the paddle boat area, or gem mine, but were told it was great! We were there ALL afternoon, and by early evening the babies were EXHAUSTED. It was time to pack up our little troop and hit the road.

Thanks CAS for not only a wonderful day, but also for the role you have played in making our family what it is today! We are so... grateful to you and pray God's richest blessings as you continue to build forever families for HIM!!!

Already looking forward to next year!!!!

Something Old, Something New...Something Blue!

Well...no one is getting married, but this post IS about a white dress. Most of you know my love for pillow case dresses. Friday, we had family pictures taken and I wanted Sophie to wear a white dress. She didn't have one, so I decided to make one for her. Now ya'll know, I have made a ton of pillowcase dresses, but I've never made one from an actual pillow case before. That is up until now! A few weeks ago, my sweet Grandma gave me two BEAUTIFUL, handmade, pillowcases which she received as a wedding gift years ago.

Oh, they are so pretty and still in PERFECT condition. Each case has two lovely hearts on the bottom and the hearts are trimmed in delicate blue lace. I knew the minute I laid eyes on them that they would make the perfect dress for my girl.

The dress literally took all of about 10 minutes to put together. It was so...easy, but came out beautifully. Sophie wore it for our family pictures taken on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of her in it then, but I did take this one of her at church yesterday morning. We had to be there early because Shane had a meeting before church.

I took these pictures as we waited in one of the classrooms. Not the best pic I know, but I hope the professional ones we had done will do the dress much more justice. Can't wait to share those with you!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Ripe for the picking!

Today, the kids (minus Corban who was @ school and Hudson who stayed with my Grandparents) and I visited a local farm to pick some strawberries. We met my sweet friend, Celia, and her gang there for a morning of fun.

The berries were beautifully ripe and PERFECT for picking! Strawberry season is always a reminder to me that spring is coming to an end and summer is quickly approaching!!!

Riley did a great job picking.
He had fun hunting for the biggest and juiciest strawberries.

Sophie on the other hand, was much more interested in eating the berries than she was in picking them.

Check out her face, hands, and dress. She was COVERED in RED strawberry juice!!
She ate...

and ate...

and ate the berries!!!
Every time I turned around this girl had another berry in her mouth;)!

Amy and Riley worked hard to fill their big buckets.

A group pic...and YES, Sophie was still eating the berries!!!;)

After our buckets were full, we headed to the barn where they were weighed, and then we paid according to price per pound.
Seriously ya'll, we should have weighed Sophie before we started picking, and then again after we finished.
That girl enjoyed her some berries!!!!!

Unfortunately, that big bucket of strawberries won't last long in this house.
They'll be gone in no time!!!
Hopefully I'll have enough to make a pie, but I better act soon...they're disappearing FAST!

Mother's Day 2010

What a sweet day it was!! I was greeted Sunday morning by four very excited little ones.

Two of the four wished me a "Happy Mother's Day". I received some very sweet, hand-made cards from the boys, and of course,--lots and lots of hugs and kisses from my babies. I feel so...blessed to be the mom of these precious little ones.
What gifts the Lord has entrusted to me!

Unfortunately, we didn't make it to church because the kids were still recovering from the stomach bug. Instead, we spent a rather quiet morning at home. We did head over to my parents house later in the evening for a Mother's Day cookout. Thankfully, after a day of rest, the kids were feeling MUCH better!!!

My wonderful mom holding sweet Hudson!

My mom is the best.
She truly is my dearest friend!

Sophie was my sweet snuggle bug all day long.
She was glad her mama was home from NY, and was going to make sure
I did not go anywhere without her again!!

Jake, Hudson, and Sophie!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister B too!!

After leaving my parents house, we made a quick stop at Shane's grandparents house.
We wanted to be sure and wish our sweet Maw maw a Happy Mother's Day too!

Happy Mother's Day 2010!!!!

Our trip to NY City...

Shane had to go to New York City on business this past week, and I got to tag along too. Needless to say, I was very EXCITED!!!! My wonderful mom and sisters kept the kids for us so we could enjoy this little get away. We truly had the most wonderful weekend ever. Time away, just the two of us, was exactly what we needed.

It was so AWESOME!!!
(I wish I could say everything was just as wonderful here on the home front, but unfortunately it was not. The stomach bug hit the house while we were away, and the results were, well, rather ugly...more on that later...)

We flew out on Wednesday afternoon around 3:00 and arrived in NY around 5pm.

(You know you've arrived in NY when there are pigeons waiting for you at the baggage claim:)!!
We immediately caught a taxi and checked into our hotel. After we freshened up, we headed out to grab a bite to eat.

Shane's boss had recommended we try a certain Italian restaurant in Little Italy, so that's were we headed. Our meal was absolutely DELICIOUS.

The weather was PERFECT, so we sat outside and enjoyed the biggest bowl of pasta I had ever seen. After dinner, we enjoyed an evening stroll before heading back to our hotel for the night.

Oh, and we had to stop at an Italian bakery for a canoli.!!!!

Thursday, Shane had meetings to attend, so I was on my own for the day. Now I am not one to venture out alone in NY city, so I just stayed pretty close to the hotel and enjoyed a rather quiet day. Shane's meetings were over by 4 and so then we were off to Canal street to do some SHOPPING!

A trip to NY is not complete without some NY style pizza.

So after our shopping trip, we stopped for some. It was AWESOME -of course!!!

After dinner, we grabbed the subway and rode into Time Square.

Time square was AMAZING!!!!

We enjoyed some more shopping there before calling it a day.

Friday was definitely the best day of our trip.
(Friday was also the day everything went south on the home front though, too. When I called home to check on the kids Friday morning, KK informed me that Riley and Cor had just started throwing up. Later that day, we were told Hudson was sick too! Sophie was the only one standing strong. I HATED hearing that my babies were so sick, while I was so far from home!!! I felt so helpless. I so wanted to be home with them, but Shane kept reminding me that they were in good hands and that they would be fine. Still, I was heartbroken.)
Despite all that was going on at home, we tried to still make the most of our time away.

Back to our trip...
Friday-We woke up early and went for a run beside the Hudson River.

The Statue of Liberty was within our view throughout our entire run.

It was so...cool!!.
After our run, we headed to George's (a cute river-side cafe') where we enjoyed the best french toast ever!!! After breakfast, we headed back to our hotel to clean up before catching the subway over to Central Park.



We spent the entire afternoon just strolling through the park, taking in all the sites and attractions offered there. Then we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to see the musical WICKED on BROADWAY!!!!!

Oh.my.goodness!!!
It was completely breathtaking!!! I have ALWAYS wanted to see a Broadway musical, and Friday night, my wish came true!!

I seriously had to pinch myself several times just to be sure it was real.
The show totally surpassed all our expectations!!!

And with that...our wonderful trip came to an end. Saturday morning, we were so... ready to head home to love on our sweet, sick, little ones.

And needless to say, they were ready to see us too!!!