A Day in the Mountains!

Shane took the day off of work on Friday, and since the boys only had a half-a-day of school anyway, we let them play hooky instead, and headed to the North Carolina mountains for a day of fun!! 

I seriously don't think there is ANY place more beautiful than the N.C. mountains in the fall!

The beauty takes my breath away!

Before heading out the door though, we stuffed our bellies full of pumpkin pancakes!

A perfect way to kick-start our FALL day;) 

After a short two hour scenic drive, we arrived at our first destination---the Linville Caverns!

The kids had never been to the caverns before and were super excited to check it ALL out! 

They jumped out of the car and immediately started running and climbing on every rock and bolder in sight!

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to visit the mountains. 

The weather was sunny and gorgeous with just a hint of that lovely fall chill in the air!
It was PERFECT!!!

Because they only take small groups into the caverns at one time, we had to wait a few minutes for our turn to enter.

Everyone waited patiently for our turn to come!

Before long, we were called, and we began our decent into the deep dark cave!

I'll be honest, I was a little worried about the bats that I knew called these caverns home! 

Sure enough, just as soon as we entered and turned the corner, we had our first bat sighting!

It was tiny, but a BAT none-the-less!!

I was a little creeped out by it,  but my kids were ecstatic to see the critter! 

We squeezed our way through the tight corridors, and made our way to the deepest (and darkest) part of the cavern. It was here, in the inner most part of the cave, where they turned off all lights on us and let us experience "total darkness"!

Again, I was a little creeped out, but my kids thought it was "AWESOME"!

We finished our hike through the cave, and before long we were

  back in the car,  heading to possibly my most favorite place on earth...the little town of Blowing Rock!!!

Kilwin's Chocolate Kitchen was calling our name...

 and the promise of a yummy ice cream cone was on every ones mind!

"After that hike through the scary cave mom...ice cream sure does hit the spot!"

I couldn't agree more, Riley!!!

Everyone gobbled up their delicious ice cream cone and were soon ready to hit the town playground!

The kids were having the BEST time just running around and playing that we could have just stayed at the playground the rest of the day! 

They were in no hurry to leave, 

however Shane and I still had a few other places left on our "to visit" list!!

So we bid farewell to the playground...

 and headed to yet another beautiful spot in down town Blowing Rock! 

I'm not even sure what this park is called, but it is right behind main street in Blowing Rock?!? 

If someone knows, let me know. 

Anyway, we brought along our leftover lunch scraps and

 and I think the ducks appreciated that!

They sure did seem to enjoy our leftovers;)

We enjoyed a nice walk around the pond 

and stopped just long enough to snap a few pictures along the way!

I LOVED this signed which is perfectly placed right at the exit of the park.

Sweet memories left with us that day--for sure!!!

Once again, we jumped back in the car and headed to our final destination listed on our agenda...

Moses Cone Memorial Park!

This park is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, right outside of Blowing Rock!

We had never been here before, but I had read online reviews about how beautiful it was, 

and a "Must See" while in Blowing Rock!

The trails within the park were described as easy,

 so I thought it would be the PERFECT place for our family to hike!

This was our first ever real hike experience as a family and the kids did great!

They had so much fun running around and exploring all the things around us!

Whether climbing to the top of a great big hill, or skipping stones across the lake...

what ever it was...my kids were loving it!!

And as I watched their sweet faces, saw each precious smile, and heard their squeals of delight, I was once again blown away and humbled by all the Lord has entrusted to me!

Psalm 96:11-12 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Just a little fall fun

So last Friday, (yes, I've been a little behind on blogging lately)

 my sister B invited the babies and I over to her house for a fun-filled play date! 

She had several wonderful fall crafts planned, and just as soon as we got to her house, 

the kids went to work!

Making Silly Spiders...

As Sophie worked, 

she serenaded us all with her own version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"!

It was pure SWEETNESS!!

A tissue paper candy corn craft also added some more sweetness to our fun fall play date!

Al and Hud work hard to complete the project;)

Three budding artists show off their sweet masterpieces!

L-O-V-E!!

After a great day at B's, we decided to continue with a little more FALL fun after we got home.

Every year our neighborhood participates in the "BOO" game! This is such a fun way to kick off the  FALL season and my kids look forward to it every year!

On Friday evening, we decided it was time to get the game going again this year! We picked two of our unsuspecting neighbors and surprised them by leaving a BOO treat for them on their front porch!

When darkness fell, the kids got ready to go! 

They quickly set the buckets by our neighbors front door, rang the door bell, and then hightailed it home as fast as they could,  hoping they wouldn't be found out by our surprised neighbors!

I just loved watching their faces as they "rang and ran"! 

Such a fun way to spread some Halloween cheer!

Inching closer (an adoption update)

I'm happy to report that I finally feel like we are making a little progress in this adoption process. My heart is so anxious and every time there is a delay of some sort, I begin to feel frustrated. The adoption process, in and of itself, is tedious, but I think this time around, knowing Addy-Kate is just sitting in an orphanage waiting on US, makes this process much more difficult for me.

I'm just so anxious to get to her!

I find myself daily, even hourly, on my knees before the Lord, begging for patience, wisdom, and PEACE as we walk this journey. 

The Lord is gracious as He lovingly reminds me (over and over again) that He is in control.

John 14:27 

"PEACE I leave with you, my PEACE I give unto you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid!

He is in control of the process!

He is in control of the timing!

He is in control of our paper work!

AND 

He is holding Addy-Kate in the palm of His hand!

I have no reason to fear!

Thank you, Jesus!

 As we continue on this journey to our sweet Addy-Kate, we have had plenty to do to keep us busy. 

Every day there seems to be a new paper that needs to be ordered, signed, and notarized!

Every week is filled with yet more appointments that need to be scheduled and attended!

And just yesterday, we finished our twelve hours of training needed for our adoption too!

Breathing a sigh of relief that that's DONE--whew!!!

Thankfully though, each month that passes means we are that much closer to meeting our baby girl--YAY!!

All the kids (and Shane and I) had to have well-checks AND blood work done-UGH for our homestudy update!

Last week, we met with our wonderful social worker, Miss Kim!

Kim was our social worker when we adopted Sophie, 

so we feel beyond blessed to be working with her again!

But the BEST thing we got to do so far, in this entire process,  is order our very first care package for our baby girl!

We ordered it via Ladybugs n Love!

I sure do hope Addy-Kate likes her soft new blankie, and I hope the nannies enjoy the candy and nuts:)

Just today, I received a sweet email from Ladybugs n Love letting us know that our care package was on it's way!!! It should arrive at Addy-Kate's orphanage on Saturday or Sunday--YAY!!!!!

 I'm hoping and praying that we will have some updated pictures of our precious girl soon!

I'm just dying to see that sweet face again!!!!!

You can be sure I'll show her off post them when I get them;)

Cannot wait!!!!!

Recital time!

 

Friday evening, Sophie danced in her very first ballet recital! 

I was a little nervous about how she would do though. 

Her actual class is held in a small room and parents wait outside of the studio while the girls practice.

The recital took place in a very large room, and of course there were lots and lots of people there to watch!

I wondered how she would react  to all the people in the room staring at her, but much to my surprise (and relief) she did AWESOME!!!

Not a bit of stage fright in this girl at all!

 I think she was born to dance;)

 Sophie's class performed to the cutest song entitled "Special Me"!

As they danced, they held sweet little teddy bears.  

Seriously, could they be any more P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S?!?!?

 After their sweet performance,

 each little ballerina was presented with a special certificate of participation;)

 Sophie and her friend Clare!

To our beautiful ballerina...

 What a joy it is to watch you dance baby girl!

We are oh so proud of you and love you more than you could ever imagine!

A sweet Wednesday!

Wednesday was just an all around sweet day for us.

After I got the boys out the door for school in the morning, the babies and I headed to the nursing home to visit Shane's precious grandma. 

Unfortunately, she fell about a week or so ago, and as a result had to have hip surgery. 

Bless her heart!

She's recovering now, but has a long road ahead of her. 

When we walked through the door of her room, Maw Maw's face lit up. She was beyond thrilled to see us, especially the babies, and I was so glad to see a smile on her face!

After our visit with Maw Maw, we headed to a play date at my friend, Erin's house.  Erin and her husband, and their two little ones,  just recently moved back to this area a few months ago. Believe it or not, but Erin and I have been friends since second grade!!! She graciously invited us over to their new home near uptown for lunch and to meet their newest addition, sweet baby Fletcher. He was sound asleep while we took this picture above though. 

We had THE BEST time visiting and catching up while our little ones played! I am SO EXCITED that Erin's back in town now and foresee MANY more fun play dates in our future!

I got home from our play date just in time to get my BIG boys off the bus. Wednesday was the much anticipated REPORT CARD DAY! I'll be honest, I was a little nervous about Corban's grades this quarter. Third grade has been an adjustment for Cor and we've really struggled through the first couple of weeks of school. It's definitely getting better though, but we have had a rocky start.  

Okay, so forgive me please, but I just have to brag on my sweet Corban for just a moment! Corban came home with a SUPER report record! All A's and B's! He even made the A/B honor roll!!!

How AWESOME is that!?!?!?

 He earned those grades through a lot of hard work and determination and

we couldn't be more proud of him!

Love that boy!!!