The babies...

It was so..........beautiful out this morning, so after we dropped Riley off at preschool, the babies and I headed to the path in our neighborhood for a walk. It also proved to be the perfect morning for a photo op, so I snapped a few!

It seems like I've been posting A LOT about the big kids lately and haven't really blogged about my sweet babies much.

Bless their little hearts---sometimes it seem like they are just along for the ride as we cart the big kids here and there to their various activities. They are such good sports though and LOVE being with the big kids. Whether we are walking the kids to school, cheering them on at a soccer game, or playing in the backyard after school, anywhere the big kids are, the babies are normally not far behind!!!

One big change that took place this year is that three days a week it's just US. I mean, the three older kids are in school, so it's just me and my two sweet babies.

It's NEVER been just me and the babies before, so I'm definitely LOVIN' our little bit of time together.

They are getting so.......BIG!!

Hudson will be 17 months this week and

our Sophie girl turns the BIG 2 on THURSDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh.my.goodness!!!!
I just can't believe it!

I've just recently notice them actually playing together. Most of the time they play beside each other, but lately I've noticed them playing TOGETHER.

They laugh, share (well, not ALL the time-lol) and talk with each other.

It just melts this momma's heart!!!!

I feel so blessed to call these two mine and love watching them grow, learn, and LOVE TOGETHER!!!!!!

A week of FIRSTS!

This has been a week chalked full of fun "FIRSTS" for our house.

1.My sweet Riley had his very FIRST day of preschool last Wednesday!

He did GREAT and LOVED every minute of it. He looked like such a BIG boy as he walked into his little classroom. He did stop, turn around, and give me a huge grin as we waved goodbye.

His teachers are so precious and several of the kids in his class live in our neighborhood.
Actually, some live RIGHT down the street!
Oh, he's going to have a GREAT year!

2. On Friday, "A" was invited to her FIRST ever pajama party.
(It wasn't quite a true sleep over, just an evening full of fun, dressed in comfy pj's)
One of the sweet girls in "A's class hosted a birthday/get to know you party for all the moms and girls in her Kindergarten class.

We ate pizza, played games, and enjoyed some yummy cupcakes. It was such a sweet time and a GREAT way to get to know some of the other girls and their moms.
The girls had a BLAST (of course--who doesn't LOVE a good pajama party, right)!!
Don't these silly girls look oh so...adorable in their little pj's?!?!

3. Saturday morning, it was up and at em' as we headed out to the FIRST games of this soccer season.
Of course, everyone was so excited about the season opener!!

Riley (bless his heart) was so anxious about his game, he actually slept in his soccer uniform;)!!!

Saturday was also "A's" FIRST time playing in a real soccer game.

She too was so...excited,

BUT even more excited that her mom could come watch her play in her first game!

After a few seasons playing flag football, Corban is back to soccer (his FIRST true love)!
He enjoys the game and I can tell his skills are really improving!
Our little soccer star in the making;)

4. Also, my sweet little Wee Praisers Children's Choir started back up on Sunday night. I am teaching with my friend Alice again this year. I think this is our fourth year working together with this group!

I so adore my four and five year olds and LOVE the fact that Ri and "A" are in my choir this year!
All these kiddo's bless my heart to no end!!

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!!!

Sayin' goodbye!!!!

I don't like "goodbye's".
No, I don't like them at all!!!

Monday evening, our family all gathered at my parents house to say goodbye to my brother Steve. Steve will be leaving on Friday for England!!!! He works for Hollisters (the clothing store) , and was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity helping set up and run a brand new store in London!!! This is a two year commitment. They will fly him home every six months or so, but that means he won't be here with us for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year!

We are so.........going to miss him!
We LOVE you Steve!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Saturday night was a GIRLS NIGHT!!!

I joined two of my sweet sisters and two of my dear friends for a night of fun as we took in the Broadway musical, Mary Poppins!!!!! I was so......excited and had been anticipating this night for weeks. It's always such a special treat when I get to spend time out with just the girls.

BOTH of my sweet friends, (Jessica and Celia), celebrated birthdays recently,

so this was a little birthday celebration for them as well.
The show was AMAZING!!!! The actors, the singing, the costumes, even the set was UNBELIEVABLE!!!

The show wasn't over until after 11:00pm--(way past my bedtime)
so it was well after midnight before my head finally hit the pillow!
Exhausted from a busy day, I happily went to bed singing
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious !!!!!

Labor Day Parade!

Saturday morning we got up and headed out to our little town's annual Labor Day parade!

Last year was the first year we got to participate IN the actual parade by riding on a float sponsored by our adoption agency.

This year again, we had the privilege of riding on our agency's float!

It was a BEAUTIFUL morning...

and the temperature was PERFECT for a parade!

The kids had a blast passing out candy to the spectators as we rode down the parade route.

Corban even had a chance to pose with Sir Purr, the Carolina Panthers mascot (who was also a part of the parade)!!
What a treat for him!

What a fun morning for our family, and a GREAT way to kick off our Labor Day weekend!

Finding our groove...

Well that's at least been my goal this last week and a half. I don't know about you, but I haven't quite found it yet. Fall activities are beginning, school is in full swing, and soccer season is upon us, but even though we are really busy, I haven't quite gotten us in a good routine yet. I'm still trying, and am confident that we will fall into our groove soon.

This week "A" finally joined Cor at school and officially became a BIG KINDERGARTNER!!! Monday, when her alarm went off, she literally jumped out of bed and was dressed in a matter of minutes.

I have seriously NEVER seen this girl move so fast. After breakfast, we all walked to school and when we reached her classroom, she bounced through the door and never looked back. There was NO hesitation at all!!!

"A" has the same teacher Cor had for Kindergarten who we absolutely LOVE and ADORE. We know "A" is in good hands and we are praying that the Lord will accomplish great things in her life this year.

Next week, we have one more "first" to celebrate.

Riley will begin preschool for the first-time- ever!! He will be going Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays this fall. Today, we met his sweet teacher and a few new friends that will be in his class.
He is SO excited and can't wait to be a "big kid" and go to school now too!!

Hoping you are enjoying a GREAT week and looking forward to the L--O--N--G weekend ahead!

"I'm just your tummy baby"...

I must preface this story by first saying that our family talks a lot about adoption and foster care. Words like biological parent, forever families, DSS, social workers, and visitations are just a few of the words that come up in normal family conversations around here. We use words like "tummy mummies" to describe birth-parents, and "heart mommies"to describe adoptive parents. Shane and I feel that it's important for our kids to understand all about foster care and adoption, and we pray that the Lord will develop in each of them a heart for both.

With that said...here's how one of my conversations went the other day with my sweet Riley.

I was in the kitchen one afternoon, putting our dinner together, when Ri came running into the room.

Ri: "Mom, do you remember when you picked me up off the side of the road one night and brought me into your forever family?"

Me: "Honey, mommy and daddy did NOT find you on the side of the road. God put you in my tummy and you were born into our family."

Ri: "No mom...I know you found me on the road!"

Me: "Ri, honey, we did not find you on the road!! You were born into our family. Remember when Hud was inside my tummy and it got really big? Well, that was what it was like when you were inside my belly too. "

Ri: "Ah man!!! How come Sophie gets to be your heart baby and I have to just be a tummy baby?!?! It's not fair!"

Me: Trying my best to conceal my amusement at our little conversation I reply..."Ri, you BOTH are super special and two of my most precious gifts from the Lord.

I love you both and thank God for bringing you AND Soph into our forever family!"

LOL---
Oh how I love that sweet little boy!!!!!