DTC baby!

OUR DOSSIER IS OFFICIALLY ON IT'S WAY TO CHINA TONIGHT!

WE ARE SO SO SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

A (REALLY) bad hair day!

So...Monday night we were just going about our usual routine. Shane and I were cleaning the kitchen up after our spaghetti dinner, and the kids were upstairs playing quietly. After finishing up the dishes, we headed upstairs to join the kids. Shane promptly checked on Sophie and Hudson, who were unusually quiet in Sophie's bedroom. They were just fine (or so we THOUGHT) and Shane complimented them on playing so nicely.  Another few minutes went by, and I thought I heard the kids in the bathroom with the water running. This time I went to check on them and to see what they were up too. I found them both playing with the water in the sink. I turned off the faucet, and without paying too much attention, scooted them out of the bathroom-back into Sophie's room to play.

That's when I noticed THIS...

It took me a second to process exactly what I was looking at, but then it hit me.

HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS and I GASPED!!!!!

It was HAIR...

A HUGE PILE OF BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN BLOND HAIR!!!!!!!!!

 I'll give you one guess as to WHO's beautiful locks those were...

Yup...that would belong to my little Goldilocks.
Oh My Goodness Y'all!!!! I'm still in total SHOCK!!!

Apparently, Sophie and Hudson got into Shane's hair trimming kit (which was in a case--tucked underneath a cabinet in the master bathroom). They confiscated the scissors out of it without us even noticing! In a matter of MINUTES...they were able to do some major damage!!!!

First thing Tuesday morning, we were at the salon attempting a "fix"!

Miss Anne did a GREAT job--considering what she had (left) to work with.

The left side is still REALLY, REALLY choppy, but Miss Anne evened it out the BEST she could.

I guess we'll just be sportin' a short little bob while we wait for it all to grow back..SIGH

Today, I went to the store and bought several GINORMOUS bows for my girl. 

What isn't "fixable" will at least be hidden by a BIG OLE' BOW! 

Oh..what a little STINKER;)

Super Bowl Sunday!

It's no secret that we are a family of die hard football fans! My husband ESPECIALLY is a huge sports fanatic, and my boys are definitely following suit. So there is no question as to how BIG Super Bowl Sunday is for our family. My boys (Shane included) read, wager, and talk all things Super Bowl, long before the event actually takes place. The offense, the defense, Manning, Brady, Belichick, Coughlin-- are all common household words used regularly in my home;)

So Sunday morning, I woke up a little earlier than usual and decided to kick-off our day with a fun football breakfast. 

I'm learning that you can make just about anything out of pancake mix-ha;)

Our football theme continued as we headed to church to teach our Sunday School class.

Shane came up with a great idea and we held our first ever "Super Bowl Bible Quiz" competition. 

The Patriots were able to secure the win during our Bible quiz game, however we were grateful that that wasn't the end result of the actual Super Bowl...sorry Pat fans;)

We ended class with a little party.

 Super Bowl cupcakes for all to enjoy. 

Sunday night, Riley, Sophie, Hudson and I had to head back to church for choir, while Shane and Corban attended a Super Bowl party. 

And even though OUR team didn't even make the play offs this year, 

we still showed our support by sporting our favorite teams gear!

Now that we have Cam Newton for our quarter back though, we believe our Panthers will GO ALL THE WAY in 2013!

You'll be seeing Blue and Black at next years Super Bowl--for sure;)

Saturday snapshots and kids in the kitchen

 Saturday morning dawned bright and early as I made my way to church for our ladies monthly prayer breakfast. I was especially excited to attend this particular event because my sweet friend Joy was the guest speaker. Joy is a mommy to five little ones, two of whom she adopted from China! She has an amazing heart for the Lord AND for adoption and unapologetically shares about BOTH! What a blessing it was to hear her share her story of faith, trust but most importantly OBEDIENCE!  

What a wonderful morning it was and I left feeling very refreshed and encouraged!

 

When I arrived home, Shane and the kids were just a little stir crazy. (That's the nice way to say my kids were bouncing off the walls;) They were definitely ready to get out of the house for a while and burn off some steam. We ate a quick lunch, and then loaded up in the car and headed out for a little treat. 

Since it was a rather dreary day outside, 

we headed to the nearest Mickey D's playground for some ice cream sundae's and FREE play!

 The kids enjoyed running around for over an hour, while Shane and I sat at a table, sipped coffee and chatted.  

A win win all the way around!

 After the kids were thoroughly worn out, we left the golden arches and ran a few errands. We needed to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few things because Saturday night the BIG boys were responsible for cooking us dinner!

Earlier in the week I had mentioned to them that I thought it would be fun if THEY cooked our family dinner one night. At first, I think they thought I was totally kidding, but after assuring them I wasn't, they began to get excited at the idea. 

I told them that they had to plan the menu, write a list of ingredients, and then actually shop for what was needed.

The boys decided to make one of our favorite meals...pizza roll ups, spinach salad, and chocolate eclair  for dessert.

I helped lay out the necessary ingredients, gave quick directions on how to assemble the pizza rolls, 

 but other than that, I stayed out of their way!

 They did a SUPER job following the directions...

 and only asked me a few questions along the way. 

  Dessert was a little more complicated, but since they've seen me make it a hundred times- they did it flawlessly.

 Of course, tasting is the best part of baking, right!?!?

Sophie desperately wanted to help the boys in the kitchen too, so they sweetly found her a job to do!

 And here we are, all ready to dig in to a delicious meal!!

 Of course, dinner was good,

 BUT dessert....

 Oh the dessert...was DIVINE!!!

WAY TO GO BOYS! I'm thinking this may be a new weekly event in our house!

I could get used to having a night off every once in a while;)

Fun at the Circus

For Christmas this year, Shane's mom graciously bought our family tickets to see the circus. Of course, ever since Christmas day my kids have been anxiously awaiting the night of the big event!  Well, Friday evening finally arrived and we were heading to the CIRCUS!

With much excitement and anticipation, we loaded up the van and drove uptown to meet Shane! 

Shane works just a few short blocks from the arena, so it was easy for him to meet us after he finished up with work.

With tickets in hand, we entered the building and our night at The Greatest Show on Earth began!

As we made our way to our seats, we had to walk past several booths of fast talking sales people, all trying to sell their plethora of brightly colored circus memorabilia!

Each table we passed my kids pointed, begged, and pleaded for the displayed gadget.

I have no problem walking past all that stuff and seeing it for what it really is...just STUFF.
Stuff we don't need.
 My precious husband on the other hand, (and I say this in the kindest possible way) is pulled in hook-line-and sinker!

Yup...he is the kind of parent those circus big wigs are totally targeting;)

Bless his heart;)
His love language is gifts and he finds GREAT joy in buying things for others. It's a wonderful thing, really, and one of the many reasons I love him so much;)

So with popcorn, cotton candy, doughnuts, a flying disk, and two twirly light-up toys in our possession, we  found our seats just in time for the show to begin!
Let me tell ya, the show definitely did not disappoint and totally lived up to its title as the greatest show on earth!
My kids oohed and awed the entire time and were completely mesmerized!
 After being thoroughly entertained for two solid hours, we were ALL sad when it ended!
Yes...it was THAT good!
It was delightful, it was exciting, it was amazing, and it was just plain ole' FUN!
A perfect way to spend a Friday night;)

Groundhog Day and the UPS truck.

Well, I guess since Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, we should prepare to endure six more long weeks of winter, right!?!? 

If "winter" means we get to enjoyed more days like yesterday though, than sign me right up!!!!

No winter blues going on here at our house.

No siree...it's more like a case of spring fever!

And while the kids spent most of the day outside playing, I spent time working on

 THIS...

Yup...that is our dossier!

All ready to be sent to China!

After waiting all day long yesterday,  the UPS man finally arrived at my doorstep last night and dropped off the last few documents that were needed to complete our dossier. He didn't get to my house until well after 5:00pm and our goal was to have our dossier turned around and bound for our agency in California the very same day. That left me with a little under an hour to make the proper copies needed AND get everything back in order so it could make the final pick-up from the UPS store at 6:00pm. Talk about a major time crunch. I wish I could say I do well under pressure, but unfortunately I don't. 

I had to call for back-up!

Shane left work a little early and met me at the UPS store so he could help me get everything done!

In a little less than 52 minutes (yes, Corban kept himself entertained by timing us) we were all ready.

Just as the UPS man drove up for his pick-up, we were finally DONE!!!

And there it goes!!! 

One more short stop in California before it heads to it's final destination....

 China!

We will be DTC (dossier to China) on February 10th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still cannot believe it!!!

And to celebrate Groundhog Day (and our new DTC status)

...we enjoyed a yummy treat after we finally got home for the store;)

How cute are these little Groundhog Day pudding cups!

Of course, they tasted a lot better because we ate them on the "ground"--ha!

Silly...yes, 

 DELICIOUS???

...you bet!!!!

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Saturday evening, our family had the privilege of celebrating Chinese New Year with other adoptive families. 

It was GREAT to see and meet many other families who have adopted from China. 

As our family works through this process, it's easy to become discouraged.

The paper work is unending at times, and the wait seems like FOREVER!

What a blessing it was for both Shane and I to meet other family's who know, understand and can relate to exactly where we are in this CRAZY process.

We were introduced to family's who have been home for years, some months, and others who have only been home a few weeks.  

It was so informative AND refreshing at the same time!

We enjoyed tasting lots of yummy Chinese food...

 

and the kids did their best at attempting to eat with chop-sticks. 

Sophie was adamant about eating with her chop-sticks.

She tried and tried, but just couldn't get it.

It definitely takes practice;)

The kids also enjoyed decorating some beautiful red lanterns. 

The color red is considered to be especially lucky;)

And speaking of "luck"...

 Corban was "lucky" enough to win a special door prize during the night.

This new book was PERFECT for him because this little guy is very interested in learning about China. He's working on a project at school and chose to do it all about China!

 He also just completed a current event all about Chinese New Year too.

I'm so proud of him for his heart and interest in the Chinese people and their beautiful culture.

CANNOT WAIT TO CELEBRATE NEXT YEAR WITH OUR SWEET ADDY-KATE!!!!!!