Impromptu beauty shop

My good friend Emma T. shared lots of her jewelry and hair bows with me when I first came home. I had no idea how fun these things could be until tonight! Our good friends/neighbors came over for my first ever game night. While the parents were playing cards my friend Chase brought my little jewelery box downstairs. My friend Paige likes girly thing and she decided to fix me up with a new 'do. I had at least 10 little barrettes and three pony tails in my hair. Not to mention my fabulous jewelry. Here I am giving Paige advice on lipstick. Or I might be showing her my runny nose, I'm not sure. My big brother Ben helped Paige out some, here I am with my beauticians.

When my big brother Joe saw what fun I was having he had to get into the act. Daddy didn't like how Joe wore my barrettes for earrings, but I don't mind sharing.

Ms. Nikki makes very good no-bake cookies. Makayla may be afraid that Paige and Ben are going to make her over next!

Twin Birthday Pics!

Will and Ben were SO excited about their birthday!

Here they are in bed opening their gifts from mom and dad.

And this is them opening their bike ramps. Later I almost threw

up watching them go over them and lose control of their bikes. I proved

to be very uncool by telling them they have to wait until they are twelve

to use them for bikes, but they can use them for scooters now.

Will didn't mind after his wreck, but Ben is still upset.

Here they are finishing off their breakfast in bed and getting

ready to play a game with their brothers. Grace and I were there but

not presentable yet, Paul was the photographer.

I love this one. Can you tell who is who?

My pirate hat cake. It has lego pirates on it that fell on their faces. Will may be disgusted by my cake making abilities, but it tasted just fine.

Ben with his buddy Caleb. I forgot to take pictures until the very end of the party and only got a few. Will with buddies Nathan and Corinne.

Chopsticks...

We were hugely blessed by friends from church with several meals after we returned home from China. My first time cooking again we did stir fried beef with snow peas and some other veggies. We made noodles to go along with it and got out the chop sticks we bought in China for us all to enjoy. Grace can actually use chopsticks pretty well.

Seen Around Our Home..............

I've been really bad about remembering to take pictures since we got home from China. Here are a few that I have snapped:

New big brothers Will and Ben with Grace.

Best Daddy Ever!! Big brother to FOUR Sam, with Grace. (Notice the marker lipstick on Grace. What is it with my kids and markers?)

Joe and Grace, taken by one of the boys.

This was the first outfit she picked out herself: pink-striped tights and a t-shirt.

Please enjoy the cute kids and try not to notice the mess in the background. :)

Will and Ben Turn 7 Today!!

I can't believe my twins are seven today!! I can still remember laying in bed in the wee hours of April 13, 2004 huge and pregnant and trying to turn over when I felt a terrible pain. Later I found out it was Ben flipping over with no room left. They have always been so much fun, and they continue to be hilarious. It is a joy to be their mom. Will - The oldest by 2 minutes, enjoys basketball, Karate, playing outside, playing the wii and is a cuddle bug still. Ben - The baby of the family until one month ago - enjoys being a dare devil, riding bikes, playing basketball, playing the wii and being a big brother finally! He wants more little siblings. (Dad says no.) I will post some new pictures soon.

Amazing

Grace is doing amazingly well. My boys amaze me with how much they love their sister. God's healing over Grace is amazing. She is not the same child we met one month ago tomorrow. The pictures above show her yesterday and on "gotcha day". She wasn't sleeping in the picture, she was shut down. The more she blossoms the more I realize how truly terrified and shut down she really was while in China. She is so funny and sweet and keeps us laughing and SO busy. We loved her before she was given to us but the more we get to know the real Grace the more we really love her. She is coming out of her shell around other people now, and at church tonight she was waving to everyone and saying "hi". It's really fun watching her experience every new event; car rides, the grocery store, playing outside, swinging, worshipping, and lots more. She now says, all of the boys names, hi, bye, no, ge ge (brother), ba ba (daddy), mama, hat, coat, shoes, night-night, more, and I know there are others I can't remember. She makes funny faces, gives kisses, waves hi and bye and imitates just about everything. She's still afraid of the grass, but is making progress. She still mostly prefers mom or dad or one of the boys to anyone else - and we're okay with that. She and the boys are still so sweet together. They fight over who gets to wake her up and who gets to sit by her in the car. I am irritated with myself for not getting a good picture of all 5 of them together. I'll try really hard to get one and post it soon.

God is amazing!

A few random pics from China.

This is Ann from Red Thread Care Package Service.

If anyone is planning to go shopping in Guangzhou take Ann along!!

She knows all the best "non-tourist" places and get the best

deals on jade, pearls, silk, and anything else!

Here are the pics from the zoo. What a fun memory. It

was my 2nd favorite spot we toured in China - #1 Being the Great

Wall. We are walking with Lily and her great mommy and daddy.

Me feeding a giraffe.

The elephants dancing. (I think!)

The pandas were amazing.

Grace and I on our nightly walk in front of one of

the beautiful fountains on Shaiman Island. She has

her pajamas on.

Paul, Grace and I with Jenny of "Jenny's Place"

on Shaiman island. We fell in love with Jenny and her husband.

We think she had the best store, with the best prices. Plus she

is a sweet Christian mama. I wish we could have spent more time

with her or that she lived nearby.

Grace's last look at China for awhile. (This is actually in the Hong

Kong airport.)

Grace meeting her wonderful big brothers.

A week (and a few days) home.....

I would really like to have some time to reflect on our trip to China, and write a post about it all, but time is SO short these days. Days are filled with raising 5 kids and homeschooling, and we are not even into a sports season yet. During Grace's nap I scurry to get some housework done, and then we head outside when we can. Evenings are family time, and a few short minutes with my sweet husband, and then I crash by 9:30 or so. I'm still really tired, thankfully everyone is sleeping well. Grace continues to thrive. She has charmed us all with her funny, cute ways. We love her dearly. The boys have surprised me with their genuine love and concern for her. There has been some jealousy, but it coincides with a deep affection for their little sister. She has figured out some English words, but is a master at making up signs to let us know everything from, eat, to chap stick, from outside, to potty. She makes her needs known! She's also grown physically stronger since we met her. She couldn't climb the steps at first, but now makes multiple trips up them a day. (A baby gate is on our list!) She's truly a different child than the scared little girl we adopted at the registration office in China just three weeks ago. Figuring out a routine has been tough, but we've plugged away at school since we arrived home. My back is better since Grace is feeling more free in the house to run around and explore. She still refuses to be on the ground outside. The biggest challenge right now is new people and new situations. She doesn't like either. The good news is it doesn't take her long to warm up to people here at the house. Crowds aren't her favorite thing either. We are going to try church this weekend and see how it goes. We also have a trip to our family doctor planned for tomorrow.