A Day In Grace

Another Book~

2012-02-11T12:43:00.001-05:00

We are always excited for the next "blog" book to arrive! Since adding several children to our family my time and space and extra money is limited. I have always liked to scrapbook but it is timely and expensive. When I started blogging I decided that I would blog the year and then print it into a book.... it has been so worth it! We all look forward to looking at our year in a book.... not the same as scrapbooking but a good trade off.

These are the last three years.... I will tell you these books get looked at a lot! It is so important to keep memories alive through photos and writing... find a way to do something to preserve the memories of your family. Be purposeful and intentional to document their lives, changes... exciting things in their life.. they will thank you for it one day!

Sneak Peak~

2012-02-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

Lane and Emily are both in the upcoming musical show OLIVER! They are excited! The local Arts Council had a benefit and a small part of the cast went and performed a song for them. It was well received

and they loved it. The kids were excited too. The actual show is right around the corner... February 24,25,26 and March 2,3,4

Here is Lane... a "orphan" boy... isn't he adorable ?

Performing the song "Be Back Soon" Can't wait for the show!!

Time~

2012-01-31T06:40:00.000-05:00

Everyday he makes his way to this space before he does anything else. I caught a glimpse of him the other day and he looked like he had grown 10 inches. My heart hurts as I watch my children grow...it seems like just yesterday he "fit" at this table. Do you ever wish you could stop time? I have so much I want my children to know ... I want to use every minute with intention....I don't want to waste any of it. Do they know how much they are loved? Do they know how much God loves them? Do they understand their purpose? Moments like this stop my heart and change my direction quickly... it makes me re-evaluate everything I do and where my time is spent. Thank you for these moments~

"You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him that called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

I Peter 2:9

Adoption Day Dessert~

2012-01-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

The tradition of "adoption day" is to go out for a yummy dessert! Longhorne is always the choice so far :) This year we just took Michael and Sasha out.... they enjoyed it and LOVED their dessert of choice!!

They are growing up so fast... my heart hurts!

Oh yeah baby!! My very own cheesecake!!

Sorry.. but YOU have to share with mom!!!

The best "lunch" ever!! We love you guys so much!!!

6 years ago~

2012-01-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Adoption Day!! 6 years ago we sat in a courtroom in Ivanovo, Russia and Michael and Sasha became part of our family! What joy these two have brought to our family and we are richly blessed because of it! They are a perfect fit and it feels like they have always been here... I hope they feel they same :) I am so grateful for them and our answered obedience to God's calling on our lives.

Sasha 10 years old.... Michael 13

My sweet boy..... You are so kind and a super kid to be around. I love that you can make be laugh! You are very helpful and you have a great heart. I love how you help out your younger siblings and you never complain. I have enjoyed watching you mature into the young man you are becoming. I hope you know how much you are loved!

Oh... my sweet Sasha! You have a special place in my heart created by God~ You are such a joy to watch. You bring so much fun and laughter to our family and we are so grateful for you. You are a kind and thoughtful girl... who loves deeply. You are so much like me.... we are connected. I can't imagine our family without you. I know things are hard for you sometimes but you are strong and can rise above anything in your way! I love that about you :) I hope you know how much you are loved!

My beautiful sweet children .... who make us laugh! Happy Adoption Day!

First Sleepover~

2012-01-24T12:43:00.000-05:00

My sweet Sasha had her first sleepover! She had been planning it for weeks and was SO excited! We have some dear friends who had wanted to have her over for a long time and the time finally came!! I was so happy for her and she loved it.... it really made her feel special!

She had a great time and loved every minute of it!!

Happy New Year~

2011-12-31T12:33:00.000-05:00

The kids were excited for New Years Eve! They couldn't wait to stay up and "ring in the new year"! We decided to have game night and lots of yummy food to eat and just celebrate as a family. I asked each of the kids to write down a goal for the new year and keep it. While I was cooking all our treats we had some little helpers making confetti to throw at midnight!

Oh .. this is going to be fun!!

Now some helpers to pick out the games for the family~

Looks like these are the winners...

A family favorite SPOONS!!

Beautiful smile~

It does get rough....

So we changed to these :)

We were the last two .... look who has the spoon !! :) That's right... ME! ( BTW.... I never win any games with him)

More games!

Everyone got a chance to call the numbers~

Getting close to midnight....

Making memory pages~

It is here!!!

This is what is left :) Cleaned it up Sunday after church and got the entire room spotless... I was hot from all my work and then I turned on the CEILING FAN and the room was covered again!!!! Forgot about all the confetti that landed on the blades :) I laughed!

Happy New Year..... your life is what you make it!!!

Photo Shoot~

2011-12-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

When we traveled to Anniston, Alabama for Christmas we went to the Old Fort Mcclellan ... they had a beautiful old church. Oh how I love old churches!

My oh so handsome boy! My heart hurts on how fast he is growing up :(

Brothers... different as night and day but still best friends... so blessed that they have each other!

An opening in the door ..... of course boys would go in!

My beautiful oldest daughter.... oh how she is growing up~

Emily had to run back and take this picture because the sun finally came out and it was so pretty! What a beautiful day!

Having Fun!

2011-12-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

The boys got new arrows to go with a bow that was given to them last year... it use to be their Uncle Ric's when he was younger :) They couldn't wait to shoot!

They took turns and had so much fun.... their target was a ceiling fan box :)

Woo Hoo!

Every year when we take the tree down the kids love to play in it.... this year Lane went to another level..... he put the tree in a tree :) Love that kid!

Boys will be boys !

Merry Christmas~

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Cookies are ready......the kids tucked in bed :)

When "Santa" was getting everything ready an unknown reindeer ate his cookies !!!!!

Time to get up!!! Every year we play Tran Siberian Orchestra music and the kids know it is time to come down :)

They make their way down to see what was left for them!

Lane checking out his goods....

Love this picture!! Caroline excited about a toothbrush.... Michael is pumped about his PSP and Lane is so happy with his Dr. Who sonic screwdriver!!

Busy but Caroline takes time for a smile:)

Emily... yes you know have an IPOD :)

Caroline with her MP5 player.... Now it is off to church... the presents under the tree will have to wait! Although with the 3 things "Santa" brought and their stocking it is plenty :)

After church the kids came home and changed to be comfortable and they were ready to open~

Ready for snow.... where is it?

A new Bible for Sarah~

Emily likes her new hat.... she is a hat wearing girl!

Michael was happy he got his football bank!

A bag of hats for my other hat wearing kid :) I love the fedora....

He seems happy about a new style hat...

Oh... adorable

New shirt for Sasha~

The present I was most excited for the 3 of them to open!

"Why can't we get these open"??

Hooded Capes..... oh how they were excited... and they each got a new sword !!

Do you think they like them???

Adventure.... here we come!!!

Aren't these two adorable??

And the mess we are left with :) Good thing we have lots of helpers!!

A quick pose with her new coat!

Stylish boy!

Nice purse and watch.... she loves them!

Enjoying his gifts!

Using his gifts!!

Likes her new barbie~

Modeling his new shirt and vest.... I love it!! We all had a great Christmas and we are looking forward to a great 2012 with lots of purpose of change in our lives!

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Twas the night before Christmas........

2011-12-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

We all enjoyed a candlelight service at church and then home to enjoy a candlelight dinner together! The kids were excited to open presents from Grandma and the one from the sibling that drew their name! Here we go....

An awesome new hat and a scarf and gloves from Grandma!

Michael... "I wonder what it is"?

Loves the shirts!

Lane was excited too...

I think his face says it all.... he LOVES this !!

Reading the note from Grandma about the ties she sent for him use to belong to his Grandaddy :)

Happy with her favorite color sweater and sparkly tank top :)

Caroline thrilled with her new sweater, pj's and socks and also VERY excited about her books on practicing cursive :)

Sarah was having some "being grateful" issues this Christmas.... :( ( IIWII)

Time to open gifts from the siblings... this year they drew names again and only bought a nice gift for one.... Do you think Caroline is excited???

Lane had Sasha.... he really did good... she was so happy with her socks, harmonica and candy bar!

Emily got Lane a music book for him to write his own music :)

Mike got a new shirt... pretty nice!

Laptop cooler!

Sarah got super cute slippers from Sasha... again gratefulness issues were a problem again.... :(

Caroline showing off her new sweater from Grandma and her new "C" necklace from her sweet brother Michael!

Hey!! I just asked you guys to clean up !!

Okay.... my adorable children!

Happy Birthday Jesus cake... a tradition every Christmas eve~

They are ready!

Christmas 2011

Lane, Michael, Emily, Caroline, Sasha and Sarah~

The Visit~

2011-12-21T21:49:00.000-05:00

Every Christmas the kids look forward to Uncle Paul and Aunt Kim to come for a visit. They only stay a day on the way to Kim's parents but the kids love it! They are the "cool" Aunt and Uncle :) This year the kids each got a gift instead of the normal "family" gift.... so that was a real treat for them. All the gifts were very well though out for each child.... and the kids loved them!

On your mark... get set....

GO!!! They all ripped into them at the same time!

Lane got right to work on his electronic kit :)

The girls enjoyed drawing and tracing! They all enjoyed their gifts and their time with them!! Until next time!

Santa's Little Helpers!!

2011-12-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

Lowe's collects for our local Toys for Tots every year and Alan thought it would be fun for the kids to help deliver the items that his store collected and bring them to the main store for pick up. The kids thought it was really neat to have their own vest and name tag! They felt very important :)

Unloading the truck~

Lots of hands for all the stuff~

Santa's little helpers.... Don't they look professional?

Christmas Cheer~

2011-12-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

We took the 3 little girls out with us shopping one day and I wanted to look for new ornaments for them for this year.... I love World Market and was really wanting specific kinds of ornaments... the girls were thrilled with our finds!!

Caroline just loves her new.... fortune cookie.... isn't it adorable?

Sarah picked a "fragile" matryoshka :)

Sasha's matryoshka opens and would be a fun place to hide a treat..... maybe next year if I remember!

Good Morning :)

2011-12-12T22:38:00.002-05:00

The other morning I had a "little" helper! Sarah was the only one up on Saturday morning so she helped me make homemade cinnamon rolls for the family! She was so happy to be helpful and really enjoyed her time with me... I have to say it was fun :)

Spreading the butter and then the cinnamon sugar... yum!

I think she was having fun :)

Oh and one of the perks..... you get to lick the beater of homemade frosting.... I didn't get a picture of the finished product because they disappeared quickly :) Thanks for your help Sarah!

End Of Semester Showcase!

2011-12-06T09:15:00.001-05:00

I love that our home school group allows the kids a chance to show others what they have learned during the first semester! Caroline took her first dance class and she was just thrilled to perform. Lane took a sign language class and drama so he performed as well! Emily helped out backstage with the performance. It was a fun night and such a good experience for the kids to be in front of others!!

Caroline posing at home in her dance outfit.... isn't she adorable ?

The first dance routine was "Hark" and they were a bunch of angels!

Look at all the pretty angels!!

This routine was "cats"... they danced around trashcans... it was really cute!

They did a great job!

Lane's group with the choir to the side doing sign language.

The drama production~

Lane played grandpa in this scene and he is asleep on the table~

He is now Joseph...

They all did a great job.... All the kids in black to the left were backstage helpers~ So proud of my kids and the hard work they did! Can't wait for the next one!

Lane's Recital~

2011-12-03T20:13:00.001-05:00

Lane had his first piano recital today!! I was so excited for him to play for us :) He has only been taking lessons since August and is doing great... he really has an ear for it. I hope he will want to keep playing!

He was thrilled to wear his bow tie!!! Handsome boy!

Waiting his turn~

He looks like a musician :)

He played " The First Noel" and " The Imperial March" from Star Wars. He did a great job and we are really proud of him!! Can't wait until the next one!

Decorating the Tree ~

2011-11-30T20:27:00.000-05:00

The kids LOVE to decorate the tree but NOBODY wants to put the lights on!! LOL.... I think every year we use less and less lights.... before long we will just have a tree with decorations :)

Okay.. we will put them on!

Family affair while dad takes pictures :) Well... he did put the lights on the tree so his work is done ~

The kids LOVE to find all of their ornaments from years past :) It will be fun to give them to them one day so they can put them on their tree when they are grown~

I think the tree is beautiful!

This is my favorite !! Manger with a crown of thorns... a great reminder of what CHRISTmas is all about!

Merry CHRISTmas!!

The Best Concert EVER!!!

2011-11-29T00:40:00.001-05:00

Sasha LOVES to perform!! She had been planning a concert for weeks.... everyday she would practice and plan out every detail. It was so much fun watching her do this and seeing her dream :) Both Grandma's were coming for Thanksgiving and she wanted to do the concert then. We decided to do it up big and charge REAL money for a ticket and food. All the kids had jobs to help out in this production! Decorations and lights were strung.... it was so much fun!!

Grandma helping Sasha hang the decorations she made and Sarah is getting all the balloons ready!

Sasha made this sign.... It says Switchfoot... special music by Sasha~

The guests waited outside for the "doors to open" it was a lot of fun.... I know the excitement was building inside with the other workers and the star :)

Money in hand and ready for entrance.... hurry it is cold!!

Tickets being sold for $1.00 inside the door!

The ticket salesperson also handing out "autograph" cards for after the show!

The MC for the night.... introducing the star!

Woo Hoo!! Here she is !! ( I straightened her hair and put a little makeup on her....she felt like a star)

She really gets into her songs!!

Even some of the audience was singing~

Her song set was ..... "Forever Reign" ( Hillsong), "You are more" ( Tenth Avenue North), "Strong Enough to Save You" ( Tenth Avenue North), "Your Love is a Song" ( Switchfoot) , "Courageous" ( Casting Crowns) and final song was "This is Home" ( Switchfoot)

Food and drinks were 25 cents each!

Autographs were signed :)

Awesome!

Games were planned by Sasha for after the concert... with prizes!!!

It was a great night.... I am sure big memories were made!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving~

2011-11-28T23:44:00.001-05:00

Every Thanksgiving we head to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree.... the kids LOVE this tradition and have a lot of fun. We are gone most of the day and then when we get home we pop everything in the oven ( made the night before) and are ready for a feast! The weather was perfect in the mountains and we found a beautiful tree. This year we had both Grandma's with us for an even more special time. I think they enjoyed it too!

Someone is excited!

Mike.... you are adorable!

Ready for the hunt of a great tree.

A rare photo of mom and dad :)

The kids roaming free.....

A favorite... hot chocolate in the barn...

My weird children!

My sweet boy on the very bumpy hayride...

Happy Sarah~

A movie while they wait on their hot chocolate...

We found our tree!!!

The older kids headed down the hill while we wait for the ride back down ( Sasha was thrilled to be included with the older kids)

The girls enjoyed the rides on the horse...

This may be Sasha's last year if she keeps growing like she does..

Mom and daughter :)

Home and HUNGRY!!!

Let's eat!!

We have much to be thankful this year and we are truly blessed! Happy Thanksgiving!

So Much Fun!

2011-11-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

Emily has been wanting to get involved with community theatre and we had an opportunity to join the Miracle on 34 th Street production.....I wanted to do it with her as a chance to spend some time with her and to see how it all worked so I would feel better about it. When we made the decision to be in the musical Lane asked if he could do it too :) The 3 of us set out on this adventure together and had a great time!!! We had practice 4 nights a week for 2 months and then 5 shows.... I even had a small line and did a lot of singing.. ( which I love) I will say that I love musical's as long as I don't have lines :) Lane enjoyed being a clown in the parade scene and Emily was a clerk in Macy's and a spectator in the court scene.... I was a lady shopper and a spectator in the court ... Emily and I were also in the choir. It was really a very fun experience and I am thrilled that we could be part of it!!! The kids are gearing up for audtitions for Oliver... should be fun. We look forward to more "acting" and singing!

Sing your heart out!

Court scene... we all look really bored :)

Don't you love my orange hat and gloves.... they actually were pretty awesome :)

Emily helping Lane with his clown face~

The "clerks" Emily is playing the nervous clerk :)

Until next time!

She Cracks Me Up!

2011-11-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

Found this the other day when I went in the laundry room :) It made me smile!

Take me out to the ball game~

2011-11-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Never was a fan of baseball until..... my boys played the game!! I love it so much and REALLY enjoy watching them play! Lane was the only one who wanted to play again this year and he really learned even more and got better. We were so proud of him and how hard he worked this season and his coaches enjoyed having him on the team and they are encouraging him to play again in the spring :)

Rain or shine the game will go on !

Lane learned to bunt this year :)

Played left field this season~

Always watching~

Number 10!! Can't wait until next season!

Happy Halloween~

2011-10-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

Our kids LOVE to dress up for halloween!! This year there wasn't really a theme... they just all did what they wanted :) It was a lot of fun and they looked adorable!

Sasha.... groovy.... she looked SO authentic!!

Adorable cheerleader!! Isn't she just so cute?

The girls!

Michael doesn't really like to dress up.... he requested a skeleton shirt so we found one and then Emily talked him into letting her paint his face and make him some sort of strange alien ... LOL

Lane couldn't wait to be a policeman/ detective/ lieutenant he was very proud of his ID made be Emily :)

Emily was a Torchwood Gangster from Dr. Who ~

She collects aliens :)

Aren't they adorable?? I love it so much!!

Fun at the Fall Festival!!

Lane are you playing a game or catching a bad guy??

Yes He is!!

Waiting for the hayride!

Home with the candy.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? That is crazy!!

Lane wasn't really into the candy... this is all he brought home... he is really not a big candy eater anyway :) The kids had a great time and we all had a lot of fun! Finished the night off with Feeny;s frozen yogurt with some friends!!

Emily's Spiritual Birthday!

2011-10-29T23:14:00.000-04:00

Emily's 8th Spiritual Birthday.... celebrating her life with Christ. Emily we are so proud of you and the young women you are becoming. God is going to use you in a mighty way and we can't wait to see how you allow Him to use you :)

1 Timothy 4:12

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

Pumpkins~

2011-10-28T12:16:00.000-04:00

I love this time of year .....the colors and the feeling in the air! The kids still love to get pumpkins and that makes me happy... We went to check out the big ones and then decided to just to small ones for everyone that way they can each paint their own.

Hard at work... creating something beautiful!

Imagination at work :)

Caroline's pumpkin~

Sasha's pumpkin~

Aren't they adorable!! Emily's, Lane's, Caroline's , Sasha's and Michael's! I love all of them... they did a great job and I love their creativity!!

The Sweet 16 Party.... A Blast From the Past!!!

2011-10-15T23:48:00.000-04:00

The "Blast from the Past" 16th birthday party!!! This party was SOOO much fun! I loved watching the big kids have fun and be little again :) When we were trying to figure out what kind of Sweet Sixteen party Emily wanted we thought of many things.... I asked Emily what her favorite birthday party was that she had when she was little.... "My dinosaur party" Emily has always been an animal girl and she has had MANY animal parties. I asked her if she wanted to have a " kid" party and she LOVED the idea.... we decided to "re-do" her 3 year old party :) What fun!!

Emily wanted to decorate her cake.... loved every minute of it! ( except for her hand hurting after awhile... now she knows how I felt all those years :)

The finished product!! She did a great job!

What would be a kid party without pin the horn on the triceratops???

So much fun.... Oh and we spun them 16 times... in honor of the birthday girl :)

Now the dinosaur egg hunt...... we hid 350 eggs!!! They LOVED this game.... they were hidden all over the yard and the common area behind our house. 4 prize eggs were hidden as well!!

Counting all the eggs... Jesse had the most 65 eggs!!

Let's eat!! You can never have enough food for growing teens!!

"Hanging out" what they do best!!

The BIG dino moon bounce..... they loved this... finally the big kids can jump without having to watch out for little kids ! I loved that we could do this for her and her friends!

A "kid" party would not be complete without a pinata!! He was so adorable we didn't want to hit him!!

He took quite a beating! They really enjoyed this!

Oh how I love this group of friends Emily has!! The are so wonderful!

Those crazy kids!

Happy 16th birthday Emily!!

Happy 16th Birthday!

2011-10-14T20:42:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that 16 years ago Emily was born!! It seems like just yesterday she was a little girl learning to walk and talk... and now she is 16! We celebrated the morning with the traditional doughnut for the birthday girl.

So beautiful~

The photographer capturing the blowing of the candle.... and what a cupcake :) She was also happy with the birthday Starbucks drink while running errands for the big party tomorrow!

Present time.... opening a gift from Gan Gan

A new shirt!

Sweet Sasha always wraps up something for the birthday child.... for Emily she made a beautiful card that made Emily and I both cry and a dollar. I love her heart!

Caroline made Emily a card and a birthday letter.

Very sweet!

More presents...

It's not what you think Emily ( inside joke) she thought it was funny!

A coffee mug that looks like a camera lens~

A new camera bag... very stylish!! It hadn't arrived yet so the picture had to take the place.

More reading!!! My book lover... always has been!

Her choice of resturant.. yum

It was a great day celebrating you Emily! We are so proud of the woman you are becoming! Happy Birthday!! Looking forward to the party tomorrow!!

The Fair!

2011-10-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

$48.00 to enter at the gate..... $120.00 for unlimited ride arm bands....$20.00 for kids hotdog meals....$10.00 for deep fried oreos.....$5.00 for a deep fried snickers bar..... $3.00 for cotton candy =$206.00...... The kids first NC fair experience..... PRICELESS :)

Michael though that this would not be fun..... he rode it 6 times :)

Check out Caroline.... she came down so fast.. banged her head :(

Ready ..set... take off!

Emily and Lane

Oh NO... Sasha is driving!

This makes me laugh!

Mike... what's up??

Deep fried oreo.... kids loved... I thought they were so gross!

Wow.. thats high! ( see below)

A full family day at the fair.. so much fun!! Can't wait until next year.... we will start saving now!

Spiritual Birthday~

2011-09-30T22:24:00.001-04:00

Michael's 2nd spiritual birthday since he decided to dedicate his life to Christ. We are so proud of the young man you are becoming and we are blessed to be your parents.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

All By Herself~

2011-09-13T17:04:00.000-04:00

Sasha was just thrilled that I offered to let her bake a cake all by herself.... she kept asking if I was joking :) I was not joking! I wanted to see if she could read and follow the directions so I bought the very inexpensive "Jiffy" cake mix and icing. She couldn't wait to get started!

"Yes" I own a very ancient mixer... was my grandma's.

Here she is making sure that she has the right amount of water... I told her that she needed to make sure she put it on the counter so the water could rest and you could get an accurate reading :)

Everything in the bowl without any help... she is so pleased ~

Just look at her.... letting the mixer do the work ~

In the oven~

Had a little trouble getting it out of the pan.... she didn't use enough grease and flour... live and learn!

Looking good girl~

So proud of her...she did it!!!

Disclaimer... Jiffy cake is really not the most yummy :( I promised her another chance with a better brand. Until next time ~

First Day of School~

2011-08-26T15:55:00.000-04:00

Another school year is upon us. I normally dread the beginning of the year but we so need to have the structure that school gives our family. Trying hard to make it a much better year than last year. This year I have a 10th grader ( Emily) a 7th grader ( Michael) a 6th grader ( Lane) and two 3rd graders ( Caroline and Sasha). Wow... I am actually looking forward to it! We will be working for 9 weeks and then taking a week off. I think taking that week off will be a nice and needed break! I have 3 students taking classes outside of home... Emily is taking Biology and Spanish 2 and Lane is taking Drama and Sign Language and little Caroline is taking a sweet dance class... just thrilled for her!

We spent the morning goal setting for each child... wanted them to think of a Character goal, spiritual goal, physcial and work skill goal. It really had to stretch several of them but they came up with some good ones. We also always draw a self portrait and the beginning and the end of the year... LOVE to see the progress of their development over the years!

Getting busy!!

Celebrated with a special back to school cake... the kids LOVED it!! This picture makes my heart happy! Press on for a great school year with lots of growth!

Summer Concert~

2011-08-24T15:26:00.002-04:00

The last concert of the summer... so much fun. I love how God's words and the name of Jesus flow through the halls of the mall!! Everyone can hear it! Woo hoo! We went to see Aaron Shust... really enjoy his music and he also had a good sense of humor!

My 3 traveling companions :)

Subway for lunch as a special treat! It was a great day! So sad to see the free says of summer end :(

Daycation!

2011-08-18T14:17:00.019-04:00

Daycation!! We were so happy to have one more fun filled day before school started! We decided that we all wanted to go the the mountains and visit Sliding Rock and Looking Glass Falls. We packed a picnic and hit the road :) It was a great day with lots of laughs and fun!

SLIDING ROCK~

Lane was the first brave soul who wanted to go down the rock...

Little did he realize how COLD the water at the bottom was!!! 48 degrees! OUCH!

Michael is next...

He survived and is still smiling!

After Caroline felt the water she said "No WAY am I going down that rock"

Sasha and I braved it together twice!! It was SO COLD!

Emily had to do it... she said she screamed all the way down for "effect" LOL

Yes... it is cold.. help me!

We got changed and headed to Looking Glass Falls...

How beautiful!

Exploring~

Oh how this boy is so silly!

It was a great family day and we really enjoyed it... we really have a lot of great places to visit here in our own state!

Out with the boys~

2011-07-26T09:14:00.000-04:00

We had been given some tickets to the Winston Salem Dash game from my husbands work... these were really nice club seats :) We felt like royalty :) LOL We decided to take the boys and have a night out. All the food you could eat and unlimited drinks... they thought it was awesome. Big bins of popcorn and peanuts to fill up on. We enjoyed the food and the game. We all had a great time and was nice to out with just our boys!

We didn't know we could eat in these seats outside the food area.... we were asked to leave :) LOL We were just sitting there eating before the game ...no intentions of staying there and the funny thing is ... no one even sat there!

We were to the left of home plate on the second row.. sweet!

My sweet boys!

Lane got a foul ball... because we were behind the net he had to ask the bat boy for the ball :)

Michael too :)

The mascot.. Bolt was sitting down and Michael thought it would be cute to go sit down next to him.

We had a fun night with the boys... hope we can do it again soon!

We Have Another Teenager :)

2011-07-20T07:51:00.000-04:00

Our sweet Michael is 13 years old!! I can't believe it ! He is such a special boy and we are so blessed to have him in our family!

His breakfast of choice..... he loves these! These are the one doughnut that I won't eat .... so I should buy them more :)

Thrilled with the stack... "are these all for me?"

Happy boy!

Even happier here :)

Michael has been wanting a 26 inch bike for awhile now.... he has never had a " new" bike until now... he LOVES it so much!

Look at his sweet face.... he had wanted a new Bible .. a smaller one to take to church. He also had told us about a year ago that he wished his middle name was not his Russian name but my husbands name.... he didn't know that we were in the process of changing it and had his new name printed on his new Bible.... I love his smile and of course I cried :)

Proud boy... Michael Alan Adair :) I like the sound of it!

The others checking out the bike... Lane was turning a slight shade of green :)

Michael still checking out the Bible ~

Sasha always will make cards and find things to wrap up for a birthday.... she does this on her own so it is always a surprise to me. This year that sweet little girl gave Michael an eraser and a pen she had. I love her heart!

Michael opening his new sunglasses

"oh yeah baby"

Saw this notebook and thought it was cute... he liked it ~

Alan took Mike out to show him how to change gears on his bike.. he is big time now!

He loves his bike and can't stay off of it!!

He had a friend over to spend the night and they had a fire... and made smores...

and threw things in the fire to blow them up.....

and ran away so they wouldn't be impaled :) I love boys!! Michael had a great birthday... he went to his restaurant of choice.... GOLDEN CORAL.... we haven't been in about 8 years and I had told him about this place he had been dreaming about it for a year..... finally his time came and he LOVED every minute of it!! We are blessed to have you in our life Michael... you are a gift to us... we love you lots!!

Surprise!!!!

2011-07-16T21:32:00.000-04:00

Sasha turned 10 years old!!! I can't believe it !! We decided to have a surprise party for her and it was a success! So much fun!! I took her out for errands with me and she didn't suspect ANYTHING! Came home when everything was ready and guests had arrived... she walked in and saw the table decorated and then heard this shout of surprise and didn't know what to think!! It took her a minute to process what was going on :) I was so happy that we could do this for her!

Came in and saw the balloons and table decorations which weren't there 30 min ago... and said "what is this"?

Love her face :) She was speechless for a few minutes !

While I prepared dinner she was sprayed with confetti

After dinner chit chat ~

presents~

sweet girls who made her party fun!

Sweet Michael helping her read the cards :) Love that boy!

fun gifts for a fun girl~

more sweet girls who made her party fun!

Caroline seems just as excited as the birthday girl!

A purse with treasures that keep coming!

Another sweet girl who made the party fun!

The whole gang!!

campfire

sleepover

Birthday dinner at Red Robin~ and a speckled lemonade in a big girl glass :)

More presents

So excited about marbles!!

A birthday song :)

A a REALLY big "to go" cup of speckled lemonade! WOO HOO what could be better... a swim party that the family was invited to.. ( this is why she has her bathing suit under )

Sasha had a great birthday with sweet girls who came to make her feel so special and loved!! Sasha you are a joy to so many people.... we love you bunches!!!!

Fourth of July!

2011-07-05T15:41:00.003-04:00

This year we decided to tye-dye our shirts instead of paint on them.... the older kids were really excited about this and they turned out great! We had a fun filled day with activity and great fireworks! Proud to be an American :)

Everybody waiting and excited....

Found these little "mini" cones .. how cute :)

We had a great time with a great view of fireworks... so beautiful... I love them!

New Life~

2011-06-26T16:22:00.000-04:00

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Caroline accepted Jesus into her heart !!

Jesus gives you abundant life and joy!! Can't you tell?

We love you Caroline and we are very proud of you!

Fun Theme Days at VBS~

2011-06-24T15:37:00.001-04:00

Tacky Tourist~

Favorite Sports team!

Happy Girl~

2011-06-05T07:33:00.001-04:00

Caroline was THRILLED to have her first "friend" birthday party. In our house we will do a friend party every other year... Caroline was excited that this night was all about her...

She is ready and everything is set :)

They started of with freeze dance... with the "Newsboys"

Some fun photos!

The perfect number of girls... not overwhelming for everyone... very sweet~

Dinner.... PIZZA

Jumping time~

Cupcakes and icecream~

Time for bed.... all these little giggling girls :)

All so sweet~ they enjoyed a movie with popcorn with special treats mixed in .... Adair style :)

Breakfast... muffins and fruit~ and Caroline is still smiling :)

Ended the party the next morning playing school :) Which I am sure is fun to do in a house that homeschools.... we have all the supplies! It was a lot of fun and we were thrilled to do this for Caroline... our sweet girl~

Children's Choir~

2011-05-29T07:04:00.000-04:00

Happily Forever After.... LCC children's choir~ I LOVE when this time of year rolls around.... love to hear all the children's voices make music :) The kids love it too! This musical had fun, catchy songs and cute lines! Lane played the part of "Sir Brags A lot" LOL... Sasha and Caroline sang in the choir and they both had solo parts!! Adorable~

Sir Brags Alot... bragging to Sir Burlyman :)

Telling a WILD tale :)

Sasha ready to sing.... nothing more beautiful than a hearing impaired child singing !!!

These are the lyrics she sang

" Don't worry about tomorrow.... tomorrow will worry about itself.

Be thankful for His mercy..... His Mercy is new each day"

CAROLINE.... who use to be so afraid of EVERYTHING... sang too... she has a great little voice :)

Her lyrics....

" Jesus came to earth the son of God light into our darkness

The living Word holy and true our hope has come to save us "

So blessed in so many ways..... Great job !!!

Awards~

2011-05-28T15:23:00.003-04:00

Caroline and Sasha finished SPARKS! They were so excited to get their book awards!! T&T for them next year! Woo Hoo!

Caroline finished book 2 and 3 this year!!

So proud of you girls.... you really worked hard!!

Back Home~

2011-05-27T15:15:00.002-04:00

The kids had a GREAT week at camp!! I laughed when I saw this...we gave them each $10 for the "snack shack".... these little envelopes have the money they had left over :) Can you tell who our big spender is??? LOL.

Lane came home from camp with a friend.... he loved this lizard that he found and we tried to keep it. It is an Eastern Fence Lizard... after going to the pet store to find out what it would need $$$$ we decided to let it go. It was a nice creature :)

Bye Liz! Now he is wanting a Bearded Dragon :(

Camp

2011-05-24T07:51:00.001-04:00

Emily, Michael and Lane all headed off to camp this week. This is the first year for the boys and they were so excited to go! It will be a week filled with fun but I am sure they will be ready to come home to their own beds after a week. It sure feels weird to only have 3 kids home :)

Loaded up and ready to hit the road..... camp is on top of a mountain about an hour away~

Here we are!!

Waiting to be seen by the nurse... head checks for lice :)

Michael with his bed all set up and ready to go.... hope he sleeps well~

Lane chose a top bunk....

The boys in cabin 6..... they look pretty thrilled :)

Emily is with all of her friends in her cabin.... she LOVES camp but she is always ready to be home~

Cabin 4 with 20 teen girls...... yikes...

Now what to do with these 3 for a week??? Minnne, Mo and Jack !

9 Years Old!!

2011-05-23T21:30:00.002-04:00

Little miss is 9 years old!! Caroline is such a joy and almost always happy with a big smile on her face :) This year we told her she could have a "friend "party... she is thrilled and we will be doing that in 2 weeks. She is going to have a sleepover with a few friends! Some pictures of her special day!

She wanted a cookie cake this year~

Gan Gan sent her a box of goodies.... chips were in there.... her FAVORITE. I tell you it really doesn't take much for this girl...

Have you ever seen anyone happier for socks??

Some cute PJ'S~

Are you kiddening me ... sunglasses???

"Oh yeah baby"

Thrilled with her own Bath and Body spray.... she is big time now!

New earrings ... she has been counting down the days until she could change out her earrings after having them pierced.

New shoes...

Paint your own piggy bank...

Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Joy

2011-05-21T21:02:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Lane's 3rd spiritual birthday! I think it is wonderful time for him to reflect back to the day he gave his life to Christ.... also a good time to set some new goals..... currently he is reading through the Bible :) Lane we are so proud of you!

1 Timothy 4:12
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Braces Off!

2011-05-17T07:58:00.001-04:00

Woo hoo... Emily was so happy to have her braces off! She got them off 4 months early... she is an over achiever~ LOL. Now she has her new smile... Beautiful!

Cute little balloon and package from the orthodontist~

Brace free smile!

Funny... these are the goodies from the orthodontist.... all the things you are told not to eat while wearing braces :) So cute! We are so happy for you Em...you did a great job taking care of your teeth with all the $$ on them!

Field Day!!

2011-05-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

First annual field day!! This was so much fun ... the kids and adults had a great time. I was the team leader for the orange team... woo hoo... we won " team spirit". My group was a lot of fun :)

The 50 yard dash.... look at Sasha go :)

Lane was on the green team... listening for directions ~

Here they go... over... down.. step in...etc... I was so confused !

Go Team!!

Here is my sweet group... they were a lot of fun... GO ORANGE!!

Michael taking a break from tug a war :)

Girls against boys on my team :)

Check out Sasha's face :)

Look at Caroline hop!!

Lane found some flour to play in~

Loved field day!!

Soccer~

2011-05-15T21:34:00.000-04:00

Emily played soccer again with our home school group.... The High Point Eagles. This a new team and they are learning how to work together... it is a lot of fun. I am so glad that this is an option for us :) Emily played goalie again and did a great job.

Great catch Emily!!

Get it back in play!

As a goalie... you REALLY want good defense... they are ready and waiting here.

A good picture of Lane... his favorite tree :)

End of the season.... they decided that they would have a parent - player game... are they serious???

Okay so here I am the coach decides to put me on offense.... what???? I have to run? Guess what.... I SCORED A GOAL !!! I can also say that I could hardly move the next day! Yep... that's me with the ball and Sasha and Lane helping out :)

Sasha was thrilled to play with the big kids!!! There were only a few parents out there... me being one of the crazy ones... but it was actually fun and created some fun memories for my kids!

Trying to take a rest and hoping the ball STAYS away from me :)

With 2 practices and 1 game a week it was a lot but we were all sad for the season to end. Until next year !

Happy Easter~

2011-04-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter.... It is a celebration because He is risen!! Woo hoo! The kids were excited to see what was in their celebration baskets!

A new LARGE print Bible for Sasha with tabs.... she was so happy! During church after she looked up the scripture she gave me a big thumbs up and said " I love this Bible... I can read the words" The large print makes it easier for struggling readers :)

New Bible for Caroline too... with Bible tabs .... which by the way are a pain to put on the pages :) Hers has little devotions in it and life application stories.... she really liked it and it was purple with flowers on the pages for my little "girly girl"

A new One Year devotional for Mike.... he finished his other one. He was excited because this one is for sports fans!

Not sure why Lane ended up with a toy ? Didn't need a new Bible or devotional :) He was happy!

Sarah... inspecting her Jelly Beans and she got a book about God's promises for little girls. Emily was not down for all the hustle and bustle but she got a small book about 100 days to Radical change for teens.

At breakfast the kids each got 2 Resurrection eggs and they all re-told why we have an Easter Sunday~

Lane is helping Sasha with what was in her egg :)

Caroline explaining to everyone what the spear reminds us of......

Our beautiful children.... my they are growing up :(

Ready for an egg hunt in the backyard..... this is something we have never done because we normally we have a scavenger hunt for their baskets but changed it up this year. Alan and I hid 120 eggs in the backyard 5 of them had a "prize" in them there would have been 6 but one little girl was not able to handle the hunt :(

The kids were so ready to go!

Off and running!

This is so fun!

When I was a kid we use to have egg hunts after church in the backyard.... my brother Paul always would follow me and then get upset that I got the egg... he never ended up with many :( Caroline tended to be like this... she would follow everyone and she only ended up with 10 eggs :)

Can't you see this???

Called over to the patio to count what they had found.... that way we could know how many were still left to find and to make sure everyone got 1 "special" egg.

What about this one???

Sasha thrilled she just scored a "special egg"

Lane opened his special egg.... He was THRILLED... Mom does his school work for any 2 days he chooses!! He was SO happy! I do it ... he grades it... hope I do well :)

Caroline... She got a trip to Feeney's but she doesn't really like frozen yogurt so I had her give it to Michael as a prize for the most eggs and I wrote her one for a trip to the dollar store for 3 items :) She was so happy about that!

Michael found the most eggs with 45.... 2 prizes for him. His first special egg was a trip to any store of his choice for an item under $10. Emily's egg had a trip to Feeney's and Sasha had lunch or dinner out with mom and dad!!

Sasha said .... " This was so fun"!

We have a fairy.....

2011-04-22T06:22:00.000-04:00

With all the hustle and bustle in the morning with six kids.... sometimes one can slip away unoticed :) I have come to find out that we have a little "fairy" who likes to make others happy ! Lately, she slips away with a plan to show her love for others.... she quietly goes upstairs hoping no one will notice and her magic begins. She finds pure joy in doing this and leaving little notes that she was there :)

Sasha Grace... AKA " The Bed Fairy"

Silly Girls~

2011-04-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

These girls make me smile..... they play so well together and come up with some crazy stuff :) For some reason one of the two of them is always walking around with a pregnant belly . LOL

I am so glad that they LOVE to use their imagination~

Back Home~

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

We found a bird egg under the tree and Lane was more than happy to return it to the nest :)

I just hope that it wasn't a Mockingbird egg.... really don't want anymore of those birds outside my window :)

You always want.........

2011-04-10T22:34:00.002-04:00

WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE!!

She was very happy with the results :)

Uncle Phil's Diner......

2011-04-03T21:21:00.001-04:00

Where the food is fresh and so is the help!!! Our youth group put on the interactive Uncle Phil's Diner. It was so great to see all the youth work together and make this a VERY successful dinner theater. Emily was the head waitress "Flodene" and Michael was a super adorable server !! It takes place in the 50's and it was so much fun!

"Flodene" and "Dean"

Our server "Rose".... the kids had a lot of fun!

Caroline and Sarah wore their "cat eye" glasses.

"Dean" and "Lavonna" served together the first night ~

"Uncle Phil" and the "jock"

Uncle Phil trying to find out where the band is~

Uncle Phil and "PJ the DJ"

One of the many dances they did :) So fun!!

Flodene and Uncle Phil.... discussing the problem.... what are they going to do??

The last night.... goofing off :)

The entire cast... Fantastic job everyone!!!

Adoption Day Photo Shoot :)

2011-03-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

Doesn't she just shine???

Happy Adoption Day!

2011-03-23T12:53:00.001-04:00

Caroline was so excited for her "adoption day" to be here!! Caroline came to our family in July 2008 but her adoption was not finalized until March..... we asked her what day she would like to celebrate and she said " The day that I became an Adair for real" LOL. Caroline had been wanting to get her ears pierced for a long time and asked if she could do it on her "special day". She has come SO far that I felt like she was ready!

Here she is waiting... she was so happy!

Marking the spot~

No tears just a face :)

BEYOND thrilled!!

What a happy little girl!! Now off to get her favorite dinner...

That's right ..... Chinese :)

And she can eat it all and more!! What a special day it was for a special little girl! We are so blessed to have you Caroline... you add a little spark to our family!