Makaylee's creation

Orin critiquing the backyard...

He thinks the plants need a trim and recruits the kids. Lately we have been working on teaching them how much fun it is to work together and serve others. Now the kids will pick up in the house after each other and shout out "I'm serving _____!" with a huge smile on their face :)


love the sweatshirt

playing "bus"

My sister came over and cooked dinner for us. What a nice surprise!

first day of 1st grade

(Nyah wanted to be in everyone's first day of school pictures.)

first day of 6th grade

Racing marbles is fun. Even Nyah resisted the urge to put them in her mouth to see what they would do.

Nyah is so cute when I put her down for a nap. I have a hard time leaving the room. I miss her when she is sleeping!

Orin is having a Herbie marathon with the kids each night until we get through them all. They loved it-

especially the boys

Some things I've learned lately:

1. Moms are just as excited as the kids for the kids to go back to school. Then when they finally get there, I miss them and wonder what they are doing.

2. No, it is not "all the same" adding one more when you already have 5.

3. I need God's grace to get me through each and every day.

4. I could not do this without Orin being so involved in the kids' lives and I am lucky to have such a great husband.

Warning: picture overload

The perfect day for water- 85 degrees!

the rascals filling up the bucket to dump on the girls







Ah, this is the life. Will's got it made!




So refreshing!

my six treasures

our friend Diane brought her 8 gifts from God and joined us

Nyah with Diane's youngest

Diane knows the quickest way to Nyah's heart

The sign said Warning: algae bloom at levels toxic to humans. No swimming.

"Why do they call it Blue Lake if it is green?" Ben points out.

Little man swaps his bucket for another kid's motorcycle

Orin and I love the chemistry between these two. Ben is so patient with his brother. They never argue. Unreal.

"Hi Mommy!"

Ben is the epitomy of determination.

falling

Nyah slips too

he catches them momentarily

Ooops

Little man wonders why girls can be so annoying

Nyah tries to regain some footing

sorry about that

That was fun!

Maybe its safer to stay on top of the tunnel :)

Nice, I hope that rubs off before church on Sunday.

Marquez tells me a story about camp a couple weeks ago

The girls find an alternative use for the volleyball pit.

Ta-dah!

Marquez makes a "sand angel"

"Marquez, are you okay?" Nyah asks.

Hurry, lets burry him!

"I need to itch..."

"It looks like he has a beard!"

Ben joins in and they play "Mummies Coming Alive"

back to the water park to get all the sand off

Little Man

Little man is adjusting beautifully beautifully besides the potty training. Aren't three year olds supposed to be potty trained already? He is starting to go on the toilet (only pee) now thanks to gummy worms. Nyah saw him get the candy so she hopped right up there the other day and went as well. This is awesome. Before her little buddy came she didn't have any interest in that sort of thing.

Last night Orin heard him scream in the middle of the night and ran into his room. He had fallen out of his bed. This morning he has a black eye from it. I installed a guardrail on the bed needless to say. You learn as you go I guess... like the first night when I put him to bed with a Pull Up on because I thought he was too old for diapers. Yeah...those don't hold much I learned.

Everyone loves him!

An old man asked us if they were twins when we were at Costco the other day and he wasn't joking. Seriously? How would that even be possible? I never expected to hear that one.

Nyah climbed out of her timeout playpen for the first time this morning. She just likes sitting on the top but won't go over. So I packed it up and its new home is the attic. Now we have a timeout corner. I didn't think she would actually sit in the corner (the kids never do on Supernanny) but she did!

More changes, more adjustments, more love, more fun

The other day I was doing laundry so I sent Orin in to answer Nyah's yelling "mom!" Apparently she had climbed up there to get one of books and got stuck.

We have a new boy! It is Ben's brother and we just couldn't say no. How cute is he? I'm sorry, but I have a serious weakness for children in need. Its a good thing our van only seats 8 and we cannot possibly take in another child because I don't think I could ever say "no"!

While she was initially confused over her loss of celebrity status when the new kid in town came, she sure likes her new buddy!

Dove Picnic

The Dove picnic was a lot of fun. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I met some adoptive mothers I had missed at other events and it was a great time hearing their stories, especially some of the projects that the EOR (Ethiopian Orphan Relief) is doing in Ethiopia. And an added bonus- being around other families who look like yours- colorful, blended, unique!