Happy Halloween!

Malaine not sure if she is supposed to be nice or mean? We were Pirates Cove from Neverland.
Because Sage IS a mermaid!
Mermaid Lagoon done by Grammy
Pixie Hollow done by Amy (who did wear fairy wings, sorry no picture!)
Aunt "Bubby" at Indian Camp

Our Pirates and mermaids
What a crew!
Got to love the hair!


Our church hosted a Trunk or Treat for the first time this year and it was lots of fun! We typically love halloween here, but it is even better being able to visit w/ friends while the kids have fun! My family did Neverland! I am missing photo's of the cousins from Pixie Hollow, but they were adorable of course. We tried to get one of the guys to dress up as Peter Pan but no takers... Sage's favorite thing of the night, "suckas", she was one sticky mess!

Malaine is FIVE!!!

Present Time!

Fun to have big siblings!

Cousin Jaylyn
Enjoying an Oyster!
Dancing w/ Dalayna
Happy Birthday to you!May all your wishes come true....

What more could one ask than to celebrate your birthday on the beach? For Malaine's birthday dinner we ate at Harry A's. And while I was not a fan of the name, the place was pretty cool. We ate outside in the courtyard with live music. Though we could not get the one person in our group who CAN sing, to do karaoke, we did get the kids to get up and sing Happy Birthday to Malaine. She thought that was VERY neat!

Malaine Shaye aka Lainey, is such a sweet spirit. I suppose she is the typical middle child, easy going, laid back and as Makenna says, "she is just TO cute!" We are all so thankful for her. Happy Birthday to our Big FIVE year old!

Sage & Ellie

Returning from vacation, we were also able to meet up w/ my friend Brenda and her husband Keith and visit w/ Ellie! Brenda & I had met online and then met in person at the CHI picnic. It was very cute when Sage saw Ellie, she came running down screaming Ellie and then got so overexcited could not stop screaming! We enjoyed visiting and only wish we lived closer so we could see more of each other.

One Spice Two Spice?

This is Jessie. She was one of Sage's roommates in Chenzhou. They had 4 babies per room. We were blessed to have the other 3 girls in our travel group. Jessie was 2 in June, so the Big sister of Sage, Evie and Rebecca! We stopped by to see Jessie and her family on our way home from the beach. We had not seen her since China and oh how sweet to see the girls together! This is Terri, Jessies mommy! They were so kind to let our gang invade their home for the evening. What wonderful southern hospitality!

Spicy girls with their ice cream, someone looks messier than the other!
Sugar and Spice( and I won't mention which one might have a litle extra spice!)
But if you look at this picture, I am going to bet you can tell. Sage claimed Terri's lap and was not giving it up! Look at that face!

Vacation was over way to fast. We are having a hard time adjusting to being home after spending a week in heaven! ;) I will post soon with pictures of our visit with Ellie and Malaines birthday.

Lots of Pictures!

Beautiful Sage
Sweet Sawyer
Makenna & Grammy

Our Silly Malaine, she celebrated her 5th birthday yesterday!
Our Angels

A view of our kitchen
Dinner anyone?
Sage and her Daddy

Sweet 5 year old girl!

Our nightly entertainment, the kids would put on plays.


Today is our last day. It is good to be able to say we went on vacation with 27 family members and all had a FUN time! We are blessed, we know that. We are sad to leave that is for sure. We are excited though, on our way back we are going to stop and visit w/ some of our "china friends" so more pictures soon.

Pictures!

Sage part fish! If someone is under water, she sticks her face in and looks around!
Our entire family! What a happy crew!
Dinner at The Blue Parrot, outdoors on the water.
Doing flips into the pool, Part mermaid? Our Chinese MerBaby!

Sage with her Papa at Sunset
Us with my parents

From the top Sawyer, Colby, Alexis, Malaine, Sage, Jaylyn, Dalayna, Makenna holding Adley
The back view of our house, you can see the pool is on the side and we are literally on the sand.

Hello From SUNNY Florida!

Need to have Mark add some pictures, but thought i would post an update. We are having a fabulous time! The house is stunning, nicer than anything I have ever even walked through. It is 3 levels and we have the top floor, which is so beautiful. Even with 23 of us here, it does not feel crowded at all. The weather is perfect. Everyone is getting along great, and the kids are in heaven with their cousins. This has been the most relaxing vacation for us. The hardest decision I have made is should we lay on the beach or by the pool! We are just steps to the sand and the pool is literally out the side door. We go from one to the other and back again. There is nothing on the island, but that is fine with us. The first night we ladies drove to Walmart and someone on the island told us it was 35 miles. 35 miles turned into over 2 hours, which was not fun, though our ride home was much quicker. Still, an hour to walmart is to much!
Malaine is now swimming just as well as her older siblings, jumping in and swimming the length of the pool. Sage, well Spicy Girl is Spicy! You don't let her leave the house w/ out her swim vest on. She is doing FLIPS into the pool! She scares all of us and yet it is amazing to watch this tiny little girl diving in! She is sleeping great of course. Our bedroom has a walk in closet that is as big as her bedroom at home, so that is her room. The only bad thing is the mosquitos at night are bad and she is covered.
Anyways, having a wonderful time. If you ever need a place to go, this is perfect!

Watch Our Florida, Here we Come!

Me near an ocean? No sitting for Mommy! Do you like my beach hair do? (and no, there is not a chip in my hand, of course not!)

For months, our family has been planning a large, VERY large family vacation. And tomorrow is the day! We are heading to St George Island, Florida. We are staying here and we are all very excited! 17 adults, & 9 children. It is my parents and their siblings along w/ my cousins & children. Sage's first trip to the beach!! The ocean, the sand, a pool and SPICY GIRL!!! Yes, we will be keeping a close eye on her. She will live in her lifevest and maybe even a leash! ha! We are also thrilled because while there and on our way home we get to see some of Sage's friends from China! Check back for pictures, I think we can post there!

Happy Birthday Makenna!

Makenna Kaylee, 10 years old. Is it possible that I am old enough to have a daughter who is now double digits? A child who is quickly moving towards the teenage years and leaving behind those sweet baby days? AHHHH!!! Happy Birthday to our oldest, A beautiful daughter, a wonderful big sister. We love you and are thankful for you!