Rewind...

Let's see if I can rewind back to Oct. 19th, the day we left our apartment in China and started the L-O-N-G trip back to America. It was quite the adventure filled with excitement and a lot of emotions. Leaving the only life my children had ever known was hard but yet I was excited to begin the next adventure in our life. We headed out of our city on the morning of the 19th. Of course being China and knowing how nothing ever goes smoothly, it was the same that morning as well. It seemed to take forever to get everything finished and finally in the van ready to go to the capital city. But we did, 10 suitcases, 8 carry ons, a stroller, 2 babies, and 3 adults. We checked into the Holiday Inn where we were super super blessed to be upgraded to the 2 bedroom apartment there. Oh my was it absolutely amazing. We were just so thankful to have that time to regroup before we started the never ending plane ride. We went to Dunkin Donuts that afternoon, yum...I had no idea how good a donut could taste after not having one for 2 years :) And then that evening, Clark and I had a date night. We went to an Italian restaurant and then to Starbucks. It was so nice to just be able to take a deep breath and relax. This was something we hadn't done in quite some time! We started out adventure early the next morning and headed to the airport. It was crazy the logistics of trying to get all 10 suitcases into the airport and up to the counter, all the while carrying Jackson and pushing Sadie and trying to plead with them to let us to the front of the line. Thankfully we had a nice person help us and we were at the front. And then the stress began...each bag was over weight. And when I mean over weight, I mean so much that even if we could pay the overweight fee, it was even too much for that. Oops...guess our scales were off! So...I made a mad dash over to Mom and told her to go and buy another carry on. And so here we are in the airport trying to stuff as much as we could in this extra bag. It was nuts!! And then they told us we had too many carry ons. Oh great...thankfully they had the bright idea that they could check our carry ons for us. What a blessing! So...after some crazy times we boarded the flight to Seoul. It went really well and then we let Sadie run around on the play area for 3 hours. She tired out so many kids and just kept going! It was so crazy. But we made the mistake of letting her skip her nap. She gets on our 14 hour flight and is overly tired. The flight was awful...worst 14 hours of my life! Sadie is only wanting Mommy and Jack is only wanting to nurse. You can imagine...and if you can't, well I promise it will be better if you can't. We were so thankful to have my mom with us. We honestly would not have been able to do it without you Mom! But after that ever so long flight we landed in Atlanta full of relief that it was over! We were greeted by Clark's parents and our surprise vistors, our very closest friends, Kris and Vanessa. They surprised us by coming to meet us...just made my day! The funniest thing is, this isn't the first time they have done this...they surprised me in 2006 when I came home from China...it was great! Anyway...on the way home, my two sweet angels cried for the first hour. They haven't ever been in a car seat before and it was super hard on them. But thankfully after the first hour they nodded off. So...once we got home it was after 2 in the morning before we got to sleep. We are staying in such a wonderful house. It is a guest house on the property of some friends of Clark's family. Again, Father has blessed us immensely! Our first few days at home were really really hard. I was not prepared for jet lag at all. I so wished someone would have told me just how hard it was with two little ones. Well, let me just tell you, the hours were so crazy that one night all four of us ended up at Walmart at midnight. I told Clark that people must think we are awful parents for keeping our kids out until 1 in the morning :) If you are still reading to this point...I am pretty proud of you :) I am gonna stop for now and next time I will update with pictures and share what we have been doing since we have gotten home! Thanks again for welcoming me back to blogland. I have missed you sweet friends and am glad that can all reconnect again! :)

I am back!

Yes, I have been absent from this little blog for almost 6 weeks now! We arrived in America on Octo 20th and came to a wonderful house just perfect for us! The only down fall was there was no internet..until yesterday when we finally got a Verizon card! YAY for reconnecting! :) So...I have lots to update you on and picture to share over the past month. But it is going to have to wait until the kiddos are in bed tonight. And be for warned it might take a few posts to get caught up! Until then...

Goodbye Party

Today we had a last get together with the students we had been working with at a local university on our side of town. We love these kids so much and are so thankful that we have had the chance to spend time with them over the past few years. Sadie absolutely loves spending time with her friends, we think it is because she gets all the attention, what do you think?? :)
Here is some sweet sibling love between my two little ones, aren't they precious? I sure think so!

We had lots of friends over today and here are their shoes to prove it, ha ha!
Here is our whole group together! We just love them so much!! I wish you had the chance to spend time with them, I know you would love them too!
Clark with his guys...he has had such an amazing time over the past year of getting to know these guys and meeting once a week with them. They have become such an important part of his time here.

Jack and the girls! :) These are my precious friends whom I love dearly!

Thanks for "joining" us tonight for our goodbye party! Please continue to lift us up...goodbyes are never easy!

Family Pictures

We never actually get family pictures of the four of us. It is usually me taking them of Clark and the kids or him taking them of us. But since my mom is here, we took advantage and got a few pictures taken at the park today! I have quite a few more of our fun day but it will have to wait until another day to upload them. I am tired and need my rest! Only 5 days left in our city before we leave and we are trying to take every opportunity to do everything "one last time" Continue to lift us up as this will be a huge transition for our family!

More soon....

Taking Pictures with Little Ones

This morning before church I decided to take a few pictures of the kids because they just looked so cute. Sadie was actually keeping a bow in her hair (that is a rare occasion!) so I got out my camera and started snapping. Here a few of the pics that we ended up with...hope you get a good laugh out of them, I know I did!

First up, Jack pulling hair...this is a common occurance around our house. If hair is anywhere near him, he must pull it!

But then he saw mommy close by and said, forget this picture taking, I want mommy!

So, I opted for a self portrait of me and Sadie instead

Sadie was pretty upset shortly after because she wanted to hold the camera...here she is below asking me for the camera

Finally a small grin in exchange for getting to hold the camera

And then daddy showed up and helped out...so I got a picture of me and my little man!

Back to taking a good picture of the kiddos, this time daddy snapping away and me on the couch spotting the kids. First up, Sadie not quite ready to be this close to Jack, she remembers how he likes to pull hair!

Okay, so I got this one out of order, this one was the final attempt and it came out quite well, see below to see the order of pictures and what it took to get this one!

Jack trying to get off the couch, he was tired of all of this!

Thankfully I had a hold on this little one, he was not having anything to do with picture taking at the moment!

And finally a picture of me and my kiddos...but wait, if you look closely at Sadie's face...Jack is pulling her hair! :) But hey, the best you can get when you have two active little ones!

Memories

Dear Sadie,
In 10 days your life is gonna completely change. Everything you have ever known will be different. You will get on a plane and travel around the world and won't be back to your "home on the east side" for a long time, if not ever. You will have a new home in a new place. You will see many people who look like you, something you haven't ever had before. The many black haired people who have given you many a pats on the head, taken your picture, and shaking your hand will be a long way away.
You started this journey at the young age of 6 months, You were such the perfect little traveler. In your first six months of your life you slept in no less than 7 different places. You adjusted quite well to your new life here in China. You gave many smiles to those around you and you loved to be held. As you got older you absolutely loved playing with the many children who lived around us. You would go outside each day and say "friend, friend" whenever you saw a child under ten years old. You would run up to them and give them a big hug, grab their hand and were ready to play. Never mind they were in complete shock that a little girl who looked nothing like they had ever seen before was trying to play with them. You didn't care, you just wanted to play with a friend.
The nai nai's and ye ye's around here (the name for grandparents) absolutely adore you. Everytime we come outside they are yelling for their "xiao pengyou" (little friend) Some days you would oblige and give hugs and even on occasion run at full force into their arms. And that would just brighten their day like never before. Then there were the times when you would hid in mommy or daddy's arms but they understood and loved you anyway. You were so blessed to have so many around you who loved you. There were many people who had little dogs who would let you play and pet them. They got a kick out of hearing the little foreign girl yell, "gou gou" (dog) over and over. You absolutely loves the dogs around here. You had two favorite dogs, white bear and bei bei. Everyday we would go out to see them and you would talk to them through the fence. They loved you and you loved them.
You have made so many friends here in this place that you call home. You have changed many lives. One life in particular is our househelper, Zhou Li. You have known her the whole time you have lived here. You think she really is part of our family. Each time she comes to our house you squeal with delight. She always brings you fun treats and gives you great big hugs. She helps you wash your hands, feeds you lunch, plays games with you. She is a dear friend to you. Everyday when she leaves our house, you know automatically because she changes clothes and gets the garbage ready. You immediately start to say "bye bye zhou li" and then she bends down to give you a hug and you give her a big kiss and say "wo ai ni zhou li" (I love you zhou li). Every time she is here you have to do this same routine. If you are busy doing something you get upset if you don't get to say goodbye to her. I know that she is going to miss you so much. But I will never let you forget her because she has been such a special part of your life.
There are many things about this wonderful place that I never want to forget. This is why I am writing you this letter today. I want to remember each special detail of the first two years of your life. You have lived an adventure sweet daughter. You have traveled around the world with mommy and daddy to share the best news in the world. You have begun to speak two languages and called China your home. You will probably never remember this home that has been so special to mommy and daddy. I promise I will always try to remember these special details to share with you. And my prayer is that one day, one day you will come back to share our Father's love because even though you might forget these memories, I know that these people will never forget you.

I love you sweet heart,

Mommy

Beautiful weather...

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather around here. It has been so nice with temps in the 60's and 70's. I grabbed my camera a few days ago when we went for a walk and snapped a few pictures...enjoy!

Can you believe this little munchkin is now pulling up on his own and standing...he is going to be walking before I know it...Jack, SLOW DOWN! This second baby is growing up way way too fast!


Here is my Lil' Tiger!! We can't wait to actually watch a Auburn football game on T.V. instead of reading the play by play outloud on the internet...

Which by the way, 12 days until our family steps foot on American soil! My mom is coming in on Monday to be with us the last week we are here. We are so excited to see her! We are packing away, I now have 7 bags completely packed, 3 to go. Everything is coming together...now to enjoy our last few days in Asia for a while...the emotions are crazy....please be lifting us up!

Another first...

This is how we found Jackson when we went to get him out of bed this morning. Can you believe that he can stand up on his own? He has been pulling up all day today. It is like something clicked and now it's all he wants to do!! My sweet little baby boy is growing up too fast. He is so precious and I am savoring every minute and kissing those cheeks as much as I can. Because one day, soon I am afraid, he will start running too fast and not want his mama kissing his cheeks. But until then, I will kiss and love on him because he will always be my baby.

Sticker Fun

Sadie enjoying playing with stickers for the very first time...she played with them for almost 45 minutes...stickers are magical!! :) I told Mom to make sure to bring some for the plane ride, never know if we might need to pull those out!

Leave you with this...

Tonight I am not feeling to well. I had great plans to add some different pictures, ones that were sure to make you smile. But I think I am starting to come down with a cold. I hate it, you know when you know it's coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it? I am especially sad because we have friends coming into town this weekend and I am hoping that my feeling is wrong, maybe just maybe it is not a cold! Anyway, be asking Father for this to go away over night :) Anyway, I thought I would leave you with this picture to make you smile today. Here is my precious little boy loving his daddy. He is definitely a daddy's boy. I know they are going to have great fun some day when they can do all of those guy things together....until then, I will just let my heart melt each time I see Jack look up at his daddy with a huge grin. It will melt your heart too, I promise.

Friends

Sadie loves playing with children. Whenever she sees a child, really anyone under the age of 12 or so, she immediately calls out to them, "Hi friend" She just loves interacting with other children. In this culture it can be a bit overwhelming to other children when a white skinned, blue eyed, blond haired, foreign girl runs up to them and asks to shake their hand. Some get scared and lean a little closer into their family member who is caring for them. But then you get the occasional few who love to run, play, jump, toss a ball and of course the usual shake of the hand that they are asked to give Sadie. It is so funny because we never think that children should shake hands when they meet. But here, they do. And so, Sadie has made a habit of shaking each hand that she comes to. And the funny thing, I am not sure she knows how to do it if we were to say the English but if we say the Chinese, she is quick to obey! In the picture above Sadie is playing with her friend Jenny. Jenny is our neighbor and she and Sadie have fun playing together. Now granted this doesn't mean they necessarily play together but they play beside each other very well. I think that happens a lot at this age. Sadie loves Jenny so much. She often asks for her and when she sees her she runs and gives her the biggest hug. I hardly ever have my camera with me when we see Jenny, but today I did. And I am so grateful that I did. I want Sadie to always remember her friend Jenny. I know that she will probably forget Jenny in a few years. But I am oh so thankful that I will be able to show her this picture and remind her of the life that she lived on the other side of the world.

Birthday Fun

I had such a great day yesterday! I am so thankful for my family and how they made it a special day for me. It started off with sweet cuddles with Sadie on the couch and Clark made me breakfast. Then I got to talk to my family in the states. All the while enjoying my children, my house helper made is an amazing lunch! She made 4 dishes and we ate until we were far to full! So much that we couldn't even eat dinner!
That afternoon the kids went down perfectly and I headed out for an afternoon alone. It was so refreshing and so nice to just be able to do what I wanted to do and be lost in my thoughts as I traveled around town. I went to get my hair cut and was pleasantly surprised that it was cheaper than normal. They told me why, but I missed that translation, just knew it was better than before! I paid two dollars and seventy five cents instead of four dollars. Yes, I can get a really good hair cut that cheap! Only wish it was gonna be like that in the states! :) Then I went and had a manicure. I splurged and paid 5 dollars for that :) I then went shopping aimlessly and loved having mini conversations with different people that I knew but also just loved being in my own world for a while. I finished my day out with a large mango drink and mooncake. I headed home to my family. They were so excited see me. I had two little ones with their arms held high both vying for my attention, good thing I have a lap big enough for both of them! :) After dinner, we had fun taking some pictures and enjoying the laughs that they both bring to us!
Jack loves to eat peaches (or any fruit for that matter!) out of his little mesh feeder. It is a lifesaver when I am trying to cook dinner or I have finished feeding him and want to eat myself. I love this little thing!
Jack absolutely adores his big sister. He watches her all the time and she loves to help him in anyway she can. I just love his big smile here!
Here are me with my two little ones. I am so thankful for this precious gift of children. I am grateful that Father chose Clark and I to be their parents. It is such a huge responsibility that He has entrusted us with, but I am ever so thankful that He did!

I can not get enough of this sweet face and this sweet smile!

Sadie's favorite thing to do is dance. I will tell you she did not get her rhythm from me, I know many of you can attest to that! :) But I do enjoy dancing with her and letting her get that energy out. Jack is getting older now and wants to be in on the action!
Our sweet boy is on the move! He is all over this house and loves to be right near us. Here he is trying to crawl to his daddy when Clark said his name, he looked up at him. Precious I tell you!

Mid crawl

Isn't she a ham??

And then after we put these munchkins to bed, I broke out the last piece of peanut butter pie. I am horrible because I waited till they went down before I got it out. I didn't want to share, ha ha! We had no candles so we put a match in it and I blew it out! :) After that Clark and I settled down and watched a movie and ate popcorn. An absolute perfect day. I loved it.
And so, another year. It doesn't feel like I just celebrated my 32nd birthday. I look at myself and think am I really 32 years old? I feel like I am only 18 sometimes and yet at times I feel all of my 32 years. Father has allowed me to do so much in these years and I am so grateful for where He has brought me. I pray that this next year will be filled with many new experiences and along with those will be challenges I am sure. But most importantly I pray that our family will glorify Him as we seek to follow Him with all of our hearts.

Just to tide you over...

I have a ton of really really cute pictures that I want to post here but I am too tired tonight to do it...so I will leave you with this one because it is just too cute not to share. And tomorrow I will share more pictures and share all about the birthday fun we had around our house today!

The Birthday Bash...

We have three September birthdays around here so we chose to celebrate them all together this year. We had a blast together! We had a mexican fiesta and with all of the works. It was amazing! It was so hard to not want to eat and eat but I had to save room for dessert: chocolate chip cookie cake and peanut butter pie. It was awesome! Here we are the birthday people in the picture above
And how is that for a smile?? She has been giving me some pretty large grins lately and I can not get enough of them!
Here is Jackson with his friend! He made a beeline for her...guess he just wanted to say hello!

And here is their first kiss....precious or what???

My sweet little man...

Daddy and son having a heart to heart

The three older girls playing ring around the rosie. They had so much fun playing together tonight and did so well.

Clark with the girls! They all love their uncle Clark!

We are so thankful for our friends here and being able to celebrate special occasions with them. We are sure gonna miss them come next month when we head back to the other side of the world!