Happy New Year

Wishing each of you a very happy New Year!  May 2012 be filled
with lots of happiness and joy!  Remember that no matter what the
future holds....we know who holds the future!

Christmas Time at the Roberts'

All dressed up in their Christmas outfits! 

Mimi and Papaw gave the kids a gingerbread house to decorate.  Here they are having a good ole time decorating it!

Aiden concentrating on decorating the gingerbread house that Mimi and Papaw gave him.

Our Asian-themed Christmas Tree.  LOVE it!

Pumpkin Faces

We tended to be a bit lazy this Halloween and not carve pumpkins.
Instead we got this cute little face features that you can simply push
into your pumpkin.  The kids loved it and I must say...it was soooo easy!
Warning....Aiden is going through a phase where he does not want to wear
clothes!  At home I let him run "free".  Some battles are just not worth
fighting!  :-)

Happy Forever Day Aiden

Sept 8th we celebrated Aiden's 3rd Forever Day!
We love you Aiden!!

Our Sweet Aiden

Three years ago today, I paced nervously around the
lobby of the Chongqing Civil Affairs Office waiting on

the arrival of a little 20 month old baby boy that I

loved dearly but had never met. How is that even

possible? To love someone that you've never seen

seems impossible, right? But I did! The love I

had for this little guy, far before he was ever declared

legally mine, is hard to explain. The love was nothing

short of simply miraculous and God-given. You see,

I did not seek out this adoption (like I did with my daughter)

to help feel the void left by years of infertility. I had

already experienced the joy of Motherhood and had

experienced nearly every "first" that a biological

mother would experience. My desire for a child had

been satisfied.....so why? Why was I pacing nervously

in the lobby of an adoption center in China? Simple.....

I did not think of this adoption on my own,

so God thought of it for me!! He CALLED me to

take this journey, not for myself but for a precious

little boy who so needed a Mommy! Funny thing is...

God knew all along that not only did Aiden need this

family but this family desperately needed Aiden!

The void that I thought was so full really wasn't filled

to capacity until this little guy came into my life! NOW

I feel complete. When God calls....He equips! He equipped

me with such a love for this little boy that I would have

given my life for him without a moments hesitation, before

I even had met him. THAT is a God-given love!!

When Aiden finally arrived at the civil affairs office,

he was escorted into the lobby by one of the caregivers

at the orphanage where he had spent 20 months of his

life. There was no emotion by the caregiver as she

pointed at us and gently pushed Aiden towards us. I

was expecting an outburst of tears and intense separation

anxiety and was pleasantly surprised that there was

none! God was in control of the entire process and

the peace that I felt was like none other! I did not want

to scare Aiden so I did not swoop him up into a giant

bear hug like I so wanted to do. Instead, I sat down

on the floor and played with him for several minutes,

occasionally stroking his back and hair. When I felt

like he had warmed up to me, I then embraced him!

My love overflowed for this little boy, not biologically

mine, but make no mistake.....HE WAS MINE!

I do not know every detail of Aiden's story or what

he experienced in that orphanage for 20 months.

I do know that Aiden has permanent scares on his

little body that tell a story of trauma, pain and fear.

Aiden's life may not have had a happy beginning, but

it will have a happy and beautiful future. Thanks to a

God who knew exactly what Aiden AND our family

needed!!   Happy Gotcha Day Aiden!!  We love you
so much!!!!!

Aiden Goes to the Dentist

Aiden first trip to the dentist went very well.  He loved
Dr. Y and his staff!  The checkup went well, his
teeth are perfect (Thank the Lord) and are now nice
and clean and pearly white! :)  Great job Aiden!

It's time for School!

Aiden started the 4 year old Pre-K program at one of

our elementary schools this year. He is thrilled beyond

words! He will go all day/5 days a week. He says he

is going to big boy school now. He will be getting

speech therapy through the school system and we

are hoping for great success! Shaelyn started 7th grade

this year and has quickly gotten into the "swing of things".

She is enjoying her classes. Shaelyn started school a few

days before Aiden and he didn't understand why he

couldn't go too. But now he is happy and LOVING his class!!

Let's just hope this "love of learning" continues!

Soccer Camp

Our church had a Soccer Camp this year instead of VBS. The

kids really seemed to enjoy it despite the fact that it was blazing

hot. They each got a trophy and a t-shirt at the conclusion.

The were both pretty excited about their trophy. All in all

it the camp turned out really nice!

Happy 13th Birthday Shaelyn

My little girl is not so little any longer! Shaelyn turned

13th on Friday. I took off work to be with her and we

packed in a lot of fun during the day. First we gave her

the Jade ring we had purchased for her while we were in

China adopting her in 1999. This was really special!

Then we went out to eat breakfast. After breakfast

we visited a local field of sunflowers for a photo shoot.

That was fun :) Then that evening we gave her a bowling

party at the local bowling alley with some friends and

family. I had ordered her a really special birthday cake

from a friend of mine who owns a cake decorating

business. We LOVED the cake...it was beautiful and

so yummy! All in all, it was a wonderful day!!! You turn

13 only one time and we wanted to make sure Shaelyn

knew just how special she is to us. I'm confident that she

knows!! :)

Family Beach Vacation

This past week we took a family vacation to

Springmaid Beach Resort in South Myrtle Beach, SC.

Lilly and Sophie stayed home and were well taken

care of my our good friends Chris and Kathy. Not

having to worry about the pets was WONDERFUL!

The resort was great! It has 6 pools, 2 lazy rivers

and its own private beach. We enjoyed every

minute of it! Shaelyn and Aiden are very tanned

despite the fact that Mommy chased them around

with SPF 50! Aiden got to catch (well "reel- in") a baby

shark from off the pier. He was thrilled! Shaelyn

even got enough courage to touch the shark!! We

saw a 5 foot shark swimming near the pier and many

other species of fish that had been caught on the pier.

We had a wonderful, wonderful time!!!

Memorial Day Weekend Family Time

Lilly and Sophie after being groomed by Mommy.

Shay picking strawberries at Patterson Farms.

Aiden finds a perfect berry!

Aiden is proud of his results.

Shay and Aiden holding the baby goat.

Mommy loving the baby goat!

Aiden thought this peacock was the neatest thing EVER!

Aiden in front of the "Cow Ride".

Mommy and Aiden ready for our ride.

Today we decided to enjoy the day with our kiddos and

let mowing and house cleaning wait. I started the day

by grooming both dogs (which took almost 2 hours)!

Then we headed to Patterson's Farm to pick strawberries.

Aiden was so cute...he was SERIOUS about his picking!

We told him what to look for and he examined each

berry thoroughly before picking it. I could hear him

saying...."No, dat one not weady" to himself as he

inspected them. It was priceless. After we picked

berries we went to visit the animals on the farm.

We got to hold a 2 wk old baby goat. After seeing

the animals, Mommy and Aiden went for a ride in

the "Cows", (yeah that does sound kinda strange).

Then we went to the ice cream shop and had

some yummy ice cream! After our time at the farm,

we came home to grill out. We had corn on the cob

(corn we got at Patterson Farm), potatoes and onions

(grilled together in foil packs) and marinated chicken.

For desert we had strawberry shortcake! After supper

we took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood.

Bath time is over and both kiddos are in bed. The

lawn still needs mowed, the laundry is still needing

washed, the cars need cleaned out and the house

needs cleaning. Oh well, something are just not

that important! We made wonderful memories

today!