Doubly Blessed!

Aiden's 5th Birthday Party

2012-01-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

We had Aiden's Birthday party this past weekend and it was
so much fun. We had it at the YMCA. They pretty much
did everything for us! (I felt like I cheated a little) We invited
several of Aiden's little friends from playgroup, church and of
course his cousins. We had pizza, chips, punch and cake. The
party theme was Spiderman. The kiddos enjoyed playing on
the giant inflatable and the adults enjoyed just "hanging out".
There were 34 people in attendance. Aiden got lots of nice
gifts and felt very special! It is hard to believe that he is 5
years old already! Where does the time go??

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

2012-01-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

5 years ago, a baby boy was found at the back door of a hospital in
Chongqing, China. He was wearing only a thin, t-shirt and was
wrapped in a thin blanket. He weighed 8 lbs and 5 ozs. A nurse
heard a baby crying loudly and soon found the most precious little
bundle at the back door. I've often wondered if his birth mom was
waiting in the bushes or somewhere out of sight making sure he
was found safely. I'm sure the decision she was forced to make
was horrible for her! I pray that God gives her peace. In the darkness
of that cold night, God was watching his plan unfold. I am so
humbled to have been a part of His plan. Aiden has been such
a blessing to our family that it is hard to comprehend what it would
be like without him. I am VERY thankful to God for my
sweet little boy! Happy Birthday Aiden - you are treasured!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T21:49:00.000-05:00

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'

2011-12-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-27T21:07:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-13T20:54:00.000-04:00

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

Our Sweet Aiden

2011-09-07T22:25:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-04T16:56:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-08-31T22:14:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-30T22:41:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-16T20:06:00.008-04:00

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

2011-06-16T19:01:00.019-04:00

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

2011-05-28T21:41:00.014-04:00

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!

Aiden's 1st Trophy

2011-05-27T20:09:00.003-04:00

The Spring season for Pre-TBall is now completed. Aiden

received his first trophy this evening and boy was he

excited!! He has already proudly displayed it on his dresser.

We will take a break during the summer and will start

regular T-Ball in the Fall. Fun, Fun! Even Shaelyn thinks

she might like to play girls softball in the Fall. :)

Concentrating!

2011-05-22T18:13:00.006-04:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of Aiden. He was watching

his favorite show (Spongebob Squarepants). When he is

watching TV, he completely zones out everything around him!

It is so funny!

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-08T19:56:00.004-04:00

My beautiful babies! WOW, God sure was showing off when he made these two
treasures!

Make no mistake, these two are almost as much work as the "real" kiddos! They

keep me busy!! I am truly a mother of four! :-) LOVE IT!

I am so very thankful to God for giving me my two beautiful kids! I am the

luckiest Mommy in the entire world! I am also so thankful for the Mother God

blessed me with. She has taught me so much and has been such an example

before me! I also feel very blessed to have the most wonderful Mother-in-law

in the world! I hate that we live so far away but I think of her often. She raised

such a wonderful, compassionate and loving son and for that I am most grateful!

In a nutshell....I AM BLESSED! I feel so underserving of all that I have been

given in this life! God is good!!!

Two Mommies

2011-05-05T22:48:00.003-04:00

This evening I picked up Aiden and put him on my lap. I wrapped
my arms around him and told him that I loved him. I told him
that I was so glad that I was his Mommy. He very matter-of-factly
stated, "I have Two Mommys". Knowing that I had not yet told
him the "birth mom" story, I begin to ask questions to
see what he would tell me. I asked him where his other mommy was
and he said "China". He then begin to tell me (without being questioned)
some things that I find very hard to believe that he would
remember from China. He was only 20 months old when he
joined our family. It is impossible for a child to "remember" anything
that young - right? He told me (through very broken language) that
his other mommy helped him when he was a baby. He said she held
him, put him in a swing, fed him baby food and made him take a nap.
Knowing that Aiden had been in an orphanage with many other
babies I asked, "Were there any other babies that your other mommy
had?" He shook his head "yes" and said three babies. Ironically we
have several pictures (Aiden has not seen - in a safe) that shows him
in the orphanage in a crib with 3 other babies. I immediately thought
maybe Shaelyn had told him all these things so after Aiden went to
bed I asked Shay about it. She said no that she had not talked to him
about that. Coincidence? Maybe, but it sure gave me goosebumps!
What can a child "remember" at 20 months of age? ????

Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs

2011-04-25T19:13:00.007-04:00

The Easter Bunny just wasn't sure what to bring
our kiddos this year. Neither of our kids are big
candy eaters and they need NOTHING! So the
Easter Bunny decided to do a small basket and then
a money tree for each of them. They LOVE, LOVE,
LOVE money and somehow think it grows on trees
so how fitting it that? Mommy made the trees for
the Easter Bunny to use. A cool-whip bowl, some
plaster paris and branches from the yard and tadahh!
The money tree idea was a huge success! They were
so excited!

Here are also some pictures of the kiddos dying the
eggs. We did not dye them outside like we had planned,
instead we covered the dining room table with a plastic
tablecloth and dyed them there. It was a blast!! Loving
my little family and loving Easter!!!

Preschool Easter Party

2011-04-19T22:00:00.009-04:00

Rob and I planned the Easter Party for Aiden's preschool class and it

was today! We helped the kids make "bunny ear" headpieces with

cotton on them so they could be like the Easter bunny! Then we

decorated little white baskets and used them during our egg hunt

outside on the playground. A yummy snack was then in order! Ham

and cheese cubes, cupcakes, and cheese doodles! YUM! Then we

gave each child a wind-up bunny or chick and they played and played

with them! It was so much fun and Aiden was nothing but

smiles! His Mommy AND Daddy were at his school! :)

Love making memories!!

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-17T22:31:00.003-04:00

Playtime with Sissy

2011-03-27T18:29:00.007-04:00

Don't let this picture fool you....trust me they have their share of squabbles, but occasionally they do get along well! :-)

First Baseball Game

2011-03-26T22:07:00.009-04:00

Today was Aiden's first t-ball game. He was so excited!

We were thinking they may cancel the game since the

weather man was calling for a wash out, but the rain held

off:) It was VERY cold though and we were thankful for

the coats, blankets and throws we took!! The game was

simply precious! A field full of 3 and 4 year olds was

quite entertaining to say the least! We are thankful that

Aiden has this opportunity and I'm sure he will enjoy

it even more once it warms up!! Mimi and Papa came

to see Aiden play and he was quite excited about that.

After the game, we all went to Dairy Queen for a yummy

treat! Thanks Papa and Mimi for helping to make Aiden's

day so special!

Aiden's T-Ball

2011-03-17T21:19:00.005-04:00

We signed Aiden up to play T-ball this Spring.

We knew he would like it but had no idea just how much!!

His first practice was yesterday and he was nothing but

a HUGE smile the entire time! It was precious! He has

4 boys and 4 girls on this team and they are all 3 or 4 years

old. I have never laughed so hard as I did watching these

little ones "play ball"! Aiden doesn't have his uniform yet

but should get it soon. He thought he was pretty cool though

sporting his new glove and his new cleats:) I LOVE seeing

my little guy so happy!

Our Fort

2011-03-06T22:02:00.003-05:00

I remember playing in the woods as a child and

making forts out of sticks, rocks, etc. It made for

some very fond memories of my childhood. One day

last week I came home from work and before I even

took off my shoes, Aiden was asking me to go outside

and play with him. I told him to let me change my

clothes and then I would. Well, together we collected

as many sticks and branches as we could. We have

an abundance of trees in the back yard so finding

"supplies" for our fort was not too difficult. We

used the leg of the swingset as a base and and made

a TP fort. Aiden was so excited!!! LOVE making

memories with my kiddos!

My New Centerpiece

2011-03-05T19:32:00.003-05:00

I am so tickled with my Goodwill find today! I came across

this centerpiece for $7! It is missing one of the glass votives

but I'm sure I will be able to find one to replace it. I gave it

a good bath and put in some new candles and ta-dah! It is

just perfect for our table. I just love it when I find something

unique for a cheap price! :)

Love you Forever!

2011-02-21T20:52:00.002-05:00

Happy 12th "Forever Day" to our beautiful daughter!

Feb 22nd, 1999 will be a date that will stand in my memory for

as long as I live. It was a cold day in Nanchang, China and our

adoption group was told that the orphanage director and nannies

would be coming with our babies around 7 PM that day. It was a

VERY long "labor" and I was becoming more and more anxious

with each passing hour. Around 4 PM Rob burst through the

door of the hotel room and shouted...."They're here! The babies

are here!" My heart was racing as I ran down the hall to meet

the group of babies all wrapped in layers and layers of clothes being

carried by the orphanage nannies. Many of the babies being to cry

as they met their new parents. The excitement was absolutely

CRAZY! I was trying so hard to catch a glimpse of the little baby

that I knew only from the photo that China has sent us 6 wks

earlier. Finally I spotted her! The next few moments are hard to

describe!!! They handed me the most beautiful baby girl that I had

ever seen and my life changed forever! I was finally a MOM!

Shaelyn has been such a blessing to our family and I simply can't

imagine not being given the opportunity to receive such a blessing.

We love you Shaelyn, FOREVER!

Fishing

2011-02-19T19:09:00.008-05:00

Shaelyn with her fishing pole. Shay was the photographer for most of the
fishing trip! Thanks Shay for getting some good shots! :)

Mommy and Aiden waiting on a bite!

Aiden "trying" to be patient for a bite :) So cute!

Daddy teaching Aiden how to fish!

Our big fisherman! Just hate we only got nibbles - no catch :(

It was an absolutely beautiful day today! 72 degrees and glorious sunshine!

We decided to take the kiddos fishing. We were not lucky enough to actually

catch anything but still had a great time! Aiden said "the pishes (fishes) did

not wike (like) our worms!!" It was a very relaxing and fun day! God is so

good to us!

Valentines Wishes - Late

2011-02-16T20:26:00.008-05:00

Shaelyn with her Bath and Body Valentines "Treats".

Aiden loved his Valentines Hallmark puppy! The ears wiggle and it says several

really cute things.

Okay a little late here....but we've had computer

problems so I haven't been able to post. Hope

everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day! We

took the kiddos (Yes they are our sweeties too)

out to eat and exchanged cards at the restaurant.

Then we gave the kids a little valentines treat

and that was all she wrote:) I am very blessed

to have such a wonderful hubby and terrific

kiddos! LOVING LIFE :)

Loving my Babies!

2011-01-30T18:45:00.005-05:00

I sure do love these two kiddos! I can't imagine my

life without them! Yes, God could have chosen a different

path for me, but I'm sure glad He didn't! He knew I needed

these two kids just as much as they needed me!

Birthday Party Boy!

2011-01-08T20:54:00.006-05:00

Adien's 4th Birthday party was today and boy was it fun!

We had it at Cici's Pizza and invited friends from Aiden's

Preschool, playgroup, church and of course our family.

The theme Aiden chose was Toy Story :) It was a great

party! Aiden is a very loved and blessed little guy!

Happy 4th Birthday Aiden!

2011-01-05T21:42:00.004-05:00

Aiden's birthday party will be this coming Saturday but we

celebrated as a family today. It is hard to believe that our little

guy is 4 yrs old already. He is such a blessing to us and we

can not imagine our family without Aiden. His smile is magical

and melts my heart! Happy Birthday Aiden! You are loved so

very much!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T20:15:00.010-05:00

As I've said so often....God has blessed us far more than we deserve!!
2010 has been a good year for us. Rob and I both have had good health.
Both kids have escaped serious injury or illness. We both have stable
jobs that we have not had to worry about. God has blessed us with a
wonderful family, extended family and church family! Simply put.....
WE ARE BLESSED! We thank God for His provisions, His love and
mercy! With Him leading the way, we can face 2011 with assurance
that His Grace is sufficent! We hope everyone has a wonderfully
blessed, and Happy New Year!

Our Wonderful, White Christmas!

2010-12-29T23:28:00.010-05:00

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-12-24T20:37:00.006-05:00

Stockings are ready to be filled. Even Lilly and Sophie:)

Cookies and Milk for Santa!

Two very excited Kiddos sporting their new PJ's. :)

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Roberts' house

EVERY creature was stirring, including a toy mouse! (Zhu Zhu pet)

Mom in her PJ's and Dad in his cap

Were seriously hoping everyone would just take a nap! (sleep all night)

The noise level was CRAZY as the kids ran about

It was making Mom and Dad really want to shout!

Supper is in our tummy, bath time is done

Prayers have been said and songs have been sung

Now we snuggle in our beds waiting for Santa to come!

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Cookies and Friends!

2010-12-21T22:22:00.006-05:00

Every Christmas we decorate Sugar Cookies with the kids. This year

we included three of Aiden's little friends. They all had a terrific time!

Love, love, love making special memories!!

Christmas Fun

2010-12-04T22:05:00.008-05:00

Aiden proudly showing off his gingerbread house.

Shaelyn and Aiden on the Santa Express with their little friends.

Aiden coloring his tote bag.

Aiden and his decorated gingerbread man.

Shaelyn helping her little friend make an ornament.

Aiden showing the organic ornaments he made for the birdies!

Today was a wonderful day spent with special friends! A few of

the families that we have gotten to know through our local

Smart Start program joined us for "Breakfast with Santa"

at Aiden's preschool. While there, the kids got to make a

lot of Christmas crafts including a gingerbread house.

It was so much fun and very festive. Then we took the kids

to the Green Goat Art Gallery. There they made organic

Christmas ornaments for the birds and other wildlife. After
that , we took them to ride the Santa Express at the

Transportation Museum. This was especially neat because

Santa and his helpers came aboard our train ride and passed

out candy canes and oranges to the kids. To top it all off, while

we were on the train ride, it started to snow! It was a perfect

day! We are very blessed with incredible friends!!

Blessed and Thankful

2010-11-23T23:56:00.002-05:00

For several years, I approached each upcoming Holiday with a bit of dread.

The silence in our house was profound and seemed to get louder with each

passing year. We dreamed of Trick-or-treating, Thanksgiving Parades and

the joy of Christmas morning with our kids. I must admit that I had many

questions and lots of tears! I simply could not see God's plan because I was

looking through human eyes. This picture is a wonderful reminder that

God's ways are BEST! My blessings are too numerous to count and my

gratitude is overflowing!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T21:36:00.009-04:00

Shay and Aiden in their costumes!

Sophie and Lilly had a costume too!

Even though our Halloween fun is not entirely over (we have

trunk-or-treating tomorrow night at church), we already feel like

we have had a terrific Halloween! The kids attended a Fall

Carnival last weekend that kicked off our festivities. The kids

picked pumpkins, trunk-or-treated, made a craft and

of course ate yummy food. Then we attended another

Fall Carnival at Aiden's preschool where the kids played

games and trick-or-treated again. Yesterday they attended

yet another Fall Carnival where they also trick-or treated.

This afternoon we took them Downtown where all the

stores were participating in trick-or-treating. Then we

headed to the mall for trick-or-treating. We then topped it

off by taking the kids to see Toy Story 3 this evening.

Needless to say.....we are TIRED! Tomorrow we have

church in the morning and then we carve our pumpkins!

Tomorrow night the kids have Awanas and then we

trunk-or-treat AGAIN! This time we are participating

in the trunk-or-treating by decorating our "trunk"

(truck bed) to resemble the Biblical story of the 3

Hebrew children and the Fiery Furnace! Should be a

lot of fun! *BLESSED*

A Fun, Fall Day!

2010-10-23T21:02:00.014-04:00

Today has been an extremely fun day! Rob and I took the kids

to a Fall Carnival at the Preschool that Shaelyn use to attend

when she was little. It is the sister church of the Preschool that

Aiden now attends. They had a really neat "pumpkin patch"

where you could purchase a pumpkin and then decorate it.

We ate lunch there (yummy hot dogs) and the kids enjoyed a

cake walk, craft, bounce house and even truck or treat! We

then came home and made our scarecrow family on the bench

out front. We set our pumpkin family on the front steps until

it is time to carve them for Halloween. We then enjoyed

playing in the many, many leaves that nature has blessed us

with in the back yard. It has been a day that we will remember

with fondest memories!

Braces

2010-10-22T01:38:00.003-04:00

We have reached a new milestone! Shaelyn has braces!! She

got them on Wed. (10-20-10). She is still in the "sore phase"

of braces and is not sure she is in love with this idea. I think

she has done well and keep reminding her that the soreness

will go away. I am proud of her for overcoming her fears and

having them put on . She is a little trooper! Way to go Shay!

Awana Club

2010-10-12T21:30:00.010-04:00

Shaelyn concentrating on writing her memory very on the parking lot.
Aiden LOVES playtime!
Aiden was thrilled to get a New Testament from the Gideons.

Our church recently starting an Awana Club. The kids
have really started enjoying it. Everytime they go
they seem to like it more and more. Aiden is in the
Cubbies group and Shaelyn is in the TNT group. They
meet on Sunday nights from 5:30 - 7:00. We are
thankful that our kids are being exposed to such a
great program. We are blessed!

Humbled and Amazed

2010-09-29T21:49:00.002-04:00

Today Rob came home from work and told me about
a co-worker of his that was simply ecstatic about the pending
adoption of his 5 year old daughter from Russia. He was
proudly showing everyone the picture of his daughter! Blonde
hair and blue eyes, such a cutie. He told how he and his family
were longing for the day that she would be home. (They hoped
in time for Christmas). While this story doesn't seem any
different than any other adoption story I know you've
heard, it is. It touched my heart in such an amazing way
that I had to share. You see, this man and his wife were
blessed with two perfectly normal sons, now in their teens
and a 6 year old biological daughter with severe Downs Syndrome.
One might would say that they had been given a "bum deal" or
even go as far as saying that maybe they were adopting to get
a "normal" daughter. But how wrong they would be! The little
girl that they are all so excited about bringing home, is herself
Downs Syndrome! I was humbled! Again, I see a perfect picture
of Christ's love for us through the beautiful story of adoption.
It doesn't matter if we come to the Throne less than perfect,
His love for us remains the same.

Aiden's Photo Shoot

2010-09-16T21:55:00.008-04:00

I'm a bit late in posting these pictures and I know many of you

have already seen them but I couldn't resist posting them on

my blog. We have a friend that is a terrific photographer and

does such great work! He met us at the local park a few weeks ago

and took lots of pictures of Aiden. They all turned out better than

I could have hoped for! We are so excited to now have some really

good quality pictures framed and hanging in our living room.

Happy Forever Day Aiden!

2010-09-09T21:11:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Aiden's Forever Day on Sept 8th. In keeping with

our Forever Day tradition, we let him pick out a cake and of course

he chose spiderman cupcakes. :) We put two candles on the cupcakes

to represent the two years he has been ours. We sang happy forever

day (in the tune of happy birthday) to him and he blew out his candles.

His present was a couple of Toy Story toys and a cup. He was thrilled!

We are so thankful and humbled that God chose us to care for this

little boy! He is such a joy and blessing! Happy Forever Day Aiden!

We love you so very much!

Weary Travelers

2010-09-07T19:34:00.002-04:00

Two years ago today we were on our way from Beijing to
Chongqing to meet our precious little boy. To say that
we were tired and stressed would be an understatement!
We had flown thousands of miles, spent over 16 hours on
a plane, had tried to adapt to a 12 hour time zone difference
in 2 days. Doing all of this this without ANY luggage AND
while dealing with a very anxious 10 year old! We
had seen the Great Wall, Tienneman Square and the
Forbidden City all on the same day! We were bone tired,
dirty and missing the comforts of home with people we
could understand! I remember thinking I simply could
not go on, I just couldn't do this! And then.....I thought
about a little brown eyed baby boy who was waiting for
his Mommy and somehow I found the strength to
forged on. I think this is how birth mothers who are in labor
must feel. I was terrified, exhausted, thrilled, excited and
every other emotion imaginable all in one! In less than
24 hours I would have a son! The journey was hard,
the travelers were very weary, but we'd do again in
a heartbeat in order to have our son! We love you
Aiden and thank God daily for you - OUR SON!

School Time!

2010-09-02T22:34:00.010-04:00

Shaelyn was ready to get out of the car on the first day of school!
She was all smiles!

All dressed and ready for Middle School!

A bit nervous but excited too!

Aiden says he's ready for "Schoo" too!

Aiden is so very excited to be going to pre-school! He's

about to bust! Aiden posing with his pre-school teacher!

All ready to go in and start having fun at preschool!

Shaelyn started Middle School this year! She was very apprehensive

about the change to a new school but transitioned with flying colors!

She wears burgundy shirts and khaki bottoms for her uniform this year.

Middle school is VERY different than elementary school but so far Shaelyn

has handled the change well. Also, Aiden started preschool this year!

He will only go 2 days a week for a few hours but we thought it was

important for him to be around other kids. His teacher also has a degree in

Child language development and plans to work closely with him

on his language skills. Aiden is such an independent little guy and did

wonderfully with being dropped off for "Schoo" (School). We are

very proud of both of our kids! We are praying for a good school

year for both of them!

That smile!

2010-08-23T19:49:00.005-04:00

It is hard to believe that we will soon be celebrating Aiden's 2nd Gotcha Day!
Two years ago we were frantically packing and repacking for our trip to China.
Today we are planning pre-school functions and learning to ride a bike. WOW,
time is simply flying!! This little guy has been such a joy and I can not imagine
our family without him! He is the happiest child I have ever seen. He faces
each day with a smile and goes to bed with one as well. That smile has
brightened my day many times! I love his infectious giggle and those
perfect little teeth. He is EXACTLY what our family needed! God truly blessed
us when he sent us Aiden!

Shae's 12th Birthday

2010-07-17T20:57:00.013-04:00

Shaelyn turned 12 on July 15th. It is so hard to believe

that my little girl is growing so quickly. Seems like just

yesterday that I stepped off that plane with a her in my

arms. This year she got so spend her Birthday with her

Grandma and Grandpa Roberts in NY. She wasn't too

sure about having a birthday away from home, but she

later told me that it was a terrific birthday! One she will

never forget! Grandma and Grandpa Roberts, Uncle Sean,

Aunt Michelle and Arianna, all went out to Cracker Barrel for

her birthday dinner. She felt very special when all the

employees sang "Happy Birthday" to her and gave her

a yummy piece of chocolate cake. Afterwards we went

back to Grandma's house and had cake and ice cream.

Then to finish off the special day, everyone went back

to the Hotel pool and swam until about 10:00 PM. Shae

is a very loved little girl and she KNOWS it! She received

many phone calls from friends and several messages on

facebook wishing her a Happy Birthday! All in all, it was

a great day for a GREAT young lady! We love her so much!

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-05T05:34:00.009-04:00

Happy Fourth of July !

Beach Fun

2010-06-28T21:45:00.019-04:00

We took a short weekend trip to Myrtle Beach this past weekend.

It was Aiden's first time to see the ocean. He was thrilled! He

lovedeverything about it. He was beyond excited when he

caught some little fish in a net. Shaelyn caught some fish too and

even some crabs. We were glad to be able to take a trip to the beach

even if it was only for a couple days.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:17:00.003-04:00

Father's Day use to be one of the hardest days for me. Harder

even than Mother's Day. I use to feel such guilt that Rob did not

have a child and couldn't be recognized along side all the other

Fathers at church on Father's Day. I often wondered if he would

have chosen a different mate had he know the outcome. Well today

I can honestly say that I look forward to Father's Day. The pride

that shows on Rob's face when he is around his kids is priceless!

He loves them so much and they adore him! He is such a good

Daddy and I know he feels that same way I do. Neither of us

would change the outcome of our journey to parenthood even if

we could. God knew exactly was we needed! Happy Father's Day

Rob! Our kids are blessed to call you Daddy!

Surprise Trip to Ohio

2010-06-03T22:36:00.006-04:00

Shae and Aiden with Grammy and Grampy

Aiden LOVES his Grammy!

Our family at Sharree's graduation.

Our niece graduated from High School last weekend so we decided

to make a "surprise" trip to Ohio for the graduation. It wasn't a

surprise to everyone, just to Rob's Mom and Dad. They were also

in Ohio for the graduation, from New York. To say they were

shocked would be an understatement! Our visit was just for a

few days but we had a terrific time! We are so very blessed to

have such a wonderful family!

Dragon Boat Festival

2010-05-22T19:48:00.005-04:00

I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures

from the Asian Dragon Boat Festival we attended

last weekend. It was a lot of fun. We let the kids

play along the bank of Lake Norman while we

watched teams competing in the annual dragon boat

festival. There were many vendors with Asian

themed merchandise and tons of food! Aside from

it being about 100 degrees, it was a nice experience.

Mothers Day - 2010

2010-05-09T13:59:00.004-04:00

I am so thankful that God gave me the chance to be

a Mommy! I am blessed far more than I deserve!

Face Painting

2010-04-18T18:29:00.003-04:00

We took Shaelyn and Aiden to our town's Earth Day

Celebration this weekend. They had a terrific time sampling

the cupcakes, popcorn, planting a tomato plant and of course,

having their faces painted. Aiden sat perfectly still while they

painted his face to look like Spiderman. Shaelyn's looked very

elegant. Neither of them wanted to wash it off come bath time

that evening:) Shaelyn finally took hers off before bedtime but

Aiden really put up a fuss so we let him sleep with it on. Most

of it was rubbed off by morning so he let me wash it off without

much of a fuss :)

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T17:15:00.022-04:00

Aiden hunting eggs in our backyard after Easter dinner.
On the way home from church. Getting up early for the sunrise service
just wore Aiden out!

Coming out of church Aiden bent down and picked a dandilion and proceeded to blow the seeds. It was sooo cute.
Shaelyn and Aiden in front of the flowered cross at church.
Our family :-)
Shaelyn showing off her Easter dress.
My handsome little man in his Easter suit.
Shaelyn and Aiden excited over their baskets.

Aiden was so proud of his eggs!
Aiden concentrating very hard! A master egg decorator at work!
Aiden getting ready to hunt eggs at the church's Easter party.

Shaelyn and her cousin Makalah, making a craft (planting a flower) at the church's Easter party.

Aiden found a silver egg during the egg hunt at church and you would have thought he had won the lottery! He was estatic!!!

Wow! What an action-packed Easter we have had! On Saturday

morning we had an Easter party/egg hunt at church. The kids

got to make a craft, heard the Easter story, played games, ate

pizza and of course, hunted eggs! It was wonderful! They had

a terrific time! Then on Saturday evening we colored eggs at

home! What fun :-) Sunday morning woke up bright and early

- 5:30 AM to be exact! The "Easter Bunny" had left baskets

for Shaelyn and Aiden and they were both excited to see their

loot. Then we got dressed and headed to Sunrise Service at

7:00 AM. After church we had Easter dinner at our house

with my Dad, (Mom was not feeling well enough to join us)

and my Sister's family. After dinner we had an egg hunt in

our back yard for the kids. The adults just sat around and

soaked up the wonderful sunshine! It has been a wonderful

Easter! I am so thankful for family, good food and most

importantly, the wonderful gift of our Resurrected Savior!

Happy Easter everyone!!

Aiden's Friends

2010-03-13T18:59:00.008-05:00

Aiden at his triplet friend's birthday party.

Aiden with one of his playgroup friends.

Aiden attending the weekly playgroup.

Rob takes Aiden to a playgroup every week and he

has make a lot of nice friends. He LOVES to go and

gets along well with everyone. Today he attended

the birthday party for friends he made at the play

group. They are Triplets and are so cute. We

were all invited to the party and had a great time.

Aiden has become quite the social butterfly! :)

Roses and Papaw

2010-03-07T20:17:00.004-05:00

All planted! Now to keep them alive!

Taking a break!

Papaw and Aiden working hard.

Getting started.

When Aiden was dedicated in Nov 09, we were given a

long stemmed red rose. My very talented Dad took it

and rooted the rose. It is now a very healthy and thriving

bush. This weekend he came over to plant the rosebush.

He also brought along another bush to plant for Shaelyn.

He brought all of his "equipment" and worked for a good

hour on the planting project. Aiden got his shovel and

"helped" to! I am anxious to see how pretty these bushes

will become. I did not inherit the green thumb that my

Dad has but hopefully I can keep these bushes alive!

Thanks Dad for doing this! It means so much

to us!

Happy Forever Day Shae!

2010-02-21T19:24:00.007-05:00

Eating cake and ice cream with Papaw:)

Shae's Forever Day gift.

Shaelyn with her cake.

This is Daddy's first time holding Shaelyn - 11 years ago!

This picture was taken about 30 seconds after being handed Shaelyn! :)

Words can't express it!!

11 years ago tomorrow, we were blessed with the most

precious gift...our baby girl! She was 7 months old and

BEAUTIFUL! I just knew she had to be the most

beautiful baby in the world! She weighed 12 lbs 12 ozs

and wore size 0-3 months clothes.

We were not prepared for such a tiny little peanut so all

of her clothes were soooo big on her. As soon as we got

home from China we had to make a run to the store for

some clothes that actually fit! The moment that they

handed her to me I remember feeling like I was floating.

I was so overcome with love for this tiny little person I

had just met. She was bundled in 11 layers of clothes

and was huge! I loved her so much from that first

moment! Now 11 years later, I love her even more!

I had one of her teachers tell me, "Shaelyn cares

about everyone and is so considerate of others feelings...

she has the gift of compassion". I am so proud of the

little lady she is becoming!

We decided to celebrate Shaelyn's "Forever Day" today

instead of waiting til tomorrow since tomorrow is a school

day. Papaw came over to have cake and ice cream

(Mimi was not feeling well). We have always celebrated

"Forever Day" with a cake and a gift. It is however, the

most wonderful day to celebrate! The day we met and

became a family FOREVER! We love you so very much

Shaelyn McKenzie (FuXun)!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T16:52:00.005-05:00

This time 20 years ago, I was frantically planning for our

wedding on March 10th! The month before the wedding

was by far the most hectic. I didn't know if I would pull it

off or not, but what I did know was that I was going to

marry the most wonderful man on the planet! He was,

and is STILL my special Valentine!! This Valentines day

I am blessed with 2 more special valentines. Shaelyn and

Aiden! Of course my love for them differs than my love

for Rob but I love all three of them so very much! I am

a very blessed wife and mommy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-14T16:21:00.001-05:00

Shae's new look

2010-02-01T20:13:00.003-05:00

Shaelyn got new glasses today! We have her eyes checked

every January and every year her eyes change dramatically!

She is extremely near-sighted and it gets worse as she grows.

Thankfully, the Doc said it should taper off by the time she's

gets through her teens. Our insurance pays for frames and

lenses every two years so this was the year she could get new

frames:) I let her pick anything she wanted and this is the pair

she chose. They are sage/lime green on the sides and are dark

bronze frames. She looks adorable in them but most importantly,

she can see so much better!!! Yay!

Fun in the Snow!

2010-01-30T14:27:00.005-05:00

Aiden was snug as a bug in all his winter attire but his little cheeks
were soooo cold! They were bright red! He didn't seem to mind at
all though! In fact, He cried when I said it was time to go inside.

Our creative snowman! Shaelyn thought it was
absolutely ridiculous but I thought it was pretty
cute!

Wow! More snow for us here in NC! We don't know what to think!!
The kids are loving it, especially Aiden. Unfortunately the snow is
not a packing type so making a snowman was out the question,
so we had to come up with something different. We piled up some
snow and set a stuffed snowman on top, supported by a branch
against the back of the snowman. Worked just as good:)
Sometimes you just have to be creative.

Our Beautiful Kids!

2010-01-11T18:15:00.011-05:00

Shaelyn 11 yrs

Aiden - almost 3

We finally got Shaelyn's school pictures back today!!

They took the pictures in October and here it is Jan. and

I'm just now getting them. We had Aiden's pictures made

in November thinking we would have both kid's pictures

back in time for Christmas. Well, we had Aiden's but not

Shae's so we just held off on giving them out. Well, now

we can show off both of our kid's pictures:) We just think

we have 2 of the most beautiful kiddos!

Happy Birthday Aiden!

2010-01-05T21:59:00.009-05:00

All ready for Aiden's party!

Our family:)

Aiden and his Cousin Skyler.

Aiden and Shae with their Cousins (Makalah, Makenna

and Skyler).

Yum! This ice cream and cake is good!

Our precious 3 year old!

Aiden's cake.

Tonight we celebrated Aiden's 3rd Birthday! We had

a small family party with cake and ice cream. Aiden

loves Curious George so we used that theme for his

cake and decorations. He was sooo excited and was

just squealing with delight. It is so hard to believe

that he is already 3! He is growing so

quickly. We simply can't imagine our lives without

this little guy! He has been such a blessing to us in

so many ways! So tonight I say thanks to the lady

who gave life to my little boy. Without knowing it,

she gave us the one of the most wonderful gift of

our lives! Most of all, I thank God for allowing us to

experience the miracle of adoption. We are incredibly

blessed!

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T21:25:00.005-05:00

Our New Year's Dinner Table.

Aiden and Aunt Marea.

Jeff, Marea, Sharree and Kerri

We celebrated New Year with Rob's Sister Marea and her

family from Ohio. It was a rare treat and we were so thankful

to be able to see them again. This was their first time of seeing

Aiden in person and he sure was lovin all the attention:) Rob

made a wonderful dinner of his famous lasagna and we had

blueberry cheesecake for desert! Marea and Jeff were only

able to stay for one night but we still had a terrific "short"

visit. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family!

Our Christmas Memories

2009-12-27T18:02:00.010-05:00

Shaelyn in front of the tree at Church.

Our "Storybook" children's Christmas program at church.

Rob drew all the characters for me!!

Aiden in front of the Wisemen at the program.

On Christmas Eve Aiden got to meet his cousins Daniel

and Travis for the first time! We enjoyed having them

visit from Ohio.

Shae on Christmas morning.

Things have been a bit hectic around our house but
we have paused long enough during this Christmas

season to make some really nice memories. It started

on Christmas Eve when we make cut out cookies and

let the kiddos decorate them. Boy was that a mess!

We then lit the luminaries outside on our sidewalk and

enjoyed the company of my brother and his family from

Ohio. Christmas morning dawned bright and early with

Shaelyn being the first one up. "Santa" had left new boots

for the kids and a stocking full of goodies. The stockings

were torn into first then the presents from Mommy and

Daddy! After presents were opened, we headed to

my Niece's house for Christmas dinner with everyone.

We ate until we were stuffed then opened more presents.

Saturday morning we had Christmas program practice

at church along with a little party for the kiddos.

Saturday evening my Dad took the whole family out to

eat and we got to enjoy each other all over again:) Then

this morning (Sunday) we had the Children's program.

It was a bit crazy but ended up being okay after all.

Wheeee, I am tired but HAPPY! Thankful for the reason

we celebrate Christmas and for the gift of a Baby in the

Manger. I'm also thankful for my little family and for

the joy, laughter (and yes, sibling fussing and fighting)

that so brightens our lives especially on Christmas

morning! We are BLESSED!

Our Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T00:04:00.008-05:00

Stockings are stuffed and "Santa" is bringing new boots to the kiddos:)

Decorating Christmas cookies.

The kids had fun baking and decorating cookies this evening. We

had a few moments of chaos, but for the most part, it was a fun

time. Then we lit luminaries out on the sidewalk and enjoyed

fun and fellowship with my Brother and his family from Ohio.

The kids are now in bed, stockings are stuffed and "Santa" has

arrived. I am feeling incredibly blessed this evening! God is so

good to us! Merry Christmas to all!

Let it Snow!

2009-12-19T15:24:00.006-05:00

I can not rememer a time that we have had snow

to compliment our Christmas decorations. Needless

to say, we are thrilled!!!! The kids have enjoyed it

and I love to look at it! Sure makes for some

wonderful Christmas memories!!!

Christmas Card Photo Session

2009-12-07T20:13:00.008-05:00

Finally - camera was a bit blurry, but this is the one we finally used!
Wheee! Glad that's done!

(attempt #2) - This one took 2nd place but again Aiden
shut his eyes.

(attempt #3) - Shae and Sophie did well, Aiden got distracted.

Shae thought we should just use this picture,

but of course it was missing someone :)

(attempt #4) - Aiden's eyes completely shut and horrible camera quality!

(attempt #5) - cute kiddos, horrible camera quality!

To say that I had a hard time getting a good Christmas Card

photo for our cards this year, would be an understatement!

My camera was acting up, and the kids would not cooperate!

Here are our attemps.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T18:50:00.007-05:00

Aiden is "thankful" for our dog Sophie. They are pals!

We are thankful for Mimi (my Mom). She loves Shaelyn and Aiden

and they love her too. This picture was taken after Thanksgiving

dinner today.

We are so very thankful this Thanksgiving for the

many blessings God has blessed us with this

year!! There are so many things that come to mind

that I would have difficulty listing them all! One

special thing I am thankful for this year is time

spent with family. Yesterday we took the kids

to the parade and happened upon my sister and

her kids so we joined them and had a great time.

Today we had my Mom and Dad and my Sister and

her family over for Thanksgiving dinner.

(17 people in our little house) It was nice to spend

time with everyone. We sure did miss my brother

and his family and Rob's sister and her family in Ohio.

We also missed Rob's Mom and Dad and Sister's family

in New York. Wow we would have a huge crowd if

everyone could come. We cherish our family and thank

God for them. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

First Night in Toddler Bed

2009-11-16T22:16:00.004-05:00

Much to my surprise, Aiden fell asleep in his toddler

bed tonight! I could hardly believe it! Rob's co-worker

gave us a nice TV/VCR and we put it in Aiden's room.

He can not see it well from his crib and until tonight, was

unable to see if well from his toddler bed. Well, I got

a bright idea to move his toddler bed to be positioned

in front of the TV just to see if he would sit on the bed

to watch his favorite Blue's Clues videos. Sure enough

he sat on it without any problems. Then he little by

little became more comfortable on it as the evening

progressed. Soon he was fast asleep on it! Yay!! Now

I am soooo excited:)

Dirty Boy!

2009-11-07T23:08:00.005-05:00

Aiden is 100% boy! He loves anything to do with rocks,

sticks and dirt. Today I planted some pansies in the pots

on our front porch. It didn't take him long to discover

the freshly cultivated dirt. When I turned my back for

just a minute he had both hands in the pot digging for

all he was worth. This is the scene I turned around to.

I quickly got the camera and captured these pictures. If

it is dirty....he loves it!

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-31T22:18:00.007-04:00

Shaelyn and Aiden with Papaw.

The back of Aiden's costume was sooo cute!!

Our little "mouse" ready to trick-or treat!

We took the kids to the Mall and to a few houses

this evening to trick-or-treat! We stopped by

Mimi and Papaw's house before we went so they

could see the kids in their costumes. Papaw was

dressed like a farmer and was all ready to had

out candy at his house. Shaelyn looked beautiful

in her 50's attire and Aiden was adorable as a

little fat mouse. He did not want to keep the hood of

the costume up however, so it was hard to tell what

he was suppose to be. We enjoyed seeing all the

different costumes at the mall and enjoyed

just being together as a family. We were thankful

Rob was off tonight! It was a fun night!

Jack-O-Lanterns

2009-10-26T21:07:00.009-04:00

We did not get to take the kids to the pumpkin patch

this year due to some rainy weather. Instead we opted

to just buy the kids a pumpkin at the store. They were

still very excited about picking out their pumpkins.

We almost waited too late and had a hard time finding

nice pumpkins! We finally found some and then were

back home to carve them. The dining room table became the

carving station and needless to say was cleaned very

well after the event:) Rob was off tonight so he helped

Aiden with his and I helped Shae with hers. We had a

fun time! We already had a fake jack-o-lantern on

display on the front porch so we just added our two real
pumpkins for a nice trio of Halloween fun. Another fun

tradition at our house is sealed in our memories! We are

blessed!

Fall Leaves

2009-10-24T21:33:00.012-04:00

Aiden just "chillin" in the leaves.

Shaelyn and Sophie in the leaves. Sophie is not too sure she

is in love with this idea.

Shae and Aiden keeping Mr and Mrs Scarecrow company.

Aiden in the pile of leaves. This is only a small portion of

the leaves we have:)

Aiden is "free" to enjoy the nice sunny weather!

Aiden apparently thought his clothes were too restricting!

I found them in the yard! I'm actually surprised he kept

his diaper on.

Shaelyn riding her bike through the customary "leaf road".

It was not a journey of love however. Shaelyn thinks she

is far to old and mature for this tradition.

Every autumn we are blessed with tons of leaves!

It has become somewhat of a tradition to make a day of

raking and playing in the leaves. This year was no

exception. Shaelyn pretty much thought she was too old

now for the tradition and would have much rather been in the

house on the computer. Aiden sure enjoyed himself though!

He had a blast playing in all those leaves. He must have

gotten overheated because I turned around from blowing

some leaves and discovered that he had shed his

clothes and was parading around in nothing but his

diaper. It was so funny! It was a warm day today

(almost 70 degrees) so I just let him run around

the yard without his clothes. He was nothing but smiles!

We will probably have one or two more leaf raking

days before our trees are all bear. I love the leaves

but quite honestly wish we didn't have so many:)

His Eye Is On The Sparrow!

2009-10-04T22:00:00.002-04:00

This past week has been especially stressful, and to be honest

there were times I felt like the wind had been knocked

out of me! I am ashamed to say that I have indulged myself

in a few self pity-parties. I had one of those weeks that I

felt like God was a million miles away and really could care

less about me and my problems! Well, it took a little bird

to shake me back to reality. As we were leaving for church

this morning, Rob discovered a little sparrow that was "dying"

on our front porch. He was on his back and was jerking and

gasping for air. I swooped up this little bird and held him in

my hand. Nothing seemed broken and he wasn't bleeding so

I begin to think he had flown into our glass storm door and

had knocked the wind out of himself. I carefully placed him

on the bench in our flowerbed, rubbed his little head and told

him it would be okay. We left for church and I wondered if

he would be dead when we got back. Well, when we arrived

back home we checked on the status of the little sparrow and

he had flown away! God used that little bird to let me know

that everything would be okay. His eye is on the sparrow

and I know he watches me!

Pumpkin Painting

2009-10-03T21:02:00.005-04:00

We took the kids to the Autumn Jubilee today

at Dan Nicholas Park. They had fun painting a

pumpkin! Thankfully the paint is washable!

We ALL got paint on us:)

Worth It All!

2009-09-29T23:03:00.002-04:00

This time last year we were adjusting to a new little

member of the family. We had been home with Aiden

for about 10 days and oh were we adjusting!!! I

remember many times I felt like I was going to

pull my hair out! Shaelyn and Sophie (the dog) were

insanely jealous of Aiden. Shaelyn wasn't too sure

she wanted to share her turf with a brother after all!

I began to wonder when and if our house would ever

me "normal" again:) Well, I am happy to report that

a year later we are FINE! Shaelyn has finally adjusted

to having a brother and Sophie is now Aiden's best buddy!

Shaelyn adores her little brother and is thankful for him.

They have their moments, but most of the time they are

enjoying each other as I so hoped they would! What a

difference a year makes!

My "Creative" Little Guy

2009-09-12T21:46:00.005-04:00

Today I purchased a sucker for Aiden while we were in town.

I gave him specific instructions that he could not eat it until

after supper. He did very well with these instructions and

did not open it. After supper I gave it to him and then I

proceeded to go outside to unload the yard sale items from

the truck. Aiden followed me out there and wanted to help

me carry things from the truck to the shed. Just moments

later I noticed that the sucker he had come outside with was

nowhere to be found. I asked Aiden where his sucker was

and he pointed to the muffler pipe on my car. He had put

that sucker (stick end first) into the pipe. It was perfect fit!

We tried and tried to get it out but just kept pushing the

sucker further and further into the pipe. Finally I decided

that I would just turn on the engine .....that sucker blew

out with such force that it sailed across the driveway and landed

in the middle of the road! We had to laugh!! These little guy

is so creative and curious about everything. He never ceases

to amaze us!

Aiden's First Gotcha Day!

2009-09-08T20:04:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Aiden's 1st Gotcha Day today! It is hard
to believe that last year this time we were just
getting to know this precious little guy! He is a joy
and we are so thankful for him! We always have a little
cake to celebrate Shaelyn's Gotcha Days so Aiden was
no exception. He was too cute trying to blow out his
one (1) candle! He actually spit all over his cake :)

Last year

2009-09-05T22:30:00.005-04:00

Last year at this very day and time, we were sitting
aboard a Boeing 777 Korean Air Jumbo Jet in route
to Beijing China. We were so excited, nervous and a
little bit of every emotion mixed together. We were
not only going to get our new son, but we were also
taking Shaelyn back to China to see the land of her birth.
Wow, what a journey we were about to experience! As
I sat there in my seat on that enormous plane, I had
all the time in the world to reflect back over the past
16 months. The calling God placed on our hearts to
adopt again took us a bit by surprise. We had more
questions than answers for so many months. We ran into
so many road blocks and detours along the adoption
journey and there were times we nearly said "forget
it"! But sitting there in that huge plane I felt a
peace. I knew without a doubt that we were right
where God wanted us to be! Now a year later, I
can say that God sure knew what He was doing! This
little boy he gave us was exactly what we needed and
didn't even know it! Aiden has brought us so much joy
and I simply can't imagine life without him. The
adoption path was not easy, but the reward for walking
it was beyond our wildest dreams!

Skyler's Skating Party

2009-08-29T20:23:00.006-04:00

Skyler (my sister's youngest)turned 6 years old and
wanted his party at the local skating rink. The party
was today and boy did my kids have a good time! This
was the first time Aiden had been to a rink and I
wasn't sure how he's react but he loved it! He was
determined that he was going to skate and was getting
pretty frustrated that it wasn't happening! He kept
pushing my hand away when I tried to help him. Shae
learned to skate years ago and she was just flying
around the rink. This made Aiden even more frustrated
because he wanted to be like "Sissy". It was pretty
cute ! Thank you Maresa for including Shae and Aiden
they had such a good time!

2009-08-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

Shaelyn's School Years in Review

2009-08-25T23:07:00.010-04:00

First year of Preschool

Second year of Preschool

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Today was Shae's first day of 5th grade! I was a bit sad

thinking that this will be her last year in Elementary

School! She has grown up so quickly. I took out her

scrapbooks this evening and was looking back at

all her "First Days of School". I am amazed at how

quickly she has gone from my little preschooler to my

5th grader! Where does time go??

Daddy's Socks

2009-08-20T21:42:00.003-04:00

Aiden surprised me this evening when he came into the

room wearing a pair of Rob's socks! He had taken the

time to put them on all by himself and was very proud

of his accomplishments! As you see they were more like

thigh-highs for Aiden but are actually Rob's ankle socks:)

Too cute!

Shaelyn's Artwork

2009-08-19T20:03:00.003-04:00

Shaelyn took art classes this summer at Waterworks

Visual Arts Center and had a terrific time! Here is a

picture of her displaying one of her projects. She used

charcoal pencils and oil pastels. She created this project

to look like Sophie. She was very pleased with it and we

were so proud of her accomplishments. She is definitely

our budding little artist!

VBS - 2009

2009-08-10T22:27:00.005-04:00

Every year our church has Vacation Bible School and each

year we volunteer to help with some aspect of it. Well this

year we played low key since we are busy chasing around

a very active 2 year old. We did however, help with the

decorations and had a really fun time doing so. Here are

some pictures of Aiden and Shae in the "swamp". Our

theme this year was Crocodile Dock!

Fireflies

2009-07-26T21:25:00.006-04:00

I took these photos a few weeks ago and am just now getting

around to posting them. It was a night that the kiddos

decided to catch fireflies and put them in a jar. Shae wanted

to put them in her room for a nightlight. :) As you can tell

by these pictures, Aiden was completely perplexed by the

whole operation. He wasn't sure he wanted those bugs in

that jar. After a few hours of being help captive, I finally

convinced Shae to release them back into the backyard

where they could go back home to their families. :) I know

it is crazy, but I can't stand the thought of even a bug

starving to death in a mason jar. :)

Lela Jade

2009-07-16T23:04:00.007-04:00

We are so very blessed to have Chris and Kathy as long-time

friends!! They love our kids and spoil them royally! When we

stepped off the plane with Shaelyn in our arms, Kathy was

there to cry tears of joy with us! She remembers how tiny

and beautiful Shaelyn was. A few years ago Kathy bought this

Lee Middleton doll (Pampered Asian Doll) and said it reminded

her of Shaelyn when she looked at it. She kept
the doll until Shaelyn was older. This evening Chris and Kathy

came over and gave the babydoll to Shaelyn. When she opened

it she was so surprised and giggled with excitement. I was

completely overwhelmed with emotion because it so reminded

me of what Shae looked like when we got her! It was truly

amazing! Anyway, Shae gave the doll the name Lela Jade.

This was the name we recently had picked out for the girl we

thought we would get from China, but of course God gave us a

boy. Thank you Chris and Kathy for giving this doll
to Shaelyn, she will treasure it forever!! When I get to missing
Shaelyn's baby days I will just look at Lela Jade!

Happy 11th Birthday Shaelyn

2009-07-15T22:02:00.019-04:00

Shaelyn with her recently stuffed Hello Kitty!

Aiden was sure proud of the bath he was giving his monkey.

The birthday girl at Build-a-Bear. They made her this birthday

ribbon around her neck! It said Shaelyn is 11 today! She was

so proud:)

Out to eat at Shaelyn's favorite restaurant.

On the way home from the mall...both kiddos were happy with their new friends.

Shaelyn concentrating on blowing out her candles. Aiden is

clapping with excitement.

Shaelyn's Littlest Pet Shop cake! She was very happy with her cake:)

Shaelyn and Aiden with their wonderful cousins!

The table is all set and ready to go. The pink bags are treat bags for everyone.

Today we celebrated Shaelyn's 11th birthday! I can hardly

believe that my baby girl is 11 years old!! I took the day off'

from work and we had a day jammed packed with fun! Shae

decided that she wanted to go to Build a Bear again this year,

so we took the kids there this afternoon. Both Shaelyn and

Aiden had a blast! Shaelyn chose a Hello Kitty and Aiden

chose a Monkey. Afterwards we went out to eat in the mall

then Shaelyn went to the Hello Kitty store to spend some of

her birthday money. For the grand finale... we had a family

party at our house at 7 PM. This year Shae wanted a Littlest

Pet Shop theme, and of course Mommy had fun decorating.

All in all it was a terrific day for Shaelyn! We are so thankful

for Shaelyn and for all the joy she brings to our lives. We love

you very much Shae!

This and That

2009-07-12T20:00:00.009-04:00

Approximately 2 1/2 years ago this cat showed up at our house. I
had no idea who it belonged to and tried to find its owner. I even
responded to an ad in the newspaper but turns out it was the
wrong cat. Anyway, we decided we would not name him because
we didn't want to get attached and then we find his owner. So,
we decided to call him just Kitty Boy. Well, Kitty Boy has been
our foster cat for 2 1/2 years now:) He stays outside and is great
at keeping all the little critters away. He is huge!! He makes two
of Sophie! This was a picture I took today of Kitty Boy on the
back deck. I thought it was just too cute. Oh, did I mention that
Aiden is crazy about this cat! He feeds it every day:)

As many of you know, I LOVE a bargain and LOVE flowers. Here is Aiden posing in front of the Marigolds we planted this weekend in front of the house. I got them for about 17 cents each!

Here is another bargain I am proud of! I got this TV at a yard sale
for a fraction of what a new one would have been! It swivels, so
you can see it clearly anywhere in the living room and dining room!
It doesn't have the greatest picture (color) in the world but it will
work just fine for us:)

Pool Fun!

2009-07-12T17:10:00.009-04:00

Here are some pictures of Shaelyn and Aiden enjoying

the pool. The dog Sophie is always very distraught when

the kids get into the pool. She whines excessively until they

are out. We have a chair we keep beside the pool for

our towels, well she gets up on it and tries to see inside

the pool. She will even stand on the arm of the chair

and stretch as much as possible just to get a glimps.

It is adorable! Don't know what she thinks here little

7 pound Chihuahua self could do to save the kids but in

her little mind she must think she's the lifeguard:)

God Bless America!

2009-07-03T21:03:00.006-04:00

Tonight my two "China babies" danced around the yard singing

and waving sparklers! Shaelyn has done this now for many years.

This was Aiden's first:) I couldn't help but think that both of my

kids are celebrating a freedom they would never have know in China.

We are all truly blessed to call this great Nation our home:)

Almost Ten Months!

2009-06-28T22:49:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that we are approaching our 10th month as

a family of four! It does not seem possible! We just couldn't be

happier with how things are progressing. Aiden has bonded so

well with us and is simply a joy! His language is coming along

nicely and we are proud of him. He is a smart little guy and for

that we are thankful! He loves his big sister "Sissy" and is

very fond of the dog Sophie. We are so very thankful that

he has transitioned so well into our family. God is so good!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:03:00.010-04:00

Some people in this life are just meant to be a Daddy and Rob is one of them! He simply adores his kids and is so good with them! He is such a hard worker and good provider! Both of the kids love him intensely! There were many years I wondered if Rob would ever become a Daddy. My heart hurt for him at each Father's Day and I would feel such guilt! Now he will tell you that he wouldn't have it any other way! We have gone through some pretty intense storms together but I know Rob wouldn't change the outcome of his journey for anything in the world! He loves his kids and his family and shows it to us each and every day! We love you Rob and hope you have a wonderful Father's Day!

My Dad adores his family and grandkids! He is such a hard worker and instilled in me the value of hard work! After 5 back surgeries and 2 hips replaced, he is still working full time, mowing his yard and tending to his roses. There was a time we thought he would never walk again, but through God's help and Dad's amazing determination, he is still going strong at 67 yrs old. The green thumb this man has amazes me!! At Aiden's dedication they presented us with a long stem red rose. Dad took the rose and rooted it. It is now a bush and has produced roses. The rose you see in the vase is from this bush! I thank God for my Dad and for his example of Godliness! Happy Father's Day Dad, we love you very much!

Rob's Dad (who unfortunately we do not see very often) loves his family and would do anything in the world for them. He is such a good example of faithfulness to the Lord. He loves his church family and is loved by many! It has always amazed me at how well Dad can remember facts. He can tell you exact birth dates, anniversaries, ages and names of MANY people! (And I have a hard time remembering my own families birthdays:) We love you Dad and hope you are with us for many more Father's Days!

Arts Festival

2009-06-20T20:25:00.013-04:00

Shaelyn's first oil on canvas masterpiece. She named her piece "Lilly Acres".

Shaelyn showing off her masterpiece. Although she was a

little annoyed that mommy was taking so many pictures

when it was 100 degrees outside :) lol

Shaelyn working on her painting.

Some of the incredible art work made from fruits and vegetables!

Shaelyn being shown how to make a character made from

mushrooms and raisins.

Shaelyn enjoying a strawberry that had been carved to look

like a rose. Notice the awesome carvings in the background,

both made from watermelons.

Aiden's toothbrush critter.

Today we took Aiden and Shaelyn to the Arts Festival at Waterworks Art Center. They got to make toothbrush critters, paper bag hats, and watch a fruit carver make beautiful creations from fruits and vegetables. After hearing a story about a very talented historical artist, Shaelyn got to make her first oil on canvas painting. She was thrilled when she discovered the lady that was helping her paint was going to be her instructor for the art lessons she will be taking in a couple of weeks! She is really excited about taking lessons. The lessons will be on how to draw people's faces. Here are some pictures from our outing today.

More Pictures from NY

2009-06-20T20:06:00.008-04:00

Grammy and Grandpy made a penny jar for Aiden just like they've done for all of their grandkids. Aiden was fasinated!

Shaelyn and Grammy on the merry-go-round. They went around 3 times!!! Urghh,

Mommy was sick just watching:)

Grammy and Shaelyn waiting to catch Aiden as he came down the twisty slide.

Grandpy doesn't like to go shopping but surprised everyone by going with us to Walmart. With what you see in the cart, how could he resist??

Grammy and Grandpy took us out to eat for Breakfast. This pic was taken at the Restaurant with Aiden and Arianna.

I'm a little late in posting more pictures from our vacation to New York to visit Rob's parents. We had such a good time and the kids really enjoyed spending time with Grammy and Grandpy. Unfortunately, they do not get to spend much time with them because of living so far apart. This was the first time they had seen Aiden, their first and only Grandson. He wormed his way into their hearts just like Shaelyn 10 years ago. Here are some more pictures from the trip.

Discovery Place in NY

2009-06-17T22:47:00.011-04:00

Aiden sitting in the Giant's chair.

Aiden, Daddy and Grandma headed to the 3 little bears house!
Shaelyn watering the vegetables in Peter Rabbit's Garden.
Shaelyn doing her favorite job at Discovery Place - being the cashier at the grocery store!

Aiden digging for fossils.
Aiden trying out his luck at being a fisherman:)
For the kid who LOVES to eat, it came as no surprise that he needed TWO carts at the grocery store!!
Aiden, shopping for produce. He put lots of apples in his cart!
Shaelyn broadcasting the news at the TV news center. There was actually a TV screen that broad casted her picture live!
While on vacation in NY we took the kids to Discovery Place. It was fantastic!! It had everything imaginable for the kids to do. There was even a mock grocery store with tiny little shopping carts and fake food. The kids could "shop" and then take their purchases to the cashier for payment with fake money. The register was Shae's favorite as it really worked and she actually got to scan every one's groceries. There was a bank, a restaurant, an real ambulance, firetruck and fighter jet (indoors) for the kids to get in and experience. They got to dig for fossils, stand inside of a giant bubble, play in a fake hair salon and art studio. They even got to dress in tux coats and perform on stage at "Broadway". Outside of this Discovery Place they had Peter Rabbits Garden with real vegetables that the kids could water. They got to go inside of a Victorian doll house, and even visit the 3 bears cottage. Needless to say, it was an wonderful experience for the kids! I actually enjoyed it too:)

Golden Apple Award

2009-06-08T19:47:00.006-04:00

Shaelyn received a special award today at her school.

The Golden Apple Award! This award is given to

two children per class and is selected by the teacher.

It is given to the student that the teacher feels exemplifies

what a good student should be. We were so proud that

out of a class of 23 kids, Shaelyn was selected as one of the

two recipients for this award. Her Daddy, Aiden and

myself were there to see her get this award! We are so

very proud of you Shaelyn!!