Samuel's Here!!!!!!

Our very bestest friend in the whole world is here visiting for two weeks! Samuel is a 16 year old from Liberia, who came to the U.S. two years ago. He lived in a refugee camp for 10 years. He has experienced things in his young life that you and I would never dream of, but he has the brightest smile and the most amazing positive attitude. We met Samuel through our friends, the Burton family (our wonderful friends that also have a "large" family...they have 13 beautiful children from all over the world). Their family was helping Samuel and his mother get settled after coming to the U.S. We were so blessed to get to know them and even shared a wonderful Christmas together 2 years ago. His family moved to North Carolina over a year ago and we have missed seeing him.

We wish we could adopt Samuel. He is the big brother Levi has always begged for. He loves children and is so patient with the little ones. He has a strong belief in God and his faith has pulled him through many hard times. He can light up the room with his smile and his laughter is contagious. He is polite, quick to offer help with chores or cleaning things up, he helps keep the boys in line by reminding them what is appropriate behavior and he is just a ton of fun to be around.

Needless to say our evenings have been filled with tag in the backyard, swimming, eating hot dogs (Samuel's favorite), watching movies and hanging out. Samuel only has a few days left before he goes back home. We will miss him. We love you, Samuel!!!!

Thomas turns 7!!!

Thomas had a great birthday. After getting home from the Enchanted Forest, we moved on to presents and cake.....and swimming and hot dogs and more cake and more swimming. It was like the day that never ends!!! Happy Birthday Tommy Tom!!

Enchanted Forest

All of our birthdays are in the first half of the year. The last 3 are in the summer (June and first half of July). We usually try to incorporate a fun place to go with each one of those birthdays since the weather is usually nice by then (it's not as much fun to go out and about in January or March). For Thomas' birthday, we headed out to Enchanted Forest. We have been going there since Samantha and Sabrina were little. We love that place!!

Farmers

We have a couple of wanna-be farmers, so last night when Scott's best friend, Scott called to say he was working in a field close by, we jumped in the van to go do a lap in the combine. Scott is a real farmer, always has been. His "toys" are just the kind Thomas (age 7) loves. Everything about Thomas screams "Farmer". All his toys are tractors and barns, his favorite clothes are the ones that say "John Deere" on them, his eyes are riveted to any tractor he sees as we drive down the road and most conversations end up being something about a tractor. Tanner, Thomas and Vanessa all got to "drive" the combine and the smiles were ear to ear on all 3 of them.

On the other hand, Talisha, Savannah and Isaiah were all scared spit-less of that giant machine. The girls would run and hide every time it came past us. Talisha did venture out to the field when it was quiet and found a couple of "treasures" (rocks) that she was very proud to show her daddy.

We came home, covered in dust but with 3 very happy kiddos, who I'm sure feel asleep, dreaming about becoming Farmers.

A Natural

Adoption is amazing in so many ways. I was reminded of that yesterday afternoon when I took Vanessa (age 6) to her first day of Cheer camp. She was in a group with about 12 other girls, age 5-8. They did extensive stretching warm-ups and then did some stunts on the huge rectangle trampoline. Vanessa is very limber and also has amazing muscle tone. She can drop and do 25 push-ups (in perfect form) any time. She is one strong kid! I was again reminded of her amazing athletic ability as I watched her yesterday afternoon. She was the only one able to perform the required tasks. She looked like a pro on the tramp. The mothers around me kept commenting how amazing she was (I'm pretty sure they didn't know she was mine since our "coloring" is slightly different) and it was fun to sit there and listen to them.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those parents, bragging about how amazing my child is. Because she was born from another woman, I'm simply in awe of this child. Does that make sense? I can't take any credit for any of her natural ability. She came with all of that. I wish I could tell her birth mother what an amazing little girl she is. I would love to know where her athletic ability came from. Whose side of the family she got it from, etc. But because we have no contact with her (by her choice) we are left to wonder.

So if Vanessa decides to be a cheerleader, she'll be the best one ever, or maybe she will want to play basketball (she has a great shot) or a runner (she's super fast!) or maybe a mom, like me (she is soooo good with the babies) but whatever she chooses, I know she'll succeed. She has a great attitude and lots of enthusiasm! You Rock, baby girl!!!

Nuthin' cuter than that!!!!

Two boys, shaving on a Sunday morning......

Thomas got a shaving kit for his birthday. He's been waiting until today to shave with Daddy. I have never seen someone shave with such a big smile on their face! He was grins from ear to ear! Thank goodness for plastic razors.

Mama and her lil' ducks

Yep, that's me and my 9 little ducks! How cute is that??? That's what I feel like when we go anywhere. Except when we go to Costco, then they are swirling all around the cart, looking for the next sample to try! I thought about getting a rope so they could each hold a knot, but they didn't think that would be very fun.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. It's warmed up nicely here and we finally feel like our summer is in full swing. Good news, our pool is standing up to the abuse it receives on a daily basis and once again, I have to say that it's the best money I spend all year! I'm sure the other moms in the neighborhood would agree with me!

Have a splendid day!