Mother's Day

Mother's Day was wonderful and bittersweet all tied together

with smiles and tears...

Wonderful and smiles because I have SO many blessings~

Last year with no ShayleeJoy

to this year with her forever momma!!!

My precious family minus Savannah, Josh, and Will.

My sweet ones right here around me~

The love of my life that swept me away 25 years ago~

Craziness that goes on even in the midst...

and gives me joy~

My mom (SO amazing), dad and siblings~

My sister and her family~

My brother and his family~

ALL the children in our family with Will on the way~

Sweet, sweet Addie who was dedicated this Mother's Day~

And mostly for the privilege to be a mom~

to my married daughter and her new husband...

to my two beautiful teenage daughters,

to my two adorable Chinese daughters,

and to a little Chinese son far away on this Mother's Day...

sure to be in my arms this time next year!!!

My heart is so full...

of all that's wonderful and smiles

as well as bittersweet and tears.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we would feel

the day after the wedding but know for sure,

no matter how hard it was to let her go,

Our dreams came true when she gave her heart to the very one

we prayed for so long...

the one that now holds her heart in his,

the one that we dearly love just like our own~ Our BIG son!!! :)

So you see,

"Real tears are not those that fall from the eyes and cover the face,

but those that fall from the heart and cover the soul."

~ Unknown

My soul is covered and I am oh so thankful for every smile and every tear...

if not for both, there would be no love.

I wouldn't change a thing!!!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - excerpts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

A Beautiful Day

to take pics of my family!

The Highlight of EK's Weekend

My sister Marcia was here this weekend

with her two children, Becca and Sam.

Sam and EK are big buddies

and play outside pretty much the whole time~

riding in the golf cart, playing in the playhouse,

and this time...

raking and jumping in the leaves!

How do I know this was the highlight of her weekend?

On Monday when she wrote in her journal,

she was quick to choose this as her topic.

The best of times spent with cousins!

And then there's SJ and Max...

who loved painting with water together!

And that completes the update for Saturday...

Sunday is yet to come. :)

Sunday Snapshot: Cousins

I have often thanked my mom for my precious sister!
There are times when I don't know where I would be without her!!!
She is such a precious part of my life and
I LOVE when she comes home.
The thing about us is we can pretty much read each other's minds...
don't really even have to be talking.
We just know and love each other beyond belief!!!
(even in the midst of REALLY stressful LOA paperwork!)
She and the kids got here Monday about noonand they stayed ALL week.
It was the best of summer weeks!!!



The week was spent in the pool,
on the golf cart,
in the boat on the lake,
watching movies,
eating!,
and just being together!


Again I say...
there is nothing sweeter than time spent with family!

Blessings,

Wordless/ Black & White Wednesday

Click for more B&W shots. :)

Blessings,

A Lovely Mother's Day Weekend!

My Mother's Day weekend was one of the best because our family was together... the girls and my sister's family... all home. Saturday began with our yard sale- huge success and then home for a day around the pool. cookout,
and homemade ice cream!



Sunday was filled with church, food, and family. Days like these are my favorite because lots of pictures are taken and memories are made.



I LOVE Mother's Day... not because it's about me being a mom but more about the daughter's that have made me a mom. If ever I had a calling... it is to be a mom. Family is so important and my mom (top middle) is so precious to me. She taught me unconditional love above all else... and allows me to love my children the very same way. There is no higher calling...


Our families: Marcia & Chris, Mama & her children, Jason & Amy

I LOVE everything about it. I love taking care of my family.



I love listening the many stories the girls share.



I love sharing in their interests and obsessions... :) LIZARDS!!!

Ek has wanted to catch a lizard for weeks now and finally Sam was able to get her one. Can you see how much she loved it? She is such a little animal lover! Thanks Sam!!! :)

It was such a wonderful weekend and a reminder of the immeasurable blessings I have in my life. I want to say thank you to my precious husband who has always said yes when it came to our children... yes to Savannah, Amelia, Rosemary, EllaKate, ShayleeJoy... and my daddy who said yes to my mom!!!



The cards I received from each of the girls were so precious to me!
I will always cherish them!!!
The sweetest thought given to me in Scott's card was...
This time next year our ShayleeJoy will have her forever mom.

And with that comes thoughts of the two precious women far away in China that gave birth to my two beautiful daughters... without their selfless love, I wouldn't know the love of these two beautiful children. I pray God gives them peace that passes all understanding to KNOW their daughters are completely safe and loved beyond measure with an unconditional love given to me by my mom and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I praise Him for all He has chosen for me.

To Him be the glory for the things He has done
and continues to do in my life each day!!!

Blessings,

Rebecca and Samuel

My sister and her kids were here this weekend. So was Josh but I have no pics of him or Marcia. Amelia shot these two pics of R&S and then we celebrated Rebecca's 13th bd with our family. It was a GREAT family weekend!!!

Blessings,

Thanksgiving with my Family

My sister Marcia and family drove in on Saturday to be home for a holiday weekend. Jason and Amy are flying to Michigan for Thanksgiving on Wednesday so it was the perfect weekend for us to all celebrate our Thanksgiving together. My grandfather was able to be there as well. We were only missing sweet Savannah. The weather was very yucky so encouraged her to stay put because we didn't want her driving alone.

After a great time at church, we all enjoyed a delicious meal of turkey, DRESSING!!!, and all the fixings- topped off with strawberry cake and German chocolate pie!!!



It was so wonderful to be together- lots of smiles!!!



A&R were away for the weekend on a retreat with their youth group- thus the sleepy faces. They actually came home after lunch, fell asleep about 2:30 and slept until 8 this morning. Crazy!



Looking forward to Christmas Eve when we will all be together once again!!!

Blessings,

Beautiful Children!!!

A few weeks ago, Amy asked me to take some images of Max for his nine month portraits. How could they not turn out great with such a precious baby? Today, I did the same for my sister. I took images of her two children, Rebecca & Samuel which turned out beautiful too!!! Here are a few of the best.







Blessings,