More Lazy Summer Days

Ohh.. this is from a few weeks ago. But I couldn't resist taking this picture and posting it because they were so cute sleeping next to each other.

Esther & Emma's First Wedding

Esther and Emma participated in their first wedding over the weekend! My best friend's sister (and very close friends of our family) got married on Saturday and it was a beautiful day. Esther and Emma were "maidens".. they wore bells around their ankles and wreaths on their heads and ran down the aisle of the church announcing the bridal parties arrival. The girls did such a great job considering they had to stand in front of 200+ people and remain there while we sang "Days of Elijah." Even though the girls didn't know the song, they tried their best to sing along with everyone.
Once their part in the ceremony was over, they were supposed to come back and sit with us but Emma had other idea's. I guess she saw that one of the other maidens had lost her wreath when they were coming down the aisle. So Emma took off and ran across the church to grab the wreath and then got lost! It was kind of funny watching her run back and forth, not sure what to do! She eventually found her way back.. and everyone thought it was funny.
The wedding was beautiful and we had such a wonderful time sharing in such a special day for Christa & Darrell. =)

Pretty Esther

Little maidens coming down the aisle (Esther is in the blue)

The girls up on stage

Emma, Laura and Esther singing

Emma had quite a few itches.. and she had to scratch them! =)

Emma and Esther with the other maidens and Christa and Darrell

Ivy and Elly

Elena "caught" Ivy and Elly actually laying next to one another. This is huge because Ivy would prefer to have nothing to do with Elly.. much to Elly's dismay! As you can see Elly is getting huge. When we brought her home on Mother's Day she was 9 pounds.. now she's over 20 and still going!

Father's Day

My parents came home yesterday morning, just in time for us to celebrate Father's Day together.
It always seems like Father's Day isn't as popular as Mother's Day is.. maybe it's because no one knows what to get their Dad on this special day? I know I usually have this problem! Luckily, I found something that was perfect..if you can see in the picture (you might need to click on it) it says "It's a rare person who can take care of hearts, while also taking care of business." I thought this was perfect, since not only is he my dad, but also a cardiologist.
My Dad is an awesome person and I'm so grateful to have him in my life. He's the hardest worker I've ever met. Every day he's at work by 6:00 am and isn't home 'til 7:00 or 8:00 at night.. and sometimes even later. He's the first person to help anytime someone needs him. Whether it's helping wash dishes or killing the snake in the garage.. he's always there.
He's a very dedicated doctor and a devoted husband and father. And I'm not just saying that because he's my dad! Every time I go to work with him, I'm always told by his patients how much they love him and what a wonderful doctor he is. And there's evidence to this because we get more Christmas presents from his patients than we do our own extended family!!!
My dad's always up for helping someone no matter if they can pay or not. And he's the best travel buddy- together, we've traveled to China twice and once to Honduras.
I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful role model. He and my Mom have taught us so much.. they push us to work harder even when we don't want to. And I've learned the hard way that they're almost always right about everything. My Dad has instilled in us a love for helping people, working hard and loving one another.

I hope I am blessed to be half the person he is.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!

More Beach Photos

While my parents were gone for the weekend, I took the kiddos to the beach for the day. My friends Michael and Elena came along to help me out! We all had a blast and the weather was perfect!
Just a few hundred miles away though, my parents were enjoying their day at Disney's island, Castaway Cay (while on their cruise) but not enjoying the thunder storms they had!

Esther making a sand castle

Michael was teaching Kayla and Ian how to use a skim board

As you can see the board was as big as Ian was!

Miss Esther loves the beach!

Isn't this cute? The girls loved having Michael along... I think we all did =)

Kayla

Sisters

Going out into the waves.. looks like Emma's about to loose her bottoms!

Ian starting to get the hang of the skim board.

Waves!

Emma wasn't too impressed with the fact that the salt water gets in your eyes.. so she enjoyed sporting Elena's sunglasses.

Esther, (my friend.. not sister!) Elena and Emma

Playing in the sand

This was Ian, the next day after we got home from church!
What can I say.. the parents were gone so he ended up staying awake wayy past his bedtime and fell asleep during church!

Good Summer Fun

My parents are currently laying on a beach somewhere in the middle of the ocean on their way to the Bahamas.. if they're not there already. And I am stuck here with five children and five dogs..two of which are puppies. I practically have four babies (Emma + Esther + Elly + Bella.. who we're pet-sitting). Trying to find things to entertain five children has been difficult.
The pool and playground only lasted 'til around 11 am.. and by then I had no idea what I would do with these kids for the rest of the afternoon. Locking them in a closet sounded like a good idea.. but my sisters can sure scream. However, I struck gold by deciding to take the kids to paint pottery! There's a great place nearby where the kids can pick out their pieces and paint them, and it's fairly reasonable. I had one extra kid in tow (Ian's friend, Joel) but they had a great time. It was a great way to "waste" a few hours and keep the kids busy.

Emma painted a puppy dog... but she couldn't just paint him one color.. she had to experiment with every color on the table.

The Boys- Ian and Joel were great sports. They are really good friends and from the back, I can't always tell them apart because they look a lot alike!

Even Elena got into the painting and went with a mug. (Copy cat!)

And Kayla painted her favorite thing.. horses.

Esther couldn't decide on what color to paint her "critter" (I don't know if it's a mouse.. or a chipmunk?)

It started out black..

But she quickly changed her mind and decided he should be pink instead..

And by the time we left, he was green.. it should sure look interesting when it comes back from the oven!!

The girls and I with our creations.

We won't get everything back for another week since they have to be put in the oven and glazed.. but I'm excited to see how they all turn out.
Just two days until my parents come home.. and then I'll be the one needing a vacation!!

Three Years

June 11th is a special day in our household because it marks the anniversary of the first time we heard about Emma Grace!

I remember that day like it was yesterday.. Dad was on the phone talking to the adopton agency.. Mom was on the other phone calling everyone and telling them!! I didn't get to see her pictures for another week because just a few days after "The Call" day, I left on a missions trip to Jamaica. Fortunately, my dad was able to figure out how to scan her pictures and the kind Jamaican ladies let me use their computer so I could see them!
I don't want to say it was love at first sight when I saw her, because it honestly wasn't. It took me awhile to realize that this was my sister.. the child we had been waiting for for so long! I'm sure it was a combination of stress and being tired (I was on a missions trip!!) that led to this, but of course it didn't take long for me to love her. I guess it's okay because I absolutely fell in love with her on Gotcha Day.
In keeping with our tradition, I have Emma pose with her Referral Picture every year. It's funny to see how much she has changed. And the photo frame changes too! =)

Here's Emma in 2006 and below in 2005

To The Beach We Went

I took the younger four kiddos to the beach last Friday and we met up with my friend Catie and her family. The weather wasn't all that wonderful- we had a tropical depression on it's way, so the waves were a bit rough and there was no sun around. But the kids had a blast playing in the sand, water and boogie boarding. Remarkably, Ian and I were both sunburned when we came home. Lesson for that day.. always wear sunscreen even when the sky is gray!