March Madness!!

UPDATE: It's done!! Scroll down or click on each link below:

March was a very busy month for our family:

• My 18th birthday was February 26th.. I believe I left off right before that..
  
• Dad, Elena, Ian & Asher all promoted to the next level in Karate.
• We spent one Saturday with our church family creating a Memorial Garden for our dear friend's late son, who passed away in July (and whom Asher is named after)
• Esther's 2 year Gotcha Day was on March 12th
• Asher, Esther & Emma are all taking violin lessons
• I was accepted into Southeastern University!
  
• Esther & Emma went to their very first sleepover
• Elena, Ian and Asher were in their first karate competition!
• Where was Easter?
  
• We spent an entire weekend enjoying the lake
• Ian's birthday was March 25th

....and I'm sure I missed something else.

Oh by the way-- I got a new camera!!!! I am the proud owner of a wonderful, amazing Canon Rebel XTI. I love it.. I'm still learning how to use it but wow.. there's a HUGE difference between this and my old crappy Kodak! It's a combined Birthday/Graduation gift and will definitely be used as I plan to major in photojournalism in college. So, part of the reason why pictures haven't been added lately is because of the camera change.. but don't worry.. they are coming!!

And since I haven't added any pictures in awhile.. here are a few random ones of the boys at karate!

SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW UPDATES!!

By the way.. notice our new look?
Special thanks to my good friend and fellow adoptive sister Staci (and her sister Rachael!) for their artistic skills in our blog makeover! Staci is big sister to Sarah Lu, and soon Chayah!

Ian's 10th Birthday

Ian Matthew

"Ian"- God is gracious
"Matthew"- Gift of God

Ian was definitely a much awaited little blessing. After being blessed with three girls, my parents were beyond excited when they found out they were finally expecting their long awaited boy! I still remember the night he was born.. 5:45 pm on March 25, 1998. Seven pounds, three ounces.. ten fingers, ten toes. We had the fortunate opportunity to be present at his birth since he was delivered at a local birthing center. I got to cut his umbilical cord which was such a special honor. I always tease Ian that if it wasn't for me cutting his cord, he'd still be attached to Mom!

Ian's a great kid- he's very dedicated and involved in his Martial Arts and Boy Scouts. He plans on finishing both and obtaining an Eagle Scout when he is older and a Black belt.. which could happen before the end of the year! He also loves to go tubing on the lake, play his Wii and he loves anything to do with technology. I think he had our computer figured out before my Mom even did! I see him as being an engineer in the future, but he could also have a career in singing. He has a loud strong voice and will sing anything, anywhere.. frequently I hear him belting out Rascal Flatts or *sigh* Miley Cyrus in the shower!
He's very smart, funny and such a flirt!! Apparently, he's had several girlfriends and is debating about whether or not to break up with one right now-- quite the social life, huh?

Ian's had a tumultuous transition since his new brother arrived home. As excited as he was to finally have a brother and playmate, I don't think he quite understood that Asher wasn't going to be the average 7 year old kid who's grown up like he has. It's been difficult for Ian, but he is learning how to be a big brother and is slowly taking on the role of teacher. I hope one day the two of them will share a very special relationship with one another. They kind of have to since they are the only boys in a family with five girls!!

My mom's favorite verse that she put on his birth announcements:

"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together inside my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written,
every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them."
Psalms 139: 13-16


Since Ian's birthday fell on a Tuesday and I was out of town that weekend, we ended up having a little party for him the following weekend. Our friends the Fay's joined us for some fellowship time and we went boating, tubing, wakeboarding, grilled and had cake.

Dad and Dan grilling... notice how the grill is on fire?
Ya, don't know exactly how that happened!

So, the box the cake came in ended up getting squished, causing the icing to stick to the lid when we opened it. I didn't have any green icing to fix it.. so I took a little bit of green food coloring and improvised!

Ivy taking a nap on Dad's lap

Lighting the candles..

Making a wish!

Ian with a few of his favorite people:
Noah, Asher, (himself-HA!), Emma, Cesar and Cooper

Opening cards

Eating cake

Noah and Asher

The Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Ian!
We love you!!

Happy Easter!!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter day, as we reflect upon the ultimate sacrifice Christ made for us. Hallelujah! He is Risen!!

"But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, he has risen as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him.'" Matthew 28: 5-7

"..but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that we REJOICE in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now received reconciliation." Romans 5: 8-11

This Easter is especially important to our family as we not only celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also the welcoming of Asher into God's family. Last night, Asher accepted Jesus into his heart! What an amazing answer to prayer..

Boating Pics

After the karate promotions on Saturday, we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out on the lake..

Wakeboarding

Kayla even got to try kneeboarding

And Elena got up during her first time graduating!
Way to go!

The Karate Competition !!

Elena, Ian and Asher competed in their first karate competition on March 15th.
All three walked away with 2nd place in Forms, and 3rd in Sparring.
Way to go kids!

I had been at the sleepover with Esther & Emma the morning of the competition, so I didn't get to see Asher perform! =( I was so upset that I wouldn't get to watch him, but as soon as I walked into the room he ran up to me-grinning ear to ear- proudly displaying his two trophies!

Asher gets a hug from his little sister

We arrived just in time to watch Ian's turn at sparring!

Sparring is another word for "fighting." It's supposed to be little contact.. but these two were doing a pretty good job of kicking each other! Ian is in the blue belt.

Ian did very well and beat almost all of the other kids in his age group. He placed 2nd, behind the brown belt.

The fan club

Receiving his trophies

Two trophies!

Next was Elena's turn.. here's a view of what she got from that blue belt!

Elena is in green and she did superb, considering she was one of the "youngest" belts for her age group.

Ian, Asher and Elena proudly displaying their new trophies with their karate teacher.

The little girls.. being silly.

First Sleepover!

To help offset the costs of our senior trip in June, my best friend Samantha and I have been putting together once-a-month sleepovers for the kids at our school. (Samantha and I work at her mom's in-home daycare.) I wasn't able to attend the one in February since I was in Michigan, but I was able to make it to the recent one we had in March. We've tried to have a theme each month, and of course for March we did St. Patricks Day. The kids had fun making crafts and watching movies. The best part was when we transformed their playroom into a huge sleeping room- featuring five blow-up mattresses. They thought this was just the coolest thing and one of our little boys even remarked, "Wow.. I actually get to take my shoes off!" =)

The next morning, we ended up scrapping our plans for home-made breakfast and headed out to nearby Cracker Barrell for an even tastier, Southern meal! It was pretty funny the looks we got from people when they saw Samantha, her mom (Nana) and I walking in with nine children, all under the age of five! And it was even funnier when they saw how well behaved our kids were. (No offense, but our kids had better table manners than most of the adults in the restaurant!) And I totally forgot my camera!! =(

It was a fun sleepover and the kids all had a blast. After breakfast brunch, the parents came to pick their kids up and that following Monday, they said that the sleepover was ALL the kids could talk about!

We're doing another one in May, which will be fun!

Ready to head to Nana's house for our first sleepover!
(Looks like a lot of stuff for just one night!)

St Patricks Day crafts

Best Friends: Abby, Esther, Emma and Rachel

The kiddo's all lined up and ready for bed!

Snug as a bug!