Adopting the waiting child

So it is pretty obvious that I am not the best blogger, but I have felt the need to update ours quite frequently lately. There have been some changes in our family and we are so blessed to have God's grace and his promises to us, sinners who have done nothing to deserve it. So to start off, we updated my fellow adoptive blogger who had featured Khari on her series called "Adopting the waiting child". So here is the link for our one year update for her! Blessings to you and yours!

Khari's update!

Thanksgiving, thankfulness!

We have so much to be thankful for! We are blessed beyond measure. We have so many family members that joined us for Thanksgiving (I had 30 for lunch at my house!), and a house full of healthy children. One of the best things was, it was Katie and Corey's turn to spend Thanksgiving with our family and my brother in law was home from Afghanistan to celebrate with us!!! 

 Emma and Khari really enjoyed spending time with my aunt Cathy and cousin Emily. Emma always loves talking to Emily and trying to make her laugh or smile. Khari enjoyed hoping on her lap for a ride in the wheelchair, or just snuggling up with her on the couch.

Katie being the creative goo-roo she is, worked on some food projects with Samuel and Emma!

We got a great shot of Grandaddy Tommy and Grandmother Lynn with all of their grandkids!

 Then it was off to Fantasy of Tree's for a visit with Santa. We were so blessed to get free tickets in return for my children posing for a few pictures in front of some of the trees. They will  be used for advertisement for next years event to benefit East Tn Children's Hospital, a place close to my heart!

 Then we did a little bowling, Khari bowled for the first time with the help of Max and myself.

What a difference a year has made!!! This time last year, I was dreading having to introduce Khari to the large amount of family gathering for Thanksgiving. They were so eager to meet her, so many had been praying for her and our family. She was so over stimulated and scared of crowds. This year, she was the one craving the attention. What a blessing!!! 

Halloween Cuties!

This Halloween was so much fun! Khari enjoyed all of the pumpkin carving, dressing up and trick or treating. Emma wanted to match Khari this year, so we had two Cinderellas! They were so cute!

Samuel was so excited about the scary pirate costume he was going to wear, but Khari was not so sure about it. She didn't even want to stand by him for a picture. Then everytime he  would look at her, she would yell!
     

 Max has decided at the ripe old age of 9 that he shouldn't trick or treat this year, and the only time we actually saw him in his costume was to entertain my grandparents. He just doesn't understand that adults would do anything to undo all of the maturity and responsibility and he just wants to be old enough to make his own decisions.

Fall Happenings!

So life is just crazy! I know I probably say this in every post. Really, four kids ages 9,7,5, and 1.... we are busy.  Just in case I thought things might be calming down after Khari was discharged from her rehab services, I decide to go and do something crazy!  Samuel was turning 5 on September 8, 2010. The only thing he would tell me that he wanted was  a gyro bowl, and a wiener dog. So obviously, the last option was out of the loop. My sister hooked him up with the gyro bowl, how could I fall short and not bring him his second request?  So we started researching "wiener dogs"! We found a breeder and she was making a great deal on a pair of older pups that were supposedly "almost" housebroken. Kent could not bear to split them up, and knowing that they would be left at home a lot, together, made the thought more bearable! So we did it! He was so surprised! He named them Buzz and Woody in honor of Toy Story!

So then we were off and running to New York City in October,  to visit my sister and her husband. My kids adore them and could hardly wait to see where they live, when they are not staying in their bedroom downstairs in our house (aka, the guest bedroom). We had a great time, but it was not a break. My sister was so excited to show the kids all of the things in NYC that we just hit the ground running.  The kids had a blast and Max said that he would enjoy living there. I am not so sure that I would enjoy him living there, but we will see, he has a few years to change his mind.

We went to Central Park, we rode the subway (a lot), went to the American Museum of History, saw some Broadway plays, went to Coney Island, walked all over Manhattan, went to Macy's, rode the giant ferris wheel in Toys'R us, played on the piano from Big in FAO Schwartz, and lots more. We had a great time!!! Max's favorite thing we did was going to the top of the Empire State Building. He talked about that for days!!! My favorite thing was spending time with my little sister on her "home" turf. I still refuse to believe that she lives so far away from us. We are praying that one day that will change!

                      When the week was over, everyone was sad to go,

 but we had to get back to school and back home to take care of those two new puppies!!  What a fun trip!