15 years ago tomorrow, God changed my entire life when He allowed me to become a Mommy to the most precious little girl ever born.
I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a blessing. God chose me to be the Mother of my precious Daughter. When she was little we were best friends, spent our days shopping, making pottery, playing babies, and soaking in all the time we had together. This precious daughter of mine has a sweet heart and has always wanted to help others. I am so proud to call her mine.
One of the happiest moments of her life was when we brought Anna Grace home. For the 3 years after she came home she prayed that we would go back to China. She is the reason we have Andrew. Her heart for Orphans, China, and Africa amazes me on a daily basis and I cannot wait to see how God uses her in the Future. Her heart has been broken for the Orphan. I  know He has GREAT plans for my special girl!
Just as the song says
It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly
Happy 15th Birthday Ashton, I love you so!
Mom

Mommy & Andrew

In our bedroom, hanging on the wall, is a picture of me with each of my kids when they were babies. It has been a tradition since Ashton was born to have a "mommy and me" picture made. When Anna Grace came home, although she was older, we still did the pictures. She was so tiny that she still looked liked a baby. Jodi took tons of pictures and Anna Grace gets so excited to see that she has the same pictures as her big brothers and sisters. Today I started worrying about Andrew having the same thing. Ashton was sweet enough to indulge me and do a quick photo shoot. She has not had a chance to put her magic touches on the pictures yet but I think they turned out sweet. Andrew kept sneaking and kissing me while we were taking pictures. It was so precious. I wanted him to smile and he wanted to kiss me. I am so blessed. I can't wait to get one framed and hang it with the others. We missed so much during the first 3 1/2 years of his life, I am so happy to have these. He is my son and I love him so!

They are in Cincinnati...

Hey All,
This is Ashton. I am updating the blog for my Mom while she is in Cincinnati at Shriners.
I just talked to them and they made it safely to Cincinnati without issues. (thank you Lord!) The little ones did well and Andrew is still running wild. They went to a mall tonight to have dinner and try to burn the energy. From the noise in the background it doesn't sound very successful. (:
Please keep them in your prayers tomorrow as they go to the hospital for tests on Andrew and to see what the future holds for surgeries and such. Pray he understands all that is happening and accepts it willing.
Thanks,
Ashton

The top 5

These are the top 5 reasons I love Mother's Day! I am so grateful to THE ONE who has blessed me with all of my babies-I have truly never done a thing to deserve such blessings and I am so grateful to serve a God who sees fit to allow me this joy in life! I can't believe that we are all finally together as a Forever Family of 7!

Andrew Update

Just wanted to update and let everyone know how well Andrew is doing. He has been with us for 3 months-It is unbelievable-Time has flown by. I will admit that for awhile, time seem to stand still. Kind of like the movie Groundhog Day. I am not sure of the exact moment but somewhere around the 2 month mark, things began to level out. Everyone started sleeping through the night and the days got happier. I can't imagine the emotions that Andrew has felt. Although in our minds we like to think that life began when he stepped off of the elevator, for Andrew life was turned upside down. We looked different, smelt different and spoke a language he did not understand. We took him away from his home and his family. Our sweet boy handled all of these hard changes like a champion. He has worked so hard to become a part of our world. He is talking, going to school and acting like he has forever been a part of our family. He loves his Mei Mei(Anna Grace) and will defend her like nothing you have ever seen. They fight lots of times but there is not a minute of the day that one is not looking for the other. They act as if they are twins. It is amazing to watch their love build and develop. I can't tell you how proud I am to be their mommy. I wanted to document all of the sweet things he has learned-
Andrew can:
say his ABC's
count to 10
communicate all of his needs
says "I lubba you mama"
Dress himself
put on his shoes(and he gets them on the right foot)
sing Jesus loves me, twinkle twinkle, little start, itsy bitsy spider, and he can sing all Barney songs!

Andrew's favorite shows are Barney, Kai Lan, Wonder Pets, Wow Wow Wubzy
He loves to sing
His favorite movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks(there is nothing as funny as watching him and Anna Grace sing "All the single ladies"
Baba(daddy) is his favorite person in the whole world and Mei Mei is right up there with him
He loves being outside
He can ride his scooter like a pro

Everyday is full of new things. I am amazed at how quickly he is learning. He has changed our whole world and we are all so very blessed to be a part of his life!

Easter Fun

We had our annual Easter Party at Nana Bunny's house again this year. It was so much fun. We had so many friends join in on the fun. Nana Bunny made her appearance and the kids were thrilled. Andrew quite enjoyed "dying" his eggs. He spent forever working on his masterpieces. He did not like the bunny at all. All of the kids had fun hunting eggs and they loved their baskets from Nana Bunny.
Easter morning was so much fun. Andrew was thrilled that the bunny left him a basket full of goodies. It was priceless to see his joy! We got to spend the day with both sets of grandparents. Hal and I are so blessed to have such wonderful families!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

On Friday, Hal will be 40 years old! Wow-Happy Birthday to the best husband, daddy, friend in the world. We are all so truly BLESSED to be a part of his life. He loves each of us unconditionally. He takes time with each of the kids. He supports me in everything I do. He has provided for us so that I can stay at home and take care of our children. There are no words to describe what a special man he is to each of us. Tonight we invited friends and family to a surprise birthday party for him. He thought we were meeting Craig and Jodi to celebrate Craig's birthday. He was so surprised and so very grateful.