I think Mark has finally found a partner to run with! And Ri has gained weight and grown!!!!

Well, I think it's true. He's found a partner... an unexpected partner to boot! If you haven't guessed it already, it's a 2 year old. Now, I'm not saying that Mark is slow or anything like that. He amazes me sometimes with his determination and desire to run. He does a great job. For years he has run, rarely missing days, even in the blistering cold. But he has always run alone. Oh there were fleeting days when someone would muster the endurance to run, but those days didn't last but one or two times in a row... except for the time that Jacob ran in the turkey trot (I think that wore him out and he dreaded running after that). I've tried, but it is way too boring and now that I am older and out of shape.. IT HURTS TOO MUCH!

As we begin another season of soccer, we are all too aware of the need for our family to get into shape. So, last night, we went on a family jog. Erin instigated it because she is determined to run everyday. I told her I would run with her (ha ha.. I can't run much, but I was determined to help her and thought I would ride my bike along side of her). The boys soon joined in and were determined to run too. Once Elizabeth heard the word run, she piped in and begged to go. So I figured that I would walk really fast with her in the jogger. As soon as Mark heard we were all going, he asked Ri if he wanted to go. Before we knew it, it was a family affair (though Emily was at Cedarpoint, so she couldn't). Everyone took off running, including Ri and Elizabeth, before I could get the jogger together. Soon I heard Mark yelling for me because Elizabeth was running so fast that she was spreading the distance between her and Mark and Ri by too far. It would have been dangerous had a car come down our road. She obviously can't keep up with the older ones, so they were not with her. I got the jogger and ran to catch up with Ri. Mark took off for Elizabeth. She was jogging at a good pace down the hill towards the creek. I figured she would stop jogging after she past our neighbors. Nope, she kept jogging. She kept it up for nearly 3/4 mile or more. It was amazing. She kept a steady pace the entire jog. I think she was the strongest of everyone! We were all in awe. Mark just beamed saying "I think I found my running partner". So... look for her in the news sometime - the youngest marathon runner ever :) !

As for Ri, well, he is growing. We are thrilled. When he was at his medical exam in Guangzhou, he weighed 23.4 pounds and measured 33 inches tall. That was 2 1/2 months ago. Yesteday, he had his 2 months check to monitor is weight and height. We were so excited to see that he had gained over 2 pounds and grew 1/2 inch. He weighed 25.8 pounds and measured 33 1/2 inches long. I can't imagine how much he would weigh had he not had diarhea so badly for the first 1 1/2 months we had him. The doctor was so pleased with his progress that he said he would see him in 2 months again, but expects to very quickly be just routine check ups. I did have him check Ri's walk. He does not have a normal walk. We have noticed a hesitation with one of his legs. The physcial therapist thought that one leg was shorter then the other. Our doctor confirmed it and is making an appointment for us with an orthopedic specialist. He expects that Ri will need a lift for his one leg (to place in his shoe). So, you can pray about that. What a minor issue for us to deal with!



I wish I had a picture of Elizabeth running, but I don't. The below pictures were taken by Emily in Florida.

I can't believe that summer is beginning to wind down. It seems like it has flown by so quickly that I really have not had a chance to enjoy my kids being home. I finally feel like I am getting a grip back on my life, it doesn't seem right that they will be heading back to school in just a couple weeks.

The little ones are doing very well. Both are officially potty trained... yippee! They are becoming great pals - for the most part. There are definitely moments in every day where one of them "beats up" on the other. But...they seem to be doing wondefully despite those moments. Well, I could write more, but for now I want to head to bed. Last night they were up quite often.

I thought it might be nice to make a page just for my husband, to share with him how much I love him. I am truly a blessed wife. He makes me complete.

As I have been working on making books and listening to Uncle Paul share with the boys how few pictures there are of him (he is the 4th born), I got to thinking about it. I have a ton of Emily and Erin when they were little, but a lot less of the boys when they were little. I have a TON of Ri and Elizabeth and a LOT less of the others now. I am realizing that Jacob and Sam seem to have gotten on the short end of this stick. So... I told each of the older 4 kids that I want to take some time and do some "photo shoots" of just them. The following pictures are the result of Em's first "photo shoot" with her mom.

Erin turns 15

Well, Friday was a big day around here. Our beautiful daughter, Erin, turned 15. She is full of life and energy and a joy to us. It is so hard to believe that she is growing up. Our little tom boy has blossomed into a gorgeous young lady who loves the Lord and loves life. She is as active as a child can possibly be, filling her life with sports, church activities, school activities, friends.. and if we are truly lucky... we get squeezed in once in awhile :).


Her birthday was no different then the other days of her filled summer. She started off the morning rising early (6:00) to go to Band Camp. She was at Band Camp from 7:00 - 3:00. We picked her up and came home so she could rest a few hours before taking her out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Immediately following dinner, she joined up with her soccer team for an overnight outing. She was up all night, only to be picked up at 7:30 for another day of Band Camp.

We are truly blessed to have our little girl. Happy Birthday baby girl!


On another note, Mark and I celebrated our anniversary. What a wonderful day we spent together. He surprised me by taking the day off and arranging for the little ones to be watched by Mamaw and Uncle Paul so that we could have some time together. It was so wonderful to be alone for a little while. We are truly blessed to have an incredible marriage. God's hand had definitely been upon it. Mark is my best friend. He treats me like a princess... everyday... even 17 years after we have been married. He is the most amazing husband I could imagine.

My kids all made it home safely from Florida. What a wonderful time they had. As you can tell, the little ones are very happy to have them home!

I thought that I might take a minute just to share with you how Ri is doing. I think the word that comes to my mind the most is ... AMAZING. I look at him and am in awe of how God has truly worked in his life these 2 months. He has had a family for only 2 months of his life. He has been surrounded by love and attention and has the liberty to explore everything around him. The results are incredible. I can't believe he is the same child.

As far as words, he is cracking me up. He repeats just about anything Elizabeth says, but refuses to repeat what we say. He can say: no, again, more, daddy, mommy, Ri, bye, uh-oh, milk, drink, up, bath, potty, and probably many others that I am not able to come up with right now. He can now jump forward, climb up stairs, come down the stairs standing up, climb the ladder for the slide, and he is getting very brave and actually sliding down it without anyone helping him. He definitely is not wanting help with things anymore. If Elizabeth does it by herself, he is determined to do it too. All he has to do is see her do it once or hear her say something and he either does it or says it. Now.. that in itself is a good thing, but when he is determined to have or do whatever she is doing or having at the exact same time... it becomes quite frustrating for all of us. He has a determined mind and often does not think of the consequences of his decisions. For some reason, he thinks that it is ok to haul off and hit her. He has discovered the consequences and he doesn't quite like them. :(

The funny thing is that he is very good at teasing her that he is going to hit her. Funny? Yep, I said funny. I'll be in one room and she will scream the highest pitch scream and not stop until she flies into my arms yelling "Ri... hit.... me". Most of the time, he is just teasing her. The hard part for me is I just can't see what exactly has happened and I can't discipline either one. What I think is funny about it is his expression. He cracks me up. He knows what he is doing and seems very innocent when I get to him.

We went and were evaluated by a physical therapist and an occupational therapist today. They were thrilled with his progress. At one point, we felt he might need both, but as of today, we all agreed that he is doing so well that he does not need either. His walk is still different. We think that possibly one leg is slightly shorter then the other and that is causing him to walk with a little sway to him. But as far as gross motor skills, he is doing great. The occupational theraptist said he is doing incredible. None of them can believe he has only been here for 2 months.


Well, I am very tired, so I am going to head to bed. I made a tough decision over the weekend. Eli and Faith went back to Florida. I was suppose to go too. I was going with my father and we were going to take them back, but also take Em, Jacob, Sam, Elizabeth and Ri for a week. I struggled with what was best for our family. So.. I decided that it was best for the little ones and I to stay home. Em, Jacob and Sam went with my Dad. They will be spending a week in Florida. It is hard for me to be separated from them, especially when I was suppose to go.... but, it is best for the little ones. And in the end, we felt it was nice for the older ones to be able to enjoy a week without my asking them to help with Elizabeth or Ri. So... I will ache for my older ones, but rejoice that they were able to go and pray they have an incredible time.

As for our home? Well, on Saturday night, we went from having 8 children in our home to only having 3. Talk about a shock to our system! It has definitely been quieter around here. The lack of noise and chaos has been a welcomed gift. But... I count the days to have my family back together. I miss them already.

While I sat up last night waiting for kids to wind down, I played around with some pictures. I had had an idea of using one of my favorite verses of the Bible. It speaks about how God formed us in our mother's womb. This is what I came up with:


The creek is a favorite spot for all the kids. I usually hesitate going, not because I don't enjoy it, but because I have other things to do and I know that the creek will take more time then I want to give and will be much dirtier then I want to be. So yesterday, when Erin had a "friend" come to the house to hang out. I decided to have the 2 of them take Eli and Jacob to the creek. They weren't all that crazy about taking Elizabeth and Ri. Once they left, Elizabeth and Ri looked sad. I broke down and decided to take them to the creek... besides... I could keep my eye on Erin and her friend. Amazing how much energy I can muster up when boys who are "friends" enter the picture.
The little ones enjoyed every minute of the adventure. Elizabeth has become a master at stopping and turning over rocks to look for bugs. The creek does not stop her. She walked right into the water and didn't hesitate once. Ri is kind of unsteady on the rocks under his feet... but squealed and squealed through it all. We all ended up having a wonderful time. We got dirty, my house was a little less clean when Mark came home, and it took some time... .but it was worth it.
By the way.. thanks Louwana, Becky and Christy... for the encouragement yesteday. I went to bed smiling and thanking God for your wonderful words.

I think that digital scrapbooking has become my "resting time". Here is just a couple more I threw together.

The next pictures are pictures I have taken this week while my niece and nephew have been here.
I love this picture of Elizabeth. She is becoming so independent.
Eli and Faith are still with us. Their Dad and Mom were here on Sunday, but left for home Monday. When they were here, my brother spent a lot of time with the kids. They loved it.
Faith loved being with Daddy. I just plain love this picture. I think it is very sweet.
Ri had his very first roasted marsh mellow. Check his face out!








Ok.. I am at the point of admitting that 6 kids is a little on the crazy side. I've struggled with the thought, thinking that if I verbalized that, somehow.. just maybe, I would be failing. So.. I have fought it hard. But, reality has hit me and I no longer have the strength to fight it. I am admitting defeat.. at least for the time being. I am confident that in a few months, this overwhelming feeling will be gone and I will look back and just laugh at it all. But for now, I am leaping for joy at each day that passes and each day that gets me closer to my sanity... or I should say, closer to adjusting to this new life.

I have to giggle. Maybe if I didn't, I just might find myself curled up in a ball somewhere whimpering. Why? I am not really sure. I just know that I thought bringing Ri into our home was not going to be much different then having 5 kids. Besides.. what is one more? Ok.. I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. The problem is, I don't know if it is the 6th child or the fact that we now have 2 toddlers or the fact that we now have 2 toddlers AND 3 teens and 1 preteen... or the fact that I am just plain exhausted from our trip still because I haven't had ANY chance to recuperate! Golly, I wish I knew. But, there is no answer. There is just reality and the fact that my life needs to keep going forward. So, curling up in a ball will not help me manage all of my kids and all the many, many things that is involved with raising them. Sometimes, parenting seems to be the hardest job in the world. No.. I KNOW it is. I believe that I do have the hardest job there is, no pay, the hours stink...24/7, employees who constantly battle with me about the way I manage them, decisions that have to be made with little time for evaluation, schedules to meet along with schedules that are constantly being changed and often without my knowledge. I have employees who are complaining about the other employees, often accusing me of favoritism. I have a budget to meet and the cost of living just seems to keep rising due to the employees that we have chosen to keep. Unfortunately, I have very little sick leave, and when I do decide to take it, my employees can't get anything done. So.. I go to work even when I have the flu, even when I have had only an hour sleep because of the overtime that the employees are requiring of me! The hardest part of it is that these employees are depending on me. They need me to be sharp ALL the time. They need me to teach them the ropes and help them when they don't get their jobs done right. And if I fail them, they just might fail too.

Yep.., I think that being a parent is truly the hardest job. But, even with all the things that parents go through.. there is no greater reward then to get that hug or smile at the end of a day. To be told "I love you, Mommy" is worth more then a bonus check. To be given a kiss or told "I love you, Mom" by a teenager, in front of their friends.. is priceless. To watch your child make the right decisions even when no one is looking, ... priceless. Yep.. the rewards that come can not be compared to the trials of "being the boss". Oh.. How I would NEVER change my job. As hard as it is, and even now when I am overwhelmed beyond my thoughts... I wouldn't change a thing. I am blessed and God is giving me the strength every day. I am learning more and more what it means to lean on Him hour to hour verses week to week. I truly am understanding not to look ahead, but to lean on Him. It is like looking at the ground when you are trodding up a steep hill that seems never ending. If you look down, you will make it with less pain then if you look at the top of the hill while you are walking.

Well, I guess I have probably not made much sense. The bottom line is this: Everyday, things seem to be getting easier. I thank God for an amazing husband who is truly my best friend and my helpmate. He has filled in where I have not had the energy to do. He has picked up where I have left off. He has been my other hands in the evening when he gets home. He is ALWAYS pitching in to help me out. And I thank God for 4 teenagers who have sacrificed so much to help with the little ones. I have needed them and they have not batted an eye. They have helped with smiles and willingness. I can't even begin to write how precious they have been to me and how priceless they are. God has provided. He is my all and all.