September Up Dates

Smiling with Chuck-E-Cheese

I love this Monster Truck!

Roll Tide!!!!

Braxton and Brooklynn having fun!

Brooklynn with Noah

Well, we have kept ourselves pretty busy this past month. Between all 3 kids we have made our rounds to birthday parties this month. Brooklynn had her first visit to Chuck-E-Cheese and she enjoyed the rides and games. She was not to happy with Chuck E himself, so the giant mouse stayed at a distance. Brooklynn got enough tickets that she was able to pick a prize. Suprising enough the boys still like going there.

Our favorite College football team Alabama started off their season. So, it has been football every weekend. I am so glad that football season is here!!! Roll Tide!!! For those of you who are not familar with the south, we love our football. Brooklynn has caught on real well to the sport and she will ask if we are going to watch it.

Braxton has been keeping busy with band at school and hanging out with his friends. He is really growing up fast and I can't believe how he has changed these past 6 months. All the little boy features are fading away and they are being replaced with features of a young man.

Davis is playing fall baseball this year. He really wanted to play football, but we told him he needed to wait until he was in middle school. That will be next year. He is doing well in fall ball and seems to enjoy it.

Brooklynn still is enjoying dance class and goes every Monday. I can't wait to see what they are working on in class. They will have a parent day sometime in November. She also enjoys going to Davis' baseball games and playing with Braxton. She really loves her brothers and says that they are the best.

Clint and I have just been trying to keep up with all the kids activites, as well as our own. We celebrate 15 years of marriage today. We both enjoy spending time with the kids as well as with each other.

One year ago today

This time last year we were landing in China. Exhausted of course, but ready to get our daughter. We still had to get on another plane to travel to her provience. Really if you have never flown a China airline it is an experience, and I thought Southwest was bad. Anyway, we managed to land in Taiyaun tired, hungary, and smelling pretty rough. We managed to meet with our guide and get our luggage. I had to use the rest room, so off to the squatty potty . I remember thinking only use these in cases of emergency. Before we knew it we were off to the hotel, which was about a 45 minute drive, for most normal people driving. I discovered that there are no rules when operating a motor vehicle. I just prayed that we would make it in one piece, thinking to myself how many more times do we have to get in this van.

Finally, we were at the hotel and got all checked in and our guide Mary gave us some instructions for the next day and when we would leave to get our lovely daughter. We went up to our room and lets just say it is a good thing I really love Clint. We got unpacked and ordered some dinner, which we still laugh about today. If you have not heard the story you need to ask, it is too funny to just type it down. We discovered we had I think it was 2 English speaking channels. HBO, which for some reason only showed B movies and of course BBC. We layed down to go to sleep, which Clint seemed to drift off pretty quick, but I layed awake wondering what was Dang You Ju thinking. I thought about if she had grown alot, what her mother thought about when she left her at a train station at 10 days old, and if the father new anything about this child. I wondered if she looked like her mother and had her father's smile. Was she taken care of at the orphanage or just lost in the mix with the other many children's faces. It seemed like I just fallen asleep when it was time to wake up and start a new day, but this time with our daughter and forever family.

Favorite Songs of Brooklynn

You might think the some of the songs playing maybe a little strange, but these our songs Brooklynn loves to hear. She will ask for them to play over and over. The U2 song she likes because her daddy sings it for her. The coldplay song is because I listen to it all the time. She loves the song Wonderful Maker too (again I think it is because daddy sings it). The last song has been influenced by her brothers, but never the less she likes it and dances away to it. Under the Sea she likes because of the Little Mermaid (yes we are still watching this movie). So, I guess you can say she is very well rounded and likes all types of music.

Dance Class/First Day of School

Brooklynn ready for Dance Class!

When do we start?

I am ready to dance now.

On Monday, Brooklynn started her first dance class. We were getting all her dance gear on and all she could do is giggle. On the way to dance she kept saying, "I dance." When we got to dance class she looked around and decided that it was ok. Everytime a new little girl would walk in she would say how much she liked her dance outfit. Class started and the parent's were asked to step out of the room. I was not ready to leave, but understood why this was needed. She waved bye as I showed her where I would be after class. Wow, that was a long hour of waiting. She came out of the class with her tap shoes on and was smiling really big. Brooklynn really enjoyed the class and has asked everyday this week when she gets to go back. I think she really is going to like this class. The class she takes is a combo class of ballet, tap, and tumbling. It is taking me some getting used to in doing these girly things. I am so used to all the boy sports that I forgot what it was like.

The boys started back to school on Wednesday and so far they seem to enjoy their teachers. Sorry no pictures of their first day. They asked not to have their picture taken. Braxton started the 7th grade at East Limestone and Davis started the 5th grade at Creekside. Braxton already has a project due in Literature and he is trying to get used to these complicated projects. As they went to school for the first day, I wondered where the time had gone. It really feels like yesterday I was the one with a child going into Kindergarten. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that my babies are growing up and it is hard to start letting go a little. Of course if I had my way I would want to keep them in a bubble, but that is not going to happen. So, I send them off with the fact I have done what a parent needs to do for their child and that is place them in God's hands.