Happy 12th Birthday Sam!

February 5th Sam turned 12, his last birthday before the teen years! My son came into the world LARGE, tipping the scales at not quite 10 lbs, 10 days early. It was on that day he gave me the gift of loving a little boy...well a BIG boy. He was beautiful. When his sleepy newborn eyes were open, they were a crystal blue and they searched my soul as if to say, "Will you hold my heart and love me forever." And that I have. This boy of mine....I love him so. He is a great kid! Sam is handsome, smart, oh so smart, he is funny, kind, sensitive, loving, an amazing athlete, a fantastic big brother and little brother, he is creative and quite the artist and writer, he is mature beyond his years in so many ways, he is responsible and a huge help with the Littles. I adore him. Sam, Happy 12th Birthday! Thank you for showing me what "little boy love" looks like .I look forward to watching you grow and watching to see what God has planned for you! What a blessing you are to me and to your family! I love you so very much!

Xin is 8!

Saturday February 1st Xin turned 8! We decided to combine the boys' parties this year seeing that we have very little free time on our weekends and their birthdays are 4 days apart! So Friday nite Xin invited his little buddy from school and Sam had the neighborhood crew and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. A great place to take 8 kids (Julia had an out of town bball game so she missed the house full of boys!) We ate 80 wings and fries and then headed back to our house for cake and ice cream. Then they were off their separate ways for gaming, movie watching and laughing late into the nite! Fun was had by all..including 2 little sisters that blended right in. Unfortunately, it was early dismissal time Saturday morning as we had a 9:00 basketball game. The boys crawled reluctantly out of bed as I had to wake them all up! (one small 3 year old kept sneaking into Xin's room until past 11:00pm I was told...hmmmm wonder who that could have been?) Saturday we continued the celebration for Xin with another basketball game, treats for the team, lunch of his choice out, and a visit from Nana and Poppy. Needless to say, there were some tired kids come Saturday evening....and a wiped out Mama! It was actually a really great party and much easier than I anticipated. Maybe I will combine all 5 kids' parties next year????

Now on to celebrate Xin.....8 years old and he still hasn't been with us as long as he lived in China! Seems impossible, but true. Xin continues to do incredibly well in school as a second grader. He is in the gifted program and got all A's on his report card! He loves video games, playing basketball, Legos, eating treats and playing with his little sisters. He has such a sweet kind heart and is very thoughtful. He loves to laugh and explore life! He is still learning how to live in a family but has come a long way! He, more than any other child of ours, keeps us on our knees and reminds us of how Jesus loves us in spite of our "baggage". Happy Birthday Xin! We know God has a special plan for you and we hope and pray we can lead and guide you to find His way. We love you little buddy! Happy 8th Birthday!

As they played the Wii, she decided to just do some puzzles!

Two Years with Lulu

Yesterday we celebrated Forever Family Day #2 for Lulu! Two years ago this little character was placed in my arms all puffed up with 4 layers of clothing and a red silk Chinese suit to top it off, and screaming at the top of her little loud lungs. WOW!!!! What a day that was. A spicy Hunan girl we had/have! I am just so in love with this child and can't imagine our family without her. At times, when all my friends that are my age, are talking of high school graduations, college, and even weddings I start to sweat....I am in the potty training stage! How did I get there...again! At this stage/age of my life..... God brought me here. He asked me to bring her home. I tried very hard NOT to listen...but I am oh so VERY glad I did! She brings me/us unspeakable joy and when those tiny little legs and arms wrap themselves around me tight and she says, "You da best Mommy I ever had! I love you Mommy!" Well, my heart just melts. So I will be the old Mommy in preschool and the even older Mom on her wedding day :) But her Mommy I will be. And I will love her and adore her and cherish the fact that I, by God's design, get to walk through life with her, carrying that title.

She has come so very far in two years. She was really like a 9 month old at 21 months. Not so anymore. Full of life. Full of personality. All girly girl and princess....but...she can hang with her brothers and wrestle something fierce! She is beautiful, funny, clever, smart, stubborn, spoiled rotten, loving, determined, independent and spunky. Louisa Margaret Hatcher...we love you so and are so very blessed you are our littlest family member. Happy Forever Family Day Lulu Bug. I love you beyond words!

Our little celebration

Gotta love that $1 lipgloss gets this kind of reaction :)

Snow 2014

Here in the deep south we don't get snow very often. In fact, the last time we had snow here was 2011. So when they predict the white stuff....everyone panics, jumps for joy, or dreads the cold. I personally LOVE snow! Schools decided Monday to close for Tuesday and Wednesday in anticipation. Great idea after seeing the debacle in Atlanta! We didn't actually see any flurries though until Tuesday evening when the sleet began followed by large fat fluffy flakes! I didn't want to go to sleep. It was just so beautiful. We woke to a few inches on the grass and trees and some slick spots on roads. The kids had a blast! Unfortunately, by afternoon there were more grassy spots than there were snowy spots. School for Julia was delayed until 10:00am today and the Littles...NO school. AGAIN! We enjoyed all the typical outdoor snow activities consisting of snowballs, snowmen/blobs, sledding-yes we actually have a sled, hot chocolate, fires and popcorn! MANY pictures of the "winter storm" follow :)

Looking out and ready to go!!!!!

  My southern snow bunnies

Lulu's 1st snow! She LOVED it!!!!

  Making snow angels

She so enjoyed "patting" the snowman/blob and must have worked on it for 30 minutes!

  A southern snow man/blob. The best you are going to get with snow like this!

Ok, so because we don't have real snow gear, one gets wet and cold quickly! In they came for some hot chocolate!

Notice the "deep" snow on the sledding hill :)

Another snow man/blob in the works with the neighbors

Isn't he cute?

These two girls work so hard at their studies and sports. I was SO glad to see them have a free day of FUN!!!!!!

Our snow blob today, surrounded by mostly grass :( He is still smiling though!

Here's to hoping we don't have to wait another 3 years for snow!!! What a fantastic atypical surprise, the kind of stuff that makes life just plain ole fun!!! Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!