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!