Phone Dump and Calendar Time

Today's phone dump features Brynn AiXin!

It's time to order the 2013 Henan Kids Calendar!  I have enjoyed seeing all of the faces of sweet little ones who are from Henan, China and are now home enjoying life with their forever families!  Click HERE to order.   Order button is on the right hand sidebar.

Proceeds go directly to the orphanages in Henan, China.

Brynn's Heart

Brynn had another heart check-up.

 We felt really good about this appointment, and it turns out that our feeling was accurate.  Her heart looks and sounds perfect!  We don't have to go back for another 12 months!  She will never be fully released from the heart doc, but after she turns 15, we can start spreading her appointments to every 5 years.  They will forever have to keep an eye on the new tissue that is growing over the patch on her heart.  They have to make sure this tissue doesn't start growing over the circuit of her heart.

We are so thankful for her healthy heart.  This isn't something we take for granted!

Fall for a Weekend

A couple of weekends ago, it actually felt like autumn!  We were so excited to wake up that Saturday morning to cool air.  We spent the whole morning outside.  We walked over to the pond for some exploring and rock throwing.

 We were surprised to find these little frogs all over the place.

 We literally had to watch where we stepped so that we didn't squish them.  There were tons of them!  It was really neat for the kids to get to see these little guys!

 We had a cool, rainy day the next day.

 After church Sunday night, we took the kids for a treat.

 Too bad fall only lasted for a weekend and then it was back up in the mid 90's... sigh.

Zoey

Our little Zoey is getting so big!  She is sitting up now like such a big girl.

A couple of weeks ago she came to visit us at our house.  We had fun accessorizing her!

 Another time we went to see her house to visit.  Look at her sitting up like a big girl!

 Such sweet little cousins!

 And this is the Zoey at our house.  Brynn loves to play Zoey!   All her baby dolls are named Zoey.

Blake

I am finally coming out of my haze and getting into a routine.  The start of this school year has been the hardest yet.  I am behind on the blog and am trying to get it caught up.  Thanks to the handy timer on blogger, I can blog on the weekend and then set it to post during the week... even though I don't sit down at the computer on week nights.  One of my favorite tricks!

I grouped these random pictures together because they all have something in common... Blake!

 After practicing with his new team all summer, he had his first game of the season last week.  They won 8-6... Go Warriors!

 I can't get over how much Blake is growing.  Look at these feet!

 We are always happy when we have a Mickey spotting.  Blake was eating a bowl of Spaghetti-O's and found some stuck together like a Mickey head!

 He got to ride with Auntie to pick cousin Caleb up from middle school football practice.

 He newest obsession is the Titanic.  Interesting indeed.  We went to the library and checked out all the books on this topic so he could research it, per Blake's request.

Daddy and Barrett

We are excited about the one-on-one time Daddy and Barrett are getting to spend together on Thursdays while Brynn is at preschool this year.    They went to the deer lease for the day one day a couple of weeks ago.

 It was so good for Barrett to have this special time with his daddy!

 It was a full day and a nap on the way home was in order!

Barrett's First Day

Barrett started his last year of CHAT ( Communication Happens All the Time).  We have been so happy with this program and seen so much progress with Barrett's speech.

 We are SO happy that his class has been moved to my school this year!

And a big thanks to my mom for taking Barrett to his first day of school!!

I {Heart} Preschool

The night before preschool, Brynn was very excited!  She couldn't wait to go to school like her big brothers do.

 I had to work, but I am so thankful Gram was able to come and take Brynn to her first day of preschool.

 She took plenty of pictures so I could see it all!

 As you can see by these smiles, Brynn was ready for her big day!

 I can't believe how big she is getting.

 Big brother Barrett was there to see her off.

When they got there, she was a little nervous, but still very excited.

 A kiss goodbye and her 1st day of preschool officially started!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was a wonderful time for us to rest and visit with our family and friends.

 We spent an evening at Dad and Mom's house.  These little cuties are the only ones I took a picture of the whole night!

 This girl has the cutest crying face!  I could just eat her up!

 The Duncan's came over for dinner and play another evening.

 Although it was sweltering hot, the kids still wanted to play outside!

 So they did.

 The mommies and baby Bella watched from the kitchen windows.

 The daddies found one little corner of shade to play catch in.

 We are thankful for weekends like this!

Brynn's Meet the Teacher

After much persuasion and help from the director of our church's preschool, we decided to sign Brynn up.  We weren't planning on it, and didn't know if we could make it work with transportation... but it all worked out!  We are hoping that this will give Brynn a boost in her independence and confidence to have her own big girl activity.  As you can see, she is thrilled to be checking out her classroom at Meet the Teacher!

 We have known her teacher for years and are so happy to know our girl is being completely loved on during her two days a week at school!

 Barrett and Daddy were able to take Brynn to her Meet the Teacher.

 She was a little shy going in, but thankfully she is familiar with faces and the environment since it is at our church.

Phone Dump