Sweet Life in the City

Today my sweet baby turned 3 years old. It seemed like for so long I had these three little babies and now they are all becoming so independent and are just growing up so fast. Chloe is almost completely potty trained and she is becoming her own little person. She is our smily little sweetheart and we are so thankful that she is in our family. She had a fun day at 123 Jump and lots of cake and presents. I think Sam and Emma were more excited that today was Chloe's birthday than Chloe. Well we are finally heading home tomorrow. Our family should all be back together tomorrow night. The kids have had a great time of being with Grandma and Grandpa. They have gone fishing several times and went to a fun children's museum. They are coming home with so much more then I brought with them to Grandma's house and it will probably takes weeks to get them back to our house rules, but I am glad they had the chance to spend some time together. Well before I get going I have a funny story...

Jeremy and I and the teenagers got back Friday night from Orange Beach. It was a wonderful week of being encouraged and refreshed. The weather was horrible while we were down there and the oil on the beach was such a sad sight, but we still had a wonderful week. I left at 6:00 Saturday morning and headed to Illinois. The kids and I are staying here at my parent's house this whole week. Jeremy is in Virginia taking a class at Liberty. He is only 8 classes away from his doctorate in administration and I am so proud of him. The kids have had fun at Grandma's house but I think they are ready to go home. When I got here Saturday Sam said to me "Mom, I am ready to go home." I kind of laughed and told him that we were not going home for 6 more days. He then looked at me with the most serious expression and said "Seriously mom, I am ready to go home." We had a fun 4th of July. We went to a cookout and the kids had a blast doing bubbles and watching the fireworks. We...

Here are the pictures I said I would post last week. There is a picture of Jeremy and I at the Cubs game. One of the kids before watching Toy Story 3 and then one of Emma. Jeremy and I are at Orange Beach with four of our teen girls. It has been rainy and their is oil on the beach, but the worship services has been amazing!!! I really miss the kids and I cannot believe that I will not see them until Saturday!! I also have some other things I need to post but it is late and I need to get some sleep.

There have been several reasons I have not posted since last week but the bottom line is that we have been super busy. Jeremy and I had a great time in Chicago. We spent a day at Lincoln Park Zoo and then went to a Chicago Cubs game, We thought the game was going to get rained out but it started almost two hours late. We ended up leaving the game in the 7th inning because it was already 11:00 at night and we had an hour and half drive back to my parents house. We headed home on Wednesday. On Friday I took Emma to the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor to look at her ears. They did a hearing test on her and it came back that she is hearing just fine but there is fluid on both ear drums. We made an appointment to get tubes in both ears on July 12th. After the doctor we came home and got the rest of the family and headed out to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was just a great movie! I have to admit that I was crying at the end! The kids also loved it and did a great job watching the movie. It was Chloe...

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, SAMUEL JAE!!! Five years ago (YES, I SAID FIVE YEARS) Jeremy and I woke up early and boarded a plane headed for Detroit to pick up our son. We were scared to death! There were so many questions and concerns going through our heads, "What if he does not like us?" "What if I do not know what he wants?" What if I do not FEEL like a mom?" and the list could go on. We were greeted in Detroit by my parents and my uncle and cousin (who live near Detroit) and we all waited patiently, or not so patiently, for Samuel to arrive. We waited what seemed like forever and the plane finally landed. We waited with several other families who were also picking up their children as one by one the Korean escorts came through customs toting our precious children. Samuel's escort was the only male and he had Samuel strapped in a carrier on his chest. The moment I saw his little head looking around I knew it was my baby (yes, another question, "what if I do n...

I know it has seemed like forever since I posted but we got back from the beach Friday night and hit the ground running. Friday night we got everything unloaded and the fun of putting everything away started (insert sarcasm). Saturday morning the kids and I headed out to Mt. Juliet for my nephews graduation party. I got there early so I could help my brother get things set up. It is always good to see them but it also hurts my heart so much. Many do not share my feelings, but I hurt for all the people who have been effected by the current circumstances, even the ones who made the decisions to do the hurting. Sunday was church and then Monday started our mission trip for our youth group. We usually go to another state for our trips but ended up staying in Nashville. We had contacted several pastor about coming to do a trip and they all did not work out. It was amazing that we had already planned to stay in Nashville before the flooding and there were many organizations that needed our h...

It is hard to believe that 10 years ago today Jeremy and I were married. Where did the past 10 years go? I was thinking this morning that in another 10 years Sam will almost be 16 and I will have two 13 year olds. HOw scary is that?! I was also thinking about all the things that have gone on the past ten years. We have lived in 6 different houses and two states. Our marriage has survived infertility problems and cancer. We have said good-bye and three Grandparents and two very dear friends. We welcomed three beautiful children in our hearts in a period of three years. We have experienced great joy and great sorrow together. I am very thankful that the Lord has given me a wonderful husband and I am looking forward to what is waiting for us over the next ten years!