even once more

Allen is once again my age for another 6 months. On his special day Claire declared that daddy was turning 17. And it reminded me that I met Allen (re-met actually, remember we were in the same 6th grade homeroom) at his 17th b-day party just 20 years ago. Time flies when you are having fun.

cool stuff

Here is something that my kids deem cool about our rental:

This is the tile back splash in the kitchen-now I don't have to wonder exactly what a dash is or how long I should cook my fish (the one behind the fancy attached can opener is a "roasting timetable")
We are all moved into our rental and are happy to be here. When you only unpack 30% of your stuff it's pretty quick. And when function wins over form it is even easier. Carter is the only one not too happy with our new digs. Today at morning prayer he was going through everyone and their day and he said, "please bless mom that she can work on our house today and make it feel more like our other homes" Poor guy. It made me sad to tell him that this was pretty much it for the next 6 months. Maybe it is this basement that is making him feel out of sorts. (we were able to fit everything in the house and didn't have to rent a storage unit-can you tell?)

windows, doors, and more

outside fireplace

view when you walk into the house through the front door

C & J's hideout behind their bedrooms (access from closets)

great room

stairs (one is looking from 2nd floor to basement)

master bath

side door (with plywood behind it)

windows are all in

a little culture

our first look at Claire

September 20th was Claire's adoption/gotcha day. The day before she and I went to our second cultural camp put on by our local organization, FCC-ET (families with Chinese children-east tn). What good timing. Claire got to spend the day doing Chinese crafts, Chinese dancing, some Kong Fu, and hearing about the Dynasties that make up Chinese history. As she gets older and is recognizing how she is different, it was wonderful to spend the day with, and making friends with , children that look like her and whose parents look like me. It was great to talk to her about how all those kids were adopted just like her. I added a few pictures from our day below. On her adoption day she got to show her brothers and dad all the neat things she made at camp. Then we watched her adoption movie. The movie that Allen spent many, many hours putting together that shows our journey to her. He did an incredible job. We all love watching it and taking turns cuddling with Claire during it. Allen and I can not watch it with dry eyes. It is just impossible. I am so grateful for this movie that truly captures how we felt and how incredible the whole experience was. It has been five years since Claire came into our lives. Five years. As I watched the movie this year I kept thinking, did I really go to China and experience all that? As I watched little Claire with her bald head and giggles, I am so thankful for the "trials" that brought us to her. What a miracle she is to us.

good times

This is what makes Allen happy. Every time we are out on the boat Allen will say things like, "this is awesome, this is the life, it doesn't get better than this". He truly loves having a boat and being on the water. He says that when he is on the boat he can forget about the daily stresses that life brings. Add me and the kids to the boat and he is in heaven. It doesn't matter if he actually gets a turn to wake board or not, he still loves it. He loves to watch his kids laugh and have fun, he loves to hear me scream on the tube, he loves to see them accomplish something new and see the pride on their faces, he loves throwing the kids in the water, he loves swimming with them, he loves to watch the sunset, and he even loves cleaning the boat. The other day our family spent most of a day cleaning the boat (Allen did most of it), having a picnic on the dock, and swimming in the water around the dock. As Allen was finishing up the cleaning, the kids and I were sitting on the dock with our feet dangling over, watching the boats go by and Carter said what a great day it had been and we all agreed. Then he asked if we would have a lot more days like this when we moved here. And I was so happy to say yes, we would. I can't wait.

best pj's ever

Thanks to my mom being somewhat of a pack rat, Claire is able to enjoy my FAVORITE pj's as a child. I have vivid memories of running around the back yard in CA pretending that I was a princess. I remember feeling like a princess. These silky pj's with matching robe were a dream come true for me then and are for Claire now. Thanks mom.

mirror confusion

Ok, this one is going to make you laugh. Today at school they had spirit day=wear your favorite school team colors. Of course our kids were decked out in orange and white. Carter had art today and his teacher let all the kids paint their faces to match their outfits. They used a mirror to put on the paint. As you can see Carter ended up with TU instead of UT. So did all the other kids that were putting letters on their faces while looking in the mirror. What's that show, "are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Yes, I believe I am.