Happy Thanksgiving~

Thankful my house was FULL of love today and time spent with Scott down on our dock~

Counting our many blessings and dreaming of what's yet to come. 

Thankful!!!

Thankful Day 27 {Featured}~

November is National Adoption Month and our local newspaper interviewed our family~

Featuring our family story: One big happy family! 
Our prayer in this privilege is for more children to find their forever family just like our sweet blessings. 

THANKFUL!!!

Thankful Day 25 {SJ}~

There are days I look at SJ and think what her life might have been without a forever family.

Home three days in 2010 and straight into open heart for her TOF repair.

Not long after that she went through huge dental surgery and continues lots of work even today~

 When we went for her 4th appliance to hold spaces for her new teeth coming soon... 

still she smiles!

Enjoyed a yummy lunch with daddy 

then met Josh, Nan, and Ms Barbara to visit Josh's dad @ his rehab hospital~

He is working so hard and doing so well.

Such a sweet moment to see he and the littles love on each other!

That's what Thanksgiving is all about! 

 Made a little stop @ Target for a friend to bring home... Bell~

 And tonight had a little hot cocoa treat after little three were in bed~ 

LOTS to be thankful for today!!!

Thankful Day 24 {Children}~

SO Thankful for sweet Slate... Dedicated today~

Thankful Mimi is home from school~

And Thankful ALL my Children were here for dinner and s'mores~

Thankful indeed!

Going to be a beautiful week of Thanksgiving!!! 

Thankful Day 23 {A Wedding}~

Our whole family was invited to a wedding this evening and we had a ball~

A great way to kick off Thanksgiving Week! Danced the night away!!! 
Happy Life Kyle and Natalie!!!

Thankful Day 22 {Basement}~

Our basement flooded this summer and it has taken a while to get the floor repaired.

Today we were able to move Scott's office and the playroom back down there~

 Still a work in progress but awesome just the same.

Thankful!

Thankful Day 21 {Sweet Writings}~

Honestly writing is not EK's favorite thing to do but she is good at it and spells awesome.

Today I had them glue their photo from silhouette and write whatever she wanted to about herself~

I like to play with my dog. My dog's name is Sadie. Sadie is my best friend now because Fisher is gone. I love Sadie. I also have a fish named Louie. I got Louie when he was a baby. I love my pets. I have light skin and dark dark brown hair, brownish black eyes, and a big FAMILY. The End.

{LOVE EVERY SINGLE WORD!}

SJ on the other hand LOVES writing everyday mostly because she loves to read it to everyone.

I also asked her to write three sentences about herself and thought she would call me over to help but it wasn't anytime before she was ready to share {no help needed}~

 I am 6.

I like orliz. (oranges)

Mom is my favret prsin.

{When I say that last sentence took my breath away... I MEAN IT!}

I even had her read it again.

THAT is what LIFE is about... reminds me of a quote I often read on twitter~

"In this life we cannot always do great things. 

But we can do small things with great love."

~Mother Teresa

A small thing with great love... that pretty much sums up my sweet SJ!

LOVE being a mom to ALL nine of my beautiful children!

Thankful!!!

Thankful Day 20 {A Heartbeat and Reading}~

Today I am Thankful for a precious text from Savannah with Baby Dove's heartbeat from dr appt.

The littles were so thrilled I think we listened to it 20 times.

We made Nana a video and sent it to her to celebrate~

 

I'm also Thankful for an advanced copy of Tangled Vines from Kay Bratt~

{Second book in The Scavenger's Daughter series}

While the littles rested, I decided reading in front of a fire with a  cup of coffee was a much better use of my time than the million chores to be done around here.

AND now that they are ALL in the bed for the night, I'm closing this laptop and cracking open my book again.

I've missed these lovely characters friends!

 

Thankful Day 19 {Love and Support}~

My day began with a tiny one coming around the corner and her first word was "Paint?"... Thankful.

After school and lunch we headed into Gwinnett for WP's 5 year old well appointment.

I am Thankful for a great report although he hasn't gained even a lb this year so need to bulk him up a little and he failed his eye test... off to the eye dr we go.

We were able to meet and eat with Savannah... Thankful to see her sweet belly growing with Baby Dove~

 And while I was loving on 6 of the 8, Scott took Rosie out for dinner and they had a wonderful time... Thankful!

Amelia wanted to meet us so bad but she had class and her Phi Mu Thanksgiving social so she was being loved by her roomies, Lew and Avery... Thankful!

SO Thankful for Love and Support to ALL my sweet ones!!!

Thankful Day 18 {Rosemary}~

I could NOT be more Thankful for Rosemary! 

She wore her One tshirt to school today... Cute!~

I'm also Thankful for the time she spends with her little sisters and brothers... 

sitting in the floor teaching them thumb war. :)

Order you shirt today! Blessings!!

SO sweet!

 

Thankful Day 17 {Simple Sunday}~

LOVE going to church and lunch with these beautiful faces~

 Missing my other 4 1/2 Loves!

Thankful for Simple Sundays!!

ALSO Still taking orders for tshirts~

 and LOVE getting cute photos of my friends wearing them~

 Thanks for the pic Jen!!!

Thankful 16 {Decorated}~

Thankful all our trees are done~

{Now I need to get some gifts bought}

Snowman, Santa, Frame, and Family Tree

 Thankful for sweet little helpers~

 Everyone ready for bed~

 Thankful for a great Saturday!!!

Thankful Day 14~

I am thankful for littles that love each and make up wonderful adventures together~

  Here is Pilot Payne flying Mom Evie and Dad Will to China for their baby.

LOVE this SO much!!!

 I am also SO thankful Scott gets to work from home two days a week~

 Love that he is able to give big daddy hugs all through the day!

Thankful for a wonderful day at home!!

Thankful Day 13 {Fillings and Pokes}~

May have noticed I've missed a couple of posts...

Life. :)

Also may seem my Thankfuls are just plain everyday things.

 Living 1 Thessalonians 5:18~

Give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Today I am Thankful for Dental care where my children get fillings and impressions for appliances needed~

and blood work ordered by our awesome pediatrician.  

Because it is such major day, we have lunch with a friend {Sheryl and Linzi}~

Score fun $1 prizes from Target~

See the big Christmas tree, Bookstore visit, Cosco, and dinner with Josh and Nan~

Thankful Indeed! 

Thankful Day 12 {Surprises}~

Some days are just surprise days and today was one such day~

 How do you thank someone you don't even know yet they surprise your children 

with beautiful clothes their own precious children wore?

I hope these smiles say thank you enough because Katherine C~

you surprised and blessed the HAPPY out of these two girls!!!

SO SO thankful for you!

{PS We have a wedding to go to this weekend and pretty sure these outfits will make their debut!!}

Thankful Day 11 (Home & Veterans}~

Today it hit me mid day what I would share as my Thankful today...

I am SO Thankful to be Home each day loving my family and teaching my littles~

Even after a full day of play and school,

they are all still going strong in the evenings.

Now that it gets dark so early we are enjoying some creative activities before our nighttime routine.

I also want to say how Thankful I am for Americans like my dad {Navy} and Scott's dad {Army} for serving our country to ensure the many freedoms that bless my life every single day.

A huge THANKS to every person in service both past and present.

YOU are our HEROS!!!!!

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Thankful!!!

Thankful Day 7 {Family and Home}~

I grew up in this small town on the lake {well actually on a beautiful dairy farm} but still in this area

and actually said when I went to college I would never come back

{Just a great place to be FROM}.

Six years ago we were living in a suburb of Atlanta raising our 4 girls.

We felt the pull to move back home not really knowing why it was God's will.

Many things confirmed this call on our family and it has been the best thing we could have ever done for our children {Bigs and littles}~

It is also a beautiful blessing that we live only 5 miles from my parents and my brother's family.

I am SO thankful for my parents who are always available and love our whole family SO well~

 And my siblings that bless my life so much~

{I tell mama all the time they are the best gifts she ever gave me!}

I LOVE you Daddy, Mama, John, Marcia, and Jason.

We are very blessed and I'm thankful for each of you!!!

So today I am thankful for Family and Home!

 

Exodus 20:12 

 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Thankful Day 6 {My Bigs}~

Today I am thankful for our first blessings of love...

The Bigs, {The Originals}, the ones that first made us parents,

the ones that first taught us how to love with hearts wide open.

Josh came to us through Savannah and we love him as our own.

Savannah was the first bundle placed in our arms

and took my heart into herself~

 She will soon know just how much I love her when she holds that precious baby in her arms.

My mama always said I wouldn't know her love for me until I knew love for my own... Such Wisdom!!!

Then came Amelia and Rosemary~

 They took their own parts of my heart as well.

You know how people always say they don't know how they can love more than one child or as much as the first?

God made the heart so perfectly...

it just regenerates more and more love every second, hour, day, and year until they are 24, 21, and 18 and you love them more than the first day you held them but how can that be?

Didn't think I could love them more?

OH yes... I love these beautiful gifts more and more as time passes.

 Along with Scott they are truly my VERY best friends!!!

I often heard times passes a lot quicker once you have kids...

Yes, another truth.

Time has passed quickly since these girls were born to us and our life is Everything Beautiful because of them!!!

Psalm 127:3-5

Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.

Children born to a young man
    are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!
    He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

Thankful Day 4~ {Will Perry Day}

Two years ago today we met our first son Will Perry @ Shepherd's Field and it was love at first sight~

 Barely three years old with so much love ahead of him!

He was a little handful in China with a temper and little fits but fast forward a year and just look~

{First WP Day}

 All smiles and no eyes. :)

WP is the sweetest, kindest, most sharing kid I know.

When anyone needs something he has, he does not hesitate to give his away.

He has fit right into his new family and continues to do so well.

Here he is today on his second WP Day~

 Isn't he looking older?

He has grown up so much since Payne and Evie came home.

Stepped up into his big brother role SO well.

I can't explain the connection he has with them.

It seriously is as if they have always been together.

He and Payne are best friends for sure and he protects Evie with a gallant fierceness.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and was the perfect month to bring home this sweet boy.

SO Thankful for this amazing son!!

In case you missed it last night, we have revealed our

 Love Adopt One t shirts.

Please consider supporting our adoption with a donation for one.

{see our sidebar to order}

LOVE that Amelia wore her shirt today and sent me a pic~

 Thankful for my Bigs loving their Littles!!!

 

Thankful Day 3 {Orphan Sunday}~

Today I am SO thankful for my beautiful children~

Bigs and Littles alike!

They are my heart walking around outside my body...

the VERY soul of why I was created to be on this earth!!

I ADORE each one and live to show them!!!

Today is Orphan Sunday...

On Orphan Sunday, Christians stand for the orphan. We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

As I pondered how to share my heart concerning the orphan I thought of David Platt's quote...

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” – Radical by David Platt.

 I want to share our little faces before we knew each other and how everything changes~

Shuang Jiang~ EllaKate

Jing Jing~ ShayleeJoy

Minzhong~ Will Perry

Qingying~ Payne Curtis

Wen Fan~ EvieClaire

Qiuhan~ HollyMei

{Still waiting for her forever}

Maybe you have prayed or thought about adoption in the past...

 more than anything we want to encourage you to reach and pursue your calling.

We would LOVE to be an encouragement to you and support your journey along the way.

It is not an easy road or even a popular one but I promise it is blessed beyond measure.

Over and over we have experienced God's provision to bring home our children.

Maybe you aren't called to bring ONE home but we are all called to take care of orphans.

There are lots of ways you can bless ONE...

~ finacial support for a family waiting to travel

~ Sponsor ONE waiting for a family

~ Help with a surgery needed by ONE

~  Sponsor ONE that may never have a family

~ Pray for the ONE47 millon orphans in the world

Nothing speaks louder to the plight of the orphan than scripture~

 Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow. 

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

In the past months as we have felt God calling us back to China once more for HollyMei,

He has given me another scripture as encouragement for our journey...

Matthew 18:5

And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

ONE...

Love ONE, Adopt ONE= Support ONE

Today seems like the perfect day to reveal ONE way you can support our family in bringing home sweet HollyMei.

 Love Adopt ONE tshirts~

 I think my Favorite thing about these shirts is they reflect every single place on Earth that is home to an orphan.

No matter if a child is from North or South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, or Austrailia...

This shirt represents their plight.

Each ONE is loved desperately by the ONE that loved us first.

Wouldn't you love to share your love for adoption by wearing this shirt?~

 We have several colors and come in every adult size~
{Kid sizes too!!! S, M, L, XL}

 You can order with a comment here, an email, a FB message, or going to our Paypal button in the sidebar.

We are asking for a donation of $20 per shirt with a shipping cost of $2.

Please know we will do our best to get your order filled as soon as possible.

We are Thankful to share this ONE shirt on Orphan Sunday and pray God's richest blessings for each and every ONE of you!!!