That obnxious family update...

Since I'm on a roll today...

Everyone has their own opinions on Christmas "newsletters". Some people think it's great, others really don't need to know your kid was potty trained and learned to blow their nose this year. Stop reading now if you don't want to know what my kids did this year! However there should be no mention of potties or boogers!

First we will start with me becuase let's be realistic, without me this thing doesn't happen! :) I have accomplished nothing the world would think is exciting this year. I have kept 6 children alive and educated, driven them around in my 12 passenger van with pride and done it all on about 4 hours of sleep the last 5 months. Homeshcooling everyone has really been a blessing. I love having them home and watcting them play and learn together. Yes, I'm awesome!

Jason is a little more awesome than I am. He actually is required to get dressed every morning and leave the house at a reasonable hour. He has accomplished quite a bit this year. His business is up to about 40 employees. He is now a certified solar guy and balancing guy. I'm not exactly sure what the real names for those are! And as always despite the stress, the busyness and the traveling he is #1 dad in my book!

Madalyn has become very useful to us this year. She is a fabulous babysitter, responsible and kind. Her babysitting jobs started out with Hailey chopping off her own hair and an accident bad enough to make a trip to the ER (Hailey again)! She handled both very calmly! She has decided soccer is not for her after a rough season and is trying volleyball. Her true gift is photography. I really believe she has a gift for seeing things others don't. Even though Madalyn is on a bit of an emotional roller coaster these days, I love her to pieces. I love her wisdom, her thoughtfulness, and her loyalty to this family!

Our sweet Samantha has gotten a bit Sassy, but it's not her fault! She rebelliously fought the homeschooling, but I think she's glad she is doing it now! Samantha's ballet has improved greatly this year and she has added tap and jazz and Girl Scouts to her schedule. She has been helping/teaching the 3 year old ballet class and they LOVE her! She also choreographed her first dance for Hailey's ballet class. I'm pretty proud of her.

My wild little beast Lia has turned into an incredibly big hearted, kind, talented young lady! Her best friend Ella continues her battle with cancer. Lia and I spent a long day with her and her mother at St. Jude's in October. It was an amazing experience for Lia that I don't think she will ever forget. Lia loves to sing and dance. And she's good. Jut don't tell her how to sing or dance! Lia has always been our baby whisperer. She takes care of Amaya good, bad, ugly, and smelly!

The big beast trained the little beast and that's all I have to say about Hailey.

Kidding! Hailey is amazing! She's turning out to be incredibly smart and loves "school". She's adding, subtracting and figuring out how to read. She is also turning out to be quite the little dancer. She moved up to real ballet, tap and jazz. She stole the Christmas show, and even made me cry a little! Hailey is like Icy, Hot. No one will ever love you as much as Hailey and you will never run from anyone as fast as you will if she's coming after you!

Ahhh, my saving grace (most days). Shaun is the peace in this home. Not much bothers him, he's not interested in a fight, and he doesn't have an ounce of girly emotion. Thank you Jesus for giving me one boy to keep things in balance here. Shaun played some soccer and did some gymnastics. He's mostly happy just hanging around playing. He shames me on a daily basis my the amount of push ups and sit ups he can do. He is just waiting for his football days. I am amazed how far this little boy has come. From fear to freedom.

And new to the newsletter... Amaya Lillian Serenity. I saw it in her eyes the first time I held her. She's a fighter, she's wild and she's got thing to do and places to go! We are so blessed to have her. She lights up everything around her! She's a little magnet and no one can resist her! Amaya has 2 teeth already!! I have heard of those babies who get teeth at 4 months, but I have never actually seen one. Now I have one. She can sit up and has that on your mark, get set crawl going on. She just hasn't gotten the GO yet. I'm pretty sure I am not ready for the GO yet!

The dogs are still dumb, but at least they won't let my kids get eaten by mountain lions!

So that's it folks. God has blessed us beyond measure. I look at my life everyday and am overwhelmed with thankfulness. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember yes, I'm going to say it... JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

WOW! So much has happened since May! I'm sure you all know we were blessed with this amazingly beautiful, spirited baby girl! Here's the story for those of you who don't know it.

After feeling pretty discouraged with Liberia and scared of foster care we began pursuing an infant adoption since our homestudy was done. Our goal was to provide a family for any child who God chose.

We contacted our agency in Florida and let them know we were interested in an AA baby boy. We really felt like Shaun needed a brother who looked like him. So we waited.

I got a phone call in May letting us know of a birthmom who was due in just a few weeks. She had just come into the agency and there were still very few details. I let them know I had to talk to Jason. The one catch, the birthmom did NOT want to know the sex of the baby. Jason said yes. In the adoption world you know when it's right. It just is.

After a lot of back and forth calls. She chose us! I have to admit I wondered who would choose a family who already had 5 kids. Who that was, was exactly who God wanted for us. It turned out after some doctors visits the baby was not due until the beginning of July. This was a bit of a relief. It gave ust time to think and plan as much as you can for a baby!

We all loaded up in the van and headed to Florida at the end of June. We spent the majority of the trip talking about this baby. We still didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. It's the craziest thing trying to imagine what your baby will look like and what your life will be like.

We got to Florida and Jason stayed one day, hopped on a plane and came back to work. June 29th I drove to the beach with the kids to see my Dad. We knew our birthmom had a scheduled C-section on the 3oth. However we had no idea what time or if we'd be able to see the baby that day. We got up early on the 30th and made the drive back to Orlando, waiting for a phone call.

Just as I was pulling back into the city. My phone rang. My stomach dropped to the floor boards. I answered and was told the baby is here and IT'S A GIRL!!!! I think we knew it all along. The girls all screamed and Shaun got very quiet. We called Jason right away. We told him and he said, "of course it's a girl! I knew it would be!" Unfortunately we were not able to go to the hospital that day.

Jason flew back for the 4th of July weekend. We were hoping to get our baby on the 2nd, but got a call saying the birthmom wanted to keep her an extra day. This of course sent a wave of panic and fear that she was changing her mind. Gratefully, we got a call early on the June 3rd saying we could come get our baby!

Born on June 30, 2011 and placed into our arms on July 3rd, 2011... Amaya Lillian Serenity!!! Jason only got to spend one day with her before he headed back to work. I'm pretty sure his heart broke into a million pieces having to leave her!

Amaya has been such an incredible baby since the beginning. I can't imagine my life without her. She has blessed us with so much joy!

Five and a half months later we are trucking along. Amaya can sit up, she has teeth, and she's just about ready to crawl! Jason and I were definitely caught off guard with a newborn. We have been in a bit of a fog, but no matter how foggy things have been, it's clear we love this little girl unconditionally forever!

Someone else loves her maybe more than us and probably more fiercly. That would be her big brother. He has let no harm come to her since the day she was in our arms. In the beginning he was constantly asking me when she cried, "MOM, what are you doing to MY baby?". Yes, his baby! It took him all of 5 minutes to stop being upset he wasn't getting a brother. I told him God chose him and Amaya needed him! Even though we thought Shaun needed a brother, he didn't. He loves being the only boy. He loves that he is the only one who is "the same" as Jason. He needs that. He needs to be the only one. As much as we thought we knew best, as usual we didn't.

The girls are of course in love with her. Nothing can compare to a sister. Even if you have 4 of them!