Saturday, December 26, 2009

Remember Me???

Thanksgiving/ Early Christmas with my mom and dad


Taylor and Tanner's birthday celebration with their cousins

Tessa and Tia at Christmas


Merry Christmas from our family


Yeah, I know - it has been weeks since my last post. Things have been a little busy around our home lately. I remember when I thought that one more child would not dramatically impact the flow of our home - "Yeah Right!!!" What was I thinking?!?!?! I am sleep deprived, constantly trying to baby proof everything in our home - and loving every minute with this little girl. She is amazing!!! And most of all, I love the way she has melded into our family. Sometimes I forget what life was like before she came home. It is like she was always with us.

If you have a few minutes, keep reading and I will catch you up on our lives. Like I said, Tia is amazing. After our return home from China, I had the opportunity to spend 5 weeks at home with her. This is a new benefit offered by my company and I am very thankful for it. We had a chance to get to know one another and it was wonderful. I have never been a stay at home mom. My appreciation goes out to all of you. It is a tough job. I got to be there when the kids got off the bus and was able to hear all about their day. It was a very special time for all of us.

God once again amazed us with how His timing was perfect all along. Terry's company introduced new shifts. He works in aviation, so their hours tend to be a little unorthodox. But this time they worked out well for us. Terry is now working 3 - 12 hour shift each week. He works Friday, Saturday and Sunday - and then can be home with the kids the remainder of the week. No more daycare!!! This was a huge blessing for us. We really did not want to put Tia in daycare yet and the cost was way out of our budget. I have been using some of my vacation to be with the kids on Fridays, and then we are working on a plan for the future. It has worked out so perfectly!!! The new shift started right after I got home from China. Once again, God's timing was perfect!

We celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents and Terry family. I was so happy when we walked in the door at my mom's house and Tia immediately recognized her. They will always have a special bond. We also celebrated Taylor and Tanner's birthdays while we were at home. It is hard for me to believe that Tay is 16 and Tanner is 11. They are wonderful young people and I am blessed to be their mom.

Trenton and Tessa are now at home with daddy during the week and we are homeschooling their pre-kindergarten curriculum. Once again, not something that we had planned, but it has been great. I love to watch them learn and they get so excited about school.

Many of you have asked how Tess and Tia are doing together. I will post some pictures that might give you a good idea, but I will also say they are doing great. Tess loves her sister and Tia idolizes Tessa. Tess and I were sitting on the couch one evening and I asked her if she was glad I brought her sister home. She said "yes", so I probed a little more. I then asked her why she liked her sister, to this she said "because she loves me all the time". I think that is a pretty good reason.

Okay, one funny story to tell you about - Trenton was trying to help Tia with something the other day and Tessa stepped in and said, "Just let me do it, I am Chinese and I know how to do it". Never a dull moment with Tessa.....

Enjoy the photos and I promise to TRY to blog more.

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year