Thursday, April 19, 2012

"A Good Good Day!"

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When Emme wakes up she will usually ask one of us? "Is this a Good Good day?" What she is really asking us is, "Do I get to go to school today?" I am not sure why, but this is how she refers to her pre-school! When we drive by it, she will say "Good Good Day!" When we pull onto the exit that takes us to school on Thursdays and Friday's she will light up, and squeal, "It's a Good Good day!" Her precious enthusiasm about most things is contagious! Life is truly "GOOD" when Emme Jade is a part of it...


On a separate note, I got a very sweet note from Emme's orphanage this week.. They wanted to know how she was doing. The nannies wanted us to know they miss her very much! I completely understand why they do.. It is a blessing that they loved her enough to let her go. We are so thankful for the caregivers that raised our sweet girl for three years! Their impact on her has made all the difference in her first eight months home! Here was their note to Emme, translated by our sweet friend, Jeanne in Yangzhou: "Emme, we wish you healthy forever!" We will continue to keep in touch with Yangzhou. And, you never know.. Perhaps one day we will get to go back and share our special "little bean" again with her first family! I hope so!



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

"The Little and The Middles!"



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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday Snapshot: {The Arboretum}


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I am starting a new photography class this week with my friend and favorite photographer, Lisa! I am excited to get some fresh new ideas and to be challenged by her. I thought since I will be taking a lot of pictures in the next few weeks, this was a good time to join Stef's Sunday Snapshot! I am kicking it off with a few photos from the Arboretum yesterday. With our unseasonably warm Spring, everything is in bloom, including, Ruby's favorite "flower" the dandelion! After Emme's nap I took the three little girls for our annual dandelion picking! Ruby was so busy gathering her favorite "flower", that she barely posed for any photos! It was a beautiful afternoon with my little girls!

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My camera is the Nikon D700. I shot these photos with my Nikkor 50mm 1.4lens. My ISO setting was 200 and my aperture varied from 2.0 - 5.0. My shutter speed also varied 1/160 - 1/1600 depending on the shot.


Ni Hao Yall


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Easter Continued...

This was a very special Easter for our family. Having all of us together for the first time in years was such a blessing! So fun to have six little girls ages 12-3 all together for the very first time! It's times like this when you really miss not living closer to each other. Once a year just is not enough! The purpose of our re-union was to get my parents settled into their new home. They made a big move back to Minnesota from Texas.. Thankfully the weather was a welcome blessing for two people who have forgotten what it can be like to live here! My Mom hit the ground running to make their new place a home quickly. You would never guess she just turned 80! Thanks to extra help from Jeff and Mark, a lot was accomplished in just a few days!

We were able to add some fun to our agenda for the kids. It was a busy weekend!!

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Friday afternoon we hit the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's new place. Thankfully, we did not get kicked out on our first visit!!! :) A resident even went out of her way to compliment me on how well behaved our kids were!! I had to keep reminding my girls it was like being at the library with water!! I am pretty sure they will be popular or "un-forgettable" visitors at the Summit Place!

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Saturday morning, Becky and I took the girls to brunch with the bunny! The big girls were great helpers.. It was a fun event with face painting, coloring eggs, frosting cupcakes, a petting zoo, and a big easter egg hunt! Thankfully it was an indoor event on this rainy day. The girls had a great time... It did not take Emme Jade long to warm up to the Easter Bunny!
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The girls were so excited when Becky and I got our faces painted too!!!! I however picked my artwork.. Becky was brave enough to let Shaelee pick her's! :) We all agreed she was a pretty cute bunny! Rumor has it there was a "Becky Bunny" sighting at the Mall of America Saturday afternoon!


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Easter morning started early with an egg hunt at our house. It was really sweet to see all of the cousins together! We went to an awesome worship service at 9:30 and had a great brunch at the club late morning!

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All six cousins together with Grandpa and Grandma! This is the first
picture they have ever all been in together!

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Grandma and Grandpa!!! Welcome Home!

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Our Family!

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A very special moment between Father and Son!

So thankful for this time together! Thank you Mark and Becky for making the trip! We miss you already!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Easter!

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I have many pictures from our special weekend with the Cousins, and the Grand Parents.. The kids just started back to school yesterday, and I am still catching up on things around here! My parents made it safely to Minnesota, and having all of us together for four days was wonderful! Lots of work and lots of play made it a very fun Easter! More soon!


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Spring Break!

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We don't exactly have a tropical vacation planned this year.. (Much to the disappointment of a few kids around here...) But, we do have a busy and fun week ahead that involves all of my family being together for the first time in almost 5 years.. My Mom and Dad are moving back to MN after being gone for a very long time! So, we look forward to being together to get them settled!! The cousins will be here which will be so fun for us.. Six girls under 12 when we are all in the same room!! I hope to be back soon with some pictures of our crazy crew, and Emme's first Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday!

Until, then please keep checking in on Ivy Joy! She is making miraculous strides every day!

Happy Easter Week! We have so much to be thankful for!





Sunday, April 1, 2012

Georgia Grace - Part II

Orders will start getting placed at 10:00am today by Kristen.


Kristen has asked me to help her with another trunk show! They are launching Part II of "Playground Diaries" tomorrow! For those of you who ordered last time, thank you!! I know there were some hiccups with out of stocks, etc.. They are a new company, and people are starting to take notice of how cute their clothes are!!! So, if you want something from this line tomorrow, shop early! There are going to be 8 new pieces that coordinate with the 1st launch. Everything I received from Playground Diaries I is adorable!! This is Emme Jade in the "CeCe" dress which I love! It's pretty short on her, so we are using it as a super cute top!! In most cases I find the sizing for GG to be true to size. Emme wears size 2, Ruby wears size 5, and Sienna wears size 6.

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Here is a link to Georgia Grace's blog.. Their owner, has written about the launch, and what you can expect. They are going to offer monogramming if you are interested.. And, if you ordered last time, your shipping will be free!! They are telling you to expect 4 weeks delivery this time!


Here is the link to the Georgia Grace Website.. Some of the items are posted already... I think you are all going to want/"need" those Olivia Ruffle pink shorties!!!!!


If you have specific questions, reach out to Kristen Cook, the Trunk Keeper. You will need to email her directly at: kristen@georgiagracedesigns.com. To order, email her what you want, and she will connect with you for payment. Let me know if you have any questions, and I will do my best to help! You can also connect with Kristen Cook on Facebook!



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