Princess Mia

Mia's friend, Avery, had a Princess party for her 5th birthday. It was a really royal event. All the girls got to pick out ball gowns and then had their fingernails and make up done. They were then presented to the commoners (parents) and had a royal tea(pink lemonade) party.
A special guest appeared, Cinderella. She sang with them, played games and read them a story. Mia had a great time.

(Note to self: Gold is a great color on Mia: remember for prom dress one day!)

Mia and Avery the birthday girl

Just what I need...

Just what I need.....another hobby.
Actually it's an old hobby that I can do differently. I've been wanting to try digital scrapbooking for a while. But I kind of felt like I would be cheating on my supplies. Kind of like I already have the other stuff, why learn a new way.

But I am LOVING the new way! I don't have to pull out anything..... I constantly find myself with 15 minutes in between picking someone up or making it to an appointment. One of the cool things about digital scrapbooking is I can just save a project and move on until later.

Cool.

So I signed up for classes on-line. http://www.jessicasprague.com/

I have had so much fun. Learning to do this and really just learning something NEW!

We Got Boo'd

It's that time of year. When the doorbell rings late at night and you wonder, "Who in the world could that be?" We had actually just minutes before gotten home from Zane's football game.
Anyway, I opened the door and there on the front step was a Boo Bucket. This year we got a Neon green Jack-o-lantern.

All the kids like Candy but I think Candy may be Ty's Love Language.

You're suppose to put a sign on the door that indicates to your neighbors that you've been Boo'd. That way everyone in the neighborhood gets candy. But Kaylee wouldn't let me hang the sign this year. "Mom, if we put the sign up no one else will come boo us!? Don't you get it mom? No more candy that way"

Um yes Kaylee,I get it.

I went along with her because a. The people that Boo'd us live 2 miles away and b. Most of the people on our street are older without kids. So it's not really a "neighborhood" thing around us.

Which is why last Sunday night we let each of the kids pick 2 people to Boo. We loaded all the bags and buckets and headed out. We spent an hour and a half driving around town to drop off Boo's. The kids absolutley love it. Running back to the car before they get caught is thrilling each and every time.....

Who'll be laughing?

Trent 7 Ty 4

Today I made corndogs for lunch. When we were almost finished Trent asked for another one and so did Zane. But we only had one left. So I said OK, I'll heat this one up and you two can half it. Then they both began fighting over who would get the 1/2 with the stick.

I have really had a hard time learning about all this sibling stuff. I never had to fight over anything, ever.... David assures me that it's normall. I trust him, he's one of five, I'm one of one...

So anyway at that moment that I could not believe they are fighting over the corndog STICK....this conversation happened.

Me to Zane: " I hope when you get married, that you have 10 kids, so that one day you'll call me and apologize for fighting over a corndog stick"

Kaylee: You know if we all have 10 kids then you'll have 50 grandkids.

Me: Ha! That will be funny

Zane: Then we'll drop them all off at the same time and tell you we're taking a 5 day cruise together.
"Who'll be laughing then Mom?"

He doesn't know I have to agree to keep all those kids for him to be able to take a 5 day cruise. He better be nice to me between now and then (and learn to let his brother have the stick)....

Local Missions

Our church hosts a local missions work day twice a year. Not everyone can go away for a week to a foreign country. But most people can give up 3 hours on a Saturday morning. It's a day for each of the adult classes to find a mission project in the area and then work together to complete it. Our group decided to help out a single mom who works hard to support herself. She needed a bunch of shrubs removed from the front of her house. They were a safety concern. She plans to put a rock garden in place of them (smart woman)

She also had some damage to her back patio from Hurricane IKE. (It leaked) So all the metal had to be removed and then new metal put in it's place.

The time for the project was 9 - 12. At 10:00 all the shrubs were removed and we were looking for other things to do. Dave H. went to get his power washer and we were able to power wash her driveway and sidewalk. Plus her front entry way. (I love to power wash, it's so gratiftying)
It's amazing what 20 people can accomplish in such a small time. Our teacher compared it to an "old fashioned" barn raising.

I've decided if we ever need a barn raised I know who I'm going to call.

After we were done, the men sat around for a coke break and discussed the fine job that was completed.

The speech is getting better

and unfortunatley more and more honest...

Ty went to speech therapy today. He has therapy with Mrs. Amy twice a week for 30 minutes. Today when they came back to report the work they had done she told me what he had said.
Mrs. Amy: " Ty what did you do today?"
Ty : I went to school, everybody in my house goes to school
Amy: Even mommy and daddy?
Ty: No they stay home, they don't anything

Amy: Are you sure? Doesn't Daddy work?
Ty: Yes, Daddy works
Amy: And mommy works too..she drives you to school makes your meals
Ty: Yeah and sleeps too

It's football time and we're into it full swing. LSU tigers, Dallas Cowboys and now the Colts.
And for the first time we actually have a "man" on the field.

It's been a lot of fun going to the games and watching Zane and his friends play football. I was dreading the 7am arrival time but it hasn't been a chore because Zane is really enjoying football.

Flashbacks to IKE

About 4:00 today the sky got dark and the wind began to blow. It was amazing how fast the weather changed. The rain came down accompanied by hail and lots of lightning. After the rain let up a bit we looked out front and saw this LARGE limb that had crashed down from the house across the street.

David and Trent went out to move it out of the way, so that cars could go by. Namely, my car because I had to go pick Kaylee up from Girl Scouts. And Zane would be arriving soon also. Zane was scheduled for his 2nd football game but it quickly got cancelled.

The power was out for nearly 3 hours, I hear reports that some parts of Kingwood are still without. I'm not sure if this was a Tornado, I'm waiting to watch the 10 news.

Ty was ready to help out on clean-up. He was just a little off on the correct equipment to wear.

Want to follow along?

The sister of my neighbor who is almost my dental hygentist, (got that?) is currently on a plane to China to adopt her second child, a son....

If you want to follow along with me you can go to www.bringinghomemichael.blogspot.com

1st Class Baby!

1st Class is a rank in Boy Scouts earned on the path to Eagle Scout. Zane earned his 1st class during the summer. When he ranks up he is given a new patch and a pin for his mother. The scoutmaster has the scout pin his mother then give her a kiss. It's a neat tradition, I totally approve of it. (the scouts on the otherhand.....)

His troop awards each of the boys who earn 1st class with their own tent. They can use their tent to camp during the campouts.

So this weekend Zane wanted to set his tent up. We were going to camp in the backyard but there was a 40% chance of rain at that night, so opted to camp in the living room. The kids all slept in the big tent and Zane slept solo in his own tent.

First day back to school

You know it's back to school time when all the lunch boxes are lined up on the kitchen counter. Zane has graduated from the box to a brown paper sack. Less things for him to have to hold on to once lunch is over. From Left to right is Zane, Kaylee's Trent's Mia's and Ty's. I wasn't really sure what why we bought Ty a lunch box. He gets out of Pre-K at 11. But everyone else was getting one and the transformer box matched his new shoes and backpack. Then the teacher asked for the kids to bring a little breakfast snack if they were not eating breakfast in the cafeteria. So, I guess he has a breakfast box instead.

First up was Zane. He headed out of the house early for his first day of school and Football practice. He had to be AT school by 7 am. So the pic I took of him was in the dark. We went by to pick his friend Aaron up also. I thought I"d be sneaky and snap a pic of him walking in the school. But as he walked away Aaron said, "Hey Zane, your mom's got the camera" To which Zane responded, "What's new?" At least he didn't melt from embarassment.

Mr. Ty was all ready for his first day. We would like to have had more pics of him going in his class and such but he took off into circle time and barely looked back. The tears I feared were no where to be found.

ON the other hand, we fully chronicled every step of Mia's morning. She was all to pleased to be the Queen-of-kindergarten...

Kaylee helped Mi check out everything in her cubbie.

This is Mia's teacher, Mr. V, he's a really sweet man and has so much imagination. Just what Mia needs.

When Mia got home she told us, "there were chicken nuggets today for the people that ate in the Bear Branch Restaurant"

Here's Trent, excited about seeing his buddies, not all that thrilled with the work ahead of him.

Kaylee has the same teacher this year that she had in 1st grade. She Loves, loves, loves the teacher so there were no real worries for her this year.

A hunting we will go

Well, maybe not hunting...but target practice.

We drove out to "the old place" and walked around for a bit. But the grass was really high and a lot of the area that I once played in is now overgrown. There is an old barn, steps where my dad's house once stood and a dipping vat. Kaylee remembered the dipping vat I wanted to find it. And we did..in case you're not familiar it's a concrete area that the sheep were marched through.
Here's Rocket frolicking through the grass, having a wonderful time.... UNTIL we started shooting the guns... Then this happened.

Into the car he went never to return. NO amount of coaxing or persuading would get him out. Apparently he is a city dog

Go Texas Day!

Several years ago when we were first adopting Mia I met a mom at school who told me she was a lawyer. She specialized in adoptions. Her daughter and Kaylee were in the same class together. She offered at the time to file the papers so that Mia could receive her Texas Birth Certificate. Just in case there is a natural disaster or fire it would be easier for her to get a new birth certificate than to try to get one from China. This mom/lawyer also offered to do it for me "for free" With us only having to pay the court costs. You know I'm all about "free" So we waited until after we brought Ty home to do both of their certificates at the same time.

So three months ago we filed the paperwork and patiently awaited our court date. We were to be at the courthouse in our "business casual" dress ready to go before the judge at 9:00. We got there a little early and waited outside for a while and then in the hall for a while, then in one courtroom for a while, then in a second courtroom for a while, then in a waiting room (which had a TV thank goodness, for a while) Until Finally the 3rd judge we were assigned could question us.

This is all a matter of formality since the kids are both legally adopted AND US Citizens. However, the judge we were assigned was absent that morning. So we were sent upstairs to see a different judge. We were told that we would be the next case, because there were children involved. Well, when we walked into the courtroom it was F U L L. There were lawyers, bailiffs, reporters and CRIMINALS....locked in Shackles around their waists and feet. It was quite a production. Men and women both. Trent wanted to know what all the "robbers" were doing in there. This judge finished arraigning the convict and he asked if we could all go to his chambers where he would meet us and do the paper signing.

But on the way to the chambers the clerk said, "let me just see if Judge so-in-so can see you all. He's new and doesn't have quite as full of a load" So we were escorted to another waiting room, which thankfully had a TV and the kids who had sat Oh-so-patiently-for-the-last-two-hours could now watch Spongebob.

Our lawyer went in ahead of us and then came out to retrieve us when we were called. David and I both had to raise our right hands and swear to tell the truth the whole truth.......
She asked us a couple of questions about our trip to China and then I was ready to take pictures of him signing our paperwork and approving our petition. However, he at that point decided to ask to see a clear background check before approving. Apparently, he had watched an episode of Law&Order that had convicts adopting from oversees because they didn't qualify for domestic adoption. Law&Order? Really? At which point Mrs. Free Lawyer says, "Sure your honor, we'll get that for you right away"

So we left without great scrapbook pics of us with the judge, without pics of him signing our petitions, or sitting behind the bench. But as David always says, "It's not all about the scrapbooks"

Honor the Texas Flag...I pledge allegiance to thee Texas one state UNDER GOD one and indivisible

(Did you catch that...Under God? that was added last year) The kids have to say the Texas pledge every morning at school.

taking pics in the hallway... Trying to amuse ourselves.