Finally!

....We have chosen a name for little man!

Given we are waiting for our letter of acceptance from China, we got out a piece of paper and had a good old fashioned family vote.

Sorry to say that a few of the kids favorites did not make it. I can't name my son Orange, Butterfly or Dude.

Levi and Elijah were strong contenders. We loved them, but wanted something a little lighter. All of my Irish names were voted down.

So, after much amusing discussion...we are naming our little man Asher Andrew Taylor. I can not wait until he is home and in the mix!

Is it really 2012?!

Logan-

Michael-

Hudson-


Kira-


Livy-


Little man-


Mia and Sophia-

Wow!
I say this every year, but I really mean it..... where did it go?
I think " it" went by me somewhere on I4 as we drove to many, many medical appointments this year.
But all is good. the kids are doing really well. All are settled into a good routine and thriving.
Kira received her prosthetic leg right after Christmas, and is now doing PT twice a week to strengthen her muscles, and correct old habits from how she used to walk.
I would love to say that this was a wonderful experience, and that she met it with arms wide open. But that would be a total lie. This was one of the hardest things I have done as a parent.
But doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. There were many tears and many moments of poor attitudes..on both of our parts.
I think she is finally seeing that we did what had to be done out of love, and wanting what was best for her.
She is so smart and very out going. It will be awesome to see where God takes her this year.

Our other newest kiddo, Hudson, is doing great. He came home in rough shape too. Pretty malnourished and with extremely high blood iron levels. He had the beginnings of organ damage, but through the great medical care he has been given..his iron levels are coming down. He has grown 4 inches and gained almost 10 pounds since last May.
He is extremely social and very affectionate. He was ready for his family.

Our "old" kids are doing really well too. Michael was accepted the The University of Central Florida and is excited to see where this new chapter takes him.

Livy is still our soccer girl and is fine tuning her photography skills. Thankfully she has a few years left in high school, it will take me a bit to get used to having a kiddo in college.

Logan is a hoot, he is just a total joy. Full of life, ready for any challenge and just a sweet kid.

Mia headed off to kindergarten this year. I can't believe it, she was just a baby a few months ago. She is still tiny and pretty shy..but so sweet, smart and working hard at trying new things.

Sophia is probably one of the most laid back kids on the planet. She goes with the flow, loves to tag along after her big brothers and sisters and still loves to snuggle.

We are still paper chasing for our last China kiddo. Things never go as planned, but we are hoping to have our dossier in China next week, and hoping to travel before summer.

We are still trying to decide on a name, so he is little man for now. He turned 3 in September, and we are so thankful to know that this was his last Christmas without a family.

We are really excited to bring little man home, and so blessed to be able to watch our children grow. Physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Excited to see what this year will bring.

Fall festivites

Fake fall fire going

Halloween cuties

Sophia's pre-k class party

Mia's K character day party

Prefect weather for a play doh party

Post op update

Well, it has been 2 weeks and 3 days since Kira had her surgery.

She had her right ankle and foot amputated. The doctor was able to go a lot lower down her leg then originally thought, so this is great news for her. We also learned that she will have a much easier time with her prosthetic leg, given her knee and hip joint have full range of motion.

There were a few very tough days after surgery. She felt terrible from the pain meds, and was depressed about loosing her foot.

I was getting worried about her on the second evening. Thankfully we were given the ok to go home on the 3rd day. Bart came with the liile kids to bring us home.

Once home and back in the chaos, she perked up. And once she was done with the meds, she did a 180.

She has mastered her walker, and is actually back at school!

She had her first post op check today, and everything looks great. We will go back in 2 weeks to have one more pressure dressing applied and hopefully start the fitting process for her new lower leg!

Claire

Just a few weeks away!

In just a few weeks Kira will have surgery on her leg. And understandably so, she is really scared.

The doctor is going to amputate above her ankle area, then once that is healed, she will be fitted for her new leg and foot.

We are nervous for her, but much more then nervous...we are so excited.

We can not wait to see her walking straight and tall. She has suffered many ways for a birth defect that she had nothing to do with.

People can be cruel. But God is not. He is love.

He brought her home where she is loved no matter what the defect.

So, soon she will be running with the rest of the kids, and we can't wait to see where she ends up.

Claire

Just one more.....

Sweet little man..my baby boy!

Well, it seems that we are not completely "done" yet.

With the new special focus program China has going, and the new re-use your dossier program...we had some thinking and praying to do.

Do we take this opportunity to bring home one more child, or do we not.

So, after a few months of prayer and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the 2 new ones...we have decided to throw all caution and sanity to the wind..and bring home our new son!

Please meet Levi Andrew Taylor. He will be 3 at the end of Sept. Such a sweet, sweet face.

We are cranking on some home study update paper work and hope to travel by the winter.

I can not wait to have another little boy! And a cleft lip one to boot!

God is so good. I am spoiled rotten.

First day of school

The only one home to rot in front of the TV

Summer creations by Logan and Hudson

Ready for School!

All day creation

BFF"S at the beach

Kira loving the surf!

Hudson and his new love. He is a total beach bum!

The kids went back to school this week.

1/2 of me misses them very much, and 1/2 of me is really ok with some time to get things done @ the house.

Guess I want my cake and to be able to eat it too.