Can you tell that we have had a lot of rain lately?

Dressing up daddy
Livy and her piggy nose
hair cuts..Mike looks too happy to be doing this
Sophia....always prepared
Mia's juicy 4 hour nap fest
Make-up by Sophia

Logan in need of some serious outside time

And that we are going a bit stir crazy?! I do not know how you all up north survive staying indoors for extended periods of time.

Our rainy days have mirrored your snow storm days this winter.

I guess we are wimpy. But I am really o.k. with that.

Sunday snap shot.. if you build it, they will come

A little of what we have been up to....

Our Lilly
Love that the lipstick matches the gem in the crown (: He never woke up
Bart and his little girls, Mia and Sophia
Mia and Michael before his prom
Future Mozarts
Ladies lounging at the lake
Life buddies, gym buddies
My oldest baby, Christmas 2010
Sophia checking out what Logan has in his stash
My future son-in-law, Jackson. His mama is raising him right
Best buds at Christmas Eve service, 2010
Enjoying the beautiful "fall" weather
Michael, on the left, playing at Christmas Eve service, 2010
Staying warm at Christmas Eve service
Getting ready....
Trick or treating with the bff's .
DTC celebration dinner!
Universal with the Jersey crew
Guess who got their learners permit this year?
bff's...through the miracle of adoption. Sophia and Mia from China, Rosie from the US
One of my favorite photos.... with my girls
Another favorite photo..... my guys
At the zoo..which side of the fence is the exhibit?
Building our backyard fort

So thankful.

Some days I slip a bit, and get weary with the day to day battles of this world.

I begrudge the mountains of laundry, dishes and household chores... being ungrateful for the fact that we have so much more then we really need.

But the past few days, I have been keenly aware of all God has given me. Not material things, but the awesome relationships that He has given me.

A very dear friend of mine was in a serious car accident a few days ago. I did not hear about it until the next morning, but even though I knew she was going to be fine..my heart just broke. When i realized how close I came to loosing her, my mind just ran with the truth that life is a gift. We are not promised tomorrow.

I found a sitter for the girls, and headed to the hospital to see with my own eyes that she was ok. As I walked down the hall to her room, i had a flash back to a few years ago when another dear friend of mine was in the ICU fighting back after a heart attack.

My two friends are very similar in height and coloring, so seeing J in her hospital bed was surreal. It took a minute or two for me too gain my composure.

We visited for awhile and when she fell asleep from the new dose of pain meds, I quietly left and headed home.

I chewed on all of the what ifs and was soooo thankful they did not come to be.

Then today, i was again reminded how precious life is. Michael was walking across the parking lot at the mall today when out of now where, a car that had pasted by just seconds before, shifted into reverse and hit him.

I looked behind and saw my son in a twisted pose on the ground. My heart stopped. So did my mind. I could not comprehend why he was on the ground.

Then I realized what happened. As soon as i did, Michael bounced up stunned but ok.

A few scrapes. but he is fine. And I am thanking God for His protection over Michael and also Logan. Logan was walking in front of Michael. Had it been Logan, things would have been a completely different outcome.

so, i am up very late..happily doing a mountain of laundry.

Is it really almost November?

Wow!

Craziness! Can not believe how fast this year is going.

I know I have a few things that keep me pretty busy, but I did get a little freaked out when I realized that I was buying an actual Christmas gift for one of the kids yesterday!

My head has been occupied with laundry, soccer, football, gymnastics, laundry, birthdays, laundry, homecoming dances, more room redos and finishing up Kira and Hudson's dossier....yes! We have another son!! Long story short..China has started a new program called Focus child, and we qualified...so we are bringing home a sweet 8 year old boy and Kira at the same time!!!

Logan is SO excited to have a brother, and we are SO excited to have another son! I love my girls more then life, but I also really enjoy having boys. So blessed that God has given some of each.

The girl's are doing great. Livy is playing JV soccer and loving it! She has survived her first few months of high school and is really enjoying the more mature aspects of it...eating lunch where you want and with who you want, lockers, teachers that are not threatened by kids who ask questions.... and the biggie... a dress code that realizes you are not a baby and can walk safely in flip flops and sandals. That may sound strange to some of you, but it is such a right of passage here.

Mia is in pre-kindergarten for a few hours a day and amazes us with her reading and writing skills. She worked hard at getting comfy with being away from home, but is really liking her class and all of the kids. Her teacher has been wonderful in working with her to reduce her anxiety and enjoy school. She still loving her gymnastics classes too. She just turned 5 at the end of Sept. and is really working hard at over coming her anxieties and enjoying the wild world going on around her. We went to a small fall fair this past week end, and she did not sit out any ride that she was tall enough to do! It was soooooo great to watch her let go and go a little wild.

Sophia is doing fantastic. She is doing great with her thalassemia, and is sooooo easy going and funny. She is so easy going that she moves much slower then the rest of the pack. The word hurry is not in this child's vocabulary. But, the chick is stinkin smart! She talks in sentences now! And seems to have a sarcastic side to her! Her English has come sooo far this past month and it is just obvious to all that she was meant to be with us. Even friends and neighbors comment on how it feels like she has been home forever.

The guys are doing great too. Logan has hit his stride with reading, and is really enjoying being able to read chapter books and not have to ask for help as much with his home work. He is also playing flag football again and loving it. Seems soccer is next on his list of things to try, he was not very cheesed with baseball. Not enough action for the little man. He is very, very ready to have another boy in the house to help even out the odds around here. It can get pretty overwhelmingly pink and princess like @ here most days.

But thankfully we still have Mike for a few years until college. That is a topic that I enjoy ignoring, but with the reality of PSAT's and college info showing up in the mail....I don't think I will be able to be in ignorance for long.

Thankfully he is looking at a few great state schools, so hopefully he won't be gone to far.

Mike is also still loving playing in the youth band at church, and has moved up to subbing for the main worship band. I am amazed that that young guy on stage, playing the electric guitar, is my little guy who used to cry if he felt that people were staring at him (:

Crazy stuff! Can not wait to get Kira and Hudson home and have the privilege of watching them grow, explore their new limitless futures and see what God has planned for them.

Love,
Claire

Sorry!

I am so sorry that it has been 3 months since I have last posted. It seems like a blink of an eye to me.

These past 3 months have flown by! We came home in early July with Sophia, and have been on the go since then. A family reunion/wedding, beach week, start of school and all of the activities that go with that, plus Mia's 5th birthday! Sweet baby has not missed a beat, she has seamlessly woven herself into this crazy bunch.

I can honestly say that it was a matter of minutes before everyone who did not travel lost their hearts to her. She is amazing. So loving, trusting, and really funny.

Although her transition was really great, we did have a few months of dealing with some serious sibling rivalry. Seems Sophia was not excited about having to share mama with her big sister, Mia.

There were times when I had to literally pull them off of each other , and call for back up. But just when I thought it would last forever, the girls decided to join their super powers and become a formidable little force.

They are quite the dynamic duo, and get too much joy out of tag teaming everyone.

And, according to Sophia's hematologist, she did not get the memo about how a typical thalassemia child should act.... she is FULL of energy, and has a great appetite. She looked so good that he sent her blood work off to the mayo clinic to have genetic testing done to confirm the previous diagnosis.

We were all a bit shocked to see that she has thal major, and will require monthly blood transfusions until a cure is found. But we knew it was a very real possibility and were prepared for it.

I know it sounds so cliche, but we could not imagine life without her. She is such a joy, her smile is amazing and just lights up the day.

She is picking up English so fast, and has no problem getting her point across. She is obsessed with stickers and lip gloss. Has a terrible sweet tooth, and no need for shoes or most items of clothing.

She has become a total beach bum and water bug. Not sure how things will go when it cools down and she can not " go paid-a big water!" Translation....go play in the big water. Any pool, lake or the beach.

Thankfully our cooler weather does not last long down here, so we will be back at the big water soon.

It is going to be such a joy to watch this little girl grow up, I can not wait to see what God has planned for her. It is going to be something great.

Hope all is well.

Claire

Final post from China

This is the famous "Red Couch" from the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou





Swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate.


Tired and ready to go home.


Hey people!

My mom is packing, so I have taken the duty of writing the final post! Um, so it's been about a week since our last post... terribly sorry. Claire/my mom has been sick since Nanning, so she falls asleep with Sophia.

We went to the Consulate yesterday, which means when we touch ground in Detroit (after 15 hours of being on a plane, mind you), Sophia is officially a U.S. citizen! Yay!

This afternoon we are going to take the afternoon train to Hong Kong! Not quite the midnight train going anywhere, or the midnight train to Georgia, or the crazy train, but it's close. Sophia likes to sing the song: "Shwinkle, shwinkle, little sar" It's very cute.

We're anxious to get home, and see her interact with a more "normal" environment. Ex: Not living in a hotel. Well, we're off to lunch! Lucy's, here we come! Again! Sorry for the short post people.

This is the Taylor family, signing off from Guangzhou, China, one last ti... Forget it. Ya'll know this ain't the last time.

Peace out.
--Michael