Padme is Ten!

I can't believe my eldest daughter is already ten!!! How quickly the time has flown by! For years, we longed for a daughter, and the Lord blessed us with our sweet Padme, an answer to our prayers!

Padme decided to hold off her birthday party for the opening of High School Musical 3: Senior Year. We took several of her friends to a park next to the movie theater for cake and ice cream, then we watched the movie together. It was a beautiful day and the kids loved the movie! We had such a great time with all of her sweet friends - they helped to make her celebration special!

Padme is really growing up. She is a confident, strong young lady who loves the Lord and works hard at all she does. Naturally outgoing and vivacious, she is one of those people that everyone loves, which is why her birthday parties always have so many guests! She is very social and usually invites everyone she's seen in the last year. We have had such fun watching Padme grow up, she is intelligent, joyful and so fun to be with! She is truly beautiful, gorgeous inside and out. Sorry for the late posting, but we wish you a very Happy (late) birthday, sweet Padme. We love you!

Halloween photos

Starring (from left to right):  Our sweet friend KMe as a medieval princess; Padme as a genie; Angel as a china doll; Wendy as a cat; Dora as a ballet princess; and Lil Yoda as a rock star guitarist.  We had a fabulous time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Our 3 adoptees had never done anything like this, and Dora just kept saying, "Mama! This is the best night EVER!"

I only let my kids keep 30 pieces of candy, so we have lots of fun after trick-or-treating, going through what we do & don't like, and trading and, eventually, discarding.  I have found that, if I let them keep all of their candy from every holiday, then we have candy constantly in the house. We look at candy as a "sometimes food," so they are excited about the 30 pieces they get to keep!  Baloo stayed home & handed out candy to our millions of trick-or-treaters, and we got to hand some out, too, when we got back home.  The kids really enjoyed oohing and aahing over all the kids' cute costumes!

The voice of a little angel

I am blessed

By the best friends in the world. Thank you, my sweet friends, for last night's party. It was such a blessing to our family, as you are a blessing to me. I thank the Lord for bringing you into my life!

Wedding Pictures, Part 2

These are from the reception.

Aren't the cakes just gorgeous?

Everyone got to take turns in the limo. This kept the kids busy during the reception, and they loved it!

Padme caught the bouquet. This is not a surprise, considering that this child has had her wedding planned since she was three. As you can see in the picture, she is slightly excited.

Lil Yoda is showing us that she caught a petal. As you can see, she changed clothes about a minute after she walked out the doors of the worship center.

Y..M..C..A..

Proof that white men really can't dance. See the thumbs?

Everyone wanted to dance with the Bride Princess!

Aunt Aubrey loves her nieces and nephew!

Dancin' with my girls!

I have no idea what this is. I'm sure it looked cool in motion.

Baloo & Mema

Baloo makes friends easily. Especially pretty friends. He's no dummy.

The love of my life.

Wedding Pictures

We recently enjoyed the marriages of two dear family members. King Louie's sister, Aubrey, and my cousin, Kelly, were both married in recent weeks, and we are so excited for them both!

In his sister's wedding, the King gave his sister away, which was a very special moment for them both. Baloo played "Here Comes the Bride" on the electric guitar, which was awesome! He downloaded a version by Queen, written for 10 guitar parts. He smushed them into one, as best he could, and this was the song The King and Aubrey walked in to. This is a picture from the rehearsal.

All five of the girls were flower girls in the wedding. It was so precious! My mom made them matching dresses, and they were just beautiful! Thank you, Mema!Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Getting everyone to look at the camera and smile, simultaneously, is a near-impossible feat. I though this turned out fairly well.

Flower girls! Now, the church did not want them to throw petals, even these fake ones. About 2 seconds after this picture was snapped, the wedding coordinator in the back, wearing the white shirt, will have a conniption when she looks up and sees the petals on the floor. :0) They were silk petals, lady! Chill out!

Baloo with Hunter, one of King Louie's younger brothers. Aren't they handsome?

This is Aubrey with her and King Louie's mom, Grammaw Leicel. I love this picture! My five little girls, running off to a wedding. So precious. And in the blink of an eye, they will each run off to their own...

The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

This is a poem Padme just finished memorizing. She selected it herself.

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveler hastens toward the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands

Efface the footprints in the sands,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveler to the shore.

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

----Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

So who, do you suppose, is the traveler? And where is he going? Why does he never return to the shore?