Big Happy Family

Look at those beautiful kids! All 5 of them. Wow! We are so blessed. SOOO Blessed!!! God has been so sweet with us. Ken and I are constantly amazed at how blessed we have been in the "kid" department. God is good. So, here's an update on all kids for the summer (since I have some friend that keeps nagging me about us only "spotlighting" Mia...) ;)

Jake is turning 12 in two months. He has officially begun the process of turning into a teenager! Ha! He is already sleeping longer in the mornings. He is taller than me. He is an AMAZING helper and great big brother to all of these brothers and sisters ;) He is so witty and constantly making me laugh. He is such a good kid. What a blessing he is to me every day!

Maddy is turning 9 in two weeks! She is in the middle of a bunch of changes. She wants to be grown already, and yet, she still wants to be a kid. She is a great help to me with the babies... now if I can just get her to be a help with the laundry ;) She is about to cut her hair again and she is constantly amazing me with her fashion sense. She can do her hair (and always could) better than I do her hair! She is a little DIVA and a great big Sunshine! She is constantly making us smile. We were watching videos that she had taken on her camera - and this girl is CRAZY! She is "just like her momma" they tell me. And yes, she is.

Jared just turned 7! He is a snaggletooth right now! 8 teeth have fallen out in the last few months. They are all growing in, but still... there are lots of holes in there!!! So cute. We have taken so many pictures of him because of that. He is absolutely precious. He loves to color and loves to give things to people. He has the gift of giving. What a doll! He is enjoying his summer in the pool and playing games with his big brother.

Jude is a handful! Oh he is a naughty one. But, he is so dang smart. That's what it is. His main problem is that he is smarter than a lot of 4 year olds... and we can tell. For example, he got in trouble for hitting his sister and Ken got on to him. He then said, "Say yes, sir." Jude stares... looking like he has no idea what Ken is saying. Drama insues and he gets a spankin. Two minutes later I ask him if he wants to go outside and tell him to say yes, sir and before I even get it out... he says "Yes sir." ugh. little punk. He makes you think he doesn't know when he is being stubborn.. but if it is something he wants.. oh yes, sir or yes ma'am comes flying out of his mouth. He is absolutely precious. A mess, but precious. He can tell you he is going to be 2 on his next birthday, but he holds up one finger (or sometimes 5) ;) Precious, I tell you. He is ever helping his little sister Mia. He brings her her bottle, her toys, her pacifier (which she doesn't even take) and anything else that is little or pink. It is precious. And he is constantly kissing her on the head. Oh man. That melts my heart. Jude is also not afraid of water at all! We have to watch him like crazy at the pool - or at the river. He will stick his face under and bounce up and down and he is constantly trying to drown himself. He is crazy about swimming! We have our hands full!!!

And then, there is Mia. I know, you already know most of it... but she is the one who has been changing the most in the last few months. She now has pierced ears and she is trying to crawl. She LOVES her jumperoo and hanging out with her daddy. She is just an amazing little girl. At the adoption ceremony we all were crying. What a miracle baby she is! Even the lawyer started crying. My favorite part was when the judge asked our lawyer if he needed to ask the questions because she was too choked up to talk! LOVE IT!!! What a precious day! Granny Joan and Pawpaw bought her a necklace and bracelet to wear. She looks stunning in them. Just stunning. She is a little captivator! What a joy she is too! She is constantly cooing and smiling. She LOVES the water - cold or warm. She doesn't care... she just loves the water. We are going to have a great summer!

That's about it! We are going to Disney in August and until then we are just hanging out and having a great time being a BIG Happy Family! We love it! God is good. He is so Faithful!