Max Turns Five!

Max-Man turned five last month and I can hardly believe it! I wanted to wait to get his stats at the Dr. before writing a blog post...and it is hard to find time to blog...not gonna lie. Here is my guy in a nutshell: Weight: 43.5 lb/75th percentile, Height: 75th percentile, Overall Health: GREAT minus bad seasonal allergies, Favorite Foods: Grilled cheese, cheese of any kind, Favorite Activities: Building things like Legos, blocks, Lincoln logs, swimming, puzzles, Favorite Shows: Octonauts, Paw Patrol, Favorite Movies: Lego Movie, scenes from Star Wars, The Reef, Croods, Turtle's Tale, New Accomplishments This Year: Max finally (after being dry overnight for two years) started to wear underwear to bed at night. My perfectionist was frightened of having an accident. After having several cousins sleep over this summer, he realized that he was the only one not to wear undies at night:). Peer pressure won this battle! Max was also able to swim completely independently this summer...deep end and all. He could swim well last summer but I still had to watch him like a hawk. Max also began to read. We used the BOB book series to get him started. Lastly, Max prayed to accept Jesus in his heart on April 8th! He ask to pray with me on the way to school that morning. My heart burst! School: : Max is going to Lifepoint preschool and attends the transitional kindergarten program. He could have started kinder this year but we opted for one more year of preschool due to his age. He loves his class already! He misses his friends Zion, David, and Joshua from last year but is working on making new friends. Personality: Max is a sweet and driven boy...he won Mr. Intensity at school last year. He gets really excited about school and activities. He has come along way in his perfectionist tendencies and fear of "failure". Max still struggles trying new foods...I have had to make peace with this as I offer a variety and I cannot make him eat his whole plate. This is tough for me because I like EVERYTHING. The funny thing is...he actually eats "weird" things like blue cheese, hummus, quinoa...I just can't get him to eat stuff like chicken. He is a wonderful big brother and likes to try and help his sister out. However, Miss Thang doesn't always like him in her business:). This has led to fighting of course...siblings. Max can throw a nice tantrum when he wants...usually when he is tired from a holiday or vacation. We had a rough patch when he turned four and it was tough. Luckily it only lasted a few months...AMEN. Max is a great helper...he likes to cook and clean with me. Husband in training ladies with little girls! I thank God everyday for me sweet boy!

Two Year Gotcha Day

We celebrated Cora's "Two Year Gotcha Day" on the 21st of August. I will never forget the actual day. We (Kyle, me, my mom, and Kyle's mom) drove from Taipei to Taichung to pick Cora up from her foster mother's apartment. The drive took over two hours and we stopped briefly to eat some lunch on the way. I could barely eat a thing. I remember vividly how my heart pounded going up the elevator and as I entered the apartment. I kept thinking...this is ACTUALLY happening! My heart leapt when I saw my girl. Cora was beautiful. She slowly acclimated and then sat in Kyle's lap. Her foster mother clearly loved Cora so it was a emotional day for her as well. I will never be thankful enough for her care of my girl. Next we drove to meet Cora's birth mother and maternal grandparents. That part of the story is for Cora to tell as she grows to understand her adoption. The past two years I have seen my little girl blossom into an independent, sassy, loving, and humorous toddler. She has endured feeding therapy, physical therapy, and about a million Dr.'s appointments...yet still bonded and loved easily. Kyle and I could not be more thankful for our peanut! Thank you Lord for entrusting this gift of a girl to our care! Our family celebrated this special anniversary with cupcakes, sand play, cousin time, and Chinese food. :). Gotcha Day 2012

Gotcha Day 2014

Ten Year Anniversary

Today marks our ten year anniversary of marriage! I really cannot believe how fast time has past by. It seems like yesterday we were a couple of teenagers dating in high school. I knew Kyle was special the moment he spoke to me. It really was instant love. I look back on the past sixteen years of dating and marriage and I feel completely humbled. Kyle has always chosen to seen the best in me rather than the worst. No one has been a bigger cheerleader...Kyle makes me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. He also makes me feel like I am "enough". He loves me just as I am. That astounds me everyday. At our wedding this scripture was read: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails, 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. I have absolutely felt this from my partner and I hope he has from me as well. I pray we can love each other the way our Father in heaven does...a love that is more than a feeling...a love that serves others, that forgives, that protect, and that perseveres. In our ten years together we have moved three times, completed grad school together, each changed careers, experienced one amazing pregnancy and birth, celebrated the miracle of adoption, traveled to unique places, and lived out the simple pleasures of daily life. I pray for ten more years at least!

Swim and Little Gym

We have had a busy summer full of trips, time with friends and family, and lots of outdoor play. Max and Cora are going to one regularly scheduled activity each...Max swim lessons and Cora Little Gym. Both of them have the same teachers from last year and love to go each week. Cora's gross motor skills have improved so much since her surgery. It has been a joy seeing her keep up with the other kids in her class. She is a firecracker in class! Sometimes she participates completely and sometimes she could care less and just wants to run around. I love it! Max has been working on "big arms" in swim lessons. He is a great swimmer but lessons have helped a lot with his form. Cora loves to watch him from the waiting room window:).

Spring Soccer

Max played soccer through the Y this spring and he enjoyed it immensely. His team was called the Smurfs and Kyle was the assistant coach. I loved watching Kyle and Max interact on the field. Talk about wanting to be his Daddy:)...Max tried so hard to be like and play like Kyle. God has blessed me with a present and engaging husband who loves his kids deeply. I do not take this fact for granted. Overall, I felt like Max had fun and improved his skills. We will definitely keep soccer going next year.

We Are Moved!

As you can see, there have been very few blog entries since the holidays. My last post explains some of the reasons why. My family battled strep, the stomach bug, a surgery, and a small house flood all while selling our last house. I only had one breakdown where I called my mom and cried in the closet:). Ha! We did make it out alive and into our new house located in Frisco. The surgery mentioned was for Cora. I took her into my ENT after four back to back ear infections and strep. There were some concerns for her hearing and balance so we opted for ear tubes and adenoid removal. Cora did fine during the anesthesia and was nice and "loud" in the recovery room. I expected nothing less from my sassy girl. Cora's balance, pronunciation, and overall health improved dramatically immediately after the surgery...so much so that she was officially dismissed from physical therapy! I cannot believe how far this girl has come since we brought her home last year. What a fighter! The actual move into our new house was fine. I think the weeks leading up to it were so crazy that the move didn't seem bad. We used Element Moving and Storage...they were fabulous. Not one item was damaged and the movers were very friendly. We love our new neighborhood and are starting to get to know our neighbors. The only temporary drawback is that there is a ton of construction going on around the street. Luckily this will decrease significantly over the next six months. It feels refreshing being back in a routine. The house is mostly unpacked, the kids have been healthy, and our new house hasn't flooded. I will take it happily.

Cora with her fan club at the hospital

Scarfing food post surgery

Our empty lot 9 months ago

Our old house...I will miss it dearly!

The new casa

Already getting a facelift...