Kale, the dare devil

Here are many pictures of Kale as he decides to take adventure to a new level!! Enjoy. . .

Last Thursday, we headed to Plumtree, NC to Teen Valley Ranch for a weekend retreat with our church family from home. We spent Thursday night near Bristol, TN before heading the rest of the way Friday morning. We have been here before about 6 years ago and there have been some changes in that time, but it is still as beautiful and peaceful as ever. Some old friends of ours, Greg and Shelia (and their 3 boys) are directors of TVR and it was nice to see them as well. Friday afternoon was open activities so the boys had a ball. There was putt-putt, repelling, rock climbing, creeks, zip lines, woods to roam, game room, open gym, horse riding, and much more. They took off as fast as they could. One of the nice things about this place is they can go wherever they want on their own--FREEDOM!! I'll add some other pictures of them enjoying the different events later. Friday evening after dinner, there was worship and praise and a Bible time. Then, free time. The boys were out playing until midnight as was Chloe. There is a snack shack and they were excited to be given money that they could buy whatever they wanted with it. Cody enjoyed glass-bottled Cheerwine and Keegan was all about the Root Beer.

Saturday morning if you plan to eat you have to get up and get going. The boys were up and out playing by 7:00 as Jon, Chloe, and myself tried to convince ourselves to get up. We did all make it to breakfast--did I mention the food is SUPERB!! After breakfast, they give us some stuff for family quiet time. So we headed off to a nearby gazebo and talked. Next up was praise and worship with everyone, then Bible time. The boys head out to their own Bible time during the adult time. After that and lunch all activities were open again. I began to think we might not see the boys at all:)) Keegan found a game he really enjoyed--carpet ball-- and was very good at so he stayed down at that area most of the time (hence the reason there are few pictures of him). Jonathan and Chloe enjoyed a nap in the room while I headed out to get some pictures. We all enjoyed the afternoon even though it was cooler. After dinner, we again had music and Bible time. Afterwards, they had music down at the coffee shop that was fun. Pretty much everyone ended up down there at some point. The snack shack opens each afternoon after lunch and again after Bible time. The boys always made sure they found us at that time. Again, we were all up until midnight and again the boys were up and out by 7 the next morning. (The only people out that early were kids.)

After breakfast, we did praise and worship and Bible time. Then a huge brunch is served and people start heading out. The boys took advantage of what time they had left and played and ran around hard. It was great connecting with some old friends and making new friends--a church group from Snow Hill was also there. One of the kids was actually a student I taught in first grade at Snow Hill Primary. We can't wait until next year!!!

The picutres I added tonight were some of my favorites from the weekend. I'll add more slides later of the different activities (make sure to check out Kale's--he's a little dare devil)!!

Camera issues!!!

UPDATE: I tried a few other things and then shut the computer down and restarted it and for some weird reason that worked!! Whatever, I am glad, so soon there will be pictures!!

My camera is driving me crazy right now. WE took some great photos last weekend while we are at TVR for a retreat with our church from home. However, none of our computers will show that the camera is connected. All the pictures are on card, but when connected and I try to get picts it says the scanner or camera are in use or not properly connected. Please try again. Well, I have prettu much every day this week and I am getting a little frustrated!!! Anyone have any thoughts???? I'd appreciate any help you might have.
Thanks

Wordless Wednesday

Random photos

Here are some random photos I have recently taken at different places and times. I really like these and am having fun playing with the different effects. Enjoy. . .

Kale and Chloe hanging out at paintball.

The next few are neat shots of Cody practicing some soccer moves.

Jonathan, Chloe, and the boys in front of the Washington Monument.

It is really funny to see her on his back and if you go back and look at Taiwan pictures, you will see same sort of photo, but my has she changed.

Na-na-nah boo boo!!

Sleeping issues!

We put Chloe to bed each night about 7:30 or 8:00 at the same time as the boys. We go to bed around 10:00 each night and generally Chloe is still talking away to herself. Many nights before I get in bed, I check in on the boys and Chloe--they are just so sweet when they are asleep. Last night, she was already asleep so I peeked in. She is laid out on her back wearing ONLY a night shirt--NO bottoms and NO diaper!! Now, Jonathan swears he put both on her, but. . .

Bubbles!!

Gotcha Day Celebration

On Saturday, we celebrated Chloe's one year home with us anniversary!! We used our neighborhoods clubhouse and had a little party. The theme was ladybugs which are good luck items in the Asian adoption world. We had a ladybug cake, cupcakes, games like "Spot" the Ladybug (like pin the tail on the donkey), Toss the Ladybug on the Leaf, and a Bug Hunt. Everyone had lots of fun!! We gathered together lots of donations for St. Lucy's orphange, where Chloe spent her first 18 months. Thank you to everyone who contributed to that!!

Wow, time sure has flown by . . .

On this day one year ago, we were in Taiwan meeting Chloe for the very first time. It is in many ways hard to believe she has been a part of our family for a year and in other ways it seems she has been with us forever. She is so like all of us in many different ways. Chloe has been a true blessed addition to our family. She has changed so very much this past year.

+She did not want anything to do with Jonathan AT ALL!! She screamed bloody murder whenever he walked into the room. Today, she has a huge tantrum because Jonathan was leaving without her.

+She talks constantly. She was playing with bubbles today and blew one herself. She said, "I did it!!" Jonathan put her int he shower the other night and before he got back she had gotten out and said, "I done daddy" and was running out of the bathroom.

+She eats everything that we put in front of her. In fact, she would prefer to eat all day and all night. She'll even sneak in to the snack drawer and eat whatever she finds.

+Although she is physically a girl, she has no issues hanging with her brothers and doing what they do. She gets right on the floor to wrestle with them. One day they were heading out into the woods and there she goes right behind them. She uses sticks for guns just like them. She would rather play with the Hot Wheels than her baby dolls.

+She is spoiled rotten by everyone. She was on the trampoline and started screaming to get off. ALL 3 boys ran to her like there was a fire. They got her down and went back to playing. Less than 2 minutes later, she screamed even more because she wanted to get back on and again they all came running. She knows daddy will give her whatever she wants so she asks him for everything. I guess being spoined rotten is not so bad especially from her angle.

+She is an independent, head strong little girl. She wants to do things for herself and she wants it done HER way. And she's only 2--boy we are scared of the future with her.

+She is a jumping machine. She will jump all around a room or climb up on chairs, couches, stools, anything and jump off. The other night she even jumped and then flipped.

+She is already missing a tooth. You'll have to go back to read about that story.

+She loves to look at books and listen to music. She will dance to all music even a phone ringing.

+She not only bows her head for the blessing, she will even say it some nights. And she always says "Amen".

Chloe is a wonderful little girl who is very loved. We cannot imagine life without her. She has blessed us and others around her in more ways than we can count. I can't wait to see what the next year will hold:)) We love you Chloe Mei-Ling Davis!!

Happy birthday, Kale!!!

Yesterday, Kale turned 7 years old!! Wow, it is hard to believe our baby boy is seven--we are getting so old:) We picked up his present on Saturday evening--a basketball goal-- and he was quite excited. Now, if it would just stop raining so we can get it up and he can play. Yesterday, we went out to eat and he had ice cream as we sung happy birthday to him. He is so laid back, he didn't care what we did. He asked about what time he was born and that brought back many memories such as almost not making it to the hospital. I wanted to get everything straight at home first even though I knew the contractions were strong and coming really fast. Then our doctor made us go there first; as soon as I walked in they sent me STRAIGHT to the hospital. Thank goodness, the doctor and hospital were only 2 minutes apart. Needless to say many people did not make it to his actual birth, but arrived after the fact. I was terrified about having Kale and since I was so far along was not aloud any drugs:(( It was ALL natural--I liked the drugs better. According to Jonathan, I was very ugly to the doctors and he apologized over and over, but they understood. It is funny for such a laid back boy, he sure came into the world quickly. Happy birthday, Kale and we love you!!

Just for you, Nana Jo!!

Cody's first game

Cody's first game of the season kicked off a few Saturdays ago. Although feeling fine, his energy level was not quite up to par so he tired quickly as he played. The field was HUGE--he had never played on a field this big (and apparently neither had anyone else). Although they lost, they played well and had lots of fun. It was a beautiful day for a soccer game.

Sidenote: I tried to add pictures, but it would not work. The pictures were not great anyway since the field is so big I am very far away. I will add some later when blogger cooperates.

Monster Trucks

So on Friday night, we headed to F'Burg to see the Monster Truck show. Daddy and the boys had a jump on this since while they were out messing around that morning, they actually got to meet the driver and see the truck as it was unloaded. The quick event was lots of fun for the boys (Chloe was NOT a fan) and the rest of us.

Papa's visit

This past weekend Papa came for a visit. It was another workday, so he came up on Thursday and picked the boys up after school. They "piddled" around until I got home with Chloe. She was quite excited to see Papa even bypassing daddy. They hung out on Friday doing their kind of stuff: eating, hiking, eating, riding, eating, napping (Papa), eating, (Do ou see a pattern here??) That night we went to Fredericksburg for a special event (see next blog). We had lots of fun with Papa all weekend. By the way, on Sunday evening after church, the Clifton's joined us at Burger King. After dinner, Papa bought LOTS of Oreo milkshakes for everyone to enjoy. such a Papa kind of thing:))

Nana Jo and Granddaddy Visit

Nana Jo and Cody were cutting the rug

A few weekends ago, Nana Jo and Granddaddy came up for a visit. The kids were out of school that Friday for a workday. The boys came with me and they picked them up at lunch. They went to eat and then to see the movie Nim's Island. Next, we all met at Walmart for the fun shopping trip. Cody had not been feeling to well and it seemed to be getting worse. He was constantly in the bathroom. Thinking he was okay, we met Jonathan at Texas Steakhouse. We soon realized he was not getting better, so Cody, Chloe, Nana Jo, and myself headed home. Let's just say it was a long trip home!! He woke up feeling 100% better Saturday morning. So, after breakfast, we were off to his first soccer game of the season. After that, we ate lunch and then the grandparents headed back to NC. It was lots of fun and we all enjoyed them being here. Here are a few pictures . . .