the kids
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four on friday.
Judah. His current favorite subject in school is geography. Least favorite? Grammar. Poor Judah. I don’t have the heart to tell him that this is just the beginning of years of diagramming sentences. Amelie. “I don’t want any Christmas presents this year. All I want is the condition.” (condition=addition) This girl is ready for her own bedroom. But not to sleep in: “I might get lonely without Judah at night; I just want somewhere to set up all my stuff and have a craft table.” Gabriel. I love watching his little personality emerge — from months and months of simply mimicking everyone around him all day. He’s active…
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judah turns 9.
Our oldest boy turned 9 years old yesterday. Can you believe it? Is it possible that I have a 9-year-old? We celebrated with a breakfast date: Judah, David, and me. The three of us sat on the front patio of Rise Bakery, eating sticky buns, and shooing away the black cat that wound around our ankles, wondering when the last time was that we’d been out together, just the three of us. Judah requested a whole year ago that he get the day off school for his birthday. He’s the only one of our kids that has a birthday on a school day, and he was very frustrated about it.…
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art lessons with nina.
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annie comes to columbia.
Hi friends! I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool and hydrated in this sweltering heat. David’s cousin Annie left behind her mild 70-degree weather and flew out from Seattle for a week. We had a wonderful visit with her. She’s a rising high school senior, and so we’re thankful for extra time with her before she becomes a super-busy college student. Annie’s adopted, and is one of the big inspirations for our wanting to adopt children ever since we got married. I’m so thankful for the special bond she’ll always share with Gabe and Noah, and for the way Judah and Amie adore her too. She stayed at Steve…
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mnm camp.
Last week my mom, my mother-in-law, and my brother’s mother-in-law joined forces to put on a cousins camp for our kids. My parents live in Blythewood, just a few miles outside of Columbia. David’s folks live around the corner from us. And as of this year, my sister-in-law’s mom, Barb, lives in Kenny and Shari’s neighborhood. Thus, the three grandmothers plotted a week of fun for the six cousins. Shari’s mom is “Mimi,” my mom is “Nina,” and David’s mom is “Mum-Mum,” and so they very cleverly created “MNM Camp.” We kicked off the week with the 4th of July cook-out at Steve and Linda’s, and for the next four…
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amelie turns 7!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Amie’s birthday last weekend. Her request, instead of a party, was to go to the American Girl store in Charlotte. Our family watched the three boys on Saturday morning so that David and I could take her. First, we had to stop for breakfast at Amelie’s French Bakery in Rock Hill. Their pastries are divine and Amie got a complimentary eclair for being a birthday girl (and yes, everyone loved that her name is Amelie)! We’re so proud of Amie for saving her allowance all year; in addition she asked for birthday money from family so that she could buy a new doll. She…
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soccer camp.
Hi there friends! We’re enjoying our summer and managing to keep it just-the-right-amount of busyness. Last week David flew to Alabama for PCA General Assembly (an annual gathering of pastors), and Judah went to his first soccer camp at CIU. He had such a great time: learned some skills, saw some old friends and made new friends, and really liked his coaches. With David out of town, it was nice for me to have just three kids during the day; I was also thankful for help from family and friends. In the evenings, Judah, Amie and I made slice-and-bake cookies, cuddled on the couch, and watched episodes of The British…
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meeting the philly cousins.
David’s sister Becky and her kids came from Philadelphia for a visit, and got to join in the fun at the end of Gabe’s party. They stayed around the corner at David’s parents’ house, and we all had a great two days together. It was their first time meeting Gabe and Noah in person. Gabe and Ilan are the same age, and so are Noah and Anli. Lina is in-between Judah and Amie, and the two girls wanted to spend every minute together! Thanks so much for making the trip, you guys!!!
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gabe turns 5!
Gabe had a birthday last Friday, May 27th! When he turned four, he had been in our home for just over one month. We’re so thankful to have spent a full year of his life with him, and marvel at how much better we know him this birthday. We had a small party with cousins and friends from church, and Gabe’s birth mom and her boyfriend also joined us. This was our first time doing a themed party for one of our kids, and Gabe chose Star Wars. We had a great time choosing a few ideas online, and mainly keeping it simple. David made pool noodle light sabers for…
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may.
Hi there friends! May has been a very busy month for us! It’s funny that apparently the busiest month of the summer technically came before the summer started. We had 3 weddings (2 of which David performed), a ballet recital, our Classical Conversations summer practicum, and by this weekend will have taken 5 out of town trips! Amie’s recital was very sweet, and family and friends came to watch her. She had a great year in ballet and enjoyed being with her friends in class on Monday afternoons. We’ve decided to “take a year off” in favor of doing swim team with her brothers (which she’s been at since January),…