Here's a mix of 4th of July pics and some other everyday pictures also. We took the kids to the parade this year. They had a great time as did Mom and Dad. Judson and Mommy made the coordinating shirts!
I couldn't get a good read on Ansley. Not sure if she liked anything or loved everything. I think she was overwhelmed by the people and activities. 
Sawyer LOVED the bands and music.
Mom loved the National Anthem. The guy who sang it did an awesome job. I also loved the bagpipes. 
I'm also including pictures of Judson building a wind mill and riding his bicycle as well as Sawyer and Ansley just being Sawyer and Ansley. What you need to know is that Ansley's wardrobe ensemble includes her 'day clothes' covered by 2 night gowns. She is constantly going thru her dirty clothes putting on several layers. (I swear it goes back to the old country where they always layer clothes on the kids) As you can see, Sawyer was trying the layered look also.
Judson has been taking swimming lessons this week. What a trooper! He's never really been swimming in his life. (Bad Mommy!) Several of the kids in his class are quite skittish but not Judson. He's always raising his hand to try something new. He REALLY wants to learn how to dive off a diving board like his cousin CJ. We told him he needed to be at least 8 years old and know how to swim. (Actually, I told him he needed to be 12 but he pointed out that CJ was only 9 and he was diving last year at the ripe old age of 8) You can tell by the pictures he's a bit tense but he keeps on trying and he practices in the bathtub each night so he'll be ready for the next days lessons.
What a wonderful group of friends we have! We are truly blessed with one of the best group of friends ever. We put out the word that we wanted to celebrate Ansley's Gotcha Day anniversary and they were ready. They even suffered through some major heat (what else is there in the South?) since we decided to have the party outside. We just wanted to say Thank You to our friends and tell you how much we appreciate your friendship. We also wanted to share a few pictures. We actually didn't get too many pictures because we were having so much fun chatting that we didn't get to take many pictures. (Dad, remember to click on the collage to bring up a bigger picture!)
Daddy is very nice to me. He likes to play games with me. He lets me work outside with him. He reads books to me. He takes good care of my brother and sister . He takes me places. I especially like going to work with him and riding in the car with him. He teaches me alot of things, like math and geography. Another thing I really like is when he lets me type in the bills in his Excel spreadsheet. He teaches me about the plants in our backyard. He also lets me wash the car with him and he let me help build our swing set.
Can you believe it has been a year? One year ago, Randy and his mom got to meet Ansley face-to-face for the first time. A very emotional day for them and Ansley. Ansley was suddenly flung into a whole new world with new people who looked, smelled, talked, ate, etc nothing like anybody she had known. She was flown thousands of miles away from all she had known in her short life to begin a brand new life. She was and still is a very brave little girl. She is a survivor in the most basic sense of the word. She landed on her feet and she is thriving.
Okay. Don't have any new news. We're just trying to get back into our routine. I just walked downstairs where Daddy and Judson are putting together their 600 piece world map puzzle. Judson asked his Dad, "is this the way it should look". (They were putting together Africa.) Dad said, "looks good to me". Judson asked, "But where is Burkina Faso?" Don't know where Burkina Faso is? Just ask my 4 year old. He'll tell you.
Whew! What a wonderful time we had on Rocky Top. We visited with family, ate LOTS of food (Hey, that's what you do here in the south), and saw the sites. The kids had such a blast playing with each other. Judson wants everyone to move there so we can always be together. The only thing we would change would be the location of the cabin. The term the rental agency used was 'secluded'. The term I would use would be 'boonies'. The access road wound its way up the side of the mountain. My brother said it best when he said, "the road was so curvy, he saw his own tail lights". We hope to make it an annual event. Wouldn't my Grandmother be happy!
Ansley and Abbey in the fish tank. Ansley, Abbey, and Aidan showing off their matching dresses that Abbey's mom made. Aren't they too cute?
Sawyer is changing the most. His little personality is really emerging. Anybody know the Stricklin Temper? Multiply that by 47 chromosomes and you have Sawyer, when he gets angry. He doesn't do it very often but when he does, he's a site. Take the nite I wouldn't let him watch TV. He screamed at me for 30 solid minutes. When I asked if he was "mad at mommy", he said, "MAD", crossed his arms and turned his back to me. He's also a little comedian, putting underwear on his head and saying "look", just to get a laugh. And smart, he knows all the sounds the letters make and he knows all the letters via sign language. He's beginning to recognize their symbols too. (Such as "A")
Ansley is ever the little princess, expecting to be treated as such. She needs order in her life, almost to the point of being OCD. Probably due to such upheaval in her life, she's just trying to bring order and control to what she can. She goes to bed and has to have 2 covers. The 2nd cover MUST completely cover the 1st. She must have her prized possession. (Changes, recently it's a stuffed rabbit) She is also becoming much more loving as well as bossy. If she sees Mommy fussing at one of the boys, she comes right behind me, waving a finger, looking ever so stern, telling them what they did wrong, and demanding they say 'sorry'. She, too, is very smart. (Can I help it if all my kids are smart? Surely you don't believe I'm biased in anyway.) She knows her letters and their sounds and recognizes her numbers.
Judson has become the sweetest and most loving little boy. (He always has been but it's just getting better) I think he's finally come to terms with his new sister. (Not that they don't fight but they are better) He tries to teach the babies their letters and numbers. He reads to them. He still wants to be rocked at night before he goes to bed. He's at such a wonderful age and is such a wonderful little boy.
We took our annual Mother's Day trip to the zoo today. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We got to see the gorillas (my personal fave). We did not get to see Mei Lan (Baby Giant Panda). The lines were too long. Never fear, we can see her anytime via Panda Cam! Ansley loves birds, so she was excited to see the peacock. She also loved the elephants. Sawyer just loved being out and about. The animals were a bonus.
