Jesse and Judah were such cute dancers

Well, this am the kids put on a dvd that Ava had called ,"Swan Lake". It was a Barbie ballet teaching one. All the girls went upstairs to put a dress on....then all of a sudden, Jesse and Judah showed up after they had visited the dress ups :) They were hilarious in their dresses...they are such sweet little boys who have transitioned so easily into our family.

Nana Time - part 1

I watched Kloe and Mady this am and had a great time with them.

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It was Nana time this am and I loved it....Part 2

Kloe was "helping" Nana this am make lunch ;)

It was my Sunday to stay home with Andrew and so Mary Kate/Keith were able to leave Mady and Kloe with me...so I had a fun time with them this am.. Mady wanted to get in the jolly jumper like Kloe so I put her in it. I was able to cook dinner for 30 and take care of our clothes washing, and play with my sweethearts while the rest of them were at church....The kiddos home with me were so good that I was able to get all that done and the best part was watching the girls.

Where has the furniture gone ?

Over the 13 yrs we have lived here we have added on to our house by adding on to our deck. It really is an extension of our living space. It is a big deck - 2,000 sq. feet..  Paul and the kids built a lower deck this spring- actually a Mothers Day gift. Well, this wknd. it was time to stain the decks. So Paul and the kids took all the  furniture off yesterday and today they stained the decks...the kids went swimming last evening and ate popsicles  but had to sit on the floor. They did not seem to mind.

2 of the grand babies...that make me smile

Ava lost her first tooth :) Can't you see the sweetness pouring out of her sweet smile. I am so grateful to live so close to some of my grand babies. I wish we did to the others...

Little Mady with her silly personality...She was sick with hand , foot and mouth virus the week before when this was taken...She shared with me, her momma and daddy so far. I have been ill the past 2 days with the sore mouth and hairy feeling tongue and sore throat that goes with this. I love the second pic up of her - it shows her personality. Just makes me smile.

Monkey Joes - "Monkeys"

Signing in- Keith and Mary Kate treated the little ones to Monkey Joes and it was a blast.

These 3 had so much fun just hanging together.

Don't you love Sari's smile? She has really blossomed and you can see it in her sweet face. Thanks Mary Kate and Keith for a fun time.

Child abuse and adults who cover up needs to stop-Yeah for the NCAA

In light of the Penn State affairs in the news lately I decided to express my feelings about what is going on and the penalties given to Penn State by the NCAA. My response all came from a status posted on fb this afternoon. I could not just let that go without my comment and now I feel more obliged to share :

Paul and I have been adopting now for over 27 yrs.. Most of our children whom we adopted have suffered greatly under the supposed care of a loving caregiver...either a parent, a foster parent, other family members , orphanage workers and their very own gov'ts.. I have been open about many of the abuses that they have suffered and have seen them overcome much...but there is always a constant feeling of grief, anger and out right disgust that comes from within me when I let myself dwell to much on these adults who prey on children- most of them are never held accountable for their actions and this sin always has a rippling affect. It has caused many issues in the lives of these children and for some they may never get over the harm that was done by a supposedly loving caregiver....

Now when I first heard about Penn State and the Sandusky abuse I was again troubled by yet another story of a "supposed person who really cares " that has abused the trust of the children in his care...not only that he created a group to help and instead we now know the "help" he provided for his own sexual pleasure...disgusting at best and I don't even want to spend more of my words on this monster...but when I read about where it took place and for how long and that the administration of a respected and well run sports machine were aware of it then I am even more disgusted. I am not a football fan at all and my feelings about that are saved for another blog post . I will say though that in America I believe it is a GOD and not one that I believe should be given the amount of hype and money that it does...( all I will share for now).

I shared my feelings on the fb comment and knew I would get some upset. I respect the opinion of the original author and even some of the comments but one was written in capital letters and I felt like they could not respect my opinion as I wish to do with theirs- if shared in a mature way...( again another blog post) . Now for me I feel the sanctions placed upon Penn State were good...I think the bold and strong statement that the NCAA will not tolerate this sexual abuse or the knowledge of it by people who knew and did nothing is what I wanted to hear....I am sorry that the players now will be affected by this sin but that is what happens when there is sin- It ripples out to many other innocent victims. I was even challenged that Joe P did not know about it...my decision was not based on that at all...He should have known as other adult caregivers in my own children's lives should have-and it should have been reported and yes I am outragged about the issue of some did report and nothing was done about - Adults need to make sure someone does something to stop it...This was going on for 14 yrs at least.
  So I am one who feels very good about the message the NCAA sent today with the sanctions given to Penn State...I want my children to know that some do care about child sex abuse and will take a strong stand against even the knowledge of knowing it is happening and do something about it. Amen to the NCAA.

Cucumber bounty means lots of dill pickles :)

All of my children love dill pickles ....So when we get a bumper crop of cukes you know what we are making. In this picture the amount is just 2 days worth of cucumbers. Now in a family that is as big as ours it is great because I can not always say, "Eat whatever you want to". They love the fresh vegatables. Our tomatoes are just coming in...fresh salsa, tomatoe sandwiches, and green fried tomatoes are on the horizon.

We are home and here is a view at the consignment sale of all sales

I am like a child in a candy store.....

This was one of my finds...it is like a stair walker. It is a favorite of everyone. It actually is great for many of them who need to experience with movement and coordination. As you can see it is perfect and even we put Andrew on it. He was not sure at first but we put him on it again and he was beginning to enjoy it.

Some of the kids got the hang of it quickly and others needed to practice a bit...even Jesse and Judah were able to coordinate their body and do it. If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area there are 2 more days for this consignment sale...and Sunday is half price day.

Of course it was very good to visit with Jenn, Jeremiah and our precious grand babies- Ella, Ezra, Eli and Zoe. It was a quick trip but great to see them.

What can you do with 13 pool rings ?

 This was taken yesterday when it rained. This shot was taken when the sun was also shining. It was a weird weather day but the kids had fun in it.

Wednesday I am headed down to NC to visit Jenn and her family :) We will also be going to that super huge consignment sale...I feel like a kid in a candy store when we go...We spend the whole day there because there is so much to see and do....this time we are bringing Ava, Mya and Ella to the sale with us. They will love it I am sure. See you when I get back.........