A Difficult Year, But Not Without Blessings

I haven't posted in such a long time but I realize that I should. Our family has been through alot this year. My mother was diagnosed the first week of February with stage IV Lung cancer that had spread to her brain. We lost her May 9th after a very courageous battle. Our lives will certainly never be the same without her. Our family has persevered through that experience and we will always cherish every memory of her.

This summer our whole family ventured to Gulf Shores Alabama for the first time. We didn't pick the greatest hotel, but it all worked out and we had an amazing time. I'll post some pictures from that adventure later.

This fall all 3 of the kids played recreational soccer and that was just insane to keep track of lol ;-) That being said, all 3 of the kids did an awesome job and we couldn't be more proud.

Our family has attended Grace Bible Church pastored by Steve Atwood. This church as been such a blessing to our family and we thank God for them.

Our neighbors are currently in China adopting a 2 yr old who was in Audrey's orphanage and we are sooooo happy and excited for them ! I posted a link to their blog, E makes 5 in the links.

More later ........

ACCA Reunion held by Cirque de Chine

Yesterday we attended an adoptive family reunion for Chinese children held by the Cirque de Chine (Chinese acrobats that have their own theatre and perform right outside Gatlinburg and Pidgeon Forge). This was only the 2nd year the event had been held and I wasn't sure what to expect but I am here to tell you that it far surpassed my expectations and the kids loved it !!! The event opened at 9:30 am and we left home at 7am so we could get there when it opened. The Chinese acrobats had craft and activity centers set up all over the theatre lobby and halls going to the theatre. The Chinese acrobats were in their performing costumes and they helped the children with each craft and activity. They were wonderful with the kids and they let us video and take pics to our hearts content. After the crafts and activities we were treated to some icecream and then around noon we were served a buffet of authentic chinese food. After lunch the kids played on the stage where the acrobats perform until 1:45pm. It was quite a sight to see them all dancing around the stage. Our trio had stage fright so there was no getting them up on the stage except to run across it to the other side lol. At 1:45 there was a pre-show where performers from the "Soul of Shaolin" did an opening act which really made me want to see them perform at their theatre which is right up the street from the Smoky Mountain Palace where Cirque de Chine performs. The Soul of Shaolin is a tony award winning martial arts play and I was in awe even with the short preview we witnessed before the acrobats performed. The two performances together lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes with a 15 minute intermission . Audrey and Lei were entralled with the whole show and I've never seen them so into anything like that before. Rachel did really well although I think it was a little long for her. While we were there we also were interviewed by Channel 8 news out of Knoxville but I'm not sure if we will be on the air or not. There was a little about it on their internet site so that was fun to see. I'll post some pics from our trip and here are the links to Cirque de Chine and Soul of Shaolin.
http://smokymountainpalace.com/
http://www.easternshanghaitheater.com/

Happy 7th Birthday Audrey !!!!!

We celebrated Audrey's 7th B-day with a Pool Party and Severe Thunderstorm last Thursday evening. Everything worked out in the end and we all had a great time, but we ended up with the pool party in our house for over an hour which we really didn't plan for; we were finally able to go to the pool, swim, sing happy birthday and have cake and cupcakes. The kids had a blast swimming and this will definitely be a birthday party we won't soon forget ;-) Here are a few pics.