Gotcha Day!

A year ago today Maryn Yu-Meng was placed in our arms...it was the end of a very long wait and the beginning of a wonderful, exciting and fun journey. This year has gone so incredibly fast, but has been full of joy! Tonight we are celebrating with Maryn's favorite dinner...chicken and french fries. We'll also have some carrots, apples and end with an ice cream cake. While she won't remember the day, it is one that we will celebrate every year!

Almost a Year!

It's been almost a year since we got Maryn. This time last year we were packing, trying to keep our suitcases under 50 pounds. What a difference a year makes and what a tremendous blessing this little girl has made in our lives! We just had our last social work visit and need to send pictures along with the report that will make it's way to China. This is one of the shots required (child with her parents). It's not often we get both Rich and I on this side of the camera.

When She's Quiet...

If Maryn is up and it's quiet...it usually means trouble! She is especially fond of my markers and if I leave them out, she will find them. This day she plopped herself on the chair and just stared at the colors. When we caught her, she had just selected a marker and was taking the cap off...oh what might have been!

Reid Cousins

My sister Debby and her family came for a visit from Iowa. We all converged on Mommom and Pops at Lake Anna. Debby and Jeff were able to bring their two foster sons, whom they hope to adopt. It was fun getting to know the boys. They are lots of fun and played well with Maryn...though she wasn't used to their tackling. The house was definitely NOT quiet with all the kids running around. The current grandkid count for my parents is 13 (we have 3, Dave and Carrie have 5, Cindy and Brian have two and Deb and Jeff have 3, but that number could vary depending on the day and the plans God has for them).

Swim Team

Caleb once again swam this summer with the Crosspointe Cruisers. He moved up to the 13-14 year old division and while he didn't win many races, he still loves the sport and the exercise. He worked really hard in practice and was recognized as "Swimmer of the Week." His favorite events are the Breast and Butterfly strokes as well as the Individual Medley (one lap of each stroke). Maryn was Caleb's #1 Fan. She yelled "Go Caleb" in the car, all the way to the pool and when others were swimming. She still cheers for Caleb at random times which makes us laugh. We sure are proud of Caleb and all his hard work!

Where There's Water...

Where there is water, you'll usually find Maryn. She was helping Rich one night with the sprinklers and "accidentally" got a bit wet...as you can see, she was drenched in her clothes, but had a ball running through the sprinkler. She also loves to wash her hands, thankfully she can't reach the faucet yet to do it "by herself." She loves the pool, the lake, the bathtub, the kitchen sink and there's always puddles to splash in too!

Our Little Artist

One of Maryn's favorite things to do (inside that is) is to color or as she says it "draw." If there is a pen laying around, she will find it and locate a piece of paper and start drawing. This is especially helpful when shopping at IKEA as it keeps her busy. We have her large Dora the Explorer coloring book and crayons sitting out most of the time at the kitchen table so she can hop up and draw. So far, she's keeping to the paper now all we need is to keep the crayons on the table so Winston can't get a hold of them!

Can I play too?

One of Josh and Caleb's favorite past times is playing on the Wii. They like playing Guitar Hero and can't wait for the 4th edition coming out sometime this fall...note to self...good Christmas gift idea! Anyway, Maryn loves to get in on the action and this day Josh was gracious enough to let her help!

Time flies by

The summer seems to be flying by, but I wanted to try to catch you up on some of the things we've been doing. While Rich and Josh were away in the Dominican Republic, Caleb, Maryn, Winston and I celebrated Maryn's first July 4th at my parents house in Lake Anna. Maryn wore this adorable flag dress! She also wore her swim soup...no, I didn't type that wrong...she calls it that and she's always right...she is going to be two soon!

My great swimmer Caleb is great with Maryn and she loved every minute being held by her big brother!