It's Good To Be Home

2009-08-17T13:25:00.000-05:00

How's this for sweet?

2009-07-23T19:49:00.001-05:00

Cade

2009-04-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

Memphis Zoo

2009-04-13T18:02:00.002-05:00

See anything familiar about the monkey?

2009-04-03T17:26:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pictures of the little ones

2009-04-03T17:12:00.000-05:00

Concert

2009-04-03T14:47:00.001-05:00

Daddy Daughter Date Night

2009-04-03T14:08:00.001-05:00

Saturday March 14, 2009

Cade

2009-03-09T18:17:00.001-05:00

Cade is 3 months old today!

Connor Tests for Brown Belt

2009-03-08T17:57:00.002-05:00

Connor tested on Saturday and was excited about earning his brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. He's been in this club for about 18 months and has worked very hard! He's also taking Judo (Eric is his coach) but they have not been able to participate in a meet yet, so has not earned his next belt in that.
Here he is (Eric is behind him holding the board) breaking his board

A close-up of Connor in the group photo. You can tell from his face and those around him that the 3 hour testing was HARD! Next week he will proudly be wearing his brown belt to class. He might possibly earn his black belt before the end of summer!

2009-03-06T17:49:00.002-06:00

OUR LITTLE BANDIT

2009-02-25T15:58:00.001-06:00

Cade 11 weeks

Our family

2009-02-16T19:00:00.002-06:00

A friend took this photo of us on Valentine's Day! Looks like a crowd of people!

Madison

2009-02-13T11:56:00.002-06:00

Every year, AWANA clubs everywhere host a Grand-Prix car race. Clubbers and their parents take a block of balsa wood and design then make a car they think will win the race. Madison & Eric worked hard making this killer whale car for our club's race this week! Her car did win one of the races! She's already thinking about next year's car......

2009-02-11T16:38:00.000-06:00

So big!

2009-02-11T11:43:00.001-06:00

Cade was weighed on Monday.... 12lbs 3oz!

Happy Birthday Meghan

2009-01-21T18:27:00.001-06:00

Upward Basketball

2009-01-11T19:15:00.002-06:00

Madison's Upward games began on Saturday

She dribbled the ball all the way down the court

Can't wait for next week's game!

Cade is 1 Month old...1-09-09

2009-01-11T19:00:00.002-06:00

Doesn't it look like I painted on that hairline? Getting his weight at 1 month (10 pounds 8 ounces)

Hanging out in his stroller

Happy Birthday Eric

2009-01-11T18:44:00.003-06:00

Just a good picture of Connor I thought I'd post....

The chocolate souffles Eric made HIMSELF on his birthday! Yum!

Eric's new cookbook we gave him for his birthday. He's quite pleased about it and can't wait to try out the recipes!

Pictures!

2009-01-05T15:42:00.002-06:00

Cade in the midst of a yawn

CaraBeth's new camera...I'll have to post some of her photos soon, they are hilarious

Meghan and Cade

I finally have use of my camera again! Hopefully I can post more photos more often!

Cade's 1st Christmas

2008-12-27T13:35:00.001-06:00

Hanging out with Daddy
Stocking Grama made for Cade

ELF YOURSELF

2008-12-17T16:09:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Isaiah Cade Booth

2008-12-11T12:13:00.003-06:00

He's here!

Isaiah Cade Booth

Born December 9, 2008

9:44am

8lbs 8oz

201/2 inches long

All is well except for two tired parents!

Madison

2008-11-17T10:11:00.003-06:00

Happy 10th Birthday to our sweet, smiley Madison!

Fortune Cookie Recipe

2008-10-15T10:32:00.002-05:00

Recipe from Paula Deen
Nonstick spray
2 egg whites
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons water
Pinch salt
Fortunes written on strips of colored paper
Special equipment: silpat
Directions
Cook's Note: using a silpat makes it easier to remove the cookies from the sheet tray.
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
On a half sheet tray, spray a silpat with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl whisk egg whites until foamy. Add the flour, sugar, almond extract, water, and salt to the egg whites and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour or spoon 1 tablespoon of batter onto prepared silpat and spread with the back of a spoon into a very thin 4-inch circle. Repeat on the other half of the sheet, making only 2 cookies per sheet tray. Bake the cookies on middle rack of oven until golden brown around edges, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and working very quickly, with an offset spatula, remove cookie from baking sheet and place a fortune in the center of the round. Fold to create a half circle. Bend pointed edges of cookie toward each. This should be done quickly since the cookie will become hard and brittle within 10 seconds. Let cool.

Our yield was much lower number but we made our circles and then found it kind of difficult to spread. Some of our cookies turned out a bit too thick. The silpat liners are a must.

Fortune Cookies

2008-10-14T09:52:00.003-05:00

CaraBeth is sharing "fortune cookies" with her mom's day out class today. Meghan and I made the cookies last night and put a Bible verse inside each one (Psalm 139:14). CaraBeth will share the cookies and also show her friends some pictures from our original "Gotcha Day". The little ones won't understand what all of it means, but it's important for CaraBeth to be able to share her story. This is a great way to start!

Race For The Cure

2008-10-14T09:46:00.004-05:00

Here's our "team" for the Race

Meghan, Susan, Me, Madison, Beth

Blake, CaraBeth & Paige

Saturday's Race For The Cure was great, but wore me out! They say there were 50,000 people there....the 2nd largest Race in the Nation. No wonder the bridge was swaying as we crossed...scary!

2nd Gotcha Day

2008-10-12T16:18:00.005-05:00

One of our first moments with Xi, Qian Ling

10-15-06

10-15-07

10-9-08

This Wednesday, October 15 we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary of having CaraBeth in our family! We actually celebrated early this year as the 15th lands on a church night. Eric's parents were in town for the day so we all went to a local Chinese place and had dinner. CaraBeth is thriving and we are so thankful to have her as our daughter and sister!

Our Boy

2008-10-07T11:32:00.002-05:00

We changed our

minds and found out that we are having a baby boy! Here's a 3-D photo of his sweet, chubby face. To me, he looks just like Connor's baby photos. He's growing well..already 3.5 pounds. I believe he'll be a big baby!

A few more pictures

2008-09-25T12:11:00.002-05:00

Colonial Williamsburg

2008-09-25T11:50:00.006-05:00

The kids near the back entrance to the George Wythe house
Connor sitting in George Washington's pew at Bruton Parish Church
The people there dress in period clothing and take on tasks that would have been normal for that time in history. Very interesting to observe and take it all in.

The kids, my Mom and I drove out to Virginia last week for a stay and a little history lesson in Colonial Williamsburg! With only 2 days in Colonial Williamsburg and 1 day in Jamestown, we know we will need to return in order to see the rest. Meghan is especially interested in returning sometime. With special events and discounts for home educators in the spring and fall, we will have to plan that return trip!

1st Day of Home School 2008

2008-09-02T22:05:00.004-05:00

Meghan, our high schooler!
Connor,our 7th grader, working on his least favorite subject: Grammar
Madison, our 5th grader, happy to be doing any subject!

In the fall of 2002 we began our journey into home schooling. We struggled with this decision, but we are all (I believe) so glad this is what our family does. It's been a good summer break but we are all ready to get back into the routine of school now! The kids all seemed excited to open their new books and get started!

Madison & CaraBeth....Twins

2008-09-01T11:46:00.003-05:00

CaraBeth has been telling us every once in a while that she and Madison are twins. Now that I bought them matching dresses last week, she is completely convinced!

Fall

2008-09-01T11:33:00.003-05:00

CaraBeth is especially excited that she is finally old enough to attend AWANA this year! She and Madison (who is starting her 7th year of AWANA) attended the "Back to AWANA" carnival last Wednesday and will begin regular club activities this week. Now we have to convince CaraBeth that moonwalks and hot dogs are not the norm for each week in Cubbies! Last Tuesday CaraBeth also began going to Mother's Day Out at our church...1 day per week. I think this will be good for her and will help the rest of the kids get a long day of home school in without 3 year old interruption.

Blue Belt

2008-08-13T13:03:00.003-05:00

Connor tested last Saturday for his blue belt in Taekwondo. 3 hours later he had earned it! The coaches really worked everyone hard and he was very tired by the time it was over.

CaraBeth and I were there for all of it and for a 3 year old, she did pretty well! Connor is excited to see Taekwondo matches next week on tv (Olympics).

And here's a picture of Connor kicking a board in half....these tests get harder with each belt...one boy had to break 3 boards stacked together!

Our other new friend!

2008-07-30T11:33:00.002-05:00

Here's the other little girl we were privileged to meet the other night. Look at those cheeks!

Finally, We Meet!

2008-07-29T16:44:00.003-05:00

In September of 2005, our Dossier was sent off from our agency http://www.dillionadopt.org/ along with the Dossier's of several other families. This instantly became our "travel group"...the ones we would receive referrals with and the ones we would travel with to China. While some families lived in the vicinity of Dillon and were able to meet each other, others of us did not. Immediately we all began communicating via a Yahoo group and emails...getting to know one another and anxiously anticipating our travel in a few, short months. Well, it turned out that we did not all travel together so we were not able to meet anyone in person. Last night, we were able to meet 2 of these families! One family was driving through town and they were able to stay the night with us. Their daughter is just a few weeks older than CaraBeth. Once they warmed up to each other, they had a ball! They played so well and loved to do the same things. They sang, danced, dressed up, "cooked", went "shopping", and had dinner together. Above are a couple of pictures of them together. We can't wait til they meet again! The other family was with us here for dinner also. They returned from China just a few weeks ago and their daughter is not quite a year old. I got a few sweet pictures of her but didn't ask her parents (yet) if I could include those on this blog. We are excited that this family lives closer by and that we might be able to meet up with them again soon!

Off to camp

2008-07-22T10:15:00.004-05:00

Connor and Madison headed to Centri-Kid camp yesterday
morning! Connor has been to one in KY before but this was Madison's first camp to attend...she was so excited! We did get extra hugs from her so I am sure she was a bit uneasy about it too. She called us last night...all bubbly and excited. They are in for a fun week and will be tired on their return Friday! As for us at home, it's kind of odd to have only 2 kids with us for the week..CaraBeth isn't quite sure about it. Meghan is liking the quiet!

CaraBeth is 3!

2008-07-09T13:55:00.002-05:00

Meghan worked hard making a Nemo cake for CaraBeth
All of us
She sang Happy Birthday along with the rest of us!

These pictures are from her party on Saturday. We had a house full of family and she had a great time playing with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Today is her actual birthday and at VBS she had a couple of special "happy birthday" moments including another cake! We'll celebrate again tonight with a couple more gifts from Mama and Daddy.

First thing she told us this morning was that she was 19! yikes! We think we finally got her to understand that she's only 3.

Two years ago....

2008-07-06T16:00:00.003-05:00

Two years ago, on July 7, 2006, we received "the call" from our social worker that we had a possible referral for a baby girl in China. Minutes later, I received an email with these photos and information on Xi, Qian Ling. Just two days later she would be turning 1 year old while we celebrated her birthday and our referral. It would be 3 months later that we finally held her. Now, over a year and a half later, it seems she has always been with us!

Cousins

2008-06-24T18:14:00.002-05:00

Cousin Paige gives CaraBeth a kiss!

Family 'cation Part III

2008-06-18T11:36:00.003-05:00

Next year there will be one more in the pool!
The wind was cool so when CaraBeth got out of the water she was "sugaring" (shivering)
Connor shot this photo
and I shot this one

Family 'cation Part II

2008-06-18T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm sure Madison and Eric are up to something here
Connor
CaraBeth loved it when Meghan took her to the deep side of the pool
When we put CaraBeth in the baby pool, she threw herself into the water and started swimming! She was like a little fish from then on.
She looks a bit worried in this picture, but she laughed hysterically when they got to the side!

Our family 'cation Part I

2008-06-18T11:04:00.003-05:00

This is typical for our family when we travel. We were only to be away 2.5 days, but we packed all of our food too because we were going to stay in a suite with a full kitchen.
Connor's favorite part of the resort was the slide pool
Duck faces
CaraBeth made herself "glasses" with the bagels we were taking to the geese on the lake

CaraBeth offers a flower

JUDO

2008-06-13T20:01:00.002-05:00

Connor throws Eric
Madison's turn
Eric began coaching a Judo class a couple of weeks ago. Connor and Madison are both in the class and really enjoying it! Meghan has gone to observe a couple of times and now thinks she'd like to give it a try. I'm not really sure if I'm ready to go watch my girls get thrown around on a mat!

Bicycle Built For Two

2008-04-24T19:41:00.004-05:00

CaraBeth is ready to go on a bike ride now! Well, first we have to find her a helmet small enough for her head and then we can go on a ride. This new seat is a fun way for her to get to take in the views and not feel like all is can see is the back of Daddy's t-shirt.

ADOPTION

2008-04-10T10:15:00.001-05:00

I copied this from a friend's blog www.k6comehome.blogspot.com

YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF ...
1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adopted child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)
8. You had no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He'd provide. (& He does!)
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart's for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means & you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

I Love Isabelle!

2008-04-08T17:25:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of my dog Isabelle. (Except she doesn't usually were a Hogs bandanna and a cute little red bow in her hair.) We've had Isabelle since she was just a little puppy. She is almost 5 years old. I really like to rub her belly and brush her fur. Isabelle likes it too! When you scratch right under her leg she moves that leg really fast because she is ticklish! I also like to take her on really long walks.

Our New Friend

2008-03-31T20:39:00.000-05:00

Nicole is a new friend of ours. A grad student at the local university and she's from China! She was at our house a few weeks ago interviewing us about CaraBeth's adoption (something for the school paper I think). We think she is so sweet and have hopes that we can get together often, share some Chinese food and maybe even a little Mandarin instruction. Almost two weeks ago we were privileged to attend her Baptism! In the first picture you can see Nicole (in the green) smiling so joyfully as she listens to her friends sing in her native language.

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved Acts 16:31

Another Picture...Easter

2008-03-24T12:20:00.000-05:00

It's just 3 kids with me this week. The house already feels empty and Meghan's cat is howling as she is searching for her owner. Meghan is with our youth group on a 5 day mission to a church in Hot Springs. They'll be painting the church and also hosting a 3 day VBS for the local children. She was very excited to be going, but we will miss her so much!

Oval Office

2008-03-17T17:36:00.000-05:00

Introducing President Connor W. Booth

Here's a shot of Connor in front of the Oval Office replica at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. We saw some interesting things there but I was most impressed with this room. Someday we'd like to go see the real thing.

Finally

2008-03-07T13:52:00.000-06:00

Over a year after returning home from China with our Chinese dresses and shirts, we finally had the picture made that I've been waiting for. This pose took just one shot and we liked it so much that's all we did. The parasols are from Kunming and notice the jade bracelet on CaraBeth's upper arm....it's the one we will actually give to her when she turns 16. Just a little big on her now.

Pictures

2008-03-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

1 Year

2008-03-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

1 year ago today we moved into the Lakehouse in Clinton. We had no idea we would end up living there 6 months and are so thankful for our friends who allowed us to be there that long! The snow pictures are from this morning! The kids were happy to get out and play in the snow before we started school work. It'll be gone soon.

Spring

2008-02-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

I sent Meghan outside with the camera yesterday while the weather was so nice. Looked like spring was coming until the winds came through today!

So pretty

2008-02-22T21:04:00.000-06:00

CaraBeth recently discovered how to put her Mrs. Potato Head earrings on her own ears!

Cupakes

2008-02-15T14:28:00.000-06:00

ORANGE BELT!

2008-02-15T10:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I tested for my orange belt in Tae Kwon Do.At the end of testing I had to break a board with my palm and I broke it on my first try.See the board on the floor in front of me?And in my hand is my orange belt and orange belt certificate.I likeTae Kwon Do a whole lot.

CaraBeth's First Haircut!

2008-02-11T20:05:00.000-06:00

It was just getting too scraggly and she refused to keep her pigtails in for very long. SO, a couple of inches off the back and it looks so much nicer. She was very excited about it. We had to have a long talk about how she is not allowed to do this to herself!

Some more pictures

2008-02-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

Our names on the Senior Sidewalk in front of Old Main

Starting our walk down the hill to the arena
Edge of campus in front of Old Main
Eric at the Bell where he took most of his classes

A Day in Fayetteville

2008-02-10T13:12:00.000-06:00

Sign on Dickson Street
Old Main
Peabody Hall (where most of my education courses were held when I was a student here)
Self-portrait taken in the spot where we met each other in the fall of 1988 (in front of Humphrey's Dorm and behind Brough Dinning Hall) We were at the top for the game but the view was still great!

Here are some shots from our trip to Fayetteville yesterday...Eric and I were able to get out by ourselves and enjoy walking around our old campus and then take in a Razorback basketball game. My parents kept the kids for us so we could get away. Made the mistake of parking on Dickson St. and then walking UP hill to the campus then DOWNHILL to the arena. When it was time to get back to the car, we had a long, cold climb up the hill!

1 down and hopefully no more to go

2008-02-04T21:01:00.000-06:00

Meghan is sick with a virus that has her down and out. Tasha is there to help out. (and yes, Meghan gave me permission to put this photo on here).

SNOW!!!

2008-01-31T13:07:00.000-06:00

Build-A-bear

2008-01-31T11:29:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday we went to the mall. Mama,
Meghan, Connor,CaraBeth, Katie, (one of my best frien-
d)and I went to Build-A-Bear. I had so much fun!
Katie (in the picture) is on the left holding her
build-a-bear (wich is on the left too.)And I am on
the right holding my build-a-bear wich is on the
far right also.And the middle is Abbey's bear.Abbey is Katie's little sister.I named my
bear (actually it's a dog) Sweetheart,Katie named
hers Lacy.

Upwards Last Year

2008-01-29T11:44:00.000-06:00

Here are Meghan and CaraBeth a year ago at Upwards. They have both changed a lot!

CaraBeth helps

2008-01-28T11:53:00.000-06:00

CaraBeth wanted to help me vacuum today and inisted she wear her kitty cat hat while she did. Too cute to pass up this picture!

China

2008-01-26T15:05:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite pictures from China. This is the one we had etched into stone for grandparents to enjoy.

2008-01-25T13:36:00.000-06:00

CaraBeth has now been with us for 15 months, the same amount of time in her life she was not with us. She's changed and grown so much. There is even hair on her head now!! Below is a picture from Gotcha Day...October 15, 2006. Above is a photo taken of her earlier this month!

CaraBeth Plays Star Wars

2008-01-23T16:13:00.000-06:00

CaraBeth runs to the tv anytime Connor gets out his Game Cube. She grabs an extra control (it's not plugged in) and starts "playing" with Connor. She yells at the tv and says things like "all right" and "oh, man"!!! She sure thinks she's doing just as well as her big brother.

Valentine Mailbox

2008-01-23T13:27:00.000-06:00

Last week, I hosted a few friends at our house for a stampin' time. Meghan and I made a few examples of things using paper and stamps from the new spring catalog. Below is a mailbox from the $1 spot at Target that Meghan altered. She copied this from a craft blog http://emilygiovanni.com/.

The Chocolate Birthday Party

2008-01-19T20:02:00.000-06:00

Meghan invited 4 friends over to help her celebrate her 14th birthday! Everyone had a great time dipping into the chocolate fondue, eating the Death By Chocolate Cake (which when it was lit with 14 candles really put out some heat!) and getting to know each other. (Two of the girls she knows from a church in another town and two from our current church).

Upwards

2008-01-18T19:51:00.000-06:00

Go-Upward-Go! Look closely and you can see Connor making a basket!

2008-01-14T11:04:00.000-06:00

An Almost Perfect Day

On an almost perfect day,

The grass is cool,

Soft, luscious, green.

The air is breezy,

Clear and clean.

The sky is a perfect,

Glassy blue.

The clouds are fluffy,

White, but few.

The trees are full,

Flowers newly grown.

It's nice to go out,

All on your own.

To climb a tree,

And read a book,

Or lie on your back,

And just, at everything look.

The sun is shining,

All day long.

The day is filled ,

With the birds sweet song.

But what makes the day,

Less than perfect,

Is that at some point,

It must end.

So you'll fall asleep wondering,

If tomarrow will be,

An almost perfect day again.

Meghan

Daddy's Birthday

2008-01-11T11:33:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday was daddy's birthday.
For one of his present's all the kids
(except CaraBeth) cleaned out daddy's
truck. On his birthday when he came
home from work he opened present's.
And on the day after his birthday he had
his birthday supper. I made banana-
pudding and Connor made banana bread.
And Mama and Meghan made spaghetti and
meat balls.
Posted by Madison

2008-01-06T15:58:00.000-06:00

Not to be outdone, Madison and her friend pose for the camera too!

2008-01-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

Meghan and her very good friend celebrate the arrival of 2008!

Here we go....

2008-01-03T21:49:00.000-06:00

Finally, we are beginning our family blog. An on-line scrapbook of sorts for our kids to look back on when they are older. I hope to have the whole family involved in posting before long.
Here's a photo Meghan took of us on our 17th anniversary last week before we headed out on our date out on the town (we left at 4:15 pm)! Dinner was wonderful and the movie was fun and uplifting. I need to find a wedding photo to post so we can compare. Or maybe not.