CATCHING FROGS (and catching up!)

Wow! It has been over a month since posted. I do not know where the time has gone...actually I do, it was spent chasing an almost 2 year old, wrangling her four older brothers, getting our oldest son Spencer through Homecoming week at his high school with his many responsibilities in Student Government, sitting through many soccer games and practices, playing with my girlfriends in Utah, clearing 6 tons of dirt our of the backyard for Dave's new project of building a huge shed, helping Dave after his back went out after shoveling said dirt, enjoying my sister Jill and her sweet family while they visited for a few days and starting my new adventure of a home based business. WHEW! My life is pretty chaotic, but most of the time it is controlled chaos, so it is not that bad and I know plenty of people who are just as crazy/busy as I am.

So, while my sister Jill was here with her family, we ventured out to show the kids the Sacramento LDS Temple. While we were there I showed my nephew Parker where we could catch some frogs and boy oh boy did I make his day! I am in the eyes of my nephew Parker the coolest California aunt that he has! And his dad Justin is even cooler for catching the slimy little buggers. We enjoyed our time catching and releasing these poor frogs and managed not to hurt them in the process. Maya did not know what to think at first and shuddered when they got next to her, but quickly caught on that the other kids thought it was way cool and decided to join the fun. She would not let us pass a sprinkler control cover with out checking for a "rog"! Quite the adventure.

Speaking of Miss Maya, she is doing so well. I think back to this time last year and I am amazed. Of course this time last year I was walking around in a jet-lag induced stupor, but I had a scared little baby girl clinging to me 24-7. Now I wish she would let me hold her more instead of wiggling to get out of my arms to run away from me as fast as she can, giggling the whole way. She is so much fun right now! She makes us laugh all day long. She is still our stubborn little girl who rules the house with her thumb. She has started this whole fake cry thing when she does not get what she wants and it is really hard for her momma to not laugh! Oh the drama! She just might get best supporting actress in a dramatic film someday. I am not kidding! But we can't imagine life without our little drama princess, and still marvel that our Father in Heaven has blessed us so much with the gift of each of our children.

Life is chaotic, but oh so good. Many fun things coming up for us, so I will try to be a little better about posting.

A quick note to all my adopting cyber-friends waiting for their referrals and for their children- I just want you all to know I am still thinking of you all and keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. Waiting is hard, but so worth it in the end. Keep on smiling and know that in time it will all happen for you.

Happy Gotcha Day!!!

Wow. When I think of this past year I am flooded with emotions. The past couple of days I have been saying thing like "a year ago we were just leaving, a year ago we were trying hard not to go stalk Chung Yi, a year ago I watched my baby girl walk into the room in the arms of her caregiver and my world stood still....". Actually, right now in Taiwan a good Internet friend of ours just experienced what did exactly one year ago today. She is in Taiwan picking her sweet little Miranda up, a darling baby I got to see while we were there picking Maya up. As I looked at the pictures she posted on her site I got tears in my eyes as all of the emotions I had came back. I have been very mindful of Maya's birth family this week. I know that over in Taiwan at this moment there is a mother and a father who have heavy hearts. I have been keeping them in my thoughts and prayers that they will have peace. I remember so vividly the pain in their eyes as they told her goodbye, I wanted to give her right back and make everything better for them. But I also knew in my heart that this was how it was supposed to be. I know we will reunite someday, but until we do I will do my best to make sure that my little girl understands the love her birth family has for her. That is the least I can do.

To say this year has been a piece of cake would be lying. We have had our ups and downs and while I have not posted a lot of the downs here on the blog, know that they do exist. The first few weeks when Maya completely rejected Dave were so hard on us that at times I wondered what I was thinking to bring this baby into our family and I wondered what I had done to the children I already had at home. It seemed like a series of small baby steps forward followed by several huge steps backwards. I was sad and frustrated much of those first few weeks. I know now that it was a small case of post adoption depression and a very large case of exhaustion.

After we made it through those first few weeks, things got much better. It was still hard, but Maya had attached to us both enough to finally begin to feel safe. We still took many baby steps forward only to get knocked down again, but this was different. She trusted me now and the steps back were not a big and more easily corrected. She bonded with her brothers. She began to really smile and the happy girl we have today began to give a little bit more of herself to us each day.

Watching her "layers" come off was amazing. She changed right before our eyes and settled into her new world. It is most evident in pictures. Her smile became genuine, her eyes light up, she became softer and gentler. She let us in to love her.

Today, it is as if she has been here from the beginning. The boys rarely talk about their adopted sister from Taiwan, she is simply their sister. And except the occasional person commenting on our family when we are out in the public we almost forget that she is adopted. Funny thing is that when she is with the whole family people tell us how much she looks like us, I raise my eyebrow a tad, but I think I understand what they mean. She has changed so much in the past year it amazes me.

Right now she runs through the house squealing and laughing. One year ago she was squealing in the taxi cab on the way back to the hotel after picking her up. Right now she lays her head on my shoulder and pats my back. One year ago she snuggled up on my shoulder and fell asleep after a day of sightseeing in her birth country. Right now she is patting me on the knees calling out momma. One year ago she was placed in my arms for the very first time and my whole world stood still.

We are so blessed.

Summer no more


The boys started school yesterday. This is good and bad. Bad because I really do love to be lazy and carefree during the summertime, and good because we have been way to lazy and carefree this summer and getting back to a routine and a schedule makes my chaotic world a little less chaotic!

Our summer was packed with lots of fun and lots of company, the boys loved doing this

and this

and lots of this

The pool will still be used a lot until October rolls around, but it is not the same as a summer afternoon swim topped off with a cold popcicle!

So another busy school year begins and that means schedules, soccer practice, homework (YUCK!), and alarm clocks. Check out the fab five while they are still a bit excited about a new school year beginning-

Spencer (sophomore)

Tanner (8th grade)

Matthew (6th grade)

Jake (2nd grade)

Maya (sad to see her brothers go)

It is hard to believe that this time last year I was packing to go pick Miss Maya up---but you will see more on that on the 28th.

EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL........NOTHING A LITTLE DUCT TAPE AND ROPE CAN'T HANDLE!!!





This is what happens when Auntie Jan is asked to baby sit while her sister and husband steal away to San Francisco....

ps: no children, duct tape or rope was hurt during this photo shoot

pictured above are: Ashley, Emily, Haley, Tanner, Matthew, Jake, Maya, Gracie, Max and Chase....WHEW! And to ease some minds out there, everyone was very willing to pose for this shot, infact the kids helped dream it up!

Summer time craziness!

Summer is in full swing around here and we are as busy as ever! I am hoping things will slow down a bit soon, but with this crew of mine I do not see that happening. I have neglected updating the blog for far to long, so you get four updates all at once. Be sure to scroll down to see everything that is going on...we have been busy having some serious fun!

Update number four:

Happy 4th of July!

What a fun time we had helping Maya celebrate her first big all American holiday. She loved the pancake breakfast at the church and walking in our small neighborhood parade with her dad. She really loved the swimming (to escape the 106* heat!) and the homemade peach and strawberry ice cream. She was not really sure about the fireworks and kept pretty close to mom with her hands over her eyes for the ones that made a lot of noise. It was a great HOT day.

above: The Gang ready to walk our neighborhood parade and Jake on his decorated scooter

below: All American Matthew and the teens and tweens

Water games galore for the hot afternoon sun...above the old guys take on the young guys in a serious game of Water Basketball

Below: Maya and Bekka enjoy the pool

Maya thought corn on the cob was the best ever

All tuckered out after the parade. I love this picture of my all American sweetie pie!

Update number three:


FAMILY REUNION FUN!


We spent several days in Utah visiting family and having the bi-annual Smith Family reunion at Bear Lake in the Utah mountains. Here are a bunch of pictures to show what a great time we had.


We started at Nannie Cowan's house and had a great time with the Cowan Cousins. Aunt Lindy brought a huge Bonzai Slide over one day and we had a huge water party in Nannie's back yard.
Here is the crew minus a few who could not make it that day. One thing my kids have with both David and I being from HUGE families is a ton of fun cousins to play with!

Here is Miss Maya with Taylor, Jake (in the back), Mazie, McKinnley, and Mollie. She was in heaven with all those girls to take care of her. Maizie and Mollie (crazy girl!) were great babysitters...thanks girls!

Here is Uncle Joey (tall one in back) with all the kids at the zoo. Again we are missing a few cousins-the Hoch crew and the Stewart crew. Uncle joey will be leaving soon to serve a two year mission for our church so it was fun to spend some time with him before he leaves.

Here are the three cutie pies at the zoo. Amity (Attie), Maya, and Kinners (McKinnley). Got to love Kinner's and her accessories! That girl needs to teach Maya how to wear those bows and headbands!

Here are the boys and Maya posing at the bird show

Brinnley and Maya took over Papa John's lazy boy for the week. They were so sweet to sit and watch shows together and share treats. CUTIE PIE COUSINS! It is always so much fun to go home and be with our family in Utah.

We then spent a few days at Bear Lake with the Smith Clan. Maya loved digging with her shovel in the clear water.

The boys (we missed Matthew who was at home playing baseball) loved the lake. Here they are helping Jake bury things.

I can't believe we got Grandma in a canoe! Brave woman to let cousin Robert take her out on the lake! Actually Robert is a great kid and has a cute girl friend named Jamie that we all think is great.

Here are Spencer, Bekka, Tanner and Jake posing one last time for the crazy woman with a camera who won't leave them be!

And Miss Maya all tuckered out from a day with family, water and plenty of sunshine.

We loved our time with the Smith clan at Bear Lake and can't wait until we see you all again!

Update Number Two:



Birthdays and Baseball






Eleven years ago today I gave birth to a big baby boy. Matthew entered this world weighing in at 9 lbs 15.5 0z! He looked like he was three months old at birth! I soon sound out that he was 9 lbs 15.5 0z of pure joy. He was the best of my newborns and seemed to know that mommy had her hands full with his two older brothers. He was always so patient and good natured and that holds true to this very day. He is what I call my "constant child" meaning I can always count on him to be happy no matter the situation, I can almost always count on his good behavior and respect, and I can always count on him to be at my side asking if there is anyway he can help me before he runs out to play.



He is a great student and takes his education very seriously. He is a great friend. He makes the most of any situation and helps others along the way. He is patient, kind and loving. He Loves his family and will do anything for them. He cherishes his little sister and tolerates his little brother. He never ever forgets to hug his mom goodnight- sometimes more than once. He is our peacemaker. He is loved.








He loves sports of any kind and was recently asked to be on the Whitney LL All Star team. This has been his goal from the day he started Minor A so we are really proud of his accomplishment. He missed our Smith Family reunion in Utah so that he could be on the team. He just had his first game and boy was it exciting...they were down10-2 at the bottom of the fifth inning and came back to to win it 11-10 in the sixth! We left Utah at 7 am on game day and drove straight to his game getting there 20 minutes before it started. What a thrill it was to watch as they announced his name and he came running onto the field...Maya went nuts because she loves her "Mat-tew" and it had been several days since she saw him. She waved wildly yelling "Hi Mat-tew" over and over and squirming to get to him. The look on his face at that instant was worth every minute of that 11 hour non stop drive!



Happy Birthday Mateo! We love you!

Update number one:



Miss Maya turns 18 month old

and celebrates being home for 10 months!



Wow, I can not believe she has been here with us for 10 months now. I remember last June and part of July I was so sad and anxious to get travel news that I was pretty darn grumpy to anyone who dared cross my path. Now this June and July I am chasing a whirlwind of PINK and loving every minute.


At 18 months

Weight- 22lbs 14.5 oz

height- 32 1/2 inches


Maya can say- Mommy, daddy, Spencer, Tanner, Matthew, and Jakey, Papa (grandpa), Mama (grandma), nannie (grandma C.), ball, spoon, Happy, Binky, hot, cookie, drink, please, thank you, bottle, baby, pretty, nose, eyes, belly, hi, bye-bye, love you, walk, swim, no!, MINE!, book and a few other words. She is in the "mocking bird" stage and will try to say what ever you ask her to.


She loves to sing the itsy bitsy spider song with actions, play patty cake, and dance whenever she hears music. Another favorite is leading the hymns at church with big swooping arms.






She can also follow simple directions such as bring me the book, show me what you want, etc.


Her favorite things are her blankie, swimming, going for walks, swinging, playing with her brothers, babies and her daddy.


Her favorite foods are fruits and vegetables of any kind...even Lima beans! She does not like raw broccoli however, she loves to share whatever daddy is eating, especially Popsicles. She is the best eater of all of our kids.


She is a bundle of energy and plays hard, she rarely sits still for longer than two -five minutes and loves to get into things she know are not for her. She is constant motion when awake but loves to snuggle with her brothers to watch a movie. She is also a great sleeper and when she is out she is out. She sleeps around 10 hours at night and has a good long nap in the afternoons.



She is a DRAMA queen for sure and will give you a really good fake cry if she thinks it will get her anywhere. She definitely thinks she is in charge around here for sure, and well... she is!

She is simply amazing and we love every little thing about her. We are still amazed at what a perfect match she is for our family and thank our Father in Heaven for her everyday.


We love you little miss!

Our Santa Cruz Tradition

Here are a few pictures from our Memorial Day weekend at New Brighton Beach. We had a great time as usual and Maya enjoyed a lot of firsts....her first camping trip, her first smore, and her first time playing on the beach. She loved it all, especially the smores!

We always enjoy our trip to Santa Cruz, we camp with our good friends, relax (although not as much relaxing was going on for me with Maya running around this year), eat way more than we should and play on the beach. It was funny though to see that the times are a changing as our campsite was usually filled with teenagers and my two oldest were always off hanging with friends, and going down to the beach after dark with a big group of kids, GIRLS included! Not sure I am ready for the whole boy/girl thing, but its here! Do you know how funny the conversation between teenage boys and girls can be?

We enjoyed a day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Jake was thrilled because he was finally tall enough to ride most of the big rides. He is a little thrill seeker, not like his mom AT ALL when it comes to riding rides at an amusement park. My stomach ends up in my throat just watching!! Here he is on the ride that shoots you up really high and drops you straight down over and over.

Jake, Tanner and Ben on the log ride

Jake, Maya and Blake--Don't you love how Jake is getting Maya to look at me?

Happy Re-Adoption Day Maya!

May 21st, 2007 will forever be known as Maya's Re-adoption day! She is officially Maya and we are recognized legally as her parents in the eyes of the USA. Now we just wait for that golden birth certificate and we are done! No more paper work!!!! YAHOOO!!!!

The whole re-adoption process was pretty easy, we sat in front of a judge for about seven minutes while he reviewed all of our post adoption paperwork and then he signed off. The judge seemed more interested in our digital camera than he was anything else, but I am so glad we are done and that the boys were with us so that they could be a part of it. My favorite part was when the judge (who was quite taken back by the number of children we have) asked the boys if they liked having her around and they all told him how much they love her and how fun she can be. I guess all in all it seemed a bit anti-climatic for me I think that with all adoptive families have been through to bring these special kids into their lives there should be banners and balloons and confetti and cake...instead it was kind of like "oh, that's it? We did all that paperwork and worried for this?" After it was over we rushed right back to our crazy lives getting the boys back to school, preparing for a family trip to the beach this weekend, and homework...it was not until much later that night when I saw Maya all snuggled up with her daddy and he said to me "Come give YOUR daughter a kiss goodnight" that I realized what had happened for what it was, she is ours legally in every way now and that is huge! We are done with every single piece of paper that has to do with adoption or re-adoption and that is huge! I guess I didn't need the balloons and banners after all, but hey... a cake would have been nice!!!