Mia did a great job at National America Miss as a Junior Pre-Teen Maryland finalist.
Day 360
How many girls does it take to catch at fly?
Day 361
Peaches and Asian Pears from the front yard.
Day 362
A rare day…the girls deep cleaned our front porch and the front of our house.
Day 363
A rare day…the girls deep cleaned our front porch and the front of our house.
Day 364
Free Ritas.
Day 365
Ironically I forgot to take a photo the last day, but the visual year wouldn’t really be complete without a photo of Ty’s new hairdo alongside one of his favorite superheroes. Photo credit: Grace.
Holy Christmas Nuts! (This is the new exclamation the big kids have adopted.) The end of the 365 project is here. It was a lot more challenging than I thought. My original hope was that it would visually show the ups and downs of older kid adoption. It doesn’t really, but it does show the rays of sunshine (almost one a day) in a really difficult year.
To scroll through the entire set, click here.
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“Mom, don’t take my picture.”
Day 353
The new obstacle in the driveway.
Day 354
4th place!!!!!!!! No bad for a first duathlon that we forgot to train for.
Day 355
Big girls on the beach.
Day 356
Ty’s new wiggle seat.
Day 357
The girls’ room is finally finished with the installation of a foldout desk.
Day 358
Remember that time Patrick went away with Mia and put on his wedding band for the first time in over 5 years?
Outdoor school during soccer camp. These are days I love homeschooling.
Day 346
We had a great day at the beach crabbing and eating crabs (bought ones, not caught ones).
Day 347
The girls being goofy at an Ethiopian friend’s wedding.
Day 348
Mia had the chance to extend her beach stay and spend some quality time with Auntie Lin.
Day 349
Tuesday was the start of a couple really dark days in our house. Damn, you trauma.
Day 350
PJ rocked a hula hooping competition with someone decades older than him. We love you, Carrie!
Day 351
We visited a farm from where we will be buying a side of grass-fed beef.
The girls are doing a homeschool theatre and choir group this year. They really enjoyed their first social gathering with the group.
Day 339
Giant zucchini. Patrick wanted to see how big a zucchini could get. It was more than 7 pounds!
Day 340
Our first attempt at crabbing. It started pouring about 5 minutes after this picture. We’re trying again this weekend.
Day 341
Mia and Ty soloing during play practice.
Day 342
The boys had soccer camp this week.
Day 343
The girls writing to their Compassion child.
Day 344
Grace worked really hard to earn her iPod via staying regulated for 90 days (not in a row!)
Eat more chicken…for free!
Day 332
PJ taking up competitive gift bingo.
Day 333
Stress relief after a long day of rearranging the basement.
Day 334
Let the harvest begin!
Day 335
Hard to believe that the same girl who can make me breakfast can also rage for hours at a time and completely exhaust me.
Day 336
Girls day. Sushi. Pedis. Ice cream.
Day 337
The view from my towel.
Tatoos at an Ethiopian soccer tournament and festival.
Day 325
Crashing a nearby parade.
Day 326
A successful fishing trip in our neighborhood fire pond. Some kids caught double digits, and PJ caught his first fish on a fly rod.
Day 327
The zucchini are here! Any creative recipes? We’ve made bread…we’ve grilled it…and we’ve made fritters.
Day 328
Letter tiles are great for kids who can’t quite write yet but are ready for basic reading and spelling.
Day 329
Mia lost 2 teeth this week!
Day 330
When you’re a homeschooler (at a homeschool practicum), even gross bugs are a learning opportunity.
PJ had the best day of his VBS life. His team won ice cream sandwiches because of the stagecoach he built, and he got called on stage for a game.
Day 318
Stretching with a little help from his kids before Tae Kwon Do testing. Patrick and Melissa are now brown belts, Mia moved to red, John and Kayla to purple, and Grace to green.
Day 319
We got on a Monopoly kick in attempt to teach the kids about money and business principles.
Day 320
The kids all have a chance to be in a musical this summer. We had our first practice Monday. That blur is Kayla trying not to be in a picture.
Day 321
Ty’s been on a Lego kick.
Day 322
First fireworks
Day 323
We’re still trying to figure out how to not have multi-hour melt downs. She’s back on a restricted diet and supplements. We might have to add a bath to her regimen as well. Despite all the drama, she can be hilarious. No lack of personality here.
Teaching someone else’s littles to hammer bricks until they come apart. My kids should probably not be left unattended with yours.
Day 311
The highlight of our 11th anniversary date night was learning a new homynyn…mettle.
Day 312
Mia got a JUMBO crab. What a treat!
Day 313
The big girls are taking hip hop this summer.
Day 314
Cowboy John was a big help at VBS.
Day 315
Happy 8th Birthday, Mia!
Day 316
PJ and his friend built a stagecoach as part of their team’s spirit competition at VBS. It ended up putting them in the lead for a win!
How many boys does it take to trap a pigeon?
Day 304
Dance recital weekend. Mia reminds me a lot of my sister in this picture. Be afraid. Very afraid.
Day 305
This is not the pigeon the boys were trying to catch, but rather his new wife. They are now dubbed Adam and Hewan (Amharic for “Eve”).
Day 306
Our little entrepreneurs have faithfully been selling lemonade on all nice days. It’s so fun to watch them do and learn.
Day 307
PJ started drum lessons.
Day 308
John had a major behavior breakthrough this week. It’s just a reminder to keep on keepin’ on and be patient. God works in His own time.
Day 309
This is what we call a Tae Kwon Do laundry folding party. They are a pretty regular occurance these days since we take class 2 or 3 times a week.
The local Y pool has become a favorite hangout during free time.
Day 297
Skipping rocks at an Ethiopian adoptive family picnic.
Day 298
After a camp trip that resulted in a 7.5 hour meltdown, a pizza dinner and family movie were in order.
Day 299
Habesha with another adoptive family.
Day 300
Grace washing Patrick’s car.
Day 301
PJ was on a roll! Multiple strikes with no bumpers.
Day 302
Mia’s medal for an excellent Royal Academy of Dance score.