Accurate Adoption Language

I just stumbled on this tonight and I think it's so great I have to share it.  I think a lot of times people refrain from asking us about adoption because they don't know the correct terminology.  I think it'd be great to spread this info around.

Michael is really good at quickly letting people know when they have used the wrong terminology when referring to our "own" kids.  He's really straight forward, yet gentle about making sure everyone knows all of our children are our own.

Words have implications.  Even if the speaker doesn't mean them to hurt, sometimes a misspoken word can cause deep pain.  There are few terms on this list I need to work on....

 https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/images/stories/Accurate_Adoption_Language.pdf

More Fun in the Sun

We went to the Coast Guard Station on St. Simons.  The kids had a blast at the beach.  The boys dug and dug.  The girls ran around like crazy. 

Michael buried the girls.

After the boys dug their hole they jumped in and asked to be buried. 

We went walking on the Pier in town that night after eating at Joe's Pizza.

The boys said the bread sticks were the best they have ever had.

One of the fishermen showed us a hammerhead shark he caught 

and let the kids touch it. They loved it.

While everyone else was playing I was on to my second book of the week trying to avoid sun damage. It's safe to say I won the prize of the most covered person at the beach that day

St Simons Island

We're loving our time here. The kids are enjoying the pond outside our backdoor, tennis courts, pool, and the beach.

We found some amazing shells at Jykell Island yesterday. We're excited for the sand dollars to dry out.

Today was another day at the beach. Filled with lots of digging holes and swimming. We had pizza at Joe's. The kids said the breadsticks were the best they've ever had and the pizza was huge.

Carolina on my mind

We love hanging with my sister's awesome family. As we were turning into their subdivision Caleb said "I have butterflies in my stomach because I'm so excited to see them".

Arriving

So Tuesday night I stayed up late sending emails to renters asking them for a much lower price on their rental home. I woke up Wednesday to many no way emails. But one nice renter said sure. So Wednesday we decided we'd leave on Friday and check into the condo on Saturday.

We left nc in the afternoon and got to the condo around 9pm. I was excited to get settled (put the kids to bed). When we got inside we found an awesome condo with sheets on the floor and dirty towels in the tub. It hadn't been cleaned so I washed and dried the sheets and vacuumed the barrels of popcorn off the floor. Finally we put the kids to bed and relaxed.

The next day I emailed the owner to tell him we love the place but were a bit surprised to find it hadn't been cleaned. He very graciously told me that was because we weren't supposed to check in until Sunday. Oops..sometimes my spontaneity overwhelms my ability to read dates.

Trip to Georgia

The kids got themselves loaded into the car an hour before we were ready to leave.

Within 20 minutes of driving Melia was out.

Addie got to listen to music on my iPod which I thought would keep her quiet but instead she told us each song she was listening to. Good quote 'the Beatles are actually pretty good.'. Of course everything she says is super loud because of the headphone.

The boys are so easy to travel with. Books on tape and ds. I love it.

We made it to my sister's house in nc. With only taking two short stops. It's so crazy how quickly my kiddos are growing up and how each new stage is easier.

My Girls

I love listening to my girls converse. This morning while I was trying to get a few more minutes of shut eye, the girls were cuddling in bed with me.
Melia: Addie, you are my best sister ever.
Addie: Melia, you are my best friend ever. Sisters can behest friends, too.
Melt my heart!!

Of course there are the other conversations that I'm not so excited to overhear.
From the basement (muffled) 'haircut'.
15 minutes later 2 girls come running up stairs with Addie smiling "Mommy, look Melia cut my hair."
Addie was so proud of her new haircut and Melia was pretty smitten with herself. After I Tried to fix it, it looks cute.
She seems like a new kid with her new 'do. Much older and more mature. Still super cute, though.