Face vs Pavement

Anyone that has been around Kayla, knows she is a tough cookie!! She is a HIGH energy, rarely stops, always falls down, but jumps right back up again kid. Seriously, I rarely even flinch when she falls anymore yet I find it comical to watch other moms cringe and jump up when she does. It's just how she is. And one day, she will probably break something. We're shocked it hasn't happened yet, but even then there is no slowing this kid down. 

Yesterday, she wanted the scooter back from Audrey so she went after it. Well jumping on a moving scooter just isn't the best idea, especially when it's your big sister. Kayla totally bounced off Audrey and bit the pavement and the wheel of the scooter pretty hard. Audrey brought her to me and she was fine until Audrey said she was bleeding. This kid doesn't do blood. I cleaned her up and she wanted to go look in the mirror Atreus injury. I wouldn't let her because I knew she would freak out, so she didn't see it until hours later at bathtime. Yup, I was right. She freaked out. 

Today it is already scabbing over but her eye is quite swollen and turning a bit black too. But I dare say, she will make it. And though she looks pretty beat up, she is feeling fine and out of the 20 or so people who saw her today, no one really asked what she did. They just simply knew... she was being Kayla. And really, it's one of the reasons we love her.

AHG Snow Ball

Tonight was our American Heritage Girls Daddy/Daughter Snow Ball. The girls were super excited about their night and all the fun it would be and turns out, they should've been... from all reports... it was a spectacular evening.

The other three of us on the Troop Board threw in a little help-- but really it was all Jen and her husband Jeremy that pulled the whole thing off. We just showed up for manpower for set-up and tear down. It about killed me, but after a long day, and just picking up Little Sunshine from all day visitation I knew I couldn't go to help, so I stayed home though it about drove me crazy. But no worries... we had a small team of mommas that photographed and helped out and I got to see it all in pictures and of course hear about it from the girls! 

Besides the obvious dancing, the girls made picture frames for their photobooth photos, made bracelets, had snacks, and painted nails... all loads of fun! 

The guessing jar was definitely not winning Audrey any prizes! Perhaps we need to work on her estimation skills next... 

But maybe the favorite of the night was the SNOW BALL fight... 

Our church is under construction, actually almost complete, so what do you do when snowballs get stuck in the lights and the lift just got moved out that replaced all the lights and ceiling tiles??! You depend on the crazy troop board husband clean up crew that is very resourceful -- and safety minded-- to get it done.

I know I say it often... but we are so blessed to be part of this group this year! What a special group of families and a special night for the dads and daughters. 

Remembering

Two years ago today, Kayla's biological mother passed away and Kayla's life course was completely changed. That February was really hard-- we'd been working for reunification, we'd been in court, we'd been to numerous meetings and then the unexpected happened. Looking back it was probably one of THE most emotionally difficult times we have walked through, but to see how God worked out every detail sometimes still moves me to tears.

Kayla was very young and while she knew what happened and that her mother died it would have been easy to just not say anything about it again and over time she would have forgotten because sometimes, even with us telling her, she still does forget. At this point she has been with us, longer than she was without us. So if Madeline and Audrey talk about something we did before she was in our life, Kayla will ask... "Was that when I was in your tummy?" She will ask me questions about when she was baby forgetting that she was not born from me. Honestly, I don't know how a kid at her age is supposed to wrap her head around all that she went through. But from the very beginning we have been very open and honest in helping her remember her mom, which is part of the reason we went to see her great grandmother last fall-- she needs and deserves to know who she is and where she came from, I fully believe she will find strength knowing we have always been honest with her about her past.

So today, on the anniversary of her mother's death, we pulled out the pictures, we told the stories, we asked what she remembered. She teared up as she asked simple 4 year old questions and I teared up giving her the best and most honest answers I could give that she could understand at this age. And then we made beautiful flowered pinecones together...

So that when Mark got home we could go to the neighborhood pond and send them floating with some words of remembering for all of us. Madeline and Audrey never met her mother, but they still said some very beautiful things about the woman that brought our sweet Kayla into the world. 

Your momma would be so proud of how well you are doing... how much you have grown... and how strong you are. How do I know that? Well, because this momma is. Never will I try to be a replacement for your birth mom, but instead I proudly embrace that I am the mom God chose to find you when you needed me and unknowingly, when I needed you. The road to adoption is one of brokenness, but through God's sovereignty, YOU-- Kayla Hope-- are one of my biggest blessings. I will ALWAYS be here to help you remember, to hold your hand while you mourn your losses, but more importantly to help you find out who it is God intends for you to be. I love you more than you could ever know and I will always be grateful for the choices your mother made to bring you into this world. 

Little Sunshine's Quilt

Oma was busy before her trip to see us last weekend... she made Little Sunshine her own Oma Quilt for her birthday. 

I'm not sure who was more excited... Little Sunshine or Madeline, Audrey, and Kayla! They take their Oma quilts everywhere and sleep with them every night. 

All four of their quilts are gorgeous, I can't pick my favorite anymore, Little Sunshine's quilt is teal with coral. Already, she won't sleep without it and if the other girls touch it she yells "MINE." 

Thanks for all the time and love you put into presents, Oma! My girls notice and appreciate all the beautiful things you make them. We love you! 

In a Book

This weekend our AHG group was cheering on runners at the "Run Oak Island" race. During the lull between the half-marathoners and the 5K crowd, most of our kids were running around playing, the adults were talking, and Madeline was here...

Okay, here's a better view so it doesn't just look like she's a kid that got left on the side of the road. LOL! She was at the 5K turning sign. Working hard right?!? Oh, that girl and her books. She's currently reading five different ones at once. I have no idea how she keeps up, but I sure do love that little bookworm. 

And speaking of bookworms... 

Look at that cutie with her new hair trim and the play reading glasses she managed to steal from her sister! I just love all my girlies and their totally different personalities! 

Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter

Sea Biscuit is a small shelter here on Oak Island that takes in injured birds and seeks to rehabilitate and release them. As I was putting together some service opportunities to work with the different animal rescues around Southport for our AHG girls, I came upon this group and they graciously offered for us to come visit and tour as well as help do some cleaning and feeding of the birds.

What an amazing opportunity to see some magnificent birds up close and personal. The girls did some basic cleaning of the bird exam rooms, cleaned out the outdoor cages, and then got to help with the feeding of the birds. 

Madeline loved helping with cleaning of the empty rooms and raking the bottoms of the outdoor cages but there is NO WAY she was picking up dead mice or fish to feed to the birds. She was just a bystander for that event. Audrey, her complete opposite, volunteered to cut the fish in quarters with scissors as opposed to clean out the exam room. It's a good thing I don't mind gross, because cutting those fish with scissors was pretty nasty, she made it through about half of them before I got to finish the job. 

The pelicans were my absolute favorite. So amazing to see up close and to watch them feed and swim about. 

I thought Audrey was going to lose it when they took a live mouse to the owls (she LOVES mice) but she did okay and said she knew that's what owls ate. No, Aunt Rachel, you still can't buy her one.

And so we got our formal beach bird education on Saturday. We look forward to going back here again. Over the last few months we have developed an appreciation for many amazing resources in our community that work with so many different animal and people groups. My girls are learning quickly what all is out there in the world and how rolling your sleeves up and getting your hands dirty can indeed make a difference in where you live. 

Triplets turn TWO!

This past weekend we were in Raleigh so we could celebrate Liam and Oliver's 2nd birthday. It's kinda crazy to think that two years, while we were celebrating the arrival of the twins with Shannon and Kevin our Little Sunshine was also being born. (She is two days younger than Liam and Oliver.)

And since last June when Little Sunshine joined our family, anytime we all get together, it really is like having triplets. (Well, except that Little Sunshine is BIG for her age, and Liam and Oliver are SMALL.)

These three have started to actually play together and they are SO sweet. Here is Oliver getting some love from Little Sunshine... 

So when I see this picture of just me and my dear best friend Shannon... 22 years of friendship... 

Then I see this with our three babies which seem like a handful... 

Only to remember that there are four other crazy girls running around in the background making up our HERD OF SEVEN kids!! How did this happen?!?

Regardless of the how and when... I am so grateful for our friendship and how we can take a few hours and turn it into a fun filled park excursion with a picnic lunch in the parking lot at Food Lion in the middle of Raleigh. WE LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!

And so, happy late birthday wishes to these sweet boys that make up 2/3 of our triplets!! We are glad we got to celebrate with you this weekend and are so thankful to have some boy crazy up in the middle of WAY TOO MUCH girl crazy. You indeed will give these girls a run for their money soon. 

And until next time,Chesney family: stay crazy and get ready for our next adventure!

Valentine's Day 2017

Thanks to a bag of stocking stuffers I didn't find on Christmas Eve-- Valentine's gifts were SUPER easy this year!! (I love this picture of Audrey trying to smile and eat her cereal at the same time!!)

Thanks to a dear friend that offered to take the little two, I had the pleasure of joining Audrey's class for their card exchange and special snack at school. I love being in Ms. Whalen's first grade class. She really has a sweet group of kids and the warmth in that classroom just makes me want to stay all day. Audrey's little friends had such good manners too... I got TONS of please and thank yous. 

Since I was solo, I swung by Madeline's class on the way out. I knew they weren't having an official "party" but they were exchanging valentines and doing some math/science related fun. So, I got to see these crazy third graders too. 

And because we love a reason to have a party... tonight after the girls got home from school, we had some of our little friends over for some fun. Yes, on a school night!! Pancakes for dinner anyone?!? 

The girls had a lot of fun playing, eating, and doing a little valentine painting. I am most grateful for friends of mine, who have daughters that have become such good friends with my girls. I love when we all can get together. 

My sweet husband made sure to remember me... he made my favorite... chocolate dipped strawberries. YUM YUM!! I got daisies and wine too, but the chocolate strawberries are indeed a labor of love. AND I SOOOO appreciated them. 

Lots of love to all our friends and family out there-- hope you had a great day with the ones you love. 

Grades, Ice Cream, and Art

Report cards came out last week-- Madeline's grades put her on the A Honor Roll again and Audrey had perfect S's. That meant free ice cream at Fuzzy Peach!! (All you locals do know you get free ice cream with report cards right!?!)

 Wednesday night while Kayla was at gymnastics, we headed there with their report cards and an hour of time to waste. And so they enjoyed their ice cream treats...

As well as playing outside with the chalk. These girls love to draw!!

Audrey was drawing the actual sunset...

While Madeline was drawing all kinds of little animals... her art skills have dramatically changed this year. I love seeing her illustrations that go along with her story writing now,

It was a fun night for us all even though we had to fight off Little Sunshine-- the resident ice cream hog and chalk breaker-- to do it! 

Summertime we are so ready for your return!

Glasses

Audrey came home from school on Monday and told me she really needed reading glasses. When asked why she thought that she explained to me that when she reads her chapter books, sometimes the words get blurry. I pressed on more asking what blurry meant to her. She explained how she would have to pull her book closer to her face so they wouldn't be fuzzy looking.

Well, gosh. I felt bad. Mark and I both have great vision so I assumed my girls would as well. I assured her I'd call the doctor the next day and see what we needed to do to get an appointment for getting her eyes checked.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa!!" was the response I got. "I didn't know you had to go to the doctor for that!?"

Oh, Audrey. Her eyes are fine. Evidently a few of her friends in class have glasses, one getting them recently perhaps. So, she wanted glasses too. She was quite disappointed until I told her we'd go to the dollar store (after a conversation about always telling the truth) and pick her out a pair of super low strength reading glasses. And so we did. And now she and Madeline have the best time debating who makes the best teacher... nerd... librarian... scholar... etc. Never knew these were a much needed addition to our dress up accessories.

We voted that Madeline looks very natural wearing these...

And Audrey looks like a Grandma... which she was kind of mad about when Madeline and I pointed it out. But because her eyes are fine, she looks over the top of them constantly so that her vision isn't blurred... so she really does look like an old lady or a mean librarian!! 

Oh, these silly girls!! Let's hope their eyes stay strong and I get to just buy them dollar store readers for dress up fun in the future. Much cheaper than real glasses I am certain! 

Service Saturdays

One of the things my girls have loved most about us doing American Heritage Girls this year are the service projects we have done. Back in January, when we did a park clean up day, Madeline asked if we could start doing them more often. Well what's a mom and dad supposed to say to that?!

Let's be real honest... if we aren't out of town... our Saturdays are pretty lazy. So, as a family we voted to make Saturday mornings, "Service Saturdays." And the last several weeks we have had a lot of fun serving in our community together as a family.

This past weekend, we focused on the homeless. We were out of our "Blessing Bags" so during the week we shopped, sorted, and stuffed about 15 bags. These are great bags full of snacks, basic toiletries, socks, hand warmers, etc... that we keep in our cars so that when we are traveling about we have something to give someone who is on a corner asking for money or food.

And on Saturday morning the girls made bag lunches and we went to Wilmington on a super chilly day, to bless some homeless friends with a lunch. Here are my big girls assembly line making sandwiches: 

And Kayla was the official lunch bag stuffer once we got all the items ready to go: 

Madeline and Audrey have delivered meals at Thanksgiving to the homeless in Wilmington with us before-- sometimes it is a search to find where they are hanging out. But it was definitely an eye opening experience for them all especially when we came across this: 

What appeared to be a pile of trash was indeed a homeless man bundled in sleeping bags and cardboard. Well y'all know Mark and I, we've never met a stranger-- so this man-- and about 14 other homeless friends around town accepted our bag lunches and allowed us to talk and pray with them. 

And so I pray, through our service Saturdays, and everyday we have with these precious girls... that they will begin to see the needs all across our community, that they will continue to learn that everyone deserves to be looked in the eyes, and that every person is a child of God. I pray that they not become discouraged when they realize they can't change the whole world, but that they will press on anyway to impact their little corner of it. 

I tell you what... raising up these little ones surely calls me out of my comfort zone more than I ever could have imagined. And honestly... it's a more fulfilling and happier place to be.