handsful

This past weekend, we celebrated Abbey.

She’s our high school graduate now.  Twelve years of homeschooling under her belt.

And mine :)

Course, I have 5 more coming after her.  I’ll refrain from discussing how old I’ll be when Dylan graduates.  Shudder.

Abbey participated in the North Carolina Home Educators (NCHE) annual home school graduation ceremony.  Every year, during their home school convention, they hold a graduation.

We drove over to Winston-Salem on Saturday, walked over to the convention center, and spent a little time in the book fair…picture a ginormous room, with aisles and aisles full of everything you could possibly ever want or need for homeschooling.

I never get to spend as much time there as I’d prefer.

Then, we let the little kids swim at the hotel pool.

The next day, we met the grandparents (as well as Daniel and his parents) at a restaurant for lunch.  Gifts were given…

Abbey will be going to Mitchell Community College for a couple of years, to earn her Associate’s degree.

After a 3:00 rehearsal with students and parents (I was already getting weepy at this point…), it was time for the real deal.

In between weepy moments.

Abbey and Daniel were seated right across from each other.

Time for Abbey.  During this ceremony, the parents give the student the diploma…after all, we’re the teachers.  So, Abbey walked up from one side of the stage, and we walked up from the other side.

Abbey gave me a rose…

Picture time…Abbey and all her grands

Nana and Paw Paw

Gram and Pa-Paul

Granma and Granpa

Abbey with Uncle Tony and Aunt Dee Dee

Abbey and Daniel

Class of 2024 and 2025.  Heh.

Abbey and John William Frye…we’ve been friends with JW’s parents for years, and they’ve literally known each other since they were babies.

After the ceremony, we met up with Daniel and his parents for dinner.

It’s hard to believe that you’re a high school graduate, Abbey.  So much is ahead of you…we’re couldn’t be prouder of the young woman you’ve become.

Happy Graduation, Abbey.  We love you!

To be exact, just two girls.

Me and Marley.  I surprised her with the notion of a mom/daughter night, her choice of where to go and what to do.

Her original plan was dinner and a movie.  But, dinner took more than 2 hours and we weren’t gonna make it.  So, we substituted shopping for the movie.  I would have saved money with the former idea.

Pics before we left…

She’s even taller than she appears here, I have on heels.  And, could someone tell me…when did she grow up?

Closer…

Wow, does she look pretty here or what?  And, where did all those laugh and smile lines come from on ME?  I swear, life sure does go by quickly.

Go to a nice restaurant, and they expect you to cook your own food?!?

They made up for that by providing a very tasty Sangria.  Poor Marley only had water…

Cheese fondue, yummy salads, amazing entree’s, and then THIS.  Milk chocolate, toasted marshmallow, and sandwich cookie crumbles on top.  A plate of sweets to dip in, including cubes of this amazing red velvet cake.  I’d like to say I only had a few pieces, didn’t over do it, didn’t over-indulge one bit.  I’d LIKE to say that.

Even though we were just a tad bit full, we managed to hobble over to a shop and Marley scored 4 pairs of jeans and a cute top from the clearance racks.  A nice topper to our fun, giggly night.  Yes, we laughed a lot.

It was a really great night…love ya, Marley :)

I’m just a tad behind in blogging our lives happenings, so I’m gonna cram the rest of our wonderful Asheville weekend into this one, little bloggy post. K?

After zip-lining, we stopped by a local place for ice cream (yum), and then checked into the inn. A quick change of clothes, and we were out the door for dinner.

We both love walking around downtown areas, especially busy cities. I’ve never wanted to LIVE in a big city, but I love to visit. So, we chose a restaurant right in the middle of things and ate outside in the gorgeous weather.

Dinner over (and really, really good), we decided to wander around. Asheville, if you’ve never been there, has a very distinct vibe. Very college, very diverse, very…hippie. Honestly, it is. And, they readily admit it and are dang proud of the fact.

We heard music, and headed that way. We came upon a HUGE crowd, all crammed into one, small brick amphitheater. The only instruments were drums…all kinds. And, if you didn’t happen to have a drum, you danced around the drums. There were no planned songs, or anything resembling planning of any sort. They just had a beat and everyone went along with it. Around the area were other people holding signs with scripture verses on them. I saw one guy walking while carrying a large white cross. The whole thing had a very “Moses on the mount, Israelites having a party” feel to it. Very strange. We learned later that this happens EVERY Friday night.

There’s a live band every night at the GPI, so we had a late night drink while we listened. A Sam Cooke song made us get up and dance :)

We had to get up early Saturday morning…I know, on vacation, we had to get up early?! But, it was for good reason. We had a couples massage appointment :) An hour long massage, followed by hanging out around the indoor and outdoor pool, saunas, hot tubs, etc. Four hours later, we emerged feeling very relaxed and very thankful for the experience!

Taken after our spa morning.

This was taken outside the spa, looking up at the inn behind us.

Walking up to the inn.

In fact, we were so relaxed, we spent the next couple of hours napping. Can’t remember the last time I took a NAP.

Deciding we should do something other than sleep our day away, we went back downtown for a treat and a little shopping. Chocolate chip pecan pie (oh, yes I did) and red velvet cupcake.

Next up, dinner. And, this one was planned ahead of time. Randy had made reservations at the best restaurant at the inn. The kind of place where they put your cloth napkin on your lap. The dinner was incredible, but we talked the most about the little cheesy bread puffs on the bread plate. They melted in your mouth! I’d go back for just those.

These were taken before dinner, just at sunset.

Cameras never capture how truly beautiful a mountain sunset is.

Not ready for the evening to end, we listened to that night’s live band while having a drink and dessert (chocolate mousse!)

Random weekend pictures to follow…

Original leather chairs that have been there since the inn opened in 1913. Edison (one of many famous visitors) could have sat in THIS chair!

Our door. We stayed in the original part of the inn. Not sure when, but there were two additions built and they are newer and more modern. We wanted the experience of staying in the old part. We roll like that. Plus, the other rooms in the “club” section were TWICE as much. Ah, no.

The main lobby has two HUGE fireplaces on each side of the room. I mean huge…the andirons are almost as tall as Randy.

The other fireplace :)

In the side of (and in the same shaft as the fireplace) is an elevator. There is always someone operating the elevator, 24hrs/day. It has the iron gates that they open and shut as you board and exit. And, it’s one of the last working elevators that opens on 3 sides (front, and each side depending on which side your hallway/room is). Very cool.

Re-creating the set-up photo we took the morning after our wedding. Posing with the “do not disturb” tag!

And, then, all too soon…it was the day we had to leave. The breakfast buffet was great (but the White Swan is Guangzhou, China still remains top dog), and we did a little more shopping for the kids and my parents. On the drive home, we stopped by Black Mountain, NC and looked at antiques. We found a lovely, old (100 years or so) wooden dough trencher bowl. My eye went directly to it and knew I loved it immediately. A little bargaining later, and it was ours. A remembrance of our 20th anniversary.

We’re already talking about our 25th. Our dream would be to take our family back to China. I guess we’ll see if that’s God’s plan for us as well.

To celebrate our 20th anniversary, Randy planned a trip for just the two of us.

Repeat that last part…just the TWO of us. Yes, we were due for this.

Last Friday, we got in the car and headed west. Randy made reservations at the Grove Pa*k Inn in Asheville – 2 days/2 nights. It. was. amazing.

We left that morning, and stopped for lunch. On the way, we scheduled a zipline tour in downtown. I’ve been ziplining once, and even though I’m deathly afraid of heights, I love ziplines.

It was just the two of us, with 2 guides. Very cool! Another guy followed us the whole time and took pictures.

On your mark…

Go! We started out on lines very close to the ground, so they could teach us technique. Then, each line got longer and higher…

I mentioned my fear of heights, right? Well, there were 3 suspension bridges that we had to cross. The first one wasn’t too bad, but my fear definitely kicked in. The 2nd one? I froze in the middle, but Randy and the guide talked me through it and I made it over. NOT fun.

This was taken in the middle of the first bridge.

This is me holding on to my line for DEAR LIFE.

By contrast, Randy went over all 3 with NO hands.

And, loved every second of it.

The last line was a double, and because it was just the two of us, we got to do it twice.

Despite the darn bridges, we had a fabulous time! What a nice way to start our weekend together…

1992. Married 6 months. In our first home…a single-wide trailer that we were renting. With us and two big dogs, we were kinda squeezed in there, but happy as could be.

1996. First child, Abbey, was born after a couple of years of infertility.

1998. Second, third, and fourth children were born. Marley, Payton, and Ethan. Fertility treatments kicked in nicely this go round. Yes, I’m still holding on to the baby weight here and we both look exhausted.

2002. 10th Anniversary trip to San Francisco.

2006. Living in Florida…we followed Randy’s job to Florida from NC in 2004. Assuming we’d be there a couple of years, tops.

2008. Lainey joined our family. Still in Florida.

2010. And, then Dylan. We moved back to NC this same year, and rented a home on the water. Our home in Florida was still on the market.

2012. Back in NC, in our new home, our FL home finally sold. Feeling very blessed!!

It’s been an incredible 20 years, and in some ways it’s flown by. But, when I think of all that we’ve been through together…wow. It’s been a crazy, fun ride. Can’t wait to see what’s next…

Today, November 13th, 2011, we dedicated our son – Dylan YuHai – to the Lord. He was prayed for, prayed over, and shown lots of love from our church family…

What made it even more special is that November is Adoption Appreciation Month. Our friends were with us on stage, dedicated their adopted daughter.

Our church is very diverse, and adoption and foster care is just about rampant! Many of our friends have adopted or are currently doing foster care. Many have adopted through foster care, and we also have several friends with children from China, Ethiopia, Latvia, etc. Our pastor and his wife have 2 children, both adopted. This church-wide mindset is one of the reasons we love Grace Covenant like we do.

Adoption is a perfect picture of Jesus’ love for us. We, as believers, are all grafted in (adopted) into the family of Christ. We’ve done nothing to deserve this, it’s done out of pure and honest love for us, His children. Lainey and Dylan aren’t ours by birth, but they are truly loved by us, just as if they were. God ordained that the would be in our family, long before the idea of adoption was even on our radar. Thankfully, God’s plans are so much better than ours!

During worship, right before we headed to the stage.

A full stage! Our friends have 3 bio children, and have foster/adopted their youngest 3.

Dylan had no problems going to Pastor Farrell, and loved seeing his picture on the screen in front of him…

Is that me?!

I love how Lainey has her hands over her eyes, and someone forgot to tell Dylan to close his!

After the dedication, the Pastor asked us a few questions about our adoptions…thankfully, we knew the questions ahead of time and could kind of plan out our answers! Randy is completely comfortable talking in front of people. Me, not so much. But, I somehow made it through and was told I didn’t even sound nervous. They’re just being nice.

I made sure to put in a “plug” for the many SN children in China needing a forever family…I hope I planted a seed or two :)

This is the verse written on the card that we received at his dedication today… “Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.” Psalm 69:34

Yu Hai means “of the sea” – Dylan means “son of the sea”.

We love you, Dylan, and are so very blessed to be your family!

I feel like I say this all the time.

Our days are so full and busy, that it’s been hard lately to find time to blog. And, because we’ve been so swamped, the camera hasn’t been my first (or second) thought these days. I literally go from helping someone with history, to loading the dishwasher, to taking Dylan to the potty, back to history, check dinner in the oven, etc. etc. Not good! But, definitely my season in life right now.
Anyway…

Thought I’d let ya’ll know, I got a call from our pediatrician yesterday saying that all of Dylan’s bloodwork came back within normal. So, he’s just little.

(time out to take Dylan to the potty)

Seriously, I didn’t make that up…

So, I guess we just have to assume that his parents were small/short and he’s perfectly within normal range. Maybe he’ll hit a mongo growth spurt one day, and maybe he won’t. As long as he’s healthy and happy, I really don’t care. In the meantime, we’ll encourage him to eat and add instant breakfast powder to his milk. Maybe he’ll change his mind about doughnuts? That could help.

August 29th was our wedding anniversary. 19 years, thanks for asking :) We took everyone out for dinner that night, like we always do for our anniversary. Romantic, eh? The littles looked so cute, I snapped a quick picture.

Yes, Lainey wore those shoes. Her only other options were 2 pairs of flip flops – one very old and the others didn’t match. She BEGGED to wear these and I decided “why not?” Of course, at the restaurant she immediately took them off. Notice Dylan has his NCSU shoes on – his brothers dressed him. Not sure I’m digging the shoes with that shirt, but sometimes you just have to let things go. I finally learned that a few kids ago.

Usually our anniversary is just that…a dinner out with the kids. This year, Randy took it up a notch. We drove into Charlotte last Thursday night to spend a night, just the two of us. Randy managed to get us a discounted rate at the Ritz-Carlton in town. Yeah, I know! I was blown away, and stumbled all over my words when the bellman asked if he could take my bags. I’m so used to THAT kind of treatment, ya know?

We had a lovely dinner in town, got to sleep late the next morning, breakfast brought TO the room, and then a tandem massage appt at the spa. Oh my. After our massages, we showered and changed in the spa (seperately, of course) and the shower had 16 shower heads. 4 in the ceiling, and 12 all around. I could have stayed there forever.

When we drove back in the next day, I was picturing what my house might look like. Afterall, our 6 kids had been there, by themselves, for the last 18 hours or so. Without me there to nag. What did we come home to? A CLEAN house. I mean clean…even the microwave was clean. And, the girls had baked us 19 (exactly) heart shaped sugar cookies and arranged them in the shape of a 19. We were both astounded and crazy proud. Mostly proud! Maybe I should cut back on the nagging afterall?

So, that was our last week’s event. We stayed busy over the long weekend, carting kids here and there, going to corn mazes (Abbey) and fun youth leader cookouts (all of us). Monday was spent inside, given we were pelted with rain off and on the whole day. Randy has been needing to work on the kids computers, so he started that process. Apparently the littles thought their computers could use a little attention, too. I walked by to see this.

I managed to finish this blog, in between helping Dylan with his dress up clothes, getting Lainey juice, and starting a quick dinner before we all head out to Wed night church.

I can now mark “blog this week” off my to-do list. Ahhhh….