Let's Rehash!

Okay, so I've been home since Monday afternoon...but not on here. I couldn't rationalize getting on the computer to post anything when my family was literally minutes from having to go naked! I really had to do the laundry! And, boy was there a lot of it. Plus we had to get to our final swim meet, unpack, and deal with our very needy pets! But, I'm back! I'm working on several posts including a summer reading post, a swim team re-cap, and a few others!

So, we had a great trip! We loved getting to see this cute family on the first leg of it. They were wonderful hosts in Tennessee. And, I was serious when I said we want to have a China travel group reunion. Tennessee seems like a great central location too! I think we should all crash at the Caudills! HeHe, kidding! Anna just had a small panic attack!

Shane, Anna and YoYo

For the most part, YoYo didn't want to have anything to do with Claire....he had his eyes on Isabel! Like Claire, he seems to take to older children more than children his own age...I guess there is plenty of time for them to warm up to each other later (hehe). But, look what happened when she fell down in the parking lot....

Awww, what a gentleman!

And, I just had to include this picture 'cause I love this woman!

Going back to St. Louis was like going back to a favorite vacation spot. I don't know why I'm so attached to St. Louie, but I am. Maybe I associate it with so many good things that have happened for Claire. Maybe it's because they have toasted ravioli! I don't know, but if I could afford it, we would go there once a year!

We may have too anyway. Claire is supposed to have a follow-up in January. Dr. Dobbs said that if all is still going well and we don't see a visible change in her feet, that we can postpone it. Whew! 'Cause I don't think there is any way to afford that trip right after Christmas. Plus, we can email him pictures of her feet and he can tell us if he sees a problem. How cool is that?

And if being in St. Louis was like going to a favorite vacation spot, visiting the Gulkes was like visiting family!

The Gours and the Gulkes, sans Brett, the oldest, who had to work.

You've seen some of the pictures from our Chicago trip. But, here are few more that I wanted to share.

Noah and Brett having and little.....ummm, one on one.

Brett just graduated from high school and has decided to join the Marines. He is just a wonderful young man, so please keep him and the Gulkes in your prayers as he begins this new chapter in his life! He was working a lot while we were in town, so he wasn't able to spend time in the city with us. But, when he was around he made sure to spend time with the kids!

Isabel gets a makeover with Becca!

And loves playing with Sammy the pet snake.


When Brett is around there is bound to be some rough play...and my kids just eat that up anyway!

Brett comes in handy in a pool too. He makes a great springboard!

Scary...but I'm not really sure what is going on here...


Kung Fu Swimming!

Shot Put Swimming!

Clear for launch!

The Gour's in the Big City

Claire gets to walk a lot!


The boys hanging out with Josh.


Isabel with Becca

The many faces of Mia! This is Silly Face!

And this cute face is supposed to be Angry Face! She didn't quite make angry this time!

The best part of our trip this summer was remembering what it was like last year when our adopted children were so new to our families. They have, all three, come so far in just a year and it is amazing to see! YoYo and Claire talk so much now. All three kids are so happy and healthy and Mia is running everywhere and climbing and getting into everything! They are so smart and so beautiful. And, we just can't imagine life before them!

Corn in Indiana

There is a lot of it. I know this because I spent hours driving past it, through it, around it, in it. It's only creepy if you think about that movie....you know the one.

Kentucky is full of horses. White horses, black horses, brown horses....and hows. Hows are, according to my niece, horses that look like cows. You know because of the spots. Goofy, I know. But, when I saw one, I couldn't help thinking, "Oooo, a how".

Then we finally made it to Tennessee. The clouds were low and down in the valleys of the little mountains around the state line. Isabel was in awe of it. I forget that she hasn't seen scenery like that much before. It was almost dark though so she didn't see much of it.

We are on our way home. Our vacation, is over. Sadly. It was fun. So much fun! And, I have more pictures to share once I get back to my house.

We ate too much, played too long, spent more than we should have and loved every minute of it. Chicago was a blast! Visiting with the Caudills and the Gulkes was so yummy!

Karla and I are making plans already! Plans for our next gathering! Plans for more families to join us, hopefully! Wouldn't it be great if our whole travel group got together again!!!!

Isabel's Dream Day!

The day started with a her first train ride....which I didn't get a picture of seeing as how we were running for the train before it could leave us! Whew! Made it. When we got into Chicago she got to take her first water taxi ride. How cool is that! The Gulkes have a dear friend that knows the city very well. He decided to take the day and accompany us into Chicago and be our guide for the day....so, it was kinda like being in China all over again! Craig was so helpful and made the day a success!

Of course, everyone else was there too...and it was a first for Claire and the boys as well.

Beautiful girls, Mia and Becca.

Lovin' this!

Then we ate lunch at Gino's East, which is apparently famous Chicago style, deep dish pizza. Mmmmm! It was delish!

The crew at Gino's

Of course, it takes 45 minutes to get your pizza....but, it was worth it!

After a wonderful lunch, the little girls decided to take a nap! Together. In their strollers. In the middle of Chicago.

That is when the real fun began.

We hit the American Girls Store.

Isabel was so excited she couldn't stand it!

She got a new doll for her birthday. Meet Julie!
And spent another $100 bucks on clothes for her Elizabeth doll, that is waiting for us to come home.

What a big girl, carrying her bags in the big city!

Then it was on to Navy Pier.....

where fun was had by all!

The girls had a quite moment looking at Lake Michigan.

Awwww!

Then I lost my mind. Apparently. Because I agreed to ride this!

Ummmm......Do you see how tall this thing is?????

The Gulkes in one car- Becca, Scott, Mia, Mr. Craig and Josh.

Me and the girls on one side. I'm hiding my look of terror very well.

Paul and the boys on the other.

The little girls and the Daddies on the carousel

It was a wonderful day!

Dinner in Chicago

After our day at the Museum we had a dinner adventure! In an attempt to escape having to drive through the rush hour traffic when we left the museum, we drove through town to find a restaurant. Our family was in our car and the Gulkes in another, so we played follow the leader! That was exciting! Eventually, we made it to an area where Scott knew of some restaurants and we ended up at Ed Debevic's Diner. Half-way through our dinner, the servers got up on tables and danced! The literally threw our menus at us and our waiter sassed us regularly. We loved it! It is an old fashioned diner with rude servers and good burgers. It was a great day!

Chicago

We spent the day in Chicago with our good friends the Gulkes. We opted for a day at the Museum of Science and Industry, complete with passes to the Harry Potter exhibit. It was a big hit!

Parker, Noah, Isabel, Claire, Becca, Josh and Mia

City scape from our drive. This is just not something we get to see everyday.

See the next post for more pictures!

Pictures from the Day at the Museum

Becca and Isabel in an airplane exhibit.




The girls loved the chicks!

Scott and Paul

Submarine exhibit

Karla with Claire

Noah's really tall these days!

From St. Louis

This is will be my last post from St. Louis for a while. We will leave in a few hours and head towards our next adventure. CHICAGO! I have been looking things up and there is sooooo much to do there. I know we are going to have fun and we can't wait to see our friends again!

Yesterday was so nice in St. Louis that we just couldn't waste that good weather inside. Charleston is so hot and humid by now that you can't do anything outside....so we wanted to take advantage of the warm and breezy day! So, we wandered over to the zoo again this year. Did I mention that this place is free....another reason to go! We only had three hours and I knew I wouldn't be left feeling like I didn't get my money's worth since I didn't spend any!

Boy what a difference a year makes. Last year Claire was in the stroller with a blanket over her head. She was very afraid of animals and did not want to see any of them! This year she was out of her stroller and pointing and looking and getting close. She loved it! I loved watching her enjoy the day. Fun was had by all!



And, right at the end she conked out in the stroller. The End!

A Godsend!

Dr. Dobbs is a Godsend, I tell you! That man is worth every mile we drive to get Claire here to the Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis to see him. He examined her this morning, complete with pictures and x-rays. She cried, of course. But, she got over it quickly. Her feet look terrific! Everything is as it should be. And, about her hips? NO SURGERY!!!!! He said he would absolutely not do any surgery on her hips now and probably not ever! Of course, she will need hip x-rays every year to follow her, but he really didn't see why she would ever need hip surgery! Praise God! He expressed the same thoughts that Mrs. Denise, our physical therapist, had...that you could take a perfectly mobile child and change everything by doing hip surgery. He said that she is a mylo child (meaning she has spina bifida), and that their hips are different. Period. You can not expect her hips to do what normal hips are going to do and if you try to make them "normal" with hip surgery, you can make them stiff and leave her unable to walk on her own! Can you imagine???? Thank God for Dr. Dobbs!

Oh, happy day! I just think, what if we didn't have internet? What if I'd never heard of Dr. Dobbs or the Ponseti method? What if Claire had had foot surgery and was about to have hip surgery? Would she end up in a wheel chair forever? Would she have ever walked? What if???

I just thank God so much for leading me in the direction we have gone with Claire. It has all been an answer to our prayers! Thank you to everyone that was kneeling with us! You have no idea what a relief it is to know that Dr. Dobbs doesn't think she needs hip surgery!

Not Long Enough!

Parker, Anna, Isabel holding YoYo, Shane, Noah, Me Claire and Paul

We made it Tennessee in record time......for us. Let's see. That would be 7 hours from my parent's house. Give or take. Anna, Shane and YoYo came to get us at our hotel and it was so wonderful to see those guys! Our visit with them was not long enough and we miss them already!

Don't these kids look so great!


Shane and Anna took us on the coolest tour of Franklin. Who knew it was such a cute place? I loved the historic downtown Franklin. And, we go to see their house and visit with Shiloh the dog. They are practically neighbors with Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith. Okay, not really, but they did show us the direction in which those cool people lived!

And guess what this blur is? That is Toby Mac's HOUSE!! Right there on the main drag in Franklin! HELLO! Okay, maybe that is only cool to me and my kids.
.

Then we went out to eat and bowling, which was a total blast. Isn't that guy the cutest?? I mean, Really! It doesn't get better than watching a four year old bowl. YoYo really got into the game and I so love his deep voice! So CUTE!

The kids had a great time and YoYo warmed up after a little time.

Claire is so cute when she bowls! She has to pick up her foot like the grown-ups do it!

YoYo really took to Isabel....which is not how it's supposed to happen. But, whatever!

We had a really great visit, but like I said, it wasn't long enough. We are going to need to plan a whole vacation up in the Nashville area so we can spend more time with the Caudills.

Thanks for a great time, Shane, Anna and YoYo!

We left Franklin after breakfast this morning...well, not right after. I think we got on the road by noon! But the important thing is that we made it into Missouri in time for dinner! Toasted ravioli, people! This is not something you can get down in good ole South Carolina. Never even heard of it until we discovered that all the Italian restaurants in St. Louis serve it....tried it, loved it! So, St. Louis mean toasted ravioli to me! Tomorrow morning is Claire's doctor's appointment and then we leave for Chicago and our favorite friends (just kidding, Anna), the Gulkes on Tuesday!

Wouldn't You Know...

When I woke up this morning I was ahead of the game.....by the time we left for our trip, we were THREE HOURS behind schedule! Paul left for the vet's office around 9:00am this morning. We knew that we needed to get Georgia in before we left for this trip. He didn't get back until 1:00pm! Apparently every animal in Charleston also needed to see our vet! The vet said she's a....and I quote "cow". Yes, thank you! Our girl weighed in at 105lbs of pure black lab love. She also has an ear infection (thank you, Michelle for the early diagnosis)....actually, a yeast infection in her ears. That would be thanks to the little dogs licking her ears all the time! Ewwwww! Otherwise, she's as healthy as a horse....ummm, cow!

Anyhoo! As luck would have it, we also discovered a nail in one of our tires while Paul was rotating them this afternoon. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do the car maintenance. But, what can I say, that man is busy! So, off to Wally World to get a tire plugged. That cost us another hour.

At least we had a nice smooth drive with no bad weather. We made it to my parents in the customary three hours and are currently trying to get everyone wrangled into bed!

So, it's off to Tennessee tomorrow! See ya later gator!