Mira Mae, at last

Last Saturday we were all officially introduced to our youngest niece and cousin, Mira (pronounced Meer-ah). She's a perfect little blonde peanut, and we think she is darling!
Love those blue eyes!
The three youngest nieces- Adelaide, Mira and Naomi. Want to guess how many shots I took to try to get all three striped girls looking at the same time? :-) Sweet girls!

Meeting Mira Mae

Uncle Scott, in NYC this week for work, had the distinct pleasure of being our newest niece's first visitor. Hoping he is passing on kisses and cuddles from all of us who can't wait to meet her!

Welcome to parenting, M & J! Love to all three of you. :-)

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Madelyn and her cousin Meredyth, 7000+ miles away from each other, are taking turns playing songs for each other on the piano while the other listens on the phone.

I think these girls are a pretty good example of making the best of a situation. :-)

On the Outside!

Look who's here! Naomi Avigail, our newest niece, was born to Scott's sister Jenna and her husband Andrew on February 24th. With three big sisters, this little girl will be well loved and mothered! Our arms will be aching until we can hold you this summer, Avi!

He's Ours!

Isaac Robert came home yesterday.... our newest nephew, adopted by my brother and sister-in-law. The miracle that is adoption never fails to completely slay me emotionally... God is so good, He's so good, He's so good.

Welcome home, Isaac. We love you so very much.

*For more of Isaac's story, check out "Pre-Loved" in my sidebar.

Sweet Samuel

We were all so pleased to finally meet our darling new nephew while we were in the US at Christmas time. Isn't he lovely?

Girls' Secret

Meredyth ponders whatever tidbit Madelyn has just imparted to her over their bowls of ice cream, raised pinky and all!

Small Cousins with Caleb

Caleb has occasionally bemoaned the fact that he has no cousins his age. Being the oldest child of the oldest children on both sides of the family, he waited a while for cousins to come along. We have encouraged him that although he doesn't have cousins his age, he has really cool younger uncles... this is true, and has been awesome for both him and Seth.

Now that Caleb does have cousins, albeit much younger cousins, he is turning out to be quite popular with them. He hunted high and low to find the perfect Christmas gift for Caden, who is ten years his junior. That gift was a super cool, battery powered, lights and action toy machine gun. He called my sister before buying it to see if she would approve of this choice for her four year old. She did, and was Caden thrilled! He couldn't seem to wipe the grin off his face. Caleb got a BIG hug from Caden. :-) Caleb also had fun with the little girl cousins. Maggi, who is four, asked her mom several times while we were there if she could have a big brother like Caleb. He chased them, tickled them, and generally created much mayhem and screaming. The girls loved it! Here Emma Clare is happily in his clutches.Caleb was anxious to hold his newest cousin, Samuel. He generally doesn't take a lot of interest in babies, but soon after Samuel and his mama came in, Caleb quietly came up to me and said, "Can you get a picture of me holding him, Mom?" Even though Samuel doesn't seem especially happy in this photo, I think Caleb does. See his little smile? The look on Caleb's face reminds me of my two blonde preschool boys, Caleb and Seth, carefully cuddling their newborn sister, Madelyn, and whispering to her, "I'll take care of you, little baby. You're my precious baby in the world."

Welcome to the World!

Introducing our new nephew and cousin, Samuel Mokosso! We can't wait to kiss your sweet face~ Congratulations, Joy and Eric... he is beautiful!

Hope Deferred

Madelyn received a letter the other day from her cousin, our sweet first grade niece, Meredyth. Madelyn and Meredyth have such a good time when they are together, and since we are reduced to those visits being only twice a year, they are highly anticipated. The next visit is coming up quickly... but apparently not soon enough.



Here's the text of Meredyth's letter:
Dear Madelyn,
I wish that is was Christmas right now but it is not.
Love Meredyth

I'm so glad it's mid-November, and soon these girls can be together again!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Can't believe you're two now, EC. We all love you so much!

Youngest Nieces in Black & White

Alyssa Jane, two and a half years old

EmmaClare, almost two years old

Sunset Girls

Girls in the Surf

Watching Meredyth and Madelyn in the waves in North Carolina last week brought back memories for me of the wonderful fun I had in the ocean with my cousin Tamara when I was growing up. I know you remember it too, Tam. Let's do it again someday!

Thursday Night

Loving being at my sister's home here in Pennsylvania this week... driving on the hilly, winding roads past old stone farmhouses and through densely wooded areas; loving the deep blue sky we enjoyed tonight as we ate dinner out on the patio; loving the fresh air... it smelled so good tonight, I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but it was a clean smell. Loving going to Wal-mart and browsing. Loving hanging with Sarah and her kiddos, including sweet Juline, whom Sarah and Shann are caring for this summer while she recovers from surgery to correct her hydrocephalus, before returning to her parents in Haiti. Loving watching our kids interact. Loving working in the kitchen with Sarah, doing dishes with her and talking together while meals are prepared. Loving working in Sarah's yard a little, clipping a branch here, pulling a weed there. I've missed that. Loving fast internet. Loving (gulp!) a little reality TV.

Loving being in America. And thinking of China.

Down By The Sea

I'm sitting in the small public library of a little beach town in North Carolina. We're here this week with Scott's family, enjoying beach and cousin time. We're watching a large tub of crabs and sand on the deck, caught by Caleb this afternoon; we're body surfing, we're enjoying great food cooked by a different couple every night. We're sweeping sand off the floor many times a day, applying sunscreen to each other's backs, doing Pilates together at 11 p.m., and making sausage and french toast for an hour in the morning. We have novels and magazines in random places all over the house, towels and bathing suits on the clothsline and hanging over the deck railing, and laundry going around the clock. We're watching movies curled up on Pa and Nanny's bed, making sand castles decorated with shells, and digging deep holes on the beach for the rising tide to fill. We're playing bocce, frisbee, and baseball on the beach. We're talking and laughing and singing the same songs over and over. We're going through cases of bottled water. We're hanging out in bathing suits all day.

It's great to be together.

A Gift For LuLu

Guess what, Alyssa, the next present is for you!


I wonder what it could be?
Hey, keep it over here in case you need my help!I know it's getting a little past the time for Christmas pictures... thanks for indulging me!

Cousins' Bath

In mid-December when Caden was talking to my sister about our upcoming visit together at Christmas, he said, "When we are at Grandma's, I will take a bath with my Gwendolyn." They did, and it was a splashing good time!

Dress-Up with Cousins

It takes a little effort for a girl to get ready, but once she has her ensemble in place, the results are stunning!

So good to be together again!

Madelyn, Meredyth, Gwen and Maggi.

Happy Birthday

...to our beautiful, sweet-cheeked niece, EmmaClare! We miss your stunning blue eyes and pretty smile. We can't wait to see you walking when we're home with you at Christmastime! Happy one year and one week, Big Girl!
Love, Uncle Scott & Aunt Lynne