The Little Waites

I love taking pictures - capturing precious moments in time, but lately time has been the hindrance.  So, this morning I took the littles outside a grabbed a few pictures....

 

Silly Faces

 

Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil

The Beach

This beach trip will probably go down in the history books of maybe just one of the most "eventful" trips to Daufuskie yet.  It all started before we even left for the beach.  Fred went to the doctor the day before we left for a sore throat and was placed on antibiotics.  Needless to say a sore throat is one of the most annoying ways to be sick.  Much snoring goes on and not much sleep on my part due to the snoring.  But anyway, when we arrived at our condo the AC was out.  We had a technician come by and look at it and said we needed the whole unit replaced at a whopping $9,000....gulp!  Fred was on his computer and the telephone for at least 3 days trying to find someone who would do it cheaper or who would even be able to come out while we were there.  Needless to say, being on an island does not come in handy sometimes.  No one would be able to come out while we were going to be there.  So, the decision was - sweat it out or leave.  We chose to sweat it out.  Truly it wasn't that bad unless you tried to dry your hair or make yourself look 1/2 way decent. 
On top of the sore throat (that wasn't going away), Fred put is back out.  I mean like walking completely crooked and in a lot of pain.  Really - on a island, a husband with a sore throat and his back out and no AC!!!!  Come on, really.  We hung in there for 6 days and then we caved.  2 more days of rain in the forecast and we were going home! 
All in all we had a good time.  The kids never complained about the heat and had a great time on the beach each day.  And who wouldn't rather be at the beach anyway.....

At last but not least, this picture is priceless.  It was the first time he had seen the ocean.....love that face!

 

Next trip on the agenda - Honduras bound on a mission trip with my hubby!!!  I can't wait......

Horse Camp

It was a little rough start of the week at camp for Morgan.  Being away from home at night time is still a little hard.  With a little persuasion and a little tough love,on my part and some courage/bravery on her part, she made it through.  I am so proud of her.  All in all she had a blast!!!!  Here are some pictures of her week....

                      These pictures make my heart happy!!!

Summer Camp

Gotta love summer and everything it brings.....like camp!  The little ones went to camp last week at the preschool they will be attending in the fall.  All of them were super duper excited about going!!  Their theme was the Rainforest.  They all had such a great time and are very excited for school in the fall (and so is this momma). 
Mason had adventure camp.  All I can say is I wish they had this for adults.  It sounded like so much fun.  They did rock wall climbing, white water rafting, canoeing, playing in the lake, hiking and so on.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from his week!

 

Morgan is at horse camp this week.  She was so excited to go this year.  Being able to ride everyday is a dream to this girl.  I am so glad that she has found something that she is so passionate about.  I miss her and will be ready for her to come home on Saturday. 

Then next week we are off to our beach home on Daufuskie Island.  I can't wait......

Two Birthdays

My oldest son and my youngest son have birthday's back to back.  So we spent this Memorial Day weekend celebrating two amazing boys.  Mason turned 11 on Sunday and Miles turned 3 on Monday.  We had family and friends over to celebrate these two boys yesterday with some good food, lots of swimming and fun.  I have become pretty slack in the picture taking lately and didn't even have my nice camera out.  However, I did get a few shots with my phone.  I swear the more kids we have, the less prepared I am.  I guess it comes with the territory, but I regret it later.  I really need to work on that. 

These boys crack me up.  They have been the best of friends since they were 3 years old.  I love it!!

 

The kids are out of school and we are looking forward to a fun, memorable summer.  We have a couple weeks of summer camps for all the kiddos and then we will be heading down to Daufuskie Island for the Fourth of July once again.  I am so ready to kick back this summer and hang out with my kids.  With no surgeries or adoptions on our plate this summer, it should be pretty relaxing.  At least I hope so!!! 

Happy Summer.........

The Most Beautiful Princess

Well I am about a week late, but that's how it goes around here right now. 
Lily had her 4th birthday part last Saturday and it was so much fun.  My little princess had a blast.  What could a girly girl love more than dressing up, getting her hair & makeup done and her nails painted.  To top it off, a sweet tea party for her and her friends.  The party was a huge success!

Lily has grown up so much in this last year.  She is such a joy to be around.  Here are some of her favorite things....

Favorite color:  Purple
Favorite movie:  Barbie and the Pink Shoes
Favorite TV show:  Sophia the 1st
Favorite food:  cupcakes
Favorite restaurant:  Chick fil a
Favorite Disney Princess:  Sleeping Beauty

Happy Birthday to the Most Beautiful Princes EVER.....We love you Lily!!!!

We are Home!!!

Upon arriving in Ethiopia on Saturday, April 6th we settled in to the hotel and then headed over to the care center with another family that was there.  We would both be leaving with our children that day from the care center!  When we arrived Miles was sleeping so we headed over to the baby room and loved up on some babies for a while.  After about an hour and a half, I went in and tried to wake up my little man.  He seemed very tired, but in an effort to leave the care center I went ahead and woke him and changed his clothes so we could head out.  I have to say I was a little nervous that he was going to get upset, but he didn't.  It was all a little weird.  I just changed his clothes, picked him up and off we went to the hotel. 
All in all he has done extremely well.  I couldn't have asked for it to go any better.  We were able to sight see a little more on this trip because we hired a tour guide to take us around.  That was really the way to go!  Miles was a trooper.  I am also very thankful that there were two families there on this trip.  Having other people around to walk out this experience with you is always the best.  We were blessed with two great families to do that with.  Thanks Davis family and Coates family!!!  You guys are the best.
Miles did great on the plane.  We left at 10:30 pm Ethiopia time, so Miles fell asleep as soon as we took off and slept for 10 hours.  He woke for a while and played and ate and then fell back to sleep for the last hour and half of the flight.  We landed in DC and then had a short 1 hour flight home to Charlotte.  My mom and I had not sleep at all, so needless to say it was exhausting trying to stay up until 8 when the kids went to bed.  But, we did it and Miles actually slept through the night.  I can't believe that we did not have to deal with jet lag at all!  That is truly a miracle in itself.
Morgan, Mason, Lily and Liam have accepted Miles with open arms and have had so much fun getting to know their brother.  Morgan couldn't wait to have a little photo shoot with them, so Saturday we took them outside in our neighborhood and she took some pictures.  Enjoy!!!