STATE CHAMPIONS!!!!!

The Augusta Prep Lady Cavaliers are the GISA AAA State Champions!

They defeated Stratford Academy 2-0 Saturday night in Macon.

Their victory made school history as... the first ever girls soccer state champions!

It was such an exciting night!

We scored quickly in the first few minutes and then again before half.

Stratford came out strong after the half. They were the reigning state champs and wanted to keep the title.

Our girls played strong and held them to just 2 shots on goal the entire game.

So very proud of this group of girls who worked hard all season!

Region Champs with a 6-0-0 record

Final record 15-0-1!

Way to go Prep!!!!!

The send-off from school!

Group selfie on the bus on the way to Macon

The signs some of the parents made

The entrance to the final

 The walk-out before the game

 I think there were just a "few" nerves at this point....especially for those of us in the stands!!!!!

 Getting ready to begin

 Go #13! Great game Jules!!!!

 That moment! The one they will never forget.

 Running over to the fans. Sheer joy on their faces!

 The scoreboard with the year 2014 and the final score!

                                      

 The grandparents with the champion.

                                        

 Her BIGGEST fans!!!!!

Moving on to the state finals!

The Lady Cavaliers pulled off a HUGE semi-final win yesterday after a 5 hour bus ride to south Georgia and playing in 91 degree temps!!! 3-2! They fought so hard and we are all so proud of them!

State Championship game Saturday in Macon 5:00pm!

Lets go girls! One more game! You can do it!!!!

National Honor Society

Julia was inducted into the National Honor Society today along with 10 other sophomores and juniors at her school. It was a lovely and classy ceremony. So very proud of this oldest child of mine!

 The new inductees

The entire National Honor Society

 These girls also play soccer together

Just the girls from the sophomore class

Easter

We celebrated Easter at my parents' house and my brother and one of his boys joined us as well. As always my Mom had beautiful decorations, yummy food and the kids had eggs to find out in the beautiful spring weather courtesy of Poppy! A great time celebrating family and our Savior's resurrection!

Easter morning after the baskets were found

Sissy helping Lulu find eggs

Figuring out which Easter bag was there's. There was a game to it!

We also celebrated Miss Lulu's birthday with everybody

It was funny, this year she was a little shy and "embarrassed" with all the attention on her, even at home. Last year was sheer uninhibited joy! I hate that she is growing up :(

Happy 4th Birthday Lulu!

My baby turned 4. It happened on Saturday April 19th. How could it be? 4 seems so....old? Not baby? What is it? She is still my baby. She is still a tiny tyke. And really 4 is NOT old especially when you have teens and pre-teens. But for some reason to me it just doesn't sound like a "baby". It is bittersweet to me. It seems, well no I guess it is reality, I have been in the baby/toddler stage forever.... 15 years to be exact. It is time to move on. There are days when I REALLY want to move on out of this stage and onto the next. It has been a long time. But oh the JOY, pure JOY this child brings to our family and it is that joy that keeps this old mama going. You see most women my age have teens, college age, and even marrying age children, but I am running after a tiny little naked fanny at night trying to put a pull-up on her before bed....hard work :) and then she squeals with delight when I catch her and my heart melts. So I am embracing this stage for the last time and soaking in her cute little 4 year old self!

Lulu at 4, loves to play pretend anything...Barbies, babies, house, school,zoo, fairies, etc. She adores Jaida and follows everything she does. She likes all things sweet. She loves Sofia and Doc McStuffins and the Princesses. She is funny, sassy, stubborn, beautiful, smart but wants nothing to do with counting, letters, or colors, has a huge vocabulary, loves fiercely, and pouts fiercely. She keeps us on our toes and I have been told by my older ones that I am in trouble when she is a teen...great! She is the spark in our our family.

I become quite melancholy on their birthdays as I think of their birth mothers. How blessed I am to get to experience life with this little jewel. My heart hurts for her as she does not get to witness this beautiful gift. I will be forever grateful to her for giving her life and me the blessing of being her forever  mama!

Happy 4th Birthday my sweet Lulu! We love you so very very much!

Yes, I BOUGHT the cake this year!!!

Birthday pancakes with sprinkles and whip cream. A new tradition thanks to Pinterest...so yummy!!!

Her very own sleeping bag..Princess of course!

Enjoying her gifts with her siblings.

A girl has to have her Ninja spy gear to play with her brother!!!!

We went to see Nut Job that afternoon to celebrate! Gotta love the $2.50 movies for a big family!

It was a special day honoring our special littlest one! 

4 years...Forever Family

4 years with us now...... and he has still lived longer in China than with us! Hard to comprehend. We celebrated at the beach with dumplings, cookies, and Dairy Queen. Happy 4 years Xin! We love you!!!!