Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Ending the Month the Way we Began It!

Celebrating!   Our Last November Birthday took place on Monday.  Our Jordan turned 17!  Yes He did!

And Guess what he chose for supper?

                      Steak--Bigger than Life-Sized-Ribeyes!

Yes--That is (7) 16oz Ribeye Steaks from Kingsland Meat here in St. Marys.

I didn't even ask Ben how much that cost--I don't want to know!

We finished the celebration with Carrot Cake--Not a pretty, decorated cake--I'm way past that at this point in my life, But a Yummy--Ooo It's Sooo Good Cake!






AND Jordan--I literally just realized that we Never gave you your Birthday Gift! 

 Oh My Goodness--I'm pretty sure that the Mother of the Year Trophy will be gone FOREVER after this OOPS!!!

Sorry Man--Your Mama's wearing the Big "L" on her Head!




 

Monday, November 28, 2011

Thankful for Family . . .

We were blessed to spend the Thanksgiving Holidays with our families.  Both sets of Grandparents and all of my (Julie's side of the family) were together.

Here's a picture of each of the Rentz Girl's Families.

Kelley & David Emig with  Noah, Kaleb, Matt & Josh


Our Family: Julie & Ben Agee with Zach, Austin, Jordan, Sara, Granny Bum, Leighanne, Hannah & Bum Bum

Karen & Kelly Lewis with Justin,
Will, Caroline & Bethany


Sheryl & Dewayne Herrin with Derrick, Dallas,
Sydney, Shelby, Sterling, and Sarah
THEN . . .

We tried to get a Christmas Picture of all 20 grandkids, Nana, Papa and all 4 daughters and husbands. 

Can you say Utter Chaos?

Gathering the group!

Silliness broke out!

Finally -- all 20 Grandkids with Nana and Papa



All 20 Grandkids, Nana & Papa, and 4 siters with husbands
= Rentz Clan
 Truly Thankful and Blessed!

Julie

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

So Very THANKFUL!!!

Yes--I AM!

I Am SO Very THANKFUL FOR . . .

1) A GOD who loves me and Died for me SO that I can GLORIFY HIM!
2) A Husband who loves me even when I drive him CRAZY!
3) 6--YES 6--Beautiful Gifts to love on--Austin, Jordan, Zach, Leighanne, Hannah & Sara
4) Our Families ---Parents, Sisters & Brothers, Nieces and Nephews, Aunts & Uncles, and Lots of Cousins
5) Our Church Family
6) Great Friends
7) Our Home
8) Our Freedoms Here In America
9) Soldiers who defend our Freedoms
10) The Holiday Season

What Are YOU Thankful for? 

Don't forget to give thanks for what you have been blessed with!

Monday, November 21, 2011

We've been Celebrating--AGAIN!

We celebrated Leighanne's Gotcha Day on Friday--Yes--We've had our precious girl 9 years!






AND then we celebrated Sara's 14th Birthday on Saturday! 

Two days of fun -- back-to-back.

We were actually able to get Sara and Hannah to understand that they will have "Gotcha Days" next year also--And after it was confirmed through Yan and Bailin that--"Yes--you will also celebrate the day your family Got YOU" then even more smiles broke out!




Birthday Girl!



Papa and Nana with Sara and Hannah




Robbie and Me--Thanks for coming to meet our newest girls!

5 Beautiful Girls!

Sara and Zack riding their RipSticks!

We are truly thankful for All of our kiddos.  For those that arrived the old-fashioned way and those that arrived via an airplane and a whole bunch of paperwork.

Monday, November 14, 2011

A Very Happy Birthday to ME!

I love Birthdays--(well all except my 30th--but I'm 12 years past that one now)!!!

And I couldn't have asked for a better present than to be home with all of our kiddos.  What a blessing!

The boys bought me a great present--a new computer chair.  Mine kept falling to the ground after awhile.

They brought it in first thing this morning and surprised me with it.

For lunch, I met with some girlfriends and had lunch at The Mad Hatter--one of my favorite places.




Tonight I am being treated to a steak and potato dinner by my family.  Yummy!

What a special day--love spending it with friends and family!

I promised some pictures from the weekend--and boy did we have a great time with some sweet friends!

The Davis Family came to visit and we had 12 under one roof for the weekend.
















Next celebration day is Friday--Leighanne's Gotcha Day.  Then Saturday is Sara's 14th Birthday.  WooHoo!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Listen--It's Quiet At My House!

That's probably the first time I have said that in the week since we have returned from our trip to China.  :)

AND if you look at the time this is being written--it should be--I'm wide awake at 2:25 AM!!

I've already laid in the bed for an hour hoping to go back to sleep--but nope--not happening.

SO  I thought I would try to give an update of what life is like at the Agee Household now that we have been home for almost a week.

The first word I would say is FUNNY!  We have laughed so much at some of our communication errors.

Our sign language has gotten quite good and we have used the translators some, but over all we are learning how to communicate for the basics.  Believe it or not we are even learning some Chinese. (Very Little--but more than I knew 3 weeks ago.)

Here's a few funny translations gone wrong  . . .
  • Ben tried to give what he thought the universal sign for cutting something out -- You know running your hand across your throat like a knife--after the girls stared at him for a few seconds--and then started belly laughing at their silly daddy, we decided that this must not be universal for "cut that out."  Especially since Hannah and Sara kept running around the house, making the gesture, and acting like their head was falling to the floor and then really laughing.
  • Using online translators--are somewhat iffy.  We tried to communicate to Sara with one of the online translators, what we said was actually translated as something about "a big black lobster" (Not our real words obviously).
  • Laci our dog has been given several commands in Chinese by Hannah--sometimes she acts like she is doing what Hannah says.  (I actually said "Thank You" to Laci in Chinese last night and Sara heard me and when we both realized it we giggled.)
There have been SO MANY MORE--and really I should write some of them down--but Really--I would be a Miraculous Mom Then--and I'm certainly not ever going to be that.

AMAZING will have to be my next word.  I truly am Amazed--in a good way.  We really are blessed by these two new treasures.  They are both so unique and their personalities are really starting to come out.

Sara is starting to open up with some of her expressions and thoughts.  AND I am so proud of the progress she is making on the alphabet and numbers.  I have introduced 9 of the alphabet letters and 6 numbers.  Sara has really begun to work hard at memorizing the letter sounds and numbers recognition.

Hannah is continuing to be our new little monkey and ham.  She does so many funny things and her sweet nature is shining through.  I got sick over the weekend and started running a fever on Monday.  I used the translator to tell the girls that, "Mommy was sick" and they said "OK".  That afternoon before I went to the doctor, I was laying on the couch and Hannah came by and tucked the quilt in close, brought me more water to drink,  handed me a cough drop, and then felt my head and said, "Hot mommy-hot".  We might just have a future nurse or doctor in the making.  It was so sweet. 

Hannah is working hard in school also--but she is having to learn that school is an important routine.  So we are working on staying with mom--instead of wandering away to the toys and barbies.  She is also grasping more words right now.  Her vocabulary is increasing and she is eager to try to repeat the words.

ADJUSTING will have to be by next word.  We are all there at different times.  The boys are trying to get used to all of these girls running around the house, being more cautious of how they dress and being thoughtful of noise at a much earlier time at night.  Ben and myself are having to change our get up and go to bed times, and we haven't even tried to carve out a future "date night", but I know we need to get that in soon so that we can really talk.  Leighanne is having to make changes that includes lots of sharing, and for the most part she has gone above and beyond. I think we are starting to see "glimpses" that her new sisters are here and she is needing a little TLC Too!  (Which is ok by my me--I need some LeiLei time also.)  Sara and Hannah are by far making the most adjustments right now and that is being expressed in a variety of ways.  Some easy to deal with and others a bit more difficult, BUT progress is being made.

That's all of the inside peak right now--but I did want to make 2 Big Shout Outs!

1) We have been so blessed by Bailin and Yan.  They are so graciously translating for us and have a sweet heart for the girls.  Yan had us over yesterday to meet the girls and gave us a special treat of "real Chinese food".  The girls loved Ayi (aunt) Yan.   She also went with us to the girls first eye doctor appointment.  What a huge blessing she was--I don't think Hannah would have participated at all without Yan to explain what she needed to do--THANK YOU--THANK YOU  so much! 

2) Thanks to our church family--Victory Baptist Church who welcomed us home on Sunday with sweet gestures.  A welcome note on the outside sign and a huge banner in church in both English and Chinese.  Thanks for that sweet welcome--we felt the love. (Sara told Yan that she wanted to go to church on Wednesday night--YAY!)

I just looked at the clock and realized I have been at this for over an hour--so I will end this now and try to go get some sleep before 6 AM rolls around. 

I promise to take some pictures over the next few days and post some of our real life moments.

Good Night--Or Good Morning--You Choose! :)

Julie

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Austin Turned 18!

Well it has happened--we now have an official adult.

Ben and I are sure we are much too young to be the parents of an adult--But somehow we are.

I've spent a little time pulling some pictures of the past 18 years.  My how my first little boy has become a young man. 

Take a look . . .



Tonight we took him to his choice for supper--CiCi's Pizza!  Buffet of course--they ate over 60 pieces between the 5 boys.  It's no surprise that we have PLENTY of cake left over.




And Finally--our newest adult--made his 1st adult decision and got a tattoo.
Yep--it's real no sharpie marker today from his sister Leighanne.

He branded himself with the Agee Family Coat of Arms.