Generosity + Adoption Update

When we started the year with our word choice of "generosity" I didn't know how it would change me. My goal was to show my children how to live generously as all believers in Christ should, as a natural extension of our love for the Lord.

I haven't written the past few months, not because we haven't given or done anything generous, but because I was wrestling with the public nature of blogging about generosity. After checking my heart to be sure my motives are pure (that I share from a stance of encouragement, not boasting), I wanted to write to share what we have done these past few months.

We donated Build-A-Bears that the girls made to Hershey Children's Hospital Child Line Department. The nurses who work there were gracious and lovely not only to Ruthie after her palate surgery, but also to me. So this was an important, personal one we wanted to give to as Ruth received a giraffe that she still sleeps with (1-year post-op!) that someone else had donated. Also, our local Build-A-Bear gave us a tremendous discount when they learned these were to be donated. We didn't ask for it, but were blessed by it!

Just before donating! Look at these cheerful givers (forgot to take a pic with the animals they made)

Since we are trying hard to be frugal in order to save money towards our adoption we started trying to think outside the box. We considered if there were ways we could donate our time or something else that we have to be helpful.

Abbey decided she would like to cut her long hair and donated about 12" of hair.

Before

After

It took me a little longer to come to terms with parting with my own hair, as it has become part of my identity. However, it felt like the right thing to do, especially since it was letting go of something about myself that I loved it felt like more of a sacrifice. I donated 14" of my hair.

Before

After: also, it's never looked this nice since the hairdresser styled it. :/

Yesterday I donated blood. I didn't take the kids along with me. However, while I was there, a friend of mine was also there with her husband and children. As we were chatting she mentioned that her dad used to take her and her sister when he would donate plasma, a three-hour process. They would watch a movie together and her dad set this example to her of giving of our physical bodies to help someone else. It really moved me and I've determined the next time I give blood I will take my kids with me.

Both arms bandaged because apparently my veins are the same size as the needle. But hey, we got it to work!

The most interesting thing has been happening here. I thought this year of generosity would be about the kids and myself giving to those in need. It certainly has been. However, it has been so much more. I am learning also to receive the generosity of others with grace and humility.

People were very supportive of Ruth's adoption, but we've been so humbled by the sheer number of people who have stepped up and given towards the adoption of sister six, some we don't even know personally, just friends of friends. We started this process back in June, just four months ago, and I want to share with you how we have been on the receiving end of your generosity.

The most recent t-shirt campaign raised $195. The total amount we received from t-shirt sales is $1,066.89! (What?! This blew my mind!) The total amount from t-shirts and other extraordinarily generous donations is $3,536.39.

Thus far we have paid a total of $9,540.10 in adoption expenses so we have paid approximately $6,000 of those costs. I share this for two main reasons. One, that you would know we are committed to our daughter and are absolutely willing to part with our money to bring her home. And two, that your faith might be increased when you see how God provides exactly what we need, when we need it.

I don't know who our sixth daughter will be, but I do know that she will be surrounded by a host of people who are invested in her and want to see her succeed and will celebrate with us each victory she has in life.

As I've been praying for her the word "warrior" has come to my mind, over and over again. I have no doubt this little lady will be a warrior princess; a brave, brave girl who will fight and win many battles.

Many of you probably saw we just had our biometric fingerprinting done for the immigration part of this paperwork trail. Immigration approval is the last piece we need for our side of the paperwork. When we get it in the mail we will have to have it notarized and sent to our adoption agency. Then our dossier can go to China! Most likely that will happen sometime in November, unless a paperwork miracle occurs and our approval comes much more quickly than anticipated.

Once our Dossier goes to China we continue our wait to be matched with our daughter. Current timeframes are 9-12 months for a young girl. However, we are open to a fair amount of special needs, so it could be much quicker than that. Once we are matched we will need to pay about $12,500 in fees. Then before we travel we need to pay all travel expenses which will likely be around $10,000. While $22,500 sounds insurmountable, we know that it is not because, with God's help, we did it before and we know we can do it again.

We thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and love. It's such a joy to me to hear of people in the community wearing our t-shirts, to have excited women at Bible study congratulate me on fingerprints, and to share in the joy of the tiniest updates. You all are a special part of our daughter's life and our lives. You most certainly will have had a hand in changing her world. We thank you all!

xoxo,
Mama Hess

Faith of a Child

I recently volunteered to teach the middle school Sunday School class at our church. Yes, you read that correctly. Volunteered. Middle School. Yes, I’m crazy.

Honestly, middle school was extremely difficult for me. I feel like I’m not too old to be considered irrelevant to these kids, still have the memories of what it felt like to be in a tumultuous home with turbulent hormones, and have the Biblical knowledge coupled with the true Spiritual transformation to make what I hope will be a lasting impression on the kids. So I volunteered.

I was excited to teach this group of very diverse children. There were twelve kids in the class, with a nice mix of homeschooled and public school kids, adopted and birth children, mostly two-parent families but some living with grandparents or from broken homes. I had a few main goals going into the class. One was to show them that God really does answer prayers. Two, to get them into a routine of reading their Bible daily. Three, to help them view the world from a Christian perspective.

To start off the class I gave each young person a prayer journal that they will write in each week. I shared with them the prayer journal that I am keeping in specific regards to our adoption finances and the timing of paperwork. One of the students asked how much it cost to adopt from China. I hesitated to answer because it’s always a difficult topic to broach. However, every kid in the class had their eyes glued to me. They were eager to know. And I realized that if I told them, then could prove to them how God is faithful in answering our prayers to help bring this girl home from China then He would be glorified. Not only will he be glorified in my mind and in my family’s mind, but it would prove to these middle school kids who are at such an impressionable age that we can trust God to take care of us. That He is good. That He is our provider. So I told them. Thirty-five thousand dollars. Their eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. But I reminded them; God provides. He is faithful. And we prayed together.

At the end of the class, one young boy came up to me after everyone else had left the room and gave me fifty cents. This was his weekly tithe and he wanted me to have it towards our adoption. This meant so much to me. I wrote his name and his donation in my prayer journal. And here’s the thing. He didn’t do this for attention. He did it privately after the other kids had left. I was moved.

The next week he came in and gave me a dollar, declaring he decided that he wanted me to have both his tithe and his offering. A double measure. And the kids asked immediately, “How did God provide this week?”

My face when I see God's goodness!

They had faith that God would have moved others in that one week we were apart to give. And they were right. We had received a $200 check. Later that Sunday the boy’s younger sister reached back and handed me fifty cents.

While their donations may seem small, they are not. They are such an encouragement to me.

Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Such a small amount of faith is required. The money these young people have given represent that to me. I write their donations down exactly the same as I write down the larger donations.

I want to share a few verses that have often encouraged me with I feel like my faith is small, when things seem too hard, and I’m discouraged. This story is about a boy who is demon possessed. Jesus’ disciples tried to drive out the spirit, but they could not. Jesus asks that the boy be brought to him.

Mark 9:21-24 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often throw him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Jesus goes on to drive the evil spirit out and privately discussed with the disciples that this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.

This story shows me that faith, prayer, and action are all related. It proves that in our weakest moments, when we want to believe but still have doubts, if that smallest mustard seed sized faith is there, that everything is possible.

The reason I wanted to share the story of the boy in my Sunday School class with you is to help you grow in your faith. He already has faith that his donation will help make a difference in a little girl’s life. I read in George Muller’s autobiography (highly recommend, by the way) that his main reason for starting orphanages in Bristol was not to help the orphans. It was to prove to Christians that God answers prayer. He never asked for money, only prayed that God would provide the finances to fund the orphanages. And He did, without fail. Sometimes they were eating the last of the food in the house, and God would move the heart of some individual to provide literal bread and milk. They didn't even always understand why they felt the urge to give what they believed God was asking them to give, but they obeyed. 

This is why I share with you the dollar amount we need to bring home sister six. Obviously, the donations are going to change the life of one little girl in China, but I hope it will do more than that. I hope that my friends who have considered international adoption but feel that the finances are insurmountable would be encouraged that God will provide. I hope those who donate can realize that they are doing the work of the Lord. I hope that whatever difficult situation you are facing today that you will turn to the God who loves you, who is real, who is alive and active in our lives, and that you will pray. God loves His children and wants to give them good gifts, whether that gift is more patience, a person who can be your friend, an individual who can support you as you struggle with a child who has a special need, or someone who is a good listener. Most of all, I hope you’ll remember that God answers prayers.

We don’t want to stay in the place like the boy’s father in Mark 9, where we believe, but have some unbelief. I imagine that after Jesus drove the demon from the boy, the man’s faith was increased. This is what God does for me on a regular basis. I believe that God will provide for the adoption, and He moves the hearts of individuals to support us, and my faith is increased. It doesn’t stay in the same place of desiring to believe but having reservations.

I hope you are encouraged, my friends. God is good!

Maggie is 8!

I'm a month late on this post, but hey, I'm getting it done now, and that's what counts, right? Right.

He's not a red-headed Scotsman and I guess people don't arrange marriages anymore.... but.... 

Maggie is eight! It's hard to believe that my tiniest baby is now eight. She is still very small for her age, but don't let her stature fool you. Maggie has a larger than life personality.

This year Maggie is in second grade. She has a late August birthday and was a premature birth so we ended up holding her back a year in school by doing pre-first since she struggled to learn to read. I'm happy to report that the extra year was exactly what was needed and she is now a fantastic reader.

Reading to sisters

Maggie is playing soccer for the third year. This is her first year on U10 girls for Solanco. She is the smallest girl on her team (although there are a couple girls not much bigger than she is). Maggie is also the least aggressive player on the team. It's interesting to watch my children grow up and see how they are similar to me and how completely different from me they are (as in I had uncontrollable rage on the soccer field).

So glad these two are on the same team!

In many ways, Maggie's personality is very much like mine was at her age. She loves almost everything and has so much joy and zest for life. But she can also have rather wild emotional swings where she feels like everybody hates her and it's the worst day ever. Or maybe that's just all girls? haha!

Maggie is going through some tough "phases" right now. She has become a very picky eater, she doesn't like to be called Magdalena (even though it's her full name and very beautiful), she cries a lot, the smallest things set her off, argues with her oldest sister, despises cleaning up ("But I didn't get it ouuuuuuuut!!!") and she can be tough to parent.

However, while I hope these negative things will turn around in the near future, there is so much joy in who Maggie is right now. Maggie really loves the simple things in life. She often tells me that she doesn't need presents, being together with family is the best gift. (But she does like receiving a well-thought out gift). Maggie loves toads; if being a toad catcher was a job, she would be rich. When Maggie grows up she hopes to discover a new kind of bug that hasn't been found before. She still hopes to marry a red-headed Scotsman and have a dozen red-haired, freckle-faced kids. As you can likely guess by her desired number of children, Maggie loves babies. She is very good with both of her younger sisters, a natural little mama.

Creature lover!

It's tough being the middle child (that was me!). She wants very much to be doing what big sisters are doing and not be thought of as a baby, but she still loves to play. While Abbey and Anne tend to want to read quietly or play a game in their free time, Maggie still is creatively imagining new worlds, making her animals talk, and going on adventures. Thankfully she has two younger sisters who are now benefitting from her guidance into all things creative. Ruth and Carrie really look up to Maggie. The three of them are creating a special bond this school year. Some of Maggie's work is too simple for her, so to make it a little different she is reading those assignments out loud to the younger girls. Not only are the little girls getting added Bible lessons taught by a dear sister, but Maggie is practicing her reading aloud skills. I've noticed since they started doing this four weeks ago that these three have been playing together more regularly. Carrie has asked Maggie to read to her before nap instead of mommy.

It's always so interesting to see family resemblances between my sisters' kids, my cousins' kids, and my own. Maggie shares similar features with several cousins and second cousins on my side, yet doesn't share any of those features with her siblings.

Second Cousins with matching eyes

On her actual birthday the girls and I all drove up to Hershey Children's Hospital to donate the Build-a-Bears we had made. Since we were in the area, we went over to Hershey Chocolate World and did the free tour. All the kids loved it. We got a light lunch (Burger King fries count as a light lunch, right?) then grabbed slushies from Turkey Hill. It was her best day ever. Oh, and we didn't do school that day, so also a big win in her book! For her date with her dad they went to That Fish Place where she got a beta fish she named Lava, then Isaac's for lunch. She spent a glorious weekend at her Mema's house where they did untold number of enjoyable things. Trent's parents have started taking the birthday girl to do something special when they turn eight. They took Maggie on an Amish buggy ride, and got Amish root beer. As you can clearly see: Eight is Great!

Maggie is a sweet, sweet girl! We are so thankful to have her as a special part of our family. Happy 8th birthday! We love you and can't wait to see what this year holds for you!

Adoption by the Numbers and Where we are in the Process

Since we are doing some fundraising for the adoption of sister six, I feel it is only fair to offer numbers for those who are generously donating their hard earned dollars.

Adoption costs are not something most adoptive parents like to talk about. However, it only seems right to show others how a normal family like ours can "afford" to adopt.

Ruth's adoption cost was $35,000, including our two and a half weeks of travel in China. We received $5,000 in grants, $10,000 from family and friends through donations and fundraisers, and paid the remaining $20,000 out of our income/savings. A large portion of what we paid came from my sign painting business which I closed after Ruth came home.

We anticipate that sister six's adoption will be right around the same amount, perhaps a little less since we do receive a small discount on our homestudy fee and some of the paperwork we do not need to purchase a second time.

So far we have paid $4,700 in fees. We recently received a $1,000 donation for which we are tremendously grateful. That will pay for our immigration fee (around $700) and the cost to certify and authenticate all our documents for our Dossier which will go to China.

After we are matched we will have a large bill, around $12,500 and then a few months later we will pay our travel fees which will likely be around $10,000.

We are currently selling t-shirts from Bonfire. The more shirts we sell the higher dollar amount per shirt we receive. If shirts aren't your thing, I am also planning a silent auction of my hand-painted signs (including FIVE custom signs) and canvas prints and framed photographs from my sister, Stacy's, gorgeous landscape photography. The silent auction will be all done online and will hopefully take place in late September or early October (so you can give these as Christmas gifts).

If at any time you feel led to give a donation directly please send me a message and I'll let you know how you can do that.

We also will plan on hosting an event at some point. Plans are still in the works for this, but I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Now, where are we in the process? We just finished our last homestudy visit! Hooray! Our social worker is aiming to have our homestudy written by the end of August! After that is officially done, we will send it and some other documents to receive immigration approval. While it's hard to say how long all these things will take to come through, we are cautiously optimistic that our Dossier will go to China in October. At that point, we will wait to be matched!

We appreciate all of you. Some people do not receive as much support for a second adoption as they do for their first but we must have the best friends and family in the world because we've felt that everyone is even more supportive and excited this time around.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued support!

Bringing Home Sister Six

Last week we officially announced in social media world that we are adopting.... again. We were overwhelmed by the love and support we felt from everyone. It has been no secret that Ruth has changed our world and we are all better Hesses for having her in our lives. I'm sure it was not surprising for many of you to read that we are adopting again. It's also the main reason I haven't blogged here for six weeks. I've been working furiously on getting paperwork done before the new school year starts up!

To answer a few questions that have come up. Yes, another girl. While it may seem crazy to most of you, we really love being an all-girl (plus dad) family. Financially it makes sense because we won't be purchasing a whole extra wardrobe of boy clothes. I know, I know, the future weddings. But Trent and I got married super cheap and we've made our girls (even the littles) aware that weddings don't need to be a production, they need to last a lifetime. The humblest of beginnings can be the most beautiful marriages.

We are currently most of the way through the Home Study process. All our paperwork has been turned in, we just need to wait to have a social worker come out to the house two times. That will happen in August, then she will need to write up the Home Study. We should have the home study in our hands by early to mid-September. After we have the home study we can apply for the first part of immigration. That can take two weeks to come back or much longer. A friend just had her immigration approval take 79 long days. While we hope to be on the low end of that timeframe we believe that God will work out the timing perfectly to bring the exact girl meant to be a Hess into our lives at just the right time.

Once we have immigration approval, those items will also be included in our Dossier. We've also turned in all the paperwork for our Dossier that we can. So really, there's nothing for us to do right now but wait. (Trent laughs every time I say I have nothing to do...)

We would really hope that our Dossier would go to China in October or November. Much of that timing depends on how long papers take to come back which we have no control over.

Some of you have asked how long the process will be. We've been told roughly two years from application to going to China. That was about what we were told with Ruth, but it only took 17 months. While things have changed in China with the way children are matched into families, that may actually extend our wait and look closer to two years. However, we've also broadened the range and severity of special needs that our family is open to caring for, so that could shorten the wait time. Our reasoning behind this is that we are more confident being the parents of a child with special needs, and has nothing to do with the wait time. Our older biological daughters have been rather insistent on wanting another sister from China and have desired a particular special need that we hadn't considered before. See what God can do? Not only is he changing Trent and me, he is changing our girls. Our eyes have been opened, and so we must act.

What I've learned from my experience with adopting the first time, and with Ruth in particular, is that whether the time is long or short (in my mind) that the right girl for our family WILL have her file ready exactly when we are ready.

Some of you may know that Ruth joined a foster family just after her first birthday in China. The foster family was told she may only be with them for one month; that her file was nearly ready. A month came and went, still not ready. Two months, three months, four months, and more. Finally after nearly eight months, they received a text message saying, "Her family wants you to call her Ruth." After months of waiting on their end with no word, the way they learned she had been matched was my tentative message to our adoption agency politely asking if, since they speak English, they could call her Ruth or Ruthie so she is familiar with her name when we bring her home. The way that got translated to the Douglas family was less polite and more direct. "Call her Ruth". And just when her foster family visited they told us about a photo that we were later sent, of them holding Ruth up and they said, "Hello, Ruth. You have a forever family coming for you." And that photo came through to us on our 11th wedding anniversary.

Hello, Ruth!

You see, if Ruth's file had been made ready one month after she joined the Douglas family, we would not have been her family. Our paperwork hadn't gone to China until two months after she joined their family, and I don't know that we would have been mentally prepared to be matched any sooner than we were. God works out all the timing in the most beautiful and creative ways, and so we trust that He will do so once again.

We will certainly keep you updated on any progress or changes. And I'm always, always, always here and can make myself available to answer any questions you might have on how to get started on your own adoption journey. The need is great for families to come forward. With the law changes in China, after we adopt sister six we will no longer be able to adopt from China as we will exceed their child limit (at least until Anne is over 18, wink, wink). With that sadness also comes my expectation that God will raise up my friends and acquaintances to step up to care for these little ones who deserve families. Will you?

One Year Home with Ruth

A year!

So much has changed in this year with Ruth.

Sister can climb this? Me too!

She had a major surgery.



She has gone to the mountains and the ocean.



She has had two different speech therapists.



She has grown (a little bit).

She has been to countless doctor and dentist appointments.



She has gone through one tiny illness.



She has endured a terrible pollen allergy.



She has experienced a Pennsylvania summer, a fall fair season, a long, long winter, and a slow, slow spring.

She LOVES to "read" chapter books like her sisters

Ruthie has changed our lives. Her four older sisters are more compassionate, more empathetic, and more patient than ever.



Because of Ruth, her sisters have first-hand knowledge of the myriad of beautiful ways the Lord provides for His children.



Because of Ruth, I have learned to advocate for a child with special needs.



Because of Ruth, I have become a resource parent for others considering adopting a child with cleft.

Because of Ruth, I have a bit more gray hair.

She is forever stealing my iced coffee.

Because of Ruth, our kids have learned that special needs don't need to be scary.



Because of Ruth, our girls all want to be adoptive Mamas when they grow up.



I think it's safe to say that Ruth is exactly what we didn't know our family was missing.

Bedtime stories with Daddy

We are blessed to have a lot of our family living nearby, so we celebrated on her exact one-year-home date, May 26, with heaps and heaps of Chinese food ordered from our local Peking Chinese take-out in Quarryville. We had some Asian fruits from the new Asian market, and topped it off with red, white and blue décor! Oh, and tattoos. So. Many. Tattoos.












Thank you, God, for this beautiful life.

My five daughters and our honorary son

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3 NASB

Happy One year home!

While it's true that Ruthie is not from my own womb, another woman carried her and it's a privilege to call her mine.  

A Quick Trip to VA

The USA is such an amazing country for a lot of reasons. One that is purely selfish is the ability to travel a wide expanse of unique countryside without ever leaving the country.

I'd go anywhere with Trent by my side.

We happen to love traveling to Virginia. Our best friends live there so that is usually our excuse to go, but Trent and I have taken vacations there multiple times just the two of us. Last year we were hoping to take the girls to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We had studied early American History so it was a perfect field trip/vacation. Last May we went to China instead, which was much more important than a little trip to VA, plus now Ruthie got to join in the fun which happened to take place over the exact time we were in China in 2017.

We found a cozy place on VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) about 30 minutes from Williamsburg. We really enjoy staying in places like this because they have more space for our large family and are less expensive and more comfortable than staying in a hotel (considering we would need to get two hotel rooms). As the date was approaching the home owner contacted Trent to let him know that the place we had reserved they were actually going to be selling and would we mind staying at one of their other properties. It has a private beach on the bay and a couple of kayaks, but it's an hour drive to Williamsburg. Um. Yes. Yes, we would like a private beach on the bay.

That's the bay right behind that small patch of grass!

Right before we left was a little chaotic. Abbey's ear started hurting the day before we were going to leave and I decided I'd better take her into the doctor quickly before leaving just in case she was getting an ear infection. It turned out to be swimmer's ear and the drops really helped her recover quickly. The other problem was that the air condition in the Suburban wasn't working. It hadn't really been hot here so it wasn't an issue but it was supposed to be in the upper 80s while in Virginia, plus we were going to be driving for five hours to get there, mostly highway (loud) driving.



The drive really was not bad at all. Ruthie had a couple minor issues, mainly because she was tired and wasn't falling asleep. I think if the A/C had worked it would have been nearly flawless. For five young kids to drive that long with as few complaints as we had. Well, we were just plain grateful. The girls had completely outstanding behavior every place we went. They were patient, mostly interested in the history, and just all around fun to be with. We had scarcely pulled into the driveway when they ripped through their bags to find swimsuits and ran to the water. Can't say that I blame them!

Maggie is the Queen of Finding Fun Things - here is a unique piece of driftwood

I think we all agreed that Jamestown Island was our favorite. We didn't do the "rebuilt/entertainment" Jamestown, instead opting for the (cheaper) actual historical part of the island. Walking around was really fascinating. Maggie's favorite part was chasing squirrels. The girls all loved finding tons of turtles as we walked across a bridge over a swampy part of ground. Carrie liked holding the hand of the Pocahontas statue. But truthfully, the kids were slightly horrified to learn that the first settlers had resorted to cannibalism to survive and to see an actual skeleton with knife marks on the skull. My personal favorite was just learning about who these settlers were, why they wanted to come to America, and what kind of adventurous spirit it would have taken to get them there. I also learned that people today can trace their lineage to John Rolf and Pocahontas, especially since they only had one son before she died. What a legacy!

Turtles in the swampy water was a highlight for our animal-loving girls.

After Jamestown we ate at Cookout. It was a highlight of the trip. They are known for their 40+ flavors of milkshakes. After eating we got three milkshakes (chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter) to pass around the table. I think the kids and I agree that peanut butter was our favorite, but Trent liked vanilla.

From Cookout we went to Colonial Williamsburg. At this point we were all kind of getting tired and it was pretty hot. The tickets are very expensive for a family of our size so we opted to just do the free stuff. We walked through a replica of a colonial era plantation that was one of our favorite parts, only to learn later that you were supposed to have purchased a ticket to go through that part. Oops. There was a lot of walking and I mentioned it was pretty hot. After some complaining we got a bottle of water that seemed to perk everyone up. Ruthie fell asleep in the carrier for a little bit. We definitely didn't get quite as much out of our time there.

Anne was pleased as punch that Ruthie let her ride on her back in the carrier for part of the time.

We stopped at Little Caesar's for their $5 hot and ready pizzas. Unfortunately there weren't any ready (see what I did there) so we sat in a hot (haha- I did it again) car while Trent waited for awhile. That cheap pizza was pretty delicious, though.

The kids obviously loved playing in the bay. I had never stayed at the bay or really been to the bay that I can recall. You can walk out really far from the shore and not be in water deeper than your waist. It was so peaceful and really great for young kids since there are no waves. Our girls are all animal lovers so were thrilled to find over 127 sea snails, a live horseshoe crab, a fish in a shell, and Maggie picked up a live crab when she was far from the shore. She was so excited but it pinched her. She didn't want to let it go because it was such a great find, but it also kept pinching.

Taking a moment to relax

Saturday we went did the Yorktown Battlefield tour. We started off in the museum and watched a short video (we also did this at Jamestown). What was most memorable to the girls was not the fact that they had George Washington's actual tent but that the actor said a bad word in the movie. We got the $5 CD that tells you the history as you drive through the various important locations. Trent and I were really interested. The little girls could care less. The older girls really just wanted to go back and play in the bay. We would have liked to go inside Moore house and the kids were actually very interested to do this; unfortunately it was closed that day.

The kids getting a little too into the acting out of the battle.

Moore house 

After a light lunch while we drove (apples, crackers, string cheese, etc.) we headed back to our rental property. Ruth wanted to join the big girls in the bay but she just couldn't hang. I ended up taking her inside where she took a very long, much needed three-hour nap. The fun in the bay ended when Anne tripped and got a 3-inch gash on her upper thigh. The owners had warned of very sharp shells that can cut your feet and recommended water shoes (which the kids refused to wear). Thankfully injuries and blood don't make me queasy. We debated taking her to an urgent care for stitches, and decided instead I'd just run out to the pharmacy for some butterfly bandages and ointment. I patched her up just fine. *Note: I did take her to the doctor Monday when we got home. He said she could have used stitches if I had taken her in right away but it was starting to heal and my bandages did a good enough job.*

Horseshoe Crab! The screened in porch was lovely for eating outside.

We had originally planned to eat at a sit-down restaurant Saturday night. However, we enjoyed Cookout so much that we decided to go there again to one closer to the house. We all loved the food and ended our meal with three different flavors of milkshake (banana-fudge, strawberry cheesecake, and oreo).

Round 2 at Cookout

Sunday was Mother's Day and it ended up being overcast at chilly. The flies were really biting down at the water so it ended up being a good day to leave. No one was overly upset in the way they would have been if it was sunny.

Good-bye, Mobjack Bay!

The drive back home was uneventful. We made only one quick stop to use the bathroom. The kids were so good.

Beyond blessed that these five gals call me "mama"

We are already thinking of where we could go next May. Our current thoughts are Georgia or Massachusetts.