Happy Birthday Mom!

 Well, we had the pleasure of celebrating my mom's birthday on Labor Day this year.  We started the day with delicious food, and ended the day with a pool party at my Aunt Nancy's home.  Of course, the sky opened up and rain poured for half of it, but it was still great fun!  May is acclimating better each day, and enjoyed swimming and meeting many of our cousins!  She enjoyed tasting all the different dishes, but still sticks to fruits and veggies the most.

Claire trying to warm up after her swim! Well, lots coming up, so I will post again soon!

Love, Gretchen

Day #3 with May....

 Things are doing well here with May...she is able to communicate much better with us and loved her 1st day of school today!  We took her bowling after school.  She had never seen bowling, much less bowled!  She had a blast!!!

 Yes, the geese were wandering in our neighborhood and the kids had to check it out....Jesse was terrified someone was going to run them over, so he was a good little crossing guard!!

 May in action!

Jesse showing may how to make an oragami crane, which she mastered right away....I can tell they are going to be buddies.  Jesse is close to her size!

Well, May gets to experience her 1st college football game tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have stories about that one....apparently in China they think all American football fans paint their hair and faces.  Well, this should be interesting.......

Post again soon!

Love, Gretchen

It's May Day!!

 Wow what a day it's been!  We welcomed to our county and home our exchange student May, who came all the way from Northeast China!  She will be staying with us during this school year while she attends school here in Memphis. We are all thrilled about her teaching us and vice versa.  She is very polite and really enjoyed the balloons and signs the kids were waving furiously in the airport.  She is such a trooper to make that flight all by herself!  Keep May in your prayers for a smooth adjustment to life here with The Hollingsworth Family!

 Just after meeting May.

 She immediately started handing out gifts for the children....so sweet of her to think of them.  Not sure she loved my cooking so much this 1st night, but maybe homemade chicken penne pasta isn't for everyone!  I'll get it right eventually what she likes and dislikes.

 It was amazing to watch her on the way home from the airport....#1...she's never been in a minivan #2  she could see the blue sky and trees #3 she said our stoplights are very very low and #4 she about screamed when she saw horses prancing in the fields near our home.

 Jesse loving his cool Chinese pens....she also bought herself and the kids matching tshirts that say "I Love My Family"..  I thought that was a very sweet gesture.  Well, I'll post again very soon...I'm still trying to help her unpack and get settled.  She keeps looking in her empty closet saying..."it's sooo big".  I told her that won't be the case once she gets all her stuff in there!

Love, Gretchen

First Day of School!

 Well, it's that time of year again.  The Hollingsworth children are officially back in school!! Claire in 1st, and Jesse a big 6th grade middle schooler!  Hard to believe!  We walked Claire in and snapped a picture, but, by the look on Jesse's face when I brought our my camera, I did not dare take one as he was walking into his new middle school building. This year should bring lots of fun and hopefully lots of learning!!  Enjoy the photos!! 

Soon to have a new body in the house....

 Hello friends!  Well, as most of my friends and family already know, we are soon to host a young exchange student from China that will be attending the Catholic High School next door to Jesse & Claire's school.  We found out only a few days ago, so we''ve have to put together her room in a bit of a pinch. We know the room is not very "teen", but I'm sure it will suit her fine.  We put an antique Stickley desk and chair in the room given to me by my aunt and uncle, and it's just perfect for the space!  I left the area above the bed blank in case she wants to put up a bulletin board or something.

 The closet looks so weird empty.....mind you just 2 days ago that closet was stuffed to the top with fabrics, patterns, odds and ends, you know, extra closet junk!  Now that junk has been dispersed throughout the house, the closet is ready for Juimei.  Will post once she arrives, as we have a monster of a week coming up....Registration, first day of 1st grade for Claire, first day of middle school for Jesse, Duran Duran concert (woohoo), meet the teacher meetings and so on.  Should be a fun week!

Hope to post again soon! Wish us luck and for the safe arrival of Juimei!

Gretchen

Jesse's "Tween" Room

 Oh boy Oh boy we certainly have a "tween" in the house these days.....sweet Jesse has his moments.  He decided his old room was too childish and wanted a room that he helped choose.  So, here are a few pics of his new room.  He picked the sport car pics above on Google images and then I had Costco museum mount them and we loved the outcome!  He wanted some "Tiger Blue" in the room, so I added the bright blue blackout curtains an let me tell you, if you shut those things in the the middle of the day, the room is pitch black...awseome!

 He wanted a really long board to put all his oragami, pictures, and so forth on, so I just connected 2 regular boards together.  I really wanted to do one seamless board, but that was going to be more trouble than it's worth.....

 Jesse wanted his "memory box" to be the main thing on his dresser.  My dad made this for Jesse when he was born. 

Lastly, Jesse wanted to keep the car theme going and loved thiss US map with the license plates on top of wood.  This should last him for years.......


Lots coming up, so I promise to post soon!

Love, Gretchen

Sorry for the long delay......

 Well, I'm so sorry for not having posted in over a month!  We have been having lots of fun and frankly, I just haven't thought much about the blogging! Jesse's been busy with golf lessons, and we've all been swimming, bowling, skating, you name it.....Can't believe school starts next week!  We went roller skating yesterday with our friends The Rawlings and all the kids had a blast....lots of falling and lots of fun!

 Claire went to Sweet & Sassy before school gets started and had fun but the day was bittersweet.  She and Lily would do this before school begins, but dear Lily Grace has moved away to Connecticut!  So she brought Jesse and I don't think he was nearly as excited about the whole thing as Claire thought he should be!!

 Claire loved her sparkly glitter braided hair and crazy nail polish!

 This is how excited Jesse was to be at a little girl's salon.....

The finished product....well, we have lots coming up and a big announcement too, so stay tuned soon!

Love, Gretchen

Rolling through June!

 Well, June has been wonderful with Birthdays, vacation, friends, and family!  We started out our vacation with our annual trip to Montgomery, AL to visit the Hixon Family.  It has began to be a tradition that we all look forward to!  Claire and Mary Grace were in the same orphanage together in China, and we continue to reunite with them every summer.  They are so gracious to have us all in their home for the night for great food and friendship!

On to the beach!  Jesse, of course, could be found in the sand.....

Lance gave it his best at his 1st, and from what I've been told, his LAST deep sea fishing outing!  When he wasn't curled up in a ball sick on the floor of the boat, he reeled in a few!  Thanks to Tommy, Ben, and friends, for helping Lance with the fish and lots more!

Well, of all the years we've been coming to the beach, this year had the biggest waves ever!  We were under a red flag warning all 7 days of our trip!  We only let the kids out when Lance was with them, and with vests on also.  Claire was a trooper in those huge waves, and had a blast, until one just knocked her for a loop (as seen above!)  Lance was exhausted, but continuously took those kids out to the waves over and over again!

Jesse and Uncle Pat feeding the gulls!

Lance, Jesse, and cousin Keri heading back after the current took them way down the beach.  This year we had the pleasure of Mr & Mrs Hollingsworth and cousin Keri for a few days on the beach.  They all had a great time and Keri loved those waves as well!

The Hollingsworth Clan at the pier, which was a blast! We saw a spinner shark, a giant king mackrel, a 7 foot sting ray...in only 30 minutes!!!

On the way out of Orange Beach, we decided to stop at the USS Alabama, which we always pass coming into Mobile....we are so glad we did!  The kids enjoyed running through the different areas of the ship, and maybe gave them a little more appreciation for how good we all really have it!

Well, lots going on soon, so I promise to post again soon!  We are so grateful for friends and family to share our vacation and memories with!!!

Love, Gretchen