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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

We were able to go up to Virginia to my parents house for memorial day. It was so HOT that we took full advantage of the pool all day. In fact maybe too much because most of us finished the day with a nice sunburn! It was beautiful weather..perfect for being outside with friends and family and kicking off the summer months.
Nana and Abby getting ready for lunch
Greg ( with Colt) in the pool

Our fabulous cooks! Nana made steak, chicken and shrimp kabobs, fruit salad, fresh veggies, potato salad and chips...YUMMO

BFF Amy taking a break on the swing with Essie and Nate
Nana with the water gun!

It was our little cousin Colt's third birthday, so his mom, Anna, brought some cupcakes over and Colt enjoyed the green icing!

Abby was able to hold our newest cousin , Bentley Smith. He is only a week old!


Such a fun day to enjoy living in America and being with those we love.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Spring Beach Trip to Florida

When it became clear that we were not going to be flying to Ethiopia before school let out we began to think of going to Florida to see Greg's family for our Spring Break. We found some really great deals on plane tickets and booked for the week between Easter and Mother's Day. Greg's dad and step mom have a place on the gulf coast called Little Gasparilla Island that we LOVE to go and visit every year.
I am so thankful that as my kids grow up, when they think beach, they will think of this place. This is really the only beach they have ever went to for extended vacations and it is such a great place for kids! There are no cars on the island ( you have to get there by ferry) and so you ride around the island on golf carts. All kinds of great adventures for little ones to get into.


Legend tells the island was part of a pirate route and so it lends itself to be a bit magical and mysterious. We have seen dolphin and manatee swimming near us a few times and there are always turtle nest, pelicans and lots of fish, shells and shark teeth to look for.
I always let them help me buy groceries for the week and of course they buy lots of junk! YooHoos, cream sodas, chips and twizzlers are always on the list!

We had two days at the beach by ourselves and then Grandma and Pawpaw came down in the boat! The kids LOVE going out on the boat and going fast, looking for dolphins and going fishing.
On the first full day they were there we were on the boat all day long! We went to a fun little place for lunch that had dollar bills all over the walls and you write your name on a dollar and join in everyone else that has eaten there. Rumor is that their cheeseburger was the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger in Paradise song!
We also went to the Marina and everyone got new beach shirts and fed shrimp to the big fish hanging out around the dock.
We cant wait to be able to take Micah and Sarah Faith to the beach next year. It will be SO much fun to get them out on the boat and experience it all through their eyes for the first time again.

Even though we were on vacation they were never far from our thoughts. We actually passed court and became Micah's legal parents on May 3 while we were at the beach! ( We passed court for Sarah the week before)



All in all a great week away for Spring Break!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mac-Daddy

Back about two springs ago we had been living in NC a year or so and Nathan began begging for a dog. A big dog. An outside run around, fetch kinda dog. He also wanted a guard dog ( he is my worrier) to protect him and his sisters while they were outside playing. After much persuasion Greg said that we could begin looking for a dog. So we began searching the paper and petfinder.com and Craig's list daily for the perfect dog. One day we had thought we found him. Aarf.com in Winston was having a pet fair on Saturday and had a litter of lab mixes that would be there. So after Nate's baseball game, we loaded up and went to look at the puppies. We got there and after talking to the lady in charge knew this was not the perfect dog for our family for many reasons. Nathan was not nearly as convinced. So all the way home we had three disappointed in tears children.

I pulled up Craig's list one more time on my phone and looked for a suitable puppy for us. There was an ad for a chocolate lab puppy in the town we live in so I called and left a message. All of a sudden the frowns were turned up side down. Yay!! A new prospect!!! So ,we went home and waited for a return phone call. When the man called us back he said that someone was coming the next day to look at the puppy, but he would give us a call if they did not take him and the puppy was $350. I told the man thank you, but we did not want to spend that much money on a puppy and he explained if the lady that was coming said no, he might could lower the price. I explained all this to the kids and again with the tears and the sadness! Greg said for them to pray about it and if this was the dog God wanted for us, he would let us get him.

About 5 min. later my phone rang. It was the puppy owner again. He asked me if I cared what color lab puppy we got? I said no and he said that of the litter, he had the one chocolate left, but three black labs and if we wanted, we could take our pick tomorrow. For free.

We were SO excited! Greg began warning us all that there is NO such thing as a free dog! Still, we made plans to go to see the puppies after church the next day. So we did and sure enough there were four of the cutest puppies and their parents in the yard. We played with all of the dogs, but there was one little cool dude that laid in the shade away from the rest of the pack.

We all decided that this was the one we wanted! We named him Mac ( for mac the computers and for Mac powell from third day) He came home and has been a part of our family ever since.

Mac and Nate on his first day home.
Waiting for dinner

Chilling out in the yard with mom


Doing his job protecting Esther.

He really really is the smartest, most laid back dog I have ever seen. He will do tricks and even sing for us. He has not destroyed a single thing inside the house and listens so well. We love our Mac - Daddy sooo much and I do think he was a gift to our family from the Lord. EB White once said "You cant buy a good dog." and that is the truth!

Last Days of school

I have home schooled Abby every year but one since kindergarten. Her second grade year and Nathan K5 year they went to school in Florida. Esther has been schooled at home all along and so in 2007 when Essie started K4 was when I really began to do things with my "class" and make memories with them. With Abby in K5 and 1st grade it was more like trying to work school in while the little ones napped!
Looking back over the last 5 years that I have home schooled all three of them has been such a blessing. I am SO thankful to live in a country that allows me to school at home and a husband that not only supports and encourages me to continue homeschooling but helps with the hard stuff! ( like pre algebra!)

We usually start school a few weeks in August before the local school system and then we get out of school in May. We try to do something fun with the kids as a way to celebrate the end of a school year. A few years back I made a "summer adventure box" It was pirate themed and filled with all kinds of goodies and fun summer crafts. Sometimes we go out to dinner and a movie, last year we went to Carowinds for the day. Here are some pictures that look back on our end of school adventures!
May 2007 My babies look so young! This was our pirate themed adventure box.
2008.. this is when Esther Hope graduated from K5 in Lakeland , FL
May 2009 Our first school year living in NC. We went for Japanese food on the last day of school and then left for Florida because Grandma and Pawpaw took us on a DISNEY CRUISE! Now that is the best way to celebrate the end of school!
May 2010 We went to Carowinds for the day. Everyone had a blast and Esther was finally tall enough to ride roller coasters so she was a happy girl!
And now this year 2011...I am going to have a 4th grader, a 6th grader and an 8th grader next year! We went to see the Pirates Movie as our end of school celebration. We are looking forward to pool parties, later bedtimes, camps , VBS, 4H workshops and trips to grandparents this summer.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Summer is almost here!

This is our last week of school! We have been dropping subjects the past month as we have been finishing up with them. We are down to math and reading right now. The NC homeschool convention is this weekend and it is one of the highlights of my year. I am so excited to be going to the workshops and book fair ( that is if I am not in Ethiopia :) )

We received the kids end of year testing in the mail and I am happy to report that all three tested at or above grade level. We had a crazy morning the first day of testing and I was pretty worried as to how that would translate on to a test, but thankfully everyone did well!

Abby, Nathan and Esther School year 2010 -2011
Esther Hope Mullis 3rd Grade
Nathan Morgan Mullis 5th grade
Abigail Grace Mullis 7th grade

Sunday, May 22, 2011

My first blog post

This is my first blog post from my new blog "the Mullis Life".!! Now that our adoption is almost complete and my homeschool blog (my 3 little lights) is no longer numerically correct, I thought I would make one family blog that will speak of adoption, homeschooling and Mullis life in general.
I am going to attempt to do a better job at blogging than I have the past year on my 3 little lights. I like having everything together under the same blog. I will have links out to the side to both the old blog (archives) and the adoption blog. Hope you can all follow me along on this crazy life :)

Click to the right and go ahead and follow me...you know, it might be fun! ;)