wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the coming year.

from our family to yours.

hal. angel. ashton. adam. hayne. andrew. anna grace. & ainsley. 

One Year.

One Year ago today we were in Xi'an China anxiously counting down to meet our sweet girl.

Oh, how life has changed in one simple year. For our family and for our girl especially.

One Year ago we were very much manageable as a family of 7. Everyone was very easy to manage and we lived the high life, but something…someone was missing.

One Year ago a little girl lay dying in an orphanage. At 28 months old she barely weighed 12lbs. She had never known anything but her crib and being left.

Today, Life is incredibly different.

Today, we are a messy, everywhere, child-proofed family. Our littlest princess is into everything and is affectionately known as "Tornado Ting"

Today, that 12lbs baby is now a 32lbs 3 year old who is so full of love and life it simply radiates.

Today, we are simply thankful that God would choose our family to have this special little girl in our life.

Today, we can't imagine our lives without Ainsley Ting….and we don't want to.

Accidents

As most of you know Hayne is already our miracle boy. {see HERE}

Hayne is also a very good football player and a very active 10 year old boy. He is always on the go and always into something! We love Hayne and treasure him as a part of our family.

About 5 weeks ago now on a Monday night, Hayne went to football practice as he normally would. Nothing different about it, just how it normally goes. While at football he took not one, but two very hard hits to the head while at practice. Hayne is tough and kept playing but when he got home his headache got really bad. He was up most of the night in severe pain. The next day we sent him to school and by 10:30 he was home. My parents took him to the doctor immediately and we were informed he had a concussion, it was no big deal and that he would be fine in a few days.

Well, a few days passed and his headache had not gotten better instead it had gotten much worse. Hayne was in so much pain he couldn't function enough to get out of the bed. Friday night my parents took Hayne straight to the ER. After a few tests he was admitted overnight. They did countless tests, MRI, CT scans, etc. He was diagnosed with two severe concussions and was considered a Traumatic Brain Injury patient. The doctors could not emphasize to us enough how lucky we are and how this could have been so much worse.

This continued for the next 4 weeks. Hayne couldn't leave the bed, was sentenced to strict bed rest and it was horrible. After 5 weeks in bed, therapy and numerous doctor appointments, he is finally getting back to himself.

Hayne talking to Santa. He wasn't able to walk yet at this point. 

We still have a long road ahead, but we are so thankful for God's guidance and protection for our boy…oh, and the fact that our eyes have been opened to the dangers of football. Please, please research and be so careful if your child is playing football. We had no idea a simple practice would turn out like this!

Hayne is now back at school, still going to therapy and walking like a champ. Please continue to pray for our entire family in the coming days!

Failure

I accept it. I'm a failure who never updates her blog. I send my sincerest apologies. Truly I do.

A LOT has been going on in our lives right now and I just have not had a chance to blog about it. So I will be doing major catch-up posts in the near future. I am working on them all now.

Today though I will be updating through my beloved instagram. It has become my newest obsession lately, actually. (you can follow us @ashtonbry)

So, enjoy our quickie update ;)

Baking Day with my darling friend

Miss Tornado Ting at her finest….(she did have clothes on before she ripped them off) 

Anna Grace and I

How Zoey and I spend our days

Only the greatest dog in the world. 

Typical Ainsley getting into the Christmas Spirit

Chinese food is our favorite. 

Saturday mornings with this girl. 

 And now my very favorite part. I am in child development this year and we had a flour baby project. For two weeks I carried around a sack of flour whom I lovingly referred to as Paisley. Here are just a few of her adventures.

Paisley and I with our friends Maddie and baby Stone

Proud Auntie and Uncle ;) 

I am planning on doing a Friday Phone Dump from now on with all of the fun pictures from our week. Hopeful that I will become a better blogger from now on!

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving. We will be spending to day simply being thankful and counting all of our blessings. (which are abundant)

Please as you sit around your table today with family, friends, and food remember those who are not as fortunate as we. Think of the orphans, the widows, and those living in poverty..most importantly pray for them.


We are receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with respect and wonder. -Hebrews 12:28

Adoption Awareness Month

Did y'all know that last Sunday was Orphan Sunday? 'cause it was. 

I have been MIA lately for numerous reasons and it kills me. School is killing me this year with the stress of college and my future on the horizon, I feel as if I am going crazy somedays. The other reason is I just am at a loss as to what to post. I am going to try and work on that so I am not so neglecting of my poor website. Oh, and we had family pictures made! Yay! 

November is orphan awareness month and that hits close to home for my family and I. Thanks to SWW I spend many days and nights advocating for the 'Least of These', most of us have been blessed by adoption, and I KNOW the difference adoption makes in the life of a child.

My heart is for the orphan. I stepped off of an airplane in Beijing China in 2007 and right there God broke my heart for what breaks His, the orphan. Millions of little faces who are hungry, destitute, and desperate for love. These children wrecked my world. These children forever changed me. Because of some very precious children, my life will never, ever be the same.

I have looked in to the eyes of children who have no hope. Who's only hope is either adoption or the day they meet Jesus. I have met children who live worse than any animal ever should, much less a human. I have kissed heads, snuggled, prayed over, and loved the orphan. Because of that, I'm a mess. I'm ruined and I can't go to sleep at night without remembering certain little ones who live in my heart.

See, the truth is there are 163 million orphans in the world. At first glance this number is overwhelming, but the truth is if only 8% of people who claimed to be Christians cared for one Orphan, there wouldn't be any statistics left. If that doesn't break your heart, i'm not sure what will. Some may be thinking "just one? how can that make a difference for millions?" and it won't make the change for the other millions, but it will change the world for one….and that's enough.  Many people ask my family all the time, 'Why did you adopt when you can have your own?' 'How can you love an adopted child like your own?' 'They don't look like you' and all of their questions are valid, not always nice, but I try to be gracious when answering. A common misconception in today's world is that God asks us in a kind-only-if-you-want-to way to care for the orphans when in actuality, God commands we care for the orphans. It isn't questionable or able to be interpreted in different ways. GOD LOVES the orphan. God COMMANDS we do the same. (See James 1:27) So, no our family isn't 'Wonderful' for bringing these children home, it's quite the opposite. These children have blessed us beyond our imagination. We didn't adopt to show off, or for publicity, or for any other reason but to honor God and His calling for our life.

Adoption and orphan care is the most life-changing and amazing experience in my life so far. Is God calling you to GO, to love, or maybe to adopt? Is something holding you back? Don't let fear keep you from loving, helping and answering His call. I promise you won't regret it.

sunday snapshot

Oh, Ainsley

this week we celebrated TEN months with you. Where does the time go? Just yesterday you were a 12lbs baby unable to walk, talk, or do anything and today…there is nothing you can't do! you love to stir up mischief and to paint yourself and walls. you bring new definition to being a hand full. We love every bit of it and you! You are so very perfect for our family and we can't imagine life without you. we love you, darling! 

so, so thankful.

happy sunday, y'all! 

Apple Orchard

Every year we make the trip to the apple orchard. One of my favorite things in the world. It always makes for the best time and the best photoshoots :)

It's a beautiful combination of fall, apples, and family fun!

I LOVE the apple orchard.

The boys {Dad, Adam, & Hayne} had went to Talahassee to watch the Tigers play football so Mom, AG, Andrew, Ainsley and I along with Kathleen, her girls, Charmon, and Krista headed to the Apple Orchard! Oh, what fun we had!

It was unfortunately REALLY crowded and really hot the day we decided to go. We decided to pick a few apples, take a few photos and then just buy the rest that were already picked. It was still fun, even though it didn't go as planned! 

We finished the day with some shopping and dinner at Olive Garden. Overall we had a fabulous day and loved spending time with our sweet friends!

Seventeen Years.

17 years ago today, God changed my entire life when He allowed me to become a Mommy to the most precious little girl ever born. I am still in shock that the beautiful baby girl I brought home from the hospital 17 years ago is growing up before my eyes. I love this girl so very much. She made me a Mommy. My dream when I was a little girl was to be a Mommy and my precious Ashton made this dream come true.

I truly cannot believe that she is already seventeen years old...How does that happen!? How do you blink and right before your eyes your baby grows up. 

Before I know it she will be a senior in high school. then to college. then getting married. having babies. and she will be right where I am now. It's amazing to watch and even though I will have tears in my eyes, I cannot wait to see her fly. 

Ashton inspires me daily. She loves Jesus. She loves orphans, special needs children, China and Uganda. This summer, Ashton was blessed to spend two weeks in Uganda. I was blessed to get to watch her blossom in the place she loves so dearly. Ashton had a glow in her eyes while in Uganda that I have rarely seen. I can't wait to see where God leads my girl in the future and I am sure it will be great. Ashton loves her family and her siblings. {They do fight though, trust me} She embraced our adoptions from China and it truly changed her life forever. With her help and God's guidance we brought Andrew and Ainsley home. She amazes me. 

She shares her special day with her sweet sister, Ainsley. How full circle and amazing is God? He gave me my first baby on September 20 and he is giving me my last (I probably shouldn't say that) baby on September 20. Ashton posted a blog about Ainsley here. Ainsley and Ashton are the best of friends. Even though they are fourteen years apart, they adore each other and can almost always be found together. It's a beautiful bond these sisters share.

Happy Birthday to the greatest blessing in my life, Ashton. 

You made me a mommy ♥ Every year I realize how blessed I am by you-You are one of a kind. I am so proud of the young woman you have become. You have a heart that amazes me and I cannot wait to see where God will lead you-Whether it be to Uganda, China or right here at home, I know you are going to do great things. This summer was so hard as we watched you board a plane to live out your dreams. I can't imagine being that brave, yet you changed lives forever. Our lives are better because of you-I love you more than you will ever know and I am so grateful to be your mom. I hope this is the best birthday ever!

Forever, 
Mom

Would you guys do me a favor and wish my girl a happy birthday?