McKenna Family

9 is such a hard year for me.  8 is such an exciting age and their baptism is always so special but they just kinda stay put in mind at age 8.   When they turn 9, it sounds so big, not a little boy anymore.  It's like they have graduated from their little childhood years and are starting their big childhood years.  It's silly I know but 8 just sounds better....like they are still my babies.  So it takes me about 6 months to really come to grips with the fact that they are 9 and I finally quit telling people that they are 8. J.D. had a great birthday.  He invited some friends to the Jump Zone (which is a huge place with trampolines everywhere).  Then we went for pizza.  Such cute friends.  And of course they all thought they were Michael Jordan!  Abi and her friend Saige had fun practicing their flips and jumps! It was pretty much a Miami Heat birthday for this boy. I can't decide if Abi is stealing a birthday kiss or helping him blow out...

Every year we look forward to meeting with the Chinese adoptive families in Cache Valley and celebrating our children's heritage and culture.  It seems like we add a few new families each year which is awesome and amazing.  It always makes for a fun night and Meili thought it was so great. See the little girl at the left being held by her brother?  She was such a doll and Meili could NOT get over how adorable she was.  I think she would've taken her home if her parents would've let her.  The kids are all so beautiful.  It's amazing to see the difference that LOVE makes in the lives of these children. One of these days we are going to have to make a trip back to China.  Meili is growing so fast and she hardly has anything left from China that fits!! Happy Chinese New Year!!

This is one of my favorite recitals of the year and this year it was the best ever.  We usually have the monster concert with just the students that take from the same teacher but this year our teacher was involved in the Utah State Monster Concert.  It was amazing.  There were so many kids involved and it was truly fantastic.  The kids had a good time and practiced really hard and even survived the many rehearsals they had to attend.   Of course Josh was bored while waiting for it to start so he and Meili practiced their scary/obnoxious face pulling. For those that don't know what a monster concert is, here is a brief summary.  Everyone has a certain part to play and there are several that play the same part but there are 2-3 kids on each piano and close to 20 pianos on stage.  It is an awesome sight!  The songs were really fun and popular and made the concert so great.  The kids all did great and Abi had one of the narration parts.  Sh...