Special Moments

On this Mother's Day, I feel honored and privileged that God chose me to be the mother of three wonderful sons and a special daughter.  I want to thank my own mother, as well as all the wonderful friends that are mothers in my life who are such a great example to me and give me such encouragement.

From Christmas to Mother's Day life has been busy with the kids, planning Mark's retirement from the military, and our move to Colorado Springs this summer.  We are looking forward to what is ahead, but going to miss our dear friends here in Florida.

On to looking back over the past six months and the big events we have celebrated such as Kaylee's Gotcha Day, Kaylee's 2nd Birthday, and Kaylee's baby dedication at church.  She has stolen our hearts and those of her brothers. Hayden, Colton and Brandon each share their own special relationship with her and are very protective of her.  She comes to Colton for comfort and food... no surprise with that one.  She comes to Hayden for outside play and is constantly going upstairs to his room to investigate and bug him while he is doing homework.  Brandon is her playmate on the trampoline and the one she loves to climb all over.

We have also included a video of the past 15 months since Kaylee joined our family.  Some of the pictures include Kaylee's sweet friend Hadi, adopted from Ethiopia and who we celebrated their 1st and 2nd birthdays with.  Other pictures are of Kaylee with her wonderful cousins and a few are with Alex, her newly adopted cousin from Russia.  We hope you enjoy watching our journey with Kaylee so far.

1 year celebration of Gotcha Day January 30, 2013

Kaylee all dressed up in her Chinese dress after dinner at of course a great Chinese restaurant.

We celebrated Kaylee's 2nd Birthday on February 2, 2013

Kaylee's Baby Dedication
February 17, 2013

Kaylee was glad to be off stage after the baby dedication so happy to be outside.

Kaylee Baroni 2013 Mother's Day Blessing ~ video clip

Catching up with the Baroni Bunch

Hello everyone...hope this posting finds you well,

We cannot believe so much time has past since the last time we shared news about our family on our blog.  Let me catch you up on few bits of information.    To begin with, I am so excited for my brother and sister-in-law because they adopted a little three year old boy from Russia.   We had a chance to visit him in August and he is adorable and full of energy.  Kinda neat to see how God can move mountains by blessing both of us with beautiful children.

Next, Mark will be retiring from the military in May after 21 years of service. We are excited, and of course, a bit nervous about what is on the horizon.  We are trusting in God and seek his direction as we make this transition.  Our blog bible verse continues to speaks to us in so many ways as we approach this new chapter is our life.

A little bit about the boys, they continue to amaze me with how accepting they have been with a little sister running around the house "ruling the roost".  They are so good with her and teaching her how to become a little Tomboy.  All three have said to me independently, "Mom, I don't know what our family would be like without Kaylee."

Ok...just a little bit about Kaylee.  She is a walking and talking machine.  She is also still very observant of her surroundings.  Ever so slowly, we have seen a change in her willingness to let Mark and I be her parents.  It is hard to put into words the emotions that I have for this beautiful little girl.  I don't see her as a Chinese girl, but as my precious daughter that God has entrusted me to raise to be a God-fearing women one day.   Here is a poem that is very special to me.

Not flesh of my flesh nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own.  Never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but in it.  God is teaching us a lot about love through Kaylee.

Here are some pictures and videos from the past few months.


Kaylee with Walter (the dog) -- short video clip

 Uncle Damon and our new cousin Alex.

 Alex, Colton, Kaylee and Mark 

 Kaylee enjoys hanging out at the beach with Hayden and Colton.

All dressed up for church.

Kaylee and I went to a friend's mountain wedding in Colorado this past July.

Picking out a pumpkin for Halloween.

Kaylee's first Halloween...Kaylee was a pumpkin and Brandon was a banana.   I tried to dress her in a cute little tutu, but she would have no part of that...so she was a pumpkin.

Kaylee loves to dress up and is constantly trying on shoes and carrying around my purses.  What a change of pace...I am used to cleaning smelly athletic clothes, and now I have a little girl who likes clothes, shoes, purses, etc...it's so much fun!

  

I love this picture of Hayden with Kaylee...he is so proud of her.

Our New Normal...with PINK!!

Hello everyone...my oh my, I can't believe how fast the spring has come and gone at the busy Baroni household.  Life has been busy and full getting use to our "new normal" with three busy boys and a very special little girl.  Hayden, Colton and Brandon have been a huge help with their baby sister in so many ways.  They play with her, feed her, dance with her, carry her, or drive her around in her pink Barbie car.  They are getting use to cute dresses and bows, loud demanding squeals, and genuine giggles of joy.  Kaylee on the other hand is trying to keep up and now is walking to catch up with them.  She is getting use to soccer fields, soccer balls, bay blades and legos.  It has been a delight to see our four children grow and develop their own unique relationship with each other.

As we celebrated Mother's Day last weekend I thought how blessed I am to be a mother of four wonderful children.  I also thought about Kaylee's birth mother and her foster care mother...two other women that loved this child dearly and did the best they could for her.  I am honored and humbled that God chose me to be Kaylee's forever mother.  It has been a true joy! 

Here are some videos and pictures of life now with Kaylee.

Kaylee learning to walk with the help of big brother

Kaylee walking on Mother's Day

Look at my four teeth!

Hanging out with the gang before bed.

Three handsome young men and one pretty little girl on Easter Sunday.

Hanging out at Shell Island in my tutu bathing suit.

Look what I can do!  Mommy caught me.

Mother's Day with my wonderful kiddos.

I like be chauffeured around in my hot pink jeep.

Mom, I told you I don't like grass....it feels prickly.

Blessing From The Father

Isaiah 30:18

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.

This is our families heart song right now. We definitely know that God's hand has been in this adoption from the beginning, but never did I expect God to bless us in the way he has with Miss Kaylee. Friends and family have said to us what a blessed little girl she is. I think it is the other way around. God is using this little girl to bless us all in ways we cannot even fully see yet.

Yes, it has been an adjustment to four kids. The first week was rough getting our body clocks (especially for Kaylee) adjusting from China time to Florida time. Yes, it is hilarious at times (I think) discussing middle school issues followed by changing a diaper and stepping on cherios all the time. God surely has a sense of humor. As we finish out our second week of being home, we can sense Kaylee feeling more comfortable and see the boys just falling in love with their new sister. More than once watching the boys with Kaylee has brought tears to my eyes.

We also have felt so blessed by all of you, our friends and family. Thank you for supporting us in this transition time. Whether it was my mom who had my favorite meal for me when we returned to the friends and family who joined the celebration at the airport. From phone calls to meals and your prayers and gifts from far away. We really appreciate it and cannot wait for everyone to finally meet Kaylee. Iv'e always heard it takes a village to raise a family and we believe that is true. You all have been our village, God's hands and feet serving us in our time of need. We thank God for putting you in our lives.

On to fun pictures and videos of the first two weeks at home with Miss Kaylee!

Kaylee's New Trick Video

Big Brother Hayden meeting Kaylee at the airport.

Grandpa and Nana meeting Kaylee at the airport.

The Baroni Bunch reunited...

Birthday girls...Kaylee with Stacie and Hadi with Jill. Hadi was adopted from Ethiopia by our dear friends Scott and Jill. The girls' birthdays are one week apart.

Kaylee with her three big brothers and Hadi with her three big brothers

Mmmm...I sure do like my first birthday cake.

Kaylee having fun taking apart the diaper cake made by Grandma.

Grandma and Kaylee...

Brandon hopped in the crib with Kaylee...

Big Brother Colton having a special moment with his sister.

All dressed up for church with Hayden...

Kaylee with Aunt Whitney and cousin Campbell

Kaylee with her three cousins...Emerson, Macie, and Campbell

Sights of Guangzhou, China

Our trip to China is coming to a close and wanted you to see a few sights of our final destination,, Guangzhou, China. It is a very Westernized city with a lot of influence from Hong Kong (based upon proximity of about 75 miles away.) Guangzhou is the third largest city in China with an approximate population of only 13 million people. The population of the province that Guangzhou is in is about 40 million people...all those people fit in an area about the size of the state of New Jersey...

A few pictures and short video clip for your entertainment:

Is is a restaurant or pet store video clip?

Alley Sigthseeing part 1

Alley Sightseeing part 2

The entire travel group for one final picture together.

One of the first areas that we visited was Shamian Island...it's not really an island per say, but a very nice section of town...about a 5 block by 5 block area. As Stacie and I walked through this area, it looks very much like Charleston, SC...it also is a little bit of a tourist trap...lots of little stores appealing to all the international families adopting from China.

One of the few churches that we have seen in China. This church is on Shamian Island.

Stacie and Kaylee down one of the side streets on Shamian Island.

What place would not be appropriate without a Starbuck's coffee.

Big Southern looking trees...

Inside the famous White Swan hotel on Shamian Island. We were told this is where foreign dignitaries, like the US president, stay when traveling to the Southern part of China. In years past, this is also where most families that were adopting would stay. However, the hotel is undergoing renovations, so we ended staying at the China Hotel (Marriott)...very nice hotel as well.

Another interesting tree on Shamian Island...you can notice the wonderful greenery that was immaculately kept.

Entrance into a park where they were holding the Chinese Latern festival. This festival culminates the end of the Chinese New Year. It is believed the latern festival is a celebration to cultivate relationships between people, families, nature, and higher beings that were responsible for bringing the light back each year. The day we went to the park was not the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration...that occurred on February 6, 2012. The park was pretty packed the day we went...we were told on the last day of the festival it would so packed it would be a little dangerous for us especially with Kaylee...we listened. Because this is the year of the Dragon, it was extra colorful.

Inside the park with all the colorful decorations.

One final stroll around Guangzhou revealed a few more interesting pictures. The epitome of air drying your clothes. I can't imagine doing this at our house with the amount of clothes we go through...there would not be enough space to hang everything.

A final picture to conclude this post...hmm, I sure am hungry...NOT...this was the local butcher just around the corner from our hotel...I like the display technique....iron folding table leveled by a few bricks on the front end...making the most of what you have. Oh yea, one thing this picture doesn't show are the chickens in the background waiting in line to be next.

Spicy Girl

Just wanted to let everyone see the incredible transformation Kaylee is going through. Her true outgoing personality is really showing only after one week.

Our guide in Nanchang said all the girls from that area are "Spicy"...she was somewhat joking with us because of how spicy the food is in the Jiangxi province. She told us to stay away from the local food because our American stomachs could not handle the spicy flavor...we gladly listened to her.

So, I think Kaylee is a true Nanchang Spicy girl...enjoy the video.

Kaylee Spicy Girl Video Clip

Kaylee in her Spicy girl outfit...

Nanchang Rice Village

Hello everyone...

Well it has been a few days since we made a post...we have been pretty busy running around Guangzhou finalizing all of our adoption paperwork with the US Consulate. As of yesterday, we are done with the paperwork and just waiting for Kaylee's US Visa...should get today (Tuesday China time) and then will begin our trek back to the US on Wednesday...yea!

Stacie and I have had an incredible journey and have had an opportunity to see what makes China so diverse and unique. While we were in Nanchang (the capital of the Jiangxi province where Kaylee was born) our guide took us to see a rice village. I had no idea what a real rice village looked liked...from books that I have read and movies that I have seen, my expectations were these vast areas of green lands very distinctively marked into squares with ladies in hats tending the fields. Boy were we mistaken...that is nothing like what I had expected. In China, there is definitely a class system. The rice village farmers are considered almost at the bottom of China lower class. What was also more surprising was the location of the rice village...in the middle of city in a very poverty stricken area.

As you will see from the videos and pictures, it was heart wrenching seeing how some of these Chinese farmers live...but the funny thing, they seemed so content. Wow, it was good for Stacie and I to see what we saw...It reminds me of scripture in 1 Timothy 6:6-7 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it."

Nanchang Rice Village Clip Part One

Nanchang Rice Village Clip Part Two

The local butcher...something tells me I would want to be very nice to this lady...notice the rather large knife she has in her right hand.

The village tap water area that is free for public use. This water is used for cleaning pots and pans. The water is not sanitary to drink.

This field is for vegetables and rice patties. The mounds are where the village people bury loved ones. Yes, it is right next to the growing food.

The village toilet.

The inside of the public toilet. This is called a squatty potty. We have seen a vast array of squatty potties while we have traveled around China...some nice, some not so nice. This one was on the not so nice end of the spectrum. We are sure this one worked but opted not to try it.