As I’ve been following the stories of other large families, I have sometimes had a really hard time keeping all of their children straight and remembering which name goes with which child. It occurred to me that our family is large enough now that some people might have this problem with us. I decided to do a post today with an introduction to each of our kids. I will present them in the order they entered our family rather than true age order.

JosiahFirst of all, I think I need to take more pictures of my big kids. I have hundreds of pictures of the little ones, but just realized that I don’t have many of the big kids at all. Josiah is 9 years old and is the best big brother any one could have. He is compassionate and sensitive. I rarely even have to ask him for help with his younger brothers and sisters. He loves playing with the little kids, although he does wish that they would stay away from his stuff. 🙂 He is a voracious reader, and one of the biggest challenges with him is finding enough books for him to read.

Gabriela

Gabriela, who is 8 years old, is social and hard working. She loves to help with kitchen clean up or laundry, as long as she is allowed to talk (loudly😁) while she works. She enjoys spending time with her friends from church. Math is her favorite subject in school, but she is enjoying reading more and more.

Mikaela

Mikeala, who is also 8 years old, was the first child to join our family through adoption. She was born in Ukraine and has Down Syndrome. Her sweet and sassy personality keeps us all laughing. She sings all day long and can cheer us up no matter how bad we are feeling. When she grows up, she wants to be a princess or Batgirl. Or maybe both. 🙂

Matthias

I found out that I was pregnant with Matthias just weeks after bringing Mikaela home from Ukraine. When I realized that I would have 4 children under the age of three, I started praying that God would give the new baby a calm and easy-going personality. Most of the time, Matthias is as laid-back as any child I’ve ever met. He will be 7 years old next month. Super heroes, especially Beast Boy and the Flash are among his favorite things. He keeps hoping that he will discover some hidden superpowers, but hasn’t had any luck with that so far.

Isabelle

Isabelle was adopted from China when she was 4 years old, and she is now 8. Her transition into a family was challenging for her in many ways, but she is now a happy, thriving little girl. She is learning her letters in school and loves drawing and coloring. Like her brothers and sisters, she is a big fan of super heroes, and I think Supergirl is her favorite. She loves to be a helper, especially with cooking or folding laundry.

Hallie

When we first met Hallie in China, she was fearful and withdrawn. It took us almost a week to coax a smile out of her. Sometimes it is hard for us to believe that she is the same child now, because she is such a feisty and playful little girl. She smiles or laughs most of the time. She has Down Syndrome and was adopted when she was 3.5. She is now 8 years old. I can’t imagine my life without this beautiful, fiery ball of energy.

Victoria

Victoria is our youngest child, but she thinks she is in charge most of the time. She is 3 and a half years old, but already very insistent that she is a big girl and wants to be a helper. She and Hallie are best friends, except when they are mortal enemies. 🙂 Her passionate and enthusiastic personality keeps us busy, but we wouldn’t change anything about her.

Jonathan

Jonathan will be 6 next month, and he was adopted from China a year and a half ago. He is not officially diagnosed, but we suspect he is on the autism spectrum. He doesn’t talk, but has become very creative in finding ways to let us know what he needs or wants. His favorite things in life are collecting little pieces of paper and playing with his big brother, Josiah.

Evie

Evie is our newest family member. She is 7.5 years old, and has been part of our family for about 3 months now. We are still getting to know her, but we are already pretty crazy about her. She loves snuggling with Mommy, chewing on her bibs or taggies, and taking baths. She is a very sweet and special little girl.