Chenzhou Sisters' Reunion

Lanie, Sarah Mei and Lilly - Sisters for Life!!

At least once or twice a year we get together with Sarah Mei's Chenzhou "sisters". These are the sweet little girls that shared the first months of life with Sarah Mei in the Chenzhou orphanage before we even met her. God blessed our families with the miracle of living only a few hours from each other.

Saturday the Barbee and Bryant families made the trek to our farm for a day of food and laughter with our 17 children...yes, 17 children!! Only 15 made it to the farm that day. Torie is in Austria and Trey, the Barbee's oldest, was recovering from an all-night church lock-in, but it was still a squealing, energetic crowd.

Last fall when we had our reunion, we had 14 children. And by God's grace each of our families have had the privilege of adding to our families, once again, through the miracle of adoption. So not only was it a reunion, but an introduction of three new children to the craziness of the Barbee/Bryant/Horton picnics!!

Hudson and Isabelle - both two - came home this year.

And Mia, with the kindest, most compassionate heart, also came home this year!


After eating and relaxing for a little while, the cry rang out for pony rides...

Lanie got her helmet adjusted.


Ellie was beaming the whole time she was riding.


You can tell we have a household of girls. Poor Hudson was subjected to wearing a pink helmet, but judging by his smile, he didn't seem to mind.



The older siblings are always so patient with all the younger children. Here Jillian is showing Sarah Mei how to use a glove. A first for Sarah Mei.

At the end of the day we corralled all the children together for a picture on the front porch. Lesson learned...take the group picture before 7 hours of hard play on the farm. Despite a few tears and a lot of dirty smudges, these sweet faces make my heart sing! Thank you Lord for allowing us to be a part of your plan.