Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Home Sweet Home


We brought Shelby home this morning-yeah! She is still pretty ticked off at the whole world, but at least we're home (where no one else can hear her scream her head off). Not much time to post but did want to thank everyone for thinking of us and praying my baby girl well!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Shelby update

Hi friends,

This is Amy, updating for Donna. Donna says Shelby did well and I pray they have a peaceful night. I got a text from her this afternoon after surgery and they had Shelby in their arms. Keep praying for Shelby to be pain free and also for her parents too!

Double Digit Day

Can you believe it, my baby boy is TEN years old today as in 10 !!!! I can't believe he has officially hit the double digits?! Happy Birthday to the best 10 year old in the world. He is such a great kid and I am so so lucky to get to be his mom!
We celebrated his birthday this weekend with family and friends at the house. His big birthday present was a new pellet gun. CJ took him squirrel hunting all day Saturday but they came back empty handed. Never fear though, Caleb took matters into his own hands and killed one yesterday in our back yard. Disgusting, I know. Frank even helped him gut it and skin it and it now resides in the garage freezer (no it is not allowed in my house). YUCK!

Anyhow as you can see from his smile, Caleb thought it was the best thing in the world?! BTW, CJ doesn't hunt and we have never expressed interest in "killing" things around here, but I suppose some things you are just born with?! So needless to say Caleb had a GREAT birthday and since today is the official big day, he took birthday cookies to school to celebrate with his friends. Happy Birthday to the best Caleb in the World!!



PS: Shelby goes into surgery today at 2PM. Prayers are appreciated and I will try to post as soon as I can. Thanks!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Christmas Miracles

We had our annual Christmas picture done today with all my digit friends. Uh-oh, what is this...

All the original digits gained a sibling this year!

What true miracles we have all been blessed with. Oh and yes all of these precious children are from China's Waiting Child program and considered to all have "Special Needs". Yes, their special need was that their families NEEDED them home!!

Not So Special After All

Well when I say that I mean, not so rare really. Someone asked me the other day how "common" it was to be born with a cleft lip or palate. As you can see here are the statistics for US born children. Clefts are more common in Asia due to everyday pollution that the mothers are exposed to. So it appears that my "special needs" girls both have one of the most common birth defects out there.

What are the most common birth defects?

Some of the most common birth defects include:

Heart defects: As many as 1 in 100 babies in the United States are born with heart defects each year (1). While advances in surgery have dramatically improved the outlook for affected babies, heart defects remain the leading cause of birth defect-related infant deaths (8).
Cleft lip/palate: About 1 in 700 babies is born with cleft lip/palate each year (1). Affected babies can have problems with eating, speech and language. Some have a small cleft that can be corrected with one surgical procedure, while others have severe clefts and need multiple surgeries.
Down syndrome: This chromosomal abnormality affects about 1 in 800 babies in the United States (1). Early intervention programs and treatment of associated health problems have greatly improved the outlook for affected individuals.
Spina bifida (open spine): This disorder affects about 1 in 2,500 babies in the United States each year (1). Affected babies have varying degrees of paralysis and bladder and bowel problems.

Other common birth defects include musculoskeletal defects (including arm and leg defects), gastrointestinal defects (including defects of the esophagus, stomach and intestines) and eye defects. These birth defects usually are multifactorial.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Wimpy Mom

Well today is my last day of regular work for at least a week or two. I have a crazy busy day cramming everything in, but I just can't seem to get my emotions in check today. I feel like such a wimpy mom today. I read alot of blogs of others and I don't think I have ever read much about how "mom feels" the days before a big surgery. I know it isn't about me and that I should just be focused on my little girl right now. And in a big way, that is why it hurts so much to be her mom right now.


If you don't really know Shelby, know this about her...she is stubborn and a true fighter! My little girl fought me tooth and nail when we "took her" from her China home and foster mom. Shelby fought me tooth and nail whenever I would try to get her to open up to me emotionally. She really fought her biggest battle with me when I started teaching her to TRUST me. Each step of the way though, Shelby opened up little by little and now we have a true mom and daughter love and trust for each other. The fights were so worth the efforts.

So now once again, her mom (in her eyes) is about to hurt her again. To her, I was the one who took her from her China mom, I was the one who allowed the doctors to hurt her during her palate surgery, and now I will be the one again who will intentionally allow the doctors to "hurt" her once again. It feels like this little one just keeps giving me her heart and trusting me, yet I have to be the one to break her heart over and over again :(

I really hope she can forgive me once again and hopefully slowly start to understand that I allow her to be hurt for good reasons. I know a 4 year old can't understand that yet, but I pray that somewhere deep in her heart Jesus gives her some comfort that her mommy loves her very much and doesn't want to hurt her. I pray she will TRUST me once again one day soon!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Best Gift Ever

Look at what my wonderful sister-in-law and brother shipped us all the way from Texas! Yep, a whole CASE of Wahahas!!! I can't believe she found them.
I happened to mention to her when were there how much Shelby loved them and oh what I would give to have some for her recovery period after surgery. And look, she found them :) I haven't shown them to Shelby yet, she will be so excited to have her favorite drink in the whole wide world-Wahahas!! I am sure they will taste even better knowing they came from her new cousin in Texas ;)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Not the Flu but...

it is the yucky strep again! This time it has struck me and Faith. Now the real problem is that we have to keep Shelby WELL until her surgery next week. Thankfully she isn't showing any signs and she passed her pre-op visit today no problems. So we will just hope and pray she stays well while Faith and I both take our antibiotics getting rid of this yucky stuff!
Oh and considering the fact that I have to take off work the next 2 weeks, I don't have time to be sick this week!! So yes this is me at work, pretty isn't it. Just trying to cram in a few weeks work into a few days, wish me luck.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Both Hands

Now this is the way to do adoption fund raising! I personally have never been a big fan of "fundraising" for an adoption. I have always thought that was weird since I never have been asked by anyone to pay for infertility treatments or hospital copays. So I have not ever really seen anything out there that I would endorse as a good idea for fund raising I suppose.

This organization however has really touched me and I think it is a wonderful idea! So if anyone out there needs true and honest help with their adoption and live in Atlanta, sign me up and I will be there to paint with the rest of the crew!!


Friday, November 6, 2009

Hands and Feet


I have blogged before about how amazing I think Katie in Uganda is. I dare you to read this post on her blog and not be moved by it! Talk about someone actually being His hands and feet everyday...WOW!!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Celebrating Two Years of Love

Today is Shelby's 2nd Gotcha Day Anniversary! Wow we have been blessed with her in our lives for 2 whole years. As you can see in the pics she has certainly changed. Our whole family has changed and I can't imagine our lives any different. What a wonderful journey we have had with her. Here you can see my original Gotcha Day post.
Now of course we can't just go on and say everything has been all peaches and cream. Little Hong Hong came to us with her own very unique set of challenges that is for sure ;) It has been a rather bumpy road along the way and getting Shelby was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life for sure. However, as you can see through the pics all the smiles and laughs are worth it. My little Shelby Baby is a true joy to the world!

I just looked at the video of that wonderful time and it brought tears to my eyes remembering all the crazy wild emotions that went along with our first trip to China. You can click here to check out the video I made a long time ago. It seems like a LONG time ago, yet it has only been 2 years. It is a wonderful thing to watch your children grow up right before your eyes.

Turkey Loo-Hoo, I love you forever and ever!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Busy As Usual


Busy busy busy as usual around my house. Heading out to my Triad meeting tonight to show off the pics of meeting my brother. And getting ready for our final post-adoption homestudy visit thingy tomorrow night. Well at least trying to scrape off the candy out of the floors and the kids hair before the social worker shows up ;)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Preview of Things to Come

Oh and yes, Faith is officially addicted to candy!

video

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

New Movie


Sandra Bullock has done it again with an amazing movie called The Blind Side. Well at least it looks to be an amazing movie. I can't wait to see it!



Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Baby Torture

No really I promise she is enjoying every minute! The Tickle Monster- I mean Mommy- is her favorite :)


video

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Kai-Lan Adopted?


Ha! I had no idea that the voice of Ni Hao Kai-Lan was of a young lady that was adopted from China. Who knew??! Read about it here. No wonder we LOVE this show so much around our house-LOL

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Can't Save Them All

Oh my I can't tell you just how many times I have heard this one lately. It usually goes something like this..."Well you know you can't save em' all." Really?!?! I always want to respond back, "Oh, well how many have you "saved"?!" Although I don't ever say that, I really want to.

I was just reading another blog I follow and her latest post really hit home for me. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with all the issues she speaks about, but we have had our share. I know a LOT of adoptive families out there deal with some of the same issues as well. Really makes you go hmmmmm sometimes. With the latest circumstances surrounding the possibility of us taking in another child, this phrase "Can't save them all" is starting to really tick me off frankly.

So for a reminder folks, here is the Starfish Story some of you may have forgotten lately...

Do you remember the story about the young child, walking along the beach among thousands of starfish that had washed ashore with the tide? The child stopped every several yards to throw a starfish back into the ocean. Another child, a bit older than the first, stopped and asked, "Why bother? You can't save them all. Do you think it'll really matter?" And the younger child, tossing another starfish back into the waves replied, "It will matter to THIS one."

Friday, October 23, 2009

Reading Up

Since Shelby's p-flap surgery is sneaking up on us, I have been trying to do my homework and reading some other families' posts regarding their experiences. Here is one that was just posted about her child's surgery. I am so NOT excited about this next adventure :(

Hi all,well, Monday was our son's p-flap. We have had a trying time from the minute he was brought out of anesthesia to his first hours on the floor. I find it a little theraputic to write on here so I hope this helps those going through this in the future...When he was coming out of the surgery he stopped breathing and had to be put back under very quickly to have the breathing tube reinserted and it even gave the c.n.a. as she says a "run for her money." He had a difficult time breathing for several hours post op and we were in the recovery floor for almost four hours.

The next 24 hours were a nightmare as we somehow ended up on a "short stay floor" where the nurses were less than familar with our surgery. They were used to transitioning kids out in 24 hours or less and started trying to only push oral pain meds despite the docs and my telling them no. Even the charge nurse was calling our doc directly saying things like "well, with these orders you realize your families could be here for days." When she told me she said this to the doctor I was flabergasted! I just looked at her and said YES we know, knew we would be here for the better part of a week.

So now for hours he had been spitting out most of his pain meds that I was asked to give him orally. He finally got some comfort Tuesday afternoon with the correct pain meds b/c a resident was smart enough to cut an oral med order. So he got some IV morphine and started to really rest. Then late that night his IV went bad. They removed it before 9pm and we waited until midnight to get a new one.. Now keep in mind I'm not a patient or nice person when even waiting to long at a restaurant. But it was like fighting underwater trying to get my point across that our son had just gone almost a whole day with bad pain management and then hours with no fluids or IV pain meds again - ugh!

Finally I started telling them how ticked I was and their response was that he was drooling and his vitals were fine so he was o.k. - so what, they were waiting for him to literally crash before they cared?Needless to say I started to voice my opinion. Keep in mind the hospital is under flu restrictions for visitors so it is literally just my husband and I that are allowed up to his room at all. So it has been more than exhausting to say the least. I went home Wed to shower and see my other children. When I finally got out of the hospital and ran through the events in my mind I was getting more upset.

Fast forward to yesterday, Thursday. Our son is finally getting the care he should have gotten the first hours post op. I was able to articulate my story to hospital staff that claim they can help fix this in the future. And I tried to explain that we hired our doctor for a reason and to be told by nurses they were questioning his orders was ridiculous! If that happens do it behind the scenes, listen to us the parents and don't put us in the middle.

Be aware those going through this that the staff is not used to this surgery. Most nurses kept comparing this to a tonsilectomy and our docs were ticked when I told them this. One doc told me there is nothing similar and he was fuming. Be aware that you have to tell the staff up front you realize this is a long recovery and you don't plan to rush it at all. Day one post op is literally just a day of managing pain and that is it. I just thought the doctor's words and orders would be enough for them but apparently it wasn't. We have had nurses every day tweaking the orders to how they think things should go - ie let's just try and stretch the pain meds to get him home faster. Hello, how is he going to want to eat or drink with more pain? They just do not get it.

Our son wanted to try and eat and drink on Tuesday after surgery. B/c his pain was not under control he screamed when trying to get anything down. Since then he has been terrified to try to eat or drink until last night when my husband got him to eat. We literally wheeled him down to the hospital cafeteria just so he could smell food to try and encourage him a little. It took the staff until Thursday to realize he isn't getting any oral meds down b/c he is either choking or spitting them out so he finally got supposotory (spell?) tylenol.

I can't believe this happened to us at the hospital that is supposed to be one of the best in the country. And I can't believe nurses would question a doctor that is the head of his department, a known specialist in this area and one that also runs the volunteer program at the Shriners here in town for cleft kids.

Bottom line our son seemed to be turning a corner last night - wanting to eat but cautious to do it while super sedated with morphine. His surgery was Monday and we just hope he can manage to drink enough to come home today, Friday. It has been exhausting on me to spend three sleepness nights there and on our kids here that miss Mommy and can't visit their little brother at all. But we're still moving forward and thankful that this hopefully will change our son's speech for the best.

I want him home and comfortable here but am not too anxious as I'm afraid he might be in more pain and stop drinking or eating. It is really a balancing act that we have had to micro manage every minute of every day and night. Thanks for letting me vent here it really is helpful. Now I'm just waiting to get the kids on the bus so I can get up there with my husband and see how our little guy is doing today.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Abandonment

I just read this post from Amy who heads up my favorite charity Love Without Boundaries. I thought I would share with you all:

"I think it is a fair statement to say that most of us who have adopted internationally think that our child's birthparents made the decision to abandon their child. I have read many essays and poems where adoptive parents imagine the birthmother hiding in the bushes or watching until the tiny bundle is found. Perhaps that is how you imagine it to be as well. I know I certainly did, until I helped run a cleft mission where many of our patients were rural children with families.
On that trip, parents told me one story after another that quite simply turned everything I thought I knew about abandonment on its head.

I want to share one of those stories today, as I have been thinking so much about my son's birthparents lately.On this particular cleft mission, we had far more babies needing surgery than space available, so very sadly we were having to turn families away. We had set a weight requirement for the kids' safety, and we soon learned that parents were sewing rocks into their babies' clothing in the hopes that their kids would meet our 10 pound requirement. We also had begun turning away babies who were obviously younger than 5-6 months because we wanted to make sure the kids would do well under anesthesia.

I was sitting in the intake room one morning when an anxious young woman came running in holding a tiny bundle. I could immediately tell that the baby was a newborn, and I asked our Chinese director to break the bad news to the woman that the baby was far too young for surgery. As she was given the news, the young lady burst into tears and began pleading and begging to have her child be seen. My friend came over to me and told me that I needed to go and speak with the woman in private, and so I did.

She pulled back the blanket to reveal a tiny baby girl with severe cleft lip. The mother told me that her daughter was 28 days old, and that their period of confinement was over in just 2 more days. As she was crying and talking, the mom kept kissing her baby's forehead, and she kept telling me again and again, "I love her....I love her so much." But then she went on to tell me that her extended family would not accept her daughter since she had been born with a cleft lip. They felt this tiny baby would bring shame to them all. With tears streaming down her face, she told me that her mother-in-law was coming to take the baby away from her in two days' time. The mom was begging me to heal her daughter, to make her daughter beautiful, so that she could keep the baby that she had carried inside of her for 9 months….the daughter she loved completely.

When I explained that the baby could not safely be put under anesthesia at four weeks of age, she fell on her knees and was sobbing at my feet, pleading and crying and begging me to help her. Right now...even typing this story....it brings a pain to my chest that I cannot describe.Over and over on that trip, I heard stories from birthparents who adored their children with cleft, but who were told the children could not stay in the extended family.

I met a woman whose daughter with cleft had been taken from her by her in-laws while she slept. She never saw her daughter again. She had come to our mission after reading about it in the paper, to thank us for giving parents a chance to keep their children.....a chance she herself did not have.

That trip changed everything for me about how I view birthparents in China. Many people give pat explanations about infant abandonment that cover the issue in blanket terms: “Babies are abandoned because rural families want sons.” “Babies are abandoned because the medical needs were too great.” Simple, one line sentences, to explain a personal life event that is often very complex.

When it comes to human life, and heartbreaking decisions…..abandonment and loss.....I have learned that there are rarely simple explanations. Every single one of our children faced a great loss in their lives, but the reality is…..we have no idea about the deep, personal stories of the people involved. We have no idea who made the decision that a child couldn’t stay in the family. We have no idea of the anguish, or sacrifice, or resignation experienced. It is easy to think it was a birthparent who lovingly placed the child by the orphanage front gate, but it could have just as easily been an in-law or an uncle who was given instructions by the head of the family to remove the baby from the home.

Every child has their own unique story. It certainly hurts more, however, to think that any of our kids have birthparents like the woman I met on that very somber day. There is still such a stigma surrounding children born with special needs, especially in the rural areas of China. For those of us parenting these amazing kids, the unknowns of their beginnings are very sad to think about, aren't they? Have you thought much about this issue? Do you normally think of a birthparent making the decision to leave a child? Or were you already aware that especially for children with special needs, many become orphaned to not bring shame to the family at large?"

Amy

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pumpkin Pics

We had a busy and cold weekend. We started Friday night with Nana's birthday party. Shelby just couldn't wait to have Nana's Party. Now Nana really wasn't planning a big party, so we just had to improvise for Shelby's sake of course. So I invited some friends over and got a yummy Bruster's ice cream cake and we had a "party"! Happy Birthday Mom- oops I mean Nana!

Even though it was chilly, we still managed to make it out to our annual pumpkin patch adventure. This was Faith's first time at the pumpkin patch and she slept right through it! Oh well, she woke up as we were leaving and as long as she could hold her pumpkin Shelby picked out for her she was good.

Sunday was an emotional event for us as we almost had a new addition to the family. It is a long story but in the end it turns out that the baby is already in a good foster home and hopefully that is where she will stay until she can be adopted. So needless to say it was a very busy weekend!! How was yours?!?

Oh I almost forgot, anyone who would love to take in 2 wonderful guinea pigs please do! We have posted them on craigslist to find them a new home :)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thought for the Day

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, screaming "HOLY CRAP what a ride!" ~unknown~

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Back to Normal

Well we made it home safe and sound on Monday night. No problems. The kids were happy to see me and I was of course happy to be home with everyone. CJ did fine without me, so hey maybe I can plan another trip soon-LOL.
C took us to the airport and mom did well without any crazy crying or long goodbyes or anything. As I have said before, I really believe we will see him again soon :)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

O Happy Day

We had a another great day today in the big city of Dallas. Sheila and I started the morning off with breakfast at a bakery. We walked about a mile to get there so surely there were no points in what we ate ;) Next, we went out to lunch today at a real authentic Chinese restaurant. It was very good and actually took me back to our days we spent in China. Yes, it makes me want to go back (just for the good time, not another baby!). Little C went to his Chinese school today while we were at lunch. I found it very interesting that they take him to Chinese school just like the one we have at home. My SIL thought it was a great idea to get the girls in Chinese school when they get old enough. So maybe next year Shelby will start going. Anyhow, after we picked up my nephew we were off on our next adventure...bowling!
It has actually been a few years since they had been bowling and little C had NEVER been. Needless to say it didn't take the little guy too long to figure it out. He had a blast and so did everyone else. I think the best part was just watching him light up every time it was his turn :) After bowling we did some more visiting and just hung out at the hotel until dinner time. We had reservations at the Magic Time Machine tonight. What a fun place. We ate WAY too much and of course had to top ourselves off with a big banana split in the end. It was a great day.
I am still amazed at how comfortable it is to be around our "new" relatives. You can tell that they aren't really used to this much activity on a regular basis. I am sure we are probably a lot to take in if you aren't used to be around us. They are handling it quite well and they too seem to be having a great time. It was really neat to hear that my SIL said to my mom yesterday..."I have never seen him this happy!" Yes, she was talking about my brother-how cool is that?!?!?
We only have a half day left visiting on this trip :( However, I really do believe that we will see them again. Hopefully they will be able to come out and visit with us next year. I am thinking a nice summer time visit in GA would be a real treat for us. I could definitely keep them busy at my house for sure. They may need another 6 months to recuperate after this visit ;)

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Donna does Dallas

Now now get your mind out of the gutter ;) We did a little touring today hanging out with my new fun relatives! We made to the JFK Memorial Museum today for a little history lesson, especially for me. It was really neat and at the same time kinda creepy being in the same place JFK was killed. It was very interesting, more interesting was of course the company we kept all day :)


Fortunately it wasn't raining today, just a little cool especially for Dallas since the high was about 65 today. So we went to McDs for lunch since I promised the little guy a happy meal toy and an ice cream from his Aunt Donna. As you can see, he seemed to enjoy it. We got to visit alot together today which is a lot of fun learning more about my brother and his life past and present. I sure hope after our visit that he continues to chat with us and hopeful that he doesn't think that just because we don't live in the same state that we can't continue to get to know each other. Again, I would just love for them to be able to meet the rest of my crew.


Starting to really miss my family at home. However, I hate to think about the fact that we will only be here one and half more days getting to know my brother and his family. The kids had a much better day today with their daddy. Oh and all the little ones were already asleep tonight at home by 9PM. I pray they have a better night and don't miss mommy too much :)


PS: Don't we make a cute family!!

Attached or Spoiled

Well it sounds like the girls didn't have such a great night :( Of course this is the first time ever Faith has been to sleep without mommy, and only the second time away from Shelby (first was when Faith was in the hospital). So this of course means CJ had a terrible night! I know in some ways it is good, but of course I feel bad not being there for my girls.

So I talked to everyone on the phone this morning telling them that I love them and miss them. Hopefully they will have a fun filled day with LOTS of exercise so they will go night night tonight more peacefully. Praying they enjoy their alone time with daddy and Grandma Linda this weekend.

Here are a few more pics from yesterday. We had afternoon coffee (hot chocolate for me at a whopping 8 points!) at Starbucks, then enjoyed a great seafood dinner together. We get to go watch my little nephew play soccer this morning. He is such a great kid. I can't wait to get him together with my bunch. They would have such an awesome time playing together. It's great to add more family, especially the fun adorable happy kind! Hopefully they can make their way out to our house soon so we can introduce the newest cousin to my crew. How fun would that be to get a picture of ALL of mom's grandkids together?!?!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Gotcha! Well you know...

video

Mom finally getting to hug her SON after 45 long years!!

God is good all the time, all the time God is good :)

It's For Real

That's right, HE is for real. My real brother! Talk about weird...but not really even feeling weird. We left out for the airport early this morning, arrived in Texas at 11Am. We got off the plane and were hoping we could get to the potty to "freshen up", little did we know all that was separating my mom and her son was a clear glass wall! I looked at mom and said we can still go potty if you want and she looked at me like I was crazy. She couldn't get through the door fast enough to finally hug her SON, her real-thought about every single day for 45 years-REAL SON :)








I whipped out the camera and at least got the first hug on video. Sorry for the bad pics, but obviously it was a little crazy. Everyone hugged and ever since then, well it has just felt "natural". Doesn't sound possible, but that is how it feels. It is kind of like I already know him. And his wife is just wonderful too! Oh and don't forget how stinkin cute his little one is. I could just eat him up, but he isn't too sure about Aunt Donna just yet. Good thing we have a few more days to hang out with these guys. So far so good, it has been just great!








Thursday, October 8, 2009

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

The official countdown has begun! Tomorrow morning we leave out for Dallas to meet my brother. I was thinking last night how surreal this must be for my mom. Tomorrow will in a sense be her long anticipated Gotcha Day! I thought waiting 6 months for my Gotcha Days were tough?! How about over 45 years?!?!?! I will have to say she is handling it quite well and obviously she is very excited. I know how surreal is was on my girls' Gotcha Days not so long ago were for me. It almost felt like a dream. Like you were watching someone elses Gotcha Day happen. So tomorrow, I get to be there to witness yet again another Gotcha Day... Only this time it will be for a woman I love dearly, my mother.

Please send up some extra prayers for her as she gets to experience one of God's greatest joys in life, hugging your child for the very first time :)


"For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him."- 1 Samuel 1:27

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

School Days

What an amazing transformation the girls have done this year about going off to preschool in the mornings. They both get their bags and head over to the door, just waiting on Ms. Libby and Ms. Vicki. Both girls absolutely LOVE going to school now. Really I can't believe it! This is an obvious testimony to their preschool and their teachers for loving on them all day and making them feel so comfortable at school.


Shelby loves telling me about all of her friends she has at school. And Faith loves loves loves to paint and color these days. I know she gets this from her "art class" at school. I am so thankful that they are having such a great year so far. What a blessing it is for us to have such wonderful women taking care of our babies :)
The girls hop right out of the van and wave bye, and of course Faith gives out her best "Havvvv gudd daaaaayyyyy!" You too baby girl...Have a good day!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Counting Down

Only 3 more days until I am on the big airplane off to Texas to meet my brother! Crazy that it is already time to go. I will be gone for 4 days, and 3 nights. Yes, 3 nights without sleeping with my girls?!?!? I have no idea how CJ is going to manage the nights, but I know he will do GREAT with them during the days.


Now here is where CJ's weekend gets a little crazier... Remember that my mom and my sister will be gone with me to Texas. And my dad and Sandy are also out of town this weekend. So that leaves hardly any babysitter backups available! So all you great friends out there, if you get a call from my husband this weekend, please be nice to him :)
Here is my hubby with my babies, oh yeah plus this last baby too. I hope they have a great weekend without mommy. Not too great of course, just maybe a good weekend ;)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Bubble Bliss!


Oh the simple treasures in life...
Papa is the only one I know that has bubbles permanently mounted on the wall for endless bubble blowing at ANY time!!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

No Flu, Just Sick

Unfortunately Caleb and Faith have both been sick this last week, and Caleb finally returned to school just today. He has had a terrible cough that just won't go away! I have been crazy busy so sorry not much time for blogging. Maybe later this week...

Friday, September 25, 2009

Love Without Boundaries


Get your free copy of this AMAZING book today! It only costs $5 for shipping and handling. You can visit Love Without Boundaries for the exact details. I have this book already, but I am going to get another copy to simply leave in our church's foyer for others to see. Who knows who might read a small story out of this book and be changed forever :)

"Love's Journey 2: The Red Thread" is our second volume in this series. This new volume uses the imagery of "the red thread," a popular belief in the adoption community, to show how our lives become entwined with our children's, as adoption weaves a beautiful tapestry of love and family. The moving photos and essays in this volume, again submitted by parents from around the world, talk about discovering the thread that connects us with our adoptive children, weaving the fabric as our children become integrated into our families, and cherishing the intricate tapestry that evolves.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

End of One Journey

and hopefully she will begin a new one. My dear friend, Aisha is with a heavy heart today since it is her last day working with her adoption agency. As you may remember, Hope for Children closed its doors when I was traveling to bring Faith home. Fortunately my adoption case worker, the one and only Aisha, was able to temporarily stay on working from her house for the new agency that all of Hope's clients had to transfer to. But today her temporary position has ended :(

Aisha and I haven't always seen eye to eye, and heaven knows I am not the "ideal client" for sure! I am pretty sure I was one of Aisha's toughest clients and certainly one of the most demanding for sure ;) HOWEVER, she never once lost with me or was ever rude to me.

Aisha is one of the very few people who was able to "know something" before I "knew something" in the adoption world. In the end, we realized we made a great pair and we are able to share our knowledge with each other and continue to do that to this day. Through both of my adoptions, Aisha and I have grown to be good friends and I am forever grateful to her for helping bring home my baby girls!!

Aisha will always have a special connection to my girls and especially to Faith as she was "hand chosen" by Aisha on my birthday. What an incredible gift Aisha gave me that I will truly never forget. So please keep Aisha in your prayers as she embarks on a new journey in her life. I pray that she will be able to continue her work helping others, as she truly has a heart for orphans :) I don't know how I could ever properly THANK HER for all the blessings she helped bring into my life!

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be different because YOU were important in the life of a child."

Monday, September 21, 2009

It's Raining...


it's pouring!! I think today is like our 6th straight day of rain here is the "Sunny South". I believe they are predicting another 4-5 days of solid rain this week. They even had to close down a few counties of schools today due to all the floodings. Oh well, it will take more than a little rain to put a damper on my crew :)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

MADD


Grab a tissue and read this blog today. Just a reminder to NEVER ever drink and drive...not even a little one!

Please don't drink and drive. Care enough not to let anyone else do so either. It may be your child's life that is saved.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Toothless Grin

Travis just lost one of his front teeth this past week. Ah, yet just another reminder that my baby boy is growing up! Isn't he just the cutest six year old you have ever seen?!?!?




Thursday, September 17, 2009

Life Changing Video

What a simple video with a wonderful message! Click here as the video is only 5 minutes, but oh so life changing :)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Party Pics

Well if you were there, then you already know that Shelby had a BLAST at her big birthday party this past weekend! And of course we had a great time hosing our Adoption Option meeting on Friday night as well. A BIG thank you goes out to everyone who made it out to one of our special events this weekend. You made it a great one for sure. Here are some of the pics to prove it!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Gracie Found her Mommy


Stop on over here to wish Ellen and Gracie a Happy Gotcha Day!! Ellen is one of my famous digit friends and the last of us 4 digit friends to head back to China for the second round :) So happy to finally see her little Gracie added to our little bunch. And it looks like Frannie is already enjoying her role as the big sister!
Oh and I have another friend who was just approved to finally get to adopt a new little one. It is alot of fun sharing in the joys of these 2 families whose lives are changed forever!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Camping Time

Here are some pics from our latest adventure that we did over Labor Day weekend. We went to Chattanooga for some camping and of course fishing with our friends Frank and Betty. The kids (and us) absolutely LOVE spending the day with Frank and Betty on their boat. All the kids got to fish and pull them in one right after another from the boat dock. Shelby caught a few herself all by herself without any assistance. She will even pick up the worms and the toss the fish back in the water.


Since we had to cancel our Disney Trip this year (due to my lovely pay cuts), I think we have some more camping time in our future before year end. But that's OK because we had a great time and can't wait until we get to go camping again!!

Friday, September 11, 2009

FOUR Years Old

Happy happy birthday to my Shelby baby! Shelby turns 4 years old today. She is so excited about having a Strawberry Shortcake party tomorrow at DacKids. I love seeing the birthday excitement she has had all week anticipating her birthday party tomorrow :) What a joy it is to celebrate birthdays through the eyes of our children!


So of course we had to make birthday cupcakes for her class today. Shelby wanted yellow cake and pink icing, so that is what she got. We made it a family affair, and yes everyone got to eat one last night even though it was bedtime ;)