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...

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.

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."

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 :)

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.

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?!?!?

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 :)

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!!

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!

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!!

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 ;)

All of Them at 26 Months

Here are all of my babies at 26 months of age! This is the first time I have been able to compare them all at the same age since we didn't get Shelby until she was 26 months old. I think it is pretty neat to see them all and remember what they were each doing at that age. Such babies, but yet they each have their own very special personality by this age!

My O my, am I blessed!!

Not the Same

We went camping over the long weekend, but I got "the look" when I told her Sheila would NOT be there on this trip...

Easy Entertainment

Faith thinks Shelby is the bomb!

2 Year Old Checkup

Faith had her big 2 year old checkup at the doctor. She is now a whopping 27 pounds!! Too funny since Shelby is still only 25 pounds :) Faith is doing just fine and continuing to "catch up" to her peers everyday. She had to get only 2 shots at the visit and didn't cry for very long. Shelby cried longer than she did at the visit (Miss Shelby still doesn't do well in "nervous" situations). Anyhow my baby girl is growing up more and more everyday and resembling a full blown toddler more and more!

PS: This is Faith cracking up after I tickled her under her chin ;)

I Scream you scream...

We all scream for ICE CREAM! Oh and yes it just tastes better when you are half naked :)