I WON.........AGAIN!!!!!I

Okay, so the really fun part about being a "blogger" is that all of my adopting friends have these groovy drawings on their blogs!  
Remember how I said "I NEVER win ANYTHING!!"?  Well, 'lil miss Kristi helped me AGAIN stop feeling sorry for myself!!  yay!!  I won a 147 Million Orphans t-shirt!!  I am sooooo excited!  Because I won, but also because if I weren't saving money for our own adoption I would buy a fund-raising item from each and every one of these fantastic families!  
I LOVE their products--
so that's the bonus. 
Yay me!!!!

down in tears

The other day I was signing a card and thinking about how people sign "baby" at the bottom with the rest of the family. So I thought about doing this (which I always thought was ridiculous, but may have done it myself a few times in the past)....
and I broke 
down in 
tears. 

I was praying last night before I went to bed and thought about the moment that we meet "her" for the first time and wondering if I would want to keep the same girl's name that I have had picked out for years, or if something else will come up the moment I see her....and then 
I broke 
down in 
tears. 

I was shopping with my friend Melanie after Christmas and we laughed about how we're both pregnant--she's physically preggers and I will hopefully have a baby in nine months (with some beautiful luck)...I just won't gain the weight or have my usual hip problems, etc. So thinking about this the other day, well, guess it.....it made 
me break 
down in 

tears. 

 My tears are happy and sad and every emotion in between and I'm sure there will be more to come. My tears come from knowing that we will soon bring a girl--yes, I know it!!--a girl!! into this testosterone-filled house in just a few months. My boys will have the little sister they have prayed for...longed for...talked about for a whole year. And we will be soo blessed by her presence that our hearts will be filled up..... What a surreal idea that we are adopting. The family who was content with their three boys out riding their bikes and camping and hiking without any help, is going to have another child.....and it will be a girl. The family who never thought that it was possible because there was soo much at stake and heartache involved......is going to love and cherish this sweet little life. She will be ours and we will be hers and when I think of it all......
the dam 
breaks.

watch and YOU will believe

(to hear, click on the pause button on my playlist to the right).

is this BEAUTIFUL, or what?

Life is like a rainbow......awwwww

These are our belated VALENTINE"S DAY pictures that I was going to take and send out in a card!  No such luck!  We sure had fun, but boy was it cold!!!  Bbbbbrrrrrrr!

Last week down..........on to the next!

This has been one rough week!  If you are one of my friends who has heard it....sorry.  Then there are those sweet peeps on Facebook who just wanna know more and I didn't feel the need to elaborate THERE! Nope!  It really just helps me to get it all out here. So I caution you....it's a little on the lengthy side!

The beginning of the week the kids and I got our dreaded TB tests done for our adoption. If you know me well you will know that I am very well educated on vaccinations (or at least enough to know what I want) and have given up on them for various reasons.  Sooooo when I was told about the TB test for the whole family I asked around.  I was told it was a skin prick just like most allergy tests, which I decided I could handle.  Although when we got to the health center the nurse pulled out the needles filled with liquid which caught me off guard.  I have been feeling very peaceful about all things during this process, so I made a quick decision not to panic......God has told me when I needed to switch direction and this didn't seem to be one of those times. So we continued on......only to have my oldest complaining shortly after of aches and pain down his whole left side of his body.  First his arm, then his leg, then into his shoulder, up his neck, and then his face and head.  His gums even hurt to brush.  The answer I got from the doctor?  It COULDN"T be the test....he MUST be coming down with something.  OK, so here's a perfectly healthy kid who hasn't been seen by a doctor in three or more years for sickness and all the sudden one whole side of his body is in pain.  I DON"T THINK SO!  And now I know how the parent with the autistic child feels after their healthy child gets a vacc. and starts to show signs.  Do they think we're idiots?  I'm sorry, but VERY frustrating.  The doctor proceeded to tell me I shouldn't be concerned unless he starts to have difficulty breathing or can't breathe at all, or if his speech changes.  Okay, so what about the fact that he could wake up paralyzed? or not at all?  Fortunately the next day he was feeling better and by the end of the day he was back to normal.  In the meantime I did the research that I should have done BEFORE the test.  I found that one of the main ingredients in the test is a preservative called PHENOL (remember that one), which is a toxin used in plastics and many other hazardous substances.  I believe I also read it is common in many allergy sprays and medications.  And guess what???  The side effects if you are allergic (and my thought.....if you know it's a toxin, then why would you allow it in your body at all?) are numbness and aches in one side of the body.  Hmmmmm......pure coincidence, I'm sure.  And just because you are a doctor or nurse you will not change my opinion about what I endured.  What would you think if it were YOUR child?  Coincidence indeed.

THEN......

Dic and I went in for our required physicals on Wednesday.  Everything went as planned, except for the part when the doctor informed me of the dense, fiberous tissue during my breast exam.  Dang!  I knew I was forgetting something!  I meant to get that checked a month ago!  She set up an appt for a mammogram yesterday, which seemed perfectly normal at the time.  I mean, I AM 37 and 1/2! and things start to change, right?  So I was pretty calm about the whole thing...until I was getting ready in the morning.  I know lots of women who have talked about having the same thing.  Not a big deal, right?  Then I thought about the fact that my sister just had cancer not too long ago.  Not that her cancer was in her breast, but unsettling to say the least.  I wish I would have had a "peace" button at the time.  Dic met me there, which was really nice.  And the appt that went from being  a 15-20 minute appt for the rest of the women I saw, turned into an hour for me.  They also did an ultrasound....then the doctor came in.  Now THAT can NEVER be good---that's what I thought.  I was scared.  I prayed A LOT.  I cried inside trying to prepare myself for the worst.  I have three boys who depend on me, and one that God has sent me looking for..........I was emotional, to say the least.  I decided I was not going to be the girl who sits around and cries about it.  I would not be the girl who was completely consumed by fears and negativity.  If this was really happening I would be the girl who holds her head high.....does what needs to be done.....keeps a positive attitude......and enjoys every day.  I would be the girl to beat it.  And I thought about my friend's comment that God wouldn't send us on this journey to do His will, without taking care of us.  So the result is that I have a benign tumor that needs to be rechecked again in 6 months to see if there are any changes.  Not the best news I've ever heard, but surely not the worst.  And I have a choice to make some changes in my life.  I take care of everyone else's needs, but I push mine to the side.  I regulate the sugar and dairy in my kids' diets and make sure that they are getting the sleep they need, but I know I can do wayyy better for myself.  I have recently started working out, as I am getting to the age where the bones are creaky and the joints ache....it was time. :0)  I got a warning.....I'm not sure everyone does. or do they?  I will be one who listens before it's too late.  I have a life to live and my beautiful family to take care of.  One of my first thoughts when they told me to come back in 6 months was.....we will know HER by then.  We will know who our sweet little angel is and with any luck we will be holding her in our arms at that time (wishful thinking).  So when they see me again to recheck this little piece of darkness I hope I can say they have nothing to look at.  I am trusting in my perfect God to take care of me so I can go where He has lead me.  

This has been a rough week, but we have come through it on top with lots of prayers and guidance. 

I WON!!!

An update on the family that is bringing home their Ugandan babe.......the daddy of the family wrote about the love that surrounds his wife--check it out!  Thank you for all of your prayers and donations for this beautiful bunch! 

And then there was THIS......you can go here to see the coolest accessory for my coffee.  I WON !  I NEVER win!  So Love was right about God pushing me onward.  This is what I found this morning on my blog......

you won the [love] for Africa coffee cuff, sweet sister!! sweet little encouragement from Him? i hope you feel it. =)

Uganda's Treasures

I am sitting here numb........from reading THIS and thinking about how God works in mysterious ways.  I found this blog through another blog and I am feeling emotional.  This MaMa is in Uganda to bring her newest little member home and there have been unexpected delays.  She is also a mother of two little girls who are back in the states with their daddy and she has already been away from them for 3 weeks.  Now she has been told it will be AT LEAST six weeks! Check out their story and learn how you can help.  I did.
As I have said before, Uganda is in our hearts and this would be our country of choice for adoption.  I have a vivid picture in my mind (also thank you to Love for sharing her adoption pictures) of what it would look like and I so desperately want to be there.  Deep-down Dic and I feel that God will lead us there through this adoption, even though Ethiopia has been named our "official" country because of their more-reliable program.  We were told by one agency that adopting families in Uganda were coming home in two weeks (which was hard enough to fathom considering we have young children at home), but then our present agency, Holt, gave us the more conservative answer.....that with the program being so new, it would be AT LEAST two weeks.  We would be considered a "pioneer" family, and anything could happen.  So even though we are struggling with that, we chose what we thought would be best for our family.  God will lead us.

MATSIKO 

And as long as I'm on the Uganda topic, I thought I'd share what's happening with our sweet girls from the 
Matsiko Children's Choir.

I received an email a couple of weeks ago stating that the ICN (International Children's Network) was in desperate need of help.  The home that was being built for the beautiful bunch of kiddos (who we hosted last summer) in Uganda was being used by another group of 30 children in need. 

So our kids were traveling back to Uganda with a plan of where they would be housed (temporarily-until this next group comes to the U.S. on tour), but a big lack of funds.  In that email the ICN was asking for 650 donations of $10/month to help with the costs. 

I received an update yesterday saying that in those two short weeks only 223 more families are 
needed to reach their goal!  Is God good or what???  These kids will always have a special place in our hearts and we are excited to see the next group come through SD.  The experience has changed us forever.  

Please go HERE if your family would be willing to give $10/month.

I'm working on it!!!!

I have spent the last two days at my computer....trying to get ideas for our fund-raising t-shirts, asking questions of you experienced peeps, copying and pasting images, getting prices, etc, etc. Decisions! Decisions! I know...they had better be good! That's why I'm working so hard...so YOU will want to buy one! :0) I want to say soo much with so very little space and money. 

1. I want everyone to become aware of the orphan crisis from my t-shirt.
2. I want people to know why we chose Africa from my t-shirt. 
3. I want everyone to know that THIS shirt helped bring one orphan home. 
4. AND I want everyone, guys AND gals to want to wear it.....and buy it!! :0)

So I have a lot of expectations here, but this may be the only t-shirt I design...EVER!!!! It's gotta be good! WOW....I'm really setting myself up here, aren't I? So when I get all of those things figured out, for the right price, I'll let you in on it. I know, I'm excited too! And soo ready to be done with this particular project (as usual, I've let it carry on for months).

I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me

I have always LOVED this video---to turn off my blog music,click the pause button on my music (right side-in red) :  You can also make this piece larger by clicking the bottom of the screen where you see the four arrows. :0)

we get by with a little help.....

Weeks are flying by and I'm trying to get all of our adoption paperwork done, so we can finally find out who this little wonder will be.  There are hurdles....lots of hurdles.  It does seem so peaceful and almost like it is just suppose to happen this way.  We still worry  think about how we will finance this great adventure, but with some prayer and time in the word we are both getting by.  In the meantime I have been trying to keep myself busy (as if that's difficult) and I have read the book Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey.....trying to figure out how to save every penny and turn it into wealth.  I have had a hard time since I started looking at Africa, thinking about the millions of people who go without, and I have soo very much.  At times I have a tremendous amount of guilt about my "things".  I have been giving more....of my time, my money, myself.... and I hope that it's enough.  I do get that it's alright for me to be where I am, but I also understand that what I have is quite sufficient.  I don't need more of anything.  The problem has been that, even though we don't make the "big bucks", I still like to shop...especially when I'm stressed...or bored....or see a clearance rack, etc, etc.  BUT the other day when I went to Target (which I knew would be dangerous), and found the end-of-season sales, I put EVERYTHING back!  Couldn't believe it myself!  See, I'm not a big spender.  I really dig the shirts for $1.97 and the jeans for $10.  But when is it ever enough?  I think I have my kids clothed until next winter, so we are NOT hurting.  Just in case you don't know....you can really stretch the dollar....recession or not! :0)  So Mr. Ramsey, you have another student, ready to jump on-board!  Dave talks about giving a certain portion of your income and I think it's necessary to say that when you don't have much to give in monetary value, it's also ultra-fantastic to give of yourself.....which I did this past weekend.  

My mom and I drove to Mitchell, about a 4 hour drive, to assist my sister-in-law.  My brother took a job, rather quickly, in Alaska, which meant that he had to pack up what he could and head out before Christmas.  He left his wife and three kiddos (with another child in AR), to try to get a house ready for sale.  With children ages 6, 3, & 1, this is not any easy task.  We arrived Friday night and started working right away....going through each drawer, looking at every piece of paperwork, throwing and giving away as much as we possibly could. We also painted a bedroom!  Allison and I kept at it 'til 2:30 in the morning and Saturday came around pretty fast.  We were tired and we hurt and the thought that she's been doing this by herself for weeks just makes my head spin.  By Sunday morning I was wishing (and I'm sure she was too) that we had one more day.  We still had most of the basement we hadn't even touched, and her bedroom upstairs.  So there is some sort of a plan to go back this month, or next, to do some more.  A rummage sale is also very necessary at some point.

I am still really tired and my body is sore....trying to recoop so I can begin to sort my own house (mostly from the cool things I brought home from hers!).

We had our fingerprints done yesterday and sent them to their designated areas today.  One more packet down!  This weekend is our second parenting class for our adoption.  Our representative from our agency will be gone for a month and that should give us enough time to complete the next packet of info and be ready for her home observations when she gets back.  Then it's just the dossier.  There IS an end in sight! Yay!  I know I have some friends waiting on the edge of their seats for our adoption t-shirts to be printed--I promise to get on that!!  This week!! I also need to get our family pictures done to send out for Valentine's Day (since the Christmas cards didn't happen).  That's next week! WOW!

Sorry this was long and painful--sometimes I just need to write down my accomplishments and goals to make sure I'm in check! :0)

Peace out friends......Peace Out

FINALLY

I have had this idea since the devastation in Haiti, that I can't believe THIS is what it took to get "our" people to see "their" people.  I am ashamed and confused and grateful all at the same time.  I am still continuing to hear comments about "our" children who so badly need help....here, in our own back yard.  It irks me every time.  Don't people know that we know that there are children EVERYWHERE hungry, tired, lacking love, etc, etc.?  I just read a post on a Haiti disaster forum that said something to the affect of: Yes, we know "they" need help....but "we" need help too!  Why would we go across the world to save "them" when we don't save "us".  Therefore I am ashamed that we can't see people of the world the way God sees them...His people.  We are ALL HIS PEOPLE!!!!  What will it take to get us all to come to a place where we are okay with helping WHOEVER needs help, regardless of race or culture or anything else that stands in the way????  I can't even begin to wrap my mind around such cynicism.  Am I grateful that the disaster happened?  I am confused about what I think----it took THIS to get us to see a country who has been hurting for decades.  It took THIS to want to run to a place where people are living in the streets, hungry and starving to the point of 

death, and THIS to want to finally act on behalf of all of the orphans.  What will it take to see God's people throughout the world? Haiti is now in the hearts of the United States and I am hoping....praying, that we can help them the way they need help.  It can't stop here....we can't forget in a few days, or months, or years.  I have seen the lists of Americans offering....begging to take a child, or two, or three out of the hell they are experiencing in Haiti.  It's what this world needs and we need it right now.  I pray these open hearts continue to embrace the children of the world...ALL of the children of the world.  Adopt those babies!  Not out of haste and guilt, but out of LOVE for all of God's creations.

Adoption can bring our world together.  

We are FINALLY coming together. 

FINALLY.

click HERE to win a FREE Amharic t-shirt

Look at these adorable Amharic Tees on  
Maya's Mercato 
blog.  
Put your name in a drawing and if you win they'll throw in a sweet tote too!  Can't beat that! Or just go there to see a beautiful Ethiopian princess.

We are praying for you, UGANDA!!!

For You to Watch--click here

I made this video for Dic for his 40th Birthday.  Many of you have probably already seen it, but I love it, so I thought I'd share again.  ~You may have to pause the music on my BLOG to hear it.  Look on the right side...where it says "pick a tune", and click the pause button~

coffee anyone?

Please let me know if you purchased coffee through our fund-raiser so I can thank you personally!!


I'm feel'n the LOVE...are you feel'n the LOVE?

FUND-RAISER

I finally figured out how to post our new little "coffee shop" on my Blog!! 
Yay!

So here's the deal:

We have teamed up with an amazing coffee business on-line to raise money for our adoption. You can just click on the AFRICAN SKIES (this is just a kind of coffee, not the actual business name-I couldn't get their cute logo to copy/paste) picture on the side or click here to go there directly. 

This Godly couple opened their store ~JUST LOVE COFFEE~ to help adoptive families earn money to bring their babies home. They have adopted two girls themselves and so with his coffee expertise and the coffee grown in Ethiopia (and Rwanda, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico), they are helping people all over the world! You'll just have to go to the link and check it out! We have our own little store where you can purchase items (lots of other things if coffee isn't your favorite!) and part of the proceeds will be added right to our adoption account. What a marvel idea, eh?


We have known that we would need to ask for help during this process and sometimes I have mixed emotions about that. I worry because we don't want anyone to feel like we're begging them for money...we aren't.....God will get us through this, because this is what HE wants. But then I think about the number of lives that will be affected from us giving this one child her Forever Home. It affects her..., it affects us..., it affects all the people she will touch through her lifetime..., the people who decide to go through with their own adoption because they saw the Chiolises do it..., her birth-mother and her family, the children around her who now can feel a sense of hope that maybe their forever family is coming soon..., and the care-takers in these orphanages who LOVE these children and want nothing more than to see them grow and thrive with love.... OUR asking for money is NOT IN VAIN!!! So please only give if you want to, and know that your prayers are even better than your cash. God WILL provide-we have faith in Him. And for that matter if you are reading this and YOU have a concern that we will see heart-ache.....don't worry. I know we have many family members who don't feel like they can offer their support and I think they are just scared. I don't know that for sure, but I can feel it. So if you're worried--stop. We have soo much support from those who love us and God has enough for all of you too. We may have some difficult times along the way, but in the end God will prevail. We would love it if every one could just give in to it and love on us during this process. We would like that, but we don't NEED it for this to come to fruition. One day you will see where our hearts are and you will love our daughter just as we do. In the coming days there will be one less orphan!  Who can see the bad side of THAT?

God is on our side....we have Faith.

Do not be afraid...

Do not let your hands fall limp.

The LORD your God in in your midst,

a victorious warrior.

~Zephaniah 3:16-17~ 

Adoption--it's a LONG one!

I've had many people ask me about wanting to adopt.  I can't say I always knew that it was something I would someday do....but I did know that all I ever wanted to be was a mommy.  I played with dolls and treated them like my own children until it seemed no longer appropriate to do so.  I knew I would have HUNDREDS of babies!  I have, although, always had African children in my heart, but not necessarily from Africa--I thought some day I would be the mum of a child with dark skin.  Why?  I don't know...must be something God planted in me from the beginning of time.  

So we have our three beautiful boys and I always thought 3...or 4 was a good number of kids, maybe because my parents had four.  After we had Luke I started thinking that I no longer needed to have a baby to be fulfilled...that life was rather fun and we could go in a moments notice without having to stop and change diapers, or nurse a little one.  And then we met some new friends at church.  And before I talk about that I want to say that we really had never gone to church as a family before....some Christmases, or maybe a Mother's Day or two.  So THIS was an amazing thing (all of us going together) and something I had prayed about before marriage or children.  So God placed these people in our lives and we became connected. Soon after our meeting we learned that they were adopting from Africa.  And, of course, we became a part of this as we were close friends.  Because of them I had begun to follow Bloggers all over that were either adopting or play a very large part in doing God's work on the continent.  I had fallen in love with Africa-I developed a love for people I had never met before.  But after watching them go through the trials and tribulations of adoption I had decided that if we ever did adopt it would be domestically. 

Last July (2009) our church was planning to host a children's choir from Uganda--called the Matsiko Children's Choir (if you've followed my blog at all you have seen pictures and heard stories--to see more: click here) and I was put in charge of placing 25 boys and girls with host families.  In the end we had three girls to ourselves.  For four days I got to have GIRLS in my house!!!!  It was the best experience our family has had together ever.  We knew these children came from poverty and disappointment and yet they held God up and praised Him and they cherished their lives and constantly wore their beautiful smiles.  They now have a chance at life because of the International Children's network.  They toured the U.S. for 9 months and they will go back to Uganda this month.  Now they have opportunities--they have shoes and clothes and food.  There has been a house built for them and they will go to school and be successful.  It broke all of our hearts to see them go.

Dic (my hubby) has never shared my desire to adopt.  We are limited financially and I think this is the biggest reason--which I know is a concern for most men.  But when the girls left, they left a piece of them in his heart.  He started to see my desire for adoption as well as for the African people.  We really started talking about what it would entail.  There were days when we were both gung-ho, and then days when we, Dic especially, would get scared about how we would pay for it.  So it has been off-and-on for many many months.

I have been working on just giving everything to God.  As a family we have never taken leaps of faith.  I tend to do it more on my own, but it took me this long to realize that when I felt soo passionately about something that it was God who had put it there.  It took me this long to realize that God has my life all mapped out for me...He has since the beginning of time.  So to just let go and let Him take the lead hasn't been easy.  I don't think it ever really is, but now that I know that I just need to listen and wait I feel more at peace.  God has known all along that this was something we were going to do, and I believe that this HUGE step will take us even further.  I was thinking last night about how much God is leading His people to the aid of the less-fortunate.  Not that there haven't always been those with huge hearts giving all over the world.  Maybe this is just MY generation and our turn to take the lead.  Maybe...just maybe, there won't be an impoverished world in the coming age.  God is keeping His promise--that He will take care of His people and it's all in His time.

I look back at the years and see how everything has fallen into place.  Now it isn't so surprising that Dic all the sudden started going to church, or that we started going to the church that we did, or that we became such good friends with the Oswalds, or that the children from Uganda came to be with us, or that we would worry about the finances.  Because everything is the way that He planned it...all in His timing.  And today I feel at peace that I'm sending in our adoption application, because I know that this was the RIGHT time...the PERFECT time.

We are beginning a journey that we never knew we'd be on.  And contrary to belief, we aren't doing it just because someone else has done it, but it sure helped lead us.  I have had so many positive comments and many more negative, which I was warned about.  And in the end it doesn't matter how anyone feels about it but us.  I just hope that our journey and our story will lead others in the same direction, wherever that may be.  Adopting a child that may not ever have chance otherwise is soo very humbling.  If I could find homes for all the lonely children, I would.  And maybe that is the NEXT chapter in my life.  Who knows what else God has been planning since the beginning of time.

These are the things that made my Christmas........

~Remembering our Lord and Savior at Christmas time~

~Last year we began a Christmas tradition as a family by reading about St. Nicholas and the gifts of gold he brought the poor (and this tradition carries on today). We do this Christmas morning after the boys have received their Santa gifts and before we exchange gifts to each other. This year we read about the secret of the three gifts Jesus was given by the wise men. Each king brought the infamous gifts, but the Angel Gabriel stopped each of them and asked if their gift was something of the essence of themselves. At that moment their gifts turned into something very undesirable...something they knew they couldn't leave with Jesus, their newborn king. And the Angel responded each time, "what better place to leave it?" And each of the men left with burdens lifted and a clean slate.

Our boys understand that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and so now we can explain that our gifts that we give to each other are in His honor. We incorporate the story of Christ, of course, with our gift-giving. Each of our sons receives a gift of Gold (their St. Nicholaus gift), a gift of Frankincense (something that would be precious to them--an item that we feel describes them), and the gift of Myrrh (something that they will be able to use every day--a more practical item). I love this way of bringing Christ into our craziness of the season and it's a quiet, peaceful time. I LOVED when my usually, ungrateful 9-year-old said, "I LOVE everything I got!!". yay!!!




Even though I received the most gorgeous handbag and the TV for my kitchen I have been wanting for years.......this was MY favorite thing. You know when you get a gift that you didn't even ask for and you know that some thought was put into it? Or the person who picks it out just thinks of you? Well, my sweet husband found this book for me. It brought me to tears--it just describes me and where my heart is right now. I couldn't really have asked for anything more.




We made these little "mice"--from chocolate-covered cherries, Hershey's kisses, and choc. chips. These are for Santa every year as well as some home-made chocolate chip cookies---we only filled his milk half-way since Rice Milk is the only kind of milk we have here--does he like rice milk?? Hmmm..... Good 'ole St. Nick took care of it. :0)




This is my favorite picture of the day--my nephew, Jace--my younger brother's son. He loves to come to our house and play with the kids' light sabers, although he's only 2 and doesn't have much control. :0) Zachary drew his name and this was the first thing we ALL agreed he'd like---styrofoam and all. :0) Do you think he loved? Oh, HE LOVED!!!! He started in on our Christmas tree, so we had to move him to the hallway where he'd be safe. Talk about how BIG things come in small packages!

And the usual fun pictures of family.......
sister, Kim, and her daughter, Shayna.

my mom, Gail, and baby Mckenzie (my little brother's youngest) on her first Christmas

little brother, Clay, and his "mini-me"

The boys and their cousins, Haley and Jessica.
We had Dic's family at our house for Christmas eve and my family for Christmas day. Here is our extravagant night of pizza after a great service at our church--always wonderful. The kids were part of a play--or actions to the story of the birth of Jesus. My whole family attended. Lovely weekend.
Thank you God for giving us your son, not just today, but every day.

AND WE"RE OFF!!!!!!!

So a decision has FINALLY been made...adoption agency chosen--yay!!!! And now begins our journey to go here, and more specifically, here to bring our little girl home.


We listened and God spoke...Hallelujah!!
What a Christmas gift!

ONE STEP CLOSER!!!!! yayyyyyy!!!

Tomorrow there will be more details. I have the greatest feeling about this!