Indy Auto Show

We attended the Indy Auto Show yesterday. Below are some highlights. Our Genius friend "Niner" (Tony Olivero) gets credit for helping us post the slideshow...

Post Christmas Post

Well, it is now Wednesday, December 27th. Christmas has come and gone. And gone from our home as of December 26th at 2:00 pm are all traces of decorations. Rett cannot wait to put decorations up, and it seems she cannot wait to take them down either :). I thought we were quick to take down our decor but our neighbor across the street had all her external decorations down by 10:30 am on December 26. (no, we do not keep close tabs on our neighbors, but this did catch our attention...)

I purchased three more highly decorative (green and red) plastic tubs from Meijer yesterday morning. I and ran across a sweet deal on small LIVE Christmas tree. Only $12.50. What a bargain. Now I need to decide where to plant it.

The green and red tubs continue to take over my great little shed in the back yard. If we keep it up at this pace, I will need a seperate shed for Christmas decoration tubs. Oh well.

So now what...I am off the rest of the week and do not return to work until January 2nd. Rett does not return to work until January 3rd I believe. I had four vacation days left. I try to save a few for this time of year since Rett is off work.

Today I think we are venturing to the big mecca of Indianapolis. There is always plenty to do over there. (Besides, I hate to stick around here because crusing around town reminds me of work...and I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT WORK.) I think I have Rett convinced to attend the annual Indy Auto Show. We (or I) will drool for awhile over the new Jeeps and Jags then to the malls. We were extremely blessed and received many great gifts and gift cards (which is one of the reasons we are going to hit the malls).

Speaking of blessed, I read the book titled "A Waiting Child" about a three year old girl adopted from China and her desire to have a friend of hers find a home as well (I will not tell you how it ends so that you can read it and find out for yourself). The book was a real eye opener for me. The conditions of orphanages are described well. What got to me is how the older children have to learn survival of the fittest, have to compete for clothing, toys and etc... They have nothing...not even the clothes on their back are theirs. They literally have to be the early bird to get the best clothing.

We have so much JUNK. We do not need even a percentage of the crap that we work so hard to obtain. I know there are children in America (and other places) that have needs too. I was in line at Meijer this week (yes, we live just about 60 seconds from Meijer and do spend a lot of time and $$ there...) and overheard the check out lady telling a guy "....China, we have kids over here that need help." Thankfully Rett was not with me because I am sure she would not have bit her tounge like I did.

So with all of that said, I think my spending habits will change a bit regarding things that we really do not need. We are so lucky to have everything that we have and we forget that there are kids that would love to just have a family and could care less about all the gifts and possessions we focus our lives on to obtain.

Wow...that sounds kind of deep. Did that come from me? (There is some eye-opening literature out there besides the Auto Trader and Hot Rod Magazine I guess). Anyway, have a great week. I am sure the next post will come from Rett because my rambing postings are few and far between. I'll try to post a photo of the little Christmas tree that I purchased (I know you cannot wait...).

Merry Christmas

Third Day has a band member that is adopting from China as well. The following is the lyrics to one of their songs entitled, "Merry Christmas". Please take a moment to read it and then please pray for Abby and her birth mother.

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
and we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his life
and prepare a place for us
so we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep,
I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart,
I wish you Merry Christmas

Let's CELEBRATE, I say!

• Today is Tony's 32nd birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's NOT excited about it and will KILL me when he sees that I actually put his age in here! Anyway, here's a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him! I love you Tony!

• Today is also our 6 month waiting anniversary on Abby! Only like 1, 245, 679 more months to go! WHOO HOO!

• Allyson also graduates from Ball State this weekend! CONGRATS to her for her hard work!

See, all good reasons to CELEBRATE!

What a weekend

We had one great southern weekend! Tony and I headed to Nashville, TN with my mom, dad, Renee, Ronnie, Robin, Duane, Randy, Kathy, and Jarrett. We had SO much fun! It was nice just being together and away from Richmond. We got to see family that are from those parts (hehe, that SOUNDS southern) and that made it even more special. We got to see cousins and their children that I hadn't seen in years! It was a fun time catching up.

We went to a great restaurant on Friday night called, "Cock on the Walk" and had fantastic food! I had the catfish YUM! The picture was taken in the lobby of the restaurant. They had tons of rocking chairs...even those that rocked left to right (TALK about sea sick!) Isn't the giant one a hoot?

We also had what friends of ours would call a hug from God this weekend. On the way down to Tennessee, I was thinking about how things will change (packing and traveling wise) when Abby comes home. I was just chatting with God about how it's SO hard to wait. How I wanted her with us NOW to be able to share with our extended family. I just asked Him to give me/us a sense of peace this weekend, and just enjoy the here and now.

Well, Saturday morning, we strolled down to the breakfast buffet that the hotel offered and what do you know? There was a family sitting near us that had two women that appeared to be sisters, one woman that appeared to be the grandma, a boy of about 16, and a beautiful little girl who looked to be from China. Well, after a 10 minute discussion w/ Tony about how I wanted to go and say something, and he thought I was nuts...I got brave, walked over, and said, "Is this beautiful girl your daughter? Or yours?" Her mom smiled and said, "Mine." I went on to explain we were a waiting family. They were SO nice! We learned that the little girl was named Calista and came home three years ago at 11 months old. She was SWEET...and LOVED Tony. Me, not so much.

So blah, blah, blah, we found out they were from Illinois and CHRISTIANS! That was very special. We spent about 20 minutes or more chatting and promised to pray for one another. When we left, I was bummed because I wanted to tell them Abby's name so they could pray for her by name. Then, fast forward to Sunday morning. We were running late, ran to the buffet again, and there they were!!! Calista immediately wanted to come over and say hello, so we chatted with them about their events from the night before. Then, I was able to tell them Abby's name and asked them to pray for her specifically. I promised to pray for Calista as well and I felt such joy and peace!!! God is SOOOO cool! It was just the hug we needed to top off our weekend.

Ok, I've rambled enough! Enjoy your week! Only 11 1/2 more days till Christmas break!! Is your shopping done yet????