Have you seen it?

If you haven't gone there already, you need to check out Sarah's blog!  During the month of November, she has done giveaways in order to raise awareness and funds for a cute little guy named Duncan.  Well, during November, Duncan's forever family FOUND HIM!  WHOO HOO JESUS!  So he has a family, which means the party is JUST GETTING STARTED at Sarah's blog!

She is now doing a blog party to celebrate families, both bio and adopted.  She is hosting a daily giveaway of some WONDERFUL prizes!  Although I don't want the competition, I'd love for you to pop on over to her blog and celebrate too!  Hahaha.

Seriously!  Let's PRAISE GOD for how He is stirring the hearts of families worldwide!  Ok, enough, enough...go check it out!

Thankful Thursday

Soooo thankful this Thursday....

We had a fantastic Family Birthday yesterday.  It was business as usual for the bulk of the day, but then I picked them up from my sister's (a Godsend, yay!) and headed home.  When we arrived home, their Mimi (my MIL) had tied balloons to our door and left cupcakes and a card!  So sweet!  The girls were pumped!

So I changed their clothes and we hung out until Baba got home.  Then we loaded up and went to our favorite Chinese restaurant for "lots of noodles and rice!" like the girls wanted.  It was yummy and we were stuffed!  (Sorry, pics are on my camera at home.)

We headed back home and gave the girls one of their gifts we bought them in China.  They were lovely little wooden drums that when you shake it back and forth, two little beads bang the sides and make the drum sound.  Abby figured hers out right away, and Laney soon after.  They were a hit!  Until our heads hurt from the sound!  hahahah

Then we just played as a family.  We tackled and tickled.  It was wonderful.

This year's birthday did come with some sadness...and I want my blog to be real, so I'll let you in on a bit.  The night before our birthday I was in a reflective mood.  Let's just say thinking about the girls and what they had to endure before us (which I thought I had processed) weighed heavily on me.  By 11:00 I was a sobbing mess laying in bed.  Tony, sweet man that he is, did as I asked and got our sleeping sweeties out of their beds and put them in ours.  I just needed to be close to them.  To tell them they were loved.  To pray over them. To pray for their birthfamilies with them beside me.  To hold their hands while they slumbered.  Finally, I had some peace. 

With such wonderful reason to celebrate, I cannot leave on that sad note.  I'll leave you with something funny. 

One of the girls' CD's in the Jeep is the Children of the World Choir.  On one of the songs the chorus goes, "Lord, You are good and your mercy endures forever...."  You know the song.  Anyway, the other night Abby said, "LISTEN, this song says DORA!"  Laney, looking disgusted, said with a sigh, "NO, ABBY.  It doesn't say DORA!  It says............ DORIS!"    You could feel her rolling her eyes and imagine her saying, DUH!  Tony and I just chuckled and chuckled in the front seat about that. 

"Lord, You are good, and your mercy and DORIS forever!"

Time is flying, my friends.  Hug  your loved ones more often. 

HAPPY 2nd FAMILY BIRTHDAY TO US!

For the actual website link (and pictures!) from two years ago today, click here!


But here is the text, from that day. There isn't much, we were so tired and overwhelmed.  I'll add more thoughts tomorrow...on Thankful Thursday!  Just know we feel SO blessed.  So very, very blessed.


Sunday, November 18, 2007
FAMILY DAY!

Ok all, we have the GIRLS!!!!

We are EXHAUSTED and have had them for only four hours now...

More details later, but all is going well. They are extremely smart little girls. They already know how to use the TV remote and we quickly bonded by using Cheerios. They quickly found the music channel. And were dancing….

They love the stacking cups (Thank you Lynn !!!!!!).

Tomorrow is a big day of government appointments. Hopefully their current good mood will last through tomorrow’s long day.

Please pray that we can get them to sleep. They are running full speed ahead right now!!!

I know the pics show them in non-matching clothes, but right now, we DON’T care. LuLa has the Anna Day motif with her pretty shoes, diaper and shirt. She doesn’t want to wear any other clothes. Lu Mei was wearing most of the clothes that she arrived with…(at the time of the photos).

Ok, hopefully more details will come tomorrow. Sorry for the short post. Please keep praying that they continue to bond and all goes well tomorrow and the next week and a half!!

Stay tuned…




Do you remember our family day, two years ago today?
 

REMINDER!!!

You need to visit Sarah's Blog to enter her giveaway for Duncan!  

He's a special angel she is raising money for.   

His family has found him, and we can help make their journey

a bit smoother!

The cause for the giveaway is SUPER important to God's heart.  

Take a minute and read about her purpose.  

THEN DONATE.  

Then enter the giveaway.  

What could be more special or important?

GOD SAID SO!

Two Years Ago Today...

...we left for China.  Here is what we wrote on our travel site once we landed in Beijing.   (We plan to update that site this week, for our two year family birthday!  The update is LONG overdue!)

This is in the kitchen at the crack of dawn after no sleep!  We were READY to go!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Well, we're here (Beijing). I still cannot believe this is happening!!

We did not sleep Tuesday night and left our house Wednesday morning at 4:00 am to go to the airport. It is now approximately 10:45 am Indiana time Thursday (11:45 PM Thursday in Beijing). We arrived at our hotel about 45 minutes ago. It is a very nice place. It has a huge bathroom with an awesome shower. The main room has a big flat panel TV with TV stations that speak English!! It is late here so not much is open, but there is a "Power House" across the street (probably not associated with my favorite Power House Restaurant back home).

We had a good trip. Almost 30 hours in airports and on airplanes, and it got old real quick. We met some neat people in Minneapolis, including another adoptive family (from another adoption agency) adopting a 10 month old. We may see her and her family again in Guangzhou at the hotel. We met some missionaries going to the Philippines for three years and a nice older couple just traveling places they have never been. They are touring Asia via a cruise.

We have much more to share, but with no sleep for two days now (except for come cat naps on the plane) is really getting to us. But, we just wanted to let you know we were here!! Tomorrow we'll be doing some touring so you'll want to stay tuned!!!



At the time of this writing, we only have 2 full days left before we meet the girls! GOD IS GOOD!
 

 
You can check out our travel site for additional pictures too...At this point, the anticipation is building!

Admiration

Today is Veteran's Day.  The day my students are donning red, white, and blue.  The day banks are closed and mail doesn't run.  But, oh, so much more.

Photo compliments of Google Images

Today we had a Veteran's Day convocation at school.  I have to say, it was the best ceremony/convocation we have ever had.  There was a Color Guard that presented the flags, did a flag folding ceremony, and explained the importance of the flag.  The history of Taps was explained and played by a high school student.  Two Veteran's spoke, and many more were honored. 

The students were amazing.  So respectful.  So proud. 

I cried.  Looking at the varying ages of Veterans, and some still active, made my heart swell.  When the flags entered the gymnasium and the soldiers saluted, tears flowed.  Such brave men and women.  So proud of them.

Now is my opportunity to thank many blogger friends for supporting their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and family while they serve.  The sacrifce you make will never go unnoticed by me.  Thank you. 

And to those who serve.  Words cannot express the gratitude I have for you.  Thank you so very much for your willigness, your bravery, your honor, and your service. 

And personally, I want to say thank you to my nephew Chris Price.  He is serving in our Army.  He left a loving wife and adorable baby boy to train.  Thank you, Chris!  I LOVE YOU and I am SO proud of you!

I also want to thank Paul Zettel.  He is one of our best friends in the world.  He is active in the Navy and has had many tours out on ship.  Thank you, Paul, for your service.  And thank you Christy for holding down the fort so well while he was gone.  (Thanks to the whole Zettel family!  All three men serving in the Navy!)

Find a Veteran today, and thank them!

Memorial Box Monday--Barbie KitchenTable

Reread the title.  Huh?  Barbie Kitchen Table?  Yep, you read that right. 

This week, I'll add a Barbie sized kitchen table.  Why, you ask?  Let me fill you in.

Growing up, I was spoiled.  I am the baby of our family.  I have two older sisters and and older brother.  My mom had me later in life (YES, I was a accident, but that's ok, I'm still her favorite!  HA!  We'll see if that evokes some comments from the family!).  So being the baby, with no older siblings in the house, I got to go with my mom everywhere she went.  Time alone with her.  It was wonderful!

We often found ourselves at my aunt Connie's house.  Let me give you some background on my mom and her sister.  They are both loud, loving, laughing women.  They are NOT afraid to tell you their opinion (so THAT's where I get it!).  They would (and still will) listerally give you the shirts right off their backs if you would need them.  Neither hold on to material possessions and are of the mindset that if they have it, and you want it or think it would look better in your home, take it! 

I love my aunt's laugh too.  It's infectious.  I love nothing more than to try and get a giggle out of her.  It's just something that makes my heart warm.

Well, when we'd go over to my aunt's, my cousin Tiffany was often there.  She is older than me (but only by months) and way wiser than me.  Where I was spoiled, she had to work for what she had.  She is so much more self-diciplined than I am.  She taught me a lot about life and about being independent.  She was so brave (she'd climb under the park tunnels) while I was a wimp (I'd blame the white shirt I was wearing for not climbing through them).  And we look as different as night and day.  She has dark hair and features, and is thin!  I'm blonde with fair features, and a chubb-o!

But this is where the kitchen table comes into play.  I'm not even sure if Tiffany would remember this or not, but there were many times when we were together at Aunt Connie's and we would sit under the kitchen table.  We would sit there while my mom and aunt (her grandma and aunt) would sit at the table drinking coffee and solving the problems of the universe.  We would take our sodas or toys under that table and sit for hours.  We got shooed from there a time or two, but mostly we were free to just be there.  Nestled securely under the women we most admired and loved. 

When we were under that table, all was right with the world.  We were untouchable.  The problems (jobs, family issues, etc.) that were discussed above the table never reached our safe world below.  We just knew we were safe.

Recently, my aunt had a scare.  A heart issue came up and we held our breath while we prayed to God to be merciful.  He was. 

While in the hospital, I called my aunt to check on her.  She was in good spirits and laughed and laughed with me on the phone.  But, it was during this call something more important transpired.  I was able to talk to Aunt Connie about God.  She told me she had been doing some serious communication with Him.  She said though things aren't always perfect, she does have a personal relationship with Him!

WHOO HOOO!  I know I'm an emotional/hormonal wreck, but when she said those words, I wanted to shout and cry all at the same time!  I now know, without a doubt, I will see my aunt in Heaven.  (Though, trust me, Heaven is NOT ready for her yet!)

Therefore, I'm putting in a little Barbie kitchen table.  For it was under that table, I felt loved, safe, and cared for.  It was under that table where I learned about life.  And it was under that table my love grew for my aunt and cousin.

I know this is an extremely personal entry.  And I never asked permission from mom, Tiffany, or Aunt Connie.  But, friends, I wanted to post this to remind you to NOT waste opportunities.  I was a nervous wreck talking to her, because I wanted to broach the subject.  But I didn't need to be.  God opened up the door! 

And because of this heart issue and latest hospital stay, sweet Abby has been asking about and praying for Aunt Connie often!  She is so loved!!!

What did you put in YOUR box this week?  Not sure what a Memorial Box Monday post is?  CLICK HERE!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Everyone needs a midweek pick-me-up, so tonight we did the giveaway!

We reviewed and are giving away a chalkboard placemat compliments of Paper-Source!  You can find our review HERE.

The girls were fresh from the bath, and excited to help with the giveaway! 

I think it's hysterical that they're both making the same face in this picture...but I'm not sure why!?!?  Laney got to hold the bag and Abby drew the name out!

And the winner is.........

Congratulations, Brandi!  The placemat is already boxed and ready to ship!  I emailed you (found your email on your blog---gorgeous daughter by the way!) and just need your address!

This was fun!  We'll try to do it again!  Paper-Source was so kind to send us this.  Maybe in the future we'll review one of the products you all loved!

Have a great week!!!

All Saints Day / Halloween Wrap Up

Greetings!  Here are a few pics from All Saints Day at preschool and Halloween.  The drawing for the chalkboard (per previous posts) will be mid-week.  Enjoy the pictures!!!