Accountability Partner

Do you have an Christian Accountability Partner? I am very lucky to have a great friend who keeps me accountable. Just recently I have been faced with a dilemma and I have prayed and wondered how I need to make this just disappear. After being frustrated with this I asked for help and of course she was a great help and reminded me why I made the choices I made. If you have a friend that you can count on for anything you are truly blessed.

Christian accountability partner is someone that actively listens, has a non-judgemental attitude, encouraging, and very caring. We are helpful to one another and allow us to remember the fundamentals as to Christians are accountable to one another. This is my friend and I thank her for all the times she is there for me :)

More Christmas Pictures

These are from my SIL she loves to take pictures of the kids and they love posing for her.

Christmas

A little Kung Fu Christmas Style

Daddy and me

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve "M" got to visit with all her grandparents then it was back to my parents for Christmas. We all sat around the tree and read the story Twas the Night Before Christmas, drank egg nog, cracked an assortment of mixed nut. Steve and I have a tradition where we always open a present on Christmas Eve. I could hardly wait to let "M" open all her presents this was a great Christmas and the last Christmas she would have with us without siblings so we made it a Christmas to remember. She was so excited about Santa coming we did not even have to tell her it was time for bed she was ready to sprinkle the reindeer food and put out cookies, milk and carrots then she ran into the bedroom and jumped into bed. She said her prayers that night and asked God to keep Santa safe and to please bring her baby sister with her presents Amen.

Truly Blessed

The other day I received a phone call from one of my dearest friends. She said I have something for you. I was was excited I said thanks what is it she said I do not really know. I became a little puzzled. If you got it for me (giggling) how could you not know what it is. She said it is not from me. I said who is it from she said she could not tell me. What I said. This is where the blessing comes in..... She told me it was an envolpe for Steve and I and they took up a love offering at our church for baby "K". (I have tears when I am typing this) I was speachless on the phone then the tears began. She proceeded to tell me that so many people have been touched by what Steve and I have been doing and how hard we have worked. (more tears still speachless)

Words can not even define to you how greatful we are. Over the past year and half to two years Steve and I have met the most incredible people. We have been truly blessed with great freindships it is amazing what God can do in your life when you let him take control and remove obstacles in your life.

Getting ready for Santa

Christmas a wonderful time of the year baking cookies, unwrapping tons of ornaments, shopping like little elves, parties, decorating, friends and family get together. This year was a little different then the past 3 years as if we did not have Audrey with us we were somewhat sad when we were decorating but remembered that she chose a family to love her. In that we found comfort and realized God was good. We were also hoping that baby "K" would have been home you would think after more than 20 months of waiting we would have a least a referral.

On with the festivities!!! We went to go get our tree and I vowed that this year I did not need a 12 foot tree that I would cut back and go smaller more economical (Dave Ramsey style). Well I tried but I love picking real trees. Steve has tried for the last 2 years to get me to convert to an artificial tree but I will not could even think about it. Family traditions are very important to me. So we get the real tree and it is fat and 12 feet tall. All I can say is "M" picked it out this year so I was in the clear with daddy he could not say no to his princess :)

Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving full of magical dreams that came true for a little 4 year old. We spent 5 fun filled days at Disney's Magic Kingdom and had a Thanksgiving feast with Mickey and the gang. Wow is all I can say. Disney can put on a dinner and a show. "M" got to dance with all the characters. I do not know who had more fun me or "M". Steve always said I am nothing but a big kid. This was so much fun and no mess to clean up I think we will do it again next year. "M" had so much fun she said this was the "bestest" time in her whole life. Memories are priceless I love the holidays. Can't wait for 2009 when the girls will be together for the holidays! Bring on 2009!!!!

Happy Anniversary

This past year has been another wonderful year of marriage to a great man. This anniversary was a little different I had to fly out to Chicago early in the morning for a week so we will celebrate when I get back. We have had such a great year. God has blessed our marriage so much and we so thankful for all he has done. I had wished for the referral of our daughter but I know that Gods plan for her was not ready yet so we will continue to be patient. His plan for our lives has been far better than ours.

Happy Sweet 16!!!!!

Audrey turned Sweet 16 today. We could not be more proud of this sweet young lady. Yes, she is growing up right before our eyes. It is hard to believe that 3 ½ years ago she was not even a teenage and now she is learning to drive. We love you Audrey!!!!!

Halloween

It turned out to be a beautiful night for princesses and fairies to dress up and run all around. Kids look forward to this night all year long. Little “M” was Princess Belle this year and wanted to go out only with mom and dad this year which really surprised the both of us. She is really about her friends most of the time. We really did not mind we enjoyed having her all to ourselves and just walking and walking and walking did I mention that we walked. Yes, we walked probably close to 3 miles now little “M” of course did not she had a coach to ride in unlike her parent who need the exercise.

She loved the talking part when she went to the door she would just carry on conversations and tell the people in our neighborhood all kinds of stories. You can tell she is my daughter. We called it quits around 10:00 and headed home we were exhausted I am sure she would have kept going if we would have let her.

Pumpkin Carving

The night before Halloween we had a pumpkin carving contest. It was mom and “M” against Daddy. Let the carving begin. The girls decided to use a pattern of a cute face and daddy went for the free style. We had so much fun. “M” decided when she was gutting the pumpkin she was removing all the sins from the pumpkin. She told us we were making the pumpkin clean.

Later that night we washed the seeds there were hundreds and hundreds and then laid them all out to dry. We were going to attempt to roast the seeds she loves nuts and seeds sometimes we think she is a bird. We got a good recipe from the web. I have to admit this was the first pumpkin I have ever carved and I have to say it was great fun I can not wait till next year to do it again. This time it will be with two girls and many more pumpkins we will have our own patch.

Pony Days

Fall days are so much fun at school and “M” is in Pre-K and her school has such great fun activities this time of year. For Fall they do a festival, pumpkin patch trip and pony days. The kids all dress up in jeans and hats and get to ride ponies. We had a great time. I volunteer a lot in class this year I love working with the kids. I guess that is one of the gifts God gave me is working with kids I just love it especially craft time as long as I do not have to come up with the idea. “M” loves me to come into her class and help.

Also, we took a field trip to the pumpkin patch at a local church that sells pumpkins to raise money for missions. The children had a great time. They had face painting and heard pumpkin stories, but I think the best time they had was seeing who could pick up the biggest pumpkin it was quite funny to see the little arms try to hug these huge pumpkins :)

Dad took her to the Fall festival I was in Pennsylvania at a conference, but I had a little fun of my own starting Christmas shopping but I sure missed them.

Dinner and a Movie

Our girl’s mission group hosted an outreach event for all of our girls in action and their friends who do not attend our church. Miss “M” wants to be a GA so bad she can’t stand it. (she has to wait 2 more years) I take her to a lot of my events because she loves to be with mom and wants to be with the older girls (she thinks she is 10). She is a fabulous helper and the older girls just love all over her and of course she loves the attention. These events are really good for her because they teach her about serving, girls fellowship, and mom’s participating in Christian based events other than scheduled church times.

Shopping

Shopping is a bad habit of mine. I love to shop. I am a BIG bargain shopper especially since we are on the Dave Ramsey budget. Since we are almost completely debt free and China is saved and paid for I decided to go shopping for new clothes today. I have been needing to do this for some time. I am behind in styles and so on. Well I knew I need to plan and search for the sales. My two favorite places to shop are Chico's and TJ Maxx. Both have great deals. Well today Chico's had a blowout sale so I stocked up. I had the best time I have never tried on so many clothes and everything fit and looked great so guess what I bought it all. That is so not me. I guess I went a little over board but I will tell I will be in style. The best part Steve will like is I will no longer be sporting my signature color of all black. This is a change for me, but it is time for a new look he has been begging for a year now and I have taken him up on the offer.

Even though I bought a ton of stuff it was on major clearance and Anna was so sweet she gave me an additional discount. What a fun day!!!

Thankful Thursday!!!!

I am very thankful for coupons we could not have done our debt free venture without them. I have met some of the coolest moms over the past year who have taught me how to shop and I am so thankful for that. Our family has never had such a stock pile of necessities and cleaning supplies. I rarely buy generic because I do not have to because it costs less to buy name brand. Groceries our pantry is so full I have moved to the floor to store can goods and boxes. Our freezers are packed full. We eat at home every night so the food gets used up quickly and rotated. With the smarter shopping I have cut our shopping bill at least in half plus we are getting way more than we use to and I am able to stock pile and help other families even though our other resources have been low. God is good.

Wordless Wednesday!!!!

Wait and Weight

These have both been a struggle for me lately. Waiting for little “K” is getting harder as the holidays are approaching. Miss M asks daily when are we leaving for my sister I want her to come home. We tell her so do we sweetie. We will be leaving before you know it.

Weight has found a place on my hips. Over the past year I have increased in size. You know that feeling when you put your pants on and they are tight they are all tight. Since the accident, I have not felt like exercising or exerting a lot of energy well there you have it, so the weight increases. Now I have to do something. I have been on a plan for about a month to change habits and routines and it is starting to pay off. I am hoping all the extra weight plus more will be gone by the time our China wait is over. There is good news with these waits (weights) Steve has lost weight J

Pumpkin Patch

Miss “M” loves to decorate she is all about the different seasons. The other night she had her little friend Sara spend the night and we went to dinner (TGIF) and the pumpkin patch. The girls wanted to get pumpkins and decorate the house for Fall. They had a great time touching I think every pumpkin in the patch. We left the patch with 4 pumpkins 1 huge pumpkin, 3 medium ones, corn, gourds and wheat. The best part of paying for all of this is the money went to missions so I did not feel the least bit bad spending this money. The girls loved the warty pumpkin they got and we thought they were going to rub all the spots off before they got back home.

Let the decorating begin now they wanted scarecrows, flowers, hay and the whole nine yards so I knew we were going to be busy all morning on Saturday. I am so glad she loves the holidays they are my favorite time of the year.

Reunion

Each year our adoption agency does a reunion and we love to go and meet new families and catch up with old friends. This year they are holding it at a Park in Orlando FL. We are all excited to get away because we really have not been any real trips since we started our beans and rice budget. We are only going down for 3 days because I have to fly out for business for a week. The reunion party is only really one day which is Saturday. So we will have time to shop and go to Downtown Disney. The events are a lot of fun we get to meet some of the staff and the directors and I am hoping to get to meet some of the people in our YAHOO groups. We will not have time to visit Disney but we will be back in December for several days to visit the parks.

Mommy Moments

I love mommy moments :) The other day Miss M was given the greatest compliment from the staff at her school they said she had such a loving and giving heart she goes out of her way to make a shy little girl feel included. The teachers could not get her to talk tor play with anyone but M stopped playing with her regular friends and went and sat day after day with this little girl until she opened up. She would tell he stories, walk with her to the bathroom, bring her little gifts etc... Needless to say today they said the little girl has started to come out of her shell. I am so proud of M. My proud Mommy moment.

New Project

I have took on another project. Yes, I have a full plate but I feel that you can always make a different in a child's life and I love to stay busy. Recently I was accepted to be a board member of the local chapter for Children's Evangelism Fellowship which is a Christian based organization that gets christian after school programs into schools. I feel so strong that a child needs a good foundation for spiritual truths and so many children are unreached and parents don not take the time to take their children to church and this one hour a week is all that some of these children get. I do believe that God has given us all gifts and mine is working with children and their faith as well as helping children in many different ways. Building a religious foundation is the key to helping children come to the Lord. Of course working with all these children makes me want even more children.

We are not even home yet with baby "K" and we are already planning for #3. Yes we are serious we have a name picked out all ready and a plan on how to bring them home.

We are Offically Ready........

I can say with this adoption we are far more prepared. It helps we know how to do it this time and our family and friends have been a great support. I truly believe God, family and friends have made a big impact this time. Our family has been truly blessed God has graced us. Our family has never been stronger in so many aspects I can't tell you over the past 2 years how our faith has grown as a family as well as each of us our growing. With all of that said we are ready. Our paperwork is current we are in the process of sending the final update to USCIS. My best friend Beth has received all her shots and ready to go I am so thrilled she is going with us. We have been friends for many many years and you can't have a more true friend than her and sharing this experience with her is going to be great.

The Baby's room well that is still in progress we have purchased everything ...the Dave Ramsey Plan, but still putting together. Finally, travel and expenses we are prepared we have all the funds saved to finance the the remainder of the adoption in full. This has been our goal from the beginning to be debit free and pay for the adoption. Most of all we have the love to give her and are ready to bring her home.

Secret Pal

I am behind in posting the latest gift that baby "K" has received. Our Secret Pal was Lisa and she sent the neatest gift. They have already gone to China to pick up their precious daughter and therefore will be dropping out of the swap. When they were in China they picked up our gift for the month. The theme was Olympics what better place to buy the gift than China. As you can see the gift was the Olympic Mascots I love them. Our favorite of course is the panda Jingjing. While we are working on her room they are tucked away safely and will be displayed on her dresser at the base of her light. Hopefully, we will finish the room someday!

Date Night

Little "M" had a sleep over with a very dear little girlfriend Sara on Friday night so Steve and I did not schedule anything and decided we would go out on a date. Usually when little "M" is gone one if not both of us is out for the evening so this was a real treat. We went to one of my favorite restaurant Carraba's and of course we talked about the girls the whole time. We had so much fun we have decided that this is the new thing for us. At least once a month dinner and a movie. We have some of the greatest babysitters so why not have some fun.

Thankful Thursday

We are so thankful this week that the doctors have finally found you what is wrong with my dad and have got him on the right medicine. The blessing is he got to get off almost all his other medicines he has been taken for years and all is well. God is good! He has been feeling better with each day and has show good improvements. We all could not be happier. This is a great week for our family.

Olympics- China 2008

The slogan of the 2008 Olympics: One World One Dream" expresses the common wishes of people all over the world, inspired by the Olympic ideals, to strive for a bright future of Mankind. In spite of the differences in colors, languages and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek for the ideal of Mankind for peace.

We spent almost every night as a family watching the olympics little "M" loved the gymnastics, swimming, volleyball the best but she watched it all till bed time. Let me tell you this brought out alot of questions about China, being adopted, and why she was not from the US. She now wants to know where everyone is from. Some questions we have answered many times and I am sure we will answer many more times. We were all very impressed with games and the job that China did to bring the countries together.

Catching Up

Over the summer little "M" took swim lessons with her best friend Abagail and we met some other sweet little girls that they spent the summer together swimming. They graduated and received their certificates of completion. They both now put their heads in the water, jump in, float on their back, kick great (got good marks for that), oh and bubble blowing :) So after all that it' the dog paddle method. We will be back to the pool next year. Daddy said no pool to she can swim.
She is back into ballet this year and also tap. She loves to dance. If you have ever seen the Disney Movie "The Game Plan" she loves the ballerina and the movie we must have seen it at least 100 times. I keep asking do DVDs burn out??? Well this is the graceful side of her because she is also taking christian Tae Kwon Do class with several girlfriends. She has asked for months to take this so we decided to start out slow. Steve believes this will help her in many ways I am not so sure I am the soft gentle type. If she likes it they have a mommy and me program so we both learn oh boy! I was hoping for piano lessons.... Well there is always next year.

Quilt Update....

I got an update on our quilts last Friday and words could not describe the pictures that I saw from my girlfriend Ginger's cell phone. They are both completed and are gorgeous the picture that I posted previously of little "M" was not even close to being finished when I posted it I am a non sewer so I thought when I got the picture it was done. What do I know.

Betsy will be delivering the quilts to me in a couple of weeks I am so thrilled I still can't believe how fast she made these and they are double/queen size each hand sewn. She is amazing. She wanted them home before the baby:) I can not wait to get updated pictures to post. Stay tuned.....

We are still here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had taken time off from blogging. Life had gotten so busy and hectic over the last part of the summer I did not really have time to check email. We have met so many wonderful friends and little "M" is involved in several activities. It was a great summer, but really busy. Glad to be back I have a lot of blogs an emails to catch up on.

We have some GREAT news that hopefully we will be able to share real soon with everyone. God has been so good in our lives. I will post updates on all the happenings over the last month and 1/2 in the next posts!

Busy Busy Weekend

There was no rest for us this weekend. Little "M" had 2 birthday parties and swim lessons. I had a big project at work that needed to be done. I mostly work before she awakes or after she is in bed she requires 110% of our time. Daddy was busy with his job. I have not even had time to see my friends lately or even work on my scrap booking. I thought the summer would be slower not really it has proven to be busier. Tonight we went out with a group of Steve's friends it was alot of fun to break away from our nightly routine.

Oh yes and there is housework that needs to be done but who has time for that. You can say lately we have been nesting so in between running here and there we have been taking one room at a time and just cleaning it out. My girlfriend just had a garage sale that we donated all our stuff, proceeds were for a mission trip for her daughters.

M is ready for China......

Today Little M completed all her shots to go to China. She was a big girl. She has informed me that she will never go back to that doctors again. I told her that she now can go get her little sister when it is time and she was so happy. Hopefully by the time she needs her flu shot this winter this will all be a memory. We can only hope. Now as for me I have to have shots again because mine did not take last time. Go figure it is a very rare occurance when Hep shots have to be redone. Like I told the doctor if it is going to happen it will happen to me.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for my husband. I know many would say that is a given but it is the little extras he always does. Every night he comes home and cooks a great dinner, he entertains little "M" for me so I can blog, and always keeps us smiling. Always is concerned for my health and offers to handle all the hard household chores. This week it has been a complete blessing.

Referral Update for June

Our agency has posted that they have referred a total of 25 WC children for the month of June. When I read this I was excited because this was not from the shared list but from the designated lists that they receive. For June there were no children from the shared list. Today many families received their PA's therefore they could announce their referrals. We were very encouraged when we saw the dates of some of the MCC were into 10/07. All of the needs that were referred were all correctable and they were all children under the age of 2. That was great!!!! Each month we get closer and closer. They also record they are still translating and making phone calls so they still must have more children to match.

CCAA is still reviewing February 2007 and then we will be next. We have submitted all the documents and updated pictures we have nothing to do but wait, wait , wait and wait some more. We really want to travel during the winter but since this is in God's hand and not what is our plan we must wait and see. We continue to pray for baby K.

The NSN received referral this week but it was only 3 days I continue to pray for all the families waiting as the wait continues to grow month after month.

100 Wishes Quilt -1st one

It has been along time since I have spoke about the quilts I set out to have made for the girls when we started our second adoption back 17 months ago. Well I have an update. Maddie and I collected over 200 swatches and wishes from fellow adoptive families, family memebers and friends. For the longest time I was storing everything in my china closet and did not know what we were going to do with all this fabric (I do not sew). As for the wishes I have one book done and the other is started.

I was talking to my girlfriend Ginger and told her that I had finished collecting enough pieces but I did not know who to have make the quilt. Ginger had the answers from there I met with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law who are both fantastic quilters. I met with them on a Saturday morning to decide what to make. Well I thought I wanted one think but I am not a quilter. When I went to their house it was like going into a quilt shop they had everything. They can talk the talk if you know what I mean. We decided to make the girls different quilts and ones they could use when they get older. So I left just thrilled I was not sure exactly what everything was going to look like but it did not really matter because these ladies were given an unbelievable talent. The next afternoon at church Ginger told me the first quilt top was finished. My mouth hit the floor. The quilt will be queen size and revesable with hidden stiching of different things. I can't even sew on a button and they did this in a day. This is M's quilt. This is the top without the edging and the back. Stay tuned for more updates.

4th of July

Fireworks, sparklers, hamburgers, beans, salads, watermelon and friends. What better way to spend a holiday. We stayed in town (conserving on gas) and got together with friends (Glenda, Emily and Dale). Our neighborhood puts on a 35 minute fireworks display and it is as good as the City’s event and we don’t have to leave the area. Little “M” loves fireworks if she had her way it would be every night. She was too cute her latest thing is to ask can I give you a compliment so she went around paying compliments to everyone. Next she put on a little dance for us. We had our own entertainment prior to the fireworks spectacular. I guess you could say we have our own firecracker.

Thankful Thursday

A great week of shopping we have been able to be stocking up and preparing for the new baby and I have bought diapers and pull-ups for basically nothing. To be exact 21 packs for $15. I am thankful for frugal shopping tips and coupons. I will continue this for the rest of July. Yes that will be alot of diapers/pull-ups but if we do not need them I can donate them.

Please pray for Rick health issues, Kristina pregnancy and baby, Callen's traveling, Children in China, and Kinsey.

Vacation Bible School

“M” attended her first Vacation Bible School this summer at our church. It was a Hawaiian theme. I can remember going to bible school as a child and I loved it so I thought she would love to go learn and be with her friends a few hours each day. She has always loved church but now she even loves it more. Teaching is a special gift that some parents have and to see our children grow up learning about God, value truths, and forming friendships of all ages just is such a blessing. Our church and congregation is all about the children and the youth our future.

A wonderful gift for the girls

We were so blessed.... A fellow adoptive mother had posted on our local group that she had a doll collection she wanted to give away to a family who was interested in Asian dolls. Prior to getting Maddie my mom and I looked all over when we traveled trying to find any kind of Asian doll and we were not really successful. Well I responded to the email and did not think anymore of it until she responded back and asked me when I wanted to come pick up up the dolls. Needless to say I was thrilled beyond words. The first thing I did was call my mother and told her the great news. Due to busy schedules it took us a month to meet but when we went over there this morning to get the dolls the collection was far beyond my belief. I have never seen so many Asian dolls in one place they are just gorgeous. There are porcelain, Barbies, and play dolls and I now can't wait to get the girls room redone and the play room finished. When I get the 3 rooms finished I will post pictures with all the dolls. Another great thing is we have made new friends. This has been a double blessing for our family.

Learning to Live with Less

Over the past month and a half I have been learning and praying on how to be a better financial planner. Over a 18 months ago Steve and I took Financial Peace University hosted by Dave Ramsey (video class) and we were determined to pay off all of our debt. It all sounded good as long as we were in the class and we did great reducing our debt but once class was over we slowly stop progressing as fast. Over the past 9 months we have prayed and have looked at all kinds of ways (class ideas as well as insight from friends) to get back on track and I can thankfully say we are.

One of the hardest things was deciding what our prioritise were and ours was not fancy cars, always getting new clothes and trying to keep up with the latest trends. Instead we want all of our debt paid off, take the money we have paid on bills monthly and invest once we were debt free. Living on less has been not as tough as we thought it would be I have become much smarter in my shopping. I have learned from some great friends how to score very very inexpensive groceries and basically free cosmetics, cleaning supplies, baby stuff, soda... and the list goes on. I have shared this knowledge with my other friends and we have reduced our shopping budgets as much by half. This in turns help pay off the bills faster. Also, we have never had so many groceries and supplies in our house at one time. Someday I hope to start a blog on shopping tips but for now I am still learning the ropes.

We are truly bless God has provided and we both have made sacrifices to complete this. I pray that God will continue to give us the strength and the courage to live on less.

This is where we will be YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nursery Time

I am now excited to move on to the creation of the babies room. I have a plan in my mind but it is my dearest girlfriend Beth who is the creator and who is going to help me put it all together. We are doing pink this time yes I caved in and the colors are pink, green, butterflies and lady bugs. She is getting a crib and a twin bed in her room because we do not know her age but I think she will need a crib least for a short time. The only dilemma is the crib color but I think we can make it work it is only a short period. Our first task is molding, trim work and paint. Next, is carpet in both the girls’ rooms it is not that old but we want new or hardwood put in still deciding? The final touches will be the bedding, and wall hangings. Can’t wait to start shopping for all the fixtures and bedding. Already have the paint now it’s just a matter of getting started. Oh cleaning out her closet won’t be fun :(

Thankful Thursdays

We are thankful for the safe return of a dearest friends from vacation they had a terrible ATV accident and other unfortunate situations on their summer vacation. We thank God for their safe return and their minimal injuries.

YIPEEE I-171H

We are officially official again. What that means is our immigration status was about to expire and we are now renewed for another 18 months. This will do the trick. We have sent that information off to our agency because you have to have a valid 6 months on your immigration papers to receive a referral and travel. Since all the waiting child process for travel has picked up so much it is not taking months like it was in the old program. Every step closer in the process just sends goose bumps up my spine and just assure us we are getting closer. The WC ladies are so wonderful at our agency you know you are in good hands.

Little “M’s” 4th Birthday

We can hardly believe our little girl is four years old. When I look at her I can remember the first time they placed her in my arms and I hugged and kissed her. Now we fast forward 3 ½ years later to going to the movies (Kung Fu Panda), having cake and ice cream, opening presents and spending the day together as a family. She was so excited about having a family day (we have them every weekend 4 days) when it came time to make the wish from her cake she said star light star bright my wish tonight is for my sister to be with me and my family amen. Then she asked do you think it will come true because I told you. We told her it sure will just give it some more time. Her dinner request was a fruit salad with every kind of fruit she could think of and top it off with cool whip so that is what we let her have.

We had a great family day! God bless the gift of little girls.

Swim Lessons

Summer is in full swing and we have started out learning to swim this year. Little “M” has a passion for the water so we decided to get lessons. Better safe than sorry J She is on her second lesson and so far so good she is loving being a fish it helps that her best little girlfriend swims with her. We have also met other we know there and the kids have a great time. I also felt that if she knew how to swim this would be that last selling point to daddy to have a pool put in because he is so worried about her around water.

Look forward to the rest of the summer days at the pool!!!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day

We had a very quite day. Attended church in the morning and came home to have a brunch and make a cake for dad. Little "M" is into cooking, baking and yes helping wash the dishes (Yipee!!!). She has made dad 10+ cards and hides them everywhere for him she loves to write DAD on everything. She asked us today now that we have had mother's and father's day when is daughter's day. We laughed and said everyday is your day. She has an unbelievable giving and caring heart. She told Steve he is the bestest daddy in the whole world because he is strong, he cooks for her and plays with her. It was so sweet to see her hold her heart and tell her daddy how she felt.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so,

He called it ... Dad

~~Author Unknown.~~

Referral Update June

June is an exciting month there is alot to report. CCAA has sent the next set of NSN matches the cut of that was 1/20/2008 boy we are slowly chipping away at this month next month it will be 5 month in January. Thank goodness the first of February there was a week long holiday in China and February is a short month. Our agency received 15 matches and they also received expedited referrals which have been on hold for sometime. This is great news things are picking up again for expedited families. Based on referral announcements this months it looks as if there were more referrals than in the past few months :) The good news does not stop here.

Our agency received a designated list with 25 new children yes that's right just for them. The list was 70% male. There are now children posted on the site again available. Also, this is the third month in the SN arena that the time lines have show significant improvement. CCAA also release a new shared list this week with at least 60 new files. I will tell you based on all of this CCAI WC ladies I know have to be very busy. Let the phones ring.

CCAA also has said that January 2007 is out of review that means we only have 2 more months to go before we are out. This will be helpful when we are matched and make the process go faster.

We are so happy for all the family's that are being joined and made this week. We continue to pray for the families that are traveling, waiting and all the children waiting for their forever families. We continue to pray for all that were affected by the earthquake.

Little”M”’s 4th Birthday Party

I can hardly believe she will be “4”. This year she wanted to have a Build-A Bear Party and we had nine little friends (she made out her list to invite there were 35+ people on it but I had to cut it way down) and they had a blast building their little animals and dressing and naming them. Of course cake and ice cream was a must. It was great for all we came and partied and then left with nothing to clean and we got to go home and play the rest of the day.
God has truly blessed us with the most wonderful daughter.