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.

A Day at the Spa

Little “M” and I went to have a morning of pampering. Yes, I know we are on a budget but our debt free plan is still on target. We went to the Day Spa and had our hair done and a spa pedicure. Tammy who does my hair is great she loves kids. She just found out she is going to have a baby and she is over the top excited and we could not be happier for her. We wanted to get “M” all ready for her birthday party that was on the 7th. We had the best time together that day as we sat there getting our make-over she told me she was a big girl now so she could paint her toes. When they rubbed sea salt on her little legs she laughed and wanted to know why they were putting mashed potatoes on her legs all the ladies just started to laugh.

As we sat there I though of all the years to come as mom and daughter and the memories we will have spending girl times together. We left after about 4 hours and went and had lunch with our new dews and shiny toes.

Re-Fingerprint Time

Saturday morning Steve brought in the mail and there was the pink paperwork peeking though the envelope I couldn't believe how fast we got the appointment paper we just has got the letter that stated 60-90 days we should hear something but the best part was there was no schedule appointment just show up M-F. So you guessed we were going Monday morning. The new rule is you must have a valid I171H within 6 months to get a SN referral so we need to get on the ball because ours expires in July and we are hoping for a fall or winter referral :) Of course this is purely based on the past performance since the shared list and our openness to MCC list and gender and age. Needless to say I was ready to go. You would think this is the first time we did this process. I have been so ready for this referral since the day we filled out the application and submitted to our agency. I know in my heart God has another perfect child for our family and we are so ready for her to come to us. We were so hoping to add to our family with a domestic adoption this past year of an older child but it was not in God's plan for us to build our family in that way so we will consider another option maybe after we bring baby "K" home.

Even if for some reason we were not matched with a SN child we would not let our papers laps due to the increased work, training and fees associated with the process the agency has stated it is time consuming if you were under the old rules. I opt for the easiest way.

Ironic enough we ran into a two friends and their daughter who are also adopting again renewing that same morning they are in the process of moving so we had time to catch up on things and where they were in the process and how life has been going for all. They to have been pursuing SN. We are going to follow their journey to their new daughter we are so excited for them.

Update on our Adoption

Daily Maddie asks are we going to China today? Our answer is not today but soon and we discuss what is happening. So what is happening... for the month of May our agency locked and referred 16 SN children. This is less than lst time (April 36) and they were hoping for more from the list but we will continue to pray for June. From what they have told us it looks as if there will be children on the shared list every month. This is much better as far as time frames then before when the list were just individual they only got new updates every 2-3 months with the same amount of placements. This year alone they have placed over 100 SN children (how wonderful for those children and families). Based on the current referral rates and our openess to SN I see us getting a referral sometime this fall. I always knew in my heart from the beginning we would get a referral in 2008 or 2009. Since the new process has started 2 months ago everything is going much faster most important increase is the time from acceptance to travel is now somewhere around 2 months from 3 to 6 months (wow what great improvements this online systems has made).

It is so hard to believe we are only a few months away and sooooo many things to do. Thank God for all our friends and family who have been so supportive of this adoption. We will be starting the room soon and I am so excited I have bought her theme. I see Pink!!!!!

Year End Program

Another first for little "M". Her first year of preschool has ended. We attended an end of the year production and ice cream social to wish the 4 year olds off to kindergarten. Maddie's good little friend will be moving up she sure will miss JoJo. Maddie sure did not want to sing with her class that night they were to sing Kumbya and she warned me she would not sing but instead plug her ears. Well guess what she did just that, normally she is all into performing but she did not want to due this. Maybe a lack of a nap on my part not real sure but the video is quite cute compared to all the other performances when she goes all out.
Mrs. Duncan and Mrs. Hilbert were her teachers and we could not have been happier. These ladies were fabulous. Maddie has learned so much spelling, writing, and crafts. She loves the crafts. Everyday she spends 30 minutes in what she calls homework it is the cutest thing she says she needs to study to get smart mom. We hope she still feels this way when she gets older like her big sister Audrey.

Ballet Recital

Well it has been a year of fun dancing and worshiping the Lord. It is still so hard for us to believe that it is time for little "M's" first recital. She loves to dance and is going to miss not dancing over the summer. I missed her dress rehearsal but she was in great hands with two of my dearest friends. The morning of the recital Allison came to do her hair and get her all ready. ( I would have loved to do this but was unable Praise God for wonderful friends!!!!!) Daddy had went and got her a dozen of pink beautiful roses and and had everything ready for the party afterwards.

Since we have no family in town Maddie had a little friend come and some friends of the family came to make the day more special for her. I cried through the whole production as she spinned and danced. Our little girl is growing up to be a beautiful young girl. She is so graceful. It is such a blessing to see all these young girls dance and worship the Lord!!!!!

When do you pray?

When is your quite time to get close with God I use my commute times in the car praying, showering and my morning routine. During your alone time is a great time that I get to reflect on what is really important. I pray for my friends, family and ones on our prayer list in need during my morning routine and is this becomes a commitment to prayer. God wants us to uplift others in prayer. It is so important to have prayer in our daily lives. No matter what God uses to prompt you to pray it is important that you do and pray for other that are in need of our prayers. I know I am very grateful for a loving God who reminds in creative ways for people to pray for one another as I am one has received alot of those prayers.

Luke 18:1 "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them they should always pray and not give up."

I Samuel 12:23 “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.And I will teach you the way that is good and right” I Samuel 12:23

Mother's Day

The day was perfect Steve and Maddie covered all the bases. We got up and went to Church in the morning. Maddie and I had gotten up a little earlier so we could play beauty shop. This is our fun time in the morning to play with fun hairstyles and put on make-up. She thinks she is all grown up you know.

After a great worship time at Church we headed off to Outback for yummy food and pretty flowers. Later that day we came home and spend family time and met some friends. Mothers day is such a special time for me as well as Steve. Three years ago on Mothers Day Maddie was placed in my arms we celebrate it ever Mothers Day even though the day changes every year the significance of Mothers Day was something that I will always remember that God blessed us so much and made me a mom that day.

As the night went on we focused on the day Maddie became part of our family, we watched the adoption video, looked at her scrapbook (yes I have one it is pretty cool), and read her life story. She loves to here about the day we came to China to get her. I have to say going through all of this made me tear up many times. Maddie told me that night I was the best mom in the whole world and she loved her family and wanted her sister to come from China soon. A perfect day!

Mother Daughter Tea

The other day I received a beautiful invitation from Maddie to attend a tea party with Maddie at her school. I was so excite. I am very involved with her school she only goes 3 days a week for 3 hours each day but she loves her teaches and her friends. She wanted us to dress in polka dotted dresses and wear our hair up. She is all about looking alike. She is such a girly girl I would have never guessed that would have been my daughter but this was her day for me so we got dresses and did our hair and off we went.
The theme of the party was Hawaiian and the teaches Mrs. Duncan and Mrs. Hilbert did fantastic. Maddie made me a oven mitt with her hand print on it and a jar of cookie mix. We will be baking cookies on Mothers Day! I have the most giving little girl. We played bingo and she said she wanted me to win because I was the best mom and she loved me. Where was the Kleenex.
The teacher asked the children why they love their mom's and Maddie's answer was she kisses me, hugs me, feeds me and tucks me in at night. The day turned out perfect. For all you mom's I hope you have a blessed mothers day and for all the mom's to be I pray that your day will be here soon and an celebrate the day!

Friends

Maddie and Taylor having a little bit of afternoon fun in the sandbox. Now that I am not working as much Maddie has more time to spend with her friends. The weather is so nice out I like to get a little sun we walk alot that is my girlfriend and I the kids ride. Maddie is into the good life:)

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Wow it is the 5th a May and time to Party!!! We will be attending a baby shower for 4 of our friends who are all having babies within a month of each other and they are all boys! We are so happy for them. You can only imagine the questions Maddie has when she always see the ladies with babies in their tummies and I have a flat tummy. She tells me don't worry I will carry Kinsey in my tummy for you :)

We had a Cinco De Mayo theme and made it a family event and everyone turned out in large numbers. You can tell by the pictures the kids loved the pinyata swing and hitting it was a hit but of course the candy was even a bigger hit. Maddie was all about the jumping house. She was so worn out when we got home Steve and I had a chance to watch a movie together.

The Bigsby Show

The Bigsby Show came to Thomasville Road Baptist Church what an evening for kids. This is away to get your kids into fellowship and great kids christian music. He writes all his own music and it was so funny it kept the kids entertained for 1.5 hours. Far better than I can keep her contained for that time. It was a live interactive program, can you say child chaos. Well I listen to nothing but christian music so does Maddie, Steve does mostly now but I have a real appreciation for creative kids music after this performance. Maddie and I listen to his music now once a day and she goes wild. Check out some of the videos on You Tube "FROGS" is Maddie's favorite one. Of course we have the DVD now so we have kids praise time:)

Spring Sing

Every year our our children's choir puts on a production on at church and this was Maddie's first year she loves choir. We think she loves the teacher more than singing. Mrs. Betty she is truly a wonderful christian woman and the children think she hangs the moon. We wondered if Maddie would have stage fright not our daughter she is the biggest ham and has the most outgoing personality if the director would have let her lead she would have taken over. She would not have stolen the production on her own she had the help of her side kick Abagail who was living it up.

Children are such a blessing and God's gift to us as parents is the most rewarding thing. Watching these girls perform and sing about God just makes my heart shine.

Referrals

Since the new WC program has started they place on average 1-2 children per day (yeah!!!!). Our agency has not had a list for months as a result to the shift to the new "shared" list well it finally arrived the week of April 14th they posted more than 100 children. Our agency was able to match and lock 36 children that week. What a blessing to all of those new families. The age of the children were 7 months to 6 years old with the majority of age from 12 to 36 months. The projection is still 10-12 months for referral at this time. I do believe this is their standard answer until they see what CCAA is going to do each month with referrals under the new program.

I have to say after reading many posts from families at our agency were are indeed with the best agency and we have the best group of ladies working to build our families they have to work tirelessly through the night at sometimes matching these children. God love these great ladies. I know I have had the best service and communication with them personally. Look forward to what May has to offer for all the new families.