Happy Mother's Day !

I am blessed and honored....



To be called "momma".....




It is a High calling....



A dream come true....



and I am thankful and overjoyed to be called "momma" by my two boys.

Shared Referrals

The CCAA posted a new group of shared referrals today! We are not eligible for most of the shared list yet, but it is so exciting to know that many special needs children will finally get a forever family. We are praying for the families that are anxiously awaiting a referral.

Cool, Calm, and Collected....Sort of !

It's my fault. I forgot to send in my fingerprint money ($160) when I sent in my I-800 A form. I was sooo careful when I filled the form out. I nervously filled in each line, checking the directions several times so I wouldn't get that dreaded phone call that something was wrong with my form and they couldn't process it. ( sorry for the run on sentence with all the prepositions and conjunctions !). I received an email from my officer that they could not process my form...ugghhh ! They are sending me something in the snail mail that I have to have to send in with my money. Wouldn't it be nice if I could just write a check and mail it to them ? So, I am waiting on a form so that then, I can send in a check. It wouldn't be so bad if this was the first time I have done this, but no, I have done this before ! Well, my goal of having my I-800 A form done in 30 days is shot - oh well !! All this paperwork is fun - I keep telling myself :)

Hooked on Chinese

We are learning Chinese !!!

Adoption Tax Credit

Today, I emailed my Senator and Representatives about the adoption tax credit expiring in 2010.
"The federal adoption tax credit has helped thousands of families say "Yes!" to adopting a child. It's vital that this financial support stay in place to help families offset the costs and fees associated with adopting a child. Unfortunately, the tax credit is set to expire in December 2010 unless Congress votes to continue it. It's time to take action! READ more about how you can help make the tax credit permanent, and find out which 16 states still have no support for this important bill! "

Milkshakes and Masterpieces

My very creative and wonderful sister-in-law put together one of the best birthday parties ! We celebrated Lacey's 7th birthday outside painting these very cute masterpieces and sipping on home-made milkshakes. The boys love to paint ! The footballs were already penciled in and all they had to do was pick their colors and paint away. I got to paint a cute butterfly, that will of course hang in our little girls room one day !

Our First Strawberry !

We picked our first, juicy, red strawberry, divided it up and ate it. Yummy !!!!

We have enough Sky Miles !!!!

Praise the Lord ! We found out this morning that we have enough sky miles to fly our entire family to China and back - for free !!! AND, we only have to pay 10% of our little one's ticket price when we fly home ( Delta gives an adoption discount !). While there is some *red tape* to go through to make all this free stuff happen, we will pray that all lines up when we do book our flight to China.

Chuck was on the phone for about 30 minutes today with Delta asking a lot of questions. At one point he asked " How much will it cost to get our little girl home ?" At that point he lost it and began weeping. It was one of those moments when reality hits you and you are talking about YOUR little girl. Adoption has been such a long and emotional journey for us and to think that it WILL happen, eventually, is a little overwhelming mixed with sweet and precious tears.

Living History !

We love History, so a chance to actually SEE some living history is a treat ! Saturday, we visited the Lee County Historical Society in Loachapoka, Alabama. There was blacksmithing, open hearth cooking, gardening, dulcimer music, gourd painting, and lots of other activites during the day. The feature activity was a group of local, Civil War enactors who set up their tent, displayed their weapons, and engaged in a little friendly fire. The group represented the 28th Alabama Infantry Company.

An unforgettable Easter !

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. "







On March 31rst, 2009 - Walker and Will made the most important decision in their life - They decided to follow Jesus all their days, to trust fully in Him and to KNOW HIM as their savior !

Tuesday Ramblings

I've been waiting until I had some "free time", whatever that is - to catch up on my Blog. I do have some exciting news to share - nothing about China - but will have to wait until my pictures are back on my computer. We had to send the laptop away to be fixed and all the pics have to be reloaded. Other than that, we have been busy schooling and trying to keep our garden from freezing ! Chuck had to build a canopy to cover our little garden. We already have tiny green tomatoes and strawberries !
Walker went to his eye therapy yesterday and got a prescription for reading glasses. He is so excited ! He has been wanting glasses ever since his cousin, Maleah, got some. The boys have violin and guitar recitals coming up, and we are having to make sure they really practice everyday. I can't wait to see them perform their pieces !
Walker is playing baseball (machine pitch) and it seems we are always at the ball park. I am practicing for my first ever ballet recital ! YES,I take ballet from a Christian ballet company that is incredible ! We are doing a huge presentation in May - The Creation Story. My class is the land. We dance with the sky !
We are still paper-chasing to China. I received a letter from the USCIS stating they received my I800 A form and I will be getting a fingerprinting appointment soon.

Our Garden !

We have been working on our garden lately. Chuck built a raised bed and filled it with some wonderful veggies, lettuces, herbs and strawberries. The boys loved picking out what vegetables they wanted to grow. Their favorite thing they picked out was "chocolate peppermint".

We are praying for a bountiful garden full of great food for us this spring/summer. I have never had a garden and really know nothing about taking care of one. My family loves to tell stories about the time I decided to grow tomatoes and had NO clue what I was doing ! So, I have been reading gardening books and talking to "seasoned" gardeners. I really want to learn as much as I can. Of course, Chuck has way more experience with gardening. We pray "The plans of the diligent lead to profit" Proverbs 21:5a

I 800 A

Yeah !! I am filling out my I800 A form today and sending it in tomorrow !!!!

" On 3/23/2009, we received notification from Alabama’s ICPC office that your Home Study was sent to USCIS Hague Unit on 03/19/2009 and processing continues."

While I'm Waiting

It seems my ears perk up when I hear the word "waiting". My eyes are drawn to the word like a thirsty dog to water. I have done a very extensive word look up in my bible for the word "waiting" and every song, poem, and TV commercial draws me in. I think God is trying to teach me about waiting - you think ? I love this song from FIREPROOF ( loved the movie).

Busy, Busy, Busy !!!

We had a great time visiting with family last week. First we helped give my mother and father -in-law a surprise 40th wedding anniversary party. It was so fun and they were totally surprised. I loved seeing all the old pictures of them and hearing all their friends and relatives tell funny stories.
Then, we spent the night with my brother and sister-in-law. The kids love going to their house and playing the Wii. I don't get to seem my precious niece and nephew a lot so we played and talked until we were so slap tired !
The next night, my brother, sister-in-law and their girls spent the night at our house. We stayed up again till midnight talking and the kids played all night.
Whew !!! I am tired. Chuck got back tonight from an amazing Men's retreat at Calloway with our church - 13 men were baptized in the lake where they stayed !!!! crazy huh ?

I am still waiting on my home study to be approved by my state AL ICPC and then I can file my I 800 A form and maybe, just maybe......get my dossier to CHINA !!! It is so difficult to wait, and wait, and wait. Will asked the other day "Mom, how many more DAYS till Maggie ( the name we have given our little one while we wait - not necessarily the name we will use )comes home ?" I wish I could have answered him with a number. Instead I say " Oh, maybe next year." Lately, my heart is heavy thinking of her and knowing she is somewhere waiting on me. I pray God will protect her and hold her close in His arms. It's a very unusual and amazing thing to LOVE this child I have never met, to almost feel her hugs and hear her laughter.

Adoption Update

I am so happy to report that my Home Study has been approved by my placing agency (AWAA) and is headed on over to the AL ICPC office to get approved. Then it will be sent to the USCIS office along with my I 800A application. My Home Study will have to be approved there too. Thankfully, this process is going much faster than in past months. It is taking about 30- 40 days, where it used to take at least 90 days ! So, we have just two more steps until we can submit our Dossier to China and have a LID (log in date ). Once we are LID, we can be eligible for our agencies waiting child shared list. Of course, we know that it will actually be some time before we get a referral. The waiting is hard, but it does seem that tine goes by fast and hopefully before we know it we'll be in China seeing and holding our little one for the first time. Over the six months, that we have been paperchasing, we have slowly updated what special needs we are open to. So far, we have checked off: Congenital heart defect, repaired heart defect, webbed or extra fingers or toes, partial or missing appendages, hemangioma/large birth mark, and repaired medical condition. There is a wonderful site that helps educate families about all the special needs called No Hands But Ours. We have spent so much time reading the family stories and researching the different medical conditions. We are still researching and prayerfully considering other special needs. I am so thankful for the ladies who put this educational site together because it will help so many beautiful children come home to forever families.

Snow !!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Sunday was beautiful ! We woke up to snow and lots of it. About 4-5 inches of snow fell and the boys had so much fun playing in it. They wanted it to snow so bad this year. We kept telling them " I'm sorry, we live in the south, it just doesn't snow that much in Alabama ." Well, snow on March 1rst in Alabama is unusual, but sooo much fun ! I had forgot how the snow crinkles when you walk in it and all the town looked more like New England instead of Opelika. So, now that we've had our one day of snow - we're ready for SPRING in this southern home.

Spring Is Coming !

 

It's official, spring is on it's way ! Yahoo !!! I'm getting out my flip flops !


I have two spring wreathes I put on my front door every year. And, every year, a sparrow family builds their nest in my wreath. We had so much fun watching the eggs and then watching in awe of how cute the little birds were. They just look at you with their mouths open wide and chirp. So, I was so excited when I heard the sparrow family building their nest again in our front door wreath. I took a picture of it because it's so amazing how neat and perfect the little nest is ! I am reminded of Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they ?"

Reading to Charlie !

 

I read about a new reading program that uses dogs to help make reading more enjoyable. The dogs go through a 6 week training period and learn to sit and "listen" while children read to them. There is just something about reading to a cute, fluffy dog that makes reading fun. The program has been very successful in helping struggling readers. So, since we have "the best dog in the world", I thought I would start our own Dog Reading Program. The boys didn't complain one bit when I asked them to read a story to Charlie ( our dog ). They did look at me funny though !

Happy Valentines Day ( from the Beach)

 

 

 

 

Glad I kept my vintage LLBean boots !

The Boys have been BEGGING me to go play with them at The Hunting Club. Well, I finally said OK and we planned a whole day to go hiking to the Beaver Pond, canoeing and just playing outside. Thankfully I had not gotten rid of my LL BEAN boots my mom gave me for Christmas in 1992 ! I wanted these boots so bad. That was my "Gotta be like the other sorority girls phase ". So glad I didn't throw them away during my "throw away, simplify phase" ! We had a great time and I took some wonderful pictures of the boys. I can't wait to go back and get my old boots muddy again !

Love Notes !

 

One of my FAVORITE things to get are love notes from my boys. Will gave me this love letter the other day when I was having a "bad" day. He always gives me such sweet little letters and I keep every one of them. I would love to frame them one day ! Will counted 108 X's and O's on his note. Love is in the air !

Little House On The Prarie

 

We have been busy with school, doctor visits and cub scouts, but still EVERY night I read The Little House on the prarie series to the boys. After bath time, we all snuggle in my bed and I read as many chapters as my voice will let me. When I declare the dreaded " All right, this is the last chapter, it's time for bed" the boys all beg for "just one more chapter mom, please ?" For about an hour we enter the world of Laura Ingalls and farm life on the prarie. We dream of living on a real farm with baby chicks, milking cows and real sleigh rides in the snow. Last year we visited the Auburn University Dairy farm and was able to feed the baby cows. It was our chance to pretend we were real 'FARMERS'. Well, until we purchase our real farm one day, we'll just keep reading about Laura and her adventures. I am not sure what we will read next, because we're almost done with book 8 and the series stops at book 9. Any suggestions of some good, wholesome read aloud books about farm life ?
Here's a blog I found that is so cool ! It's about a family that recently moved to a real Amish farm - complete with 40 acres of farm land, dairy barns, and two lakes - way cool to this city slicker ! Oh, and they are completely off grid - that means NO electricity or indoor plumbing !
Check it out http://eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com/ ( sorry , I don't know how to link it yet ).

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