Beams Camp-o-ree Part 1

Our family is now officially a tent camping, white water rafting, hiking, camp fire building, rock collecting, ruby mining, smores making, dutch oven cooking, bath house bathing crazy camp family ! Here's some pictures from our wonderful trip in the beautiful smokey mountains. I took 547 pictures, so I will post several times. Kinda like a southern baptist sermon - this is part 1.



We stayed at an old fashioned camp ground - Lost Mine Campground in Wesser, NC (near Bryson City). There was a perfect little stream that ran right behind our camp site. You could hear the stream rippling over the rocks and it just put us all right to sleep at night.



Chuck cooked a lot of our meals in a dutch ovens and on the trusty Coleman stove. We had Bar-BQ chicken, chuck roast with potatoes and carrots, rolls, peach cobbler, hot dogs, hamburgers, cinnamon rolls, pancakes,and eggs. There's nothing like eating and cooking outside. Everything tasted so good !!



The boys found these heart shaped rocks at one of the waterfalls on the Nantahala river. So cute !



We went white water rafting on the beautiful Nantahala River. For the most part, it is a calm river with the highest rapid being a category 3. We all managed to stay in the raft, but we almost all fell out on the last rapid, Nantahala Falls. The boys loved rafting the river and can't wait until the are old enough to raft the Ocoee River.

DTC !!!!

 

after 10 months of gathering our dossier (adoption paperwork), getting it notarized, certified, and authenticated....
after 10 months of making a lot of mistakes.....
after 10 months of prayer and tears.....

our dossier is going to China !

PRAISE GOD !!
we are now eligible for the shared list and will be waiting on 'the call'.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Gone Camping !

 

well, here we go ! a week in the mountains - tent camping. no ceiling fans, carpet or computer. just a huge tent, two queen size mattresses, lots of flash lights, a string of vintage 1970's owl lights ( thanks nin and poppa !), a dutch oven for real camp cookin', and two excited little boys. we're going to be making memories - camp style !

what we're reading

 

wordless wednesday

about organizing

 

1. it really make me happy when everything is in it's place. i mean really,really happy.

 

2. all the cute little organizing racks are expensive, but so worth it. after a little training, everyone knows where the sports equipment goes and we're not scrambling to find bats and gloves 10 minutes before the game.

 

3. label everything.

 

4. and then label some more. maybe one day i will get one of those cute label makers. until then, i am dangerous with sticky labels and a marker.

The Boys are in the kitchen !

I went to Williams-Sonoma today, one of my favorite stores. I picked up this cook book for kids (Cooking Together). It has some great, healthy and fun recipe's that are all kid friendly. This is really a wonderful cookbook and the boys are loving it ! They were so excited about cooking their own snack tonight and picked out a recipe - "hummus & veggie cones".



First, I cut a tortilla in half and the boys spread hummus on it. They think it is so fun to spread anything that is messy or gooey.



I cut up a cucumber from our garden and the boys helped to peel and grate some carrots.



Walker was our official carrot peeler and grater and make a fabulous mess out of it !



They put the sliced cucumbers and grated carrots on the tortilla. Then, I rolled it up to look like a cone. Very healthy and yummy ! Gotta love it !

I - 797 !!!

I received my I - 797 in the mail today !! If you are or have adopted from China, you will know exactly what that is. If not, it is a VERY IMPORTANT paper that says "my form I 800A, home study and fingerprints have been approved and we are eligible to adopt from China". PRAISE GOD !!!! Tomorrow , I will book it to Montgomery and get it certified and then run and Fed-Ex it to Texas (Chinese Consulate). We are starting to see a little light at the end of a long tunnel !

Vintage Backyard Fun !

 

 

 

Every summer, we buy a new slip and slide. They usually are so torn up and used up by the end of the summer that we just throw them away. We've had spider men, bat men, single and double slides. They even make some with tunnels.
The boys love them ! ( although they always end up with a good case of "the chiggers" from rolling and sliding in the grass).

Schooling In The Summer

 

 

We have moved to the kitchen table this summer for our school work. I have been working on a summer " schedule" to help the boys stay on track with their school work. They worked so hard all year, I don't want them to loose it ! So, our loose - summer schedule is: Morning - Reading short readers (some Rod and Staff Bible and Nature Readers), one page from their math book (Math-U-See), and One sentence dictation. Afternoon - Weekly library visits and we plan to spend a lot of time outside on the slip and slide, trampoline and at the pool. Science will be: observing nature outside (bugs, the stars, rain). In the evening, we plan on bike rides, trips to Calloway garden and lots of T-Ball games at the ball park. Evenings will be cooking out hamburgers, home-made ice cream on the back porch and read -a-louds. (We are currently reading Caddie Woodlawn) I'm also doing a little extra chore training this summer, so I can add onto the boys daily chore chart in the fall.

Fingerprints - Done !

 

This picture was taken right before we went into the building to get our fingerprints done. Of course, Chuck was there too- he's the one taking the picture. I was very nervous since I don't have a good track record of doing adoption paperwork. On top of it all, the building only said "Application Support". I thought at least it would say "Homeland Security" or something else more official. So, I was freaking out we were at the wrong place and we were going to miss our appointment, have to reschedule through snail mail and it would be 2010 before we would be DTC. But, alas, we were at the right place. We were told to leave purses, cameras and cell phones in the car and only bring our paperwork and ID. As the only American family in the building, we were all in for an educational day. There were people from all over - India, Mexico, France, England, Italy - a real melting pot in Atlanta. I am sure they were wondering what we were doing there ! So, after waiting about an hour and showing our fingertips to three different people ( to make sure there were no cuts on our fingers), we proceded to get our Biometrics done. A very king Chinese man took my fingerprints and my boys loved watching my prints show up on the computer. I think I asked him several times " Did you get them all, are you sure ?". (still nervous that any little thing can delay paperwork for months !)
Now we wait on ONE more form to come in the mail, then we have to certify and Authentcate that one little form. THEN !! We can be DTC !!!

Off To Atlanta !

We're about to leave the house and head over to Atlanta for our Fingerprint appointment. I am very excited to have this part of the paperwork done ! Today marks a huge milestone for us. We are getting a tiny bit closer to our little one.
Hurray !!!!

Recipe For Fun !

First you gather all the blankets in the house. Then you put several fluffy, soft comforters down as a palate along with pillows . Next, you get three kitchen chairs and line them up.




Then, You get one great, super crafty dad to put the largest blanket on top of the chairs and tuck it into the bottom of the bed frame.




Add favorite stuffed animals for extra fun.





Mix in a couple of very excited boys to help tuck in the blankets.



Voila !! An old fashioned "tent" built at the end of our bed !
Yields : Two very happy boys !

Check this out !

I love the T-Shirts at WildOlive ! I also love that they give a percentage of their earnings to Love Without Boundaries - a charity that helps support special needs orphans in China. So go on - check it out - and "Get your verse on !"

We Finally have Our Biometrics Appointment

We received an e mail late last week that an appointment has been made for us to get our biometrics done. So, we will all load up and head to Atlanta to get our fingerprints done next week. I still have not received anything in the mail yet informing me of our appointment, but hopefully it will get here soon. Yeah !! We are making progress !! Maybe we will be DTC by late July/August ????
I am so antsy for the new shared list to come out. Even though we will still not be eligible, it is such an exciting time. Well, off to take the kids to the pool, and then Walker has his last baseball game of the summer tonight. Their team is ranked number one and will play in the championship games on Saturday ( all day !!). Then, Will starts T-Ball on Monday. Lord have mercy ! I live at the ball park now !

Coincidence or Divine appointment ?

Yesterday, Walker and I drove to Atlanta for Walker's monthly vision therapy. As I walked in the room I saw the cutest little girl. She was adopted from China in 2003. I talked to her mom some and was encouraged. Later, as I sat in the waiting room, I overheard a young girl reading about Egypt to her mom. Hmmm...it sounded all too familiar. "Do you home-school" ? I asked. Oh yes, she home-schools all 5 of her beautiful children. And not only that, she is an adoption Lawyer and has adopted two children from Russia ! She encouraged me with the sweetest, timely words. And then, Yes, another family that lives close to me was there. They also have adopted from Russia and Kazakhstan AND they home-school AND they are adopting again through the foster program. What ??? It was like a had a little support group meeting at the eye doctor and didn't even know I was going to it.

Please pray

We sent off our I800A form on March 25th 2009. As most China adoption parents know, we should be done with it and our Dossier on it's way to China by now. We are still waiting on our fingerprint appointment and am not sure what the hold up is. Even though I AM at peace with the waiting, we are really wanting to be DTC (Dossier to China) so that we can be eligible for the shared list. I am growing weary of "climbing the mountain", but we know it will all be worth it !!!!

So, please pray with us that some favor will be shown to our paperwork and it will be processed very soon.

Blessings in the Wait

We have been waiting 9 months and 3 days ( but who's counting ?). I can honestly say that there have been many, many blessings from waiting. We have really been able to research different special needs that in the beginning were way too scary. We have talked and asked questions to families who have adopted children with special needs. I have gleamed so much info from special needs Yahoo groups and blogs. We have prayed and prayed for our little one. Our boys have really developed a LOVE for their sister and they pray for her each night. I believe this waiting time has been so good in preparing our hearts, home, family and friends for adoption. Although we don't know specifically what special needs she will have, we are preparing for her medical and emotional needs. So, today, I am especially thankful for the wait.... and am at peace.

Our Home

When I'm not stalking, er..I mean visiting, adoption Blogs, I love to visit This Blog. I like how it focuses on decorating * cheap *. I am inspired. So, here are some of my favorite things around the house, which were very cheap - I love that ! Disclaimer: I did not clean up before I took these pictures. This is our life - legos everywhere, the boys make up their own beds, and a little dust is perfectly fine.




I found this funky, bright orange table on vacation several years ago. I knew Walker would love it ! His favorite color is orange. Have you ever tried to find orange things for your house ? So, I picked this table up for $15 and hauled it home.




We love books around here ( especially the beautiful Caldecott books). I found this great little bookcase at our local antique shop downtown. It was sitting outside just waiting on me to buy it. The book shelf is right by their bedrooms so it makes it fun and easy for the boys to pick out their books at night.




My husband and his brother slept in these twin beds (also bunk beds) when they were little. They started off a very 70's wood color. I had them painted and
distressed to look a little Pottery Barn-ish. The boys especially love these beds because their dad slept in them when he was little. Somehow, this helps them at night if they are having a hard time sleeping.



I love our fireplace. The mantle came out of an old barn (all we did is rub it with BREWAX), the barn stars are from Hobby Lobby, the candles from Target and Chuck killed the pheasant in South Dakota.

Home Made Bread

I really do make home-made bread with fresh milled whole wheat. Yummy !!!
(As if this Blog could not be any more random !)

I Believe !

I believe in The Sovereignty of God...
I believe there is a reason we have been paper-chasing so long ....
I believe our daughter is in China .....
I believe we will expand our family through adoption....
I believe God's hand is over every little detail of our life and I don't believe in LUCK...
I believe in prayer.....
I believe that right now we are in the center of God's will .....

Just thought I would write down my thoughts ( for me to read ). This post is for me, me, me or..maybe it's also for you, if you are waiting.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven Ecc 3:1

Mother's Day Weekend

Last weekend the boys went to Eutaw, AL for a couple of days of fishing,
4- wheeling, go-carting and tubing ! Lots and lots of testosterone !!



They had a great weekend and got back just in time to see me dance
in The Creation Story.



This picture was taken on dress rehearsal day. I have no pictures of me on the day of the ballet. I was so nervous, I forgot to take my camera. So, just imagine.....
I was the earth, an artist painted my face very tribal looking and my costume was very earthy ( brown and green). I had to pull my hair back tight around my face and hot roll my hair ( like I did in 1985 !). The ballet was incredible and somehow I managed to remember my dance and dance in the finale. The Creation Story was all about God creating the sky, water, earth, flowers, animals and Adam and Eve. It was an amazing production that told of God's Love through his creation

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.