Many an adoptive family know what this envelope holds.
We were really starting to sweat it.
Our current one expires September 2.
It arrived today; at our current address.
I-171H?
check.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
*exhale*
Many an adoptive family know what this envelope holds.
We were really starting to sweat it.
Our current one expires September 2.
It arrived today; at our current address.
I-171H?
check.
Friday, August 29, 2008
wanting a GNO
(That's "girl's night out", in case you didn't know)
Between us, we have six kids. By Christmas (at the absolute LATEST!), there will be eight between us. Five boys. Three girls. A 12 year old, a 10 year old, a 4 year old, an almost 4 year old, a three year old, a two year old, a one year old and a newborn. Holy cow! She is less than a month away from her due date. I am "pregnant" indefinately. LOL!!!
I think we want a night out.
A little Italian (but truth be told - I go there for the bread dipping oil and the Caesar salad)...
followed by a little gelato...
and maybe a little shopping afterward???
It might totally counter all the hard exercise I did this week (did I tell you that Ginger took me for a run - unintentionally?).
I will just work harder next week. A girl has to indulge!
Between us, we have six kids. By Christmas (at the absolute LATEST!), there will be eight between us. Five boys. Three girls. A 12 year old, a 10 year old, a 4 year old, an almost 4 year old, a three year old, a two year old, a one year old and a newborn. Holy cow! She is less than a month away from her due date. I am "pregnant" indefinately. LOL!!!
I think we want a night out.
A little Italian (but truth be told - I go there for the bread dipping oil and the Caesar salad)...
followed by a little gelato...
and maybe a little shopping afterward???It might totally counter all the hard exercise I did this week (did I tell you that Ginger took me for a run - unintentionally?).
I will just work harder next week. A girl has to indulge!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
there's no place like home...
God knew what road would lead these two to home.
There is most definately one person missing on this road...
I am clicking my heels together for him.
"There's no place like home. There's no place like home."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Yangjiang girls
Yesterday was such a cool day!
We got to meet up with three other girls from Yangjiang, China.
They are all from the third orphanage there - Yangdong.
Amy is from Yangjiang City and Anna is from Jiangcheng District.
Amy was the oldest in the crew and Anna was the youngest.
But the story is more than just 5 girls getting together...
Much more.
Two months after we came home with Amy, I was *looking* at waiting child lists.
I know - bad Tami.
I saw a beautiful little girl in Yangjiang and thought it would be awesome to have daughters from the same city.
We decided to pray. Not necessarily if we should adopt her, but that God would bring a family to her and she would come home.
We knew we were not her family.
A few weeks later, I noticed a new gal on one of my Yahoo groups.
The story she shared about her new daughter sounded familiar.
:)
I contacted her.
This little girl we had prayed for, from Yangjiang, had a family!
But it gets better...
I gave her the link to our travel journal.
She read it and emailed me back.
Come to find out: Sarah and her husband read our journal while we were in China and reading it led them to change from requesting a healthy infant to searching for a special needs toddler.
So, we have a few pretty amazing connections.
Meet Eliza.
She is precious.
It was great for me to meet her.
And great for Sarah to meet Amy.
And here is Emma, Jaiden, Eliza, Anna and Amy.
We got to meet up with three other girls from Yangjiang, China.
They are all from the third orphanage there - Yangdong.
Amy is from Yangjiang City and Anna is from Jiangcheng District.
Amy was the oldest in the crew and Anna was the youngest.
But the story is more than just 5 girls getting together...
Much more.
Two months after we came home with Amy, I was *looking* at waiting child lists.
I know - bad Tami.
I saw a beautiful little girl in Yangjiang and thought it would be awesome to have daughters from the same city.
We decided to pray. Not necessarily if we should adopt her, but that God would bring a family to her and she would come home.
We knew we were not her family.
A few weeks later, I noticed a new gal on one of my Yahoo groups.
The story she shared about her new daughter sounded familiar.
:)
I contacted her.
This little girl we had prayed for, from Yangjiang, had a family!
But it gets better...
I gave her the link to our travel journal.
She read it and emailed me back.
Come to find out: Sarah and her husband read our journal while we were in China and reading it led them to change from requesting a healthy infant to searching for a special needs toddler.
So, we have a few pretty amazing connections.
Meet Eliza.
She is precious.
It was great for me to meet her.
And great for Sarah to meet Amy.
And here is Emma, Jaiden, Eliza, Anna and Amy.
first day (and fourth!)
So, like I said last week, the batteries in the camera died on the first day of school.
Of course.
But I got Austin's pic before the camera died.
The first day of the 4th grade.
And yesterday I got a picture of Ash.
The fourth day of the 6th grade.
Of course.
But I got Austin's pic before the camera died.
The first day of the 4th grade.
And yesterday I got a picture of Ash.
The fourth day of the 6th grade.
Austin asked Sunday night if he could come home.
I want to let him.
But I won't.
For now...
Saturday, August 23, 2008
some of my very favorite people...
An evening with some of my very favorite people.
We have some pretty amazing memories together.
Spanning over 10 years with some of them.
We needed a little reunion.
Girlfriends (minus 2 of our group) enjoying strawberry pie and catching up
We have some pretty amazing memories together.
Spanning over 10 years with some of them.
We needed a little reunion.
Girlfriends (minus 2 of our group) enjoying strawberry pie and catching up
I won't embarass the "big" guy on the right too much, but suffice it to say, I have some great pics of him when he was 6 or 7... Now he's 15.
I remember her when she was maybe 12 or 18 months!
Diving into the grub - lots of yummy food!
I think the thing I love best about these people is that we are family. I gave the tour of the house to some of them tonight and took a pitstop to show one of my friends several pics of our family with their from maybe 7 or 8 year ago. I love them and their pictures still hang on the wall alongside pics of our family.
I am blessed...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
350 posts!!!
Wow.
So.
Long day.
Ash and Austin went back to school today.
Batteries in the camera... dead.
Ugh.
So. Imagine it.
:)
It was a good day.
I went to our Senator's office today to get him involved with some issues we are having with lack of communication with certain government offices... That should be resolved soon. I LOVE taxpayer dollars *really* hard at work.
Anna and Amy missed the bigs. A lot. Anna had a "funky" day, but ended it with a good "nuggle" with Momma, so all is well in her little soul. Amy acted out in other ways. I love these girls! I am SO glad they know they can have an off day or pitch a royal hissy fit and get the attention they do; even if it isn't positive :)
Do you save all your email? I do. Ok, so maybe not ALL of it, but the good stuff - I save it. All our adoption related emails: got em. I was looking for something today (Connie - I still can't remember what it was!) and was scrolling through emails. People. I love you. I mean it. I love you. I have some pretty phenominal, encouraging, loving messages from some of my favorite people. There are predictable ones from my girlfriends and then some random surprises from unexpected places (Jill - your hubby sent one right before we went for Amy and I nearly cried reading it today!). I also relived some pretty amazing miracles. What a precious reminder of an amazing God - who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. Or hold us when it hurts. Wow.
This is an amazing journey, people. One that I told Connie the other day that I have said twice before that I didn't want to go on again because of the emotional toll. But, seriously. Wow. God is amazing.
The girls start school tomorrow. Looking forward to using Sonlight Pre-4 with them.
Crazy blessed.
Yup.
That's me.
So.
Long day.
Ash and Austin went back to school today.
Batteries in the camera... dead.
Ugh.
So. Imagine it.
:)
It was a good day.
I went to our Senator's office today to get him involved with some issues we are having with lack of communication with certain government offices... That should be resolved soon. I LOVE taxpayer dollars *really* hard at work.
Anna and Amy missed the bigs. A lot. Anna had a "funky" day, but ended it with a good "nuggle" with Momma, so all is well in her little soul. Amy acted out in other ways. I love these girls! I am SO glad they know they can have an off day or pitch a royal hissy fit and get the attention they do; even if it isn't positive :)
Do you save all your email? I do. Ok, so maybe not ALL of it, but the good stuff - I save it. All our adoption related emails: got em. I was looking for something today (Connie - I still can't remember what it was!) and was scrolling through emails. People. I love you. I mean it. I love you. I have some pretty phenominal, encouraging, loving messages from some of my favorite people. There are predictable ones from my girlfriends and then some random surprises from unexpected places (Jill - your hubby sent one right before we went for Amy and I nearly cried reading it today!). I also relived some pretty amazing miracles. What a precious reminder of an amazing God - who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. Or hold us when it hurts. Wow.
This is an amazing journey, people. One that I told Connie the other day that I have said twice before that I didn't want to go on again because of the emotional toll. But, seriously. Wow. God is amazing.
The girls start school tomorrow. Looking forward to using Sonlight Pre-4 with them.
Crazy blessed.
Yup.
That's me.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
it is well...
So.
This morning we sang a great old hymn - "It Is Well With My Soul".
Chris and I have wonderful memories of being on our Spring Break choir tour in CA and hearing our men's group sing this song. Goosebumps every time they sang it.
It seems lately that I can't sing this song without crying.
"My sin - not in part, but the whole - is nailed to the cross and I bear it NO MORE!"
But today.
I sang.
And I really "got" the last verse:
"Lord, haste the day, when my faith shall be sight! The sky be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the LORD shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul."
I confess, I never pondered the theology of that verse.
But now... wow.
That sky IS going to be rolled back like a scroll.
And the LORD - the Creator of the universe - is going to appear! The Judge.
And yet - I KNOW that it is well with my soul.
That may seem so "duh, Tami!" to some of you. It did to Chris.
But,
I have a confidence and a hope. I do not need to fear that day.
It is well with my soul.
This morning we sang a great old hymn - "It Is Well With My Soul".
Chris and I have wonderful memories of being on our Spring Break choir tour in CA and hearing our men's group sing this song. Goosebumps every time they sang it.
It seems lately that I can't sing this song without crying.
"My sin - not in part, but the whole - is nailed to the cross and I bear it NO MORE!"
But today.
I sang.
And I really "got" the last verse:
"Lord, haste the day, when my faith shall be sight! The sky be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the LORD shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul."
I confess, I never pondered the theology of that verse.
But now... wow.
That sky IS going to be rolled back like a scroll.
And the LORD - the Creator of the universe - is going to appear! The Judge.
And yet - I KNOW that it is well with my soul.
That may seem so "duh, Tami!" to some of you. It did to Chris.
But,
I have a confidence and a hope. I do not need to fear that day.
It is well with my soul.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
OK - so here it is!!!
Please forgive me for not getting this done sooner. I sooooo wanted to begin taking orders for this on Friday with the advent of the Olympics...
Combining our passions for adoption (fundraising for ours and more to come), Chinese culture and the Gospel:
Combining our passions for adoption (fundraising for ours and more to come), Chinese culture and the Gospel:
Righteousness.
This is the Chinese character for the word "righteousness". It is actually a combination of two separate characters. I looked online to see if some eloquent preacher had a great way of explaining this and I found it here Basically, this guy is re-telling the story that Don Richardson shared in his book "Eternity in their Hearts". Here's an excerpt from the blog:
He wrote about the difficulty missionaries had in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ to the Chinese people. But one day, there was a breakthrough. "He (the missionary) was studying a particular Chinese ideograph, the one which means "righteous." He noticed that it contained an upper and lower part. The upper part was simply the Chinese symbol for a Lamb. Directly under was simply a second symbol, the first person pronoun, I or me. "Suddenly, the missionary discerned an amazingly well-coded message hidden within the ideograph: "I under the lamb am righteous!"
"This startled the Chinese people. They never noticed it, but once the missionary pointed this out, they saw it clearly. They asked, "Which lamb must we be under to be righteous?"
[The missionary] replied with John 1:29, which is a description of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"" I under the Lamb of God am righteous. That is God’s solution to mankind’s sin problem.
Isn't that just amazing?
Our pastor shared this at the close of a message nearly a year ago and I knew then that this would be something very special to our family.
Chris and I commissioned a Chinese calligrapher to paint this symbol.
We have printed high-quality artist prints (8.5X11 in) and are offering them for sale to raise money for Abraham's adoption.
We are making these available for a $25 donation. Shipping is included.
If you would like one of these prints, please click on the "donate" button on the right side-bar of my blog. It will take you to PayPal. You can make the donation online and include your shipping address in the "notes" section of your donation. If you prefer to pay by check, please leave a comment in the "comments" section of this post. Please include your email address and I will contact you with payment information. Since I moderate comments, you can rest assured that your email address will NOT be published on this blog.
We certainly appreciate any referrals or links to our blog.
:)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Austin's 10th Birthday Trip!
It isn't his birthday yet (October 25), but since we aren't sure when we will travel to bring Abe home, we decided that we needed to pro-actively plan the boys' trip. They decided on a boys fishing weekend at Lake Texoma. They literally just pulled in with their haul :)
Here are my boys on their way to the lake
On the way down, they stopped at Bass Pro Shops in OKC (Mom's idea!). Austin got to do a little target practice :)
First thing Saturday morning (around 6:45 a.m.) Austin and Dad set out with their guide - and I am not making this up - Booger! I don't care what the man's name is - he took my boys to the fish and that's all that mattered :)
Austin's first bass of the day - over 8 pounds! Yay, buddy!
They brought home a total of 21 bass - all cleaned and already in the deep freeze! We'll be trying out a few new recipes :)
I think Austin had the BEST trip and Chris had a little fun, too!
I might ask Chris to guest post and share a few more details...
Here are my boys on their way to the lake
On the way down, they stopped at Bass Pro Shops in OKC (Mom's idea!). Austin got to do a little target practice :)
First thing Saturday morning (around 6:45 a.m.) Austin and Dad set out with their guide - and I am not making this up - Booger! I don't care what the man's name is - he took my boys to the fish and that's all that mattered :)
Austin's first bass of the day - over 8 pounds! Yay, buddy!
They brought home a total of 21 bass - all cleaned and already in the deep freeze! We'll be trying out a few new recipes :)
I think Austin had the BEST trip and Chris had a little fun, too!
I might ask Chris to guest post and share a few more details...
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Beijing 2008
Opening ceremonies were PHENOMINAL!
The littles watched the first hour and a half, but missed my favorite part - The Parade of Nations.
I would like to offer a little "hint" to our fundraiser...
They touched on it last night during the program. The section on ancient China highlighted the ancient art of Chinese Caligraphy...
:)
It was pretty awesome to watch last night and think that our son is there - in China - and the world is watching right now.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
the little ballerina...
I think the pictures speak for themselves...
The little ballerina was SO in her element!
It was a special trip for Amy and Momma to pick out her very first leotard (she picked the first one) and be fitted for her very first pair of slippers!
Tomorrow is her first class.
The little ballerina was SO in her element!
It was a special trip for Amy and Momma to pick out her very first leotard (she picked the first one) and be fitted for her very first pair of slippers!
Tomorrow is her first class.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
more on the weekend (and a few pics)
We had a wonderfully busy weekend!
I should back up a day and share a pic that I took Thursday...
My two bigs are becomming quite the bakers! We had three brown bananas and frankly - I was a little tired of banana bread. I suggested they find a recipe for banana cake. They not only found a recipe, but tackled a layer cake and did a pretty fabulous job! It was gobbled up entiredly too quickly; evidence of it's "yummy-ness".
Gail had a garage sale over the weekend to raise some funds for her China airfare. I had fun coming alongside to offer a little comic relief and a few items to contribute to the sale. Friday was hoppin'.
The little girls woke Daddy up on Saturday morning. Who wouldn't want this wake-up call?
I was out the door shortly after to help with the garage sale.
Apparently the littles continued to enjoy a little rough-housing in our bed, because by 9 am I got a phone call from Ash. She told me to meet them in the E.R. Anna gashed her head open. I heard Chris in the background - obviously panicked by all the blood. Wow. So, I met them at the hospital and we had our first experience with staples. Thankfully, it was on the back of her head (although for our little friend Lauren's benefit, I should add that it wouldn't have been that awful if it had been on the front).
Later that afternoon, we were joined by a whole lotta family! My aunt and uncle from southern Texas came to visit my grandma for the weekend and my cousin and her hubby came, too (along with their cutie little girls!). My Dad and Ralene, Brothers Jon and Christopher (and Joy!) and Grayson and Tate came, too! 17 people in all. We grilled steak and chicken and had a great time of fellowship that lasted well into the evening.
Here's the little kid table at supper (Ashleigh and Austin got to sit with the adults!)
After supper, Dad enjoyed some time playing horsey with some of the little ones (front to back - Anna, Amy, Kiera and Grayson)
Today was a relaxing Sunday. Church this morning followed by lunch out. Rest (for most) and a little shopping trip to my favorite - T.J. Maxx! I picked up a pair of skinny 5 slim jeans for Miss Amy and a few outfits for Abraham. I also found an amazing cake pan! I ran to Target and grabbed a Double Shot from Starbucks :) and picked up a few necessities. Ahhhhh, the joy of simple things :)
Looking forward to the week ahead. It's pretty laid back. Amy and I have a shopping date to pick up her pink leotard, pink tights and pink ballet slippers! Yup! Amy starts ballet on Thursday! The Olympics start Friday (08-08-08) and we are especially interested in the location of this year's Summer Games ;)
I am sure I have forgotten something, so there may be more later.
I should back up a day and share a pic that I took Thursday...
My two bigs are becomming quite the bakers! We had three brown bananas and frankly - I was a little tired of banana bread. I suggested they find a recipe for banana cake. They not only found a recipe, but tackled a layer cake and did a pretty fabulous job! It was gobbled up entiredly too quickly; evidence of it's "yummy-ness".
Gail had a garage sale over the weekend to raise some funds for her China airfare. I had fun coming alongside to offer a little comic relief and a few items to contribute to the sale. Friday was hoppin'.
The little girls woke Daddy up on Saturday morning. Who wouldn't want this wake-up call?
I was out the door shortly after to help with the garage sale.
Apparently the littles continued to enjoy a little rough-housing in our bed, because by 9 am I got a phone call from Ash. She told me to meet them in the E.R. Anna gashed her head open. I heard Chris in the background - obviously panicked by all the blood. Wow. So, I met them at the hospital and we had our first experience with staples. Thankfully, it was on the back of her head (although for our little friend Lauren's benefit, I should add that it wouldn't have been that awful if it had been on the front).
Later that afternoon, we were joined by a whole lotta family! My aunt and uncle from southern Texas came to visit my grandma for the weekend and my cousin and her hubby came, too (along with their cutie little girls!). My Dad and Ralene, Brothers Jon and Christopher (and Joy!) and Grayson and Tate came, too! 17 people in all. We grilled steak and chicken and had a great time of fellowship that lasted well into the evening.
Here's the little kid table at supper (Ashleigh and Austin got to sit with the adults!)
After supper, Dad enjoyed some time playing horsey with some of the little ones (front to back - Anna, Amy, Kiera and Grayson)
Today was a relaxing Sunday. Church this morning followed by lunch out. Rest (for most) and a little shopping trip to my favorite - T.J. Maxx! I picked up a pair of skinny 5 slim jeans for Miss Amy and a few outfits for Abraham. I also found an amazing cake pan! I ran to Target and grabbed a Double Shot from Starbucks :) and picked up a few necessities. Ahhhhh, the joy of simple things :)
Looking forward to the week ahead. It's pretty laid back. Amy and I have a shopping date to pick up her pink leotard, pink tights and pink ballet slippers! Yup! Amy starts ballet on Thursday! The Olympics start Friday (08-08-08) and we are especially interested in the location of this year's Summer Games ;)
I am sure I have forgotten something, so there may be more later.
a project
hey all.
:)
long time - no blog.
i will try to get some pics from our weekend up soon.
very, very busy!
a garage sale for gail to raise airfare $$$ for china.
an e.r. visit and 5 staples to the head for anna.
cousins and an aunt and uncle from texas.
but i wanted to let you know that we are working on an AMAZING fundraiser project right now and i can hardly wait to get it done! it is something that ties many of our loves and passions into one thing... how's that for baiting you?!?!
LOL!!!
more info soon.
i guess i could just say that we do have a donate button on the sidebar (which is - for some reason - at the bottom of the page right now). this would be the hardest part for me - and yet an amazing opportunity for you to be part of Abe's story. it will be used for our fundraiser; just getting everything in place.
the olympics start friday!!!
:)
long time - no blog.
i will try to get some pics from our weekend up soon.
very, very busy!
a garage sale for gail to raise airfare $$$ for china.
an e.r. visit and 5 staples to the head for anna.
cousins and an aunt and uncle from texas.
but i wanted to let you know that we are working on an AMAZING fundraiser project right now and i can hardly wait to get it done! it is something that ties many of our loves and passions into one thing... how's that for baiting you?!?!
LOL!!!
more info soon.
i guess i could just say that we do have a donate button on the sidebar (which is - for some reason - at the bottom of the page right now). this would be the hardest part for me - and yet an amazing opportunity for you to be part of Abe's story. it will be used for our fundraiser; just getting everything in place.
the olympics start friday!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
