Christmas

This Christmas has been a special one in many ways. So much to share.....

I will begin with December 13th. That was the day my brother Marty and his two boys, Kyle and Kory, flew in from Washington to be here for 3 weeks. I had been looking forward to this day for months and was so thankful to know that Marty was able to join us for Christmas. Back in January he was diagnosed with leukemia and had been on chemo for about nine months. Then when they tested his bone marrow after all his chemo, the Dr's could not find any trace of cancer! We praise God for His grace and healing!

December 17th my brother Steve and his new wife, Myrna, flew in from Washington to be here as well on Christmas. This was our first time meeting Myrna. She is a sweet gal and we are thankful to have her as part of our family. Steve and Myrna had some news for all us......they are expecting a child in August! Wow!! So we have yet another nephew or niece on the way (Phil and Audrey are expecting baby #2 in July).

December 19th I took Marty out on a date. We went to see Michael W. Smith Christmas concert. It was so good and we enjoyed every minute of it. I know Marty loved it, he sat there with tears in his eyes....reminded how God has worked in mighty ways through him and for him this past year.

December 20th Marty's wife, Linda, flew in to join us. Linda had never met Audrey so that was a first for them. In fact, this was a first for Marty, Linda, Steve and Myrna to meet Hannah (Phil and Audrey's girl), Kaitlyn (Tim and Tanya's) and Carly. It's been amazing to see how our family continues to grow.

Christmas Eve Eve, we met up with Erik's sister, Julie, and family who also were in town staying with her in-laws. We had a great dinner and then went to our church for a service. This was their first time meeting Carly. It was cute to see all the boys around Carly.

Christmas Eve we surprised my mom and dad by having all of us kids attend their church for Christmas Eve service. My mom cried when she saw all 19 of us walk through the church doors. That was a great surprise and wonderful gift for my mom....to have all her kids together in church.

Christmas Day! What a day! This is the first time in eleven years that all of us kids have been together for Christmas! We started our day with just our family (the five of us) opening gifts in the morning and having a yummy breakfast. We then headed over to Tim and Tanya's for a fun-filled day! It's been a tradition for over 20 years, to draw names in our family. We don't share who's name we drew and we write that person a poem. On Christmas day we sit in a circle and take turns reading our poems from that person. We can not open our gift, from that person, until we guess who the poem is from. We are not a very poetic bunch at all, so as you can imagine, this gets real funny to hear each poem. We also played the white elephant game. But the high light of the day was when the guys, and Kailey, all jumped into the pool.....an unheated pool. The water temp is usually in the upper 40's but this year they got off pretty easy and the temp was 51.

Although the games are fun, I am so thankful for time spent with family. I am thankful for Carly...what a precious gift she has been to us. I'm most thankful for the best gift of all, and that is God's gift to us, sending His Son for us because He loves us!

I took a lot of pictures over the last two weeks so I will post those soon. Enjoy!

Seven Months

Ok...so I am a little behind with this post. Carly turned 7 months a week ago. She has a few new teeth that are popping thru and a lot of drool to go with it. She certainly has discovered her voice and definitely knows what she wants. She cracks us up!

Connor's Piano Recital

Tuesday night Connor had his piano recital. He did a great job. His teacher also gives voice lessons and although Connor does not take voice, his teacher asked him to sing as well. He sang When Christmas Comes to Town from the movie The Polar Express. Since he sang first, I was able to record the whole song on my camera...but when it came time for him to play his song, my memory card was full. So, I have 2 very short clips of him playing his piano piece. I have tried to post the video of him singing but it is too big to load on here! Ugh!

Same song, just another short clip. Bummed I didn't get it all.

Busy Weekend

We had a fun filled weekend. Erik had five days off and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Thanksgiving day we were at Phil and Audrey's and had a great time being with family and of course, eating yummy food.

Friday morning we had yet another home study visit. This would be our second time getting re-certified to adopt. Even though we are adopting from China, we need to be certified thru our state to adopt. We are really hoping that this would be the last time we need to do this and that we will travel to China with-in the next year.

Friday evening we attended our first Christmas party. Erik does cameras for the Sunday services at our church, so the media ministry had a Christmas party for the volunteers. We had a fun evening.

Saturday we met Tim, Tanya and the kids at the mall and the three girls got their ears pierced. That means Carly got hers done! Erik and I were both a bit nervous for her but we are glad we did it. She cried for about a minute and then all was fine. She was smiling at everyone. She looks so cute! We came home and spent the rest of the day decorating for Christmas. The boys had fun putting up the tree.

Sunday afternoon we got together with family once again for Kaitlyn's 11th birthday. We believe this is her first birthday party ever. It was fun watching her open her cards and gifts. She really didn't know what to do. When her friends arrived with gifts, she did not realize that those gifts were for her. It was obvious that she was so excited to have received such nice gifts.

Now, it's Monday morning. Back to work, school and running around.....

Charm Addiction

A blogger friend, Sheri, who is also adopting from China has a business selling charms. All the money raised from the sales of their charms will go towards their adoption fund. She has a lot of cute stuff so check out the website. This is a great Christmas idea.....

Just click on the picture of the charm to get to her website.

Thanksgiving Day

A Quick Visit

This last weekend Erik's sister, Julie, and her husband Kevin flew into town for an unexpected visit with Kevin's family. Although, we wish they were here under different circumstances, we were thankful to meet up with them for dinner. This was their first time meeting Carly. We had a great evening and it's always good to see family!

Six Months

At 6 months she weighs...19 lbs 7 oz. Gotta love the rolls!

Thank You!

As most of you know, adoption is dear to our hearts. Carly joined our family in May through adoption, here in Arizona, and we are awaiting our time to travel to bring Claire home from China.

I recently found Sheri's blog who is also in the adoption process with China. The following are words that she wrote, and with her permission I wanted to share them here. I couldn't have said it better.

November is National Adoption month and we thought it only appropriate to celebrate by honoring the one person that that makes all adoptions possible. Whether the path of domestic or internationally adoption is chosen, the one common denominator is the birth mother.

To all birth mothers across the US and around the world; thank you for making one of the hardest decisions in your life. Thank you for choosing life. Thank you for carrying a child for nine months, going through the pain of labor, holding the child in your arms and loving the child so much that you did the most unselfish thing you could do. You gave this child a chance to live, you gave this child a mommy and daddy, you gave this child hope.

The video below is a song by Mark Schultz who was given up for adoption. It is his tribute to his birth mother and birth mothers around the world.

Thank you for everything.

So Proud!

That is exactly what we are of Connor and Carter. First quarter at school came to an end and the grades are out. Drum roll.....Connor made Principal's List AND...so did Carter!

For Carter this is a huge accomplishment. School does not come as easy for Carter as it does Connor. Carter has many challenges and there have been many times he just wants to quit but we keep encouraging him, telling him we are so proud of him and that he can do it. When he received his award from his teacher he told me that he almost cried! I told him that it's ok to cry. They're happy tears. He knows himself what receiving this award means. It means he did not give up and he can do it. He too is so proud of himself.

As I write this I have happy tears. When you have a child with special needs, it's easy to limit your expectations for them. But today I am reminded of what Nurse Rita (the school nurse from Carter's pre-school, who back then was little, frail and so sweet, and I'm sure was in her 80's) said to me on Carter's last day of pre-school. She said "I know that one day, in years to come, Carter will surprise us all." She knew Carter when he was only 3 and 4 years old and yet knew then that Carter would exceed all of our expectations......and I agree. He already has. And God is still working in Carter and Connor and I know He's not done yet.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

So, way to go Connor and Carter! We are so proud of you!

This and That

Just a recap for you....

Although it is October, the weather here is still warm during the day. The kids had a great time washing the car and then of course getting into a water fight with dad afterwards.

My cousin, Merdal, is in town visiting from Michigan. Love having her here.

Connor had his game Friday night. We love having the game in the evening, sitting under the lights and enjoying the cool air. Their team did not win this game but they did play hard. Go Cardinals!

Carly's 2nd tooth finally came thru this last week! I didn't think it would ever happen. She loves sitting in her high chair, which is no surprise since she loves sitting up so she can see all that is going on. She can't miss a thing!

And....Sunday afternoon we all got together at Phil and Audrey's and had a fun time hanging out.

Five Months

Hard to believe another month has passed. Today Carly is five months old. She is doing so well. She loves to grab for everything and put it in her mouth. There is still only the one tooth but I'm sure it won't be much longer til we see the next one come in. She can roll over from her back to her tummy but still has not gone from tummy to back. She smiles all the time and even gets a good chuckle going. We love her so much and is such a blessing.

Once again, I couldn't post just one or two pictures so I made another slideshow using several. Carter helped me take pictures and you will see the one he took turned out to be my favorite. Good job Carter!

Carly's Dedication

Sunday evening we had Carly dedicated. We as parents made a commitment before the church and to the Lord to teach Carly of His love and grace so that one day she will proclaim Him as her Lord and Savior and choose to follow His ways. The verse given to her, which comes from one of my favorite Psalms, was......"Thou has covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13&14

We had a nice evening with family. We tried to get a picture of all the cousins but it was just too hard. Getting 7 kids to sit together, look at the camera and smile, is not easy. As you will see in the pictures, there is at least one kid missing each time.

Spirit Week

Another First

Carly has her first tooth! Getting a picture of it was not an easy task. Every time I would take my finger to pull her lip down....her tongue would come out. After several attempts, I finally got one. Of course I would have liked to not have my finger in the picture, but it was the only way to see that little tooth. Look close.

They Are Home!

Tim, Tanya, Austin, Kailey and Kaitlyn arrived home from China yesterday evening. It was so great to meet them at the airport. Kaitlyn is finally home with her forever family!

Waiting....

Here they come...


Cyilea and Kaitlyn

Getting a ride from Uncle Erik

They Have Kaitlyn

Tim and Tanya (Austin and Kailey too) are in China and have finally met their new daughter/ sister, Kaitlyn. We are so excited for them and as you can tell from the pictures, they all are so happy. Even Kaitlyn seems to be full of joy. We can not wait to meet them at the airport.

Be sure to read their story and see more pictures on their blog. The link is on the right.








Also, please be praying for a family in China right now. They are in Tim and Tanya's travel group. They were to meet their little girl yesterday as well, but instead, they were taken to the hospital where she, Susannah, is in a hospital bed, very sick. She has a heart condition and is not doing well at all!! They aren't even sure if she will make it. They need to get her home to the U.S. now! I've added their blog on the right as well so you can read their story.

Four Months

Carly is four months today. She is changing so much and is such a little chunk. I love it! Last week she went in for her check-up and she weighed in at 15 lbs 13 oz. I took her 4 mo. picture but couldn't decide which one to post..... so I made a slide show using them all.

Firsts

Eating rice cereal and sitting tall in her exersaucer!

(a.k.a....Carly's space ship)

San Diego

Chinabound

My brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Tanya, are finally heading to China to get their girl! They found out today that they will travel on September 11th. We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet our new niece, Kaitlyn. You can check out their story and keep up to date with them while they are in China by going to their blog. The link to their blog is posted to the right under links.

First Day for Connor

Today was Connor's first day of school. The 6th grade!! Wow. He too was excited to get back to school.....mostly to see all his friends! We are so proud of him and know he will have a great year.

Fun Times with Family

Last week we had Papa, Gramma and Cody come for a visit. Although it was HOT, we kept busy and had a fun time. They were so thrilled to finally have met Carly!

Three Months!

First Day of School

Our summer is over! Carter started school today! The 3rd grade. He has an awesome teacher, Mr. Oden, and we are so thankful that Mrs. Russ will be with him again this year. Carter is so excited to be back in school and we can't wait to see what this year will bring.

She Joins Our Family

She's Ours!!

It's official! What a day. Saturday morning we had our court appearance. We were to be there at 9 am and when we arrived and checked in, we discovered that we were taken off the schedule. Due to some misunderstanding our appointment time was cancelled (we could have panicked at this moment point but I knew God would see us through...like He has in every step along the way in this process). Well, the clerk at the desk saw the mistake and went to the office to see what she could do. She was able to gather all the needed papers and send it up to the Commissioner for him to review.....last minute. He was kind enough to review it all, especially since this is done the week before, and we were able to be seen after all the other families. The Lord is good! We were in and out of the court room within 10 minutes! I can not put into words the emotion I felt the moment I walked out of the court room. It's done and she is ours!

We then went to Starbucks for a coffee break then made our way over to Tim and Tanya's for a swim. Later we went to dinner and and came back for dessert.

I have said it many times...I look at Carly and I am truly in awe and so thankful we have her. She is our precious gift from God!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Here's Carly

We Have A Girl!

BUT.... not from China! It all started with a phone call on a Sunday evening, April 20th! A phone call we never expected in a million years! When I looked at the caller ID, I saw that it was a mom from Connor's school. I thought this mom was calling to ask me if I could help with a classroom party...perhaps! HA! Well, after a few minutes of small talk, she got right to the reason of her call. She had told me of a family at her church who has daughter that is pregnant, ready to deliver at any day and giving her baby up for adoption. She asked...."are you interested in a baby girl?" Wow!! That was all I could say at the time. Of course every part of me wanted to say yes immediately, but I thought it would probably be a good idea to run this by Erik. Now let me just add by saying that we were not at all thinking about or considering domestic adoption since we are in the process with China. So, after talking and praying about it that night, we decided to move ahead with this. We knew we had to take it one step at a time and not jump ahead because we knew things could change at any moment.

The first step of course was to talk to the birth mom. I finally spoke with her on the phone that Thursday! We made arrangements to meet the next evening at Starbucks. We were all nervous going into this and really had no idea what to expect. We had no idea where we stood in her (birth mom) mind. So, I asked her if she was going to pursue other families as well. Her reply....."No. I really like you guys!" At that moment I wanted to run through the parking lot doing cart-wheels....but I knew it was best I stayed calm (besides, I never was able to do a cart-wheel before in my life). So just like that.....we were it!

Next step.....babies arrival. Her due date...May 5th. The due date came.....and went. Every day I had my cell phone glued to me and at night I slept with it just inches from my face. Then on May 12th, the birth mom was admitted! She was delivering at the hospital where Erik works so since he was already there working, I came and hung out with him. By evening time we sat in the waiting room and watched time go by ever so slowly. Then at 2:00 AM it was time for me to go in her room. Carly was born at 2:21 AM. I was so honored that I was able to be there for her birth! Erik came in just minutes later. I was the first to hold Carly and Erik was the first to feed her! What a special time!

We took her home on Wednesday and have been loving on her ever since!

Every day I look at her and am in awe! I am so thankful for this precious gift from the Lord.

Now what does this mean for China? Well, we continue to wait. China has a policy that requires us to wait 12 months from placement of one child (which would be Carly) to placement of second child (Claire). Since the wait time for China is still at least a year (hard to believe), then nothing will change for us.

God is good!

Finally 2006!

Wow! China has finally reached 2006! What does this mean? They just placed children with families who have a log-in-date (LID) up thru 1/4/06. Our LID is 11/06 so we still have a long wait but it is nice to see that they are done with 2005 and in to our year!

Another Birthday!

Wow! Where does the time go? Sunday we celebrated Carter's 9th birthday. Every year as we celebrate I can't help but take myself back to the moment Carter was born. The memory is still so clear in my mind, as if it were just yesterday. Our journey of the unknown started the very moment he entered this world in silence. I knew immediately, within the first few minutes of his life, we needed to pray. That was all I could do as I laid there watching the medical staff work on Carter. The next 6 days were an emotional roller coaster but through it all I knew GOD was in control, for HE created Carter and HE knew! Even when the Dr.s had no answer, I had complete peace that Carter was in the hands of the greatest physician, our Lord!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:1-18

Now onto February 24, 2008......After church we met family for dinner. We told Carter we would go where he wanted and I have to say his choice of restaurant surprised us...but that's what we love about Carter. It doesn't matter what others think, if he likes it, then that's all that counts. We ate at the Elephant Bar and then came to the house for cake and presents. Once again, he picked out his cake, and was it something that any of us would pick? Probably not. Did it fit the occasion?? Not really. (unless your birthday was in July maybe) But that is okay! Carter wanted the American flag on his cake and that is what he got. He was thrilled!! He then opened presents and I think his favorite was the human body book. He loves learning about the body.

Looking back on this day I really learned something from Carter. I admire him for being able to do what he wants no matter how different it may be or knowing others may think it's odd. How I wish I had more of that in me. I thank the Lord for him every day and am so grateful to see how far Carter has come.

Oh...one more thing. Why did I type in green?? It's Carter's favorite color!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Go Team!

Today Connor had his first tackle game...and they won! The score was 14 to 2. This was a tough game for most of the team players since it was their first time playing tackle. But now that they got their first game under their belt, I'm sure they have much more confidence. Connor picked up a fumble and ran 75 yards for a touchdown! Way to go!! Each team member played so hard and all their hard work at practice really paid off! Go Team!

Go Rattlers!

Make a postcard - it's easy!