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Thursday, March 27, 2008

It's Spring


It was a beautiful day today so I took the girls out to my favorite spot to get some pictures.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Don't count your eggs untl you eat them!


So sunday we had an egg hunt at church. There was no limit of
eggs so my girls heaped their baskets to overflowing. We came home,
took a nap and then we went out again to a large church that was doing
an Easter drama. I thought it would be a good way to introduce
the Easter story to our preschoolers.It was so very special to me to
watch them SEE the story for the first time and answer all their
questions. Right after Jesus was crusified, my little potty trained
Karianne told me she had to go to the bathroom. Didn't want her to
miss the resurrection so I asked her to hold it for the first time. We
cheered and clapped when Jesus rose from the grave. Just brought tears
to my eyes to share that with my daughters.
Anyway, when we got home from that, we found plastic Easter Eggs
all over our living room floor! One of our dogs had gotten into
Angie's Easter basket and had taken each
egg out one by one, opened each one and ate the contents!! Everyone of
her eggs where empty, even the ones that had playdoh in them! Poor
baby you should have seen her face! At the same time, I was trying not
to laugh at the determination of our dog opening each of those eggs
and not breaking any of them! We have three dogs but there is no doubt
in my mind it was our Llaso Apso that did it, such a mischevious breed!
Hope everyone else had a good Easter!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Jesus Is Alive!


The girls are taking a nap right now after an action packed day that is not over yet! We had to be at church this morning early for an 8:30 service, Brent and I were both teaching so we had to be there extra early. We also taught in both services so the girls got to hear the lesson twice. I taught in Kiki's Treehouse and was priviledged to tell the Story of Easter to Preschoolers were where hearing it for the first time! Our "special words" for the day in preschool where, "Jesus is Alive" . After hearing the lesson twice Karianne and Angie where pros and they did the lesson again for me after church while we waited for Brent. It was so cute and so precious to me to hear them tell the Resurrection story in their own words, or should I say my words that they repeated from memory.
Here's a picture of them telling the lesson, not a great picture. I was holding Lucy and trying to catch them still long enough to snap the picture.
Tonight we are going to a church in Tulsa that is doing an Easter drama so the girls can SEE the story of Easter as well.
Happy Easter!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Happy Easter!


Just in case I don't get a chance to tell you tomorrow, Happy Easter! Thank You Jesus for the amazing gift of a risen Savior! How different this day would be if we were just remembering the death of a hero, instead, we celebrate the Savior who is more powerful than death, and changed the world by giving us hope of an eternity with him!

On a side note, we had a busy week. It was such beautiful weather we went to the park several times with the girls. Yesterday we went to the zoo. today we were out all day as well. big landmark, I now have my first potty trained child! Yipee! All those day trips and no accidents!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Thanks Aunt Debbie


Aunt Debbie gave the girls a balloon last week at Tim's birthday. Karianne and Angie have had no end of fun with it- Here's one of their favorite things to do with balloons. The Cow's eyes scare them a little so thet don't want it in their room at night. Thanks Debbie!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Amy Update!


We got some pictures and updates of Amy this weekend! She is getting therapy and she's still with a foster family where she is the only child. We've been told that she can wear normal shoes but still limps of course but she is on a wait list to have surgery on her foot! How exciting! We didn't know they were planning to operate on her foot in China!
Can't wait to get her home. I've been anxios for her lately because she is in the region where they are having the unrest in China right now near Tibet. Praying for her and her countrymen.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St Patricks day!


Lucy Joy is 2 months old today! Happy St Patrick's day! A wonderful man who brought the Gospel to Ireland.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Addicted


I saw a news story this week that raised the question that perhaps Angelina Jolie was addicted to adoption. I couldn't believe it! Of all the things to be addicted to! Isn't addiction supposed to be a vice? It amazes me to see the selfishness of this world when a person who has more than 2 kids is crazy or must be trying to make up for something in their own life! If I am addicted to adoption then haleluiah that God has opened my eyes to the plight of orphans and as a mother I cannot help but to scoop them up, and wipe away their tears and say," there there, I am your mother now, I'll keep you safe". Is that not what God has done for us? I love all mt girls so much and yearn for my little girl Amy in China to come home to us. I pray to God that there may be more addicts out there. What a different world this would be if we all became addicted to adoption!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Ask Professor Karianne


We don't ask Jeeves around here, we just ask Karianne, she has an answer for everything! The other day she wanted me to sit in the back seat of the van with her. I told her I didn't want to because the bumps make me sick. She sais, Ohhh, I like the bumps but some day I will be a momma and then I won't like the bumps either! At least she didn't say I was old!

Happy Birthday Tim


My brother in law Tim turned 40 this week! We had a suprise party for him and our family drove to Little Rock to help him celebrate. The girls were really pumped up about yelling suprise at Uncle Tim and wanted to see him look suprised. He was more or less :-) and the loved it. After the party we went to a sports center with Uncle Tim and his family. All the girls went swimming in the indoor pool and Brent and Tim played an hour of Racketball. I won't say who won. :-) They had a good game though.
Happy Birthday Tim, we love you!

Monday, March 10, 2008

I have a friend who runs a very large, very active adoption Yahoo group. I don't think she'd mind my posting what she wrote this evening on the state of international adoptions:

Friends,

With China's strict requirments and also almost a 3 year wait for NSN (non special needs)
children, Guatemala now shut-down, Vietnam has the threat of being closed again, the
Hague being enforced starting April with stricter requirements for adoption
families, I feel we all need to be concerned and pray for orphans worldwide.
Also, remember other countries in years past that were doing adoptions(like
Romania) are not allowing international adoptions now. Orphans worldwide are the
ones who are and will suffer the most.
To me it does seem that international adoptions needs a lot of prayer,
especially for the orphans who still remain in orphanages. An orphanage is nothing
like the love of a family. Even though the physical needs may be being met
(and in many orphanages there is still lack of food, heat. medicines,etc) there
are emotional needs such as love that is needed too.
Please let us all pray for the precious children in orphanages worldwide who
all need families to love them."

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Happy Birthday Princess!


Angie turned 3 on Wednesday. She had a wonderful time alternating wearing a crown and a party hat. She opened lots of presents and blew out her candles in just 2 tries! You can see more of her birthday pictures on our Flickr page.
Angie's birthdays have yet to be the norm for me. We have been blessed to have spent all 3 of her birthdays with her. I just get so emotional thinking of her and her circumstances on the day she was born. She was wrapped up in warm clothes and a blanket and left out on a public street for her to be found by a stranger or the cold winter elements- whichever may find her first. Did her birthmother care? Does she grieve every year on Angie's birthday? We'll never know about the circumstances that brought her to an orphanage as soon as she was born, but I am so greatful to God that she found her way into our home.
Earlier this week I saw pictures of babies abandoned in China. One was crying on the cold ground lying in a beat up cardboard box. Another that just sent chills down my spine was a (presumably) dead baby laying face down in a puddle of water, with people just walking by. Is life so cheap? To look at those pictures and then look up and see my Angie giggling and chasing Karianne around was just to much for me, because I know she had a similar start to life, but she was saved from death because a stranger found her in time and took her to an orphanage. She got a second chance at life, and was rescued yet again when the Chinese government referred her to us- her forever family. Such an amazing story. Surely God has great things planned for this little girl!
I deeply and strongly believe in the miracle of adoption and God's plan for us to take care of orphans. What your roll is, is for you to decide. Support a family trying to adopt, support a child in an orphanage, or the greatest blessing you can receive, adopting a child yourself. So many children in China have escaped death only to wait in an orphanage for a family, some never do get a family, and I believe every child deserves one.
On that note, we are still anxiously awaiting the news from China that we can come and bring Amy home from China. She was abandoned in a hospital almost 3 years ago and has been waiting all this time to call someone momma and daddy. Adoption is God's special miracle to mend broken hearts and broken lives. Praise God.

Happy Birthday sweet Angie. You are truly a beautiful princess!