Christmas Eve Catch up

Bug and Bunny all dressed up

Christmas Eve dresses, even a matching one for Bunny!

Handsome big brother and Boo

Hope everyone had a wonderful blessed holiday. Our kiddos were thrilled with their goodies. Boo was really into Santa and her excitement was so fun ! Santa scaled way back this year and we focused more on the meaning of CHRISTmas then gifts, and it was nice. Lots of pictures so I will just get to it :)

Ohhhh what a cheeky monkey!!

Baking cookies for Santa (no Ketsup in recipe : )

Finding Santa's note on the door!

Every year my son spends all of December making pictures

and gifts to leave for Santa. He thinks it is nice to leave something for Santa for all he does for kids (How sweet!) When we leave to go to Nana & Pa-Pops house for Christmas Eve dinner,he leaves it by the door. A few times Santa has left him a thank you note along with the traditional new PJs for Christmas :) You can see the excitement on his face . So sweet! I love the innocent excitement!



Girls in their new pjs Christmas eve

(normally they match but Santa's order was delayed ;p)

Peanut in his new pjs

Bug finding her last present...stay tuned ;)

How late were you up on Christmas eve? We were not as prepared as we should have been. 3am was bedtime for us..

Christmas Miracle

Please pop on over to Michelle Riggs blog. She is Abby's mom. Sweet Abby is really struggling and she is going into the hardest part of her treatment. They have received some very upsetting news about her illness and could use every prayer and positive thought out there. This sweet little girl is so tiny and sick, yet so STRONG and HAPPY. Please pray for her. She needs a miracle and our GOD is strong enough to give it to her.

All is well

Thank you to everyone for the happy thoughts, and prayers. I am thrilled to say I didnt need to stop the procedure due to a panic attack :) I seriously get a bit nutty with the odd noises and sensations from an MRI. I am pretty strong normally , so it is wierd..but there it is. I have an appt the 29th to talk with my Dr. I think all is fine. He wants me to have a procedure to move my spine back into alignment to help with the pain and I am against it :)

Wow. ONE DAY until Christmas eve! HAAA!! Looked at the clock & It is 12:06 am , so

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE !!!! Gosh this went fast no? We are ready, except for wrapping (small details) but everything is done , no last minute craziness just enjoying our families, my beautiful kiddos and remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. Awesome.

Had our conference call with Emily our sw from our agency tonite. It was good. I learned a few news things and was reminded of others. I think it is great that they prepare parents for the good and bad.

Off to bake some cookies and Biscotti for the neighbors :)

Refreshing

Boo before a tantrum :)



Finally a chance to bundle up!!

That is the word I would use to describe our little burst of cold air. My sister and I went out shopping tonite, and it was COLD. Yes I said it. 46 degrees WITH a wind and cold!! I know you folks up north are ready to choke me ;) but I admit I love the chill in the air! It is so yummy for Christmas. My agency has had really bad weather where they are and I pray everyone stays safe.

I could use a few prayers also. I have an MRI in the morning. Open not closed thank goodness .....but they scare me to death. I have been having alot of pain in my neck and am hoping to avoid a more involved procedure. Prayers I dont have a panic attack would be great ;)

Christmas Glow

I LOVE the way my house looks at holiday time. All that sparkles and shines. The warm glow, the yummy evergreen and cinnamon smells. Aaahhhh. It makes my home feel peaceful.

I said FEEL peaceful. NOT peaceful. Taming the wild, angry railing tantrums of my 2 1/2 year old would aid the peaceful feelings. And stop the yearning for a glass of wine at noon ;)

Strength of women

My dear friend Kendra sent me this clip. It moved me to tears. Women NEED each other. We do. No one gets "it" like other women.
~watch with a tissue in hand. You have been warned.

STRENGTH OF WOMEN

Sorry, I cant get the video to load. Just click and enjoy :)

Taking a breath

Boo at the park. Have blankie, time for nappy :)



Notice the section w/out lights? Too bad. I am over it :) HATE pre-lit trees.

Nana bought our new baby a L-Berger (sp?) baby basket just like
she has for each of the kiddos after my son. Aunt Mem started the tradition and it is fun to have it for each of the kids. I was so happy! I put all the baby treasures in it, and the kids love to look thru it and see tiny socks, first onesies, hospital bracelets and teeny footprints :) I took Boo's with us to Guatemala for our visit trip at 3 months old, and put her teeny foot prints on her basket. Baby girl, will have to wait until she gets home though, no way to get them earlier. THANK YOU Nana ;)

Boo excited about her "Baby Siser" !

My pampered pet riding in the baby sling.

Good thing I have 2 :)

~Wow. SO much going on my brain is fried. Holiday stuff, kid stuff, finance stuff, teeny baby stuff, paperwork stuff. Oye. We had a play date yesterday which was a nice break. I played the WII with the kids and had a ball. Kinda turned my mind off ;)

~Had a wonderful chat with our International Ped. She called me back in 24 hrs and confirmed our baby is healthy,happy and beautiful. She is growing nicely. I would have accepted without her confirmation. I had a lot more lab work for Boo's referral and I went with my gut and accepted without having her paperwork looked at by anyone. Children do not come with guarantees. My bio kids didn't. My children born of my heart don't. God picked us to be their parents. Good enough for me :)

~My SW signed off on our referral too. Next week we have our conference call. We will be officially off the referral list once our packet is received by our agency next week! YAY! SO happy we didn't have to linger at the #1 or #2 spot. That is HARD WORK. God knows I am weak and just surprised us ;)

~Amazon.com didn't re-box my sons Christmas gift that arrived yesterday. Thanks Amazon for trashing the surprise. Like I dont have enough to worry about? Now I have to stalk the UPS and Fedex guys? Nice. (after 2 adoptions they should be used to it LOL !)

Oh my Teeny tiny girl!!

Sorry about the delay ...I have been too busy staring into my sweet baby girls HUGE eyes. Yes HUGE. She is 11 weeks old and a tiny 11#s . She is beautiful!! I so wish you could see her. But alas , she isnt legally mine (tell that to my heart) and I can not share online. Pray for me to get in and out of court quickly THEN she will be mine to share! Maybe I can share a picture of a little hand or foot...they are awfully cute too !

Of course my call came when I WAS NOT expecting. Trust me that is how it will happen for you , if you are waiting. You just cant plan these things. My sweet caseworker called from a different line so my "special ring" didnt happen, and I had no idea it was my agency. I was also napping, so I was a bit slow on the uptake LOL! BUT when I heard Christy say "I have some exciting news for you.." I was awake !Can you imagine ? I was only #4, but in my heart I knew it was coming. Notice down a post or 2 I mentioned I had a feeling I would be seeing my girl soon? I was right! I love the number thing, and it was right on. We were #4 , recd our referral at 4:22 on 12/04 and she is our 4th child :)

Now the REAL waiting begins....

Surprise!

When you least expect it.......... GOD surprises you.

Dolls for real families

Ok. Remember I teased you about the perfect baby dolls for my little ones? Hello? Anyone remember? JK :)

My Bug LOVES American gi*l dolls. Santa was a smart shopper and scored some cool deals last yr on ebay:) She also has a My Twinn doll. Honestly , My twinn's are neat but they arent good quality, and I am NOT buying another one. Currently ours needs medical attention w/a broken neck. Boo like playing too but I wanted something more babyish. I went to the American Gi*l site ,I saw they have added the Bitty Twinns in CHOICES!!! CHOICES people! I remember you could only buy blonde boy/girl or brown haired white boy/girl. Is this new? You can pick a blonde girl, and a asian little boy. A black boy and a brown haired girl. OR 2 girls. Or 2 boys. Etc!! I chose beautiful chubby toddler girls in Hispanic AND African American (or Ethiopian in our case ;P ) I am THRILLED. At about $45 dollars a piece they arent anymore expensive then the bitty babies (which I dont care for) and they have more longevity I hope. And they represent MY girls :) Priceless.

Click here to peek

Thankful~

Boo w/her "puple Tee" :) Granma
bought for her


I decorated her tree in a Guatemalan theme
(click pic to make it bigger)









My tree climbing monkeys!




Guess what I am thankful for ?

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. The day before Thanksgiving in 2006, I received the call that Boo was finally (after 2 kick outs) OUT of PGN!! The relief was huge. We were thrilled! This year we know we are SO close to seeing our new daughters sweet face, so another exciting Thanksgiving.

If you go down to my last post, click on Jana and Michelle's name and go see there BEAUTIFUL children!! They just came home from Ethiopia this weekend.

I am so happy for them.

Notice the picture of Bella on my sidebar? Click on it and read her story. She came home from Guatemala , and was recently diagnosed with cancer. Please pray for her. Abby and Bella are so young...they should be playing dress up not having chemo treatments.

Still #4, I will be seeing my baby girl very soon...I feel it :)

Faith~

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

~It is true. I have no doubt the daughter God has planned for our family will be revealed at the perfect time. I know some people dont belive in GOD-INCIDENCES, but I do. With Boo every date, in her journey spoke to me. God spoke to me that this was right, this would be ok. And it will.

~I have changed my AGCI ringtone to "All I want for Christmas" by Mariah Carey ;) :) ( my funny hubby suggested "Run for the hills" by iron maiden)

~Our daughter is most likely born right now and maybe, being loved by the special mothers at the orphanage.

~I am getting pretty darn excited right now.

Seriously.

Lots of this and that

Boo and Lilly Lou :)

I was in a funk the last week so I haven't had anything fun to post. I had awful migraines last week (4) then I pinched my neck. I was exhausted by Friday. I got my lazy tush in to see the Chiropractor yesterday. He scolded me a bit for not keeping up with my treatment. I have never been good about making time for me.

Please keep sweet Abby in your prayers. She is not losing weight finally!! We are all so thankful this beautiful child is here , with her family where she can receive the medical treatments she needs. I cant imagine the pain a mother in Guatemala or Ethiopia feels when her child is SO sick & a treatment plan IS NOT possible.

Check out Jana's and Michelle's blogs next week. They will have some wonderful pictures~they are both in Ethiopia RIGHT NOW lovin on their babes! So happy for them. There is another group traveling in December , so maybe that will make lots of room for new babies and children to be referred!

I made this yummy yummy, chicken recipe in the crock pot the other day. It was moist, and so flavorful. Kinda scary skinning the chicken (yuck) but pretty easy and so good. The spices were wonderful. I put potatoes with a slice of onion wrapped in tin foil around the chicken. What an awesome meal. It was picked clean :) Then I got brave and used the bones to make chicken broth followed by Homemade chicken soup. All of it yummy. I think I deserve a cookie :)

Before cooking.

OH OH!! I found the cutest dolls for Boo and her new baby sister! If your child has anything OTHER then blonde hair and blue eyes it is tough to find dolls that looks like them. I'm not a stickler about it, we have plenty of white baby dolls and tons of dora dolls & a few black babies. I usually buy whichever doll is prettier. I bought Bug a My TWINN doll awhile ago, and I wanted Boo to have something similar. Wait until you see what I found!

Half a dozen..

Congratulations to Erin on the referral of her new 13 month old son. Erin was open to either gender so that means we are moving up ! Well down ;) Could there be more referrals to come?

My 3 beautiful blessings that the Lord has allowed me to call my babies.

I have been quiet lately, just hangin. Nothing exciting going on. Boo is straining against the desire to be her sweet easy going self and a 2 1/2 smartie pants rebel. Where is my easy going baby? Tantrums? check. Screaming? check. Little freshy? check. Oye. This too shall pass , right? :)

My little peek a boo monkey !

Playing with my camera.

My princess and princesa


A boy brought a snake to our campsite. Bug let him hand it right to her! Yikes. I was so proud of her.

Grumpy girl :)

Guess who was in trouble here ? (hint: not Bug)

We spent the day with Aunt Laura and her bf Joe who came in from Tenn. to hang with us. It was so great seeing you. Love ya.

We watched the Ethiopian special with Andrew where he eats weird/odd stuff. I am kinda worried now that I will starve while there! I am super picky. I was so pleased to see how sweet and kind the people were. The women were so lovely in their bright colored clothing. We loved Guatemala and the people were wonderful. I expect we will have the same experience again.

Baby makes eight

Welcome to the world sweet baby.

My friend J, had her little guy 2 months early, but he is now healthy and home, with his 7 brothers and sisters. Bug couldnt believe how tiny 6#s of teeny baby is.

Fear vs. Excitement

We received our new number. Nice to have it confirmed :)

With the breaking into single digits, that part of my mind and heart that has been closed off to feelings , has slowly started to tingle a bit. (Creepy? Sorry :) I have started to let my mind "go there" and imagine my new daughter. How old will see be? Will she have lots of ringlets or just baby fuzz?~ Will she have beautiful caramel colored skin like my Boo or have a darker chocolate skin tone? How will she feel in my arms? Tiny? Heavy? Perfect! The Answers to these questions dont even matter to me. I trust in GOD. I know my heavenly Father has his arms wrapped around my sweet baby even now. He has plans for her. He has plans for us. I know this. He knows my heart. I trust GOD completely.

Then the changes from Ethiopian adoption program came. At first I didnt think about it too much. Trust right? Now the fears are creeping in. I respect Ethiopia and the people so much, I believe they truly have their children's best interest at heart. Whether that be to keep children with extended family or to allow them to be adopted. I know this new step requiring all children's files to go through the CA is smart and pro-active to avoid the problems that the Guatemalan and Vietnam programs ran into. After being thru the Guatemalan program and seeing so many new changes and new rules at every turn, NONE of which helped the birthmothers or children who are left hanging, I. am. scared. Sorta like having flash backs..more rules, more waiting, another kick out, more waiting...

I have been waiting 5 months to SEE my daughters face. To dream about her real sweet face. I was ok with that. I signed up for that. The thinking was that AFTER we knew who she was , I would be so busy planning to fly to Africa to bring her home in 2-4 months I wouldnt have time to ache and miss her too much. This new step may or may not delay that by several months. I waited on Boo for 6 1/2 months after I saw her sweet face. 3 months after I spent a week holding her and sleeping next to her. breathing in her sweet little breaths at night. It was TORTURE. With my agency (FTC) , they spoiled us with picture updates 2 -3 times a month! I saw each little change in her. I knew how much weight she gained each month. I think this new changes also prevent any new pictures being taken of our referred children by other parents traveling who are so kind to share the pictures with the waiting families. How will I ache to hold her and kiss her for months on end ? With out pictures? No idea. But I will. Somehow. With GOD's grace.