Meet The Girls! UPDATED!

And here are their names (I think ;-)


I have an issue with names...

I love so many of them and often second guess myself...

But I think names are important!

It's part of the bonding experience for me!

So

 here

are

the girls

with their 

names!

Meet

Mia Christine

From

Anhui Province!
Mia is 10.5 years old and will be 11 when we bring her home!

Meet

Melissa Faith

From

Guangxi Province!
Melissa is 6.5 years old and will be 7 when we bring her home!

And last but not least!

Meet

Madeline Mary

From

 Guangdong Province!
Madeline is 5.5 years old and will be 6 when we bring her home from China!

All the girls are sayin 

"Please to meet you!"


How do I know that?
Well, because I'm their Momma!

Be still my heart!

We are on our knees in thankfulness to our Dear Lord!

AND

YES...

I will be in China for a very long time!

Prayin you'll be there with me!

(In other words, commenting words of encouragement on my blog and praying for us!)


Okay on a side note-
 I am not 100% sure of Melissa's middle name...hmmmm...
So let me know your thoughts!
Melissa Faith
Melissa Ann
Melissa ???
Thanks!!

AND... the winner is!

It was so exciting!

We put all the names on little pieces of paper!

Mixed them all up!
I held it high so she (Sarah) couldn't see inside the container!
And then she picked one!

And read it to us! 
And the winner is...

Congratulations Laura!!


I am so happy she won!
BUT
I really wanted everyone to win!


Thank you, to all of you that participated!
This was so much FUN!
It was my first giveaway AND I think I am going to have to do this again!


Did you know that we actually got to meet Laura and her family in Guangzhou! 
It was when we adopted Ava and Sam!
March 2011
We had hoped to meet BUT time was running out and then GOD did it for us!
We ran into them on the street in Shamain Island!

The Jones family has adopted 3 blessings from China and soon they will have one more from Ethiopia!


http://laurajonesjournal.wordpress.com/


Enjoy the book Laura and family!


Our family LOVES it!


I need your address so I can send it to you!


God Blessings to all of you!

If you are interested in purchasing this book, please go to this site!


theyouweadore.com




ps- so sorry I posted this early.We seemed to be holding at 76 comments, so we went ahead and did the drawing!
(Plus we are hoping to start school tomorrow, so we needed to get this done before school!)

We have PA!!

 Oh My goodness, we are beyond excited!

We are adding another sweet treasure to our family!!

WE were drawn to her 

immediately 

but she had a family. 

When things weren't able to work out for them 

she was once again available.

We couldn't help ourselves,

we had to ask,

if

 it would be possible,

if

 just maybe, 

this sweet dear child, 

could come home to our house,

too?

And the Lord moved the mountains!

Our agency(Lifeline) asked for special permission!

And the answer was YES!

Praising God!!

When they take God out of the story...

(Please go to previous post for book review and GIVEAWAY!)


Now onto the STORY!


Hubby and I were at a gathering and many people were asking us about the wedding.

For us the wedding was one of the most wonderful experiences we have EVER had!

It was so amazing and God was so present that even trying to describe it in words is so inadequate...

It was a blessed and joyous event!

As we mingled and talked with old friends it became more and more apparent to me-

That God was being taken out of the event.

Each time I told the story I praised him and talked about the miracle of the rainbow and the answered prayer regarding the reception.

BUT more and more I found my audience wasn't buying it.

God wasn't part of the story they wanted to hear.

They wanted to know what went wrong and how awful that was and that our venue should have handled it differently 
and 
"weren't we just freaking out?"...

NO

NO

NO!

We were NEVER freaking out. 

WE KNEW GOD HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!

We also knew we had a wonderful, christian woman as our wedding planner!

My question was - 

Okay God, so what a you thinking?

Will it be somewhere else? Will we end up at the ballgame for brats and beer? Maybe another country club or a town hall?  Will the power go on or will the generator work?

We were never mad, freaked out or upset...

HIS PEACE was always upon us!

We were just praying to HIM and wondering what HIS answer was going to be?

This little incident was a way for us to see how GREAT HE IS! For us to see HIM at work! For HIM to shed HIS peace on us. For us to show our trust in HIM. AND for this young couple to see how MIGHTY our GOD is!

And it made for a great great story!

Until someone wanted to take HIM out of the story.

FYI

If ya take God out of the story...

there is NO story!

On a side note!

This time it was Sam's turn to come to Abby's transfusion with us!
We always have fun!

Garden Update

We are finally getting some real veggies from our garden and we are so excited!! The first plants that sprouted were the snap peas. For almost a month we collected a few handfuls of peas every other day or so. The kids ate them up as fast as we could pick them!

The next veggies that are going to be ready are the peppers:

And I think the cucumbers will be right behind them.

The carrots are still growing like a forest. I looked online and I read that they are ready to be picked when you can see a little orange poking up from the ground. Still nothing doing there...

I'm still on the fence with the zucchinis... The leaves are growing like crazy - really huge!

 

But bugs are eating all them up! Before they are big enough to pick, the tops of them get attacked by little bugs and then they turn brown and shrivel up. Help! Has this happened to you? I'd rather not use any pesticide, but I don't want to lose all those veggies...

In other garden-related news, my hubby went out and got a box for the hose so it's easier to store and looks a little neater. I guess I can take off the sticker now... :-)

Now I just need to figure out what to do about the old hook. (Don't mind the dead moss and patches of grass. We're still working on filling in all the bare spots in our yard and it's been record-breaking hot here so no point in planting any grass seed...). It's bolted in to the bricks so it's gonna be fun to take it out and then there will be two holes left.... Any ideas guys?

What's been going on in the great outdoors by you? Anyone plant a veggie garden and get to eat from it yet?

Book Review and GIVEAWAY!!

Searching for...

The You We Adore

Written by Valerie Westfall

Illustrated by Richard Cowdrey

We were so excited to receive this book from Valerie!

The children ran to the porch- our usual reading spot!

Right when we opened the package we all immediately noticed the super shiny red ribbon that is on the cover

and throughout the whole book!

(And of course they all had to touch it, too!)

This is an adoption book but it is not country specific!

It is perfect for all countries and yes, even domestic adoption!

It celebrates the love that parents have for their child even before they become a family. The love they feel in their heart as they search for their child!

It is a heartwarming story and it helps the child know how deeply they are loved and cherished!

The words rythmically flow and the illustrations are beyond beautiful! Our children loved every adorable page and followed the brightly colored shiny red ribbon all the way to the end!

I think it helped our children to know that we would go to the ends of the earth to be united with them!

It wasn't by chance...

It was an intended journey!

We searched...

We were lead...

And we found each other!

And they are forever ours...

FOREVER LOVED!

This book will be treasured in our home!

And now for the super good news!!

I have an extra copy to GIVEAWAY!!

Just leave a comment on this post and you will automatically be entered!

One entry per person please!

The GIVEAWAY will be open through midnight (central time) Sunday, July 29th! 

We will announce the winner on Monday, July 30th!

If you are not selected for the GIVEAWAY but would still like to purchase this book please go to-

theyouweadore.com

Please check back on Monday to see if you have won a copy of

Searching for...

The You We Adore!

How are we doing?

Many people have been asking how are we doing without Katie and Andrew and how are they doing?

Thank you for your thoughtfulness!

Katie, Andrew and Penny arrived safely in Germany and are settled into their studio hotel room. They are looking for a place of their own but it is more challenging than they thought. Katie can't look without Andrew because she doesn't speak German. Andrew is busy with work. So they look when they can. Germany also has high realtor fees- which makes some places too expensive plus they need a dog friendly place- because of Penny!

They are hoping to find a place soon and move in October.

She is loving being married to the man of her dreams and her BFF!

We have chatted over the internet quite a few times! (okay maybe every other day) It is amazing and easy! I love being able to see them as we talk! It feels like they just aren't that far away!

Lil Kate has had a few homesick moments but for the most part she seems to be doing very well!

Friends have encouraged her to start trying to learn the language and enjoy the culture. I think that is wise advise. This is such a unique and wonderful time of their life- we want them to fully enjoy it!!

I miss my sweet girl! We always have so so much fun together! At the same time I am overjoyed for her, her husband (my 14th child ;-) and their journey. Katie and I, in many ways are BFF's and we often confide in each other and get each others opinions on things. A couple times I wanted to pic up the phone and chat but have held off wondering what time it is there or/ and because of the cost. If I wait a little we can face chat for free!

Since Katie and Andrew left we have been working on Johnny's grad party. We had it with a few other families this last weekend! 

It went great! Praise God!

You will be happy to know that there are NO more big events on my calendar! 

(well kind of... that is...)

So now I am trying to prepare for homeschooling those that are here while knowing new kiddos will be joining our family sometime around February.

I want to get as far into the school year as possible before traveling to China!

We will also be visiting the kids in Germany- can't wait and Kate (and Penny!) may come home for a week when Andrew travels for work.

I am so thankful to God that she has such a wonderful husband, that we can easily talk to each other (it lessens the pain of being apart) and that we can travel to see her. The world just isn't as big as it used to be!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for this sweet couple and her Momma- they are so so appreciated.

Simple Ways to Update any Room (Part 1)

I was going through some files the other day and came across an old list (old, as in before the days of blogs...) that I had cut out from House Beautiful that showed 101 ways to update a room. I couldn't find the list online anywhere (I checked - it's not the same list that's currently on their website) so I thought it would be nice to start a series for the next few months of my favorite 50 ideas and show five each week. It's amazing to see how many of those concepts are still popular and current today.

So here's the first installment of:

Please be sure to pin from the original source.

• Paint a white paper lampshade your favorite color — the color you'll never find in the lampshade department

Here's a great example of a painted lampshade that gives the lamp a little more punch.

Source

But I'd venture to say that this would also apply to covering a shade with fabric or even adding decals.

Source

Source

• Wallpaper the inside of your bedroom closet. 

Wallpaper is a big investment and commitment to make and you can totally achieve the same gorgeous results using a stencil.

Source

Source

• Use leftover wallpaper to line the drawers of your bedside table.

Again, you don't have to use wallpaper - fabric, wrapping paper or even scrapbook paper would work just fine. And it doesn't only have to be your bedside table - opening any drawer with a bright lining is always a fun surprise!

Source

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• Find a tired old bargain brass chandelier at a thrift shop or antiques shop. Spray paint it white. 

You don't need to spray paint it white if that's not the look you're going for. There are so many beautiful ORB fixtures, as well as bright colors such as red, teal or pink.

Source

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• Buy a photography or botanical book, take a razor blade, and cut it up. Put a dozen pages (the more, the better) in matching inexpensive frames, and hang them in a row or a block.

Source

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Have you implemented any of these ideas into your home? Please share and stay tuned for the next installment!

Linking up here:
It's Just Called Spicy | Craftionary | Serenity Now | Remodelaholic | Home Stories A2Z | Not Just a Housewife |

Horton!

We love going to plays at our local theatre!!

This time it was "Horton Hears a Wh*"!

They did a wonderful job!

And the "Cat" was there too!

We read the book and then watched the movie!

Has anyone else found this to be true- sometimes the children don't laugh until I tell them it's supposed to be funny!

It's just one of those things that happens when a child has a language and culture change.

And of course I have to make sure they know that when someone is punched in the nose on TV it might be funny BUT we cannot do that in real life! Okay Sam!! Good, good, whew!

Luke is starting to do everything Sam does. Sam loves to wrestle with the big boys!

The next thing we know, Luke's getting in on it too!

Too cute!!

Summer Fun Continues

Summer fun is already in full swing and the kids are loving camp. Over July 4th weekend, the hubby and I both had some time off without the kids so we headed to the newest tourist attraction in our area - Ripley's Believe It or Not. I had been to some other locations before, but this was a first for the mister. We left the place thinking that there are too many people in this world with too much time on their hands. A Justin Bieber artwork made completely out of candy - seriously?

They had a huge "penny" made out of a gazillion real pennies.

Then there was a "coffin" made out of cigarette butts and cigars. A little tongue-in-cheek in a not-so-subtle way!

And a scaled-down replica of Hogwarts made out of a half a million matchsticks. I can't imagine the patience needed to construct something like this.

They also had these really interesting glass bottles with wooden arrows through them. We could not figure out how they did this, so if you know please share!!

We do allow the kids to have fun also :-) Here they are playing some arcade games at Chuck E. Cheese.

And my sister-in-law is being kind enough to give my daughter swimming lessons this summer. I am so proud of how much she has progressed so far! Unfortunately, my son doesn't like to venture too far off the steps at the edge. We're making progress with him though...

What kind of summer fun have you and your family been up to? It's been so hot by us lately that even walking from the house to the car is enough to work up a sweat!