Thankful Thursday

On this cold, rainy Thursday I am thankful for:

~My warm house! (Even if our gas bill is sky high!) I am typically cold by nature and I don't like being cold so I am thankful for my warm house on nights like this one!

~That we could travel to Georgia and watch my niece cheer at her college's basketball game! Being a part of family things like this is a luxury for us. Being milit*ry, we usually live far away from family. We have travelled so much since we got to Alab*ma, we have put 18,000 miles on the van since getting here in July!

Michaela and Claire

Hunter and Michaela
Michaela is holding the "T"

The kids with Michaela after the game

Gary, Michaela and I
Brianna and Mallory at the restaurant after the game
Feeding the starving college girls..

Suzanne, Sarah, Michaela, and Savannah

~That Claire is talking more and listening more! The other day we were leaving the store and she was walking in front of me and I said "Claire, stop" and she turned around and stopped and signed to me and said the word stop. I said "yes, good listening Mommy said stop!"

~That Claire has slept through the night 3 times this week! No middle of the night waking and no coming in our room! In the morning, when she does get up she is so excited and comes and tells me "Claire slept good!" Yes, Claire, you did sleep good!! Yippee!

~I am thankful for bloggy friends like Linny who keep us updated and focused on how we can help the orphan. Click here to read her blog and see how you can pray for the orphan especially those in Uganda right now. There are families right now in Uganda who by the Ugandan courts are the parents of these children but the US Embassy will not issue them visas to bring the children home. These families did everything right, they got immigration approval to bring home an orphan and now the US won't give them a visa. All I can think about is that this could be us. We are waiting for immigration approval to bring an orphan home, Caleb, what if once we got that the US decided not to grant him a visa to come home. We would be devasated just like these families in Uganda are now. Pray that God will change the hearts of those at the US Embassy and that these children will be able to come home.

In this video, Claire is saying baby. Brianna and I came out into the living room carrying the stuff to make a blanket and Claire ran over to the bag and pulled out the fabric and started saying over and over baby, baby. She knew we were making a blanket for baby Noah! Sorry it is so dark! Can't show you pictures of the finished blanket yet just in case Alisha sees this. Sorry, Alisha you have to wait for the baby shower!

What are you thankful for?

Another Milestone..

Well, we have reached another milestone on our parenting journey. Our first born, Brianna, just got her learners permit today. She passed the test on her first try and was super happy. Now comes the fun part of teaching her to drive. Is it okay if I let Gary take the lead in this? Not that I couldn't do a great job but I still want to pretend she isn't growing up and that she is still my little girl. Parenting is so hard. I am so proud of her but sad at the same time. Where did the years go?

Brianna posing outside the building after getting her permit..

She is so happy...
Celebrating with Starbucks...

Claire wanted to celebrate with a cherry icee..

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~The time that Gary's dad has spent with us! He is making his "relative" tour of the country and we are so glad he finally made it to our neck of the woods!

~That Claire is getting to know her grandpa better. I love that in the evening she will crawl up on the couch next to him and play her game or just watch TV with him. It is pure sweetness to this momma and I think grandpa thinks so too!

~I loved looking outside today and see grandpa and granddaughter riding bikes together in the cul-de-sac. Not bad bike riding skills for an 81 year old!

~That grandpa hung out at the mall with the big kids while we took Claire to her speech class. It was a fun time for all of them!

~The crazy, silly things that Claire does. She was playing quietly in the living room (which isn't always a good sign) and when we went to check on her this is what we found! She was being very creative with her k-nex.

~That basketball season is in full swing. We have 3 playing right now so Saturdays are spent travelling back and forth to the gym. I love watching my kids compete in sports. I love the life lessons and character lessons that sports can teach them.

~For my crock pot! Like I said basketball season is in full swing. I love coming home to dinner all ready for us after a long day of basketball!

These are just a few of the things I am thankful for this week. What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

It's thankful Thursday time again! This week I am thankful for:


~The fact that I have finally got our Christmas letters in the mail! Yippee, I got them out before Valentine's Day!



~New pictures we received of our boy! We just can't get him home fast enough!

Look at that hair of his!

~We also received an email from our adoption agency telling us that on January 5th, Holt Korea applied for his emigration permit (EP). Caleb should get his EP in 3 to 4 weeks. This is just one of the things that has to happen before we can bring him home. We however are still waiting on immigration in the US to grant their approval. We have to have that before we can get his visa. Please pray with us that this will come soon.

~Finally, I am thankful that my brother-in-law, Dale has a surgery date! Dale is in need of a pancreas and kidney transplant. I am thankful that their close friend, Jake, is a match and is willing to donate one of her kidneys to him. They will both undergo surgery in February. What a blessing to have a new kidney! Dale has been enduring dialysis for several months now and it is really hard on him. Plus the fact he has to drive 50 miles one way to sit through almost 4 hours of dialysis 3 days a week. That is a huge time commitment. Please pray that the surgery will happen as scheduled and that all will go well and the new kidney will work for Dale! A big thanks to Jake for her willingness to give of herself for the well being of someone else.

Dale and his sweet family

What are you thankful for?

A Few Words Wednesday

Winter in Nebraska....

Winter in Alabama...

See the difference?

My kids need your help!

My kids need your help to win a writing contest!!! Please check out this website and vote for Nicholas and Brianna. They are entered in a writing contest about life in the Air F*rce. You can vote once everyday! Please vote often. Nicholas has 2 entries. Look for his name Nicholas H. Vote for your favorite! Brianna has 1 entry. Look for her name Brianna H. Once you are at the website click on "read and vote" and then click on "youth 12-17”. You can vote everyday until February 14. Please read their stories and vote! Vote, vote, vote! Thanks! I will let you know if they win!

Click here to vote!

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am sitting here watching the National Championship game while working on our Christmas letters. Yes, I said Christmas letters! A little late is better than not at all, right?

~I am thankful that I don't really care who wins this year! I just lived in Texas the last 3 years, if they win-great. I am currently living in Alabama, if they win-great. See, the way I look at it I can't lose!

~I am thankful that my Nebraska Cornhuskers showed up for their bowl game and beat Arizona 33 - 0! I am thankful that our offense decided to show up for one game this year!

~I am thankful that we had a great Christmas with family in Nebraska and a great New Year with family from Georgia!

~I am thankful that my father-in-law is coming to stay a couple weeks with us on Sunday. I plan on dragging him on a bunch of field trips with me! :)

~I am thankful that we are getting closer to holding Caleb. No, we haven't heard anything and we are still waiting on immigration but I am hopeful (praying) that we will hear soon. We are leaving up our tree and stockings until he comes home. He has presents waiting for him under the tree and in his stocking!

What are you thankful for this week?