Celebrating..

Today was a day of celebration at our house. Today was the day that we went to the county courthouse and officially readopted Claire in the state of Texas. She is now an official Texan and will be getting her Texas birth certificate very soon! We took the kids out of school early and invited our "adopted" grandparents from church to come to the courthouse with us. Our lawyer was wonderful and so was the judge. The judge had all of us raise our right hand and he swore us in. He then asked each of us one at a time if we wanted Claire to be in our family forever. All of the kids said definitely YES and they had big smiles on their faces! We took a lot of pictures and I don't think we will soon forget this day. I'm not sure Claire understood what was going on but someday she will be able to look back on the pictures and we can remind her about her special day! We celebrated after with lunch and ice cream!

The 4 kids before the court hearing - Brianna thought it was cool to highlight Claire

The judge's desk in the court room..

Please raise your right hand.. Do you promise to tell the truth..

Claire with Judge Sol Casseb III

The whole family with the judge..

The entire gang with the judge..

All of us posing in the hall of the courthouse

The door leading into the court room...

The family with our lawyer, Ms. Baker..

The boys outside the courthouse..the boys are too cool for court!

Claire showing that she can be cool too..

Like this mom, does this look cool?

Claire says " I would like to introduce the newest Texan! Yep, it's me!"

Thankful Thursday..

Today, I am thankful for restful naps! Little Miss hasn't been sleeping through the night and this morning she was up WAY to early. I am thankful that she is sleeping peacefully now because Momma is tired! Plus, this should help her to be in a good mood this evening for our small group bible study. I am thankful too that we live in a country where we can meet together to study the bible whenever we want without fear or reservation.

Eight Months together!!

I can't believe that it has been 8 months since our Gotcha Day! It seems like we waited forever to finally meet our precious girl and bam it's already been 8 months! She was definitely worth the wait!

She has come a long way since we first met her.

Her referral picture with the sad eyes..

To the little girl that insisted that she hold up 2 fingers for each picture!

To the little girl still with the 2 fingers but with different eyes..

To the little girl that poses for pictures and wants mom to take more, more..

And the little girl so full of life and love..

Happy 8 months with us, Claire. We love you! Thanks for all of the love and laughter you bring to our house!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that we are home from our mini vacation and for all of the sights we were able to visit. I am thankful that we ended up going to the Houston Zoo even though we had set out with plans to go to the Children's museum. We couldn't find any parking near the museum and when we finally did find parking we were right outside the zoo. When we got to the ticket window we found out that we were free because Gary is in the military! I am thankful for free zoo tickets! I am thankful for warm weather and beautiful flowers that are in bloom! I am thankful that we got to spend time with Gary's cousins and share a meal with them. I am thankful for spring break and time together as a family. What are you thankful for today?

Claire and Hunter petting the goat at the petting zoo...

Claire enjoying the carousel...

The kids seeing what it would be like to be a prairie dog!

I am thankful that Claire is getting over her fear of dogs! Here she is with Solomon - Gary's cousins dog.

Claire and Kay - our family in Houston

Hello from our Spring Break!

Happy Spring Break everyone! We are enjoying a few days out of town visiting some old friends and visiting our old church. We are having a great time. We found a hotel with an indoor pool and the kids are enjoying spending hours swimming. The weather outside is kind of cold so the indoor pool is great!

I have a praise to share with you! This morning at church, Claire was clapping with the music and trying to sing with us. This is the first time she has responded to music this way. I nudged Gary and said she can hear the music! Yippee Jesus!

Thankful Thursday

It is time for my Thankful Thursday post but I can hardly sit still because I am so excited after visiting my friend's, Melissa's blog. So the first thing I am thankful for is:

1. Katie is going home! She is an orphan no longer. Melissa just posted that they have the final adoption decree in their hand! Tomorrow afternoon (our Thursday night) Katie will leave the orphanage forever and her new life with her forever family will begin. Thank you, Jesus. They still have a lot of paperwork to get done but they know that Katie is theirs!

Everything else that I am thankful for may pale in comparsion to that but I still have more that I am thankful for!

2. I am thankful for flowers. Last week, my dear, sweet husband had been out of town all week and when he returned home he held in his hands beautiful roses. His flight was late getting home but he still took the time to stop and pick up flowers.

Aren't these roses gorgeous?

3. I am thankful for rain. This morning I woke to the sound of rain. Yes, it is a cold rain but we haven't had rain in so long that I'll take the cold for the refreshing rain.

4. I am thankful that Marcia made it through her surgery fine. She is still in ICU but no longer on the ventilator. I am also thankful that the mass doesn't seem to be cancerous.

5. I am thankful that I got to spend time at the kids' school this week. It was public school week so they had special activities planned.

Hunter and Dad




Hunter and Mom - yes he hears that he looks like me all the time!

Hunter reading to us. Isn't he cute with Dad's hat on?

Nicholas really didn't want me taking pictures - but that's what moms do, right?

Nicholas and Claire at school - Claire is in to posing can you tell? I guess she learned it from her big brother!


Brianna and Claire (Claire is signing I Love You)


6. Lastly, I am thankful that Claire wore her implant all day yesterday without fighting it. I used a small headband to help keep it on her ear and it worked great. We still need to figure out how to keep it on so she won't have to wear a headband forever. However, I figure it is more important that she wear it without the frustration of it falling off. She brought it to me to put on after her nap. I think that is a good sign. We are watching for signs that she is overstimulated but so far so good.

Here is a picture the day of activation. We didn't get very good pictures of the actual processor on her. We spent more time video taping than taking pictures. I'll try to get a picture but it is pink and very girly!

Here are some pictures of her external processor. See how I have the headband holding it to her ear? Well, it is working for now. She is too active and it was constantly falling off; not anymore though.

We still have some video of Claire that we want to post so be on the look out!

What are you thankful for today?

Prayer request and Praise..UPDATED

Update - Marcia made it through the surgery fine. They were able to remove the mass. It was about the size of a baseball and they don't think it is cancerous. They also repaired a huge hernia while they were in there. She is back in ICU and back on the ventilator. Hopefully that is only temporary. They really haven't solved the breathing issues or the low hemoglobin counts. That is still a mystery to the doctors. Thanks for praying.


I just wanted to post a quick update on the prayer requests from Sunday. Gary's sister, Marcia, is having surgery today at 10:00. Gary talked to her last night and he thought she sounded good and stronger than she had been. Since they don't know the nature of the mass on her ovary they are doing a complete hysterectomy. Please lift Marcia up that she tolerates the surgery well and that the mass is benign. I will try to update once I hear how the surgery went.

I have 2 praises. First, my friend Melissa (private blog) had the interview with the head of Mongolian adoptions and it went well. They still need prayer because now the committee has to meet and approve it before they can start the process to get the paperwork to take her home. They are on a time frame so they need a miracle to get everything done on time. However, they got to spend 2 hours with Katie at the orphanage. This was the first time they had got to lay eyes on her and hold her. Trust me, she is the cutest girl in all of Mongolia! The entire family was just glowing in all of the pictures, including Katie! The orphanage said they could come back anytime to visit. I imagine they will be spending a lot of time there!

Finally, Claire's implant was activated yesterday. She definitely responded to sound. She was very quiet and just took it all in. It didn't startle or scare her. The appointment was 2 hours long so by the time we left she was done and really didn't want to have anything to do with it plus we were having issues getting it to stay on properly. Once we got home, I attached her old earmold from her hearing aid to it and then she let me put it on her again. It usually just sits on the ear without anything in the ear but her ear is so small it kept falling off. Claire is used to the earmold so she didn't fight it. The processor still comes off of the ear but the earmold keeps it from falling completely off. I'm sure with time Claire will get used to it and be able to get it back in place without a problem. Gary and I left a little overwhelmed. They gave us a suitcase sized box full of accessories, paperwork, etc. We have a lot to learn but we are thankful for the technology that gives Claire the opportunity to hear. We took video of the initial activation. I will try to post some of it so you can see her react. It is going to be pure joy watching her learn to listen and process sounds.

Basketball and updates..

Yesterday, we finished up a successful season of Upward basketball. The kids all did great and we had a fun season. I have always enjoyed basketball season and I love having the kids participate in Upward. Upward doesn't just focus on basketball but it also focuses on teaching the kids about Jesus. The kids learn Bible verses and have a devotion each week at practice. The league the kids played in had 43 teams (plus cheerleaders) and over 300 kids! Yesterday, awards were handed out after the games. We were so excited because Hunter and Brianna received the award for the most Christ like player on their teams! Each coach nominated a player from their team to receive the award. Gary coached Nicholas' team so his award was having his dad as his coach!

Hunter and his coach!

Hunter with his trophy!

Brianna with her trophy!

Brianna with her coaches

Nicholas with his coach (AKA Dad!)

The 3 basketball stars!


Now for a few updates:

Tomorrow, Claire gets her cochlear implant activated. We are excited to see how she responds to the activation. I will definitely post about her reaction!
Claire with Dr. Boston (the surgeon)


Marcia (Gary's sister) is still in the hospital. She is stable but not showing many signs of improvement. She is still on oxygen. They have discovered a mass in her lower abdomen. It looks like it is on her ovary. They are trying to get her stable enough for surgery. They are going to try to do surgery on Tuesday. Please pray that she can tolerate the surgery and that the tumor is benign.

Lastly, my friend Melissa needs prayers now. I copied this post from her blog:
Please, cover us in prayer on Sunday afternoon and evening US time . We have been here a week with no action. Last night, the VP of Adoption services from our US agency arrived here and on Monday morning Mongolia time we have a meeting with the head of INS. He has the power to get things moving. If he doesn't, we will not get to take Katie home with us on time, even though we will have been in Mongolia 3 weeks. Dad and boys will have to return home and Mom will have to buy a new ticket and stay in Mongolia until the process is resolved. We really don't want it to be that way!

Please, please, please, pray that God will move this man--Mr.Murun--to act quickly and decisively in our case. Thanks and I will post after the meeting.

Please feel free to pass this along to any and all prayer warriors that you know.

Thanks for praying! You guys rock!

Jumping on the bed..

I've had these thoughts milling around in my head since Claire's surgery. I decided to finally put them into words. My friend, Barbara, pointed this out to me on the day Claire had surgery and I just can't get the imagery out of my head.

On surgery day, we arrived at the hospital around 9:00 and basically hung out until it was time to go to the pre-op holding area. Claire was fine all morning and was playing around and interacting with everyone. However, that all changed the second we went into the pre-op area. Claire screamed and cried and just clung to me. She had her little arms wrapped so tight around my neck and she wasn't going to let go for anything. Soon after we entered the pre-op area they brought me some scrubs so I could go into the OR with Claire. Claire clung to Gary while I put them on. The minute she saw me with the scrubs on she was a completely different child. She no longer screamed or cried or clung to me. She started smiling and then jumping on the bed. We couldn't believe our eyes. You see, Claire had so much trust in her mama that all her fear was gone. She knew everything would be okay because mama was going with her. She was happy and waving at the doctor as we walked to the OR. Well, isn't that how we are supposed to be as Christians. When we become a part of God's family and put our trust in Him then we should be a different child as well. All of our fears should be gone and we should be wanting to jump on the bed with joy. Claire really taught me a lot that day about what it means to trust and to trust fully. If only, I will apply this lesson to my faith in Christ and let go of my fears and worry. John 16:33 states "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Yippee Jesus, this verse makes me want to jump on the bed!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

Dear sweet friends who rang our doorbell on Friday and surprised us with a visit! I provided childcare for their precious treasure for her first year of life and we have continued to stay in touch. This past summer they moved to Korea so it was a wonderful surprise to see them at my door! My big kids were excited to see little K again and little K's family got to meet Claire for the first time. They asked a lot of questions about adoption and I think a seed has been planted. I can't wait to see what God does with the seed now!



I am also thankful that Claire is recovering well from her surgery. The black eye is gone, the hives are gone, and she is slowly starting to sleep better.



Finally, I am thankful that my friend Melissa is so close to getting her little ladybug! Melissa's family is in Mongolia right now waiting to be interviewed by the adoption committee and then they should be able to see their ladybug that they have been waiting a long time for. Please pray for them. They have hit roadblock after roadblock along their adoption journey. Pray that all will go smooth in Mongolia so they can bring her home where she belongs.