Blessed Beyond Belief - 5 Kids and Counting...

Thankful Thursday

2012-02-09T11:56:00.000-06:00

I have been in a blogging funk lately. Just haven't felt like blogging but today I am feeling the motivation so I guess it is time to blog. PLUS, it is Thursday so I am going to do a Thankful Thursday post! :)

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~Medical technology! As I sit here typing, my brother-in-law, Dale is in surgery receiving a kidney transplant. Amazing to my little brain that this type of surgery can be done! Thankful to the donor that is giving up one of their kidneys for Dale!

This was taken at a luncheon recognizing local firefighters and paramedics!

~Email! So thankful for the email updates we receive on Caelyn! So hard knowing your daughter is half way around the world but the updates help us feel connected to her. Even more thankful when a picture is attached!

Shhh...don't tell but I can't resist not sharing the photo!

~Extended family! We had some fun pictures taken over Thanksgiving and I don't think I ever shared some. We love our Georgia family and love spending time with them. Wish it could happen more often.

This is all of the "big" cousins and Gary and his brother Wayne. Love it!

Claire and Caleb wanted in on the jumping!

All the cousins!

Our gang and the Georgia gang!

~Birthdays! Yesterday, we celebrated Nicholas' 15th birthday! Just does not seem possible that he is that old already. He is SOOOO ready to be driving. Me, not so much ;) This year, Gary and I took Nicholas out to eat at the restaurant of his choosing. It was so nice to have just that time with Nicholas by himself! We came home and had cake and presents with the family.

At Bandanas...his favorite!

With the cake!

He blew them all out with one breath!

Displaying his new Eagles jersey!

This isn't from yesterday, but I just love this picture. It shows how tall Nicholas is getting. He was 5'11" last time he was measured! Wow!

What are you thankful for?

Puzzle update!

2012-01-12T15:55:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, I shared that we are adopting again. I also shared with you about the puzzle fundraiser we are doing. We ran into problems getting the puzzle we had originally ordered so we went to a puzzle warehouse near us and picked a new, beautiful 1000 piece puzzle. This is the one we decided would look great in Caelyn's new room. Isn't it pretty?

I am thrilled to report that 226 pieces have already been sponsored! That leaves 774 more pieces that are just waiting for your name! We are going to glue the puzzle together and then frame it so both sides can be seen. It will be a forever reminder to Caelyn of those who helped bring her home. You can use the chipin button on the side of my blog or the one posted below. If you wish to contribute another way please send me an email. Most people have chosen to contribute $5 per piece but any amount would be great. Please make sure you tell me what name or names you want to be written on your piece/pieces!

Our home study should be finished this month and then things should really pick up speed as we get our dossier done and off to China. We are really hoping to travel by this summer. Be on the look out for another post about our other fundraisers. Check out the sidebar for opportunities to purchase coffee or amazing t-shirts!

Two letter Thursday!

2011-12-29T19:43:00.000-06:00

Woohoo!!! We are coming Caelyn! Now to finish our dossier!!

The Story of Christmas

2011-12-25T17:52:00.000-06:00

This a powerful video about how Christmas is the beginning but not the end of the story.

Here at Blessed Beyond Belief I am thankful....

2011-11-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

This Thanksgiving I am going to share the top 11 (for 2011) things I am thankful for:

11. My family even though the milit*ry keeps us away from them most of the time I treasure the time we do have together!
10. My honey...God has blessed me with 20 years married to my best friend!

09. My kids...certainly been blessed more than I deserve!

08. Brianna...trying to treasure each moment knowing that all too soon she will be off to college.

07. Nicholas...cannot believe how he has become a young man and is so tall.

06. Hunter...my miracle boy who continues to amaze the doctors and is my comic relief.

05. Claire...my super smart sign language speaking girl and most certainly momma's girl.

04. Caleb...my little snuggle bug.

03. Caelyn...our newest treasure waiting for a family in China. Soon baby girl soon.

02. My great country that I was blessed to be born in. Thankful for those in the milit*ry that fight to keep us free.
01. My Lord and Savior who has blessed me with these...

Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Adoption update

2011-11-20T19:37:00.000-06:00

Some of you may be wondering where we are in our adoption process. Let me try to fill you in. Last week, we submitted our LOI to China! In the adoption world, that means we have submitted a letter of intent to adopt a particular child. Now we are working on getting our home study completed and on getting all the items needed for our dossier. While we work on this, we are waiting to recieve our PA which is a pre approval from China saying we can go forward in our pursuit of this child. This is so exciting and I am thrilled to say that God has provided all the money we have needed so far! God has brought us buyers for the things we have been selling and He has nudged people to support our puzzle fundraiser. The puzzle fundraiser is still going on so if you want to sponsor some pieces you can use the ChipIn button on the blog sidebar. However, we know that more funds will be needed. We still have China program fees coming up among other fees. So with that in mind, we have been selected to partner with 2 businesses that will walk alongside us and help us raise the funds that will be needed.

The first one is Ground to Cup Coffee. This is how Ground to Cup Coffee explains who they are from their website. "At Ground to Cup Coffee we are centered on creating an environment where each of us grasp the reality that coffee is so much more than just a cup of coffee. We are passionate about empowering those causes that have a direct impact in our community and across the globe such as the construction of youth camps, adoption and orphan care, cancer research, shelters supporting the homeless and the hungry and helping sustain the coffee farmers themselves. So, join us in making a difference by drinking a freshly roasted cup of coffee while “Bringing a Hope and a Future” one great cup at a time." We are so excited to be working with them to raise funds for our adoption! We have an online store and receive 40% of all sales in our store! If you love coffee or would love to give the gift of coffee this Christmas would you consider checking out our store. You can check it out by clicking the link below or by using the link on the side of our blog.
Click here to visit Ground to Cup Coffee.

The second one is Wild Olive tees. So, if coffee isn't your thing maybe an awesome t-shirt would be! Here is what Wild Olive tees has to say about their mission from their website "Wild Olive adoption tees have been created as a means to help families fundraise for their impending adoption. Our goal is to partner with adoptive families to help them gain support from friends and family to offset the cost of their adoption, and in turn, help bring children home to their forever families!" Again, we are so excited to be partnering with them! Their shirts are so beautiful and each one has a verse on it. Each time you wear the shirt you are proclaiming God's Word to the world. You can check out the t-shirts by clicking on the link below or on the side of the blog. If you purchase a shirt make sure you use our family code of HAINES1120. Put this code in the coupon code section and the comments section of your order. By doing this, you assure that our family gets credit for your purchase!
Click here to visit Wild Olive tees.

So, maybe this Christmas you will consider doing some of your shopping for gifts from Ground to Cup Coffee or Wild Olive tees. What an awesome way to get some great gifts and help bring our daughter home at the same time! Would you please share our blog with your friends and family and help us get the word out about our fundraisers? We are blessed by each one of you and we are forever grateful for those of you who support our fundraising efforts. To us you are Jesus with skin on and we thank you.

National Adoption Month continued...

2011-11-14T10:46:00.001-06:00

I shared Claire's one year video so now I have to share Caleb's video! Enjoy!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Orphan Sunday

2011-11-06T15:28:00.000-06:00

Today is Orphan Sunday and I can't stop thinking about a certain orphan in China right now. Today is her birthday. Today she does not have a family to celebrate her and tell her that she is special and that God has big plans for her. But this is not where her story ends. She does have a family she just doesn't know it yet. She does have a family that longs to tell her how special she is and that God loves her so very much. She has a family that is working hard to raise the money to bring her home. A family that is working hard on all of the paperwork that is required. Soon very soon she will finally find out that it is her turn...her turn for a mommy and daddy. So today, her birthday, I pray that God is holding her close and whispering to her inmost being that she is special, that she is loved, that someone cares. I pray that God will continue to hold her close until we can be His hands and feet and do it for Him.

National Adoption month continued...

2011-11-03T09:34:00.001-05:00

You know by us adopting we are not changing the world but we are changing the world for 1, 2 even 3 children. In my last post, I posted the video that we made of our first year with Claire. She loves to look at pictures of herself so I invited her over to take a look at the video. When it started, she immediately became upset and wanted to leave. If you watched the video then you know the first couple of pictures are of her at her orphanage. However, as soon as the pictures changed to us in China getting her she immediately changed. She cheered and wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed. Friends, Claire has been home for over 3 years and she still cannot bear to look at pictures from her time at the orphanage nor does she want to talk about it. So even though we are not changing the world, we changed her world.

Our adoption journeys have also opened my eyes more to my adoption. God has lovingly opened his arms and invited me to come to Him and now I am an heir; a child of His. Oh, how I cheer and long to wrap my arms around His neck!

And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughers, says the Lord Almighty."
2 Corinthians 6:18

National Adoption Month!!!

2011-11-01T16:53:00.000-05:00

In honor of national adoption month, I thought I would share the video we made of our first year with Claire. Adoption is such a blessing, the bible tells us that children are a gift from God. I am so thankful that God is filling my quiver with His children!

Where we are at right now...

2011-10-20T09:15:00.001-05:00

I have thought this post over in my head many times trying to figure out what just to say but no eloquent words came so here is what my heart is saying. Gary and I are going to adopt again. There I said it. I know many of you won't understand why when we have 5 great kids already and our van is full and our schedule is full and we don't have the money and and and.... Believe me, those things have been brought up and talked about many times but that does not change the fact that God is calling us and we must be obedient. Why God is calling us again I don't know but who am I to question his plan for us and for our future daughter. Yes, daughter! We have someone in mind but we have not been matched so nothing is official but trust me she is beautiful. She is in China waiting for it to finally be her turn to get a family. However, we lack the funds needed to complete an adoption. This is our 3rd adoption in as many years and we just don't have extra money laying around; oh how I wish we did! We are trusting God to provide and we pray that it will be obvious to everyone who hears our story that it was truly God who came up big in all of this! We have started cleaning house and selling our treasures. Our mind set is why keep things that just collect dust when we could raise the ransom needed to bring our girl home. While the kids are gone I go through the house and snatch things up and take pictures of it and post it for sale. Our next fundraiser idea is this beautiful puzzle.

Isn't this beautiful? This is a 1000 piece puzzle that is almost 2ft by 3ft. Would you consider sponsoring a piece or 2 or 3? Just $5 a piece. Once a piece is sponsored we will write your name on the back of the piece. Or if you sponsor 5 pieces for your family, we will write each family member on a piece. You can use the Chip-In button on the side of the blog if you would like. Once all the pieces are sponsored we will put the puzzle together and have it framed with glass all around and hang it in her room. This will forever be a reminder of those that came together to love her home and be a part of her journey. We would appreciate it too if you helped to spread the word of our fundraiser. This is a hard post to write because it is hard to be vulnerable and put yourself out there and ask for help but I really felt God telling me this morning that it is time because she is waiting and time is of the essence. I am forever grateful for all of you!

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Back to School

2011-10-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

After our long summer, the kids headed back to school the day after Labor day. Believe it or not, they were all ready to go. I was ready too! I love being with my kids; they are great kids but it is nice to have some time for myself. My mornings are filled with laundry, dishes, prepping for dinner, and quiet! I've started a new Bible study too and love my quiet mornings for study. This start to my day just helps me be ready for when the kids come home and we start football, volleyball, karate, speech, gymnastics and homework! See, why I cherish my mornings?!

Brianna - junior

Nicholas - freshman

How did I get 2 in high school already?

Hunter - 5th grade

This is his stop taking pictures look so I can go in!

Claire - 1st grade

She is so happy that school is starting again!

Caleb - pre k

This is all he cared about when we talked about school..he gets to ride the bus home!

Sigh..he looks so grown up!

We are off to a good start with school. Everyone is doing great and not wishing for summer again....yet!

Playing catch up...

2011-09-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

Oh my, to say things have been busy around here would be an understatement! Even though, I love to blog it tends to take a back seat when things get crazy busy. Let's see if I can get you caught up on what has been going on around here. Someday, I plan on finishing my Uganda stories so please be patient with me.

After celebrating Caleb's birthday, the rest of the month was spent driving
back and forth,
back and forth,
back and forth between home and the high school.

Brianna and Nicholas had 2 weeks of band camp in the August heat. Plus Nicholas started football practice and Brianna volleyball practice. Of course, they rarely were at the same time which meant more driving
back and forth,
back and forth,
You get the idea! I had made the trip so many times that one time when I was not headed there I completely missed my turn because I was in automatic mode and heading to the school!

Here is Brianna warming up for a game..she is #7

Here is Nicholas..#82

Sorry, I don't have any action shots but my camera just doesn't get the best shots from far away.

Labor day weekend, our neice, Alisha, and her family came to visit us from Georgia. We had a great time and did a lot of fun things. First, they got to go with us to watch Nicholas' first game of the season. It was a lot of fun. Their little guy, Noah, is a hoot. He danced and clapped the night away!

Here Noah is with Claire and Caleb

Noah is cheering..notice his shirt...Nicholas has the best fans!!

Next, we went and visited the Arch in St Louis. We have driven by it several times on our way to appointments but this was the first time we actually took Claire and Caleb into it.

At the top!

Should be illegal to be this cute!

Turner, Alisha and Noah

The Arch

What happens after a day of sightseeing...

Here is the fab 5 at the base of the arch!

The next fun thing we did was go to our local orchard and pick apples. It was a very hot day but the apples were ripe for picking. In fact, it was the last weekend to pick honeycrisp apples.

Boy, these apples are good!

See the sweaty head...told you it was a hot day!

Noah ate his apple to the core!

The next day was much cooler and the little ones enjoyed playing outside together.

Such cute boys!!

Caleb trying to catch a ride from Noah

Caleb "talked" on the cb for a long time..not sure who he was talking to!

We were lucky enough to be able to celebrate Hunter's 11th birthday while Turner and Alisha were visiting! Not sure how 11 years have gone by already?

Celebrating at Red Robin

All he wanted for his birthday was an Ipod touch...we agreed to pay for part of it and the rest he had to save for.

Brianna and I made him a cake..he went with his school colors this year!

He is so cute!

School colors...purple and white!

This is getting to be a really long post and I am running out of time! I guess I will share first day of schools pics another time! Not sure when I will have time considering we have 2 football games, a volleyball tournament, a marching competition and a parade to march in (and that is all before Sunday). Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am enjoying every minute of this time in our lives because I know that all too soon the house will be quiet and the activities few.

Caleb is the big 4!!

2011-08-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

I just can't believe that our sweet boy is 4 already. That just sounds so old. He will be starting preschool very soon and that makes me feel old! His actual birthday was on the 18th and I am so behind on blogging. My life lately exists of driving back and forth between home and school (and school hasn't even started yet!). With 2 in high school this year it is never ending! Marching band X 2, freshman football, volleyball, karate and gymnastics just to name a few of our activities. However, this post is about Caleb and his birthday. I will let his pictures speak for themselves! Behold the cuteness! I just love this boy..all 25 pounds of him!!

At his first Cardinal baseball game!

Thanks to big brother, Nicholas, Caleb loves the Eagles!

Really, could he be any cuter?

His first birthday present!

Birthday ice cream!

More presents!

He loves his books from Aunt Teresa and Uncle Wayne!

Happy birthday, Caleb! We love you to the moon and back!

Uganda Day 3 - Hope House and the slums

2011-08-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

This day started out as a day of rest after 2 days of hard work building the house for A Perfect Injustice. After breakfast, Brianna and I went down and helped at the baby home. On this morning, we woke babies up, changed their bedding, fed the babies and got them dressed for the day. This was the day that one particular baby just really bonded with Brianna. We tried not to have favorites but sometimes it just can't be helped.

Isn't he just precious? I am not going to share his name for privacy reasons but since being home Brianna has had dreams where we bring this precious boy home. Hmmm....

After the baby home, the team went and exchanged money and then went shopping at the African Village. This is where we found most of the treasures that we brought home. Shopping in Uganda, it is customary to barter for the items you wish to buy. We tried this and did have some success but let me tell you I do not like to barter at all. I just didn't feel right doing it. After shopping we went and had pizza downtown. The pizza was amazing and the trip to get to the place was just as exciting. Traffic was so busy that they decided everyone would get out of the taxis and walk the rest of the way. The problem, we were on the opposite side of the street and we had to get 22 of us across the street. Pedestrians have no right a ways in Uganda so it was crazy. I am thankful that David gave me a push or I would probably still be frozen in the street! After we finished eating, we went out and shared the rest of our pizza with the street children. We would look them in the eye and hand them the pizza and tell them in Ugandan that Jesus loves them.

After lunch, the ladies went to visit a women's ministry of A Perfect Injustice, The Hope House. The Hope House takes former prostitutes from the slums and teaches them the skill of making jewelry to support their families. They are also learning English and computer skills. Most importantly, they are learning that they matter to God and that they have hope. The ladies were so excited to have us come visit them. We all introduced ourselves and told a little about ourselves and then the ladies did the same. I just sat in tears listening to them talk. It was during this time, it really hit me how much we (or at least I) take our faith for granted. These ladies have so little and at one time sold their bodies for a $1 a day just to provide for their families and yet they were so thankful for what they had. Thankful that God had rescued them and was providing for them. I walked away feeling so thankful that I was born in the country that I was and have not had the struggles these ladies have had and yet I was also envious of them...envious of their complete reliance on Christ. Sometimes, I think we have life too easy here and we don't rely completely on Christ for what we have.

The ladies of Hope House

The jewelry that they make...it is beautiful!! We brought home several pieces!

After the Hope House, we went to the feeding program in the slums. If my heart wasn't broken enough already on this day, it was after this. No words can describe the slums of Kampala. At the feeding program, we met children who have no home and live on the streets. Children of all ages living on the streets with no food, no bed, no protection...heartbreaking. A group of us started playing ring around the rosies with some of the little kids. They loved it and I loved seeing the smiles and listening to the giggles. A lot of the kids wanted to hold your hand or be held. They are no different than any other child, they just want to be noticed and to be loved even if only for a short time. Before the feeding time, we walked and walked to an area where some of the team could play "football" soccer with the boys from the program. Those that didn't play soccer had fun with face paint. Some even slept next to us because they knew they were safe and would not be harmed. Imagine, not knowing when you would be able to sleep because you fear for your safety...heartbreaking.

Sarah with a precious one!

The kids love to have their picture taken!

All these kids without homes...

David getting the boys ready for soccer

The soccer field

Josh and some of the boys

Brianna doing face paint

Taylor, Alei and Brianna

After the soccer game, we walked back to the feeding program. Jesse, from our team, shared a devotion with the boys and the boys were given prizes for listening by the leaders. Pastor Dwight prayed and then the boys in the program got rice and beans and we handed out candy and gum.

Pastor Dwight praying..the beams of the building forming a cross on his back

The rice and beans for the boys

The only children that get the food are the ones in the feeding program. However, so many children came and gathered and were begging for food. We handed out candy and granola bars to as many as we could until we were asked to stop by the leadership. The reason we had to stop because the kids would think they were safe and they weren't. They still live in the slums and danger is everywhere...heartbreaking. As we were leaving, the boy that won a prize of bread earlier reached into the van and placed bread in the laps of Brianna and I. We told him that this was his but he shook his head he wanted us to have it. This is all his has and he shared it with us...heartbreaking.

We ended our day loving on babies at the baby home. This was probably one of the hardest days that we had emotionally and yet looking back it was my favorite day. I was left heartbroken and maybe sometimes that is just what we need.

Missing Uganda....

2011-07-29T13:47:00.001-05:00

Music: I Refuse by Josh Wilson

Celebrating Claire

2011-07-25T14:59:00.002-05:00

This past week we celebrated Claire! On July 20, Claire turned 6 and on July 21 we celebrated her 3rd "gotcha day". Where has the time gone? It seems like she has always been a part of our family and yet it has only been 3 short years. Amazing how time just goes by when you are busy living life and keeping up with 5 kids!!

What is significant about this gotcha day? We can finally say that Claire has been with us longer than she lived in the orphanage! We have been waiting for this day. I'm not sure why this was a big deal to me but it really was. I can never get back those 3 years we missed with her but knowing that we have forever with her makes it easier to accept. Thank you, Jesus!!

Claire's referral picture Claire today

Can you see the difference? I see it in her eyes..her eyes are now full of life, love and hope.

Claire was so excited about her birthday. She talked about it non stop for the entire month of July! We showed her on the calendar over and over again when her birthday was and when her party was...that satisfied her for a little while and then the birthday questions would start all over again! Every time we were at the store she would point out things that she hoped to get for her birthday. So needless to say, she was beyond thrilled when she woke up on her birthday and found her chair decorated!

The crazy girl wanted her favorite chips and dip for breakfast. Believe me, I offered to make her eggs, toast, or cereal but she only wanted the chip and dip. Only because it was her birthday I let her have it. My dear "fb" friends made me feel better telling me it looked like grains and dairy so it was all healthy!

For lunch she had her favorite noodles! Claire and I went on a mommy - daughter date later in the day and we had our nails done. She loves to have her nails painted so I decided to pamper her a little bit!

For dinner she got to choose what we had. She picked McDon*lds...she loves the chicken and apples!

Daddy's girl

A nice gentleman came over and offered to take our picture..however Claire did not want to stop eating for a photo op!

Our girl loves gymnastics so we had a gymnastics birthday party for her. Here she is in her new leotard that she got for her birthday.

Doing a hand stand...which she does constantly I might add!

Climbing out of the foam pit at her party!

Claire and her friend Lexie

Gracie, Sarah and Claire just hanging around!

The gang!

The party goers....minus a few that had to leave early

On the bars!

I think our girl enjoyed her day, what do you think?

I promise I will finish my Uganda stories soon....

Uganda Day 1 and Day 2 - A Perfect Injustice

2011-07-10T21:57:00.001-05:00

Our team of 11 landed in Entebbe, Uganda on Monday morning, June 6.

Here is the landscape as we were approaching Entebbe

Here is Lake Victoria (yes, THE LAKE VICTORIA!!)

We were met by Emma and George (Emma's African brother) and 2 taxis.

Here I am with George at the work site

Brianna and George

Our taxis (taken at the work site)

One taxi just for our luggage and the other for us! We were all very quiet on our ride to our Guest house in Kampala. I'm not sure if we were all taking in the sights and sounds of Uganda or if we were still recovering from our 3 day trip to Uganda. As soon as we got to the Guest house we all quickly changed into work clothes and we headed out to the work site where the other half of the team had already been working all morning. We then traveled about an hour to Bombo to the site of a house being built for A Perfect Injustice. A Perfect Injustice is an organization that cares for the street boys of Kampala. They do a feeding program in the slums 5 days a week as well. They take boys off the street and give them a home, education, and hope in Christ Jesus. A Perfect Injustice has a Kampala house and the plan is to move the boys currently in that house to the Bombo house when it is finished and then to get more boys off the street for the Kampala house. After arriving, we met the rest of the team and got right to work throwing bricks. Imagine a zig zag line of people tossing bricks one to the other for hours. These bricks weighed approximately 10 pounds and were very dusty. Here are the piles of bricks that need moved.

I am tossing to Alei

Here is Brianna and Sarah in mid throw

Here is the house we were building

I am laying a brick

Brianna's turn to lay a brick

Our team!!!

We spent 2 days working on the house and clearing land with machetes. I took no part in land clearing once I heard the possibility of snakes were there. We were told that a cobra was killed there days earlier by workers clearing the land. We also spent time at Sanyu Baby Home in Kampala but I will save the baby home for it's own post.
I must note that this is the place where I injured my toe on day 2....see the area where the team is standing above? Sometime during the day I somehow managed to trip and injure my toe. Unfortunately, I am still having problems with that toe. Time to see the doctor again. Ugh...I will spare you the pictures of that!

London

2011-07-07T19:26:00.001-05:00

I know I said my next post would be about Uganda but part of our experience was the travel so I must share those stories as well.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:00pm on June 3 out of Chicago. Gary dropped us off around 2:00 and we said our goodbyes. I tried to stay strong but I cried anyway. It is hard to leave my honey and my kiddos. Brianna and I made it through security and somehow I was lucky enough to get the pat down treatment. Oops, I am getting ahead of myself, I have got to share our luggage story before I go any further. Brianna and I had 6 pieces of luggage, 4 to check and 2 carry ons. Before you say anything about taking the kitchen sink, 2 of those bags were packed full with ministry supplies for our trip.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

We were told at the ticket counter that we were going to have to pay for the extra bags which would have been $120. We were also told that 1 of our bags was overweight and we would have to pay for that too or take some things out. As soon as the agent told us that the weight on the scale changed to 1 pound below the limit.

The agent's eyes got big and she said "I have never seen that happen before".

She then said "take it off and put it back on".

We did as she requested and guess what? The bag remained at 1 pound less than the limit!!!

When she finished checking our bags she said "well nothing came up on the computer so I quess I don't have to charge you for the extra bags"!

Brianna and I just smiled at each other because we knew that God was already showing up big and we hadn't even left the country yet!!

Once through security, we found our gate and the half of the team that we would be travelling to Uganda with. The plan was that we would meet the other half of the team in Brussels, Belgium and we would travel the rest of the way to Uganda together. However, that was not meant to be for our half of the team. We were met with mechanical problems. About 4 hours after our flight was scheduled to depart it was cancelled. We spent another 2 hours in the airport waiting to be rebooked for the next day and getting hotel arrangements for the night. We arrived at our hotel just before the restaurant closed. All 11 of us ate a late dinner and then collapsed in our sleep number beds all compliments of the airline.

Here we are at the airport waiting for our new flight plan

It was a great time to get to know our team members...here we are with Sarah and Lexie

Our new flight plan included a trip to London. We left Chicago on Saturday morning and arrived in London on Saturday night. We then had all day Sunday to tour London before our Sunday night flight to Uganda. We arrived in Uganda Monday morning so we only lost 1 full day in Uganda during our detour. Our time in London, including lodging was on the airlines again! I guess if you have to detour you can't really complain about it being London!

On the plane finally leaving Chicago

Team members Candice, Lexie and April

Team members Jan, Josh and Steve

Windsor Castle (yes the Queen was there)...this was across the street from our hotel!

Downtown London

Mandatory picture if ever in London

We took a double decker bus tour

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

The London Eye

I have many more pictures I could share but I have gone on long enough already. Next post, Uganda!!! I mean it this time!!

Chicago

2011-06-30T22:16:00.000-05:00

When Brianna and I received our flight itinerary to Uganda we saw that we were going to fly in and out of Chicago. Being the adventuresome people that we are we decided to go to Chicago a few days early and enjoy the windy city. Our flight was scheduled for Friday, June 3 so on Tuesday of that week we packed up and headed north. We really enjoyed seeing the sites of Chicago and really, really enjoyed our free stay at the Embassy Suite hotel. Yes I said FREE! We put the points that Gary had collected on work trips to good use and stayed 3 nights for free!! Woohoo!!

We enjoyed the Shedd aquarium the first day

Octopus

Crab legs anyone?

We loved seeing all of the jellies

The kids with the Chicago skyline behind them

On the water taxi

The Navy Pier

My boys!

Caleb and "Tannah" (that is what he calls her)

Mommy and Claire

Lake Michigan was full of sailboats

On our 2nd day we went to the Skydeck at the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

We are 103 floors up

The view from the Skydeck

Claire was not phased by the heights at all

No trip to Chicago is complete without Chicago deep dish pizza!

My next post will start our Uganda stories.

20 years!!!

2011-06-28T17:34:00.000-05:00

Brianna and I have been home from Uganda for over a week now and I am ready to start blogging about our experiences. However, before I do that I need to blog about the occasion Gary and I celebrated last Wednesday, June 22. We celebrated 20 years of marriage! I can't believe it! You know I didn't feel old turning 40 but celebrating 20 years of marriage made me feel really old. Only old people have been married that long, right? In honor of our 20 years of marriage, I am going to countdown 20 reasons I am thankful for Gary:

20. Gary will eat anything...every wife's dream

19. Gary makes me laugh everyday

18. Gary loves to watch sports with me

17. Gary is known as Mr. Smiley at work

16. Gary will watch reality TV with me

15. Gary does not have to dominate the remote control

14. Gary teaches the teenagers how to drive

13. Gary makes me feel safe during storms

12. Gary will look at all the pictures of orphans I show him and not roll his eyes

11. Gary never raises his voice at me

10. Gary is my best friend

09. Gary knows that there is no such thing as normal at our house

08. Gary is just as crazy as I am

07. Gary listens as I talk and talk

06. Gary is my encourager

05. Gary is a great daddy

04. Gary is a hard worker and provider

03. Gary is my help mate

02. Gary shares the same heart for orphans as me

And the #1 reason I am thankful for Gary

01. Gary is a man of God and leader of our house

Gary and I last July

Before one of the many formals we attend

Mother's day...me and my honey

Happy Anniversary, Gary. I love you!

Departing Uganda

2011-06-16T22:43:00.001-05:00

Robin and Brianna departed Uganda at 10:45 pm (or 3:45 pm Central Time) today. They are in the air now. Should be landing into Brussels around 11:11 pm Central Time. Following is Robin's last email to me from today:

"It is our final morning here. We have a busy day ahead of us which is good. We should be tired by the time our flight leaves tonight. I am ready to come home and see all of you. It was hard leaving the babies this morning at the baby home. They are all so precious. Pray for smooth flights and no cancelled flights!!!"

From what I can tell, the flight from Uganda left on time. Pray no issues with flight from Brussels to Chicago. We're leaving early in the morning to pick them up. The boys and I are going to try to convince them to get some deep dish pizza before heading home :-)

God is awesome! Can't wait to hear their stories. I'm sure Robin will be sharing her thoughts and experiences with you all over the next couple of weeks. After, she gets some sleep!!

Gary

Three Days and Counting

2011-06-14T20:39:00.000-05:00

We're down to 3 days before Robin and Brianna get home! Yippee, Jesus! Grandma helped Claire and Caleb build paper chains to count down the days until Mommy and Brianna get home. Each morning they get up, and tear off one "link" from the chains.

Received an email from Robin today. They both have had another couple of eventful days.

"It is Tuesday afternoon. We spent the day at another orphanage..Oasis of Life. They are packed with children from babies to teenagers. We took all the clothes we brought to them [one large suitcase full]. The team spent the day cleaning and painting and hanging mosquito nets. They have 3 or 4 kids per bed and sometimes they don't eat for days. We used some of our team costs money to stock their pantry. When we pulled up they cheered and about mobbed us. One little girl said, "I know God is real now, we have been praying for help and you came." A 12 year old girl named Angel drew me pictures and asked me to be her mother. Wow, wasn't ready for that one. I am saving her drawings and her notes so you can see them. I hugged her before we left and told her I would pray for her and that I wouldn't forget about her. We then came back and went to the baby home for the 2nd time today. We are going tonight to a Perfect Injustice to throw a party for the boys. Seeing the Nile yesterday was awesome. I put my hand in so I can say I was in "de nile"!!! Brianna held a little girl today who just looked sad the whole time we were there. Brianna rocked her to sleep and then feed her. The little girl peed on her and Brianna just sat there and loved on her anyway. I was puked on today too. Fun day!!!"

Pretty cool and sad at the same time. I'm so glad that they are there to love on those kids and to let those children know that God loves them. I ask that you please lift up some special prayers for Angel and the little girl Brianna snuggled with. So many children that just want some attention and loving. I can't wait to hear all the stories of how God has worked through them.

The rest of the family here is doing well. Just looking forward to Friday. Love to you all! Gary

My Ladies in Uganda - An Update

2011-06-13T00:13:00.001-05:00

Hi All! I know some of you are thinking it's about time I posted something. I apologize. Been kind of crazy around our house with Robin and Brianna gone and getting used to the summer routine. Robin's parents are both here and they have been a HUGE help though. A big THANK YOU and gratitude to my in-laws. We are very blessed to have Grandpa Joe and Grandma Vickie in our lives. Love you guys!

Robin and Brianna are doing great,exhausted by the end of the day, tired of beans & rice, but still enthused about the work they're doing. Communication has been pretty sporadic. Usually it's back and forth through emails, with one or two days between responses. When she can, I know Robin has been posting short statuses on F@cebook. Power gets turned off fairly early at night, so that complicates things as well. The kids and I are grateful just to hear anything from them. I think it's still amazing we can get fairly instant communication from Africa.

They landed into Uganda last Monday morning, 6 Jun 11, after getting an unexpected day in London. Because of plane problems, they didn't leave Chicago until Saturday morning, 4 Jun 11. They were able to go to the hotel for a quick clean-up and then headed out to help build a house for the street boys. After building, they headed to the orphanage and loved on babies the rest of the day. Both Robin and Brianna fell in love with the babies. So many to hold, so many wanting loved. Robin stated she could stay there all day.

On Tuesday, following is what Robin sent:

"We started off in the baby home waking up babies, changing beds, changing clothes and feeding babies. We then went to the site of the house that is being built. We spent several hours throwing bricks that they are using for the house. These bricks weigh about 10 pounds each and we stand in a line and throw them and stack them where they need to be. You would be so proud of Brianna throwing bricks like a crazy woman!!! What a great workout..who needs P90X? We sweat about half our body weight!! Boy were we dirty but it was worth it. We are leaving a legacy for boys to get off the street and changing lives. We each took turns laying a brick so we actually did help build the house. We also shoveled rocks and sand for the cement. We ended the day at the baby home again. There are 48 children at the home. Most are so tiny. We just love on them and tell them how precious they are and how much Jesus loves them. They all need so much love and Brianna and I have a lot to give."

I'm looking forward to taking advantage of their new-found skills when they return :-)

On Wednesday, part of the schedule included heading downtown to the feeding program for the street boys. Robin said it broke her heart just hearing them talking about it so she thought it may be a hard day.

The next contact from Robin came on Friday. They had just completed their first day of VBS. They conducted VBS for about 250+ kids from around Ssenge Village. VBS was supposed to run on Saturday as well. She stated:

"Sorry it has been so long but we have been so busy..never any time on the computer. We are working very hard but enjoying every minute. We are covered in bruises but we sing praise songs as we work so we take our mind off of it. Tonight was a lot of fun we went to a concert put on by the African Hearts..they were amazing. Can't wait to share our stories and pictures with you."
Robin's Sunday email was the most powerful. Warning...have a tissue close. I couldn't get through just reading it to myself nor reading her email to her parents and the kids without choking up:

"It is Sunday afternoon and we are getting ready to go to the baby home. We had a good day. We went to church in Ssenge Village. It was very interesting. The hardest part was praying for the needs of the people. They would come up and tell us what they needed prayers for and then we would pray for them. Brianna and I were in a group praying for people..mostly women and children. I was fine until a little girl came up and she wanted prayer because her dad had just died of Aids and her mom is sick with Aids. I just broke down crying and just couldn't continue praying. I just held her and cried over her. I was able to pull myself together enough to pray over her but it was so hard. They fed us lunch after so please pray we all remain healthy after eating in the village!! We then spent the afternoon shopping. So it was a nice day of rest. Tomorrow we go see the [head waters] Nile river. Well time to go love babies!!!"

I'm so proud of my ladies. God is and will continue to do mighty things through them and the rest of the team. Please continue to pray for their safety, the team's safety, and more importantly, that Ugandan hearts would be changed for the Lord. Also pray that Robin and Brianna's hearts would be broken, for what breaks God's heart.

Will try to post sooner next time. Gary

Today is the day.....Uganda!!!!

2011-06-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

Here is where my heart is this morning as I prepare to leave the comforts of home for 2 weeks to go love on the orphans of Uganda. This song just says it perfectly.

Running with the cows!!

2011-05-22T17:04:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, our family headed west to run in our first half marathon and 5K. For some crazy reason, I got in my head that I wanted to run a half marathon for my 40th birthday. You know..challenge myself to do something I never thought I could do. Not sure where the idea even came from...I hate running...I always have. However, my wonderful hubby came along side me and said let's do this. So we trained together and I found that I loved this time we had. We could run all by ourselves and talk (yes at first I couldn't run and talk but I got to where I could). Our running time became a time where we could check in with each other and share our hearts without interruptions. That is a huge deal when you have 5 kids with 5 busy schedules. My mom jumped on board too and started training for a 5K. So last Saturday, Gary and I started our first half marathon; the race was called Running with the cows. The race benefited a local school in the area. They had all the milk you could drink after the race...my kids loved that! Soon after our race began, the 3 big kids, my niece and my mom started their 5K. It was a cloudy, cool morning which was great BUT it was windy. Not just a light breeze but wind gusts that would blow you back. The wind just about did me in but with Gary's support and encouragement I finished the race. It was not done in blazing speed but I finished. Every inch of my body hurt but I finished. I still hate running but I finished! Will I ever do a half marathon again? Not likely..you know been there done that!! I think 5Ks may be more my thing!

Getting my number before the race

Feeling good...before

Gary and I before the big race

The 5K runners

Claire and her cousin, Mia did gymnastics in the gym while they waited

Claire

Mia

Nicholas did his 5K in 27 minutes

Hunter

Brianna

Sierra (in blue)

My mom in the white

Claire and Mia ran in the kids fun run..which was about a mile

Here Gary and I are coming in..the kids ran out and finished the race with us

We did it!!

Crossing the finish line!

Caleb and the cow...

Half marathon down...mission trip to Uganda next!!

Mother's Day...5 reasons I have to celebrate!

2011-05-08T17:16:00.001-05:00

Brianna

Nicholas

Hunter

Claire

Caleb

God has certainly blessed me beyond belief!!

Go ahead and tell me how cute my kids are..I can take it!!!

Here is a poem for all you moms out there. This poem helps me to keep my focus when raising my kiddos.

Dear Lord, Your Word says ‘don’t complain’; I know that this is true.
But when it comes to housework or chores I don’t want to do,
It’s easy to resent the things to which I must give time.
“Taking up my cross” isn’t always what I have in mind.

But Lord, you have been teaching me to see the way You see,
To realize that my household tasks are blessings You gave me.
And so, I choose to give You thanks for all I have to do,
Knowing that the privilege of doing it’s from You.

Thank You for the laundry dropped in piles upon the floor,
And for the dirty pairs of shoes left right inside the door.
Thank You for the shirts and socks and coats flung everywhere,
For OxiClean and Shout and Tide—it means we’ve clothes to wear.

Dirty cups and dishes clutter countertops and sink.
I sure hope no one’s hungry; I hope no one needs a drink.
If it could all just wash itself, it would be such a treat.
But thanks for dirty dishes, too—it means we’ve food to eat.

Thank You for the sink and floor and toilet I must scrub,
And for my nice, hot shower; and I won’t leave out the tub.
Thank You for the mirror and wet towels I know are coming.
I’m grateful for this bathroom; it means we’ve indoor plumbing.

The messiness of games and toys and books covers our floors.
And did I mention dolls and blocks and drawings taped on doors?
Sometimes, I think I’ve seen my fill of Hot Wheels, Legos, bibs.
But thank You for this chaos—it means I have four kids.

My front yard isn’t landscaped. It isn’t even mown.
It’s filled with plastic toys and shovels—things that aren’t my own.
It sure won’t win “Yard of the Month”, but I don’t need that anyway.
I thank You for my lived-in yard—my kids have space to play.

There’s so much work I must get done. I do it all, and then
An hour later, it’s a mess, and must be done again.
But Lord, I thank You for the time that I can’t call my own,
The time spent serving others. It means I have a home.

Forgive me, Lord, for asking You for blessings great and small,
Then complaining when I have to clean or take care of them all.
Oh, Lord, the very fact that I always have much to do
Is not a cause for bitterness, but for giving thanks to You.

I see that every chore I have to do reflects Your grace
In blessing me with earthly things until I see Your face.
May I do my work with gratitude for the opportunity,
Seeing in it a chance for joy, and not mere drudgery.

My heart responds in thankfulness for all that You have given.
I’ll serve You by taking care of it ’til You call me to heaven.
Help me serve in such a way that the whole world sees Your dear Son
In my heart and hands and words and work, that to Him, they be won.

by Megan Breedlove - http://www.MannaForMoms.com

April recap

2011-04-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

I just haven't done well blogging lately. I can't believe April is almost over already and I have only posted once. We have a lot going on and I want to blog but just haven't taken the time. I will try to give an April recap for y'all.

The month started with a birthday. I am ok with telling you that I turned 40. Age is just a number to me; no big deal. My family had several surprises for me and I felt very loved.

This is what I found when I went out to get in the car to head out for the day

40 balloons in the car

Banner and balloons

My royal crown!!

Me and the kiddos at dinner

My ice cream cake

The little ones loved my tiara

Later in April, we had an Easter egg hunt at church. It had to be rescheduled because of rain but we were thankful to get it in on a sunny day.

Claire found one in the tall grass

She is so proud of her hard work

Searching for more

Claire and her sweet church friends

Caleb's turn to find eggs

See all the eggs? Caleb would walk right by some and go for another one. Maybe he only liked certain colors!!

He was done when he realized there was stuff inside. He just wanted to open all of them.

Time to play

Hunter checking out his eggs

Typical Hunter face these days when we try to take his picture!

I think she had fun, don't you think?

Nicholas had a band concert in April too but he really didn't want us to take pictures!

He plays percussion so he moves to different percussion instruments throughout the concert

That is him standing in the back

Look at the smirk on his face...he did not want us taking pictures

April has also been a month of rain..if April showers bring May flowers then we are in for a gorgeous May!!

This is what we found in our yard after a night of storms..it is from a couple houses away and somehow missed our neighbors fence.

We spent Easter weekend in Georgia with family. This is the family that we saw at least once a month when we lived in Alabama. Since we have moved we don't get to see them as often so it was great to see them again.

Noah and Caleb waiting for their bath

Last Easter we were celebrating the arrival of these boys to our family

Easter morning

Our Gang

The kiddos

My honey and I

Claire and Caleb

I love this one!

What joy they bring to our family

Our Easter Ham!

Michaela and Caleb

Noah and Caleb

Turner, Alisha and Noah

Time to color eggs

Egg hunt

I love Hunter's shirt!

Michaela and Claire

Alisha, Brianna, Michaela and Mallory

All of the cousins

Brianna and Noah

Mallory made this cake for Easter

Uncle Wayne (aka Pops) was entertaining the boys and himself with his phone!

Well, that is our April in pictures. What else have we been up to?

Hunter has started baseball with practice 2 nights a week
Claire has started gymnastics and has been advanced several times..she skipped 2 whole levels! Anyone who knows Claire and has seen her cartwheels should not be surprised by that!
Gary and I are training for a half marathon. I was determined to run in one for my 40th birthday. It is coming up in May. Not sure what I was thinking on that one..I have never been a runner!
Brianna and I are getting ready for a mission trip to Uganda. We leave in early June. We are fundraising and getting ready to go.
Nicholas is gearing up for summer football camp and training. Not sure I am ready for a high school football player!

Do you understand now why I rarely get to blog?

Brianna and I get to be His Hands and Feet....

2011-04-12T16:54:00.000-05:00

Brianna and I are fortunate enough to be going to Uganda in June. This is our first mission trip and we are excited to be going. Yet, we know our hearts will break at what we will see and experience. We are praying for strength to withstand the heartbreak of the trip at the same time praying that God will break our hearts with what breaks His. May we never be the same people after this trip.

This is the reason we go......

For the tiny treasures that need to know that they are loved.

Click on the link above for a glimpse of what drives us to go.

One Year Gotcha Anniversary!

2011-03-30T06:53:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe but it has been 1 year since Caleb joined our family! What a year it has been...full of laughter, full of fun, but most of all full of love.

Enjoy this video I created of our first year together!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Look what Claire can do!

2011-03-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

This girl continues to amaze me! When we adopted her at age 3 she had no language and now she is saying and signing the alphabet! What a girl God has blessed us with!

Sorry her face is so dark..trust me she looks adorable!

Reverse Thinking

2011-03-15T13:11:00.000-05:00

This is a very thought provoking video...watch until the end...you won't regret it.

Thankful Thursday

2011-03-10T15:35:00.000-06:00

I have so much to be thankful for this week so let's just jump into what I am thankful for!

~The flu is leaving our house! Caleb and Claire are on the road to recovery. The fevers are gone and they are starting to sleep better, which really makes me happy!

Here are the little sweeties watching TV from Mommy and Daddy's bed!

~We finally celebrated Nicholas' 14th birthday at HuHot! It requires driving to another state to do this!

Nicholas and his friend, Ryan!

Caleb, Brianna, and Gary

Caleb and Brianna

When did Nicholas start looking like a teenager instead of a boy?

More Eagles stuff!

You can't go wrong with this recipe! Check out the name!

~Claire is really enjoying cheerleading. It amazes me how she learns the cheers and actions despite her hearing loss!

Check out this video. Watch her cartwheels at the beginning..I think she could have kept going! So cute!

~Finally, I am thankful for the sweetest little boy that turned 1 year old today! Happy birthday, Noah! We love you!

Noah Gavin

What are you thankful for?

"Children Of God" - Official Music Video

2011-03-09T15:08:00.000-06:00

I love this song and I love Third Day! Enjoy!

How do you celebrate 11 months together?

2011-03-04T12:35:00.001-06:00

This week we celebrated 11 months with Caleb! How did we choose to celebrate you ask?

Well, with a lot of.....
snuggling
temperature taking
nose wiping and
motrin giving!

And, with the ultimate in celebrating style....
6 hours in the ER together.

Yep, our poor guy is sick. He has influenza b and an urinary tract infection. You know that pound I was so excited he had gained? Well, back to trying to get him to gain it again.

You know what I thought about as we snuggled in the ER? I thought about how this time when he is so sick he has a mommy and daddy who love him and will comfort him. He has a mommy and daddy that he can sleep with when his fever gets to 105.3 (and yes it did get that high). He has siblings that care and want to help him feel better. He has a family! Our family! We are the lucky ones!

I even managed to get a smile out of him while we waited in the ER. When the fever is down he does pretty good..if it would just stay down!

Thankful Thursday

2011-02-24T17:47:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since I have done a thankful Thursday post. So this Thursday I am thankful for:

~All of the laundry I do every week because it means we are blessed with much.

~Claire's recovery from her surgery. She is doing great with her 2 digital ears! She was so proud to go to school and show her friends that she now has 2!

I know you can't see her 2 digital ears in this picture but isn't she just so cute?

~Hunter receiving Honorable mention for his Young Author's book! Out of over 100 students, Hunter's book was in the top 12!

Hunter and his teacher, Mrs. Hill

His book cover

Sample of the inside of the book

~Family. It was great seeing my Grandpa again. It was hard to say goodbye though, he is 95 and I don't know when we will get to see him again.

Grandpa with some of his great grandkids

My brother, sister, Grandpa and me

Grandpa with the gang

~Snow day projects. Brianna and I worked on Caleb's measuring board during one of our snow days earlier this month. Now we can keep track of his growth with the other kids!

Brianna painting

The finished project

~Caleb's successful oral surgery on Monday. Caleb needed a lot of dental work so it was decided to do outpatient surgery and just take care of all it at once. Poor baby ended up having 15 teeth that needed work. We initially only thought 8 needed work so we were surprised when the dentist told us how many really needed work. He also had his tongue clipped at the same time. He was very tongue tied and it was affecting his speech and his ability to eat certain things. So glad to have it done now maybe he will start gaining weight!

Caleb's cute tongue before surgery

His tongue close up..I don't know if you can tell but his tongue makes a heart shape

After surgery..he only wanted mommy and to sleep

He did not want to wake up and he struggled with vomiting. We were in recovery for 6 hours.

On our way home..he still isn't feeling too well

He is happy again at home! This was taken later on the same day as surgery!

What are you thankful for?

Saying goodbye...

2011-02-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a weekend. On Saturday, we said goodbye to my Grandma in Kansas. My Grandma was an amazing Christian woman. She greeted everyone with "God bless you, I love you". She was also known as the kissing bandit. You did not get away without a hug and a kiss from her! I've heard stories about her pulling her car over just to get out and tell someone she knew, "God bless you, I love you". She would give them a hug and kiss and get back in her car and go on her way again. My Grandma loved her Bible and read it constantly. I remember staying with her and as we ate our breakfast she would be reading her Bible to us. I am so thankful to have had a heritage like that. I am glad that God blessed this world with her presence for 90 years. The impact she has made will live on forever in her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren and all who knew her.

This poem was found written in her Bible:

I'm Free
By: Anne Lindgren Davison

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God laid for me
I took his hand when I heard Him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
I found that place at the close of the day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss.
Ah yes, these things I too, will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow.
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much.
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all to brief;
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!

2011-02-08T12:09:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe that another year has gone by and Nicholas is now 14! Crazy to think that he will be in high school next year! He loves to remind me how much longer before he is driving. I don't even like to think about it!

I am so proud of Nicholas. He is a great student and always does his best. In fact, he was the student of the month for January! He is active with band playing percussion. He is always drumming on everything. Sometimes all the drumming drives us crazy but he can't help it - he is a drummer! This is the first year that he played tackle football. He really enjoyed it and he thinks he wants to play next year in high school. Right now, he is playing basketball. He is a leader on the court. It is fun to watch his skills develop from week to week. I don't have birthday pictures yet because we haven't officially celebrated yet. Rumor has it that he wants to go to Hu Hot and eat Mongolian BBQ for his birthday! Gary and I did go get him at school and take him out to lunch!

That is Nicholas looking at the camera with the big bass drum

Nicholas and Caleb

Nicholas and his great smile! Gonna break some hearts some day!

Nicholas after his first football win!

Happy Birthday Nicholas! We love you!

Chinese New Year!

2011-02-03T20:59:00.000-06:00

We just spent an enjoyable evening eating Chinese food with our good friends. We dressed Claire in her Chinese silks with some leggings and a turtleneck (it is in the teens here so had to think warmth over fashion!) Wish I had an outfit for Caleb but he is so small nothing we had fit. I will have to work on that! Claire is doing great after her surgery. Next week we go back to the doctor to check her incision and after that appointment they will activate her implant. It will be an exciting day!

Here Claire is focused on her chopsticks!

Our crazy gang celebrating!

Claire enjoying herself!

Claire and her doll that she named Claire!

Happy New Year! It is the year of the rabbit!

Top ten from the past ten months!

2011-01-30T17:21:00.000-06:00

Ten months ago, our precious Caleb came home. What a joy and wonderful addition he has been to our family. He is just the sweetest, cutest, funniest, littlest, cuddle bug ever!

Here are my top ten pictures from the past ten months. I think they do a pretty good job of capturing his personality!

So silly

So sweet

So cute

Car lovin'

Karate choppin'

Sunglass wearin'

Pool lovin'

Ice cream eatin'

Face makin'

Snowbaby!

We love you Caleb!

We are home!!!

2011-01-26T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Claire had her surgery and she did amazing! We had to be at the hospital at a crazy early hour. However, once we got there we found out they had a cubicle reserved for us. It was so nice to have a private area with 2 couches, 2 chairs, a table and a tv. Plus a direct line from the OR which they called us on every hour to tell us how she was doing. We could eat food in there too. Most times in surgery waiting areas you can't have food or drink because of the children who are waiting and can't have anything before surgery. We were blessed to have our 2 ministers come and stay with us the entire time. Sure made the waiting easier.

Claire was very brave. They did give her some goofy juice to help her feel more comfortable leaving mommy and daddy. Boy, did that stuff work and fast! She became very silly and she couldn't stop giggling. They took her back at 730 and we got to see her again around 1200. They initially admitted her to the hospital so they could watch her. A lot of kiddos struggle with nausea and dizziness after this surgery. She too had some nausea so she spent most of the afternoon sleeping. When she woke up she was ready to eat and was happy again. By the time the doctor came to see her Claire was doing great so she said we could go home! We were so happy about that. We were so tired after our long day and we knew the only way to get sleep would be to go home! We did sleep well too. We had to wake Claire up at 530 after we realized her dressing had come off in her sleep. She has a pressure dressing that needs to stay on until Thursday. She is still getting some pain medicine but she is eating well and is active...almost too active!

Thank you so much for your prayers. We could certainly feel them. We go back to the doctor on February 7. This is when they will activate her implant and we will see what she thinks of having 2 implants.

Before surgery

In recovery..trying to wake her up

Having a hard time waking up

Eating a popsicle in her room

Bruce the moose came to visit

She is not sure what she thinks of the moose

Sleeping again

Eating spaghetti and broccoli

Going home..got a wagon ride to the car

Claire today..trying to limit her activities!

Claire's surgery tomorrow

2011-01-24T14:07:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow is a big day. Claire is going to be receiving her 2nd cochlear implant. We have talked about it with her and she is excited about getting one on the left side. She currently has an hearing aid on the left side but she really does not get any benefit from it. We have a crazy early arrive time for the hospital but at least she won't have to wait all day without eating. They will keep her over night. I will try to post and update on how things went. I will update facebook throughout the day tomorrow so if you are my fb friend you can see how things are going there. We appreciate all your prayers. Even though we have been through this type of surgery before it is still never easy to let your child go when the time comes.

Here is a picture from her first surgery. Hope she wakes up as easy in recovery and is ready to eat Popsicles again! She is a real trooper!

Snow day!!

2011-01-20T14:00:00.000-06:00

Today we had a snow day and my kids were so excited! They could not wait to get outside. Why do they not feel the cold? I was frozen and ready to go back inside and they were going strong! I think little bodies are immune to the cold! Here are some of our pics from today!

Claire making a snow angel!

Caleb loved the snow!

Crazy Claire even rolled around in the snow!

Brianna helped the little ones make it down the hill. Wish we could find a bigger hill!

Boys ready to race!

Looks like Nicholas barely won!

Oops, Claire lost her hat and boot!

Caleb and Brianna walking home...so sweet!

Nicholas pulling Claire...see video below!

This is Nicholas pulling Claire down the street..it looks purple because I think my camera was too cold!

Check out the steam coming off of Nicholas..I guess he got a workout pulling Claire and Caleb!

Two less orphans!

2011-01-18T13:32:00.000-06:00

Do you hear the heavens rejoicing? As of yesterday, there are 2 less orphans in this world! I am so excited and so happy for my friend Sonia and her family! Sonia and her husband, John and their 4 boys are in China right now. Yesterday, they added Jacob and Joey to their family! Yes, you read that right. They adopted 2 boys at the same time! Last year, Nicholas and Sonia's oldest son, Jason were on the same basketball team. We spent each Saturday cheering on our boys and talking about adoption. Sonia and her husband were just starting the process and she had so many questions! It is so awesome to finally see them united with their boys!

Here is Sonia with Joey..isn't he just the cutest?

Here is Sonia with Jacob..another handsome boy!

John and Sonia and their 6 boys!

Joey

Jacob

Jacob and Joey are orphans no more! Their smiles just say it all don't you think?

Now they are...
sons
brothers
grandsons
and loved forever!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T10:47:00.000-06:00

Look how I found Claire and Caleb this past weekend! They love to read books before falling asleep which is fine. However, why they choose to get in Caleb's bed together I will never understand! Claire's bed is much bigger! They must like to be cozy! Found them like this last night too! So sweet...they are best friends!

More Christmas memories....

2011-01-07T12:05:00.001-06:00

I have been wanting to blog more about our Christmas trip but we have been recovering from our trip home! We certainly had an ~~horrible~~ interesting ride home. We planned on leaving on December 31, however Hunter got sick with a stomach bug on the 30th. Snow came in that night as well...so we decided we would delay a day and give the roads a chance to be cleared and for Hunter to recover. Fast forward to the morning we are set to leave...before we even got out of bed Nicholas came in and told us he had just gotten sick. GREAT! Roads are clear but now Nicholas is sick. We decided to push on and hit the road..had to get back for school and work. Thankfully, Nicholas was able to sleep in the car and only got "sick" once. Four hours into our 12 hour drive, Gary told me his stomach was hurting and he had the chills. Oh boy! Still have a long way to go and now I am the driver! Fast forward again (oh how I wish I could have really hit fast forward on that day and just got home), we are now about 1 hour from home and Brianna starts getting "sick". We stopped to take care of her and she told me she hadn't been feeling good but she was just trying to make it home. I already had a feeling that she didn't feel good after she slept for hours and didn't want to eat but I was in denial. I just knew we would make it home without any more victims. Um...well we just got back on the road and someone yells from the back "Claire is getting sick". I could not believe my ears. This was not happening..but alas it was. We did finally make it home but every time Caleb made a sound we were asking him if he was okay. I guess by this point I was pretty paranoid about who was going to be next! January 1, 2011 is a day we all want to forget at our house. Everyone has recovered now and guess what? Caleb never got it! However, my parents and my sister and her husband weren't so lucky.

OK, I did not intend for this post to be about our trip home. Sorry about that :) I wanted to share some more about our Christmas fun in Nebraska. Here's the rest of the story...

Every Christmas my mom comes up with some crazy idea for the grand kids to do for their presents. One year, she and my dad spent days carefully opening walnuts and taking out the nuts. They then folded money and placed it in the nuts and glued them back shut. What a fun surprise that was for the kids! Well, this year did not disappoint either. My mom came up with games from the new show Minute to Win it for the kids to play. The kids had a blast and so did everyone watching! By the way, they only had 1 minute to complete each game!

The first game they played was cookie face. They had to get the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using any hands.

Claire and Stacey

Zach, Hunter and Nicholas

Erikka, Mia, and Stacey

Maggie and Nicholas go head to head

Nicholas won the round!

Maggie is close

The next game was separation anxiety. They had to separate 50 m&ms into 5 cups by color picking them up 1 at a time and using only 1 hand.

The littlest players got some help

Katrina, Sierra and Maggie

The next game was egg roll. They had to make an egg roll into the square using only a pizza box. Amazingly, only 1 egg broke during this game!

The next game was stack attack. They had to stack 36 cups in 1 minute. The smaller kids just did 15 cups!

The next game was junk in the trunk. They had to get all of the ping pong balls out of the tissue box that was strapped to their back. This game brought the most laughter!

The last game was elephant march. They had to knock over 2 liter bottles with the baseball that is in nylons attached to their head. This game was hard!

Well, thanks for sticking it out with my long post! I wanted to blog these memories while they are still fresh. Hope you enjoyed a look into our Christmas!

Christmas memories in the making...

2010-12-30T19:42:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

We have been making memories with our family in Nebraska. What a great time we are having playing cards, watching football and enjoying time with cousins. The only thing missing is snow to play in! Rumor has it that snow may be on the way! Hope it holds off now until we are able to make it back home! Here is some of my favorite Christmas pictures.

Caleb enjoying his first Christmas at home!

Hunter excited about his new jersey!

Caleb and his new game.

Brianna trying on her new necklace.

Claire and her new doll that looks kind of like her.

Nicholas loves his new rug

Caleb snuggling with Aunt Pam

Sierra and Hunter

My sister, my mom, and me!

My brother Rick helping us hug Hunter

Caleb and Aunt Pam

Caleb snuggling with Grandma

Nicholas and Aunt Pam

Aunt Dee and Sandy

Skyping with my nephew Joe on Christmas eve..best present ever!

Caleb and Sandy

Stacey and Claire

Aunt Dee and Caleb

Maggie and Nicholas playing Minute to Win it!

Claire, Stacey and Erikka with Claire's creation

Riana and Caleb (they are the same size and Riana is only 1)

Aunt Marcia getting to know Caleb

Tea parties at Grandma's are the best..see the ice cream on the plates?

Uncle Rick and Caleb

As you can see, we are having a great time. Plus everyone is loving meeting Caleb! It has been 9 months since he came home and some of my family are just meeting him! Well, he is a snuggler and many of them have gotten great snuggle time with him! What a great Christmas it has been! I am blessed indeed!

Caleb update

2010-12-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

I realized that I haven't updated in awhile on how Caleb has been doing. He has been with us for 8 months and is doing great. His ~~little~~ big personality is really coming out. He is constantly making us laugh! His speech is really improving too. He goes to speech twice a week and has already reached several goals. I think the cutest is what he calls the kids. He has always called Claire by her name; they are best buds after all! He calls Brianna - Tannah. He calls Nicholas - Kick. He calls Hunter - Hunty. So cute! I hear several times a day "where's Tannah? where's Kick? where's Hunty? where's Claire? and where's Daddy?" When they come home he yells their name and runs and wraps his arms around their legs! Ahhh, I know just the sweetest right? He is picking up sign language too. Sometimes his little fingers have a hard time but he knows a lot of signs already. The little stinker still isn't gaining weight. He is staying steady at 24 pounds. He is still wearing 18 month sizes with a few 24 months. If only they made belts for little ones his size. Poor thing can't keep his pants up! People are shocked when I tell them he is 3 years old. We are beginning to think his bad teeth may be part of the problem. He has oral surgery scheduled for February 21. That is the earliest date they had available. In the meantime, we have been giving him Pediasure to supplement his diet. He goes in spurts where he hardly eats anything. He is on one of those now.

Well, I guess that is a good update for now! I wish all of you could meet him. You would love him to pieces just like we do!

Here Caleb is dancing...he loves to dance!

My sweet boy!

Playing catch up...

2010-12-15T15:05:00.000-06:00

I have really been behind in my blogging lately. I'm sure it couldn't be because I'm busy being a mom of five! Plus my hubby has been traveling a lot and I am not a good single mom. Most days I am just trying to survive the laundry, cooking, bath times and cleaning. On top of all of this, I got a nasty stomach bug while hubby was gone. All I can say is I am thankful for my good friend, Jodi, who came and put the little ones to bed and then came back at 7:00 the next morning to get Claire ready and off to school. She then took Caleb to her house for the day! God has been so faithful with providing us with great friends every place we have lived! It was fun this move to go back to a place we had lived before and already have friends waiting for us when we got here.

Ok, part of playing catch up is to post some pictures that I have failed to blog about!

These are from our visit to the pumpkin patch in October

The kids on the giant pumpkins!

The gang!

Claire

Crazy Caleb

Claire, Caleb and Hunter with their potato head pumpkins!

Claire and her princess pumpkin

Caleb and his monster pumpkin

Hunter and his pirate pumpkin

Look closely...Claire just got her ears pierced!

She got her birthstone on her earrings

She was so happpy! She did it at a birthday party so her friends got to watch her! She was so brave she didn't cry at all! This is her friend, Layla.

We went to Georgia for Thanksgiving. Part of the gang went hiking the day before Thanksgiving. The weather was wonderful!

Here is Turner, Michaela, Claire, Hunter, Nicholas, Max (the dog) and Mallory

Hunter and Nicholas looking thoughtful!

Claire had no problem keeping up...she is an outdoor girl!

The trail..

Caleb enjoying his first American Thanksgiving!

This was Noah's first Thanksgiving too!

Isn't he just the cutest? He only weighs 2 pounds less than Caleb and he is 8 months old!

Sweet little family..Turner, Alisha and Noah

Michaela and the boys celebrating their first Thanksgiving!

Our blessed gang on Thanksgiving day!

Ok, I feel a little better that I at least posted some pictures! I have a gazillion but I won't make you see them all! Until later my friends!

2010 Christmas card

2010-12-14T09:42:00.000-06:00

With Love Blue Christmas 5x7 folded card

Personalize your Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I did it! I finished my Christmas cards! Here is a sneak peak. This will have to tide you over until you get yours in the mail!

Hey, do you have your Christmas cards done yet?

2010-12-08T21:47:00.001-06:00

C is for Christmas cards…

H is for How easy it is…

R is for Really, really easy…

I is for Include everyone on your list…

S is for Shutterfly…

T is for Try it today…

M is for Many choices to choose from…

A is for All the joy the cards create…

S is for Start creating now!

I love personalized Christmas cards! I love creating them. I love receiving them. I love seeing how my friends and family have changed throughout the past year. I love including pictures of all of my kids in my card. I also love free! Shutterfly is offering bloggers 50 free cards just for blogging about it! How awesome is that? I love blogging and I love free! However, since I am new to Shutterfly I wanted to check out their website before I decided this was something I wanted to participate in. I was blown away by all the designs they have to choose from. The cards are printed on high quality paper. Plus, they will even address and send your cards for you if you choose! Could it be any easier? So this year, I will be creating my own cards with Shutterfly. The hardest part is going to be deciding which card to choose!

Check out Shutterfly for yourself. While there check out some of my favorite products:

Christmas photo cards
Wall Calendars
Photo gifts

Fellow bloggers if you want to participate in this too, click here.

8 months with Caleb!

2010-11-30T11:07:00.000-06:00

8 months ago, this was our first glimpse of Caleb...he looks so unsure

We found out that day how brave our boy is...he joined our family and didn't look back!

Now on November 23, 2010 Caleb is our newest US citizen!

He was so proud...he showed his certificate to everyone that walked by!

Outside the Federal building..

Oh how I love this boy! What sweet 8 months it has been!

Interracial adoption...Brianna's project

2010-11-18T13:31:00.000-06:00

You know when I was in high school, I don't think I thought a lot about the issues that impact our world. Issues like orphans, adoption, or mission trips. Honestly, those things weren't even on my radar screen. I am so thankful now that they are but I am most proud that they are issues that concern Brianna. Brianna was recently assigned a research paper that makes up the majority of her grade in her compostion class. She chose to write about interracial adoption and the positive impact that it makes in the lives of the children and their families. As part of that assignment she has to present a 5 minute speech on her topic. Out of that 5 minutes, 1 minute of it can be a visual presentation. Brianna decided to create a video to show to the class at the end of her speech. I hope lives are touched by her talk and video and who knows...maybe a few seeds will be planted? Here is the 1 minute video that she created.

The really cool thing about the video is that Brianna knows each family that is included!

Salute to my military men..updated

2010-11-10T20:36:00.001-06:00

I posted this tribute a couple of years ago. I felt it was time to post it again.

Tomorrow we celebrate Veteran's Day. I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the 2 military men that have had the greatest impact on my life. First is my grandpa, Doc Wichers. He was in the Navy and served during WWII. Even though he is no longer with us his legacy carries on. He taught me what true love looks like and how to be a helpmate to my spouse. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house growing up and I witnessed how my grandpa treated my grandma. I witnessed how they truly enjoyed being together and were always playing games and laughing together. I knew one day I wanted a marriage like that. I also saw how my grandpa cared for my grandma when she became frail and her mind and memory were fading. My grandpa was in his 90s and he fought through his health problems so he could care for grandma. Though I miss his gentle manner and his infectious smile; I take great joy in knowing that he and grandma are together in heaven (probably playing cards with the angels!).

My Grandpa and Grandma..

Me and grandpa..this is one of the last pictures I have with him

My next military man is my husband, Gary. Gary has been serving in the military for 20 years and we have been married for 19 of them. At times it has been a wild ride but all in all the journey has been great. Gary has earned the nickname Mr. Smiley at work. I think that says a lot about his true character. My hubby has been involved in very stressful situations and has had to make many tough decisions but he wouldn't let it rob him of his smile. When the going gets tough and everyone can see that the "boss-man" is still smiling then that influences the rest of them. How can you not smile when you see his dimples (I know your thinking that isn't very tough and macho for a military man but I happen to love his dimples!). I also think you can be a man of valor and strength and yet still be gentle. Military life can be hard especially when it keeps you away from family but I would never ask him to walk away from doing what he loves. Gary definitely loves serving his country in the military! So, to my military man, thank you for serving, thank you for being a great husband and daddy, thank you for taking me along for the ride!

UPDATE:
I have to include my nephew, Joe, this Veteran's Day. He is currently deployed and fighting for our country.

Be safe, Joe, we love you!

November -Adoption Awareness Month

2010-11-08T14:41:00.001-06:00

7 months!

2010-10-30T20:31:00.005-05:00

Seven months ago our boy came home. I have treasured our time with Caleb but I will always miss all the firsts that happened before he came home. His first tooth...first word...first time sitting up...first time walking...first birthday...I think you get the idea. However, we were given a gift from Caleb's foster family that I will treasure forever. His foster family sent pictures...I mean a lot of pictures of our boy. Pictures from his first birthday, pictures of him as a baby, pictures of his time with them. What a gift to have these pictures to have a glimpse of his life before coming home...to see that he was loved and well taken care of. Here are some of my favorite pictures of our boy before.

Caleb and his foster dad

Caleb and his foster mom

I will be forever grateful for the love and care they gave Caleb before he came home but I am most thankful that he now calls me mommy!

Happy 7 months at home Caleb!

Thankful Thursday

2010-10-28T18:49:00.000-05:00

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~My nephew Joe...he just shipped out for a year long deployment. Please pray for him as he protects our freedom. I am so proud of him and can't wait until I see him again and can give him a great big hug!

Here is Joe and Claire when they met for the first time!

Here is the same young man ready to fight for his country.

This picture was taken today as he said goodbye to his siblings.

I got this picture off of Joe's facebook page..this says a lot about the young man that he is..

Heavenly Father,

Watch over Joe and his unit. Keep them safe from all dangers. Go before them and help their missions to be successful. Give them courage and Your peace. Wrap Your loving arms around Joe and let him feel Your presence in all that he does. Dear Lord, please bring him home safe to us. In Your Son's precious name, Amen

This will be going up at our house for Joe.

Thankful Thursday

2010-10-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~Claire's adjustment to kindergarten. You know as a mom, I worry. I know crazy but I wondered would the kids in her class accept her. Would they see her for the fun-loving, goofy girl that we all love or would they see her as different? Would they see her as the girl that does sign language and not want to be her friend? Well, I am thankful for her adjustment and for her new friends.

~I am thankful for the scene I witnessed at the fall festival at school. We walked up to the school and there were a lot of kids already there playing games. Suddenly, I hear several little girls yell "Claire!" and they run up and wrap their arms around her. Then one of the little girls goes on to tell me that she has a sign language book so she can learn to talk to Claire. Boy, did this do this mom's heart good to witness this scene. Thank you, Lord, for letting me see this window into my precious girl's day at school!

Claire and her class on a recent field trip

~Pumpkin patches! I love going to the pumpkin patch in the fall. I love the crisp air and enjoying the outdoors. The patch that we went to has rides, goats, and pig races just to name a few things!

Claire is on the swing going backward

Caleb was more interested in the hay than in the pig races!

Grace, Hunter, Ryan, Brianna, Caleb, Nicholas, Claire and Abby

Caleb feeding the goats (he called them cows!)

Claire feeding the goats

Claire enjoying the airplane ride!

Caleb waves at everyone while going around and around!

My blessings!

Our gang!

Claire!

Caleb!

~For husbands who will take time off of work to go on a field trip with his favorite kindergartener!

Gary and Claire

How about this one, Dad?

Nope, this is the one!

At home ready to decorate it!

All done! Claire is proud of her monster!

What are you thankful for?

Happy sweet 16 Brianna!

2010-10-12T14:50:00.000-05:00

What a day of celebration we had yesterday! I'm not sure how it happened but my original baby turned 16! Wasn't it just yesterday that we brought home a 5 pound 10 ounce beautiful baby girl? It sure seems like it was yesterday and yet 16 years have flown by.

Brianna, your dad and I are proud of the young lady you have become. We love your beautiful spirit, your love for Jesus, your love for orphans, your love for your siblings and your love for your friends. We love your crazy sense of humor, your competitive nature and your willingness to work hard and keep trying even when it isn't easy.

Brianna and her friends

Caitlin, Brianna and Maddie

At the restaurant

The fruit bouquet..the one thing she really wanted for her birthday

Brianna with her new keychain!

Brianna's chariot for the day!

After lunch, they changed for a trip to the mall!

Everyone in..off to the mall!

Smiles, smiles everywhere!

Nicholas and Ryan

Grace and Hunter

Claire even had a turn for a ride!

At the mall, they had a scavenger hunt. They had to take pictures with each item they found. Plus each item on the list had to be found in the color purple!

Purple socks!

Purple sunglasses

Purple high heel shoe..bonus points if someone is wearing it!

Purple gumball

Purple necklace..bonus points if it had a peace sign!

Purple board game!

Purple tie..bonus points if it had stripes!

Happy Sweet 16, Brianna! We love you!

6 months ago...

2010-09-30T13:51:00.000-05:00

Six months ago in the middle of the busy Atlanta airport our lives changed forever...this is when we met our precious Caleb for the first time. How is it possible that it has been 6 months already? It doesn't seem like that much time has passed and yet at the same time it seems like Caleb has always been a part of our family. In honor of six months with Caleb here are 6 things I love about Caleb...

1. He is so sweet...Caleb is a cuddle bug and he loves to be held.

2. He loves to give kisses...nothing beats kisses from Caleb!

3. He is so funny...he has a funny sense of humor and always makes us laugh.

4. He loves life...he faces life with gusto and he lights up a room.

5. He is a great little brother...he tells his siblings goodbye in the morning and blows kisses and runs to them and wraps his arms around their legs when they come home in the afternoon.

6. He is ours for infinity and beyond...(he thinks he is Buzz Lightyear by the way and he has a laser and he is not afraid to use it!)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 6 months.

Meeting Caleb and his escort for the first time

Brianna was in love immediately

The boys were thrilled with their new little brother

One of many kisses Caleb has recieved since coming home

Brianna loves being a big sister to what she calls her "Asian sensations!"

Remember what I said about loving to give kisses

Hunter's turn for kisses

Brianna's turn

Now Nicholas

He had a sneak attack for Claire

I just love this picture of my boy

Caleb and his Daddy

Best buddies forever

Nicholas and Caleb

Brianna and Caleb

Mommy and her boy

Remember what I said about his sense of humor

Our family..Easter Sunday..just days after Caleb came home

Happy 6 months Gotcha Day anniversary, Caleb! We love you for infinity and beyond!

Thankful Thursday

2010-09-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~These 2 precious boys who are best buddies and soon will be brothers forever! I am thankful that their days as orphans are numbered! I am thankful that I had a chance to meet their forever family! I am thankful that I got to spend many Saturdays talking about adoption with thier new momma while our boys played basketball. I am thankful that God spoke to their hearts and now they are stepping out in faith and adopting 2 at the same time!

Could these boys be any cuter? Click on the their picture on my sidebar to see how you can help bring them home!

What are you thankful for?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-15T10:36:00.000-05:00

Thankful Thursday

2010-09-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~Our smart girl who taught herself how to tie her shoes!

~For beautiful weather to feed the ducks!

~For fun times outside with sidewalk chalk!

~For little boys that get their haircut and don't cry (this is a first! plus he sat in the chair by himself)

What are you thankful for this week?

My special Labor Day 10 years ago!

2010-09-06T16:45:00.000-05:00

This weekend we have been celebrating Hunter!

Ten years ago, God blessed me with a beautiful baby boy! We lived in Colorado Springs at the time and I really wanted to go to their annual hot air balloon lift off. Every Labor Day, hot air balloons lift off from downtown Colorado Springs and fill the sky with color. We had already gone to the balloon glow the night before and we planned on going to the lift off in the morning. Little did I know that God (and Hunter) had other plans! At 4:05AM, September 4, 2000~ Labor Day morning Hunter entered the world! But guess what, God knew the desire of my heart and as the sun came up we opened the curtains in my hospital room and you know what we saw? Yep, the sky was full of hot air balloons! The hospital was just up the road from the park and our room faced that direction! Not only did I have a new baby but I still got to enjoy the hot air balloons from my hospital room! Another thing about Hunter's arrival, I had been telling people for months that I would have him on Labor Day even though that was a few weeks before my due date. I just thought it would be so stinkin fun to have a baby on Labor Day! It gives me a whole new meaning of Labor Day! Again, God blessed me with my heart's desire and brought Hunter into the world! I wish I wasn't having computer issues because I would love to share some pictures from that day 10 years ago. I have an entire page in his baby book of the balloons outside the window!

Hunter opening his presents! Yes, he got highlights. He had been begging me to highlight his hair!

We celebrated his birthday at Chilis!

Happy birthday, Hunter! I love you!

Thankful Thursday

2010-09-02T13:40:00.001-05:00

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~The wonderful weekend I had a few weeks back in Indianapolis. I went to the Women of Faith conference with a group of ladies from church. It was a great weekend full of great worship, great speakers, and great friends! Plus, plenty of laughter. Isn't laughter just good for the soul? Well, we sure did laugh and laugh!

Our group outside the arena

The precious babies I got to love on during the weekend

~For sweet reunions with friends. At the conference, I met up with my dear friend, Jenny! I hadn't seen Jenny in 4+ years. It was great to see her again. I love how we could just pick up and talk like we hadn't been apart at all! I am especially thankful that Jenny is a breast cancer survivor! She is 1 year cancer free!

Jenny and I together again!

~For small town parades. I love parades! Brianna and Nicholas marched in the local parade so we went to watch. What fun! Caleb loved it and waved at everyone that went by. Claire was into all the candy and beads that were thrown!

Look at him just a waving!

Claire sporting her many beads!

Hunter enjoyed the parade too!

Gary's dad enjoyed the parade with us!

Brianna and Nicholas after the band was finished

How could you not enjoy a parade with this precious smile!?

~For small town carnivals! Before the parade we enjoyed some of the rides at the carnival!

Hunter and Nicholas ready for the ride!

Yep that is Claire and Brianna!

Claire is riding the dragon coaster.

She really did like it!

I took this of us as we were on a ride!

I took this mid ride too!

Caleb loved this ride. He is not a daredevil like Claire!

~For good friends! It was great to move back to an area where we had lived once before because with that came ready made friends! My friend, Jodi, has been great. She helped us unpack our many boxes. She loves on my kids. She meets me for lunch when my hubby is out of town and I need some adult conversation! She volunteered to go to a LONG doctor appointment with me so she could help with Claire and Caleb. I am thankful for her friendship!

I took this picture of us while we were at the Women of Faith conference!

What are you thankful for this week?

Happy 5 months home Caleb!

2010-08-30T09:34:00.002-05:00

Gracious, I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! To say things have been busy around here would be an understatement! We have had a bunch of back to school events, football practice, volleyball practice, taekwondo practice, doctor appointments, and of course a special birthday party for our sweet Caleb!

I can't believe that 5 months have flown by since Caleb joined our family! I am so thankful that Caleb is very low key and not high maintenance at all! We are a family on the go and he just goes with the flow! He is so happy and brings so much laughter to our family! He has had many doctor appointments the last couple of weeks. I know he has learned to trust us because he used to freak out at the doctor even if they weren't doing anything! Now he trusts that we are not going to do anything to hurt him and he is the best patient! We really don't know what all was done to him in K*rea so maybe he had reasons to be scared but not anymore. You can just feel the confidence and trust that he has gained. We found out that he does have hearing loss in his left ear. We are still doing testing to figure out the type of hearing loss and the extent of the loss. We are also facing future surgery for his bladder. Let's just say potty training will not be happening anytime soon. Despite these challenges Caleb continues to amaze us with how much he is unaffected by his spina bifida. Just watch him for a little while as he runs, jumps, does somersaults, climbs and on and on! I marvel at the goodness of our God to bless Caleb with legs that work! I am so thankful that God spoke to our hearts that day back in May 2009 and told us he was our child. I am also thankful that we didn't let the fear of adopting a special needs child stop us. God has big plans for Caleb and I thankful that I get to watch it play out each and every day!

Enjoy these pictures from his birthday celebration!

He knows it is all about him today

Nicholas, Caleb and Claire

Our friend Ryan

Our friend Gracie

Our friends, Scott and Jodi

Hunter and Caleb

Daddy and the little ones

Waiting patiently for cake

Yummy cake

Happy 5 months home, Caleb!

CALEB

2010-08-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

C is for copy cat!

A is for adorable!

L is for loveable!

E is for energetic!

B is for birthday boy!

Happy 3rd birthday, Caleb! We love you and are so thankful that we are sharing this birthday with you!