And Finally ...

As I told you earlier this week, we had our six month post placement visit for our sweet Sophie bug this week. Considering that she has been with us for 10 and a half months (since birth!!), we thought we would still be waiting a while. Our only prayer was that she would be adopted before the end of the year.

But God likes doing things bigger than that.

Yesterday I received a call that we have been waiting for! So, with great pleasure, we would like to announce ...



Anyone and everyone is invited to share our joy. If you are in the area, you are welcome!!!! Just email, call or trap me at church, and i will let ya know the details!

Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!?!

Can Anyone Say IRONY?

OK, first of all - BIG NEWS COMING TOMORROW!!!!!! And I do mean H*U*G*E!!!!

Second of all - DTE is the power company in our area. Meaning that they keep us all up and running electrically speaking.

Yesterday's concert - Steven Curtis (amazing man of God and incredible musician) Chapman and Michael W Smith - was at the DTE Energy Theatre.

Yesterday's concert was canceled mid way through Steven Curtis (did I mention totally anointed singer and songwriter and ambassador of the One True God?) Chapman.

The reason why the concert at the DTE ENERGY Theatre was canceled?

(drum roll here ....)

The POWER KEPT GOING OUT!!!!!!

In the words of my sweet friend "Super Model": "that s*cks".

(For those of you who may be sensitive to the word "s*cks" ... we'll just say "Oh my, how unfortunate!")

*sigh*

Did I mention BIG NEWS TOMORROW!!!!
(You won't want to miss it!!!)

Beneath His Wings

This morning I was reading my Max Lucado devotional book - which, by the way, is FABULOUS!!! - and he was telling a story about being caught in a sudden storm at a picnic. They ran to the car and, as they were leaving, noticed a mama bird protecting her baby from the storm by covering him with her wing. He compared that with the way that God promises to hide us beneath the shield of His wings as we go through storms in life. Not IF we have storms, but WHEN!!!

I needed that!

And I need HIM!

Tonight Hubby and I are going to see Steven Curtis Chapman. I am beyond excited - I know that it will be amazing. This is only his third or fourth show since losing his daughter Maria so tragically a couple of months ago. I cannot IMAGINE the courage it must take to go back to the world. To sing songs written in her honor. To try to "kick it" through the fun songs and try to hold it together through the tough ones. I will simply be sitting in the audience, and am not sure I can do it!

I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. Much less losing one so suddenly - without warning.
I used to wonder which would be worse - losing a loved one without the chance to say good bye, or watching them go through an extended illness. I have been in both cases - and have felt both kinds of agony. Watching Paula die was THE hardest thing I have ever done. But the honor of holding her as she walked into Heaven was beyond a Blessing. I got to tell her how much I love her and tell her what I needed her to know. I got a sense of closure and peace, knowing that she was in such a better place and that her pain was gone.
With my sweet Angie, it all happened too fast. Angie was a girl in the youth group that I helped "coach". The heart for God that beat in this girl was beyond compare. And, Honestly, I do not believe I could have loved her more if she was my very own child. She held such a special place in my heart - still does. I was honored to be the one to baptize her into the faith. And, oh my golly, her faith was strong. On March 17, 2005, Angie was in an accident that took her life. It was sudden and fierce and NOBODY got to say goodbye to her.

And I am here to tell you that THAT pain is soooooooooo much worse. Nothing prepares you for the sudden loss of someone so healthy and young. Nothing at all. It is a storm. One that we cannot protect our children from and so we must trust that the FATHER can - and will. And does.

All this to say that we are going through a storm right now - truthfully, in comparison to losing a loved one, it is more like a little sprinkle, but still. It is tough. The adoption journey was costly. And all of the expenses were out of pocket expenses, so we had to use credit cards for a great deal of other "stuff". Add to that the fact that we were trying to "get somewhere" in a business deal with some wonderful friends. Let's just say that we were not cut out for sales and so we were selling to ourselves and made some errors in judgement. All of it is stuff we will and do use, but it is now stockpiled in our basement and we can do no more. We have had to let people down and that stinks. That really stinks.

So now we are trying to find our way through this financial jungle. We are praying hard for wisdom and guidance. We want, so much for all of this to glorify HIM - and HIM alone. And, as we discussed last night, God must have something pretty big in store, because you would not believe how hard that devil dude is fighting us on this!

First of all, we had the incident where Hubby was driving down the highway and the truck in front of him suddenly started "off loading" it's cargo. All over Hubby's windshield. Into the body shop for the car and out of the pocket for the deductible.

Then I crashed the car - yep same car!!! Back into the body shop and even MORE out of the pocket!

Then our less than two year old washing machine broke. An expensive part was ordered and it was fixed. But, did I mention the part was expensive? Yeah!

Then came the storm that blew off part of our roof. More money out of pocket for the big deductible. The REALLY big deductible. And it hit us hard.

And now, the washing machine is broken AGAIN. A different part this time. A more expensive part this time.

Now, I know that God is protecting us from this storm. I am fully aware that we are under His wing. I believe with all that I am that we will get through this and, on the other side, we will get to give all of the glory to HIM. And to Him alone. And yet this storm is hard. And, at times, we are feeling lost. Lost, but never alone. Never EVER alone.

In the beginning of all of this fun-ness I was praying that God would make funds available to get me to San Antonio for the Seista Fiesta (a party for all of my Bloggy Beth Moore Friends, for all of you non siestas) and that I would get to at least be in the same room - if not get to actually MEET and HUG my BFF Beth Moore!!! Now, as much as I would LOVE to get to go, I am simply praying for a break in this storm. Hubby is feeling lost as well and will probably HATE that I am putting this out there. But we need and covet your prayers my friends. Seriously.

I honestly cannot wait to see what HE does with all of this. But I am asking you to pray that we have the strength to go the distance and that the enemy is kept at bay. We seriously need a break here. We are not asking for a windfall, just a chance to get back on our feet. And a light to find the path that He would have us follow. The path that will most be to His glory in the end.

If you stayed through this whole Post, Bless you!! And thank you in advance for your prayers.

We love you all!!!

A Princess and A Ballerina

Before we begin our adventure - Today we are (FINALLY) meeting with our caseworker for our "Six Month Post Placement Visit" for Sophie's adoption. (Yes, she is ten months old and has been with us since birth!) This is the final step before filing for adoption finalization!! Please pray that all goes well and we can make her our FOREVER daughter soon!!! She IS our forever child in our hearts - we just want to make it official!!!


Saturday Morning started off lovely (except for the fact that the graduation party was a "pool party" and it was POURING out!). Hattie decided it was a lovely day to be a princess and Sophie was in such a sweet mood that we decided to make her a ballerina! Here's how it all went down:


Hattie - "see my Ring - awww, it's so pretty!! I must be a princess!!!"



Sophie - "see my tu-tu. I must be a ballerina"

S - "OK Mommy, I am ready for a picture!!"
H - "Oh mother, PLEASE - do you ALWAYS have to put that camera all up in my grill?!?!"

Mommy - "Uuuhh, Hattie - your pretty princess panties are showing!!"


S - "Yes, but sister - those shoes are to DIE FOR!!!"


S -"Strike a pose!!"

H - "Is it a DUCKIE ya kiss to get a prince?"

S - "Nah, it's a froggie - but I think mine is broken!!"

S - "forget frogs and ducks - I'm just gonna call that stinkin' prince!!"

Daddy - "HEY! No princes until you are 45!!!"

And half an hour later the Ballerina - so smiley in these pictures - was puking her little guts out!!

Picture Perfect Monday - Our Weekend

We had a very big weekend - 80th B-day bash, Grad party and a baby shower - enjoy the show!!!

The Birthday Boy ...

With all the grand kids ...



Uncle Harry STILL trying to make friends with Sophie (looks like he found an in!!) ...

The mommies to be ...

Hattie doin' her thing ...



And that was just FRIDAY!!!!

More to come - including a lovely princess and a ballerina (who got very sick very soon after!!!)

Big Big Plans!!

Today is my father-in-love's birthday. He is 80 years old! Can I just tell ya that I absolutely LOVE this man? He is a strong honorable man who loves his family and his God and his country. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne division in the US Army and is so proud of that fact that he does not let a day go by that he is not wearing SOMETHING on his person saying so!! I am so honored that he calls me his daughter in law. Not to mention how grateful I am for the FABULOUS job he did raising his son!!!!

So, in honor of the big day we are having a big 'ol party. And I mean BIG!!! Too big for a house, we have to throw it in the park! That's how big it is!!!

And then tomorrow - seeing as how everyone will be in town, there is a graduation party for our niece Chelsea. And, since everyone will STILL be in town, there is a baby shower for another niece Heather on Sunday. She is expecting her first baby in November and has herself the cutest little baby belly!!! She was probably about a size 4 to begin with, so it is ALL belly and soooooo cute!

So, a b-day party, grad party and baby shower all in three days. That is a LOT of food my friends! Not to mention that all three events are outside, so that is a LOT of mosquitoes too. Any one have any ideas on how to keep my girlie safe with out putting poison on her face all day, every day for three days?!?!?!

I probably won't be around much this weekend, so have a great one and stay safe and cool!!

XOXOXOXOXOX

Fitness On Friday - Not So Good

Originally all I was gonna say on this post was "Don't Ask!!!" However, since this is my accountability station, I feel it necessary to tell ya... I have gained a pound in the last two weeks. I know it does not seem like much, and considering that at this moment I could not even BEGIN to tell you where my food journal is, I am grateful for that! However, I am a little disappointed in myself. So I gotta use that to hop back on the wagon. Back into the game.

Big, gigantic weekend though - Birthday party, graduation party AND baby shower. YIKES! Pray for me to be strong. And to find my journal. And to be strong.

Did I mention I need strength?

Yeah!

A Little Of This, Little Of That ...

Our church had a blood drive on Monday. Since I am now a SAHM (that is "stay at home mom", for all of you behind on your blog-ese lessons) and cannot, at this season of my life, take off on short term mission trips or be a summer camp counselor on a regular basis like I did in my single days, I look for opportunities to give back, while not straying too far from the people who need me most. So, I jumped at this chance.

Now, I am not a big fan of the needles. I am more often that not, what they like to call a "hard stick" - meaning they have trouble finding a vein and, usually, when they do it is either buried beneath all of my "fleshiness" (I think that this is a polite phrase for FATTY CELLULITUS TISSUE!!), it does not hold still - did you know that veins can roll?!?!, or it is very small.

"Very small" is what we had this time. She was not sure that it would last for a whole pint. I had heard that before and everything had been fine, so I decided to go for it. And I was wrong. It WAS too small. They only got about a third of a bag before it started flowing so slowly that it was clotting before it reached the bag.

Clotting quickly - good should I ever, ya know, lose a limb or something. Not so good if you are trying to fill a big ol bag o' blood with the fluid flowing in a puny little vein!!!

That being the case, I did not receive the highly acclaimed "I Gave Blood Today" badge of honor. Instead, I was stuck with the sad little "I Tried" sticker and this lovely "Badge Of Honor" ...


Pretty, huh? I know YOU want one!!!
(Guess my career as a druggie will not be very fruitful. What with being forced to walk around with the arm that says "please arrest me and send me for a urine test IMMEDIATELY - I promise I will fail. And I don't even have to eat a poppy seed muffin!!!")

In other news, Sophie is not sleeping well again. This time it has NOTHING to do with her sinuses. She just wakes up a LOT!!!! She is not hungry - the most she will drink is MAYBE two ounces. She cries till someone comes to her. Continues to cry until she is given a bottle - which, as I mentioned, she barely touches before drifting back to sleep.
Yesterday we went to see the doc to be sure that it is not her ears or anything else and, after she took one look at the bulging luggage beneath my eyes, she asked me around four hundred and eighteen questions about Sophie's sleep patterns. And then she gave me a verdict:

Trained Night Cryer/Feeder

So, basically we have a LOT of work ahead of us. See, Sophie - even though she weighs in at just over 24 pounds, is not a big eater. We are lucky if we can get her to eat more than 6 ounces at a feeding. I never thought too much of it, since she get the recommended amount in on a daily basis. However, she gets it in a little at a time. This means that she eats smaller amounts more often through the day. SO, she is used to having feedings closer together. And this is why she wakes up. She is not hungry - she has eaten enough through the day - she is just used to eating more often. It is a comfort, so she cries for it and needs it to get back to sleep. SO, I now have to increase the time between feedings - and thus the amounts of food - through the day so she can go longer between feedings at night.
We also need to help her be able to soothe herself back to sleep at night. She is fine with this at nap time and when she first goes to bed. We turn on her music and the thing that puts fishies on the ceiling and she goes right to sleep (even without the fishies at nap time, because it is too light to see them). But at night, if she wakes up, she cries for a bottle and some attention.

SO, here is where I need your help. How does/did your children get back to sleep in the night? Any products that helped - a crib soother (hers sits on a table, where she cannot reach it to turn it on herself), special music, tricks or ideas.

PLEASE, I need any idea I can get! Ask your friends, send em my way. I will take any suggestions I can get. ANYTHING at all!!! I am tired ... and desperate!!!

Thank you in advance. You are rescuing us all.

Picture Perfect Monday - Yay For Technology

Where would we be without the modern convenience of things like cell phones, without which we would never be able to share random moments, like when Hattie decides to bestow "princess-ness"on her sister ...

... or Sophie and her daddy decide to take a snuggle break in the middle of COSTCO ...

... or the girls decide to go for the X-Treme closeup ...


... grab for the camera ...

... or just share a quiet moment on the front lawn?

Yep, technology is good!

Ups and Downs and The Craziness Inbetween

OK, first off - may I ask you all to pray for my sweet friend Rachel and her family. Her Mom passed away this weekend. She had been dealing with many medical issues lately and they knew it was coming. Somehow that does not make it easier though. She was a believer, so what does make it easier is knowing that she is now enjoying a perfect, HEALTHY, Heavenly body and resting in the presence of Jesus! Rachel is a blogger, her site "Devoted" is listed in my link list on the sidebar (I can't get the link thingy to work!) if you would like to read about her mom. Thank you for your prayers - I know I can count on all of you!!!

Secondly, another friend and her hubby recently lost their pet dog. Now, this was no ordinary pet. My girlfriend Carol is a retired police officer and her hubby John is still active and has been on the canine unit for a while now. For the past 5 or so years he has partnered with Baloo. Last Monday they were following a bad guy through a construction site and Baloo fell in a hole and died. These people are SERIOUS pet lovers and Baloo has lived with them the entire time they have worked together. They are devastated by the loss. Please pray for them as well as for some choices regarding John's career that they are now facing.



And thirdly, today is my Paula's birthday. She would have been 38. It still seems so foreign, this world without her. I have to stop and remind myself that she never met my girls, never got to see me be a mom. That hurts. She was an AMAZING mom. At least once a week I wish, more than you could imagine, that I could ask for her advice and input and HELP!!! I miss her every Friday - we had guitar lessons, ice cream dates, movie nights and/or shopping at Walmart on Fridays. When she was doing chemo, it was on Friday and I would sleep over to help her through. More often than not, the next day she was ready to go garage saleing. I would have to explain - AGAIN - that they were FULL of germs and other people's filth. We would argue - AGAIN. She would win - AGAIN. And we would go to Einstein's Bagels for an "everything" bagel and a large "frosty beverage" and be on our way. She could sniff out a garage sale a mile away. She was great at finding a bargain, but mostly we just found some fun and a few laughs. I hate that she is not here with me anymore. I LOVE that she is in Heaven. I miss her like crazy every single day. I can't wait to walk on those golden streets and see her walking toward me. She is saving the mansion next door to hers for me - 'cause she promised she would. I can't wait to see how she painted the walls. I bet there is at least one pink room ('cause she knows I would secretly want one - though not QUITE as pink as Faith's room), one muraled wall and one sunflower SOMEWHERE!!! She wouldn't have it any other way.

Did I mention I miss her?

Yeah, I thought so.

Freedom ROCKS!!!!!

So, we had a fabulous Fourth - how was yours?

Here is how ours went down:
We spent the day at John's house (Hubby's bro). He lives right off of the lake and it was beautiful! Hattie got to show off her new "big girl" swim suit! Now that she has successfully potty trained, she does not need the swim diapers anymore. May I just say that she ROCKED that suit! She completely enjoyed the Slip-N-Slide.





She would run up to it and screech to a stop at the beginning. She tried the sliding part once and landed on her back. After that it was run, run, run, STOP and walk gingerly to the other end. Much to the amusement of her cousins!

Sophie enjoyed being spoiled by her cousins and her grandma, and then she took herself a nap.





We all enjoyed some yummy BBQ - thank you John!!! And then we went back to the fun! Hattie divided her time between the slip-N-slide and the kiddie pool.




While Sophie got to know Bella the dog.





Uncle Harry worked at Holding Sophie without her crying (which, thankfully, is working!!!).




And then the girls, the puppy and the daddy got in some quality time.






We came home before it got dark - had to avoid the mosquitoes. Didn't want a rematch from last weekend!! But the folks in our sub must've gone into debt at the fireworks stands, because we got QUITE a show right in our own front yard. We played with sparklers and then watched the rest of the fun from our living room window. It was great ... aside from the fact that Hattie has yet to learn the S.L.O.W. wave method of sparkler fun and had her sparkler going so fast it burned daddy's shirt AND some of her hair off. NOBODY was hurt in the process, her hair just aint smelling so hot!!!

We forgot the camera for sparkler fun, so we will try again tonight!

I hope you all had a great day as well. I am so very thankful to live in the freedom this country offers. I know that there is a LOT wrong with things right now. (I do not talk politics, so that is all I am gonna say about that) However, we have the freedom to make our own choices, go where ever and do what ever we like, and worship the way we choose. This is something I will NEVER take for granted. Thank you to the men and women who have given of themselves to attain and protect these freedoms. And thank you to the Father for all of the Blessings He bestows upon this nation. May we strive to Bless Him right back.