Nursery Update

I'm in "batch blogging" mode tonight. I have borrowed this phrase from Jeff over at Land Life. I've gotten behind due to working on the nursery this weekend.

We went by Lowe's after Joshua's basketball game on Saturday. As an aside, Joshua's team won 23-9. Josh scored the first three points of the game and was so pumped up. They have really come a long way as a team this year. Their coach is such a kid at heart! He gets really, REALLY excited during their games.

Anyway, our bedding won't be in until mid-week next week so we went out on a BIG limb and picked a paint color that we think will match. Keep your fingers crossed because we aren't painting again. (Well, don't tell Kevin, but if it's really, really ugly, we will). Kevin picked the paint color. It's called Cream Rose. It's a beautiful shade of pink. I've tried to think all weekend of something to compare it to, but I can't. It's just a hint of pink and it's very creamy looking. I LOVE the color. Kevin says he's just surprised to be painting anything pink.

This is the bedding we've ordered. It's called Ella Grace.

Kevin is EXCELLENT at painting around the ceiling -- and he doesn't even have to use tape!

This is the color we choose - Cream Rose. I would have probably called it Hint of Pink.

We borrowed this idea from our church and our Sunday school teachers and wrote Bible verses on the walls -- verses that have applied to our adoption or that are special to us. While others might not know they are there, Ellie will be surrounded by God's word under her pink walls.

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Do not be afraid for I AM with you. I will bring your children from the East and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:5

Joshua writes his favorite verse: John 3:16

Josh helped paint some, but from the looks of the photos, he had been smelling the fumes WAY too long.

We finished up late Saturday night. We still need to paint the window and doors but will do that later. We are more concerned with photos for the dossier at this point since she likely won't come home until June or July.

Today, Kevin, Josh and I (mostly Kevin) put together the changing table and crib. We didn't get the mattress down from the attic. We are going to wait until the bedding comes. Being a little anxious to see that it would look like, I put in a quilt that we were going to use but decided to just use as a fun blanket for Ellie.

And, last, but certainly not least, I got Ellie a cute outfit at Old Navy this weekend. I'm a HUGE clearance freak and am pleased to report, all items were clearanced. Got the little peach jeans for $3.94.

EXHAUSTED - Adoption Updates

So most of you who read this just really want to know what's going on in adoption world, so I'll hit the highlights and move on to the details later.

• USCIS has received our I600A Petition to Adopt. We have received our receipt and hope to receive a letter with our fingerprint appointment the first of next week. Our receipt indicates it could take up to 8 weeks after fingerprinting to get our I171H.
• We have requested police clearance letters (they are at Dianne's house), medical forms for Kevin and I and will drop off Joshua's this week, and we will request new employment letters this week. When these three things are done, we will have all the documents we need for our dossier (with the exception of the above mentioned I171H from USCIS). We will take all the documents to have them notarized.
• We got Ellie's room pretty much done this weekend -- the big stuff, that is. Her room is painted, furniture is assembled and arranged in the room. We have ordered the bedding nad expect to receive it mid week this week. Because we have to have photos of it for our dossier, we will take the photos and then continue to use it for storage while the floor is built in the office and the cabinets that are sitting in boxes throughout the house(some in the living room, some in the garage, some here, some there) are installed. Then we can move my craft things to the office (former garage) and Ellie's room will be ready. Kevin is figuring what we will need to build the floor up to the same level as the rest of the house. I suppose that will be our next pressing project. We just need this all to be DONE so when she comes home all we have to do is LOVE ON HER!!!

There are boxes of stuff all over the house. I'm just exhausted with it all. I know Kevin is too. We have to climb around boxes to get anywhere. I'm told it gets worse before it gets better -- oh, yeah.

Snow ?? Day

This morning at 5 a.m. we got a call from our school system's new automated calling system letting us know school would be out today. WOW! So early. I think I'm the only person who even woke up when the phone rang. I partially listened and went right back to sleep.

Now, those of you who live up north, PLEASE try to contain your laughter at this photo of the amount of snow that has cancelled school today. Granted, the roads were probably icy early this morning but Kevin made it to work fine and around lunch I made it to the doctor's office just fine. We are going two hours late tomorrow. Fortunately, they called tonight on this one.

So, Joshua and two of his friends spent the whole morning playing in what little white stuff they could find. When I got Joshua to come home to shower before we had to leave, his entire body was beet red. I think he should have come in a little sooner.

I dropped off our medical forms at the doctor's office this afternoon and got that ball rolling. Our police clearance letters are ready to be picked up. Check! I need to draft Kevin's employment letter as well as mine and email those off for signatures. Hopefully, we can get those by mid-week nex week. I also hav to send off Joshua's medical letter request to his pediatrician so they can get started on that. Should I be really efficient, I might be able to gather all of these items next week. That's the goal.

We are moving along....

So to follow the story along the sideline. In the first photo we have Joshua all bundled up to begin the snow day.

Photo two shows "the crew". Don't they just LOOK like trouble waiting to happen?

Photo three shows lots of excitement about sledding but NOT a lot of snow -- which is imperative for sledding.

Finally, in photo four, they have given up and have taken to ROLLING themelves down the hill.
This basically only resulted in muddy clothes and really, really cold bodies!

Ah, to be ten again.

Attachment

Since we began our adoption process, we have heard over and over about how important attachment is. Attachment is defined as:

• Attachment is a reciprocal process by which an emotional connection develops between an infant and his/her primary caretaker
• An attachment may be defined as an affectional tie that one person or animal forms between himself and another specific one - a tie that binds them together
• The term, "attachment parenting", was conceived by pediatrician William Sears and his wife Martha, to describe a highly responsive, attentive style of caring for a child. Attachment parenting promotes physical and emotional closeness between parent and child.

And so while we understood the value and importance Ellie and us forming a strong attachment early on, by such things as "wearing" her (in a carrier vs. stroller), lots of one-on-one time, holding, reading, not letting others hold her for a while, making sure we are the primary caregivers, etc., I don't think I ever truly understood it from Ellie's perspective.

While I was on the Rumor Queen's site, a site for updates on the China program, I saw a link she had to a site she recommends parents read before bringing their chid home. It is on attachment which is something she is a strong advocate for so I clicked over to A 4Ever Family and found the following article. I have been able to think of little else since then. I'm copying it here with full credit to the authors for their work.

Put yourself in Ellie's shoes. Read the following analogy.

Imagine for a moment… You have met the person you've dreamed about all your life. He has every quality that you desire in a spouse. You plan for the wedding, enjoying every free moment with your fiancée. You love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. For the first time in your life, you understand what is meant by "soul mate," for this person understands you in a way that no one else does. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. Your emotions are intimately tied to his every joy, his every sorrow.

The wedding comes. It is a happy celebration, but the best part is that you are finally the wife of this wonderful man. You fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day's events, but relaxed and joyful in the knowledge that you are next to the person who loves you more than anyone in the world…the person who will be with you for the rest of your life.

The next morning you wake up, nestled in your partner's arms. You open your eyes and immediately look for his face.

But IT'S NOT HIM! You are in the arms of another man. You recoil in horror. Who is this man? Where is your beloved?

You ask questions of the new man, but it quickly becomes apparent that he doesn't understand you. You search every room in the house, calling and calling for your husband. The new guy follows you around, trying to hug you, pat you on the back,...even trying to stroke your arm, acting like everything is okay. But you know that nothing is okay.

Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? When? What has happened to him?

Weeks pass. You cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. Sometimes you ache silently, in shock over what has happened. The new guy tries to comfort you. You appreciate his attempts, but he doesn't speak your language-either verbally or emotionally. He doesn't seem to realize the terrible thing that has happened...that your sweetheart is gone.

You find it difficult to sleep. The new guy tries to comfort you at bedtime with soft words and gentle touches, but you avoid him, preferring to sleep alone, away from him and any intimate words or contact.

Months later, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust this new guy. He's finally learned that you like your coffee black, not doctored up with cream and sugar. Although you still don't understand his bedtime songs, you like the lilt of his voice and take some comfort in it.

More time passes. One morning, you wake up to find a full suitcase sitting next to the front door. You try to ask him about it, but he just takes you by the hand and leads you to the car. You drive and drive and drive. Nothing is familiar. Where are you? Where is he taking you?

You pull up to a large building. He leads you to an elevator and up to a room filled with people. Many are crying. Some are ecstatic with joy. You are confused. And worried.

The man leads you over to the corner. Another man opens his arms and sweeps you up in an embrace. He rubs your back and kisses your cheeks, obviously thrilled to see you.

You are anything but thrilled to see him. Who in the world is he? Where is your beloved? You reach for the man who brought you, but he just smiles (although he seems to be tearing up, which concerns you), pats you on the back, and puts your hand in the hands of the new guy. The new guy picks up your suitcase and leads you to the door. The familiar face starts openly crying, waving and waving as the elevator doors close on you and the new guy.

The new guy drives you to an airport and you follow him, not knowing what else to do. Sometimes you cry, but then the new guy tries to make you smile, so you grin back, wanting to "get along." You board a plane. The flight is long. You sleep a lot, wanting to mentally escape from the situation.

Hours later, the plane touches down. The new guy is very excited and leads you into the airport where dozens of people are there to greet you. Light bulbs flash as your photo is taken again and again. The new guy takes you to another guy who hugs you. Who is this one? You smile at him. Then you are taken to another man who pats your back and kisses your cheek. Then yet another fellow gives you a big hug and messes your hair.

Finally, someone (which guy is this?) pulls you into his arms with the biggest hug you've ever had. He kisses you all over your cheeks and croons to you in some language you've never heard before.

He leads you to a car and drives you to another location. Everything here looks different. The climate is not what you're used to. The smells are strange. Nothing tastes familiar, except for the black coffee. You wonder if someone told him that you like your coffee black.

You find it nearly impossible to sleep. Sometimes you lie in bed for hours, staring into the blackness, furious with your husband for leaving you, yet aching from the loss. The new guy checks on you. He seems concerned and tries to comfort you with soft words and a mug of warm milk. You turn away, pretending to go to asleep.

People come to the house. You can feel the anxiety start to bubble over as you look into the faces of all the new people. You tightly grasp the new guy's hand. He pulls you closer. People smile and nudge one other, marveling at how quickly you've fallen in love. Strangers reach for you, wanting to be a part of the happiness.

Each time a man hugs you, you wonder if he will be the one to take you away. Just in case, you keep your suitcase packed and ready. Although the man at this house is nice and you're hanging on for dear life, you've learned from experience that men come and go, so you just wait in expectation for the next one to come along.

Each morning, the new guy hands you a cup of coffee and looks at you expectantly. A couple of times the pain and anger for your husband is so great that you lash out, sending hot coffee across the room, causing the new guy to yelp in pain. He just looks at you, bewildered. But most of the time you calmly take the cup. You give him a smile. And wait. And wait. And wait.

--Written by Cynthia Hockman-Chupp, analogy courtesy of Dr. Kali Miller

Homestudy Updated - Check

I feel like Suzanne over at Straight down the Mountain, whose blog I read a lot. She is adopting from Kyrgyzstan as well. Each job she gets done gets a great big checkmark.

SO..... it is with GREAT excitement that I announce that our homestudy is DONE and waiting to be picked up. As soon as I pick up Joshua, we are zooming into Nashville to pick it up. I filled out a couple of grant applications last night and we will mail those off this week. These would surely help with that last little bit we need to put a big check mark beside "financing". I know God will provide just as He has so far.

Our social worker is overnighting our I-600A application so they will get it tomorrow. We will have to be re-fingerprinted and then will wait anxiously on our I171H. That is the only foreseeable hold-up at this point. I don't know how long USCIS will take to process it.

Still need to gather medicals, police clearances and employment letters (Again) and get everything notarized and authenticated and I'll be ready to type, "Dossier - CHECK". :-)

In other news, the "K" key is missing on my computer. It popped up and I've had the HARDEST time trying to get it back on so I'm without "k". Do you know how many words have the letter "K" in them? Kyrgyzstan??? Kevin???? *sigh*

And then, yesterday, the modem for our internet went out. It's seven years old so it was probaby time, but being without internet has been a bit challenging -- even for 24 hours.

I am down to ony 42 more jobs to enter from my 770 from the South Carolina trip. I will be so glad to have that done so I can more on to other things.

Transitioning a Junk Room to a Nursery

As I mentioned earlier, some of the photos we have to include in our dossier are to be of Ellie's room. Since her room is currently the toy storage/craft/ironing board/junk storage room, it was not a project I really was looking forward to. Now, mind you, I'm all about getting her room ready, but the daunting task of figuring where to PUT all this stuff was more than I wanted to do.

However, today, I jumped in head first. Actually, it was body first because I needed more than just a head to tackle this room. I really should NOT include before photos of the room because it's quite embarrasssing to show the world what this room looks like but the "Ooohs and Aaahs" after completion can't be as fun if there is no "before".

Now, there will not be an "after" for a while. This is much more than a one day project. It took the one day to just box up the crafts and sort through the clothes that I've been buying Ellie for three years. All the items that are bigger than 12 months have now been put in a storage box for later. There are a LOT because when I thought Ellie was coming from China, I thought she would be close to a year old so we bought nothing smaller than 12 months. We hope to assemble her furniture and paint over the next week to two weeks.

Many of the things I've been purchasing, I had forgotten about, but amazingly enough I remember where I got each one, what stage of the adoption we were in and my feelings as I bought each one. I remember purchasing some onesies, baby blanket and bib from TJ Maxx right after we decided to go with a domestic adoption and when we thought we would be bringing home a baby of any gender. Then when we moved on to the China adoption, I purchased a cute little ladybug outfit for her. I have found secret pal gifts from over the three years that I had forgotten about getting, but that are so special to me now that I have unearthed them again.

As I held each item that I had purchased through the years, I knew that soon the Ellie that we had not imagined, but God had, will soon be home and wearing the clothes, playing with the toys, fulfilling the dream that we have carried around of her for years.

I had been so reticent of taking out the things before and going through them all because it made the pain of not having her home so much harder. But now, it is so exciting to go through it all and make it ready for her. It was such a sweet time to hold these things and remember and walk back through the past year and know that we are close. There is something permanent about removing tags and taking toys out of boxes that makes it seem "real."

So, in an effort of full disclosure, here are some "befores".

I took some of the most special things and put them on the shelves of the armoire just to enjoy looking at them while I work on the room. Kevin's comment was that it was pretty, but "not really practical." Ah ... my practical husband. *smile*

Girls Night Out

Tonight was girls night out. We went to Jennifer's house for Partylite candle party. I don't think I've laughed so much in months.

Partylife consultant, Joe W. and I

Jennifer got a new puppy and she (Casey) is the sweetest little puppy. She loves to snuggle up with you. Of course, she had just left her mommy so that was probably part of it.

Isn't she a cuddlebug?

Here are some photos from the night. You will note that no GNO is complete without food which is why in many photos SOMEONE is eating!

I think this was something about Burl Ives! You had to be there.

First Love Letter

My baby is growing up. He has had a crush on a girl in his grade for a looonngggg time (years, in fact). I'm not so certain she feels the same way, but he hopped into the car this afternoon with a note and said, "Look at this." When I did, my mommy-heart broke just a little.

I know it is a fact of growing up that he will begin to find girls something other than "gross" and that one day in the not-to-distant future, he will actually begin to date and then look for a woman to spend his life with.

I pray that this woman, whoever she is, will love my son as much as I do, that she will understand his challenges and love him despite them, that she will find his sense of humor as funny as I do. I hope that she will love God with all her heart and make a commitment to my son for all their lives even in the really bad times. I hope she laughs a lot and loves children and pets. I hope she is calm and soft-spoken. I hope she will hold my son's heart carefully and never break it. It's a long road between here and there filled with heart break for me and him, I'm sure, and with a lot of prayer.

Here are the lyrics from George Strait's song, Check Yes or No. It seems to be the perfect song. I'm sure it was written by a mother *smile*.

It started way back in third grade.
I used to sit beside Emma LueGates.
Pink Dress, matching bow and her ponytail.
She kissed me on theschool bus but told me not to tell.
Next Day I chased her 'round the playground.
Across the monkey bars to the merry-go-'round.
Emma Lue got caught passing me a note.
Before the teacher took it, I read what she wrote.

CHORUS: Do you love me?
Do you want to be my friend?
And if you do.
Well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand,
if you want to.
I think this is how love goes Check Yes or No.

Now we're grown up and she's my wife.
Ain't much changed I still chase Emma Lue,
up and down the hall, 'round the bed in our room.
Last night I took her out in a white limousine.
Twenty years together she still gets to me.
It ain't even been that long ago, since it got started,
with just a little note.

Basketball and Great Helpers

Friday night Joshua's friend Braiden spent the night and went with us to Joshua's basketball game on Saturday morning.

What a great game. We played one of the Jo Byrns teams and our team came from behind a 9 point lead and tied it up. We almost went into overtime, but in the last minute, the other team scored and we lost by two points. Josh played well again today, scoring and defending well.


Afterward, we went to Lowes to get some shelving for Joshua's room so that we could move his toys from the room that is going to be Ellie's back into his room. We then had to go to Walmart to get some storage tubs to put all my craft things into to get them out of Ellie's room as well. Eventually, we will build up the floor in the garage area/office and we have cabinets to put in there for our computers and crafts, but right now, Ellie's room has to get done because we have to have photos for our dossier.


While we were at Walmart, the boys wanted to play in the game room (surprise there!) and we "cut a deal" that we would give them money and in exchange they would have to clean the deck and back yard when we got home. What a bargain for us *smile* as we got some serious deck cleaning done for $6.50. Since the deck and yard were pretty messy, this was not as great a deal for them as for us.

After all the work, we grilled hamburgers and then went to church for the choir fellowship. We spent a long time playing Phase 10 (and losing I might add). The boys played basketball, baseball and then joined in on Phase 10 toward the end. Thank goodness Joshua didn't play earlier or all of us would have been hurting. That boy can win some cards!

Fat Squirrel

The tail-less squirrel continues to gorge himself on birdfood that falls on the ground. He has turned into this, um, LARGE fellow and it's a routine to see him eating as we open up the front door. He continues to eat until he thinks we are too close and then he hops/scurries across the street to where ever he lives. It's so funny to watch him. Here are some pix that show how fat he is really getting.



I'm surprised at how fast he runs considering how fluffy his belly is getting.

Thank you to those who have provided financial support

There was a check in my mailbox again today.

Over the past few weeks there have been several people who have sent or given us money to us to help with our adoption expenses. Several of these people we have not seen for a long time and yet they have been so supportive of our adoption of Ellie and we just wanted to take this time to thank them in case they are reading the blog. A "formal" thank you note will be forthcoming, but we want you to know that we are so humbled by your giving and your support. We know God is thankful that you allowed Him to use you to help us. We hope when you get to heaven that there is a special crown for you for helping bringing Ellie to a country where she can learn about Jesus and God. Our hearts are touched and warmed by your support and we are so thankful for the blessing of your friendship. Know that there is no way we could have completed this adoption without each of you helping and we will never forget it.

So, officially here in print, thank you.

And lest anyone think we might have forgotten all of you who are working and praying so hard to help us, we surely have not. We will have a special post for you all later. *smile*

China Adoption - We are "In Review"

When your dossier goes to China, you wait a LOOOONNNNNNGGGGG time (currently) before anyone even looks at your paperwork. So, paperwork that we compiled and put together in September 2006 and sent in November 2006 has just now gone into the review room for someone to comb through and see if all is well and if we truly qualify or if they need additional information. Sometimes a month will go through review quickly -- other times it takes a while.

Our dossier is currently in the review room. This does NOT, sadly, make our referral come any faster, but it does feel like a little progress is being made. I'm going to include some photos that I saved from quite a while back of the CCAA building, the Review Room and the Dossiers in China. I don't remember where I got them from (some website a long time ago), but I remember thinking it was interesting and I saved them.

China Center of Adoption Affairs Building

Entrance Sign to CCAA

Matching room (where individuals match dossiers to paper-ready children)

Another view of the matching room (note the photos pinned on the wall behind the worker)

Dossier storage area -- each one of these represents a family, a dream and a hope for a child

Dossier storage area

Transporting dossiers from storage to matching

So while we prepare to bring home Ellie from Kygryzstan, on some desk in China, when they return from Chinese New Year, our file will be being reviewed and placed into storage for who knows how long.

Thank you to our Peppermint Pearls Secret Pal

On the December 2006 DTC (dossier to China) yahoo group that we belong to, we have a Secret Pal swap every other month. Here are the gifts we received from our secret pal for February. We are particularly excited about the little rattles and teether toy as we haven't purchased many toy-type items yet. They are so kind to send a little separate baggie full of goodies for Joshua each swap as well and you can see he was excited to dig into his.

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rat

Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday celebrated among Chinese people. It is often referred to as the spring festival because it signals the beginning of spring.



It is a time when families and friends get together to say goodby to the old and welcome the new. It originally lasted for about 4 weeks, but now only lasts for 3-5 days.

The exact origin of this holiday is too old to be traced, but many explanations still exist. One idea is that the holiday originated when a beast named Nian (which means year in Chinese) came out the night before the new year and started to prey on the people in the villages. Of course, the people were very frightened by this monster and so a brave old man went up to the beast and said to him that instead of eating the people of the villages, he should eat the other beasts that frightened these people. Nian followed the old man's request and all of the beasts were chased into the forest. The old man rode away on Nian's back, and as it turns out, the man was an immortal god. The people of the village were very grateful to the old man for giving them a peaceful life. Before the old man left for good, he told the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at the beginning of each new year because the color red scared the beast. They also set off firecrackers to scare away the horrible beast. This is only one idea about how Chinese New Year began, there are many other ideas about how this celebration began. Most people just celebrate the holiday without really knowing why.


Another interesting thing about Chinese New Year is that very few people know when this holiday is celebrated without looking at a traditional Chinese calendar because it never falls on the same day. Chinese years are grouped in sets of 12 with each year being represented by an animal (zodiac sign). It is said that a person displays the characteristics of the animal of the year in which they were born.

During the Chinese New Year's celebration, people participate in many traditional activities. The Chinese believe that as they enter a new year, they should put behind them all things of the past. They clean their houses, pay off debts, purchase new clothes, paint their doors and window panes, and even get new haircuts. These activities symbolize new life and new beginnings.

Homes are decorated with flowers and paper decorations stating wishes of prosperity, good luck, happiness, good fortune, wealth, and longevity for the coming year. Decorations of the incoming zodiac animal are also displayed. Red and gold are very popular colors to decorate with. Red represents power happiness, vitality (and scares away beasts). Gold represents wealth and good fortune.


One very important tradition of the Chinese New Year is exchanging gifts. A traditional gift that is given is small red envelopes filled with "lucky money". These envelopes are given to children by their family and friends. The red color is used to bring good fortune, and the money inside is used by the children to buy holiday treats. These envelopes symbolize the giving of good fortune.
Food is also very important to New Year's celebrations. Families and friends get together for large feasts. Before they eat, they place their food on alters and make offerings to the gods. The foods served at these feasts vary, but what is served is always a tradition for that family.
The dragon is another popular symbol for Chinese New Year. It is a symbol of strength, goodness, and good luck, and supernatural forces. The dragon is said to be a mythical combination of many animals. During New Years, one of the main events is a large parade down the city streets. As part of this parade, people dress up in dragon costumes and dance down the streets. These costumes are made of brightly colored silk and decorated very extravagantly. Some of the dragons are 100 feet long! Men and boys perform intricate dragon dances with one person manipulating the head of the dragon and the rest moving the body.


A Chinese New Year celebration would not be complete without fireworks. There are many beliefs about why fireworks are used. One is that the noise wakes up the dragon who will fly across the sky to bring the spring rain for the crops. Another belief is that the noise of the fireworks is supposed to scare away all evil spirits and misfortunes, preventing them from coming into the new year. In fact, gunpowder was invented in China over 1000 years ago for that very purpose. Firecrackers are thrown at the feet of the dragons in the parade to keep them awake for the celebration. The dragons are believed to sleep the rest of the year.

It is important to remember that Chinese New Year is not only celebrated in China. Anywhere there are Chinese people, there is a Chinese New Year celebration. The specific activities of the celebration often vary depending on the region, but the basic principles are the same.

**********
IN CHINA TODAY:

Spectacular fireworks have ushered in the Chinese New Year, but not everyone is celebrating. Millions of people are spending the holiday in miserable conditions, with power and essential services cut off by the worst weather in a century. Chinese leaders spent New Year's eve visiting badly-affected areas. One city in the south of the country has been without power for three weeks. Scores of people died in snow-related incidents in the runup to this public holiday, with millions of people delayed as they tried to return home for celebrations.

Our family's prayers go out especially to the children in orphanages who are existing in very bad conditions. Many are without power and water. Diapers cannot be washed or dried, food is in shortage and people working there are spending hours walking through snow and ice to get there and get home.

Blog Makeover - Thank you "Lady in Waiting Blog Design"

WOW!!!

Isn't my new blog look WONDERFUL??? I was the recipient of a blog makeover by Lady In Waiting blog designs. Becky is the mother of four children and is fundraising to help bring her second adoptive child home from China. Headers are $25 and Total Blog Designs are $50.

Email her at: ladyinwaitingblogdesign@gmail.com

After she completed our blog design, I realized that our log-in-dates for China are only a month apart and we are both part of a Yahoo group called Peppermint Pearls, of families who were DTC (dossier to China) in December 2006. And all this time, we never knew. We were connected by another mom, Verna, who is travelling to China to get her son Noah.

It is such a small world and I am so thankful to Becky for allowing us to be a sample/test blog for her new business/fundraiser. PLEASE consider her if you want a makeover. She was so kind and made SO MANY changes for picky-picky me.

Thank you again, Becky. You are a blessing!!!

Beth Moore Class - Songs

Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Tonight was our first "real" Beth Moore Stepping Up class. I started and then had to leave for two weeks so the class graciously agreed to wait on my return to continue. We are studying the Psalms of Ascent that the Jews sang as they returned to Jerusalem (which we learned this week means City of Peace). We are attempting to grow closer to God by taking the steps up that the Jews took when they arrived at the temple. The steps are a metaphor for our desire to become closer to God through this study -- thus Stepping Up.

Tonight Beth Moore said something profound to me in her video portion of the class. She said that she thinks that songs and singing are the way our soul communicates and praises God. Hmmmm.... She listed many Bible references (too numerous to cover here, and, after all, there is a class for that *smile*) but I didn't realize the amazing "coincidence" (no, I don't believe in them) that on the day we had such a good day with the funding for the adoption, I made a list of verses praising God (scroll down to see it). In THREE of the verses I chose, there is the word sing or song in relation to praising God.

It's only week one and I'm really enjoying this class already. One of the things I really thought I would not enjoy is re-writing the Psalm in my own words and with my own experiences. Turns out, that after "Say It" "Work it" and "Pray it" (her formula for studying the Psalms), I am really excited about putting my thoughts into words. How awesome is that?

If you ever have the chance to take the class at your church, try to fit it into your schedule. It's going to be a quick class (only 7 weeks) and it is already an amazing study.

On another note, Kevin has had a really rough time trying to get home today. He was due in at 3:40 and is still not home (currently 9:45). The bad part is that I took him to the airport and will need to go pick him up. He was flying home from St. Louis via Chicago (yes, I know, it's like going from Kentucky to Tennessee via California) and Chicago was snowed in. Finally, after much trouble, he changed to a flight from St. Louis to Kansas City to Nashville. Upon arrival in Kansas City, the kiosk wouldn't print his ticket because he had flown a different flight so he had to go to ticketing. There was a long line and he missed his regularly scheduled flight. He is now due in at 10:45. I've put Joshua to sleep on the couch until 10:00 when I will go out and heat up the car (gosh, it got COLD here quickly today), wake him up enough to get him to the car where he can lay back down and go to sleep. I normally never take him to the airport, but his truck is getting tires put on while he is away, so it was a necessity. Hopefully, this flight will bring him home.

I am so thankful that last night's storms have moved on -- they were, all in all, pretty mild for us compared to the folks in Fairview and in Macon and Trousdale counties here where tornadoes wiped out entire streets of homes and caught a gas line on fire. It was a scary night that saw Josh and I take cover in the closet at one point. The dog apparently thought we had lost our minds. Imagine what he must have been thinking as he rounded the corner and saw our feet poking out of the closet! In addition, I have the LAPTOP of all things in there with us watching Channel 4's livecast so I can tell when it might be safe to come out. He poked his head in, pushed his nose on my leg several times, tried to get IN the closet (ok, he's 104 pounds and this is a coat closet for goodness sakes). The closet is FULL with just Josh and I. Finally, he gave up, literally gave a sigh and just laid down beside our poking out feet. Later in the evening, when the storms had calmed a bit, we slept on the couch and when another smaller round came through, he came over and nudged me a couple of times again before I talked him into laying down on the floor beside the couch. I'm not sure if he was scared or if he thought we needed to get back in the closet. Animals!

There is no real exciting adoption news to report today. I did talk with our SW at "first agency" today. She indicates that one of the "higher-ups" is concerned about the relationship between Adoption Options and Frank Foundation and whether they will effectively be working with two additional agencies. I tried (as I suspect did the director of AO) to explain about the partnership between those two agencies and she was fine with it. However, she has to still meet with the agency director who will have to talk with Mr. Higher Up who will give final approval. I'm going to go ahead and let God handle that too. I don't have time to deal with that this week. :-) She is also going to send off our I-600A forms when the homestudy update is done. I asked about current wait times for USCIS in Memphis (where these are processed) and she indicated that after fingerprinting, it could be two months, but that another family had reported that the USCIS officer they spoke with indicated they were only two weeks behind, so she thinks it could be sooner. I do need to check with AO to see if we will need to have our I171H before we travel for the first trip or not.

As my friend Iris said, "You moved along at such a snail's pace before and now it seems like you are on a train." I'm hoping the train just keeps on moving!

200th Post

I saw this information while making the rounds of several Kyrgyzstan adoption blog sites. I tried it out and found that I am (drumroll please)

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

Ironically, we haven't played soccer in three years. BUT, I spend an awful lot of time at sporting events and practices.

Click the link to find out what YOU are!

Hannah Montana - Best of Both Worlds Movie

This photo was taken after we left the Hannah Montana, Best of Both Worlds movie. Is it not a RIOT? Joshua became a little bored during the movie and took the lens out of his 3D glasses (he said it was better without them -- who knows?) and then has worn them constantly since them. He looks so much like a "nerd" that we decided to ham it up a little in the car and took some pictures until the camera batteries died.

I will ashamedly admit that I think the Jonas Brothers are TOO CUTE and if I were, oh, 30-ish years younger I think I would be just madly in love with them. I actually liked them better than Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus. And, on those lines, in my opinion (which with a dollar will get you a cup of coffee), Hannah is MUCH better than Mylie. How crazy is that? I think I just really enjoy the extremes she goes to in her movements, clothing, dancing, hair, etc. when she is Hannah. Overall it was ok, but on a scale of 1-10, I think Josh and I would both agree it was about a 5 at best. Our friend, Katie, enjoyed the show though, singing her way through it. She is, after all, a girl and seven.

God has sold some cattle

Exodus 15:2

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Psalm 50: 9-11

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.

With much awe and appreciation, I am pleased to report that today God provided a large portion of the funds we need to complete this adoption. I am so amazed at how He provides when I least expect it and even while I'm saying, "I don't think this is going to happen."

I am moved at the ways He chooses to accomplish His goals. To see Him in action today was absolutely incredible. It brings tears to my eyes to know how very much he loves our family and Ellie and how much the people he used to make this happen love us and Ellie and how we can never repay Him or them for what they are giving to us. I'm stilled to know that He knew Ellie was going to be part of our family long before we did.

Shortly after I got home today, I called our agency to check on something else and was told that they had gotten one referral this week and expected two more next week. This should put us at the number five position. WOW! This could happen much faster than we thought. Imagine the surprise I had right after getting this news to go out to the mailbox and get a Babies R' Us sale catalog.

Our homestudy should be ready by weeks' end and I'll begin to gather more documents needed for our dossier next week. I'd like to have it ready to send off in a couple of weeks (no later than the end of February).

Thank you to all of you who continue to read and pray. We will still need to raise a bit more money to complete everything that needs to be done, but it seems to be a much more manageable number (in my small mind) that the numbers we were looking at when today started. Who else but God could knock out close to 90% of the money we needed in ONE DAY??

All the praise and all the glory to Him from a humble, awestruck, totally sold-out-to-Him, girl from Tennessee.

Praises to God

Exodus 15:2

The LORD is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

This is my God, and I will praise Him

1 Chronicles 16:9

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with song

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 109:30

With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD;

And in the midst of many I will praise Him.

From The Message:

2 Corinthians 9:8

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that

you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready

to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon.

His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes

bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you

something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives,

robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be

generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

From NIV:

2 Corinthians 9:8:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

What a Basketball Game!

Tonight was one of the best basketball games I've seen (maybe not ever but really close). Joshua's team played another Springfield team, and I suppose they must have been very evenly matched.

Sadly, I didn't take my camera, but I think I would have been too excited to take photos anyway. The game went into TRIPLE OVERTIME with a score of 8-8. At a final sudden death overtime, our team won on a fluke. The Red team was throwing in the ball and the kid dropped it or rolled it or something. The kid it was supposed to go to wasn't paying attention so one of our players bent down, picked it up and shot and made it. WOW, it was exciting.

I was so proud of Joshua. He played so well both offensively and defensively. He had a lot of fun, too, which is most important!

Ah ... Legalization

Today we got an email from our agency letting us know that we will now be required by Kyrgyzstan that the our documents in dossier will have to be legalized. We knew going in that this was something that could happen, but had not happened before (or yet) and suspected we wouldn't have to have it done.

So, what is legalization? The legalization process involves the Kyrgyzstan Embassy placing their seal on the document to authenticate that your document is legal. According to our agency, this wil cost an additional $2,000.

So.

Some days I get a little depressed about all the money this adoption is costing. While no price can truly be put on the life of our daughter, the reality is that we have to come up with it to complete the adoption. I still continue, most of the time (honesty is key here -- this is called Contents of my Heart and leaving out the bad parts doesn't do this blog justice), to trust that God is going to provide this money one way or another. But, Satan does have his days when he whispers ever so quietly in my ears, "What if He doesn't?" It is those times, I have to go back and re-read the promises that God has given me throughout this -- promises from His word -- that what He calls us to do, He will equip us and provide for us.

Today was one of the days Satan was whispering loudly, but I refuse to give him hold and will continue to hold fast to the promises from God.

Home - Happy Groundhog's Day

This photo was taken on my last day in South Carolina. I'm CERTAIN there is a message for me here. *smile*

With much hard work behind me and a long, wet trip, I made it home Thursday evening at 10:30.

Both Kevin and Joshua were surprised as I hadn't told them I was coming home on Thursday night. Since school had been out for two days and possibly would be out on Friday, I knew Kevin really needed to get back to work and make up for lost time, so I made the decision to come home a day earlier. Granted, I was awfully tired as well so it was good to get home a little early.

The trip home was hard as it rained pretty much all the way and there was a bad patch of rain and fog going over Monteagle Mountain. I pretty much crashed early Friday night (9 p.m.) and slept until nearly 9 a.m. this morning.

Now comes the exciting task of entering all these jobs. Fortunately, I can do those from home.

Thanks so much for all who prayed for me during my trip as well as during my travels to and from there as well. We are a little closer to getting Ellie home.

On another note, today is an interesting day for me in two ways. My friend Dianne's brother, Len (aka Smiley) has a birthday today. Additionally, the first movie Kevin and I ever watched together was Groundhog Day.