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.

Day 9

Proverbs 27:9

Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;

so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel

that comes from the heart.

I am coming to an end of my time in South Carolina, and while the trip has been pretty much uneventful ("without drama" is what my friend Susan prayed for me), I am SO ready to go home. Every day it takes all the will power I have not to just quit and go home. There have been repeated conversations with myself trying to talk myself into staying.

Today I saw more statuary, more cabbage and the first signs of spring.





I completed 87 jobs today bringing me to a total of 701.


I received a call tonight from Carla, our friend who is doing the Little Caesar's Pizza Kit fundraiser for us. She was so excited to report that she just started selling on Monday and she had already sold 15 kits!! I'm excited about that too -- wow, only three days! She was giving me updates on who had taken sales brochures and wants to try to get an email list together of those who are selling so we can get an update each week and post it to the blog as motivation. We are required to sell 100 kits, but as Carla said, with us being able to run it through February 24 and her already getting this many orders, there might be more orders than we expect. We are praying for God's blessing on this fundraiser as well as the others that are coming up. Adoption should not cost so much. This is one of my soapbox speeches that I give regularly. While I understand where a lot of the money goes and why, it should not be so expensive. I had a nice conversation with my friend Iris today. God always knows which friend I need to talk to and when. I was updating her on the adoption and we got to talking about the money side of things. I told her that I knew that God would provide, and that He is likely trying to teach me yet another lesson in patience and faith. I told her I was saying to God, "Ok, I've learned my lesson on patience. Can you give it to me now??" *smile* I told her that I have to compare my actions to taking Joshua to a toy store the week before Christmas. While I know what he is getting for Christmas, he does not so he asks and begs for toys that I fully know he is going to get in a few days. I can't tell him that so I simply ask him to wait until Christmas. It doesn't stop his begging or wanting, but the waiting is required. I think waiting in adoption is a lot like that. Iris also reminded me that there are a lot of people who have taken this journey with us and who are very excited about Ellie coming home. It's good, sometimes, to be reminded of that. I think Satan tries, many times, to make us think we are all alone in our battles and journeys. I know it feels that way sometimes with me.


Josh tried out tonight for a part in the spring play at church. This has just amazed me because this child does not like to be in the spotlight for anything. He didn't like being in choir because he had to sing in front of people. I don't know when we will hear back about whether he got the part, but I'm really proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying something new!!


And to end for tonight (because I am tired!!), here is a photo of some Spanish moss growing in the tree where today I got my mother some. I know the neighbor across the street thought I was just a NUT for pulling some of this off the tree and trotting over to my car, pulling out a Walmart bag and shoving it down in it, but every time I make a trip south, I try to find some Spanish moss for my mom. She loves it. And, ironically, she can make it grow in Tennessee. She puts it in the trees near her fish pond. Of course, as she reminded me, she can grow anything. And that's a good thing, because I can kill anything.

Day 8 - What is an Okra Strut?

2 Timothy 1:3-4

Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted.

And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

As I sit here watching American Idol try-outs from Omaha, Nebraska (the corn capital of the world, according to Randy), I'm amazed that Columbia, South Carolina doesn't tout some sort of produce title. And here is why ... Over the past few days I've been noticing the most unusual phenomenon. People use CABBAGE to landscape/decorate their yards. See ...

And, while this is pretty and all, why? And who thought this up? Imagine the thought process as someone is out in their garden and thinking, "Hmmmm... I think this would be pretty to put in a lovely pot and sit on the front porch." I guess I don't think outside the proverbial box.

And then, I get down the road to a small suburb of Columbia, called Irmo (I always want to call it Elmo, but I digress) where I am met with this sign:

Upon returning to the hotel, I "googled" (is that a word you thought you'd be using, say, oh, even five years ago?) "Okra Strut". IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I found a whole website - http://www.irmookrastrut.com/ -- devoted to this, um, event. Sadly, it was September 28-29 of last year so I missed it. I checked my schedule for that time and found that I did come to South Carolina the week following this event. Anyway, the Okra Strut features events such as a golf tournament, a "Dam Run to Irmo" (Irmo is near a dam), the Okra Strut Parade which is billed as the largest festival parade in South Carolina with more than 100 units participating, including Okra Man, floats, beauty queens and marching bands, a children's okra eating contest (do any children actually EAT okra??) and performances by several band and entertainment acts. Attendance is estimated at 55,000 annually. It was started by the local Lake Murray-Irmo Women's Club as a way to raise funds for a new library. Here is a photo I found of Okra Man.

My life is complete now. I'm sure yours is as well. I'm glad I could share this with you. *smile*

So, today was interesting as I could barely move my arms when I got up because my elbows hurt so badly. Then, my upper back had a burning pain that hurt no matter how I moved. If I turned my head, it hurt. I took two Motrin, nothing. Add to that my contacts were "boogered" and I couldn't see well. I tried and tried to clean them but I still couldn't read the road signs so I quit and went to the local Wallyworld, had an eye exam, got contacts and lost an hour and a half. Surprisingly, though I managed to make up the time and had a record day completing 99 jobs. I would have pressed for 100, but not thinking I'd make it that far, I had not put any more on my schedule and didn't have any more with me. So, I'm at an eight day total of 614. Weather forecast indicates we might have rain tomorrow which could throw a wrench into my plans to knock out another 90 tomorrow. Oh well ... we will see. I am pleased to report that the pain in my elbows and back have subsided. I'm certain I worked it out today moving around. It could have been scared out of me when the dog almost bit me.

I knocked on a door and Mrs. Insured came to the door. After explaining why I was there I gave my usual, "Will it be ok if I go in the back yard? Are there any dogs back there?" She said the dog was in the house and she would leave him inside. As I rounded the back of the house, he was in the screened porch just barking his head off. Mr. Insured was in his shop and came out and I told him who I was, why I was there and that I was taking the back photos. There was a swimming pool so I was walking back to it to take the photo. All of a sudden I hear Mr. Insured yelling, "Chocolate!! Come back here!" Mr. Insured had opened the back screen door and the dog got out. Mr. Insured says to me, "He won't bother you." HA! Chocolate made a FULL circle around the house in about two seconds, rounded the back of the house . I'm moving QUICKLY somewhere -- I'm not even sure where I was going. Chocolate found an open gate in the back of the pool and came running full force at me barking, head down, growling like he is going to eat me alive I remember the thought running through my head that this dog was going to knock me into the pool (which was still full and uncovered) and I was going to be really mad. I shoved my clipboard down in front of me and yelled, "Stop!" still backing up. The owner managed to grab at him but apparently, he got loose again and was starting to make his second round -- the owner, all the while, yelling, "Chocolate! Stop it! Come here!" Fortunately, Mr. Insured managed to corral him back into the house and then had the nerve to say to me, "He's never bitten anyone before. Would my insurance have covered you if he bit you?" *sigh* I simply replied, "The line I use with my dog is that he hasn't bitten anyone yet -- you could be the first. And yes, I think your insurance would have covered me, but I sure don't want to find out." And I left -- immediately -- before Chocolate could get out again. I'm going to tell you, that scared the jeepers out of me.

So, now I'm going to go on out on the "whining" limb that I hate to go out on and say, "Folks, I am TIRED." I am so ready to go home. I miss everything and everyone. Talking on the phone is not the same. I have discovered what the term "bags" under your eyes means. I truly have never seen the things that have puffed up under my eyes. I scared myself this morning when I looked in the mirror. I kept poking at them going, "What in the WORLD is wrong with my eyes?" Then I realized it's probably because I'm just so stinking tired. Ok, I'm stepping off my whining box.

Here's a photo of a rock I saw on some one's porch. I thought it was cute. I'm also include another piece of yard ornamentation I saw and liked. I think I am the only person who has ever served as a photojournalist of yard ornaments of South Carolina.

And, last, but certainly not least, one of the owners of one of the houses I photographed has a cat named Mama Kitty. He said she has her own "Cat House". Here you go -- South Carolina's Cat House:

Day 7 - Columbia, SC (Adoption Update included)

I John 3:18

Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other;

let us really show it by our actions.

Day 7 in the field is over. I had a great day. Thanks again to all who are praying for me while I am here. It is making a difference, I promise you. The weather was great - 60s and sunny - all day. I didn't get lost, dog bit, shot, accused of being a terrorist and didn't drop my camera. All in all, you just can't ask for more. I completed 95 jobs today, which is 20 more than my schedule said I could do. I'm really ready to go home so I guess I had an adrenaline kick today. Tomorrow I won't be able to crawl out of bed. *smile*


No good photos today. I'm just not seeing much here that inspires me. Maybe tomorrow.


I called our agency today to check on some things and asked where exactly we are on the list. I'd never asked, if you can imagine. There are 14 families currently in the program. Five families have referrals and one family is moving to another country so we are number 8 on the list. I asked if my expectation of a referral in May was still along the lines of what he was thinking and he said yes it was. He did add the obligatory comment that this was true "if referrals continue to come in at the rate they currently are." I asked if he suspected a change, and he indicated that he did not, but reminded me that this is a small country and that referrals could change at any time. I told him I understood that and that I knew adoption was always uncertain. However, the law of averages says that we should definitely get a referral in May. YAY! I told my mom today that I really feel like Ellie has been born. I can't put a finger on why, but I do. We will see, when we get her referral if I was right about this.


He did indicate they are working with our homestudy agency to get all the details ironed out. I told him I would be in there next week taking them the documents they needed to begin updating our homestudy.


Joshua has a ballgame tonight. Mee Mee is taking him. I hope he does well and they have a good time. Kevin has his first night of visitation for church. I'll be praying for you (I know you read this!). I miss home! Four more days.

Since I didn't get this posted before Joshua's game due to blogger being down, an update is in order. Joshua scored HIS FIRST goal in basketball tonight. As our luck would have it, neither his mom NOR his dad were there to see it. Mee Mee was, though, so we are happy for that. Hopefully, she got a picture and I'll be able to post it later.

And, I suppose I jinxed myself talking about not being able to get out of the bed, because at 2:00 this morning I awoke with awful pain in both my back and my elbows. I'm still in a LOT of pain in my back so I can't imagine getting in and out of the car 90 +/- times today, but I will. I'm going to dose up with some Advil after I eat something in hopes it will take care of it. I understand the elbow -- I've taken over 1500 photos so far and lifting the camera that many times is bound to cause some discomfort in the elbow. The great news is that I've got around 1000 more photos to take before I'm done. *smile* Motrin here I come!

FreeRice.com

Isaiah 58:10

Feed the hungry,and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness,

and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

I was reading the USA Today this week and saw and article for the website FreeRice.com. This site is an online game that was developed by a father, John Breen, to quiz his son for the SAT. The game presents a word and four choices of definition. Pick right, and the cash equivalent of 20 grains of rice is donated by site advertisers to the U.N. World Food Program.

Breen indicates it took him four months to load 10,200 words. It is a sister site to Poverty.com, Breen's hunger awareness site. From October 2007-January 2008, players have donated more than 15 billion grains of rice, enough to feed more than 700,000 people for one day.

Check it out. Help feed the hungry.