OUR JOURNEY OF GRACE

We have a new son and a new blog!

2010-12-02T05:18:00.002+01:00

Please visit us at www.gettingliam.blogspot.com

God has led us to another little blessing from China. We've been matched and are raising funds to bring him home. Please check out our new blog and pass along to your friends.

Thanks!

Enjoying The Great Weather Dec. 30,2008

2008-12-30T07:22:00.002+01:00

It's 60 degrees in December, so we all spent the entire day outside. I just read an article on how much vitamin D our bodies lose in the winter months and how important is is to get sun even if it's only for 20-30 minutes each day so here we are trying to cram all the vitamin D in that we can. We even got a lot of yard work done. Curran riding down our long drivewayTime to put the chickens up, which is easier said then done
Hope helped

Curran and Rylan doing yard work

Rylan and Grace

Rylan finally caught the chicken

Gracie

The princess getting pushed and protected

Grace and Hadyn

Eamon and Grace racing

Hope in the backpack

These cars are great fun

Grace loves the new kiddy cars

Hadyn riding Grace's pink and purple bike

Christmas morning 2008

2008-12-25T05:44:00.003+01:00

It's hard to believe we have been back in the States for 5 months and are having our first Christmas here in St Louis and have added another child to our family. The Lord has richly blessed us and we are praising our Saviour today as we think of Christ coming as a baby,lowering himself to take on human form and then dying and suffering for his people. I think about my selfishness, the things I daily take for granted and the too often discontentment I feel when things don't always go my way. Christmas is truly my most favorite time of year, but I have to think about ? Why is Christmas so special? Is it all the sentimentalism that is so prevalent everywhere? Is it the festivities or all the gifts I give and receive? The list could go on and on. Christmas has slowly over the years been a time of reflection on what Christ has done what he is doing and how he is growing his kingdom for his glory. God's glory is the most important part of Christmas.To celebrate all he did, has done and is still doing among his people. We are praising God today and saying Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Christmas morningGrace got a new scarf and hat
Rylan opening his new mini computer

This was top on Eamon's list

Curran gets a really fancy computer pen

Hadyn's gift to Grace, two hairy pink trolls

Hope

Hadyn and his batmobile

Hope is having fun with all the wrapping paper and bows

Rylan got socks ,shirts and ties, not as exciting as when he was younger and got so many fun toys. He did get a lot of books which made him very happy.

Grace got a vacuum and she loves it

I'm trying to get the day on film

Hadyn and Eamon riding the girls kiddy carts

Hope having fun

Grace got a talking parrot

Glow in the dark swords

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-24T08:25:00.000+01:00

We got ready for Christmas Eve service and were going to stop by friends from church before to eat and fellowship. It is so nice that they invite members of the church that don't have extended family living here in St Louis. We have always gone to church Christmas Eve and the service was beautiful. Grace really wanted to hold her own candle at the end and sing silent night, but we didn't want the whole church to go up in flames, so she just sang while she watched Mike hold the candle. We came back to the house and the kids got to open one present. It is so funny, we do this every year and it is always pajamas. They are always so excited to be able to open a gift and we are amazed how surprised they look as they open them. Do they really forget they do this every year? Grace and Hope got coordinating polka dot jammies. Grace loved hers for about the first 5 minutes, then she couldn't stand the feet. She begged me to please take them off. So about 11 o'clock at night I am in the living room cutting and sewing the feet out of her pajamas. She was thrilled with no more feet and wore them all day on Christmas. The things moms do to keep their kids happy!

Hope and Grace in front of the tree

Hope loves to watch Grace do everything, which kinda scares me.

Hope's First Christmas

All of Us

Hope trying to smile

Grace telling Hope to smile

Surprise!! It's pajamas again!!

Grace doing the happy dance

Our First Snow and Bread Making

2008-12-20T07:44:00.002+01:00

We got our first snow today, actually it was only about an inch, but the boys couldn't wait. They had to get outside. They tried to shovel up enough snow to make a fort, but there just wasn't enough snow. Hadyn decided to build himself a nice looking snowman. They were both having such a great time and played in the snow for hours. We were busy inside making our Swedish bread that has been a Christmas tradition from generations past. I remember making this bread with my mother every Christmas and then delivering it to neighbors and friends. So if you live near us you will be getting a loaf of our families traditional Swedish bread. It is so yummy and we look forward to eating it every Christmas morning. Most of the Christmas traditions on my side of the family revolve around food and we hope to pass these traditions down another generation.

Hadyn makes his first snowman of the year

Eamon trying to shovel up enough snow to make a snow fort

More shoveling

What a great looking snowman

Daddy and Grace making breadGrace loves making breadHope wants to helpWrapping the bread

We're Done

Pictures Of Our Gang In The Backyard

2008-12-14T07:24:00.001+01:00

Mike bought me 6 matching frames so we could have new pictures of everyone. So we all headed out the back door to take pictures. Hope still doesn't have the smile on demand thing down yet. It was about 30 degrees and I ran her out last and plopped her in the leaves she was probably in shock. She isn't standing yet so we have her leaning against the log and you can see me in the corner of the picture getting ready to grab her before she falls over. I think she was just ready to come inside and get warm. Grace however would be happy to play

outside in sub zero temperatures in her bare feet.

Gracie

HopeHope about to fall overRylanCurranHadyn

Eamon

Christmas Lights And The Camel

2008-12-08T06:20:00.001+01:00

We went to see the light display over in Illinois and took our friends with us. We filled up the 15 passenger van and two of the boys had to double strap. It was great fun with 12 kiddos in the car and the lights were fabulous. It was freezing cold but we all got out at the petting zoo and the camel was the highlight of the night. Grace loved feeding him carrots out of her cup and he seemed really hungry. Grace couldn't stop laughing and kept asking the boys for more carrots. We had a great time and we are definitely putting this on our things to do again next year.

Our two families with lots of kiddos

Mommy and Hope

This is so much fun. Hadyn was there to keep Grace supplied with carrots

Pam and James

Grace cracking up at feeding the camel

Curran ,Hope and Rylan and Eamon taking care of Hope. Someone is always making sure she is OK.

The lazer light Christmas show

Eamon and Nick

Hope about to be over stimulated

Trimming the Tree Dec. 4,2008

2008-12-04T05:46:00.001+01:00

It's usually our Christmas tradition to put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving,but this year we were in New Jersey, so we were a little later getting all the Christmas decorations up. The boys would put the ornaments on the tree and Grace would see ones she liked and take them off. Her favorite ones were little story books and she actually wanted to sleep with one that night. Poor Hope she was so tired she missed the trimming of the tree, but she will see it tomorrow. This is our favorite time of year and the St Louis area has all kinds of Christmas things going on. We have to pace ourselves, so we can stay home some nights and just relax and bake cookies and have hot chocolate.

Hope is doing great sleeping through the night and the other day I had to wake her up at 9:30. I think all the extra activities and over stimulation from everyone in our family is wearing her out. She is happy and seems to be adjusting so well. She still is not into eating solid food, but she can down a bottle full of cereal,eggs,ground veggies and milk in seconds. It really looks pretty sick,but Hope loves it. She is starting to warm up to Mike and actually loves him and the boys now, unless she sees me then she starts reaching for me and screaming, but I really think she is getting better. Grace is very protective when Hope is crying and wants to help her stop. She has been a great help getting me diapers and wipes and is also happy that Hope goes to bed before she does. The sleep thing is causing an issue as Grace is still a very restless sleeper and sometimes wakes in the night crying, which wakes up Hope,so yes, I can't believe I am typing this, but we have let Grace sleep in our bed. I'm not sure how long this will last, but for now it is working.

Eamon Hadyn

Gracie

Family Pictures

2008-12-01T07:35:00.000+01:00

My sister's good friend graciously came over with her schwanky camera and took these great pictures. I'm so glad we were able to get the big group one of all of us together. Our Family

Cousins

Our family,Opa,Oma,Mema and my sister's family

My sister's family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE AND HOPE

2008-11-28T01:58:00.002+01:00

Hope turned one and we are praising God we are able to spend this special day with her in our family. As we celebrate both Grace and Hope's birthdays we are so thankful to God for blessing us with His beautiful children, whom we have the privilege of raising. We pray both Grace and Hope will bring glory to God with their lives. We also think about their birth mothers and give thanks that they chose life for their children. We wonder what they think about each year, as I'm sure they must think about where their children are and what life they have. I feel so inadequate to be raising 6 children and giving them all they need both physically and spiritually,but I now by God's grace he always gives His children what they need, despite all of my shortcomings and sinfulness.

Grace is turning 3 in a few days and she is doing so well. She struggled with attachment issues since coming home and we have been working with her daily and building her trust, so she is not so afraid of the world. She will begin neuro reorganization in January, which will take her back through some of the early steps she missed in her development. She is really doing fabulous and we are so proud of her for the progress she has made. She has overcome so much in her short life. She is bright and is full of energy. She loves playing with her brothers and is very compassionate when anyone gets hurt. She is such a blessing to our family and we are so in love with her.

We took the girls to Friendly's for ice cream and then went back to my sister's to open presents. Hope had her first ice cream and Grace ordered a sundae. It was great to celebrate their birthdays with family. Hope had no idea what was going on, but Grace was so excited about her special day.

Rylan geting Hope to laugh

Opa.Oma and Mema watching Grace and Hope open gifts

Maguire and Grace

Grace opening gifts

Hope getting lots of help opening gifts

Hope

Grace eating her Sundae

Kendall and Grace were so cute at dinner coloring pictures together

Hope's first Sundae

Grace showing Curran her new shirt

Hope sharing her ice cream with mommy

Mema

Eating at Friendly's

16 of us went out for dinner

OUR TRIP TO NEW JERSEY

2008-11-27T20:35:00.000+01:00

We have been home a few days from China now and we packed up again for N.J. so we could visit my family for Thanksgiving. Our Mema had celebrated her 90th birthday while we were in China and it was so good to see her. My sister and brother in law are always so gracious and open their home to our clan. It is always great to get the cousins together and everyone enjoyed their time hanging out at my sisters, going to the playground across the street from their house, going bowling, and piling into 3 cars so we could all go out for the day The new dynamic was Grace and Macguire. They had a love hate relationship going and were still working on sharing when we left. They really did love being together and it was so fun to watch them. Poor Macquire had to share all of his toys and Grace thought they were all hers. My parents stayed over a few nights and we all had Thanksgiving together. We all have so much to be thankful for and God has richly blessed our families. It always amazes me the path God chooses for each family and how he lovingly gives us gifts that we are so undeserving of. We are so grateful for His love and mercy and continue to daily seek His wisdom for our lives.

Hope's first time bowling

Eamon and Hadyn

Hope with Daddy

Everyone checking out the scores

Hope cheering everyone on

Cousins, Kendall,Eamon,Macguire and Grace

Cousins

Gracie

Macguire and Grace riding in the jeep.Grace crashed into almost everything in the yard

Macguire and Grace doing some painting

Hannah

Hope and Kendall

Macguire and Grace ready for another meal

Opa watching the game

Eamon banging on Macguires drum set

Happy 90th Birthday Mema

Oma working in the kitchen

Grace on the swings

Grace,Kendall and Macguire

Hope all bundled up

Hope loves the stroller

The boys playing basketball with Hannah

Eamon and Hadyn

Hannah and Hadyn

Opa with Macguire

Macguire and Grace playing nicely together

Hope loves to play in the dog food

Grace getting ready for bed

Home and Our First Stop Wal- Mart

2008-11-22T20:05:00.000+01:00

Hope has only been in the States a few short hours and has already made her first trip to Wal- Mart. Hope loved riding in the cart and we shopped and quickly got out of there,so we could all go home and try to go to sleep. The girls slept great on the flight, they actually layed on blankets on the floor as we had bulk head seats. God was so gracious to allow all of our flights to go smoothly and allow us to also sit together. I am expecting a long night as the girls think it is 8am not 8pm.

Last Days In Guangzhou

2008-11-20T15:59:00.017+01:00

We have spent the last few days in Guangzhou walking around the island talking with the locals and finishing up our shopping. We had our swearing in cerimony at the U.S. consulate yesterday afternoon with 53 other families all waiting to get our new babies their visas, so we can all travel home. When Hope touches U.S. soil she will be an American citizen. We leave for the U.S. in a few hours and we have enjoyed our time in China, but after 2 weeks in the same hotel room and living out of suitcases we are anxious to get home and be on a normal routine. It is sad to leave as we know this is where life began for our daughters and you feel a connection to this country and the culture and people.

There are lots of couples taking their wedding pictures here on the island because it is so beautiful. They rent the wedding dresses twice, once for the wedding day and once for the pictures.

People in China hanging out at the park playing cards

Hopie

Grace was a big help at lunch

Grace thought this was great fun

We pushed Mr Bean around in the stroller with the girls and all the Chinese people like him and know the show. Several people wanted to buy him from us, but the boys wouldn't bargin.

Hope is a happy baby and seems to just go with the flow. We are praying she will enjoy the long flight home and do some sleeping.

Hadyn enjoying some ribs at Lucy's

Curran hanging out at Lucy's

Eamon was playing hacky sack in the park and this man came up and played with him for a long time. The people here have been great with the boys and everyone loves to go up to Eamon's hair and touch it.

Safari Park Trip

2008-11-19T11:51:00.030+01:00

We decided to go to the Safari Park when we were originally planning the trip with Heritage. It was the best "attraction" thus far. We boarded a train just inside the gate and rode through the entire park where the free-roaming animals were. Up close and personal is how they keep them here. The only things behind a fence were the tigers and bears. We actually saw wildebeest with no lion chasing them - I thought they always came with a lion close behind...maybe that's just on TV.

Hope is really starting to mesh in with the rest of us - Jenn has always been her favorite, but she is really laughing a lot with the rest of us and does these really cheesy - cheeky - teethy smiles every now and then. She is very calm, but we'll get her out of that soon enough. She lets me do just about everything with her without fussing - I do all the bathtimes with her and she actually kicks her feet the entire time. Rylan spends a lot of time carrying her around while we talk to people at the breakfast buffet - she is quite used to him as well.

Hope ate 2 or 3 chewable things at breakfast, but wasn't impressed with the effort it took. We'll have to try feeding her real food when she is a little more hungry.

Just got off the phone with the airlines and it looks like there will be seats for us to get home on Friday!!! Hurray - pray that we make the flight (7 open seats on the same airplane)!!! Yet another blessing.

Oh yeah, Grace swallowed a penny on Saturday that we've been praying about as well. We can stop praying for that and start thanking God for his goodness in all things. We certainly weren't looking forward to going to a Chinese doctor to find out where the missing penny was. Maybe this Chinese paper money isn't such a bad idea after all.

All Aboard.......

On a hiatus from Iraq..........

Lots of Giraffes

Our cute little monkey!

Hadyn, Keep your hand flat and open.

Two cuties

Hadyn said, "Dad, if you let them chew on your fingers it doesn't even...

OOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!"

About 35 buses of school kids pulled in just after we got there - every one of them said hello to the boys and smiled.

These guys weren't as happy to see us.

Rylan won the stare down - I backed away from the fence.

Graciecakes and Hopie almost slept through the rides

First merry-go-round while they played Christmas music!

Two more cuties

Hey Mom, there's Dad again.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Get em boys!

Pigeon and Spring Rolls - no I'm not kidding. See if you can find the head --- we did.

Say cheese - Gracie loves her toy camera we found on the bus

Calm down, it was empty. The waitress said the drinking age is "probably 18 or 20 or something like that."

We saw Elsie getting off a bus on the street as we were walking home. She was our guide when we traveled for Grace. Great to see her again.

Church and Starbucks Nov 16

2008-11-18T16:26:00.014+01:00

We went to church this morning and there were so many people worshipping, that they had to put chairs outside. There are a lot of young people at this church service, mostly people in their 20's. We got to speak with a lot of them afterwards and it is great to fellowship with all the Christians here in China. We then went with our group to the electronics market and toy market. The boys bought lots of movies and Curran and Hadyn each bought a Mr. Bean doll at the toy market. They even had a huge Christmas market and were playing Christmas music. We have gotten to see much more of Guangzhou this trip and really have been busy.

Church in Guangzhou

We kind of stand out

It was great to see so many Chinese people worshipping

The service is in English and Chinese

Hopie loves going to church

Starbucks

This feels like home

Hadyn is going to be up all night

The Red Couch Picture and Medical Exam

2008-11-17T08:43:00.013+01:00

We had the famous Red Couch picture at the White Swan Hotel today. It is always fun to get all the babies together and attempt to get a picture with the least amount of screaming possible. Hope is pretty mellow, unless you try to get her to crawl, give her food on a spoon or any Chinese person comes too close to her - then she lets out shrilling screams until we pick her up. We have met some great families here and it is always great going as a group to things. We all had our medical exams for all of our babies and it was a zoo. Lots of babies screaming and long lines of parents in a hot sweaty room trying to get in the next line and get out as quickly as possible. Hope survived the torture and is one chubby, healthy baby. She is really beginning to warm up to Mike now and lets him carry her around, but our guide Bob just looks at Hope and she starts screaming. Grace has been doing really well with having to share the attention and it has been wonderful having the boys here to play with both Hope and Grace.

Hope loves being outside and riding in the stroller

Sisters

No one is looking at the camera

Trying to get the red couch picture it took lots of attempts

Everybody smile

Hopie on the red couch

Our Group Picture From Heritage Adoption Agency

The boys being asked to be in another picture

Gracie by the pool

Time for Hope's medical exam

Hope is healthy and she gave the Doctors lots of screaming

Meeting Sophie Nov. 14

2008-11-15T13:33:00.032+01:00

We went to the Xin Hui orphanage and met Sophie and Mrs Feng the orphanage director. She is such a caring lady who really loves all the children in her care. She doesn't speak English, so we had our guide interpret for us. The boys got to play with a few of the children outside in the courtyard and on the playground. Mrs Feng said Sophie goes for physical therapy, but her progress has been very slow. She was able to look at us and make eye contact and definitely knew we were there. She is still very weak and they have been trying to get her strong enough to sit up. It was wonderful to be able to hold and feed her. I know she is getting great care where she is and you could tell Mrs Feng loves her. At one point we were both in tears as we just watched Sophie drink her bottle as I fed her. We continue to pray for a miracle that Sophie's mind and body will be healed. We pray Sophie will receive the knowledge of Christ and someday she will be in glory with a new body rejoicing in the goodness of our Lord. It was so great to be able to visit Xin Hui and now I will be able to picture where Sophie is and know she is being loved and cared for.

Helping Sophie sit up

Feeding Sophie with the cleft bottle

Mike with Sophie

Xin Hui Orphanage

Miss Grace at lunch

Hadyn eating corn on a chopstick

Rylan eating a chicken foot

Orange chicken with the head included

Grace asleep at lunch

Mrs Feng and the assistant director with all of us

Back at the hotel and time for bed

Gracie is loving her new sister

Looking sleepy. Grace sucking her thumb and Hope sucking those two fingers

Botanical Gardens - 13 Nov

2008-11-15T05:19:00.018+01:00

We loaded up in the bus with the rest of our group and headed off to the Botanical Gardens in Gunagzhou. They have really spent a lot of time making the area beautiful and have some fairly mature trees - some have been brought in from all over the world (Australia included). After the tour, we went to the Buddhist temple where some of the families got their children blessed by a monk. Mike offered to bless them as a PCA elder, but no one took him up on it.

On the other hand, we saw a young, Chinese man walking down the street this morning with a shirt on that said, "Jesus died for you." While the people at the temple were kneeling down in front of their idols and offering incense, fruit and even soda to them, we find that most people in China seem to have no religion.

Hope is doing great and is starting to warm up to Mike. Today was the first day he could hold her without screams. She is happy and is crawling some. She isn't able to totally sit up by herself yet, but it's amazing how much stronger she has gotten in just a few days. She still isn't interested in food. She did gnaw on a hard, thin breadstick at dinner the other night,but wants nothing to do with a spoon going in her mouth. Grace put everything in her mouth including dirt, marbles, money. It always amazes me how unique and different God has made each child. As I look at all the babies here and the families they are in and think God knew all of this before the begining of time. It is truly amazing!!!!

Grace's new friend, Emma

Beautiful spot where we spilled our Starbuck's coffees in the botanical garden and got quite a few stares from the locals.

Cuteness

New family photo

The kids had a great time playing on the rocks

The boys learned this "peace" sign in China

Photo spot at the Botanical Gardens

1800 year old Buddhist Temple

1800 year old Buddhist monk

We just ate what?

HOPE IS OURS!

2008-11-12T22:54:00.037+01:00

Our paperwork is done and Hope is officially ours!!!! Hope is doing great, but she is afraid of Daddy. We can all hold her and then when Mike goes to pick her up she looks at him and starts screaming. This started yesterday morning when she woke up. She says 'MaMa' and 'DaDa,' but I don't think she has made the connection yet. She also makes these low, growling noises which are so funny. We have been doing a lot of paperwork and shopping the past 2 days. We are staying on Shamian Island which was occupied by the British until the 1940's so all the architecture is neo-classical; you don't really feel like you are in China. Then you walk over the bridge and everything changes. We walked all around yesterday where they were selling all kinds of strange things. I bought some different types of dried flowers they said were for making hot tea, but we haven't tried any yet. We went out for Chinese food last night where locals eat here on the island. It is really great food and we are thankful no one has gotten sick yet. We brought Hope back to the room and she screamed - like each time we give her a tubby. I think she is only used to getting sponge baths. When we put her in the crib for bed she had a big smile on her face, and then started to do all kinds of tricks. I think she thought "Oh, I'm home!" She can scoot all around this crib. It was great to watch but also sad because I'm sure this is where she spent most of her time. She has many scars on her head from the boards rubbing. She has one huge boil on the left side of her head, but it looks like it's healing now. Today we are headed to the botanical gardens and tomorrow we will drive three hours to visit Sophie.

It's Official, Hope is Ours

Hadyn and Eamon playing cards while we did paperwork

This is what happens to the boys when we are out in public

We walked over the bridge from our hotel and they were selling tiger paws, rhino tusks and all kinds of animal horns

Tiger paw

These spices are used as medicine

I think this monkey took the medicine

Dried snakes

Eamon found some Lizard Pops

Rylan and Hope

Hope loves to be held

Tired Girl

Grace having corn at breakfast

Curran with Miss Hope

Happy Baby

Hadyn having a milk shake

Gracie

Hope having her milk shake

Grace and Mommy

Curran's new friend Emma

Daddy and Hope

Grace loves her new umbrella

Hopie loving her jungle gym

Time for bed

More Pictures

2008-11-11T02:14:00.008+01:00

Trying to get Hope to eat something

The boys met a friend at the park

Rylan had a great conversation with this guy

Mommy and Hope at the park

Hope is starting to notice everything Grace does

I'm sure Hope is overwhelmed with all she has seen today

Going for a ride in the stroller

First smile
Hope getting lots of attention

Eamon loving Hope

Grace has really been sweet with Hope today

This picture was right when we got back to the hotel, she fell asleep on the bus

She is really a chunker

Daddy and Hope

Hope asleep on the bus

All 0f us. We are so blessed

PRAISE GOD!!! WE HAVE HOPE!!!!

2008-11-10T23:55:00.022+01:00

We were all up at 5 am just waiting for breakfast and all getting really excited that this day is finally here. We met in the hotel lobby with four other couples from our agency and then we got on the bus that took us to the building where 50 other families were also waiting to get their children. It is so amazing to watch all these babies join with their new families. Lots of the children were older and it was great to watch the expression on their faces as they met their Mommies and Daddies for the first time. Then it was our turn. The boys had already spotted her on the floor in the other room and we were anxiously waiting for them to bring Hope out. They called us and she came to us without a cry. We tried to ask the orphanage director as many questions as we could in the busy room with alot of screaming babies. She said Hope was one of the happiest babies and she seems pretty calm so far. She is quite a chunker and the 12 months clothes we brought just fit. We got back to the hotel and we all played with her. Eamon got the first real smile and laugh by playing peek a boo with her. She just laughed and laughed. We then went out to the play ground and out for thai food. Hope has no idea about eating solid food. I showed her a cheerio and put it on her tray and she wasn't interested. She also wanted nothing to do with the bottle after several attempts we came back to the hotel and loaded the bottle up with formula and rice cereal until it was thick and tried a new nipple and she loved it. She is so beautiful and we are so blessed by God's grace for another child in the covenant.

Rylan up at 5am working on school

Curran and Hadyn camping out and about to wake up

Eamon and Grace watching a movie. They both woke up at 5am

We were all so hungry by the time the breakfast buffet opened at 7am

Meeting Hope

Great JOY!!!!

Hadyn with Hope

This means Hadyn really loves Hope

Grace giving Hope some love

The Orphanage directors from Yangx(Hope's orphanage)

Waiting to get on the bus to go back to the hotel

Everyone wanted to show Hope all the toys at once

Sweet Baby

I can finally squeeze those cute cheeks

Our group getting on the bus with their new babies

PICTURES OF DAY ONE IN GUANGZHOU

2008-11-09T14:23:00.018+01:00

It's 12am and we are finally at the Hotel. We are all so glad that loooong plane ride is over.

The boys are all loving the food at the breakfast buffet. I really think they are losing money on us.

Curran playing in the big playpen with Grace at the White Swan Hotel's playroom

I think the boys actually had more fun than Grace

Grace is still on U.S. time

Eamon and Hadyn doing some window shopping. They have looked at all the cool swords and are planning to buy one.

This pink bowl was suppossed to be for washing out Hope's bottles at the hotel.

Grace loves her new hat

She really loves it

The Jade Market

There are blocks and blocks of people selling jade

We drew a big crowd for this picture and Grace couldn't help herself, so she had to stick out her tongue. NICE!!!

We made her stop

Walking in the shopping district

We bought two comforters at Carre Four for the boys to sleep on at the hotel and pushed them around in the stroller all day. We got some strange looks!!

We Are In China!!!

2008-11-09T13:52:00.010+01:00

We arrived in China last night. We had no problems with flights until we got to Tokyo. China Southern would not let us fly on the flight because we didn't schedule our meals ahead of time. We had to go back out of security to clear customs and get all 11 suitcases. We dragged all the suitcases onto a bus that took us to another terminal. We did some major running to try to get on the last flight out. The Northwest flight was canceled so everyone was scrambling to get to Guangzhou. We were all standing by the ticket counter praying "God please get us on this flight," and then the woman got off the phone and said we would make it. We ran to clear customs and they gave us an escort which was great. It was quite funny to see all the stares that we got. We arrived at the hotel around 11pm, but the cab driver dropped us off at the wrong section of the hotel, so the poor bellhops had to push all our luggage 3 blocks to the right wing of the hotel. We didn't have any problems sleeping and we were all up before 6 waiting for breakfast. The buffet was great and the boys were trying all kinds of funky foods. If someone doesn't get sick on this trip it will be amazing!!! It was wonderful getting up so early. We were at breakfast at 7am,then went shopping,then to the 11am church service. It is always so wonderful to worship here in China. A man gave his testimony which was truly amazing. After church the boys had a huge crowd of Chinese girls gather around them and they posed for a 20 or 30 minute photo shoot. It was really funny to watch and I should have video taped it. Then we are pretty lame, we haven't even been here a full day and we were already at Lucy's(the only American restaurant here) for lunch. We then took 2 cabs to Carrefour to shop. We had to get the boys some blankets to use. They are sleeping on the floor. We got a bunch of coloring books, crayons and movies to take to the orphanage. We walked through the jade market and everyone was staring at us and coming up to the boys and Grace. We have been telling Grace when people come up to her to say, Ne Hao, but everytime she tells us I am only going to say HI and then looks at them and says hi. We were all back at the hotel and Hadyn and Eamon were both crashed out by 8pm and Grace didn't even wake up when we gave her a tub tonight. We will all sleep well.

Tomorrow at 2:30 we meet Hope. We are all so excited and are praying for Hope. She will have to come 5 hours to get here from the orphanage tomorrow. I could write a book about all that I am feeling right now, but it's 11pm here and I am going to try to sleep. We will post tomorrow night. Thankyou so much for all your prayers.

5 Days AND COUNTING!!!

2008-11-02T05:05:00.009+01:00

Lord willing we will be on the plane in 5 days. We put the crib up this week in Grace's room and she is very excited to have Hope sleeping in her room. She is always asking the boys to sleep in her bed. I'm just hoping it works out and we don't have two girls in our bed every night. We know Hope is too young to have any idea that her life is about to change dramatically soon. In some ways it will probably be more traumatic for her as she looks at these scary people who look and sound like nothing she has ever seen or heard. We think about her in the crib in Yangxi without a soft mattress or blankets and that this is where she has spent much of her 11 months. We are grateful for the orphanage workers who love these children and have cared for them. These are pictures taken at Hope's orphanage.

OUR CA AND SHOPPING!! OCT. 24

2008-10-25T05:21:00.019+01:00

We didn't get the call until Wednesday that our CA (consulate appointment) was confirmed. Lord willing we are planning to leave here on Nov. 7th and fly to Dallas then onto Tokyo and then Guangzhou. We will be meeting Hope on the 10th and then our CA is the 19th and we plan to fly home on the 20th. We will be home one week and then spend Thanksgiving with my family in New Jersey. Grace is a great traveler.A few times this week she has out of the blue said, "I am so excited to go to China." We are praying Hope is excited to travel too!!!

The boys soccer was cancelled today so we decided to go to the Mills Mall and get a bunch of things we need for China. Grace has grown out of all her summer clothes and it is 80 degrees in China right now. Grace loves to shop and pick out dresses. She will take them off the rack and hold them up against herself then she says, beautiful. It is very cute and funny. Every store we went in she was picking things out for Hope and trying to put them in the cart. I tortured the poor boys by having them shop with me all day,but Mike was happy, as he bought himself a new shotgun at Cabellas. I think this is the first time we have ever eaten both lunch and dinner at the mall. I bought Grace and Hope lots of matching outfits, bows and shoes. I also bought all the gifts we need to take to China for the orphanage staff . I still feel like we have a ton of things to do, especially when I think in 2 weeks we will be in China.

GRACE FEEDING HADYN CHINESE FOOD

GRACIE STILL FEEDING HADYN

THE BOYS ARE SO HAPPY TO BE SHOPPING

GRACIE LOVES SHOPPING. WE ARE NOW ON OUR SECOND MEAL AT THE MALL

THIS IS HOW THEY REALLY FEEL AND CURRAN AND HADYN WERE TOO TIRED TO EVEN BE IN THE PICTURE

A SUCCESSFUL DAY OF SHOPPING!! LOTS OF MATCHING OUTFITS!!!!

Fall Fest Oct. 19

2008-10-25T03:23:00.021+01:00

Our church had their fall fest on Sunday afternoon and it was great fun. A Chili and dessert contest,costume contest,chicken chasing,face painting and pony rides. It was quite the event and these contests are competitive!!! Grace loved chasing the chickens. These poor birds won't lay eggs for weeks. I saw one 5 year old boy grab the chicken by the leg and then he drug the thing all the way across the yard. Curran dressed up like Napolean Dynamite and played the part all night. The boys all played soccer. It was nice to fellowship with everyone and meet some people in the church we hadn't met before. I got a bunch of these great pictures from Pastor Meyers' smug mug page.

Hadyn helped Grace get this chicken

GREAT COSTUME

COSTUME JUDGES

WATCHING THE KIDS KILL, I MEAN CHASE THE CHICKENS

JACOB RIDING HIS CHICKEN

DANIEL

JAMES

CHILI CONTEST

NAPOLEAN

MIKE,GRACIE AND RYLAN

MORE NAPOLEAN DOING THE SOME SAY LOVE DANCE

A Day At The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T06:20:00.009+01:00

After Soccer today we went with the C family to the local pumpkin patch. It was actually a fairly warm day, but I had all the kiddos wear sweaters, because you can't go pumpkin picking in short sleeves. Grace had a great time and is slowly getting over her fear of all the scary things she has seen this Halloween. She has come a long way since her first experience in Sam's when she freaked out over the scary display and we had to take her screaming out of the store. Now she just looks at all the scary stuff and all she says is, that looks scary. The boys had a good time hanging out with their friends and we were able to get some great pictures.

Eamon and Paul still playing soccer
Just Hanging Out
Grace loves Anna and Emily
All The Kiddos
Rylan and Grace
Grace Is Getting Tired

Wow It Looks Windy

Say Cheese
Paul with Grace
Friends
Grace and Emily

We Had A Great Day

WE HAVE TA!!!

2008-10-17T05:04:00.002+01:00

We are praising God for the news today. We will be holding and loving our new baby girl soon!! Heritage our adoption agency is trying to schedule our consulate appointment and we are tentatively scheduled to leave Nov. 8th and meet Hope on the 10th. Lord willing we will be home on the the 21st and will be celebrating Hope's first birthday in the States on the 28Th. We are flying space avalable and are praying we will all be able to fly to China together. It's hard to believe all the waiting is almost over.

NEW PICTURES OF SOPHIE!!

2008-10-06T04:00:00.009+01:00

We are following Kens blog while he is in China and he just posted two new pictures of Sophie taken today at the orphanage. She looks beautiful and her lip is healing so well. We can't wait to see her, hold her and love her.These new pictures just melt my heart. We are really praying for a miracle, that we will receive a report that her brain is healing. We were so excited to see that smile on her face, as she has not been smiling in any of the other pictures we've seen. We will contact Ken this week and pray for some encouraging news. Ken also shared some other exciting news - since they aired the Xin Hui TV special on adoption in China they have had 200 applications from Guangdong province from Chinese families wanting to adopt from the Xin Hui orphanage. What a huge praise that God is providing homes and families for all these precious children.

Enjoying The Weather And A Crazy Dog

2008-10-05T05:57:00.003+01:00

This is our crazy dog Dixie, she thinks the zip line is alive and something she just has to have. She spent several hours barking and chasing and jumping really high after this thing. Hadyn and Grace went out to see how high they could get her to jump.

We are really enjoying the fall weather here, even if it's still in the 80's most days. The mornings and nights are cool and the leaves are just starting to change. Grace wants to go out and swing on the new swing set almost everyday and she really loves to jump on the trampoline. If we don't make it outside, she will try all her tricks inside like jumping,tumbling, swinging,usually with a lot of loud laughing and shouting, so we usually try to make it outside everyday and I am very thankful for all this warm sunny weather.

I AM SO NOT READY!!!

2008-09-30T19:51:00.004+01:00

We just got a message from our adoption agency and they are saying we will be in China by the second week in November at the latest. That means I am pulling out the suitcases tonight. I have just gone into the I have sooooo much to do mode and I haven't even started nesting yet. We thought maybe we would be in China by the end of November and we were praying we would travel to get Hope before her birthday Nov.28th. We just received a short update today from her orphanage. It said when Hope gets angry they give her a toy or take her outside and she is happy again. I hope it will be that easy. She is only on formula with rice cereal and they haven't added anything else to her diet. She doesn't have teeth yet and from the measurements they gave us she may possibly be the tallest Chinese baby ever. She does look big in the pictures. I don't have any hand me downs from Grace, because she was 16 months when we adopted her and it was April. It will be fun shopping, so I hope these measurements are close. This is going to be an amazing trip and we are so thankful we are all going. We were just trying to book rooms at the Victory Hotel in Guangzhou and the boys are planning to sleep on the floor and are really excited about the trip. I am hoping to pack light!!!!

COWS AND SWING SETS

2008-09-30T05:09:00.005+01:00

Mike had a busy day. He woke up early to meet the German farmer out in the field to get our grass fed cow butchered. The farmer was adamit that we see this cow while it was still fresh(alive). I said I would forgo the viewing and stay home. The farmers wife already described the cow in detail to me on the phone as I was quickly trying to hand it to Mike. I really want to be able to enjoy this meat. Mike loaded the cow took it to the scales and this thing weighed 800lbs. They then took it to the butcher and Mike talked to him about the size of steaks we wanted. They left the cow tied up at the butchers and in a few days we go back for the fresh packaged meat. This cow should fill an entire big freezer and should last us all winter. After leaving the butcher it was on to meet a guy we are buying a swing set from. Mike drove about an hour to help the guy take the swing set apart in 3 big pieces and put it on the flat bed trailer and haul it back to our hoiuse. This thing was heavy and it took awhile to got it set up in the yard. Grace was so excited and was playing on it tonight right before it got dark. I told her we could play on it again fist thing in the morning. I just hope it's not too early.

Our Barn Cats Have Discovered Love

2008-09-30T04:43:00.001+01:00

This is what happens to wild cats after they spend just a few short weeks at our house. They are really cute,but are still going to be barn cats!!!

Barn Cats

2008-09-30T04:27:00.002+01:00

We went out the other day and got two free barn cats from the Craigslist. These are strickly outside cats to keep the barn free of mice and critters. These aren't cuddly kittens they are scared of people and run the minute you put them down, which is fine for outdoor cats.

Here are our scardy cats

School Days

2008-09-30T04:02:00.002+01:00

I had taken these pictures a few weeks back on our first day of school. Of course it went just like I always imagine. Boys awake early and enthusiastically complete their chores as they hurry to the table for breakfast. I am cheerfully preparing a fresh cooked healthy breakfast. I have been up for hours reading scripture and praying, preparing for the day. The boys are cheerful and smiling at 7am ready for a day of diligence with great attitudes. As I teach the boys Bible they are so attentive and hang on every word. Then my alarm goes off I am tired and my real day begins.but hey it is always great to dream!!!!

We Have LOA!!! Sep. 25 2008

2008-09-26T04:15:00.006+01:00

Our LOA (letter of acceptance) arrived at our agency today and will arrive here tomorrow. We are now one step closer to traveling to bring Hope home. We can now apply for our visas and send in our travel plans. Gracie has been saving a spot for Hope everytime we go to the grocery store and she points and says Hopie will sit here next to me in the cart. We have been praying that Hope is healthy, especially after the contaminated baby formula in China was given to the children at some of the orphanages. We also pray that she will bond to us quickly. We have been praying for Sophie and it has been hard not getting updates these past 2 months. It is going to be an emotional visit to Sophie's orphanage and we pray God will give us wisdom on what steps we should take next. We will know so much more when we can talk to the orphanage director and just spend time with Sophie and determine where she is developmentally. Sophie is so much a part of our family and we pray someday we can also bring her home. We have grieved over losing Sophie, yet we have hope and know that the connection we have to her is for a reason. It has led us to Hope and we are so blessed.

New Pictures of Hope

2008-09-21T00:35:00.010+01:00

A family from the Yangxi yahoo group was so kind and took these pictures a few days ago when they toured the orphanage. They are in China now bringing their newest daughter home. We are praying for them, as when they received their baby she was very tiny, malnourished and dehydrated and they are having a hard time with feedings and getting her to drink enough fluids. She is a cleft baby and we pray she will thrive now that she is with her Family. We have also been praying for another family who is now in China and their daughter has been very sick and hospitalized. They have just received a miracle and their daughter was released from the hospital today. You can follow their blog at http://www.roomforatleastonemore.blogspot.com/

We are so grateful for this update and praise God that Hope looks healthy in the pictures. We were told that all of the babies sleep on just the hard boards in their cribs and many have open sores. We could see a sore on the side of Hope's head from the 6 month picture, but it looks like it has healed well now. We think she is so cute and I am loving those cheeks!!! We are praying we will receive our letter of acceptance this week and be able to travel soon. Waiting is always hard.

Poor Scooter

2008-09-04T05:09:00.008+01:00

Dixie,Scooter and Frisco the cat all arrived safely from Germany on Thursday. They had spent the last 2 months in Germany while we found a house and got settled. I was supposed to pick them up here in St Louis on Thursday night. I then got a call Thursday morning from Germany stating the pets would be flying into Dallas, because the heat index was too high for a connecting flight. They wanted to make sure I would be there to pick them up. Mike was still in training in Dallas and scheduled to drive home Thursday around noon. He stayed to get the dogs and after their 11 hour flight, he loaded 3 smelly animals into his little car and drove 10 hours to St Louis. He arrived safely here at 3am and there was much rejoicing!! Mike was home all weekend, but had to go on an airline trip on Monday afternoon. We had dinner around 6 and by 8pm we could not find Scooter. We called him, drove around the neighborhood and the boys went out with flash lights. By 1am I left the garage door open hoping he would find his way home. We have fox and coyotes here, so it was very probable he was eaten. The next morning I got the boys up early and no Scooter. Rylan and Curran were at school so I sent Hadyn and Eamon out to knock on doors and we put a lost dog sign up. The boys reported back that Scooter had been spotted several times yesterday. This was a great way to meet all the neighbors. The boys came back with bags of fresh apples and peaches and I had several neighbors visit. Scooter apparently followed Mike out of the driveway on his way to work, as someone saw him at the top of our mile long driveway at 4:30. Then around lunchtime I received a call from a woman who said she has a Yorkie and at 3am she heard him barking. When she quieted her dog down she still heard barking and saw a little fuzzy face wanting to come in, it was Scooter!! She had been up since 3am and had taken Scooter to 3 vets to see if anyone knew who he belonged to. The German chip does not apparently read here in the US. She said she was afraid to take him to the pound as they would probably euthanize him. She saw my lost dog sign as she drove back into the neighborhood and delivered him back home. We are all so thankful to have our puppy back. This was our first day of homeschooling for the year, so we got started a little late, but the boys got PE in early and they both received an A for socialization skills.

Biking The Katy Trail Sep. 1

2008-09-04T04:05:00.005+01:00

We got up early Monday and loaded up the van with our bikes. The trail is really nice and fairly flat. The trail was constructed over the old railway and goes through quaint country towns. We ended up biking 14 miles and it should be so beautiful when the leaves start to change. We are also looking forward to cooler weather as the temperature was close to 90 degrees.

Stopping in one of the little towns

Grabbing a bite to eat at the country store

Gracie loving her Daddy

Who needs mustard?

What Rylan does in his spare time. He's still trying to figure out how to hook a book stand to his bike.

Back on the trail

Time for a nap

It was a great day

More Dressup!!!

2008-09-04T03:31:00.004+01:00

Ok, this dress up thing is now definately part of the every night bedtime routine

Hadyn really does like this

Gracie looks sweet, until you get swatted by her beautiful butterfly wand .

We Have 9 New Additions!!!

2008-09-04T03:05:00.005+01:00

On Saturday we went way out to the country and bought 8 laying hens. They are part Rhode Island Red and part Deleware hen. We also bought a cocky roaster named Jack. We have had them 5 days now and still no eggs. They are still fairly young and are just beginning to lay at this age or it may be we traumatized them with the ride home. We stuffed 4 of them in one box and 4 others and Jack in the other and hit every back country road with many pot holes on the way home. Dixie has also been running circles around the coop desperately trying to get in. We are thinking about putting just Jack and Dixie in the hen house together and I know who will win. That may teach Dixie to leave the poor chickens alone. They are very sweet and when we come up to feed them they come running over especially when we bring them table scraps.

Potty Training and back Yard Football???

2008-09-02T08:11:00.007+01:00

Since we have been traveling all over the country this summer and have been living out of a suitcase since May we thought we would hold off on potty training Grace. We also thought we would be traveling to China soon so I was just going to wait until we got back. Grace has gone on the potty a bunch of times and really has been ready to use the potty. It's just that I'm not ready. Now that we won't be heading to China for a couple more months I figured this will be the best time to potty train.

The boys decide to spend the day playing some back yard football with dad

Curran really isnn't going to drive that golf ball and Mike forgot to take off his church socks

Here's where potty training and football come in. Grace wanted her little potty seat out in the driveway because it was too far to go all the way inside, especially when you might miss part of the game. I also like how she has her golf club at the ready.

Another Night After Bath Time!!

2008-09-02T08:00:00.002+01:00

Gracie got Daddy to play this time

Grace always plays the princess

I like Daddy's hat

Eamon's New Pet Aug 30

2008-09-02T07:32:00.002+01:00

Eamon came into my bedroom this morning to show me the new pet he found. It is a very cool stick bug that can jump. There are all kinds of critters living on the 5 acres that surrounds our house. The boys have found a bunch a frogs and turtles too. I am OK with these. I just don't do so well with the spiders and snakes.

Before Going to Bed Aug 30th

2008-09-02T07:03:00.004+01:00

We are starting to get into a routine now. After dinner the boys take turns putting Gracie in the tub and getting her ready for bed. The bath time goes fairly well, but then right after bath time it is supposed to be time to read and start to quiet down for the night. Grace has different ideas. She thinks it is time for dress up and wants to get the boys involved and they are more than happy to oblige.

Eamon, Rylan in one of his more serious moments and Grace
or is it Minnie

The angel wings are also a nice touch and I think

that hat is really a purse

I wonder who came up with Eamon's costume

Grace loves shoes

St Louis Science Center Aug 28

2008-09-02T06:42:00.002+01:00

Gracie doing magnets

Eamon has this stuff figured out

Oma working on a puzzle

Unsuccessfully trying to build the St Louis Arch

Hadyn teaching Oma how to design your own plane

Hadyn saves the day

Oma Comes Out To Visit Aug 22

2008-09-02T06:15:00.008+01:00

Mike had to go back to Dallas for two weeks to finish up training, so I stayed here with the boys so we could get ready for school. My Mom said she would fly out and hang out with us for the second week. I am so glad she was able to visit us and we could spend some time together. After being in Germany for 4 years it was great for her to be able to take a short plane ride and we would be there to pick her up in a few hours. We decided to drop the olders boys off at school and head to the St Louis Zoo. It is a wonderful zoo and it is free .

Oma and Gracie

Eamon,Hadyn, Gracie looking tired and Oma

Gracie checking out the gila monster. I told her this

was the only real monster.

Hadyn,Eamon and Grace riding the giant beetle

Time to go home.

First Day Of School!! Aug 20th

2008-09-02T05:34:00.004+01:00

Wow, We got awake at 6:45 today and the boys had no problem geting up, I am praying the entire school year runs this smoothly. The boys ate a big breakfast and of course Curran had to check his e-mail and blog for important messages and updates.

It is a madatory school day,but they all are meeting at Babler State Park to do some student building and to meet all the teachers. . The parents are invited to come for dinner.

These are pictures outsude our house from the actual first day of classes. I told Curran he should probably wear shoes.
Rylan and Curran were both really excited to be starting school today and they both had a great time at the park day last week. I am so thankful this has all worked out and they will be able to be taught by other Godly men and will have more opportunities to develop leadership skills. I loved teaching them at home and I am going to really miss not having them here everday. They were also I huge help, but this will give Hadyn and Eamon the chance to be given more responsibility. They have gotton of pretty easy most of the time. Well this begins a new chapter in our lives and we are all excited to see where God is taking us next.

Hiking in Missouri

2008-09-02T04:32:00.004+01:00

We flew from Dallas to St Louis to get our washer and dryer and fridge delivered to the new rental house this week. They were to deliver it on Friday, but when they got to the house in their big truck they couldn't fit it down our mile long and very windy driveway. They said we would have to reschedule for the next weekend,which means another flight from Dallas to St Louis. This will be the 3rd week in a row we have flown back here. Grace thinks this is the only way to travel. We did some hiking while we were here and the area is really beautiful. This hike is just a few miles down the road from our house. Grace is usually leading the hike

Stopping for a break

Take time to smell the flowers

Eamon finds a frog

Grace likes riding on Daddy's back

Grace finds a dragon fly and thinks it's pretty fun

Curran down by the river

There Are Alligator Garb In The Lake

2008-09-01T07:26:00.002+01:00

The boys came running up to the camper to show me what they had found at the lakes shore. A nasty looking thing with jagged sharp teeth. Nice, I said They ran to the office to ask the man what this thing was. They were told an Alligator Garb and they are very common and swim in the lake here. I am so glad we were told this right before we are leaving. The man assured the boys that they don't eat humans. I'm thankful for that!!!

How We Spent Our Summer Camping In Texas

2008-09-01T06:01:00.005+01:00

We would get up in the morning, fix breakfast and read. When it got too hot we would grab our rafts and sit out on the lake.

Gracie loves Watermelon

This is so Yummy

Our Home Away From Home. Rylan and Curran actually slept in a tent behind the camper. We grilled out a bunch and Texas actually had some cooler weather, so we didn't have to pile into the camper all day.

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Grace swimming in Lake Grapevine. She could swim all over the lake in this ring.

Grace swimming to Rylan

Gracie and I in the camper. Mike is getting ready for work and Grace really wants to go with him.

Curran loved zooming around the campground in the golf cart.

Curran and Hadyn on the lake

Rylan throwing Gracie. She loved this.

Introducing Hope Elizabeth!!

2008-08-25T03:47:00.007+01:00

We are so excited to announce we will soon be bringing Hope Elizabeth home. When we saw her Chinese name it was the same as Sophie's, (Jiaqian which means beautiful.) God has truly blessed our family and we are so thankful for this child. She is almost 9 months old and from Yangxi ,Guangdong province. Her birthday is Nov 28th only 3 days from Grace's, so they can have birthdays together. She is such a cutie and we think she looks like Hadyn!! Grace is now praying for both Sophie and Hope and she can't wait to be a big sister. We are waiting to receive our approval and then we will be traveling to China. We all continue to pray for Sophie and that God will heal her.

News!!!

2008-08-17T06:19:00.003+01:00

We just received a new referral. She is a beautiful, 9 month old little girl from Yangxi, Guangdong. Her special need is an extra digit on her left hand. While we've been waiting for this news, I've been busy trying to find out what's best for Sophie. Is she in the best place to receive the best care? We contacted Love Without Boundaries to find out about their Heartbridge Program and we spoke with Ken at Heart and Hands International who funded Sophie's cleft repair surgery as well as supports the orphanage. They both told us that Sophie is already in the #1 orphanage in all of China with a physicial on the site and a great nanny to baby ratio. They also have plans to build a state of the art facility incorporating a medical and rehabilitation center. We are so thankful that God has made Sophie a part of our lives -- we will be able to send her care packages and get updates on her progress as she grows. We hope to have the opportunity to meet her as well as the orphanage director during our trip so that we can establish a relationship with them and provide for her into the future. More info soon on the newest little one!!!

Really Sad News

2008-08-13T18:44:00.005+01:00

We just received the saddest news. We will not be able to bring little Sophie home. We had requested an update on her and found out that some tests were run on her in May. The results showed at 11 mos she only had cognitive scores of a 3 month old and some of her skills were at the 1 month level. She had a CT scan done and it showed that part of her brain is missing. This is a congenital defect that probably occurred the same time as the cleft lip and palate in utero. We are devastated by this news, but know that God has brought this child into our lives for a reason. We are praying for God's comfort and wisdom. We are committed to get Sophie the help and care that she needs. If we would of had this information about the extent of her special needs and brain injury she would still be on the list, but now we have the opportunity to make sure she is taken care of and given the therapy, care and love that she will need. Our adoption agency has been so wonderful through this time of grieving and will give us another baby. We will now have 2 beautiful children one in China and one we will be bringing home.We plan to visit Sophie when we go to China and hold her which is going to break my heart. This has been so hard, but God has the perfect plan and we know he has given Sophie to us and she is a gift. We rest in Christ's amazing grace. But he said to me "my grace is sufficient for you.for my power is made perfect in weakness" Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness,in insults,in hardships,in persecutions,in difficulties. For when I am weak,then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:9-10

New Videos

2008-08-08T04:29:00.003+01:00

Heart and Hands finished the videos and Ken posted them on Youtube. Sophie is in some of the video after the surgery and back at the orphanage. She is slowly catching up developmentally and we are praying that she will thrive once we get her home. I can't believe in 5 weeks we will be in China loving and holding our daughter. We just requested an update and hope to hear something in the next few days. We are now busy making travel plans and are so excited to all be traveling this time.

Heart and Hands Video 2

2008-08-08T04:28:00.000+01:00

Heart and Hands video

2008-08-08T04:26:00.000+01:00

WE RECEIVED LOA TODAY!!!

2008-08-01T08:24:00.006+01:00

We received an e-mail from Heritage, our adoption agency and they informed us that our LOA arrived today. That means in about 6 weeks from now we will be holding our sweet baby girl. We are all so excited and can't believe this wait is almost over!!! I just requested an update for Sophie to get an idea on what sizes to bring and it's been over 2 months since the surgery so maybe we'll get another picture. Ken has been so wonderful at keeping us updated. We have been praying for Sophie these past 7 months and Gracie keeps asking if Jesus has healed her owie yet. She knows when she gets an owie that Jesus heals it. Grace is excited to be a big sister and when people ask her how old she is she tells them 2 and then says Sophie one. We may need to work on the sharing thing, Gracie likes her stuff. I've been telling her everything belongs to God, but she thinks He's pretty easy to share with. The boys really aren't into 2 year old girls toys, so she has had most toys all to herself. We will all be going to China this time and I really think the boys will be a tremendous help.

More Alabama

2008-07-28T06:20:00.000+01:00

Hardy is a real fish

Ryan Is Now Taller Than Both Rylan And Curran

Poppa and Hadyn Enjoying The Pool

Girl Talk

Gracie with Aunt M and Abby

Visiting Everyone In Alabama

2008-07-27T06:00:00.001+01:00

Gracie really enjoyed the girl cousins

These boys are growing up

Family

Abby and Megan

We all jumped on a plane and flew from Dallas to Alabama. The R.M family drove up from Florida and we all invaded the M.M family for the weekend. Mike's parents picked us up from the airport and we just hung out the entire trip. We hadn't seen anyone in over a year, so it was so great to see everyone and just catch up. We did a lot of eating talking and swimming in the pool. The kiddos had such a great time and we were so thankful we were able to all get together

On The Road

2008-07-12T05:48:00.002+01:00

When we're on the road one of the places we always have to stop and eat is Cracker Barrel. The boys always get breakfast.We left N.J. and are heading to St Louis to look for a house and pick up the (sanctification station) camper. Every sin you have will be revealed within the first few days of living in this thing with 4 boys and a 2 year old, I'm just praising God we don't have the pets. We left them in Germany and will have them shipped within the next month. We are praying to find a house in the next week and then pull the camper to Dallas for 6 weeks while Mike has training. It is going to be a crazy summer,but I am so thankful we can all be together.

On The Beach In New Jersey July 2008

2008-07-08T05:14:00.000+01:00

Hanging out in NJ

2008-07-05T04:05:00.003+01:00

We arrived from Germany July 1st and it has been a year since we have seen everyone. We hung out most of the time and spent the day at my sisters in Medford Lakes. The boys love going to the lake and taking their canoe out. They have 2 girls and a little guy Mac. Poor Macguire had some kind of funk and was sad the days we were there. The girls are growing up and Hadyn and Eamon had fun with them. They spent a lot of time pushing webkins down the slide in pink and purple barbie cars. They just don't get to do this much at home.

Happy Birthday Rylan!!

2008-07-04T05:25:00.001+01:00

It was 16 years ago today that my little boy was born, two months early and not expected to live. God provided so many miracles those first few days of his life. One Korean man stayed up all night making an oxygen hood from kitchen utencils so Rylan could breathe. Rylan only spent a month in the hospital. The first year was so hard as a new mother and living in Korea so far from all of our family. I had to keep him indoors in a single room with an air filter and air conditioner for the first month we were home. Now he is 16 and has been truly blessed by God. It is so easy to live each day at a hectic pace and not relish all the miracles and blessings God bestowes on his people. Today I am so grateful for the gift of this precious child. He will be our first arrow to be sent out and we pray daily for God to direct his path and that he will truly glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Switzerland

2008-06-19T05:37:00.000+01:00

This is the trip we all look forward to every year. Our church has a family retreat in Switzerland. We all load up our vans with all kinds of American junk food and head for the Alps. It is always such a great time of fellowship and teaching. The kiddos have fun just hanging out all week and there are all kinds of activities planned, hiking,biking,swimming,para gliding and shopping at the broken stubbas(thrift shops) The ladies got some great deals on our shopping day!!! We went down early again this year with the two M and B families and we just hung out the first few days. It was so great not having to cook, as all the meals were provided. Mike did have a great find fresh raw milk!! It was in a little village at the botom of the mountain and the farmer had it set up vending machine style. You put your money in and set your bottle under the machine and out comes fresh milk and it was the best milk we have ever tasted. I'm sure the farmer was wondering who was drinking all the milk because we went through lots and lots of milk while we were there. We would take turns making milk runs down the mountain. The view from the bible school looks out over a crystal blue lake and is at the top of the mountain. It is incredable. Switzerland is the most beautiful place we have ever been. This is our third year on the retreat and we have so many fantastic memories. It was sad to think we will be leaving this great church and all the people we love in a few short weeks. Knox Chamblin came and taught from Jackson Reformed Theological Seminary and had so much wisdom to share. His wife taught the ladies at two night sessions and she gave us all a grater passion to serve God and others. We always come away feeling refreshed and always wanting to stay longer.

Switzerland Church Retreat June 2008

2008-06-16T06:00:00.000+01:00

More Switzerland!!!

2008-06-15T06:43:00.000+01:00

Puppies!!

2008-06-06T22:11:00.000+01:00

Our Yorkies had puppies !!! They look like rotweilers but they are yorkies.
Grace loves the puppies. She will tell you they are her babies. She gets up every morning and checks on them and she gets upset when they whine and cry. She is going to make a great mother.

Happy 1st Birthday Sophie

2008-06-01T03:12:00.000+01:00

We all rode our bikes to the Bike In and got ice cream and sang to Sophie for her birthday tonight. We so wish she could be here with us spending her special day together. We are counting down the months, when she will be home playing and being loved. I don't think they celebrate birthdays in China, so I think for Sophie it's just another day. I wonder for her birth mother what today is like. I am so thankful that she gave her life and placed her where she would be found.

Trinity Field Trip

2008-05-20T07:53:00.001+01:00

Coop is officially over and now a bunch of our children are asking, What are we going to do on Tuesdays??? We can't just stay home and do school,no the weather is finally warming up and the dreary winter skies are replaced by bright sunshine. What is a mother to say??? Field trips, we will plan field trips. Mrs. M is my official social coordinator and she does an excellent job of planning and organizing all sorts of events. The official Trinity trippers field trips begin. Trinity is the name of our church and there are many families who did coop and now want to join the field trips. Mrs M contacts everyone and we are ready. Our first outting is to the Wildlife park and bird show. It was a great time of fun and fellowship.

Trinity Field Trip

2008-05-20T06:42:00.000+01:00

Homeschool Coop Classes

2008-05-19T03:03:00.000+01:00

This year the boys and Gracie took some homeschool coop classes. They all had a great time and had wonderful teachers. I taught in the 2-3 year old class with Gracie, where the little ones sang, danced and played, but the most enjoyed activity was snack time!! All the little ones were so cute and it was a joy to watch them all interact with each other. I also enjoyed the adult conversations with the other moms. The older boys learned a lot and really looked forward to coop day.

Homeschool coop classes

2008-05-19T00:16:00.000+01:00

MORE PICTURES OF SOPHIE

2008-05-04T23:47:00.002+01:00

Ken just sent us new pictures of Sophie. She is back at the orphanage and her lip surgery went great. I can't believe how wonderful her lip looks and only one week after surgery. I love this picture of her looking at Ken. They are finishing up the news special on Hearts and Hands International and we can't wait to see what else they filmed. It is so wonderful to be able to have these pictures and see Sophie being loved. I want to get on a plane and bring her home now,but having these updates helps make the wait a little easier.
I think Sophie may be a thumb sucker like her big sister.
Ken holding Sophie. We hope we get a chance to meet him. It has been such a blessing to have Ken contact us with all the updates and pictures.

Mrs Feng the orphanage director said the surgery went perfectly and Sophie was a real trooper. In a few months we will be hugging and kissing that sweet face!!!!

XinHui News Special

2008-05-02T21:52:00.001+01:00

Xin Hue News Broadcast at Sophie's Orphanage

2008-04-28T21:55:00.000+01:00

The Xin Hue news station is doing a special in China about Hearts and Hands International while Ken is in China. Our little Sophie is in the end of the video as she is leaving to get her cleft lip repaired. They are going to finish the special on April 30th. We heard they followed Sophie to the hospital and filmed there as well. They were filming at the orphanage again on the 30th and we can't wait until Ken posts it on You Tube and we are hoping for new pictures soon!!!! We received our I 171 and the Assistant Stork is sending it to our agency this week. We are praying we will be DTC next week and be able to bring Sophie home sometime in Aug. or Sept. The waiting is the hardest, we want to jump through the screen and hug Sophie everytime we get a new picture. We are so blessed to be getting these pictures,updates and videos, it makes the wait a little easier.

Our Sophie had her lip surgery

2008-04-18T20:10:00.005+01:00

We are praising God for the wonderful news. Sophie had her surgery on Thursday and we got the report that it went very well and she should be released from the hospital in the next few days. We are so grateful to Ken for being able to be there with Sophie and send us the update and photos of our cutie. It was so hard knowing she was going to have this surgery and we would not be there to hold and comfort her. We are so thankful for these pictures and for Ken's ministry, Hearts and Hands International that provivded the surgery.

W
We found out about Hearts and Hands ministry through a lady who was on the Xin Hui Yahoo group. Her daughter had been in the orphanage there and they live in the same home town as Ken and his wife Nita. They had wonderful information to share with us and got us in touch with Ken. He saw Sophie's picture and knew this was the baby he had scheduled and funded the surgery for. He has given us updates and pictures and it has been such a blessing.
Sophie is beautiful and we were surprised at how chubby she looks in the pictures, especially since she was only a little over 3lbs at 10 days old.
Mrs Feng is the orphanage director at Xin Hui, she seems like a wonderful lady who has such a heart for all the children in her care. She went to visit Sophie in the hospital and arranged for an Auntie to be with Sophie 24 hours around the clock while she was in the hospital.

My baby boy is 9!!

2008-04-11T00:33:00.000+01:00

Eamon had his birthday celebration this week. We had a family party on the actual day and he opened family gifts and had an icecream cake. We were in China last year for his birthday, so he really wanted to have all his friends here for a sleepover. We all went to the Monte Mare pool and the kids had a great time on the slides and going off the high dive. Then we had everyone back to our house for dinner and a bunch of boys spent the night. Rylan made a fancy and very yummy 4 layer oreo cookie chocolate cake with chocolate and sour cream frosting. After cake all the boys wanted to run off all that sugar in the backyard. It was sooo wet outside from all the rain we've had, but this isn't a concern when your a boy. They had a lot of weapons they can't use inside and so they had to go out to the woods behind our house. It's really not a party for boys if there are not weapons involved. They were soooo muddy when they were done, but I was told this was the highlight of the night. I got in bed around 1am and it sounded quiet upstairs, but at 6am they were all awake and I could hear them playing the Wii boxing. I'm so glad Eamon had his last birthday in Germany with all his friends before we move back to the States. We are all going to miss the great families and friendships we have had here. It is going to be sad to leave, but I'm glad we have all the memories.

Happy 9th Birthday Eamon !!!

2008-04-11T00:19:00.000+01:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Playing In The Rain

2008-04-02T03:55:00.002+01:00

We had just gotten back from the Commissary that's grocery store for you non military people. It had been raining all morning so Hadyn just scooped Grace out of the car and they ran and jumped in every puddle in the driveway. We unloaded all the groceries and they were still out there having a great time. It was such great joy to just sit by the window and watch them.

Family Day April 2, 2008

2008-04-02T00:03:00.001+01:00

WOW!! I can't believe it's been an entire year since we were in China and held Grace for the first time. It seems like the months have flown by,but it also seems like I can't remember a time that Grace wasn't with us. She has grown and changed so much since that day. She is such a joy and we are so thankful God has given us this precious child. We celebrated the day by all going out for Chinese food, which we all love and then Grace opened a few gifts. At the restaurant Grace sat between the boys and sampled all of their food. It is great to just sit and watch the boys love and care for their sister. She always gets us all laughing. She loved all the spicy food and when we would say chinese food she would associate this with China and she would say Sophie, China. She thinks the only place to travel by plane is to China. One of her friends who is 2 flew to the States and I was telling Grace we wouldn't see her at church, because she had flown on an airplane to the States. When we got to church on Sunday she looked for her friend and said her name and then said, she flew on an airplane to China. I just smiled and thought it's OK if she thinks everyone goes to China. I can't believe in a few months we will be traveling again to China and this time with Grace to bring her sister home. The journey of adoption and knowing God has had these babies chosen to be in our family since the beginning of time and that He would have us travel across the world to bring them home is just so amazing.

Rylan's Piano Performance

2008-03-29T11:33:00.000+01:00

Rylan got to play at a real German castle as a finalist in a recent piano fest. Please hit pause on the other music about half way down on the right so both don't play at the same time.

Making Pies at Mrs M's

2008-03-26T03:29:00.000+01:00

Mrs M is so great. We had a break in the coop schedule on Tuesday and she invited my boys up to learn to make yummy homemade pies. Rylan and Curran had a great time and actually brought home the apple, and bannana cream pies they made. They were delicious!!!

Easter Eggs

2008-03-25T00:48:00.001+01:00

Rylan and Curran said they would help Gracie decorate eggs, but from this picture I think they had a good time making their own. We got all different color dyes to decorate
the eggs, but we all enjoy getting q- tips and putting the dye/ food coloring on them and then decorating our eggs. We had always done this growing up and you can really make some cool designs. Just look at the neat design Gracie made. The trick with her was getting it on the egg and not on her sweater.

Easter 2008

2008-03-24T11:56:00.000+01:00

Gracie learns new words!!

2008-03-23T21:50:00.002+01:00

Gracie is always happy and she likes to tell you what she thinks. Today I came down to fix breakfast and Hadyn and Eamon were doing their reading. Grace got her phone and started pushing the numbers and repeating what it said. I can hear her and the phone one,one two,two she says all the numbers in order until she gets to nine then I hear her pushing it over and over again and instead of her saying nine she is saying mine,mine,mine. This is very funny and pretty accurate. Gracie has also discovered the word "no" and she knows if she says it we will all stop and look at her and someone will tell her to please say no thankyou or please don't. She has all 4 brothers and mommy correcting her. (poor thing)

She has also started saying another lovely phrase "go away" If she is playing and she doesn't want you to play with her she will look at you sweetly and say go away. She isn't mad when she says this and is amazed that these words provoke such a reaction from us. We tell her this is not a nice thing to say and she must be kind with her words. We have also told her she will be disciplined if she says this. That night when we went up to put her to bed after rocking, cuddling, reading books, singing ,prayers and everything else that goes on at bedtime, we say goodnight. She usually goes right to sleep. We are downstairs and can hear her talking. We both go up stairs quietly and stand in the hall to listen. She is saying go away, go away, go away in different voices with funny reflections. We crack up! We hope she is just getting it all out before tomorrow. She is really an easy child and does try to please us. When she does something she knows is wrong she will tell us I'm sorry and it is sooo sweet. She also tells us I love you so much, always !! This age is so great and we are enjoying all the fun new vocabulary words Gracie is learning both the good and the not so good.

Painting

2008-03-18T19:01:00.006+01:00

Most mornings our schedule is the same, everyone is up around 7am and cheerfully comes down stairs after chores for breakfast. Well we aren't all always cheery, but we do get up. The boys eat and I teach Bible then the boys start math and reading. Grace goes from puzzles to books to coloring then she usually spends time with her glue stick and glues different size sequins on paper and uses stickers. She has gone through some stickers!!! Then she likes to paint and I try to convince her that we could do something else,but today I was feeling extra crazy, so I let her paint. I have to stand there the entire time or she may paint the entire kitchen. I remember our two oldest boys when we lived in Arizona. It was hot and they wanted to paint, so I sent them outside and they stripped down to their underware and painted each other.They were having a great time, but then that got old, so they decided it would be more fun to paint the house and they did, until I came out and stopped all the fun. I know that Grace is probably standing there with her paintbrush looking around at all the things that would be fun to paint, so I always stay close when she paints. She had a super time mixing all the colors and we have a big string around her room so we can hang up all of her masterpieces. She has done more artwork than all the boys combined at this age, I think this is a girl thing.

Gracie painting

2008-03-18T15:57:00.001+01:00

Our last piece of paper work is finished!!!

2008-03-18T12:38:00.003+01:00

I know the picture looks blurry, but that was the state we were in at 2am. Whooooo!!! We just finished our last document for our dossier to China. Our homestudy is completed and on it's way to get authenticated. Last time we did this process it took over 9 months. This time it will be 6 weeks start to finish. We pray there are no glitches at the end. We spent a lot of late nights up drinking cappachinos to stay awake and finish the paperchase. We are so anxious to travel and bring our daughter home. We are all going this time so the trip will sure be different than the last. Since Sophie is from Guangdong we will stay in the same place for the entire 2 weeks. The boys are so excited to be traveling with us and Gracie just keeps repeating Sopie China, Sopie China. I don't think she has any idea what is about to happen. She really thinks having a sister is a great idea, but when we get to China and start holding and loving Sophie she may change her mind.

John Piper on adoption

2008-03-18T10:29:00.002+01:00

Polish Pottery

2008-03-16T14:50:00.002+01:00

A bunch of great ladies from church planned a fabulous trip to Poland to shop. I so wanted to go, but I still haven't left Gracie for longer than a date night. This was a long 2 days of being away and we have done a ton of attachment work to get to where we are now. I sadly decided I should stay home and was sad to miss out on all the great fellowship. I gave Mrs.M 80 Euro to get me a big soup crock and what ever else she saw. She came over Sunday night with a huge box full of Polish pottery. Yeah!!!! I am so excited at all the stuff she was able to get. She picked out the cutest tea sets for Gracie and Sophie. Grace couldn't wait to have tea with daddy. When I tucked Grace into bed that night she said Mrs M tea set, so I know she really likes it.

>

Trippstadt Hiking

2008-03-15T18:24:00.000+01:00

Saturday was warm and sunny, so we went on our favorite hike to Trippstadt. It is a really beautiful walk with little wooden bridges which crisscross over a stream. The boys like it because they can climb up the cliffs and hang from all kinds of trees. Grace fell asleep in the car on the way there, so she rode in the backpack for the fist hour. She loves the pack, but I got her out so she could run around some. She loves hiking and just being outside. We took some pictures and then she was walking on a flat part of the trail next to the stream and she just slid right in and was soaked up to her waist. She was shocked how this could of happened to her,she didn't cry but was definitely stressed, because of the freezing cold water. We stripped her down to her onsie and barefeet and then I had to carry her the rest of the way. I definitly got a work out, this girl is solid and not at all petite. She loved it and I ended up sticking her feet in the sleeves of her jacket on the way back, because it was starting to get cold. We stopped by the BX on base to buy her some pants, because we all wanted to go to our favorite pizza place for dinner and the boys insisted that Grace needed some bottoms. The BX has no clothes nothing but a pair of shorts so we bought them. This girl does not get cold. I think after being in so many layers in China for so long she is happiest when she is naked. She has started stripping down at night whenever I put her in footed pajamas. It is getting to be spring, so I just packed them all away, maybe Sophie will like pajamas with feet. Anyway, it was a great day and I'm glad Grace doesn't fall apart, even when things don't go as planned.

Hiking

2008-03-15T12:33:00.000+01:00

A Snow Day!!

2008-03-04T11:54:00.001+01:00

Well it wasn't actually a snow day. We schooled in the morning and were to leave for coop classes at 1pm. We got the call around noon no coop. My kids all say what are we going to do-- like we have to plan something, we just couldn't catch up on school and stay home. We call the M's and they come over. Mrs.M rarely passes up an offer on happy cappies at our house. The kids played Wii and Play station and probably killed several thousand brain cells in the process,but they had fun. The picture is how we spent the afternoon. We are kind of a sad bunch, one child has been sick for two weeks,one had a bad fall which resulted in a huge bruise and another just had his eyes dilated and can't see.

2008-02-22T21:36:00.000+01:00

SOPHIE JOY

2008-02-22T21:13:00.003+01:00

We Found Our New Daughter!! Feb. 22, 2008

2008-02-22T17:17:00.003+01:00

Friday was jut like every other day in the life of a homeschool mom. We have a friend of my sons come over every Friday to work on school and then we all go to the pool to meet some other families, when everyones work is completed. It is a big motivator to get all the weeks work done or no swimming. Before lunch I checked e-mail and saw a post sayng Heritage Adoption Agency had a new shared list of waiting children. I went to the site and wow lots of young babies with minimal special needs. There was one little girl, 8 months old and only 3 lbs at birth with a cleft lip and palate. I sent Heritage an e-mail and filled out the application. I called Mike at work and told him about the baby and he faxed in all the information to Heritage. We aren't thinking we are sending info. in for our new daughter. Then I'm off to the pool to hang out with my friends. Mike and the boys had a men's conference with church at 6:30 ,so Mike flew in the house from work, grabbed our two oldest boys and headed for the mens retreat. I had run to the store to grab food for dinner and went by the dairy for fresh milk, then back home. I had checked e-mail a couple times, but no news on the baby. Then about 7pm I received an e-mail with pictures of 3 babies, one being our little 8 month old cutie. I couldn't believe it, was this our daughter?? I called Mike and said," I think we found our daughter, can you come home?" What do you think he said??? He made the announcement that I was in labor and headed for home. It was love at first sight. We researched her special need and reviewed it with a doctor. There were some unknowns and her blood work looked like she had anemia. We prayed and asked for wisdom, but we both knew this was already our daughter. We e-mailed the agency and we sent in our letter of intent. We received P.A. the next day. Now it's hurry and finish the paperwork.
We are praising God for His abundant blessings!!! Please pray with us that we will be able to bring Sophie Joy home quickly.

Our trip to Garmish Feb 2008

2008-02-02T10:33:00.000+01:00

The winter here in Germany has been very mild and NO snow. You can't go through a winter and not see snow ,so we packed up and headed for Garmish for a few days. It is so beautiful there and very relaxing. I am always tempted to take some school books with us,but this time it didn't even cross my mind. We were out in the snow everyday and then back to the hotel to relax in the giant hottub. You could swim laps in this thing. The boys even got crazy and got out of the hot tub to roll in the snow. We wore Gracie out . The second night she fell asleep in the middle of eating her burger, she still had it in her hand and just put her head on the table and was out. Nobody wanted to leave on the last day, it is always so great to get away.

Sledding in Garmish

2008-02-02T01:34:00.000+01:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-25T01:38:00.001+01:00

We all had such a wonderful Christmas. I am so amazed as we look back over the year at all God has blessed us with. Grace was still in China at this time last year and we all spent Christmas without her here. I remember looking at her picture and wondering how she spent the day. Was she with other people who even celebrated our Saviors birth. Now she is here and even though she doesn't quite understand what this holiday is about yet, she knows it is about Jesus. When Hadyn was her age he woke up Christmas morning and asked when we were going to the airport. The airport?? Why would we be going to the airport. Hadyn said, "to pick up Jesus, so he can open his presents and have cake." We all laughed really hard and he still had this confused look on his face. The boys are getting older, so they didn't get up as early this year,but were still really excited to come down and open gifts. Before Christmas Rylan kept ordering gifts for Curran and couldn't stop, then he couldn't wait, so he gave him a few of the gifts early. I told him this was against tradition, but he didn't care!! They really enjoyed buying gifts for each other.
We had the B's here for dinner and played with all the new toys.