Celebrating 90 years!

Poppy

 

 

We had a blast celebrating a birthday last weekend!
Robbie's dad turned 90!
  So many people came out to wish him a happy birthday.

 

 

Family

 

 

 

 

Neighbors

 

 

 

 

 Friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone pitched in to help 

 

 

We had a great time.

 Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!

 

 

Survivor

Have you ever listened to Focus on the Family?  They have some really good information.  Their radio broadcast the other day was about Christmas and how stressed people get, how they spend money that they do not have, and try to do too many things.

One of the ideas that I liked was called "Survivor".  It is a way that you can save money quickly.  That sounded GREAT to me.  With Christmas in less than two months and adoption fees coming at us left and right, I turned up the volume.

Basically you "Survive" out of your refridgerator/freezer and pantry for two weeks.  The concept is that you save the money that you would have spent on groceries and eating out for those two weeks.  She said that you could go to the store and buy milk and produce, but "no one is gonna die if they don't get that for 2 weeks".  So you can be as strict as you want.

Well it is Friday.  That typically means family movie and pizza night.  I wasn't sure how this would go over.  I told the kids that tonight we were going to get our movie(free) and play "Survivor".  Elise caught on real quick.  "You mean leftovers?"  Her worst nightmare.
"Yes", I said, "but each of you can help me pick something out of the pantry."

So here was our dinner last night:

Potato Soup and Potato Chips!

 

Listen to the Nudges

All week I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!!  Last night I wished someone would cut my head off it hurt so bad.  Tension headache?  Stress headache?

So much to do:  Check on FaceBook to see if items I posted on the online yard sale have sold, check to see if there are any more orders for Boston Butts or chickens, pick up checks for pre orders for the Boston Butts or chickens, order the meat for the sale and arrange pick up times for storing, cooking and delivering, check my email for the hundredth time to see if our homestudy is complete, call to make arrangements for someone to get the kids from school thursday because of a schedule conflict,etc

All this between, packing lunches, planning dinner, getting the kids to school, piano, tennis and gymnastics, volunteering at the school, bible study, go vote, and did I mention my husband is out of town on business?
Just typing all of this makes me tired! lol

Then this morning I got a call from my friend who really has every reason to be stressed out.  They have been working towards adopting their child and they hit a BIG bump in the road.  Can't give details now, but they need lots of prayer.

So today, I will take things a bit slower.  I will trust that everything will get done in due time. 

I made a list, so I wouldn't worry about forgetting something.
5 places to stop today.

At noon I had only been to one of the places on my list, and one place not on my list.  I had also added two more stops to my list. 

It's ok, take it slow.

I get into town and go to one more place on my list.  I call a friend to see if they can eat lunch.  They have already had lunch.  On to the next stop.

It's now 2:00 super hungry, never had lunch, one more stop to make.  agh, please don't let me get a headache today because I didn't eat.  Next stop, the grocery.  I only need three items. I can run in and grab my stuff and be home before the kids get off the bus.

I get my things and head to the self check out.  It's quick and fast.  Again I hear, slow down. 

I stop and look at the lines.  Ok, the express line has two people in front of me.  I get in line.  Should I have gotten something to eat?  No, I will be home soon, I can eat then.  Robbie likes to say that I am thrifty, but if I have food at the house I very rarely eat out.  One person in front of me.

I check my phone 2:30.  I'm good, I can still make it to the house, get something to eat (I could gnaw my arm off by now) and get the kids off the bus in time.  I look up again, same person still in front of me.  We have tennis tonight so I need to hurry and get dinner started.  I look again and the same man is still in front of me.  I look at the conveyor belt, 2 packages of hamburger buns.  Normally I wouldn't think anything of if, but they are managers special hamburger buns, which means they are on sale.  Ok, that's not why I am telling you this.  They are managers special hamburger buns and they look like they were sat on.  The man is looking down trying to pull money out of his pocket.  He is trying to count out change. 

I hear it clear as day.  I hand the cashier my money.  He looks at me.  I nod my head.  The man in front of me is still looking for change.  The transaction is done and the cashier hands the man his bag and his receipt.  It takes just a minute before he realizes what happened.  The man looks at me, "You have just made my day" he says.  I just smile.  "No, you just don't know, this really made my day"  and he walks away. 

Thank you God for the nudges throughout the day.  Help me to take things slowly and not to miss opportunities to "make someone's day".

Get your Butt.....

We have been telling everyone about our Boston Butt and Smoked Chicken fundraiser. 

We tried to pick a day that something was going on so that they would want to place an order.  

 

On Saturday October 27th

we will be selling fully cooked Boston Butts ($25) and Smoked Chickens ($15) to help fund our adoption costs. 

 

We will be set up at the Sam's in Pooler, the Dollar Tree in Richmond Hill and the playground at Daffin Park. 

 

This should cover most of the general area so that no one has to go very far to pick up their order. 

 

Today we ordered the meat.  Later this week we start to cook!

Make sure you place your order now!

Waiting........

Patiently????

Not really.  I am so anxious to have our homestudy completed.  That will mark a very "big step" closer to bringing home our daughter.  We I really thought we would have completed our homestudy by September 15th.  Today is the 20th of OCTOBER!  Each time I talk with our agency they tell us we are close.  Then we find a document that needs to be verified or corrected.  Hoping that soon we will be able to have this completed.

And so it begins.........

Paperwork!


We filled out our application and had to wait for approval. (June 7, 2012)
We had an initial phone interview with the agency. (July 24, 2012)
We had our first homestudy visit.  Our social worker came out to the house and spoke with Robbie and I for over 2 hours. She looked around to make sure we had a suitable home.  ;)
We each had to write an autobiography.
I went for my individual interview.
Robbie went for his individual interview.
The social worker came back out to the house to interview us again as well as our two children.

During this time Robbie and I both have had to go and get bloodwork drawn, and have paperwork filled out by our doctor stating that we are physically able to adopt.
Dr. D. has given both of the girls a clean bill of health.
Muffin had gotten up to date on all her shots and this has been verified.
We have gotten our septic tank inspected.
We have requested copies of birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, tax documents, employer verification, etc
We have had family and friends send in letters of recommendation.  Thanks guys!
We have done 30 hours of online "training".
We have gone to be fingerprinted by GBI and FBI.

All of these documents will be compiled into a file called your HOMESTUDY.  This is what will be used to help the agency know about your family and tell China about us.  It is used to help match you with a child that would be best suited for your family.


Iwill get a timeline going on the side as soon as I figure out how! lol

The Party

Rachel was so excited to have her party this year.  Her guest list was two pages long.  We had to limit the number of guests, otherwise we would have had to reserve the entire park.  We did a detective style scavenger hunt.  The girls had to use secret decoder pens to find the clues, then solve the riddle to go to the next clue.  Along the way they collected prizes to fill their goody bags.  Here are a few photos from Rachel's birthday party!  

 

Buddy Walk

What a great day!  God has blessed us with such wonderful people in our lives.  We had such a wonderful time during the BUDDY WALK. 

This is what we enjoy doing, hanging out with our friends at a beautiful park with great weather and talking with people about KIDS!  As you can see we have a little experience.  lol

We enjoyed sharing our stories with many people today, hope to hear from you soon!

Happy Birthday "baby"

My baby girl turned 7 today

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to Youuuu....Happy Birthday to Raaaaaachelllllllll...Happy Birthday to you.

 

Cha cha cha!

 

One More Day

 

       We have had a loose tooth since before school started! 

 

August 3rd!

                                  
                            She did not want anyone wiggling it or even looking at it.




This morning I asked her about her tooth and asked if I could just see if it was ready.  I put my fingers on her tooth and she pulled my hand away and the tooth came out.  Man was it ready.  It basically fell out in my hand.  I think she was shocked because she ran to the bathroom.  (This is not the first tooth that she has lost.)  She came out all smiles, but said "I wish it could have stayed in one more day."

 

 

It made me think about all of the things that we want to hold on to.

Those clothes that we might wear one day
Those receipes we might make one day
That project we might finish one day
The toys, the books, the games, the kitchen gadgets, almost everything on your closet shelves and in your garage. 

Jesus wasn't very big on storing up things. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) reminds us how easily we can forget that our blessings come from God's grace and are not something we have accomplished on our own.

Jesus did not store up things while he was here; he shared them, gave them away, gave them to people in need, and used what he had to bless others.

Jesus wants us to ask ourselves a couple of crucial questions: What is your treasure and where are you keeping it? Every earthly treasure we have is vulnerable to destruction. 

Jesus urges us to invest in what is lasting, eternal, and ultimately perfect. If we do, nothing can destroy and nothing can steal our blessed assurance that we will be victorious in Jesus.

 

 

 

"Don't save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy treasures here on earth. And thieves can break into your house and steal the things you have. So save your treasure in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by moths or rust. And thieves cannot break in and steal that treasure. Your heart will be where your treasure is."

Moon Festival

Moon Festival is a big holiday in China.  We made our own moon cakes and they tasted pretty good.  Robbie and I drizzled honey on ours and they were even better!

We decorated some lanterns, but the rain put a damper on lighting them, so we will try again tomorrow night and share the photos.