We've Got Mail

Take a look!

Remembering a Beautiful Lord's Day

Thought I would share this photo that a friend, Rebecca Clift, took a couple weeks ago. She is an amazing photographer and captured a small glimpse of the awesome beauty God has created. What a beautiful day this Lord's Day is.

Waiting on Snail Mail

So many things have been happening this week. The Smith's are in Taiwan fighting a battle to bring home THEIR child, yes, he is legally their child. It would take me forever to go into detail. I beg you to please pray that they will receive news on Monday from the USCIS office in the states stating they will allow him to travel home with his parents. At this time this is what they request from everyone is prayers. So, please join the army and pray for them, their child Owen, and the staff at His Hands. I also ask that you remember the Farmer's as they leave the states on Monday to travel to Taiwan. They will be staying in Taiwan for an extended amount of time to get all of the legalities completed to bring Miss Mylee home.
I have no news on Leia, other than we are waiting for the judge to issue decrees that will arrive through their postal system. I pray they arrived while Holly and Trena were in Taipei. David and I feel like everything is at a stand still right now.
Above is a picture that Christel sent me and I edited it a bit. She is so cute. Can't wait to love on that little face.

Hopes for April are Gone

I had very high hopes that we would be traveling in April to get our baby girl. Those dreams have vanished. I received an email early Monday morning from His Hands stating they would be taking Leia to the hospital for her adoption physical. I was really excited and thought this meant something was about to happen. I chatted with Holly, one of the ladies this morning, and she said that they have to have the physicals on the babies before they can apply for their AIT appointment(basically and exit interview to leave the country with your baby. I thought, well, ok. Then she told me it takes 10 days for the physicals to be processed. So, if they went yesterday, which I don't know if they did or not, we are looking at not next week but the next before they could even apply for an AIT appointment, and those are usually 2 weeks out from when applied. So, at earliest, we might get to travel mid May. I am thinking that is probably a stretch. If I understood everything correctly, if our decrees were to come tonight we would still be waiting longer because we don't have a completed physical. TEARS!!! LOTS of TEARS today!! This bit of info has saddened me greatly. There is nothing I can do from here. David and I are both so ready to travel. We feel like we have been in this process forever. We have been in the middle of adoption proceedings for 3 years now. We just want our baby girl home. Our papers are sitting in a court office on a desk on the other side of the world. Please pray for some miracles that things will happen quickly so Leia can be with her forever family that is aching so much for her.
I received an update this morning about Leia. She now weighs 15lbs and eats 4oz every 3-4 hours...WOW. My others barely weighed 18lbs at a year old. She is quite the little chunk. They say she is such a cuddle bug and is very content to be held all the time. Sometimes she will fuss just so someone will cuddle her. They tell me she is very laid back and a happy baby.
I worked on getting some things together today for when we do travel to Taiwan. Please continue to pray for our adoption and the financial end as well. I am trying to find a time to have a yard sale, we have had several items donated for the sale, but can't seem to find a weekend to get it done. Someone has something planned every single weekend that we are to be a part of. We may just have to do it and not worry about the rest because an empty checking account will not pay for all that we have left. We were praying that Leia's stay would be shorter, in hopes of decreasing the overall cost. So, these are my woes for today. I know that with God all things are possible. I have faith that he will see this through to the end.

Family and Friends

Friday Night at the Movies


Saturday fun and Spring Planting

Whobody

On the way to church tonight the kids were asking for gum. I told them they would just have to wait til they got to church. Because every time I give them gum before church, they want to spit it out as soon as they get there so they can get Mammaw's gum. I don't know what it is about Mammaw's gum, but they seem to think it is the best. Maybe it's more flavorful?? David told me that he though they didn't need to be getting gum anymore for a while, this conversation happens often, because "someone" has been spitting their gum out on the driveway. I suggested maybe he tell them that they need not do that anymore and if it happens again then gum strike begins. He agreed and explained to the kids about spitting their gum in trashcans only. Olivia repeatedly said she didn't do it and wondered who would do that. Logan proceeds to say, "Whobody would do that. I didn't do it. I wonder whobody. Hmmmm....I think Mammaw has been spitting her gum in the driveway. I think that is whobody did it." So, Logan has spoken accusations of Mammaw littering our driveway with gum. In Logan's little mind, she is the "Whobody" that did that. We thought that was hilarious. So, Mammaw you will have to plead your case with Logan. We tried to convince him it was himself or Olivia, but he was pretty sure it might be you.
Carson has been a terrible sleeper the past nine months. Last night we moved Logan to Olivia's room temporarily. Goal is for Carson to cry himself back to sleep at night and not get out of his bed. We had been unable to allow him to continuously scream in his room because it would awake Logan. Last night went okay with only one waking screaming episode. Logan is a very ritualistic person. He loves his bed, but he was actually excited about sleeping with Olivia. I asked Olivia this morning how last night went and she said, "It was like a bunkin party. We whispered til we fell asleep." I told her, "That was very good of you to be quiet. What were you whispering about?" Olivia replied, "Oh, just about ponies and horses. We were just talking." I think the "bunkin" party did them good. They woke up this morning and played in her room til 9 very quietly. I walked down the hall to check on them and they were in there just playing and whispering together. That is rare. Logan is usually being a "boy." They played well together all day and have been very loving.

Days Gone By

http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4d5459774f5467794f4456384d7a55324e6a4d344e54413d0d0a&sb=1


Here is a slideshow that was sent to us this morning by His Hands. No news, just pictures.

Treasures to Behold

I'm assuming this is courtesy of Logan or Carson. No one would fess up to it. Gotta love the treasures I find.

Scrub a Dub Dub

Spring and Easter

We have been super busy lately. I think I previously posted that we had bought two fish for the kids. They had chosen saltwater fish, one looked just like Nemo, and the other was a purple and yellow gamma fish that Olivia named Jewels. Well, Jewels died yesterday because the people at the pet store sold us a tank that was too small for 2 saltwater fish and told us our water only had to acclamate 48 hours instead of 4-6weeks, urrrghh! How do you explain that to an emotional 5 year old little girl? Very delicately. We went today to return everything. They were very nice and gave us all our money back even though they don't guarantee saltwater fish, but it was their mess up. The kids wanted more saltwater fish, mommy did not. Thankfully Olivia walked by a very pretty white beta fish that she thinks looks like a fairy princess fish. So, we now have 2 beta fish in 2 separate cute little tanks. And I am so thankful. Everything was 1/4 the cost and much simpler to care for.
The kids had so much fun at Easter, I think the pictures tell the story. Mom, Dad, Jeff, and Linda were all here and got to watch the kids hide eggs. They had a blast.
We still have not heard any news about court decrees. Please pray for us as we wait and that we will receive court decrees soon. We hope and pray it is very soon because the money well is running dry. Tickets are out the roof right now at $1300-1500 per ticket. And the longer Leia is there the less we have for travel. But we know God will provide, as he always does.