Role Reversal

It was a busy morning- Jim is out of town, Johnny has to be up very early (at least it seems very early to us- night owls) and catch a ride to school with a friend, Katie needed to go back to Iowa for work- and of course she had laundry to fold and pack up.  Anna and I had our ECFE class together- so we got her halloween costume on and of course you can't do that without taking pictures! I searched all over for my beloved camera, it was nowhere to be found. I checked again in the usual places and then in the unusual places- nope, no luck. So this morning we went without pics and everyone headed to their destinations. After our ECFE class I returned a call to darling Katie who had now reached the MN/Iowa boarder. She tells me that low and behold my camera was in one of her bags and is now on it's way to IOWA- my response was quick turn around, my thought was "I need that for blogging"! Katie told me  "I can't do that mom, I'll miss work" and then the roll reversal came "Now Mom, don't sweat the small stuff. I can bring it back when I come home in 2 weeks."  Two weeks without my camera- I can't do that, what about my blogging, my beloved hobby. What will all my followers do without pictures for 2 weeks- that there is a joke- I have 2 followers- Hi Lori, Hi Linn! Laura please sign up as a follower so it looks like I have lots of friends! She was then going to send it to me but ya know these cameras break so easily- I guess I will have to wait 2 weeks until it comes home. Until then I will use my clunker- it is a great camera, just large! Even hubby understood! His response was "OH NO, your blogging tool, what will you do without it??" ( Anna says "oh no" all the time- it is so cute!) Thank goodness I have some extra pics to put on the blog

Big Sissy Kate is home!

Katie came home this morning from Iowa!! We went and applied for our Visas- they will be ready Nov. 7th. It is kind of nice when someone in this process gives you an actual date when they will be ready! Now I don't have to "wait" for them! Anna is loving having her sister home! Katie put toenail polish on Anna's toes. She loved it- she was as still as can be throughout the process. In the evening we went and had a massage- ahhhhhh that was nice! Tomorrow we will be shopping and preparing for our trip! Travel class in Nov. 8th- she will be back for that! We are hoping to leave on Nov. 19th or Nov. 26th. We realize that is early and we may not be able to get a consulate appt. but there is another family that wants to travel early with us and our agency is going to give it a try! 

A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Proverbs 16:9

Bonding time!

The kids have so much fun together! It is such a joy to have Mark home! Johnny missed basketball and hung out all day with him! Anna spent a good portion of the day "hanging out with her brothers. She was so thrilled they were home. It probably gets a little dull for her with just me around! We got Mark the delicious chocolate cake from the neighborhood bakery! We will use any excuse to get that cake! We were supposed to have a family dinner but it was postponed until tomorrow night. Mark went out with friends, Johnny and a buddy babysat Anna and Jim and I had a 2 hour date! Yahoo! We will take what we can get!! We couldn't help ourselves we cut into the cake tonight! Mmmmmmm! Thank you Lord for chocolate cake and for children!

Mark is Home!

Yippee!! Our Mark is home for a weekend visit!! It is felt so good to give him a big hug!! He goes back to Denver on Sunday evening. Right now we are just going to enjoy our time together. I am so happy to have him home! Anna was with us when we picked him up at the airport- she couldn't keep her eyes off him! They have such a wonderful bond!! She so adores him! Right when we got home she grabbed a book and made Mark sit down in Sarah's reading chair with her! 

He is really enjoying DU! I was surprised that has hasn't really had any homesickness. He has always been such a home body. He was our child that never really wanted to go to camp and if he did leave he called twice home a day. Jim has been able to visit him twice on business trip- so that has helped. He is also rooming with a friend from High School at DU so I think that helps, too. Thank you Lord for Marks transition into College, for his safe trip home and for the family time we will have this weekend! You blessings are so great. We are so very grateful to you.

Oh My! I've been tagged again!

I don't know how to put the tag thing on my computer- so when my big boy- Matt comes home I will have him help me! Actually Mark is coming home to visit this weekend so he could help me too! It will be so great to have him home for a couple days! We miss him. Anna will love seeing him!

Sometimes when we are all sitting around talking one of the kids will say "okay, let's talk about something different... let's talk about me".  I think everybody has a little need to share about themselves - and it a good thing for the kids to verbalize this need, especially in a big family!

There are a couple kids that say it more often than the others (nhoj and eitak- secret code). Well, guess what kids!! It's mom's turn! 

Okay so here are 7 more interesting and weird things about me-

1. When I look back at my past jobs I can't believe how perfect they were for me. Each one has been such a blessing and I learned and enjoyed them so much! I have been a nurses aid for the elderly, while in college. Then an RN in OB, newborn nursery and Labor and Delivery unit at a local hospital. After that I was a school nurse and taught health in a level 5 special ed program for teens.  Then I was a public health nurse for newborns and their mothers. Of course my favorite job was being home for 14 yrs. with our children! When I needed to go back to work the dear lord blessed me with a job at a local private school as a school nurse, only 2 miles from my home! I worked with wonderful faith filled people and I loved the children and families at the school! After working 4 years God again touched our lives with the opportunity to be home again and begin an adoption! Alleluia!! Now we are adopting again! Another alleluia!

2. I really like sweets! I have 2 dessert a day. I have not been baking at all for a couple years because many of the children are gone and I would eat it all. I love chocolate chip cookies, Chocolate cake with fudge frosting, choc. carmel bars, chocolate malts, apple pie, apple crisp and the list goes on. When we have Sarah home, I hope we can start baking again! Then Sarah, Anna, Johnny,_____  and  ____, can eat it and of course I will have some, too! The big kids can then have a treat when they stop by home! We have a bakery near our house with the best donuts and chocolate cake! We get the cake whenever we can think of something to celebrate! It didn't seem to agree with my gallbladder BUT that's gone- so let me at it!

3. I love to go to church on Sat. or Sunday evening! Here's the confession part- without my children! I love to sit, pray, listen, and get refueled for the week. My favorite date is Sat eve. church and then out to dinner with my main man! It doesn't happen often but I love it when it does!

4. I rub my feet together like a baby rubs her blankie! It is so comforting and makes me feel relaxed and cozy! 

5. I have homeschooled 2 children for 2 years. I have read many books on homeschooling and reviewed curriculums. I will have 2 local homeschool support groups plus our FCC group. Homeschooling Sarah still feels like such an unknown. I think because I do not know her and I haven't homeschooled for a while. At the same time I am so excited to homeschool her and I think it is important in our situation! But still, I am a bit nervous for it! Yikes, where do I start!

6. I know the people and their children that I have met through "journey to me" but when it comes to the yahoo groups I can't keep anyone straight! Sometimes I get an e-mail and I get the feeling like I have talked to them before or I should know them and for the life of me I have no idea who they are. It's a little embarrassing when they've been waiting with me for an LOA and boom I forget who the heck they are... sorry. I think my brain capacity is full!

7. We have a family full of swipers! Do you know swiper on Dora the explorer? The most recent incident was, are you ready- I hadn't shaved my legs in 3 days and someone lifted the shaver and hijacked the soap. Now you don't find this out unless you are "in the shower"... In order to replace these items you must get out of the shower while dripping wet. Our other issue is- "no one wants to fess up". 

Okay- I am all done! That's enough about me!

Have a great day!

I have no more friends to tag so the party stops here!

Blessings,

Jean

I've been tagged!

I'm new at this game so I will try my best! here goes-

7 facts about me

1. I am passionate about adoption, faith and families! I love big families! As a child I would play "family" and in my favorite family had 13 children! I will keep adopting as long as they let me!

2. I love the baby name game! If anyone needs help naming a child, count me in! Yes, I already know the name of our next child (after Sarah) that we will adopt and I have already started praying for her!

3. I am afraid of the grocery store- I am sure that there is a name for it "grocery store phobia"! (it is not that I am actually afraid of it but I just don't like it so I avoid it, at all cost) I order our groceries on line and have them delivered! Hubby picks up the odds and ends!

4. I love ultra organization but I am a terrible organizer! It's a tough combo to live with!

5. I am a bad cook and I don't enjoy cooking. I love others cooking, though! We would still love to have you over for dinner but it would be something easy, hors de vourse, or we will order out!

6. I enjoy doing laundry but I have accepted the fact that it will never be done! If I find money in the pockets- it's finders keepers losers weepers!

7. I am the worst packer. It causes stress days before I even need to start packing. To me "packing light" is a oxymoron! 

8. I know, I was only supposed to do 7 but every once in a while I bend the rules- I don't like to get dressed up- I am all about casual! Denim or khaki on the bottom- prefer white on the top but every so often I mix in a color!

9. I kind of have a little problem here I keep thinking of more things to say! okay this is my last one- I love going to the dentist! I love having my teeth cleaned by the dental hygenist!! I love the feeling of clean teeth! I also love it when the kids do my hair! With Sarah joining our family I hope to get a few new evening hairdos!!

I am tagging these people!

Lori- JoyUnspeakableandfullofglory.blogspot .com

Cathy- ourleelee.blogspot .com

Lani- anewbabysister.blogspot .com

Linn- aplacecalledsimplicity. blogspot.com

Anna- theprincessdiaries-daughters.blogspot .com

delete spaces!

This is all I have so far!

A Wonderful Get Away for a Family of Four!

Jim, Johnny, Anna and I took a little time away in Phoenix. We had a prepaid vacation and if we didn't use it we would lose it, so off we went to Phoenix! This is what happens when a husband sends his wife and daughter on a free trip to Phoenix to look at time share and the last thing he says is "buy us some time share". He forgot to say "just kidding". Plus when I was there they offered me Hawaii- well, I've never been to Hawaii so I thought being the dutiful wife I am I should take this home and discuss it. So I paid for the extension- hence the our prepaid trip to Phoenix. Obviously after a short discussion we couldn't quite see Hawaii fitting into our adoption plans. Those free trips ARE to good to be true!

Anyways- the 4 of us had a wonderful time away! The weather was perfect for Phoenix- 90's sunny, dry and calm. We went swimming 5 times in 3 days and went to the Zoo!  We ordered out dinners and brought them back to our place because one of us is 2, I am not going to name any names! The pictures will tell the whole story! I now know that a certain someone actually likes really healthy, good food and if it wasn't for that darn Momma of hers she'd be ordering out everyday! 

We had great family time together! Anna is quite the swimmer! She wears water wings and can now paddle around the pool! She knows to close her mouth and she is beginning to go under water! 

We all loved the zoo! It was a bit warm so we did the train ride version! We still saw lots of animals! Anna has a couple friends named Amelia and she likes chameleons. One of her favorite books is "The Mixed Up Chameleon". So they had pretend chameleons at the hotel , which we had to pet everyday! Both the friend and the chameleons are called meal meal- we think it is so cute- but I'm not quite sure that her friends appreciate the name!

Everyday we saw the lawn crew mowing the lawn- I wanted to go out there and tell the guys- this is Phoenix, your brown grass does not grow- take the day off! No one will know!

To top off a wonderful family time we received our LOA while we were gone! It just made that little family adventure even more special! 

We have our LOA!

Today is a great day! We were completely surprised by the arrival of our LOA. We were beginning to come to terms with the fact that it would not be coming for a long time. What a wonderful surprise. Carrie called us from CHSFS but we are on vacation and missed the call so a little later I was checking messages on our computer and it was from Carrie and the title was - your LOA is here. I kept thinking to myself "I am reading that wrong? It doesn't really mean that it is here".  I read it and then said Jim- you read this and it was for real! Our LOA has arrived!! Our darling daughter, Ming Ming is ours! Praise the Lord. We are so very thankful to God for this dream come true! I can't even think straight I am so excited!! We want to go to China ASAP! We will be back home tomorrow and we will sign the papers early Monday morning- hopefully they will go to China right AWAY! It is going to be a busy and exciting time around our house!

Yippee Jesus!! I will add pics when I get home!

Peak Season for Fall Colors!

Okay- I love having 3 blogs and one journal but I may drive myself crazy trying to update them all! Plus there is a lot of repetition going on...

I have heard of other families saying this and it is now true with our family. With many of our experiences and outings other family members are saying " so will you be blogging about this too?" You betcha- it's all blog material! A joyful beautiful fall day, a walk in a state park, peak season for fall colors and on top of that, an adorable 2 yr old. I think it is time for some great pics!!

Let It Please Be Them!

For 2 days our phone has not rang... that is very unusual. Most of the time I would consider this a blessing- finally peace and quiet! It just so happens at this point in time I WANT IT TO RING! I keep singing that song in my head (with a few modifications)- "let it please be them, dear Lord it must be them or I shall cry, or I shall cry. HELLO, HELLO, Dear God it must be them but it's not them, that's when I cry, that's when I cry..." 

When my cell phone rings I am totally bummed out that it is my dear husband or one of our dear children. I love you but I don't want to hear from you right now. All I want is that very special phone call from our agency! I see families making their travel plans, the dates are getting later and later into November. I look ahead on the calendar, it looks like for us travel time will probably be between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bringing home our daughter is a priority- I will travel anytime to get her! However, the wait is getting to me. Our LOA represents so much- in the eyes of the Chinese Gov't we will be seen as Ming Ming's parents and family. I need that reassurance that she is ours! I have thought of her as ours since last December, we are longing for it to be official! 91 days and waiting...

Happy 15th Birthday, Johnny!

I can't believe he is already 15, he is growing up too fast. He is spending his birthday relaxing and watching football and more football! We will have a family dinner tonight, cake and open presents. We will have a small group tonight- Johnny, Dad, Mom, Matt and Anna. The rest of the kids are unable to come. Big brother Billy is in the MIAC golf tournament- I guess it is not going to well for him, poor guy. Golf is a tough sport, I was a beginner for 20 years :-) and then gave it up. I just can't see spending that much time on a golf course and away from my kids. Billy has a love and respect for the game. He also has a natural talent that is not showing itself today- ;-). He will join us for the birthday party if he can!

Time to reevaluate!

I may have mentioned before what a great schedule Anna and I have- well I am not so sure anymore? I feel like we don't have any down time. A day where we can just play, have a mini read- a-thon or can go on a little field trip. A day where Mommy gets the laundry done, dishwasher emptied and is able to find and go through the winter clothes. All the activities we are doing are wonderful BUT to much of even a good thing is no longer a good thing. We are missing out on the peacefulness of being Mom and daughter. It is time to prayerfully reconsider and make a few decisions. I sense that Anna is getting frustrated and crabby. I am not sure how I know that BUT it could be when she whips my glasses of my face or throws her food off her high chair! I knew we would be making schedule changes when Ming Ming comes but I believe we will be making them sooner than originally planned! I am going to pray for God's direction!

Okay, I think I went a little overboard here with the blog thing. I was so excited to have this cute background on this blog that I now have 4 blogs. Ahhhh, yeah I said, 4 blogs. Chances are I won't be able to keep up with all of them so some will go to blog heaven. They each have their purpose- this one is for our family. "The Princess Diaries" are for our daughters from China. "Ferndale Academy" is our homeschool blog, it will get going when we are actually homeschooling. "Simplify, Simplify, Simplify" is faith directed and my personal ramblings (lessons I've learned, lessons I need to learn, praising God, etc). One more thing- God will be in all the blogs. You don't categorize God into one area of your life! He is everywhere!

Oh have I mentioned that today while I was gone I received 49 e-mails. AAAAAHHHHHHHH!

That is crazy. I joined a couple new yahoo groups and there is a lot of talk about nothing on them. They do have some important discussions and sometimes they are informative. Obviously I need to "digest" a few of them or opt out of the group.

Okay there is a theme in this post and I need to do some praying and look for guidance from our God!

Show me the path where I shall walk, Oh Lord; Point out the right road for me to follow.

Psalm 25:4