Monday, Monday

We just returned home from a quick trip to Nashville where Daddy was presenting at a conference. These are a few pics of the "children" entertaining themselves in the car. Hoping to post more pics soon along with some thoughts that have been swirling around my brain! :)

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Seriously, a good read. Had to share!


Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Catching Up

Ok, maybe not totally catching up, but it's a starting point. A friend asked me today how my summer's been. I had to think about it for a minute. It's the middle of July already!!! It's just been a very strange summer! It's flying by, but I'm not sure why it seems that way??

Anyway, this picture is loooong overdue...Kearsten (KiKi) turned 20 years old on Father's Day. I sure love this girl!!! :o)

She wanted an ice cream cake, & when I went to pay for it, the guy asked if I wanted her name written on it. Now, seriously. I thought he would do some pretty cursive on an angle...Noooo...We got block letters straight up & down. If I had known that, I would have let K'Tyo do it! What are ya gonna do but laugh?

Kearsten's friend sent cupcakes from those DC cupcake ladies...she was nice enough to share!

I do not know what to say about this except that it's typical. ;o)

My Girls!!!! LOVE them!

Daddy with his kiddos...I think there's plenty of room for "Little K"!

Since the weather was not particularly wonderful, the Wii dance party got going.

Other happenings as of late...

Joe continues to work hard in his studies & is speaking at a national conference in Nashville soon.

All of our documents are turned in for our China home study, & we have another meeting with our social worker next week. Hopefully, it will be done soon so that we can feel like we're taking steps towards our Little K. (And one reason I have not been a good blogger is that when I'm on the computer, I spend most of my time looking for just the right "K" name, researching special needs, or reading up on all things China!)

The Yukon is gone. We are now rockin' a 12 passenger Chevy Express!

We've been trying to squeak in some fun stuff in the midst of the craziness. We had a good time at the zoo recently, & this past weekend, we had a fun visit to my parents' place on the lake. Hopefully, some pictures of that soon! In the meantime, here's a couple more to wrap things up:

Happy almost weekend!! :o)

For the Love of Chocolate

She may not have come from my belly, but this child has inherited something from me.

The love of chocolate.

And I would say she wears it well. I'm pretty sure I've sported this look myself in the past week as we've jumped on the adoption roller coaster again.

Too bad this look isn't so cute on a grown woman.

This is Good

I reposted this from a friend on FB yesterday (thanks, Jenn) & decided it was too good to not post on my blog, too. It's almost 3 minutes of good stuff...take a listen!! :o)

Just Because

*Sigh*.

It's all coming back to me now.

A little over a week ago I was busy, busy, busy getting our LOI paperwork together to submit to China in the hopes of receiving PA for "Little K". So exciting...so crazy.

And now I sit. It makes me crazy. I feel like I need to do something. Actually, I will either freak my social worker out or she'll think I'm just super on the ball, but I already have a pile of necessary "stuff" filled out & ready to go. Before we've had a visit or been given "the list".

Oy. I hope she doesn't catch on to my controlling efficient personality & freak out too much.

This part is hard. We're expecting. And we've seen her in pictures. But right now, all I can see are all the hoops & red tape in between us, keeping me from holding her.

But it is what it is, so instead of feeling yucky about it, I decided that I would post some pictures...just because. :o)

The Preschool Graduate (Ready for the big game, of course!)

Just had a thought...to pass the time in between shuffling papers, I think I might just begin stalking my other children with a camera since it seems the only ones I get to hold still for pictures are the littles, with the occasional teenager thrown in the mix. I bet they'll love it! ;o)

*********************

One Less

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do." ~ Edward Hale

I cannot tell you the exact day it happened, but it did. God began working on my heart about all the little ones waiting for a family in China. I was certain it was just me, but He was working on Joe, too.

And so, the wrestling match began. And the praying. And the wrestling.

And then the gift.

We have a daughter waiting for us in China. "Little K" has captured our hearts, & when we heard she "likes busy places with lots of people"...well, that's our family. God has already shown up in lots of amazing ways, but I'll save the details for another time b/c I know you just want to see our baby girl (especially you poor friends that I teased on FB!). And yes, she's still a baby as she's only 7 months older than Kendi.

I certainly hope that whatever she has in her mouth in this last picture was yummy...lol! (And I have no idea why the first pictures are so tiny!)

Thanks for sharing in our excitement!!

Please pray for us & for the daunting paperwork process that lies ahead. Most importantly, pray for our sweet girl, that her heart has hope & is already being prepared for her family.