My Girls

Rachel has been home on her winter break. I have enjoyed having my 2 girls together. Rachel "kid sitted" for us as Eden likes to say, and Mark and I had a date! This could in reality be one of the last dates we get in a very long time, LOL! After we bring Ren home we will have to keep him close to us and not leave him with anyone for a while (I'm thinking a year, yes really) . We will need to do this for attachment or bonding purposes because he will need to learn that we are his mommy and daddy and we will be together as a family forever! Thank you for "kid sitting" Rachel!!

I have so enjoyed Rachel this visit. We went ice skating one day with my friend Becky. I don't think I have been on ice skates in over 30 years!!! I am proud to say I stayed on my feet but I will get no medals for gracefullness, ha ha ha! We had a blast! I learned that I need to work out more ;-)!

Our Christmas

Reading the Christmas story

We had a wonderful Christmas! Rachel was home from college during her break, now all we have to do is get all our boys home. Caleb spent Christmas in Ohio with family! Christian spent Christmas in Austin Texas and Ren is spending his last Christmas in China! I look forward to having all my kiddos home at one time. Maybe then we can get that elusive family photo done with everyone in it, LOL! I didn't realize how few pictures we actually took at Christmas till I went to post some here. Most of our "pictures" are video, I guess I need to learn how to upload video on here next, ha ha!

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! May it be blessed and joyous!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Happy Birthday Jesus!! I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful Christmas! This is the time to celebrate friends, family and God's gift to us.

I've been thinking about Ren and wondering if anyone has told him about Christmas and Jesus? This will be the last Christmas we are a family of a 6 and next year we will be 7! Wow! So for now we are thinking about all our family and friends near and far, wishing you and yours all the blessings of the season.

Please Throw Me A Bone

Ok so we were supposed to get our LOA/LOSC between 90 and 120 days. Today is day 122. So I have decided I am done waiting. I am sooooo tired of waiting. I am over it. So Hellooooo China you can send my LOA now, I'm ready!!!!! Anytime now, thank you very much!

How Big Is God?

I don't usually talk about other people's blogs. Mainly because I don't know the politically correct way to do it. I don't have those little bloggy links on my sidebar. Do you have to ask permission first before you link them or if they are public can you just do it and so on. Actually just having a blog is a major technological achievement for me, LOL!

Today I want to share a blog with you all that is about an adoptive family that is truly inspiring. If you have ever wondered how big is your God (or even if there is a God) you need to read their story. I don't have permission or even know this family, but I have a feeling that they won't mind me sharing their link. Their story is updated daily (with miracles), start on their side bar with Part One. In this holiday season it is a wonderful testimony and reminder of how God adopts us all into His family. Click here for their story:
A Place Called Simplicity

Ephesians 1:5
he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.

Early Christmas Present

As we wait to travel a good cyber friend is in China now to adopt her little girl. This little girl lived with Ren at the same Orphanage. While in China she got to go visit the orphanage to see where her daughter had lived. She visited the room where the children slept and the kids were in there for their afternoon naps! As they were peeking in the room a little boy called to their daughter, guess who it was?! Yep, Ren. Apparently their daughter and Ren are good friends and she took some priceless pictures of him for me!!!

If we can't have him home for Christmas the next best thing are these wonderful pictures!

NEW PICTURES

"Gorgeous! friendly, outgoing...big smile, looks healthy. Needs help
with toileting, not completely potty trained yet.Very interactive and sociable!"
.

What a wonderful surprise we received in the mail yesterday!! New pictures of Ren!! We had heard that he could be living with a foster family and I was not expecting anymore pictures of him. The directors of our adoption agency recently traveled to China, met Ren and took pictures of him for us!!! From piecing all my information together he could be coming to "work" with his ayi or foster mom to the orphanage and then going home with her at night and weekends. Of course this is all guessing on my part from little clues I have gotten recently.

What a wonderful surprise for us as we wait for word to travel. We had expected to have traveled and have been home with Ren for awhile now. But because of new Hague rules and "other things", it has taken us a little longer to get him than we expected. We are anxiously waiting to hear when we are going! Hopefully it will be in the next 2 months or so! He looks very good in his pictures. All the swelling in his cheeks from the steroids has gone away. Notice "Pooh" is spelled backwards on his jacket, soooo cute ha ha.