Good Morning and Welcome to the Saturday Morning Chat Group!

Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to the Sat Chat. Donna and Joe are still in China bringing Lauren Elizabeth home. She's having a tough time with the transition, so I'm sure they would appreciate any kind words that you all could send 'Waiting for Lauren Elizabeth'.

Also, I will be starting up the Starfish Supply Raiser again next month. Amanda is happy to receive gently used or new clothing for boys and girls in sizes preemie to 4t.

We are working on firming up our Chinese New Year plans, what are you all doing?

*THE CHAT ROOM IS NOW CLOSED, HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Hockey Time~

We've been spending a lot of time in the hockey rink this year. Zach is having a good season and enjoying himself. He says he's not going to play his senior year though and that has me a little sad. I have watched him play since he was 4 years old.

I must say that I won't miss the freezing cold, but I will miss watching him play. It seems sad to me that he is playing his best and now will be quitting after this season is over.

Quote for the Week...

Many Blessings....

Congratulations to my dear friend Steffie on the referral of her new son. I am so happy for YOU and the clan. Your new boy is so handsome. I cannot wait until we have lunch to talk more about him. I had hoped we'd be in China together, but you are going to have to be the one who goes first. It is fitting, you have always been leading the way for me and I love you for it! Please give your congratulations at 'Never Too Many'.

Thank you to my girl Kim 'Isabella Bison' for this beautiful ornament. I can't believe you had this made for me since I totally blew it and didn't get mine ordered in time. Thank you so much, this will be a treasure always for my daughter. A sign to her that we thought and prayed for her long before she came home.

It is no secret that I have been struggling lately. We are working closely with our agency to find our daughter and are still in the process where we are reviewing referrals when our agency calls. So far this has been a very emotional experience. I want to thank Kayce for this card that she sent to me. It means a lot and could not be more perfect for where I am right now. Thank you so much for thinking of me Kayce, it's the little things sometimes that can turn your whole day around and your card was one of those things. Kayce's blog 'Stories of Life in the Middle of Adoption'.

I also have been reading this book. It's a work of fiction...a lot of Christians are getting worked up about it and saying that it guides people away from the Bible and to its own story. So...I say again it is a work of fiction. And I found it very soothing and enjoyed it very much. The message that I took from it is that God loves me and He is in control and He wants to have a very real relationship with me.

*LASTLY, I NEED SOME HELP. I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL FROM A FAMILY WHO IS CONSIDERING ADOPTION FROM GHANA OR ETHIOPIA AND THEY WANT SOME FAMILIES TO TALK WITH ABOUT THESE AREAS AND INFANT VS. TODDLER ADOPTION TO SEE IF THEY ARE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS.

IF ANY OF YOU ARE PERSUING ADOPTIONS IN THESE COUNTRIES AND WOULD LIKE TO MENTOR A FAMILY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

THANK YOU.

Walking Away for a Bit...

I need some down time and so does my family. We need some time when we are not wondering about our adoption or focusing on waiting. We need to just be ' us' for a while. All is well, no worries. It's just that sometimes this process is too much and sometimes it wipes out more than just me.

Good Morning Everyone and Welcome to the Saturday Morning Chat Group!

Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to the Sat Chat. I don't know if we'll have much a group today,but I hope we will.

As many of you know, Amy and Michael have received the referral for little LynnMarie. You can go visit their blog 'When Love Takes You In' to see this little darling!

THE CHAT ROOM IS NOW CLOSED...HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!

We're Home :)

We arrived home late last night. Back to the land of snow and cold. The drive home was memorable, whenever my 3 kids are together in a car for 12 hours...it is madness :P. Oh...and add to it that we ate enchiladas the night before...Tyler was a constant source of gas!

It was nice to be able to relax a bit and sleep in my own bed last night. There must have been an amazing storm while we were away because our basketball hoop blew down and our dog pen was lifted up and blown 10 feet from where it originally stood.

Hospice is in place for my Grandmother in Kansas City and my Aunt is meeting with a full time caregiver on Saturday, so I am hoping that things will work ok for everyone. Thank you for all of your prayers.

I am back at work today and glad to have something different to focus on for a little while.

Thank Your for your Prayers and Support...

This has been a very difficult week for my family. When I arrived here in Kansas City and saw my Grandmother, it was clear that we needed to get her to the emergency room. She has reached the place with her illness where she no longer wants to eat and she is very weak. She was in the hospital for 2.5 days receiving iv treatments and was evaluated by the doctors. I slept in the hospital with her one night and my Aunt the next. I am blessed by the night I was able to spend alone with my Grandmother.

Despite all of my Aunt's efforts, we knew that we needed help. We engaged hospice and they delivered a hospital bed and some other items that will be needed to enable my Grandmother to stay in her home yesterday. Today we meet with the hospice nurse. My Grandmother now requires 24 hour a day care. We are trying to keep her comfortable, her cancer has traveled to the bones in her side and she is in a lot of pain.

I am very grateful that I have such a strong and wonderful family. And that includes members who are not related by blood, but are family just the same. I have learned in this life that family isn't defined by genetics and my family includes many who do not share my dna.

A very special thank you to my Aunt Karen who does not read this blog. I wouldn't have made it though this week without you. And to Margaret who does read it, thank you for being there this week and helping us get to where we are today. Because of you, I will be able to return home and know that my Aunt and my Grandmother are in the best situation possible right now.

Thank you to my blog sisters who have showered me with strenght and love through your e-mails and comments. I sit most days in my Aunt's office right next to my Grandmother's room so I can hear if she wakes up. I sit here and read your comments and e-mails to pass the time and give me strength.

Thank you Robin. I love you. You are such a wonderful friend. Thank you for constantly sending me information and keeping in touch all throughout the days.

To my Aunt Pam who does not read this often: I love you and you are doing a great job and you are strong enough to lead our family. I am so sorry that I live so far away and that this is all on your shoulders.

It will be just you and me for a while until our children are fully grown, we'll walk together in this life and my Mother and Grandma will walk together in heaven. But we can make it and they will help us.

Please Keep Us In Your Prayers...My Grandmother is not doing well.

I am sorry I haven't been able to blog very much. I am in Kansas City and my Grandmother is not doing well. Her cancer has spread to her spine and she is in considerable pain. The medication for the pain makes her nautious, so she won't eat. She weighs around 83 pounds right not. Her pain medication makes her loopy, so she requires 24 hour a day care which my two aunt's have been trying to provide. We are now wondering if she needs hospitalization because we are worried about dehydration and malnutrition as she won't eat anything unless you feed it to her and even then it's next to nothing. We have a difficult time ahead of us.

Christmas Eve...Let the Madness Begin!

Well...here we go! This morning I am leaving for my FIL's home to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. On Christmas morning I am driving 2 hours to be back home by noon to celebrate at home with all of our children. I make Christmas dinner and we open presents, then it's off to Tim's Aunt's home to celebrate with our extended family. And then bright and early on the day after Christmas, we are loading up the minivan and heading to Kansas City to visit with my family.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and thank you for your friendship, support and prayers over this past year. Your cards and photos of your beautiful children are displayed so happily in our home. God Bless You!

My Daughter is Alive this Christmas...

This is a very hard Christmas for me this year. We are in a place in our journey where I know my daughter is alive and I am pretty certain she is in her orphanage waiting. I cannot tell you how emotional I have been over this. The tears have just overwhelmed me. I pray that God sends angels to comfort her, I pray there is heat in her orphanage, I pray that somehow she knows she is loved. I pray she holds on. I pray that someone who passes by her feels the need to smile at her and hold her. I hope that a mother from somewhere has sent a box or left a donation with warm clothing and blankets so she has something to keep her warm. Everything feels wrong, I have her stocking but cannot hang it. I was too late to order her 3rd 'Waiting for Sophia' ornament, so now I have none. I have several Christmas dresses because I don't know what size she will wear and black patten Mary Janes..I was so certain she would be home this year.
I hope that from across the world, somehow she senses me....like I sometimes sense her.
I love you babygirl, hold on.

Sorry Everyone... No Sat Chat Tomorrow.

Ladies, I am officially on the run from now until Christmas. Tonight we are on our way towards Detroit to stay with some dear friends who are the parents of our Goddaughter Savannah, our sweet Olivia and new baby Isabella. Then we are off to my FIL's on Saturday to help bring some Christmas cheer to his home since my SIL is coming up from Kansas to spend the holidays with him. It's just a whirlwind! Tis the season!

Thank you to everyone who has blessed our home with Christmas cards, they are all hanging in the archway between our kitchen and living room and are wonderful!

Eli and Santa!!

Well let me tell you, this was one very excited little boy last night! We went through Macy's at the mall to get to where Santa was greeting the children. Eli told everyone along the way that he was going to see Santa and he wasn't quiet about it. Here he is when first got to Santa's Meeting Place...look at that smile!

Here he is waiting for the family ahead of us to finish visiting with St. Nick.

He was very comfortable this year climbing onto Santa's lap and telling him what he wants for Christmas.

After seeing Santa, we went back into Macy's to mail our letter to Santa and make sure that it gets to the elves at the North Pole. Eli loved the special mailbox.

The Christmas Spirit Award

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO JUJUBOO FOR THIS WONDERFUL AWARD!

As I'm sure that most of you know, I love Christmas, so this is an award that I'm really excited about. It comes with rules....so they are listed below:

The Rules are simple:
*You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
*The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
*You must link back to the person who gave you the award.
*You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas.
*Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 45; it's up to you. But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!
*Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS

-I love knowing that God loved me enough to send his son to save me.
-I love Christmas decorations, the lights, the village, the bells that play 12 Christmas carols, the tree......
-I love Christmas music, I listen to it all of the time during the holidays. I love the classics and the new!
-I love watching the same Christmas shows on television with my children that I watched when I was little.
-I love always telling my children that I believe in Santa Claus and I always will!

Who should I give this award to.....well, I decided to give it to everyone who decorated their blogs for Christmas and I started going through all of the blogs I follow and writing everyone down, but there are so many of you fabulous Christmas Chicks out there. So...if your blog is all jazzed up for the holidays, this award is for you!!! Please take it and post it on your blogs...or I'll have to spend hours listing everyone :)

Our Christmas Village...

How do you know that someone has a 4 year old? There is a Pirates of the Caribbean action figure on their Christmas Village train.



The Christmas Village is very special at our house. The kids can't wait to open up all of the boxes and put everything together. Our pieces are from all over, I don't keep to one collection, I am more interested in finding unique pieces that will complete our village. This year we had some wonderful additions. The train station above is one of them.

Grandpa gave us some wonderful new pieces.

I really love our new fire station.


Santa's Workshop

Our second church.

Card and Ornament Exchange Lists...

There are 19 ladies signed up for the exchanges, I am working to get the lists to you all today in e-mail. Thank you so much for signing up, I think it's going to be a lot of fun this year.

***IF THERE IS ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE THE HALLMARK 'JOY AROUND THE WORLD' ORNAMENT FOR CHINA THAT DEBUTED LAST YEAR AND SOLD OUT, LET ME KNOW...I HAVE ONE THAT I CAN EXCHANGE.

Sunday..