Welcome to the Saturday Morning Chat Group...

Today is National Adoption Day.

I have been up since 4am today. My FIL came in last night and he and my husband left this morning in hopes of bringing home the big buck...oh yes, it's the opening day of deer season here in Michigan.

I finished the book Wild Swans while I was flying home from Pittsburgh this week. This book was very impacting for me. Being an American, I truly have no real concept of the suffering that goes on and has gone on in the world. This book is a true account of 3 generations of women from the same family. It is absolutely amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.

There are two fundraisers going on that I am aware of, they are on my sidebar. One is for Mia Hope and you can win a $500 gift card, the other is for Kris' baby E. and you can win a wii. Please do what you can to support these families.


I have 2 ladies who have joined me in Project Christmas Angel to send a shoe box with a 2 lb bag of rice and a small gift to be delivered to The Angel House Orphanage in Haiti. If you would like to join us, please send me an e-mail and I will get the details to you. timnkim@gmail.com

Visit http://threeangelshaiti.org

You can see photos of the waiting children and find information about the orphanage, the school and opportunities to volunteer.

The gift that has inspired me to tell the story of Sophia's Sisters...

I recently received an e-mail from Sharon at 'Bai Li Makes 3' asking me if I would like for her to send a pair of Bailey's red maryjanes that she had outgrown for Sophia. The e-mail just really touched my heart. The first thing that came to my mind was what a 'big sister' type of thing this was, for Bailey to hand her shoes down to Sophia and how in a way our girls are sisters. Thank you so much Sharon, your gift means so much.
When I held the little shoes, I started to think about all of us and I just sat and cried. I thought about all of the stories and the pain and the sacrifice and how we women have joined together on so many occassions to raise funds, pray and support each other. I thought of the babies who have come home and tried to remember them all and the feelings in my heart when I held little Ella for the first time...the first little girl whose story I followed from the beginning who I have actually been able to meet soon after her arrival home.
I have been sitting here waiting for my great story to begin, for Sophia to come home so I can start that phase of my life...the phase where I am Sophia's mother.
But my story has already begun...it is the story of all of us and I am going to start a scrapbook of us. I want Sophia to know about all of you. I have saved every card and every letter that has been sent to me. I have photos from Christmas cards and notes. I am going to print out pages of your blogs and put them all together in a book with your stories and your notes and photos. I want my daughter to know about all of you and things that we did together to bring our children home. It will be the story of Sophia's sisters.

This Week Is Crazy!

This week is going to be nuts for me. I am slammed at work, I leave tomorrow for Pittsburgh for training on a new network for 2 days. My FIL is coming on Thursday night for the beginning of hunting season here in MI.

My husband bought me a new camera for my birthday last month and I can't figure out how to get it to download any of my pictures, so that's why you haven't seen anything from Halloween on...I'm working on it.

I'm trying to start Christmas shopping. I did get the kids' pictures done for Christmas cards, so that's a good thing. I got all of the Hallween decorations put away over the weekend.

I am constantly on the run with the kids, hockey games, tryouts, doctors office, ortho office...it's getting wild. We had snow yesterday and the roads were icy this morning, so I left at the crack of dawn to follow Zach in to school today because he doesn't have a lot of experience with icy roads.

I started reading this book and I can't put it down. Be warned, it's a tearjerker, but it's wonderful. Thank you to Kelly who has been my personal librarian and has loaned me so many wonderful books.

Sunday...

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

Good Morning Everyone and Welcome to the Sat Chat! I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS! to Donna and Joe for the referral for beautiful Lauren Elizabeth. I'm sure that most of you know and have seen her photos, but if not, you can visit her blog 'Waiting for Lauren Elizabeth'.Want a Wii for Christmas?? Kris from 'Tell Her This' is raising funds to bring home her daughter. Head on over to her site and register to win! She also has a sidebar graphic, so let me know if you want the code so you can help her out and display it on your blog.


Lastly, I have only had one person sign up for Project Christmas Angel to send a bag of rice and a toy to a child in the Three Angels Orphanage in Haiti. I was so excited about this project and was hoping we could send 30 boxes. If anyone else is interested in helping, please leave a comment or e-mail me at timnkim@gmail.com

THE CHAT ROOM IS NOW CLOSED, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

21 Months

9 months of paperwork, 2 months DTC, 21 months LID.

Quote for the Week...

Two Projects that Need Your Help...

Three Angels Children's Relief has a Christmas Project running and so far I haven't had anyone volunteer to join in. Participants will be sending a shoe box with a 2 pound bag of rice in the bottom, a small gift for a child and ten dollars to help cover the postage to Haiti, along with any letters or photos we would like to include. The boxes will need to shipped to a church in Tennessee where they will be forwarded on to the Three Angels orphanage in Haiti. This is really a wonderful project that we will be working on in conjunction with a church in TN. Please leave a comment and let me know if you would be willing to participate. There is a link on the top of my sidebar that takes you to a form that explains everything.


The One Child At A Time Auction that was created by Daleea needs donations. I know that Amanda has 2 new babies right now as well as one infant in the hospital and a new child who she just left with to seek medical care. She is in a unique position to be able to have access to these children who need care and we are in a unique position to be able to help. Please look through your closets and see if you have anything you could donate, or pull out your sewing machine and see what fabulous creation you can make. I have received several letters and e-mails from the Starfish Board of Directors acknowledging what you ladies do to help this cause and these children. They are so grateful for your hard work and dedication.


Lastly, get out there and vote!!

Special Needs....China

I talked about this a little bit on the Sat Chat and I was able to see a new copy of the shared list yesterday. If you have decided to pursue a special needs adoption from China, re-think whether or not you would like to bring a son or daughter home. The vast majority of the children on the list right now are boys. I think that you could be matched much sooner if you let your social worker know that you would like a boy or would consider either a boy or a girl.

Sunday...

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

Good Morning Ladies and Welcome to the Saturday Morning Chat Group! November is National Adoption Month, so let's do what we can to promote adoption in our churches and communities. Start or join a support group. I love Amy's First Friday group, maybe we could talk a little bit today about the groups you are a part of or how to start one.

FOR SN WAITING PARENTS, I HAVE SEEN THE SHARED LIST RECENTLY AND IT IS CLOSE TO 90% BOYS. FOR THOSE OF YOU GOING SN, WOULD YOU CONSIDER A BOY? I THINK YOU COULD BE MATCHED FAIRLY QUICKLY.

Also, today is the kick-off of the Seventh Diamond Christmas Project. So, I will share some more information about that with everyone!
To see more about this organization, click here 'Three Angels Christian Relief'.



To learn more about our Christmas Project, click here 'Project Christmas Angel'

This project is being led by Cora at the First Christian Church of Titusville. I had the pleasure of talking with her husband who is definitely a southern gentleman. I don't think I have ever been called Ma'am so many times or talked to with such respect. He said, "God Bless You Ma'am" at least 3 times. I told him about our group and how we are mothers who are waiting for our children or raising our children who come from all over the world. These are very kind people who want to help these children and the project is pretty easy.

We purchase a 2 pound bag of rice and put into the bottom of a shoe box, then we also add a small gift for a child along with a letter or family photo.
We also include $10.00 for shipping, if you send $12.00, they will buy the rice for you and add it to your box so your shipping will be less, just make sure to send a note letting them know this is what you would like done.

We ship the boxes to Cora at the church and they coordinate the shipment to Haiti.

If you would like to participate, please e-mail me at timnkim@gmail.com and I will get the address to you to send your package. They will be sent to Florida. Our goal is 30 boxes.

THE CHATROOM IS NOW CLOSED...HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

The Winner of the 2008 Halloween Blog Contest Is....

This was a very close contest and in the end, the winner was decided by the number of votes that they received. The winner this year is Adventures in JujuBoo!

I want to thank everyone who participated and also our wonderful judges! A special thank you to Verna who designed the banner above for our winner to proudly display on their blog!

Send me an e-mail with your address JujuBoo and I will mail out your fun Halloween Prize!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone! Have a wonderful and safe day today! Take lots of pics of your kids so I can see all of their costumes on your blogs~

Tyler is Trying Out for the Basketball Team...

Out of nowhere, Tyler decided to try out for his school basketball team. Now, I have never known of Tyler to ever play basketball, not even under the hoop in our driveway, so I was a little surprised. His Dad and I got everything together for him to try out (you need to attend a meeting and have a physical form filled out by your pediatrician).
Yesterday was his first night of try-outs and he felt pretty good about it. I was so relieved...I don't even know if he can dribble a ball. He's played tennis, hockey and soccer in the past but has never seemed to find his sport. Maybe this is it~
Tonight he has try-outs again, evidently there are several teams and everyone should make it. I so hope he makes it onto one of the teams. I am proud of him for stretching his limits and trying something new.

A first glimpse of The Seventh Diamond Christmas Project...

I have met a wonderful woman named Lena through 'No Place Like Home'. She volunteered with Three Angels Children's Relief and worked in one of the orphanages in Haiti. She is adopting two children from there. They have a program put together to increase their rice supply and provide a small gift for a child in one of the orphanages and I would like to help...I would like us to help.

On November 1st, I'll tell you what we can do.

Monday...Time To Get Busy

Happy Monday Everyone! I have been busy tallying the votes for the blog contest. If you have not voted, please send me an e-mail with your number one choice at timnkim@gmail.com. You all have done a great job voting. I've had over 50 votes come in. I need at least 2 more judges. If you would like to judge, send me an e-mail too and I'll let you know what to do.
IF YOU HAVE A BLOG IN THE CONTEST, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO A POST ASKING FOR VOTES :)

We will be carving pumpkins tonight, so I'll hopefully have some good pictures to post :)

Sunday...

For TongguMomma

Good Morning and Welcome to Laura/Lala's Babyshower for little Coby!!

WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE BABYSHOWER FOR LAURA AND BABY COBY!

I want to begin by saying that I have known Laura for quite some time now and she has been such a source of encouragement and strength for all of us waiting Moms. I love you girl, and I am just so happy that you all received your referral and little Coby will be home soon with his darling sister Annslee and all of you.

If blogshowers are new to you, what you do is just jump into the comments, that is where we all talk to each other. Just right click on 'words from a friend' to comment and click on 'open link in new window'...the comments will open up wide and you will easily be able to see what everyone is saying.

If you want to rsvp for the shower, let me know in a comment or by e-mail at timnkim@gmail.com and I will send Laura's address to you so you can send a gift for Coby.

Laura is registered at both Target and Babies 'R' Us. She asking for clothing to be in sizes 9 to 12 months~

There are shower prizes for each 5th person who rsvp's! I 'll get a photo on here shortly of the prizes!!

** A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO VERNA FOR THE WONDERFUL SHOWER GRAPHICS!

The shower has ended, but if you would like to send a gift, please send me an e-mail at timnkim@gmail.com and I will get Laura's address to you.

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

Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to the chat! It's going to be a short chat this morning that will move into Laura/Lala's Baby Shower for little Coby!

If you have not already voted for your favorite blog in the Halloween Blog Contest, please do, there are some fantastic blogs entered this year and I know that the ladies worked really hard on them.

If you volunteered to judge the contest, please e-mail your top 3 choices to me as soon as you can. Whichever top 3 judges choice blogs has the most votes will win!

Tomorrow is Lala from Ladybugs & Dragonflies Babyshower to Welcome Coby!

Tomorrow morning is Laura/Lala's babyshower for little Coby! Please join us in welcoming Annslee's little brother. There will be a lot of fun, some great conversation and shower prizes too! We all know how important it is to welcome these new little ones home. All of this time Laura has been anticipating a second daughter, so I know that she needs some 'little boy things' around her home.
Truly, it seems like I have followed her journey for such a long time now and I guess it's been close to two years that I have been reading her blog and enjoying her friendship.

The shower begins at 10am eastern time, it will run until 1pm, so please join us if you can.

Many of you have asked me for a gift list. Laura is registered for Coby at Target, so if you need her last name or state info, just ask at the shower or leave a comment and I will get it to you so you can pull up the registry on-line and see the things that she needs.

THERE WILL BE A SATURDAY MORNING CHAT GROUP.

The Halloween Blog Contest!

Ok everyone, it's getting close here! There have been a lot of votes cast and we have a last minute entry, so if you have not already voted....please do. Send me an e-mail and let me know which blog is your favorite.

And if you want to have a little fun today....take a look at these blogs, they really are wonderful!

ALSO IF YOU VOLUNTEERED TO JUDGE...please send me an e-mail and let me know you are still participating because I have only heard from one judge so far. timnkim@gmail.com

THE KENWARD BLOG

THE MONKEY KING

CATCHING BUTTERFLIES TWO

SHE'S A-DORI-BLE!

ADVENTURES IN JUJUBOO

LIFE WITH 4J'S

HUMMINGBIRDS DON'T LIE

THE PRICELESS PRINCESS

K1

The winner will be announced on Halloween Morning!

How to set up your blog reading list...

Ok everyone, this really is a great tool and it is easy to use....this is what you do:

1) Click on the B Blogger icon on the upper left of your blog.

2) It will take you to your dashboard...this is where you want to be.

3) Scroll down a little bit and you will see Reading List...this is where you will enter the blogs that you like to follow

4) Click on the add button and wait a few seconds...a box will appear for you to enter the address of a blog you would like to follow...enter it entirely in the box.

5) Hit next and it will be added to your reading list and each new post for it will come up under the all blogs heading, or you can click directly onto the blog name and see many recent posts.

You'll love it!

Some Pics From Tyler's Birthday...

Here is Tyler with his close friend Alistair. They have been best buds since 2nd grade.

Tyler does not like cake, so we do a chocolate fountain for his birthdays with all of his favorite treats to dip into it. I put his candles into the marshmallows so we can still sing to him and he can blow out his candles.

This year was all about guitar hero!

My children's birthdays are emotional times for me. I spend the day thinking about when they were born and what a priveledge it has been to be the one holding their hands through their lives. Tyler was my miracle boy. I was in crisis at 9weeks and he was never supposed to make it . My OB sent me home and told me I would miscarry. I found a new OB who nursed me through the next 7 months and never gave up hope. So, a big thank you to Anita my doctor who did everything she could to keep us stable and to my God who blessed me beyond what I could ever deserve.

Keisha's Having a Giveaway at her Hairbow Blog!

Hi there ladies! If you love hairbows, here is the place to go. Keisha is re-launching her hairbow blog and is having a give-away.

Click here to head over and get signed up!

http://www.reignbowprincess.blogspot.com/

I Am Engaged...With You All.

I have had a couple of blogfriends note that I have been sort of 'out of it' lately. And I want you to know that it is not my intention. I have bitten off a lot right now, not more than I can chew, but a lot and I'm trying to do everything justice.
I will get through this and be on top of my game again soon, it's just that a lot is going right now in my family, with my blog, with my church and with many of you who I care about.
Adoption has really become so important to me and I want to do everything I can to support it here on-line and also in my local community. I will find the balance to be able to do both, it's just taking some tweeking.
One huge help to me has been the new blogger tool. I learned about it from Keisha. I just click on the B Blogger icon on the top left of my blog and I can input all of the blogs I want to follow and their latest posts show up right there for me. It's a dream! (I never could figure out bloglines).
So please don't give up on me right now. I'm still in the game and I have big plans for events coming up in the future that will help waiting children and our families.

Sunday...