Gravy and Pudding

Today has been another fun-filled adventure. I cleaned my desk (oh it looks so spiffy now!!! I'm so excited!), cleaned the boys' bathroom (if you have teenage boys you know how gross that territory is) and I restuffed the pillows on my couch. Not the most thrilling things to report to you but I gotta tell ya, I'm tickled about it all. Seriously.



I have more of these little projects that I want to get done around the house (such as paint my bathroom cabinets chocolate brown....hubby says no but he may just come home one day to find that he is pleasantly surpised how good it looks!). I have a hard time making time for all this, but lately I've just been trying to hit it head on to eventually have this house perfect. HA!



Ok, all of a sudden Brenden is breathing down my neck to use MY computer. Since I'm a good mom, I will share.

But I will leave you with this little gem of a hint that I saw on an online headline: Wearing a spicy floral scent makes men perseve you as 12 pounds thinner.

I told K-man about this to which he replied, "So then the scent of gravy and pudding will make me think you are 12 pounds heavier?"

Always Thankful and Learning to Knit

I first heard of Thankful Thursdays from Denise, long before I had a blog of my own...and was a only a lurker. Then, once I did have my own blog, Linn spurred me on to take a day to list things to be thankful for, which I did for a while but quite frankly, I just never remember. But I'm certainly thankful EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! I may not publicly put it out there but my Great God certainly knows that I pray prayers of thanksgiving all the time so I guess that's what matters, right? But, I will try to do better and make my lists here also.

All that to say that I am thankful for a wonderful Thursday evening with a few super fun friends!! My dear friend Kimberly started a knitting class at our church. And I, being VERY talented (not), figured I could learn this skill easy enough (actually, I wasn't at all confident). I have no doubt that Kimberly woke up this morning with a knitting-teacher-hangover, mainly due to ME!! After a lot of laughs and near-tears attempts (and A LOT OF one-on-one time w/ Kim), I kind of got the hang of it. Though after my first row, my thingys were so tight that I couldn't get my second row started....so Kimberly came to my rescue and told me that this clearly indicated that I am too high-strung. True, very true. So, I'm trying to loosen up, both in knitting and life.

This morning I decided to pull out my knitting project (a felt purse) and for the life of me couldn't remember how to do it. Kim, I told you that would happen. I will make another attempt later. But I will likely need private tutoring on this. My good friend Martha also knits so hopefully, if I surround myself with knit-heads (ok, that's a whole other meaning than intended), I will get this purse done if it kills me.

I'm also so thankful that yesterday I got a call from our Senator's office saying they were making phone calls on our behalf regarding our I800A application at immigration!! Yippee!! Movin' right along!!

Oh, I almost forgot! Please go to my sweet friend (and future daughter-in-law) Sarah's blog! She is such a fun writer and always has great insight...and a quirky sense of humor, which I LOVE!!

**I don't know for certain that Sarah is my future DIL...just hoping. Though after this, she will likely block me from her blog & never speak to me again! :)

My 6 Minute Pitiful Workout

Today's post is dedicated to my blogger friend Nancy. Poor Nancy, who has been a faithful "follower" for a quite some time now, relies heavily on my daily posts and when I miss a day, according to her, it throws her entire day off. Ha!! Ok Nancy, just for you I'm going to try really hard to get back to my daily posts that I write in the wee hours of the morning so you can have a good day. :)


I am one of those weird people who really likes to workout...yep, I love to lift weights, run/walk, sweat, sweat, sweat!! HOWEVER, taking the time to do it is a whole different story. For years & years I worked out almost every day....it was just part of my routine. But some time around last March, I just quit. **sigh** I got so busy doing adoption things, getting ready to go to Ch*na & also sitting by my computer waiting for news about....anything new, that I put it on the back burner.


Well, being 40 and not near as active (oh and my eating habits have slipped too....sweets seem to scream for my attention and I eagerly oblige), my once fit body is shifting....and growing a bit (a lot). My jeans are mysteriously and uncomfortably tight....to the point where I have given up wearing them. I bought a few new pairs in a (gulp) bigger size (gulp, gulp). But mostly, I just like wearing sweat pants...they are much more forgiving (at least in how they feel).



But I get these flashback visions of being in the women's locker room of the gym and seeing things that no one should ever see.....saggy bottoms, blubbery this and that....I vowed then that I would never let my self go. But here I am. Gone. So I have started working out again...sorta. My time is not my own anymore...no longer can I linger at the gym, pushing myself to do one more set of squats. No longer can I compete with my own time on how fast I run a 5k. Now, with the little spare time that I have, I just want to get back a little bit of firmness I used to have and fit into a pair of pants without having to lay on the bed, tummy sucked in, trying to zip the dog-gone things up.

My pitiful little workout is as follows.....before jumping into the shower, I do some squats, lunges, and arm & ab work. Sadly, all of this only takes me about 6 minutes. Seriously sad...but it's all I can handle right now. In fact, my butt is so sore from my ferocious workout that just sitting on the potty leaves me grimacing with pain. My plan is that by the time summer rolls around my muscles will be a little more tolerant so I can do a real workout, plus I need to get myself on the dust-collector, I mean, treadmill.

Ok, enough about me. I found out last night that another little Chinese beauty at our church broke out into the chicken pox Monday....one day after she was at church with Lucy. So we shall see what happens! I opted not to get her vaccinated (yet). Perhaps she's already had them...I really don't know. Stay tuned.

Forks Flying

Guys, I'm feeling blog-lazy these days!!! I rarely write comments on others' blogs, much less any brilliant content on my own. There's just nothing happening!


I do have a rather cute Lucy story...


Last night at dinner, Lucy was chowing down....which is rather new for her. She has just never been a big eater & so far, hasn't liked much variety. So when I noticed that she was cleaning her plate I said, "Wow, Lucy is really getting to be a good eater!" Kel said, "She sure is! Lucy, you are such a good, good girl!!" Lucy looked at him and jabbed him in the arm with her fork. Brenden & I nearly fell over laughing (though trying our best to hide it). Oh my stars.

And today at W*l Mart as I was pushing her around in the shopping cart she made up a song about how much she loves her hair. Yes, this is my girl indeed.

Bunnies and Birthday

Yesterday after church we had a nice breakfast-for-lunch at home. We were soon all doin' our own thing just hanging out around the house. K-man, Lucy and I were playing in the living room (ok by playing I mean Lucy was playing; K & I were trying to nap on the couch). Lucy announced that she wanted a bunny. Huh? Actually, she said bunnies. Ok well my first thought was that she got a stuffed bunny at church and so I logically thought that's what she was asking for. No problem, I got it for her. She looked at me like I was sporting a third eye and insisted that no, she wanted BUNNIES. Perplexed, I then thought that maybe she meant one of her other stuffed bunnies so I told her to go look in her bedroom.

Frustration was building in my little Asian wonder and she said "NO, eat bunnies in the kitchen!!" Well, K said maybe she got some candy at church. I said no she didn't get any candy bunnies at church...I have no idea what she is talking about. After repeating herself many times in tears & us not having a clue what she was talking about, she finally gave up.

Fast forward to this morning.....after she ate breakfast she was in the kitchen with me as I was cleaning up. She looked on the counter and pointed & said, "I want bunnies." Suddenly I was able to translate....BROWNIES!!!! All that this precious little girl wanted was a brownie. **sigh** What a dork I am!

We are heading to dance class soon. Fingers crossed, we will see if today's lesson brings more progress. I'll let ya' know.

Lucy "helped" make Nick's Birthday Cake!!

The Birthday Boy...oops, I mean...guy...dude, MAN!

GREAT Tournament!!

We got home late last night from Nick's tournament (sorry I didn't post anything while there...not much time to do so!). I'm so excited to say that our team made it to the championship game....but lost. Second place is great though, especially considering they seeded us 6th & we were the big upset! Nick had a total of 60 points in 4 games!! 30 of those points were from 3 point shots!!!! 10 3-pointers!!! AND...today is his 14th BIRTHDAY!!!

Lucy did great through the whole tournament until the very end...she had had enough & the meltdown began. It was frustrating I will admit but poor little thing, who can blame her!!! We are both glad it's over for the year. ** Truth be told, I had a meltdown along with her....I desperately wanted to throw myself down on the floor & scream at the top of my lungs like she did but I maintained my composure.

And on the adoption front....we got our immigration fingerprint appointment notices in the mail!! We go to the H*meland Security office in about 10 days to get that taken care of. Yippee!!!! Movin' right along!!!

GO EAGLES!!!

We are off to Nick's state basketball tournament. That cool kid is so excited & takes it very seriously. He is out to win!! GO EAGLES!!!

I will post something later today or tonight at the hotel...hopefully between now and then I can come up with a good juicy bit of profoundness or at least a little levity.

Hair Pulled Out!!

I am so stinkin' mad! I had this long post written out that I cut and pasted from W*rd and it WILL. NOT. LET. ME. post it!!! I have seriously tried ALL.DAY.LONG!!! It's about to drive me to drinkin'! So, I give up. It's still sitting there but only I can read it.

But, I have great news....our immigration case # came today!!!! AND, I went to our Secretary of State's office today to get (almost all) our documents certified!!

So after a long day of frustration and celebration that's all I've got for you now except this darling picture of Lucy. She got some new shades to replace the ones she lost in Colorado!!

25 Years of Dating My BFF

This morning as I was writing the date on a check I realized that today marks 25 years since my very first date with my sweet husband!! I was the ripe old age of 15 and we had just returned from our ski trip in Colorado where I met my future husband. He wasted no time and asked me out....my first date ever. I was so nervous!!! I wore a red sweater w/ striped turtle neck, probably Jordache or Chic jeans & penny loafers. Kel had on Lee jeans, a striped button down shirt and had enough Polo cologne on that I smelled him pull up in the drive way (not really!), but oh, he smelled so good!!! AAAHHH. What a sweet, sweet time that was! We went to a movie then to Tippin's for pie. AAAHHH.

Twenty five years later, I'm ready to stab myself in the hand with a fork. No, my marriage is great...it's this endless basketball season. The amount of time and money it takes to be on the go constantly is making me crazy!!! This weekend is Nick's tournament 3 hours away. We will stay all night (ugh, I hate to spend the money). Then next week/weekend is B's state tournament, which is local. THEN IT IS OVER!!!! And I WANT A DATE WITH MY BFF and HUSBAND (they are one and the same in case you were wondering)...ALL ALONE!!

Nothing from immigration yesterday. Oh well, today is a new day & I'll hit the mail box pretty hard later in hopes of SOMETHING!! Plus I'm waiting on our birth certificates and criminal checks.

Are these dance moves I see?? Of course they are.

Lucy insisted I take a picture of her face squished up like this...so I insist on putting it on my blog!

Lucy, always wanting to be in control, nearly took over the clock duties K was doing (he was tempted to let her!)

Progress!!

Ok, I have toilets getting ready to walk out if I don't clean them soon, never-ending laundry needing to be rotated, and floors that needed to be mopped two weeks ago. SO, I gotta make this quick...but I had to tell you that we had a bit of progress today at dance class!! Take a look.....


Ok, so far it's business as usual...

THEN...Miss Courtney brought out this back-bend teaching mat thingy....And Lucy came alive! Here she is looking to the side at an older girl showing her how to do a back bend...she was VERY intrigued and willing to learn!!

Horray for Lucy!!!! Whew. With only 3 classes left we are finally seeing her come out of her shell! I know some of you have suggested that I just leave her there & that she would be just fine. I do occasionally go to the back room and watch through the window, but there's no way I'm about to undo 8 months of building attachment by leaving her in a situation where she isn't comfortable. We do leave her in children's church on Sundays and she does just find without me because she loves my friends Angela & Cathy who are with her. These things just take a little extra time with newly adopted kiddos.

And lastly, Happy Presidents' Day! I hate it. I mean, I'm good with honoring our great presidents of the past but NOBODY'S WORKING ON MY ADOPTION!!! So, tomorrow I will be eagerly waiting for the mail in hopes that my case number from immigration is there!!! Please pray!!!

Pay It Forward

Just before I drew the names for our give-away, I felt compelled to pray. Honestly, it felt a little weird praying that the "right" person would win because, who really needs an iPod? But, pray without ceasing about all things the Bible says, so I did. I now totally understand the reason the iPod needed to go to that certain someone...head over to Sally's blog and you will see why! I LOVE HEARTS THAT ARE GENEROUS AND BENT ON HELPING ORPHANS!!!!!! And the person who donated the iPod in the first place is THRILLED beyond measure!

Valentine's Day, Hot Dogs, and Dancing

We had a lovely Valentine's Day! K-man gave each of his ladies a rose (that would be just Lucy and me in case you were wondering!). I also got a little chocolate pizza. Nice! The rest of the day was spent on a hard, hard bleacher. Truthfully, it is great fun. We have a fun group of friends there and watching the guys play is a delight. And the concession stand is always delicious. My addiction is in rage-mode at this point in the season, so thankfully it's almost over. I just can't seem to say no to mounds of jalapenos on my nachos, eating a hot-dog in a matter of seconds (leading me to think I really could hold my own in an eating contest), and a package of M&M's tops it off quite nicely.

Tomorrow is Lucy's dance class, you can imagine my excitement. We missed last week because she woke up at 5:30 AM and I just knew dancing would not fit her mood five hours later (not that the mood to dance during class has hit her yet). So we shall see how it plays out. I have decided not to take any more pictures unless she is actually participating. Repeating the same thing every week must be boring you by now. And a few of you are a little too amused by it. :)

Brenden's awesome moves.....

#22 Nick shows them how it's done....over & over.

And The BIG Winners Are......

Happy Valentine's Day!! I'm sure you all have romantic plans for the day/evening!! I know I do!! What's more Valentine's Dayish than spending 8 or so hours watching basketball games in a cold gym, making countless trips to the concession stand to numb the pain with nachos and hot dogs? Yep, that's what's in store for me later today...and my heart is filled with a warm & fuzzy feeling just thinking about it!

BUT FIRST........

THE iPod Drawing!!

Drum Roll Please................

The BIG winners are..........

For the iPod Touch: Sally R.!!!!!

WM Gift Card: Emily B.!!!!!

Book: Aileen M.!!!!!

I will be emailing each of you later today to get or verify your addresses! I will get these in the mail to you today or Monday!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! And thank you to each one of you who generously donated to the Morning Star Project. I pray that God richly blesses each one of you for CARING FOR ORPHANS!!

A Mad Woman in Her Bathrobe....and it's Time to Blush.

Don't forget that TODAY is the last day for our fundraiser!! Don't miss your chance to win the iPod Touch and two great runner-up prizes!! And PLEASE take the time to read Lynsay's blog today! I pray that it touches your heart.


There's a lot weighing on my mind this morning. And to boot, as I was having my quiet time with the Lord this morning, something caught my eye out the window. Dog-gone-it if it wasn't a coyote prowling around!! We live way out in the country on ten acres so of course wild life abounds but our house is nestled in the woods and our dog has always done a great job keeping everything but rabbits and squirrels out. But he is so old and deaf. I know that critter is taking advantage of the unguarded yard and casing our hen house...he and his buddies already got most of our meat birds. GRRRR. So for now I will just go out and yell at it if he keeps lurking...nothin' scarier than a mad woman in her bathrobe and slippers!!

Though my house is quiet at the moment and I have some time to sit and write...I'm just not in the mood. I need to get busy doing something productive. But there are some verses that have stuck out to me in my daily reading so I thought I'd share....they are VERY applicable for today.

"To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it." Jer. 6:10

"...Their houses will be turned over to others..." Jer. 6:12

"...Peace, peace,' they say when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." Jer. 6:14,15

Why don't we blush anymore?? Why do we tolerate, even embrace, sinful lifestyles? Why do we justify wrong? Why is everything gray to the world (and even to many of us)...when Truth tells us of black and white? Why aren't we as Christians repenting and completely surrending our hearts to Him? It's time.

I'm Lucy's Big Girl!

I'd like to take yesterday's post a bit further. I seemed to have struck a common nerve with many of you....forgetting what it's like to use the potty alone. **sigh**

Just when I was discovering what the inside of my bathroom looked like without children standing and staring at me, Lucy enters the scene. Well, fine...at least this time I have a nosey little GIRL. I'm tellin' you what...when my boys were little, they could be outside, deep in the woods of our ten acres, up a tree and widdeling their latest weapon....if I stepped into the bathroom, that was their cue to race back in the house and join me. **sigh again** I made great efforts to be very modest once they were old enough to figure out our "differences," which is very difficult as many of you know. Trying to keep everything covered AND go about business turns the everyday housewife into a talented magician. I guess I managed just fine....they seem normal at this point.

So now, at least I don't have to be so careful....but I will say this, Lucy won't need much of a "talk" about "ladies' things" because she's pretty much learning on the job. And yesterday as we were sharing a way too frequent moment in the bathroom together we had the following conversation: (I swear to you, this is exactly what was said!!!!)

Me.....whistle, whistle (you know)

Lucy....."Mama, did you go potty on the toilet?" (I wish I could somehow write her accent & pronunciation into this!!)

Me....."Yes, Lucy"

Lucy......."Good job Mama!!!! You are my big girl!!!"

Me......"Thank you honey"

****Sigh, sigh, sigh***** Many thoughts going through my mind such as: Lucy, if you know all of that, why don't YOU go potty on the toilet??? And I can't remember the last time I was called a big girl......what exactly did she mean by BIG?

I Prayed Over My Spaghetti Sauce

Yesterday I set out this big pork loin to have for dinner. Well low & behold, it turns out that pulling a 3.88 lb chunk of meat out of the freezer at 1:00 in the afternoon just won't thaw by 4:00. Who knew? Frantic, I needed a replacement quick.


So naturally the next thing I did was check my email. My good friend Paula emailed me about NOT getting her TA yet. Anyway, so after that I went back to the deep freeze to see what I could conjour up for a delicious dinner. All I could come up with that would thaw in a short time was meatballs....mmmm, meatball sandwiches!


But before I went forward with dinner I made myself some coffee, of course. Not just plain coffee...I was feeling the need for a little cup o' crazy. So I added some hot chocolate mix to it and whip...oops, no whipped cream so I added...yes, that 's right. A scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh yes I did.


Back to dinner. Focus Lori. I got my meatballs in the pan, ready to add sauce. Rats! No jarred sauce. But wait! There's an open jar in the refrigerator...almost full! But how long has it been in there?? I opened it to examine further...no fuzz, it smells fine...hmmm...what to do? (how I hate life's tough decisions)....a quick prayer of protection over it & in the pan it went.


My man crew arrived home from their various locations as I was fixing my much planned-out meal. As I was puttering about I mentioned to Kel that I really needed about an hour alone in the bedroom. To which his eyebrow raised & the look on his face clearly showed his thoughts **by I, do you mean we?** Sorry honey...I was thinking that I need a good 30 minutes to put our laundry away (yes, it is piled high again...argh!) and then another 30 minutes soaking in a hot bubble bath.

So put away & soak I did! But not alone....with the help of little Lucy. Which was fine but...you know, a little time alone would have been nice...at least in the bathtub.

Ok....that was the most lame post ever.

"Yes, I'd Love to!"

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments yesterday! We are so excited about Shu Li!! We keep getting bits and pieces of info from our agency about her. We got her complete file yesterday in the mail & I thought I would include a little bit of it...


Shu Li's attitude towards being adopted by foreigners:

Many of her friends have been adopted, and most of them would visit the institute again with their new parents, which arouses admiration in her. She would ask her teachers questions about being adopted and wonders whether she would be adopted one day. When she was asked by her teacher seriously, "are you willing to be adopted?" one day, she gave a very affirmative answer, "Yes, I'd love to."

**sniff, sniff** I would get on a plane tomorrow with nothing more than the clothes on my back (and my flat iron) if I could.

Here are a few name possibilities...tell me what you think! And let me know if you have other name ideas!

Katie Shu Li (if she wants to keep Katie)
Elizabeth Shu Li *or* Shu Li Elizabeth
Shu Li Grace (I don't know if that flows)
Carly Shu Li (not sure if I like how that sounds but I like the name Carly)
Sally Shu Li (Yes Sally! I love your name!! But, not sure if I like it w/ Shu Li)

Unrelated, we are in the final week of basketball for Nick & Brenden's ends next week I think...not including their state tournaments. Anyway, they both had games tonight hours away from each other so we had no choice but to split up. Golly, I just hate missing games!!! I went to Nick's since it was closest to home & it allowed me to get Lucy home at a decent time (and so that I could catch up on my blogging).

After B's games he sent me a text and it went as follows (pardon his colorful language):

B..."Mom, did you hear about my block?

Me...."Dad told me a little but you will have to tell me all about it!!"

B...."Ok!"

Me...thinking he will tell me when he gets home.

B...."OK! this kid was on a fast break and was well ahead of me but! I ran his butt down and stuffed the CRAP out of him!! He was still holding the ball, about to release it but I got all of it and slammed the ball into the wall and he strongly followed suit!!!! It was amazing, I yelled "GET IT OUT!" as loud as I possibly could! lol (followed by 1 Cor 13:4 that is at the end of each of his texts, which with this particular text, I find humorous).

Me...."Woo Hoo!!! Darn, I wish I had seen it!!!"

B...."Yeah, it was the moment of the game for me =) lol and when I say I ran him down, I mean I RAN HIM DOWN! I have neve ran so fast in a game =)

Oh man, I love my boys!! They are so talented & keep me in stitches ALL THE TIME!!!

Hey, now hop over to my friend Patty's blog for a great laugh!! She had a hilarious encounter with the UPS man.....

What's in a Name?

This week's memory verse!

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7


A year ago at this time we were waiting on our LOA (SCL) for Lucy. And looking back, I can clearly see that our 63 day wait was not long at all compared to how long some are waiting now. And actually, even a year ago there were families who waited way longer than we did...and I have no idea why. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Anyway, short as our wait really was...it seemed to take FOREVER!!!! And the other thing we waited and waited for (and never got) were updates on Lucy. I was sooooo disappointed when we never received new pictures or updated measurements of her. I kid you not, I got on that plane to China wondering if there really was a sweet little girl waiting for us because for some reason, not having our 3 different requests for updates granted, it just didn't seem real. But I figured they wouldn't let us go if she didn't really exist!! :)


Well this time is so different! I am so very thankful that we have a direct contact to where Shu Li is. As I've mentioned before, Michael Melsi is an amazing guy who volunteers at the Luoyang SWI. He took pictures of Shu Li for us and we look at them constantly!! She is so beautiful!! He also sent an email this morning giving us some suggestions for our care package and what we should (and shouldn't) write in our letter to her.

As I probably have already mentioned, Shu Li also has the English name Katie (at least that's what she uses at school). I've been in a delimma because I just haven't been able to bring myself to call her Katie. To me, she is Shu Li (pronounced Shoe Lee). I have prayed & prayed about her name & still....it's Shu Li w/ the possibility of Elizabeth or Grace as her first or middle name (actually there are a few other names I like also).

I can't remember if I previously wrote about Shu Li's background but she has only been at the orphanage for about two years. Her parents died when she was very young & she was being raised by her uncle. Apparently they were extremely poor and he couldn't afford to care for her anymore so he gave her over to the orphanage. **SO VERY SAD** Anyway, that's why it's important to me that we keep her name given name. I want her to maintain her identity and I want to honor her deceased parents by keeping the name they gave her.

Today I played with the timeline numbers a bit. Realistically, if things are slightly expidited it looks like we won't travel until around August. HOWEVER, as I run the numbers as if things are greatly expedited, we could be there in June, which is what I really, really want.


Please pray:

1. That immigration will understand the urgency of our situation and will have the compassion to get our application approved quickly.

2. That all the documents that I'm waiting on (birth certificates, marriage certificate, criminal checks) for our dossier will come back quickly.

3. That Shu Li will have peace in her heart that we are coming for her. And once she receives our care package...that she will love everything and not be completely frightened by her new family!


Thanks guys, you ROCK!!

My sweet little helper

Important Updates

Scroll down for my LATEST and RIVETING posts.... :)

I talked with the person who donated the iPod Touch and she requested that we extend our fundraiser one week & do the drawing on Valentine's Day. So in an effort to try to raise as much money as we can for The Morning Star Project, that is what we will do. So, any of you who haven't added your donation, please do so now so you won't miss out!! No more extensions after this!!! Next Saturday, Feb. 14 WILL BE THE DRAWING!!!

Well, stupid me...I extended the fundraiser for The Morning Star Project but forgot to change the ChipIn end-date. SO....since I can't figure out how to re-start the old one, I made a new one...I don't want anyone to get left out!!! (The old ChipIn won't work...but I left it there so you could see the total).


Remember....This is for the drawing for the 3 great prizes!! Only $10 per entry.....Do it today!! The fundraiser WILL officially end on Thursday, Feb. 13 at midnight!! I will do the drawing Saturday morning, Feb. 14!!



THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Praying for Abby

I simply can't think of going through anything worse than watching your child endure a deadly sickness. When my own children are whining or complaining about something, I sometimes remind them that we could take a quick car trip to Children's Mercy Hospital & introduce them to some kids with REAL problems. And I often have to remind myself of that as well. It's amazing how seeing someone else's deep pain puts our own little issues into perspective.

Please pray for sweet little Abby & visit their site for updates. She needs a miracle.

Thank you Jesus for my very healthy children. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Comb-Over w/ Highlights

What a week this has been! Our immigration application was sent (as you know), and I just got word yesterday that we can send Shu Li a care package & letter!!!! We had originally been told that our dossier needed to be logged-in in Ch*na first but they felt it was a good idea to let her know that we are coming for her so she can get used to the idea!!! Honestly, this is an answer to prayer because I have really didn't want to wait so long...but I also wanted it to be the right timing. I just can't wait to go shopping for some girly things to send her!!!

I'm also working on a letter to her that our agency will translate for us. Hmmm. this is proving difficult because how do we introduce ourselves to someone we are already maddly in love with, have prayed & prayed for...yet she has no idea who WE are?? I don't want to overwhelm her or freak her out...I mean, look at the crazy Mom she's going to have soon!!! If any of you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Ok, Martha & Emily...you might be disappointed that I opted not to include the picture of our horrible referee from Thursday night's game in my blog post today. In fact, I have re-written this section of my post because I am trying to maintain my integrity. But I will say that besides the unbelievably bad calls in the game....the guy had a horrible comb-over that I swear had highlights in (which caused me to imagine some poor hair dresser foil-weaving his "flap"). Now I know that sounds mean, but I feel that as a hair stylist it is my duty (& right) to notice & report on bad hair (or lack thereof). So my PSA for today is: If you (or your guy) is bald or going bald...super! You know what, bald guys are sexy too. Just don't...whatever you do...fool yourself into thinking that hiding your shiny scalp with a thin, long layer of hair will create the illusion that you have a lot of hair. I'm a professional. I know what I'm talking about.

During Thursday night's VERY INTENSE game...Nick took a pretty bad spill on the court. He landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Anyway, he's a manly man to the core & was able to return to the game after he gained his composure on the bench. After the game his coach (an oral surgeon) instructed us on taking care of him (I'm sure he's had lots of back aches to deal with lol!). Nick said on our way home (or I thought he said), "I also hit my head when I fell." Well, that went in ear & out the other with me at that moment. But at 2:30 AM I bolted awake & immediately remembered what he said. Oh my gosh...he hit his head. This is just the horrible thing you hear about in the news that turns out really bad in the morning. Seriously, I was in a panic. I got my robe on & went down to his bedroom, which was PITCH BLACK...I felt my way to his bed then started patting around with my hands until I found his face. I felt his forehead & cheeks....not sure what I was feeling for except that I wanted to know that he was still warm (you know, alive). Whew. Felt like a perfect 98.6 to me. I went back to bed & he never knew I was there.


The next day I asked him if he knew I had come in to check on him...no he hadn't & rolled his eyes when I told him what I did. "Good grief Mom!" I said, "Nick, I was just worried about you since you said you hit your head!!" N, "MOM!!! I didn't say I hit my head...I said IT'S A GOOD THING I DIDN'T HIT MY HEAD!!!" Oops!

A Guaranteed New Outfit

Because my blogging addiction seems to be unbeatable, here I am. Despite all that is weighing on my mind that I must get done today. But this has got to be quick!! I am standing at my kitchen counter looking at a very messy kitchen & family room. I need to light a fire under my bee-hind & get busy. Plus I have this obsession to get our dossier done in record time...I was even typing our letter to The People's Republic of Ch*na as I was making omelets this morning. I am not kidding...I had my laptop right by me, typing in between adding ingredients. I got the letter finished by my last bite and the omelet was soooo delicious (not to brag, ok...to brag, I make the most awesome omelets & they are beautiful!! If this stay-at-home mom thing doesn't work out I'm going to find a nice cruise ship to work on).


Last night the boys had church so K, Lucy & I went out to eat. Well, en route Lucy seemed unusually quiet (she's only quiet when she's asleep & sometimes not even then). Kelly looked back at her just in time to see her losing her fish sticks all over herself. I turned around to help her & more & more spewed out. Oh my stars. Ok, this has happened a total of 4 times now. I think we can safely conclude that the girl gets car sick.


I jumped in the back to try to manage the mess & I quickly said, "we gotta go home." Immediately (only seconds after she just barfed), Lucy started to cry, "No! I want Chinese food! I want Chinese rice!!" K & I looked at each other...both starving & also sharing in Lu's desperate desire for our favorite cuisine, I made a quick plan in my head. Well, each time she's done this before she immediately feels better & acts completely fine, so we will continue heading east. She obviously needs a new outfit so it was off to T*rget we went. (Note to self: when a new outfit is desired, immediately throw up on self). So that was our plan...it worked like a charm. We had delicious Chinese food & every one kept it down.


Bye for now.

Sparce on Chocolate Chips

Adoption Update: TODAY our I800A application & homestudy are being sent to USCIS!!! We have requested that they expedite getting us our case number. Once we have the number, our state Senator has promised to help us get through quickly (that word is relative of course!). But my friend Patty said she just heard of two families that got through in about 6 weeks without any help. Six weeks would be awesome!! In the meantime, I'm working hard on our dossier. Thankfully, it's not near as much work as the homestudy. Please pray that everything goes smoothly!!

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Lucy LOVES to help in the kitchen....I have to sneak to unload the dishwasher if I don't want here right there with me! Any task I'm doing she'll say, "I help you Mama!" Sweet little pumpkin!! But, we all know that she will outgrow it.


The minute she got word that I was going to make cookies, there she was, all ready to go. How could I turn down such an adorable helper??

It would appear here that I have just planted my elbow in Lucy's sweet little face, but I assure you that I did not! Here we see Lucy sneaking a cookie...she had no idea I was watching her until she saw the flash from my camera!

Everytime I make cookies I always make a double batch. I bake about a dozen or so then roll the remaining dough in balls & put it in the freezer. That way, we can pull out however many cookies we want at any time and plop them on a cookie sheet & have hot, fresh baked cookies at any time.

Well, this time when I added the chocolate chips I apparently didn't get them stirred through the dough well enough & my first batch was a little sparce on chips. :( As Brenden sat down to eat one last night he started to bite it then examined it...."Mom, I only see one chip in this cookie...*sigh*" Then with his charming sarcasm he says..."wow, I'm sure excited to finally get to the chocolate chip...(bite, chew, bite, chew)...I'm getting closer...(bite, chew)...look Mom, I'm about to get the chip!...yumm, that was great!" Smartie pants.

Dancin' Class

Yesterday was Monday and that means it was time for Lucy's dance class, or as she would say, Yucy's dancin' cass. I'm a little perplexed by what's going on there...the bahavior she sports is not at all like her. Well, it's how she acted right when we brought her home 8 months ago but she has come out of her shell so much since then. She is somewhat shy around other people but quickly warms up and as long as I am with her, she seems very comfortable to be the happy-go-lucky chica that she is!

As I watched her again appear to be miserable during her class...I kept thinking, what in the world am I doing to this child?? This will be the last week that I put her through this. But then after class it's all she talks about!! And she tells everyone about it! She LOVES to look at the pictures I take of her there (well, she just loves looking at pictures of herself anywhere!). So, I just don't get it. But I guess as long as she isn't resisting me taking her there, I will just continue.

So once again, let's take a look at how it went down...


From the get-go, Lucy was resistant to participating...here she refuses the little bell to ring.

Making a choo-choo train out of your hands, running them along the train tracks (aka, legs) is a silly idea apparently, though doing it during a trip to WM is a fantastic one.

Why in the world would a little girl want to dance around with a stuffed animal? I will do that at home where mom isn't paying for me to do so.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not holding that girl's hand."

I will follow the crowd when I want to follow the crowd, thank you.

I'm only going along with this because I'm being carried. In my mind, I'm not doing what the others are doing!

"One of these days I'm going to bust-a-move...I'm just not ready yet".

What's this? It appears there is going to be some cooperation in participation here!!

Oops, I guess not.

Ok, I will twirl just a little as long as the teacher is nicely forcing me to.

Well, I guess this is KINDA fun.

"Oh, I just love sticker class!! Me first, me first!!"