little chinese girl

Last night Lucy wanted to wash her face
before going to bed, just like I do.

So as she was standing in front of the sink,
I took a hair clippy thing
and pulled all her hair up in a twirl and clipped it to the back of her head.

She looked at herself in the mirror and with a bit of shock on her face said,

"Oh...I look like a little Chinese girl."


Hahahaha.

Yes, it's the hair clip that did it, Lucy.




I tried to get a pic but red flags were waving
that a meltdown was brewing
when I brought my camera into
the bathroom.
Battle not picked.

the a's of the q & a

Your questions,
answered here.

Jennifer asked:
Alrighty! Here's a question for you....another question...thanks for the private Q & A via email! :) I'm starting to think about fundraisers. Any ideas???? We're collecting things for a huge garage sale. But I know that won't cover it all! ;) I'm trying not to panic over the cost. I'm being kindly reminded that He will help us. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. *I think I need that tattooed on my forehead!*

My answer to that is, be creative and don't assume you'll raise all your funds in one or two "events". It takes perseverance. If you have a good solid following on your blog, then do some sort of giveaway. But also do stuff locally. One of our fund raisers was selling Show Hope t-shirts, which wasn't an overwhelming success, but was great fun and we definitely made money off of them.
Garage sales are great!! Make sure to post like crazy why you are having the sale. You will have a few generous souls who will donate. The rest are stingy. Just being real with ya. A spaghetti dinner can be a huge success but we didn't do that. Just couldn't get the courage to pull the trigger. Lastly, Getting,
He doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called,
is a great tattoo idea. Perhaps even a fundraising idea. Run with that one, friend.


**************
Lori,
I would love to know- when you adopt two unrelated children from China simultaneously, do you have to pay more agency fees? (please say they aren't doubled fees!)
Also, everyone I know of who has adopted two has done so from differing orphanages. Do you know if a family adopts 2 from the same orphanage if the orph. donation would still be $5k or would it be $10k?
I would like to get an honest estimate at how much more it would cost to adopt a second child and have not been able to get a straight answer from anyone...even agencies.
I would love 2 more...from China...one boy and one more girl and we'll all live happily ever after in bunk beds :)
Who knows?! :)
I totally get you...would miss China desperately but oh the flight...and I can't sleep a WINK on an airplane either. Jet lag for WEEKS and tummy upset too. So it would be nice to be all refreshed and in the right time zone when you meet your new treasures!
Blessings,
Holly

Yes, our agency gave us a discount for two kiddos. And as far as orphanage donations go…we are adopting from two different orphanages so no, no discounts there. And I am totally with you…I cannot sleep a wink on that blasted airplane… even with a prescription sleeping pill. Seriously!!! Vertical sleeping is evil.

***********

so, missus-hairstylist-extraordinaire.... if i want to put some purple steaks in my hair, do i need to bleach those streaks first? i'm talking chunks.

(really, that's it. nothing stressful or adoption related... unless now you're stressing about me wanting to put purple in my hair. i'm thinking in the summer, i would make it hot pink.)

oh, and how can i keep the fun colors from fading so quickly?

Jaime, you are a nut.
What are those Germans doing to you??
But yes, I would recommend bleaching first.
And as far as fading goes…it’s SO hard to avoid. Impossible, even.
Use good shampoo and stay out of the sun!
And be sure to send me a pic!
I'm excited!

***********

Greetings friend. I am sitting here in Johannesburg South Africa, and you will not believe the amount of hassle we have in trying to adopt. My wife and I have been serious about it for the past two years have been trying to get into the adoption proces but to no avail. We do feel God's call on us for adoption. in one of the provinvces of South Africa alone there are over 700,000 orphans..so the need is great. Incredibily great. Me ? I would go for it. But the doors just seem to say shut. Regards Simon Thomas
South Africa

Simon, Wow, I’m so sorry the doors to adoption are closed to you…
despite the GREAT need.
My heart hurts for you and all those sweet children who need a family.
It’s so not right.

***********

I'm in a "I can't believe it's only Wednesday, and not Friday" kind of mood, so I'm keeping the mojo kind of low key today. How about...what are the middle names of all your family members. Um, in your house. Not ALL of your family members. Low key mojo, remember?

Middle names:
Husband: Kelly
Me: Kim
Brenden: Terrell
Nick: Nicholas
Macy: Shu Li
Lucy: Joy

**********

Okay, here goes ~
How'd ya' get to be so awesome?
:) :) :)

Awww, shucks.
You know the answer to that because you’ve also
got the key to awesomeness… J E S U S!

***********

Hey Lori, ♥ this Q&A idea!!

When did you name the boys? I had been praying for them as HH & DJ, but then I saw the recent pics and I was like "WOW!! They have American names!!"

This ? will be so easy (cuz I'm going to answer it myself!!) Do you plan to put another paypal donation thingy on your site? Last several times I looked for the thing-a-ma-jig it wasn't there. BUT THIS MORNING I looked again & found all your sidebar doo-hickies at the bottom....along with the paypal what-cha-ma-call-it! (on a totally different note, i used to have an aunt that talked like this ALL.THE.TIME. I never knew what she was talking about cuz she never used the real words - it was always a "thing-a-ma-jig" or a "doo-hickie"!! LOL)

♥ you sweet gal!

JR…you crack me up.
Yes, my Paypal thingymajig is SOMEWHERE on my blog.
I’m not sure what’s up with its random locations.

***********

I don't really have any huge questions that I need the answers to, but if we were just chatting over coffee I would most likely ask you how you were preparing Lucy for a YOUNGER sibling. I think it will help that it's a boy, but I know in our family, Jami finds real identity in being the youngest (of all the cousins even) & she would have a hard time losing that role.

I second the fact that you are an awesome gal. Glad I know you.....=)

Oh yes. I do foresee this to be a possible issue.
We talk to her often about how she will finally get to be a
big sister and she will get to teach her little brother things…play with him, etc. etc.
So far, she is SO excited.
But since she teeters between being insanely jealous of
anyone getting my attention and
covets madly the fact that she isn’t the oldest kid in the house,
I’m really not sure what the heck we are in for!!

**********

OK ? first? What color is your hair? I love it. Only 1 parent being jet lagged has got to be a great thing for the whole family. I had not even thought of that.
Joy

Oh, bless you, Joy.
My hair color is a careful
(and very approximate)
formula of:
Redken Colorgels:
2 oz. 4N
1 oz. 5N*
And a drop or two of something interesting…like red.

**********

Okay...my question is, how do your kids all feel about all the adoptions? Have they all felt it has been a great idea each time? What has been the biggest post adoption trouble or struggle for you?

All of our kids were totally okay with our announcement of
our new 12 year old. But with our latest announcement, one
of our kiddos wasn’t so thrilled, saying we had enough kids.
We had some good talks…and didn’t rush or force it.
We are all in agreement now.
And for me…the biggest struggle would be the dang paperwork…
AND trying to prepare for such a big jump in population.

***********

Have you made our reservation at the funny farm in Maui yet? I'm getting anxious. That's my only question.

Patty…currently, I am in negotiations regarding
our grass skirts & coconut tops.
And I’m insisting on umbrellas in every drink at every meal.
I think the deal will be sealed soon.
Pack your sunscreen, girl.

********




This post exhausted me.
Just so you know.

oh, it's fine. it's fine.

I'm working on my post to answer all your
fascinating questions.
Some of you are crazy, btw.


But for now,
I wanted to tell you that Macy and I had a rare
opportunity to go shopping all
by ourselves last night.
Woo!

We hit Arepostale pretty hard 'cause the sale was amazing.

So as we were walking out the door I said,
"Macy...I'm a little worried that I'm too old to be wearing
Arepostale t-shirts...what do you think?"

Macy,
"Oh, it's fine. It's fine."

However, that's exactly what she said the other
night at a basketball game when she dropped one of her
nacho chips on the floor, picked it up...starred at it a second,

And said,

"Oh, it's fine. It's fine."

Then ate it.


Soooo, I'm still uncertain about the t-shirts.
But for $3.99 each, I think I'll just live on the edge.

q & a

As I type this the girls and I are bowling in our living room
in our pajamas.

Can you think of anything better than that?

Well, it would definitely be better if my feisty five year old wasn't beating me.
Anyway,
our fellas are at a basketball game, far, far away.
We are grateful to be home this time.

Anyhoo...

I really can't think of a thing to blog about.

What consumes my time and energy these days are the flaming hoops
of these adoptions.
I'm about worn slick.
But, I must press on because it's what I do.

God bless Heidi at WACAP.
I tell you what,
that woman deserves some sort of award for dealing
with the likes of me.

My beauty school education didn't give me much help
in the department of common sense.

Not that anything in this process makes sense.

It sure doesn't.

So, something that kinda bugs me regarding my blog is...
(Sorry... for whatever reason I am quickly changing the subject, as you can tell. Stay with me.)

I often have people ask me questions...but I don't always know how or
where to respond if I don't have their email address.
I usually assume they won't check back to see if I left a comment
about their comment (question).

Is anyone still following me here?
Or even reading to this point?

Anyway,
I will make this an official Q & A post.

Anything you want to ask me,
ask away.

Well, be nice.
Please.

If there are any freaky stalkers out there, I'd just assume
not hear from you.

But I'd like to believe that none of you are freaky.

So....

ask away!!

Oh and I'll start with this.

Jean asked me:
(I love Jean, don't you?)

"Since you are getting TWO boys now,
who will be traveling?"

Answer:
Probably just Kelly (husband extraordinaire).
Though Brenden may possibly go
if the timing and MONEY is right.

Money, being key.

I have pretty much resolved that I am not going on this
apparent all-boys trip.

And quite frankly,
even though I desperately hate to miss out on seeing China for a third time,
AND meeting my newest studly men on the spot,
I am truly at peace about staying home.
The plane ride nearly kills me.
Kills me!!
And jet lag...lags on for weeks for me.
Weeks!!

So I see many advantages to me staying home.
Even though I will desperately
miss my handsome groom like you'll never know.
We have barely even been apart of more than about 3 nights.
I hope we survive.
Sigh.

Ok, I digress.


Focus, Lori, focus.

Ask me questions...if you have any.
If you don't,
well, that's fine too.



I think it's time to end this.


Q & A,

Go.

a generous fundraiser {gorgeous jewelry}

I've made an executive decision.

Yes, I've given myself that authority.

After all, I'm CEO of Household Management...
and that enables me to pull the trigger
on many things.

So, I decided to post pics publicly of our new boys.
If our agency asks me to remove them,
well fine.
I will.

Most of you have already seen our fellas already
but here you go...

Isaiah Jack.
4 years old.

Elijah Andrew
12 years old.
He's the one on the left.
And this is an older pic of him but I love it so much.

And something else
super big to announce to you,

my dear friend Sharla is doing an amazingly generous
fundraiser for us.

Gasp!

I'll never get over the extreme generosity of the adoption
community.

She designs and creates the most stunningly gorgeous
jewelry.

Please go visit her site!

And to make it even more interesting,
Sharla's aunt spent some precious time in Macy and Elijah's orphanage
ministering to the kids there.
Love that!

our weekend {in review}

Guess what we did this weekend?

Go ahead...
I'll give you one guess.

Wow, you are so smart!
Basketball.


But I just couldn't seem to capture any fabulous
action shots of my player.
However, the fans
were especially gorgeous....

Macy and my mom.
Two of the most devoted and loyal fans you will ever meet.
Who know almost nothing about basketball.

I'll let you discern for yourself Lucy's mood at this moment.

In between games...
we were a little on the lazy side.
Just the way it should be.

Is there any better place to be,
than in the strong embrace of your favorite man?

And Mr. Brenden.
Showboating his new college tee.
"EU Loves Newbies"
And that smile means this t-shirt also represents his
acceptance to this great school.

I hope your weekend was great too!

LOA, baby!

LOA!

Yep, we're plugging right along.

Now we've got to jump through some more hoops,
do a few other circus-like tricks...

then we'll be well on our way to our boys!


Check out my private blogs to see additional info and
new PICS!

the ugly issue of abandonment

I'm curious to hear from you about how you've
dealt with your daughter (or son)
on the issue of their abandonment.

Lucy was abandoned at birth...or a few days after,
and we adopted her when she was 2 1/2.
She had a wonderful foster family who took great care of her
and spoiled her rotten (thanks a lot for that).
But she has zero memories of any of it.

The subject of China is very much a daily topic for us,
mainly because of Macy.
So because of that, Lucy loves to talk about China...
that we came to get her on an airplane, adopted her,
on and on she goes,
recounting the story just as we have told her.

I remind her once in a while that she had a Chinese mama
that carried her in her tummy.
She knows what that means...but I'm not sure it really clicks with
her that that really happened.

And though I've gently told her the fact that she was
abandoned, it just goes right over her head.

Honestly, when I stop to think about it myself,
I cringe...the thought of my Lucy-bug being anywhere without
me is chilling.
I guess because I just can't imagine my life without her
and I can't fathom the fact that she was ever left
alone, defenseless.

And even though Lucy has attached to us quite nicely,
she still has behavior that to me, points to
insecurity of being left behind.
(I really think this mainly comes from being taken from her foster mom)


I guess my point to this post is,
I realize that this will be an issue for her to some degree,
someday.

And I'd love to know how you've handled it.

How do you help a child deal with that ugly reality?

peace and serenity {the answer}

Would you like to know how to achieve complete peace
and serenity in your home?




Give everyone their own electronic device.

Look how precious they are.
Leaving Mommy alone.
Leaving each other alone.

Macy, nice face.
Get back to your game, would you?
I told the nice people that you were leaving mommy alone.

By the way, Macy is addicted to Wheel of Fortune on her DS.
I count it as an English lesson.

So there you have it.

A precious glimpse at our quality family time together.
The bonding was enormous.



Don't judge me.

something new {not}

This is a boring post to most of you, I know.

I know!

But, this is life as I know it right now.
Basketball.
More and more and more basketball.

I saw a momentary glimmer of respite coming this weekend,
with zero games on the schedule.
But apparently our Athletic Director couldn't stand for that.
And scheduled last-minute games for
both Friday and Saturday.

Thank you for that.
(Said with a bitter and sarcastic tone)

So anyway,
last night we had a couple great games.

And here are the pics.

Don't you love Nick's,
"I'm a big bear so I'm going to block your shot" pose?

Air, baby, AIR.
And if you look just under the H and C on the wall to the left,
you'll see Lucy, Macy, my dear husband and my parents.
It's the only pic I got of them so enjoy it.

A three.
Another three.

A quick steal and down the court he went.

Alright that's all.
I'm so sorry.

If you're reading this then that means you indulged me,
and I greatly appreciate that.
You are the best.

Now leave me a nice comment, at least to let me know you
were here.
I do so love to hear from you.

Oh and nine inches of snow is on the way.
That pretty much guarantees some sort of fun blog post,
depending on who gets snowed in with us.

patty {so funny}

I really have nothing to blog about today.

EXCEPT to tell you that you simply must go over to
Patty's blog
and read her latest adventure with her newest non-English speaking teenager.

The hilarity just never ends.

adoption update

Well, I don't have a whole lot to report to you,
in fact,
all I can say is that we are still waiting on our LOA
for Little Mister
(Isaiah Jack)
(Already have it for our big boy)
(Elijah Andrew)

Sigh.

Our agency thought for sure it would come right away and
that our process would only be slowed down
by a few weeks.

Sigh.

It's looking like it will be longer.

We so wanted to get the boys in March.
Now I'm praying for April.

April would be good, yes?

I'm also praying for God's provision.
Adoption is expensive, as you know.
And two?
Ummm, wow.

But God!!

I plan to do some sort of fundraiser but not sure what yet.

But if by chance you are itching to donate,
Who am I to stop you?
:)

You can donate via Paypal and use my email address:
loriatjoyunspeakable@yahoo.com

If you want to.

And don't you worry.
If you do donate, I'll be sure to get you in on any future
giveaways or whatever I end up doing.

You guys are the best.

Now go have yourself a happy Monday!!

Be blessed and be a blessing!!

yay for new bunk beds!

We have been looking for bunk beds for the girls for a really long time.
We were open to getting new or used.
Money was the biggest factor...which is why it took us so long
to find anything good.

We finally found some online at Wal Mart.
Yep, I know what you're thinking.
Wal Mart?

Yes.

The price was fabulous.
They were white, which is what we wanted.
And cute.
Cute is a must with two cute girls.
As you know.

The reviews are what made us pull the trigger.
Great reviews.

The K-man put them together today.
It took around 2 hours,
and probably would have been even less than that had he
not had the help of two Asians and a white woman.

All the pieces were clearly marked and organized.
It was so easy!
(Said the white woman)

So, take a look for yourself!

We're still putting the finishing touches on the room,
but I had to go ahead and tell ya'll about it!

The girls are so excited!

Hopefully they'll prove to be durable enough over time.
(The beds and the girls)


Click HERE to see them on WM's site.

note to self

Perhaps when your children are old enough to leave
you notes on how they want their laundry
done,
it's time to teach them to do it themselves.




Note to self:
Homeschool project on Monday: Laundry Lessons

our winter entertainment {continued}

Basketball continues to be our winter-long entertainment.

Nick had a game last night.
And one tonight.
It never ends.

Oh well, it's fun!

Here are the girls.
They put on their serious supermodel faces for me.

Lucy was insistent that she go to the concession stand
all by herself to get her dad a bottle of water.

Seriously, Mom, I can do this without you.

But, turns out she did need me because the guys working the
stand didn't bother to look DOWN at their next patron in line.

However, this firecracker isn't easy to go unnoticed for long.

The transaction went smoothly.
I'm thinking I will give her my grocery list and see how she
does. Delegating. I'm learning all about delegating.


A few action pics for your pleasure.
Or should I say, for the grandparents' pleasure.

#14 rocks.

Have a super weekend!

what's for dinner?

Well, if you must know...
we didn't do a lick of school yesterday.

A good mom knows how to pick her battles.

But today, we're back at it.
Waaaaahh.

Sorry I don't have any fun pics for you.
I'm so boring that way.

We really didn't do anything exciting yesterday worthy of photos.
LAZY.
WONDERFUL.



Well, I gotta go now.

Sorry so short.
And uninteresting.



Oh, but just to ensure that someone leaves a comment or two...
what are you fixing for dinner tonight?

I need some fresh ideas.

sensible mom {bahahaha}

As I type this,
I have a battle going on inside me.

Giddy-inner-child vs. Sensible-mom

You see,
I am facing another snow day today.


Another day of this...

and this.

But hopefully not this...

**Boys making cookies**
Paying little attention to the recipe.
Or kitchen etiquette.

But they had fun.
And I must admit, the cookies were delicious.



So we'll see what today brings.
Maybe I'll talk my girlies into going outside.
Oh wait...it's me who needs
to be talked into that.

Or maybe Sensible Mom will prevail and we'll get some school work
done.

Bahahahaha.

That's funny.

Nickerdoodle

We're in the middle of a snowing frenzy here.
And even though last year's incredibly long, white winter lasted forever
(leaving me longing for Maui),
I am loving it!

School is out.
Yes, even homeschool.

I'm not only an incredibly fun mom, but also blast of a teacher.



Last night we had a semi-fun evening.
Just keepin' it real, folks.
It was a tad on the boring side, I'm not gonna lie.

But we still managed to do a few exciting things.

Macy tried to teach Kelly some Chinese.
Look how much fun they're having!

Are those daggers coming from Macy's eyes?And now that January is in full swing,
I figured it was time to make our Christmas cookies.

Yes, I know...I'm a slacker.
And I'm pretty sure I've violated Proverbs 31 for not being
more timely about it.


Oh, and you'll never guess who the number one kid was who wanted
the above mentioned cookies.

Nickerdoodle!

He turned from this soft-cookie-hearted guy quickly, however,
when I took this pic.

With threats, even.

But I'm confident he doesn't ever read my blog so I feel safe.
Though please do check in on me over the next 24 hours, would you?

Lucy had the most fun.
Poor little cookie cutey,
Mama only had green food coloring.
How in the world did I ever get approved for adoption
with this kind of neglect?

Merry Christmas!
Or something like that.

big boys

The Eagles had a super sweet victory tonight.
Twice over.
JV kicked some batooty....as did Varsity.

The fans get really into it.
And as I told you before, Brenden is their ring-leader.

I positively love how he roots for his little bro.
Golly, I love my biggest boy.

Oh, but sometimes he's distracted.

Gee, I wonder why?

Here's my 3-pointer extraordinaire.

And a quick steal and he's down the court in a flash.
Golly I love my next-biggest boy.

I can't stand the fact that high school is almost over for these
two great young men.
They are priceless treasures to me.

They make me laugh till I might pee my pants.
I think I'm going to consider home-college-schooling them.
I'm doubtful that they will go for that.

Now if you'll excuse me as I go have a big ol' ugly cry.
Booohooohooo.

cell phone pic saturday {and lucy-bug has a bug}

Lucy-bug woke up with a bug.
Ugh.

The first thing she said to me this morning was,
"I can't see! I can't see!!"

Well,
I was a tad panic-stricken wondering what could have
blinded my baby in the night.

But uhhh, then I realized that her little almond-shaped eyes were
filled with glue-like sleep.

Poor little darlin'.

Fever.
Achy legs.
Cough.

Shivers.
Me...I have the shivers with the thought of
my little drama queen
having the flu
over the next few days.

No, it can't be.
It is just a 12 hour bug, right?
It must be.
It has to be.

Ok, so while she's asleep on the couch at the moment,
I thought I'd post something.

But what?
I do not know.

So I skimmed through my cell phone pics to find anything
the least bit interesting.

Didn't find much.

But here ya go.



This was a few months ago when Nick and Lucy discovered the ground
moving across the yard.
A mole, no doubt, caught in action.
They were both fascinated and picked and prodded at him (or her).
They never actually saw it but had fun anyway.

And here is a pic of me cutting my bloggy friend, Gayly's hair.
Sorry, Gayly...but I thought it was a cute pic
that Lucy took of us as she looked into the mirror.
Gayly lives just a couple hours away from me and we were tickled to
get a chance to get together and chat (and get a new do) over Christmas break.

Well, that's all, folks.

Happy Saturday!