My friend Stephanie introduced me to this song on her blog. It's a tear-jerker, but it so precious and close to our hearts. Check it out...it's in the playlist at the bottom right side of my blog. It's by Third Day and it's called "Merry Christmas"
(The picture is fuzzy because I turned off my flash... have you ever seen an artificial tree in the bright lights of a flash? It's not a pretty sight! :)
We spent the weekend decking our halls. It really is a full-weekend job (and that's just for the inside - we did the outside lights last weekend). I know I have too much Christmas stuff (if that's possible). I just can't help myself. It's a yearly high - browsing through all the aisles of garland and ornaments and trinkets! It's all just so cute! We have discovered a down side to one of the many clever Christmas inventions, however. The prelit tree is not all it's cracked up to be. Granted, it is 6 years old this year, but only two SMALL sections of the lights still work. We recycled white lights from last year to use on the rest of the tree. It looked amazing - nice even lighting. I put on all the garland (we have lots) and we had just started on the ornaments, when ALL of the lights just went out. We spent all morning trying to figure out the culprit, and finally had to take everything off, buy new lights, and start over. Ugghhh! We finally got it done though. The boys love getting out all the ornaments and remembering the trips and events they signify. They waited so patiently all day (mostly patient, anyway!). We are looking forward to a great Christmas season with the boys - our last as a foursome. Yippee!
Well, about as white as we get around here. It snowed today! Yes, it was brief, and no, it didn't accumulate. But snow is always a big celebrity around here no matter how insignificant! I took this in our backyard...
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am overwhelmed when I think of all I have been blessed with. We all have so much to be thankful for. In honor of Thanksgiving, here is my list:
- God. His goodness and faithfulness I can't begin to fathom.
- Scott and the boys. I am thankful at the end of each day that I got to spend one more day with them! Life is such a precious thing, and life with ones you love is priceless.
- friends. Friends that have stuck with me through it all - those are true gifts, like finding a rare jewel.
- sister. I have the best sister, who is also my friend!
- grandparents. I am thankful for the wisdom they bring to me, and for the joy and mentoring they bring to my boys.
- adoption. That God would choose us for something so close to his heart is truly humbling. We are so blessed (and we can't wait!)
- Hot chocolate. From Starbucks especially. Do they have a Starbucks in Kiev?
- Quiet. I am so thankful at the end of the day, when the dishes are done and everyone is asleep, and I enjoy the quiet. Ahhhhhh!
- Boys. With a husband who doesn't enjoy putting Christmas lights on the house, I am thankful that the Lord gave me two boys who, in a few years, will be GREAT at it! :)
- Decorating a little girl's room. I was meant to have a girl. It's just too much fun. (Counting the days to bring her home...have I mentioned that?)
- Chips and guacamole. Thank you Lord, for the avocado!
- Chilled chardonnay. Mmmm.
- Home. I am so thankful for my home. After living in it for about 7 years, it is now just the way we want it, and I love being home. We have great neighbors, too.
- Girly movies. I mean the real deal - Jane Austin, Gone with the Wind, Wuthering Heights. They just take my breath away. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era.
- Musicals. At the movies or on Broadway, they are one of life's sheer joys.
- The beach. My favorite non-person thing that God made. What a gift to the world - the turquoise waters, the entertainment of the dancing waves, the smell of salt water...
- Cheesecake Factory trips with my girlfriends. After a trying day with the kids, these nights are a little piece of heaven (as is the Dulce de Leche cheesecake)
- Freedom. Thank you to my cousin Luke and the rest of our armed forces. God protect and bless you all.
- Vacations. Nothing more to say about that. Ahhhhhh.
- Gateway Church. What an amazing. life-changing place.
- Answered prayers.
- Target. What would I do without Target?
- Tinker Toys, Star Wars, and Playmobil...the star toys in our house. How else would I ever get anything done?
- Days that end in "Mommy, I wuv you".
I know there are many more things...but I'm off to watch a movie with my sweet hubby. What are you thankful for?
People always ask if we have a name yet for our future daughter, and we now have one. Drumroll....................................
Christmas! I know it's early, but I just can't help myself. The combination of a cold front and our great news of receiving our appointment date just put me in the holiday spirt!
To my hubby...don't worry, I promise to give Thanksgiving the attention in deserves. :)
March 12th!!!!! We got the email today from our facilitator - we will be spending Spring Break in Ukraine (and then some). We are so excited! Maybe it won't be so cold. :)
If everything goes as planned, here's how it works: on March 12th, we will be presented with files of children to choose from. We will need lots of prayer here as the age/gender/health bracket we are requesting is often difficult (we are requesting a girl under 5, healthy to mild, correctable health conditions). We will choose a child to visit and within a day or so, head out to the orphanage where she lives. This could be a car drive away, or a multi-hour train ride - it just depends on which region she is in. Once we meet her, we decide to officially accept the referral and begin the legal adoption process. If for some reason, we feel we cannot adopt her, we can request another appointment at the SDA (this could take several days). We are praying that the Lord will lead us to our daughter the first time! It takes several days to get a court date set. Once we have court, and the judge approves our adoption, there is a 10-day waiting period before we can take custody of her. Scott (and probably me too) will come home during this time. Then the return trip to pick her up and get her visa and passport takes a few days
. It's possible to be home with our daughter within a month, but there are lots of potential delays, so it could easily be longer. We are praying for no delays - I know it's going to be hard to be away from the boys for so long! Anyway, that's pretty much the "nutshell" version of what we will be doing in Ukraine. Do you remember Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? It will be like that - but in Russian! :)
I had the best dream last night! We were waiting in line at the SDA office in Kiev (State Department of Adoption). There were tons of families there in line and it was a slow wait. Finally, we were led to a desk where 2 women were waiting for us. They were very friendly and told us they had 2 files to show us. One was a 2 1/2-year-old little girl. In the picture, she had blonde hair, a big smile, and was wearing a faded leotard (she was posing like a ballerina). The other little girl was a beautiful 5-year-old with brown hair, freckles, and big blue eyes. We stared at the pictures for a long time, then looked at the rest of the information. I saw on the first girl's file it stated "diphtheria" under her medical conditions. Scott and I realized that we had forgotten to research medical terms and we didn't have a clue what it meant. Oops! About that time I woke up. I layed there for a long time, trying to go back to sleep so I could continue the dream (have you ever done that?). It didn't work, but can still see the pictures of those little girls so clearly in my mind! I have been giddy all day - just getting a little glimpse of what the miracle of adoption must feel like. We are so ready to hear about our appointment date. We are even more ready to meet our daughter and bring her home. Until then, I'll be hoping to see her in my dreams!
By the way...I did research Diphtheria today. It is an infection that affects the respiratory system. It is serious, but completely treatable. (says orphandoctor.com). I guess we need to get on that medical research!! :)
If you haven't seen this video clip, check it out. It's also on the right-hand side of my blog...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reTJ_28J6K0
I know there are many people (my husband included) that are against celebrating Christmas in any way before Thanksgiving. He believes that it takes away from Thanksgiving and that you're tired of Christmas by the time it actually happens. I understand that - I really do. The whole "too much of a good thing" thing. These are also the people who have no desire to peek at their presents early, they are savers, not spenders, they can pass up dessert from time to time. These people have mastered the art of delayed gratification. I am not one of these people. When I get excited about something, I am full-steam ahead. I'm the one that fights the urge to put on the Christmas music the first time it gets below 60 degrees. I can't resist a Christmas sale after Halloween. I start shopping early, not because I want to get it done, but because I love it and can't wait! I slowly sneak little Christmas items out before Thanksgiving (I think I'll get out the Christmas dishes today - hehe!). Though I appreciate the concept of delayed gratification, I'm just no good at it. The good new is, I know I'm not alone in my thinking - many share my excitement for decking the halls early...Hobby Lobby, ToysRUs, and Walmart to name a few!
Halloween is officially over and it was a grand success! As usual, we are exhausted and overrun with candy, but we had a great time. I have already milled through the boys' candy and picked out all the Almond Joys for myself. Mmmm. Our neighborhood puts on a little Halloween festival every year and it takes place in our cul-de-sac. A great time was had by all!
Check out the galaxy of Star Wars characters!
