Two Day Labor of Love

There were those that donated items.....

There were those that shopped

and shopped....

And then there were those that worked.....


and sorted and kept kids...

and worked tirelessly......

slept outside or attempted to sleep, sunburned day 1,
hauled items and still came back day 2

Insert here : Picture of my Mother who watched kids, sorted and helped run around collecting items....



and just when your body feels like it can't go anymore. You wake up Easter morning and this is what you receive via email....

and this one just melted my heart... What two-day, exhausting, nerve rattling at times yard sale did we just do?

My baby girl is one day closer to coming home. We decided we would start our yard sale fundraiser on Good Friday versus just Santuck Saturday. Boy, did we strike gold. We couldn't even get the trailers unloaded before people started to swarm around us. We literally just had to put items out all day and have people shop out of unpacked boxes. It was so awesome. All I have to say is every person who donated, no matter how little or how big of an item, it all added up in a HUGE way. By the end of day one, we were sunburned, walking zombies and just prayed for the energy to get up at 5 a.m. the next morning and do it again. The guys spent the night in a tent at the yard sale site. Between the frogs croaking, semi trucks swishing by and a couple of heavy snoring, I'm not sure if it was legal for them to drive the following morning but they all hung in there. We raised a total of $3,200 at the end of day 2. All I could say is WOW! One person's junk is surely another's treasure add a little sprinkle of God's blessing poured on top of that and it was beyond expectations.

DISCLAIMER: There are so many that are not pictured that helped out with donating items and helping us that I would be here all night listing them. A huge hug to each of you.




EASTER 2010

Our annual corner of the house portrait. Chaning will fit nicely in front of her oldest brother next Easter.

Poppy and Julia

He always was a sucker for the "Golden Egg"

Julia found the hardest hidden egg of the day

Olivia, Carson and Julia

Daddy & Mommy

I think she went through everyone's basket before they woke up

Carson missed the hair brushing session Easter morning

Carson

Matthew

Julia

My babies are growing up too fast.

Spring Break Backwards

Ended the week with a t-ball game. Carson wore his glove on his head

more than on the ground.

"Z" waiting for approval to swing.

I think he might have been running the wrong way. Do you think
he cares?


"A" was the first batter of the game.

Little smile at the zoo park

Could my oldest really be hitting the 6' mark?

Can you be goofy?

This is a major milestone in our zoo life. Chase actually climbed the rock

beside the lion cage.

Yes, we had 11 more pups. Almost all are sold already!!!

Julia was our model for our website.

Matthew trying to hold up his 4lb bass.

Julia loves Mr. Matt

Playing at a friend's bday party.

Are you ready for the slopes, T?

Yes, I do have an upper lip. Not too sure where it went for this picture.

Tim and I took a trip WITHOUT the kids with our Sunday school

class to NC for some skiing. Never done it before. Will probably not do it

again. Going down a hill 90 mph with no brakes is not my cup of tea.

So where are we now? We are trying to get used to waking up at 6 a.m. again and getting everyone back into their regular routine. Only 9 more weeks until summer break hits. I don't think I can afford the food that these kids take in when they are not in school. Yikes! I better start plowing the ground for fresh veggies.

We are on day 54 of our wait for our LOA. We hope to get it in the next couple of weeks. That would put us traveling in June. We are getting closer and it seems like our time is flying by, right now. It seems like this year is flying by. We are at the stage of raising the orphanage fees. Yard sale is in less than two weeks and spent yesterday loading stuff on ebay.

Almost Back to Normal

There is still a lot of swelling
Hasn't stopped her from wearing her finest to school

Carson caught with his hand in the froot loop bag

Whatcha talkin 'bout momma?

Tomorrow will be one week since Julia's surgery. She is doing great. The bruising seems to be at a minimum this time in comparison to her last surgery. She asks each morning if her "nose is gone now", meaning is it better yet. She asks this right before she asks the question, Will Chaning be here in three weeks? She is so ready to be a big sister again. Tonight, she let me put a little peroxide on her nose. This is supposed to remove some of the blood clots formed on the stitches. She is still hypersensative about anything touching her nose at this point, so it may be a while before the blood boogers are gone.

We appreciate all the emails, calls and her favorite today- a card from her PandaPal group including some stickers. This will be Julia's last cleft revision surgery until she is much older and decides that she might want something additional. That was wonderful news to our ears. She has been through so much in her short time on this earth and whatever pain or sadness we can block from coming her way, this momma is there. Although, I think she can hold her own as she keeps blossoming into a kind, strong and very considerate blessing from God.

We spent Saturday at our local park due to the beautiful weather we had. Yes, it was around 70 without the wind making it feel like 50. It was a wonderful day and we ended it by going birthday shopping for Chaning. Each child was able to pick something out for their sister. We hope to send her second care package by Monday. Hopefully, she will get it in time for her birthday.

We are closing in on day 40 of our wait for our LOA. I cannot believe it has already been 40 days since our LID...unbelievable. I so hope we receive it within the next 30 days. I know the long wait will be the 8 weeks following that waiting to travel. It is starting to feel so real here lately. There seems to be that point in an international adoption where you are doing no paperwork, you see God providing the means for the adoption and you just can breathe and that's when the reality of what is about to take place sets in. It is a wonderful feeling with a lot of excited included in that.

We cannot thank those enough that have reached out to us whether by donating your time, prayers or money to help us get to where we are today. I am just speechless each time we are sent an updated spreadsheet from LifeSong showing our current donations. Chaning is so loved.