Twelve Years

Twelve years ago, a miraculous thing happened.
This beautiful girl was born into the world.

Everyone gets their banner.

Erika and her friend, Sophie, dished up dinner,
linguine with shrimp alfredo sauce and asparagus.

Camera's out! Mom, take my picture.

"Mom, mom!!! Take me!"

The big kids make and decorate their own cakes now.
I'm over it. I love how proud they are.
Besides, I AM trying to work myself out of a job.

Marble cake with cream cheese frosting, yum!

Getting every last bit.

Some girlfriend fun!

Love her kind of fun!

A whole package of candles this year.

Dad did the lighting honors....
with one match!

She's adorable.

In one breath!

Erika is a treasure. She understands the depths of the human soul way beyond anything I will ever experience. She has suffered, lost, and gained more than I will in a lifetime. Erika has the hope that will last for all Eternity. She wants to share that with others. Love this girl, desperately.

Is It Here Yet?

I sent her out to check the mail at 9:44.

She came back empty handed.

I sent her out again at 10:44.
I get a kick out of these driveway pictures
because they all show the house that we used to live in.
Yes, we moved across the street.

She is walking really slow.

I shout, "Is there a big white package?"

Looks like there is.

It came!!!

The home study arrived.

And then they went,
to the Secretary of State,
and to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

I was nervous, taking all of it to the post office.
I checked, double checked, and triple checked.
As I drove away, I wondered if I had put stuff in the right envelopes.
Gone now.
Feels good to have everything on its way and out of my hands.
Praying for favor.
Really happening.
Oh my goodness.

Blind Side

When will I ever learn?

Maybe never, which keeps life interesting.

Anyway, something came out of our home study process.

One of our kids is worried.

We did check in with everyone when we thought about adding another child to our family.

We talked about the medical condition of our China guy.

One of my sensitive children has been worried about him.

About him dying.

One of our sensitive children is having a hard time.

Dwelling on it.

The fact is that our son's heart condition is very serious.

Probably inoperable, leaving his future uncertain.

What amazes me most is that it didn't matter to Bob and I.

Well, it did matter, of course, but it wasn't at the top of the list.

That is how sure we were.

God defies logic.

I wish I had caught the worry sooner.

Kids with traumatic backgrounds require diligence, more thought, lots of planning.

I often forget to let them know about upcoming events that will rock their world.

Which happens just about every day.

Learning.

Still.

Cows, Flowers, and Lunch

It is starting to happen more frequently.

Too many events scheduled on the same day.

My kids choose to give up a 4-H day and go to Lindsey's competition at her college to show their support. What a crew. We had a very nice family day although a bit cool, hats and mittens a must. Lindsey was definitely supported and represented in the stands.
We started at the horse show and then went to the open house at the green houses to warm up and get a hot dog. The plants were beautiful and how pleasant to see vibrant colorful blooms when the landscape at home is bound to be completely white for awhile.
Bad luck with cameras today. My battery was dead in my good camera. I rarely check it. Then my phone died which takes mediocre pictures anyway.
My brother and his son stopped by to share in the moment and he took pictures. Lindsey also had the foresight to give her camera to one of her friends. Whew! I was worried.
The show was all about fitting and showmanship. The students were judged on how well they prepared their heifer in cleanliness, training, and trimming, as well as handling in the ring.
A proud moment. Lindsey placed first in her class! Hard work pays off.
Lindsey and her heifer, Pesto, earned the call back for the championship class against the other top finishers.
A second proud moment when she got Reserve Champion. The other guy has been showing cows for 10 years.
She said she had a lot of fun and would like to do that more.
Congratulating the winner. Although she is a winner in our eyes no matter what.
After all that excitement, we took the collegiate out to dinner at Olive Garden and we all feasted. No doggy bags for this family.

A great family day. Thank you, Lindsey, for letting us share your day.

Breakfast, Fingers, Big Sister, Adoption

Around here we take turns making breakfast.

Actually, I haven't made breakfast for years, at least not very often.

Everyone has their specialty.

Erik makes tremendous French toast, banana smoothies, and muffins.

Erika can put pancakes up like there's no tomorrow.

Kloey pours a mean box of cereal.

This morning Cora graced us with her cheese omelets.

Look what was going on while breakfast was simmering.

The owner of the small pink finger was proud to show momma.

Matching.

The culprits.

Oh, the joy of big sisters.

Speaking of big sisters, here was Cora's statement about the adoption.

"I feel good about the adoption. I am excited for a child to have a home and am excited to have another sibling. I want that child to feel good like I felt good when I was adopted. I like rice and and am happy that we will eat that more often when we have a child from China."

Don't you just love her?

Trey tells everyone that the boy in the picture on the fridge doesn't have a mother.

Amazingly astute for a three year old.

I admire my adopted kids for the depth of understanding that they possess.

They are the best thing that could have happened to each other.

And to me.

Home Study Update

Power of prayer, indeed.

Our social worker is a champ.

She worked her fingers to the bone.

Today, our home study is:

Cannot wait to have it in hand to send to immigration.

I linked up to Linny's blog last week
asking for prayer for our adoption.
Apparently, it works.
Prayer.
Big Smile.

Road Trip

On the road today with me and my gang.

To get this:

She threw the last one away or lost it or something.

While we were out, we decided to
attack some spring shopping en masse.

My poor waifs are practically shoeless.

And unfortunately it's not quite time for bare feet yet.

While we were in the store, we had to have some fun.

Micah started it.

After 1 - 2 - 3 - 4- 5 - 6 stores
looking for appropriate shoes,
we made a dent in our list.
The $3 rack supplied some cutsie shoes for the girls.

They talked me into mudboots.
A super investment this time of year.
I was so happy to find 4 different colors.
These things matter.

The boys were excited to get new sandals.And just because they are cute.

A good day.