He's 9!

Amarin turned the "Big 9" today.

Seems like his birthday has been going on for a couple of weeks now...a family party for both him and Char two weeks ago, then we celebrated over the weekend since Jamie wasn't going to be available today, and then we celebrated today, too!

Today, I took all 4 kids bowling, and then out for Mexican food.

We had a lot of fun, and Amarin was all grins as they put the HUGE hat on his head and sang Happy Birthday to him. Would have been really nice to have my camera there, too.

I forgot.

Again.

This was our little celebration last weekend. He was very happy just with a Star Wars birthday card. Star Wars rules in this household...well, with the guys, anyway. Me? I fall asleep.

Jacob made cut out guys (paper dolls, but don't tell them I called them that)

and backgrounds from the Bible.

A new music bag for his piano lessons.

And new golf clubs! This fall, the boys chose to play golf with their Dad instead of soccer.

Amarin loves to draw and to work in sticker books.

Oooh...we could do this, too, Jacob.

Ummm...yep...my boys.

Enough foolin' around...time to get down to business!

Drum Roll, Please

Thank you to everyone who entered our Kindle drawing. This was fun!

And we have a winner!

Amarin drew the name.

We figured that was the most fair since he's not able to read many names yet.

So, without further delay...

the winner is...

Becky Reilly!

Congratulations, and happy reading!

What is Large?

So, what is the definition of a large family? I don't know...I used to think 4 kids was a large family. Now, it doesn't seem that big. 5 seems like a big family, but once Jenna's home, maybe that won't seem so large after all. Sometimes when we're around families with just a couple kids, I feel like we're crazy (literally) big...with kids running in every direction. I mean, Jamie and I are seriously outnumbered, and the older we get, the quicker they get!

But we've never been called "big." Until yesterday. And it wasn't even spoken out loud. No...it was in the form of writing. You see, when Jamie and I bought our first house, we bought a new kitchen table and chairs...4 chairs...which seemed ample enough. Ahem. Eleven years and almost 5 kids later, we do not have enough chairs. Luckily, at least we bought a table that expanded!

So, my friendly UPS man delivered the solution yesterday...2 kitchen table benches. We now will have plenty of room to seat our 7 person family. And as Jacob calculated, there is still room for the brother and sister he wants to adopt from Africa. Love that kid's heart! Just wish my pocket book was as deep as his heart!

So, here it is. "great for large families."

I guess this means we are officially LARGE!

Our Only Hope

I know my sweet friend, Cheryl, will not mind that I'm "copying" her blog post today. What an awesome video that speaks so clearly of the need in America today. Certainly, we have seen another turnover in our government in the past 24 hours, and I pray that these men and women who will hold office will do all in their power to uphold the Constitution and Godly values.

2 More Days

We are very thankful to those who have responded to our KINDLE raffle. The drawing is in 2 more days, so if you haven't had a chance to enter, click HERE for the details. Basically, for every $5.00 donated (use our Chipin), you earn one entry in the drawing. You can also earn an entry by blogging about the raffle, or putting it on FB. Let me know if you do so I can put your name in the drawing! Be sure to check back on Nov. 4th to see if you won!

Four Years Ago...

...we met our little Charlie for the first time in southern Taiwan. What an amazing experience...quite different from China in that we knew about most of his birth family, and had been sent monthly updates with photos and developmental milestones from the time we were approved to adopt him. What a treasure to have so much information to share with him as he grows. He was obviously loved by his birth family, as well as the nannies that cared for him during the year he spent in the orphanage. We are so grateful to all of them for giving him such a sweet start in life. He has been the baby for the past four years. We're excited to see him soon with his new little sister...experiencing adoption from a whole new perspective as he travels to China with us. We love you, buddy!

My baby's 5!

My baby boy turned 5 today...a full hand of fingers. That's a pretty big deal!

Charlie won't be the baby for long, so we're going to let him soak it up while he still holds the title!

Not that Char's one to sit back and let the world fly by him. Oh, no. I've never seen anyone with the zest for life that he has! He runs...and runs...full force to embrace every opportunity he can. He has the physical strength of a bull, the speed of a cheetah, the business of a bee, the energy of an ant, the stubborness of a mule, the heart of a lamb, and the cleverness and silliness of a little monkey!

With our Char, there is never a dull moment...not since we met him on Oct. 31, 2006...the day after his very first birthday. Even in those those first few days, we saw his personality...the insistance of playing by the toilet no matter how many times we moved him away, the determination to feed himself sticky rice only to leave a sticky mess for the waiters...and all over himself, and the speed at which he could climb on top of tables in the hotel room! And his tender heart that broke as he was handed to me, and had to leave his favorite nanny at the only home he ever knew. The nannies told us how intelligent he was...one of the most intelligent babies they had ever met. We understand now.

And every day I thank God for the way He made our little Charlie. And every day I pray that God will use all of those strong character traits for a mighty work for Him. Earlier this year, Charlie gave his heart to Jesus, and we're watching closely the way God is directing his path.

Charlie, we love you so much! You have added a special spark to our family...one we never knew we were missing. You have a zest for life that not many possess, and that's something so valuable and precious. I can't wait to see where God leads you, and how you're going to grow into a mighty warrior for Him.

Happy 5th birthday, sweet boy!

Gimmie 5

ARTICLE 5, THAT IS!

It was released today!

It's Here!

No, not our Article 5.

I think someone ate it.

Or it's buried on someone's desk who doesn't realize how

much we wanted to bring Jenna home yesterday!

So, what's here?

It's our first online raffle item!

Why the raffle? To raise funds for our travel to China.

We just got word that because of the Asia games happening in Guangzhou,

prices could double for transportation and hotels. Ouch!

And, when newbies visit the blog, perhaps their hearts will be touched for the orphan.

So, are you ready?

THE KINDLE

from Amazon.

It just arrived today, and it's ready for some heavy-duty reading, my friends.

So, here's the scoop of how you can enter the raffle.

1. For every $5.oo donated through our Chip-In, your name goes into the raffle 1 time.

2. If you mention this raffle on your blog, and link to this post, you get one entry.

3. If you faceb**k this raffle, with a link to this post, you get one entry.

Be sure you let me know if you blog it or FB it so your name can be entered into the drawing!

Very easy!

And with Christmas around the corner, it's an easy gift for an avid reader!

We will have the drawing on November 4th, so check back to see if you won,

and we'll ship it to you.

Your opinion, please...

I've been chatting with a young lady from my church about international adoption. Her name is Ashlee. She is the sweetest thing! As soon as we step foot into church, she whisks Laura out of our arms, and either chats or they head down together to the preschool room where she sometimes teaches. After church, she reappears, whisks Laura away again, and they go hang out with the teens. It's funny...if I can't find Laura, I know she's with the teens. Girls...they grow up so fast! What a blessing it is to have Ashlee, and some of the other teens, so involved and lovin' on Laura each week!

Anyway, Ashlee is a senior in high school, and has chosen to write a paper on international adoption. She told me how hard it was to narrow down the topic. There is so much information, and so many topics within international adoption! But she did narrow it down, and is writing her paper on whether or not children should have the right to locate their biological parents at some point. We've emailed back and forth and discussed some of the issues involved with this.

The latest question she posed was, what would be the benefit of a child being able to locate their birth parents? The two ideas she has so far is to obtain a medical history and to learn about their heritage.

So, here's my question to you.

Can you think of any other positive reasons for a child to locate their biological parents? Now, this is not a debate, and we're not choosing sides. I'm just trying to help find some more thoughts on this particular question. And what better place to get some feedback than from all of you, many of whom are involved in one way or another with adoption.

So, what do you think? Please share, as I know she'll be reading comments to see what you have to say!

Stay tuned!

We're getting closer each day to Jenna. Yes, I would love to get a phone call tomorrow from our agency saying that our Article 5 has arrived and that our TA miraculously was sent at the same time, and that we can travel ASAP. Yes, that would be nice...unrealistic...but a nice dream. So with a little extra wait time on our hands, we decided to have some fun.

You all know the awesome story of our first-ever adoption fund raiser...the rummage sale, last April. If you didn't hear the awesome way God provided every penny (plus one dollar) that we needed to send two days later, then you should read it HERE and HERE. It was an awesome story...a Memorial Box story if I kept one. But I don't have one...so it's in my bloggy memory!

So now we're getting ready and looking around at hotels and airfare to China, as well as the final payment to our agency that will be due very soon. We've been wanting to do an online fundraising "something," but weren't sure what to do. Some of you have had such great ideas, but it just wasn't clickin' with me. Then two days ago, it came to us, and it should arrive soon. Just in time for Christmas shopping...or whatever shopping. So stay tuned!

How many do you have?

How many do you have? Shoes, that is.

Most of us can probably say that we have some kind of athletic shoe, shoes for church, casual shoes, shoes for summer, maybe some slippers, shoes for doing yardwork, perhaps a pair of cowboy boots, snow boots, or fancy-schmancy-kill-your-feet-party shoes.

There are a ton of stores in which to find them, and usually at decent prices, so buying multiple pairs is not a problem.

And there's certainly nothing wrong with having multiple pairs of shoes!

But since my minivan will be full once Jenna is home, I have to find other outlets to care for the orphans. I found a great one. Shoes for Orphan Souls, which provides new shoes for children who don't have, and most likely have never had, any shoes. Can you imagine walking around in some of those unsanitary conditions, like dumps and sewer waters, with no shoes? Can you imagine the disease that is absorbed into their feet that have been cut by rocks and garbage?

So, our family has organized a shoe/sock drive at our church for the month of November, coinciding with Orphan Sunday and National Adoption Month. These shoes will be shipped somewhere within the U.S., or sent overseas through Buckner International. We were not at church this past Sunday since we had to take Ruffey back to his trainer, but apparently the donations are already coming in at church. We had to get busy preparing our treasure chest for the collection!

The boys colored some paper shoes to decorate the treasure chest.

Then they cut them out...

and finally stuck them all over the treasure chest. Looks like we're ready to go!

Hello??

Hello? Anyone out there see an Article 5 floating around that could possibly belong to us?

A friend had this on her blog as she waits, patiently like me...ahem.

Farewell, Little Buddy

Well, we had to say goodbye to Ruffey today.

We were gone the entire day, driving him back to his trainer, and then back home again.

Ruffey just didn't match up with Laura like it was anticipated, for various reasons.

He's a sweet dog, but just couldn't settle into the work mode for her.

So, per his trainer, they will try to find a home for Ruffey with an elderly couple, perhaps, where there's not so much activity.

He gets to enjoy an early retirement.

So, now we wait.

We want to bring Jenna home and get settled. Then we'll talk with the training facility to get matched with another dog for Laura.

His Soft Heart

Our Amarin...home for 14 months already.

He's not often the focus of the blog.

He's such an easy child...obedient, happy, compliant, funny, and such a servant's heart.

And of all the kids, I think he has the softest heart of all.

He's so sensitive...actually all of our boys are...but Amarin especially.

Just "the look" can envoke tears.

But he's such a funny boy, too. Such a sense of humor, and a contagious laugh.

He loves to help in the kitchen, and wants to fly airplances someday.

I wonder sometimes what his life would be like had he not come home to us.

But God...He knew all along...since before Creation, that Amarin was to be in our family.

That we needed him as much as he needed us.

And that he would be the little brother needing a mentor, and also the big brother with a soft heart for his little siblings.

We are thankful everday for this sweet boy.

Laura's Field Trip

Laura was able to go on her first ever field trip today.

And I got to go with them!

It was the most beautiful, autumn day...

a little crisp in the morning, but we were peeling off the coats as the morning progressed.

Laura has 5 classmates, and 3 teachers.

I drove and met them at the pumpkin patch.

Here they are getting off the bus.

Laura's primary teacher, Ms. Mary, was helping her.

Laura watched the donkey and sheep.

And the corn table...that was a favorite for all of the kids.

Laura was chosen to dress up like a scarecrow.
The worker helped Laura bang the sticks together to "scare away the crows!"

I don't think she realized how much Laura hates anything on her head,

but Laura was a good sport.

Then the kids got to help stuff old clothes with straw to make their own scarecrows!

I think the kids had just as much fun rolling in it, and tossing at others!

OK...who tossed this on me??

This stuff is a little bit pokey!

One of Laura's bigger friends...I think she thought he threw straw on her. Look at that glare!

And a trip to the pumpkin patch would not be complete without cider and donuts.

"Look at mommy, Laura."

No, I'd rather look at you, Ms. Mary!

Laura's teacher is so sweet and patient, and has such a bubbly personality.

We are very blessed that she is Laura's teacher.

The other assistants in the classroom are very sweet, too.

I could tell that they all care so much for these precious children in their care.

Laura in the pumpkin patch.

My pretty little girl.

Laura had a tummy bug yesterday and missed the tailgate party at school...

for the big UofM/MSU game on Saturday.

So, we just had to show our UofM spirit today in honor of Daddy's alma mater!

You're Never Too Old...

for a little friendly competition!

Who can swing the highest?

Is it Charlie?

Or Daddy?


Or Amarin?



Or...nevermind. Jacob, you don't have a chance in that baby swing!

Ok...who can jump the farthest?

Amarin flies off the swing with ease!

There goes Daddy!

Charlie wasn't giving up his swing for anything! He's pumping by himself...too much work to jump off in some silly competition!

Jacob...er...buddy...

Umm...

Are you really stuck?

Seems to me, I recall that expression when you were a baby...

Aha! Empty swings! I think I'll hike it over there before they see me!

Oops. Did you really catch me walking by myself across the grass? Without the braces

on my feet? 'Cause this is something I had you thinkin' I couldn't do even with my braces on...

OK. Not to be outdone...mom fires up a game of monkey-in-the-middle.

We certainly have enough monkeys around here for this game!

I beat ya to it, big brother!

Careful, Char. You'll end up the monkey!

Ah, fun times. We ended the day on another fun note. The kids got to spend time watching movies with their babysitter, and Jamie took me to see Steven Curtis Chapman and Third Day. Caleb opened for them, and his dad joined him on the last song...very cool. And, I was able to chat a bit with Caleb's wife, Julia, about Show Hope. I was hopin' maybe she'd offer to take us backstage since we're adopting. Guess I was too subtle...or too obvious!

One Step Closer

We received an email from Homeland Security that they have issued our next approval...the I800! That means within a couple weeks, that approval will be sitting in the US office in Guangzhou for yet another approval, and then off to the Chinese officials to give us our travel approval!! It can't be long now...you'll definitely be home with your family before Christmas, sweet girl! I just can't wait to kiss those sweet, chubby cheeks!

Back to School

UPDATE: Laura got off the bus with a smile, so her day went well! Phew!

Charlie didn't stop talking for 1/2 hour about his day...I think they'll have a great year!

It was back to school today! I have to say...I was ready for a routine, and I think the kids were, too.

My babies took off first this AM. Their buses picked them up at 7:15, so we were up before daybreak...hence the dark outdoor photos!

Charlie was so excited. Laura...well, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Charlie decided to sit in this chair to wait for his bus. I don't think he realized he wasn't getting curbside service like Laura did over the summer! Notice Laura's still not crackin' a smile.

Char's bus was early, but we were ready! He let me take his photo and then got right up on the bus...no hug or anything. Huh! Guess he was ready!
Then I turned around to see two other moms crying...they said they were crying for me since this was Char's first day of kindergarten. Thanks, but I was actually doing just fine!

We met his bus at the school and Daddy took some photos of our big boy.

Walking into school with confidence.

Char gets to ride with a buddy (red sweatshirt) on his bus, but they're not in the same classroom.

Here we go. My there were a lot of parents here today and the parking lot was FULL! There were even cars parked on the road.

Charlie with his teacher. Goodness, am I getting old or does she look REALLY young??

Actually, she is a recent graduate, and this is her first classroom of her own.

She is just full of energy and enthusiasm. Perfect!

Then we came home and the big boys got to work.

Here they are writing and drawing...

and, well...being boys.

Almost 6,000

So, I have almost 6,000 "hits" on my blog. I have a feeling it's reached that number by more than those 30 people that have declared themselves "followers" of this blog, especially since I know some of you visit from the other side of the world. So, before the counter shows 6,000, how about introducing yourself and adding yourself to the list of followers! Thanks...'cause I know you're out there, and I can't wait to meet you!

More Words from our Children

Still lovin' that I can record things our kids say and do so we won't forget these sweet moments. Yesterday, there were two in particular that I wanted to remember.

First, we were in the van talking about weather, and Char said he wanted to move to FL (primarily, Disney World). I told him I would miss a lot here, including our house! Amarin suggested that we move our house, then, too, and then I wouldn't miss it. Being a practical parent, I shared that we couldn't move a house! Then he said with assurance, "Just pray and ask God to move it!" I'm thinking this is the faith Jesus talked about that we should all have, right? Asking God to do what we think is impossible and watch Him work!

Next, Amarin and Charlie were playing with a load of toy cars in the livingroom...cars EVERYWHERE! Specifically, they were playing Lightening McQ**n. I heard Charlie say, "OK. I'm hungry (speaking for his car) and it's time to eat. Let's ask God to bless this food."

Really? So Amarin says, "Don't pray yet. We're not ready." A moment later, Char's car "prayed" for the food and then they continued playing. Reminds me of Deuteronomy when we're told to talk about God when we're sitting, walking, lying down, or standing.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

A Special Project

Would you like to read some positive news about what kids are up to these days?

Check out this blog link:

http://jacobsjourneyhome.blogspot.com/2010/09/yet-another-update-on-fundraiser.html

These sisters have been working on making blankets and pillows, baby doll size, so they

can help pay for expenses for baby Joy, who lives in a Chinese orphanage, that needs

some extra care.

With the money that their daddy's employer will match, they've already raised

almost $800.00! Yes...$800.00!

Wouldn't it be downright awesome if enough people purchased their blankets and pillows

so they could raise the full $5,000. needed for baby Joy's heart surgery?

Do you know a little girl that would like a set?

(We already bought two for Jenna...don't tell!).