Can You Hear Me Singing His Praises

A wonderful Life.

2011-10-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

A quick visit to our farm........

We are so very blessed to live here.

I never take one day for granted - will you just look at this view...

Our little cornfield!

A beautiful sunset.

Living and loving it all !

If you enlarge this pic, you can see who's looking back at you......

Oh yes, can't forget our sweet goats!

We love these girls so much.

Bet you can't train your goat to walk on two legs now, can you...?

haha.

So adorable.

I think Iris is trying to escape......either that or she's pointing out something that we've missed....

Here's Iris again, with her kid " Bailey " who sadly, didn't make it.

We were devastated.

I never knew goats would become such dear pets to us.

Anyways,

all is well and wonderful here.

Really.

No, I mean it really, really is.

I serve an amazing, AMAZING God who gives me so much more than I deserve.

I am truly Blessed.

*~*~*~*

It's been so long......

2011-08-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

...that I've forgotten how to post on blogger!!
Just wanted to post a couple of pics of Miss Ellie.....

.....more like Miss Smarty Pants!

This precious girl brings such joy to our lives and hearts.

She's amazing.

She loves so much.
She's a little missionary in her own back yard.

We are truly blessed.

*~*~*

Enjoying our summer and each other here on our farm. So many blessings big (we own a horse now!)

and small (I learned how to make yogurt with our own goat milk!)....okay, that might not

be a blessing to some of you.....

Anyways.
I wish I could get back into blogging, I really miss it.

We'll see.

Amazing.

My life, that is.

Thank you Lord.

*~*~*

All for Him...

2011-02-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

"The Ambush of the Birdhouse"

My kids crack me up, I so love watching them play. Listening to their interaction with one another. Laughing with them.

I need to remind myself daily to stop. Enjoy. See. Take in.

Because soon. Too soon.

They will be gone.

I want to live with no regrets.........

Not to say I don't have any - but I'm working to change that.

First off, I used to be the most disrespectful, selfish wife you've ever met.

I bet you can never guess who showed me how rotten I was? Yup.

God.

Second, during that disrespectful/selfish/wife time, I also was a totally 'intomyself' mama.

Always wanting 'me time', acting like I was such the overworked mother.......I would never even get down on the floor to play with them.

Again. God slapped me upside the head.

Have I "arrived?"

No.

Do I get it right all the time.

Nope.

But I have repented. With Jesus Christ's help I have become a different girl.

What a beautiful gift.

It's like I've been given a second chance!

To be the wife God has called me to be, to be the mama that God has called me to be -what Joy.

So those regrets? They don't weigh me down, I've asked for forgiveness in areas and with each affected person. I've moved on.

The enemy will not use them against me.

Thank you Jesus.

Playing with, and watching them play.

So endearing.

I love these guys so, so much.

(and if God wants to give us more - well, thats a big 'ol WOO HOO from me!)

....my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...
Luke 1:46-47

**I want to go into more detail about my story, in a different post......more to come...

Love that lasts forever.....

2011-01-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

This photo says so much.
I love it.

Can you see the adoration in both of their faces?

Oh my goodness.

This picture has actually made me cry - I just love to stare at

each and every feature......

*~*~*

Love.

Unconditional.

Without expectation.
Love.

Choosing to look past faults.

Seeking to please someone else's heart.

*~*

This is the kind of Love that I live.

Only because of Jesus Christ am I able to love this way.

*~*

And for that......

I am grateful.

Be Blessed ~

ps. I also have to mention here that I am about to board a plane

and spend a WEEK with the one I love, the most amazing man on

God's green earth........

in Hawaii.
Just the two of us.

To celebrate 20 years of marriage

to the man of my dreams......

Did I mention how blessed I am?

*~*~*

To take notice.....

2010-12-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

...of all that is around me....
The everyday.
The mundane.
The things I hope I never take for granted.
The sweetness of it all.

I choose to live a life of thankfulness....even in the difficult times.
A choice:
To be grateful.
To be thankful.
A choice:
To be content.
To find Joy in each day.

...our home.
Oh how I love this little home.
The cozy, the warm, the love, the laughter......look around you
for a minute (if your at home!) - pick one thing and smile because of it...

...the little pitty paw of bird feet (I just love saying that) in
the snow. Such precious wonder.......

**GASP**
A glorious sunset.
I pray I never, never, EVER take one
for granted.....

....again, same sunset from our back deck.
God does a pretty good job, doesn't He?

....the view from my little living room....
I cannot believe I get to enjoy this view each and everyday...

Oh goodness.
My children.
Please, precious Mom reading this - don't waste these sweet
times with your little ones......don't always look for your
'me' time, stop all your busyness - and be there for your
babies. Don't complain about how hard you have it and wish
your life were different.....
SAVOR each moment.
Cherish each day.
NONE of us are guaranteed tomorrow.
I speak from experience, I used to be that kind of mom.....

Ilovethem, Ilovethem, Ilovethem.....
They make me laugh each and everyday
(even when they're stinkers!)

Best friends.

All children are precious, know why?
God Himself said so.
I want to notice everything, I don't want to miss out on anything.
My husband (oh yes, that yummy man), my children
my God.....
deserve nothing less.
*~*~*
Have a blessed day with all that is around you.
Blessings ~

The Big 5

2010-11-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful, fun, spunky

sweet, amazing

Princess

turns 5 TODAY !

Oh miss Ellie Grace ~ How we love you.

Thank you Jesus, for the miracle of adoption......
for this baby girl....
for all of your many, many blessings......

Happy Birthday Ellie Grace.
*~*~*~*

Living a life of thankfulness

2010-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Do you have a thankful heart?
Do you cherish all that is around you?
Do you live knowing that at any moment......your life could change in the blink of an eye?

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4:14

I want to live each and every day savoring all that is around me.

As I stared at this photo this morning, my heart was overflowing.

Just by looking at this picture, I am thankful for.....

...my best friend - this precious man that God has given
me whom words alone cannot express my thankfulness for him...
...the joy of sharing laughter...
...the beauty of the sunlight on a warm Fall day...
(have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Fall....don't even get me going there!)
...the beauty of the trees around us....
...remembering the singing of all the birds in those trees...
...the PRECIOUS friends that hosted us and shared such
beautiful hospitality with us......

...the JOY of life.....

And yet, I can go there too......to that place of self-pity, of anger, of all
those feelings and emotions that can so quickly come upon me.....
But.
but, but, but!
I don't have to stay there!!!!!
That is when I am humbled, to get on my knees and know
that I am nothing.

He is my everything.

And I am so.....here it is......it's coming......
wait for it...
waaaaait for it:

Thankful.

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:34

Live today, each and every moment, for Him.

Blessings ~

A weekend on the farm......

2010-09-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

What is it, you ask??
*DA DA DUUUUUUUMMM...

*think dramatic music

A honey extractor!
And we, having sweet little honeybees that we call our own
(6 hives to be exact)
needed this fine contraption to share some of their honey goodness....

The girl.
Ready to tackle the hives with her dad.....

Seriously cool stuff here.
This knife heats up and removes the wax off the frame

That, my friends, is gold......
***honey***

.....still more......

..some of the wax....

...then the frames go into the extractor, and get spun around
and around.....

...here it is, here it is....wait for it....say it with me....
**beautiful wild raw honey**

....it just wouldn't be right if we couldn't chew on some of
that honeycomb......

The beautiful end result !
This actually isn't' much - next year we hope to get WAAAAY more.
We were only able to get honey off 2 of our hives this year.
Seriously cool.

On to other cool stuff - my garden fresh dill.....

Drying herbs.......

Tomato goodness.

Sweet Relish, and sweet pickles......

Dill pickles ('member the fresh dill? ooo yea....)

Our home.
Oh my WORD, how I love this little home!
I want to live the rest of my days here.
(it even comes complete with a chocolate Lab on front porch!)

Our latest project: this area is soon to be full of
Blueberry plants!
Very. Very cool.

The main man behind it all.
My hard working handsome dude....oh how I love this guy.....

The kids help in each and every area on this family farm of ours!

How cool is that?

Yea.
Like I said, we put them kids to work!
We are all so very blessed.
And content.
And full of joy.
And love.
And so very thankful and grateful for all that
The Lord
has done for us!

*~*

Blessings.

I still have a blog??

2010-09-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Just checking in.
'tap tap'
Is this thing still on?
Anyone still here?
Anyone?
Anyone?

Thought I'd say hello by letting Ellie tell you about one of our recent camping trips
to the Oregon coast....

my mom still has issues with getting to her blog
in a timely manner, doesn't she?
anyway - the beach sure is beautiful, huh?

i lova* (*real Ellie word) my family so much.....

here we all are at a cool lighthouse.

dad looks kinda silly....but i sure lova him anyway!

oh yea. and here they are at it again. every time they kiss
i like to say " haaa haaa"
i'm such the stinker

this was cool - look how obedient we are being...
and then theres my dad off scaling a wall......
sheesh

when they're done with me they just park me.....
(not really!!)

this is my favorite hiding spot...

for anyone that has been following my moms blog - you
will remember our trick camper trailer...
it's pretty snazzy.

well.
thanks for stopping by.

and checking in on us all.

~*~*~

So many Joys to share:

my life
laughter
my husband
my children

sunshine
rain !
homeschooling

Jesus Christ !!!!!
Blessings on you.
xoxo

My family = my Joy

2010-07-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Some of the coolest cats I know.................

I am more than blessed.

Why yes thank you...I am a Princess...

2010-06-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

So, I was chosen to be a princess for our local community........

and I have to say.....

IT HAS BEEN A BLAST !!!!

hee hee.

I am extremely honored that I get to represent my little town.

It also helps when you get to be on a court with some of the most funnest people EVER.
I am so blessed.
(notice sexy man and I being nerds...)
So next time you see me around and you call me 'princess', you just
might get yourself whacked........kidding.
*~*~*
All is well around here, just a fun,
blessed
wonderful
busy
exciting
joyful
blessed (oop. said that one already)
oh well, blessed again
summer going on!
*~*~*
Blessings.

I want to be a better blogger.......

2010-05-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

....really I do !!!

I'm going to make a serious attempt to post on here WAY more often.
Okay?

Hold me to it.

Promise??

I have so many cool things to share on here - my God is so AMAZING.

I'm sure you already know that.
You better.

Okay. Thats all for now - dinner is almost done and I'm going to go feed

my most precious gang that I love bunches and bunches and oodles and oodles...

and I'll stop rambling.

Really.

Blessings ~

Surgery #1 DONE

2010-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

The day finally arrived last Friday;

Ellie's first hand surgery !

Here is where we spent our time - Shriner's!

And here is where we spent our time...waiting !!
This poor little peanut didn't have her 'turn' (as she calls it), until 3:30!
No food, no drink - all day.
She didn't complain......not once.
Yea - wow.

She was so excited ...........

...and then there came the 'after'. Oh my.
It was rough.
Very rough.
She woke up in recovery screaming and thrashing saying "it hurts"......
It
was
awful.
There was nothing we could do, they were giving her morphine and telling
me to talk to her in her ear to calm her down.
Then the room got black.
The next thing I know the nurse is sitting me in a chair
and shoving my head between my legs.
All the while I'm hearing her yelling my name.
So, I got up again only to have a chair pushed back under me - and this time they had
my main man (who is my hero by the way) pick her up
and rock her.
The meds finally kicked in and everyone calmed down......
sweet baby girl.

Waking up from the sleep-snore-state-after-the-crazy-recovery-fiasco
in her room to see mom !

(who this time was not going to pass out)

Even Dora got a cast on her arm!

The next morning she was a totally different kiddo - ready to play!

And Shriner's has some COOL play !

Still not herself - this is more pain-medicine-loopiness!

But after being home a couple of days we TOTALLY

are seeing Miss Ellie Bellie Bean come around.....

Yes - the joy of goofiness.
She's back to her silly self!

We are not even needing much in the meds department either!

Thank you Lord.

~*~

Thank YOU for praying!!

We totally felt it ~ we are so Blessed.

Until next time....

Blessings ~

Just a quick post.....

2010-03-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

....to let you all know that Ellie will be having her first hand surgery this Friday

March 5th at Shriner's.

*~*~*

Please pray for her! Although, she is

VERY EXCITED

about having surgery..........well, we think she won't

be as excited Friday afternoon - when all is said and done!

*~*~*

Thank you so much for continuing to follow our journey

and for praying for our family.

It means more than words could ever say.

*~*~*

We are also on another another journey.....a very, very

exciting one at that.

If you know blogger - you can find my new blog and

read up on what the Lord is doing in this family's life!

*~*

Blessings on you all.......

How about that...

2010-01-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

Ever feel like posting all sorts of pics, just for fun -

that really have no rhyme or reason to them?

Yea. Me too.

Very cool wall art that I ordered from Walmart.
I.
LOVE.
IT.
Like really, really love it......

Me and my best friend....

Okay. This is priceless.
Daughters reaction when she opened up
WII ('weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee')
for Christmas...

You would of received some of this goodness if..
A. you were my neighbor
B. you are my neighbor
C. you are nice
D. you make me laugh

E. or something of the like....

... the Christmas card picture that sadly

never came to be.....

...ever have one of these days?

...the color I'm seriously thinking about painting

my kitchen cabinets.

Oh yes.

Yummy, huh?

Picture of us at my 20th reunion this Summer.

I love these guys.

Like, bunches.

So much to be thankful for.

So much that the Lord is doing in my life right now.

He's so good, isn't He?

*~*~*

Ps. be back soon; Ellie has an announcement....

....Praying for the people of Haiti....

19 years.....

2009-12-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

The man of my dreams.......

I love your smile......

Sharing life with you.......

You enjoy serving others........

The dad of all daddys.......

You set your mind to it.....and accomplish it......

There is nothing you won't try.......

(the beekeeper!)

You

ALWAYS

make us laugh.......!!

You are always a good sport.......

.....and I love you, oh so much.

Happy Anniversary to the man of my dreams.
xoxo

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:00:00.001-08:00

From my 4 ( and a couple of extra cool kids too)
Have a Blessed CHRISTmas.

xoxo

Randomness is good, isn't it?

2009-11-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Cause thats what this post is!!

Everyone here is sick - so why not try to get in a quick blog post, since were all
sitting (read: laying) around here doing nothing....

My 4 awesome kiddos.
Oldest daughter cracks me up....she so like me it's scary.....
uh oh.

Heres a taste of farm life for all you city dwellers......big ol ugly Tom Turkey.
As soon as we would come near him, he would get all
foofed up an strut his stuff. He was quite comical.
But Tom had a purpose....oh yes he did......

Thanksgiving!!
mmmhmmmm...
This actually kinda grossed me out - he filled up
my entire sink!
Yikes.
He would be too big to fit into my oven, so we ended up
making ground turkey out of this.
(I was going to show you an after pic......but uh, lets not...)
Instead., lets go to this.....

True beauty.
(I want her perfect skin!!)
What a doll.
She is such a joy. All 4 of my kids are such joy to my heart.
I love being a mama......(and being married to that handsome dude of mine too...)
*~*~*
Hope you all are well.
Be blessed.
xoxo

Well Hello there !!!

2009-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

......thinking that I might try to get back into blogging a bit more - I have NO idea how I could possibly tell you each and every big and little thing (blessings) that have been going on in our lives....
....we would be here a long, long, long, long time.

That wouldn't be much fun now would it?

Let me say that this family is doing wonderful!
Sure, there are the ups and downs......by my God is always there, no matter what!
I am so grateful.
*~*~*
Just some fun, random pictures coming up from a September camping trip~
(one of the many perks of homeschooling!!)
My 4 precious kiddos....it was fun to watch them giggling and chatting away....

.....and of course, never, ever, ever, ever, completely NEVER a
dull moment; they wanted to get action shots of each one of them
trying to get air off a sand dune.
Haylie's jump...

Luke trying his hardest.....

.....and then theres poor Miss Ellie -seems like gravity won out on her before she
ever had a chance!!

Jacob kicked hiney, if you will.......

Ellie is such a treasure. (as are all 4 of my kids!) Adoption is SO amazing...
Hey, I have a great idea....
lets do it again??!!!
(did you hear me Lord??)
**smiles**
I love you Father.

Anyhow ~ yes.....Ellie is still the worshipper-sing-at-the
top-of-the-ol-lungs kind of kid!
Love it.

Oh my, oh my, oh my.......and here is my MAIN SQUEEZE!!
Oh, how I LOVE this guy.

uh yea. So, you know how all these blogger are like the most
amazing photographers, and they can capture these amazing pictures
of their kids and such????
Well,
not me.....

Oh well. I try!

This was the evil chipmunk...can you see his beady eye??

Little bugger.

Speaking of little buggers; aren't these two a crack up?

And once again, last but not least - the love of my life........

and me!
(hey...does this picture make my rear look big?
Cause, you know, we wouldn't want a rear-looking
big kind of picture for all to see, now would we?)
Because......
THIS GIRL HAS LOST 25+ POUNDS BABY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sing it with me;
oh yea
uh huh
oh yea
uh huh

......more on that excitement later...
Blessings ~

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

We're still here !!

Consider it all Joy....

2009-06-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

We are alive.........

....Well......

...and Wonderful !!!

I'm still around - thanks for not giving up on me and my little
'Ol blog !
I promise I'll try to be a better blogger.
(maybe)
ha ha......!!
Love to you all.
So many Joys to share :
my amazing husband
our 4 incredible kiddos
a life purposefully lived in contentment and Joy in all I do.....
*~*~*
What Joys do you have to share?

Blessings ~

2009-04-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

Credit : God.

2009-03-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ellie here......

....once again taking over my moms blog, as she never posts on it anymore - but thats okay;
I'm three.
I can handle it on my own.

See, when your three, you can get away with all sorts of things.
Like showing everyone how to cross their eyes like me....and they think it's soooo cute....

....and then, you can sing to your hearts content worshiping
Jesus.......

......and not give a hoot what others think. But these cool folks
loved it, cause they love Jesus too!

.....I also don't mind showing how God made me, fingers together and all!
(I get to hang at Shriners Hospital soon!)

Ahhh yes......being 3 is so sweet!

Gotcha!

2009-02-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

Today, one year ago - I was handed the most

precious baby girl.

Just like the birth of each of my children, I was forever changed...

for the good.

..the moment.

....the overwhelming gratefulness.

Hello baby!

...and yes - there was that bit about her not being real

happy about us too!
(ugh. This is such a bad picture of me)

How thankful I am.

That God chose Mark and I to parent this

amazing girl.

Okay. I am SO bummed that I can't get these to load any larger....
just squint!

We are in love.

With each other, with our children,

with our amazing God.

Adoption is truly incredible -

stay tuned........

Ellie Grace style...

2009-02-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Is this seriously.....
not the cutest thing ever ?

Thank you Jesus for my children.

*~*~*~*

2009-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

What in the world........

is happening to my BLOG????????????????? Can someone

please tell me why all my cool little doohickys are disappearing?
Just scroll down and take a look at my sidebar. Weird. Weird. Weird.

Or......is it only on my computer that I'm seeing this?

help !

**update**

It IS my computer........sigh. My laptop has issues........

My man.....

2009-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

...baby, after 18 years of sharing your last name
you still rock my world.......

Big snow in Oregon....

2008-12-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

So here's what our mode of transportation looked like around here for the last several days.....

I know a lot of you all get dumped on during the winter, but in Oregon - we don't!
Snow is measured around here in inches (like 2) not in feet - like 2, which is
what we have up at our place...

Wanna buy a car?

This is the main drag in our little town......

Our country road....

Ellie's a bit puzzled by all this snow....
" whoa dude"

We were blessed with a WHITE (dumped on) Christmas!

I knew I should of put that table away for the winter....

Somewhere out there is our nursery...

But unfortunately, too much snow can also not be a good thing......
Part of our barn awning......
nice.

But there is SO much fun to be had, like dressing up and playing, playing
playing in the snow!!!

.....and after all that playing - one gets to kick back and relax.....

and snore....

Have a blessed day!

Although it's been said....

2008-12-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

......many times, many ways;

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas.....
to you.

*~*~*

May the joy of this precious season fill your heart.

*~*~*~*

May you take time to seek His face, drink His word and praise His name!

Blessings.

The Christmas shot.....

2008-12-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

So my mom is trying to get the perfect Christmas picture of all of us......
I'm so easy.
All I have to do is smile and turn on the sweetness......

AHHH !!
Where did my eyes go????
Okay mom, don't use this one....

Do ya think I'm loved, even just a little??
Yup. We had lots of fun......I don't know if my mom thought so....

Bingo.
This is what it's all about.....

ME !!
(naw, just kiddin'!!)

*~*~*
Blessings.

Catching up.....

2008-11-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

howdy all. ellie here.
just wanted to catch you up with all the fun we've been having.
we went out last week and put this HUGE tree up in our living room, I've
had so much fun trying to pull off all the pretty things on it....
oops.

then the day before we went and ate all this turkey, we made
these fun houses (i had a blast with frosting and candy)

those two words are dreamy together, don't you think.....
frosting ~ candy
now your talking.....!
*~*~*
so on the actual turkey day heres what we did:
a lot of this:

a lot of that......

and a ton of this.....

ahhh yes. it was so fun.
but something just as fun is coming up tomorrow......
my 3rd birthday!!!!

all I know is that I get to sing
"happy to"
"happy to"
and tear into paper!!
I'm so excited.

~*~*~

Blessings.

Miss Ellie says......

2008-11-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

GUESS WHAT????

We have two winners!!!
Kimmy in Canada
and....
Miss Sherri
How fun!!
Thanks for doing my little giveaway with me guys!!
*~*~*
Blessings to you all.

Giveaway !!

2008-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well hello there all!
My mom wants to do a little giveaway of sorts ~ you see, it's this cool
little book called
"31 Family Devotions For Christmas"
It's going to be a lot of fun around here for my first Christmas as we are planning
on doing this book everyday.
Mom wants me to give you the description:

Create lasting family memories this holiday season. Whether it's shopping, decorating, baking, or celebrating, there are lots of reasons why our schedules are full in December. 31 Family Devotions for Christmas offers daily readings designed to help your family spend special moments together. From fun activities and traditions to recipes and Scripture, this book encourages families to make time-even just a few minutes-with each other every day to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.

So for anyone who still reads my moms blog (is there anyone left??), leave a comment
QUICK
to enter, cause she wants to get this out to you asap!!
She's giving away 2 copies and something else sweet to go with it....
I get to choose the winners Friday afternoon..........

Blessings.

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

2008-11-13T10:41:00.001-08:00

I borrowed this from the Barna's blog(thanks for posting it Liz!)
This speaks my heart - I could not have said how I feel any better.
What have we let CHRISTmas become in our lives and in our homes?
I became depressed leaving Costco the other day; after
seeing toys that were $200-300+........and watching people buy them.
**sigh**
This year I am so excited - I have made all our gifts
and it has been SO fun!
Our kids are getting something from mom and dad - but we have SO come full
circle on that; we're focusing on others - not just at Christmas,but all year long......
In fact, that leads me to a giveaway I'll be having here soon!
It's a little something that will help you to focus on Jesus and
your family everyday in December....and there might be chocolate involved as well!!

Blessings on you all.

Do we fit the part?

2008-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Whadoyatink?

We had missions Sunday at our church a couple of weeks ago, so we came
from China..........
I think Ellie gets the points on this one!

*~*~*
Have a wonderful week.
Blessings ~

Truth.

2008-11-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

My beautiful friend Kristi wrote this on her blog (and I'm borrowing it!).........
Like it or not, she hits the nail exactly on the head.
Read on:

One of the good things about not watching TV or having much contact with media other than the computer, is that you don't hear EVERYTHING about an election. Especially during an election that lasted SO LONG. Of course, I knew the candidates and what they stood for, but I didn't get caught up in the frenzy. I could really see it from a very unbiased point of view. In the past I've really cared about who won, but not so much this year. Of course I care, but I don't see it as a matter of the demise of our country. We watched John McCain give his concession speech and Obama fans cheering for our new president last night. It was all very strange to see. What bothered me the most was how hyped up everyone was over the outcome. The enormous fans for Obama cheering like he is going to save their lives or something. Even if McCain had won, I would say the same thing. Our country is not doing poorly economically because of who our president is, we are in this position because of greed. The greed of the people. It's not a matter of the greed of the government, like some Republicans want to think, and it's not from the greed of big business and "the rich", as some Democrats like to believe. It's a matter of the greed of the people wanting the American Dream without earning it the hard way. Debt, credit, loans, are why we are in this predicament. So don't lament like the world just came to an end and don't jump for joy like the saviour of the world just got elected...God is in control, still on His throne, and Jesus is still the only One who can change the human heart. If you want to hope in something, hope in that.

Made with Love.....

2008-11-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get any better than this.....

Happy Reformation Day.....

2008-10-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

Picked this up from Wikipedia........

Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31 in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities. It is a civic holiday in Slovenia (since the Reformation contributed to its cultural development profoundly, although Slovenians are mainly Roman Catholics) and in the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. Is also a national holiday in Chile since 2008.

History
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices.

Lutheran church
Within the Lutheran church, Reformation Day is considered a lesser festival, and is officially referred to as The Festival of the Reformation. Until the 20th Century, most Lutheran churches celebrated Reformation Day on October 31st, regardless of which day of the week it occurred. Today, most Lutheran churches transfer the festival, so that it falls on the Sunday (called Reformation Sunday) on or before October 31st and transfer All Saints' Day to the Sunday on or after November 1st.
The liturgical color of the day is red, which represents the Holy Spirit and the Martyrs of the Christian Church. Luther's hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God is traditionally sung on this day. Lutherans customarily stand during the hymn, in memory of its use in the religious wars of the Sixteenth Century. It is also traditional in some Lutheran schools for schoolchildren to hold Reformation Day plays or pageants that re-enact scenes from the life of Martin Luther. The fact that Reformation Day coincides with Halloween may not be mere coincidence. Halloween, being the Eve of All Saints' Day might have been an entirely appropriate day for Luther to post his 95 Theses against indulgences since the castle church would be open on All Saints' Day specifically for people to view a large collection of relics. The viewing of these relics was said to promise a reduction in time in purgatory similar to that of the purchase of an indulgence. Dr. Luther may have been shrewd in his choice of that day to post his theses.

We're not Lutheran.
We don't celebrate Halloweeny......I like to call it that.
I thought this would be cool, if not anything to give you a bit O history today!

Blessings ~

Interesting what happens.....

2008-10-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

When you take out a battery and put it back in.

Hmmm.

It seems that's all our laptop needed, it wasn't working - or actually, it was b-a-r-e-l-y working...
You know, like you want to throw it across the room, or take your foot to it, working?
Just mess with the battery a bit, and all is well.
There.
I just gave you my lil bit of advice for the week. Hey, you never know........

So, here are a couple of cute little monkeys hanging around.
Man, you guys.
There has been so much going on......I don't even know where to begin?

Sooooooo, I won't.
I'll just show ya some cute pictures that our daughter took......
Get Ellie's face.........what do ya think her thoughts are?
ooOOOOooo, tricky camera poses......
Kinda cool.
Okay, thats yuk.

Awww, my wittle baby maple.....
Don't mind the mess; but my man re-sided our home.....he did an AMAZING job!!
I'm so excited.
(just look past the extra stuff!)
Oh yes. Cute Chinese little girl with her buddy "ut-med" (Nutmeg)....
Brothers on the Deere......one actually drives this thing all over, can you guess which?
Can I just eat them both up?
Please?
Oh how I love my babies, all 4, that God has blessed us with.
I am one thankful mamma.......
*~*~*
Hopefully, I'll be back a tiny bit more now.
Love to you guys ~
Blessings.

2008-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Just sayin' "hello" !!
Having MAJOR computer issues - be back soon....
Blessings.

Those of you that know Ellie.....

2008-10-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

.....know that this kid LOVES to sing.
All we have to say to her is "Ellie, can you worship Jesus?"
And off she goes. It doesn't matter where we are.
Precious baby girl.
(sorry about the quality....oh, and don't mind the hair; a certain
13 year old thinks it to be great fun to see what she can come up with!)
Blessings.

2008-09-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't turned my back on you all !!
Priorities change, you know? All of a sudden, blogging just isn't
at the top of my list.
My family is.
That feels so good to say!

Even though I still think I will continue to blog, it won't be as often - but please know

that we are all alive, well, blessed and wonderful!!
What joy there is when your obeying your God.

I'll be back soon to update you all on what we've been up to.
*~*~*
Blessings ~

Ps - For those of you who contacted me to check in on us; bless you. That means
more that I can ever say.....thank you.

Guess where we went...again...

2008-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

....yummy...
(yes - the Oregon Coast isn't the warmest of places)

2008-08-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

Luke's Day

2008-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

*.......mom, I think my legs are longer.

*.....mom, look I can run faster.

*.....mom, I can jump higher today.
*......mom, when I woke up I became 5!

** the mind of the sweetest little man who turns five years old today**

*....mom! I'm a whole hand today!!

Happy Birthday Lukie!!
We love you, oh so much.
( this is my all time favorite picture )

Blessings.

2008-08-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

well hi there!
i thought i would give you an update on all the
fun stuff we've been up to.......

now pay close attention... k ?

first......we got to ride in a fire engine for a parade
in our hometown......
i wasn't sure what to think.....

if you think the seatbelt is a safety issue....that was nothin;
you should of seen me hanging out the windows blowing kisses to the crowd!
i rocked.
my cool daddy-o drove us.......

my brother 'Lukie' scored bigtime on all the candy...
check out his pocket....

okay. did you just see that? he is standing right where cars drive!!
first the seat belt in a fire truck, then they let me hang out windows and THEN
they let Luke stand in the street..........
i might have to take charge around here......
Anyways..
next we loaded up the truck and moved to beverly....

looks like it huh?
funny. i don't even know where that song came from in my little adorable brain.
naw, we went CAMPIN!

at the beach no less!
here is adorable me showing off my load.....

we went to this little light house....

see how excited my mom looks?
she says camping is like being in the city......see the two other campsites behind us?
right behind us?
like, two steps away crowded in behind us?
down below here, my sissy and brother think they are so smart.....but i
see them trying to hide from me!!!!

then - just a few days ago we went hiking in a park that
has all these waterfalls everywhere!!!
you could even go UNDER one!

okay mom, a few steps back and you and i are both gonna be wet, not to mention toast.....
real purdy....
and even more waterfalls that made me smile!

i guess i'm done for now.
i'll leave you with my cute-ness......i know thats why you really stopped by!

Blessings.
My heart is full.
Thank you Lord.
**hugs**

daddy

2008-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

.....could you even begin to guess what today is????

.... my daddy's birf-day!!!!!!

.... mama likes to call him her 'hunk-o-muffin-fireman-stud'....
i just call him daddy.

Happy Birthday Babycakes!

Hangin' at the Beach...

2008-07-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

look at those two cute kids...

2008-07-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

Good day!
Kristy here, to say we're taking a bit of a break~
no email
no 'puter
cause we're no home!
BUT.
Ellie insisted that I put up pictures of her wonderful
little friend Abby, from her visit with us......

They are the SAME age.
Amazing huh?
Miss Abby has been home for a year and a half-
Ellie has been home 4 months.......
What a difference.

She's not sure what to think here......

...but no matter what, she's always ready with a smile....

....again....

... and again.....
To stinkin funny.
*~*~*
Blessings on you all.
See ya soon !!

my sister ROCKS

2008-07-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

yea, it's me again - my mom has this issue with blogging during the summer.....
she doesn't want to!
so i'm gonna do it one more time.......
okay, okay, okay; i've GOT to tell you about my totally cool
awesome big sister.....

thats her.....

she is so totally cool - not only is she now a teenager cause she
just had a birf-day.....
BUT - i'm so proud of her.
see, we went to this bike derby thingy and she WON
first place for the older kids!!!!!!!!!
i was cheering and yelling and hollar-en
the whole time for her.....
there she is smokin out all the others......BOYS that is!

my cool brother Lukie raced too and got 4th place!
woo hoo!

oh, hee hee - i'm so giddy for both of them....
next on my list to tell you is that i loved my first 4th!
here i am with a bunch of my homies....

the next day we went to see this waterfall....
hey, miss teagarden; i know you and my future buddie
Jane just went here too!!!!

i love given my daddy kisses......
(so does my mom)
(in fact, they do that all the time)
(i mean all the time)

my brother Lukie doesn't like them all the time....

so, mom wants you all to know she'll be back soon.....

(this is one of those looks she gives to my dad)
(all the time)
(whats that about anyway?)
*~*~*~*
Be blessed.

Oh beautiful for spacious skies.........

2008-07-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

me again.

my sissy and i are helping mom.

we are having a shindig here tomorrow....at least thats what

everyone around here is calling it.
this thing needs to be washed.....

look at that. see all the hard work i'm doing??
my sister is just strolling along behind me...sheesh.

so, this being my first 4th of july and all......
my mom keeps telling us how blessed we are to live
here. all the freedoms that we (okay, not me - i'm only 2)
that you take for granted.........

i love AMERICA.

and hey, mrs. ferrill -
so does our chicken!

From all of us,
Have a wonderful, grateful, 4th of July.
Be blessed.

2008-06-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys.
Whats up?
i'm doin' the post for my mom today.
Here i am hangin out, lookin cool in my moms rig...
Wanna know how i know this is my moms car? Cause my dad says he
wouldn't be caught dead with a goofy lookin' steering wheel cover like that......

Oh yea. Uh huh.

We all decided to take a little road trip, even tho' i wasn't feeling
all that great - i did good. i didn't surprise mom with
any more 'fun' that rhymes with come-and-see-ya
in the ol diaper, while we were out and about.

Big cool mountain behind us.
And my sissy is trying to show me how to put my hands on my hips...

My handsome brothers.
Here's what happens when they tried to get the camera to take the picture all

by itself. Tsk....tsk.....
My pants are supposed to be capris, so i'm told......
So beautiful here in my state.
Thanks for stoppin by my moms blog.
If ya want, you can leave a comment and let her
know how cute i am (and remind her of that the next time i get into trouble).....
**Abby, i can't wait to hang out with you girl!!**

3 months

2008-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Three months ago, today, Miss Ellie

stepped off the plane with us and was welcomed into her forever family.

This little girl has changed all of us......

She is so full of joy.

We are blessed.

(some of you have asked; we have talked to 3 specialists
concerning the surgeries that Ellie will need on her hands. She will have her
first surgery this Fall to separate her fingers....)

2008-06-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

What are these children so interested in?

...the crazy little chipmunk
(see on the lower railing)
that came to feast on our birdseed....

I'm sure that got you excited.
(ooo la la, will you look at that deck....looks like the person
that stained it really knew what they were doing.....)

How about this then?
Rhody nursery in full bloom.
Amazing.
If you live nearby us, you better grab your camera
and get over here - throw your kids out there in the fields and
get some beautiful pictures.....
(or you can just come by and share a cup or two or three )!
It really is gorgeous right now.
We can sit right here (on my newly stained deck, thank you!)
.....different view...
.... or here!

Isn't God something else??

Beauty.

You really have to see it in person.
Let me know what time to expect you.....!
(I'm being serious)
~*~*~*~
*****Special Announcement:*****

We got our first 'foof' !
(notice the teeny tiny thing on top of Ellie's head)
Excitement to be had by all!!!!

Blessings.

2008-05-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged a few times too many! I am sooooooooo

soooooooooooooooo, ohhhhh
bad at getting them done.
BUT LOOK!
I actually got this one done !
The bee-U-tah-ful
Laine
sent this one my way.......
Oh joy, don't fall asleep as your reading:

Favorite person (outside family)? impossible to answer!
Favorite food? anything sweet (mmmmmm.........)
Quirks about you? not sure.......
How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? He'd say; "your hot". 2 words.
Any regrets in life? NONE - I'm saved by the blood of Christ, I am a NEW creation!!!!
Favorite Charity/ Cause? anything or anyone who has a passion for orphans....
Favorite Blog recently? oh, sheesh........once again; too many to choose from......
Something you can’t get enough of? my husband..........;o)
Worst job you’ve ever had? I hated working......I couldn't wait to be a momma!
What job would you pay NOT to have? any job. I LOVE being home with my kiddo's......
If you could be a fly on the wall, where? in our daughters orphanage when she was there.......
Favorite Bible verse right now? 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Guilty Pleasure? buying shoes for Ellie......
Got any confessions? I talk to Him about them e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y ........!
If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? ugh. I don't know.......could I use it to build a cool fountain in my backyard?
Favorite thing about your house? my childrens laughter, and my front and back deck: outdoor living rooms!
Least favorite thing about your house? brace yourself.......our mauve carpet...........*gag*
One thing you are bad at? spending too much time on my computer.....
One thing you’re good at? working in my yard.....
If you could change something about your circumstances, what? that I could have lots and lots of energy all day, all the time.......yea....
Who would you like to meet someday? all the awesome people in the Bible, when I get to Heaven........
What makes you feel sexy? the way my husband looks at me.......
Who is your real life hero? my man.......
What is the hardest part of your job? if you call parenting a job.........(it's my life and I love it) then, being more of a patient mama .......
When are you most relaxed? when I'm in my yard....pulling weeds. yup.
What stresses you out? being late.....
What can you not live without? JESUS.
Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? aren't there more important things going on to worry about......?
Why do you blog? it's fun......and I love the folks that you get to 'connect' with.......
Who are you tagging? whoever wants to do this.....but let me know, will ya?

What?
Your still here?
Well. Well. Well.
Thank you so much for reading a bit more about lil' ol me.
*~*~*
Blessings.
Have a fantastic weekend!!

how you see it

2008-05-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Good day!
So, here's what I was doing this time last week.... (when the weather was 90, right now this morning it's only 47....ugh)...
Staining our deck.
Oooooh yea.
It's going to look soooooo good when I'm finished.
If that ever happens, because I live in Oregon
(which I love with all my heart)
We just see a LOT of rain!

This side is done....

This side is not.....
Everything in life is how you look at it, you know?
So in talking about ALL the rain we see around
here - look at the beautiful result;

Rhododendrons bursting with blooms!

See what the Lord does?
He gives us glorious rain to water the earth, or our nursery for that matter -
yes, I said glorious - remember, it's how you look at things...
"I don't care what the weather is mom, I love yooooooou...."

We can always make a choice in how we view life and our circumstances.
I choose to see the glory in it all.
Come on now, just try it - it will put a smile on your face.....not to mention,
brighten others up around you too!

"we choose to see what trouble we can get into next...."

"oop. just kidding mom..."

"hey, she's not looking - lets EAT one...."

Had to throw in open duck mouth picture....
(actually, they're letting the dogs know their gonna get it...)

Love. Joy. Peace.
Patience. Kindness. Goodness.
Faithfulness. Gentleness and Self Control.......
The fruits of the Holy Spirit;
that's true beauty in a womans heart (and face!)
*~*~*
Make it a beautiful weekend.
Pray for someone else today.
Smile. Even if you don't feel like it.
Blessings ~

(ps. lets continue to lift up the Chapman family.....)

speechless

2008-05-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

AP. May 21st- Tennessee authorities say the 5-year-old daughter of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman has been struck and killed by a sport-utility vehicle driven by her brother.

No words..........please pray for this precious, precious family........oh how my heart hurts...

Love.

2008-05-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Cuteness all wrapped up, even down to her favorite farm boots......
Thank you Jesus, for my children.

Blessings ~

2008-05-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Okay. So here's me looking at what used to be a lake.
Probably not terribly exciting to you, I know.
But, this lake, Roslyn Lake, has been part of my childhood,

teenhood, and adulthood....is teenhood a word?
I'm not going to make this post all sappy on ya, don't worry.
The powers that be (huh?), say that the lake is no longer needed, so
they've decided to drain it and ......well, I'm not sure - build houses

or something on it.....

There's a lot of memories out there....

**sigh**

Time to insert cute kid picture.

Our oldest two walking around in the lake bed hoping to find
someones lost treasure....

Another cute kid picture....

This post is going no where really fast!
So, Ill leave you with this mornings view of our nursery.
*~*~*
Joys:
memories
life itself
the weekend
nice weather
that you all still read this blog, even when it's lame......
**smiles**
Choose to make your weekend beautiful.
Blessings ~

unthinkable

2008-05-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Please pray for the people of China...

Beauty

2008-05-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Can I brag on my hunk-o-muffin?
I'm going to anyway.

He is the man.

THE.

The.
T.h.e
Man!
Oh, how I love this guy.
Oh, how this guy loves us!

Look what he brought me yesterday.....
Not just one, but two - two beautiful hanging baskets!
Ah, the beauty....
Yummy.

AND, and, and, and
he brought me a hanging bag too.....

I'm sorry, but what girl doesn't LOVE flowers?
If you don't - don't tell me, I don't want to know.
Yum, yum, yummy.

Some of our nursery stock starting to bloom.....
Lovin it all.
*~*~*
Make it a wonderful day.
See the beauty all around you.
Choose to see the good in your man.
Don't always focus on his faults, YOU probably have a few yourself!
Don't we all?
Give your kiddos an extra hug.
Say a prayer for someone else today.
*~*~*
Blessings ~

b.u.s.y.

2008-04-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

To busy to even blog - but, in order to keep my readers
( all 2 of them - haha )

hap, hap, happy -
I thought I'd do a quick update;
As promised, we got our snow a couple of weeks back......
Rhodies and snow....hmmmm, our poor plants think it's time to bloom - well, it IS time
I don't know what IS UP with this weather here in Oregon...

....this was just a dusting on this particular morning...

WHAT month is it?????

...and, also as promised - we played games...
( I got beat by a 4 year old )

Okay. This is too stinkin' funny.
This little nut can make up the FUNNIEST faces.
Oh.my.word.

Classic.

Pure joy.
(actually, she was just caught in the act, when she thought no one was looking!)
Oh yesssss!
This past Saturday, my cutie-pie friend gave us an
Adoption Celebration
party!
It was wonderful.
Her daughter made this adorable fruit centerpiece!
She spelled out Ellie's name in watermelon!!!!

Her she is with her masterpiece.
Yes folks, she's only 11 !
(Erica!! These are the ONLY pictures we took of the entire party...AHH!)

Thank you friends.

**Joys**

Jesus
friendships

that we received DIAPERS as gifts!!
woo hoo!
laughter
our rhododendron nursery that is about to BURST with blooms!

life
*~*~*

Enjoy your week.
**hugs**

Worship

2008-04-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

Blessings.

Smiles.

2008-04-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Have a beautiful weekend all !
( it's supposed to SNOW here in Oregon...waaaa!)

No worries.
We'll just be having a book readin', hot chocolate w/whipped cream, playing
baby dolls -kind of weekend around here!
You can always find Joy.....!
Blessings.
xoxo

2008-04-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello there.
How is your Monday?
I didn't feel much like bloggin' over the weekend......anyway ~
( thank you so much for all your 'love', guys! )
*~*~*
Okay.
So I have this really fun, really cool "secret sister"-
will ya look at how she spoils me??
She sent lots of cuteness in a box.
It was like Christmas, with a Spring time flavor.....yum!

Even jelly beans!
Well no, sillys - not just one....
thats all there was left to take a picture of.....

Miss Jelly....er, Ellie LOVED everything too!
She really 'dug' the adorable flower.
(she also likes to chase the others with it!)

SOOOO....
we decided that we just had to have two more laying chickens to add to our brood
(this can really become addicting)
And will ya look at what just HAD to come home with me??
SHE is a goose (gosling) and her name is 'Gussie'.
She is so stinking cute that I can hardly stand it. Whenever she sees me
she pokes her little head up and peeps/chitters/whateveryoucallit at me.
We are handling her a LOT because I won't have an ornery goose chasing all of us......
(I'm attached, but not THAT attached!)oh hey. Just for fun.
Dirty duck feet.

*gasp*
I almost forgot!
Miss Ellie wanted to show you she still has it, baby.

**smiles**
~Joys~
living life
being able to work in my yard
loved ones
red nail polish ;o)
friendships
Blessings ~

Savor each day.

2008-04-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was there, when you went to be with the Lord.
I wonder what it was like.
Did you run up to Him and fall at His feet?

Did you gasp, taking in all that was around you?
Did you toss your head back and laugh joyously?

I wonder.

I was there.
I saw them working on you.
The kids and I prayed.
We watched Lifeflight come, and then land right in front of us.
They stayed for a bit, and then they left.
Without you.

Were you already in His presence?
I wonder.
We prayed for your wife and your family.
For some reason it felt wrong that I knew before she did.
But, I knew that someone was on their way to her.
Lord, be with her right now.
*~*~*

Not really being able to go into all the details;
a dear man to many suddenly, tragically died this morning -
Please pray for this family.
Blessings ~

2008-04-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you all how we spend our days homeschooling.

We love this way of life SO much!
My kids get so much out of each day.
Here's a sample from today.......

I know.
We are the only family around that is this strange.
I won't be sad if you don't want to read my blog anymore.
(But we sure have FUN!)
**smiles**
Joys
my kids, who always make me laugh
*~*
Blessings ~

New babies

2008-04-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Good day!
Big excitement around here; we have 35 new little baby's.
I was going to mention something about them ending up in our freezer - but that sounds awful.
Oh.
Anyway, my ducks aren't all that impressed....

So, at the risk of making a CERTAIN unnameable PERSON
cringe, because I haven't posted an Ellie picture yet....and OregonAmy, oops, SHE
doesn't want to see pictures of ducks.....
Here's Ellies first look at the new baby chickens......and that cute cheesy "smile" again;

I don't think she said a word. Just smiled and stared.
Well, yes - I'm going to show you these cute guys....
Hard to think those will be on our dinner table, huh?
BELIEVE me, in a couple of weeks they WON'T be that cute anymore.....
My babies again, who we will NEVER eat, right Mark?
Here's a close up for you AMY.
Handsome boy.
This is Henry. Yes. He is named, thank you.
And that's Daisy's rear back there ....
Oh, and this is for Sharon.
( Okay, and you too AMY - oops, 'nameless person' )

Just wanted to show off to Rachelle........;o)

*~*~*
Joys.
the beautiful weather we've had
new bark dust
living on a farm
my children's laughter
friends, in real life (AMY) and in this blog-ville!
*~*~*

Make it a fantastic weekend!
Blessings ~

Goofy

2008-04-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our goofy, silly family.
We have SO much fun!!
Ellie is always doing something (or we're doing something to her!) that makes us laugh.
Whenever we say "smile" we get a variety of responses....

Smile.

Smile!

Smile, silly girl!

I probably shouldn't post this, someone will think we're awful.......oh well.
SMILE!
(the 12 year old thinks this is great fun.)

"Can you believe all this? Look what my family puts me through!
Just wait till the next time my mom's not looking....."
Ellie break for just a minute - BEAUTIFUL Spring morning in Oregon...
Okay. Back to cute Chinese baby.....
I am so cool in Dollar store glasses....

*Such Joys to share ~*

Beautiful weather

Geraniums that were on sale (woo hoo)
being able to take a shower - finally!**
Dinner from a sweet friend (thanks Shelley!)
Being silly

laughter

phone calls
*~*~*
(** surgery left a rather large scar on my back - baths were just plain gettin' old!)

Now how in the world...

2008-03-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

...could I have missed THIS one??
(you have GOT to click on this )

Ultimate electrical nightmare.

My man had more fun spotting these messes everywhere we went in China.
And, if you followed our journey; you know I had fun posting them!

*~*~*

Prayer request ( for me ! )
I had to have a minor surgery on Friday, that I'm having some
issues with. Makes life a bit more interesting when your chasing
around a 2 year old!
Also, 12 year old daughter (who is my right hand chick) isn't feeling well either.
Needed: quick recovery.
Thank you.

*~*~*

** Joys **
my new blog look! (see below)
warm socks

snow (but it can leave any time!)

a handsome man to wash my hair
(yea, you stinkers, my man!!)
friends who insist on bringing me Starbucks
(this girl is blessed)
reading God's Word.....
*~*~*
Blessings ~

Once again...

2008-03-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Daleea has used her creative talents

to amaze me with this blog!

Thank you sweet friend.

You captured exactly what I wanted this to be.

*~*~*

If your wanting a change for your blog, let this amazing chicky know!

Daleea doesn't just go for pretty colors and such; she prayerfully puts her heart into each blog

that she does.
She's in the process of raising funds to bring home her second daughter

from China, Miss Isabella ~ to join big brother Nicholas and big sister Miss Hannah.

Her link is beautifully done on my sidebar.

Bless you sweetie.

Pink puff

2008-03-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

We woke up to snow this morning, so everyone was ready to

head out the door first thing!

(as for me, I'm eagerly awaiting Spring!!)

Anyhow ~ Ellie was okay with all the snow, but it was more

fun dressing her all up and taking pictures of the marshmallow......

This hat cracks us up.....it's the goofiest little thing, and she LOVES it.

oh my.

I'm so desperate for head-bow-band-thingys for this kid, that I figured out that I can clip
barrettes to some stretchy headbands that we already have!
(purdy smart, huh?)
She loves to wear them.
Okay. So I know it looks kinda silly. But you have to admit, she sure is cute.
Too sweet.

*Joys*
the snow
watching my daughter doing her schoolwork
my hummingbirds are back!
laughter
hearing Ellie sing in her crib first thing this morning
*~*~*
Blessings ~

2008-03-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Hope you all are doing well and wonderful.
We had a wonderful Easter - Ellie loved everything, from Church, to the food, to the eggs.
She thought it was all great!

Today we received (as you other AWAA'ers know), the follow-up

or welcome back, call from our agency.
It's was kinda funny answering all her questions with "she's doing great", over

and over again. But it's so true. Our God is amazing, and He has

BLESSED US

with an incredible little peanut who, to tell you the truth, feels like she's

been here with us all along. I honestly cannot fathom the thought that someone else

birthed this child! But - I wasn't pregnant, and as you know, my husband is not Chinese!

har har.

ADOPTION IS AMAZING, FOLKS.

( just to sum it all up...)

This is the most adorable little book that Miss Melody MADE for Ellie....

The e-a-s-y egg hunt.....
(see the one in the rails)

"Randomness"
A cute bunch we saw on our way home yesterday.......
Joys to share ~

*my family*
*the wonderful dinner with hubby's family yesterday*
*Jesus*
need I say more?

Blessings to you ~

2008-03-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

He Has Risen!

Cuteness

2008-03-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tissue paper party!

A beautiful quilt from a beautiful neighbor.

No hat is safe around here.....

None.....

Okay Mom, enough with the camera......
"One of my wonderful new dresses..... "
Too cute.
Buddies.
(most of the time!!)

Have a wonderful week !
With Joy ~ Kristy

xoxo

Chinese baby shower

2008-03-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, three beautiful ladies from our church gave us a

Chinese baby shower. Chinese, you ask? Let me tell you; this was

the most amazing-wonderful-beautiful-humbling shower

I have ever been to -
it started with a cooking class, we learned how to make wonton, then we watched a

video and talked about the underground church in China........I'm jumbling this all

up - I am still so overwhelmed by this shower.
We broke into small groups and everyone prayed for us, we ate amazing food,
we talked about how God had Ellie born in China, only to be brought here to our family
at this exact time for His purpose........what plans does He have for her?

Okay, I will never be able to type all that this day held for us, so I'll go to the pictures......
*~*~*

At home, before we left - I had just told her to smile....

At the shower.....
"all these people are here for me???"

Lindy (who is Chinese) giving us instructions on cooking....

" I'll just sit here and look cute, thank you......"

Chinese baby attempting wonton......

...some of the finished product....

Folks wrapping away....
"while I'm looking cute, I'll just eat my banana...
(by the way, she LOVED the wonton)
Hard boiled quail eggs.
Cooked (boiled) wonton - it was SO good, and so easy to make!
Craft using Chinese characters...

Beautiful cake from Chinese Bakery
(I know, isn't this all amazing????!)
The beautiful women that made this day possible ~
Karen, Lindy, and Kyoko.....
Gifts!
Yay! A new dress!

Aren't little girls cute?

She got the whole gift thing down pretty quick!
Adorable new jacket!
So cute!
This was a big hit! The kids enjoyed this as much as Ellie did...
( look at those adorable faces!!)

Tears started.
Lindy made pillowcases for our children (which Ellie is wearing on
her head) and for Mark and I that have the characters "grace" on them...

Tears continued.
She read to us beautiful Scripture for Ellie,
and then took this off her wall and gave it to me with the Scripture on it....

She also gave me a beautiful little pin to wear with the Chinese
character "truth" and told me to teach this to Ellie.....wow.
Of course, as always - Ellie pooped out. Not until after the shower though!
She had a great time, and loved everything.

These were chopsticks that they had for everyone....

They said, Ellie's name, pray for

China, Acts 17: 26-31.
Special.

Beautiful dresses for our little girly girl!

Can you see why I am still so overwhelmed?
Wow.
Today, our little peanut isn't feeling all that great - so we're having
a quiet day at home.
Blessings to you all ~
With Joy, Kristy

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

2008-03-12T21:18:00.001-07:00

I love this.

2008-03-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hello all !

As I sit here, struggling through a wonderful head cold -
I thought I'd add a few pics of our day....
Ellie wants to show you all the correct posture and position for the piano.
( "now if only I could reach those pedals....")

She also wanted to send "grandma Laurie in Ca." some love and a big thank you
for her cuddly lamb !
(oh man, my house is really a mess right now....sheesh)

Now she'd like to show you how she has her big brother figured out -
"like my motor behind me??"
These two are so fun together - they're learning how to be buddies....

"Oh, how I am so embarrassed! See my mom back there?
She's on her computer, again!!!"

The princess sleeps.
Thank you Lord ~ for such a sweet baby girl....

My two silly girls.
Sisters.
*~*~*
Love to you all.
Blessings ~

Farm Girl

2008-03-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Little by little, we are introducing Miss Ellie to her surroundings.....
'Stylin chic'

Haylie showing Ellie the sign for chicken (are you proud Rachelle?)

This is pretty cool !

Okay, so I had to throw in a pic of my ducks ( I love these guys ) "Cuyoo, Henry and Daisey"

Checking each other out....

"Can you believe how these people dress me.....??"
(pretty stinkin cute if you ask me)

These kids think it's the middle of summer - they wear shorts ALL the time......

...shorts and boots....
Driving the old blue car.

...hey, I like this thing!
....and of course, showing her the swing...

She is doing wonderfully well.
As are we.
Blessings.....

2008-03-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

Oh my word, does this baby make us laugh!

She fits in so well to our goofy family, that it's almost scary....

We're both saying "uh oh"!

Showing that she can do the peace sign just as good as anybody!
Man, how we love this girl.

Somebody explain to me, why in the world we brought these home?????
It is THE favorite in our home....they play them all. the. time.
Ellie is crossing her eyes in this picture, trying so hard to play this thing....

The lighting isn't the best - but she is so wonderfully cute.
Have I mentioned lately, just how blessed we are?
Oh good.
I just did.

Praise goes to You, Lord.
My heart is full.
Love to you all.

2008-03-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

Picture re-do, because I don't know what happened to them in the last post??
Cute "hiney" baby...

Her silk dress - we couldn't get her to hold still long enough to button the front!
Brothers....

Oh my, fierce warriors.....
(our little Luke is in the red with his buddy)

Blessings ~

2008-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let you know that we're doing great!
I can't believe how well this baby is doing.

She sleeps all night, eats everything, and is such a joy
to have in our lives.
A few pictures to share.....
She LOVES hats - trying on one of her brothers hats...

Bendable baby...
The kids like to get her to do this over and over (and over)....
.....and they do a lot of this to her too!
(don't look to close at my messy home...)
The musical family.......(you can only listen to these things so long!)

Brothers showing off their cool China-man hats.....

Love from Oregon.
Blessings ~

2008-03-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

*~*One tired mom, and her four precious babies.*~*

Home.

It is so wonderful to be home.
This little baby girl is such a joy!
She did wonderful on the flights, and slept well, until I accidentally whacked her
with my seat belt.....way to go.
The airport reunion was perfect.
There were so many people there - I'm so sorry if I didn't get to talk to you, I was completely
overwhelmed........
When we came close to coming through the gate; a security guard asked me
" Is she Ellie?" He caught me by surprise, so all I could say was, "huh?" He then tells me
there's a lot of folks waiting to meet her. We came around the corner to cheers and clapping!
We are so blessed.
I cannot even begin to thank everyone, for everything.
By the way, most of our pictures from the airport didn't turn out (SO sad), so could and would
any of you that got some, please email them our way?
Huge thanks to Kevin W. for videoing everything, I don't know if anyone else did or not.
That means a lot to us Kevin, you getting this precious day on tape for us.
What a sweet, sweet day.

Thank you, Jesus.
I will post homecoming pictures as soon as I can!
Love to you all from Oregon.

xoxo

2008-03-04T03:30:00.000-08:00

Official Last Post

in case you were wanting that info.....

Do ya want to see how big my God is?
Do ya?
Do ya?

Day one with Ellie.....

End of one week with Ellie.....

How can I thank you all enough for praying for us.......

We are beyond blessed.
Now the next exciting step of this journey,
lets go home........

*~*~*

( we fly Northwest - Tokyo to Pdx - flight #0006 - arrives at 7:00am March 5th)

2008-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking this will be my next to last post from China.
It's Tuesday afternoon here, we leave for our Consulate appointment
in a bit - and then we come back to our hotel to pack and leave in the morning for
HOME.
So, at 4:00pm Tuesday afternoon in Oregon, we'll be boarding our plane, flying all
night and arrive at pdx at 7:00am.

Ellie and dad hanging out reading....
He has had too much fun here in China....
We haven't seen a whole lot of this lately!

Man, it sure is adorable, isn't it???
( I had just told her 'no')
*~*~*
Blessings ~

2008-03-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

So, rememeber how I mentioned we're eating noodles,
(and eating them, and eating them...)
This is our little system.......I gave up the chopsticks a long time ago.....

2008-03-03T04:58:00.000-08:00

Cute Chinese baby singing herself to sleep....

2008-03-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

Another fun and full day.
We went to a folk art museum, tea house, a park nearby
and out to dessert as a group.
This was a sign in the park....
Not sure what your hurting or how, and who exactly, is pretty?

Folk art museum....

Electrical issues, once again...

People we love from our group...

'smile Ellie!'
Another precious family....
Quite deep in thought.....
Okay, what are the odds?
Everyone says she looks like Mark (still makes me giggle)
but to act like him too???

Learning about Chinese tea...

Mark, showing off his tea drinking skills...

Beautiful Creation.....

More precious folks from our group...

And even more that are so dear to us.....

Mark leading a little bible study - in China.
Wow. China.

Miss Ellie is pretty proud of her daddy...

Notice ALL the Chinese behind us, staring?

Tonight at in our restaurant (which tasted WONDERFUL, as we are mostly
living on noodles in our hotel room to save $$ - do not show me another noodle, please -) well, unless it's in spaghetti or something American like that!!!! Anyway, they had a band
walking around. They came to our table and played for us. Ellie LOVED it......
Love to you all.
Miss everyone.
And everything!
Blessings ~

2008-03-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

Cute Chinese baby, or as the Chinese say......
"Coot Chinese bb"!
Praying....

2008-03-01T05:17:00.000-08:00

Today we went around to get some important business done.
Here is the famous medical exam room that every adopted child gets to
go through - but we didn't! Ellie had her exam done in Shanghai, so we got to
go walk around for a bit....

Man transporting....something?

Beautiful.....
Having fun in the sun....
Yes Dan, another electrical nightmare....

Picture on the bus looking out back.....

Picture on the bus......don't take our picture Mark......
He did. They still love him.
ooOOooo.....yummy turtle........is that what he is??
Interesting....

Precious family from our group....have I mentioned lately how much
we LOVE our group??

How little Chinese baby sleeps....

Smog sunset.

We had a group dinner at a wonderful Japanese restaurant....VERY good!

They cook it right in front of you - look how fast his hands are!
"Hey, this is pretty good dad!"

Secret to low Japanese tables; not really low at all !!!
Love to you all.
We're heading to bed, Ellie is already out for the night.
Miss everyone......
Hay, Jake and Luke - LOVED hearing about your fun day today!!
Love you......
Blessings ~
xoxo

2008-02-29T03:13:00.000-08:00

We are on the home stretch of this journey!!!!
Guangzhou is fantastic. I think mainly because we are getting to
see all of the wonderful families from our group again.
I love it here!!
Here is our 'princess' ready to leave for the airport....

This man was very sweet,
he was so excited to find out that Ellie would have
surgery on her hands in the U.S.
Too funny.......Mark actually got in trouble for taking this......
Official Chinese man said "no picture"...
Big Boeing triple 7 - my man was pretty stoked....
Someone MUST have been praying!!
She fell right to sleep.....

Woo hoo. Check out this window guys!

I can't wait to sleep in that!

Little Chinese baby having fun...

OH NO. She found the t.v.
nonononono !

Oh my. She was so precious on the flight.
This is Ellie starting to fall asleep.
Thank you Jesus, for another precious day with our
new baby girl.
Haylie, Jacob and Luke - miss you bunches, have fun with Kris
(and behave.)
**smiles**

Please be praying for our group - there are some different 'concerns'
that need prayer - thanks for understanding that I won't go into details, but please lift this
group up....
Thank you.
May His name be praised and glorified.
Blessings ~
(By the way, just wanted to let folks know that we still can only see our blog,
we're not able to go to anyone else's...)

2008-02-28T01:51:00.000-08:00

Another somewhat down day here in Shanghai.
We went around the city a bit with our guide. I cannot believe how HUGE
Shanghai is!
This is our princess right before we were to leave, she was letting
us know that she was not happy ( the ONLY time today!!)

This beautiful garden is called The Shanghai Yu Garden - it was
built 500 years ago....

There's one everywhere....

And of course, we're getting really good at zonking this kid out.....now just pray that
it's this easy on the plane! We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow. We are very excited to hook back
up with our travel group...

I'm just too cute for words!

She is wearing 12 and 18 months clothes. At
first I thought she wouldn't fit into half the stuff we brought - but she does!

Okay, so bear with me - here is yet another video, we just can't help it!!

Lord, once again, words don't even come close to describing how blessed we feel - that You have placed this baby girl in our lives - we are truly grateful.
And in Awe.
*~*~*
Thank you again, for the comments - and those who don't even know us that take the time to encourage, bless you. It means more than we could ever say.
Love to you all.

Good morning!

2008-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Once again, may I introduce - the Chinese Singer....
(yup - that's my girl!)
Haylie, Jacob and Luke; just a little bit ago, she was kissing your picture!
Whoa. We might get yet another 2 post-er day!
Blesssings ~

2008-02-27T03:17:00.000-08:00

If you were on China time, you would say to me "Kristy, I can't believe you did 3 posts in one day!"
And I would say,"why yes, I did."
This afternoon was a little rough, Miss Ellie let us know more than once
that she was not happy. Of course, the Lord always gives us precious moments as well.....
Dada (Ellie word) showing her pictures of Haylie
Jacob and Luke...

Not to sure about the hair bow...

So big!

Check out my snazzy bracelet Auntie Donna got for me...

Goodnight from China.
Blessings~

2008-02-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm listening to a temper tantrum, so while that continues on in the background - I'll show you what Shanghai looks like.
First, Chinese laundry........

He did a pretty good job too!
Okay, now lets take a walk around.......

Notice the men hanging...

Inside one of the many malls around here....

Electrical nightmare......

Take a look at the umbrella...

Hanging out with mom and dad.
Bliss.

Did not know this was here!

Once again, we pooped her out.

Our hotel.
This is a beautiful park in front of our hotel.....

Okay. Thats all for now - I'm going to try for a 3rd post before bed - but right now
I need to attend to the princess. She's actually falling back asleep during this tantrum.......sigh.
She keeps saying "ma ma, na na".
Oh, baby girl......

2008-02-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

I might even get two posts in today!
We had another wonderful night - this baby can sleep!
Praise Jesus.
Today we have a down day - the 3 of us are going to attempt Shanghai on our own,
no taxi, just walking around. I'm ready to brave the stares (not my thing)...
These are some pictures from last night and this morning.
Copying mom....

...the plumber...
This little punkin makes us laugh!
She has quite the little belly (I hear a cute nickname coming...)
She's just too yummy.
Cute jammies- remember these Haylie?

I'm so CUTE.
This was from this morning -she let daddy dress her.

I love my hat!

" Just give me the juice and no one gets hurt...."

How can you resist that??

Our beautiful little blessing.

There is something about the backside that is just too, too adorable....

Figured out the suitcase....

So, last night, Ellie just decided to get up and walk. Thats right, she didn't even
try before that.....we wondered if she even could? She's quite wobbly - not at all like
a 2 year old should. That's to be expected.
She prefers me, but will let Mark do almost anything...which again is more than
we expected. She is such a character (like her dad).
She still continues to sing. We asked our guide what she was saying, she said it was just
baby babble. Too cute.
We are so blessed.
Again, thank you everyone for your beautiful comments.
(and Hey Miss Sophia! Tell your daddy thank you for the heads up about
blog access - we're going to try it later today. Ellie says hi, and we all
can't WAIT to see the 3 of you on Friday!!)
Oh, something else I wanted to mention; she has a large scar on her tummy
that we had no clue about. We were concerned that maybe there was something that
we were not made aware of. But Praise God, it's only from her skin grafts when she had surgery
on her little fingers. Bless her little heart - the surgery that was done her in China was not good, she cannot straighten out her fingers. It looks like they just real quick did a snip snip, and that was it. Can't wait to get her home.
Can't wait to be home.
*~*~*
Love to you all.