My bad

My poor blog...so neglected!  SO MANY THINGS HAPPENING AROUND HERE...

Pictures and post coming soon...

Little Miss Gracie's room is finished!

We had a special girl day out with Grandma Sharon.

Visiting Columbia College with Trevor...PRAYING he gets the dorm room/apartment he's been trying to get into....

Soon Linzhi and I will be heading to Delaware to get her custom made WREX!!!

Homeschooling, karate, shopping and planning...

Oh and did I mention CHINA????  Yeah, like 5 or 6 weeks from now....Article 5 should be coming tomorrow... then 2-3 weeks until TA (travel approval- we got Madelyn's in 12 days...just sayin...) and THEN... two weeks until we leave!

GOD IS GREAT!!! 

Our valentine

On Valentine's day in 2005, God blessed us with a precious gift we didn't even know existed.  In a little box was a darling newborn baby girl named Xiao Li.  She was tightly wrapped in a yellow blanket and safety placed in the stairwell of a local hospital.  That was the last day her birth family held her...On Valentine's day, 2005. I always think of them on this day and how hard it was to leave their baby girl.  I cannot imagine their loss, how they will grieve her the rest of their lives.  I pray the orphanage some how got word to them that their baby girl no longer lays in a crib 18 hours a day that her forever family came for her, to love forever, as they do... I hope they know.

 That baby girl is Linzhi Rose.  I haven't shared with Linzhi this part of her life in China, we know she's too little to understand and she breaks SO easy...So in time, her time, we will tell her the story of Valentine's day, 2005 when she made an incredible journey from daughter to orphan until November, 2007 when she made yet another incredible journey from orphan to daughter-FOREVER!  Oh how we LOVE that girl!

So tomorrow morning, she will wake to a red heart shaped basket full of her favorite treats, lip gloss, a pencil and a little frog and Linzhi will be thrilled as she LOVES Valentine's day and that is enough for now. 

Father-Daughter dinner

Our church hosted an evening for fathers and daughters.  My girls (and CJ) were SO excited to attend.  Before they left, I curled hair and applied a little make-up.  Linzhi, my little romantic, squealed "I feel like I'm going on a date".  I answered, you are!  With your daddy.  :)  So sweet!

I dropped them off and promptly picked them up with the van nice and warm (we're finally getting some winter weather) and as we drove home, I listened to all the exciting news.  It's so fun to have all these daughters as I get all the details and feel the excitement with them.  Linzhi Rose was thrilled to the max as she was the winner of a $20 gift card to the movies.  What a blessing for my girls to have a special night with their daddy.  And CJ, well, he was so very proud of his young ladies.

What was I doing while they were gone?...  SHOPPING!  and loving every stinkin minute of it! 

Have a blessed weekend!

Gus

Help friends.

This little guy needs a forever family very soon!

He is one year old, lives in China and his special need is Dwarfism.  PLEASE contact http://www.lifelineadoption.org/ if you are interested in learning more about Gus.  Be still my heart!

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  ~ John 14:18