We Have A Due Date

On February 1st we will have known she is our girl for 9 months. On February 1st we will depart to China and on February 6th I will have the honor and privilege to hold her in my arms. I have prayed for this day to hold my daughter for four years.

Upon the announcement of TA, life feels like it has been turned upside down. My concentration level is shot and my children are taking full advantage and loving it! I wish I could say I have lists, but I do not, and I really would not have anything to cross off if I did have a list except perhaps that my visa paperwork has been sent.


The Lord has met us at every single step and I trust He has done the same for sweet Ruthie Joy. Our older girls, Olivia and Annabel will be traveling with us and I look forward to seeing China through their eyes.

January 26th Ruthie will celebrate her 2nd birthday and the ocean between us seems to be getting smaller every minute. Her life is such a precious gift.

So we begin the countdown with great anticipation and I continue to pray that she will know the depth of my love for her. This journey has been such a sweet reminder to me that God is in the details and JOY comes in the morning.

Happy New Years!

We received our last update of Ruthie Joy. I cannot wait to have her in my arms and see her cuteness in person. This update was by far the most difficult one to receive. We are so close, but I feel like our departure date will take forever to get here. I was also sad to see the little sores and bruises on her head. I am ready to leave today.

Beautiful

Precious Smile

We are looking for our TA any day now. OUR plans are to travel February 1st. Please pray for sweet Ruthie this last leg of the journey.

This New Year is going to be so very big! Happy New Year my sweet Ruthie Joy!

Terrible Blogger!

Okay I INTENDED to complete the Christmas countdown. I INTENDED to journal leading up to Christmas. I INTENDED to post the fun and exciting pictures of the children leading up to Christmas ~ but I didn't. I am sure that does not surprise anyone who reads this blog ;)

This Christmas was truly one of my fondest memories with my family. We celebrated Jesus' birthday and the blessing of my stepfather's full recover from just a few weeks post brain surgery. We met my parents and brother in Tennessee at the cabin on the Cumberland Plateau. I left on the Monday before Christmas and Skip came up the following Wednesday with a packed sleigh.

The air was crisp and cold, so perfect for Christmas. We all (including my stepfather!) walked through the woods, rode four wheelers and fished. At night we all sat by the fire and enjoyed the exhaustion and just being together. This little town has stopped in time and the cabin does not have internet, so for Christmas our lives slowed down enough for us to just be together. It was such a sweet time.

The last Christmas we spent together was 12 years ago, Olivia was 1 and Annabel was on her way. Five children later, we had all the chaos and laughter I remembered dreaming of wanting as an only child. My brother, who is 24 years younger, has also grown up basically an only child. I am still not sure if he also dreams of a lively Christmas, but that is exactly what he got!

My mother has set up a room for Skip and me in the cabin. This is the first time since I got married that Skip and I did not use the guestroom. The room has a beautiful very tall heart of pine bed and the most beautiful quilt. The linens are so comfy and the room is sweetly decorated with pictures of our precious little ones. The room is a perfect gift!

Santa found us! Thanks to the luminaries we set up on Christmas Eve. Christmas day was alive and full ~ Just like Jesus.

Joy to the world! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Countdown!

13!

The number of years this precious girl has been my daughter.

13 years ago you entered the world at 9 lbs and 22.5 inches long and our lives have never been the same.
Olivia you are a treasure. You have such an ability to touch lives in a powerful way. Your love for Christ continues to point every one in your path towards Him. Many time I have heard people call you an angel and I must agree. You are very smart and have such clear vision of right and wrong. You are very tiny and at the same time extremely strong minded and determined. I know how powerfully He has used you in 13 short years and I cannot wait to see how your passion for Christ will continue to make a big impact. Your name means olive branch, which represents peace. It is the perfect name for you. I have loved the last 13 years as your mother! You are growing into such an amazing girl. You bless me more than you will ever know.
I love you!

Christmas Countdown!

14 !
The number of shoes that will very soon line up at the door.

Christmas Countdown!

15
The number of times I pleaded with Amelia to help her with the frosting.

"Ooopps mama, I did not know it would come out the top."

A gingerbread house with a pool which is what she intended to do from the start.

Grace's masterpiece

Quinn's masterpiece

Micky Mouse

We have been able to enjoy 7 years of my parents living in Orlando, Florida or as my children say, Pop and Grandma Lulu live at Disney World. My step father's surgery was in North Carolina so I came down to watch over my teenage brother, Kurt. Pretty easy job. The condo my parents live in is a retirement golf community and let's just say my littles have livened up the neighborhood!

Yesterday was our big adventure at Disney World! Although outnumbered and a bit intimidated, 1 to 4, I managed to keep track of everyone. We had such a great time and it really kicked us into the Christmas spirit. The park is so beautifully decorated for Christmas and Cinderella's Castle is breathtaking.

The carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Splash Mountain were the favorite rides. We had a packed 12 hours of fun and beautiful weather. Tomorrow we will head home to Daddy and the two older girls. We are ready.

Praises!

The surgery went very well! He was able to respond to everything they asked during the surgery and the entire tumor was removed. He woke up from the surgery with his same sense of humor. We are so grateful for this blessing! Thank you for praying.

Please Pray

Tomorrow my step father is going to have brain surgery to remove a tumor resting on his major motor control panel. 9 years ago he began experiencing symptoms of loss of feeling in his leg. A back injury was his diagnosis 7 years ago and he had surgery to repair a disk. Thankfully his tumor is very slow growing, it has only effected his one leg and there is a very high chance it is not cancer.

Tomorrow morning he will have surgery . He has a wonderful surgeon, but he will have to endure surgery awake. The surgical team will stop the surgery if they begin to see any signs of loss of speech or gross motor function. As you can imagine, he is fighting off a lot of fear.

Thank you for your prayers!

The Bug

We have the stomach bug making the rounds in our house. As each 24 hours pass, someone else begins to get sick, but it is very predictable because it ALWAYS begins around 1AM and continues until about 4:30AM. Why?

Now to my agenda,

I have the "get organized" bug because soon we will have seven ! I want to clean out every closet, pull down all the Christmas decorations, finish all sewing projects. All today!

Instead I will hang out in the laundry room and serve gatorade and crackers. All kidding aside, I would not trade this job for all the jobs in the world. I love serving this precious group of children. I am so grateful for my generous husband who can survive on 2 hours of sleep.

Clorox is my best friend this week!

It Came!!

LOA! ~ Day 68
Praises

Emotions

"Where is the LOA for my Ruthie WeiHuan?"

"Okay, if that does work, I'll try this!"

Pleeease CCAA send Ruthie Weihuan's LOA!"

Happy Fall Y'all

We have really been enjoying the fall. It is beautiful here this time of year and the temperature is amazing. It is nice to spend more time outside and the colors of the leaves are spectacular.

These are some fun pictures from a festival we went to this past weekend. We joined some good friends for a day of fun and a night of roasting hot dogs and marsh mellows. All the fun of camping and no sleeping in a tent! (LOL) It doesn't get any better!

brave

sweet

free

joy

kind

life

love

missed

Day 61 waiting for LOA. We are soooo close!