Sent a package

Last night, Brynn, Kevin and I went to redthreadchina.com and ordered a care package for Nathan. Yeah, I know. It's a little past Christmas. Honestly, Christmas came and went in a blink. We just couldn't find time to sit down, pick out what we wanted to send, and write a letter. Think about it--how do you write a letter to the people who are taking care of your child halfway around the world? What do you send a child who doesn't know or understand that you are coming? Thankfully, friends sent us a copy of the letter they had sent to their child. It was wonderful having a guide to go by.

Ann at redthreadchina.com said that she will be taking care of the package tomorrow. Nathan may have it by the end of the week. The thought kinda makes my stomach do flips.

If only he understood that that little package is only the beginning.

Christmas 2008

Milk and red cream Oreos for Santa

Apple and carrots for the reindeer

Did I hear something?

The best present ever

Look, I got my ipod.

Listening to Laurie Berkner


Brynn's presents to us. Don't you love the pocket watch?

Merry Christmas!!!

Some bullets...

Some bullets:

• Brynn did not get me a necklace from her school Secret Santa shop. Just ask her.
• She has not told her daddy that he was getting an ipod for Christmas, not even at the table when the three of us are eating supper.
• She has not been sleeping well at all. She wakes up in the middle of the night asking for us to pull her covers up because she just can't. The four year old can't pull up her covers. Yeah, right.
• At 3:30 in the morning, she asked me if I had any ideas at all that would help her sleep. If fact it was like she was on speed--ifyouhaveanyideasthatwillhelpmesleepjustletmeknowanyideasatalljusttellmeanyideas. Then she crashed. My idea--let her wear herself out. She'll eventually fall asleep.
• She loves her new Tinkerbell night light.
• She thinks she knows she is getting an ipod for Christmas. According to her, she's getting everything she asked for because she wrote a letter to Santa.
• Waiting for a second child at Christmas is very hard.
• We are working like crazy to get Nathan's room ready for him. Do you know how long it takes to clean out an "office/playroom" that has been like that for 13 years? Just ugly.
• A 50" tv is very bright. Blinding actually.
• Brynn is having so much fun counting down to Christmas with stickers that we are thinking of doing the same thing once we get a travel date for China.
• Brynn is wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone she sees. I love her Christmas spirit.

A little early Christmas present...

Santa came early to our house. Actually, it was more like Mrs. Claus. We got an LG50 in our living room right now and Kevin could not be more excited. Not only did we get a tv, we also got a Blu Ray DVD player and home theater system. Am I impressing you yet? Honestly, our old tv was just fine for me, but Kevin is just smiling from ear to ear. Of course, watching his precious Steelers yesterday (even if they did lose) on a tv that is wider than my daughter is tall was all the Christmas he needed. Thank you to our wonderful Mrs. Claus. It was way too much, but we appreciate it so much.

Speaking of the Steelers, did anyone see the horrible reaction that a Tennessee player had to winning the game? He trampled the Terrible Towel into the ground. I know we love our Terrible Towel, but really, can we be a grown up about winning a game? When are these high paid jerks going to be given etiquette lessons? Drives me absolutely insane!

Here comes Santa Claus

I know this isn't a perfect picture, but I love how Santa is in the background.

The perfect Santa Claus picture.

Making Cookies...

So excited to be opening the Kisses
Keeping them nicely lined up on the paper towel.

Stirring the cookie mix.

Hey, what's that on my chin? Couldn't be chocolate.

Oh, how I love my icicle

Look at my icicle!

I just can't stop looking at it.

What? Did you say something?

Whoops. Dropped it.

Cousins

I always have to post a picture of these three whenever we get together. They are so awesome together. Brynn loves them to death. We went to their brother's baptism. That means Nathan will have a boy to play with whenever we get together. Just perfect.

We have a son!!!

Nathan JiYuan

We got our letter of acceptance from China yesterday, so we can officially announce that we have a son. He is 19 months old from Nanning, GuangXi. He has a repaired cleft lip and unrepaired cleft palate. We are hoping to travel by mid February.

We are so excited to go to China and get him. Brynn can't wait to be a big sister.

Hopefully a later post will have our entire timeline. I don't want to forget anything.

Some things I learned...

during the recovery from my surgeries...

• Even really good doctors can make mistakes. It called being human.


• Not all doctors in one practice are the same. I found one doctor in my ob/gyne office that I will never visit again.


• Even when things look bad, you can laugh.


• My local hospital ob/gyne floor nurses are amazing. They were so caring for the first surgery, even better after the second.


• Peeing when you are laying down is not easy.


• My family, friends, church friends and neighbors are so caring.


• My husband rocks!


• Daytime tv is not really that entertaining. Regis and Kelly can be funny sometimes. Rachael Ray makes some pretty tasty recipes. The View is strange. Dr. Phil is just weird and Oprah has jumped onto the train to crazy world. Don't forget all the wonderful judges. And Maury Povich must spend a fortune on DNA tests. And I can only watch HGTV so much, even though I love it.


• My daughter can still be insecure when things happen that she isn't prepared for. She has got to be the most caring 4 year old in the world. She has been so careful with me and has picked up so much stuff off the floor when I wasn't allowed to bend.


• Even when things don't go the way you think they should, they go the way that God wants them to.

Love the 'do

Brynn did her own hair this morning for school. Lovely, isn't it?

Bowling??

Are you supposed to be on your knees as the ball s-l-o-w-l-y goes down the lane?

Now that's gonna leave a mark...

The surgery went well. I came home on Wednesday and really haven't done much since. Kevin is such a sweetie. He is making sure I am well taken care of. Neighbors and friends are bringing in food for us. Kevin is so grateful.

Thank you for all the well wishes. Now, I just need the swelling to go down. I'm tired of sweat pants.

Going Under...

... the knife, that is. Monday is my surgery. I will be in the hospital at least 3 days. I am anxious to get there and get it over with so that I can start healing. Not looking forward to the pain, but I know it will get better.

Please pray for me and my family. Kevin finally realized he may have to go to the grocery store in the next couple of weeks by himself. Yes, somehow this is still about him. Men.

Leaves!!

A fall day on the farm

I just love this time of year. It is spectacular around our acres. God did a good job this year.

The end of an era

My grandma has decided that she is not strong enough to live alone anymore. She is now permanently moving into my aunt and uncle's house. She has spent the past few winters with them and she is very comfortable and happy there.

But, this is the first time in my life that I have seen her porch like this. There is no porch furniture. No green metal swing. Empty. And everyday when I drive by it, the sight is still surprising.

I have been able to walk to Grandma's house whenever I wanted for my entire life. And Brynn and I would just walk down just to say hello. Brynn has mentioned many times that she can't do that anymore. And it definitely makes her sad. Me too.

The house is being sold. All of her stuff, auctioned off. Such a change.

Just in case we get unexpected visitors...

Brynn made a teepee for the Indians. We have so many of them where we live, you know.

In case you needed more proof...

...that Kevin just doesn't pay attention sometimes.

Just some bullets

This is what has been happening in my life recently:

• My sister has shingles on her face very close to her ear. The doctor is scared that they may go to her eye. She is in pain and I feel sorry for her. But, you want to know who I really feel sorry for? The prisoners she guards. Yep, she is a guard in a prison and they better toe the line for a while.
• Someone very important to me died. She was there for me through way too much stuff. I already miss her terribly.
• We had another LID-versary. 25 months. And really, who cares anymore?
• China reffered some more kids this week. They did 6 whole days. Like my friend said--better dust off those suitcases. We'll be traveling before we know it. Yeah, right.
• I scheduled my surgery for my hysterectomy. Tired of being tired. And the pain is just getting unbearable at points.
• Kevin's Dad had a pacemaker put in last week and is feeling so much better. Hopefully, we are done hospital hopping with him for a while.
• Brynn is enjoying preschool, but I am hating the fund raising they are doing. I'm already paying a nice price for tuition. Do they really need another $250 from me?
• I am loving the fall weather. Nice crisp nights. It will be soon time to light our fireplace. Cozy.
• Hating changing Brynn's closet over from summer to fall/winter clothes. And we keep everything she grows out of in case we get another daughter. You really don't want to know how many totes we have. Let me just say--if we get referred a boy, eB*y here I come.
• My brother stood my 96 year old grandma up again. When will he grow up?

To all...

Time to go home...

Bye-Bye Disney. Until next time.

Happy Birthday JJ!!

Since we weren't going to be in Florida for JJ's birthday, we decided to celebrate it a week early.
We went to Chuck E. Cheese's and had a blast.

Kitty cozying up to Aunt Julie!

Swimming!!!

Under the waterfall


How Brynn fell asleep after all the swimming. Can you say exhaustion?

Shopping Again!!! (Still)

The carousel at Downtown Disney
Brynn and Daddy admist Pooh and Tigger
Aargh!

And yes all this was brought home. She loves being a pirate!
McDonald's in Downtown Disney