Our Knight in Shining Armor

Just in case anyone is having a problem with dragons, Drew has been practicing his dragon slaying technique.

This morning I awakened to s very pleasant surprise on New Day's Blog. This little guy is going to fit in so well with our family. I can only imagine the "trouble" he and Gabe will get in to together. Matt just laughs every time he thinks about it and says with a smile from ear to ear, "I can't wait."

To see out Knight in action please go here.

Oh and I have been listing several auctions on EBAY for those that want to go check them out go here. I still have several more items to put on so be sure to check back often.

Drew's January Update

We are so blessed. This is the monthly update for January. I love getting these, they are so special and have definitely made the wait a little easier. However, as much as I love them I am hoping we only get one or two more. Why you ask? Well, because that will mean that we have our TA and are on our way to bring home out son.

We are only on day 12 of the TA wait, but that is 12 more days closer to bringing him home. Can you tell I am getting excited?



Dear Friends,

We hope this note finds you doing well, and that you enjoy reading this month's update.

Drew is 3 Years 10 Months Old.

Drew’s foster mother wrote this update:

Drew is such a smart child; he will say the cutest things. One afternoon he told me, “The rice you cooked was so tasty, and so was the fish. Thank you!” After lunch, we went to the front room and I asked him to stay there while I turned on the heat. He answered, “Mom, I know that you want to make me feel warm and to not get too cold.” I was so happy to hear those words.

Drew is also turning out to be quite a host. He helps me to prepare for guests by sweeping the floors and he greets our visitors as they arrive. He will also bring fruit and water to them. He is such an adorable boy!

Snapshot Sunday Nanjing Treasures

So, I finally decided to join the Sunday Snapshot that Stefanie over at NiHao Y'All hosts every Sunday.



By the way, Stefanie just returned home with her beautiful new daughter Vivi. She is such a cutie and you should definitely pop on over and say "hi" to the newest American.

Anyway, as most of you know there are now a total of 6 kids in our playgroup that are from Nanjing, in fact they are all from the exact same orphanage. We used to call them our "Nanjing Sisters" but recently Sammy (the only boy) joined the group so we are now calling ourselves the "Nanjing Treasures."

So once a month we get all the kids together at my house for a playgroup. It is such an amazing feeling to see all of these kids together, playing, happy, healthy, loved, and with their families. The moms also get together once a month without the kids. You name it, we discuss it. It is a "safe place" for us to just lay everything we are feeling and experiencing as not just adoptive parents, but just parents in general. We share stories, parenting advice, and ideas. We laugh, we cry, we talk about the up, the down, and everything else in between. But above all else, we love and support each other no matter what. These 5 other women are so important to me, they are ALL amazing women.

This past Friday we got together for our first playgroup of the year. This playgroup was a little more special than all the others because for the first time in about 6 months we were all together as a "family." I know many of you know Elsa's story and because of fight with cancer, she hasn't been able to be apart of the playgroup. Well, for the first time since she was diagnosed with cancer, she was there with her Nanjing Siblings. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to have all 6 of these extraordinary children together again.


Whenever we get the kids together it has become a tradition to take their pictures together. And since I don't have red couch, we use our brown couch.

So, without further adoo, here is my submission for Sunday Snapshot.

Nanjing Treasures~Together Again





Oh, I should probably mention that when we do get together everyone brings their other kids as well, so not only do we have the 6 Nanjing kids, but Friday there were a total of 16 kids there! And believe it or not, between all six families we have 24 (oh I hope that right and I am not forgetting anyone) kids.

Black and White Wednesday

Lisa over at The Long Road to China has come up with a fantastic idea, Black and White Wednesday. She started this project because she has an empty wall that needs something and what better way to fill it with black and white photos taken by her. By the way, she is a fantastic photographer.

I don't know if I will be able to participate in this every Wednesday, but I thought I would share one of my all time favorites of Emma and Matt's mom. This was taken just last month and I just love it. Emma and Grandma have a very special, close relationship and I love that since I didn't really have a close relationship with any of my grandparents.

I think this photo shows the love these two have for one another.

Ordinary Day, How True

I saw this posted on another blog and almost did not watch it. I am so glad I did though because it really makes you sit back, listen, and take it all in. Being a stay at home mom of four (soon to be 5), having a daycare, and going to school, there are days when I literally feel like pulling my hair out. And then I think about what if I woke up one day and it was all gone. The kids fighting. The mountains upon mountains of laundry. The messy rooms. The late nights of homework. The bills. The empty cupboards only days after going to the grocery. The constant texting (Blake). The Drama (Emma). The tantrums. The money spent on food, clothes, and shoes (someone is always needing new shoes). The crying and the laughter. The The timeouts and the hugs that come when they are over.

So, as you can imagine when I saw this it really made me realize that one day they (my kids) are going to be gone. Off to college, married and with families of their own. And then I really started to think, what a I going to do? My kids are my life, I am with them everyday, I love them more than anything or anyone in the world.

I think this hit me especially hard because of everything going on in Haiti right now. My heart aches for all those sweet children who no longer have a family or for the parents that will never again hear the laughter or tears of their child/ren. Those who have no bed to be tucked into at night or food to eat.

So, please take a moment to watch this and to not only thank God for all you have but to realize that one day it may all me gone too quickly. Thank Him for filling your home with laughter, tears, mountains of laundry, drama, fighting, etc.

Panic Mode

To be quite honest, as happy as we were to receive our LOA last week, we were also in a bit of a panic because we still need to come up with ALOT of money. I just found out last week that we were turned down for a grant (I will be able to re-apply though once we show that we have a little more money in our savings account). I am also in the process of applying to a couple of other organizations as well.

SO, I have been brainstorming ways to make some serious cash in a short amount of time and there is what I have come up with...




I have received several e-mails regarding my new blog look wanting to know who did it. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have done the last three or four of my blog designs and YES, I am more than willing to do yours as a fundraiser to help us with our adoption expenses.

I am also in the process of a BIG, HUGE, MONSTROUS, fundraiser right here on my blog. I have been contacting several people the past few days and most are more than willing to donate something for us to giveaway as a way to raise some more money.

Oh, and I have been going through the kids' clothes from last spring and summer and will be putting them on ebay to hopefully raise even more money. I know that several bloggy friends purchased several items last time I listed on ebay so I thought I would do it again.

So, if you know of someone or are in the mood for a new blog look yourself, please, please, please think of me. And don't forget to check back for the fundraiser I am working on. I will also be posting a link to my ebay auctions once they are up and running.

If you have any other ideas please send them my way.

GYMBOREE GYMBUCKS

So since we received our LOA (boy is it nice to be able to say and type that) we are seriously scrambling to save money in time for our travel dates. Throughout the Christmas season I tracked up quite a few Gymboree Gymbucks plus my wonderful MIL gave me some as well. I did use a couple of them, but have decided NOT to use them all instead I put them on ebay.

Gymboree has the cutest clothes for both boys and girls and they just came out with new lines that are super cute. I know that several of my bloggy friends dress their kiddos in Gymbo and that is why I am letting you know that if you want a chance to purchase some Gymbucks you can. This is a great opportunity to get tons of clothes for half price. You can even use these on sale items.

I ended up getting some cute little fairy stuff for Mylee and some matching baseball outfits for Gabe and Drew. Oh, I can't wait until I can get those two together, they are going to have so much fun!

Thanks again for all the kind comments and prayers during the wait for our LOA. As of yesterday our I800 was on its way to USCIS and because of the weekend will be there on Monday. In an e-mail from our agency yesterday we were told that the current timeframe for TA after LOA is about 10-15 weeks. So, as much as I would LOVE to be with Drew for his 4th birthday, I realize that that is probably not going to happen and to be quite honest, I am at peace knowing that soon enough we will have our sweet boy in our arms. I am thinking we will travel in April which I hear the weather is beautiful that time of year.