Puppy Love

Oh my goodness are we in love with this precious little thing. God could not have placed a better puppy in our house.
The kids are just crazy about Snickers and they play with him so hard that by evening he is exhausted. He even sleeps in his crate all night with no accidents.

I am finding that potty training is a lot easier with snickers than it was with any of the other kids. This precious baby has only had 2 accidents in 2 days and he was not potty trained before we brought him home.

He just had his first Dr.'s appointment and he is perfectly healthy and weighs 5 pounds. I am really shocked he weighs that much because he is soooooo little. Chris and I guessed him weighing about 2 pounds.

If your looking for a puppy and you are home a lot (they like to be around people a lot) you should look into a Cavalier. This has got to be one of the easiest and loving breeds of dogs there are.

Snickers is very attached to his momma and wants me in site at all times. Sometimes he goes to the chair and tries to get me to sit and hold him. Snickers just loves to curl up in a little ball in your lap. He already has all of us wrapped around his little paws. We are in LOVE!

We Have a New Baby!!!

First of all though Amaya got her ears pierced today. Amaya has been begging me forever now and I was going to take her on Friday and on the way she puked all over the car. So we had to put it off until today but she is so excited.
OK, here he is our new baby boy Snickers. Isn't he the cutest thing ever? We have been looking into getting a puppy for awhile and the kids finally decided they would rather have a puppy than a nice wooden swing set. I researched and researched to find a good family dog and we decided on a Cavalier. We planned on getting a girl so we could breed her but I called someone that had an ad for one and he only had one very lonely boy left. He felt so bad for this little boy being all alone that he made us a very good deal on him that we couldn't resist.

This puppy is just precious and so far is even going potty outside. He is 14 weeks old but very little. He doesn't mind the kids holding him at all and he only wimpers when I have to take him out in the cold.

So this little boy will be a stud man for us someday. Can you imagine your only job in life is to learn how to pee outside and be a stud? Wouldn't every man love little Snickers job?

This Little Amazing Boy

Jaxson truly amazes me everyday. When we first accepted his referral I figured I would have to figure out ways of teaching him how to do things with one arm. I was sooooooo wrong. Jaxson can figure out ANYTHING and everything.

Jaxson can carry things half his weight. He can cut with scissors, carry a huge armful of laundry down the stairs. He picks out his own clothes most days and dresses himself. Jaxson has been putting on his own shoes for 6 months now and gets the right foot almost everytime. He can swing on a big swing with one arm like it's no big deal.

There are a million other things that blow me away everyday but the thing that amazes me most is he folds clothes like a proffesional. I have never once shown him how to fold clothes but he just comes and does it while I'm working on it. Jaxson folds clothes way better than I do and everything is folded perfectly even. I wanted to get a picture this morning of it but the camera wasn't close and he would have been gone by the time I got back.

Let me just say that this boy can do what it would take me 3-4 arms to do and he does it with one. Funny how he is considered "special needs".

Thankful Thursday Part 2

If you haven't read my first post yet go down and read it and then come back to this one.

I went to bed last night thinking about what I had written. You know I don't believe God wants us to suffer through those hard times at all but I believe he let's us grow through the hard times. You know it's been the down right ugly times that I'm closest to God. It's been the down right ugly times that I have learned the most.

I was also thinking about how I have been through some pretty ugly stuff. I know people have been through a lot worse but for me it was pretty ugly. When I was 19 I fell into a job (I just needed a job) working for severely handicapped children. The children ranged in ages from newborn-33. None of the children could walk or talk but were all truly amazing gifts from God. God taught me so much in the time I worked there. It was also a very hard job though because I saw that families rarely visited because it was just too hard on them. These children in my heart became my children. Oh how I loved these children dearly. I had to watch many of them lose there battle though and die and to me it was like I was losing my children. I ended leaving that place after I moved back home and the 2 hour drive twice a day was killing me. I think about my babies all the time though and that's how God showed me that ALL children are a gift from God even the ones that can't walk or talk.

I was also thinking last night about when I was holding my sick child yesterday. There is just something so very special about cuddle time when their sick because they sit still. When Chris and I suffered infertility for 4 year it was 4 years of true HELL. If you have gone through it you understand but if you haven't there is no way of understanding. How could God have given me such a desire my whole life to be a mom and then not let me have children? Why would God give me such an incredible husband and then not let him have children? Many more things went through my head daily. There were many times I felt like a failure. There were times I lost it and went into panic attacks. There was even a time I told Chris to leave me and find a woman that could give him children. Little did I know that plans God had in store for us. If it weren't for that 4 years of HELL we would not have our 3 miracle babies we have today.

You know as we were suffering through the infertility junk we had something horrible and unexpected happened in the family. This truly was a time in my life when I really thought "God, I just can't take anymore". Through this down right ugly though Chris and I learned that marriage is not to be taken for granted. We learned that communication is very important in a marriage. We always said divorce was never even something we could consider but we learned during this time that it happens to those you don't expect it to happen too.

I really do hate those down right ugly times but it is through those times that God has blessed us beyond measure.

Thankful Thursday

I know this is a little bit early but it's Thursday somewhere right now. Actually we have the flu in our house so I have no idea what tomorrow may bring and I don't want to miss my Thankful Thursday.

I had in mind what I was going to write but then I just read a friend's blog and she had a hard day and I decided to change what I was thankful for.

On this Thankful Thursday (or late Wednesday night) I am so thankful for EVERY chapter God has given me in my life whether it be the good, bad or the down right ugly. It is only because of every good thing, every bad thing and every down right ugly thing that I am who I am today.

The most difficult things in my life have become the biggest blessings in my life. It's hard to think about when your in the down right ugly but for whatever reason I need to go through those times to bring me to my biggest blessings in my life.

I do have to say though I prefer the good times.

Hong Kong

Reeces Rainbow has a child waiting from Hong Kong again. They have not had any children from Hong Kong in awhile but they just got information on a little boy from there.

If you are thinking about adopting this would be a wonderful place to adopt from. I believe they only do special needs adoptions but everyone I have talked to that has adopted from Hong Kong has been very happy with their experience. Also you only have to stay a few days so if you have kids that makes it much easier.

When we went to Ch*na to bring Jaxson home we flew in and out through Hong Kong. The country is BEAUTIFUL and the people are soooooo friendly and they speak English. The hotels were incredible and like nothing we have ever seen here. Chris and I hate to fly but we both have said we want to go back to Hong Kong someday when we can stay and really see what's there.

Actually we said on our way home from Ch*na just joking around that our next adoption would be from Hong Kong so that we could go back.

If you want to see the information on it you can check it out here http://www.reecesrainbow.com/galleryhk.htm.

Our Peaceful Place

There is not a better way to describe the land God gave us than our peaceful place. For those of you who don't know a few years ago God blessed us with 10 acres of land. We drove by this land hundreds of times for a year praying over it and even the girls prayed asking God to let us buy this land. Chris just kept telling me the time wasn't right yet. Oh, I had such a hard time being patient because it was just what we wanted. Chris finally decided to lay out a fleece to God asking if we were to buy the land and several weeks later God answered that fleece in a very clear way.

When we finally got the land (this was before Jaxson was even thought about) I walked the land and prayed that God would use the land to provide a safe place for orphans. We had a friend of ours that is a pastor walk and pray over the land and he said he felt such a peace on the land. Our friend also said he had a strong feeling God had a important ministry planned for that land. I had never told our friend how I prayed God would use our land.Then God showed us he had this amazing little boy waiting for us in China. The wild thing is that the only way we met the requirements to adopt Jaxson was because of this land.

Anyway we have not been able to go out to out land since fall because we don't have a 4 wheel drive to get through it in the winter. This morning Jaxson, Paige and I were VERY grumpy. It was a really bad night with both of them and I got about 10 minutes of sleep at a time all night which makes for grumpy kids and grumpy momma. I'm used to being woke up several times during the night but getting 10 minutes of sleep at a time is not good for anyone. I think it would have been better to not have had any sleep.

Finally this morning we were able to go out to the land and burn some trash and clean up some brush and PLAY. As soon as we stepped out of our car all of our attitudes changed right away. I can't even explain it other than when we step onto this land we have an amazing feeling of peace and calmness. I have gone there several times when I'm stressed out or in a bad mood and when I walk the land I can't help but to just relax and thank God for the amazing gift he has given us.

The kids had so much fun playing, picking up sticks, running around and finding all kinds of little treasures like sticks and rocks.

We can't wait for the day that God let's us build our home there. We hope to have a hobby farm and to bring home more kiddos and give them a safe place to live and a family that loves them dearly. I also pray that we can have a screened in porch so I can sit in it in the morning, drink my coffee and hear all the sounds of the creatures God created ( I don't want to hear any mice though).

I can't wait to go back very soon.

Your Health & Happiness

I just got this in a email and thought it was good enough to post here. I really need to print it off and hang it on the fridge.

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14.. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others..
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business..
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37.. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

Thankful Thursday

I have been waiting all week to write my Thankful Thursday because this week it is sooooo easy. I am so very thankful it is finally SPRING! OK, so all of you that are like my dear husband Chris would say it's not spring until tomorrow but in my eyes it is spring.

Oh how I love spring. I wake to the sounds of singing birds. We love birds at our house and we love to watch them. We have a bird feeder right by one of our windows and last year the birds even made a nest in a tree right by our window.

The grass is turning green, flowers are popping up. Oh and the best part is the kids can be playing outside and it's so good for them and momma.

Paige has learned to swing by herself and can ride her bike all over town now without getting tired. Jaxson is loving everything about outside. Amaya is enjoying having a little bit more freedom this year as she has grown up soooo much.

Yesterday the kids got to go play in the rain with their umbrellas. I took a picture but it's on my phone and I have no idea how to get it to the computer.

So this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for spring. What are you thankful for today?

Check Out This Website

OK, you guys need to go check out this new online store that these women just started. They have some really cool Christian shirts for women. I posted a button on my side bar so just go to the button that looks like this and get your verse on.

Thankful Thursday

As Linny would say YIPPEE JESUS!!! We have our new mattress. OK, so I know it looks like nothing fancy but man I didn't realize how bad we needed it until we slept on it last night.
Usually we toss and turn all night and wake up feeling like we're 80 but last night we barely moved and slept sooooo good. The bed is so big (I know a lot of you are laughing now) that we could have fit another person in it.

Also since the kids have been so sick I haven't been able to get out to buy sheets. My wonderful mom called last night and said she had a set of sheets for us. She gave us sheets that look like we are at a fancy hotel (I know you can't tell in the picture). They are soft and shiny and are just wonderful.

So this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for:

Our new mattress (thanks to tax season and God letting us get back a nice return).

My amazing mom who shows up with sheets when I need them. Mom also showed up with glass cups and towels just when I needed them this year and I didn't even tell her I needed them.

I am also very thankful our kids are getting better and slept through the night last night (OK, Jaxson woke up once but just once is a miracle) so we could enjoy our mattress.

So what are you thankful for today?

Kindergarten Round-up

It is official now, our first miracle baby is signed up for school. OK, so she's not really a baby but she's my baby.
The registration was very quick and I just had to fill out 2 papers while the speech therapist ask Amaya some questions. Then we got to go peek in the classrooms and she got very excited.

I knew Amaya was tall but she is at least a head taller than all the other kids that were there signing up. She looked like she should be signing up for second grade.

Anyway she is excited and I didn't have a break down so all is good for now. I'm sure I will lose it though on the first day of school.

Update on Kiddos

Well after I posted earlier Jaxson got really bad. I finally called the Dr. and they said there was no way possible they could see Jaxson today. They were just going to see if he could call in a script for us. Well the nurse called to see what was going on and she said I need all your kids in the office this afternoon.

It is a job when you have 3 kids in for a Dr. visit all at the same time. They all have the same virus but it affected them all in different ways. Amaya is slowly getting better but he gave us medicine for her anyway. Paige has croup like I guessed so she is on a couple medications. Jaxson has a bad ear infection and canker sores in his mouth from the virus so he is on medicine too.

I'm going to have to come up with a medicine chart I think.

He said Amaya could still go to kindergarten round-up tomorrow because everyone else there is going to be sick too. He said he can't hardly keep up with the patients this week.

So hopefully tonight maybe we will get a little sleep and be on our way to a healthy house soon. I guess we really need to pray now that Chris and I don't get sick.

Thanks for your prayers!

House Full of Sick Kiddos

OK, if your reading this will you please say a prayer for healing in this house. I know this seems so little compared to some big requests out there but I belive in prayer and we need it.

We have 3 very sick little ones right now. Being a mom of 3 now we don't run to the Dr. for every little thing now but my momma diagnosis says they all have croup. They have every symptom of it and according to the internet it just has to run it's course and it usually takes about 6 days. Amaya and Jaxson are on day 4 so hopefully nearing the end but Paigie just started.

Paige has a problem when she gets a cold that can make us end up in the ER with her because she can't stop coughing. It is so hard to watch her when she is going through her coughing spells.

Amaya has her kindergarten round-up tomorrow that she has been looking forward to since she was about 2 I think =). Also this momma needs some sleep.

So if your reading this can you please pray that all our kiddos will feel better really soon? Thanks!

At Risk

I ask permission of a mom that has rescued some precious children to share with you what she knows first hand of what happens to these children if they are not adopted. When you read this you will understand why I am so passionate about rescuing special needs orphans.

I also pray that you will help take a stand for
orphans. You can take a stand by praying, advocating, giving to help with the ransom costs of getting these children into homes or better yet giving an orphan a home.
This is the story of what happens to these children:


Our son who was 15 almost 16 when we adopted him was already moved to a trade school. It was one of the worst places we were in. They did not have lights or heat. Our son's window was broken out.. in order for him to get it fixed he had to pay the director an amount of money which he did not have... so he put his only very thread bare blanket in it. We were there Nov.- Dec. 2005 and it was cold. He did not get enough food or no clothing was provided. He wore the same smelly, wool pants and same stinkin socks every day we were there for 4 weeks in his region... when he would leave the couch or chair he had sat on smelled for hours.. he did not nor was he encouraged to bathe. His teeth were rotten, and his speech was difficult to understand. He had a cleft lip and palate that was not taken care of. In the summers at his previous orphanage, when kids would go to camp on the beach he was sent to an insane asylum - because they did not understand him and felt"he must be crazy". He would cry when we left him at nite at the trade school... finally he ran away to our town- 3 hrs away..... life was hell for him even at his yg. age of 15. Life would have been even worse on the streets after his 18 month training was over... Funny all my older adopted kids when shown or watch videos of orphanages notice one thing- "How fat the directors or most of the caregivers are." I never have even

noticed but it is there perception.... wonder why. Also on their passports it has a stamp "orphan"- We were told by our translator that stamp stays in their passports ... so they always have that stigma with them.

Now fast forward 3 yrs and visit my blog to get all of the story. We just celebrated Joseph's 19 bday. I am so proud

of this yg. man and all he has accomplished since he came home.

So many families won't even consider them because of their age.. we have adopted so far 12 older children ( 5 and over- of that number 10 of them were 11 at the time or older thru the age of 16). All of them have been a blessing beyond anything we could have imagined and all are an inspiration to the Lord and His love in a life that was lost....

You can read this mother's blog a http://blessedbyachild.blogspot.com/ .

These children that I have pictured are all at risk children waiting for a home. If they don't get a family they are at risk of the same life as the boy from the story. You can find out more about these children at
http://www.reecesrainbow.com/atrisk.htm. It's not right that any child or any human should have to live a life like that.

I want to ask one more favor. Would you pray with me that the spirit of adoption would come heavily over our churches and that christians would take a stand for orphans?

24 Hours

Our church just started a new sermon series on how 24 hours can change someones life completely. They are talking about the 24 hours before Jesus died on the cross but it really got me thinking about how Jaxson's life completely changed in 24 hours.

This first picture is Jaxson as an orphan in Ch*na. We were waiting in a room for him and this is the very scared, beat up (he had been in a fight at the orphanage that morning) little boy that walked in the room. Jaxson had no idea that in the next 24 hours he would go from being a orphan and having no family to being a very loved little boy in a family of 5.

This picture was probably taken 15-20 minutes after Jaxson walking in the room. What a very scary time for the child. We had signed some papers to get legal guardianship of him until the adoption the next day and then we had to take a family picture right away and it had to be perfect. Jaxson had no idea what was going on.
This next picture was taken right after we got back to our room with our very scared little boy. This was probably only 30-40 minutes after seeing him walk in that room for the first time.This next picture was a moment I will never forget. Jaxson cried this horrible cry of sadness that only adoptive families know about. He had cried for 2 hours straight and wouldn't let me put him down for a second and wouldn't let Chris touch him (Chris didn't give up on him though and just talked to him gently). All the sudden Jaxson just came out of his sadness and started giving us kisses.This next picture is first thing the next morning. Jaxson figured out he had his own toys and his own clothes, something he had never had before. He no longer had to get beat up over toys. The last picture is just about 24 hours after that very scared little boy walked into that room. No longer an orphan because God had placed him in a family that loved him very much. Isn't it amazing the difference in him in just 24 hours?

Moses

The post I posted earlier today has just really been bothering me all day. It's not the first time I have heard people question Christians wanting to adopt or really questioning people wanting to adopt children with special needs. Honestly it is so sad to me that very mature Christians do not understand the importance of adoption and even more so special needs adoption. How is it that leaders in our churches cannot see the importants of adoption?

Do you remember Moses? That's right that amazing leader from the Bible. Do you remember that Moses was adopted? Did you know in today's society Moses would have been considered a special needs adoption because of his speech problem?

This Scripture has been going through my head all day:
Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

How many times in scripture did Jesus go to those that no one else wanted?

Why Would You Do This To Your Other Children?

OK, I am a bit fired up over something. Someone just posted on a yahoo group I'm on that they told their small group (Bible study group) from church that they were going to adopt a child with special needs. The leader of the group ask them how they could do that to their other children.

My question is how could they not do it for their children if that's what God asked of them. Is it more important to give your kids the "easy life" than it is to have them live a life of following God? Is it better to let a child suffer in an orphanage or an institution than to have your other children live a life that is different than the "normal" family.

Is it better for our children for us to live the lifestyle of having things the "easy" way. Is it better for us to live the "easy" life than to take in one of God's precious miracles made in his image? The Bible says we are made in God's image. I don't know anywhere in the Bible that it says only biological, healthy children are made in his image. This is what I know the Bible to say: Matthew 18:5
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

That's right, it says if you welcome a child like this in my name you welcome me. I take that to mean that if we let that child stay an orphan because it would make our life easier than we are allowing Christ to live as an orphan.

Where in the Bible does it say we need to make life as easy as possible for our children?

Thankful Thursday and Prayer Request

This Thankful Thursday and am so very thankful for my health and my families health. I think this is something we take for granted and it's something we should be very thankful for. I have 2 friends right now my age that are dealing with the possibility of cancer and they both have 3 young boys.

My prayer request is that you would pray for my friends and their families as they deal with this.

Kari - Kari has been dealing with nothing but questions since last summer. Kari has a condition that is so very rare they have no idea what to really look for, what she may be dealing with (cancer) or what to do for her. I can't imagine having to deal with something like that having a young family and not able to get any answers.

Wendy - Wendy just had a test come back that said she could have cancer. Wendy is very, very scared right now and is waiting for some more tests and then of course the horrible wait of the test results.

Can you take a couple of minutes to pray for my friends today?

Pretend Yard Sale

I have been de-clutting like crazy getting ready for the Just Between Friends Sale. The house is actually starting to look much better since I am de-cluttering.

This morning the kids decided to have their own yard sale and they are working very hard putting it together. It's too cute not to share with you. Amaya is wanting to sell her toys to kids that don't have any toys.

More Waiting Kiddos

Check out these cuties. Oh my goodness aren't they cute!
John (7) and Joseph (6)
These handsome boys are active and happy and healthy! They are biological brothers, and both struggle with ADHD.

So they just need some parents with a lot of energy and that will give them lots of love. I know there's got to be a family for these cutie pies out there somewhere. Could you be their family?

For more info go to www.reecesrainbow.com , click on other angels and then click on siblings.

You All Crack Me Up

Yes, we have been on a full bed all these years. Maybe that's why we don't fight is because we have to be so close to each other every night =). Honestly I hate being in a King bed when were on vacation because I can't find him.

I told him last night that he better keep sleeping right next to me anyway even though we will have a bigger bed. I actually can't sleep if I don't have him right next to me.

Maybe the reason there were less divorces in the old days is because there was no such thing as a king or queen bed.

I'm So Excited

I am very, very excited because my wonderful husband came to me yesterday morning and told me we were going out to buy a mattress. I couldn't believe he said we were going to go buy one but we are both tired of waking up feeling like we are a lot older than we are.

We went to the store and I'm sure we were the salesman's easiest sale ever. We told him what we were looking for and he gave us a couple of choices. We laid on the first bed and wondered why in the world have we waited so long to go do this. I couldn't believe how comfortable a mattress could be and not even a real expensive one. It took us like a whole 5 minutes to make our decision and in 9 days we should be sleeping in comfort.

We are also upgrading to a queen mattress! We have slept on a full size the whole 10 1/2 years we have been married. We had to special order because we had to get split box spring to get up our stairs but it won't be long now.