Chris Caught His First Fish

Can you tell my cute hubby is a bit proud? With a little help from me (I cast out the line) my dear hubby caught his very first fish.
Chris' boss had a dinner at his house and they have a pond which the kids loved. This was Jaxson's first time fishing and he loved it. Jaxson didn't catch any fish though but he still had fun.

Amaya is big enough we let her go fish by herself (we were very pretty close just in case she needed help). Amaya didn't catch anything either but she was pretty excited she was able to do it by herself.

Chris' boss was brave enough to take all the kids in the boat. He got out in the middle and then acted like the battery went dead and so the kids had to paddle back.

We had a great time though and the weather was wonderful. I just noticed I don't have any pics of Paige fishing but I was helping her fish so that's why.

Scared

Thankful Thursday

This has been one emotional week let me tell you. The reason it has been emotional is because I read a book that was so powerful I honestly didn't even know what to do with the emotions I was dealing with reading the book. It wasn't just me because I let a friend borrow the book and she is dealing with the same emotions.

The book I was reading is called Scared by Tom Davis. This is a fictional book based on the reality of living in Africa.

All I will say is I have so very much to be thankful for. I have so much to be thankful for that I could never even think of everything. God has blessed us so much and I could never thank God enough for all He has given us.

Please read this book!!!

Please, Please Pray!

Linny and her family has had one more horrible thing happen. They have been working for 18 months to bring their daughter home from Ch*na and now just as they were waiting for things to finalize they have been told by Ch*na that they are not going to allow them to adopt her now because some paperwork didn't go through fast enough.

I know they have not officially adopted her yet but in their hearts this is their daughter. They have been praying over her picture, praying for their daughter for 18 months. Imagine being pregnant for 18 months and then losing your child right before you were able to hold your child in your arms. I know some people don't understand this but this is truly how it feels. I still grieve the child we were not able to adopt 6 years ago and I never even got to see his face.

The cool thing is that we have a God that could change the mind of these people that have made this horrible decision. We are not just talking about what the Saunder's are going through but this is a 7 year old girl with special needs that needs to be home with her mommy and daddy.

They have ask everyone to fast and/or pray tomorrow that the decision would be changed and that they would be allowed to bring their daughter home. They are also asking you to spread the word everywhere you can for them.

This family has lost more than you could ever imagine this year. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one HUGE spiritual battle because they are a family that Satan needs to be fearful of.

Please click here and read her post. They would pray for you so please do it for them!

I WON!

I cannot believe it but I am a winner of a Memorial Box from from my bloggy friend Linny. Linny was only going to give one away and then ended up giving 10 away!

I am so excited to start our families Memorial Box as a way of reminding us of how God has been there for us and the ways God us blessed us.

Soon I will start doing my own Memorial Box Mondays thanks to Linny.

I am now challenging you to go read her blog and start your own Memorial Box.

Amaya's First Homework and Our Fish

Amaya came home super excited yesterday because she had homework. I wonder how long she will get excited over having homework but for now she thinks it's the greatest thing ever.

Amaya was so upset because she couldn't do it last night because our glue was dried up so we had to make a run to W*l-mart. We got home to late for her to do it last night so she didn't waist anytime this morning getting her daddy to do it with her.
Yesterday as soon as she got home she searched all over for the items she wanted to use for her project. We think she did a wonderful job and we are very proud of her.

OK, so I know this next picture didn't turn out very well (we have a very old camera). Anyway this is our fish that plays dead. I am not kidding, for the last 2 weeks this fish plays dead all morning and afternoon. He has almost had a trip the the toilet several times because he doesn't even move he just lays on his side in the corner of the tank. When the kids go to bed though he starts swimming like crazy all over the tank.

So have you ever seen a fish that plays dead?

Thankful Thursday

I wasn't going to post Thankful Thursday today because honestly I just don't feel good. I am getting a sinus infection and the only medicine that will get me over it I can't take because it gives me heart palpitations. So I am being real here and telling you I am just plain grumpy about it. The thing is though that God has blessed me big time this week so I need to get over being grumpy and start being thankful.

I am so thankful that my kindergartner is CRAZY about school and loves every minute of it. I heard many moms saying that their kids were having a hard time adjusting and my heart just couldn't have taken it if she would have been upset. Amaya can't wait for the bus to come and take her to see her friends and for her to learn everything she can possibly learn in one day.

Honestly sending Amaya to school was not an easy decision. I was homeschooled and many wonderful people I know homeschool their children. I have been questioned over and over why we chose to send her to school and that made me question it myself. We just felt that this was the best thing for her and if we need to homeschool someday we will. I am so thankful that for now anyway we have a good, small school system and Amaya loves it.
The second thing I have been thinking about all week is my precious virtual twins that I am soooo thankful for. We started an adoption 6 1/2 years ago that we were forced to stop because we got pregnant. It would have caused Amaya and that child to be about 7 months apart and our social worker would not have it. They thought that it was damaging to children to have virtual twins. When we found Jaxson I was so scared because he was only 7 months younger than Paige. I prayed and prayed that God would help us find a social worker that would not worry about a stupid age difference but instead to just listen to the fact that we knew God was calling us to bring this child home. God led us to that agency and they told me from the start that it is not their job to play God it was their job to see if we were fit to be Jaxson's parents.

Let me just say that the virtual twin thing has been nothing but a true blessing. As you can see in the picture these 2 are crazy about each other and they are truly best friends. I'm not saying that this is for everyone but God knew it was right for us. I am so thankful that God gave these 2 cuties each other to be best friends.

Amaya's 1st Day of School

Amaya is home from her first day of school and she said she had a WONDERFUL day and she can't wait for tomorrow.

Yesterday Amaya and her daddy went to walk around the school and pray together. I read this in a magazine and I thought that was a perfect idea and so it was a special time for them.

This morning I made Amaya cinnamon rolls since it was her first day and I knew she would eat them.
See how cute she is in her very special outfit that I ordered for her? I never spend money on clothes unless they are on sale but this was for a very special purpose. This is what Amaya looked like up until 5 minutes before school started. We got in the van and the buckle broke and we had to change her clothes very fast. It is a good thing we live very close to the school.

This is Amaya after a very quick change of clothes but she is still cute as can be.

Can you tell by Amaya's face that once she got into her classroom she was excited but just a little nervous?

We waited for her out on the porch and she was super excited when she got off the bus.

I made cookies for my cutie this afternoon and she headed straight for the kitchen when I told her.

Amaya said she had so much fun today and she loved the food they had too. Amaya can't wait for tomorrow to see what she gets to do. My big girl is already asking me too if some of her classmates can come over to play.

So there it is, Amaya had a blast so that should make it a little easier on mommy tomorrow.

How?

How do parents let go of their children even when you know it's the best thing for them? Really, I am sitting here crying right now (doesn't help that the dogs kept us up all night last night) just thinking about having to let Amaya go tomorrow. I thought I was doing good until Chris said something and I just burst into tears.

I know she is ready and she is so excited. Honestly, Amaya does not have one nervous bone in her body and she is ready to learn everything there is to learn in the world. This morning I told her tomorrow was the day and she said "Mom, I have waited so long for this day."

I even ordered her a special book to read to her today but after reading it Chris and I agreed that we couldn't read it to her because it talks about not having to be scared your first day. There is nothing in Amaya that makes her think she could be scared tomorrow so we don't want to make her think there could be a reason she should be scared.

It's me that is having the hard time. To the school she is just another child but to me she is the child I cried and prayed for, for 4 years before God gave her to us.

OK, I can't see anymore through the tears so just pray for me tomorrow and pray that she will have the most amazing day ever that she has dreamed about for so very long. Good thing it's nap time so I can get a good cry in. Amaya is out with her daddy right now so hopefully I get gain control over my tears before she sees me like this.

New Blog Find

My friend Holly (who by the way I love her blog and her passion for God) told me to check out this blog. I was joking yesterday on Facebook about God needing to make it start raining money because their are some beautiful African babies needing a mommy and daddy and I would love to bring one of them home. Holly said the lady on this blog had just been handed a check for $20,000 for them for their adoption. That wasn't a misprint, someone handed them a check for $20,000.



So I went to check out this blog and I was BLOWN away by the little I have read. Since this family has been given $20,000 to bring a child home they have decided to raise $20,000 for someone else to bring a child home. They are not rich, they just believe that God wants them to return the favor to someone else but even more than that it will make one more child that will no longer be an orphan.



I love finding good blogs and I wouldn't want you to miss out on reading this incredible blog. I am going to have to find time to go back and read more of her posts. So go click here and read this amazing story. Also while your at it go check out my awesome friend Holly's blog and tell her "hi". Holly is an amazing, amazing woman of God and her husband is off fighting the war right now and she is a home school momma of 3 kids (and I'm sure more someday).

PS I forgot to mention that this family is also going to eat beans and rice everyday for the month of September to give their grocery money to their adoption fund for someone else.

Thankful Thursday (I know I'm a day early)

Last night the kids and I went and met Chris at work to go buy a bed for Amaya we had found on craigs list. When we got back to work to pick up my car Amaya went with me and we went to get some milk and things to make meatballs soon. Chris took the little ones on home and put them to bed. They were both sleeping in their daddy's shirt and then Amaya went and got one of his shirts too to sleep in.
When we went to check on the kiddos before we went to bed I just had to go get the camera.

I am soooooo thankful and so blessed that these 3 precious angels have a daddy they just adore. I am so thankful that even though Chris has a job that is very strenuous and stressful that when he comes home he loves on the kids and plays with them even though he would rather collapse in the chair.

I am so thankful that my kids have a daddy that turns on the record player (yes, I said record player) and dances like crazy with them.

I am so thankful that God gave me this incredible man to be my husband!

In One Week

In one week Amaya:

Went school shopping

Got 2 loose teeth

Learned how to write her full name

Memorized her lunch number

Had her first sleep over

Signed up for school

Learned to tie her shoes and

SHE LEARNED TO RIDE HER BIKE TODAY!!!


Of course we had to celebrate with ice cream.

Amaya's Thankful Thursday

Today I have decided to let Amaya do Thankful Thursday so let's see what she has to say.

I am thankful that I have loose teeth.

I thank God for giving us trees.

Thank you God for my brother and sister.

Thank you God for my friends.

Thank you God for Jaxson.

Thank you God for all the flowers and the trees.

That's it for now I guess. If you leave her a comment she will be super excited!

Tips For First Time School Mom

I need help! I am so nervous about this whole school thing and I need tips from BTDT moms and dads. I think I am so nervous because I was homeschooled from the time I was in 6th grade and I had always gone to a Christian school before that. I never rode a bus to school either and Amaya will be riding a bus (for like 2 minutes).

So please tell me things I need to know. What things do I need to talk to her about? What should I do and what shouldn't I do? What if someone asks her over to play and I don't know the family? Anything I should let her know about the bus?

What kind of things do I talk to the teacher about and what kind of things do I just keep my mouth shut about?

She is the messiest child in the world so should I put an extra shirt in her backpack or just not worry about it.

How do you get a child to eat breakfast that doesn't like eating early in the morning?

Please leave me a comment and make me feel more comfortable before this whole thing happens in a week and a half!

Dane

This is Dane from the Reece's Rainbow site and he is waiting for a family. Isn't he just the sweetest thing? The first time I saw this precious face those eyes just drew me to him.

A few days ago a woman wrote in on the Reece's Rainbow yahoo group that this little boy had also stolen her heart but she couldn't bring him home. She said she prayed and prayed about how she could help this precious little one find a home since it couldn't be hers. She said that he is living in a country that the adoption fees are low and the adoption should only cost around $16,000 (this is a low ransom fee for an international or domestic adoption). She figured out if she could reach out to the internet world and get 1,000 people to donate $16 (this is tax deductible) that his adoption fees would be covered and that would mean it would be very easy for this precious child to find a family.

I just thought this was an awesome idea so I wanted to share it with you guys. I will have his picture at the top of my sidebar that you can click on it and go to his page on Reece's Rainbow. You will have to scroll down the page though to find his precious face.

Maybe you could be his family!!!

Double Date Weekend

Chris and I just had the best double date weekend with some friends of ours. Chris and I rarely get a date, let alone a whole weekend, so it was really special. Thanks to my mom for taking on 3 kids for the weekend and my brother and sister in law for taking on 2 puppies who woke them up at 5 in the morning we had a blast.

The first thing we did was go downtown Indy and get some lunch. We saw tons of people standing outside of a hotel waiting to see someone. We then went and walked the canal and after that even more people were waiting at that hotel. We then went to the mall and when we came out even more people. Chris had called his brother to see who was staying in that hotel and he found out it was Dave Matthews. Chris said "let's stand here just for a minute and see if we happen to see him." It wasn't 2 minutes later that Dave Matthews walked right out of the hotel and into his RV. I told Chris the only person I would be crazy enough to stand that long to see is my bloggy friend Linny. Did I say I still have no clue who this Dave Matthews is?

Then we went shopping at the World Market, went to a place to play games, had dinner and sat and talked to out friends for a couple hours before heading to bed. Then this morning we woke up and had a relaxing breakfast with our friend and someone else cooked and did the dishes.

We even got to stop and have lunch with Chris' brother, sister in law, his sister and his mom.

It was a wonderful weekend but I'm glad I'm back with my babies and puppies.

I can see though that I have a lot of catching up to do on the bloggy world.