I have had a total revelation in my life and it started a few weeks ago when I attended my first Moms In Touch meeting. MIT is a prayer group. We meet to pray for our children and the schools they attend. It was a little intimidating to me because I have not had a lot of experience praying outloud in front of people. But, my friend, Becky, borrowed this quote from another friend from church, Debbie. When Debbie was trying to work in this hour of prayer time for her children, someone told her "If you don't pray for your children, who will". How true is that? I cannot even begin to describe what a difference this group has already made in my life and Ryleigh's life. I feel so at peace knowing these 4 other women are praying for Ryleigh and that I can pray for these other kindergartner and first graders. The fact is that we all could use people praying for us and when I send Ry to school everyday, I want God to watch over her and guide her and when we pray together at the beginning of the week I feel God's presence and love. It gets so emotional talking about the things our kids are facing at school, especially on the playground. So, my goal is to spread the word about MIT because it is the single most important thing I can do for my children!!!!!!
Ryleigh has been doing great at school. I am hoping at the start of the second quarter she will be able to go to the enrichment class. I just want her to be challenged. I understand that they have to review and that not everyone is on the same level, but I feel sorry for her that she isn't learning very much at school. I think this has so much to do with her crying and not wanting to be there. I think if she doesn't learn to work through hard work, she will never know what to do when faced with challenging work later. Just a mom's theory!!!!
Reagan is turning into quite the commedian! She makes the funniest comments, like she really knows how to tell a joke! We have become quite addicted to the High School Musical craze and she will say "I love Gabriella, sissy loves Troy" so cute! She wanted to use her own money to buy a HSM notebook with a picture of the cast on it. She was riding in the cart at Wal-Mart and she was pointing to them saying "that's Gabriella, that's Troy" Then she pointed to the Chad character who has big poofy hair and she said "who's that? maybe his name's Hairy!!!!" She just laughed and laughed and of course we were dying it was so funny! I just love her age, where she is in between being a baby and big girl! Her personality is hilarious! What a blessing she is! I am seriously considering campaining to Tim to have Reese's middle name be Gabriella, just because of the cute way she says it!
Speaking of HSM, we are planning Ryleigh's 7th birthday party ( I cannot believe she will be 7) and she wants to have a HSM party, so we are having a blast planning it. She has come up with some great ideas and I found a lot of stuff on the internet, too! I think birthday parties are so much fun!!!! And this one may just be the best one yet!!! More on that later...
So, my new favorite question to ask myself daily is what I said before... If you don't pray for your kids, who will? If you have school age children or grandchildren and aren't in a Moms in Touch group, what are you waiting for? It will change your life and the lives of your children! If I can do it, anyone can!!!!
Blessings to anyone who reads this!!!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Trying to Get Settled Around Here
Well, it seems I am not the only one having the "first grade blues" as I posted earlier. Ryleigh is struggling to enjoy school this year. She has been crying a lot and after discussing it with her teacher we have tried to work really hard to figure out how to prevent these meltdowns. I think there are two main causes of her not being happy all day at school: #1 She is bored. #2 She is overly sensitive. We all love Mrs. Coffman and she has been wonderful. She has lots of friends in her class. Everything would seem to be just terrific, but that has not been the case. We have added "Being a big girl at school" to her list of jobs on her weekly job chart and that has helped. We have tried to teach her how to manage her feelings better. I know in time she will be fine, but it sure breaks your heart knowing your child isn't happy go luckily like first graders should be. Her beginning of the year test scores show that she is gifted, so hopefully she will be able to go to the enrichment class very soon. I am so proud of her for scoring so high! I am praying that she can stay focused on all the talents God has given her and not worry about anything else!
We had a fun get together Saturday at Incredible Pizza with our Ozarks adoption group. It's always so neat to see all the kids and visit with the parents. What a blessing to have that support in this area. Especially when there are ignorant white trash, psycho people living right here amongst us! We got an email from one such person a couple of weeks ago. Since then we have discovered where she lives and quite a bit about her lifestyle and stupidity. She was berrating us for being "unamerican" because we chose to adopt from China instead of a "homeless" American child. She went on and on and used some language I would never repeat. I could really go off on a tangent here, but I will take the high road and just be thankful for all of the love and support and encouragement we have received from 99% of the people we meet. How can anyone be so stupid? Especially when you see Reagan's adorable face and see what a perfect part of our family she is. UGH, it makes me ill to think that someone is raising three kids in such a horrible, racist home. Enough said.
Our Christmas program practices are going awesome! I am so excited for the kids to put on this program. They are so talented and sweet! I love working with them! It's amazing how they can be so young, yet have all this love for Jesus just overflowing from them! I feel like we are off to a great start this fall!
Basketball has also started and of course, I am just thrilled that Ryleigh is so eager to play! I am working with 2 other moms and we had our first practice last Thursday! The girls did great and I think we will have so much fun! We bought Ryleigh her first pair of basketball shoes- yellow and black Air Jordan's!!!!! They are very cool and perfect for a Little Lady Jacket! Our games will start at the end of October and we are going to practice a couple of times a week until then.
Reagan is loving gymnastics! She is such a good listener and does so well! She is so cute in her leotard with the little grin of hers! She loves to balance on one foot and hang on the bars like a little monkey! She is getting to be such a big girl- no accidents lately and she even got moved up to the big class at Sunday school!!! Yikes, no more nursery! It's a little bit sad! I am so proud of her though! She is such a good girl!
How did I get so lucky? We waited so long for our second child and I just always felt like I wasn't good enough or something, so I wasn't being given the gift of another baby. Now I just feel like, golly- what did I do to deserve such a perfect life? God certainly has a way of turning our darkest days into something unimaginably wonderful!!! My girls and my husband are the best!
As usual, no news about Reese. The only small ray of hope we have heard is that indeed more orphanages are opening up for international adoption. We found that out because the orphanage where Reagan was abandoned (at 10 days old she moved to Jianxin, where she was until she joined our family) has just started getting babies "paper ready" so they can be adopted. We got to see some referral photos of Poyang SWI and my heart skipped a beat seeing the buildings in the background, just knowing that Reagan's birth family left her there. I never thought we would be able to see it because it is so remote. It was nice to finally have another piece of her past to show her later. There are some adorable babies being referred from there!
Hopefully this week will be a good one for the Tuckers!
We had a fun get together Saturday at Incredible Pizza with our Ozarks adoption group. It's always so neat to see all the kids and visit with the parents. What a blessing to have that support in this area. Especially when there are ignorant white trash, psycho people living right here amongst us! We got an email from one such person a couple of weeks ago. Since then we have discovered where she lives and quite a bit about her lifestyle and stupidity. She was berrating us for being "unamerican" because we chose to adopt from China instead of a "homeless" American child. She went on and on and used some language I would never repeat. I could really go off on a tangent here, but I will take the high road and just be thankful for all of the love and support and encouragement we have received from 99% of the people we meet. How can anyone be so stupid? Especially when you see Reagan's adorable face and see what a perfect part of our family she is. UGH, it makes me ill to think that someone is raising three kids in such a horrible, racist home. Enough said.
Our Christmas program practices are going awesome! I am so excited for the kids to put on this program. They are so talented and sweet! I love working with them! It's amazing how they can be so young, yet have all this love for Jesus just overflowing from them! I feel like we are off to a great start this fall!
Basketball has also started and of course, I am just thrilled that Ryleigh is so eager to play! I am working with 2 other moms and we had our first practice last Thursday! The girls did great and I think we will have so much fun! We bought Ryleigh her first pair of basketball shoes- yellow and black Air Jordan's!!!!! They are very cool and perfect for a Little Lady Jacket! Our games will start at the end of October and we are going to practice a couple of times a week until then.
Reagan is loving gymnastics! She is such a good listener and does so well! She is so cute in her leotard with the little grin of hers! She loves to balance on one foot and hang on the bars like a little monkey! She is getting to be such a big girl- no accidents lately and she even got moved up to the big class at Sunday school!!! Yikes, no more nursery! It's a little bit sad! I am so proud of her though! She is such a good girl!
How did I get so lucky? We waited so long for our second child and I just always felt like I wasn't good enough or something, so I wasn't being given the gift of another baby. Now I just feel like, golly- what did I do to deserve such a perfect life? God certainly has a way of turning our darkest days into something unimaginably wonderful!!! My girls and my husband are the best!
As usual, no news about Reese. The only small ray of hope we have heard is that indeed more orphanages are opening up for international adoption. We found that out because the orphanage where Reagan was abandoned (at 10 days old she moved to Jianxin, where she was until she joined our family) has just started getting babies "paper ready" so they can be adopted. We got to see some referral photos of Poyang SWI and my heart skipped a beat seeing the buildings in the background, just knowing that Reagan's birth family left her there. I never thought we would be able to see it because it is so remote. It was nice to finally have another piece of her past to show her later. There are some adorable babies being referred from there!
Hopefully this week will be a good one for the Tuckers!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Girls Night Out
A new tradition with my good friends Jill, Stacy, and Erin is to have G.N.O. once a month. It's awesome!!!! Every part about it makes me smile- I feel so blessed to have these wonderful women in my life- they know me and still love me despite all my faults and we can get together and talk and laugh and laugh and laugh some more! It's so fun to share kid stories and husband stories (only good ones, of course) with people who have the same values, priorities, and feelings! I am also blessed because when I got home everyone was sound asleep and there were no major catastrophies while I was out. Perfect!
We spent the holiday weekend at my parents' house, mainly to swim one more time and visit with my grandparents who are here from Wisconsin. We had a nice time and did some shopping in Springfield on our way home. Reagan did manage to pee her pants at the restaurant we ate at, but I handled it without making too much of a scene! She is doing so much better going on the potty, but she still has her moments where she is not a big girl. Even though she says in the cutest voice- I not baby, I big girl! Ryleigh was just way to easy to potty- train. Oh well, it's all part of being a mommy!
Our calendar is slowly filling up with piano lessons, gymnastics, church, and basketball. I hope we can keep organized and not run ourselves ragged. I am very excited for basketball to start. I am coaching with 2 other moms and we have enough girls to have a team now. We also have a sponsor- hooray! We will start practice next week!
Referrals came out today. GW only got 22 for the Nov. 25 log-ins. Will they ever finish Nov?????????? Yikes, those people have been waiting since we left for China to get Reagan. We know 2 families in China now and it's so exciting to read their daily updates. It makes me want to be there getting Reese so bad. I can't wait to be back in China touring, shopping, and taking in all I can about the culture and history. We are going to celebrate with the Wilson's tonight for Klaire's one year Gotcha Day anniversary. Time goes so fast! It will be fun to see all the little China girls together again!
Quote of the day- Every child is a gift from God, the journey home just takes a little longer for some. Amen to that!
We spent the holiday weekend at my parents' house, mainly to swim one more time and visit with my grandparents who are here from Wisconsin. We had a nice time and did some shopping in Springfield on our way home. Reagan did manage to pee her pants at the restaurant we ate at, but I handled it without making too much of a scene! She is doing so much better going on the potty, but she still has her moments where she is not a big girl. Even though she says in the cutest voice- I not baby, I big girl! Ryleigh was just way to easy to potty- train. Oh well, it's all part of being a mommy!
Our calendar is slowly filling up with piano lessons, gymnastics, church, and basketball. I hope we can keep organized and not run ourselves ragged. I am very excited for basketball to start. I am coaching with 2 other moms and we have enough girls to have a team now. We also have a sponsor- hooray! We will start practice next week!
Referrals came out today. GW only got 22 for the Nov. 25 log-ins. Will they ever finish Nov?????????? Yikes, those people have been waiting since we left for China to get Reagan. We know 2 families in China now and it's so exciting to read their daily updates. It makes me want to be there getting Reese so bad. I can't wait to be back in China touring, shopping, and taking in all I can about the culture and history. We are going to celebrate with the Wilson's tonight for Klaire's one year Gotcha Day anniversary. Time goes so fast! It will be fun to see all the little China girls together again!
Quote of the day- Every child is a gift from God, the journey home just takes a little longer for some. Amen to that!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
First Grade Blues
Ryleigh LOVED her first day of first grade, but I, on the other hand, have contracted a case of first grade blues. It was not any easier to leave her this year than it was last year, so that was my first disappointment. I made it to the van and then the tears started flowing. I know that lots of people look so forward to sending their kids to school, but I am not one of them. I like when we are all home together. Yes, Ryleigh sometimes drives me crazy, but I would much rather have her home! Second disappointment was not knowing the daily schedule in her class at all. No idea when she has recess, what special class she has, when she eats lunch, etc. I am totally out of the loop and I don't like it! If only I was a two year old who could throw myself down and have a good old tantrum! Third disappointment of the day, Tim is picking her up because he got a new extra duty this year where he helps at the bus transfer station at her school. So, I am not the first one to hear about her day. Luckily, she usually tells me a lot more than she tells her daddy. I am very impressed with Mrs. Coffman and I know Ryleigh will have a great year. And somewhere deep down, I am happy about that. But right up front in my mind and heart, I am jealous, because someone else is spending more time with my baby than I am.
Things at home were much quieter with the 4 non-school age kids! Reagan, Ben, Justin, and Lindsey had a blast yesterday. They played so well together, cleaned up great, and all took good naps. As Justin so eloquently put it, "There's no big girls here to be bossy!" Madison did wonderful on her first day of kindergarten. I suppose it won't take very long for us to be in our new routine. I often wonder what life would be like if I didn't babysit. What would Reagan and I do all day?
Reagan is going to a trial run in a gymnastics class tonight! She is very excited! I don't know that she really understands what's going on, but she does like the attention she is getting and everyone asking her "Who's going to gymnastics tonight?" I can't wait to see how she does! If it's anything like swimming lessons, she will move right out of the toddler class and on up with the big kids! And I suspect it won't be long until she falls and breaks a bone as daring and energetic as she is! It will be her first activity that is just for her. Hopefully her big sister will be able to handle being out of the spotlight for 45 minutes!!!
Not much else going on. We know several families who are getting ready to travel to China. It's always so exciting to follow other families on their journey to their children! Too bad it's not us. I am starting to wonder if our little Reese has been conceived yet. I pray that her birth parents will take care of her and put her somewhere safe and that they will be comforted by God's loving arms, knowing that she will be taken care of. I know they could never imagine what her life will be like here, but I hope that can be at peace with their circumstances. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be faced with abandoning your child. I feel so blessed that we can adopt her and give her the life she deserves and that she will fill our lives with joy and happiness, just like her big sisters. What a complex, emotional situation it is. I just have to keep faith that it's all in God's hands and He will work it out for all of us.
Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."
Things at home were much quieter with the 4 non-school age kids! Reagan, Ben, Justin, and Lindsey had a blast yesterday. They played so well together, cleaned up great, and all took good naps. As Justin so eloquently put it, "There's no big girls here to be bossy!" Madison did wonderful on her first day of kindergarten. I suppose it won't take very long for us to be in our new routine. I often wonder what life would be like if I didn't babysit. What would Reagan and I do all day?
Reagan is going to a trial run in a gymnastics class tonight! She is very excited! I don't know that she really understands what's going on, but she does like the attention she is getting and everyone asking her "Who's going to gymnastics tonight?" I can't wait to see how she does! If it's anything like swimming lessons, she will move right out of the toddler class and on up with the big kids! And I suspect it won't be long until she falls and breaks a bone as daring and energetic as she is! It will be her first activity that is just for her. Hopefully her big sister will be able to handle being out of the spotlight for 45 minutes!!!
Not much else going on. We know several families who are getting ready to travel to China. It's always so exciting to follow other families on their journey to their children! Too bad it's not us. I am starting to wonder if our little Reese has been conceived yet. I pray that her birth parents will take care of her and put her somewhere safe and that they will be comforted by God's loving arms, knowing that she will be taken care of. I know they could never imagine what her life will be like here, but I hope that can be at peace with their circumstances. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be faced with abandoning your child. I feel so blessed that we can adopt her and give her the life she deserves and that she will fill our lives with joy and happiness, just like her big sisters. What a complex, emotional situation it is. I just have to keep faith that it's all in God's hands and He will work it out for all of us.
Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Summer is Winding Down!
Yikes, I cannot believe I didn't post anything to this blog for 2 months! I am terrible at keeping up, especially when Tim and Ryleigh are both home! Well, I guess I can only do better!
We have had a busy and fun summer! We haven't done anything big and fabulous, but we have done a lot of little things close to home! It's cheaper and easier that way! Tim taught summer school and his first class at Drury, so he didn't have much time off. And when he was at home, I made him help me with all my projects and all the kids! We did take time off from me babysitting and let Grandma and PaPa keep the girls so we could spend 2 nights in Eureka Springs. It was so much fun, we wondered why we don't get away more often. The girls had a blast with my mom and dad, so there was nothing to worry about! It was a real treat for us to relax and spend time alone! The cabin we stayed in was beautiful and very secluded, perfect for us! And we had satellite tv- yippee- I got to watch reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 and Little House on the Prairie and Tim watched a million episodes of Man vs. Wild, which gave me lots of time to nap and read my celebrity gossip magazines!
Both the girls learned to swim, so the water has been much more fun this summer. We spent a day at the Camdenton Water Park with Brett and Ryleigh had a ball! Reagan, Lindsey, and Ben had a great time, too! Luckily Tim was with me to help keep track of them! We took a trip to the zoo last week even though it was super hot. They all had a good time, especially watching the River Otters. They were the only animals that were really active!
We spent Father's Day weekend in Kansas City to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary. My grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins, and my brother's family and sister's family all stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge. It was so nice to all be together and the indoor waterpark was enjoyed by everyone! The kids loved their special rooms decorated like a little log cabin!
We learned some exciting news about Yan, the 13 year old we prayed about adopting. Her forever family lives about 2 hours away from us! We will get to meet her!!! She is so beautiful and joining a very lucky family! I just know that God has some special things in store for her! We look forward to getting to know her family and her!
Ryleigh is all moved to the basement in her very awesome new room! We did a great job decorating and it was defintely a family effort! I love it! Reagan sleeps with her about half the time, but so far there have only been 2 times that I had to intervene and send Reagan to her own bed because of excessive giggling! It's so adorable watching them! It reminds of the fun of growing up with an older sister. Hopefully Ryleigh won't be as bossy and snotty to Reagan as Lori was to me! Ha Ha, just kidding, Lori! They have really gotten along well this summer.
I had a mommy meltdown when Ryleigh got her letter in the mail from her 1st grade teacher. I just freaked a little when I read the part about sitting at her own big first grade desk! I hadn't thought about her not being at little kindergarten tables anymore. The image of her sitting at a real desk, made me cry! It all goes by so fast! Thank God I have been able to stay at home with my kids. We went to "First Grade Sneak Peek" last night so we got to meet her teacher and she got to pick out her own desk! We know she is going to have a great year with Mrs. Coffman, she seems like an excellent teacher and perfect for Ryleigh! Everyone will be happy, but mommy!
Reagan is still working on being a big girl with the potty training thing. We have resorted to bribery with a Snow White princess dress. We look at it everytime we go to Wal-Mart to remind her that big girl princesses wear panties. I am not holding my breath...
We are 5 months into our wait for Reese. Still at least another 18 I am sure. The referrals that came out last week were the people logged in on Nov. 21, 2005. So, there's no point in doing anything but working on patience around here! Her room will stay the way it is for awhile, it will be too sad to have it all ready and then have to wait another year and a half.
Well, hopefully I will post more sooner rather than later!!!
We have had a busy and fun summer! We haven't done anything big and fabulous, but we have done a lot of little things close to home! It's cheaper and easier that way! Tim taught summer school and his first class at Drury, so he didn't have much time off. And when he was at home, I made him help me with all my projects and all the kids! We did take time off from me babysitting and let Grandma and PaPa keep the girls so we could spend 2 nights in Eureka Springs. It was so much fun, we wondered why we don't get away more often. The girls had a blast with my mom and dad, so there was nothing to worry about! It was a real treat for us to relax and spend time alone! The cabin we stayed in was beautiful and very secluded, perfect for us! And we had satellite tv- yippee- I got to watch reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 and Little House on the Prairie and Tim watched a million episodes of Man vs. Wild, which gave me lots of time to nap and read my celebrity gossip magazines!
Both the girls learned to swim, so the water has been much more fun this summer. We spent a day at the Camdenton Water Park with Brett and Ryleigh had a ball! Reagan, Lindsey, and Ben had a great time, too! Luckily Tim was with me to help keep track of them! We took a trip to the zoo last week even though it was super hot. They all had a good time, especially watching the River Otters. They were the only animals that were really active!
We spent Father's Day weekend in Kansas City to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary. My grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins, and my brother's family and sister's family all stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge. It was so nice to all be together and the indoor waterpark was enjoyed by everyone! The kids loved their special rooms decorated like a little log cabin!
We learned some exciting news about Yan, the 13 year old we prayed about adopting. Her forever family lives about 2 hours away from us! We will get to meet her!!! She is so beautiful and joining a very lucky family! I just know that God has some special things in store for her! We look forward to getting to know her family and her!
Ryleigh is all moved to the basement in her very awesome new room! We did a great job decorating and it was defintely a family effort! I love it! Reagan sleeps with her about half the time, but so far there have only been 2 times that I had to intervene and send Reagan to her own bed because of excessive giggling! It's so adorable watching them! It reminds of the fun of growing up with an older sister. Hopefully Ryleigh won't be as bossy and snotty to Reagan as Lori was to me! Ha Ha, just kidding, Lori! They have really gotten along well this summer.
I had a mommy meltdown when Ryleigh got her letter in the mail from her 1st grade teacher. I just freaked a little when I read the part about sitting at her own big first grade desk! I hadn't thought about her not being at little kindergarten tables anymore. The image of her sitting at a real desk, made me cry! It all goes by so fast! Thank God I have been able to stay at home with my kids. We went to "First Grade Sneak Peek" last night so we got to meet her teacher and she got to pick out her own desk! We know she is going to have a great year with Mrs. Coffman, she seems like an excellent teacher and perfect for Ryleigh! Everyone will be happy, but mommy!
Reagan is still working on being a big girl with the potty training thing. We have resorted to bribery with a Snow White princess dress. We look at it everytime we go to Wal-Mart to remind her that big girl princesses wear panties. I am not holding my breath...
We are 5 months into our wait for Reese. Still at least another 18 I am sure. The referrals that came out last week were the people logged in on Nov. 21, 2005. So, there's no point in doing anything but working on patience around here! Her room will stay the way it is for awhile, it will be too sad to have it all ready and then have to wait another year and a half.
Well, hopefully I will post more sooner rather than later!!!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Catching Up!
Well, so much for keeping up with a daily blog!
There's so much to catch up on and I will try to put my thoughts on paper so someday Reese will know what was going on with her family during our long wait.
To start with, GWCA's Waiting Child list came out on April 27th. Tim and I were both immediately drawn to the oldest child on the list, which if you know us, is not something you would expect! We read every detail of her information and began the process of trying to decide if our family would be a good match for her. I have to say in all honesty, I have never had to make such a tough decision. There were so many things to talk about and consider. Tim and I spent a lot of time talking about her and Reese and praying for God to give us a sign as to what we should do. I would have preferred a flashing neon sign with His plan spelled out, but that didn't happen. The bottom line for me was that my Reese is a baby in China, I am sure of that. The CCAA will not allow you to have two dossiers in China at one time (stupid rule, in my opinion, with the wait being pretty close to forever) and we just couldn't stand the thought of taking our dossier for Reese out of line at this point. As I sit here and type this, it makes me feel selfish for wanting another baby when there are perfectly wonderful older children that would fit in our family. However, we know that God led us to China again for Reese and we have faith that it will all work out.
I think what happened through this whole process of considering an older child is that we were able to open our minds to it and we will keep praying about it and see what happens in the future. We have talked to a lot of people in the adoption communtity about it and have gathered quite a bit of information. We will file it away and continue to search for God's will in our lives. We would like to thank all the people who talked with us openly and honestly about this little girl. I think it is easy for people to judge other couples when we grow our families in a non-traditional way and it is such an awesome feeling to know we have friends and a church family who can open their minds and hearts to these situations. What I have learned the most from our church is that when you put God first and seek His will in all you do, you can't go wrong! And if you surround yourself with people who believe, you will always have a support system no matter what!
By the way, the little girl that we were considering applying for has been chosen by another family. While I am sad that it didn't work out for us to be her family, I am so glad that she will know the love of a family really soon! I will always pray for her and hope she will be happy and healthy in her new life!
Referrals came out today, too. I try to be really excited for the people who are finally get their referral (the latest Log-in Date to receive referrals this time was November 7, 2005) but when you think about how many people are ahead of us, it is easy to get discouraged about the incredibly long wait we have ahead of us. It gets so tiresome trying to explain why it takes so long to people. I love to talk about adoption, don't get me wrong, but when you can't give a straight answer (because there isn't one) it makes it seem like the whole process is a scam. It's very frustrating.
We spent last weekend in Branson because the acrobats at the New Shanghai Circus had a reunion for families with children from China. It was an awesome time! The girls had a blast and we got to spend lots of time with the Wilson family, so it was really fun! We met a lot of nice families and even ran into the family that sat next to us on the way to China! It really can be a small world! It is such a great feeling when you look around at all the happy kids and see how many lives have been touched by adoption. I cannot imagine not knowing the love we have found by adopting from China. I think everyone (well, maybe not everyone, but all decent people!!!) should adopt at least one child, it changes you completely and puts life into perspective. We are so blessed with both of our girls!
One more week until Stacy comes home with Haven from Kaz. What an adventure they have had! I cannot wait to hold that little cutie pie and kiss those little cheeks! We are planning a Welcome Home Party for them and are making a scrapbook to give them as a gift. Several of us got together tonight at church and worked on it- it was so much fun! It is going to be an real tear jerker for Stacy! I drank way to much caffeine while we were there, which is why I am typing this at 12:30 a.m. !! I am not used to having that much Mt. Dew!!!
The girls are both taking swimming lessons and it is going great! They are complete opposites in the water- Ryleigh needs to be more confident and less scared- Reagan needs to be less daring and more afraid! Reagan is being so good and listening to the teacher, I am so impressed! Ryleigh is doing so much more than she would ever do for her mommy and daddy! She was a little nervous to jump in in the deep end, but I think by the end of the week, she will do it! It's going to be a fun summer at the pool!
We are settling in to our crazy summer routine. There are six kids here during the day, including my own, so I don't have much free time. When the little ones are napping, Ryleigh and I work on "homeschool" summer school work! We are having a really nice time together. We wrote a book together and it was hilarious! I love to hear her laugh when we sit and talk together. I dread the day when she gets too old to hang out with me! We are trying to work on neatness in her handwriting! She is reading a lot and loves to get all the kids together to read stories to them!
Tim is teaching summer school and he also just started teaching a college class for Drury two nights a week! It's so different for him to go from 12 year olds to adults, but I know he will do great! He works so hard for us and I am so thankful for that! I am so lucky to be married to him!
Well, I can't think of anything else. Thank you to all you guys who check in regularly to this site to see what's new! I hope to do better about updating! We love to hear from you, so feel free to email us!
There's so much to catch up on and I will try to put my thoughts on paper so someday Reese will know what was going on with her family during our long wait.
To start with, GWCA's Waiting Child list came out on April 27th. Tim and I were both immediately drawn to the oldest child on the list, which if you know us, is not something you would expect! We read every detail of her information and began the process of trying to decide if our family would be a good match for her. I have to say in all honesty, I have never had to make such a tough decision. There were so many things to talk about and consider. Tim and I spent a lot of time talking about her and Reese and praying for God to give us a sign as to what we should do. I would have preferred a flashing neon sign with His plan spelled out, but that didn't happen. The bottom line for me was that my Reese is a baby in China, I am sure of that. The CCAA will not allow you to have two dossiers in China at one time (stupid rule, in my opinion, with the wait being pretty close to forever) and we just couldn't stand the thought of taking our dossier for Reese out of line at this point. As I sit here and type this, it makes me feel selfish for wanting another baby when there are perfectly wonderful older children that would fit in our family. However, we know that God led us to China again for Reese and we have faith that it will all work out.
I think what happened through this whole process of considering an older child is that we were able to open our minds to it and we will keep praying about it and see what happens in the future. We have talked to a lot of people in the adoption communtity about it and have gathered quite a bit of information. We will file it away and continue to search for God's will in our lives. We would like to thank all the people who talked with us openly and honestly about this little girl. I think it is easy for people to judge other couples when we grow our families in a non-traditional way and it is such an awesome feeling to know we have friends and a church family who can open their minds and hearts to these situations. What I have learned the most from our church is that when you put God first and seek His will in all you do, you can't go wrong! And if you surround yourself with people who believe, you will always have a support system no matter what!
By the way, the little girl that we were considering applying for has been chosen by another family. While I am sad that it didn't work out for us to be her family, I am so glad that she will know the love of a family really soon! I will always pray for her and hope she will be happy and healthy in her new life!
Referrals came out today, too. I try to be really excited for the people who are finally get their referral (the latest Log-in Date to receive referrals this time was November 7, 2005) but when you think about how many people are ahead of us, it is easy to get discouraged about the incredibly long wait we have ahead of us. It gets so tiresome trying to explain why it takes so long to people. I love to talk about adoption, don't get me wrong, but when you can't give a straight answer (because there isn't one) it makes it seem like the whole process is a scam. It's very frustrating.
We spent last weekend in Branson because the acrobats at the New Shanghai Circus had a reunion for families with children from China. It was an awesome time! The girls had a blast and we got to spend lots of time with the Wilson family, so it was really fun! We met a lot of nice families and even ran into the family that sat next to us on the way to China! It really can be a small world! It is such a great feeling when you look around at all the happy kids and see how many lives have been touched by adoption. I cannot imagine not knowing the love we have found by adopting from China. I think everyone (well, maybe not everyone, but all decent people!!!) should adopt at least one child, it changes you completely and puts life into perspective. We are so blessed with both of our girls!
One more week until Stacy comes home with Haven from Kaz. What an adventure they have had! I cannot wait to hold that little cutie pie and kiss those little cheeks! We are planning a Welcome Home Party for them and are making a scrapbook to give them as a gift. Several of us got together tonight at church and worked on it- it was so much fun! It is going to be an real tear jerker for Stacy! I drank way to much caffeine while we were there, which is why I am typing this at 12:30 a.m. !! I am not used to having that much Mt. Dew!!!
The girls are both taking swimming lessons and it is going great! They are complete opposites in the water- Ryleigh needs to be more confident and less scared- Reagan needs to be less daring and more afraid! Reagan is being so good and listening to the teacher, I am so impressed! Ryleigh is doing so much more than she would ever do for her mommy and daddy! She was a little nervous to jump in in the deep end, but I think by the end of the week, she will do it! It's going to be a fun summer at the pool!
We are settling in to our crazy summer routine. There are six kids here during the day, including my own, so I don't have much free time. When the little ones are napping, Ryleigh and I work on "homeschool" summer school work! We are having a really nice time together. We wrote a book together and it was hilarious! I love to hear her laugh when we sit and talk together. I dread the day when she gets too old to hang out with me! We are trying to work on neatness in her handwriting! She is reading a lot and loves to get all the kids together to read stories to them!
Tim is teaching summer school and he also just started teaching a college class for Drury two nights a week! It's so different for him to go from 12 year olds to adults, but I know he will do great! He works so hard for us and I am so thankful for that! I am so lucky to be married to him!
Well, I can't think of anything else. Thank you to all you guys who check in regularly to this site to see what's new! I hope to do better about updating! We love to hear from you, so feel free to email us!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Mom Rocks
Mom Rocks was the saying on the card my girls got me! I suppose that is the ultimate compliment these days! Ryleigh wrote me a mother's day book at school. She thinks I am 23 years old and 87 pounds, so I'll go with it! I love, love, love that she can read and write and spell enough to put her own thoughts on paper now! It is so sweet! And Reagan loves to "write" too, so my card was decorate with her doodles. Very special!
We got to see both of our moms yesterday. My parents came up for lunch and then we met the in-laws at the lake for dinner after we shopped. It was a good day all around! Tim and I are supposed to get a new bed (hooray, hooray, hooray!) this week, so we bought a new comforter set. I am very excited! I am sure we will get much better sleep at night in a bed that's not 20 years old and so flat and torn, it probably wouldn't even sell at a yard sale!
We seem to keep messing things up around the house to get ready for Reese to join our family, but I think eventually everything will have a place and will be put there for good! Then we will still have a year to wait for our baby. Oh well...
We are winding down the school year and I am so ready for Ryleigh to be at home with me! I am planning all kinds of fun stuff for us to do this summer! She will love being home with Reagan and all the babysitting kiddos! She has her dance recital this Saturday (mommy is definitely ready to be done with dance forever) and her last soccer game is tomorrow night (mommy is sad about that!). I am ready to take a break from all the activities and not be so busy at night.
We went to Silver Dollar City on Saturday with Tim's student council kids. We had a perfect day! There is so much to do there now, I really think you could spend 2 whole days now. The girls both had a blast and the weather was beautiful! We got some great pictures, too! Maybe Tim can get some posted on here, since all I know how to do is type!
We got to see both of our moms yesterday. My parents came up for lunch and then we met the in-laws at the lake for dinner after we shopped. It was a good day all around! Tim and I are supposed to get a new bed (hooray, hooray, hooray!) this week, so we bought a new comforter set. I am very excited! I am sure we will get much better sleep at night in a bed that's not 20 years old and so flat and torn, it probably wouldn't even sell at a yard sale!
We seem to keep messing things up around the house to get ready for Reese to join our family, but I think eventually everything will have a place and will be put there for good! Then we will still have a year to wait for our baby. Oh well...
We are winding down the school year and I am so ready for Ryleigh to be at home with me! I am planning all kinds of fun stuff for us to do this summer! She will love being home with Reagan and all the babysitting kiddos! She has her dance recital this Saturday (mommy is definitely ready to be done with dance forever) and her last soccer game is tomorrow night (mommy is sad about that!). I am ready to take a break from all the activities and not be so busy at night.
We went to Silver Dollar City on Saturday with Tim's student council kids. We had a perfect day! There is so much to do there now, I really think you could spend 2 whole days now. The girls both had a blast and the weather was beautiful! We got some great pictures, too! Maybe Tim can get some posted on here, since all I know how to do is type!
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