Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A parenting moment


One night last week we had one of those lovely parenting moments. You know, the kind that make you want to pull your hair out. Or at least send your child to her room until she's twenty five!

Allie and I were trying to explain to Emily that she needed to do something differently than the way she had been doing it. Every time we would try to tell her how it needed to be done she would start to explain to us how she had been doing it. She wasn't necessarily trying to "back talk" or be disrespectful. She just REALLY wanted us to hear how she had been doing things.

That didn't change the fact that it was still driving us nuts that she wouldn't listen to us! Over and over, we would try to explain to her and she would try to tell us. It didn't matter that what she was doing wasn't working at all. It didn't matter that she KNEW she was not going to be able to do it the way she had been. She still wanted to tell us and she still wanted us to listen to her way of doing it. The more we refused to listen and only correct her, the more upset (I mean really upset) she got!

Finally, we stopped trying to explain and just heard her out. Once we had listened she was totally fine. She was suddenly willing to listen to how we wanted things done. She completely surprised me by how happy she was to do things our way. She just wanted us to listen to her.

After all the eleven year old drama...ugh, the drama... was over I was reminded about how often we respond to God that way. He tries to tell us that there is something in our lives that we need to change and all we want to do is tell him what we are doing. Like somehow by simply telling him what our plans are or what we have been doing, will make a difference in what he wants us to do.

But here is what amazes me about our God. In his mercy, he listens! He actually wants to hear us out. He not only desires to have those crazy conversations with us, it's part of what he created us for! He understands that when we are comfortable telling him "our way" of doing things, that it's part of building a relationship with him. He knows that when he listens and really hears us, we are more likely to call out to him in the future.

My current memory verse is Psalm 166:1&2 which says, "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." I have been trying memorize these verses this last week but they didn't really hit home until I saw them in light of our...ummm...epsisod...with Emily.

So all this to remind myself (and maybe you) that when you call out to God HE HEARS YOU! Does he still want us to do things his way...aaa, yeah! But in his mercy, he turns his ear to us and simply listens. He totally understands our need to be heard. He loves us enough to have mercy on us and listen to us...isn't he amazing?!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Favorite Photo Friday


Wednesday Night I filled in for Emily's G.A. teacher and we had such a good time! My friend Priscilla helped and she was awesome! She was the brave one who climbed on a huge ladder to take pictures of the girls spelling out "WE 'heart' U!" Then I was the wimpy one who printed the pictures and the girls were the creative ones who made a poster for their regular teacher...Hi Cindy!!!

On a side note...check out Emily's feet. She is all about wearing two different colored flip flops most days!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A Tea Party

Emily: "Mom you know how sometimes kids die while they are still little?"

Me: "Yeah. That makes me sad."

Emily: "Well, I think that the girls have tea parties with Jesus. I think He just walks over and says "Hi Sally, do you want to have a tea party?' And then He sits down and they have tea."

Me: "I'm sure they do."

Friday, March 20, 2009

Favorite Photo Friday

"It was the 1st day of the 1st grade....." I love that Veggie Tales song and I can't help but sing it every time I see a 1st day of the school year picture. And I LOVE this picture! She looks sooooo little in her Grandpa Joe's big chair!

It's hard to believe that it was during Emily's 1st grade year that God began to whisper adoption at us. It seems surreal to me to think about how long we have been "in the process of adopting a little girl from China." When you have been saying that for four years, you start to wonder if people think you are delusional. Oh well, they thought Noah was nuts too!

Praise God that He is faithful and keeps His promises. Someday, I will be taking pictures of KayLi's 1st day of the....you know the song!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Last of Spring Break



This is what happens when you give your child a camera with video capabilities.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring Break Resumes!

Spring Break 2009 was sadly interrupted by a nasty storm last Wednesday. But on Thursday it cleared up enough that Emily and her friend Shelby were able to go to Shelby's Mimi's on the river in San Angelo.

Emily brought her little camera and they took a lot of pictures! It's very interesting to see what your child will take pictures of with her own camera.

They went to the mall and did a little shopping. You have to love the beret Emily's bought!

And the "squishy." It cracks me up that they took pictures in the car on the way home from the mall but not IN the mall!

They were very excited to drive Mimi's golf cart all by themselves. Even if it was just down the road and back.

I don't even want to know how they took pictures of each other while they were driving!

Mimi has a swing where they took a few creative pictures of each other. This picture totally freaked me out until I realized Emily was upside down on the swing. I thought she was laying on the muddy, wet leaves...eeuuww!

I soooo love this one of Shelby. Em's the best eleven year old photographer I have ever seen!

They decided to model a little on Mimi's deck.

Look out America's Next Top Model!


Thank you so much to Sundai (Shelby's mom) and Mimi for inviting Emily to the river. She had such a good time!!! She hasn't stopped talking about it since she got home yesterday. And she was excited all over again as we went through the pictures to choose which ones to post. She can't wait to go tubing down the river this summer!

Thanks So Much!!!

A HUGE thank you to Sharon at In Light of Eternity for being the first to e-mail me about purchasing the card set I posted. I had a blast making them and I hope she enjoys them. I'll be posting another set soon, so be on the look out if you missed out on these :0)

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Cherry Blossoms in Blue - Handmade Cards



I can't tell you how surprised I was by the comments and e-mails I received after I told you all about the cards my mom has been making for our adoption. So many of you asked how you could buy some that I thought I would make a set and give you a chance to buy them here. It has been a while since I have been creative, so they were a lot of fun to make!

They are all hand stamped, inked and distressed...clicking on the picture will help you see the details. The Cherry Blossom stamp is "popped" up with the ribbon tucking underneath. The little silver "Love" charm adds a nice touch of bling. They come with matching envelopes, that I did a little stamping on. I also stamped the inside bottom corner of each card. They are blank inside for your personal message. They measure 5 and 1/2 by 4 inches and there are 6 in this set.

Since I only have one set of cards like this, I thought the best way for you to purchase them would be for you to e-mail me your address and the first person to e-mail gets to buy them. Think ebayish, except no bidding, just first come first served :0) A link to my e-mail is on the sidebar. The cost is $15.00 plus $2.00 shipping and handling and all the proceeds will go toward our adoption costs. Please don't click on the "Donate" button until you know whether or not you are the "winner."

Thanks so much for encouraging me to sell them here. I had a lot of fun making them and imagining who would be sending them to their friends with sweet notes inside. You just may be seeing them here often!!!

Edited 3-16-09 : This set of cards was purchased by Sharon at In Light of Eternity. Thanks so much Sharon!!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Favorite Photo Friday

Have I mentioned that Ryan is majoring in Management and Information Systems and minoring in Business at Texas Tech.? He has a 3.93 GPA and we couldn't be prouder!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Spring Break Interrupted

Much to Emily's disappointment, Spring Break 2009 was slightly interrupted yesterday by a lovely ice storm.

It's a little heartbreaking to see newly budded tree limbs covered in a sheet of ice. Especially when Emily and her friend Shelby had plans to go to Shebly's grandparents house on the river in San Angelo.

Instead they busied themselves painting crosses to glue onto canvas' that they also painted. I love how serious Emily looks!

And how NOT serious Emily looks. I don't know why she would get annoyed with her mother for taking so many pictures for her blog? At least Shelby was a good sport!

The finished crosses on canvas came out really cute! Emily even added flowers and buttons to hers. And it matches her newly decorated room perfectly.

I love Shelby's use of polka dots! It makes me think of a sunny, blue sky. Which is very nice on a day like today.

This was taken today when, believe it or not, it got a little warmer. They just HAD to go out and look at all the icicles. So since they looked so cute in their hats and scarves, I just HAD to take their picture! The roads even improved enough that they headed to San Angelo this afternoon. San Angelo is south of us, so hopefully they will have much warmer weather. I'm pitifully excited that Emily took her little camera!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Favorite Photo Friday - Saturday Edition


Oh, so pitiful that I'm posting a Favorite Photo Friday on Saturday but such is life. I spent yesterday in Lubbock at a follow up doctors appointment (stitches are gone and life is GOOD!) And spending time with Ryan was a great bonus!!!

But it did mean no time to post a picture that I love, so here goes...

Not long ago I was looking back over the short history of this blog (all 36 posts, ohhhh) and noticed that I haven't written much about my amazing husband. For shame, for shame. How could I possibly be overlooking the best part of my life and myself? Sadly this post is long past due :0(

He took this picture of himself and I think his creativity with it was pretty cool. He is a musician and for those that don't recognize it, his refection is in the pick up on his guitar. He has been playing the guitar longer than he's been my man. That means he's been playing for a long time now ;0) It's something that I sooooo love about him.

From rock to country. And from blues to Tejano, he has basically played it all. Long before we put Christ at the center of our lives I would sit in smoke filled beer joints and blues bars, trying so hard to be a supportive wife. There is really nothing like being hit on by some drunk idiot who is making a fool out of himself while your husband is on stage five feet away. It seems so funny looking back on it but at the time....uh, not so much!

Now he plays for an audience of One and nothing could touch my heart more. He has played in and led praise and worship teams. Led worship for revival services. And taught countless teenagers to play. So in August when he began leading worship at our new little church, it simply felt natural and right.

Praise God who stepped in and began to turn our hearts to Him. The transformation that took place was nothing short of a miracle in our lives. To watch Allie publicly praise God and lead our congregation to do the same brings tears to my eyes weekly. And as he practices, our home is filled with Gods presence as well...it's just awesome!!!

So Allie, if you are reading this, please know that I love you "More Than Words." I'm glad we both had "Patience." I thank God everyday for lighting an "Eternal Flame" in us. And I will always be "Right Here Waiting For You" because "I Remember You."

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I'll Watch It Again and Again!


Yesterday I was checking out a few of my favorite blogs and came across Sharon's post about the movie The Children of Huang Shi. I was so excited! I had recently put that movie on my Blockbuster queue and knew it was likely in my mail box. So my mom ran to the post office (I'm still not running yet but I will be soon!) and yeah, it was there!

What an awesome movie!!! It is the first time in forever that I went straight to Amazon.com and bought a movie. I really can't recommend it enough. Even if we were not in the middle of an adoption from China, I would be in love with this film.

It's the story of an English journalist and an American nurse who relocate 60 orphans during the Japanese invasion of China during the 1930's. It gives you an amazing look at the history of China and mentions several places that are familiar to the adoption community.

It's not a movie for the whole family though. There are very realistic war scenes, that my 11 year old isn't ready for. Not to mention a love scene that I could have done without. Oh, for the days when they could tell a story and keep it clean!

The link above is to the movies official site. I linked you to their synopsis page. Unless you are a read the last page of the book first kinda girl, don't go to their home page...it spoils the ending :0(

Oh, and it's based on actual events. After the movie they even interview several of the now grown children that were rescued. So, so good!!!