Fun Day at the Pumpkin Patch!!!

Runnin' through the "hay maze"!!

On top of the world!!!!

Anna Grace and Kaylee Rose

My hayride buddy. . . :-)

Cotton Pickin' time

Peek a Boo!!!!

Anna Grace and I had a wonderful time, today, at the Old Baker Farm with AG's kindergarten class. We had a hay ride, picked out pumpkins, played in the hay, pet baby chicks and rabbits, picked cotton. . . you name it! It was a fun time, and I hope you enjoy the pics of our fun memories.

Beach Memories

Click on the photos to see them full-sized

My sweetie and me at the beach. . .

Sunrise over the salt marsh. . .

Our sunrise walk--gosh it was gorgeous!!!!

Daddy and his beach angel

Kisses for daddy

--check out that most perfect sand artfully designed by the ocean breezes. . .

Shell huntin' success!!!

Anna Grace after she races us back to the condo---and wins!!!



Sunset at Seagrove Beach

Oh, beautiful jellies in the crystal waters---if only you would have let us enjoy the water too!

sun-bathin' beauty

Making "Drip Castles" with Mama "B". . .

Ocean over the dunes. . .

morning walks on the beach--with coffee!!

Our family. . .

The whole gang of us at the beach!! What great times we had. . .

Mama, me and Anna Grace---3 generations of women! I'm so glad mom came!

Well, there are times when you just need to take a break from things to embrace the simple, fundamental beautiful things in life--and shut out the clutter, noise, stress and distraction of the every day routine. These times refresh, restore and inspire you--and they shine a light on all the things we have to be truly thankful for--our health, the beauty of nature around us that stays constant even during these tumultuous times in our world, and the people in our lives who are walking this life-journey with us. I became keenly aware during my reflective time at the beach how the simple things, at the end of the day, are what we are left with. And they are what matters--not the urgent matters that vie for our attention every day.



Above are some reflections of our trip----hope you enjoy!

We are launching our adoption bracelet fundraiser!!!

Well, no more news thus far on the adoption. We are in the "just wait" phase--waiting our place in line for our referral. In the meantime, however, we have an exciting job to do. Anna Grace wants to be a part of the process and we have created a beautiful adoption bracelet (with her help) to help us raise the funds to bring her sister home from Taiwan----and at the same time, raise awareness for the millions of children more waiting to be adopted into their forever families. We hope this bracelet will reach far and wide spreading the message of the beauty and tremendous need for adoption. Please visit our newest blogsite at www.childrenoftheworldadoptionbracelets.blogspot.com.

We appreciate you stopping by--and, please, pass word along to others you know. We need to get the word out about our project!

For those of you reading who are in the process of adopting and you have another child at home anxiously waiting for their brother or sister to come home--you might consider coming up with a creative project of your own to allow your child to be a part of the adoption process. It is a great family bonding experience!!

Thanks for reading, everyone! And, thanks in advance for taking a look at our bracelet blog.

Hip Hip Hooray!!! We're Waitlisted TODAY!!!!!!

Well, after what seems an eternity, we took a HUGE step forward today----we got the email that we are on the waitlist!!!!! Truly---I met my husband, dated, fell in love, got engaged, planned a wedding and said "I do" in the same amount of time it has taken for us to get a completed home study and a notice that we're on the waitlist. (We've now been married 9 happy years!! )

Hopefully, the rest of the process will move quickly and with no major snags. We are HAPPY in Alabama tonight!! Wohooooo :-)

Thanks for reading and for your prayers and positive thoughts. . .

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!!--in little envelopes in the mail!

Well, well, well. . . . guess what arrived in our mailbox today? Our I797 (Immigration approval for adopting an orphan!!!!!). We have been waiting since MAY for this news, and finally it has arrived. Unfortunately, there was a mistake on it---so that is another issue we will have to deal with as this form must match the homestudy. But, it is a HUGE answer to prayer to know that we are approved. Now we can officially begin our wait for our daughter-----And, we CAN NOT EVEN BEGIN to tell you how excited we are, right now!!!!!

Thank you for reading, everyone!! Have a wonderful week!

A Fun Start to School and Ballet

We have had a great couple of weeks as Anna Grace has started Kindergarten! She is loving school and is doing so well. She was tested on her literacy/reading skills and surpassed the benchmark goals expected for her by May!!!! I am very proud of her. She loves riding the bus, she loves being a "big girl" and getting her lunch in the lunch line (she tells me when she wants mommy to pack her lunch), and she absolutely loves her teacher. I am so very thankful for that! We did take pictures of her on her first day of school, and as soon as I get those downloaded (this weekend), I'll add them.

Anna Grace also started ballet at the Alabama Royal Academy of Ballet this past week. She had a very exciting first class!! Here are some photos.
Anna Grace gets ready for her first ballet class!!

Anna Grace and her new friend

"Girls, how many of you watched the Olympics? Do you remember how the gymnasts walked in nicely? We will walk with our hands on our hips."



Anna Grace getting ready for a fun first class

Now, we did have a family Luau (as Anna Grace called it) when I made Tilapia tacos a few days ago. So, we decided to make it a family celebration! Here are a few pics:




A few days back, Anna Grace drew this drawing on her art easel. She explained that it was the Great Wall of China, Mrs. Tien in front (our Taiwan facilitator), daddy behind her, mommy and then Anna Grace (with the bow in her hair). Mrs. Tien is taking us to bring home our baby sister from Taiwan. And, if you look closely, you can see the row of babies she drew. Pretty amazing understanding for a 5 year old.



Anna Grace is holding her new mandolin she is excited to learn to play. Thank you Cool Mandolin for Kids Co.!! You do wonderful things for children and music!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, everyone! And, again, thanks so much for following along!

No news is. . . . no news

Gosh, I was holding off on posting a while, just hoping that we would have some great news to share with everyone that our USCIS approval had come. But, alas. . . nothing. I finally got in touch with our social worker today who shared that they have about 20 families in the same predicament---waiting on their approval from USCIS. And, they are receiving no communication from Immigration either. . . just crickets chirping. So, we continue our wait and hope that one day soon, we will get confirmation in the mail so that we can go on the waitlist---something we've been striving to do since last October.

On a positive note, I performed my concert, "Unabandoned Love. . . the Orphan's Road Home" at Riverchase United Methodist last week and it went so very well, and was well-received by all who attended. My hope is to schedule more concerts soon. There are so many millions of children who need loving parents out there. I would like to think maybe I could help inspire others to consider adoption and change the world by loving a child.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post as soon as I have news :-) Have a wonderful weekend everyone!