Answered Prayers

We received the call late last night (about 11:45 PM) that my father-in-law Bobby had died. As much as he struggled these last couple of weeks, it is a blessing for him to be relieved of the pain & anxiety that he was enduring. Just want to thank each of you who continued to pray for him as well as our family. The next few days will be quite stressful, but we know that Bobby is in a much better place.

Holding His Own

Thank you to so many of you who have left such nice messages & are praying for our family. My father-in-law Bobby is holding his own. Doctors have now taken all oxygen & medicines away. This morning he became unconscious & his breathing is now very labored. We do know it is just a matter of time. Please continue to pray that Bobby will be overcome with peace. He was still very anxious before losing consciousness.

Asking for Many Prayers

As I write this post I am awaiting the death of my father-in-law Bobby. I don't mean to sound disrespectful or harsh, but it's reality. (And, that's what you get with me. I tend to tell it like it is. Not always a good thing, but that's me.) My father-in-law was recently diagnosed with cancer. Within a month's time the cancer has spread to every part of his body except his liver & colon. Unfortunately the last few days we have seen just how harsh this disease can be. Bobby is no longer aware of his actions nor his comments. With every breath we wonder if it will be his last. Doctors have informed us there is nothing more to do & it should not be much longer until he dies. In fact, they are now giving him two different kinds of medicine just to make him comfortable. Bobby knows that the end is here & as a result he is very anxious & nervous. We are hoping the new medicines will ease his anxiety & give him a sense of peace. Would you please keep our family in your thoughts & prayers as we face many uncertainties the next couple of days?

Tinkerbell Hannah Montana Style & Other Happenings the Last Few Days

MONDAY NIGHT after gymnastics Zoe & I attended the 7th & 8th grade girls' basketball game of my students. It was fun watching the girls work so hard & try their best even though they came up short. However, Zoe's highlight of the evening was meeting the opposing team's mascot.

Once arriving home from the game, Zoe had a few minutes to play before getting ready for bed. This is how she came out of her room: Tinkerbell - Hannah Montana Style!

TUESDAY NIGHT I had a meeting in my hometown to discuss my 20th (Yikes!) high school reunion scheduled for this summer. Paul was attending the AC/DC concert so Zoe & I ended up staying in town & going to my cousin Haley's basketball game. As always, it's fun watching her play. It brings back so many memories of my own playing days for the same coach!!!! (who is retiring this year by the way!) Here's a picture of Haley shooting a free throw. (Sorry the picture is not real good. We were sitting very high up & the lighting was awful)

Zoe got a little bored during the game - she had already finished off her popcorn - & asked if she could take a few pictures with my camera. (Sure, it's only my most prized possession, but go ahead!) So, here's what she came up with:

(the girl's head in front of us!)

(my sweater)

(& a self-portrait!)

I did manage, however, to get a few good pictures during the game:

Zoe & Brittany (Cousin EJ's girlfriend)

Little Miss Zoe posing!

And after the game:

Zoe & the best player of the night - Cousin Hayley!

Gettin' Rid of Clutter & Tryin' to Organize

One of my New Years Resolutions this year is to get rid of the clutter around our house. It seems that I have a little bit of my grandma in me in that I am somewhat of a Pack Rat. (not like her by any means though!) So, what do I mean? Well, I've started my "spring"cleaning already. I am tackling one room at a time & getting rid of things we don't need, haven't used or worn in a while, etc. So far, I have two Rubbermaid containers full of clothes that will either be listed on ebay or given to a local charity. (& that's only half way through Zoe's closet)

I love to scrapbook but haven't taken the time in a while to sit down & do it (probably because I it takes too long to find exactly what I am looking for). However, I keep buying supplies that I will one day get to. So, I am hoping when I get to my scrapbook area (it'll be a while because it's in the basement & I still have 5 rooms to finish upstairs) to organize it in a way that I could work on projects a few minutes at a time or for hours. I want to be able to know where all of my supplies are & be able to go right to them without waisting too much time looking for that perfect sticker, brad, etc. What I would really like is to have a storage company come in & set up the perfect scrapbook/hobby room.

How about you? Is getting rid of clutter & reorganizing part of your New Year's Goals? I know I have a ways to go, but it's driving me crazy & needs to be done! I keep thinking how nice it will be when I'm completely finished & the clutter (or as my husband calls it - the overflow) is gone!

Gotcha Girl

We have always celebrated Gotcha Day in Zoe style. In other words, we let her choose what we do for the day (unless it's a work day), what's for dinner, etc. Well, earlier in the week we asked her to choose the day's activities. So, here's what our day was like yesterday:

* Stay home all day in our pj's - going nowhere

* Homemade french fries for lunch

* Play Wii bowling- I might add that she kicked my butt!

* Order pizza for supper

* Have a slumber party in the living room with popcorn, homemade milk shakes, & watch on of HER movies

I might add we fulfilled all of these. She was one happy girl all day yesterday. In fact, she kept calling herself the Gotcha Girl!

4 Years Ago Today............

Paul & I woke up in Hefei, China with excitement & anticipation as we were about to meet our 15 month old daughter, Chu Young Wen. It had been a long journey to that point, but thankfully God had chosen us to take a different route to parenthood.

We enjoyed breakfast with the 6 other families who we had traveled with us & were also about to meet their daughters who were from the same orphanage, Chuzhou Welfare Institute, & then we all journeyed to the conference room at our hotel where we would wait for the girls to arrive. Paul & I will never forget that moment when the girls & their nannies entered the room. It was breathtaking. Each girl was being held by her nanny who immediately sat down & waited for the reunions to begin.

Our first glimpse of our sweet little girl:

She finally looks our way with a little coaxing from her nanny!

We were the third family called to meet our baby girl. Paul & I had decided that I would be the one the nanny handed Zoe to. What an emotional event!

She finally calmed down (for a little while!).

Handing her off to Daddy while Mommy filled out some paperwork. (Not sure if she was trying to get a swing in!!!!)

And the tears begin again.........

Once the paperwork for the orphanage was complete, we took Zoe back to our hotel room & began bonding. We first took off the numerous layers of clothes she was wearing & changed her diaper. For quite some time she sat in a chair & just kind of watched us with an uncertain look.

Who are these people & what are they doing here?....

Daddy giving her Cheerios & feeding her some baby food.

She kind of liked the idea of us giving her food.....

Just taking it all in........

Later while holding her Zoe fell asleep in my arms. As much as I wanted to keep in her in that position, I had to lay her down because Paul & I both had some paperwork for China that had to be completed before that night's meeting with our coordinator.

(She often sleeps like this still.)

Once she was awake, we gave Zoe her first bath. She didn't know what to think of the running water so I ended up taking her first bath with her. We then got her dressed & enjoyed playing with her the rest of the evening.

What a cutie!

It's hard to believe that Zoe has been a part of our lives for 4 years. It seems like yesterday we we became a forever family. As you can imagine, she is our pride & joy & the love of our lives. To this day we are amazed how blessed we are that Zoe was chosen to be our child. People have told us many times how lucky Zoe is that she has us. We tend to disagree.....We are the lucky ones - Lucky that we have her!

Happy Gotcha Day, Zoe! We Love You!