Friday, February 27, 2009
Meet Kylie, Ainsley, McKenzie, Daisey & more....
This is Kylie. Jeff and I are blessed to sponsor this little girl who is currently in Foster Care in China. She has been diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Defect and like many she is waiting for a forever family! Precious Kiley has been given a chance to receive personalized loving care because of Pearl River Outreach! This morning I received their new blog! where they have photos of their Bamboo Babies!!! Check out their precious children!!!! For $35.00 per month you can help too!!!!!
I know some of you have contacted Pearl River since my last post. I hope you will continue to pray about helping one of these children with your resources. Trust me, you will be the ones who are blessed!
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this, welcomes me."
~Matthew 18:5
Have a wonderful weekend!
P.S: Over the weekend I found out that five children are in need of sponsors NOW! One of them, Jeff and I took!!! We are blessed to be sponsoring Lindsey! Now, who wants to join us and sponsor: Jamieson, Parker, Olivia & Winnie? Each child has three sponsors at $35.00 per month. There are other ways to help too. Just go to their website to learn more!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Blessings in the wait.....
It is hard for me to believe that two years ago at this time, I did not even know this precious face. It was a time of great distraction for me as I waited to see if 10/24/05 would be included in the next round of referrals from China. It was a time that I was 100% consumed with being "on deck." March 5th, 2007 we would get the call that changes lives and creates families. It was a very special day, and I look forward to celebrating our second year with Ruby Mei soon.
Today I reflect on families in the process that are still waiting to know the child that God has chosen for them in China. To put the wait in perspective, in the almost two years since we received "the call," the CCAA has referred four months and one week of logged in families. Yes, you read that right... As of today, families with a log in date of 3/2/06 and beyond still have not been matched with a child. It has quickly gone from a 17 month wait to an excruciating 36 months. There are truly no words to express my sorrow about that. The blessing is of course that the "Waiting Child" program has grown and many many children have come home to forever families in the past two years. Thank you CCAA for that...
I received great advice while I was waiting for Her Rubiness. It was to record the blessings in the wait. There were many. And, after now being home almost 2 years with our precious girl, the blessings continue. Many of them I record here now.
For those of you that read this blog that are waiting for your child's referral from China, I am praying for you and the process. I hope you find encouragement here. I hope you will take the time to record the blessings in your wait, and what you are learning about yourself in the process. And, when you finally see the face of the child chosen for you, I pray your prayers will be answered above and beyond what you could have ever hoped for. I look forward to celebrating with you!
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."
~Mulan
Monday, February 23, 2009
Back in the Northland.....
Flowers and Hand-Made "wintery" frames, signs, and cards...
The Amazing Katie...
My 48 Hours in AZ was great!!!! Perfect weather, time alone relaxing with Jeff, delicious food, and no schedule!!!! Another day would sure have been nice!!
I am so thankful that we were able to leave the girls (again) with our fabulous babysitter, Katie. We have known Katie since she was 15 years old. She is now a Senior in college getting ready to graduate with a degree in Elementary Ed. Next year she will begin her masters. What a gift it is to leave your kids at home, and know that they are happy, safe, and loved.
From the non-stop chatter they had with me when I returned, it was evident they had a ball.
Ainsley could not get a word in, because Ruby had so much to tell me!!!! The highlights were watching "HSM3," making pizza's, going to the library, making chocolate pudding & chocolate chip cookies, doing art projects, dancing & singing, and playing in the snow! Thank you Katie for blessing us! You are a very hard act to follow!!
Where should I go next? :)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Destination..... Sunny and 80 Degrees!
I am off to a warm sunny place for a few days! Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Thursday, February 19, 2009
365 Project
(All shot in Auto with Nikon DX 18-2oomm Lens)
I actually got Ruby bundled up and we went out for a stroll yesterday. The first walk I can remember in a long time with her actually sitting in her stroller! It was just what we both needed! I love this blue hat on her. It was the hat Ainsley wore in our Christmas card photo before we received Ruby's referral!
Thanks Kim for giving a purpose to some of the random photos I take. I look forward to our photo class soon!
Blessings,
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
"You never take my picture anymore Mom"
"You would have thought Ainsley had just said Mom you never let me clean the house for you... Just sit down and relax while I do everything....."
OK - not even close, but just as exciting when a Mom who loves to takes pictures with her new camera has a child ask to be in front of the lens!!!! She is the dream subject for this Mom! I am already thinking about the pictures I will get to take of her and the Ruby in Mexico! Can't wait!
So, as far as last night... lighting was not ideal, and she had just come home from dance class... But, I love the memory of the whole conversation... I am reminded every time I turn a corner of how quickly she is growing up. Today she still likes to be with me... In fact, she put a note on my office door last night that says, "Mom's Week! Please do nice things for her!" Ainsley has a huge heart, but we don't often see random acts of helping around here!!!! (We are working on it!) I am going to enjoy this week!
Have a great Tuesday!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
My Sweet Valentine's...
Our very special Valentine from The Pearl & The Ruby!
I love the colors of these beautiful roses my Valentine gave me!!
It was a very laid back weekend for us. Much needed actually! Her Rubiness was kind enough to share her cold/cough with her Mama so I was not up for much. In fact I had a date with my pillow at 7:30 on Friday night! Thanks Jeff for taking over!!!! Saturday night Jeff made a delicious dinner for all of his girls. It was a perfect Valentine's Party!
If you have not been over to my friend Stef's blog in a few days, go check in on her exciting news!!!! The best Valentine's gift ever is on it's way to this special Mama! Stef has always inspired me. Her latest news is one more testimony to her heart for God and His precious children! China, thank you for saying YES!!!!
Have a great week everyone... If Ruby will start letting me take her picture again, I will have something new to post.... I am ready for nice weather to catch my little tutu loving, ballet shoe wearing girl!!!! As for the Pearl, I just need to slow her down long enough to take her pictures!!!!! Counting down the days to a lawn chair and suntan lotion over here!
Blessings,
Friday, February 13, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
This is Ruby's "buddy," Miranda.. They will be in Kindergarten together some day.... So sweet!
The Pearl at her desk with her beautiful Valentines!
Ruby and I crashed Ainsley's Valentine party yesterday at school. Unfortunately as you can tell in the photo above, Her Rubiness is not 100% again... We are fighting another nasty cold. Part of the problem is Ruby's aversion to a coat, hat, and all things Minnesota!!!! Her favorite "uniform" right now is any TuTu in the house with ballet shoes! At the moment she has doubled up on two of her favorites!!!!! We will be having a relaxed Valentine's Day at home with the girls & Aunt Bop!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Monday, February 9, 2009
A Whole Weekend With My Valentine!
I can't think of a better week to dedicate a little blog post to my Valentine!
This past weekend Jeff and I got away ALONE for the first time since Her Rubiness came into our world on May 8, 2007! (HELLO.... That is almost 2 years ago!) We had a last minute opportunity to go to our cabin up north while the girls stayed home with our amazing babysitter, Katie! Since we are officially going away in a few weeks for a long weekend it was a great opportunity to take a test drive. The girls did great, and so did we! It was so fun to hang out with no agenda for two days! I can't wait to do it again soon!!! Don't get me wrong, I adore the Pearl and the Ruby, but this Mom needed her tank filled up! Thanks honey for escaping with me! By far the best Valentine's gift ever!!!!
I am very thankful for the husband that God has blessed me with! He is amazing!
Happy Valentine's Week Honey! I love you!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Back for now...
Hi Everyone!
I am back in blog land for a while. I can't believe the Face Book focus lately. I am amazed at the daily requests I get for "friends." (Where do you find me?) If you have reached out to me in that way, please forgive me for not being an active Face Booker! I honestly do not have the hours in my day to play there. I love this blog for The Pearl & The Ruby. I am committed to keeping this up-to-date for them!
We had a very exciting Super Bowl here! The Pearl's second commercial was aired during the third quarter!!! Very fun for her! Especially at school the next day! She has an exciting morning with Target tomorrow. Look for her in the Summer Catalog at a Hannah Montana Birthday Party!
I have two things to look forward to so I can survive this brutal winter we are experiencing in Minnesota: Arizona soon with Jeff for a long weekend!!!! And, Mexico for Spring Break. How many days until April?
Birthdays and Anniversaries have come and gone while I have been away. Happy Belated b-days to my Mom, Jenny, and sweet Ellie! And, Happy Referral Anniversaries to my friends Kim (Kate) and Heather (Hannah.)
One more month and we will be celebrating two years of seeing the face of "Her Rubiness" for the first time! What a joy! Speaking of that little joy... She has pretty much given up her nap which I am STILL grieving! But, bedtimes are going much better, and other than some nights where she has been sick in January she has done great!
I hope you enjoy some of the photos (un-edited at this point) while I was on sabbatical! Some of the pics at the cabin were taken by Liz from "Camp H."
Blessings!
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