Sickness, schmickness

I came home from my cool Women of Faith weekend hoping to impart great wisdom to y'all, but instead I came home with a throat that felt like it was swallowing knives.

And then the next day came the lovely stuffed nose and cough, with a fever not far behind. Tonight I can finally breathe out of one nostril, so I thought I'd try to blog.

And now, I have already forgotten everything I learned at Women of Faith.

How can my brain be that forgetful?

Sigh....

I do remember that I was there.

Does that count for anything?

I even have some pictorial evidence, thanks to Stefanie, who brought her camera.

OK--I am biased because I now love these two ladies, but are they not just the cutest? And as wonderful on the inside as the outside.

We had fun talking adoption and laughing together all day Saturday. I am thankful to say that God did not allow me to feel one bit sick until I got in the car to come home.

Mr. Jordan and Rascal

Jordan has a favorite stuffed animal that he takes to bed with him every night. It's a little raccoon that he got one time when we went to the zoo with my parents. He named it Rascal.

The other day he asked me if I would take some pictures of him with Rascal. Now there is nothing sweeter to the ears of a Mamarazzi than hearing someone ask for photos. So we headed out to the backyard to capture some memories with Jordan and Rascal.

Whether or not you love to take photos, I would encourage you to take some of your children with their favorite toys, stuffed animal or blankie. Long after Rascal has either fallen apart or gotten packed away, we will have these photos to remember when he was Jordan's little sidekick. {sniff, sniff...}

And because SaraGrace is never far away when a camera is in use, she and Jordan posed together for a few shots. It always makes my heart skip a beat to see the two of them together because they are from the same orphanage and there is just something special about that.

I love how Rascal is still clutched tightly in Jordan's hand.

It's a Major Award!!!

"I won! I won!.... It's a major award!" (quote by Ralphie's dad, from A Christmas Story) And.... it's not a leg lamp!

No...the amazing, generous women over at Wild Olive were giving away two free t-shirts and two tickets to the Women of Faith conference in Hartford CT this weekend.

And I won! I am soooo excited! I will get to meet Stefanie (at Ni Hao Y'all) and Amie from Wild Olive!

Now if you haven't seen the beautiful tees that the Wild Olive girls design, then you need to hustle right over there and check them out.

They let me choose my favorites and they came in the mail yesterday. Swoon!

My kids chose their favorite of the two and I am going to just make your day by modeling it for you. Yes...you are so lucky.

And I think I just might have found a new career. You know....modeling. Yeah.

Don't hate.

OK--well, this shot wasn't too bad. I did need to crop it to avoid the view of the junk in the trunk.

So let's move on to the front of the shirt...and where my fabulous modeling skills really kicked into high gear.

Oh yeah.... rocking the big nose and hormonal facial hair

Let's hear if for the old folks! (Sheesh...what were you expecting, Christie Brinkley? Give me a break, people!)

Don't Forget!!!

There are only a few more days to participate in Operation Christmas Child!! If you are unfamiliar with this project, you just have to check it out! To participate, you fill a shoebox with small items that a needy child would like and then take it to your church or collection center. From there, Samaritan's Purse will make sure it is delivered. Shoeboxes are distributed all over the world.

Our kids have a blast picking out items for the boxes. There is a list of suggested items on the website--as well as a label you can download and print to put on your boxes.

To make sure the children receive their boxes in time for Christmas, the boxes are only collected until Nov. 22. Boxes can be mailed directly to Samaritan's Purse, but most communities have multiple drop-off locations. The website gives you addresses of drop-off sites in your area.

So go shopping today! Make a difference in the life of a child who needs to know someone cares!

If you cannot shop and prepare a box but would still like to help, you can make a tax-deductible donation via the Samaritan's Purse website.

Thank You to Our Country's Great Veterans

How do you thank someone who has put his life between yours and the enemy? I'm not sure it's possible.

But we can show our veterans we are grateful by appreciating the freedoms that they have fought so hard for us to enjoy.

We can pray that they all get moments like this...

And that their families will see this in their homes...

and this...

Thank you...to all the men and women who are currently serving our country and for all of those who have served in the past. I am especially grateful to my son, Ryan, who is currently serving in Korea, my grandpa who served in WWII and my cousin, Jim, who gave his life in Iraq on Thanksgiving day 2006.

30 Days of Give-aways!

The lovely, Stefani, from Ni Hao Ya'll is hosting her annual Christmas give-aways! She doesn't skimp on her beautiful gifts, so go check it out and sign up to win something!

Fall at the Pond

There is a pond by our house that we have gone to a few times in the past few weeks. The kids think it is way cool to feed the swans and Canadian geese. The birds are quite tame and used to being fed, so they allow the kids to walk among them. Still...I am vigilant for any sign of bird attack.

"Hey guys...do you think they will come up here?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should throw some bread on the ground and see if they take the bait."

"Waa! Here they come!"

"That's right. I want some food. Don't be teasing me now."

'Hmph. I suppose I'm going to have to scrounge around on the ground for it."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Different day...same activity.

Dude...you got like three feet of air that time!

Did we hear that someone had some bread crumbs?

OK--I looked up and saw all the geese heading toward me and just cracked up. They really are not the brightest animals on the planet.

Not sure what they are rooting around for, but we ran out of bread very quickly.

SaraGrace's Birthday Pics

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. Whew...busy week. Miss SaraGrace had a birthday that she claimed was, 'the best birthday ever.' Bless her heart--she says that every year. Needless to say, it's really fun to celebrate with her!

Talking to both sets of Grandparents on the phone

'Let them eat cake!'

Funny faces for the camera

Some sweet sister love

Daddy lights the candles for her

Smiling for Mama

Making a wish

OK, I realize that my cakes are never going to be on Cake Boss.

Don't judge.

Whole lotta sista love going on

SaraGrace shows off her new princess fingernails

(thank goodness for the dollar section at Target!)

Jake just HAD to try them...oh yes, he did. He would not be dissuaded. Thankfully, $1 fingernails don't stay on for long.

Admiring those beautiful nails

Trying out her new princess carriage

"The Best Birthday Ever!"

A few days later, she woke up sick in the middle of the night. (Why don't kids get sick during the day?) I digress...

I settled her down in our room with a bucket 'just in case,' and within 20 minutes, I heard her getting sick. I rushed to help her and had to suppress the smiles as she talked to me between each heave.

Heave.

"I'm scared."

Heave.

"I don't like this."

Heave.

"Mom, when you were a little girl did you throw up?"

(Oh boy...we do NOT want to go there. My throwing up episodes are legendary.)

Heave.

"You did? How many times?"

Oh my word, it was so funny! I've held buckets for many a kid but I have never had them talk to me like that.

But then, SaraGrace has never been just like any other kid.

Trick or Treat

The kids are all dressed up and ready to head to the church Trunk or Treat event on Saturday.

My little cowboy and cowgirl

My little heart babies were snow princesses

My sports nuts

These two didn't have a theme...they were just being buddies for the day

Lacking a horse...this was the best he could do

Then off we went to the church. Our church has a huge neighborhood event called Trunk or Treat. We park our cars in a circle and give out candy from our 'trunks' or the back of vans and trucks. It seems to grow every year--last year we had 700 kids and I think this year we had more. There is a bounce house for the little kids, lots of games and prizes for the other kids, pony rides, free hot dogs, cider and elephant ears.

Unfortunately, Molly quickly won one of these. Fortunately, it already died. (Don't tell her I'm so happy about it, will ya?)

The little kids have a variety of reactions to the peppy Alice in Wonderland. Kinda wondering what Jake looks so bummed about.

Wooo! Waiting in line for the ponies! Jeff is looking especially excited about this event.

"Oh yeah. I'm rockin' this costume. I even have real cowboy boots from Colorado, thanks to some hand-me-downs from my big brother, Ryan."

"Dad took the spurs off these boots or I'd be galloping this mare right now."

I'm sad to say that we came home with no less than THREE of these! Ack! We are down to two, but they still look pretty chipper, despite the cloudy water they are now swimming in. What in the world to they DO in that water that makes it so filthy in three hours? Never mind...don't tell me. I think I already know.

And the teen...our pride and joy. He is now a minor celebrity in our town for trick-or-treating in this costume. He spent hours perfecting a cornstarch and water substance to mimic milk, that he sprayed out of the udders to unsuspecting people.

And this little one is soooo excited because it's her birthday tomorrow. Do you think our kids are going to be on a major sugar overload?