Just "checkin in"!

Hey! This is the "fabulous" Eva...my niece from Guatamala! She just came home this past January...isn't she ADORABLE! "Eva the Diva", that is what I call her! She is darlin'!!!
One of my Internet friends is getting ready to go pick up her daughter in China in a few days. It has made me REALLY want to go! It is getting ridiculous how long this wait has been! Most days I am really positive about it...like "there is a reason for everything..." but, on those days that I am not so "glass half full" it is definitely harder. Today has been one of those days! I know I will outlast, outwit, and outplay (borrowing from Jeff Probst!) this absurd wait...it is just SO DARN HARD! I mean, seriously, what is the BIG DEAL over there? Really? Does it really have to take 3-4 years to adopt a baby from an orphanage into a good home? This is one area where "money" does not talk!!! If it did...we would have her by now!
Anyway, just expressing the thoughts in my head on this "wait" issue. I KNOW I am not alone! There are plenty of other parents just as frustrated and just as anxious! It is a shame that there are so many good and willing families waiting to help these girls and we are all at the mercy of a country and it's government! So, today I go to sleep again. Praying that our Taryn is safe and healthy. Praying that the doors to China will open quickly...miraculously. Praying that we will be able to stand the wait with patience and grace. And, always, thanking God for what we DO have...a WONDERFUL marriage, two WONDERFUL boys, and of course our AWESOME friends! Peace out!

Blogging and You Tube "junkie"

I am turning into a You Tube "junkie". I found that if you type in "Gotcha videos" or "adoption videos" there are like 16 bazillion of them to watch...most from China. So I am living my "dream" through everyone else's videos right now! It is little stuff like this that helps with the wait. I don't buy Taryn anything...like clothes and toys, because I don't know what size she will be and I am forcing myself to wait to do these things. But, watching other people receive their daughters and prepare for there daughters (on blogs!) gives me a glimpse into what is in store for us! So, I have officially become a "lurker" according to the cyberworld. I don't know if that is good or bad, sounds kind of like "stalking"...but anyhoo! Have a great day!

"I'M HUNGRY!"

Okay, I am being "tortured" emotionally right now by my 8 year old! We started, as a family, to eat healthier a few months back...However, Wesley (my 8 year old) is the picky eater of the family...so I have been "working around him" (a.k.a. still giving him "crappy" processed food) just to keep the peace. Well, Steve and I had decided that after his crap food was gone we were going to provide healthy alternatives (ex: low sugar fruit loops instead of the regular; whole grain waffles instead of frozen pancakes; fruit instead of fruit snacks; etc...). It is not like we are asking him to eat spinach and brussel sprouts...but, I am just trying to buy less junk food and he was the last man standing when it came to still eating this stuff! I also want to throw a disclaimer out there that we are not against the "crap" food...we just all need to lose some weight and that was part of the problem! This just helps put "limits" on what we choose at our house...Anyway, so today I wake up to my 8 year old laying on the kitchen floor crying...sobbing really..."I'm hungry Mommy... I'm Hungry..." over and over and over again. It doesn't matter that we have a kitchen filled with $150 dollars worth of groceries...we don't have his "old staples". Once again, let me remind you that we DO have the alternatives mentioned above, so it is not like we are starving anyone...and when you see his picture, you will see that my kids are NOT STARVING! So, I feel horrible because I want so badly to "give in" but on the flip side it seems silly to not even try the alternatives he is being offered! AGHHHHH! I feel like a "wicked Mommy"...holler at me if you have been here! Parenting is HARD! So, for now I am leaving him crying his "I'm hungry" mantra to go get ready for church...God forgive me for "starving" my kid!

note: As I was getting up to go get ready he says in a small voice..."Mommy, can you make me some life cereal with milk...?" SCORE one for the team!

I'm back...well, maybe!

I am tired of reading these great adoption blogs and feeling totally incompetent on how to even begin to make mine look like that! It has been a year since I even opened my blog...and, now for some reason...jealousy of other blogs has prompted me to re-open mine. I have to say that I HAVE NO CLUE as to how to even get mine as "cute" and read worthy as the other blogs I have been "lurking" on...but, I will worry about that tomorrow! Right now, I just wanted to even see if I could post anything on my old blog! And, I will try my darnedest (this word was corrected by spell check...I didn't realize it was even a word! Hmmmm, ya think I am gonna need help?) to figure out what to do from here! Still waiting for our Taryn by the way!!!!