Not Much

Well, there hasn't been much going on around here lately. Dare I say, we are a bit.....bored? Gosh, we are either in high gear or we are bored? Doesn't seem right. The weather turned warm very quickly, like mid 80's and the trees, flowers, and grass popped out......along with the pollen. That yucky yellow -green stuff that covers EVERYTHING like a blanket of snow was out in full force causing me to reach for the allergy medication. Got us all a little excited and gave us Spring Fever. Alas, the weather turned COLD and rainy and I have been donning fleece and we have a small lake in our backyard. Soccer has been repeatedly cancelled due to the rain and storms. Will, is BUSY at work with the tournament coming up so we don't see much of him these days. The kids have finished their math programs and some of our other subjects are winding down too. We even worked ahead in our reading and have finished our book series. SO, we feel a little slump-like. Is that a word? I guess I could be doing some projects or even some Spring cleaning but that doesn't seem to interest me too much. BUT.......we are going to the beach on Friday for a mini Spring Break. We will have to leave poor Daddy behind to do all the tournament stuff he does but the rest of us are looking forward to some beach time. When we return, the kids and I will go out to the tournament a few times and hope to catch a glimpse of Daddy! We are dying to use our new pool! We had a pool put in at the end of the summer last year and only got to use it about 3 weeks before it got too cold. We also have some more out of town soccer games when we return so I am sure life and all its craziness will pick back up. I should cherish these down days, huh? I think we all got a little taste of the warm weather and were ready for a change only to be slung back into winter and its bleakness. When life gets back to full speed I am SURE I will look back at this post and say, "Bored? Really?"

My Chinese, American, Irish babies!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

A tired Bull, A dejected Bull, A cute-freckled-faced Bull

Well, the U9 Bulls fought hard in a tournament this weekend in Columbia SC. The weather was beautiful for soccer however our team just couldn't pull it off. They ended up with 1 win and 2 losses sending us home early on Sunday.

Sam gave it all he had and we were so proud of him. He took a couple of hard falls and had some tears but still kept fighting! I just love this little boy. He has a kind and sensitive heart but boy can he battle it out on the field. We took the whole family yesterday but just Sam and I made the EARLY morning trip today. I enjoyed my time with my "little man". It hurts a Mama's heart to look into the back seat and see those beautiful blue eyes filled with tears. His sweet little arms and knees were covered with mud and a few new bruises. Battle "scars". And the words, "I hate losing!" made me want to reach back and gather him in my arms and kiss every single one of those adorable freckles right off his nose! Did I mention I love this little boy? We are proud of you buddy and I am so blessed to be your Mom!!!!

Praying for $15,0000

Yes, you read that right! We are praying for $15,000 in the next 3 weeks!!! I follow a blog where they raised $11,000 in 5 days to help a family bring home their child from Africa. Awesome!!! If they can do it so can we, right? With GOD'S help of course!!!! So, a friend of mine and I are helping to run a mission at our church called Minus 1. This is an orphan care and adoption ministry. We have recently been made aware of an organization that runs an orphanage in Tanzania that is in need of another building. The cost to build it..........$15,000!!!!! There is a team of people departing for Africa in 3 weeks and we want to send this money with them!!!!Let's not leave these precious kids out on the streets. I know everyone has their "places" they contribute to and the economy is bad, but NO amount is too small!!!!! Please consider donating to this worthwhile cause. We are not all called to adopt but we are all called to help care for the orphan..... and this is your chance. James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." You can check out this place here: www.theglobalorphanproject.org/village/huruma-village/

If you would like to contribute please make checks out to First Presbyterian Augusta with Minus 1 in the note section so they know where to direct the funds. Their address is 642 Telfair St. Augusta, GA 30901. Those of you who know me personally can also mail the check, or cash, to my home address. I thank you, as do the orphans in Africa, from the bottom of my heart for considering giving to this cause. Remember there are over 147 MILLION orphans in the world! We will be praying for hearts to move and for $15,000 to come in!!!!!!!! To God be the glory!

"Special Needs" child no more

The label "special needs" when it comes to children can have a wide variety of meanings. There are some needs that are temporary and quite simple and then there are some that are permanent and quite complicated. And to be quite honest, don't ALL kids have some kind of "special need or needs"? Some have allergies, some have ear problems, some are "needy" and demanding, some have discipline issues, etc....you get the point.In the adoption world the label Special Needs Kids, now better known as Waiting Children, are the kids that are harder to place because of some physical or mental disability and also because they are just plain older, healthy but older. Xin was on the Special Needs/Waiting Child list. He was born with VSD (a hole in a portion of his heart) and a cleft lip/palate. I worried about both these "needs" before we got him. I knew we would have cardio visits and maybe even restricted physical limitations and even the possibility of another heart surgery. I fully expected to spend hours over the next several decades in speech therapy seeing that his lip and palate were not repaired until he was 3 and then the palate was not repaired correctly to top it off. Well, as you know, the cardiologist cleared him...PERFECT heart he said, no need to come back. Xin's surgery on his palate this past September was extremely successful, thanks to the great Dr. Yu. He is currently taking private speech therapy once a week. I had a meeting to discuss Xin's plan with the school system yesterday and they sat in amazement. They looked at his 2 evaluations done in May and then just a few weeks ago......he scored too high! There was nothing they could do for him. He needs nothing they can offer him. The sounds he is struggling with are all age appropriate and his cognitive grasp of the English language is above that of most kids his age. They MARVELED at his progress. So we will NOT receive FREE speech from the county school system because he is NOT classified as a "special needs" child or a child with a disability. WOW! 9 months. Just 9 months is all it took. His "special need" was truly the fact he had no family and he lived in an institution. I realize NOT EVERY child's story is like this and we are tremendously blessed, humbled and thankful that Xin's was this simple and short-lived. But my point to anyone considering adoption of a child labeled "special needs", is that a lot of these so-called "needs" are very manageable. Please don't let a label scare you. God placed this child on this earth and with our family. He gave Xin quite a spirit for life and I am sure He has quite a purpose for him. I am so glad I was given the privilege of being his mother and watching him grow into the person God meant for him to be. This little guy has taught me a WHOLE lot!!!!! I love you Xin and you are "special" to me regardless of your "needs" or lack thereof.

Girls' Weekend

Julia with her winner's medal and MVP trophy!

The final score!!!!

The girls getting their medals and team trophy.

On to soccer

Julia and I had a girls weekend that started Thursday morning as we departed for Greenville to play in the SC state home school Basketball Tournament Thursday and Friday. The Augusta Eagles middle school girls were very successful as they WON the tournament! Go Eagles!!!! And I have to brag for a quick moment, Julia won Most Valuable Player of the tournament. We are so very proud of her. She always gives everything 110% and she certainly did that here. All the girls gave it their all and it was a great 2 days! We enjoyed the fellowship as well with this wonderful group of parents and kids. Julia has made some really sweet friends through this team and we are very grateful and blessed.

Then we switched gears and sports and headed to Atlanta for a soccer tournament with her soccer club Saturday and Sunday. The weather was great, however the Bulls did not fair too well this tournament. We had 2 losses and 1 tie. We had some sick kids and some key players missing so we were at a little disadvantage. We had a fantastic weekend and I had a MUCH needed break! I so enjoy this first child of mine who is fast becoming grown up. She is a delight and I am so glad we had this special time together. Thank you Will and Mom and Dad for making all this possible. We could not have done it without all your help. It is now back to reality.....dishes, laundry, school, wiping fannies, cutting up food, preparing food, etc but I must say those 3 little sets of arms that wrapped around my neck when I got home and hugged me tight were missed tremendously!!!

Happy Valentines Day!