DOSSIER TO CHINA, Y'ALL!!!!

That's right! As of October 18th, our dossier (think fancy word for obscene amount of paperwork) is in china!! Yay, yay, yay!!! This is important b/c now we are able to be matched with our sweet lane. We're definitely looking forward to finally seeing her picture!! Hopefully it won't be long now.

Somehow I lost track of several important dates that I should've added to our adoption timeline. I'll try to find those and Add them.....not only for anyone else who might be thinking about possibly adopting but also just for us to look back on one day.

I know we are far from being finished with this entire process, but I hAve to say that the paperwork hasn't been as big an issue as so many people make it sound like. Is it ALOT of paperwork....yes. Is it occasionally confusing and even close to ridiculous in nature.......yes. BUT I just haven't been completely overwhelmed by the task of it as it seems some people are. I've just tried to take it one step at a time, and if it was possible to do a little extra to get ahead here or there, then I did it. And sometimes I just didn't feel up to it....so I'd take a brief break. Anyway.....hope that helps encourage at least one person :)

What have I been unprepared for?? Well now that could be a post in and of itself....and maybe one day I will. I'll just say that sometimes people just don't "get" what you're doing. They're just not on the same page, in the same place, or maybe they just don't see the big picture. I wasn't expecting that(silly me)and believe me when I say I've learned some tough lessons. But that's ok. We'll be stronger for it and I'm just trying to see it as maybe God's trying to teach me something. So enough about that.

RUNNING--- I haven't said anything about my love/hate relationship with running lately. HA!!! I actually signed up for st. Jude's half marathon (in December) quite a while back. So my running girls and inhave picked up the weekly mileage....trying to prepare and train. I'll have my two-year runniversary in January and have been blessed to have not had a running injury....UNTIL NOW :(:(:(. Yep....pataller tendinitis is NOT my friend. I haven't run now in 10 DAYS and thats unheard of for me. I've been icing the knee...medicating it.....resting it....and I'm over it. Please go away patellar tendinitis.....and let me run again.

FALL is here....YAY!!!

FINALLY.....fall is here and I, for one, am THRILLED!!!!! Love, LOVE seeing the beautiful colors in the leaves before they fall softly....
Love the crisp mornings that make it easier and more enjoyable to run...
Love seeing steam come off the small pond at the end of the street behind my house in the early morning....
Love being able to stay outside comfortably, rather than being a hot and sweaty mess ;)
Love enjoying a visit at my daddy's and nancy's house to see the beauty of fall in the countryside.....
Love bringing some of the fall into our home with things the boys and I found outside ...






My friend, kellie, made these cute wreaths for my front door. How fun!!







These are Osage oranges that grow in the wild. We found them on our visit to dad and nancy's and I used them to decorate inside. See the pics above:)




Silly monkeys climbing....


I hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall as much as we are :):)

ADOPTION UPDATE: we are about one-two weeks away from being DTC ( dossier to China)!!!!


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FALL is here....YAY!!!

FINALLY.....fall is here and I, for one, am THRILLED!!!!! Love, LOVE seeing the beautiful colors in the leaves before they fall softly....
Love the crisp mornings that make it easier and more enjoyable to run...
Love seeing steam come off the small pond at the end of the street behind my house in the early morning....
Love being able to stay outside comfortably, rather than being a hot and sweaty mess ;)
Love enjoying a visit at my daddy's and nancy's house to see the beauty of fall in the countryside.....
Love bringing some of the fall into our home with things the boys and I found outside ...






My friend, kellie, made these cute wreaths for my front door. How fun!!







These are Osage oranges that grow in the wild. We found them on our visit to dad and nancy's and I used them to decorate inside. See the pics above:)




Silly monkeys climbing....


I hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall as much as we are :):)

ADOPTION UPDATE: we are about one-two weeks away from being DTC ( dossier to China)!!!!


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satan will attack.....

first of all, i want to thank Ashley, for sharing a link to the following blog post on facebook.  i read it this morning, and i have to say...it is RIGHT ON the money, yall.  The basic idea of the post is that when a family steps out in faith/obedience to adopt a child, they should be prepared for satan's attack.  i won't go into the details here, but i have to say that the past several weeks have been very challenging for our family in numerous ways.....and i KNOW in my heart that satan's just trying a throw a wrench in the plans.  i know in my heart he'd rather us leave Lane in china.  i know it as surely as i know the sun was shining earlier today.  But thank GOD that GOD is on our side!!  He'll see us through challenges, both big and small, as we continue on this journey towards our daughter.  you know, the same can be said for every person that's doing something God wants them to do...whatever it is.  satan doesn't like it one bit, and he wants so much to mess up God's plans.  are you stepping out in faith in a new direction?  keep looking up! 


http://paulandchrissy.blogspot.com/2011/08/attacked.html

Summer happenings....

We didn't go to the beach this summer (like we usually do). Obviously, we are trying to save money where we can to apply to our adoption. So, we celebrated a "stay-cation" at home. I had to talk Kevin into still using his normal vacation time. But we had a great time together!! We enjoyed our favorite Mexican restaurant on kevin's last day off work! Love my favorite guys!!!



The boys got very creative in the backyard as well. I call this our "redneck yacht club". See his little boats??? Haha!!


We did a lot of jumping!


We caught ALOT of bugs and lizards!! I accidentally cut the bug out of this picture but I was more concerned w/how absolutely ADORABLE my little red-head was looking at the moment :):)


We enjoyed the 4th of July balloon glow in our town!!


And we enjoyed lots and lots of time at the pool!!

We only have one week left before school starts and I'M NOT READY!!!! I don't care much for structure and routine and I'm not ready to force myself and my boys back into that way of life. So....I guess we better enjoy this last week of free time!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!! Btw...I adore comments :)

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the necklace and lemonade stand~

one of the most memorable things that was said to me (by my friend jamie) at the very beginning of our adoption process was....."you just be obedient and watch God SHOW OUT".  well....we're taking this adoption one step at a time (b/c there's really no other way you CAN take it) but God is DEFINITELY doing some VERY COOL things for us.  just listen to these two most recent examples:

the necklace~~
about one week ago, i had listed some items on craigslist and a very sweet late middle~aged couple came out to purchase one of the items.  they were both extremely friendly, and i felt comfortable with them immediately.  the woman was very attractive and "put together".  those of you that know me well, know that i LOVE jewelry.  well, she had on a great looking casual necklace.....and i just naturally commented on how pretty it was.  we all talked for quite some time, and i explained to her that we had this particular item left over from our adoption fundraiser/garage sale.  i explained to her how we were adopting from china and they listened intently.  when it came time for her to pay for my item, she asked if i'd like to trade it for her necklace since i liked it so much.  i hesitated, b/c jewelry is a weakness for me, most definitely.  but, i'm trying to scale back (obviously) in spending, and here i was trying to MAKE money on this chair to add to our adoption account.  sooo.... i finally did say thanks, but no, i'd better not right now.  so, she completely understood and they handed me the money and prepared to leave.  right as she was about to head off, she stopped and just TOOK OFF her necklace.  she just handed it to me and said...here...i'm supposed to give this to you b/c i know you are supposed to have it.  i just stared stupidly and said...i can't take your necklace.  she said ....yes, you can, and you're supposed to have it b/c God impressed on me to wear it for some reason today and now i know why.  it's b/c he wants me to give it to you.  WELL..... instant bawlfest on my part.....in front of COMPLETE strangers.  it was an incredible moment.  i mean....people just don't DO that sort of thing.  God is so kind.....

the lemonade stand.....
this was another complete and total surprise to me and it really warmed my heart.  a good friend of mine, Gina, contacted me to say that a friend of hers was going to host a lemonade stand for Lane and gina and her girls had been invited to help.  i hardly knew this other girl, renee, at the time.  we had met a few times at the school and at a party one evening.  to think she would want to help us when she hardly knows us at all is completely amazing to me.  so.....two days later, i pull up in front of the SWEETEST, most ADORABLE lemonade stand you can possible imagine.  it was manned by 4 of the most precious little girls (and their mommas) and they even had fun little signs w/glasses and lemons on them.  those girls worked so hard out in the HEAT....and after several hours, they'd raised $133 for LANE!!!!!!!  just thinking about it now gets me all teared up.  how selfless of them (and their sweet mommas) to stand out in the heat for us.  they all wrote sweet notes in lane's book, and i can't wait to tell her all about her lemonade stand one day.

UPDATE:

after 6 weeks and 1 day of waiting....our FBI fingerprints FINALLY cleared.  this was our first set of prints, for state purposes.  now...as in TOMORROW MORNING....i'll mail off our i800 application for US customs and immigration.  we'll receive an appointment time from them for a SECOND set of prints for federal clearance and then get something back in the mail to put into our dossier.  This is all so foreign to me and we are certainly learning alot as we go, but each little step brings us one step closer to LANE....and that's really all that matters. 

it would've been your 87th birthday....

so this post is a few days late, but sunday would have been her 87th birthday.  my granny....one of the most influential people in my life.  she passed away a little less than one year ago now, so she'll be celebrating with Jesus. now THAT'S a celebration, for sure!  and she's not bed-bound anymore like she was at the end of her life.  she's running and jumping and laughing and smiling.  and i'll see her again one day.  my granny was incredible. she ALWAYS had time to listen to me talk...about any and everything.  we had so many great conversations.  she gave me great advice....the kind that comes from a lifetime of living....and never judged me for whatever it was that i had to say.  she understood when many times those around me did not.  we would both climb up in her tan recliner and watch tv together.  i wish we could do that right now.  she always had the most beautiful fingernails and her hair was always just right.  she took pride in her appearance and always looked so pretty and just "put together".  she was also funny and sassy....two of my FAVORITES qualities in a person.  she had SPUNK and was not just another passive southern belle, but she was a southern belle...if that makes sense.  i miss her so much.  i love how she pointed me to Jesus and mentioned him in her day to day living...not just on sundays.  i have her bible now and i took it to church with me this past sunday...her birthday.  she used to love the song..."you are my sunshine" b/c my grandaddy would sing it to her.  he is singing it to her in heaven right now i bet.  well....granny ....i love you so much and thank you for each and every moment you invested in me and the person i have become today.  i only hope that i can continue to make you proud. 

"you are my sunshine,
my only sunshine...
you make me happy,
when skies are grey.
you'll never know, dear..
how much i love you..
please don't take my sunshine away."

i love you...
Dena

above picture was the very last one we had taken together.