Meetup with the Girlfriends

Trying another test email post. We received our Article 5, so now we
are just waiting for our final Travel Approval and we are off to meet
our daughter!!!!! From what I am hearing, posting to our blog will
only work via email - I won't have direct access to blogspot.

But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

I have privately shared with some of you my personal struggles recently with "the wait", aka TW. TW was causing me immense stress. So much so that TW was consuming my every waking moment. TW was obliterating my relationship with my family. It was beyond ugly. I didn't want to plan or participate in anything except TW. Add to TW, I have recently begun to recover from "a flu" which led me into pneumonia.

Long story short, I realized that I could not continue living in TW. I have an awesome God who needs me. I have a husband and children who need me. I need me. SO, in order to change, I began to offer up a prayer every time my mind wandered to TW. I pray for 3 things.

1 - I pray for a mother somewhere in the world to not terminate her pregnancy. I pray that she find the courage, the strength and the resources to recognize the miracle that God has entrusted to her.

2 - I pray for a family somewhere in the world to recognize the spark of desire to adopt an orphan in themselves and to act on it.

3- I pray that God prepare the heart of an orphan to be ready for their adoption. That He calm their fears, that He has His mighty hand present while these precious children meet their new family. That He keep these children healthy and happy in their present situation.

At the end of each day, I am proud to remember all the prayers that have been offered up by me to our Mighty God for orphans. I am allowing myself to be excited each night that at the close of the day, I am one day closer to holding my daughter in my arms.

TW. I was excited at Mass today, when Father Straz read the following:

Mark 13: 24 - 32
24	"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
25	and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26	And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27	And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28	"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
29	So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
30	Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place.
31	Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32	"But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

TW. When will it end? When will we travel? "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Ha! God is GREAT! Father emphasized that while we wait - we need to pray and be prepared. Awesome! I am prepared AND I am praying!

Ding Dong

What a ding dong. Chicka had to put IBoy's hunting gear on, had to go outside. "I go to hiking cwub with IBoy, Mom. I weady." Why she combined hiking club with hunting, I'm not sure!

On the frustrating side of life, we still haven't heard anything about our Article 5, which has to be issued before we can receive our Travel Approval. Of all the waits, I think this is the hardest one. We are SO close and yet have NO idea when we can meet our daughter! It is excrutiating! Kind of like being overdue on a pregnancy. You have the approximate date the baby is due but you are past ready for the birth and NO action! Realistically, it is month 11 of our paper pregnancy, so I think I am entitled to a little complaining, right????? Please, Father, grant me patience!!!!

Sparklies

Yeah!!!!!!

I have been asking Chicka for over a year if she wanted her ears pierced. Nope. Until last week. She said that she wanted to have her ears pierced! She knew that it would pinch and then it would be ok. And she would have pretty earrings in her ears!



We went to the store to do it tonight. I thought for sure that she was going to change her mind. Nope. She was so brave! She jumped a little bit when the earrings went in, a little whimper and then she wanted to see them! Done!



Why she chose green, I'll never know. She had been talking purple. She had been talking pink. Even yellow. We got to the store and she wanted green. Whateva!

Excited to Share

I am very excited to share with you a company that I have been interacting with for a few months.

I first heard about Forever Friends by being lucky enough to win one of their dolls. I loved not only the doll, but how the company came about. I loved them so much that even though I won one, I decided to purchase one, too! I have to tell you, it is a severe temptation to open up these boxes and finger the dolls before I give them to the girls for Christmas!

When Kristi, the owner of Forever Friends, contacted me to see if I would share about her company, I quickly agreed. Even more exciting, is that she is offering you, my special friends, a discount offer on any orders! Just enter the code: 3JK2 at check out. This will save you $10 off of your order. This special offer is valid thru Dec. 2. I just know that any young girl would LOVE to receive one of these dolls for Christmas. What a great way for us to support a fellow mom trying to make ends meet AND offering a great product!

Here is a brief description of the company and their products, but PLEASE take the time to check out the website!!!

About Forever Friends Girls®
When mother of three Kristi Necochea couldn’t find a high quality doll for her daughter that was dressed in hip but in age-appropriate clothing plus foster responsibility and self-respect – she created her own line of diverse dolls known as the Forever Friends Girls.

When little girls look across the playground they might see a redhead with freckles, one with silky cocoa skin and a third playmate speaking Spanish. A refreshing new doll line called Friends Forever Girls® celebrates this melting pot for girls everywhere to relish new friendships.
With their diverse personalities and fun-loving ways, meet Nika, Marlee, Natalie, Kyleen and Reina, the award-winning Friends Forever Girls. Most recently, Tillywig Toy Awards gave Kristina its Top Sterling Fun Award; Creative Child Magazine, whose 100 toy judges awarded Marlee its Toy of the Year honor for Character Dolls with Storybook Category, an award given only to one toy in each category; and Marlee received approval from two expert dads, Greatdad Recommends and Mr. Dad Seal of Approval for Father’s Day.

These 18-inch adorable and educational dolls also have impressed Dr. Toy (aka Stevanne Auerbach), a childhood specialist for over 35 years. She named the collection to her 100 Best Products of 2008 because of their inherent values of kindness, self-respect and acceptance.

Friends Forever Girls-- Marlee, Natalie, Reina, Nika, Kristina & Kyleen-- are made of the highest quality and retail at $59 a piece. Each girl comes with a hardcover copy of The First Day of Forever. To bring one home, they can be purchased online at www.friendsforevergirls.com or by phone at 951-837-8989.

November 1st

Well, here we are. This sick bug is dreadful. I did spend more hours out of bed yesterday than in bed during the day. I guess that is an improvement. I felt well enough to fake a good time for the kiddlets last night. At least I could fake it!

As soon as Dad came home from work, we took turns going from closed door to closed door and "trick or treating" in the house! One trick or treator went around to all the doors, then they went behind a door and let someone else have their turn going around. It was actually kind of fun - and Chicka thought it was GRAND!