Lily of Taiwan

Skype session number 6

First we got to spend the afternoon with a beautiful little girl recently adopted from Taiwan. Little Lily has the sweetest little face and I canNOT get enough of her toothless grins. Seriously. Her parents Emily and Jason waited a couple of years and got to go pick her up in September. She is so cute and she really loved the boys. Little ones always gravitate to Matthew and he's really good with them. Her water fountain hairstyle is the best and reminds me of my nieces. Love her!

We got to finish the day with a Skype call with Katelyn. She is such a pretty girl and it was a quick, but great conversation. Her smile is the best. My favorite part was when she asked to play Paper, Scissors, Stones with Nathan, then with me, then with daddy. She won the final round. I could watch her play that, giggle and smile all night. 

We did ask if there was ANYthing they could tell us about the court process. They said they are just waiting on the paperwork (I guess the judgements?) to come back to them, and then they will file for her passports. It seems to us they could be getting the passport application started so we don't have to wait on it. I hope maybe that's something that goes quickly. We shall see. 

All in a all, a wonderful day. That little girl needs to be here. I tear up after every goodbye...hopefully we'll Skype again soon. I love her little face!

Doing the wait

I'm having a hard time. No other way to say that. About a week ago I just got over this whole wait thing. Up to this point I guess in my mind, it's part of the process. Waiting and being patient is just what you "do" during all of this.

Waiting is not typically something you think of "doing." But try to adopt an orphan...you will definitely be doing the wait.

It's something I'm struggling with now. I need to figure out a way to get to tomorrow, to this weekend, to next week, and dare I say it, next month. Until we get the call, that's the reality.

I know that God is in control and His timing is perfect. Our pastor has been talking about Joy the past couple of weeks. He has emphasized that Joy isn't felt due to the roller coaster of emotions...that's being happy, or not happy.  You choose Joy, and we can do that by remembering that God has given us all the ultimate gift of salvation. Nothing else matters in comparison. Joy is not dependent on our circumstances.

But my human heart just wants our daughter home...in our arms...at our table...in her room...playing with her brothers...home. So I ask for prayers that I remember to choose Joy, remembering His perfect plan, and yes, patience in my heart. A friend tonight said that once she's home, we won't remember this part. I know it's true...but it's hard doing the wait.

All is right in my world again

Andy DID come home late Saturday night. I'm so happy he's here. We've spent our Sunday at church and lunch with friends. I love having him in the house, sitting next to him in church, and just being with him. What a relief!

My little 24 hour stomach bug was no fun, but thankfully it's over. I hate to throw up. No one likes it, but I just don't allow it to happen. Bleck.

The boys are so cute and it's so fun to watch them hang all over Andy. They missed him so much. They did very well while he was gone and I love watching them with him now.

Our 19th anniversary is Tuesday and we'll spend the day in Birmingham. I'm pretty sure Ruth's Chris is on the menu...I. can't. wait.

I hope everyone else has a great week too. We're off to a great start! :)

11/3 11/3 11/3 11/3 11/3...oh wait

November 3rd. That's the day we've been counting down to since Andy left on June 11th. Turnover began last Monday in a 2 day meeting with the Colonel where she said that "as soon as the incoming are comfortable, know all of the information, know the lay of the land...the outgoing is free to go. The expectation among the outgoing cc's was that they would do turnover through Friday and head home on Saturday just like it was done when they all arrived last June.

So Andy and Bill (his replacement) completed turnover today Friday. Andy laughs at the amount of turnover that is required. But they did it, made sure Bill knew the lay of the land and Andy planned to leave early Saturday morning to come home to his family.

Well this afternoon, the Colonel called to check on how they're doing and Bill let her know they were done. Suddenly, things changed. Andy's orders technically say he'll complete his 140 days plus UP TO 8 days for turnover. Again, the last guy gave Andy this week...and Andy did the same with his replacement. It's more than enough time. Period. But the Colonel wants to make sure they have done turnover properly. She instructed them to spend time tomorrow (for the 3rd time, or 4th in some cases) driving around the post and learning where things are. Andy told me you can cover the entire list of places that matter in about 50 minutes.

The past two days, that's exactly what Andy has been showing him! He has introduced the guy to the Brigade commander, hooked him up with all of the pertinent people, driven around to the ranges multiple times, introduced him to all of the current trainees, etc... there just isn't anything else to cover.

But the Colonel wants them to "make sure they have it down pat tomorrow and then Andy can head out on Sunday."

Okay, even IF they would actually benefit by driving around tomorrow (which they won't...totally redundant), why would Andy need to stay until Sunday morning? I swear that this particular deployment seems to remove common sense from all in charge.

So, it is truly not a big deal. I mean, it's only a matter of hours until he comes home...we aren't talking about a long wait. But it's Orphan Sunday at Church this week and they are featuring the many adoptees in the church during the presentation...to include our Katelyn. :) I've been looking forward to sharing that with Andy, him next to me, enjoying church together like normal.

I told the boys he'd be a day late and was very matter of fact about it. I don't want them to be upset...it's just a little later and dad WILL be home.

So, we stay up a bit since it's Friday, and we all head to bed. I even took my favorite sleeping aid knowing I can sleep in tomorrow for the first time in a couple of months...literally!

I laid in bed and time went on and things just weren't right. Long gross story short, I started vomiting. It was an awful, horrible, nasty way to review your menu for the day. Seriously. I don't know if this is a stomach bug or something I ate that had gone bad.

What a sucky day...Andy will be delayed, and I'm throwing up. Bleck.

Perhaps it's good Andy won't be here tomorrow. What loon would WANT to come home to "this?" lol Were the situation reversed, I'd enter the house armed with Lysol. And bleach for good measure.

Hoping for some sort of rest tonight. And a quiet stomach. And maybe...maybe he'll talk the Colonel into letting him leave tomorrow afternoon??? Praying it is so!

Happy Halloween!

We spent Halloween with our Connect Group. We gathered at one house and cooked out. Then all of the guys took the kids Trick-or-Treating and all the moms gathered around the fire pit, laughed until our faces hurt, and handed out candy. It was SO fun!

I love this group of friends and I enjoyed last night so much. The only thing missing was my honey, but my inappropriate friends and the kids made it really fun. :)

Nathan was a Star Wars character for the 3rd year in a row. This year he went as Obi Won Kenobi. I've figured out it's all about the light saber. Superman, Mario, and and Ninjas don't carry light sabers..thus the reason he won't choose those. He wore his costume all day to school, then all evening, then tried to convince me they'd make good pajamas.

Matthew was a bloody something...again. Apparently if the costume will allow him to "bleed" (chest, face..whatever) then the cool factor is very high. He couldn't be more pleased with himself. Boys are just gross.

I can however sum up their personalities in how they handled their candy. Matt informed me this morning that he had enough candy to last until Christmas. Apparently he's planning on receiving more candy then. He even described a "schedule" of eating one piece after school, and one after dinner. On weekends he'll splurge and have 3 pieces each day. That's my planner/saver.

And Nathan...well, I checked on him last night in bed. He was sacked out still wearing his glow bracelet, holding two empty candy wrappers, with another piece of candy near his head. His face was a sticky mess and he was in a sugar coma. That's my Nathan.

Anyway...this week pumpkins were carved.

And costumes were donned.

Another Halloween for the books. I personally don't like Halloween...at all. I'm just glad the boys had fun and that it's behind us. For me it's just the gateway to my most favorite time of year. I'm SO glad the REAL holiday season has begun!