Blessings in the Storm

We have had a rough few months to end out 2012 with the loss of Beth and Bobby's job and the job search not going well at all.  BUT I will say we have had sooo many blessings come sneaking in through it all.  Our kids had a better Christmas than they would have had if Bobby had not lost his job! We had a feast for Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinners all from gifts that would show up in the mail or at the door!  Some with no signature other than Santa or the Lord led us. We were blessed beyond measure and brought to tears of gratitude and excitement through it all.  We are prayerful going into 2013 that things will smooth out and the Lord will provide an amazing job for Bobby where God can use him and use that job to care for our family!  I must say it is hard for a man who is a good hardworking man, a loyal employee of 20 years who is used to working and caring for his family to be in this position of trying so hard to have door after door slammed in his face.  I pray so hard for my husband against discouragement and that he will be upheld as we wait on the Lord to show us His plan! We have have even been so blessed that there is groceries in my kitchen and several bills have been paid!  We do not know how the big bills are getting paid this month but we know that God is in control!  Bobby and I were married in 2005.  This is our 7th year of marriage.  So 2013 is our 7th year together!  We are praying and claiming it to be the year of Jubilee for our family!  The 7th year is a good year biblically! This song is one we love :) Thought I would share!

Music is VERY dear to my soul!  Worship music is how I feel closest to God!  I thank God for my ipod that I can use youtube when I am in a wifi zone!  I cling to so many songs by Kari Jobe, Vicki Yohe and on and on!  Music expresses things words alone just can't! 

another song that means alot to me!

Ok, now on to some pictures from the past month or so :)

OK. I have been trying to get these pics and post this but blogger wont let me upload from the computer anymore. I guess it is this old falling apart computer of hubby's I have to share now.  PLEASE pray the Lord provides a new computer or at least a new to me one soon!  I do so much advocacy work and school stuff using the computer plus keepin in touch with everyone that I can't imagine not having a computer at all so even with no sound and constantly shutting down and on and on the issues with this one I am thankful for it!  Anyway I THINK I have figured out how to upload to picasa web albums and post here from it.  So we shall see :)

 

YAY It worked!  And it is easier anyway!  woohoo :)  So on to pics! :)

 

This collage is of some pics of us before Nannie Beth's (Bobby sister) memorial service.  Dont my guys look sharp! It was such a very hard and emotional day but I know Beth woudl have LOVED how they look!

 

 

We were BLESSED to win a trip to Jubilee Zoo and a free LIVE Christmas Tree!  These next few collages are from our day out there :)  THANK YOU to Jubilee Zoo and Macaroni Kid Shreveport Bossier! (oops pics did not come up in right order so there are more after these next couple)

 

These pics are from Homeschool Farm Fun Day! :)  Both my boys so respond to horses!  I am blessed to have any pics of the day because my camera BROKE at this event :(  Some of these were taken by others and some was on the camera when it broke.  It broke before the boys rode even sigh.  All I have is the ipod camera now which is not good but I am thankful for it.  So am depending on it and kindness of others now for pics.  sigh

 

 

Jeremiah at the homeschool Farm Fun Day!  He LOVES the ponies :)

 

Back to Jubilee Zoo pics!

 

More Jubilee Zoee

 

Picking the perfect family Christmas Tree!

 

Deck the Halls

 

 

The beautiful tree! :)  This is the biggest tree we have ever had!  It did not look this big at tree place! :)  lol  It was an exact perfect fit!  any taller and it would not have :)  It was hand picked by God!

Some of these were made Christmas Eve and the other was at the Moms of special needs chidlren's Christmas Party.  All taken with an amazing camera that I WISH was mine! LOL

Pics from the Moms of Children with Special Needs Party

Most of these were taken at our Churh's Christmas Family Dinner.  The one with all the kids and CARS was at our cookie decorating day at our house!

Just some shots from the season.  Day 1 truth in tinsle ornament, doing our advent stockings, Noah dressed as a Fireman and Jeremaih looking at the tree up close!

 

more decking the halls!

A Christmas collage I made!

Gingerbread cookies with Jei Jei (Big sister in Chinese)

 

New year's Day!  Bible reading at midnight and games at home New Years Night!

 

 

A fun Saturday in January

At a medical appointment.  God has really blessed us with my new helper Matasha!  She calls herself TaTa to Jeremiah.   She helps with medical stuff but also is my right had in school with both boys!  She goes above and beyond every day!  She helps Jeremiah to be involved in so much! :) 

Bedtime fun one night

Gait Training! :) 

 

Jeremiah making a polar bear and helping paint his letters! He was actually holding the paint brush!  This is when he got tired and was starting to fall alseep!

 

Noah making his Polar Bear and Painting letters!

 

Well thats about it for us for now.  Please keep Bobby in prayer for a job.  He did get some sub work at the school for custodian but the pay is min wage.  No way to pay our house payment or anything.  We are praying if it becomes permanent the pay will go up.  Praying hard that God will show us what He has for us! :)  Sometimes it is hard to trust but part of my Bible study today with Good Morning Girls said God's Word will never fail!  God's word says He will provide for us and care for us so I KNOW He will!

 

 

 

We have been hit with alot this month that was unexpected.  We did not expect to enter this holiday with no job and without Nannie Beth here on this earth with us.  We have had to make a conscious effort to REMEMBER to give thanks in ALL things!!  May God richly bless your family this Thanksgiving and into the Christmas Season coming soon!

National Adoption Day 2012 and Prayers needed for our family

Today is National Adoption Day so I wanted to share a couple of collages I have made.  One for today and one for the National Adoption Month!  Adoption has changed our lives so much for the better.  Touched us in so many ways and changed me to my core!  My daily life not only focuses on how adoption affects me daily with my sweet boys, but also my advocacy has given me such a wonderful joy to hopefully help build families and to make a difference! :)

 

 

Tomorrow (Sunday at 1 pm) we as a family will go to Bobby's Sister (and now my sis too) Beth's Memorial Service.  Tuesday was a very sad and difficult day as she passed from this earth into the arms of Jesus.  We were blessed to be there with her in a room full of love and family!  Please keep her daughters and their families, her husband, grandchildren, neices, nephews, siblings and families and all whose lives she touched in your prayers! This has been so incredibly difficult and painful.  I am blessed to have been able to call Beth my sister and I can't imagine my life without her love and care in it.  She adored our kids, all 3 of them and prayed for the children of our heart to come.  She took joy in knowing when we adopt a girl she will be named for her! :)  She saw something in my Jeremiah that few really do!  I so miss her.

 

In addition to that loss, earlier in the day on Tuesday Bobby lost his job.  So we are thrust yet again into unemployment.  We are hanging on as tight as we can to God and praying it will NOT be as long this time till Bobby is earning a good income.  We are prayerful that God will show us what we are to be doing!   We have already been blessed by people bringing a few meals this week, and being told a thanksgiving basket is coming early week and just the texts, emails, facebooks messages, cards in the mail, etc of love and support and sympathy for our family this week.  I ask my bloggy friends to please just bathe us in prayer.  I can't begin to express the overwhelming feeling in our hearts this week.

Happy National Adoption Month!

November is National Adoption Month and a very special month for our family because it was Nov 5, 2007 when we found our Noah!!!!! :  and Nov 7, 2007 was when I made the first blog post about him specifically and showed him to the world!!!!  I love that it happend in National Adoption Month! :)  Sunday was Orphan Sunday so I just could not let this week go by with out a post so I thought I would share some pics :) 

Panda acting silly have a mini haircut! We we trying to let it grow out gracefully because some fans said they like it better longer but HE hates it!  He cries and says dis dis mama ugggh  I think it is sensory and also it feels hot to him.  Anyway he has since had it cut shorter again!

Jeremiah happy boy :)

We got a bit of fall weather and were excited to wear our coat and need it!

Jeremiah not quite as excited but so cute!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE FALL! :)  and my fav time is Nov1 through the new year :) 

We were blessed with Bobby's Cell group putting in a small sidewalk and parking pad to help with loading and unloading Jeremiah especially in rainy weather!  Louisiana tends to have 2 seasons HOT and WET and sometimes they join each other!  We get a little cool if we are lucky but alot of times it is wet too.  And with red clay and a wheelchair do not match.  HUGE BLESSING this was :)

Jeremiah's handprint as best as they could get it.  The men tried to stetch out his hand with the high tone but it was hard.  :)  I will never forget them down there helping him do that!

 

hard to see the boys hand prints and names but we love it!  Wish we had thought to put the dates!

Noah LOVES to get his picture made!  He will say camera me!  heehee

We had a fun homeschool field trip to the Corn Maize and Fun Farm!  :)  Noah jumping with some friends on The bouncy thing!

Jeremiah reaction as we started towards where the ponies were!!  That boy LOVES horses! :)

Such a happy cowboy!

 

 

Noah rode this thing over and over!  Train mama , train!

another cowboy! :)

We were blessed to go to our friends adoption benefit in Texas even with my torn calf muscle and the Lord had me speak and share our adoption testimony and Jeremiah's miracles!  It was not my comfort zone but God uses us as HE sees fit!  :)  I pray it helped the family for others to see how important helping a family go after an orphan can be, especially a sick child.

This was the flyer for the concert!  Please keep our friends the Pattons in prayer!  They will be leaving soon for China!  It will be a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING for the Patton family this year and there will be 2 less orphans in the world this Thanksgiving! :)

Fun at  In the Zone with friends!

Noah LOVES Jeremiah so :)

riding down the big slide together! :) look at that loving care on Noah's face!

Library storytime! :)  Noah loves it ;)  He has so missed it for 4 weeks with me down with my leg!

so proud of his project at library!

another camara me mama shot!

Saw the eye dr recently.  This was too cute of him sleeping with his shades on!!  He so cried with the dilation drops.  They affect him soo bad :(  He was not the same all day, just like his mama!  I get physically sick and have to just go to bed when I have mine done :(

playtime at our friend Chino's house! :)  I love their trampoline with the net for safety! 

Noah and some buddies at Church with ELECTRONICS!  That boy loves anything electronic. he will be up in a strangers lap if they have an ipad!  He is overly friendly alot of the time anyway but electonics makes it worse! heehee

 

Well, just wanted to post a bit and show a bit our fall before the holidays are upon us.  I can't wait for them!  I really want to get back to regular posting if for our record even if none of you are following anymore.  I LOVE looking back over the blog and so it is so cool to me to think about doing this for our entire life :)  Takes time but so worth it ;)

 

Happy Fall All! :)  I send you kisses in the wind from me and my sweet boys, my big baby girl and hubby too!

Four Years! Wow!

4 YEARS!!!  I can't believe that it has been 4 years since Noah was placed in my arms!!! Wow!  I have been so emotional as I think in gratitude yet again to the Lord and to St.Lucy Center and the country of Taiwan for the HUGE blessing of Noah! :)  To Go be the glory great things HE hath done! :)  Children are a gift from the Lord! :)  The most amazing gift we could ever be entrusted with ! :)  So now some pics of our day yesterday!  We had plans originally for a small party and different things and those plans had to change, but we did have a wonderful family day together and I pray Noah was blessed and felt the love from all of us on his special day!

Began our day with extended bathtime!  It amazes me the difference in bathing Noah now than 4 years ago.  Then he was petrified!  Now he BEGS for a bath.  It is playtime but really learning time for him! :)  I love to watch him play!  I am sad I do not always think about it like this and sometimes I am caught up in things and either skip the bath or am frustrated I must stop and take time for this.  How stupid I am when I feel that way. Such an opportunity to learn from my son! :)  

Then it was off to Bowl and Grow Bowling League registration!  Noah will be in a little league every Saturday morning! :)  He will have a coach and a few little teammates!  Yesterday they just let the kids bowl for free after we registered them and it was Noah's first time bowling with no ramp to push the ball down!  I have to say for having never done it I was quite impressed with how he just jumped right in and tried and all :) He did great! :)  I can't wait to see how he grows and changes during this year's league! 

Next we got some lunch and then we were on the the park! Noah had a total blast! 

He is more and more agile!  I can so see that he has come so far with his physical therapy! 

After playing on the play equipment a bit he asked to play in the splash pad!!  He has such joy when he gets excited! :)  loved watching him! :)

Trying to redo the gotcha day picture of the 3 of us :)  

This was hillarious!  Trying hard to get a family picture using my phone and me take it while in the picture!  did not go well as you can see! LOL  never did get a good shot!

Then we were off to the ice cream parlor!  First time ever at one for the boys! :)  They loved it :)  LOOK at Noah's MINI banana split!  HUGE lol

A few random shots from the day! :)  The ones of Noah cracking up in the van just make me smile!  Was not sure I could even get him as I drove down the road like this but he and daddy were playing and giggling and I knew I wanted to remember that forever :)

It amazes me how much this sweet Panda boy has grown and changed!  I look at pictures and video of his first week home and I am amazed!  he was so tiny :)  I miss my baby Noah so much but I LOVE my Noah right now so much!  I think I can't possibly ever love him more and then the next day I do! :) 

For those who have never seen or want to see again!  Our actual gotcha day video and pics are in this video along with other things!  the music is great too :)  Enjoy!

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