Science Co-op

We are part of a science co-op and are studying Anatomy and Physiology. Last Friday we met to work on the skeletal system, and we had a BLAST. The kids disected a raw chicken leg, and they got to see what happens when bones are depleted of calcium (that is a scarey site...really bendy bones :-) That demonstration alone convinced my kids to come home and drink a cup of milk and eat a cheese stick. :-)

Not sure Emily was thrilled with working on raw chicken....


The "gross-ness" really made the boys happy (especially since it was considered school).

The sweet smiles from the girls before dealing with the chicken :-)

Praising God for Carissa

You see the little girl below? The one who needed a miracle? That is little Carissa, and because of the Lord - and only the Lord, she is still living! Let me be very clear here...she was sent home to die. The doctors consulted, examined, consulted, and decided that they could do nothing for her....her case was hopeless. They basically said, "Take her home, hold her, keep her comfortable until she dies." But God. This little one at New Day has been lifted before the throne of the Almighty Physician, the One who knit her together, the One who knows what her little heart needs. New Day staff asked for prayer from all over the world, and she is still living. Her O2 stats are up, she is eating and sleeping well. This is a miracle. This is our God.

When It's Only Possible With God...

This little one needs a miracle. Please pray with us that the Great Physician will heal her heart - He is the only one that can do this. Her heart and her little body need His healing touch. Would you please pray that He would be glorified in her healing? I will update as soon as I know something. Thanks so much, you guys!

Maggie's first day of Ballet

Maggie has been looking forward to her first day of ballet since January. She has asked me constantly, "Mommy, when is my first day of ballet?" She had been watching Emily go to ballet for 2 years, so she was waiting her turn - desperately. She never voiced any concern to me until this week, but come to find out, she mentioned some of her concerns to her Grammy. Apparently, she told Grammy that she was "nuurvous...What if I can't do ballet?" Her Grammy very wisely explained to her that is what her teacher was there for - to teach her. She had used the past 8 months to psych herself up. She was really, really excited....

but, then I saw her little nerves pop up. She raises her shoulders and picks her nails when she gets "nuurvous"...here she is reluctantly following Bella.

She poses for one last "nuurvous" smile...

And when it was time for her to walk in the class? She peered over her shoulder at me, and promptly burst into tears. Her teacher has had Emily in class for over 2 years. So, she so sweetly grabbed Emily to be Maggie's class "helper" - which made Emily and Maggie's day. We will see if Maggie manages to go into class by herself next week. :-)

What we've been up to...

Recently, we went to Jacksonville for a wedding of a friend that I have known for about 15 years. While our lives have taken different paths, it was sweet to stand next to her as she married a man that we have been praying for years for....a great reminder to me to be praying diligently for my children's future spouses.

Emily and "Aunt" Stacey before the wedding...

Stacey and I before the wedding...I think that I was more nervous than she was...she had to ask me to quit pacing back and forth :-)

AND....Abby turned 3!!!! Happy Birthday sweet thing! These 2 sisters are inseparable...(I have no idea what Maggie is doing with her face here...) And, on the adoption front, we had our fingerprinting appointment for immigration on Friday - YAY!!! One step closer to being DTC (Dossier to Ch*na)!!! :-)

Barbie Car Skiing...

So, when I was growing up, we went to the lake to water ski. Bless these kiddos hearts...Paw-paw has sold his boat. No water skiing for them. They have decided "skiing" behind the Barbie car is just as fun (although, I believe falling on the concrete might be a little more painful).

Can someone tell me why the girls in the car get the helmets??

Maggie is chasing Emily and towing Luke...how safe is this?

Now, this is a bad idea...Abby is NOT known as our best driver.

Just a Fun Story designed to make you laugh...

*This story is designed for the light-hearted :-)
So today Mike and I went (and took the kids) to get our Police Clearance letters for our dossier. We tried going to a local police station, but they said we weren't in their jurisdiction. So, we had to go downtown. When we adopted Abby, we had to go downtown also...it was a piece of cake. The officer was so amazingly kind, talkative, friendly, and FAST. What a difference 3 years makes...
Our entire brood enters the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Picture a marble lobby with a glass window on the left for Records and one on the right for Pistol Permits. We head to the left to explain what we need. A sweet, sweet girl behind the counter says, "No problem, I will get someone right up." Whew, I am thinking, "Good, this will be easy again."...not so much. About 5 minutes later, a stern-looking, tall officer walks to the glass doors and says, "Yes." (not a question, a statement).
I say, "Yes, ma'm. We are here to get these Police Clearance Letters for an adoption.(showing her our old letters)."
She says, "If you have these, why do you need more?"
Great. I say, "Ma'm, these are 3 years old, not originals, and this is a different adoption."
Officer Sweetie Pie yanks the forms and our drivers' licenses out of my hand and storms away.
Mike and I look at each other. This could be bad. I say (almost in tears, simply because I have had many people be rude along this paperwork chase road), "Why can't anyone just be happy when doing their job?"
We sit the kids down to wait. Now remember...Records to the left, Pistol Permits to the right. In walks a man (I think he had a name tag that said, "Hello My Name is: Serial Killer."), he heads to the Pistol Permits window. I look at Mike...surely this isn't going to be easy for him. "Ma'm, I need to renew my concealed weapons permit," says Mr. Serial Killer. "Yes sir," she says, "that will be $10." And out walks Mr. Serial Killer with his renewed permit. Seriously?
Here comes Officer Sweetie Pie. She opens the glass door, and practically throws the documents and our licenses at us...so much so, that my license fell to the floor. I look at the documents - OH NO!!! She didn't notarize them - AAAAAAAHHHHHH. Deep breath.
"Ma'm," I say, "these aren't notarized."
Officer Sweetie Pie: "Were your others notarized?"
Me: "Yes Ma'm, see right here?"
Officer Sweetie Pie yanks the documents from me and storms away again. We all sit back down to wait again. Enter the leader of the local gang (you think I am making this up...), and he heads straight for...you got it, the Pistol Permits window. "Ma'm, I need to get a pistol permit," says Baby Face. "Sure thing, honey. Just fill this out, and that will be $10." AAAAAAAAHHHHH. No way. Baby Face walks out with his new permit.
Here comes Officer Sweetie Pie. This time, I sent Mike over - I couldn't handle it again. He walks over to the glass door..."Thank you." he says. Not a word from Officer Sweetie Pie...she just threw the documents at us and walked away.
We laughed so hard when we got in the car, that I thought we were all going to have accidents. I decided that I really, really need a concealed weapons permit. During our afternoon prayer time, my much wiser than Mommy child prayed, "Lord, please let those ladies at the police station come to know you, if they don't already know You."
Soooo thankful for my kiddos perception of experiences!! :-)