Much To Be Thankful For

"O GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever". Psalms 107:1

As we celebrated Thanksgiving this year we reflected on how much we have to be thankful for. The list seems endless with things such as our health, family, home, jobs, living in a country where we are free, etc. We gathered at Bernard and Lorene's house (John's parents) and had a delicious dinner and a great time of fellowship. We went to church on Wednesday and it blessed my heart so to see my son stand and give his testimony of thanksgiving. Mandy and Kelsey also gave their testimony so I was blessed again by their testimonies. After dinner on Thursday, we called John Anthony and in keeping with tradition passed the phone around the room so we could all wish him and Melissa a Happy Thanksgiving. I do long for the day that I will spend Thanksgiving with all 4 of my children with me.

Daddy came to dinner also which was also a blessing for us as we did not want him to spend it alone. Once it got dark, we drove the boys around to see the Christmas lights. It brings us much enjoyment to see their delight and joy at the lights. On Friday, I also kept with tradition and put up the Christmas tree and decorated the inside of the house. Shiloh and Shane helped me so if the tree doesn't look just perfect please remember that it was a group effort!

New Day posted pictures of their Thanksgiving celebration and it looks like Abigail enjoyed her Thanksgiving also. Several families that I have networked with have received their LOA and/or TA and will be traveling soon to bring their precious children home. I am thrilled for them and long for it to be our turn soon to meet our daughter. We are 40 days since LID and we probably have another 40 to go at least but we are hoping that it will sooner. I am sending our paperwork in this coming week to get our Visas and have started working on the I800 which is the next form that USCIS will need once we have LOA. I want to be prepared so when we get the call, we are ready to go!!

I'll go for now and start preparing for Jeremy's 21st birthday party. We are also celebrating Andy's 43rd birthday today so lots to do! Guess what the next post will be about????

Our First Snow for Winter 2008!

The forecast said there was a "slight chance of snow flurries" last night so none of us took it seriously. Imagine my surprise when I woke and the ground was white! Nicholas and Shane have been eagerly waiting for the first snow of the year. At 7:30 a.m, I found myself outside with two little boys in snowsuits, gloves and hats. As you can see from the attached pictures, it was just a dusting but that didn't stop the boys from enjoying the snow for a while. By mid-day it was all gone except for the really shaded areas. It really put the boys in the "Christmas spirit" so I went ahead and put some of the Christmas lights on the porch and around the front windows. Nicholas has always loved the Christmas lights each year and I don't normally put them up until the day after Thanksgiving but I went ahead and put them up so he can enjoy them longer. It was bittersweet as I thought of my mother as I was putting up the lights and was reminded that she would not be here to share in the children's joy this year.

Shane was at his grandma Lorene's last Sunday afternoon and decided to take a nose dive off of her porch onto the sidewalk. I am including a picture of him. It was actually taken almost a full week after the fall so it looks much better than it did when it first happened.

I took the boys to get their flu shots this afternoon. It was quite amusing as I told them both several hours before the appointment that we were going and they were actually looking forward to it! Both boys remembered the shots from last year and were not afraid. When we got there and the nurse called us back, Nicholas jumped up in the chair and said "me first". Both boys received their flu shots like little men and barely flinched. Shane got up in the chair next and received his shot calmly. The nurses could not believe that they did not cry.

Daddy

"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you". John 14:18

I just feel compelled to write a post in honor of my father. For those of you who know me well you know that my father is 67 years old and that he was married to my mother for over 47 years. They would have celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary on September 6th had the Lord not taken my mother home on June 2nd of this year.

It is hard to explain my relationship with my father. He provided for his family our entire lives and my mother stayed at home to raise us 4 children. Daddy is not a "warm and fuzzy" kind of father and I can't say that I have fond memories of playing with my father and spending lots of time with him as I know my children have of their father. However, he was a good father and one of the most important things that he did was to send us to church. He made sure that we were at church every Sunday and while we rebelled against it during our teen years and early adulthood, I am proud to say that all four of his children attend church regularly and we all are saved. He accomplished the most important task that a parent has before them when parenting children so "You go dad!".

As children , and then as adults ,we were all closest to our mother. Sharon, Susie and myself literally saw her every other day for the past 2 years and rarely did not talk to her on the days we did not see her. We saw our father at family get to-gethers and if you know our family, they occur almost monthly and sometimes several times per month depending on who is having a birthday. Daddy attended the get to-gethers but did not visit at other times with his children. It was just not his nature. He in very introverted and does not show his emotions very easily.

I am convinced that one of the reasons that the Lord called my mother home when he did was to allow us to have a relationship with our father that we never would have had if he would not have outlived my mother. Upon my mother's death 5 months ago, we children began visiting our father several times a week. Roy, my brother, actually visited with him almost every day. Roy has been a wonderful support for my father and he has gone above and beyond since my mother's death.

Daddy came by the house today and we sat and visited for almost an hour. If you know my father, you know that this is quite a long time as until recently I could not get him to sit down when he "dropped by" and he would stand for about 10 minutes before he would make his departure. We talked about his father, grandfather, uncles and other family members. He even talked a little bit about his teenage years. I probably spent more time talking with him today (one on one) than we talked the whole time I was growing up. He just has never been a talker. I know he talks for long periods of time with Roy but he just never has with us girls. It is bittersweet because I know that when the time comes, if the Lord tarries, for my father to join my mother in Heaven, it will be a much harder loss for me and my siblings as we are all closer to our father than we have ever been because our mother is no longer with us. I know she would have wanted this. I am including a picture of my dad and also one of my parents with John Anthony. This was taken in 2006 at Jeremy's high school graduation. My father loved my mother very much, more than we realized and probably more than she ever knew. He misses her terribly and it hurts me so to see the hurt and loss in his eyes.

I am also including a picture of Roy with his youngest child, Daniel. I have not told Roy how proud I am of him for being such a wonderful son to our father and I need to tell them this and how much I love him.

Day 22 Since LID

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11: 1

I opened my blog and I can't believe that my last post was October 23rd and it is already November 12th. In some ways the time is flying by and then when I think of Abigail, it seems to crawling by and the wait seems longer than ever.

We had a great time at Virginia Beach the week of October 25th. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a camera, as did Sharon so I don't have pictures to share. The weather was nice and warm for the most part and the boys loved playing in the sand.

I left for WVA and Ohio last week for a trip for work and fortunately was only gone for one night. Shane and daddy did fine without me! Wheeling, West Virginia is lovely in the Fall and I definitely recommend the "City of Lights" tour that is in Ogleby Park each year from early November through Christmas. If it were not a 6 hour drive from our home, I would love to take John's parents, Shane and Nicholas to see the lights as they would love them.

John Anthony sent us pictures of him in his Halloween costume so I am including one. I hope it doesn't scare anyone! Shane is now referring to him as "my scary brother".

Abigail is doing fine and it just delights me to receive her monthly updates and read about how excited she is to have parents and a family. Of course I am including a recent picture of her as I not only receive a picture with the monthly updates but also they are posted on the New Day web-site quite frequently.

I am also including a picture of Shane and Nicholas. Sharon brought them the matching shirts and they have a button that lights up. I feel like I would be leaving Jeremy out if I don't include a picture of him so I am throwing one in for good measure. The beautiful girl with him is his girlfriend, Jessi. Aren't they a cute couple! Each of my 4 children are so very special in their own way and I love each of them with all of my heart. God has blessed us so much with our children and other family members.

I don't anticipate news from China for at least another 2 months but we keep praying that it will be sooner and you just never know. It is cool and rainy in Virginia today and we are quickly losing the beautiful leaves.