COFFEE!

O.k. I have to admit, I kinda love Coffee! I usually only have 1 maybe 2 cups a day, however I cherish that first cup o joe! So much so that one of my concerns with travelling to China was finding a decent cup of coffee every morning:0) Lame I know! And I have to say Howard is not so much fun to be around when he hasn't had his 2cups in the morning! So I thought that I would bring a french press and a kettle! Crazy I know and talk about heavy with international luggage weight limits. But in the last few months Starbucks came out with instant coffee! All you need is hot water and a cup! Well I am having a cup right now and..... its delish! I think I like it even more than when I make a pot! But not when Howard makes coffee because he makes a mean brew, and there is something special about your hubby making your coffee for you;) So I am now celebrating that I have solved one of our travel dilemma's! such a fickle concern, but for me it was important! Well have a super fabulous day!

Must be a record 3 posts in 2 days:0)

Well we haven't heard anything from our agency since they emailed me back this morning with a few more questions. So we have to assume that the little girl on the list is gone and hope and pray that it wasn't Addison! What a roller coaster! I hope her referral will show up soon!

A File on Waiting Child List!!!

O.k. so there was a file on the waiting child list...... a little girl with OI 2yrs old. The director of Agape House wants us to get some info on this little girl as He thinks it may be Addison! I am trying really hard not to have my hopes up..... with that being said its hard not to. I have to remember what are the odds that this little girl would be her? the birthdate would be wrong? Is that possible? Well I guess we will soon find out..... if she is still even on the list! Please pray for us! It will be really hard for us to look at this file and say "no" if its not Addison, I don't even know if I can do that. Well we have been praying that God would open the right doors and close the ones we shouldn't enter. EEk I am so scared/excited! I will post with an update either way.

Our Week in a Nutshell.

This week was a bit of a rollercoaster.... we were hoping Addison would show up on the shared special needs list, she didn't (as far as we know) Her paperwork still seems to be missing. We know God knows exactly where it is. Who knows maybe he is hiding it for the right time;) If I said this week wasn't difficult I would be lying, however we made it through this week of referrals and I am sure we will make it through more until Addie's file is in our hot little hands! We have chosen to look at it like we are one month closer to our girl:0) I just received an email from Agape house, Addison received our Christmas package finally and is enjoying the toys and clothes we sent her. It's hard to believe she will be 16 mos old on the 29th of January and only wearing size 3-6mos clothing! Her leg is healing well and they hope to remove her cast in 2 weeks time. Apparently Addison loves to play with everyone and is quite social (just like her Mom!lol!) The "house mother" at Agape house; Hope will be back from the states this week and she is going to try and speak with the orphanage Addison was originally in to see where they are at with the paperwork. So we are still praying for her paperwork and referral.
Riley had her first dance class on Wednesday and she loved it! Those little girls were so darn cute and proud of themselves! Josh has been doing really well in school he has been coming home with high marks in Science and Grammar we are so proud of him!! Nathan has also been doing well in school, we are also seeing the shift between little boy to adolescent! He will be 11 in March and some days apparently I know very little ;) Sometimes I just have to laugh and try to remember what its like to be that age! Lately I have been finding it difficult to keep up to appointments and kids reading, and all their paperwork from school! Its kind of like laundry.... just when you thing your done, there is another pile! We are very excited as our family is preparing for a visit from Grandma R. (my Mom) My Dad is up in our neck of the woods running a project, so my Mom will come and stay with us for a few days, and then when Dad is off for 4 days he will join her here. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get outside and play! Also in March my sister will fly up with my Mom for a second visit! My sister is always a hit in our house as she is still 'fun' and young and doesn't have kids yet:0) That will soon change however, in August actually! I can't wait to be an Aunt! It will be fun to see her a preggers and I know she will be the best Mom ever! Our extended family is sure going to see alot of change in the next year! I wonder if my parents ever thought they would have this many grandchildren so young? Well thats whats been going on around here. I am always ecstatic to get an update on Addie, and its fun to share it somewhere with people who want to celebrate our progress! Have a wonderful week!

Rumor....New List To Be Released on Monday!!!!

So the new waiting child list is to be released on Monday! We are hoping the reason Addison's paperwork is missing is because she is on this list. How amazing would that be!?! We would be humbled and honored if you would consider lifting this matter up in prayer..... We are praying

~That Addie's (Xue Ying Liu) paperwork would be found!

~She is on this January 18, 2010 waiting child list.

~ If she is on the list that our agency FOI will "find" her first and "lock"her in for us.

~ For Peace, Discernment, Patience, Wisdom and great Faith for Howard and I:0)

~ Most importantly that it be God's will not ours :0)

I just wanted to quickly share my devotion I was reading today.....

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. ~James 5:7~

In my devotion it says " Much of life is spent waiting. There's a right way to wait and a wrong way. Too often when things don't happen on our timetable, we get down and discouraged. Even though we have the promise in our hearts, we give up and settle for status quo. The bible says "Be patient as you wait" Notice, it doesn't say if you wait, it says as you wait. the passage goes on to say, "See how the farmer waits expectantly." That's the key: We have to wait with expectancy..... To wait with expectancy means that we are hopeful and positive. We get up every morning expecting good things. We may have problems, but we know this could be the day God turns it around..... Waiting the correct way means your on the lookout. You talk as if what you believe is going to happen. You act as though its going to happen. You are making preparations....

I have permission to lean forward into God's favor." ~Joel Osteen~

I loved today's devotion reading. I had to ask myself how many times have I waited the "wrong"way? During this wait for Addison I have gotten really down (especially this last week) I do believe God placed her in our lives for a reason, and soon we will find out what that reason is. I sure hope and pray it is to be our daughter, however I know God's ways are better than mine so I will trust His plan, wherever that plan may take us. As we wait we will wait with hope and expectancy;)

I think we are in dire need of some Addie cuteness so I think a picture is in order:) Sorry not a new one but it's still cute:)

Thankful Thursday

I am so very thankful to God for this boy! This is our Joshy J. Washers. He is such a sweetheart and is one of the most giving people I have ever met!



Josh is all about the FUN! He makes me laugh all the time! And loves to play! Sometimes he forgets about safety or sanity or everything in order to have FUN:0)


When there is a dress up day at school he does it all out! This was Josh in Grade 1 for 100 days of school. This is what he thinks someone who is 100 looks like You can't really see it but he has a hanky in his front pocket because in his words "all old people carry hankies!" :0)

Howard and I are so blessed that God gave us Josh! He is so very precious to us. We know that sometimes it's tough to be the youngest brother, the middle child and to have a brother who's bones break easily and is hospitalized regularly, however Joshy takes this all in stride, he is so helpful when Nathan is hurt, he would give anyone in need the shirt off his back! I love that he is so funny and fun loving and that he love, love, loves Science! He is always informing me about some animal, dinosaur or body part/function:0) We are so proud of him and who he is growing to be! I pray that Howard and I can strive to be the parents he needs us to be that we will always be sensitive to his feelings especially when I have to travel with his brother, without him for medical appointments and he feels left out. And above all else I pray he knows just how very loved he is by us and more importantly God!

Lost Paperwork.....Really!?!

Riley's first day back to Preschool!



Nathan before Christmas



Josh learning to snowboard:) Apparently Santa figured I was too picky with the camera I wanted and decided I needed to pick it out on my own:) Hopefully I will figure out what camera I need/want soon,and the quality of pictures on this blog will improve;)

Well this waiting thing is getting difficult now that the holiday's are over :0) We have been praying that we would received Addison's referral this month, its not looking like it will happen. We had our agency FOI contact the CCAA to see if her paperwork was there, of course it wasn't! So then we talked about whether or not we know if the orphanage has truly started her paperwork back in September. They were not very keen on contacting the orphanage. I have been in contact with Keith at Agape house and he believes that her paperwork is lost!!! As this is the second time they have seen the paperwork take this long to be done and in the other families case it was sent to a different government office? I'm not sure what this all means, but I am sure it means it will not be January for referral:( Keith has offered to have someone contact this other government office and the orphanage, however we haven't heard from him since Jan 2nd. I know we are exactly where we are suppose to be, and I want this journey to be God's will and not our own selfish will. I am struggling with all of it. I have taken to claiming some of God's promises to us....

- He uses all things (including the "bad" things) to work towards the good of those who love Him, and have been called according to his purpose.

- He will not tempt us with more than we can bear.

- He is with us always

- God IS for me!

- In our weakness His strength is made perfect

- He gives strength to the weary.

- He will give us peace beyond understanding.

So I am claiming some of these and the many other promises God has made to us! It does give me strength and makes me want to persevere towards whatever God's plan is for our family

I regularly watch past messages at http://www.lifechurch.tv/ Pastor Craig Groeshel is a powerful and passionate speaker. His New Years message was epically good! I think it was called "One Thing" basically it was about choosing One Thing you would like to see God do through you this year. the questions were...

1. What one thing do you desire from God this year? - Psalm 27:4

2. When it comes to your relationship with God what one thing do you lack? Mark 10:21-22

3. What one thing do you need to let go? Phil 3:13-14

4. What one promise do you need to claim? Psalms 56:9-10

Hence the claiming of promises in my life right now:) It was a powerful message and easy to watch and follow as it was about 30 minutes long, I would encourage everyone reading this blog to check it out! I know I have my one things figured out for this year:0) There are many many messages archived on their website. I find it a great way to "feed" myself.

Well we are back into the full swing of school routine this week as Riley is now back in preschool.

She is being assessed by early intervention for some speech things that have popped up in the last year. We hope to get her some help, if she needs it. Riley started stuttering about a year ago, we think its more a nervous thing, but it will be good to see what the professionals say;)

Joshua is really glad the weather has warmed up so much so he can play outside during recess! He had a blast at his snowboarding lessons and has been hitting us up to buy him a snowboard so he can go to the park and practice :)

Nathan enjoyed his first private swim lesson, although during Gym last week was practicing shooting basketballs and shot one and his leg cracked!!!! He panicked and was in instant pain, they called me and he remained home for a few days. We chose not to see a MD as he has a rod in that femur and was able to cough and move a bit without too much pain. I'm not sure if it was a micro fracture or what? We will see when he has his Xrays in Montreal in March. He is now back to school and has started walking short distances again with a walker.

Howard is back to work, things are usually a little slow in his field for the first few weeks of January and then things go mental in the oil patch through to April when we finally defrost up here in the frozen North:0)

I am really focusing on my physical health ( like almost everyone else in January) I have been really enjoying the Clean Eating and Oxygen magazines they have a great kick start routine and some super healthy recipes to follow. So our family is back on the meal planning program! I have been also looking around for a car seat and stroller for Addison, I believe we have narrowed it down to the ones we need. We still need to paint her room and find a dresser. I would like to start buying some clothes for when we travel to bring her home, however we will probably need summer stuff so there is nothing in the stores other than sweaters and jeans. Oh shucks I guess I will have to visit Etsy, Matilda Jane, and Ebay:p I have also been keeping busy with the Families helping families ministry I oversee, we have had a few families in need of meals due to health problems. I would love some freezer meal ideas from anyone who has some yummy ones! I am getting a bit bored of the ones I have been making:) So hopefully I can continue to keep busy enough that this wait for Addie won't seem so painfully slow! I hope you have a great week!

Congrats to those of you who got your T.A. (travel approval) today! Happy packing!

Thankful Thursday's

I love this girl! She is our Riley-roo! I am so very thankful to God for her! Because among a million other things, when she thinks no one is looking she can really cut a rug :P And it always makes us laugh!

She can be one sassy cheeky monkey :)



And this girl love, love, loves her Dada Man! In her mind no other Man will ever compare! I would have to agree :) Her husband will have some pretty big shoes to fill!

Although most mornings she's a bear! I still thank God for her!

In all seriousness Riley is such a treasure! She can be painfully shy and full of anxiety, which breaks our hearts because we don't understand why! Yet the next second she is the most fun loving, sensitive, giving, compassionate well mannered little girl ever! The love I have for this girl makes my heart want to burst, and I am so thankful to God that He would allow me to parent such a precious gift like our Riley-roo!

WOW!!!!

I was up early this morning to have time to read my devotion and have some quiet time. When I was finished I had some time to "check in" on some of my favourite blogs. Well on one of my favs was a link to the most amazing adoption story and how God truly does have a plan if we let Him work through us! Here is the link I encourage you to read this families amazing testimony, I guarantee it will give you goosebumps!
http://1diamond1ruby1pearl.blogspot.com/2009/12/our-journey-to-sienna-grace.html

Christmas Vacation Recap

Well, the boys are back to school today. I'm quite sad to see the holidays end, Howard was home for the whole 2 weeks, and what a treat that was! We had a blast! It all started with getting our brand new lazy boy sectional sofa and king size bed delivered, and then on the Dec 22nd Howard and I installed our new wood flooring in the basement. I was quite impressed as it only took us 11hours to have it all finished! We still have trim and doors to do downstairs, but that will come later when I can paint them in the garage. Its too cold right now to paint them out there! Needless to say we have been enjoying super mario bros for the wii and movie nights in the new t.v./playroom :)
We also hosted a appetizer social on the 23rd after our Christmas Eve service at church (our church holds 3 Christmas Eve services one on the 23rd and two on the 24th) I believe we had about 25 people in attendance and stayed up to the wee hours of the morning, we had a great time visiting with everyone!
Christmas Eve we spent at home and then we had a beautiful dinner at some dear friends house. Of course we had to head home early as Howard and I had our "santa"duties to fufill :) After the stockings were stuffed and presents placed under the tree, we headed off to bed. Christmas morning came all too quickly ;) We had a beautiful Christmas day, spent in our PJ's playing with our new toys and finished with a delish fresh turkey dinner!
Howard and I decided this year that the kids have too much "stuff" so we opted to give them activities for Christmas, Nathan starts private swim lessons today, Josh had snowboard lessons over the holiday and Riley starts ballet next week. They were all very excited about their new activities and of course still received many "awesome" toys :)
New Years Eve came all too quickly with the cleaning, organizing and relaxing we were doing! We celebrated with some friends and now its back to the regular routine!
I have been going over some goals in my head for the new year. In the forefront is exercising alot more and returning to our Clean Eating plan, that somehow got lost over the holidays! Also finishing up a bible study I started in Sept and starting a new one. And of course traveling to China to bring home our sweet baby girl!
I hope to find some things to keep me busy,to help get through the rest of the winter as we usually don't see the snow go away until April.
I know I read a few blogs of people still waiting for referrals of their babies and how they were sad and felt as if someone was missing. I feel for those families and can only imagine how hard it is having waited 3+ years! I however decided in advance that I would celebrate and enjoy hopefully our last Christmas as a family of five. Addie was close in our thoughts and prayers throughout the holiday, but we all really enjoyed this Christmas and I would venture to say that this was the best Christmas ever for our family! We had 2weeks dedicated to just family time.
Last night Howard and I watched "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, it was awesome! Both Howard and I really enjoyed the movie, I would say its a must see! I loved how it portrayed adoption and how it showed how the family was blessed by having adopted "Big Mike" and how much joy he brought into their lives, not how it was only a blessing for him by being adopted by this family!
Well I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas vacation, and feel rested and ready to start the new year with finesse!