Another Year...Another Recital!

I can't believe it's time for another dance recital for Iris Anne. Each year when Kelly and I watch her up on that stage we have it in our minds that she's going to be this little 3 year old up there dancing...then we see our BIG girl with legs almost as long as mine up there dancing away! Boy how time flies!

Congratulations on your 6th recital Iris Anne...we are so proud of you!

Being Content

I am writing this post because I want to express my feelings about being a stay at home mom. I've learned that there is always going to be someone who doesn't agree with you or understand you...when I was younger I would worry about what others thought of me...but thankfully I grew out of that...I know the only one I have to please or answer to is the one who holds my life in his hands...God!

Most of all I want others to know that I don't for one second take the fact that I get to be a stay at home mom for granted...I thank God every day for that extraordinary blessing! I know at any moment mine and Kelly's circumstances could change and I might have to go to work....so I cherish each day that I get to be home with my family. We had a couple speak at our church a while back and their story really touched me. Not only had they gone through some major struggles with their family but the wife also spoke about being a stay at home mom..which gave me encouragement for the choice I've made to be at home. She had gone to college and gotten her degree as a Nurse Practictioner. She loved working and her career but her husband really wanted her to stay home to raise their children. At first she said she even cried about having to leave her job and really didn't want to do that. Now, she says she is happier and more content than she's ever been.

Every now and then I will have someone ask me "what do you do all day?" I expect women who don't have children to ask this...but when it's an actual mom asking me that question...well I guess it kind of shocks me. I try not to let the question bother me but sometimes I don't understand how they could even wonder what I do all day. I don't get angry about it but I just feel so strongly about the choice I made to not work outside the home. The best way I can describe what I do all day is that this is when I get everything done that I need to....laundry, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, exercising, errands, doctor and dentist's appointments...that way when my kids get home from school I am all theirs. Once the kids get home from school Kelly and I only get a small amount of time with them so we don't want anything to take away from that time with them. When we were expecting Iris Anne we knew that we wanted me to be at home. Kelly and I both had moms that stayed at home and we wanted our children to have that same experience. I would do whatever it takes to provide for my family but as long as we can make it with me not working that is what we want to do. When I was a teenager my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's...he was only in his early 50's. My mom had to go to work to be able to afford insurance and other things we needed because my dad could no longer provide for us. My parents never planned on that happening to them...it was a complete shock to our entire family. My dad died when he was only 56 years old and I know from that personal experience that anything can happen at any time...there are no guarantees in life. I want to know that I spent as much time with my kids as possible because I know how fragile life is.

This post is also to let working moms out there know that they can stay home with their kids and make it work. It's not easy and yes it's a struggle...but I can promise you it is so worth it. If you look at mine and Kelly's situation you would never think we could have made it this long with only one of us working...but somehow we have....and we wouldn't change that. I couldn't think of anything in this world I would rather be doing. I must also say that I am truly blessed with a wonderful husband who lets me be the mom I want to be. He wouldn't want it any other way than to have me home with the kids...and I am so thankful for how hard he works to provide for our family. I remind Iris and Asa all of the time that God has blessed their dad with work so that I can be with them more. I want them to know that this is a great gift from God and not to take it for granted.

I guess when my kids are grown and out of the house I can go to work...I'm sure I will be looking for a way to spend all of that spare time I'll have...I don't even want to think about that right now!!!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Not only is it fun to have the school parties and egg hunts but I am also very thankful for what this day truly stands for...without this day there would be no hope for any of us. I thank God that he sent his son to die for us so that we might spend eternity with Him...there is no greater gift!

I actually had something happen after church today that was a bit of a shock to me. We had to stop by the grocery store to get some last minute things for Easter lunch and while I was in line at the check out there was a nice, well dressed lady in front of me. I noticed her cart was full of food..which looked to me like she was going home to cook a big Easter lunch. She turned to me and said "I was wondering why everyone was so dressed up today...I just realized it's Easter." That really bothered me the rest of the day. I guess I just assume that everyone celebrates Easter. Even people who aren't Christians know by all the Easter candy in the stores, and kids having egg hunts. But it just really hurt me to think that here was this lady who Jesus had died for on the cross who didn't even acknowledge what He had done for her! I just wanted to cry. There are so many people in this world who don't celebrate Easter...or if they do it is for all the wrong reasons. That breaks my heart and I just think how much that must break God's heart!

Exciting News!

Thanks to our recent fundraiser and with help from The Levi Circle...today we were able to file our I600A Form with Immigration! This is very exciting for us! The forms have been sitting on our table with the checks written for months now...so to finally get to mail them in is such a big step for us! Even though this whole process seems to be moving very slowly...we know that this is how God planned it. Each step we are able to take with the adoption just brings us closer to bringing our child home and we feel very blessed to be called to do this! We are so thankful for all of the support we have received during this journey!

Please Watch!

I came across this video today and it truly inspired me. When you are going through the adoption process there are days when you can question what God has called you to do and you need some extra encouragement and reassurance...this video did it for me. Please watch this...it's eight minutes...but so worth it. (pause my playlist at bottom of page so you can hear it)


"Remember, you call yourself my body. I'm not there, except through you. Your hands...those are my hands. Your feet...those are my feet. That heart...it's my heart. If it's not beating, my heart isn't beating on this earth anymore. I work through my body-I am a father to the fatherless through my body. I rescue the weak and the vulnerable through YOU. If you're not doing it, no one is."

Pray for Japan!

When you text "REDCROSS" to 90999 you can make a $10 donation to help support disaster relief for Japan.

Adoption Fundraiser

Kelly and I love being a part of The Levi Circle...this is the adoption ministry group that was started up in our church. The group started out small and it just keeps growing! We had a meeting last night and I can't tell you how good it feels to have so much love and support during your adoption journey. There are so many days that you get down and feel discouraged...like you must have heard God wrong when he called you to adopt. Being around a group of friends that lift you up and remind you what God DID call you to do is so encouraging.

Renee is kind of like our "team leader"...she is so passionate about adoption. She has really helped Kelly and I so much by coming up with fundraising ideas and just being there to support us during this journey. We are very excited about a wonderful fundraiser that Renee has organized for our family...please check out the flyer above and go to http://www.cocomccain.com/ and see what they have to offer. All sales during March 9-16 will go to our family...PLUS, The Levi Circle is going to match the amount that is sold.

The next step in our adoption is filing with immigration and finishing our dossier...so we are really hoping to raise enough money to complete this step so we can move closer to bringing our child home.

We appreciate all of our friends and family so much and THANK YOU for your support!

AR T-Shirts!

BBS has a great Accelerated Reader program. Each student has to acquire a certain amount of points from their AR tests...when they reach the required amount they receive a t-shirt. Iris Anne got hers for 2nd grade back in the Fall...so Asa has been striving to be like his big sis and get his shirt. Well today was the day! He was sooooooo excited!

Mom and Dad are so proud of you guys...keep up the hard work!

Public vs. Private

So many parents have their opinions of private and public schools..... sometimes very strong opinions. I just want to share with you how we came to the decision of sending Iris and Asa to a private Christian school. When it came time for us to start preparing for our kids to start school we really began to think hard about what type of environment we wanted them in. The public school that we were zoned for was considered to be a great school in our area but we just wanted more for our kids. When I was growing up we had prayer over the intercom each morning...now that isn't even allowed in public schools...we just weren't ready for our kids to grow up without that being a part of their day at school. It wasn't about not wanting them in a school with a large amount of Hispanics(which there is a lot of in our local public schools)...it was about having them in a school where they could pray freely and learn about Jesus Christ openly and be taught by Christian teachers. Private school was a big decison for our family...it is expensive and the one we wanted them to attend was 25 miles away. We considered a local private Christian school but after having a couple of situations happen we decided that wouldn't be best for Iris and Asa. First, Kelly had a friend he grew up with tell him that we should send our kids to that local Christian school because it was like Dalton schools "use" to be just without the "brown" kids...well we knew that's not what we wanted our kids to be a part of. Also, we had some friends whose daughter was a great student with straight A's but had gotten involved with the wrong crowd her freshman year in public high school. They went to that same local Christian school asking to have her transferred there because they felt she needed to be in that environment. Well they were turned down because they weren't members of a church and couldn't provide a letter from their pastor stating that they attended church on a regular basis and were involved within the church...well all I can say to that is...WWJD??? This is the type of environment we didn't want our kids in...where a Christian school would turn their back on a child in need...those parent's were only trying to protect their child only to have the door closed on them when they were asking for help.
When we first met with the Headmaster at BBS one of the first questions we asked him was "are the students here only from Christian families?"...his answer was that anyone of any faith or religion could go to BBS...they don't even require a letter from your church or pastor. He explained that regardless of whether a child comes from a Christian home or not that while they are at BBS they are going to learn about the Bible and Jesus Christ and be taught by Christian teachers and that can make all the difference in a child's life. After hearing that we knew this was the school for us. We may not always be able to afford to send Iris and Asa to a private Christian school but as long as we can that is what we will do. If they do go to public school in the future hopefully the time they have spent at BBS will better prepare them to witness to kids who aren't Christians.
Some parents seem to think if you send your child to a Christian school you are trying to shelter them from the bad in the world. Before we started at BBS Asa's Pre-K teacher came to our home to meet us and we asked her what she thought about private vs. public school and if we were only trying to shelter our kids. I will never forget what she said, "as parents aren't we suppose to want to shelter our kids, they will learn about all the bad in the world soon enough so why not protect them as much as we can while we can"...after hearing her say that Kelly and I knew we had made the right decision.
I pray that we can continue to send Iris and Asa to BBS...watching them learn and grow as Christians each day has been such a huge blessing to our family.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Date Night

One of my favorite things to do is go on a date with Kelly. I love being a mom and being with my kids...but there is something about getting to spend that alone time with your spouse. We try to go out alone atleast twice a month and it makes a huge difference in our marriage. I'm not the type to want gifts...Kelly and I don't buy each other anything for Christmas, Valentines, etc...all I ever want is to go out to dinner together and spend time just talking and feeling like a couple. Kelly will occasionally send me an email or write me a note that tells me how he feels about me and that means more to me than anything he could ever buy me! I want Iris and Asa to see us caring enough about each other to go out on dates....it shows them that we enjoy each others company and that will help them to hopefully do that w/ their spouse when they are married. We have always made time to go on dates since the kids were born and I hope it's something we will always continue to do. If you haven't tried dating your spouse...give it a try...it's really a lot of fun...it helps remind you why you fell in love in the first place!

Waiting

Lately I haven't had anything to write about our adoption....it's really been a difficult time. This is such an emotional thing to go through and there are days when I don't know if I can handle it. I am the type that once I get my heart set on something I just become fixated on it and I can't quit thinking about it. It's so hard to know there is a child just waiting on us and we are just sitting here and can't do anything about it. We are really struggling to come up with the funds for our adoption and some days we don't know where that money is going to come from....but we just know it WILL come...when God feels the time is right. I am bad about wanting what I want when I want it....I'm human...and most of us are that way. It's especially hard to have patience when it comes to providing a home and a family to a sweet child that is suffering. So many people ask us how the process is going and right now I just don't have a lot to say...just keep praying for our family. I don't want to have doubts about what we truly feel God has called us to do....it's just hard to have faith sometimes.

Encouraging Visit To The Dentist

I don't always love going to the dentist but when it's just for a cleaning it can actually turn out to be a nice way to spend an hour. Yesterday I went for my visit and I love talking to the hygienist. She has two teenagers...a girl and a boy...so I love hearing her views on parenting! Sometimes I feel like Kelly and I are part of the minority as far as parents go. We don't rush out and buy our kids the latest toy, my kids don't have cell phones, a Wii or their own laptops....they don't even know what Facebook is. There are times when I feel like we are the only parents that haven't introduced these things to their kids...so it's nice to come across another parent who is on the same page...it's very encouraging. The hygienist told me her kids didn't get cell phones until 7th grade...mainly because they were very involved in sports and needed to be able to reach their parents to let them know of any changes in games. Also, they are not allowed to have their cell phones turned on from 8-3 during the school week...which they check each month on the cell phone report. Their kids are not allowed to delete any texts that they send or receive until they have also been checked at the end of the month. If they don't follow these rules they lose their phones. She explained that they make it clear to their kids that it's not that they don't trust them...but in this day and time it's better to be safe than sorry...and staying involved in what your kids do is very necessary. I think those are great ways to monitor the use of cell phones...it gave me some really good ideas. Like she said...there are so many parents now that want to be "friends" w/ their children and they don't want to be a parent to them. It's really sad....they need parents...not more friends. I know I love my kids way more than any friend will ever love them and when they grow up and look back on the way Kelly and I raised them they will hopefully appreciate the choices we made on how to parent them. There will be times when they don't understand why they can't have something that another child has...but that is life...and hopefully that will better prepare them for life as adults and help them to not always want what they don't need or can't have. I can say from personal experience that I wish my parents would have been stricter when I was a kid...I honestly think that deep down all kids want that...whether they would admit to it or not...they want to feel like their parents truly care about them even if that means saying "No" sometimes.

I don't think Kelly and I are perfect parents or that our kids aren't going to mess up and do things they shouldn't...but we will try our hardest to make the right choices for them while they are in our care. God entrusted us with our children...they are our responsibility...I just hope He gives us the parenting skills we need when they hit those wonderful teen years!!!
I just wanted to share this post with those parents who think they are alone when it comes to being this type of parent...stick to what you believe is right for your children and know you're not alone!

Sweet Boys!

We told Asa that when he turned 6 he could have a friend over for a sleepover...well of course he invited his best buddy and cousin Hank! They had such a big time together. Iris has been doing sleepovers since she turned 6 and I must say that boys definitely act different than girls. Boys love their Nerf guns and girls love their makeup and dolls. Asa has had boys over for playdates before but not to spend the night so we really didn't know how it would go...it ended up being great! Boys do have a little more energy than girls but they played together so well!!! Asa and Hank played mostly with their Nerf guns and ran around playing Mario and Luigi. We popped Jiffy Pop and watched a movie, made brownies, and built a fort. Asa and Hank actually fell asleep before 10pm!

It was a great first sleepover for Asa...can't wait to have more!

My Baby Turns 6!

Today my sweet little Asa turns 6 years old. Asa was born 3 weeks early and only weighed 5lbs....boy how he has grown! I am amazed each day at how sweet and loving he is....we are so blessed that God gave us Asa...he is such a joy to have in our lives!

We celebrated with friends at his party this past weekend at the YMCA...which was a blast...but today was the really special day. I made the special birthday pancake for breakfast, took donuts to school for his class, and cooked his favorite meal...Beef Stroganoff...and chocolate chip cookies! Iris even surprised him with a gift from her....a FUSHIGI!!!

I can't believe how fast the kids are growing...it feels like just yesterday that they were babies!

Happy 6th Birthday my precious PONY(this is what Iris named him when he was a baby)...we love you!!!

Here We Go Again!

Don't you just love the snow!!! It's so beautiful...and the kids are having so much fun! Kelly even got his skis out!

The kids worked so hard on building their snowman which Asa named "Google"!

I dread seeing the snow go...we're really going to miss making the YUMMY Snow Cream!

Itchy Eye Syndrome

Having the kids go back to school this week has been sad for me. It is so quiet around here...believe it or not I miss the noise and the mess! Those two weeks they were home were so fun...my favorite part was having them climb into my bed each morning to snuggle and not having to worry about getting ready to be anywhere at a certain time! Asa is my early bird so I would love hearing his new "Luigi" slippers scuffling across the wood floor as he made his way to my room each morning around 6:30am...he loves moms bed...he says it's so "snuggly"!

Well the first day they went back to school Iris was ready to get back and see her teacher and her friends...but Asa was a little hesitant. He loves school but being home for so long with me made him a little sad to go back. When I picked him up that first day back his teacher told me he had a case of "itchy eyes" that morning. At first I wasn't sure what she meant...but then she explained that he had cried. No mom wants to see their child cry...but when they cry because they love you and want to be with you...well I can't help but enjoy that a little. Asa even told me that when he was lined up in the hallway with his classmates during the day he started praying that God would send me down the hall to come pick him up early. When he told me that I almost cried. I took it as a good opportunity to explain to him and Iris about unanswered prayers. I explained to them that even though we pray about something we really want...God will always know what's best for us and may choose to not answer that prayer. Even though Asa really wanted me to show up at his school God knew that it was best for him to stay and be there to learn what he needed to and not get behind in his work.

Our kids grow up so fast and I just cherish the time I have with them so much! We are counting the days until their next school break!

**Check out the picture Asa drew for me...soooo sweet! He says he's "mom's baby"!!!...I couldn't resist taking a picture...that way I have some proof to show him when he's 16 and doesn't have time for his mom!!

Like Mother Like Daughter!

Well it has finally happened...Iris Anne has her first crush...well the first one she has admitted to....and it is Justin Bieber!!! Yes I admit that back in the day I was crazy in love with Michael Jackson(before he got a little surgery happy) and yes there was a part of me that thought I could possibly be Mrs. Michael Jackson..ha! ha! I had the posters on my wall and the sequence glove, the collector doll(which I still own)...and I do remember camping out with my parents at a mall in Chattanooga to get tickets to his concert in Knoxville. And oh yeah, I did have a Michael Jackson birthday party...I still remember the cake that my sister Cindy made to look like him!

If you listened to my ipod a week ago it would consist of Christian rock music with just a few of my favorite M.J. songs that I had to sneak in there. But now, well lets just say listening to Justin Bieber does help me run a little faster and longer. Some of those songs are just so darn cute...it's hard to resist! I can see why Iris Anne is all dreamy over J.B....lets just hope he doesn't turn into one of those teen stars that goes all crazy! Thank goodness I did have that childhood crush on M.J....it helps me to understand what she is feeling...those first crushes are so fun! Maybe one day I can camp out with her to get those Bieber concert tickets!

We love you Justin!!!

Best Christmas Ever!!!

I must say this has been one of the best Christmas's I can remember! For one thing..the snow was absolutely beautiful....it just topped off the best day of the year! What better time to be snowed in...the kids got to enjoy all the new stuff Santa brought...toys, puzzles, board games, video games and an air hockey table. Somehow Santa must have known it was going to snow because he also brought us snow sleds....which was a BLAST! Being snowed in for a couple of days together just made this Christmas extra special...I will never forget it!