Just the Pix, Please!

Introducing...Kennah Janae

Introducing...Kasidi Joy











Be still, my heart!














Night night...

The Rest of the Story ~ Sorta

First, thank you all for your precious comments. You've made me cry all over again!

Yesterday was indescribable. Utterly speechless. Honey, it isn't the same without you hear. Sheri and Kenz are doing an amazing job! But you should be here to see your girls blossom. I know you would be if you could. I love you, and in your absence I realize the amazing daddy you are to all our children.

Yesterday was the culmination of God's unimaginable goodness coming together, throughout the day really! As you know, our luggage arrived about 2 hours before the babies so we had time to arrange everything, and I don't know what we would've done without the awesome Minnie Mouse backpack with never-ending goodies :) The journal below is as much for me, as you, so please humor me. I know without memorializing the day there will be precious bits I would forget. And don't fret, there are more pictures...like over 200 more ;-)

At 2:00, loaded down with a ginormous diaper bag, complete with sippy cup of juice (properly watered down of course), a steaming hot bottle of formula with rice cereal, an Ergo, 2 blankets, necessary docs, camera which ultimately met its demise when someone knocked it off the table, and a pint-size backpack, we headed to the civil affairs office.

There were 7 other families from France, so the room was crowded, but we immediately recognized a petite pink-adorned Kennah Janae! It appears she has been truly loved. She hesitated to let me hold her, and when I finally did, her nanny would take her back every time she squirmed and whimpered :)

To our surprise, it also appears her palate has been repaired. She appears severely malnourished, and I've suspected that was due to her cleft palate, but she is the thinnest little beauty I've ever seen. We are so careful with her tiny arms and legs, for fear we might dislocate something. I'm happy to say, the girls loves her some vittles! She ate noodles, meatballs and eggs like there was no tomorrow! And she's potty trained! So she and I had to race out of the dumpling restaurant and back to the room for her to tinkle, but it's ok. She's good about telling me. She uses lots of gestures because her speech isn't clear. We are so blessed to already be established with the cleft clinic, and our surgeon is awesome!

Kennah will be seen soon because she seems to have some breathing issues, likely related to her cleft. During the night she snorted a lot, especially when she whimpered. It's now 5:30 am and both girls are still asleep, but Kennah has whimpered several times, allowing me to comfort her and remind her, "Mama is here." Oh, be still my heart!

And her laugh ~ oh my! At first she would try to hold her smile, then she couldn't help herself and busted out in all-out belly laughs! I'm sure we have video somewhere in the plethora of photos. She's a hoot! And has an ornery streak a mile long! She does mind me though! She will readily hold my hand when we walk, and allow me to pick her up if I need to have eye contact. During Gotcha when I was holding both girls and Kasidi was crying, Kennah would share her Cheerios, and stroke Kasidi's cheek and hair. Oh my!!!! She also loves to brush her own hair. She's a princess!

About 15 minutes after meeting Kennah and while we were unloading her backpack, our guide said, "Oh, another one!!!!" I turned around, and there was my Kasidi Joy, dressed in the most dainty outfit ever! I will take a picture of it today. She was not pleased to be handed off to her mama, but she eventually settled in. She has the most beautiful and dainty features, and a cry to match.

Both girls could easily fall in love with their sister Kenzie, and we are all being careful about that. I'm feeding them and meeting their needs, putting them to bed, etc. But especially at mealtime, I need 4 hands! Sheri and Kenzie are just incredible! They step in when needed. Thank you both!!!

Kasidi has spent the last 8 months with a family who obviously love her very much! Her foster mama brought her to the orphanage yesterday morning because she didn't want to lose any more time with her than she had to. Precious baby girl is going to grieve the loss of her family. We have a special gift for her family, and I hope they will see our heart in it.

Kasidi also eats food, along with her bottles. She loves eggs and noodles, as well as applesauce. We plan to snag some yogurt and faux Cheerios off the breakfast buffet today.

After the pictures were taken, we went to Careforre (never can remember how to spell that) to get some formula and other necessary supplies. Kennah was in awe, taking in all the sights. Kasidi was content to be snug in the Ergo.

As soon as we arrived back at the hotel, I realized I'd forgotten to get the boatload of diapers and wipes I wanted to donate to both orphanages, so we took a walk to the local market and picked those up. The girls did amazing!

I gave each girl a bath separately, not knowing how they'd like it. Also, the 4 arms thing... My word, they love the water!!! Bath time will be treasured moments for us.

I tried to give Kasidi her bedtime bottle, but she wasn't interested. We snuggled a bit, and I put her in the crib, and she was out within minutes. Tired baby girl.

Kennah, on the other hand, insisted on playing in the crib a while. She even tried to convince me to pick her up - funny how she liked me to hold her then more than before :) I'm onto her. If we don't want her to have something, we'll have to get it out of sight! She's persistent, even stubborn. It was so cute to listen to her playing with the stacking cups and talking to herself. As soon as I turned the lights out and went to bed, she settled in and fell asleep too.

So today is a new day. It can't top yesterday, but it will bring its own cherished memories. We complete the adoption paperwork today and get to know each other more.

I am overwhelmed at God's goodness. I simply don't deserve such blessings. I am so grateful that He spoke His plans to our hearts yet again. I already can't imagine my life without these two Treasures.

Honey, Kuyler, Kolton, Kooper, Kayden, Kambry, Kaeleb and Kinley Grace, I love you and miss you!

Clint, Ashley, Meghan, Austin and Gretchen, I'm taking good care of your wife and mama...or she's taking good care of me!

LOVE YA'LL!!!

Gotcha x 2! Round 1...

I will post more tomorrow. But for now we have to go to bed. It was an amazing day!

Soooo funny!

Praise God!!!!

We are headed to the airport to pick up luggage...5 hours before the babies arrive! HE IS NEVER LATE!!!!!

Thank you for praying!!!!

Truth Is...

They were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

Psa 107:27-29

As the Lord would have it, this is my devotional passage this morning. We have no luggage, we have no cute Minnie Mouse backpack full of goodies for Kennah at Gotcha, we have no soft lovey for Kasidi at Gotcha, we have no bottles, we have no diapers...but we have Him! We have His truth, His promises, His comfort, His goodness. And soon we will have His girls!!!! Oh my, this mama's heart is overflowing with thankfulness.

Our prayer requests:

That the Lord has prepared Kennah and Kasidi for this moment.

For safe travels as Clayton transports our littlest kiddos to the Smiths in Missouri.

For the sanity of the Smiths in Missouri ;-)

For my biggest guys to be productive the next 2 weeks, including finishing our 2 Both Hands projects (they were too large to finish in 1 day)

For our bags to arrive this morning!

Thank you all for praying for us!!!!

Next post ~ Gotcha x 2!!!!!

My Travel Gals

Sheri and Kenzie. They are the best!

Pr*yer Request

Our luggage did not arrive today and has been lost in never never land. Please pray that it will appear soon. All my baby supplies, gifts and of course, clothes are missing!

Point A+B+C+...=China!

WE'RE HERE! Praise the Lord!

Our first flight out of OKC was delayed due to weather, so even though we ran like track stars we missed our connection. The oh-so-helpful D*lta rep offered to get us here by Sunday morning, and that just wouldn't do. After all, we're getting 2 babies Monday! So with a little gentle persuasion he put us on standby for the next flight to Seattle...and after much prayer we made it! Even though 2 of our bags didn't make it, we landed in China at 9:30 pm Saturday, completely wiped out but so glad to be here. We walked into our room to find this...

Be still my heart, 2 cribs!!! Rumor has it we're getting both babies Monday afternoon. That would be the wee hours of the morning Sunday for you.

Signing off for bed...

Honey, Kuyler, Kolton, Kooper, Kayden, Kambry, Kaeleb and Kinley Grace, I LOVE YOU!!!

"Mr. D*lta Man, you don't understand. Sunday morning simply will not do. We need to rest!!!!"

Of course, ice cream makes everything better.

And a smoothie too!

We cleared the standby list!!!!

Next stop, Beijing!

While in China

I think blogger will work just fine for us, but if there's a problem we have an alternate site...but I won't confuse me you with that now :)

Also, if you send me an email while I'm gone, please send it to this address. For some reason I can't send or reply via my primary server. I will get your email, but I won't be able to reply, unless you use this address.

And for the record... one bag is 39 lbs and one is 48. Of course, we don't have my sister-in-law's luggage yet - bahahahaha.

48 Hours From Now...

...we will be on a looooong flight to the babies! Oh my! It's been a busy week, and there's still more to come.

Kambry's pre-K ceremony.

Kambry and Kayden's track meet. "You want me to take my hands outa my pockets and do what???"
Today Kenzie and I took time out of our crazy schedules to chillax and get a pedi. It was a rare treat!
And tomorrow is Kenzie's 8th grade graduation! Which I'm afraid will completely miss the blogosphere radar since we're leaving her party to head to the airport!

For all I know, this may be my last post till we're on our way! Crazy stuff to do: documents to review and complete, luggage to zip, weigh, unload and reweigh...

Oh, and I guess I need to prepare food for tomorrow's event...and pick up the cake...and finish packing 4 kids...and...I have no idea what else.

PRAISE HIS NAME!!!

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to Him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.

"Bring them here to me," He said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

You've probably read this passage many times, just like me. But did you know that Jesus still, today takes our 2 fishes and 5 loaves and 'feeds the 5,000'?!?

After 9 months of fundraising, we are FULLY FUNDED!!! What's the significance of this? It's all HIM!

And I got to share about it today as I was checking out of W*l-Mart for the 132nd time this week. The checkout gal noticed all my travel supplies and asked if I was the 'lady with all those adorable kids?' Ummmm, yep, that's me. I told her we're leaving in 3 days (eeeeeek, 3 days!) to bring home two more Treasures.

She said, "It's so nice that you have the means to do that." Helllllooooo?!?

Even in my chaotic state of mind I recognize an open door when I see it.

I replied, "See, that's the cool thing ~ we DON'T have the means to do it. Nine months ago we sent a Letter of Intent to adopt one precious little girl with a scary.to.us medical special need, and we started our first fundraiser that same day because we had nothing." Nada. Zilch. Zero.

I remember the day we said, "Yes, Lord." The choice was obvious really. The Lord had spoken to my heart, "Say yes, and just watch what I will do."

With every ounce of faith we could muster, realizing without His provision we would fail miserably, even possibly make complete fools of ourselves, we stepped out of the proverbial boat and into the water.

We have worked hard, and when we didn't know what to do next, we waited for His direction. We held a huge (epic, in Kuyler's words) garage sale; 6 drawings/giveaways (1 HP Netbook, 2 Canon Rebels, 1 $500 gift card, 1 Xoom, 1 iPad (none of which were donated); we received 4 grants; we had 2 special friends making hair bows; we sold squeaky shoes, mums, poinsettias; we received multiple 'surprise' gifts from friends and acquaintances; made our Kandles, duct tape wallets; 2 Lifesong/Both Hands Projects; 2 matching grants; Wild Olive Tees; our Adoption decals...and there are probably some I'm forgetting.

Make no mistake about it, it wouldn't have been possible without ya'll! You have been the hands and feet of Jesus to us!

We are so humbled and so grateful.

Whatever reservations or hesitation we had at the crazy notion of adopting again have been repeatedly eliminated. We laughed at the idea of coming up with $30,000 for an adoption. And then when the Lord clearly asked us to bring home a second Treasure at the same time, we figured He could just as easily provide the additional $20,000 :)

And a further cool factor, we never waited on funds. Never. Many times we needed funds within a day or two, and the Lord miraculously provided. Our paperwork never sat still due to lack of funds.

And since we have so many friends who are also adopting and holding fundraisers, we were convinced we had to help them too. It didn't matter that we were fundraising. It's all His! And every single time we gave to another family, He returned the blessing many times over. Every.single.time!!!

Now, please don't think we're super spiritual or anything like that. Last Thursday, 8 days from travel, we were still $6,000 short. With our latest fundraiser ending in 2 days, we made a tough decision. Lifesong had also awarded us a $4,000 interest-free covenant loan which we'd hoped not to use. We simply don't need any more debt. But it was available to us, and we didn't know what else to do but utilize it. So we requested the loan proceeds be disbursed to our agency.

The very next day we received our travel cost list. It was $6,000 less than we estimated. $6,000 less! (Oh, ye of little faith!) Even though we requested the loan proceeds be disbursed so our agency could wire them to China, we now have the funds to repay the loan. It's all His! It's all Him!

Even today, He takes 2 fishes and 5 loaves and multiplies it!

PRAISE HIS NAME! We stand in awe!

...and I look forward to blogging about something other than fundraising for a while :) :) That's uber cool!

)))))Pinch Me((((((

We are so ready to go - NOT! But at least we're throwing stuff in the general direction of the luggage.

But we still have a crazy schedule and a lot of reality to live this week before we leave.
Pinch me, please!!!!

Oh, to answer your question ~

Yes, I will be blogging while in China!!!

iPad Winner!

is JOHN WESTROPE!!!
John, congratulations!!! Please contact me so I can get your iPad to you before we leave!

I want to thank each of you. You have been such incredible support and encouragement. We've never taken for granted that our drawings would be successful, but each of them has been, because of you! Thank you for loving our girls and helping us bring them home. We appreciate your emails, comments and text messages.

Thank You, Lord, for placing such dear people in our lives!

Drawing Tonight, Ya'll!

Around 8 pm CST we will draw for this bad boy! If you haven't seen the original post with the scoop, it's here. We are so humbled and grateful! Have a beautiful Saturday!!!

I Feel Like Dancin'

Go Kinley...go Kinley...

We all feel like dancin' these days! We're so excited to draw for the iPad winner tomorrow, and we are so very grateful to everyone who has spread the word and contributed! Would you look at that ticker!!!! We serve an awesome God!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, May 14, is the day we draw for the iPad! There's still time to get in!!!

You can see the original post here.

Wheels Up ~ Knees Down!

It's official! We head east in the wee hours of the morning, Friday, May 20th!

My goodness, we are excited! Just the thought of all that God has done in the last 9 months leaves me in awe. Miraculous, no doubt! We are standing in prayer that He will continue to show up and show off as we prepare for travel.

A huge praise is that the match has been met - praise Him!!! But we still need $6,247. Will you stand in the gap for us?

He is never late!!!!

Happy Birthday, Kambry Hope!

Warning: The following pictures are in random order because...well, frankly, I've lost my mind!

The last two weeks of school are insane with 573 banquets and every other activity we can cram into a 10-day time span. With 8 days till we leave, I still have 2,852 trips to W*l-Mart, 1 graduation banquet, 2 graduations, 1 video to prepare, 1 book summary to write...ah well, you get it. All this craziness leading up to the glorious homecoming of our girls. I'm sure things will settle down once Kasidi and Kennah are home - bahahahahaha.

Way to go, Kolton Tee, lettering in football, basketball, baseball and track!

Kambry wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. And ice cream for being a big girl.
We managed to squeeze a celebration into our weird schedule, even if it was at 9 pm. Kambry Hope, you are a joy!
Just what she wanted, another pillow pet and purple earrings.
How do you really feel about that?


I hope you have a wonderful day! I need to book flights...and run to W*l-Mart...

Two Beeee-yuuuuu-teeee-ful Letters!

We have

We will most likely leave next Friday! Gulp.

Will you please join us in praying for a specific request?

God has been so good to provide for this process, in so many ways, through so many faithful servants! We praise Him and are grateful for each of you!

Will you please pray with us that He will provide the last $6,481. Yes, that's all we need! And He provides more every.single.day. This is so doable for Him!

Berries & Coffee

They don't go together. Oh, no they don't! Ask me how I know...

10 minutes into our weekend road trip we received news of TA, and well, I was so excited I dropped my ...

...into my hubby's...
Went something like this ~

Seriously? We are leaving for the weekend. I can't be without my phone cuz ya' never know when our agency will call...or email. And, honey, why would you drink coffee without a lid in my car, anyway?

Oh, never mind, we're going right by the A*&T store now. Whew, we have an upgrade and Mama has a new phone.

And after a day of a luxurious rice bath the old Berry came on. Although it reeks of coffee and there seems to be a hint of cream and sugar in the screen :)