Kindle Fire ~ 1 week from today!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those who have given to our Kindle Fire fundraiser/giveaway!

A week from today, on August 31st, we will draw.

If you'd still like to enter, here's how:

You may use the kindle fire chip-in or email me for other
options.

~ Each $20 contribution gets 1 shot

~ Each $40 contribution gets 3 shots

~ Each blog or FB post gets an additional shot

The Beach, Round I

So many awesome pictures of our vacation, and most of them did not come from my piddly camera. Except for the individual and family photo shoot (thank you, Mr. Brad!!!), these are some of my favorite more formal pics:

After 34 hours on the road, we're ready to check out our sweet new place!

We mostly cooked at home, but the day we drove to Pensacola to watch the Blue Angels practice, we feasted big! This is the teen table. What followed wasn't purty.

Picture day was a blast...

...mostly :)

A pastel of kids! They outnumbered us 4 to 1, but don't tell them!

Big bang? Evolution? I think not! This is the work of the Father!

Just plain cool pic!

Ditto.

1, 2, 3...3...3

My kids! Aren't they adorable?!? That is NOT a real tattoo, people. Although he did freak me out a little.

Say it with me: "Ahhhhhhh."

My big'uns. Be still, my heart.

Kuyler and Kenzie had fun making some 'hey boy' and 'hey girl' pictures!

I think this one went viral on FB.

I'd forgotten the down side of vacations: going home. The guys were waiting on the girls after our overnight stopover.

Thank you, Brad and Kim, for blessing us with this amazing vacation!

More to come...

School's In!

As I was checking and re-checking each kiddo's backpack late Sunday night, I couldn't stop smiling at this...

The original art smock, first used by Kenzie, who is now 15! My memory escapes me as to why I don't have Kolton's, but I'm thinking it could have been the subject of a random experiment :)

First day of school.

Mr. I-have-to-leave-earlier-than-everyone-else-for-football-workouts. Kolton Tee, complete with coffee cup, cowboy kicks and wheels~

The bus riding gang, with Daddy as the driver.
Kenzie, who will soon have her driver's permit (no way!!!); Kayden, Kinley, Kaeleb and Kambry~

And the homeboy hanging out with Mom for daily lessons.

Kooper~

That's the school crew.

I promise, vacation pix next. But I just want to go through them and soak in the memories!

Head Above Water

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking :)
Yes, the vacation was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
Yes, I have pictures.
Yes, life is a little crazy at the moment.
But, I will slow down for a second and update this week.
Right now the best news is that our home study for Kimmie is APPROVED!!!!!
Hold on, baby girl!

L.O.V.E.

Old School; New School

This year school looks a little different for us.
We'll have one too young for school, one entering preschool, one in pre-K, one in Kindergarten, one in 1st grade, one in 4th grade, two in high school and one home schooled.
Hubby and I decided to take the summer to pray about whether I should return to school...and it didn't take long to realize I need to withdraw. I'm completely ok with that! Not that I'm into quitting or anything like that. I loved school last semester, and I pushed myself hard. Maybe one day I will go back and finish; maybe I won't. I don't regret the semester or consider it a waste of time. On the contrary! It was an opportunity for growth and self-awareness.

I poured so much of myself into school that it left little time for the ministries I love. And not nearly enough time for my family.

I missed my teens' ball games, leading youth and so many things I love. I praise the Lord for the opportunity!

Among the things hubby and I realized: I have a great job! He put me through 3 years of school in my 20s to get my court reporting license. I've been self-employed for 23 years, and though being my own boss isn't always as glamorous as one might think, I do enjoy many benefits! I'm home MUCH of the time. I can work in the wee morning hours to accommodate my family's schedule. (Working at night ended years ago - something to do with age maybe). I don't have to grocery shop on Saturday:).

I love that the Lord gave us peace and contentment BEFORE we realized and conceded that our Teen Treasure should be home schooled. Don't misunderstand me - I LOVE public school! It just doesn't seem to be the best option for one of our children in the scheme of things.

He is so relieved that I'm teaching him again. We'll see if that changes:). We are focusing on language acquisition and life management skills. Every day will be a new teaching opportunity.

I admit I feel the pressure. I feel like his future is in my hands...but that's not true! His story is written by the Father, and I only get to influence choices he makes and build on his God-given strengths.

This will be a whirlwind year, for certain! But it's going to be amazing, only because the Father has orchestrated our steps. There will be much time on our knees, much time in the bleachers, much time in all sorts of books...but no time for sittin' on the sideline.

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kindle fire giveaway!

I love my kindle fire!
Here are some of the features:
·
Over 20 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books
·
Thousands of popular apps and games, including Netflix, HBO GO,
Hulu Plus, Pandora, and more
·
Amazon Silk - ultra-fast web browsing over built-in Wi-Fi
·
Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content
·
Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle
·
Fast, powerful dual-core processor
·
Favorite children's books, graphic novels, and magazines in rich
color
·
Amazon Prime Members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming on
thousands of popular movies and TV shows.

This little gem is a great gift, for you or someone else. So let's kick off another fundraiser for it!
This will run till August 31, and the proceeds will also be dedicated to our 2nd agency fee and immigration paperwork.
You may use the kindle fire chip-in or email me for other options.
Here's the scoop:
~ Each $20 contribution gets 1 shot
~ Each $40 contribution gets 3 shots
~ Each blog or FB post gets an additional shot
Here we go...

Spread the word; get a necklace?!?

We are one step closer to Kimmie!
We've finished our home study visits and are now waiting for the report.
That means we have more fees due.
God is faithful to provide, and one of the ways He is providing is through Stacy's Faith/Hope fundraiser for Kimmie.
Stacy handcrafts these beautiful pendants, and our family receives $15 for each one purchased!

Since you have been so generous to us, I would love to give back by giving one of these away!

All you have to do is share!
Grab the photo of the pendant, write up a little piece, linking to my blog or directly to Stacy's page, leave me a comment or email, letting me know what you did, and on August 31 I will draw the winner of this beautiful pendant! Easy peasy!

The squeaky shoe and the Wild Olive Tee fundraisers are still going on as well. Thank you for blessing our family's journey to Kimmie!

Paying it Forward

Remember, I announced the winner of the camera was my friend Sonia? She'll be embarrassed that I posted this because she's just humble like that, but I want to shout praises to the Father for the work He does in the hearts of His faithful followers!

As cool as the camera is, Sonia wanted to pay it forward by donating it to another fundraising family! After a few days of prayer, she let me know who to ship it to.

So without further ado, I'd like to announce a camera fundraiser/giveaway for another precious Treasure: please go to Robin's site to see the details!

Robin and her husband have been fundraising to bring precious Caelyn home and are currently waiting on LOA.

I love the adoption community, and I praise my Father in heaven that one little ol' camera can help two Treasures come home!

Birthday Pictures!!!

We received pictures from Kimmie's birthday party!

Hi, Mama!
Yes, I am completely adorable ~

~ all itty-bit of me!

Our home study is nearly complete. We are working as fast as we can, sweet baby girl!

WINNER!

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.

Luke 6:38

It's time, folks! We have drawn for this...

But hold up! Before we announce the winner, we want to say THANK YOU to every single one of you who prayed, shared and gave to our first fundraiser to bring Kimmie home!

You have blessed us beyond our imagination!

This is what the Lord brought:

Chip-in: $1,759

Mail-in: $625

Camera: -$649

Total raised: $1,735!!!

We praise the Lord for providing this much toward our home study fees!!!!

And without further ado, the WINNER is...

Congratulations, Sonia!!!! And THANK YOU!

Tomorrow is da day!!!!

I am SO excited that we get to draw for the camera winner tomorrow!
Thank you again to everyone who has contributed and shared.
There's still time to get a shot at the Nikon D5100...

In 3 days!

We will draw for the Nikon D5100 on Monday, July 30th!!!!
I'm so excited to see who we will ship it to!
Will it be YOU?

We are about halfway to what we need. God is so very good, and He has blessed us through YOU! Thank you so much!

Each $25 contribution gets you 1 shot at the Nikon
Each $50 contribution gets you 3 shots
Each FB or blog post gets you an additional 1 shot
Sharing our button gets you an additional 1 shot







Luke 6:38 ~
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Rise Up, Dry Bones

11 Then he said to me: “Son of
man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up
and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say
to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My
people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring
you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know
that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I
will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own
land. Then you will know that I the Lord have
spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:11-14

There have been ‘dry bones’ moments in my
life. You know the ones: where the heart
is dry and hope is gone.

There are times I’ve spent too much time in the valley of bones. I’ve set up camp there. I’ve looked around me and felt right at home among the dry bones.

But what can dry bones do for the Lord? Nothing!

He alone can breathe life into them. He alone can restore hope. He alone can cleanse and refresh a dry heart.

So when I ask him to breathe life into my
dry bones, I’d better be prepared for change.
I will no longer dwell in the valley of bones. I will walk among the living.

When did I stop believing that God’s grace
is sufficient? That nothing is
impossible for Him? That He owns the
cattle on a thousand hills?

Because surely I lost sight of these truths
to have allowed myself to dwell in the valley.
Were my circumstances so bad? Had
I become complacent, camping out with the spiritually dead? How long had it been since I’d opened His
Word?

I never want to dwell in the valley of
bones again. I want to run this race with
the life-giving breath of the Lord. I
don’t want to save anything for myself, but expend it daily with Him, knowing full well that He will supply all I need.

My circumstances may change, but He never
does. His promises never fail, and He is
always good. I want to dwell in His Word
and on my knees.

Thank You, Father, for breathing life into
these dry bones. Help me to live
according to your Spirit within me. Show
me how to glorify You with everything I do and say. Let me not be influenced by my circumstances,
but driven by a heart desperately seeking You.
Amen

Corn 101

I've learned so much in the past four years since we started growing sweet corn.
My wealth of knowledge is so large, I thought I should share it with you - HA!

So in honor of our last two weeks of Sweet Corn 2012 I will share some little-known facts with you.

For instance, did you know you can have a deeeeee-lish-us snack in 2 minutes?

Take a beautiful ear of corn, still in the husk...

gently peel back the husk and add a smidge of butter (hey, smidge is a relative term). Mr. Greenthumb's corn is so sweet I don't use butter or salt, but many people prefer it so for the majority...

lay the husk back in place...

put into the microwave for 2 minutes...

the husk slides right off and you've got a snack! Be careful though, it's VERY HOT!

Do try this at home! It's awesome!

You're welcome :)

In Six Days...

...we draw for this bad boy!

It's a Nikon D5100. For two years I've been dreaming of owning a nice camera. But I'd rather send one to you!

$25 gets you 1 shot at the Nikon.

$50 gets you 3 shots.

A blog or FB post gets you an additional shot.

Sharing our button gets you an additional shot.

Thank you to everyone who has already generously given!!!!

Six more days...till our first home study meeting and we draw for the Nikon!

Seriously - WOW!

My sweet friend Elisabeth is holding a fundraiser on her blog, Orphaned No More, for us, and it's seriously WOW!

She's got some adorable kids' clothes and other gift items at LOW low prices. She will be adding items to the fundraiser regularly!

The proceeds are to help us bring Kimmie home.

Please check it out HERE!

Thank you, Elisabeth!!!

A Tee for a K

Say what???

We have chosen a name! *subject to change of course*

But our newest Treasure's name is:

Kimmie Beth Johnson!!!

Beth is short for Elizabeth which means God's promise. Love that!

And now for the "tee" part of this post :)

When my friend Lori was here we both just happened to be wearing the same Wild Olive Tee, which just happens to be one of the adoption fundraiser tees!

Sooooo, you too can look as innocent as this~

as suspicious as this~

as surprised as this~

and as fun as this~

Just go to the Wild Olive Tees Adoption Fundraiser tab, select from one of the 33 tees available, and please use our family code JOHNSON704 when you check out.

Thank you from the bottom of our tee-ny hearts!

Because we have PA!

We are overjoyed to introduce you to our beautiful daughter!

Here's her referral picture. It's pretty old...but oh, so adorable!

Here's her birthday picture...

She turns 2 next month and is currently residing in central China. We haven't yet come up with the perfect name for our precious Treasure...other than Johnson!

"We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes."

~David Platt~

Just to Kill Time

I'm trying to stay busy while waiting on Pre-Approval.
That's not really hard to do around these parts - stay busy, that is.
I'm dying to tell you about our girl, about how the Lord revealed her to us, and the way He moved our hearts. Oh, and pictures. I can't wait to share her pictures!
We are certain He has amazing things in store.
We don't want to move ahead of Him, but rather let Him orchestrate every step.
It's so hard to ask for help *gulp*.
But as He continues to refine us, we are so humbled that He would allow us to parent another precious child.
He knows we don't have the funds.
We knew we would need to work hard from LetterOfIntent to ConsulateAppointment.
And that's why we've currently got 3 fundraisers going on.
We are so grateful to those who have shared, contributed and prayed.
It became very real today when we received the invoice for our home study.
Under China's newest regulations, families must use a Hague-accredited home study agency, which means we are starting from square one.
Our first visit is July 30th, and our fees must be paid prior to that.
The invoice for the home study and post-placement reports is $4100!
Consequently, our Nikon D5100 fundraiser ends July 30th! That's less than two weeks away!
I can't even fathom what He is going to do in that time frame!

More About the Tees!

Our Wild Olive Tees fundraiser is still going on!
Each tee puts us $10 closer to our Treasure.
There are 33 tees to choose from, and here are just a few of my favs~

Some of the cute kids' tees~

Ya'll know how much I love these tees and the gals who own the business.

Thank you so much for 'gettin' your verse on' for our girl!

Family code: JOHNSON704