HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!

Dec. 27th was Papa's birthday- I apologize for being late with this one. Drew was the only one that got to celebrate because for some reason we can't get rid of the "funk" in our house! yuk! I am getting ready to quarantine and fumigate us all- ha!

Papa has been in our family for many years now and his and Charlotte's story is so wonderful. We were actually reflecting on it last week. They had become friends and he had made her a beautiful vase- he is one more craftsman. They were supposed to go out to eat and I told her that if he brought her a rose to put in the vase, he was her man! Well, what do you think happened? The doorbell rang and there stood John with a red rose! I about choked- long story short, they were later engaged and married a year after Drew and me. He has always fit right in and is right here with us welcoming grandchildren, celebrating events or helping wherever there is a need. We love you Papa with all our hearts and you are such a blessing to us!

Forever Families

PRAISE GOD!! Our friends, The Morgans have had one more experience trying to get their son in Vietnam. They left nearly one month ago. Laura has been delayed in Vietnam but we just got word yesterday that she will arrive home Wednesday morning!!!! We can't wait to meet Will and give Laura a hug! Her husband has manned the fort here, taking care of their two daughters, working and keeping everything together. We are so thankful that this family will be reunited soon!

ALSO- our friends, the Carters, are right now on their way to China for their son Eli. They have been "fighting" for him for two years now and the time has finally come. Feel free to follow their journey for Eli at www.journeytome.com and click on public journals then on Eli Carter. We pray for safety and for little Eli as he adjusts to truly being home.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

There are several posts to include our celebrations of this season. We had our own family Christmas time and watching Kate open her first Christmas present so meticulously was such a memory. Karlee fully understood what was going on and enjoyed it greatly. Kalie was the excited little lady she always is. Drew and I just enjoyed watching our girls- the excitement that children provide, the magic of the day. It was very special. We also go to my parent's house for a morning brunch and opened gifts with my sisters. The food was delicious- complete with cupcakes for Jesus' birthday. 6 granddaughters- WOW- that's the best way to describe the atmosphere in that room. I will never forget listening to Kalie and Khloe reading the Christmas story. Later, we went to Drew's parent's house and enjoyed being together with them as well. It was a special holiday. I love Christmas! I love the excitement, surprising people, the magic that surrounds the whole holiday. And of course, thinking back to that special night. I never can get past what Mary must have thought that night she gave birth to the King of the World in a barn. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

The children were nestled all snug in their bed
while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads....
Let's see what SANTA brought!!!!
Kalie always asks only for one thing- an American girl doll. This year, Santa surprised her with a little something extra.

The blogger has been giving me trouble all day so I had to break down this post into two. Keep scrolling for several posts and lots of pictures celebrating this special season!

Merry Christmas con't...

Karlee asked for a microphone and surprises from Santa!
Kate is loving her four wheeler and baby!
Santa came to see Nadia as well.
We did a picture of the 6 granddaughters for our parents. This is them seeing it.
Kate trying on presents over her pajamas.
We always go to my parents for brunch in our pajamas.
At Drew's family, we had a wonderful dinner and opened more gifts. (Although CC was so sick and Laura ended up at the ER later but is okay). Then they had the Christmas poppers. Here are our 3 sporting the crowns.
Isn't she beautiful? Nadia is 3 months old today.
Merry Christmas from our family to all of you!

Happy Birthday Mom!

that's 58 not 85!My mom's birthday is Christmas Eve. We have a non-Christmas celebration each year. Happy Birthday Mom! We are so thankful for you. My mom is one of the most generous people you will ever meet. She is one of those that when she commits to helping someone, she does so through the pit and back up. She is a talented, special and strong woman and I thank God for her daily!

Also, we did our family Christmas time. The girls got a trampoline.

Looking at the damage... ha!

Our Christmas miracles....God is GOOD!

Annual Bake Day

Amy and her peanut butter candy
Kate lives every moment to the fullest!

Our girls playing more than baking I think...
Cutting out cookies...We had so much fun baking our family's favorite Christmas goodies.

It's Beginning to Look alot Like Christmas

Seeing Santa. Kalie had the idea of wearing their pajamas for the picture. (I gladly went for that since I still had not finished their outfits.) Karlee told him a microphone and surprises. Kate stuck her finger in his beard and mouth. I loved watching all 3 of them talk to Santa.
The first time to use our Christmas dishes. My parents started our Christmas dishes a couple of years ago and they are so special to us!
Kalie, Khloe and Emma danced in a holiday performance. Khloe and Emma's pictures are hard to see due to lighting but they all did GREAT!
Celebrating our 2 year Gotcha Day Anniversary eating Chinese of course!
A little water play goes a long way! ha!
A baby shower/luncheon for my friend Beth. Beth, Misty and I have been friends since high school. Beth has an adorable son Garrett and is expecting a precious little princess next month!
Kalie's school had a Christmas show as well. They did a great job too!
Kalie's class rang the Salvation Army bell at BooksAMillion. Karlee and Kate got a turn too.
Kalie's dance group Christmas party- She had Annie's name for secret Santa. We love us some Annie!
As you can see, with 3 children, Christmas is busy but always fun!!

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY...

The first time we saw our Karlee...
Karlee now, two years later.

...Drew, Kalie and I landed after 20+ hours of flying and airports in Taipei, Taiwan. It was 6 am over there and we had been up 30 something hours. After finally locating our guide, we got in her car expecting to go to the hotel. She said- You want to go get your baby???? Of course we said YES!! Three hours later, we parked at an agency and signed yet more papers and then drove to this "house." Outside was a man that we learned was Karlee's foster father. We were greeted so warmly and walked into their home. Down a little hall walked Karlee Jamieson -straight into our hearts! We tried to remain very calm and quiet, yet inside we all wanted to scream. Tears filled my eyes as I touched this little girl for the first time. We stayed a couple of hours visiting and watching. We went for a walk. We all thought she was absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe that two years have passed already. And while the road has been so difficult and continues to be, we KNOW that this little girl was created to be our daughter and we can't imagine our lives without her. And we continue to hope for the day that she will KNOW that we were meant to be her mommy and daddy and that she is truly FOREVER home. Every night I sing her a song about being our little miracle. She is truly just that. We love you Karlee!

A Most Special Gift

Today was Karlee's Christmas program at school. They sang some precious songs and then the teacher called up students for "solos." Now, thankfully, I had been "prepared" that they were going to do this but we never thought Karlee would actually do it in front of people. Well, our little three year old walked up there, took that microphone and in front of 100+ people sang JESUS LOVES ME with her whole heart. She did not miss a note, a beat or a word. It was absolutely angelic and of course brought tears to our eyes. (that's an understatement!) The song has extra special meaning to us as we have sang it to her since the night we brought her home. It has always been her favorite song.
I wish so much that we had the means to put her singing on this blog- you would be blessed. She was so comfortable up there and told me later that she liked that microphone! ha! Oh how I wish you all could have heard her!!! Oh to be given this gift.....Needless to say, I was blessed.... I am blessed.

Christmas Cards Internet Style

From our family to yours... Merry Christmas! Drew, Lori, Kalie, Karlee and Kate



AND NOW FOR SOME OUTTAKES:

please notice kate's foot up on karlee's back (besides the bad lighting)
i told kalie she was looking a little turtle-ish...karlee's solution.. no she isn't choking her sister!

i actually love this one.

okay, we send out a few cards each year- i'm not good with cards. so many people read this blog that i would love to send a christmas card too but do not have addresses. so, please accept this as heartfelt as any snail mail card you could receive. we are grateful for your interest in our family and for your prayers, support and encouragement. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Our Friends are in Vietnam!!

Our dear friends Tom and Laura along with their daughters Ashleigh and Sarah are in Vietnam to bring home baby Will. They have had a horrible time getting there but have finally after 60 hours have arrived safely and should be meeting their son today! You can follow their journey at www.our3blessings.blogspot.com
We met Tom and Laura with our adoption of Kate. Kate and Sarah were on the same list and we travelled very closely behind them. They are so special to us. Please remember them! We get to welcome them home Christmas Eve!! What a Christmas gift!

Shelley gave a surprise party for Jason and we went up to Nashville for the big event!

Karlee and Mallory both agree that they are best friends!!
Kate was giving her Guh Guh some special lovin!
Yes- haven't you heard- this is Wrapper Kate
Karlee dressing up...
Jason and Shelley are UT grads and so Kalie LOVES to rub the Vols in her daddy's face- finding a pom-pom shaker at their house was all she needed!
I know I know... it doesn't take much to excite our family. Starbucks is a hit in our home. We got hooked on them in Kentucky and so we take any opportunity we get for a Starbucks Run. Its so bad around here that when any of us are somewhere that has a Starbucks, we pics-message ourselves to each other. A few weekends ago Kalie was with my sister and they went to get a Starbucks. There on my email was a message from Kalie- HA HA I went to Starbucks! She is such a mess. Like I said, it doesn't take much....
We enjoyed getting to visit with our friends so much. Happy Birthday Jason! We hope in your memories of your birthday, comments about siran wrap and 5 TOPPINGS????????? are forever etched in your mind! We love ya!

Catching Up!

Decorating our tree...
Kate's attempt at putting on her pajamas
Karlee pushing Kate in a doll stroller...
UNA played in round one of the playoffs and won!!

WOW! It's been a while since I posted. We are getting ready for Christmas around here! I wanted to thank EVERYONE for their kind words of encouragement that we have received since sharing our post about Karlee. Each comment has meant the world to us and many came right on the day we needed it the most. So, how is she doing? Well, we have noticed some positives as far as behavior goes and we are grateful. She is responding well to the new things we have implemented. While I haven't been told that I stink, she still does not like for me to hold her and rock her on my initiation. But she will ask me to hold her more and she is calling for me more than she ever did before. We have noticed some positives in her ways of play and it seems like she is able to express some deep inner feelings that have broken our hearts to think that she feels that way. But she will continue to get better. I don't know what Drew and I would do without the gift of humor. And man do we get some great opportunities to laugh. Now, I won't act like it doesn't sting the ol' heart but we are able to laugh at these moments instead of cry. I have to share a couple of stories that have just cracked us up. One of the suggestions we received was to surprise Karlee by asking her to come to me and get her in my lap as if I was rocking her cradling her. Then I give her a piece of caramel or some sweet treat. (Studies have shown a connection between caramel and a mother's milk.) Anyway, I found rolo's candy and tried this with Karlee. Let me just tell you that I have never seen a child chew as fast as she did. I gave it to her and she smiled and said I want down! And I told her that to get that treat she had to stay with mommy. Well, she chewed and she chewed like a sqirrel eating corn except she was slowed down by the caramel which added to the moment. She would chew really fast and say I'm done... chew chew chew... I'm done.... It was just hilarious! Then the other night, she was playing with my hair and acting like she was putting makeup on me. I kept asking her if I looked pretty or if I looked okay. She always replied, No. Then at the end, she said she was done and I said well I do look beautiful now??? And she casually replied, well, you look okay! Hey, this mommy will take what she can get!! Drew and I were just laughing! At the same time, we are seeing acts of kindness and even empathy come from her that we have never seen. There does seem to be a calmness about her that we have never witnessed. And even if this is just a honeymoon stage, we are enjoying the good moments. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers. Hope you enjoy the latest shots from our home!