Merry Christmas!

It has been BUSY BUSY BUSY and has been very hard for me to get the pictures downloaded, edited, and blogged!  Sorry for those of you who have been lurking in the shadows waiting patiently! :0)

There were many craft activities leading up to Christmas.  We had an earring festivity and we all made earrings!  Abby loves her first official "dangles" and wants to wear them every day.  I actually just realized that the pic of Campbell and myself is of another craft where we made crystal dangles from crystals I got in Spain to use for the center piece for the Christmas Eve party.

And this craft was the most fun and rewarding... making fabric head bands!   I am totally addicted to this fabric thing!  Loving it!  Every one made one and then Campbell and I made more for gifts after the girls went to bed... instead of wrapping presents!

Speaking of presents, Christmas morning was fun and it was fun to watch the kids open their gifts.  My mom sent me a gag gift of a false teeth ice mold (inside joke)... that was the funniest gift!  Marc wasn't really into opening his, Abby couldn't open enough, and Brenda soaked in every one!

My dad was here from Alabama and he totally fell in love with Brenda... of course.  I sang at our Christmas Eve service and he was there, that was cool... he cried... so sweet. :0)  Our Christmas Eve party was fun with over 30 people stopping by but noone ate!  We have a freezer full of food... oh well... must have another party!

That's a quick run down... hopefully things will slow down a bit and I can be a better blogger!  We are off to hibachi tonight... Abby and Marc love the fire onion volcano... we'll see what Brenda thinks!  Hugs to you!

Last Week... My friend Campbell came over and brought a gingerbread house to do with the girls!

I confess... I have NEVER made a gingerbread house... such sadness! 

They all had a good time and it came out pretty good!

Friday Morning... Hot cinnamon rolls, cold blueberries, and dancing to

"Frostie The Snowman" in the kitchen in our pajamas!

Saturday... Don coordinates a friend gathering, sweet friends gather,

then later that afternoon... the piano arrives!  It was built in 1905 in Birmingham, Al...

and it was an instant hit with everyone in the house.  Brenda ran upstairs and came

back down with sheet music and played, "Joy To The World", for us all.  It was totally sweet.

Christmas suckers from Aunt Shae Shae!  Saturday night we went to a Jars of Clay concert with

Bebo Norman... it was incredible and the girls loved it. 

Sunday... worship, lunch, and family nap (although Fly Boy had to fly).

At church SO MANY of our friends were in tears meeting Brenda.  Several grown men having lengthy conversations about her and the process with Fly Boy and really being moved.  Our friend's love for her just overwhelms me.  One asked her size to buy her some clothes, another is monograming something for her, and another is coming to take us to breakfast in the morning and then to buy her an outfit.  God is so amazing.  The love he continues to pour out upon us through our friends just continues to humble me... fill me... inspire me!  I am still smiling... big!

Love to you all... Dawn

My Girl

Abby is watching.  Abby is taking it in.  Abby is loving Brenda being here.  Abby is starting to copy.

Brenda makes her bed in the morning.  Abby made her bed yesterday before going to school.
Brenda dresses herself.  Abby dressed herself yesterday and took much pride in letting me know so.  She usually asks me to help her get her pajama shirt off.  "You can do that yourself Abby," I respond.  "I NEED your help mommy!" she replies and then enters the daily morning tension.  It continues with her wanting help getting her shirt on (which she can do) and then buttoning her pants (which she can also do although it is trying for her).  I ALWAYS struggle with the following... does she feel rejected when I won't help her?  When I help her, everything is much more smooth.  Does it make her feel loved when I help her?  Is that her love language?  Or am I enabling her?  Or is she just being controlling, manipulating, and lazy?  This is just PART of the daily battle I have in my head for her/with her each day.

So I was thrilled when she did it all by herself... INCLUDING getting her jacket on by herself that usually causes a good moment of tension with us as she insists she can't do it and I insist she can.  She was proud of herself.  She was a big girl... like Brenda.  And she didn't even mention she had made her bed... I noticed that when I walked by her room to go downstairs and so of course I had to make a big deal out of it and she gave me a sweet smile.

She wants to wear her hair like I have fixed Brendas.  She wants to hold Brenda's hand.  She wants to sleep in the guest bed with Brenda.  She wants Brenda to go to school with her.  She is patient with Brenda and is remembering that Brenda doesn't speak English.  And Brenda is being so sweet with her.  It makes my heart smile... it then overflows to my face!

Abby has also gone over two weeks without a seizure and we Praise our generous Lord for that gift.  She is on the fourth drug that is milder than topamax and we have gone down on the topamax again and are still holding... and we Praise our precious and generous Lord again for that one too!  Our prayer is that we can get off topamax and the new and milder drug will hold her.  Our prayer is that God has and will continue to heal her... we are claiming that one!

I spoke with the chaperone for Brenda's group yesterday.  She spoke with Brenda on the phone for about ten minutes.  When Brenda gave the phone back to me, she was so sweet and loving to me.  She told me that Brenda loves being with our family, LIKES hanging out with the kids and LOVES the dog!  It made me laugh.  When I told her "thank you" in Latvian... she gasped and giggled and thanked me for saying it.  It was obvious that she was touched I had learned it... really sweet. 

We get to meet her tonight at the New Horizons welcome party.  We'll also get to meet the little boy who is in the foster family with her... Toms.  Oh... we thought she was in an orphanage... but she is in a foster family.  I hope to find out more info tonight on all that!

Be blessed.  And thank you so... so... much for sharing our joy in this... for being a part of this with us.  Our friends have and continue to touch my heart so much as they are so genuine in wanting to know about and be a part of this with us.  It makes me see God everywhere... in all of you... just cheering us along and loving us and smiling with us.  It moves me.  Thank you is just not enough.... so "paldies"... "thank you" in latvian!  "Es tevi milu," "I love you."
Dawn 

Such Sweet Smiles

The girls next door love her!  I think they all fit nicely on the sofa (with my amazing new slip covers from IKEA)!  They were all clamoring to sit next to her.  Fly boy made them hot cocoa, a fire in the fireplace and then we all had the beautiful cookie B brought us from her country!  I love simple pleasures and my fly boy!

B and D

Of course she loves Dusty!

B's Room

Our guest room is B's room for now.  In her little bio we read about her, it mentioned that she would love a pink room.  So, I pulled in some pink to make it special for her.  I bought soft pink flannel sheets with snowmen on them.  I stole a pink pillow from Abby's room to put on the bed.  I put a little pink blanket my grandmother made at the end of the bed.  My friend, Bre, painted a pink heart picture as a gift for her... love... Bre painted love.  Then I added some Christmas items to the dresser.  I found a small tree at the consignment store and put little glitter birds and pink glitter balls on it.  Looking at the picture... it needs a little skirt... pink one of course... I'll get right on that!  I also put the welcome poster on the wall for her.

Then I added pink ribbon and ornaments to the bathroom for another touch of pink and

Christmas in the bathroom.  I love the way it turned out.

She likes it.  She has private, pretty, clean space... and she likes it.  It makes me so very happy.

A Glimpse of Heaven

I think one is very lucky if he or she is given moments of clarity in his or her life.  Big moments.  Little moments.  The understanding, peace and joy that follow are the true treasures of heaven, the breath of the Holy Spirit, and the richness they provide... there is no number large enough to capture the value.

Disappointments seem trivial, BUT remain with purpose.  Lost pregnancies, broken dreams, and fallen tears become precious turns on the path that lies in the very hands of the creator and turn with just the sound of His voice, gently leading you by the hand.  Situations, circumstances, and relationships have woven together and created the beautiful tapistry of your life and they fit together in God's perfect plan to create the most stunning picture.  You are left in awe... with excitement for more... more.

I believe it is a glimpse of heaven.  A tiny window, key hole, that we are given the GIFT to peer into... the sweetest gift from the creator of the universe.

And I believe I am very lucky. 
Dawn

The L Word

I don't have a picture today of what I am about to share.  You'll have to use your imagination.  But I promise to have more photos tomorrow... or even tonight!

Yesterday morning took a turn from what I had planned.  My plan was to take Brenda and Abby shopping to get her some clothes.  She came with one outfit... on her back.  We knew this is how it works and so I was prepared.  Luckily the pajamas I had already bought at the consignment store fit perfectly and she loved them!

So she took a shower.  When she came out of the bathroom with wet hair, I thought, "A mother would fix her hair... I wonder if a woman has ever fixed her hair for her... maybe she will let me."  And so I asked... and she gave me a big smile and sweet knod and we were off to my bathroom for some girl time!

I put some of my gel in her hair, brushed it, and started to dry it with the hair dryer.  Immediately I saw it, them, lice nits in her hair, most of them behind her left ear.  I turned off the hair dryer and asked her to wait one moment for me and went downstairs to tell my Fly Boy.  He was so precious and left to get what we needed.

As I walked back down the hallway to my room, I wondered how in the world I was going to communicate this to her and not hurt her.  How would she take it?  So I went back in and just started pulling them out with my fingers.  I could see she was watching me in the mirror and could tell something was up and so I pulled out a strand with a nit on it and showed it to her.  Then I tried to communicate that it was ok and I was going to get them out.

I went right back to work and started humming.  She started tearing up and then the tears started to fall.  My heart broke into a million gazillion tiny pieces.  I got down on my knees in front of her and wiped her tears and told her "no"... "no tears"... and I smiled.  "It's ok... it's ok," I said but she wouldn't even look at me.  So I kissed her hand and then kissed her cheek and held her.  I was praying that the love would just flow through me and give her peace.  I then went out and pulled up my blog on the laptop so my music playlist could play... and went right back to work... this time singing.

I decided to look all over her head for the little culpret and his buddies.  I wasn't even sure what I was looking for as I have never seen the actual lice itself.  Then, on the other side, there one was... like a little dirty flat piece of rice clinched to her scalp.  AW HAW you little varment!  I got it and showed it to her and she understood and I washed it down the drain and looked for more.  There were NO MORE!  Just one.  And just one side of her head with nits.  I PRAISED the Lord for his sweetness in being so sovreign and letting me find it on the first day! 

My knight came back with the shampoo and when I walked into the bathroom with it... she started to cry again.  I reassured her again, holding her face in my hands and caressing her cheeks... "it's ok" I said.  I stroked the sides of her mouth up into a smile and then put the shampoo on.  As it set for 10 minutes... I painted her nails, gave her some earrings, and introduced her to some yummy body spray I have from Gap.  Then I just sat on the side of the tub and held her... hugged her... and she knew... and I knew she knew.... there was LOVE and peace... and smiles... lots of smiles.

After two hours of combing and picking and going over every inch of her head... I dried her hair and fixed it into two cute messy pony tails with flying sprigs and twists... she loved it.  And I loved her... loved her in every way I knew how to... and she accepted it.

Yesterday morning was the sweetest morning ever.  My husband stripped her bed, washed everything, took care of everything while I had that two hours with her in my bathroom.  A precious little girl got her first dose of God's love in the fullest... and my heart grew about ten sizes.  We then went shopping and had a VERY lucky day at Red Door Consignment Store!  There were many more smiles!

The L word was flowing through the house yesterday... Love... Lots of Love!

Not enough words yet...

1:05 a.m.  There she is! (on the right in the black coat)

1:08 a.m.  Here WE are!  I already adore her at this moment... can you tell?

2 something a.m.  Me and B!  After a shower and small tour of our home, me and B

have a snack of abols (apples) and orange and crackers in the kitchen!

2:30 a.m. Precious Brenda

9:15 a.m.  After a sweet little meeting in the hallway, Abby gave

Brenda her gift (Barbi) and they have become sweet little friends!

Every part of me is smiling!  Joy overflows and I feel light!

Last night was the SWEETEST thing.  As she walked into the guest room we

had prepared for her, she took in a great big breath, lit up like a Christmas tree,

and exclaimed with joy.  My heart felt like it was going to explode.  She gave me the

same reaction when I showed her the bathroom!

Her pajamas from the consignment store fit perfectly... she loved them.  We are

going shopping again later... if I can contain this silly smile!!!

(Welcome Brenda!)

On Her Way...

My heart is a flutter.  My soul is aching to hold her.  As she sits, this moment, on an airplane, traveling across the world, what is going through her mind, her heart, her soul?

She is on her way.  Brenda is on her way.  Her plane is scheduled to land at 12:30 a.m.  Just six hours.  And then she is on her way... on her way to our home... on her way to a room filled with love for her with pink flannel snowman sheets on the bed and a pink pillow and pink flowers on the dresser... she is on her way to be flooded with the love of God... on her way to never being the same... on her way to a new hope... a new chance... a new family... a new world.

Abby prayed for her at lunch today.  Abby is at the store with daddy picking out a Barbi for her new friend.  Daddy is at the store... and he is smiling... his heart is smiling and it is the most beautiful thing to my soul.
She is on her way and I get to hold her in just a few hours... I know we will never be the same.

The winds of heaven blew through my soul last night and this morning and I will never be the same.

I seem to have lost all my blog friends and am writing into thin air.  I will be sharing some pictures and a few updates of Brenda... and then I am done for a while.

Love to you all... Merry Christmas... and Happy New Year... may the winds of heaven blow upon you and your family throughout the year to come.  God bless you all.
Love, Dawn

House Arrest Me... Please!

I saw this picture on one of the blogs I follow and thought that if I were to ever be on house arrest (HA!), I could do it forever in this room... with some books, some music, journals, scrapbooking tools, and sushi!  Really.  A year would not be long enough!

Now back to reality... Brenda is coming in 5, five, yes... FIVE days!  It is so crazy that she is almost here.  It is so crazy how I feel such a connection with her and haven't even met her yet!  It is so crazy that I don't know one word of her language! YIKES!  It is so crazy how I don't even care!  And it is so crazy how I will be glued to the latvian language website for the next few days as I make some communication sheets!

And it is so wonderful how God provided all the money we needed (AND extra to share with another family) to bring her here through the generous and giving hearts of our dear friends!  I am blown away to see how so MANY have been involved and to see and feel their excitement for her as well.  It is so wonderful to know that it is God's excitement flowing through them!  And it is so wonderful to share this experience with them and to have so much love and support!

And it is so beautiful to be a part of Brenda's life.  It is so beautiful how God can touch hearts around the world to reach out to children who need His love, who can be transformed by His love, who will never be the same having been loved by Him!  It is so beautiful how women who traveled to get their children were moved by God to do more... more than they could do alone... and started New Horizons.  http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/   It is so beautiful how God orchestrates certain orphanages to be willing to participate.  And it is so very beautiful how 80% of the children who come are blessed with a forever family to love them and change their lives!  It is so beautiful how when you change the life of just one child... you change generations! 

I am so lucky.  I am so lucky to have a God with such a big heart!  I am so lucky to have a God who speaks to me and fills me with His presence.  I am so lucky to have a husband with a tender heart for children, for orphans.  I am so lucky to have a husband who loves the Lord and seeks Him with his heart.  I am so lucky to have a husband who loves me and our family so very much.  I am so lucky to have friends who give of themselves and love us and walk with us on this journey.  I am so lucky to have a home big enough to bring another child into for a month.  I am so lucky... so very lucky!

Have a wonderful Tuesday... I know I will!
Dawn~

Happy Weekend!

Happy Birthday My Love!

We had a coyotte in our back yard today.  Every time I see a wild animal, in it's environment, I am just in awe of their grace and elegance.  I thought he was a wolf.  He was bigger than I thought a coyote would be. I was also amazed at how much he looked like a dog.  And even though he started to go into our neighbor's back yard, where their kitten lives, I still thought he was fabulous!  I went out and got the kitten and then beat on my watering can to scare it off.  Then I felt bad when it ran off... I wish I could be a wild animal whisperer and play with them all!

Thank you Lord for showing me such a

 beautiful part of your creation! 

Strader Family Photo Shoot

I love this last photo!  I love all of them... it was so fun to photograph them and they were so fun to get into the VERY cold water!  THANK YOU friends for letting me capture the beauty of your sweet family this fall!

Dawn~

Thankfulness

"Thankfulness for what God has blessed us with is not enough; knowledge of the blessing is granted us that we might extend the blessings to others.  This Thanksgiving, thank God for ALL He has blessed you with.  But be aware of spiritual pitfalls in the blessings He has given.  Do not let them mask your deeper needs."
Taken from my devotional "At His Feet," by Chris Tiegreen.

http://www.worldorphans.org/

The stirring in my soul, our soul (my husband's included) continues... we pray and we wait... we praise and we thank... and we will obey!  Less of us and more of Him is much of what I meditate on... He has big plans... I can not wait!

Happy Weekend.
Dawn

And the Lord Provides...

I am just blown away.  As I got ready to write this blog, another friend just came by and bought 3 pins.  God has now provided over $900 through the sales of my fabric pins and the beautiful scarves my friend Donna GAVE me to sell.  He has surpassed the $800 that kept whispering in my heart... His blessings are abundant.

So this is a "THANK YOU" for one.  So many of our friends have come up along side us with so much encouragment, love, support, and friendship!  I am blown away.  I feel so much love for Brenda through all of you and she isn't even here yet!  Oh, how I pray God can transfer that love right across the ocean and deposit it into her heart!

In addition to the above, other friends have contributed over $900 in funds and so we are just a few hundred away from what is needed!  I am confident that God will provide that and even feel there may be some extra we can share with other families! :0)

It is strange... the quiet and calm excitement I am feeling for this child... for this precious little girl who likes to draw and to cook... who wants a pink room and loves dogs.  I am feeling little strings attaching me to her... across the miles... like I can almost feel her if I am real still.  I LOVE it.  And I LOVE and ADORE my FATHER in heaven who has given my husband and I a heart for children... to share the same desire to serve Him!  I can not WAIT to see what HE has in store!  

Do you know what is EVEN COOLER!!!!!?????  Three of our friends are thinking about and praying about hosting a child in the summer program!  How totally cool is that!  God is just contagious!

I had taken pictures after the craft show of 8 scarves and about 10 pins to post online... but they are all sold except for these.  The pins are $12 each and include postage.   The scarves are $17 and include postage.

Here is my pin that I wear on my jacket every day.  I put it on my pillow so you could see how cute it is!

I'll try and take some more pics of the ones that are left and get

them up in case any of my blogger girls want in on the fun!

THANK YOU AGAIN!

The excitement you share with us is such a gift.  Your questions about the program give us such encouragment.  http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/  Your support fills us with love.  And to know that God is cheering us on, loving us, and providing for us through each of you is just simply beautiful.  I am blown away. 

 Love and hugs to you...

Dawn

A Heavenly Escort

"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.  In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."  Psalm 91:12, 13

What a beautiful gift, blessing, privilege, honor, treat, divine touch... divine protection.  Makes me smile today and simply sigh in peace.

"For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands."  Psalm
92: 5

Happy Monday.

Hello dear ones.  I miss blogging and I don't.  Does that make sense?  It is freeing but I also love communicating with you all.

The craft show on Saturday was amazing and God was so generous... I sold over $550!  So many of my friends came out to support me and our funds for Brenda... that was a gift in itself.  Each time I saw a familiar face, my heart just warmed and smiled so big!  After I pay for the beautiful scarves I have placed safely in my room... we'll have raised $600!  A missionary with Operation Mobilization came by and sang a song to me... that she wrote... about the Lord... and it spoke to me RIGHT where I am... and she said to me, "This is a word of the Lord to you."  IT remains in my soul and was the greatest blessing of the day... of the week!

It was just a gift to share with each person the story behind the scarves they were buying.  When I told people how a friend of mine, Donna, made them as she healed from an injury and then how she gave them to me to sell for Brenda... you could just see a change come over their eyes... it was beautiful... as is Donna and her precious and very generous gift.  Thank you Donna.  It moves me to see so many people come together to love on a child who is not even here yet... moves me deeply... in the deepest corners of my spirit.  And to know that God is behind that love... moves me deeper still! 

God is doing mighty things.  He is ALL OVER ME and it is becoming addicting!  It makes me feel so full!  I am so thankful for it and am clinging to it with both hands.  I feel something big is coming and I am so excited I can't hardly stand it!

I have to clean and do laundry today.  My home is very neglected after a week of sewing.  But here is this week's scripture.  Love and hugs...


"Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength and with ALL your mind."  Luke 10:27~

"Most Christians walk a fuzzy line between devotion to God and devotion to other things.  We believe in our hearts, of course, that we should be wholly committed to God and love Him fully, and we desire to do so.  But at war against our undivided love for him are other distractions..." "God specifically asks for wholehearted, undying, all-out, passionate love for the Creator.  Every corner of our hearts, every ounce of our strength, every impulse of our minds, every breath of our souls.  He wants it all.  EVERYTHING."
taken from the BEST daily devotional, "At His Feet," by Chris Tiegreen

Back and Gone Again
Hello.  I am way out of blog mode.  I am BUSY making wonderful things for the craft show this weekend to make money for Brenda to come from Latvia and get loved on!  We have already been so blessed by precious and generous contributions to pay for her hosting.  My "thank you" can not come from any deeper in my heart!

I have also been very "busy" in God's presence.  He is working all around me in wonderful ways and I am just SOAKING Him in and loving every moment of it!  I PRAISE the God of Heaven for His goodness and majesty!

A dear sweet girl from my mom to mom group called me this morning.  She has been touched by a photo of a waiting child in the Philippines.  This precious little girl is two and has had a very very hard life.  Her medical file is a mile long and is not pretty to say the least.  This made my friend love her more.  But my friend and her husband are struggling with the reality of what bringing a child like this into their home "could" be like.  And they are struggling because God has given them this heart and they want to be in His will... whatever that might be.

I had the privilege of sharing part of my Abby story with her.  I told her how the "expert" in Washington looked at Abby's medical AND her video and said, "It doesn't get any better than this!"  I then told her how the bottom fell out just a few months after being home with her and how at that point we knew she had been seizing in the orphanage too and guessed that is why her birth mother left her in the cafe.  I also told her that the following two years were the darkest years of my life.  How I contemplated turning my back on God because I no longer believed He was good and actually thought He was very bad.

Then I told her how the Holy Spirit washed me with knowledge and changed my life.  I was sobbing "why" in the bathtub... wishing I would just sink and never surface again.  And then... in a moment... the answer came... "I am here.  I am holding you.  I am loving you.  I will never leave you.  I will walk you through this.  This is not about you. I am not doing this "to" you... I am doing this "for her".  I knew what her life was going to be like.  I knew she was sick.  And I WANTED TO LOVE HER AND FOR HER TO KNOW ME AND KNOW MY LOVE and I am doing that THROUGH YOU."

I have never been the same since that moment.  Instead of dwelling on my despair, I started dwelling on making each day of her life as best as it could be.  My goal was to make her smile... and to be God's love to her.

Then I got to tell me friend how lucky we are to live in a reality where God's beauty is before our eyes every day in her ability to laugh, walk, swim, ride a scooter, go to school, and tell me she loves me.  Where his power is seen in the very fact that she is alive and well... and she is well.  Even though she had a seizure last Wednesday and yesterday... she is well... so well.  And my God is so very good.

I also confessed to her that if Abby's medical had read what was really true, I probably would not have thought I could handle it and would have missed out on one of the most beautiful love stories of my life... and the privilege of loving this precious child for my Savior and being loved by her in return.  And I would have missed out on my Savior saving me and drawing me so close to His side.  I can't do this, any of it, but He can and He does... for me.

Now don't misunderstand, I only shared my story... and prayed with her.  Several people had told her to call me and I know God wanted me to share my story with her.  I told her it was a very personal decision and that she and her husband needed to be on their knees before the author of life right now.  God will show them what to do because they are truly seeking Him.

And then she thanked me.  She has many friends and even family who are focused on her comfort... and that was not what she wanted to hear.  I was able to give her a perspective that noone else has been able to give her.  And THAT is yet another GIFT that has come from Abby's illness.  THAT is why I am sharing this.   THAT is how our heavenly father works.  THAT is how God is glorified even in the midst of Abby's mitochondrial disease!  I love it when He uses this painful part of our life to help and encourage others!  PRAISE HIM!  What a beautiful privilege!

I don't know what God is doing in your life right now.  I don't know who is reading this and needs to be encouraged.  But know that God is good and sovereign.  And know that life is not all about comfort and safety.  To walk on water... you have to have faith to step out of the boat.  Don't miss a miracle because you forget how big God really is!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3: 20, 21~

And now I am back off blog land to return to my sewing corner!  I love you.  Hugs.
 

Happy Birthday Sweet Jen!

This is Jen... Jennifer.  She is my husband's daughter... that makes her my daughter too!  Today is her birthday. She is loving.  She is kind.  She is tender.  She is thoughtful.  She is forgiving.  She is precious.  She is funny.  She is God loving.  She is a great friend.  She is a wonderful mother.  She is an amazing wife.  She is a gift to me.  She has always embraced me, accepted me, liked me, and now she loves me.  And I love her... so very much! 

Happy Birthday precious Jen.  You make me smile.  You make your daddy proud.  You make your Father in heaven proud.  You are an amazing woman and I send you a HUGE birthday hug today (along with a LATE gift in the mail!).  I love you...

For Local Readers!

Hello sweet friends.  I have an account at Red Door Consignment Store and will be using the money towards Brenda's hosting this Christmas!  Here is a neat way you can be a part of bringing her here. 

You can take winter clothes, in top condition, and household items to Red Door and have them register it under my account!  Then at the end of the month, we'll use the money towards our fundraising.  Then, what's sold after the end of the month, we'll use to buy her clothes once she is here and some gift items!  It's really a cool way to declutter for a GREAT cause!  So just tell them to put the items under Dawn Sullivan's account and that's that!  Thank you so much!  We turned in our paperwork today and are really starting to get excited to meet her and share our Christmas with this Latvian orphan! 

Here are so ideas of things you can donate... and oh... you can also bring them by to me and I can take them for you as well. 

sweaters

turtlenecks

jeans

cords

shoes/boots

coats

scarves

jewelry

purses

dishes

framed pictures

mirrors

knick knacks

children's winter items

childrens toys

dvd's

fictional books

bedding (bed spreads/quilts/bed skirts)

FURNITURE

Halloween has come and gone.

"Boo" to the rain that really put a wet damper on the night's festivities!  Speaking of "Boo", I got this "boo" at Jo-Ann Fabrics on the 80% sale they had THREE WEEKS BEFORE Halloween for 99 cents and I was thrilled with how it spiffed up my fall wreath.  It will be hard to take down, I really like it!

Marc was a cheetah.  If you asked Abby, he was going to be a cheetoh!  It was hillarious...maybe next year!

Now on to burning leaves, roasting marshmellows, sweaters, and nesting!  I have been nesting.  Yeah!