Thanksgiving ~ Stuffed

STUFFED, yep, that's me. As I am sitting here typing this I am really wishing that I had put on my pj pants as my jeans are cutting into my belly. Over the last 10 days we traveled over 1500 miles, we gathered at 5 different places, we ate way too much, and now that we are home, we hope to catch up on some sleep and the neglected house. In spite of the hectic week, we had a great time with family. I hope you all had a wonderful week celebrating God's many blessings.

Earlier last week on our way up north to Grandma Penny's house we made a quick stop at the Kansas City UCIS office to renew our fingerprints so our file will continue to stay updated while we wait for our adoption referral.

The Car DVD players have been a lifesaver over the past week as they really helped keep the girls entertained while traveling. We had to double check Addy's car seat straps when we saw her sitting like this. Silly girl!



The grandma's are always good for saving some of the baking for the girls to help with. Apple crisp, yummy!


Uncle "Bear" rides

Handstands on the couch


Decisions, Decisions! Jaidyn picked a pony themed icecream cake out to celebrate her birthday at Grandma Penny's house.



Enjoying the nice weather that November was giving us!







I forgot my camera on Wednesday when we celebrated Thanksgiving and Jaidyn's b-day at my mom's house. I loved her table setting...beautiful. That evening my parent's watched the girls for us and Wes and I went out with my sister and brother for the evening.


Thursday the girls and I went to the great grandparents houses for the day. Here is a picture of all of the cousins on my Dad's side of the family.


This past weekend was spent at Papa J.R and Mama LaLa's house. Lauretta (as always) fixed enough food to feed an army. She went with untraditional food...crab legs, brisket and spinach stuffed chicken. There was rarely a time that there wasn't something setting on out on the counter. It made it really easy to frequently visit the kitchen to grab a handful of something. Jaidyn and Addy enjoyed time with their cousins and were spoiled by the Aunts and Uncles.




This is Papa's new toy. These pictures are of Wes and Jaidyn before they took a tumble. You would think that someone who has attended and passed official driving school with the highway patrol would be able to efficiently operate one of these without wrecking. Poor Jaidyn. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and Wes came away with only a grass stain on his jeans.

~ Operation Christmas Child - Going The Distance ~

I normally don't push charity organizations on to others as I think everyone has a personal preference and heart for all kinds of missions and chairities throughout the world. However, this week is National Collection Week, November 17-24, for Operation Christmas Child and it is one of my favorite charitable organizations. Through gift-filled shoeboxes and the good news of God's love, OCC brings happiness and hope to children around the world in desperate situations. Our family has been collecting items all through the year to fill several shoeboxes for this organization. Exra school supplies were purchased during the back-to-school month sales and I was able to get great deals on toiletries through shopping at Walgreens. Jaidyn has helped in this endeavor as she picked out many small toy items to fill up the boxes. We have filled 5, one for each memeber of our family (of course we are counting the child that we are hoping to receive a referral for in the near future). Last week, Jaidyn helped me fill the boxes and wrap them. It's a good thing that all of the items in the boxes had to be new, as a soon-to-be 4 year old she isn't very good about giving up any of her own toys. She did want some of the items being packed, but after explaining to her that they were going to children who may not have any toys, she was able to part with them. Even though she has a hard time understanding that not all children has what she has, she has a huge giving spirit.

Today Jaidyn helped write a letter to place in each of the shoeboxes. I loved her answers as they were so honest. She colored in the state of Missouri on the map and attached a picture of both she and Addy. We included her address, so maybe she will even get a return letter from the recipient of the shoebox.



As many of you know, the Philippines is heavy on our hearts. Here is how Operation Christmas Child is impacting children in the Philippines.

Operation Christmas Child - Philippines

Jaidyn's boxes may help a neighbor child and then again they may just go the distance. Where ever they end up, hopefully they will give a few children a glimpse of hope and love this holiday season.

Santa's Little Helpers

Santa's Little Helpers


Today we pulled out all of the Christmas decorations and as a family decorated our home for Christmas. Early, I know, but we always travel for Thanksgiving and then Jaidyn's birthday is the following week so we decorate early to avoid chaos in the upcoming weeks. Plus, selling online can be somewhat stressful during the month of December. While decorating we listened to a couple of Christmas CD's to help fuel the holiday spirit. Of course Wes had to interrupt it and throw in a few ACDC songs in between. Whatever!

The girls enjoyed pulling out items from the plastic tubs and then using the tubs as makeshift sleighs for their stuffed animals. They tied their stuffed Rudolphs to the tubs. We almost had a nativity scene tradgedy as I let the girls play with the characters on the carpet for a few minutes before asking them to bring a couple to me a time to arrange on top of the cabinet. Jaidyn tried to bring almost all of them to me in one handful and dropped the donkey on the kitchen floor. I almost couldn't look as I was expecting to have to super glue it's head back on. Fortuneatly, it didn't break.



Decorating the tree was last and they loved hanging all of the ornaments. Jaidyn helped me until every last one of them was on the tree. I have to admit, I am glad that Addy tired out after about 10. She tried hanging most of the ones I gave her on the same branch. I let her hang her Elmo themed ornament from last year and she is so proud of it. Tonight she has been making rounds over to the tree to make sure it is in the same place that she left it.









Most of the decorations are up. I didn't put out any of the decorations for the front porch and will wait until after Thanksgiving to do so. I still need to get pictures of the girls done to use for our family Christmas card. The girls have also requested that we bake Christmas cookies this week. Bake them now and freeze most of them for later. Hopefully, I will be able to check those 2 things off my list early next week.

Silver...WTH!

No, this isn't a picture of my hair, but it might as well be. A couple of weeks ago Wes was standing over me while I was sitting at the computer and casually made the comment that he could see some gray hairs. Are you kidding me...??? I told him that it must be the light shining on it from the window and highlighting it to that color. He mentioned it again later in the week as he still thought that he was seeing some again. This time I completely ignored him, as it secretly bugged the crap out of me. This past Wednesday I had my hair cut and colored and so I figured I would ask my hairdresser. And, yes she did say she could find a few strands of gray. I begged her to pluck them out, but she wouldn't. As if plucking them out would get rid of them. At least now they are covered with blond high-lites and low-lites.

Gray, ugh! I refuse to call it gray! I think I will refer to it as silver. I just turned 30! I wasn't expecting silver until at least until I was in to the 40's. I can't figure out who to blame it on. Dad, Mom, which one of you silvered early? Are Jaidyn and Addy causing me to silver early? Maybe I can just blame it all on Wes. When I am old, I will embrace silver hair. For now, I dye.

Kitchen Reveal

It is finally time to show some pictures of our kitchen makeover. Remember the purple walls and the grape themed wallpaper?
Before




The purple is gone and has been replaced with a lovely shade of Ponytail (who picks these paint names anyways?). Thanks to Wes's Dad we were able to replace all of our cabinet doors. We also added new hardware to the cabinets and replaced the old wooden door going out to the back deck with a new door. I just love our newly updated kitchen. I still need to figure out what kind of window treatments I want for the window and door and I also need to spray paint the light figure (the gold has to go), but other than that, it is finished up. Thank you to J.R., Lauretta, and my dad for spending a couple of days helping us with our home improvement tasks. Also, thank you to my mom who watched the girls for us so we could actually get some work done.




I can't wait to start decorating for Christmas. My decorations will compliment this kitchen much better than before.

~ Photo Friday ~

I had hoped to post these pictures yesterday, but didn't get to it. I think the cold weather change as well as the time change from earlier in the week has had an effect on my motivation. I have a to-do list that hasn't hardly been touched all week.

Our agency needs some updated pictures of our family, so I think I will send them this one of the girls.


Jaidyn had her Fall Fling preschool party on Thursday. Cool weather, but still a nice day. They had a good time climbing hay bales and riding on the hay ride before coming inside for a craft and snacks.






Addy's preschool Fall Fling weather, was different story...windy & bitter cold. All of the parents were miserable as we stood around shaking from the cold wind while the kids went through the outdoor activity centers. Addy liked looking for large spiders (plastic) hidden in the hay bales. She also was pretty entertaining during her turn at the pumpkin roll. Addy's hayride was a short trip around the block because it was so cold.





The girls wanted to be outside with Wes yesterday while he was raking leaves in the front yard. They didn't last long as I think they just wanted to take a ride in the wheel barrow, but they were outside long enough to come in with cold hands, red cheeks and noses.


Jaidyn's latest obsession is becoming the next Bella Dancerella.

Philippines Adoption Update

It has been a long time since I have posted anything about our adoption journey, but lately not much has changed and we are still patiently (Anxiously) waiting for our referral. However, we did receive a phone call from Kristine the assistant director of Holt International's Philippines program with an update. She usually calls every 3 months or so just to check in with us. She had some encouraging news and I am almost afraid to share with everyone as I am afraid it might jinx us in some sort of way. It is truly all in God's hands and in his timing so I guess I should give up the whole "Jinx" theory.

This year, Holt International had a goal of placing 22 children from the Philippines with waiting families and as of this past week they have placed 23. And there is still about 2 months left of 2008 and I am praying that they place a few more children with families before the new year. Yes, we are hoping to be one of those families. We also found out that there is one applicant still waiting to receive a referral that was approved in August of 2007. We were approved in December of 2007, and that puts us now 2nd on the list. The Philippines program doesn't necessarily give out referrals in order so being 2nd doesn't really mean anything. But they do give preference to those families who have been waiting for a referral the longest. The average wait time for the families receiving referrals the last 6 months has been
12.78 months. We have been waiting 10 1/2 months, so a child for us may be just around the corner.

Since we are getting closer to referral time frames, Kristine said that if she needs to contact us for paperwork reasons or another program update she will first email me to let me know that she is going to call. She said that she doesn't want to get our hopes up for the "Big Call" if it isn't for that reason. Just thinking about seeing HOLT INTL. popping up on my caller id from here on out gives me happy goosebumps.

I am not sure if you guys remember the referral date survey we did on our blog last spring, but 4 people guessed that we would receive our referral before Christmas of 2008. I know my mom and my mother-in-law were two of the four people who guessed that date. God bless those who are optimistic. I sure hope they are right. You know what they say...Grandma knows best! I however am a realist, and chose a later date, but I sure wouldn't mind being wrong in this particular survey.

Halloween has come and gone...

Today I spent the afternoon taking down all of my Halloween decorations, only leaving up the ones that will go through most of November. I just love the Halloween holiday and it was sad taking all the decorations down. I am not sure why as I have had them up since the beginning of September. Two months is plenty of time to enjoy them. I have really enjoyed the nice fall weather and taking all the decorations down reminded me that winter weather is right around the corner. Ugh!

Here are some pictures of the Halloween party at the library. Jaidyn had to keep this a secret as Addy had preschool and wasn't able to go. Surprisingly she made it an entire 2 weeks without telling Addy. Addy would have been so disappointed as she gets to go to the Library story hour two days each week while Jaidyn is in preschool and she absolutely loves it. Jaidyn got to Trick-or-Treat the library building, make a photo frame, eat cookies and parade through a nearby nursing home.







Too much excitement for what was to come later in the evening delayed naps. Even lying down with the girls didn't get them to sleep. Addy fell asleep about 30 minutes before we were ready to head out the door to trick-or-treat the neighborhood block. Instead of the cute black and pink cheetah kitty that we hoped she would be, she woke up as a pink and black spotted sour puss. Getting her to put on her costume ended up being a fight. She started out the neighboorhood walk in a screaming fit. You can tell in the pictures that we took on our front porch before leaving that she was MAD.



The witch is in! My mom has made it a yearly tradition to hand out candy at our house while we walk the block.


Still Mad! Not even the bribery of candy will get her out of the stroller. At this point, she would rather sit and pout while Jaidyn scores all of the candy. Poor Kitty!


One of the cutest kids on the block (the other cutie is pouting in the stroller).


Out of the blue, she changed her mind and climbed out of the stroller and went running up to this lady's front door.

Addy: "I'm a Kitty Cat! Meeeooowww!"
Lady: "She is just the sweetest! And oh so cute!"
Me: (Under my breath) "You should have seen her about 20 seconds ago."



Last Stop


Meeeeoooowwww!


Doesn't this picture make me look like Mom Of The Year? Addy picks eating an apple over the handful of candy. I must be doing something right. Ha!


We have also visited Saunder's Haunted Hill the past three years. These people go all out and start decorating at the beginning of September. Crazy!


I'm usually a very friendly gal, but am not sure that I want to be friends with this guy.


Addy picked up this skeletons arm and was waving it at us. I can't believe she would even sit close to him.


The witch is in! Restyled Home is one of my favorite decorating blogs and someday when I have a home with an entry way, I would love to recreate this witch ensemble . Too cute! Over the next year, I am definitely going to be on the lookout for some of these items at garage sales.