A Name!

We have said for a while if we could reach $3500 in our FSP http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee we would share our newest sons forever name. We originally wanted to be able to share it on his Birthday as we as a family celebrated him and put his new name on the cake. We had a mini party for him, celebrating his last birthday without a family by his side. Even though we did not make our goal then we held true to our word and yesterday we finally hit $3500 in our FSP. This is a huge milestone, well any growth in our account is a huge blessing. We are working hard to grow our FSP http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee and when it reaches just over $11,000 we will be fully funded for our adoption. I know it sounds like a huge number, but it can happen and I have seen it happen many times over with families adopting. God set us out on this journey and he will provide away. All donations are tax deductible so if you, a friend or your company is looking to make a huge blessing before year end please consider our family.

Sorry for getting side tracked, lol. Dang money talk. Back to why I started this blog post. The name, I know you all want to know what new "K" name will be entering our family. I say it like that as all 5 of us so far start with K's, we of course would never leave anybody out. I do have to say it is getting harder to think or come up with names. Everybody except my husband has the same initials KML. I have tried to change it, but now it is just sort of our thing. When thinking and praying about names though it can get difficult. Especially when this mama like now just run of the mill names. I love my kids to have names that stand out. That are a little unique. It was funny though Little man's first name came to me pretty quickly after looking at all his photos, seeing his personality through them. We did as a family sit down and do our name choosing game of sorts, just as my husband did with our first two, and the we as a family of 4 did when we add our youngest. We love that the children are as involved in the adoption as we are, they are excited to welcome a brother and sister into the family (that can change as all settle in, lol), but we will take all the excitement and happiness for now!

So we sat down, we all wrote out our "K" name suggestions, but I was pretty sure I had found the right name and so this mama of course let her opinion known, lol. To my surprise they all liked it and took to it very quickly. All though most of the time when we refer to him in our house, the kids still call him by his Chinese name and we will probably use it as a nickname if he would like us to continue that once home (he has also been talked to about his new name). I also had been looking over middle names beginning with the letter "M" and had found one that I really liked. Loved the meaning and liked how it sounded with the first name. So that was my proposal! It was a winner!

So no more stalling, I would love to introduce you to our newest little Man, he is so cute and we can not wait to meet him. Just look at that face, the smile, those eyes, lol. Okay, Okay!!!!


                        Kingston Matthew

So excited it is finally out in the open! Matthew - The meaning of the name Matthew is Gift Of God (babynames.com) and that he is to us. He has waited so long for a family of his own and we are so excited to be chosen as that family.

Now for our next goal we are trying to reach $4000 in our FSP http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee. Once we have reached $4000 we will share our daughters forever name. I know you are curious!!! Please help us reach our goal!

Article 5 Drop Off!!!!!

On Monday our article 5 will be dropped off to the US Embassy in China! What is an article 5? This is the NVC letter we received, our children's visa applications, and our LOA- letter of acceptance. The consulate will review the kids visa applications to make sure they meet the qualifications for an immigrant visa. Then they will sign off that everything is in order for the adoption to take place! This is called the article 5 letter. Once our representative in China picks this up (in about two weeks) it will be delivered directly to the CCCWA for our Travel Approval! Yeah!! Let the countdown begin!! We are sooooo close. This seems so unreal that we last December were just starting the process of gathering info and first steps of initial paperwork. I am also in the process of getting all our travel visa paperwork sent off to a courier who will take it to the Consulate here for our Travel Visa's to China. That is paperwork x4 since we are taking our 2 oldest children with us.

Financially we are still working hard fundraising and asking for support. This is a perfect time to donate as all donations to our FSP http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee are tax deductible. So if you, your company or a group are looking for a group or family to support our family would feel so blessed for you to join our village in helping bring our children home. We are still standing by our word as well if we can get our FSP to $3500 we will announce our sons forever name!

Also check our facebook page for current fundraisers https://www.facebook.com/CrazyLeeFarm2. We currently have a Usborne book fundraiser and I can not say enough about these amazing books. Can never have too many, and the gift of reading for children is always an amazing one. We also have a Jewelry Fundraiser by Nest Design. She makes personalized Pea Pod style or Bird Nest Style necklaces, to reflect your family, your children, your grandchildren etc. I have met this wonderful adoptive mama herself and she does beautiful work.

Date " F"

Get your minds out of the gutter people. We had such a fun Letter date "F". This was my date to plan and after Date "E" not ending so well. I was determined to have a great time. I have been listening to Love and Respect and just learning so much and loving learning ways to improve my marriage. Marriage is not always easy friends. Love is a choice. We have to choose to love our spouse everyday, even when we do not feel like they are acting lovable. So going in to date F, I put thought into it. Something he would enjoy, something that would have to allow/force me to trust him, something we could do together, I could learn, he could teach. I think I nailed it. Here is some of the equipment needed.

I have never been shooting before, but we have a live fire range that has just moved to Sherwood so I thought what the heck, let's give it a try. My husband having the military background enjoys this stuff and I knew would love teaching me. We own a shotgun and I am all about knowledge, so wanted this date to bring me knowledge to something we have in our home for protection. Living out in the country, this is protection from mainly wild animals if they should happen on our property. I will pray we never see them (cougar, coyote) and it never has to be used. Never the less knowledge is power. So here we go. I was a sort of nervous wreck just walking in the building. I filled out my liability forms, said prayers in my head and got all geared up. They lead us back through a few sets of doors onto the firing range. It was silent when we walked in and the gentleman was explaining all the rules etc and then someone shot and I think I leapt a foot in the air. Not joking. Every shot for the next few minutes caught me off guard, and I either jumped or had an obvious flinch. Slowly I started to relax. Then it was my turn to shoot. We of course shot at Zombies, because we had to prepare for the zombie take over you know, lol! There are no pictures of me shooting, but there is a video and maybe someday when I learn to get videos onto my blog it will be on here, but until then it will just get posted to my facebook page.

In the video you can see how nervous I am, and that is not the first time I had shot that evening it was like the 5th or 6th. The first time I was shaking so bad. I could not even hold the shotgun up. Hubby came along side me and helped and encouraged. It was scary, but I did it. Again and again. Each time though I had to get up the courage to pull the trigger. In the video you can see and tell by my body language as I shift, and hesitate for a long time between shots. My motto this year for myself though is "Love Life, Be Brave" I was being brave for sure.

After shooting we headed to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ, we had a delicious dinner, way to big, lol. Wonderful conversation, hubby told me about the first time he ever shot a gun and also some of his experiences in the army. It was so nice to hear him talk and enjoy himself. I love still being able to learn new things about him. We actually sat and talked for a while after we were done eating, enjoying our time together with no children! When we decided that maybe the babysitter had had enough we headed home. My love tank was just full. We snuggled on the couch and watched a movie, and finished our date with the most important "F", FAMILY! Blessed!

Thank you Pie Lovers!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! To everybody who bought pies, cobblers and frozen fruit. To all who shared my posts and told their family and friends about our fundraiser. To Willamette Pie Company for their amazing support and allowing us to do the fundraiser for a second time. We raised almost $400 dollars towards our adoption. To some that may not seem like a lot, but really when you break all these costs down it truly is such a blessing. Every dollar is going to a fee of some kind. As we move closer to the end their just seems to be more fees! God will Provide.

So on November 19th My mom, Baby and I took a field trip to Willamette Pie Company to pick up all the pies, cobblers and fruit! We did not really know what to expect, but had an appointment for 10am. It was a cold, but sunny, dry day! So we drove the back country roads and it was just beautiful! The drive was only about 40mins and we arrived on time! We found the office and the potty since we were traveling with a potty training toddler it is a must find at every stop, lol! I let them know I was there to pick up my order and then we got to watch them make the pies! If you know anything about Willamette Valley Pies they hand make their crust, and the pies and it is amazing as they have big windows so you can watch the yumminess happen. Baby enjoyed this part only for a few minutes, I could have watched much longer!

They have a fun little farm store that has all kinds of cute things to look at, but the best part is if you go between 9am and 11am it is their "Happy Hour"!! $1 or $1.50 pie slices, and they warm them and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on. So of course since we were there we had to take part in this yummy special. I chose Boysenberry, baby had Pumpkin Pie (mommy figured it would be the least messiest), and I am completely drawing a blank on what my mom had. She can chime in on the comments! It was so tasty! What a yummy breakfast, lol!

We got the pies all loaded up, there was so much they filled the back of my minivan with the seat laid down! The man that loaded them asked me all about our adoption and shared with me that his wife and him hope that one day that they also would like to adopt! We let baby play on their little playgroup out front. Yes they even have a little playground so on nice, warm summer days, "Happy Hour" would be even more amazing outside! Then we started our trip home to get all the pies, cobblers and fruit back to the two pick up spots. I am just filled with so much happiness, and love at all the support. I hope these pies and cobblers are eaten and enjoyed with family and friends! Thank you again for being apart of our village to bring our children home. Here is the address to Willamette Valley Pie Company, so if you are ever in the area you can look it up!
Willamette Valley Pie Company, LLC
2994 82nd Avenue NE
Salem, OR 97305

website: http://www.wvpie.com/

Date "E"

Just because I am blogging about these I thought if I skipped one it would be strange to everybody. I do not really want to write about this date. Everything started great. My poor husband having worked in NY all week and flown across the United States to get home that day and still went out on a date with me. I appreciated that. We had a nice dinner, good conversation and we probably should have ended it there. As I believe fatigue and miscommunication turned our great evening into a not so fun evening that ended. This is real life people. Not everything is all rosy and perfect all the time. These not so good times give us a time for self reflection, a time to think and a time to apologize and work it out. I do all this with a lot of prayer. Prayer for my husband, myself, my heart and our marriage. " Prayer is the least and the most we can do. We did learn that dating on a day where you are exhausted is probably not a great thing. Lesson learned. On to date "F"

Date "C" and "D" did Happen!

I am so behind. Caught up in the whirlwind of life with 3 kids and fundraising for our adoption. We are getting so much closer to the end and want to make sure all the funds are in place. Anyways we are still dating, Letters C and D dates did happen. I have thought about sitting and writing about them, but then never actually do it.

So Letter "C" was my date choice and being the money savvy person that I am wanted something different, but of course with a deal! So I kept my eyes open for something. Then one day in my email I saw it. The words COMEDY CLUB! In an email titled Groupon! Win, Win!! How fun would that "C" date be, laughing together is always a good thing in a marriage. We Our night started more stressful and rushed, as sometimes it does, getting kids settled with the sitter, us living way out in the sticks and then knowing I had made reservations for a specific show time of course there would be lots of traffic, oh yes and the gaslight just has to come on now right. Ugh, all this just gives me time to practice my grace and patience. Knowing that we will get there at some point and it will be okay, it will be okay! We arrived with a few minutes to spare, whew (in my head)! Walked in, even had to wait in a line, lol. Guess we were on time by everybody else's standards. We were escorted to a table right up front. Front and center. I knew this could be a bad thing and so did the hubby. Haha. We got our food ordered and settled in for the show. So at Comedy Clubs there is the Host, the Opener and the Main Act. They were all pretty good. I am not a big fan of dirty comedy, but it seems to be the thing to do these days. At one point, being in the front row the comedians talk to you, interact, make fun, etc. The comedian was asking people their favorite kind of music and yes, yes he looked straight at me and said and what is yours. Well being a mom I could have took the easy way out and said I ride with kids, all I get is kids songs. Honestly I did stop and think and stumble on my words, but then I said it. Christian Music. That is what I listen too. I love my Christian music. Well honestly, he was semi shocked I think, and did not truly know where to go from there, so moved on to someone else, but then would come back when it fit into his joke. Saying something about all my music speaks to the soul etc. Even though I stumbled and almost denied my favorite tunes, and even though it caused me to be the brunt of some of the jokes I am proud I did say it. It truly is my favorite, it makes me feel good, and is a way that I worship. Plus guess what he kept bringing it up, so people kept hearing the words Christian music, maybe they will go check it out! The night ended on good notes with lots of laughs and an all around good date!

Date "D" we were trying to cram in some alone time as hubby had been traveling a lot for work and we just wanted to get out of the house together without kids. Date "D" was really his date to plan, but I let him off and suggested a low key date at the Drive-In! Yes we have a drive-in still in the next town over. One of the few left. Just so happens they had only adult movies playing so we really scored because hubby is not a fan of kiddie movies, lol. I grabbed us a pizza, packed snacks, and blankets and pillows and set up the sitter, it was all ago! Now I am not even really a movie person, but hubby loves movies and our last outing at the drive-in was not very fun with 3 small kids who complained they could not see or were hungry or cold the whole time. We were excited it was going to be just us all cozy, no complaints!

We got there early to get a good spot, which ended up not being needed since it was not very full, because guess what? It started raining right before the movie started. Who wants to go to the drive-in in the rain. We do! So we get all set up and comfortable and start eating our dinner, rain stops! Movie starts and it was pretty good. Now at the drive-in you can watch two movies for the price of one. So we had talked about possibly staying for second movie as it was something hubby had heard was good. We get settled in for the second moving, i snuggle into my blankets get comfortable and next thing I know I wake up and the movie ends 5 mins later. OOPS. I knew I was tired, but I guess I was very tired, lol. Hubby had watch the whole movie and said it was good. I enjoyed a 2 hour nap. You know when you have been married 11 years those things are allowed, lol. On to date "E".

We have our LOA and now i800 wait begins!

I totally forgot to announce on our blog that we have our LOA!!!! This is the biggest approval for China families(besides our Travel Approval). LOA (Letter of Approval) is the longest waiting period really. We waited 76 long days for this approval. Actually it went rather fast until we got to day 60. I have had such a peace about this adoption and when I am in a time of waiting have learned to put my focus on my family that is present and prayer. It truly worked yall. Prayer is just something amazing. It just helps you Let it all go, lets you live your life without stress or worry of the future. I am a firm believer in Prayer. At day 60 the wait did get a little harder, but it was more I think the excitement and anticipation as I knew were getting closer. In the end we waited 76 days. We got to check the box saying we accept the named child (our child) and sign as the adoptive parents! What a feeling that was, praise to God!

We are now waiting on our i800 approval from the USCIS. This was mailed out a week ago monday and actually just today I received my text message and email stating our case was received. So it could be now a couple weeks before we receive this approval. From the USCIS website; "USCIS will provisionally approve the Form I-800 if the child qualifies for classification as a Convention adoptee and the proposed adoption or grant of custody will meet Convention requirements." In case you did not know what it was for, I am learning as I go as there are so many steps and approvals that have to be done. It is a brain overload really. We are excited to be at this point because it means that we could be about 8 weeks from traveling to meet our children. After almost a year of working on this process that is just about the most exciting and motivating news ever.

So we ask that you continue to pray as the paperwork is processed and approvals are issued that all will go smoothly. We appreciate everybody's support through kind words, participation in our fundraisers and prayers. It is such a blessing to have such a large village surrounding us.

Happy Birthday to Our Son

"Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday You are Loved, Happy Birthday to You". We will sing this song to our son tonight, but are son will not be here to hear it. We will buy a small cake, take pictures and allow our other children to blow out the candles. All 6 birthday candles. Each candle represents a year our boy has celebrated a birthday without a family. This year all though he does not know it, he is celebrated. his birthday is known and acknowledged. He will also be receiving a special gift at his orphanage on the 30th, a special friend who is currently traveling will be hand delivering a birthday gift to our son from his family. He will not know it is from us, but we are okay with that. He will feel celebrated we hope!We take joy in today knowing that this will be his last Birthday without a family to celebrate with him. We are getting closer and closer to travel and look forward to the many firsts our son will get to experience in our home with a family! For now we will sing the song and blow out the candles, making the wish that our son is safe, loved, praying his heart is being prepared for our love. Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! We can not wait to meet you, to give you love everyday, to teach you and to learn from you. With all our Love, Your Forever Family

If you would like to send our little man a Birthday Gift you can make a tax deductible donation to our FSP, All grant funds are used to bring our children Home! http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee# When our FSP reaches $3500 we will be announcing his Forever Name!

Leave the Baking to the Professionals!! Pies and Cobblers to bring our kiddos HOME!

We have started our next fundraiser!!! We have teamed up with Willamette Valley Pie Company and are selling pies, cobblers, bags of frozen fruit! This is a for locals only fundraiser as these pies are handmade right here in Salem, OR! This is a perfect time to stock up for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years or just an evening in with friends! Wow, yummy, yummy in my tummy. I am not just saying that either. All who bought Pies or Cobblers during our last fundraiser raved at them. We were sad when we ate the last one from our freezer.

These Pies are All Natural, The two crust fruit pies are trans-fat and dairy free, 9" and a full 40ounces! The Fruit pie flavors available are American Apple, Cherry Crunch, Raspberry/Rhubarb and Marionberry. There is a special Pie of the month also Available Pumpkin Chiffon (The finest pumpkin is used to create a whipped pumpkin mousse (chiffon.) The mousse is then layered with a lightly spiced whipping cream to create a pie for pumpkin lovers and the holiday season! Sounds delicious! Pies will be selling for $13.

Fruit Cobblers available are Forrest Berry - A combination of Boysenberries, marionberries and blueberries. Peach and also Marionberry. The cobblers are 26 ounces and serve 4-5 people. $9

For people who like things in smaller portions or have a small family. Single, Retired couple etc. We have Mini Pies. They come in a case of 6 and are 10 ounces each. Flavors available are American Apple, Cherry, Marionberry, Peach, Raspberry/Rhubarb or a Variety Pack! $27 for the case! That is $4.50 a pie!

2-pound bags of fruit are available in 3 varieties. Pure, Ripe, Frozen fruit perfect for cooking, baking, SNACKING on or smoothies. Loaded with antioxidants and packaged in a re-sealable bag! Available flavors - Blueberry, Red Raspberry, and Strawberry. $8

This is a great buy, from a local company, just in time for all the holidays when pie is a must. The pies are flash frozen for delivery and are good frozen for 6mo. Money is due upfront when ordering and checks are made out to me. I will be sending one very large(I hope) payment to Willamette Valley Pies Company! Last day to order is November 5th. I will be picking pies up on November 19th and driving back to my home in Sherwood for pick up and there will be a Gresham pick up spot also. You will need to make arrangements for pick up as I do not have the freezer space to store. I suggest talking with groups of friends, Bunco groups, Moms groups, play groups, Bible study groups, people at the office take a big order and send a representative for pick up. This could be a big fundraiser for us bringing in the money we need for our Travel Fees!!! Please pray, and share with all you know. If you have any questions please ask or to send me your order. Fostermummy1@yahoo.com

Blessed by Other People

Our family currently has or is involved in 3 fundraisers right now. We are blessed to be surrounded by people who enjoy helping adoptive families raise the funds they need to pay all the different fees involved with international adoption. We currently have a Jamberry Nails Fundraiser going on and if you have never given these a try you should! They are fun and sassy, and so easy!Something for every season and occasion! https://www.facebook.com/groups/573488296088787/ We also have our $25 Cabela's gift card Giveaway going on. For every $5 donated to our FSP your name is entered into a drawing. We have only 11spots left to fill before we can draw a name!Local friends and family Cabela's just opened in Tualatin so what an amazing chance to win a Christmas or Birthday Gift for the son or hubby! http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee and then last, but definetly not least we are 1 of 5 families that has been chosen this month for 5/5/5 for Families. They ask you donate $5 and it is divided between the 5 families! This is such a neat idea. Giving a little to go a long way! https://www.facebook.com/5for5for5

Once these fundraisers are done we will be again selling locally only Willamette Valley Pie Company Hand Made Pies and cobblers. To be delivered right before Thanksgiving!! So if you missed out on this fundraiser before you are not going to want to this time around! Then on December 5th in my home I will be hosting a Noonday party. You will also be able to purchase online as well. These items are beautiful and made by impoverished woman around the world. These will be delivered before Christmas so think Christmas shopping!! https://www.facebook.com/events/573401222787016/

Big News!!!

Worth the Wait (long post)

We have been staring and praying over a little girls picture since last October. This little girl made such an impression on my heart back in October I wanted to share our soon to be daughters (yes you heard that right, we are adding a new daughter also to our family)story or how we fell for this sweet face with dimples!

In October 2013, my hubby and I decided that we would host a child in our home for Christmas. They child would be an orphan, and would come stay in our home for 4-5 weeks. We also decided that we would like to host a child from China. We had had friends host children and it seemed to have been such a blessing so we thought we would also like to give a child that opportunity. When the Christmas hosting photo list came out we looked through read the descriptions of the children available and decided to inquire on two different little boys. Both were 4 yrs old. We chose a younger boy, because we knew that the high possibility of us moving forward with adoption after hosting was pretty high. Since we had just added a little girl to our family we felt called to a little boy and also the need for boy adoptions is very high. About 75% of kids available for adoption in China are boys. When I called and spoke with the coordinator she shared the childrens needs and we felt more equipt to handle one of the childrens needs over the other so we placed a hold on him for our family. I did look through the other children, but was so excited about our little guy and getting to work fundraising for the cost to bring him to the US to spend the holidays with our family.

Over the next week or two I would every now and then get on the photolisting to see our little man with our name below his picture and also see what other children were being hosted and where. There was a little girls face that I always kept going back too, it just drew me in. Her sweet closed mouth smile, peace sign held high, and those dimples. OOOOh how I loved those dimples.

I prayed she would have a family step up to host her. But as I prayed I heard clearly, "bring her too". WHAT? Oh my. I prayed a few more days and the weight on my heart was heavy. I knew I needed to approach my husband and tell him. Tell him that I heard clearly God telling us to bring her too. Tell him it would be another $3000 we would need to raise, bringing us to a $6000 total to host both kids. I prayed for the courage. I was nervous for sure of his reaction. So one night at bedtime (when there is no escaping) I told him my heart. He stared at me and said, " if you think that is what we are suppose to do then okay". I truly did not know how to respond. I am sure he asked some questions also, but those do not matter, lol. He said yes. Not just to me, but to Gods asking of me. He trusted what I heard and stood by me. So the next day I made the phone call to the agency p143.org (check them out friends) telling them we also wanted to bring C107 (that was the number she was listed with)to our home for hosting also. Well since China was a new hosting program for them, they were unsure of how hosting two would go and if it would be okay. They asked a lot of questions about our experience with children and many children and said they would need approval from higher up. I said okay. I told her I understood and respected whatever decision they came too, but God told me I was to bring her to the US also so I had to at least try. The agency told me they would get back to me with a response.

I waited a day or so and finally received and email stating they were going to allow us to host both children! Now not only was I excited, but our daughter was so excited! Over the next couple months we fundraised and saved and prepared to have two special house guests over the Christmas holiday. As we got closer to the arrival, we started getting emails from the agency saying there was some government changes going on in China and they may have to push the dates back. Okay, we were slightly saddened by the news the kids would not get to spend Christmas with us, but as long as they were coming we would still make it a wonderful. Then on December 2nd we were celebrating the adoption of our youngest daughter. Had a wonderful court ceremony in her town of birth and then a yummy dinner after! We got home late in the evening and I received an email stating that the hosting program from China would not be happening at all. We were very saddened. Not only for us, but for the kids. We did not know what we would do next. Over the next few days the agency told us what our options were: we could leave the money we had raised and wait until Summer hosting to see if China would reopen, we could donate to another charity, or they could roll it over into an adoption grant if we chose to start the adoption process. Hubby and I had some more talking to do. Much to my surprise when we talked he again took my breath away. "Well why don't we just adopt them then. You know if we brought them into our home for hosting and had to let them go, that we would fall in love and start the process anyways. There was no way you were bringing those kids here to let them return and not go get them". Boy does my hubby know my heart. I was slightly fearing the having to let them go back part. Even with all our foster parent experience of loving and letting go, it still hurts. So at this point I had had something weighing on my heart, but was praying daily about it that it would all just work out. Now with the husband saying this I had to share. I told him that if we were going to be adopting without hosting first I did not feel like the little boy we were to host was suppose to be our son. I do not know how to explain how I was feeling, but I was praying that during hosting I would develope that instant feeling. Without hosting I knew it would not be right and he was not meant to be our son. I did flip it a little on the husband, by saying, "but there is this other little boy that I do believe is our son. You have seen his photo many times and I think we should pray about bringing him home also". Well I had been a Advocate for a little guy for about 6mo about. I had shared him with hubby and told him all about him. I had talked late into the night with interested families, researched his special need and made contact with anybody you had met or knew him. I wanted this little man to find his family. He had a spark. Something special! Months went by though and families would sound so interested and then pass him by. My heart broke, but I continued to advocate and pray. I knew the province of this little boy and as soon as I found out our future daughters province and they were the same, I knew I could not leave him behind. So the next day I made the call to the agency and said we would like to adopt C107 (as we still knew her) and this other sweet boy known as "Phineas" on Reecesrainbow.org.

So the process started. They quickly located "Phineas" file and we were able to get it locked for our family, but then we got the call we did not expect. Your future daughter does not have a file. It is not ready yet. WHAT? How long will that take? The answer, we do not know could be 4mo, could be 6mo. The orphanage is saying they will do it by February. Okay, she is our daughter, we will wait for it. While we waited we did our homestudy and mounds, of paperwork and made the drive to Salem for our State Seal. We knew the past ladies by name and they had lots of questions about our journey. February came and I called asking about the file. The orphanage says maybe March, but probably April. UGH. More waiting. Praying that they were really doing it and seeing the urgency. See we already had our pre-approval to now adopt our son. We have been doing paperwork. It all has expiration dates on it. We could only wait so long as far as the paperwork goes. Our hearts longed for that file. April 2014 finally came to an end and I got word the orphanage had sent her file off the to next place to be reviewed. Her Province. From there we prayed it would take the shortest amount of time, a month to then head to its next stop the CCCWA. Towards the end of June we got word that it was at the CCCWA, they could see it logged into the computer. Now again we wait. Last stop our agency. It needed to get to our agency and then it could get to our hands. I have to say I was not very patient and towards the end of July I started calling once a week asking if they had received the file. Each time the answer was no and we will call you when we do, we promise. I struggles, I got obsessed. Then one night after Bible study I gave it all to HIM. I prayed that I would trust HIM and HIS timing. I was letting the burden go. Was going to live in the here and now and enjoy my days with my kids that were here. That was on a Wed. The next monday the kids and I, and our ukrainian house guest (another time,another post, lol) went for a drive down the gorge. We took her to see Multnomah Falls, the fish hatchery and then bonneville dam. It was hot and by the end of the day people were getting cranky and tired. We started loading the van back up to head home and my phone rang. I recognized that number right away. Upon answering my first words were, " tell me you have amazing news for me". I heard back, " we have the file, it came, we are emailing it to you now"! I seriously could have cried, I was chilled all over with excitement. Oh the joy. Now to make the long drive home Sigh.

We are so excited to now announce after reviewing her file, which we almost did not need to see as she is our daughter. We finally got PA (pre-approval) from China. We are now so ready for our son and daughter to be home. We are working so hard to raise the last bit of funds that we need. We have been blessed with photos of our daughter from a camp that she attended this summer and will treasure them always.

Bountiful "B"

So proud of my man who Bit the Bullet and went all out with our letter "B" date! Our date was Blessed Bountifully with B's!!! I am apologizing now as although I did take pictures, I pulled my camera out to use and oops I forgot to change the Battery. So it was my camera phone that had to document our night. It has Blurry issues, so I am sorry.

Sitter arrived and we started our night. I posted on facebook that we were headed on Letter "B" date and the guess's started pouring in. That in itself the hubby and I enjoyed, lol! The obvious Bowling and that was my guess too. I was asked to bring socks along. We drove and kept driving all the way downtown. Not a place hubby and I go often. We parked and arrived at our first destination. Mother's Bistro & Bar. Although Mother's starts with "M" we discounted that and just went with Bistro & Bar! It was a restaurant I had never been to before. It was very bright and trendy. We had reservations(FANCY) and so did not have to wait long. Food was fresh and homemade just like mama would make. It was delicious. I was stuffed by the end of the meal.

After dinner we started walking! I could tell hubby had a plan, he had his phone GPS going and hand in hand we walked. We headed towards our next "B" stop the Blue Star Memorial and Battleship Memorial (way to go hubs).

We kept on with our "B" and took a nice stroll on the Boardwalk! We walked and talked and people watched!

If you have ever walked the boardwalk there is always very interesting things going on down there, lol. So it is always a great stroll. We walked until we got to the hmmm can you guess? Burnside Bridge! We stopped and I used this moment for thank you for the wonderful date and smooch time!

Our date was still not over. Hubby out did himself on the "B" date. I told you is was Bountiful with "B". It was such a warm lovely night, so the walking around downtown Portland was wonderful. We headed back into the city and walked until we got to Blitz Sports Bar(do you recognize the name from our "A" date, lol). It was sort of a joke for me since if you go back and read our "A" date post you will understand. I messed up the night of our Art class and we ended up at Blitz (in Tigard) for a drink instead. So anyways, hubs found a Blitz downtown and thought it would be funny to go again, on the real "B" date! So we stopped and enjoyed a drink and some Big Buck (I did not win).

From there we walked some more to the last stop and one of my favorites. To Powell's Books!! I had honestly never been there. It was AMAZING! It was probably almost 10pm and the place was packed.

wall to wall books. Floors and Floors of books, Purple room, rose room, orange room. There was just so many it was unbelievable. We have fun and picked something out for everybody. We have a family of book lovers and always enjoy encouraging that love.

The date was just Beyond wonderful. Hubby did such a great job. It is not about outdoing each other, but like we stated doing things together, trying new things and creating fun memories together. I enjoyed my whole date with hubby and was in the moment and present the whole time! Loved it!

Has anybody else started this challenge? Would love to hear in the comments, I believe this could be an amazing trend for couples. We need to date our husbands and if it takes the alphabet to get us going again so be it! Here is to the Letter "C"!

#TBT

#TBT= Throw Back Thursdays for those that have not caught on to the fad yet, lol. It took me a bit and I do not do it every Thursday! But why not I will post a couple pics in honor of #TBT today!

Applebee's Pancake Breakfast is Approaching Fast.

Our Applebee's Pancake Breakfast is approaching very quickly and we are needing to get tickets sold. Please if you are planning on attending purchase your tickets online via the link on the Event page or from myself or my mom in person or even via mailing a check!! Here is the link to the Event page https://www.facebook.com/events/731361390235873/?ref=br_tf and I will also post the flier. Print it, share it, pass it along. It takes a Village and we would like you to become a part of ours. Thank you for your support.

Dad's Day!

Yesterday was Father's Day! I did not write a blog as we were busy loving on, and spending time with the main man in our lives, my husband and my childrens Father. We woke up early and did all the animal chores and then I got right to work making a delicious breakfast, while the kids all started hand making fathers day cards. We let him sleep in until 9am when breakfast was done, cards were done and the kids could not hold back any longer from waking him up!

After fueling up, we did not give Dad the day off, we got right to work on some inside house projects that needed to get done since the weather was iffy. It was nice to work together on our Family photo wall (did not finish so no pictures yet). The kids love weekends when Dad is home and spends all kinds of time with them, and I love watching them get to make memories together. We can not wait to get our two newest family members home to share the love of a father also. We love you KC. Thank you for being a wonderful Dad, husband and provider. For working hard at your job everyday and for loving all the children that have come through our home no matter the length of time they stayed!

Under Fire

Wow is our Family taking some hits lately. They always say the Devil knows when you are on the right track and will try and knock you off, by throwing stumbling blocks your way. It is so much easier to walk through these trials though knowing that is what it is. It is from the Devil and we must continue down the path that God asked us to go. He asked and we said yes. It would be so easy to change our minds or look at the challenges we face and say maybe this just is not a good time in our lives.
The weekend was going great, hubby and I got a date night in and Sunday we woke motivated to work on the yard and house. I was getting kids ready to head out to the farm store when my oldest comes running up the stairs yelling, "there is water filling the dog area, it is everywhere". Not what you want to hear. I go running down the stairs to hear the toilet running and see water just pouring over the edge of the bowl. and the dogs standing, looking helpless in about 4 inches of standing water. OH MY GOODNESS! I quickly wade through water to the back of the toilet and shut the water off, and then start yelling instructions to the children to grab any and every towel we own in the house and start soaking water off the carpet. Yes it had gotten to the carpet. I let the dogs outside and start removing their crates and accessories from the house. I run upstairs to garage and get the push broom and started pushing water out kids used every towel they could find in house, including wash clothes and hand towels, we started resorting to dirty clothing. Hubby finally joined in and brought the shop vac. That helped a lot! We got all the standing water out and then started on cleaning of the carpets. Soaking up towel after towel of water and also shop vacing the area. We pulled the carpet up to shop vac the pad and also set up as many fans as we could borrow to start drying it. Oh so not fun at all. We will be assessing the damage over the next week or so.
As for what caused the blockage we have a belly in a pipe going to our septic. We knew it was there and have been so cautious about what we flush etc. Not sure what exactly happened. We did have to call and make an appt for Monday morning to get the blockage cleared. So no water or toilet usage until then, that was fun!

Went to softball and lost horribly, I did hit though and caught the last out, a popfly so that made my day. First game I had played in years. Honestly my goal of the games are to make it through without getting hurt, lol. Body just does not work the same anymore. It was fun though. Came home. Hubby goes to put animals away and I sit down to finish the 25 Kindergarten Graduation hats that I had committed to make. Let me tell ya lots of work when you are working with scissors, glue, and a stapler.

KC comes in and whisper,"something is wrong with one of the ducks". WHAT? "Its leg is all messed up deformed (exaggeration slightly, lol)". With nothing I can do at 9pm at night I decide I will deal with it tomorrow along with the septic issue. UGH really right now is what I was thinking. After dealing last week with our tragic accidental chicken death, I was not sure how the kids would handle losing a duck as well.

Next morning I give kids a heads up that one of the ducks is injured and that I would be taking her to the vet. I was not sure what was wrong or what they outcome would be, of course they were worried. I get them off to school and then head up to check out this leg. She was quacking away for her breakfast as usual, but did not come out of her house. I picked her up and set her on the ground and there she laid. Not wanting to put weight on her leg. GREAT! So I flip her over the best that I can, I do not see any obvious deformity, but she is favoring/protecting the leg and also I can feel warmth to the touch. I know something is wrong. Not knowing which duck this is Snowbelle or Daisy (i know bad duck mom, kids know), I get her settled in an area away from the other animals with food and water. My assumption a goat stepped/jumped on her leg. The goats get jumpy and hyper and ducks just are not fast creatures. The chickens seem to be pretty quick at getting out of the way! I head in the house set up a vet appt for after my septic appt., what a fun Monday this is turning out to be, lol. Long story short take the duck to vet, where we discover she has a broken toe. It is the middle toe and higher up where the toe and foot connect. For a duck this is significant for weight bearing etc. So I can not justify putting a duck down for a broken toe, so splinted and bandaged it is. I currently have another baby to take care of, lol. Although this one I can leave unsupervised most of the day in the front yard. She can not get her bandages wet, if you know ducks they love water and are soooooo dirty and messy. Seriously. they can be gross. She can not be around the other animals, besides her sister. So we are back to square one, duck on the lawn, staying the nights in the garage. Plus she has to go to the vet for splint changes every 3 to 4 days for 5 weeks and I am currently giving her meds by mouth. Oh my farm life. Crazy Lee Farm I tell ya. Here is a picture of her all bandaged up. It is sort of cute, poor thing. She semi hobble/drags herself around, but mainly sits in one spot unless I move her.

So although we had a rough go the last few days we did not let it get us down or stop our joy of living and enjoying life!! Yesterday was AMAZING!! Baby and I went to the post office and mailed off our dossier (all documents and papers) to our agency CCAI for final review. This is the last step before they send them to China! We also mailed a package of goodies and a photobook to a family that will be traveling soon to China. There son is living in the same foster facility as ours and they will deliver his gift to him!! How cool to know that in the next few months our son will see our pictures for the first time!

Then right after we mailed those off we headed over to the Elementary school for little man's Kindergarten Graduation. Where has the time gone? Way to fast do these kids grow. He was so excited for us all to be there. Aunt Sam and Cousin Deacon Little came, and Mimi too! They did a slideshow, and mini skits. He played Humpty Dumpty! So cute. Now he is ready to be a 1st grader he says.

So no matter the storms that are thrown our way we will continue to try and look at the good in our lives. To know that as troubles come, we can pray our way through them and know we are doing good. I am just on cloud nine that we are moving right along and will hang onto that excitement still while dealing with the other stuff. LOL! We are still needing to raise about $10,000 to be fully funded. Our most recent need is the remaining $800 for our CCCWA fee that we will need before our dossier can be sent to China. So I am thinking in the next couple of weeks. If you can help in anyway with donations you can donate here http://reecesrainbow.org/71271/sponsorlee all donations are tax deductible. We can also use prayers. Prayers that all are paperwork is correct. Prayers that the young girl we are also trying to adopt, that her file reaches our agency quickly (it is getting closer, at CCCWA now). Prayers that all our house and animal troubles will resolve. Thank you for supporting our family and becoming a part of our childrens story and village.

Dating My Husband from A-Z!! Letter "A"

Well as most parents know it is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of life. To put off the importance of maintaining the Hubby and You time. You say you will get around to it, but then weeks, and then months go by and you have not been out ALONE with each other. Well that is what has happened with my husband and I. With 3 young kids, late work schedules, sports, school events, and just life in general, it had gotten away from us. It takes its toll on your marriage and friendship when you miss these times. We know as a couple it is so important to keep that friendship and love alive. The kids will grow up and leave our home one day and we want to still be able to live with each other and enjoy it, lol! So a friend on facebook started this dating her husband from A-Z and I thought it looked so fun! So what better way to jump back into the dating game right, So here we go. I will try and write a post of all our ADVENTURES together. We decided this is a time for us to try new things together, to have fun and rekindle our friendship. We made a rule of no kid or adoption talk on date (cause lets be honest they consume us most of the time). We are both very excited about this and probably a little more me, than the hubby as I enjoy planning and surprising!! Plus the challenge that the letter throughs in is also very fun.

I went first with the planning with the Letter "A". I do have to say I slightly cheated on this after nicely borrowing the idea from my facebook friend, I also borrowed her A activity. BUT, it was something I had always wanted to try, but had not done yet! So this was the perfect opportunity.

Anyways so I got everything planned out and told hubby where to meet me for dinner Friday night after work, first stop Arby's!

SO romantic I know and also a hotspot for a Friday night, lol! Hey, we did almost have the whole place to ourselves so it was actually very private! Had to stick with my A letter and also needed something quick since we had somewhere to be by 6:30pm. We enjoyed our meal and had great conversation. Then it was off to place number 2. Vine Gogh Artist Bar and Studio! How fun, I was so excited for this surprise and part of our date. We got there and KC was a little unsure, as was I, we are not artists. Walk in, give them out name and we are not on the list. HUH? I signed up. I payed. I was so careful to choose the closer location (they have 2 studios). So we are quickly checking, then the kind lady asks what painting I signed up for, I tell her and she nicely tells me that is the painting for tomorrow night. WHAT? But I am on my A date tonight, I have a babysitter with the kids, everything has gone smoothly, how could this happen. Seriously. So we sort of joke it off and look around, inside I am so upset at myself for making this mistake, but the hubby handled it graciously and we decided to go across the street for a drink before heading home, heck we had a babysitter already. So we headed across the street and I made the challenge of sticking with the A theme and ordering a drink that starts with A. We both managed to do that. More great conversation happened and we headed home and called it a night. Oh and lined the babysitter up for the next night same time so we could try our ART part of the date again.

So Saturday does not need much explaining. Sitter came, and we went out AGAIN, lol. We headed back to Vine Gogh and checked in smoothly since we were on the list. We were both still very nervous, but excited to try something new. Let me tell you. If you have not done one of these. Go sign up right now. It was so much fun and both KC and I enjoyed ourselves and felt like we learned something. We brought out our inner ARTISTs, who would have known. I would say date A was a success. I will leave you will a bunch of pictures from our painting time together. I am so excited to see what KC comes up with for letter B!