A GREAT Domestic Gotcha Day Video...

Well, I've seen another great video I want to pass along tonight... I can NEVER get enough of these things!! What I LOVE about this Gotcha Day video is that it represents a domestic adoption!! This is the story of my friend Julie over at

www.flitterbugsblog.blogspot.com and HOW their lives have been touched forever by adoption!! Julie is my gal that made LL her cute, adorable Christmas clothes this year!! FYI :)

AND...Julie has a GREAT post up right now on her blog too...IT'S A GREAT READ!!! It's called "Is There Really A Need?" So good...Check it out!!

**Ok, so that's it for the night...Hope yall had a GREAT weekend!! :) Happy Sunday to you all, kj

And Baby Makes Seven...a GREAT video

A video tonight from a family, www.growingbytwofeet.blogspot.com , i've gotten to know over the past year or so... They are another LARGE family that followed God's calling on their life to bring a sweet little boy from ACROSS the world into their loving home. I met their son while I was in Ethiopia visiting HH...and NOW HIS "heart" over his face can be removed too...cause HE'S HOME:

I loved the way Almaz carried him around so proudly!! She loves all the children so much!! Welcome home Timothy... and here is their precious video of them coming home this weekend!!! And, she happened to be on the same flight as The Poppy Dip family in my last post...just their ENDING flights were different states...such a small world!! I spent time with both of their sons in December at different orphanages..different agencies....but on the same day while I was there...AND, they arrived home on the same flight over this same weekend!! Kind of neat!!! :) Ok, enjoy the sweet video and Happy Saturday to you all, kj

Another Sweet Airport Homecoming....Poppy Dip is Home...

Yes, we went to the airport this afternoon to watch the Poppy Dip family come home!! yes, they have a REAL name, but most people know this family from their sweet sewing of Poppy Dip clothing for little girls...and she does such a great job!!

**We waited for them to arrive..and let me tell ya... 5 kids at the airport by myself is kind of nutty:
Daddy was still working and George and LL kept running from me... Phewww....glad when daddy arrived to help :)
My kids are so excited to see the NEW kids arrive...
And, here THEY COME....
I love seeing the families come together...sooo sweet....

And, here (below) is Mrs. Poppy Dip herself ..with Mr. Poppy and new son....Sweet little Samson Jude was a WAITING child...can you even believe it?? I was able to meet him in December on my trip...His smile is so sweet!! My sister over at Ordinary Hero just did a GREAT post on WAITING CHILDREN coming home...the BEFORE and AFTERS are amazing... go check it out!! It is SO surreal to think that THIS little beauty just came from living with my Wes!! So neat!!
And, below was one of my favorite pics...this is big sister and big brother (all from Ethiopia) taking care of their NEW little brother...sooo sweet...I love children's BIG hearts...just precious!!
I especially love at our airport that we have LIVE country music playing as you come off your planes..and the guy today sang, "Jesus Loves the Little Children" as Samson came through the gate with his new parents....Oh, it brought tears to my eyes!!! :)

**That was our Friday night! Hope yours was a blessed one too!! Welcome Home little Samson!!! We all LOVE you already!! :) Happy Friday to you all, kj

“Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me...” ~ Luke 9:48

Thank You...Thank You...Thank You....

Ya know...there are just days that I have a very GRATEFUL heart..and this was ONE OF THEM....I'm grateful for all of you and your wonderful support and prayers as we bring our child #6 home!! Our Wes has come a long way..and I can't wait to share his beautiful face with all of you some day!! If we pass court on April 4th, then I'll be able to show you his pictures THEN!! :) Thank you again for all your prayers and excitement of our court date announcement...which leads me to....

**I'm grateful because my hubby booked his tickets and will be flying out on the 1st of April!! And, that is NO April Fools!! :) So excited for him to experience Africa..to meet our son...to SEE in person WHAT I've seen!! Ahhhh...can't wait!!!

**I'm also grateful because my little sister leaves on March 6th for Ethiopia to go to court for her son!! And, I'll have her two kiddos staying with me that week...AND..she'll get to LOVE on Wes all week for ME!! :) So fun!! I'm wanting a pic of the 1st cousin Ethiopian boys together!! Won't that be cute!! :)

**I'm also grateful cause my Poppy Dip friend Sallee flies in tomorrow night with her new son, Samson Jude!! Samson has been living with my Wes at the CCI transition home!! And, Sallee got to meet and love on Wes this week too!! So, yes, we're heading back to the airport tomorrow afternoon....Can't wait to see them fly in!!!!

**And...I'm SOO grateful for all the cloth diapers that KEEP pouring in...Yes, I'm just humbled and amazed at ALL the caring people sending me cloth diapers!! Wow, wow, wow...as I ship hundreds out..hundreds more arrive that same day!! A big thank you goes to:

1. Meagan in Alabama

2. Jessie H. from www.tomandjessie.blogspot.com

3. Jennings in GA

4. Someone in MS..it said "the source @ Pinelake"?? hmmm....not sure if that is a person or place..BUT thank you WHO EVER sent them to me!! :)

5. Jessica in NY

6. Katherine in NH

AND.... one of the sweetest stories comes from Reece and she wrote to tell me that she had a "doughnuts and diapers" party to collect cloth diapers..and it was a HUGE success...She got HUNDREDS of diapers collected!!! Wow... She sent me some pics from it:

Is that not the sweetest thing!!!! Seriously..there are some GREAT people in this world!! She even wrote me again to say she GOT more from a little boy in her community that had his bday party and asked for DIAPERS instead of PRESENTS!!! I mean...come on...does it get any better than that folks!! :) Yes, I'm just so grateful!!

**I'm also VERY grateful that my sister leaves in a week for Ethiopia and SHE'S letting me use all 4 of their checked baggage to get all these diapers over there!!! Wow...I'll need EVERY square inch they have to get these there!! And, yall know my hubby will be packed down with cloth diapers when he flies out on April 1st too!!! So happy to see them go!!! :)

**I'm also grateful to all the people requesting to see the waiting children through Ordinary Hero... *There is a precious 6 year old boy that is fairly new from my Wes's orphanage...he is SOO cute!! He still waits!!! *9 yr. old "M" from Wes's orphanage still waits too...He has such a unique and amazing story...I blogged about him a couple of days ago! *There is a sister pair that I put LL's bows on that still waits!! They are so sweet and so deserve a family...They are something like 11 and 7!!! Most of their friends have been chosen and are leaving...I would SO love to see them find their forever family too!! * Little "H" from Wes's orphanage that has special needs still waits too!! I've blogged about him before too!! He broke my heart while I was there in Ethiopia!! *And, as far as I know..the brothers from LL's orphanage that I met while i was there are STILL waiting too!! They are healthy and are 8 and 4!! All these kids I have personally met (well except for the new 6 year old boy that just arrived at Wes's orphanage)!! I'm SOO appreciative of YOUR prayers for these precious children that WAIT!!

***Ok..I'm also SO grateful for this 3 year old cutie boy that won't let me BLOG without sitting on my lap!! Yes, he's still awake..gotta get him to quit taking naps!! :) Gotta run and try to get him to bed...BUT just wanted to post and say THANK YOU tonight for all your support, comments, and prayers over the years!! Yes, i've been blogging for a long time now!! :) I even had someone email to let me know that they PROGRAMMED our court date into their phone calendar to remember to PRAY!! So sweet!! :) Just wanted to stop and let you all know that my heart is FULL of gratitude for you all!! :) Happy Thursday to you all, kj

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” Ephesians 5:20

Our GREAT News Is......

Yes, we received some GREAT NEWS yesterday.... THE GREAT NEWS IS..... My hubby is heading here: Because we received our COURT DATE which is on this date:
So, the hubby will fly out on the 1st or 2nd (still working on getting flights booked) and he will be representing us in court!! I will be staying home with our 5 littles this time!!! Yes, i'm very jealous or maybe envious that he gets to hang with our little boy all week..but...I just got back from Africa..and he's NEVER been...so we both KNEW this was the right thing to do!! But....I get to go for the PICK UP and BRING HOME trip!! :) I wouldn't share that for anything!!! :)

So...please mark your calendars for the NIGHT of April 3rd...because THAT is when the hubby will be appearing in court before an Ethiopian judge....with the time change it will be April 4th in Ethiopia while we're sleeping on the night of the 3rd!! :) Our family WOULD SO APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS!!! :) I passed the first time for Miss Lucy Lane..so I'm praying we do the SAME THING AGAIN!! That isn't too much to ask, right?? :)

And, speaking of the little love that has STOLEN my heart....I got some new pics over the weekend....I know several families traveling....and I got LOTS of new pics of my sweet Wes...He's changing SO FAST and GROWING so much that I hardly recognize him......

The above pic is him being given our care package we sent over for him...Yes, he's looking at our pic and drinking his bottle at the same time...talented boy!! :)
Above he's playing with the ball that the kids picked out for him...they were SO excited to see him holding the toy they picked out..It was adorable to see their LOVE for him already!! And, if you look to the right, you'll see the Ordinary Hero onsie I sent for him...It says, "Little World Changer"!!!
And, I love this above pic...This is one of our friends that just traveled to pick up their kiddos...They saw Wes in his earlier stages of malnutrition when they traveled for court...My favorite line from all the updates this weekend was that our little sweet boy "brought them to tears" when they saw HOW MUCH he had improved from their last visit!! Simply priceless words for this momma!! :)

***Alright...that's it for the night!! I've been on cloud 9 with all the new pics...I get the kiddos to bed and just sit and flip through each and every one of them...And, our director also sent me Wes's latest "weigh in" !! I so LOVE how they keep me informed on his progress!! It is such a blessing to hear and see HOW MUCH he's growing and changing!! I really appreciate all the hard work they put into keeping the communication OPEN with their clients!!

****So...that's OUR GREAT NEWS...ONE MONTH and ONE WEEK...my hubby will be headed to meet our boy!! :) I can't wait!!! :) Happy Tuesday to you all, kj

We Escaped for One Night....Wanna See Where We Went??

Well, i guess most people would think about "escaping" for one night WITH OUT the kids...but yall know us...we'd never go anywhere with out them..... So, we surprised our 5 cuties with a ONE NIGHT get away to the GREAT SMOKEY MOUNTAINS.... We took them to the Indoor Water Park Hotel for ONE GLORIOUS NIGHT....Here we were arriving yesterday:They were so excited...To get to swim in the winter time is a big treat for them...and they LOVE staying in hotels...Here is LL checking out our room for the night:
And, we hit the pools....We let the kids swim till it closed last night at 10pm....
They had SO MUCH FUN (but yes, it makes me a nervous wreck to have them all around water..)
Even though I get ulcers around pools with 5 littles....their smiles and laughs ALL MADE IT WORTH IT:


And, here are my big girls "arguing" over WHOSE turn it was to hold LL....I'll be glad when Wes is here so there will be two babies to share :) .......
The kids woke this morning and hit the pools first thing AGAIN...then we dried off and headed up the road for a little putt putt....
yes, it is wild and crazy..but I DO prefer the dry land activities...
And, do make sure you check out LL's new shoes she picked out...We went to Target to get some new shoes..and I picked out some sensible 'brown' ones...LL says, " I don't like brown shoes...I want the pink "sparklie" ones..." and she puts MY shoes back and grabs her a pair of PINK ones....Well...you see who won that battle!! :) She's ONLY two once!! :)
Daddy takes his putt putt'in seriously.... :)
Ok, so we're back home...and I came home to some GREAT news..and some GREAT new pics...I'll share ALL THE GOOD NEWS in my next post...so stay tuned!!!! :) Hope yall had a GREAT President's Day too!! It was nice to just get away for the night!! Happy Monday to you all, kj

More Airport Homecomings...(and a little Karate)

Yes, we were at the airport AGAIN on Saturday...Yes, we personally KNEW 6 children coming home this weekend to OUR AREA!! Wow..I love Nashvegas!! We have such an amazing, supportive area for adoptive families!! People stepping up left and right for the orphaned child!! Simply a miracle each and every time....So, yesterday, Saturday, we had a few basketball games first..then loaded up our crew of 7 and headed toward the airport AGAIN...LL was having some fun with Uncle Shane (my sister kelly's hubby:)Mamo (sp??) has been home a short while...but these were HIS BUDDIES from the orphanage coming home...so he was SO excited about seeing them....All these children on Saturday coming home were from my Wes's orphanage:
More pics as we waited...it is just rare that LL was letting someone else hold her:
The crowd was HUGE..and come to find out that there was also a South Korean homecoming going on..and another Ethiopian homecoming going on right after ours...Wow..I don't even know those families...
And, they arrived...This was a sibling group of 3 coming home...Here is the older sister in green on the right...I got to meet this sibling group of 3 when I was there in December..it is such an awesome surreal God moment to see them home:
Bennett is her name (in green) She immediately ran to Mamo (mentioned early..the little boy in red) and yelled his name and kissed and hugged him....She is the sweetest child..She is full of so much love and happiness...Here she is below hugging a new friend (both girls came home through CCI..just different orphanages):
And, then she kept grabbing ALL her new friends asking me to take her pic with all of them..Is she not the sweetest thing EVER:
new friends...yet same story..same country...so cool:
And here are her younger twin siblings with their new momma...So, they went from two kids to 5...Yes, their home will be BUSY for a long time :) But do yall realize HOW rare it is for a sibling group of this age to FIND SOMEONE to step up for them?? 3 children that had LOST everyone they ever loved...to have a family ACROSS the world STEP up and say, " YES!" !! Wow...just made me cry watching the JOY in their faces in their new world!! It really is a MIRACLE!!
And, there you have it...The next airport homecoming was happening close to midnight last night...so I didn't get to make that one...but some more friends of ours adopting an older boy with his baby sister...Their hands were FULL too in the eyes of the world...but they also said YES to God's calling!! My sister KElly went to that one...so I'll try to steal some pics from her soon!! So, yes, 6 children I KNEW and HAD ALREADY met in December...ARE HOME!!! Praise the Lord!!!

***Well, in other news...we left the airport and headed straight for our kid's Karate belt ceremony (yes, our lives are nuts most of time :) :
Yes, did yall know we found a Martial Arts, karate place we love?? And, our older 3 just moved up to yellow belts...so proud of them:
The good thing about having kids so close in age..they are ALL in the same class and moving at the same speed....makes it easy on momma :)
We went out to eat afterwards..i wanted a pic of my new yellow belted kids....LL insisted on being IN THE PIC...George REFUSED...silly kids...
Ok..so how about home and a little UNO before bed...Yes, having a lot of kids makes for good card games too :) Ok, so george and LL don't play yet..they just throw the cards and I chase them down !! :) And, yes, LL is in her diaper...we were getting ready for bed:
Ok, that was our Saturday....Hope yours was GREAT too....I'm still advocating for the KIDS IN MY LAST POST...Go check them out at the end of my last post...3 boys still need a home!! It is a brother set of two..and a single boy...ALL THREE I have met and LOVED!! ARE THEY YOURS??? They'd love a chance at karate...card games...airport homecomings, ...just simply a FAMILY....

**That's all folks...Heading out the door to surprise our kids for a little ONE NIGHT GET AWAY since tomorrow is President's Day..and there is no school or work going on in our home ! :) Stay tuned...Happy Sunday to you all, kj

One Less tonight....(and some children that STILL wait)

Wow!! How I love watching families UNITE and become ONE at AIRPORT PARTIES!! Yes, around here...we have parties at the airport to CELEBRATE families arriving with their new child/children!! The crowd forms..and there is NOTHING like seeing the siblings RUN to their newly adopted brother/sister coming through the gate!!! It makes me cry EVERY TIME!! So, yes...we were at the airport again this afternoon...I NEVER get tired of it!! This time it was some Dear, Old friends of ours that have had a heart for adoption as long as I can remember!! And, their dream finally became a reality tonight!!

***First, let me show you the picture I couldn't show before!!! I got to visit and meet our friend's new son while I was in Ethiopia in December!! Oh, he was SOOO sweet, friendly, happy and adorable...Here I am holding him:

He loved playing with my hair and never quit smiling!!! Then, right after I got home from my trip, my friends traveled for their court date..then Embassy appt..and TONIGHT THEY ARRIVED HOME: And, here is this sweet family of 5 tonight:They said A.J. did great on the flight....and he was all smiles for the airport party:
Oh, my word..he is precious!!! So, tonight there is ONE LESS child that sits with out a family!! One less child that must go to bed alone!! One less child to make up the growing statistics of orphans around the world!! And ONE happy family that can't quit smiling from ear to ear!!! Praise God!!!
Welcome Home Guys!!! We couldn't be more excited for your adorable family!!! And, welcome to your new family and community little A.J. !!!! You are already loved more than you'll ever know!!

***And, have yall heard the good news??? There is ALMOST another "one less" going on....My younger sister got a court date for her son that she is adopting from Ethiopia....I also got to spend TWO days with my new nephew in December..and he is just beyond precious!!! Oh, how I loved him!!! So, the court date is March 10th....Our family needs the prayer warriors PRAYING... I so want my new nephew to be OFFICIALLY ONE LESS on that day:

(and I won't even mention HOW excited I am that my little sister gets to go and love on my Wes too while she's there...so fun!!)

***So, while we're on a roll here...HOW ABOUT MAKING 3 'MORE' LESS TONIGHT......Since my older sister has put me in charge of her waiting children through Ordinary Hero, I am going to SPOT LIGHT specific children from time to time... So here goes....lets make a few LESS:

****These precious brothers still wait at Hannah's Hope in Ethiopia!! I met them while I was there in December and we took TONS of pics of them. They are about 8 and 4!! They are considered healthy, on target for their age, friendly, sweet and kind. They would make a wonderful addition to someone's family.... two little boys?? at great ages.... Could they be YOURS?? They really were so sweet..the older brother was kind of shy and reserved and really looked out for the younger brother!! Come on folks...I KNOW they have a family out there!! Can yall help me find them??

The above brothers are listed with AGCI : www.allgodschildren.org contact their Inquiry Department, at info@allgodschildren.org or 800-214-6719. I used that agency to bring LL home..and I would highly recommend them. The boys are being well taken care of...they just need a forever home!!

***My next spot light is on another sweet little boy I just met in December!! He is Cutie "M"... M has a very unique story that could be told privately!! He is being sent to school and is learning English and American customs. His time is running out though and he REALLY needs a family to step up for him. He is considered healthy now..but was treated for TB in the past!! I got to talk with his care giver (he has lost both parents) and she said he was very obedient, well behaved, kind and helpful. She said he does everything "the first time asked" and never fusses about anything. She said he would be a very good boy for someone!! I got to play match box cars with him and shared my I Phone with him (which he loved :) He was so sweet and he smiled the entire time. We have lots of pics of him...and I could see him fitting into a family SO EASILY!! He's just adorable.... He's 9 or 10 years old...but he's very small for his age right now!! He appeared much younger than that to me:

He is listed under my agency for Wes: www.celebratechildren.org and you can contact sue@celebratechildren.org to get more info on him and hear his unique story!!! I have really enjoyed using this agency and would recommend them too!! Can you help me find "M" a home???

**thanks everyone!! Lets find these children their forever HOME!! Every child deserves that!! Happy Friday to you all, kj