OH, How I LOVE Me Some Adoption Showers!!!! :)

How about an adoption shower to kick off the Mother's Day weekend!! :) There is nothing I love more than celebrating children coming home to their forever families..and entertaining..and well, add those two together..and it was a perfect way to spend my Mother's Day weekend!! :) Above, is my sweet friend Gwen WHO we were celebrating today...She will be leaving soon to pick up her two Ugandan cuties, Joseph and Daisy!! This will take this Momma from 4 to 6 children...and well..that is all the reason we needed to celebrate and throw a party for her!! :)

I loved more than anything the MANY faces of adoption that were running around my home...such a beautiful sight!!! I also had everyone wear their http://www.147millionorphans.com/ gear to surprise Gwen!! It was awesome to see everyone walking in with their different 147 gear on...so fun..and yes, Gwen loved it!! :) Above: a picture of foster care adoption...He was 3 when he was adopted by his momma in pink!!

I had my normal table ready with yummy food (yes, feeding people is one of my favorite things to do :)

Another face of adoption..Macy was a domestic local adoption!! (oh, and my friend Karen in orange was adopted herself...so that counts too :)

above, the face of China adoption....

Gwen showing us her latest article in a local magazine...Yes, Gwen and Suzanne are always in the news or in the paper or magazines or being asked to talk, etc. etc....it is so cool to watch their 147millionorphan business TAKE OFF like it has...Praise God!!

Everyone hanging out in their GEAR!!! :)

Books filled with pics of Joseph and Daisy....(and a Ugandan quiz, of course....thanks Holly for coming up with that :)

Another beautiful face of adoption........

Another beautiful face of adoption...........

If you look across the table....another adorable face of adoption..............

another beautiful face of adoption........

The cupcakes were a hit with all the little ones :)

The cake wasn't their best creation...but it did the trick!! :)

Daisy's were on the table to celebrate Gwen's sweet Daisy coming home soon!! :)

Suzanne entered with a massive gang!!! (all in their 147 gear :)

Pics of Joseph and Daisy were everywhere!!

Tracy, above, the new mom to 7 was present!! :)

Gwen had tons of friends stop by...which isn't surprising since she is loved by everyone in town :)

All 4 of these Momma's above have adopted!!

Gwen and Suzanne...13 children between these two women!! wow!!

LL was sporting her shirt today too....Here we are showing off our new shirts!!

We attempted to get a few pics of everyone in their gear...but people were coming and going in shifts..so it was hard to catch everyone...but we tried!! :)

My kids ran around having fun with all the kids that came...LL never left my hip..well, except to eat everything she could get her hands on !!! :)
I think her favorite was the chocolate cupcake with pink icing!!! Don't ya think?? :)

**What a fun day!! I feel so blessed to always be surrounded by SO many women that "get it" and inspire me each and every day!! I feel so honored to be able to organize this day for Gwen!! I can't imagine anyone more deserving than Gwen to be showered with Gifts for her new little loves entering her life!! Praising God for each and every one of you walking this CRAZY life with me!! :) Happy Mother's Day Gwen...and Happy Mother's Day to all you incredible mommas out there!! :)

and happy Saturday to you all, kj

Oh, She's So Yummy!!!!!!

Yes, she's super YUMMY...even when found in the butter!!!! :) The butter just makes her that much yummier!! LOL This pic, above, is EXACTLY how i found her yesterday!! The camera was literally sitting in front of her, so I just had to grab it and SNAP!!

I had left the butter out after making my 5 little people breakfast...and well..she managed to push up a stool, open the top..and dig right in!!!!!

She liked to show me HOW she could put the top back on.....

then would quickly take it off again and take a good handful out!!! (yuck, i know :)

Oh, this girl is a smart little cookie!! She's into stuff ALL DAY!! I've had messy kids, neater kids....well, LL is a "into everything" type of kid!!! :) She pushes that stool around and can get to ANYTHING she sets her mind to.......

Yummmmmmmy, butter kisses!!!! :)

" Oh, wait...Mom looks like she's coming to take it away from me......just one more fast bite before my prize is stolen away from me.............."

***Yes, my girl is completely nutty!! She cracks us up ALL THE TIME STILL!! Her other latest trick: I put her in her bed (pack n play) to take a nap or go to bed for the night...then...wham...a loud THUD...and here she comes running right behind me with a big smile on her face!! She's a climber!!! :)

****I pray you all are lucky enough to find a little brown, naked baby in your butter some day!! :) Happy Wednesday to you all, kj

The Clean Up is Underway...(and some Shout Outs)

Yes, we had a tiny bit of clean up at our home...but NOTHING compared to the devastation in our neighboring areas in Nashville....I've heard nothing but story after story for days now of families that lost everything...AND had no flood insurance!! They are saying this type of rain and flooding comes ONLY ONCE EVERY 1,000 years!!! Crazy!! Our kids LOVED helping Daddy shovel rocks...They were so tired of being inside that they were jumping at any chance to run out back in the rain to help!!! The two babies and I hung out and watched from the house :) Daddy did end up taking them for a walk around the neighborhood IN THE RAIN...and 3 yr. old George joined them on that adventure and had quite some fun in the flowing rain!!! :) LL and I thought they were nuts as they walked back in the house soaking wet!! :)

Well, you feel helpless in situations like this...cause you just want to help those hurting...but WHAT can i really do with 5 young children in tow at all times!! Well, I thought about it...and then a friend gave me a great idea......I put a laundry basket out in the middle of the kitchen floor and told the kids to fill it with their toys!! I told them we were going to give it away to the kids that lost everything in the flood!!! We also gathered a few blankets...and hit the local Target on our way out of town too....WE bought new socks and such......AND DROVE STRAIGHT DOWN TO ONE OF THE EVACUATION RESCUE CENTERS!!! The kids had no idea what we were going to see or do....(and really...i didn't either)....but, we pulled up at one of the local colleges that was housing a couple of hundred evacuees!! The kids helped carry everything in (as I carried two sleeping babies that fell asleep on the way there :) AND THEIR EYES WERE LIKE DEER IN HEADLIGHTS when we turned the corner and saw the hundreds of sleeping people on tiny little cots!! The cots were lined up in rows..one after another in a huge gymnasium room. They saw children playing and the Red Cross keeping it all organized!! The toys were taken straight into where the children were...and a little Red Cross lady came over to thank my kids and take the rest of the things from them!! My 6 yr. old Julia looked at her and said, "Why are they all sleeping in the middle of the day?" She explained that they were all tired from having a rough and traumatic couple of days...

I do think it made a lasting impression on the kids...I sooo wanted to take pics inside with all the people sleeping and my kids handing over their toys.....but it just didn't feel right!! I couldn't possibly take pics of THEIR DEVASTATION to glorify myself on my blog...so, you'll just have to trust me on this one....the kids were precious giving their toys away AND a great lesson was learned here which is all that matters!! :) (pictured above were the trucks outside full of different volunteers helping out..and I got one pic inside with some cots where people were divided out whether or not they had kids with them)

***So, no I didn't really feel like I helped AT ALL in comparison to all the disaster areas around town...but I keep hearing of HOW much help and volunteers are pouring into these neighborhoods and it makes me so grateful to live in America where HELP is just a minute away...where entire churches come together to help out people and neighborhoods in need.....These people will be back on their feet before too long...but i'm sure the kindness of these strangers coming into their neighborhoods and helping them WILL LAST A LIFE TIME!!!

****Now, some shout outs!!!!!!! :

1. The O'Leary Family from www.fromgodtoghana.blogspot.com let me know their adopting from Ghana....They are selling some awesome shirts...front:back: They also have a fabulous daughter with a big heart for the orphan that is also selling a tshirt to help "feed" the orphans while on their trip...You can visit their blog to read more about it...sounds like a great family mission!!!

2. Also, I received an email from the Reeves Family letting me know about their amazingly, beautiful crosses they are raffling off....The hubby actually makes these crosses...and they are certainly one of a kind:

You can check them out at : www.reevesfamily-fun.blogspot.com

***That's all the energy i have for the night :) I found LL in the Country Crock Butter tonight....I had left it out on the counter...and the girl figured out how to push a stool around and climb up to reach anything she wants :) Pictures to come soon :) Happy Tuesday to you all, kj

The Flood Of the Century....Wow...

Wow....the rain just won't stop in the Nashville area...Amazing amounts of rain!!! We've been stuck inside for two days doing LOTS of this: We live on a hillside, so we're safe...but our poor little community is completely flooded...Flooded in a way that this area HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE!!! Power outages everywhere...lots of homes around us don't have water....homes evacuated....We just weren't ready for this much rain...CRAZY!!! The news is filled around the clock with stranded motorists, water rescues, tornado warnings, and sadly even local deaths!! :(

We've had a constant water fall coming off our back yard....for two days........

The road in front of our house is a flowing river with mud and rocks at all times.......

Our back yard is just pouring water off its hillside..............We've watched and watched from the windows....we've played every craft in the house, watched every movie and every tv show we can find, played hide and go seek, ball and freeze tag until we're bored out of our minds....You see...we're an active family...It is hard on us to stay home this many days in a row.....So.....

We finally unleashed our wild animals and told them to GO FOR IT:

Memories to last a life time for an 8, 6 and 5 year old.............

LL was napping and my sweet George wasn't about to go out and get wet with his big siblings:

He stayed close to his Momma...but he did disappear inside and reappeared with his rain boots...Cutie boy!

***Enjoy a few more pics from around our local neighborhood:

Below is the park where our AFrican Fellowship was held last Sunday....Glad it wasn't THIS Sunday: Yikes..........

My sister Kelly likes a little adventure...She's been out with her kids snappin pics:

She caught this car stranded....You can see, below, her son DOWN in the action...Crazy Cam!! He's in the red shirt havin the time of his life....My nephews are nuts!! :) (you know..in a good way :)

Here's our local YMCA...this is about a mile down the road from me....crazy....

Our interstates are all shut down (obviously so from the picture above)

*** I found this news clip on my sister's face book page...crazy stuff:

***And, it is STILL raining!!! Hope you all keep dry...I'm kind of liking the fact that we live on a hill now... Praying for all those effected in our area......

Happy Sunday to you all, kj