Prayer Requests...I'm Leavin On A Jet Plane...

Ok, my PEEPS!! It is almost 1am my time here...I've packed and repacked and repacked and weighed again and again!! I think I have my stuff READY!! :) I still have more things to accomplish...so I 'll make this brief!!! My post one minute ago WORKED!!! Thanks Gina!! My friend Gina just taught me HOW to post via EMAIL...so cool!!! I might NOT have that much control over pics while i'm there...but I should be able to get them up none the less...SO STAY TUNED!! I really hope to blog a lot while I'm there!! AND, I'll get to love on my new nephew while I'm there too...so I know my little sis will be on pins and needles waiting for me to give her news of her new son!!! :) OH, I can't wait to get my hands on him!!! :)

***Ok, so thanks Mom for bringing me Chocolate Chip Cookies tonight...soo yummy!!! And, thanks to all my sweet friends for all the wonderful text, emails, phone calls, etc. wishing me a GREAT trip!! I already feel THE PRAYERS...so PLEASE keep them up!! :) Ok, so please pray:

*that traveling across the world goes safely and is uneventful!!

*that my 5 children feel peace with me leaving

*that my hubby feels PATIENCE and PEACE all week with the kids by himself!! :)

* that LL does ok with out me..and that she doesn't reject me when I return!! We've never been apart before..so this will be hard on us both!!

* that my kids have so much fun that they don't miss me at all.

* that I ACTUALLY get to meet LL's birth mom. PRAYING that she's home when we arrive and that we arrive safely!

* that I don't get sick on this trip

*that my children and hubby are healthy and well while I'm gone

*that God guides the meeting with LL's birth mom and that He is glorified by this meeting...

*that God's WILL is done...

* that I'm able to love on and share God's LOVE with as many children of Ethiopia as possible...

*and that I arrive home safely with a BROKEN HEART...I pray that God continues to BREAK MY HEART FOR WHAT BREAKS HIS!!!!

*** I could keep going...there are SO many prayer requests that I could come up with..but I'm so tired right now that I can't even think straight..I've had my coffee and I'm sipping on my 3rd or 4th diet coke..and well...my brain is still shutting down!!

**Hoping my hubby can post for me some too...Look for one of us to update yall in the next day or so!! Thank you a MILLION TIMES OVER for all the love and support you've shown...Looking forward to a GREAT trip...Happy Thursday to you all, kj

testing to see if this works...

ok, i'm testing to see if this works....My mom brought me her famous chocolate chip cookies today to say "good bye" as I head out for Ethiopia tomorrow (really TODAY now..i'm up so late)...testing to see if this works...sending it via email...this is the way I'll probably blog from ET if this works, kj

Oh, I've had fun making these picture books to take with me to Ethiopia IN TWO DAYS!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! Can't believe I'm getting ready to leave....BUT...I took a year and a half of pics and put them into a few picture books to take back with me...and it only took me HOURS to do since I had SO MUCH FUN reminiscing over HOW MUCH LL has changed since we brought her home....

*Here she is at Chic fil a when she had ONLY been home 2 or 3 days:

Here she is ONE MONTH home:
Two MONTHS HOME:
And, ABOUT 3 months home....Gotta LOVE those yummy rolls:
And...NOW HOME 1 and 1/2 years THIS MONTH:
She's a FULL RUNNING 2 Yr. old toddler girl that LOVES me passionately and can throw a dramatic fit better than anyone I know!! It's so cute when she throws herself down that it is hard to ever take her seriously. She LOVES to cry (like above) when she doesn't get her way, then she hits the floor with her hands covering her face and fake cries with the BEST of them!! Just too darn cute!! :)
But she can also put JUST AS MUCH energy into her love, hugs, kisses, dancing, singing talking, and all about spunk around our home!! I just happen to think she's (along with my other 4 babies) amazingly perfect!!! :) AND, while I'm in Ethiopia visiting with this beautiful child's birth mom....LL will be back home celebrating her 1 1/2 yr. HOME anniversary!!! Can't believe its been that long...AND..I can't imagine LEAVING her in two days!! We've NEVER been apart since she's been home..so I KNOW this will be a shocker for the both of us!! I'll be sure to post LOTS of prayer requests tomorrow night...so check back in with us BEFORE I head out on friday!!! :)

**And, THANKS so much for all the GREAT ideas in the last post...You guys seriously gave me so many questions and ideas that I had never thought of yet!! I truly appreciate each and everyone of you guys taking the time to comment!!! Oh, and ONE last pic:

*This is what it has been doing around here:

My kiddos have had so much fun out in the "dusting" of snow:

It has been unusually cold for our part of the world...Highs in the 20's and low 3o's every day!! Won't 72 degrees and sunny feel fab this ENTIRE next week?? Definitely excited to be flying towards warm weather!! :) I'll try to get ONE more post in before we fly out...so stay tuned...and Happy Wednesday to you all, kj

Funny/Random Pics...AND A QUESTION FOR YOU!!!!!!

Just had to share out "visit" with Santa pic with all yall...Our neighborhood always has Santa stop in ONE Saturday morning in December...and this past Saturday was the day:

Check out LL's expression when she saw Santa coming:
She did NOT like the big guy in a red suit AT ALL!! She wouldn't get anywhere near him....so funny!!! Then, I found these pics on my camera...obviously a child in the back seat took my camera out of the bag and snapped a few pics of LL while we drove down the road:Yes, she has Personality with a capital "P"!!! :)

Ok, one more thing...Jules (my MIL) surprised us after church on Sunday with an EARLY Christmas present.....My MIL likes to paint...and she does QUITE well....Look what she brought us:

LOVE IT!!!! Isn't it GREAT!!! I'll cherish this forever Jules..I know it took you forever...thanks SO much for doing this!! I had no idea you were working on this:

(fyi..Jules painted this pic from our visit to Seaside last Spring Break...so awesome!!) Thanks SO MUCH Jules!!

**Ok, so MY QUESTION FOR YOU ALL:

I'm writing down questions I want to ask LL's birth mom!! I'm so afraid I'm going to miss asking something important!! IF you've had a birth parent meeting before...OR if you WISHED you'd had one...or IF you've just thought about it before...OR maybe you are an adopted child yourself......WHAT WOULD YOU ASK...OR...WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE ASKED THAT YOU FORGOT?? (you can leave this in my comment box if you want and I'll make a list to take with me)

**Also...what (besides pictures) do you think should go in this album I'm giving her?? Obviously it will be full of pictures over the past year and a half...but...I thought about a little curl of LL's...but the hubby thought that was weird!! :) My sister suggested a hand print of LL's?? I'm obviously NOT giving gifts and such (not breaking any laws here, so no worries) BUT didn't want to miss putting something in her photo book that would MEAN a lot to her!! So, I'd appreciate any suggestions there too!!! :)

**Ok, my peeps!!! I leave in 4 days!! My big sis is counting it down on the OH site too!! :) Check it out: www.ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com One minute I'm really nervous and sad that I'm leaving..and the next I'm very excited about ALL that is going to unfold on this trip!! My 7 yr. old, Julia, seems to be having the hardest time with me leaving...Last night she was full of tears going to bed...but tonight she seemed a little more excited about it all...SO THANKS for the prayers so far..I feel God's PEACE all around us!! :)

**That's all I've got!! :) Staying up late working on albums tonight...Picked up a gazillion pics from Costco today!! Wow, HOW do I express my thanks and appreciation in PICTURES for the LIFE she has given us!! Gotta get to work!! :) Happy Monday to you all, kj

One Less...New Video by AGCI

So, this morning, Matthew West came and spoke to our Sunday School class at our church. I SO wanted to be there to THANK HIM for writing this song "One Less"...but...the hubby was teaching 3rd grade Sunday School..and well...we still haven't put LL in a nursery (or anywhere with out us for that matter...ok, call us crazy...it's been a year and a half since she's been home...I know it's about time...but I haven't gotten up the courage to leave her anywhere yet :) ANYWAYS... I love THIS song he wrote...AND...AGCI (our agency for Lucy lane) got permission to use this song for a new video they JUST came out with...SO, check it out and see if you spy my sweet LL ......And, HELLO...PEOPLE...I leave in 5 days (friday)....ahhhhhhhhh (that's me screaming :) I can't believe it... BUT for now....enjoy this cute video..with some really cute kiddos...put to a GREAT song..(you'll want to pause my music at the bottom of my page )and Happy Sunday to you all, kj

Faces of Adoption from Videos for AGCI on Vimeo.

Another Flitterbug...and Christmas Came Early...

I just have to show yall ANOTHER Flitterbug dress that Julie sent me....Oh, MY!!!! I love it SOOOO!!!!
Julie, I can't thank you enough for this one....I could never in a million years put fabrics together..but Julie can just whip it out...
LL loved her new little dress...and I took the two littles up to each lunch at school with the 3 bigs today....and everyone there LOVED her little Christmas dress....
I know we will be putting this little dress and her OTHER Flitterbug outfit to GOOD use this season....Thanks Julie for making my baby girl so fashionable this Christmas season!! :) (and fyi..yall can own a Flitterbugs outfit too...all proceeds goes towards her adoption www.flitterbugs.blogspot.com )
Then Christmas arrived early at my house tonight (and yes, LL wasn't wearing a shirt...she had JUST had dinner and had spilled stuff all over her so I took it off :)
Can yall believe someone actually sent my 5 children this box of presents tonight?? Yes, they really did...and they aren't even related to us!! LOL My kids about passed out when this box arrived, they opened it and found out that one of LL's friends sent it to them....

LL thought her doll looked just like her...

LL was a tad bit excited...She loved her new doll and dragged the box around until someone would open it for her.....And, here she is being VERY silly...She covers her nose now when I try to wipe her "runny" nose:

Baby 'Lucy Lane' is out of the box (that is what she was calling her) Check out their hair...don't they look alike...And seriously, have yall ever seen such tight coiled little curls on a child before?? Every where we go, people feel the urge to grab those little worm like curls and stretch them to see them POP back into exact place!! So funny...I sooo LOVE her curls!!!!Ok, Lucy Lane....blow a kiss and thank everyone for your awesome treats you received today:
Gotta LOVE those lips!! And, seriously...we are SO undeserving of the kindness we receive...JUST KNOW we are VERY grateful and humbled by people's generosity...Completely blows my mind!!! :)

***That's ALL for this friday night...My kids are IN HEAVEN playing with their new unexpected toys....It sure made for GREAT entertainment on this friday night when we had nothing planned :) Thanks again Flitterbug and Kristy and Little Joselyn!! Yall are WAY too good to us,

Happy Friday to you all, kj

In Her Name...The Project Is Complete...

If you read my blog this summer then you may have read this post: IN HER NAME !! It was a post about the fact that my hubby and I decided that we'd put a water well in Ethiopia to try and give back to this ONE country that gave us the world: Our daughter!!! When we were saving and trying to come up with the money for this well....It came to me that we should dedicate this well in Lucy Lane Martha's birth mom's name!! (you can read more about that by reading the first post linked above) I NEVER dreamed when we did this that I'd actually be GOING TO MEET THIS WOMAN IN THIS SAME YEAR!! God really blows my mind with HIS Goodness!!

So.......I'm just about ONE WEEK out from boarding a plane to go and meet this incredibly brave young Ethiopian woman that gave life to my precious daughter..and TODAY...I was sent the FINAL PICTURES of a COMPLETED WATER WELL PROJECT!!! It brought tears to my eyes to see this project COMPLETE and IN FULL USE in my daughter's country!!! FYI: We used LifeSong For Orphans to put our water well in. They have a school and feeding program in Ziway, Ethiopia and they were looking to put a water well in for the children there at their school!!!

And, because of Lucy Lane's birth mom and her selfless act of love..and because of that thing called "adoption"...we now HOLD a GREAT LOVE for a country that we would have other wise known NOTHING about....

* Here are the pics that LifeSong for Orphans sent me TODAY: Notice above the tiny little arrow.....It is pointing to the door on the water well....and on that door there in Ziway, Ethiopia...there is a PLAQUE....and the plaque reads:Oh, it brought tears to my eyes to read that!!! And, here is the "hand dug" well inside that little block house:**And, now I will add these pics to the GIANT album of pictures I'm taking to LLM's birth mom at the end of NEXT WEEK...So, now she too can know that BECAUSE of her...an entire school yard of children will drink FRESH water today..and every day here after!!!

**Thank you LifeSong for making this all happen!! It is a vision and dream my hubby and I had....come to LIFE!!! :) We truly appreciate all your organization is doing for the children of Ethiopia!!

Happy Wednesday to you all, kj