Dear Franceska

Hi sweet baby wherever you are on this last day of 2007. I would really like to think that you are already born and somewhere in China. My prayers are that your birth mother is doing well physically and emotionally, I don't know if I could ever in my life be as brave as she has been, I pray that she has been excepted back into the arms of her family, I pray that she knows that there is a God who loves her no matter where her life may lead her, and last I truly pray from the very depths of my heart that somewhow she will find peace knowing that the baby she left somewhere is going to be loved and taken care of like she could never have imagined. And that she knows that there is a Mommy, Daddy, brothers , sisters, aunts, uncles ,grandparents , cousins and lots and lots of friends all over the place, that will be forever grateful to her for giving us this precious gift. I want her to know that although you were born from beneath her heart , your were born from within my heart and that I already love you unconditionally and will cherish you until the day even after forever!!

My prayers for you is that wherever you are that you know how loved you already are and that we want to have you home so bad it hurts sometimes, I walk into your room and can almost imagine you standing up in your bed with your arms out to me calling "Mommy"!! I can't wait to just see you,to smell you, and to touch you. I daydream all of the time what exactly you will look like , if you will love me right away or not, I wonder if you will take to your daddy first since he looks a little asian even though he is not???? I pray that you learn right away that we are your mommy and daddy and that you can trust us completely. I know that you will just be flooded with love from your sisters and brothers and everyone else, and I also know that you are going to flourish in all of that love.

I pray that you make it home in time so that your Nonny which is my momma will still know enough to know that you are Franceska and that you are finally home!!!!! Little girl you are already the air that we breathe, it is you that is our inspiration to be healthy and to love life so we can be there to watch you grow up. We love you so much our sweet babygirl, we will be there soon to bring you home, it is all in God's plan and it is his timeline but I know that it will be 2008 that we become a forever family and a complete family. You are our HEART!! Happy New Year sweet girl, we love you.

Blessings, Blessings, and Blessings!!!

Hi everyone!!!! I pray that all of your Christmas's were blessed and as you dreamed them to be. Ours was great, all of our kids except Craig and Kellie were home and we missed them so, so, much. And of course our little Franceska , but hopefully she will be here next year, I can't imagine going a fourth Christmas without her!!!!

Steven was home from Iraq which proved that God does listen and that he loves us very much. Christmas was awesome!!!!


BUT I HAVE EVEN GREATER NEWS!!!!!! Steven will be home for good sometimes in the very near future, I hope soon because him and Nonny have a birthday coming up! Praise and Thank God!!!!! I am so excited that I could just pee in my pants!!!! God is so good to us and we are all so thankful.

I know that this is going to sound quite odd, but with Steven being gone and not knowing when Franceska will be coming home, I always feel a little disorganized and out of sorts so to speak, but knowing for sure that Steven will finally be coming home and staying home, it seems that a little bit of organization will be put back into our lives. Sort of like one down , one more to go!!! Does that make any sense at all to any of you??? Maybe it is just my OCD coming out , but whatever it is, it makes me feel a little better. It is PROGRESS and I will take it in any way I can. Thanks for listening to me ramble on.

My prayers for all of you are a very blessed 2008, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS AND MAY WE BRING OUR BABY'S HOME ALOT MORE SOONER THAN LATER!!!!

LOVE TO ALL!!!

Well we made it to #20!!!

Today is our 20th month of being logged in . I can't believe the wait has gotten so long and that we STILL have a while longer. But the thing I really can't believe is that I have not lost my mind while waiting for our baby.

I really try everyday to keep in mind that though I may be unable to change this situation, I still have control over how I will respond , I try to take a deep breath everyday and remember that while God makes us wait I have to be willing to listen for the lesson that he is trying to teach me. And through this process I do believe I have learned more patience and I really pray that I have gained more wisdom about life in general. God does not put us through anything good or bad just for the heck of it, there is always something that he wants us to learn, and I pray I am doing right by him, for I know the plans he has for us are far greater than we could ever anticipate. And I know he has the perfect babygirl for us and when he is ready for her to come home , she will.

PRAISE GOD!!! LOOK AT OUR SURPRISE!!!

Hi everyone, SURPRISE!!!! Look how good God is to us. I will never know what I have ever done to deserve the way the Lord above loves me , there is nothing I could ever do or say to be worthy of this great love, our God is an awesome God!!

STEVEN IS HOME UNTIL THE 27TH OF DECEMBER!!!!! HE CAME HOME LAST TUESDAY and Christopher, Chas, Megan, Frank and I and also a co worker of Chas's was there to meet him. It was incredible to see him , when I saw him I screamed loud like an idiot, and I know he was thinking: "Mom , Mom , Mom"!!!!! Why so loud!!!! I don't care it was awesome, there is nothing a parent can say to explain what it feels like to see their child come home, I can't even type about it without crying , I love him so much!!!! Thank you God.

This is going to be a long post because there is so much I want to share with all of you so here it goes. I'm so happy!!!!

Here is Astrud's surprise at school!!

We went to the high school , well actually there was an entire entourage to surprise Astrud at lunch, and then we went to the elementary to surprise Jade where they called her into the principals office and you will see on the pic that she is scared to death since she has never been in there before, and then we went to the primary to surprise Lily, and earlier that morning the surprise was for Rayn , and my momma and daddy (nonny and poppy). My momma is in the middle stages of Alzheimers and cries alot because Bubba is gone to Iraq since she really can't rationalize things and let me tell you she was so excited as all of us were. It was all priceless and there was lots of tears and phones ringing in La Vernia,you can even see my daddy in the background all choked up, we are so blessed. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I wish I knew how to put the actual movies on this thing but the pictures tell quite a story.

Joshua and Rayn see Santa!!!

My sister Kerry, my DIL Amy ,and myself took Joshua and Rayn to see Santa and afterwards we went to Build-a-Bear, and we had so much fun!!!

Our Princess turns 30!!!!!

Sunday Chastity turned 30 years old!!! On Saturday we had a party for her and here are some pictures that I would like to share with all of you. Chastity Brooke we are all so proud of the kind of woman you have become, we love you so, so, very much. We are so proud of your relationship with your Father in Heaven, the way you have learned to trust in him and how you are learning to LET GO AND LET GOD!!!!! You are a beautiful woman, keep praying, keep dreaming , keep believing in yourself and know that you too one day soon will find your Prince, and always remember how much WE LOVE YOU!!!

LADYBUG'S ,LADYBUG'S AND MORE LADYBUG'S!!

Yesterday Frank and Christopher were outside putting up Christmas lights and there were ladybugs everywhere and I mean everywhere. I know this is not a very good picture since the little critters will not pose for the camera but even when I was trying to take pictures they were crawling and flying all over me!!! On my nose , all over my clothes just everywhere!!! I had to laugh because when I walked outside my son Christopher said to me, "I never knew I was such a Ladies man"!!!!! Maybe it is a sign that things are gonna start speeding up!!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!

Franceska's Special gift!

My three older children Chastity, Christopher and Craig's mother Stacye gave Franceska this bible on Saturday night. This gift really touched my heart in a way that words cannot express. This lady completely excepts her childrens love for me and the love I have for them also. She makes sure that I know they are "MY" kids too!!!! When I met my husband it was like a gift to me that he had children because I wanted lots of them , although the road has not always been an easy one, thru the last 13 years or so , we have became a true family. I love my kids and they love me and they also have a great Mom that they love so much, and I really think that the blessings are very many because not many people can have this kind of relationship. Steven and Astrud love Stacye also , so we all share these kiddos and I look forward to sharing Franceska with her also. Thank you Stacye for this precious gift , it means so much to me.

Our weekend with the Gray's!!

Rick,Amy,Garett,Kyndall and Zane
Silly Kids!!!
Amy, Me, and Kerry
Aunt Kim and Zane reading!
Frank and Zane being silly!!


Last weekend Amy, Rick, Garett, Kyndall (Lauren), and Zane came home from Virginia for Thanksgiving and we got to spend the whole day with them on Saturday!!!! The kids have all grown so much, but all of our kids just resumed where they left off over a year and a half ago, it was great!!!!! And God willing Rick will retire from the military and they will be home for good this summer, hopefully in time to bring Franceska home!!!! Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy them!!!

I'm Back!!!!

Hi everybody, after several CT scans and x-rays, enemas, gross drinks that taste like glue, I think my "pooper" is going to start working correctly. This has just sucked!!!!! But I think I am on my way to total recovery and I am so glad to be back blogging. Thank you for all of your well wishes, I can't wait to connect with all of you again. Love and blessings to all of you.