Oh how things can change

Hi everybody. oh how things can change..... I am sitting here at 12:22 a.m. knowing that sometime in the last half hour my son has boarded a plane in Iraq and is on his way to a base back in the U.S.A. But I have to tell all of you that this has been a very very hard evening and I am speaking to you with such a heavy heart.

I live in a small town, the same small town that my father, grandfather, myself and so on all grew up in and it might not be the same really little town that I grew up in but for the most part it still has that closeness and such. Well this afternoon my good friend Lisa called and asked me if Frank was home yet. You see she has a scanner and heard that there had been an accident on Hwy. 87, which is the highway that runs thru La Vernia and goes thru San Antonio. She said that the highway had been completely shut down because a big gravel truck had hit another. Well living in a small area you are always afraid of who it is and very prayerful that everyone is ok. Well this time they were not. Our friends Tessie and Colby's son Alex which is 17 had been killed in this horrible accident. Alex was an awesome kid. It will be a very sleepless night, I hurt to the point of almost vomiting for this family. There are just no words. I plead with each of you to please say a prayer for this family. Their other son's name is Hayden and he is in the 6th grade. Tessie just buried her Daddy last week.

CAN I SHARE SOME REALLY PERSONAL THINGS WITH YOU?????

I have had alot of unexpected death in my life. In high school and up to three years after I buried 7 friends. One was lymphoma and the rest were accidents. The hardest of all was my cousin Christopher. We were Kristy Friederick and Christopher Friederick, I was 92 days older than him and we were going to conquer the world together. We were two peas in a pod. I was 18 he was 17 , on a sunday he was working , fell thru a roof, landed head first on the tailgate of a showroom vehicle and in a split second he left me and the world. In August it will be 22 years ago and although the hurt really really eases, it just never goes away. I miss him and think about him every single day of my life.

Then in 1993, on the very day that I laid eyes on my baby Astrud for the very first time , she was 9 months old and my heartbreaking years of infertility had eased up a bit because God had given this beautiful little creature to me through adoption and I felt like my lifes dream had just granted. But you see 3 weeks before that one of my best friends had given birth to her second child Colton. Robin and I had such a special bond, her first child Kelsey was 3 and it had taken Robin 10 years to get pregnant with her, and now we had Colton. We were all family, Kelsey was kind of like my mom and dad's "first" grandchild. Well on this wonderful day as I was meeting my daughter, in the middle of it I get a frantic phone call telling me that Robin had collapsed in the doctors office while trying to get a urine sample from Kelsey because she had been sick. Robin died. She was 26 years old, her and John had been together since jr. high, Kelsey was 3, Colton was 3 weeks old, she had a pulmonary embolism, that killed her instantly, in the locked restroom with Kelsey. On the day of my baby shower, I had to take Robins's clothes to the funeral home.

Back in 2000, my grandfather, both of my grandmothers and an uncle all passed away within 16 weeks of each other. My granny and my grandma died exactly a month apart.

Then the first time Steven went to Iraq , I can't even remember where I went online but I left a comment out there somewhere asking if there were any mothers in the same boat as me and there was. Her name is Kelly and she reached out to me thru email. Her son Robby was a marine and was headed back to Afghanistan for the second time. She kind of tucked me under her wing and protected me and "taught" me the ropes. We kept in touch , she lived in Houston and I really felt a connection to her. Well one week before Steven was due to come home from Iraq after a year, I was having an anxious night , couldn't sleep , so I thought I would get online. I checked my email and she had emailed me to tell me that Robby's unit had been ambushed and that he had been killed. Again I just sat at my computer with no words. So on the day that our entire family went to Waco for the homecoming of 3000 plus soldiers , afterwards Frank and I headed for Houston for Robby's funeral as Steven and everyone else headed home. I can't even begin to explain what "Survivors Guilt" feels like. This woman had been such a godsend to me and here I was in a funeral home less than 24 hours after I had welcomed my son home, as she was burying hers. It's so confusing to be so happy and thankful but sad , oh so sad at the same time.

Just like today as me and the girls were outside taking pictures in front of Stevens sign so all of you could see us being giddy about him coming home, and as I was taking pictures of Astrud, Rayn and Emily doing flips on the trampoline for all of you to see and as I was taking pictures of the "Neighborhood " dog , "Trace" for Pugmama to see because he is huge, Tessa was being told that her son had died in this accident.

You are probably wondering why I am telling you all of this stuff? I don't know maybe it is therapy, maybe I am just sad and all of you are who I want to talk to. I do know that I am grown up enough and my walk with my God is so inspirational that I know better than to think that I am jinxed. I know that with every circumstance there is a lesson to learn, heck your lesson might be to not be my friend, I'd be scared to!!! But even having had all of this I still feel like one of the most blessed people walking on earth. The lesson that I seem to keep learning over and over again is that life is short, never take it for granted, love your loved ones hard, love them everyday, cherish your children, your spouse, your "everybody", and most of all love your God because we never know when he going to take us home. If you are still reading this and have endured all of it , I thank you from the very depths of my heart and soul. I really needed this and you listened. Again please keep Tessa and her family in your prayers. I sincerely wish I knew all of you face to face so I could hug all of you and tell you how each of you have touched my life. God bless.

Love, Kristy

OMG! OMG! OMG!

OK I can't stand it ANYMORE!!!! My heart and my stomach and everything else left inside is just busting at the seams, jumping up and down!!!! I'm trying not to pee in my pants because I am so excited because YOU KNOW WHO will be on HIS way back to AMERICA on friday night!!!!! Because of the security thing , I can't use YOU KNOW WHO'S name, but in like 10 days or so we will see his face, be able to touch him , smell him and love him from inches away not 1000's of miles away, and all of you mothers must know exactly what I am talking about. I love this PERSON so deeply and cherish the thought of HIM being home on US SOIL!!!!! By Sunday HE should be somewhere in the Good ole USA!!! My insides are doing what that kitty is doing right now at this very moment, I CAN'T STAND IT!!!!!! ALL THE GLORY GOES TO GOD, I will never ever know what I have ever done in my life to deserve all of this grace from him, not once but twice!!!!! OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!!! Thank you , Thank you , Thank you for all of your prayers!!!!!

Can someone help me!!!

Ok my heiny is numb from sitting at my computer all day trying to put everything lost back on my blog!!! I had a NeoCounter on my blog and I just can't seem to find the website???? I went to Neocounter.com, but I don't know where to go from there? I have clicked on everything you can imagine. Can anyone help me out?

Thank you, Kristy
THANK YOU NANCY AND MOMMY 2 4 TREASURES, I GOT IT!!!!

ATTENTION EVERYBODY!!!!!

OK I HAVE LOST MY SENSE OF HUMOR AND I AM IRRITATED ALL TO HELL!!! ASTRUD AND I WERE DOING SOME CHANGES TO MY BLOG AND MY ENTIRE SIDEBAR WAS LOST!!! DON'T ASK???!!! CAN ALL OF YOU PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT SO I WILL BE ABLE TO PUT YOU BACK ON MY BLOGROLL!!!! AND AS I AM ADDING ON IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR BLOG PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!! IT IS GOING TO TAKE A FEW DAYS TO GET AL OF THIS CORRECTED, AND PLEASE PRAY FOR MY COMPUTERS SAFETY!!!!!

THANK YOU KIMBERLY!!!

Kimberly from Seventh Diamond gave about 40 of us this award for helping with STARFISH .
I appreciate it very much , all I did was go and buy a few things , but you have done so much more. Kimberly YOU deserve this most of all!!!!!

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING!!!

I think what Pug Mama and all of us bloggers have done by grabbing hands and holding on tight is a "BEAUTIFUL THING"!!!

You know how everyone always says that there is a reason for everything. Well I really feel that part of the reason we are waiting so long for our babies, is #1 for all of us to do exactly what we are doing! Getting to know each other, learning to lean on each other, learning to love each other as though we are a "FAMILY", because we will be linked to each other forever!!! And #2 is so we can learn as much as we can from all of those who have already become a "FOREVER FAMILY"! The way we share with each other is just beautiful to me. So I would like to salute all of you, a world of happiness has been sent my way through your friendship, let's keep this good stuff going!!!!

I heard about this on the "VIEW"

This is "WEI", and I heard about this on The View this morning. Whoopi and Sherri went to the Toy Fair in New York and this company caught my eye. It is Adoptable Kinders. There is a doll for every letter in the alphabet. (boys and girls).And Wei looks a little chinese to me. I just wanted to share this with all of you, I think they are so cute. And they are all made in the U.S.A. and the doll and its clothes are all washable.

Ok about the new JOB!!!

Ok about the new job. Remember back several post when I said I was going to sub for a friend and I was going to be with 8 - 3 year olds. Well the Methodist church in my hometown has a very large , very successful Mothers Day out and Pre-K program. My friend Kathy a girl I grew up with is pregnant with her 3rd child and is due at the end of April and one day she asked me if I would do her maternity leave. Well before I go any further I have to be really honest and tell all of you that I have always had some kind of aversion to working in that field. Where I come from , we put 'em to sleep and fix'em!!! ( I worked in the O.R.) . I love children , I need children in my life but I just never wanted to work in daycare, pre-k, preschool, mothers day out, anything like that. I always admired the people who did , but I always felt it was not for me.

Well apparently God had other plans because he just kept putting this thing out there for me to think about and on thursday I decided to commit myself from May all the way to the end of August. I will work Monday -Wednesday, 8:30-4:00 , and Thursday till 2:30. I will have 18- 3 year olds, having at least 8 everyday that I am there. And I might add that I have already gotten attached to the majority of them, it seems as if they are thereapy for me or something because I have such a sense of calm about me that I just can't explain.And the reasons for taking this job, you ask??? First of all, we could use the extra money for our China travel, Second, I am hoping that it will be a very constructive way of passing the time during the wait that seems to be really hard at times. And I know there are some friends and relatives thinking, what about the lake?? Well it is so laid back that I can get a sub any time I need one. It just seems like a no brainer to me. If I went back to the OR , all of them are 45 to 60 minutes away and my gas bill would eat up my paycheck!!! And to top it all off , Astrud can rack up some community service hours by helping out a few days a week. So there you have it! And if you wondering what the picture means, well this Saturday all of us had a 5 hour training Education seminar and the minute I sat down this was the first document in our booklet!!!! My friend Kathy and I just looked at each other and I said; THAT'S A GOD WINK!!!!!

3 Words Sunday.......

Sweet Melissa (no linky) Came up with the great idea to do the '3 words' as GMA does each week. My pilfered description: Sum up your week in three little words. "You can sing it, you can say it, you can write it, you can draw it. It can be funny or sad or poignant...as long as it is honest."

Franceska got more bows!!!

We got these in the mail yesterday from Carla and Katie, can you see how the little one looks just like a Bumble bee!!!! They are precious and I love them just like I love all of the bows I have received in this Bow Swap. It really makes you feel good when you get something given to you for your baby that you are so desperately waiting to meet. It just helps you realize that it is going to happen. Thank you again all of you who had my name in the swap, I love every bow I received. Go look how precious Katie is! God bless.

Just something I wanted to post!!

This is an email I received and I just really felt like posting it on my blog. And I have gotten all of this courage from Rony and PugMama!!! At least one of them at a time or two have posted things on their blog and simply said that it is "MY" blog and I am gona post it. I don't expect all of you to agree with me , nor am I asking for debate, this is just something that I happen to agree with so here goes:

Subj: Spoiled American by Jay Leno: Even if perhaps Jay Leno did not say this , I still agree with it!!!


I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno!!
Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provides services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it ...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful ass every day.Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane! Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on earth, and should THANK GOD SEVERAL TIMES A DAY, OR AT LEAST BE THANKFUL AND APPRECIATIVE!!!!

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" Jay Leno 2007 Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read this and grasp the truth of it all.


If this has offended anybody, I do apologize, but it is my blog and this is something I wholeheartedly believe. This is not a Republican or Democratic debate in the making, this is just an eye opening email , so maybe some of us can just sit up straight and be thankful for the many many blessings that are bestowed upon us each day.

Last post for 2/21/2008!!

This is my sister Kerry(scooter) and today 12 years ago her first baby, Jade Alexandria was born on her birthday!!!!!! Kerry is 36!!!! Where does the time go??? We love you both very much, thank you Scooter for giving us this beautiful, spunky little turd!!!!!

22 Months Down!!!

My neice Rayn and her Pink Poodle are saying, Happy 22nd month lid anniversary to Meme and Uncie!!!! One month closer to her baby cousin , Franceska!!!

I've been tagged again!

My friend Sasha tagged me with the "7 random things about me" tag , and I told her that I had already been tagged with that , and that she can go back a few post and see how strange I really am !!! Click on her name and find out a few random things about Sasha! She has two beautiful China gifts, Autumn and Ty that I would love for yall to see , they are precious, you just gotta see them!!!

THANK YOU ROBIN AND MADDY!!

Look what Franceska got in the mail yesterday!!!! Robin and Maddy apparently had my name for the bow swap, maybe I was that "special" person Robin was talking about on her blog!!!

I LOVE, LOVE,LOVE, IT!!! HOOK'EM HORNS!! Robin this is actually Franceskas first official Texas Longhorn bow , that is not a hand down from her big sister and cousins!!!! And I have the perfect little cheerleading outfit that was given to me by my friend Cathy and her daughters like 2 years ago when we started our adoption. And both pieces are so going to China with us!!! Thank you so much, you know how much I love it!!!

To all of you, you know who you ARE!!!!

I just have to say to all of

you that I LOVE YOU ,and tonight when I go to bed I will again thank

God for each of you. I apparently had

a bad day on Sunday and so many of you left such caring, loving, special comments and it did the trick!!!!!

I think of you all as my SISTERS,my PEOPLE,my TREASURES and that makes my day!!!!!

A few special people I would like to introduce!!!

This is me with my neice Alyssa, she is so beautiful inside and out. I love love love her!!!! She started a blog so feel free to go look at her life , I promise you will get a kick out of her. She has the best sense of humor in the world of teenagers!!!!! Love you Lyssa!!

This is Alex, you rember Jacob the birthday boy from several posts back well this is his big sister, my best friend Jessica's daughter, her and Astrud have grown up together and Wow!!! she has grown into a beautiful young lady, love her so much!!!
This is Kelsey, my really long time special , special girlhead sisterfriend Sarah's daughter, and I don't know her the way I would love to, they live about an hour away, but I think this picture is gorgeous and the look in her eye just draws me to her in such a way that I can't explain. I only wish and pray the best for her. Love you girlhead and Kelsey Marie.

This is Dominique. Her father Wayne , and my family go back like 5 generations. This little girl is my hearts soul, and I love her so much. She has been known to tell people that she gets her good looks from her Aunt Kristy!!!! pssssttt.... If you haven't noticed we are different colors???? lolololol and she was Miss. Lavernia at one time. A very proud moment for us. Just a little note to Dom though, you are busted because I see Prairie View, Texas on my counter and you have yet to leave your Aunt Kristy a comment!!!! I love you girlie!!!!
This is Chelle to me ,and to the rest of the world she is Michelle and this is Mark, Franks's little brother. I love them bunches. Mark has overcome mountainsized obstacles in the last couple of years and their marriage has successfully sustained and endured throught it all. They make me so proud. We all share the love of our God together and that is exciting to me. Chelle also loves old movies like I do and that is FANTASTIC!!!!! Aren't they beautiful!!!!!!! Love you!
This is my DADDY!!!!! God help him my grandma and grandpa named him Harold Edwin, I always told my grandma that she must have hated him at birth!!! lolol But he is just DADDY to me and Poppy to his grand kiddos!!!! This man is .... well there is not a perfect word for him but he is just "The Bomb" to me, Gosh I love him and my momma. Now don't think I don't feel the same way about her, I am just waiting for that perfect picture to happen like this one!!!! I think he is just so darn handsome!!!

You might not be reallly all that interested in these introductions, but to me , these people are so special and they are part of what makes my world go around!!!! So thanks for taking a peek anyway!!! Love and Blessings.

Calling Kelley!! Calling Kelley!!!!

Kelley can you re invite me to your bloggy please??? The first invite keeps saying ERROR!!! Sooorrryyyy, but I wanna see!!!!!! Thank you , K

Feeling a little down or something!!!

I can't really put my finger on it, but I am so bummed today about

the wait for our Franceska. I think that maybe it was because I cleaned up her room last night, since it has become kind of a "catch all" since Christmas. After I had finished and vacuumed I called Frank my very optimistic , always makes me feel better husband to look at it and all he could say is , "But there is no occupant yet"! And I think at that moment I realized that the wait is taking it's toll on him as well, and at one point last night Astrud walked by my office as I was blogging and I heard her tell her Papa , "Mom is going to drive herself crazy on that computer, I think that is making the wait longer for her"!

Blogging is keeping me seine(sp?) , and all of you out there in bloggyland I thank you for that. I explained to her that we all have our own way of dealing with the wait. Astruds's way is to just try to not think of it all the time,which I have explained to her when she is a mommy she will totally understand what I am going through. She is more aggravated with the wait , we started this process at the end of her 7th grade year, well now she is a Freshman!!! And believe me she gives her opinion about once every two weeks!!! She's a teenager!!! I just think that I am having a bad day, I won't let it last long, I guess I just needed this little "Kristy Pity Party"!!! I am off to church where I will get my attitude and FAITH back. Thanks for listening. Blessings.

Franceska got more bows!!!

Franceska received her 3rd bow from the Bow Swap!!! Aren't they precious!!! They are from , Sindy from Allisonwithlove.blogspot.com. Thank you very very much , I love them and I can't wait to put them in Franceska's hair. All of these bows are going with us to China so when we are there you can see your gift in our little gift's hair!!!

I got two of the Little Blue Tiffany boxes again!!!

This morning Frank handed me another one of those pretty little blue Tiffany & Co. boxes. This time it was a set of beautiful silver ball earrings that match a necklace and bracelet he gave me about a year ago. Then my Daddy took my sisters, my mom and I out to eat breakfast which was really nice since I always have been and still am a really big "Daddy's Girl"!!! Then when we got home this evening I walked into our bathroom and he handed me another little blue box and it was their curved heart necklace. It is beautiful and I love them , but sometimes I really don't believe that I deserve his love, but I sure am blessed and happy to have it!!!! I love you Frank...

Now I must confess and tell you how bad I feel. The other day we decided that we were not going to do anything special for Valentines Day since we are still trying to sock some money away for our China travel. Well he loves chocolate covered pretzels and so yesterday when I was at Wal-mart I bought him this cute little container full of them, and I might add it was milk chocolate and white chocolate.......fancy schmancey!!!!! Now doesn't that just suck for him???? I got Tifffany & Co. and he got some off brand name Pretzels!!!! He totally thought he had hit the jackpot.........silly silly boys....I guess I am going to have to really think of something really good to make it up to him!!! HMMMMMMMMM.....

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!

I pray all of you feel the LOVE that is being sent your way. Happy Valentines Day!!!

Love, Kristy

My Sweet Lily girl!!!

My sweet Lily girl (my neice) drew this for me

today. I love her so much. What a great

Valentines Day Eve present. She's my girl.

It says:

A house is built with boards

and beams. Roses are red,

violets are blue, candy is

sweet , so are you.

A home is built with

Love and Dreams

To : Meme

From Lily 2008

A couple of things for today!

First thing : I have been slowly replacing all of our lightbulbs with those energy saving ones, so I can feel like I am somewhat doing my part right.... Well I would bet my last dollar that they can see my dining room from the spacestation!!!! It is so bright, this picture does not show half of its intensity, it lights up the kitchen, dining room and almost all of our living room!!! Astrud and I were cracking up this morning at 5:30, because we could have probably laid out under it and gotten a quick tan!!!!! lolol
And second: We were going to use Astrud's bed as you recall from the begining of this blog when I posted pics of Franceskas room, well Franceskas, Aunt Kerry said there was no way we were going to put her neice in that bed , since Astrud had literally shaken herself out of it. So there were a few screws loose, I was gonna fix it!!! Anyway , I was on JCPenney .com and fell in love with this bed and come to find out after it was delivered and I was putting it together , it is named, "The Christie Bed", how cool is that, I think that is a God wink!!!! The bedding has been on the other bed now for quite some time , so I am gonna wait for a while to put it back up, that can be one of those "to do" projects" to pass the time!!!
This is just what I thought was a cute picture of the wall behind her crib, I painted those what seems like an eternity ago. She is probably going to yank them off the wall, but hey it looks cute for now !!!!

It's off to work I go!!! I am subbing my friend Kathy's preschool class which happens to be my neice Rayn's class. So I will be with about 8 ...3 year olds!!!! How hard can that be.....right!!!!, so I will see all of you tomorrow, hopefully!!! lololol

Have a blessed day!!!

OK I MADE IT!!!! IT IS 7:30 P.M. AND I AM ALIVE, IT WASN'T SO BAD. I BETTER LIKE IT , SINCE I AM DOING HER MATERNITY LEAVE STARTING IN APRIL!!!!

My weekend and two mail surprises!!!

Chastity, Kerry, Jessica and Me!

Kerry and I trying to take a picture of ourselves!!!!

This is mine and Jessica's DOUBLE CHIN PICTURE!!!!My baby sister Kerry and I!! (don't know why my bangs were so pretty!lolol)
This is Mark Schulz Head at least!!!
Jessica pretending to be asleep!!! Possum Player!!!
This is Chas being happy that she has Ambien!!!!

Here are Franceskas pretty bows!!!

This weekend I received two of the most precious bows in the mail from my "Bow Swap Pals"! They are so pretty, the blue and white one is from Nancy in Indiana, and the pink one is from Kimberly in Michigan. Thank you ladies very very much, both of the bows are precious and I can't wait to put them on Franceska's pretty little head!!!

Also this weekend at Women of Faith we had a great time. It was a true girls out weekend, kind of like a big slumber party with 13,000 other women. But the "bestest" women there were my girls, my peeps, my people, three of my best friends in the whole world, Chastity, Jessica and Kerry!!!!

The conference was awesome, we laughed , we cried, we laughed and cried some more. The speakers were great, Michael W. Smith, Max Lucado , Sherri Shepherd , were great, but MARK SCHULZ WAS FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!! And he is not bad on the eyes either. I really thought that he was going to be shy but he was NOT, he was very funny and I could only get a side picture of him as he was signing autographs!!! Here are a few pics from the weekend, hope you enjoy them.

ALSO I WANT TO SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAROL!!!!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A VERY BLESSED DAY, I LOVE YOU, KRIS

My last post of the week!

Hello everyone!!! This will be my last post of the week, because I am on my way to the:

WOMEN OF FAITH NATIONAL CONFERENCE!!!!! I am so excited, I am going with three of my best friends, my sister Kerry, my daughter Chastity, and Jessica!! We have never experienced anything like this together and I am really looking forward to it. I wish all of you could be there with us, especially you AMY!!! So I will talk to all of you after Saturday!!

I sure will miss my Saturday Morning Chat group, I hope all of you have a great time!!!!!

Love and Blessings, Kristy

Please pray for China

Please keep China and all of our babies and their caregivers in your prayers. There are parts of China that are completely iced over, there are parts of China that are having a winter like never before. And all of us that are at our two year mark or almost there, chances are our babies are somewhere in a orphanage laying very cold!!!!! Alot of these orphanages don't have heat and who knows if they have an adequate number of blankets and such. So please keep them in your prayers. I pray that wherever all of our babies are that somebody is trying to keep them warm. If anyone is interested in making a donation you can go to Half the Sky, and do so. Thank you and God bless each and everyone of you.

Love, Kristy

Introducing Juliann Nicole!!!

This is Lil' Miss Juliann Nicole!!! She was born on April 3, 2007, she is my friend Mary Ann and her husbands second daughter from China. Their oldest daughter Jencie just turned 5! Isn't she just a doll!!! Congratulations!!!!!

Chastity's BIG DAY!!!

Today I am taking Chas for her first post op visit,she had all kind of fissures and zig zagged sinuses and today they are going to take the splints out of her nose!!!! I know that afterwards she is going to feel so much better, but it is really gonna suck!!!! So pray for ME!!!

I just have to put this picture of our friend Hubert!!! He is married to Carol, and they have Coby and Miranda which I might add are just beautiful kiddos, but Hubert never lets me or anyone else ever get a picture of him, but on New Year's Eve after a little too much of booze he let me take this picture so here it is....

A quote for Sunday

If life has introduced you to even one person

you can call a true friend, you are

TRULY BLESSED.....

PLEASE READ!!!!

Starfish Foster Home is always in need of small-item donations! Some things are just difficult to get in China. If you are interested in making a donation to this outreach or just want to learn more about it please go to Chinese Starfish , and learn more.

If you would like to help the Starfish FosterHome by buying items for small children, please leave a comment or e-mail me at KrisLRodriguez@aol.com ,

EVEN IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO DONATE ANYTHING , THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS POST, AWARENESS IS THE KEY TO HELPING THESE BABIES!!! YOU ARE VERY APPRECIATED, LOVE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU.

(thank you Kelley for teaching me how to do that link stuff)

Autism Speaks/ Five for Fighting Video

Autism Speaks/Five for Fighting Video
The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.40 to Autism Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed. The funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family. It is a great & sad video.They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal. THANK YOU!http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214As a teacher I have seen a dramatic increase of autistic children in the classrooms. The past 4 years I have worked with many, many children with different levels of autism. They are indeed unique. They are my favorite children to work with.

Tagged....You're It!!!!

My friend Kelley just tagged me on her blog Sunshine and Rubber Duckies!!! I am supposed to list 7 weird/strange things about me and I am supposed to link this and link that!!!! Well with that said I will start:

#1 The first weird/strange thing about me is that I do not know how to do all of that linking stuff on a post!!!

#2 The 2nd thing is that I feel sorry for ceiling fans if they have to run all day!!! My sister Kerry runs hers all the time 24/7 , and it drives me crazy, probably about as crazy as I drive her because when I am over there she is constantly going behind me and turning them back on since I am always turning them off!!!! Gosh people they get tired!!!

#3 The 3rd thing is that I am a compulsive cleaner!! And I must admit that I will totally pray that nobody stops by when my house is not as tidy as I like it!!! My friends and family always say that my "not so tidy" is what they wish their house was all the time being that my house never really appears dirty. But you other OCD people out there you know what I mean right????? There is just a certain way that I like my house to look and smell and when it is not there it makes me crazy!!!!

#4 The 4th weird thing is , like Kelley I have a tattoo on my lower back , Frank gave it to me for my birthday 2 years ago, it is really pretty, it is about 5 inches wide and the focus is a Butterfly with mine and Frank's symbol on it. I also have had a tattoo on my ankle for about 15 years, and actually I would love to have the chinese symbol for "complete", or "Family", or "Love" or something in that order put on my foot after Franceska comes home, but Frank says No More Tattoos!!!! And if your wondering , yes I have already asked God to forgive me for marking up my body!

#5 The 5th weird thing about me is that I have an obsession with lipstick! I can't stand to not have lipstick on. OK so think I am weird, maybe I am!!!

#6 The 6th weird thing is for some reason I love getting the mail out of the mailbox, I know I have that stupid look on my face too!!! I don't know why but I just like to get the dang mail, it excites me and who knows why, it is only junk mail and BILLS!!!!

#7 The 7th and weirdest thing about me , and I might add that every single person in my family would agree with this is that I am ADDICTED TO THIS BLOG!!!!! I have become so dependent on all of my online friends. It is like having a conversation with several people all day long. Isn't that sick!!!! I think it is because most of us have a bond of waiting for our daughters at the same time. And I look to all of you that are already home and the families that are still waiting for encouragement, laughter, positive thoughts etc.......So call the men with the white coats because I am weird and very strange, and now you know it!

The list could probably go on and on, I am kind of thankful that 7 was all that was asked for!!!!

Now since I don't know how to do the link thing: I tag.......

Christie/ Our Red Thread Journey
Robin/ Buckeyes and Eggrolls
Rony/ The Ghelerter Twins
Kathryn/Our journey to Emma Rose
Catherine/Waiting for Hannah
Janet/Tuininga Treasures
Rebecca/ Mother of Two Wife of one

I just got SCHOOLED!!!!!

I just got schooled in FAITH by God!!!! I remember watching Kevin Everett from the Buffalo Bills go down and thinking , "Oh God please help him", and then immediately thinking he will never walk again. And it just weighed on me so heavy. Well this morning the first thing I saw on Good Morning America was the one and only Miracle Man, Kevin Everett walk out to the couch with his fiance.

And at that moment I realized that I did not have faith that God would heal him to ever walk again. By all medical standards he should have died much less ever walk again. And the best thing about the entire interview was that he gave all the glory to God!!!! I love it when a person goes on national television and does that!!!!!

So praise God !!!! It just makes me realize how loved we are by our father in heaven and how we can and how we should depend on him everyday of our lives. I hope this story has put a little kick in your step like it has for me. Have a great weekend !!! I love all of you!!!!