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!!!!

Do any of you just run completely out of gas by thursday?????? I know that when I get my coffee I will be fine but for right now I am dead dog tired!!!!! I also have three extra bodies here this morning. My sister Kerry is having a very minor procedure done, so I have Jade, Lily and Rayn!!! All of them got up so good and I am so thankful for that. I hope all of you have a very blessed day today and I really hope referrals come out, this has been the longest month in history it seems!!!!

Thank you Kimberly for the graphic!!!

****Don't worry Amy it is just that gigantic mole on her face***** lololololol

OK LISTEN UP !!!!

Ok people take a look at my Visitor Counter, see all those people... that is only like 4 or 5 days worth and then take a peek at how many comments I have.....

PLEEEAAASSSSEEEEEE leave me a comment, I love to know who stopped by!!!!

Thank you to all of my "Old Faithfuls" who always let me know you have been here, YOU know who you are!!!!!

Update on Chas!!

Just wanted to let all of you know that Chas is doing just fine. The surgery went well and for at least the next 72 hours she is really gonna be kicking herself for having the surgery, but after that she will be so glad she did. Thank you for all of your prayers. Love and Blessings to all.
Love, Kristy

Today my thoughts are of our daughter Chastity. Tomorrow she will undergo pretty extensive sinus surgery. Although both Frank and I know that God will take care of her, she has never had any kind of surgery before and can absolutely NOT withstand alot of pain,and is pretty nervous about the whole thing. Since Frank and I both have alot of years between the two of us working in the OR , to make light of it and to mess with her we explained to her that she is going to feel like she was hit in the face with a baseball bat!!!! And for any of you who know Chas personally you can only imagine the look on her face and the "kind remarks" that followed. She is really a funny girl with a very quick whit, and we know she will be just fine but if you could just say a little prayer for her we sure would appreciate it. Thank you ,love and blessings to all of you.

Love, Kris

A Special Prayer Request

Good Saturday to all of you!!! My post today is a prayer request for a family that I do not even know. Another friend put this link on her blog and asked us to go there, and let me tell you it really caught me by surprise and choked me up more than a little. I hope and pray after taking a peek all of you will pray for this very special family. Thank you and God bless, Love, Kristy

Here is the link: www.cfhusband.blogspot.com

When I saw this "PEACE" graphic , I immediately thought of this man Nathaniel, he has so much going on in his life yet he seems so full of Peace. I admire that and he inspires me, I hope he does the same for you.

Happy Birthday to my Precious Boys!!!

Happy BELATED Birthday my special angel Garett,I am sorry this is so late!
(the oldest on the left)

Happy 2nd Birthday tomorrow to my very own Lil'special angel of a Godson Jacob!!!
(the one with the dirty face!!! lol)

Happy 2nd Birthday on February 9th to my other angel, my little man Zane!!!
(the one on the left)

Meme loves all three of you very, very much and wants to give you bunches and bunches of KISSES!!!!!!!
(their mommies are two of my "Bestest" friends in the whole world, Amy and Jessica, thank you both for sharing them with us, we are so blessed by their lives)

A thought for Thursday!!!

Yesterday after school and before church I took Astrud and her "friend" Kyle to eat mexican food. Now this is all new for us, she had a "boyfriend" in 7th grade but they never talked, you know how it works right???? And up until this point she has been pretty content just being in love with The Jonas Brothers!!!! But now she has this friend named Kyle and he is 15 although he is in 10th grade. They would like to go to a movie,(us taking them of course), but our rule is that we have to meet the parents first. So we are off to a good start right??? Well the poor boy was scared to death as he was getting in my car and at this point he does not even know that her father, and two of her brothers are just scheming to scare him to death. I think it was Christopher that said he has a knife and a shovel so he can cut him up and then bury him,something like that and Steven told her online last night that he was probably a freak and that she needed to remind him that he was a soldier with really big guns, and I won't even repeat what her papa has said, isn't that just awlful and these people are christians, pretty scary huh!!!! They are actually just joking about those things but they are very protective of their baby sister and daughter. I must say that he was a really sweet boy, and was very polite and really tried to say all the right things to impress the mom, I just had to laugh to myself, because I myself was a teenager at one time and I know how teenage boys are but let's just hope that he is what he says he is. When Astrud hugged me at church she whispered in my ear, "Do you like him Mom?", I thought that was sweet but so "not" like Astrud so I am gonna put my big girl panties on , strap my seat belt on tight and get ready for this ride, I had to let go of two boys this summer because they got married, I am just not ready for this yet but I don't have a choice. Her big sister Chas needs to put on her big girl panties too, because she had a fit last night saying I am not ready for this, well you better get that way cause it is happening!!!! God help us!!!!

No name Baby Howton!!!

****FYI**** When Astrud gets home I will get her to help me fix this picture, I am not that smart!!!!


This is my friend Debby's baby BOY!!! She and her husband Raymond found out yesterday that it was a "He", and if you look real close you can really tell. What a little man!!!

Debby and I go all the way back to school and our parents go back even further. Let's put it this way, she is so special to me that she has been in "BOTH" of my weddings!!! Debby was always adamant on "not" having any children, although Raymond has 3 kids that are now grown that Debby helped raise and I might add that they all love her very much. She is even a grandmother!!! I have to admit that I have always told Deb not to cut herself short by not having a baby, but like I said she just did not want any for a really long time. When I saw her the first time holding her grandbaby my heart ached because I just knew in my heart that she would be an awesome mom!!! Well sometime after that the "baby bug" bit her and she is now going to be a Mommy and she is so excited!!! Yesterday when she called me the first thing she said to me was that Franceska was going to have a little boyfriend!!!!

It stil amazes me how God works in our lives. If you would have asked me 3,5,10,15 years ago if I thought Deb and I would be raising our children together one day, I would have said not a chance!!!! But here we are and even though we are not in our twenty's anymore we are both up for the challenge and are really looking forward to this journey together. It is just amazing how God puts things together isn't it???!!!