MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

I have a feeling that it is going to be a very very happy and blessed Christmas around here. Thank you for always following along here, I love and care for each of you and appreciate you.

We are feeling so blessed , we have our babygirl home with us finally after waiting 5 Christmases, we have two grandbuttons on the way, our grandbutton , Avry will be here in the next couple of days whenever he decides to show up, and our grandbutton Julie will be here February 22nd!!!! We also have a neice Addison, and a great nephew Eli that make their debut in January!!! It is raining babies over here!!! God is so good and He is so faithful.

To all of you who are reading this and you are still waiting for your child, please don't give up, he or she will be home soon. I know you have heard this a thousand times, but their little self is just so incredibly worth the wait...there is no greater love! Be strong, be faithful, be trusting, and ask for patience and endurance, HE will take care of you. Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year!!!! May God bless each and everyone of you.



P.S. PART 2 OF "THE TRUTH IS" will be here next week.....

The Truth is..........Part 1

I have been wanting to do this post for a really long time but I also knew that it had to be the right time to do it for me. I do not want to offend anyone but at the same time I think well this is my blog, and I have always been a what you see is what you get kind of gal. I dont have any secrets and nothing to hide and I have always been honest on my blog so here it goes.......A while ago my friend Chrisite, Quint and Kiera's mommy did a really brutally honest post about her trip to China and I can remember reading it and my chest hurting because my heart was just breaking for her. But it was a honest and raw post and I admired her for that. Although our experiences in China were totally different I really wanted to be honest about our trip. God has really put this on my heart so the truth is......



First I have to start out by telling you that I am a hormonal mess, I won't even go into what my body is not doing and what it is doing because who cares right????? But what I will tell you is that I have experienced alot of things since my Total hysterectomy and just like so many years ago during all of my infertility treatments everytime I would get what seemed like the miracle drug or treatment that was going to work ....it always seemed that where I opened one door there were 2 or 3 doors locked behind it!!!! BUT I get all that now 20 something years later, I wasn't supposed to ever get pregnant because God already knew exactly what children were going to be mine and for that I just can't put into words how completely blessed I am and how thankful I am for all of my kids, they are my every dream come true, every dream!!!



Now I can't even take anything for my hotflashes and sweats because of other reasons so needless to say when we went to China in the summer, I was twice as hot or 10 times as hot as a normal person! I was soaking wet 110% of the time, I was not able to get cool at all, it was the first time in my life that I really took very cold showers and guess what???? I loved them!

NOW IS WHERE THE HONESTY STARTS COMING INTO PLAY.....


I did not fall in love with China. Now before I go any further I want to remind you that I AM A CHRISTIAN AND DARN PROUD OF IT, and that this is my blog and I figure I can say just about anything I want to here.........

It was a huge dose of culture shock for me. I did not go to China to be a tourist . I went to China to bring my daughter home. I had never been in such a Godless country. And it was so obvious to us, and in Beijing I found myself looking out the window one day and I just started weeping because my heart went out to all of the people of China because of this. It really weighed heavy on me and it made me sad.

Before I go on I have to tell you that I am a 43 year old woman that still gets very homesick when I am away from my momma and daddy, my children, my sisters, my neices, nephews and so on and so on.......but on this trip I was really homesick for my parents. I was so afraid something was going to happen and I would not be able to get home in time. I am pretty sure most of you know this but for those of you who dont, my mom is 69 yrs old and has had Alzheimer's for the past about 8 years. She didn't even know I was gone. The night before we left Beijing for Nanchang where our angel was I felt as if I couldn't breathe....here I was in a foreign country getting ready to get my babygirl , I was HOT, and miserable and not to mention hungry because nothing really tasted good to me, and oh how I missed ketchup and Iced tea!!! And even though I have what I think is the best husband in the whole world, the one person I really needed was my Momma. i was very emotional about finally getting Franceska. I almost couldn't even pick up the phone to call my daddy because I knew he would immediately hear my quivery voice and then his voice would immediately get the same way and I just didn't have the heart to say , Daddy I love you and I do want to talk to you but I really need to talk to Momma right now and friends I haven't had a real conversation with my Mom in about two years and we used to talk on the phone about 6 times a day or we would be at each others house. So here I am chest heavy and hurting from trying not to cry and I pick up the phone to call my daddy and when I hear his voice the only thing I can remember is hearing this animal like noise come out of my throat and I told him I am sorry Daddy but oh how I wish I could talk to Momma right now ....I then heard my daddy say , Kris I know , I wish you could talk to her too, and as he said it I could hear the crack ....the very crack that just gets to me when it happens to come out of my daddys mouth, it just breaks my heart. As I type this I have that same feeling in my chest as I did then, it is just a "hurt" that is so deep, it is like a wound in there.

I decided to tell him that I needed to put my Big girl panties on and that I would be okay and he told me he loved me and I told him that the next time I talked to him we would have his youngest granddaughter in our arms. Ok so I lied about the "okay" thing but I wanted to be okay for him, I hate it when he worries, but you know Im a parent to and have been for sometime now and I know that the "worry" thing is all part of it. That is a huge place of failure on my part, I know that God does not want me to worry, but I talk to Him all the time about how I fall short there, I am pretty sure He understands my heart.

When we got to Nanchang, every male person from the age of about 11 to 99 smoked , and they smoked inside , outside, in the elevators , right next to your dinner table....you get the picture right?????? The a/c system was not really good and because of the damp air and all the smoke my throat all the way down to my belly button felt raw!!! But I really didn't care, all I cared about was getting our babygirl. And it was in Nanchang that we started forming relationships with some of the other families, and I might add there is a couple of them that we pray our friendships and bonds last a lifetime. I have to be honest though I wasn't like most people, they were all dreamy eyed because they were in the city or area in which their children were born. I didn't see it that way, it was dirty, polluted , horrible air quality, and the odors , oh the odors, some of them I wondered if I would ever get out of my nose. The way I saw it was that I couldn't wait to get her out of there and get her home. Still it was weighing heavy on my heart that I was not falling in love with China, until a couple of incredible friends and sisters in Christ back here at home and mothers of children from China told me that I did not have to fall in love with China and to stop putting so much pressure on myself that I started to ease up on myself and after they told me that and after I know they were praying for me, I could start the pressure start to slough off of me.


Next Post: The day our Franceska was placed in our arms........

At Last.........

I think this picture says it all........
Helping Mommy with the Christmas tree....
Meeting Frosty the Snowman for the first time ever!!!! ( my houseshoes are huge!!!!)
Here is our collection of either "Parents-to-be", "Baby's First Christmas", or "Waiting for Franceska" ornaments since 2006......
And finally..........It really is her First Christmas....Thank you God sooooooo much!!!

I get the message Kimberley!!!! lol

OK I am back!!! Kimberley my sweet you motivated me to get my butt in gear!!! I just wanted all of you to know that I am working on a very personal post and after Thanksgiving and after my sweets Kim (Isabella's to be Mommy) has been here for the holiday and is back home safe I will be posting it. I am going to be doing less FB and more blogging. We are on a really good schedule here and things are just falling into place in regards to alot of different things and I am gonna get back on track.

I miss all of you so much, I just hope I have a few followers left......:((( I really do miss all of you.

So everyone have an awesome and very blessed Thanksgiving!

A PSALM FOR THANKSGIVING

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, not we ourselves;
We are His people , and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into His gates with THANKSGIVING,
And into his courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100

(I love this , I want to get better at giving thanks and praise to the Holy one everyday, I want to be more thankful for everything and everyone in my life, for our Lord is always good)

I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH!!!! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU.

Bath and Night Night time!!!!

Here are some pix from tonight at bath time that I just had to post!!! She is so funny!!!Our precious angel!!!
Our little Devil!
Look at my two front chiclets!!!!
Ahhhhhhh I think I'm so pretty.......


Me and my Sissy Astrud!!! Just look how Franceska is looking at her.....it makes my heart smile!

Some Family Pics to share.......

Here are some family pictures that I thought I would share with all of you! Even though Franceska is the "Current Family Favorite", LOL, there are alot of us and I am so proud of them all! This is my neice Jade (lt) with one of her best friends Katy....aren't they Beauuuuteeeeefullll!!!

The next 5 are of our little Grandbutton Liam, I know I am a little prejudice but I think these pictures are magazine worthy!!! This one happens to be my favorite!

This is a friend of his........I think this Meme is a little defensive , Im not ready to share him yet!!!!! lol

Like I said "Magazine worthy " I told you!! :))

Again.................................

Yes we think he is just the cat's meow, the creme of the crop, the whatever is good.......He is such a handsome little man!

This is our neice Lily, she is playing flag football, the only girl on the team and she ROCKS!!!! Made an interception last week and ran 45 yards for the touchdown!!!!!

This is my cousin Tracy and her son my little cousin Caiden. This is Caiden's first year of flag football and he cries almost every game and gets mad which all of us think is just hilarious!!! My cousin Tracy on the other hand........does not!!! By the way she is standing I know she is talking to him through her clenched teeth!!!! Cracks me up!!!

Look at that face!!!! lol

Oh that german/polish temper!!!

This is my godson (in the blue), Jacob!! He is all about football! Him and Caiden are on the same team and I think they are just too cute for words!!!

This is Jacob at home, isn;t this picture just priceless!!!! I love it!

So there you have it, and there are lots more where that came from!!!

MY FIRST BIRTHDAY PICTURES!

I know alot of you follow me on FB, and you have already seen these pictures, but I have decided that I just can't stop blogging!! This blog and all of you have been such a huge part of my life for so long that I just can't!!! So I am going to start my "catch up", and I am gonna start with Franceska's birthday. There was about 8o people there and even though it was sooooo hot and I was melting we had so much fun!! She is an angel and such a blessing and just so much fun!!!! We hope you enjoy our pictures and we wish all of you could have been there!!!
THIS IS MOMMY'S FAVORITE PICTURE!!!SCORE!!!!! MORE TOYS!!
OUR PRINCESS!!!
ME AND MY COUSINS HAVING FUN IN THE BOUNCE!
FEEDING MY BIG BROTHER CHRISTOPHER!
MY PRINCESS CAKE
ME AND AUNT KIM
ME AND MY SWEATING MOTHER!!!
THIS STUFF IS GOOD!!!
ALL OF MY BALLOONS WAITING TO GO OUTSIDE!
ME, DADDY AND MOMMY
MY DADDY, MY SISSY, AND TWO OF MY BROTHERS!
MY AUNT KERRY, UNCLE RICKY AND MY COUSINS GAVE ME THIS TUTU OUTFIT!!!

I am still here......REALLY!!!!

I know I have been a horrible blogger!!! To say that life has changed would be a huge understatement!!! There are so many things to catch up on here and I don't know when I am going to get it all done! I have also toyed with the idea of putting my blog to bed????? Are there any of you out there that don't Facebook that follow my blog, do any of you still have any interet in my blog, if you don't really my feelings would not be hurt??????

Until I make up my mind I promise to post more!!!! I really do.......

Our Funny, snorting Franceska

Good Morning!!!

Good morning from our 'CURRENT FAMILY FAVORITE"!!!! We hope all of you have a blessed day and a fantastic weekend!!!