Catching Up

The school year is going great!  Hope loves her teachers Mrs. V and Ms. Brittany. We have a tiny new creature living at our house.  Over the last year our sweet dogs Timber and Abby both died of old age.  Daddy promised Hope a puppy and she has arrived!  She is a tiny little thing right now (we have absolutely no idea how big or little she will eventually be)  We got her from a city facility in a neighboring town.  She is so cute and sweet.  We are in love.  Seriously.

Her name is Tan Tan.  Hope was called Tan Tan at the orphanage in China and decided her adopted pet should have that name.  They told us she was part beagle and part terrier.  The Vet at first said no I think she is part Spitz, but at her last visit she said she is definitely part Pomeranian.  We looked up images of Pom Terrier mix puppies and think she is right.  Her face is certainly a match.  She was 4 pounds when we got and and is now 5.5 pounds.  She has gotten a little taller and worked her way into our family just fine.  We have never had a house pet, accept  some of our kittens when they were little, but then they moved outside.  Tan Tan will hopefully get big enough to stay outside in good weather, but if not well I suppose we may have our first house pet! 

Oh and she gets a bath VERY OFTEN!!!

Family Vacation 2013

Hope really enjoyed herself on this trip.  We rented a “cabin”…more like a beautiful log home close to Beavers Bend State Park in Oklahoma. All the girls and their families were able to get away and join us.  Also my brother Billy and his family were able to rent a cabin close by.  We got to meet the newest member of the family. It was wonderful.  

 

Cabin living room.Hope in the kitchen

Misty, Caleb, and TylerHope and AudreyTwo bathing beauties with Superman on July 4thThe outdoor firepit was a hit.  This is the only picture I have of Jeff.  He had to leave a day early to go back to work. Hope and her Aunt Janet.  (there were 2 hammocks and believe me they were very popular with EVERYONE!)The little ones fav place was the hot tub deck.  It had a big hot tub a patio set and a porch swing and was on the upper deck…beautiful.  All you could see from the deck was trees……………sigh………….I want to go back!Bethany and AudreyTylerAudreyOur Girls…we are so proud of themHeath aka SupermanBenBradley
CalebSunnie KayRonnie Becky and HopeCarmen and John with their children Bradley Ben Sunnie and Heath

A few pictures of the cabin.  Misty has some better pics.. I will post them later.

 

We love our family…! When my sister in law Janet said they were thinking about going to Beaver’s Bend (they went there on their honeymoon)  I could not believe the luck when they were also able to get a cabin close by.  We are hoping next year Sharon Jackie Vicki and Joe may be able to join us.  Next year we will plan ahead not at the last minute.  Looking forward to that!!!!  Hey everyone send me some ideas of where we might go!  Somewhere in the middle maybe. 

 

Here is a cute pic of Billy…he needed some glasses…and borrowed mine…notice the rhinestones.  Looking good !

January 2013

We enjoyed ourselves on New Years Eve.   Our older girls and some of the grandchildren always come over and we play games.  We really had a great time and our friend Sabrina and her three beautiful children are always here on New Years … it’s a tradition that we cherish.  Carmen and Sabrina were in nursery class together when they were babies and have been the best of friends ever since.  Our families are friends and it is a really special relationship.  Carmen and Sabrina were actually each others Maid of Honor at their weddings.  Actually Carmen was Sabrina’s Matron of Honor but that just sounds old doesn’t it.

January here on Wolfhill was cold and a we got some rain.  We need rain.  Hope is enjoying second grade and has gotten all A’s this year so far.  She loves to read and that really makes most other subjects so much easier.  She does struggle with math…I think she got that from me, but she does very well and tries hard.  This girl really wants to succeed at what ever she tries.  January was also the month for Little Dribblers Basketball and Hope LOVES basketball. Her team did really well.   She played hard and scored points for the team several times.   We were all so tickled whenever it was time for the game to start, Hope always started jumping …I mean JUMPING and JUMPING and JUMPING.  She reminded me of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. 

January also is time for Hopie’s yearly checkup.  Her Dr is a family friend it really feels good when you know your daughter’s wonderful pediatrician also loves her.(He loves all his patients…he is just that kind of man)  He is so special to us.  He saved her life when we first brought her home from China.  She was very ill,  dehydrated, and had pneumonia.  We were so scared, exhausted, jet lagged and had spent about  twenty four more hours traveling than was planned, with an unexpected layover in San Francisco where we spent the entire night in the ER with Hope getting IV’s and antibiotics so when I saw Dr. Tim I finally just turned loose and cried. Now she loves him too…that first day in 2008 she was not so sure.

Enough about January… now on to February…I still have most of 2012 to catch up on, just thought that might never happen so I started with 2013.

Gotcha Day FIVE Years Later!!

I can not even imagine that it has been FIVE years.  Time flies when you are having fun!  Our sweet little girl is now eight years old and such a wonderful part of our lives.  I cannot imagine how boring it would have been around here without this little Asian Princess to spice things up.  Of course Audrey and Heath coming along after Hope came home just really made our lives so perfect.  Hope loves those little ones as well as the older grandchildren and they all are in love with Hope too.  Ronnie and I are constantly challenged by being parents of an eight year old.  The new way they teach MATH is maddening to us old school fans but we are learning right along with our sweetie.  She is so smart and kind.  We love hearing her rattle along about her day at school and her friends.  Right now her only extra curricular activity is basketball.  I actually tried to encourage her a little to join coach pitch baseball this year but she insists that her only love is basketball.  Our little girl will be the best little(probably somewhere around four foot ten when she get to varsity) basketball player our little school has ever seen! She is tiny but that does not dampen her spirits at all.  Ronnie put her up a basketball goal this year and she will probably wear it out practicing. 

Our first glimpse of our sweet daughter.

I could not wait to scoop her into my arms…just had to hold myself back from squeezing her and scaring her even more than she already was.Those EYES told the whole story.  Her world as she knew it was changing.Just look at the grin on Ronnie’s face…what a treasure…I will never ever forget how we felt those first few moments…and the moments just get better all the time.

We are so thankful for Hope Marie, for her incredible spirit that has helped her to transition from the scared little baby she was on January 14, 2008 to the beautiful, articulate, fun, smart, loving daughter she is today.  We love you Hopie…forever and ever! We are so glad we listened to that still small voice that made us a family.

IF God has ever spoken to your heart about adoption  please just listen…it will change your life in miraculous ways!

Five Years Ago Today! Yes It’s Been Five Years!

This is the view from our computer when the Agency sent us her first picture during THE CALL.  December 7, 2007 is a day our family will never ever forget.  Our older girls were all at work anxiously waiting for us to call them with the information about their “little sister”.  I love hearing them say that.   When we first saw the picture I cried and Ronnie almost did.  This morning I asked Ronnie if he remembered what happened five years ago today and he of course he did. I also said remember my house was perfectly clean and already decorated for Christmas that morning….he said yeah you also didn’t have those two little grandbabies who are sleeping on the couch!!

Hope is a joy and such a blessing.  If we were only younger we would definitely adopt again.  We just hope that we might inspire someone who already has been  prompted by the Lord to go ahead and take the plunge.  There are orphans all over the world who need forever families, my heart is centered on those still left behind in Hope’s orphanage in Huainan.  

Hope’s referral day came one day shy of two years since our dossier was logged in at the China Center for Adoption Affairs.  Now the families who are getting referrals in the “non special needs” program from China are waiting about six years!  That is almost unbelievable…but true.  I pray that those in charge in China will make some changes and those children waiting ( I’ve seen estimates as high as one million) for families will be placed more quickly in the future.  Please remember to pray for orphans all over the world and if you are able and God has not asked you to become a forever family there is still so much you can do.  There are numerous charities and outreach programs.  Here is a link to one.

 http://pearlriveroutreach.blogspot.com/

You will be blessed…open your heart just a little and see what God has in store for your family!!!  Just look at that face in the picture above and then take a look at this.

A smiling happy little girl waiting patiently for Disney on Ice.  We love you Hopie Marie and are so Thankful we saw your sweet little face on our computer that morning five years ago today.