Because He Lives, We Can Face Tomorrow!

Looking back over 2008 I must admit I find myself getting a bit
emotional. Wow, what a year! What a journey! With God's help
we have successfully traveled a path not always smooth, but always
illuminated by God's plan and purpose for our lives. A journey
that has made us trust God a little more and trust ourselves a
little less. This journey has not been without our share of problems.
However, with each problem we have faced, we've learned to find
our solution from the God who knoweth all things and doeth all things
well. I am ashamed to admit that we have posed more than our share
of questions along this journey. There were times during the
adoption process when we would look at each other and say "What
in the world are we doing"? "How will we ever come up with the
money necessary to see this adoption to its completion?". "How do
we help our daughter through the many issues she has, yet at the
same time divide our attention with another child"? "Why did I have
a cancer scare 2 weeks before leaving for China that resulted in
many expensive tests and procedures, adding to an already very tight
budget"? "How can I continue to be a full time working Mom and yet
be a good Mother to this little guy who so deserves a SHM"? The
questions have just kept on coming. Though all the "answers" did
not come directly, one thing remained embracingly clear. We were
meant to take this journey. The lessons of faith and trust have
not been easy to learn. However, we are better people because we
have been taught these lessons by the One who governs the classroom
of our lives. Looking forward to 2009 I can say with confidence that
no matter what is ahead for us on this path, we will embrace it with
the knowlege that because He lives we can face tomorrow! Wishing
each of you a Happy New Year!

Shae's Collection

Shaelyn has acquired quite a collection of Webkinz. (Thanks
to Birthday presents, Christmas presents etc.) They are
usually kept in a pile in her closet, on the floor or
wherever she can find a place to throw them. :( With her
room reorganization today, we were able to put 2 shelves
of books in another location thus freeing up her
bookshelf. Now she has a place to display all of her
little pets. She was so excited by this!

Shae's Room - After

We had purchased the paint for Shae's room several weeks
ago, and just now I am getting around to painting it. This
project took ALL day since I had to stop on several occassions,
and be the lawyer, nurse, chef etc. Shaelyn chose the color
Pistachio Green because of the bedspread she already had. I
was afraid it would make her room look much smaller and be
too much color, but it actually looks pretty good. I painted
over all of the ladybugs I had stenciled around the room except
for the front focal wall. I made a "border out of the ones
remaining. Then we painted touches of grass around the
bottom of the picket fence and Shaelyn painted a few flowers
here and there. (The middle photo shows the room without the
grass and flowers around the fence) We cleaned and reorganized
the entire room and now several hours later WE ARE DONE. Here
are the "after" pictures. You can click on them to see better
detail. I think it turned out rather cute. Now if she would
just keep it clean!!! Urghhh!

Shae's Room - Before

Shaelyn's room has been on my priority list for quite some
time now. It desperately needed painting and CLEANING! My
darling daughter does not care much about cleanliness and this
often is the topic of our mother/daughter confrontations! Well,
I was able to take one more day of vacation today and decided
this was the day! Shae's room has a ladybug/Asian theme.
Ladybugs in China are a sign of good luck so we have always loved
these little bugs. Here is the before photo of Shae's untidy
room. I didn't dare take a picture of the closet or her desk
area, it was just unbelievable!

Toilet Paper Boy!

Aiden has been into EVERYTHING today! Don't know what is up
with him but he is unusually curious today:) Admittedly, Mommy
is about to go berserk! He just received MANY new toys for
Christmas but for some reason doesn't seem to be that interested
in too many of them. Anyway, this evening I had to run an errand
and Aiden was home with Daddy and Shae. Daddy put Shae in charge
while he got in the shower (Uhummm....BAD idea!). It was just for
a short period of time but long enough for Aiden to unroll all of
the toilet paper off the roll in his bathroom. Daddy was taking a
shower in the master bath so was completely unaware that Aiden was
"rolling" the bathroom! When I returned from my brief errand, these
are the sights that met my eyes:) Shaelyn was on the laptop and
was oblivious and daddy had just discovered it when I came in.
Camera crazy as I am, I grabbed the camera for some shots. Not sure
what is up with our little guy today but he is like a little tornado!
I think Aiden just might be going to bed earlier tonight:)

Ready to Go!

This evening Rob and Shaelyn were heading to town to
pick up a few items and I was going to stay home with
Aiden. When he saw the two of them getting their shoes
on, he of course wanted to go. He was dressed in just a
shirt and I knew the trip to town was just going to take
a couple minutes so I said "No, Aiden you stay home with
Mommy". Well, the next thing I know he has taken matters
in his own hands and decided that Daddy's work boots would
work in a pinch. In his little mind he WAS GOING! I grabbed
the camera as he was trying to open the door. Of course he
DID NOT go, but I couldn't help but chuckle at his sheer
determination and his creativity. Daddy's size 12 boots
were the biggest ones beside the door so he must have thought...
they'll just have to do! Got to love him! He is just full of
himself today!!

Shaelyn and Sophie

This was one of those moments that you quickly grab
your camera and hope the person you're taking a picture
of doesn't realize what you are doing. Shaelyn was sitting
on the couch reading a book along with several of her Webkinz
(stuffed animals)joining her. Sophie jumped up there too and
proceeded to take a nap. I couldn't help but snap a picture.
Sophie celebrated her 2nd birthday on Dec 19th. We've had her
since she was 8 weeks old. She has been such a wonderful little
dog! We are very blessed that she is so good with kids and
has welcomed Aiden into our home without any problems. She
is so full of personality but I have to admit, can be almost
as much work as another child. Her long hair keeps me and
my vacuum very busy!!

Mother Nature's a bit confused!

I just had to share this photo of my daffodils
popping up through the ground. I saw them when
I was taking down the Christmas decorations Sat.
and just had to go get my camera. It is Dec. for
pete's sake! I think Mother Nature may be rushing
things a bit! We have had very mild temps lately
and I guess my daffodils think it's time to "rise
and shine". :) Ps. the date on my camera is wrong
(can't figure out how to change it), the date this
picture was taken was Dec 27th!

Fun with Uncle Ronald

Christmas Day!

This has been a wonderful Christmas for us this year! We
have been so excited having our son with us this year to
enjoy all the sights and sounds of Christmas at our house
and at my sisters house this afternoon. This morning
the kids awoke around 7:00 AM (I know, I couldn't believe
Shaelyn slept that long). Shaelyn went straight to the
living room to see if Santa had left a bike like she had
asked him for and she was not disappointed. He had
also left a stocking full of goodies for Shaelyn and Aiden.
Shaelyn had asked Santa to bring a wagon for her brother and it
too was in the living room. We woke up Aiden and the fun
began! At first Aiden wasn't sure of what we were doing, and
looked puzzled at why we were tearing up paper. But it didn't
take him long to get the hang of it and he had a blast! They
opened their presents from Grandma and Grandpa Roberts,
Aunt Marea and Uncle Jeff and of course Mommy and Daddy.
It was a fun time. Around 1:00 PM we packed the car with
all of the food Rob had cooked, and a lot of presents and
headed to my sister's house for Christmas Dinner. We ate
lunch then exchanged gifts and played some games. Aiden
had such a good time playing with his cousins and especially
Uncle Ronald. He has developed a deep fondness for his Uncle Ron
and loves to horse play with him. I got the cutest video of
the two of them playing and if I can figure out how to do it,
I'll post it to the blog. Aiden also was quite fond of the
newest member of my Sister's family, the dog "Patches".
Patches very much loves to lick!! I'm sure this will
disgust, and maybe even downright offend some of you,
but Patches would lick Aiden right in the face and Aiden would
just giggle and giggle! We got the cutest picture of Aiden
actually trying to "turn the tables" and lick patches in the
face. It was too cute!! Anyway, we are now home, Aiden and
Shaelyn have eaten supper, been bathed and Aiden has crashed!
He is sound asleep in his crib! I couldn't help but wonder
today, when I looked at him giggling and squealing with delight,
of just how different things may been for this little guy if
God had not intervened in his little life. Certainly he would
not have celebrated Christmas in an orphanage in China nor
would he have had the enormity of love from a forever family this
Christmas. God not only gave US a miracle when He gave us
Aiden but He gave Aiden a miracle as well. A forever family
and a wonderful extended family who love him so much! I've
said this so many times but it is so true! "God's ways are
sooo much better than our own". We trust each of you have
had a wonderful Christmas Day! Enjoy the pictures!

Christmas Eve at our house!

We are winding down the festivities here at our house
this raining Christmas Eve. We packed in a lot this
evening and it was very special. First we put together
the trampoline that we got the kids for Christmas. That
was interesting to say the least! Poor Rob has aching
shoulders to tell the story of how hard it is to put on
"too many" very tight springs on a trampoline. Anyway,
Aiden and Shaelyn got to jump on it for a short period of
time before it began to rain very hard and we retreated
indoors. It has always been a tradition in our house to
let Shaelyn open one gift on Christmas Eve and this year
was no different only now Aiden joined in. Aiden opened
a gift his Grandma and Grandpa Roberts sent him from NY.
It was a singing, light up toy that he got a big kick out
of. Shaelyn opened a gift from Mommy and Daddy and it was
some accessories to her doll house. Then we decorated
Christmas cut-out cookies complete with icing and sprinkles.
Even Aiden got in on the decorating and made a huge mess
trying to eat his decorated cookie!! When he had eaten
most of his cookie he pushed it away and said "done". We
were so excited to hear this little bit of communication
come from him!! Shaelyn wrote Santa a letter and left
him some cookies she had decorated just for him. She is so
excited!! Aiden doesn't understand what all the commotion
is about but will find out soon enough. I am so thankful
for my little family this Christmas and look at my children
as gifts! Gifts that made my Christmas Eves and Christmas
mornings so much more exciting and special. I remember the
many years I would almost dread Christmas morning because
of the silence in my house, but oh how full of sound it is
now! Every year "Christmas Morning" gets earlier and earlier.
Last year it was 4:00 AM. Hopefully we will at least get to
sleep til 6:00! :) God has blessed us far more than we deserve.
I hope each of you have a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

The Program Went Well

Although I have NO pictures I can report that the Kids' Christmas
Program went as well as could be expected when dealing with the
unpredictable "child". There were some really cute "unplanned"
moments that I'm sure will be remembered for years to come. My
only regret is that I could not enjoy my children as I was
directing the program and was very busy. I realized on the
way home that I had not taken one picture or even as much as
looked at my children individually but as a "group" of children.
I was so saddened by the realization that this was Aiden's first
Christmas program and I don't even have a picture. Admittedly I
found myself in a huge "pity party" on the way home and had to
snap myself out of it and realize that I had so much to be
thankful for this Christmas and the absence of pictures was
really not that important in the full scheme of things. Anyway,
I was very blessed to have Nana, Chris & Kathy helping me
with the program! Thanks you all! We wish you all a very
Merry Christmas!!!!

Busy Busy!!

Just wanted to check in with blog land and let everyone know
we are alive and well. We have been very busy getting ready
for the kid's Christmas Program at church. The practice was
today and went fairly well. The program will be tomorrow night.
Quite honestly, I will be thrilled when it is over. I had
not intentions of doing the program this year but through a
series of events, I ended up volunteering to do it at the
last minute. I have had less than 3 weeks to pull together
a program! I had typed it all up on our PC and saved it but
had not printed the program yet when all of the sudden our
computer, that is less than 1 yr old, crashed and I lost
everything! Urghh! So, I retyped everything on the laptop,
e-mailed it to myself at work and printed it from there.
Also, Shaelyn has been very sick this past week with strep
throat and tonsillitis. It has been a very stressful week
to say the least. Hopefully we will have a new hard drive
in our PC on Monday and Shaelyn is doing much better so
things are looking better. Say a prayer for our Christmas
program tomorrow! It should be interesting to say the least!

My Computer Wiz and Artist

Shaelyn is such a computer junkie and has turned into
quite an artist. She wants to be an art teacher when
she grows up and maybe something to do with computers.
She is definitely artistic and loves to draw. Thought
I would share her most recent artwork. One picture she
drew was of herself and the other is of Aiden in the bed.
She keeps our home well supplied with artwork!

The Black Crayon

Aiden is learning what a crayon is all about but hasn't
completely figured it out yet. He was earnestly using
a black crayon yesterday (one of the big fat ones) and
was doing a pretty good job on a piece of paper. I glanced
away for just a moment and when I looked back I saw him
using it as a q-tip! He was cleaning his ear for all he was
worth! :) He may not know what a crayon does but thanks to
Mommy, he is very familiar with a q-tip. Anyway, I had to
get a picture of his ear "cleaned" by a fat black crayon.
It was too funny!

Ho Ho Ho! Our Little Santa!

We were shopping in Walmart not long ago and Shaelyn
saw this santa hat that lights up. She showed it to
Aiden and of course he was completely impressed. He
wore it around the store and hesitated a little when
I took it off of him to have the cashier scan it.
He loves it!! He looks so cute in it...I just had to
share some pictures!

We're Patchin'

Per the Doctor's orders, we are patching Aiden's "good"
eye 4 hours a day. We were anticipating a terrible struggle
but we have been pleasantly surprised with how well Aiden
is doing with it. He does not try to remove it, does not
act at all bothered by it and continues his regular activities
without any difficulty. He is most definitely using the
"bad" eye very well now. This is such an answer to prayer!
We were so worried that his vision would be impaired in that eye
but so far so good!!

That Sweet Little Face!

Aiden is just full of curiosity! He is so interested in
everything and you can tell he is taking it all in.
He has started saying "HI" just as plain as day (while
waving). It is so cute. I am fascinated by his cute
little features...he has the sweetest little face. Of
course it usually has crumbs or food of some kind on it,
because this kid does not stop eating! In one of these
pictures you can see the crumbs on his face and a crushed
up cracker in his hand. :) I just can't help but kiss those
little cheeks - even with crumbs in them!

Our Christmas Pictures

Thought I would share our Christmas Pictures with everyone.
We ended up getting them done at Walmart and we are so
pleased with them! Rob and I both agree that we have
gorgeous kids and can't take a bit of credit for it:)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Only 20 more
days!

Aiden's Dedication

We had Aiden Dedicated today in the morning service
at church. It was a special time! We dressed Shaelyn
and Aiden in traditional Chinese attire. They both were
so cute. My Mom and Dad were there and my Sister and her
family. (Rob's parents and family live out of state so
unfortunately couldn't attend). We began his Dedication
with a special video tribute which included pictures of
Aiden in the orphanage, his adoption day and his life now.
These pictures were played to the song "When Love Takes
You In" by Steven Curtis Chapman. Then we took Aiden up
front and all the family gathered around as the Pastor
performed the Dedication ceremony. After prayer, he
presented me with a red rose, and Rob was given a Father's
devotional book. Aiden received the neatest little Bible
and of course the Dedication Certificate. Aiden was very
fussy and cried during most of the ceremony but Mommy
wasn't at all surprised as it was right during nap time!
We are so thankful for Aiden's little life and feel blessed
to be given the opportunity to Dedicate him to God. We are
also thankful for a very supportive extended family who love
Aiden just like he has always been a part of our family!

Our Asian-Themed Tree

When we were waiting for Shaelyn's referral over 10 years
ago, we ran across the most wonderful little Chinese
lantern ornaments and purchased a dozen of them for our
tree. Over the years we have picked up a few more Asian
themed ornaments and have always tried to incorporate
them into our more formal tree we put up in the living
room. Well much to my surprise, our dear friends Chris
and Kathy (who were our wonderful house and pet sitters
while we were in China recently) came over a couple days
ago and gave us some more Asian-themed ornaments! They
gave us some lanterns, a dragon, pagoda, panda bear and
even a koi fish! It was such a nice surprise and made
me even more excited about getting our tree up and
decorated this year. Of course pictures of Christmas
trees never actually do them justice but take my word
for it, it turned out really pretty. Shaelyn thinks it
is pretty cool too:) Thanks Chris and Kathy for thinking
of us! Now to keep Aiden out of the trees! Good luck
with that huh? :)