Favorite Photo Friday-Sunshine

Sunshine Meeker is the best dog ever! We love you lots little Sunny!

Also, today is Ji's 2nd Birthday! I have no idea what it looks like to have a Birthday in an orphanage. It's not something I can wrap my mind around. When Ji makes it here and we are praying that she does, we plan to make her 3rd Birthday something really special! This adoption process is very complicated so please pray that we will be able to adopt Ji and that our paper work (with the social worker) will some how finish in time. We love you Ji!!!

2 and 3

The longer Timmy is with us, the less he looks like a baby. DUH! Really, though he's losing his baby look and in some ways I think he looks like a little man. LOL! It almost looks like I have 2 three year olds!

Born!

Noel had her babies last night. 6 BOYS and 1 GIRL! They are gorgeous. I can't believe they actually start small! Our Zoey is 130 lbs and she was the runt.

Puppies

This is our Zoey's sister Noel. She is in labor and I can't wait to see the pups! I wonder how many there will be???? Sadly, none for me. 2 great danes is enough :) or at least that is what everyone else thinks!

Self Defeating Games

This past weekend I went to a one day Barnabas workshop. As always (and I say this sarcastically and thankfully at the same time ;) it's always helpful yet difficult to take a look at myself. This particular workshop was focused on self defeating games. These are the games we ALL play that keep us from what we really want, hence self defeating. The Barnabas Journey is having their full workshop in October 2011. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a new direction or wants to look at patterns that aren't working for them. I went through it 7 years ago and it is by far the best thing I've ever done for myself. www.barnabasjourney.org

Too Big

She's getting too big. I've been saying that since she was 3 months old. Now 3 really is BIG enough. Some recent Molly quotes....

Mom can I please have some more hanitizer? (For hand sanitizer)

Mom, when I am big I am going to take Timmy and Ji in my car. I want a small car. Timmy will sit in the front and Ji in the back. I am taking them to eat at Taco Cabana.

Mom, Timmy's favorite word is no and my favorite word is Walt Disney World. :)

Mom, Timmy has a broken heart but we don't have to worry about that because Jesus fixed it, right Mom?

Favorite Photo Friday-Lindsay Dean

I stand in amazement on how God uses Blogs. Honestly, I was reluctant to start blogging until my friend Amanda convinced me it was a good way to record family history. I did it a little here and there and read a few friend's blogs. Then a little over 2 years ago I happened upon Lindsay's Heart blog. Through her mother's writing I learned about pediatric heart conditions and fell in love with Princess Lindsay. We sent Lindsay love in the mail and Molly thinks Lindsay is a real princess, like Aurora or Belle :) Through Lindsay's story God opened our hearts to adopting a child with CHD and that is when we found Timmy. His condition was no where near as severe as Lindsay's but it was something we felt we could handle. (Lindsay had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and Timmy has Pulmonary Atresia and VSD). Lindsay's Mom, Suzie encouraged us to adopt child with CDH through her faith and love for her own daughter. On June 17, 2011 after a long fight little Lindsay went home to be with Jesus. During that very week made the decision to adopt Ji. When discussing what Ji's name would be we both felt it would be very special to name her after the precious angel who spurred this whole special needs adoption on. So, I waited awhile and then asked Lindsay's mom permission to use her name. Suzie was thrilled! This week we received a package from Suzie and it will filled with all of her Lindsay's monogrammed clothes and blankets. All for Ji, Lindsay Ji that is :) This adoption has been one road block after another. Sometimes we wonder if we are doing the right thing. God keeps confirming in little and big ways that it is. I can't describe how much this means to me or how knowing Lindsay has impacted my life. AND even though we only met Lindsay through her blog we miss her and think of her every day. All because a mom loved her daughter so and shared her love through a BLOG. The picture above is Precious Princess Lindsay Dean.

Exactly

I feel exactly how he looks. Monday- After school language arts training until 5:00. Tuesday-Language Arts meeting during planning period. KOI Training after school and PTA at 6:30. Wednesday-TPRI training during planning period and staff meeting after school. There is so much training that I have no time to apply my new knowledge or do laundry for that matter. Enough already!

Weekend

Here are some photos from the weekend. Mom took care of Katrina and I enjoyed watching Molly interact with her. Molly thinks Katrina is the BEST! Timmy looks like a little man in the photo above. Looks are deceiving, he still acts like a two year old!!!! :)

Sunday Snapshot-UPDATE!

A three month wait has come to an end. We received an update, some pictures and a video of Ji. The pictures makes me really sad and some of her delays are heart breaking. Even at the age of 2 she can not sit up on her own. Here she is in all of her sweetness with dirty clothes and a little shaved heard. Orphanage photos are so hard to look at. I have hope though. Look at any referral photo or one like this and then look at the same child after being home for a month. You know what I'm talking about. Ji will turn 2 on September 30th. Please lift her up in prayer as she waits.


Timmy has only been home now for 6 months and therefore we are short on the funds to bring another child home. Does this make sense? Not to some but to us.........it does. We are raising funds for Ji's adoption through Life Song for Orphans, Both Hands Project. We work on a local widow's home and people will sponsor us to do this. Think of it like a charity golf tournament. Only instead of sponsoring us to golf we are helping a needy widow. You can read more about our orphan/widow project here. Click the link to donate :) http://bothhandsfoundation.org/bob-and-amy-meeker.aspx To donate to our adoption you have to open the link and on this page there is a donate button. Ji's adoption costs around $20,000. Can you help?

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Psalms 39:7

FRIDAY

Here is Molly hanging out at home! (Maybe Meghan took this?) I wish I was hanging out at home too! We need some prayers today. 1. Ji's paper work to be completed soon. 2. Information on Ji 3. The fund raiser- Both Hands. We are having trouble finding a widow to help. Who would have thought it would be so hard to find someone in need. In saying that if anyone knows a widow, in the DFW area, that needs home repair, please contact us. So thankful for FRIDAY!

The link below is to the Long Road to China. Lisa started a new Friday Photo Share. VERY FUN and her kids are adorable!

Dog House

Dog House is a game we ALWAYS play when we go to my Mamie's. It's basically like Sorry but with some fierce East Texas competition. When I was little I would cry and run to the back bathroom when I got knocked off the board. They all still love to remind me of this, like I would do it again at 36 years old. We tried to let Molly play this time but my Mamie kept knocking her off. (Alzheimer's you know). I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it. This side of the family could probably have a reality show. It wouldn't be pretty, that's all I'm sayin! Here is my mom, my Mamie, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Clifford making their meanest Dog House faces. You can see who won at the bottom.

Black and White Wednesday

Here are some pictures of little Savannah and Fortune. Isn't Savannah so cute? She's about the size of our dog Zoey. I think we should have brought her home with us to run around with the danes.

Wide Open Spaces

I love this first picture of M running through the field. It totally reminds me of the Dixie Chick's Wide Open Spaces. Love that song!
Who doesn't know what I'm talking about? Who's never left home, who's never struck out? To find a dream and a life of their own. A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone. Many precede and many will, follow. A young girl's dreams no longer hollow. It takes the shape of a place out west. But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed. She needs wide open spaces. Room to make her big mistakes. She needs, new faces. She knows the highest stakes. She traveled this road as a child. Wide-eyed and grinning, she never tired. But now she won't be coming back with the rest. If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test. She needs wide open spaces. Room to make her big mistakes. She needs, new faces. She knows the highest stakes. She knows the highest stakes .

HEEEHAW!

Molly with the Donkeys. Sugar, BooBoo and Penelope!

East Texas

We went to East Texas to visit my Mom's family for Labor Day weekend. On the way we stopped at my favorite gas station in Kilgore. Since I can remember my parents always let us pick out candy at Clayton's Git-N-Go. Sweet memories! I let the kids carry on the Git-N-Go tradition. They both picked gum! More pictures to come.......

Dance

My days of getting Molly to smile for the camera are over :( AND I can't believe how big she looks. Dance started again and Molly is taking Creative Movement 2. She has lots of new moves to show us. Most of it looks like galloping! LOL!