tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62946209726712654312024-03-19T04:25:10.509-07:00bonded by faithbondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-52940845608603795052009-12-09T13:40:00.000-08:002009-12-09T14:16:10.460-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuePfTZ8E7Y9V75TNRxZOEV3Bu27eAZo2o8ynaVBEQWincv7J_tV5v9vt38GOrDyRRBb8SyU9cwZG0RAKxcXR6u-DufCscUOEpGqWfane6WdL6nVo9BQKr8W8pLI6_yWpKBMC5-RUoGg/s1600-h/Thanksgiving_0004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413362795414837538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuePfTZ8E7Y9V75TNRxZOEV3Bu27eAZo2o8ynaVBEQWincv7J_tV5v9vt38GOrDyRRBb8SyU9cwZG0RAKxcXR6u-DufCscUOEpGqWfane6WdL6nVo9BQKr8W8pLI6_yWpKBMC5-RUoGg/s400/Thanksgiving_0004.JPG" border="0" /></a> The boys making pumpkin pie!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7_ONS5jZekEH1hpr6HXvXPJTYVZ2Oij5po5CyO_zqK0j8Ah1B0fQtKluoKKohGBIZ4Hq9zDBfebgPl0kLYtu-1KligknEbtZBz-2fjIA8ejZAfVCB9zZMJiSn7DvbTi3pC-FpzlvwWM/s1600-h/Thanksgiving_0002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413362789576812242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7_ONS5jZekEH1hpr6HXvXPJTYVZ2Oij5po5CyO_zqK0j8Ah1B0fQtKluoKKohGBIZ4Hq9zDBfebgPl0kLYtu-1KligknEbtZBz-2fjIA8ejZAfVCB9zZMJiSn7DvbTi3pC-FpzlvwWM/s400/Thanksgiving_0002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XF-VjF8IhSane4i82XeTJuGnEji05HRdnPIqM8ZImoL2Ko0uj-womhVyxqQwcE4ZZ2kW5KmOC8ahHY3KSbvKXDHAMda565IbAqica-M194z0_kZUwurfmLgUiJ28AIdweOlwP5KYxNY/s1600-h/Thanksgiving_0006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413362781220453378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XF-VjF8IhSane4i82XeTJuGnEji05HRdnPIqM8ZImoL2Ko0uj-womhVyxqQwcE4ZZ2kW5KmOC8ahHY3KSbvKXDHAMda565IbAqica-M194z0_kZUwurfmLgUiJ28AIdweOlwP5KYxNY/s400/Thanksgiving_0006.JPG" border="0" /></a> All of us breaking the bread for our incredible stuffing for Thanksgiving.</div><div>The only Thanksgiving pictures I got this year!<br /><br /><br /><div>We are still here! I promise! I just heard the cutest thing!!!! Rebekah asked Sean, "Do you love my hair?" He said "Yes, you know what I love more...YOU!" Always so tender to her! That was said just as I started typing! The real reason I got on to blog was to give everyone an update! We feel as if we have been through the muck and back and then again and back! It truly has been a roller coaster ride. JEf was laid off in October. He has had a difficult time dealing with the rejection. Here he has been giving his life to the building of a rock plant...he was the only one on the project for 4 years and then the last two he was finally given a team...however, it has his fingerprints all over it. It really was not a nice way to say thank you...well we don't need you anymore. However, I am convinced that the Lord did not want him there anymore. For the past 2 months he has found some consulting business! He has been going to a few places helping them find holes in there processes. Fascinating! He is great at seeing how things work and simplifying it so that others can learn. This has come with some ups and downs. He loves going into the plants but hates not knowing where the next pay check is going to come from. (For that matter where any pay check is coming from...we have not received anything yet!) He is learning to depend on the One who feeds the birds and clothes the lillies! Hard to do but we experienced His goodness with Rebekah...we can experience it again! The jobs are few right now. He has been working with a few recruiters but they are not encouraging so for now, we get to have Jeff home with us in what used to be the schoolroom (with painted bugs on the wall and a card table as a desk). I actually love having him home. He adds a lot to our studies during the day. Needless to say, no Christmas cards will be sent out this year. Sorry! We have been thinking about everyone and hope that you have a terrific Christmas. Next year you might get 2 cards from us!!! For now we are trying to pinch a few pennies to make dollars. That is a benefit of not having a job...we just can't do all of what is expected to do during this season therefore we are getting to enjoy our decorations a little more! </div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-56004045674791107962009-11-12T10:20:00.001-08:002009-11-12T10:30:21.997-08:00Happy Birthday to the boy who made me a mom!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB76j_JluSJUiZDZ5cvmZ-bCqdLFM061CSCmlaRD7W2BdTAiRzpiMbZZtv_YUdSX3PEsdz_9sSmnRmx7Fz7nI3hVTw8MgLnazdG6b30s14Tejr0u7JlzxRksIb4-Me9gpZFihaH8sI_f0/s1600-h/Stockade_0010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403285785027031874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB76j_JluSJUiZDZ5cvmZ-bCqdLFM061CSCmlaRD7W2BdTAiRzpiMbZZtv_YUdSX3PEsdz_9sSmnRmx7Fz7nI3hVTw8MgLnazdG6b30s14Tejr0u7JlzxRksIb4-Me9gpZFihaH8sI_f0/s400/Stockade_0010.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>November 12, 1997 Jeff and I checked me into the hospital so I could birth the baby I had been carrying for 9 months! Oh how excited and nervous we were! We had the baby's room all set up, the toys ready to be played with, the blankets and clothes all washed, and of course the house spotless! Now all we needed was the baby! After a day of induced labor, Jeremy Mikael Otto was born at 8:11 pm. Oh how he has added to our life. Jeremy, you have become such a young man of integrity, kindness, thoughtfulness and add so much joy to our life! Thank you for the many acts of selflessness you do. I am really looking forward to watching you and guiding you into adulthood over the next 12 years! May the Lord bless these next ones, keep you healthy, and give us wisdom to grow you into all that He created you to be! Happy 12th birthday, Have fun camping!</div><br /><div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-84107383368326302222009-10-16T14:58:00.000-07:002009-10-16T15:24:18.959-07:00Our Country song<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqRcAvMB0FcNBhcFTYAPuk3rEDqh24twr8i_2X1g7KcyZvj2KHR6xTiMWOQFS2YlIljAqhmHUzsYgp2IJfsb1R3KgL6jbIrVr3ZVvMYBaIScNkYxlPZq4sm0o4PbxsbZU2FCponvGnAQ/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393327017651014882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqRcAvMB0FcNBhcFTYAPuk3rEDqh24twr8i_2X1g7KcyZvj2KHR6xTiMWOQFS2YlIljAqhmHUzsYgp2IJfsb1R3KgL6jbIrVr3ZVvMYBaIScNkYxlPZq4sm0o4PbxsbZU2FCponvGnAQ/s400/Tide+pools_0020.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I think we have the makings of country songwriters; "Lost my job, Lost my truck, Lost my dog, Roof is falling down...but I still got my girl!!!" Don't you think it will be on the top of the charts? Jeff lost his job 2 Thurs. ago. His truck was a company truck so that was gone as well! We had to put our beloved Dusty down...she was our first born...but the furry kind! Then this past Monday we had a huge storm and our ceiling starting leaking! Believe it or not...we are still smiling! Our mountain moving, gasp giving, awe inspiring (to steal a phrase from a bloggy friend) God has given us a lot to smile about. Jeff has started consulting! My dad is helping him break into the food plants (processing rocks or processing fertilizer, the machines are the same!) and help teach these guys to better run their plants! He has one paying customer already and 2 possibilities next week! This will allow him to work from home and be MUCH more involved with us! He taught one of our art lessons the other day! He is home for our morning walk/ bike ride and devotions! Granite gave us a nice severence package so if Jeff gets this business up and running soon then we might be better off than before all this happened. These last few months have been very stress filled, knowing that Granite would have to condense some jobs together. The cuts went %40 deep. He went back yesterday for lunch with a few friends and was really relieved that he did not have to play the political game anymore! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Drum roll please for the best news yet! Rebekah has not had a potty accident in one 5 days!!!! Maybe she just needed her daddy home! </div><div> </div><div>If the Lord puts us on your mind...say a prayer. This is scary time to be unemployed and starting something new does not come easy to Jeff!</div><br /><div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-73089770294892943862009-09-24T19:18:00.000-07:002009-09-24T19:48:12.507-07:00My Little 3 year old!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLMBpR9a1j2HkkODE1_xrIZONKKTpzPGeCPN1TUUlFF3b61t7W0iqeaZ9BpIx2Els2KQeBU8-FgqDOWQdfAkBAcp76pHWoeoeJV5BCSUv8IuRdiILl16O0Gs49rAMhYr0RVtREJ1eWu0/s1600-h/School_0004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385231336616382914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLMBpR9a1j2HkkODE1_xrIZONKKTpzPGeCPN1TUUlFF3b61t7W0iqeaZ9BpIx2Els2KQeBU8-FgqDOWQdfAkBAcp76pHWoeoeJV5BCSUv8IuRdiILl16O0Gs49rAMhYr0RVtREJ1eWu0/s400/School_0004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>What a joy it has been to be this little darling's mom! She is funny, witty, a tad bit shy, adores her big "brovers" and "siser", and is my "little bit of heaven". We celebrated her special day with presents and rice! (That is all she wanted...rice and a balloon! Being the mom of 4 I noticed a deal!!! That is what the little angel got!) Happy Birthday my sweet girl!</div><br /><div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-50954259366268998572009-08-05T13:44:00.000-07:002009-08-05T14:40:43.700-07:00Weekend Fun<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLEMIwH3y3jvwJJ6xthgsvhgfUlKpjgE6SYFQ51IsC0QQnhm5aodup_-WmnMe3bCIxkBYgergKbom0p9kTmc-ShyphenhyphenrRpPv9oVm34xX-5_kZdi9Ni_TZygq9JBpW0_aiIZaiqfZOFIGbL4/s1600-h/Ice+Cream_0002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366586429798089474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLEMIwH3y3jvwJJ6xthgsvhgfUlKpjgE6SYFQ51IsC0QQnhm5aodup_-WmnMe3bCIxkBYgergKbom0p9kTmc-ShyphenhyphenrRpPv9oVm34xX-5_kZdi9Ni_TZygq9JBpW0_aiIZaiqfZOFIGbL4/s400/Ice+Cream_0002.JPG" border="0" /></a> Like father like son. Jeff usually spills his last drop of ice cream on his shirt. This time it was Sean's turn to do that!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DM2NovWGNzyHW1KMTZTYubwb9gfc72XK48oY0r9tSZvxZMi5OFXM4RJpf1poTzNDaNSZw_nYkNHX9A9K2AgPzzRIXoovNYqplq4p7goiFGiDB0_NN8G8KhY2R0x6Gz-9KCfy955Se-c/s1600-h/Sam's+Hoffbreau_0002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366586420659422530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DM2NovWGNzyHW1KMTZTYubwb9gfc72XK48oY0r9tSZvxZMi5OFXM4RJpf1poTzNDaNSZw_nYkNHX9A9K2AgPzzRIXoovNYqplq4p7goiFGiDB0_NN8G8KhY2R0x6Gz-9KCfy955Se-c/s400/Sam's+Hoffbreau_0002.JPG" border="0" /></a>All of us plus Reese, Jeremy's friend, at Sam's...a favorite restaurant of both Jeff's family and mine!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingQSTPjTjcnv677wrkeYB3-FJrkgniPJmpLrJAxQe7AXG8Br9VsJJW98oxq5ZJn-jPRgevBHzTz4c13fJSjvNEAPS2hvOgPFjH-OAne5zRw2WF9AE95M_XrhKBWZzEbKCfsxt73RcmPw/s1600-h/Grandma+Lorraine_0001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366586414286560514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingQSTPjTjcnv677wrkeYB3-FJrkgniPJmpLrJAxQe7AXG8Br9VsJJW98oxq5ZJn-jPRgevBHzTz4c13fJSjvNEAPS2hvOgPFjH-OAne5zRw2WF9AE95M_XrhKBWZzEbKCfsxt73RcmPw/s400/Grandma+Lorraine_0001.JPG" border="0" /></a> At Grandma Lorraine's<br /><br /><br /><br /><div>This weekend we went to Sacramento for some train fun! Jeff came home on Friday night and said he had a great idea for Saturday, to go to Sacramento and ride on a mini steam train. My first reaction was to say no but I have been trying to encourage Jeff to make plans for our family so I went along with the idea. I thought the older kids would think this was a "kiddy" thing to do, but to my surprise, they loved the idea! The trains ran on only a lawn mowere engine. The real steam engines were not runnin. We still had a blast and rode on them twice! We had a fabulous time and even got to stop by and see Jeff's grandma, Lorraine Otto. This grandma has never even met Rebekah. It was a sweet surprise! </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Before we left for Sacramento, Jeremy tested for his green belt! He passed!!!! Now he gets to spar! This is Sean and Jeremy sparring!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div><br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzJ4TYSnNaLevzEevZCcXGSDhTZlHG0bbmbUGiC3KiI6Td1DpJVQx6P0ei2C3mMlTFGfwaX-lma9Cc6qmjrdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-83085094061187126952009-07-29T08:50:00.000-07:002009-07-29T09:13:42.731-07:00Day at the Tide pools<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi528ncu1cC-kYm0ioD7w9xW95veo8FYdrvDGFzkZx9yfnzMN4UbV0jJu35_TIIu-jKJPtfK-6wtiQ2_sc3xqP3s8fjktqz6h-Gr02D30Sz8sIc5UEghe9BJYkB3pItmUz-PmjJ6xS9MYI/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0065.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363915335462107474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi528ncu1cC-kYm0ioD7w9xW95veo8FYdrvDGFzkZx9yfnzMN4UbV0jJu35_TIIu-jKJPtfK-6wtiQ2_sc3xqP3s8fjktqz6h-Gr02D30Sz8sIc5UEghe9BJYkB3pItmUz-PmjJ6xS9MYI/s400/Tide+pools_0065.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJh-5wEAz5pXyn0AcULZmy15F6mpndVWboK4yNWzVK3Zq2YXY9WooUZKBimKl98MaTfuKPau6dNEPBKYURmnS34Pxzi8oNJMwUafBDTYu_k0cwJYtoDI50Jgp8ZbaUU5mjqgFH7AMnwgo/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0057.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363915334406935266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJh-5wEAz5pXyn0AcULZmy15F6mpndVWboK4yNWzVK3Zq2YXY9WooUZKBimKl98MaTfuKPau6dNEPBKYURmnS34Pxzi8oNJMwUafBDTYu_k0cwJYtoDI50Jgp8ZbaUU5mjqgFH7AMnwgo/s400/Tide+pools_0057.JPG" border="0" /></a>Whoops! Did you get a little wet?<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuBZ0WDV_mcFcZavg5s66yOSFTOYGV7ytW9zotvN-HN6lc53wmTBu4wXUdPgoJhTZYbVP1m8ZXYuDweKUIGiJIGcuFY9mLO0fD78mwO8ZFiX332E_mtMsS5NvBOF4VoLpaoiDXa0_egw/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0039.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363915327657151890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuBZ0WDV_mcFcZavg5s66yOSFTOYGV7ytW9zotvN-HN6lc53wmTBu4wXUdPgoJhTZYbVP1m8ZXYuDweKUIGiJIGcuFY9mLO0fD78mwO8ZFiX332E_mtMsS5NvBOF4VoLpaoiDXa0_egw/s400/Tide+pools_0039.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Jeremy made a new friend!<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Dh0n6JSBlGHyEIaq0yzDzLSu5jLLRj91P7e4Jk0LMkDlUIx5pYEAFtO-1s0itQP3Tcb2ihyYxwubSpfh-0j1VSBRZhyphenhyphenCB_wz0UBR4S_h1nUHxfSMzy16CBQV1mnXPep97LuL2-kcOk/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0074.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363914285564923234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Dh0n6JSBlGHyEIaq0yzDzLSu5jLLRj91P7e4Jk0LMkDlUIx5pYEAFtO-1s0itQP3Tcb2ihyYxwubSpfh-0j1VSBRZhyphenhyphenCB_wz0UBR4S_h1nUHxfSMzy16CBQV1mnXPep97LuL2-kcOk/s400/Tide+pools_0074.JPG" border="0" /></a> These 2 seals jumped up to say hi!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMTWfUnDkTGn_6hRedome6EjaeXFowHTBad4MR9kcS0VQmoLCjOYco4wLYw0WptiUVdhd7r1jd0bhAxdCwlobUaMe7NwCc2VSMYvqv2CcQ5exClj-qdvWp7few1XvlxR-e_gYok754ik/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0032.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363914274623927298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMTWfUnDkTGn_6hRedome6EjaeXFowHTBad4MR9kcS0VQmoLCjOYco4wLYw0WptiUVdhd7r1jd0bhAxdCwlobUaMe7NwCc2VSMYvqv2CcQ5exClj-qdvWp7few1XvlxR-e_gYok754ik/s400/Tide+pools_0032.JPG" border="0" /></a> Maggie adores all things that swim in the ocean.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs5vnbH6IZ2Oq5mu-8J13m0qUI0eM73w8F9L9MwIDpcDLs-fu1Jf-MGnAG9EtsVmVpRXgPtcKI8WTCNNFY_zgtx5ZKl4vp-HzaGfNSdmb1Uo4pRPDVG7y99BzFenglPFW2JEH-4Cbprg/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0027.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363914272009645986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs5vnbH6IZ2Oq5mu-8J13m0qUI0eM73w8F9L9MwIDpcDLs-fu1Jf-MGnAG9EtsVmVpRXgPtcKI8WTCNNFY_zgtx5ZKl4vp-HzaGfNSdmb1Uo4pRPDVG7y99BzFenglPFW2JEH-4Cbprg/s400/Tide+pools_0027.JPG" border="0" /></a>This one was the brave one!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpAR9BETlw71kiJv1MuhWrFRFXJ5tPd6y5iCRkHhj3r20HVLIu-W35pmLMRoCC8zu1Nxvhd8WfTdIDeu_qvpI0va1vXYtdG6f0NRUyeUU0-sGIrRDjfS0xdjtdfNvrlAEySebw8vLH_Y/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363913166442392050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpAR9BETlw71kiJv1MuhWrFRFXJ5tPd6y5iCRkHhj3r20HVLIu-W35pmLMRoCC8zu1Nxvhd8WfTdIDeu_qvpI0va1vXYtdG6f0NRUyeUU0-sGIrRDjfS0xdjtdfNvrlAEySebw8vLH_Y/s400/Tide+pools_0009.JPG" border="0" /></a> A "gift from a seagull! And what is that? Might that be a fingerprint?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRrcc_akMXscKEHzydVXVgcG_0aSKlNKfYfFyroAh3cacyuV-TQXJFAhfKUPyaES-KeiNLCf9LrIIOfOtGYzJ_IrBd-76hpKyraZwey_43vSWY9H5OETxiD93ANHKpF80B38MiInegRg/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363913168126752514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRrcc_akMXscKEHzydVXVgcG_0aSKlNKfYfFyroAh3cacyuV-TQXJFAhfKUPyaES-KeiNLCf9LrIIOfOtGYzJ_IrBd-76hpKyraZwey_43vSWY9H5OETxiD93ANHKpF80B38MiInegRg/s400/Tide+pools_0008.JPG" border="0" /></a>Mommy, look it is sticky?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoMh-zBdyKcIxqtzwh5gOXvCU7jCBczcdfPmfdCzYxTJ3Twf0u82WG8fnfTPCDCs2Xkbk8wVDmSKK_XlPKAhI1t3Gpn8BYV_GqrZtlRfaMKRrIz1oVHYV31MJKDqABU_hsy6NbXB-9Rs/s1600-h/Tide+pools_0012.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363913165662777314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoMh-zBdyKcIxqtzwh5gOXvCU7jCBczcdfPmfdCzYxTJ3Twf0u82WG8fnfTPCDCs2Xkbk8wVDmSKK_XlPKAhI1t3Gpn8BYV_GqrZtlRfaMKRrIz1oVHYV31MJKDqABU_hsy6NbXB-9Rs/s400/Tide+pools_0012.JPG" border="0" /></a>Sean holding up the world!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>What do you do when your oldest needs to be picked up at camp 2 and a half hours away? Spend the day at the tide pools! After reuniting with Jeremy, (what sweet stuff to a mommy's heart) we spent a few hours at Natural Bridges. I am always so stunned at the power of the Lord when we get to go to the ocean. The Bridges used to be two but the water has shaved them down to one! Power in water, water made by our Lord, Power in God our creator! It is a nice reminder as I struggle with being overwhelmed with today's economy, friends that have cancer (check out Aimee's blog on the sidebar...better picture is coming), and teaching 4 children that will have a bigger job to do in helping to reconstruct this world that we are giving them. I was reminded last week during our Truth study how the Lord has never given up and throughout history he has given His Church a job to do, and the honor of doing it! Ultimately, He is the one in charge and He never makes a mistake. Catherine Dang said during one of her training classes, "The Lord will always use evil to accomplish His good!" I am waiting and watching and working with hope! I hope you are too! </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-80716759656654277892009-07-22T11:53:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:05:29.351-07:00Garrett was here!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVexoHwWhzl2aRfllrQEmXx9Ap95Br07MfnZC7D3p6XB8CDqMO-n3ZfQ8gwyTzd4sFw5lzEaWuBaA5X9H9QOewfxFlL6ZHB-W5AXEx_qn3QpbY91hokV212tvLK6B24bEn_aBvmOQm9RQ/s1600-h/Garrett_0003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361360294507522914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVexoHwWhzl2aRfllrQEmXx9Ap95Br07MfnZC7D3p6XB8CDqMO-n3ZfQ8gwyTzd4sFw5lzEaWuBaA5X9H9QOewfxFlL6ZHB-W5AXEx_qn3QpbY91hokV212tvLK6B24bEn_aBvmOQm9RQ/s400/Garrett_0003.JPG" border="0" /></a> Garrett and his buddy Joey with my 4 kids!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EOwOi5iUzZmqihMvca75F660Qg0xBkchNPcEsBMa3S_P-WmS88AfvekSRnnFY5IfGudOZhdIwBR2dHmiNDYjV4SNH8m0wcpxj4_xN5Tqk_7HtwfzLD_aWEHQ2xk7ZE65mUlSbXU87_0/s1600-h/Garrett_0002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361360293094520034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EOwOi5iUzZmqihMvca75F660Qg0xBkchNPcEsBMa3S_P-WmS88AfvekSRnnFY5IfGudOZhdIwBR2dHmiNDYjV4SNH8m0wcpxj4_xN5Tqk_7HtwfzLD_aWEHQ2xk7ZE65mUlSbXU87_0/s400/Garrett_0002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xkjkI3wBJuuTr-nsN2mQmYQDNqapIYZAFE9N5Tq6TLrWy_Paz5YaspBpUqRVbsVQeHmbynszSFndDD6fIWS17T-3KLTTqcAEw8bu-MzBQ_zWIYWeGKoUFmqAu-rOYFOG3zyL5aiLLvg/s1600-h/Garrett_0001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361360285433632258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xkjkI3wBJuuTr-nsN2mQmYQDNqapIYZAFE9N5Tq6TLrWy_Paz5YaspBpUqRVbsVQeHmbynszSFndDD6fIWS17T-3KLTTqcAEw8bu-MzBQ_zWIYWeGKoUFmqAu-rOYFOG3zyL5aiLLvg/s400/Garrett_0001.JPG" border="0" /></a> Extremes!</div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Garrett, my cousin visited us last week! What an incredible man he has become! He joined the military last year and has been stationed in San Diego. He drove through our town and stopped by on his way back home to Washington. After a month of rest...he will go to Virginia to train and then off to somewhere in the world to guard one of our embassies. What a joy it is to know him and an honor to call my cousin. He lived with my folks for the last 2 years of his High School career so sometimes it feels as if I have a little brother! He is 6 foot something...taller than my husband by a few inches! It was very cute to see my smallest daughter who will probably never pass 5 feet look up to her 2nd cousin who probably was never that small!!! Garrett, you be very careful wherever they place you. I will be praying for you and counting the days till we see you again! Thank you for being an incredible role model for my kids to "look up to"! Most of all, thank you for protecting the freedom that we still have in America. </div><div align="left"><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-8677903328747890502009-07-15T13:13:00.000-07:002009-07-15T13:17:06.199-07:00Mom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3l-E_3sR0LCMX1AhvSJBa2g6C1JQYo6FGZgcTDFbDu-5jaFlW1rmMf-nXOVnoeswmFzJwQU26rlC8aIyKmewIm_59uiRAm67qcig-sStGL03HUgX8vTlWXQln0CiF-b3ivnOxPkqSXQ/s1600-h/Mother+Daughter_0001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358783504516311282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3l-E_3sR0LCMX1AhvSJBa2g6C1JQYo6FGZgcTDFbDu-5jaFlW1rmMf-nXOVnoeswmFzJwQU26rlC8aIyKmewIm_59uiRAm67qcig-sStGL03HUgX8vTlWXQln0CiF-b3ivnOxPkqSXQ/s400/Mother+Daughter_0001.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>My Mom is here! We are having a terrific day. She had Sean for a few days and they rode the train up here. I want to be like her when I grow up!</div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-57421104604460987972009-07-14T11:12:00.000-07:002009-07-14T11:19:55.653-07:00Don't you wish everything was made of cinnamon rolls?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL0llYlgT53pVVjcypd7bJZe_KfEOAIsxgC5u506tPb36Rgr0cEZbwfPeGf2nP4i41n_HoPHBtysTpLyXuDlieEEiQGuQNmegON7ltWtnxKoWQQ-Gz444C9pkoHfst4R1u5gWpqrM0KM/s1600-h/Family_0073.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358381933382469298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL0llYlgT53pVVjcypd7bJZe_KfEOAIsxgC5u506tPb36Rgr0cEZbwfPeGf2nP4i41n_HoPHBtysTpLyXuDlieEEiQGuQNmegON7ltWtnxKoWQQ-Gz444C9pkoHfst4R1u5gWpqrM0KM/s400/Family_0073.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This was the question me adorable MaggieAnn said today. I felt as if I had been in the kitchen all morning. Made smoothie for Jeff before he left for work, breakfast for Rebekah who got up before everyone else, pottied in the kitchen...had to clean that up...pottied again in the kitchen...made smoothie for Jeremy who has decided that sleeping in is wonderful, taught a piano lesson, cleaned up the kitchen, put in cinnamon rolls, pottied again in kitchen, then heard my sweet Maggieann say this!!!! All was worth it! (I was not the one pottying in the kitchen...adorable daughter number 2 was!!!!) Off to go get the car fixed and get out of the kitchen!!!!</div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-52950780878762139302009-07-09T10:32:00.000-07:002009-07-09T10:34:59.085-07:00The Pictures!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYcLSJSUyRK72KnHLyIvhwIlFRVlfm4MLxsWOrCj7gMTD8BxjcnilxZn49FbXTVpj2VXt2xOVvY4YhH_JtmiSivQZLyXuWkmRZSNqkzW3UksJpgqLlE-8V7oSqjLhdzB8RUq6pu2EU3I/s1600-h/Mother's+Day_0023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356515049253728770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYcLSJSUyRK72KnHLyIvhwIlFRVlfm4MLxsWOrCj7gMTD8BxjcnilxZn49FbXTVpj2VXt2xOVvY4YhH_JtmiSivQZLyXuWkmRZSNqkzW3UksJpgqLlE-8V7oSqjLhdzB8RUq6pu2EU3I/s400/Mother's+Day_0023.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmF0uYLqbDO6vEvvQa8J_gK0N1CNgVtOy8-p8SXe6tGTfQ-f5lW6XhViZWy5VfW4wU9DRFQ5V1C6_qHuwihEu3cVwLdxn__VMNHNJFxrn8OFBa1Kb8TTGqooTTua-fXBARryPDTBmhUbg/s1600-h/Race_0005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356515045526533010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmF0uYLqbDO6vEvvQa8J_gK0N1CNgVtOy8-p8SXe6tGTfQ-f5lW6XhViZWy5VfW4wU9DRFQ5V1C6_qHuwihEu3cVwLdxn__VMNHNJFxrn8OFBa1Kb8TTGqooTTua-fXBARryPDTBmhUbg/s400/Race_0005.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6yC4oBisZM8LOyAQfbpp8wl9uLuZinhLAdQeQSMglbv7h_LKJJo-U99YD96LXXMavSYKWaG5xyd8cCyEc9zl_PHlNRQ-MVoDPls8yjnpX-qR1DJ677fxrR44naikcFHuHFjz1kW5eR8/s1600-h/KOA+2009_0005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356515040764824818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6yC4oBisZM8LOyAQfbpp8wl9uLuZinhLAdQeQSMglbv7h_LKJJo-U99YD96LXXMavSYKWaG5xyd8cCyEc9zl_PHlNRQ-MVoDPls8yjnpX-qR1DJ677fxrR44naikcFHuHFjz1kW5eR8/s400/KOA+2009_0005.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Sorry! I was having trouble uploading the pictures for the last post! Here they are!</div><div>Happy Birthday Jeff!<br /><br /><div></div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-44317549002937796842009-07-09T09:17:00.001-07:002009-07-11T18:10:18.932-07:00Happy Birthday My Dear Jeff!<div>Once upon a Time there were 2 little girls named Debbie and Peggy! They were best friends! They would always talk about growing up and having children and their children would marry! Well, In this story, happily ever after really happened! These 2 little girls actually did grow up, did not live next door to each other but lived clear across the state. Debbie had a boy and named him Jeff. Peggy had a girl and named her Tricia. The kids would see each other a few times as they were growing up but that would stop shortly after Jeff was 10 and Tricia was 8. It came to be time for these kids to go to college. Tricia went out of state as Jeff decided to go to Fresno. It just so happened that Tricia's parents moved to Fresno. Peggy was deperatly needing a child around so she rejoiced when she learned that Jeff had started Fresno State. Peggy "adopted" Jeff and he would be welcomed into that household just as if he was Peggy's son! Tricia would come home from college and meet Jeff only to think he was wierd. (You should have seen his clothes that he wore!) But Peggy would often tell her that the woman who captured JEff's heart would be the luckiest woman around! After a year of out of state tuition, Tricia decided to go to college in Fresno. She moved to the same apt. complex that JEff lived in. They would often walk to class together and reminis about younger days! They would talk to each other about everything! Jeff's roomate even asked Tricia on dates and bring Jeff along for support! One day, Jeff decided to ask Tricia to come home with him to visit his folks. She had not seen them for 10 years. What fun they had as they went out on the town. It was then that Jeff knew he had to ask Tricia to share the rest of his life with him. </div>
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<br /><div>Jeff, what a life you have given me! Thank you for your constant love, your dedicated learning of what makes me tick, your undivided affection. The Lord has truly blessed me by providing me such a great husband. I am honored to be your teamate. What a joy it is to watch you grow and learn how to lead our family. I am so glad the Lord choose to give you life 38 years ago today. I am so looking forward to your next 38 years! Happy Birthday!</div>
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<br /><div> </div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-60328534630716899052009-05-23T22:38:00.000-07:002009-05-23T23:14:41.124-07:00What a blur!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uG581LxeJuCtm50uITYvinDpbh5kGaSKcL35WeRtQMj-ja0Yr3PYjnQm5S2CKdVMJA9otfl7bg5zU9yBKc9hm7m4mjtkGASkOPURV_Wb4S56T3K73LGdxUWRA509EYB2kFrw062GfQs/s1600-h/Mother+Daughter_0004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339261592037679698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uG581LxeJuCtm50uITYvinDpbh5kGaSKcL35WeRtQMj-ja0Yr3PYjnQm5S2CKdVMJA9otfl7bg5zU9yBKc9hm7m4mjtkGASkOPURV_Wb4S56T3K73LGdxUWRA509EYB2kFrw062GfQs/s400/Mother+Daughter_0004.JPG" border="0" /></a> Train ride to Hanford!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7uAkHdLF2OuEEHKYDe3bxoQ7yQTY7Ehe4PAMY0-sWjpzJRF-98e32mL0Ca3LU7dF5cwyH4QFtUGlulO5i207G8NRisvAhe7rKQPzh5NIX0CBLwRC_XPczUwukPQCqOxBRvxgN6L8m3A/s1600-h/Mother+Daughter_0020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339261589645382818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7uAkHdLF2OuEEHKYDe3bxoQ7yQTY7Ehe4PAMY0-sWjpzJRF-98e32mL0Ca3LU7dF5cwyH4QFtUGlulO5i207G8NRisvAhe7rKQPzh5NIX0CBLwRC_XPczUwukPQCqOxBRvxgN6L8m3A/s400/Mother+Daughter_0020.JPG" border="0" /></a>The best ice cream in the valley!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9yVwxENhbSXa56m5CKvo2AFk3re05n87H1KlfsFApDwFoYH8PNOmsf-raqFsNwm_4pZQcclR8g4h5Z-gRzSYPtEn98CHxmsV3_EbrTCZkQRb0aZl8EQXs3jSKzEzlIohQ6uzgimTEfU/s1600-h/Mother+Daughter_0023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339261588716700082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9yVwxENhbSXa56m5CKvo2AFk3re05n87H1KlfsFApDwFoYH8PNOmsf-raqFsNwm_4pZQcclR8g4h5Z-gRzSYPtEn98CHxmsV3_EbrTCZkQRb0aZl8EQXs3jSKzEzlIohQ6uzgimTEfU/s400/Mother+Daughter_0023.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFzoF5LPcsJDXodiP72v5PNdnjD9PdhuwOtG9B8hQ1TtGfqRlMQcy3xYL0FoOIXoFsqsNDdZwrWxuhpJbBVsPuxpwKQ2FWN9Y-nRxViF1Ezos-6eUlxxvTEygzmDJqnc8kDFHACw571M/s1600-h/Mother+Daughter_0006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339261583557692194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFzoF5LPcsJDXodiP72v5PNdnjD9PdhuwOtG9B8hQ1TtGfqRlMQcy3xYL0FoOIXoFsqsNDdZwrWxuhpJbBVsPuxpwKQ2FWN9Y-nRxViF1Ezos-6eUlxxvTEygzmDJqnc8kDFHACw571M/s400/Mother+Daughter_0006.JPG" border="0" /></a>My Mom and Maggieann<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6oY8gQCqIeNS8JKRocuRKXNe4F59korwTw94UoLSWgDP8RfaNCZVzasX4RCgUY76JB6VD1fyNnFm8D62EhlRrITOFgE_KieVLBX3QjDZLIYI4i4pVd-NiL66L1AcPLqnkQtSmuBdTFw/s1600-h/Dr.+Grampa+Gene_0001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339261580282409890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6oY8gQCqIeNS8JKRocuRKXNe4F59korwTw94UoLSWgDP8RfaNCZVzasX4RCgUY76JB6VD1fyNnFm8D62EhlRrITOFgE_KieVLBX3QjDZLIYI4i4pVd-NiL66L1AcPLqnkQtSmuBdTFw/s400/Dr.+Grampa+Gene_0001.JPG" border="0" /></a>Sean with Jeff's Dad...the greatest dentist alive!</div><div> </div><div> </div><div align="left">Okay, here it goes! What a blur of a week. One of the greatest things about homeschooling is you get to take trips anytime you want! My mom had asked me to come down for a mother/daughter shopping trip that her church was going on! Well, of course the girls and I would come...who passes down a shopping trip? We would ride the train from Fresno to Hanford (30 min), have ice cream at Superior Dairy (been around since my dad was a little boy!) and then go shopping! I also needed to get Sean's cavity filled (story to come next) with my Dad in-law...the dentist!!!! So the kids and I piled into our Suburban and drove to Fresno for a nice, relaxing visit with the grandparents. I love visiting with my folks. They take such good care of me. My dad does not let me do a dish and he is always there ready to walk all the way outside to throw a dirty diaper away! Jeff stayed home to put in our new (new to us but ripped out of my in-laws home) wood floor! He could get a lot done without kids here! So we would stay until Monday! We had a blast on the train. Rebekah was glued to the window. She would also say "choo choo" when the train whistle blew! The ice cream was delicious and I found some fabulous clothes at a great consignment shop!!! The day was successful. Monday, we went to Reedley, where my in-laws live, and got Sean's tooth taken care of. He goes to a dentist here in town but she frightened him. Sean picks up on adult talk very well. The dentist was trying to ask me if he would need laughy gas for his tooth filling. This is a pediatric dentist and she is very used to children that don't behave. She asked me in such a way that Sean thought she was going to surgically remove his head!!! She really should have pulled me out of the room to ask me. After all the filling was tiny. I said he wouldn't need the gas but she almost insisted on it. I didn't want my son to be afraid of the dentist for ever so I called Gene and asked if he could do it! He didn't even have to numb Sean's tooth up! It was that small! When Grampa was done Sean said, "Was that all?" </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Right before we came down, I was talking to my mom about how I never can get anything done. Things get done...superficially, but nothing gets done completly. With all of the extra things that I have going on it sure would be nice to have some time without kids. I have not been without atleast one child for any amount of time for over 3 months! She said she would take the kids if I could wait until Tues. to leave. We have to go down the following weekend for a family get together for Jeff's family, so we would pick the kids up on Friday and go to my in-laws for the next weekend! </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">The days have been perfect! I had lunch with a friend on Wed, another friend on Thurs, settled some convention stuff and some carnival stuff. Helped Jeff put in the wood floor (he got sick while we were gone and did not do as much as he wanted to...however, he did do some!!!!) Planned for next year, ordered some curriculum, did the kids report cards and other paper work, cleaned and re-organized the schoolroom, had soushi with JEff, etc....The only thing I didn't get done was to clean the house. On Friday, after I had packed I came down with what Jeff had last weekend. I couldn't go with Jeff to pick the kids up and go to the family get together. I have been on the couch for 2 days and I am ready for this house to not be quiet anymore. I am really missing the kids. They were supposed to come home tonight but Jeff was too tired to drive home.(taking care of 4 kids in someone elses home will do that to you! He said that Rebekah woke up at 5:30am screaming for me! Agh, it's good for him!!!) Can't wait to see them and start a normal routine again now that I am caught up on everything and my house is organized. I started feeling better this afternoon so I cleaned the part of the house that hasn't been affected by the floor project...so now I am really caught up. Isn't it amazing what you can get done without those wonderful interuptions. Life would sure be boring if I didn't have those interuptions to keep me relying on the One that blessed me with those interuption makers! It truly is nice to have some time alone in my own home but now they can come back!!!!!! Hurry!!!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div><br /></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-41715708807897645212009-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:002009-05-13T11:56:19.431-07:00I've downloaded Pictures!!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRd2tGqe5LDjZtDHrTSWF_IhCpMZYOmsgdLUfHBWSiu9du6GKFVaw64wrkpJXglr7LbnqvEg5XVnWdckJAhcGxzvf7wTnQ9A8Kr4sb8C9Ifkfd0WxDE0tf7se8MjYNcExV4GiQkGOGnM/s1600-h/Superbowl_0007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335383712201250930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRd2tGqe5LDjZtDHrTSWF_IhCpMZYOmsgdLUfHBWSiu9du6GKFVaw64wrkpJXglr7LbnqvEg5XVnWdckJAhcGxzvf7wTnQ9A8Kr4sb8C9Ifkfd0WxDE0tf7se8MjYNcExV4GiQkGOGnM/s400/Superbowl_0007.JPG" border="0" /></a> Trying out the 3-D glasses that her brother had!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBaJqSsXaAdQHyFFYUGGep9FZb3P8MxzD8qNrIfz77_vuPtaqN6zcSZl4BMu_tlW5goFh-RF5eTgVrjRUPU_qD9oLOjvPyYcneDzZ0OPFD6UGCU5s3zoOBsYG13n9ckChlsKZ8mQCpQc/s1600-h/IMG_4040.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335383712624349378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBaJqSsXaAdQHyFFYUGGep9FZb3P8MxzD8qNrIfz77_vuPtaqN6zcSZl4BMu_tlW5goFh-RF5eTgVrjRUPU_qD9oLOjvPyYcneDzZ0OPFD6UGCU5s3zoOBsYG13n9ckChlsKZ8mQCpQc/s400/IMG_4040.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />A day and the life of homeschooled boys! They were trying to get a paper airplane off of a ledge way up high in our house! They were using their dad's tape measure!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0OdT3TIdUAFIqU6jyayZC3RHVWfvMFMS_V8UC3bRImWxcNIcRwGkcHthe-sznI4-3i9Tmo_i-wtmF8Gqryf1UoXJXuWMpZScE92ayta3QIVS_l5-OPbLrQZHWjd3m8GBsi_fRArRAX8/s1600-h/IMG_4039.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335383710291306546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0OdT3TIdUAFIqU6jyayZC3RHVWfvMFMS_V8UC3bRImWxcNIcRwGkcHthe-sznI4-3i9Tmo_i-wtmF8Gqryf1UoXJXuWMpZScE92ayta3QIVS_l5-OPbLrQZHWjd3m8GBsi_fRArRAX8/s400/IMG_4039.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />While the boys were inside with paper airplanes, the girls were outside getting wet and eating an Otter Pop.<br /><br /><div>Wow! The simple things in life sometimes are the most exciting! I have been waiting for Jeff to teach me how to download pictures off of the camera for a super long time! I know it is not hard, but Jeff has a way of labeling the pictures that I didn't want to mess up! It seems that our time is filled with too many things to get done that the camera is neglected. Well, the chord was plugged in and the kids didn't need me roght at the moment...so I downloaded anyway without the camera master! I'll let you know if I've screwed up the labeling process. Oh well! One can only wait so long! </div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-50113558728413827192009-05-12T19:33:00.000-07:002009-05-12T19:51:37.862-07:00We're back!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgie0N3nRfC84I8uICQDmuE8ikulOHQSLiFBtpnBwP1-cWrWP45eiPQHy_MzCU-DxmfkXqurTnv5PW-5roJPlVScTcqN9mV25PibTCAvWY8IDWfSM_m0s_ngGuLu31nAh8Go1kWV1BJRsE/s1600-h/Birthday_0049.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335135418361230226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgie0N3nRfC84I8uICQDmuE8ikulOHQSLiFBtpnBwP1-cWrWP45eiPQHy_MzCU-DxmfkXqurTnv5PW-5roJPlVScTcqN9mV25PibTCAvWY8IDWfSM_m0s_ngGuLu31nAh8Go1kWV1BJRsE/s400/Birthday_0049.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb2MvEkEanF3UCFx4z_GzhBixuQuBwti4BTgLFDB1zDt526liz2dmTc00xqN6eGSJKHQqm5HKSD-ap2_-zM32ZdZRru27dkVyw9u3fzMXtJDg7MJP812dMj_RVy6QiGX_ul9yeDHIB_U/s1600-h/Testing_0019.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335135413697534850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb2MvEkEanF3UCFx4z_GzhBixuQuBwti4BTgLFDB1zDt526liz2dmTc00xqN6eGSJKHQqm5HKSD-ap2_-zM32ZdZRru27dkVyw9u3fzMXtJDg7MJP812dMj_RVy6QiGX_ul9yeDHIB_U/s400/Testing_0019.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlbNPa6XH4irdM_XqpRMRy736WaVXMwKKdacQ_sIIpI6IfyH0YemtiKlqIXrYBM8pP8CXorGU3zsT7CKyh3NvgHuOorW8Kz_fu5RdTIZKGg9abk5wrhyphenhyphenv-AT6-R3KrglX4UorqEJRXvc/s1600-h/Birthday_0008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335134126402265554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlbNPa6XH4irdM_XqpRMRy736WaVXMwKKdacQ_sIIpI6IfyH0YemtiKlqIXrYBM8pP8CXorGU3zsT7CKyh3NvgHuOorW8Kz_fu5RdTIZKGg9abk5wrhyphenhyphenv-AT6-R3KrglX4UorqEJRXvc/s400/Birthday_0008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>It's been a while but we are still alive! Blogging has been so far down on my list of things to get done. Feels like just the neccesity has been getting done. That will change now that summer is almost here. We are wrapping things up for school. Most of our curriculm is done, now we are just tying up loose ends. This year has been such a challenge as far as schooling the kids. Rebekah does not nap more than one hour so most of school is juggling! I have become a good juggler though and Rebekah getting older helps! She actually goes to her desk now and gets her books out!!! I can't believe we have had Rebekah as part of our family for over a year! Some things still feel so new. The other kids are still infatuated with their little sister! Sean continues to tell her how cute she is. Maggieann is learning how to be a big sisiter and is starting (as of the last month) to really WANT a shadow!!!! Jeremy LOVES to hold her hand and walk with her!!! She now loves her daddy, but I'm still "IT" in Rebekah's book!!!! </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Here are a couple of pictures from the last 7 months!</div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-77698074990391237982008-09-16T10:57:00.000-07:002008-09-16T11:07:02.332-07:00Our favorite thing this summer!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpjPFxHWzAdqxNyNURGMCoadTyrk6JoVhhXxXVwO66ETXIsQl9l3cCs_tg3NjQDaG9ZaWiD662TyJFJOhNam5P8RCjoDUqqslmJ1gRD6R2FFCjlQ6gUpqruenlyCjmnI-y04aPL-oux8/s1600-h/Ben+Huff_0004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246682095931117170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpjPFxHWzAdqxNyNURGMCoadTyrk6JoVhhXxXVwO66ETXIsQl9l3cCs_tg3NjQDaG9ZaWiD662TyJFJOhNam5P8RCjoDUqqslmJ1gRD6R2FFCjlQ6gUpqruenlyCjmnI-y04aPL-oux8/s400/Ben+Huff_0004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwdfXfzt5aKPcpVTDfsgy6jim95zhmbuxj2DdH4KaBPGfy-sXnsqcmJFN8nIEdR_tAWSogb9GhFhRV7kTe7Iaqs2KV_tzqM-Ld5C5lK156EaKRU1CEClAWpNjpRLlsiv2B4r_jdyXqyk/s1600-h/Ben+Huff_0020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246682097400846802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwdfXfzt5aKPcpVTDfsgy6jim95zhmbuxj2DdH4KaBPGfy-sXnsqcmJFN8nIEdR_tAWSogb9GhFhRV7kTe7Iaqs2KV_tzqM-Ld5C5lK156EaKRU1CEClAWpNjpRLlsiv2B4r_jdyXqyk/s400/Ben+Huff_0020.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ws5CQUZZAYIM0uCeJIk4Is60wmFyYvsEF9mo5hOHbaOhyMlBI_d-w66D6G3VYuuiVY-t9GO2L9K7GumYDzswnW0HYrdi8po_NU5TzWFkEnZeHqxG3KQbI1D9xneWGOkIJAM15vhqXRk/s1600-h/Ben+Huff_0032.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246682099282620242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ws5CQUZZAYIM0uCeJIk4Is60wmFyYvsEF9mo5hOHbaOhyMlBI_d-w66D6G3VYuuiVY-t9GO2L9K7GumYDzswnW0HYrdi8po_NU5TzWFkEnZeHqxG3KQbI1D9xneWGOkIJAM15vhqXRk/s400/Ben+Huff_0032.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppfvNMG9kMnFTMgsO_q_r15xQM-QiDWNK9yJUUZwYrx0BWgSDKbHyXia4BcNz_vyVU9GzcR5AsZ3NOyZFMGpLIv3Ks3CxM0vfEBJDZUenCbK9Rt1kvZeK6TO1tuutXvkDaK_5YlH1B7A/s1600-h/Ben+Huff_0040.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246682101356260434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppfvNMG9kMnFTMgsO_q_r15xQM-QiDWNK9yJUUZwYrx0BWgSDKbHyXia4BcNz_vyVU9GzcR5AsZ3NOyZFMGpLIv3Ks3CxM0vfEBJDZUenCbK9Rt1kvZeK6TO1tuutXvkDaK_5YlH1B7A/s400/Ben+Huff_0040.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Our favorite part of our summer was when our friend Ben Huff came to visit! He came in late July. We had a blast traveling California and showing this Mississippian around! He still likes Mississippi better but we tried!!! We met Ben in China. He traveled to China with his parents to pick up his little sister using the same agency that we did! How blessed we were to have him as part of our group. Now he is known as the biggest big brother of our household! Come back soon Ben!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-19423368284103714522008-09-16T10:46:00.000-07:002008-09-16T10:57:23.342-07:00Our girl is 2!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHdkvavQkXY2ZhNnqvrI7FHMmRyXNZiALq9AaftMfIi3lPgn-liIJIX_qXYscH9cE9x-p0ty4SVnFFgArvbYk3jdDsx2fWRi9EoV6kp0ftF3hnYNDnvleRaMVm5eilT728IMRPkljVac/s1600-h/Misc_0026.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246679718485803858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHdkvavQkXY2ZhNnqvrI7FHMmRyXNZiALq9AaftMfIi3lPgn-liIJIX_qXYscH9cE9x-p0ty4SVnFFgArvbYk3jdDsx2fWRi9EoV6kp0ftF3hnYNDnvleRaMVm5eilT728IMRPkljVac/s400/Misc_0026.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a5gimMd9NLsyQbjFSdSmfx5dja4jpz6JylvzxczQ60ZYOX0uLLZgRjODsFgmJyt4ZsAFPWd6Kw2VwPTiXNxyyT1izqAHX2c0HcIpKynUx9f-gwnUC5nshyOQ9-gw6dXj_BysqX_BUV4/s1600-h/Misc_0023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246679723083887314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a5gimMd9NLsyQbjFSdSmfx5dja4jpz6JylvzxczQ60ZYOX0uLLZgRjODsFgmJyt4ZsAFPWd6Kw2VwPTiXNxyyT1izqAHX2c0HcIpKynUx9f-gwnUC5nshyOQ9-gw6dXj_BysqX_BUV4/s400/Misc_0023.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxj3QMYemfgzVKkTadTrSI6KfeiZt5MnFO79vS_2vboo-lo6xU0_oanHxw2FKp7EfNnFdnBC4QkcMDoyb2m_4Oj9R4egdqgAzzD5nt3jo9Rg1ntAUCHCMPG55oag84MSDbA5Uuh1ABvo/s1600-h/Misc_0037.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246679730117248530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxj3QMYemfgzVKkTadTrSI6KfeiZt5MnFO79vS_2vboo-lo6xU0_oanHxw2FKp7EfNnFdnBC4QkcMDoyb2m_4Oj9R4egdqgAzzD5nt3jo9Rg1ntAUCHCMPG55oag84MSDbA5Uuh1ABvo/s400/Misc_0037.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCjkwgO7o3CXbpztKhhTKTRCrrL5J7cqi5P4czGp1Xlz_kFtSR2xSGr0fhyphenhyphenUkjnq2WhjgBWe7csvXeUTTv9VM8jYXnQ9tECrKyNdBwjScyIUPOl7zRbxy2UDftGfpvKZWEwz6OfMpnFA/s1600-h/Misc_0008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246678249308605698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCjkwgO7o3CXbpztKhhTKTRCrrL5J7cqi5P4czGp1Xlz_kFtSR2xSGr0fhyphenhyphenUkjnq2WhjgBWe7csvXeUTTv9VM8jYXnQ9tECrKyNdBwjScyIUPOl7zRbxy2UDftGfpvKZWEwz6OfMpnFA/s400/Misc_0008.JPG" border="0" /></a> Happy Birthday to Rebekah! Our girl is 2! Our "Little Bit of Heaven" has truly added so much joy to our family! We are continously amazed at how incredible our Lord was when He choose us to be this little one's family.<br /><br /><div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-67700091013136501052008-09-15T13:37:00.000-07:002008-09-15T18:56:26.128-07:006 months and Happy Birthday!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvDmLUK5tdSu0HKALT8ifLF8dZoQp2Li0oFNGU3kR-MSG80OKzT8mMoPwU_ykh4XZi9VnuzvGfA4CVIV8MN_jNrDLKVu4vRLFOrw6tKKKb4WHizFOnF2mvrUY52SwD3FrfQR7i6HDWKw/s1600-h/Misc_0042.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246430983155379394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvDmLUK5tdSu0HKALT8ifLF8dZoQp2Li0oFNGU3kR-MSG80OKzT8mMoPwU_ykh4XZi9VnuzvGfA4CVIV8MN_jNrDLKVu4vRLFOrw6tKKKb4WHizFOnF2mvrUY52SwD3FrfQR7i6HDWKw/s400/Misc_0042.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG0oHpYuRFC1GqDl5P-OOhlIZ6mVXP-lqLiF8ooOQSwfwVTbaXSysAp1dQc4vjU9ri9ux6RLZ_BrEHXnDizzs_NdGGSiFyD3mKKUzuH5PZeqbl9o7aE8I3AnoqCn7iBa4az5Yd7Ez-NA/s1600-h/Misc_0047.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246430992896151906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG0oHpYuRFC1GqDl5P-OOhlIZ6mVXP-lqLiF8ooOQSwfwVTbaXSysAp1dQc4vjU9ri9ux6RLZ_BrEHXnDizzs_NdGGSiFyD3mKKUzuH5PZeqbl9o7aE8I3AnoqCn7iBa4az5Yd7Ez-NA/s400/Misc_0047.JPG" border="0" /></a> She must be getting enough to eat!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GbOhVMQzdEfyOv3RYPiiQEqcQkotntsIzjAaMLxJUzarXekvmxbwKGghrxBSYmztVo1zkkCk5ZL0I3jXbbUxpGlPBRc9fR5PBEdMlpKtVdbVvr6Xc6ccu4WnNXB1jpu0x7DwY9llYCg/s1600-h/Misc_0003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246428494760503186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GbOhVMQzdEfyOv3RYPiiQEqcQkotntsIzjAaMLxJUzarXekvmxbwKGghrxBSYmztVo1zkkCk5ZL0I3jXbbUxpGlPBRc9fR5PBEdMlpKtVdbVvr6Xc6ccu4WnNXB1jpu0x7DwY9llYCg/s400/Misc_0003.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsYudcKLPMZFbeKfcDtWOG4jDhBxfMVJoivt-4cScNsuv1OGHk07Ze0RTQM8zprwz1fnHl1MswKURAzYJOwqCxhVSOYxgMZq1F4CvAaFaMZi_LVQoMaRlAOFh4ZZ91imwnQG3KdykovU/s1600-h/Misc_0006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246428497085639698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsYudcKLPMZFbeKfcDtWOG4jDhBxfMVJoivt-4cScNsuv1OGHk07Ze0RTQM8zprwz1fnHl1MswKURAzYJOwqCxhVSOYxgMZq1F4CvAaFaMZi_LVQoMaRlAOFh4ZZ91imwnQG3KdykovU/s400/Misc_0006.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div>Can you believe it? We have had Rebekah for 6 months! The social worker has been busy filling out her 6 month report as we have been busy keeping up with this little one! Her nick name is "Little bit" and that she is! She is truly a "Little bit of heaven"! The past 6 months have not been all heaven...though I have made the realization that any meaningful relationship goes through it's ups and downs. The hardest part about adding Rebekah into our mix is homeschooling the other 3. Needless to say, that is why I have not posted since we got back. The end of the year in June almost did me in as far as keeping Rebekah happy and teaching the others. Summer was very enjoyable but busy. The beginning of the school year came...ordering curric., etc...Now, here we are at 6 months and I can say I feel like the cloud is lifting!!!! Rebekah is doing amazingly well! She says about 20 words, but who's counting. She runs and is starting to jump, LOVES her big brothers and sister, LOVES LOVES LOVES her dad! (It took a while but adores him now!) She started out, when we got home, not napping. Now she naps at least 2 hours! That is good for the other kids that are shooled at home! I knew the "bonding" had happened when I held her up in front of the mirror and said, "Do you look like me or Jeff?" I must say she talks to our dogs like me!!!! "Ge ou-a-hr!" (Get out of here, in a very stern voice) She has done well in the nursery at church, though this is still tremendously scary for her. She spent the night at my mom's house one night without a tear! The other kids were there but she didn't care...she followed Grama Peggy everywhere and cleaned with her! This seems to be her favorite activity. You won't catch me complaining!!!! ( Thanks Grandma Peggy and Grampa Sam for a much needed time away without kids!) Maggieann had a hard time in the beginning feeling the sting of not being the baby anymore, but now she is starting to enjoy having a little sister. I predict that in another 6 months the girls will be best friends! </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-53430384489649591742008-04-09T20:44:00.001-07:002008-04-09T20:58:04.572-07:00Phew!These past 2 weeks have been a blur. I finally crashed last night! I went to bed at 7pm and woke up this morning at 6am. Rebekah is doing well! Sean continues to give me an update on his feelings for Rebekah....minute by minute! Maggieann had decided that her little sister is something to be proud of too! She was feeling a bit displaced this past week, but last night she realized that Rebekah does not cry anymore at night and decided that she loved her! We went camping at a Koa with our church this weekend. What fun!!!! There are 200 of us that go. We basically take over KOA. The kids rode their bikes everywhere. Rebekah and I stayed at our cabin but had many visitors. The last night there, Sean tried to climb out of the top bunk IN his sleeping bag still! Maggie also woke up and crawled into bed with us. Rebekah had been very cold the night before so she was already in bed. 4 of us in this tiny bed ALL night. I think that is why I crashed last night! Maggie got her first big ouch! from a bike crash! She still loves her bike! <br />The past week has been a bit overwhelming. I am learning how to teach school, drive kids to their respective activities and keep a 1 year old happy. Not always easy. I alos started teaching piano again this week. I only had half of my students start this week...probably better for Rebekah who had to learn that Mommy is distracted a bit and she could not play the piano while someone else is playing it! We have managed to get some good schooling in! Rebekah is happy in her high chair or playing...the other 3 are very distracted watching their cute little sister. Something I am sure will fade in time. Again...not complaining, just something I have to deal with! Rebekah has been determined to not take more than a 30 min. nap. AGH! I can't get much done in 30 min. She takes this nap in the morning and then wants to sleep late in the afternoon. I think the orphanage did not write her schedule correctly. She does not take 1 nap...she takes 2. Well, we have been trying to switch her rythm to 1 nap a day...hoping that she takes a longer nap tomorrow! <br /><br />That is it for now! I have enjoyed a bit of quiet time and the kids are coming thru the door telling me about their clubs this evening! I will update soon. Thanks for reading if you still are!<br /><br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-24330295150490400322008-04-01T19:52:00.000-07:002008-04-01T20:08:54.103-07:00We're back!For anybody still trying to keep up with these world travelers!<br /><br />We made it home on Thursday at 3:00pm. What a plane ride home. Rebekah did wonderful despite the feeling in my arms towards the end of the trip. She slept off and on! We were in the airport at 9:00 and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">thru</span> customs at 9:15! It was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">sooo</span> good to see smiling faces. Our dads came to the airport to take us back to the hotel where the kids and grandparents stayed. It was wonderful to see the kids! Sean grew an inch, lost 2 teeth, and was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">blond</span> and tan. I almost didn't recognize him. Maggie was beautiful! Jeremy was TALL! Rebekah was a bit shy as most people would be! We enjoyed some conversation and sharing of stories and then had a bite of lunch. Rebekah did manage to squeeze out a few smiles. We had the grandparents drive us home for fear of falling asleep while driving. We pulled into the driveway, got out of the car and looked at Jeff...he had an eye that was swollen and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">gucky</span> stuff coming out of it! He was also having a hard time breathing since the day before. He went to the doctor the next day to find out he had bronchitis and pink eye. <br /><br />Rebekah was not afraid of the dogs. she just barked at Rag's. This was a relief. That night Maggie could not take her eyes off of her! Finally, she told me that R had to sleep in my room because she had been crying all night! Yes! Jet lag is for the birds! Jeff has been miserable, Rebekah has been up all night, and I have been adjusting just fine...but with a sick and tired husband, all of the work has been up to me! He is making up for it now that he has been better for a few days! <br /><br />Rebekah has been finding her place in this family. She is such an angel! I am so blessed that the Lord has <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">chosen</span> us to raise this little one! May we honor Him by the way we take care of her!<br /><br />Loads of Love<br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-85939843049520550352008-03-26T06:36:00.000-07:002008-03-26T07:13:10.934-07:00The Last Day!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwkqpWX0_ScmyJ2ceXxZH8mczEYhyphenhyphen8BB0WpgBOfljhJu9i6H4jbN7tUHoipjEBVBrox1hbVrMCSJZ_KStk_8uH2O5Z_DtXo9J5WYj9nWuKZCUU94ktqZazQ5JnQA-3e0sfgqjscUPuN0/s1600-h/Dennis_0049.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182051522042641634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwkqpWX0_ScmyJ2ceXxZH8mczEYhyphenhyphen8BB0WpgBOfljhJu9i6H4jbN7tUHoipjEBVBrox1hbVrMCSJZ_KStk_8uH2O5Z_DtXo9J5WYj9nWuKZCUU94ktqZazQ5JnQA-3e0sfgqjscUPuN0/s400/Dennis_0049.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dennis, Me and Rebekah, Mary Davis and Ruth Eliason<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0fY1Wo3wmyczZs8t4gZo9kiDh5V1i4s1Jfg9_DJT1RZWCKNZgDKbhFojeZ3QxsoViJi6oRXBbVBK7iYTmu84WmbgRqHPxLDHQcI-_lhAxwkdPgP757962lM523zdk75V_-uUVN0WhYk/s1600-h/Dennis_0053.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182051530632576242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0fY1Wo3wmyczZs8t4gZo9kiDh5V1i4s1Jfg9_DJT1RZWCKNZgDKbhFojeZ3QxsoViJi6oRXBbVBK7iYTmu84WmbgRqHPxLDHQcI-_lhAxwkdPgP757962lM523zdk75V_-uUVN0WhYk/s400/Dennis_0053.JPG" border="0" /></a>Jeff and Rebekah or Maggieann<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcq9naYVLSAzkl01_k5GTXIOTvFGyjHBcV43zlxsoncsa02awcTSgjfkV29guqT_7AWz6VDUZhiSTkKdj7oM04RLD8ETYygU62hakJzOKtvK78aBlTSSad_hOHZukcb9edCvMUJiqdb8/s1600-h/Guangzhou_0083.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182051552107412738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcq9naYVLSAzkl01_k5GTXIOTvFGyjHBcV43zlxsoncsa02awcTSgjfkV29guqT_7AWz6VDUZhiSTkKdj7oM04RLD8ETYygU62hakJzOKtvK78aBlTSSad_hOHZukcb9edCvMUJiqdb8/s400/Guangzhou_0083.JPG" border="0" /></a>The Girls with our Barbies<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfJsRksNHAfZ9rGDLkqtMzu-IUcLMuthMjpdbADt7-L2FC-JgN6vKGWzFyjKjf6K7z4wyjfNq22Ll7sMRU8pASmtgwxnvJpwclpbO7wlBkHKGD5WD0euQwl4ARsDDwD65MI4VgIyMz-U/s1600-h/Guangzhou_0060.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182051560697347346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfJsRksNHAfZ9rGDLkqtMzu-IUcLMuthMjpdbADt7-L2FC-JgN6vKGWzFyjKjf6K7z4wyjfNq22Ll7sMRU8pASmtgwxnvJpwclpbO7wlBkHKGD5WD0euQwl4ARsDDwD65MI4VgIyMz-U/s400/Guangzhou_0060.JPG" border="0" /></a>Rebekah and her doll</div><div align="center"><br />We had breakfast with Mary, Ruth and Dennis this morning. We had trouble moving; the bed is so hard and Jeff was having trouble breathing this morning. That must mean it is time to go home! After waiting for this trip for soooo long, it is hard to imagine that tomorrow we will be on a plane and wrapping this part of the adoption up! I can't say I'm dissapointed. What a trip! Breakfast was great at the all you can eat buffet. Dennis went back 4 times. I don't think he has ever been to an all you can eat place like that. Rebekah got banana in her hair again as well as french toast all over her arms. Did I mention how excited I was to come home? Atleast at home, R can get as messy as she wants...easier to clean up. After breakfast we had a few last minute gifts to shop for. We took some pictures of the statues around this place and then back to the hotel to chat a little more with Ruth, Mary, and Dennis. After saying our goodbyes to them, we were of to the American Consulate to take an oath! This is the final part of our adoption. It was really neat to be on a piece of America in another country. The oath was just to swear that all of the information we have provided has been true. It still made me cry...what else is new. Then back to the hotel to take a picture of most of the group and pack. Jeff had to go to our guides room because there was some misunderstanding dealing with our tickets from GZ to Hong Kong. We almost could not come home! That would be tragic. Rebekah must feel the excitement for it took her a long time to go to sleep. Can't wait to see my kids, let alone everyone else. Well, off to bed. Tomorrow we have to have all of our bags outside of our door at 5:00am...that is 2:00 in the afternoon on Wed. for you. Our plane lands at 9:30 am on Thurs. Isn't that strange? Our plane takes off in Hong Kong at 12:30 Thurs. afternoon but we get home at 9:30 Thurs. morning.<br /><br />Jill and Blake, expect us home around noon. We don't mind if you are there or not. If you are not there...thank you soooo much and we will call to get the key.<br /><br /><br />Kids...you better get ready to be hugged.<br /><br /><br />Next time we post we will be home!!!!!! Give us a few days to get adjusted to the time. I am sure the next few days will be a blur for us!<br /><br /></div>Loads of Love to all<br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-4500780498562804472008-03-25T05:20:00.000-07:002008-03-25T08:04:17.840-07:00A Little Peice of HomeToday we gpt up really late this morning. Rebekah slept until 8:30. I think the only reason she woke up is we were moving around. It sure will be nice getting her home on some sort of routine.<br /><br /><br /><br />We had to be in our rooms from 10:30 to 12:00 while our guides went for our Consulate Appointment. All went well because the only phone call we received was on saying it was ok to leave our rooms and congratulations, paperwork is now officially over!!!!! We put Rebekah down for a nap and thought a nap sounded good for ourselves too when the phone rang. Mary Davis and Ruth Eliason were here with our spiritual adoption match Dennis. We woke R up and went to the lobby to say hello. What fun! Dennis was checking in when I ran right up to him and hugged him! I think he was taken by surprise. Mary asked him if he thought we were nice and he said nicer than he expected! His english is great! All of us talked for an hour and then Jeff and I had to leave so we could go on our tour.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Pearl Factory was wonderful. It is in a very large area of jewelry wholesale. You could buy different jewelry at the different cubby holes and make what we see in America. We bought some pearls. BEAUTIFUL! Some I will hold on to and pass down to R.<br /><br /><br /><br />We came back just in time for dinner with Ruth, Mary, and Dennis. After emailing and praying for this young man it is finally nice to know what he sounds like! What a great guy. He is studying to be a writing teacher in his home town. He wants to go back home to help take care of his mother. His mom had back surgery and after having a job lifting 100lbs everyday, now she can only lift upto a pound. Dennis's dad and brother do not take care of her, just leave her alone in their home....the brother and father live in the shop where they sell hardware. Jeff is taking Mary, Ruth and Dennis out for a walk to see the lights of the city right now. R was so tired she fell asleep quickly so I thought I would catch up on the posts!<br /><br />Tomorrow, we go to the Consulate and say our oath! Then pack for home! Can't wait to see you all!<br /><br />Loads of Love<br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-30255320514555884212008-03-24T05:28:00.000-07:002008-03-24T05:48:42.776-07:00Daddy's girl, almost!Hey all! Today was a day of great joy! Rebekah went with Jeff to Starbuck's this morning without me! They were gone for a half an hour while I got laundry together...by myself! She did not cry, kick, or scream! She is even more of an angel now!!!!!<br /><br />The group went on a tour of 2 temples. We decided against this one. We wanted to walk the town and see what was around the hotel. That meant spending money! We started by taking a taxi to the department store. The department stores in China are about 10 stories high. One floor is all one thing...i.e. shoes. There are little compartments owned be different people. If you buy something in one compartment, you have to pay the cashier at the front of the store, go back and get your item that you bought, and then shop some more. Very inefficient but works for them. I found a bathing suit! Very nice but in China I am a Large. Have to get used to that. We ate lunch at McDonald's. They serve corn and vegetable soup at McD's. Rebekah loved the chocolate shake! Jeff decided he does not like McD no matter which country it is in!<br /><br />After lunch we took our lives into our own hands and rode a taxi home. We all had medical check-ups today. We were in the 2nd group so we were able to putsy around a little bit more. At our doctor's visit, everything went fine. We had 3 stations to visit. The first one was measurements. R is 19 pounds and 29 inches long. She is the oldest in the group but not quite the smallest...pretty close though. The second was ear nose and throat. Everything fine there. The third was overall medical. The doctor checked her out, took us into another room with other doctors sitting around behind computers and told us....she is perfectly healthy! They were literally scratching their heads trying to discover why R is on the Speceial Needs list! We know why...The Lord is bigger than governments and orphanages and He wanted her in our arms! <br /><br />Then , on our way home, we wondered the city again! Very nice city. This city seems to have more hope! We found out today that because they are so close to Hong Kong, they have a bit more freedom, especially when it comes to religion. GZ has 5 registered Christian churches!<br /><br />Well, off to bed. R is needing some holding and reassurance. She didn't have any tantrums all day! We are learning. I am not sure which one....both of us!<br /><br />3 more days! <br /><br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-70005413870543730442008-03-23T05:18:00.000-07:002008-03-23T07:12:40.788-07:00Things are looking up!Hey all <div><div><div><br /><div>We had a very busy day again. We had breakfast downstairs in the hotel. Incredible spread, and the coffee was good! </div><br /><div>Oh! Jeff has truly lost it...right now he is wondering if I see the same thing in the mirror as he does....it is so time to come home. We have been upside down for too long! Back to the day....</div><br /><div>Then after breakfast we went to get the babies Visa photo...better known as "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">wisa"</span> photo. That lead us to the many shops around. We didn't get that much time to shop because church started at 11:00. Wow! What an incredible experience. To be on the other side of the world and experience my daughter's first<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX561UV4SxSbmRMvHG12v253_fa2XAMw131jSQ2LTxcg6LiejrUMpykaxLS7lvlwWDfa476g0cKChvlpDJ0m7_3Qt3GTlFZywPxYnrh7JIRrf7R6ik-Ep5E59RihtpIGzZtHPXLUvM0Q/s1600-h/Easter_0019.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180938799095463106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX561UV4SxSbmRMvHG12v253_fa2XAMw131jSQ2LTxcg6LiejrUMpykaxLS7lvlwWDfa476g0cKChvlpDJ0m7_3Qt3GTlFZywPxYnrh7JIRrf7R6ik-Ep5E59RihtpIGzZtHPXLUvM0Q/s320/Easter_0019.JPG" border="0" /></a> church <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">experience</span> at one and a half. There was standing room only. A ton of babies. The hotel staff says that there are over 50 families here adopting! Many of them had to go to church because of Easter. When the pastor asked who was here for the first time half of the church raised their hand! Many of them did not know it was Easter. There are no signs of Easter except for a big huge Easter Bunny display in the hotel. It was very moving to sing the same songs in two different languages and know that this is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">probably</span> the first time my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">daughter</span> is hearing them. Words could not express the feeling of gratefulness knowing that this sweet little girl will know this Jesus that they were talking about all because the Lord led us on this journey. If she had been left in China, even if she had been adopted by a family here, she probably would not grow up knowing who Jesus is! <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Powerful</span> moments. Jeff was able to translate many of the songs...at least he thought he could. He figured out the word for crucified and Lord! It was incredibly cute and endearing! Maybe he is becoming Chinese!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180939048203566290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVPMWLPjSe3GrpMnbWxAhTEBuwIAHMjeXaDOD-HFedYsxIPshfKBPNfWBT42wamEe0J57_4T6PmzgvdEqrKkMeRL9MnlRw7vOGW8jOGQh6BR4dmsSGSddQscIQ-hi135fxttW-Oppa_c/s400/Guangzhou_0020+(1).JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>After church we went to lunch at Lucy's again. Jeff had to leave early to fill out even more paperwork in our guides room. I think that was the last of it. At least I hope so...you'd think after 2 and a half years of what seems like constant paperwork, it would be done by now! Nope! After the paperwork was done, we met up with everyone for the red couch photos. For those of you that don't know what that is, almost everyone that adopts in China gets a picture on a red couch in the White Swan hotel. We got individual family photos, individual baby photos and group photos. The babies were all flashed out by the end of our time.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180937076813577394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZN3_cHidKb0AzYwzdGiZapKvGuxElV0EK20r9V9FhZ_6noy0OykvyI9wCj7EYZ8BXiARzEpKP6naSiLwsgDTzKyNUsy0bCdhDssNSMaydTaK3y-_SY0rFIr_ft9JyTPolZ2qrg6dpiY/s400/Red+Couch_0027.JPG" border="0" /> <div>After the photos we went to The Cow Bridge <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">restaurant</span>. It was a Thai place. Very yummy.</div><br /><div>Now we are back and Rebekah is sleeping. She had so many tantrums today. Jeff says that she is showing her true colors! Sean, she is going to give you a run for your money. Not that you have tantrums anymore, but she might win the Title! </div><br /><div>I imagine it would be hard to not understand what your parents are saying and not to get your way. We bought her some <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">squeaky</span> shoes. She loves them. They are shoes that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">squeak</span> when she walks on them. When I couldn't hold her up she would double over and walk with her hands on the ground and butt up in the air. So funny! Wish I could grab the recorder fast enough. So sorry.</div><br /><div>That is all for now. Tomorrow we opted to not go on the tour of the temple and such. It will be nice to just walk around this area at our own pace!</div><br /><div>Thought this was funny. We were given this Barbie as a gift for staying at the White Swan. It is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">blonde</span> Barbie holding an Asian baby.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180935921467374754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEvi25xYdpqhDI37e0Qvw5J6xcI4jqXYyyuow9H62J5ToWO4lfOT93lus6rElFfjIHeyNydXNaZxbK3IjrftRGKTWpr2TBoMLNOhiSGXMKwbPSGBEv_0wBICYeIcjMYe1flmPAru6rBU/s400/Guangzhou_0029.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>I love you. I miss you. Can't wait to hold my other three kids in my arms.</div><br /><div>Happy Easter</div><br /><div>Tricia</div></div></div></div>bondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-57096070057506161562008-03-22T03:15:00.001-07:002008-03-22T07:05:33.379-07:00The Last Part of the TripBoy are we ready to be home!!!! We are in Guangzhou! We took a 1 hour flight to get here. Rebekah was a dream!!! She has not been drinking her bottle without throwing it up but took a water bottle on the take off. It was like she knew she needed to clear her ears. We <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">definitely</span> have a keeper! Then, after trying to keep her awake on the bus to the airport with no success she fell asleep again on the plane just in time for the landing...which kept her ears from hurting. I am amazed. <br /><br />Sorry I did not post yesterday. We had an extremely busy day. We got more papers, went shopping for things made in Nanchang, had to pack all...including the things we bought. That took forever. We had a group dinner, the last with our precious guides, and a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">birthday</span> party! Phew! Rebekah also had a terrible day. She <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">wasn't</span> feeling great and was overly clingy to me....just when I thought she was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">fallin</span> for Jeff. I was a little overwhelmed. What have I gotten myself into. How am I going to handle this little one when we get home...You know, all of the first time mommy blues. I fell into bed only to have Rebekah wake up again off and on through the night. She must still be a bit stressed. Who wouldn't at 11/2? <br /><br />Today has been a ton better. Rebekah is feeling better and letting Jeff hold her a tiny bit...allows me to go to the bathroom by myself! What a world of difference when there is hope that I won't be the only one to take care of this baby! Our luggage was unbelievably heavy. Jeff managed to get it all in the suitcases we brought. Thanks to our great guides, we didn't have to pay over weight baggage fee! These guides were incredibly good to us! We have a full schedule. Tomorrow, we do the last of our paperwork, more visa stuff, the famous red couch photo. The next few days we will be waiting for that set of paperwork to go through and touring Guangzhou while we wait. The White Swan is an incredibly nice hotel.<br /><br />We will post pictures tomorrow. Debbie, I will not say anything about Brian's golf game! The Mommy look that you wrote about is actually sheer terror. I have forgotten the things that 11/2 year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">olds</span> do like <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">temper</span> tantrums. WOW! They call the girls from South China "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">spicy</span> girls" because of their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">temperaments</span>. R <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">definitely</span> fits that category!<br /><br />Only 5 more days. Tomorrow is Easter. "He is Risen Indeed". Hopefully we can attend church! We will post pictures tomorrow. Talk with you all tomorrow! Enjoy some Easter eggs for us!<br /><br />Triciabondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294620972671265431.post-19391194066425102482008-03-21T18:11:00.000-07:002008-03-21T19:05:49.595-07:00We're Off to GuangzhouGood morning everyone. It's 9 am on Saturday the 22<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">nd</span>. We received Rebekah's Chinese passport yesterday. It's official now, she can travel. It's funny that our youngest is going to be the first international traveler. Lucky kid. We finally had a chance to go do some shopping in Nanchang. Nanchang is known for its porcelain. Some of the pieces we saw were absolutely beautiful. Of course the day we finally get to go for a walk down the porcelain street it was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pouring</span> down rain. It still made it a lot of fun. Before it rained I kept thinking the rain would be nice to clean the city like we see at home. The air is clean, the streets and sidewalks are clean... yeah, that didn't work so well. Instead of being dirty and stinky now it is just muddy and stinky.<br /><br />We had our last group dinner in Nanchang last night. It was one of our friends birthdays so we had a cake and sang happy birthday for him. The candle was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">awesome</span>. I'm going to see if I can find a couple to bring home. During dinner Tricia handed out <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Easter</span> baskets to each family. It was pretty cool. Everyone was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">appreciative</span>. Everyone laughed too when we told them they were getting them early because we were trying to make room in our suitcases.<br /><br />After dinner we went up to the hotel room and started the process of packing. Needless to say I don't think we are going to make the weight limit on this trip. I think it's going to be ugly... After we were packed and had Rebekah down I had a chance to go play ping pong with some of the other people from our group. We had a blast. (No Brian, it was not full contact ping pong) It was the coolest thing. We had our own personal ping pong assistant. His job was to stand there and help us with anything we needed. I never once had to get my own ball when it missed the table. He always had one ready, and he didn't just hand it to you, he would present it holding it with his fingertips in the palm of his other hand and bow as he presented it to you. I am truly spoiled now.<br /><br />Rebekah woke up at 4:30 again this morning screaming with another night terror like Sean used to do. She was totally asleep and just screaming. It only lasted for about an hour. She and I are still working on the bonding thing. Tricia and I have worked out a pretty good plan though. I think it is the one advantage to her not <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">liking</span> me yet. When she gets fussy, starts crying, and won't sit in Tricia's lap she just hands her to me. I get her totally freaked out screaming her head off, it only takes about a minute, then I hand her back to Tricia. Once she is back in Tricia's arms it's like the world is perfect again. She snuggles into Tricia's shoulder and starts <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">smiling</span> and giggling. It's nice to know I'm needed. I'm sure Tricia would like it to be the other way around. We keep trying.<br /><br /><br />We are getting ready to leave Nanchang and fly to Guangzhou. This will be the first big change for Rebekah since she has been ours. She will experience her first plane and a new hotel room today. We'll see how that goes. <br /><br />Thank you for all your comments. It's wonderful to know the support we have. God is truly amazing. I see it everyday when I watch Rebekah and think about all she has been through in such a short period of time. Even with all that she can still laugh and smile.<br /><br />We are off to get breakfast now. Talk with you all again soon.<br /><br />Love you all, Jeffbondedbyfaithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205312872862729480noreply@blogger.com1