Dance the Night Away!

On April 17th Ashley went to her Jr./Sr. Prom!!! They really worked hard at decorating and planning this beautiful event. A student’s mom catered for the dinner, and it was wonderful. The theme was “Into the Night”. David and I were chaperons, and really enjoyed being there with the students. Prom lasted until 12 am and then they went to After Prom ~ hosted by the Sr. parents! Ashley was not able to take her boyfriend, Kuyler, but she did take a great guy. Her and Josh have been friends since PreK. All in all it was a great evening, with no mishaps and lots of fun!!!

Let me share a little about Ashley’s beautiful dress. She found this dress in a Prom shop in Enid, and it was over our budget. I told her not to try it on, because it would be her favorite. Sure enough that is exactly what happen. Much to our surprise, Meghan A had the same dress at home and the Addingtons said we could borrow it. We were so excited when we tried it on and it fit perfectly!!!! Thank you Meghan and Michelle, for making the night even more special!!!

Truly Beautiful!

The dress was just as pretty from the back as well

Ashley and her date Joshua Conaway

Ashley and Josh at Enid Symphony ~ prom

Ashley and her proud parents AKA Chaperons

The table with all her friends ~ Josh, Austin, Lauren, Shelbi, Omar, Skyler and Carly

The future Sr. class of 2011

Friends Forever

Shelbi, Brooklynn, Carly and Ashley

Ashley and Courtney ~ friends since they were born!

Having fun on the dance floor!

3 ~ 2 ~ 1.... Easter!

3 Beautiful Girls

2 Easter Egg Hunts

1 Awesome Day at church worshipping the one who is Alive and Risen!!!

I must start by saying Our Lord is so amazing! Not only is the He the only one who has Risen from the Dead and is still alive living among us all! Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior! The was He has worked in our lives is unbelievable sometimes, but at the same time so real that is it unmistakable as well. If you have any questions about my Lord and Savior please ask me!!!!

Emily is doing so well, adjusting very quickly, loves her family and her friends, sleeps well at night and takes a great nap, loves to eat ALL that is put in front of her, giggles, smiles all the times, runs, plays, and lights up when her sisters enter the room! I on the other hand am adjusting a lot slower than her. Each day is a new adventure for the both of us and she seems do much better than I on some of those days. We are so blessed by God, in so many ways and are thanking Him all the time for the way He loves us and blesses us each day! Hope you had a wonderful Easter too, would love to hear about it!

Prayer!!!!

Falling down on our knees,

That's were we make our stand!

Did you say Sesame Street????

La La La La, La La La La, Elmo's World.... :)

A week or so ago, Emily and I went to Sesame Street Live!!!! Much to my surprise it was fantastic, we have not seen Sesame Street in many years, but I went to take Emily for some fun, and hang out with my aunt, cousin and her son!!! Did we have a blast, Emily did so well, we should go see Elmo every week! We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the show!

Our group at the show!

Me and Mommy!

Jamie and Kason

Jamie, Kason and Emily right before the show started

Big Bird, Elmo and Zoe!

Emily watching the show...... From this

To this!!!!! :)

We really had lots of fun.... Thank you Jamie and Joy for including us, we had a great time!!!!

Something New!!!

We recently have purchased a new washer and dryer!!!!!

A very much needed item in our home. Our last set was bought 19 years ago!

CAN I JUST SAY "I LOVE MY NEW WASHER AND DRYER"

One Month ~ Oh my!

Oh how time flies!!!!! Can you believe it…. We have been home one month; it feels like we have been home for at least 6 months! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. Emily is doing so well, she is sleeping all night long, in her crib, eating three very good meals a day (when I say very good, I mean she can put the food away), she takes 3 bottles a day, and she switched to our formula with no problems, she loves to play with kids of all ages, loves her mommy and daddy, lights up when we go into the bathroom and she thinks she is getting bath no matter what time of the day, but when she does get in the tub she lights up the whole room with her excitement. She rides well in the car, and takes 2 naps ~ one in the morning and one in the afternoon, sleeping anywhere from 45 mins to an hour and a half. She loves being with other people but still knows who mommy is! She does still cry when I leave the room, and will not let anyone else give her a bottle (I don’t mind giving the bottle). She also has found a way to drink the bottle without having me squirt it in the mouth, and she has just recently learned how to drink from a sippie cup. She smiles from ear to ear when her sisters walk into the room, and has found a new love with our dog coco! She chases her around, plays with Coco and her toys, and laughs when she knocks her down….. All in All we are adjusting very well, and Emily is doing fantastic! Thank you Lord for listening to our prayers and answering them for your upmost glory!

Now for the many sides of Emily~

Our sweet Emily Janelle!

Chillin with my sis!

Love my naps!

Did you say mommy loves Mickey Mouse... Well then here you go!

"On her terms" she loves to play in her bedroom.

Loves to play with all ages of kids! Thanks JJ

Loves to dance.... sorry its not in focus, but it was too cute!

Not sure what they are looking at but she sure did like playing with the Frables.

Playing with Alyssa!

Emily and Connie ~ look how cute!

Off to Tulsa for our 1st post placement!!! Have a great day! Im hoping to find a scrapbooking store in Tulsa to go and check out!!! Love you all!

Chinese New Year~

Happy Chinese New Year to all! We were able to celebrate the new year with all our friends, in Enid. Our girls were very excited to be able to eat American Chinese food. We had a room reserved for us, and it was full. All together there were over 25 kids, and about 20 of them where Asian! We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed getting to see everyone again! Last year when we went, we wondered if the next Chinese New Year we would have our children..... God is so good, because it was a blessing to be able to spend it with our new daughters and sons! Emily you are precious and we are so excited that you are part of our family!!!!! We love you!

Emily Janelle!

Emily and Mommy!

The entire group ~ notice who is holding Emily! :)

Our room ~ very full!

Kinley Grace!

Kayden Faith!

Kambry Hope!

Kaeleb Jon!

Kooper Joe!

Alyssa Marie!

Why do we take prayer for granted, or just don't do it all! In all of the trials this past two weeks, I have prayed but have I prayed enough! Do I take it to the Lord all the time ~ I'm thinking I don't. I'm ashamed to say this, but I have been reminded the last past couple of days that this is what we are to do, and what a privilege that we can! So today I share:

"Pray about everything and fear nothing". He shows us that in every case, no matter how great or important or how small or insignificant, the solution is to pray!

Fear not, for I am with you: do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My right hand of rightness and justice... For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you. Fear not; I will help you!

Isaiah 41:10, 13

A Long Awaited Hello!!!!

Oh my it is so good to be home! But when we arrived home, things changed drastically! Good changes and not so good changes! Let me start almost 2 weeks ago,

We arrived home on Feb 6th to many family members and friends ~ THANK YOU again to all who were at the airport to welcome us home! It was so nice to be in Oklahoma, and to be surrounded by people who love us! We then were driven home and walked into our home welcomed by our two dogs. We were thinking we would not be able to go to bed, because it appeared that Emily was up for awhile! Much to our surprise, she went right to sleep, sleeping until 11 the next morning!!! This, we think is when everything changed! She had slept 10 of the 13 hour flight, our 2 hour flight to Tulsa, 2 1/2 hour drive home, then went to sleep again until 11 the next morning. It should have been no surprise to us when we realized that her days and nights were backward ~ to us not to her! We then had about a week of a very hard schedule! Many tears on her part and my part were shed. Frustrated, and sleep deprived mom was dealing with everything with not much grace! (on my part, not His, because he gave me grace every morning, but I didn't take it) Last Saturday she finally slept all night long, this mom was so excited, but stayed calm because I was not sure how long it would last. Giving all the glory to God ~ she has slept all night long since! We as a family are very much rested and are so happy that we have a schedule. Speaking of schedule ~ I am not a mom who sticks to a schedule, but have realized how important it is!

Now I must brag on my Lord, for because of His grace, we are right on schedule and doing very well. Each day, I must give the day to the Lord, even though I have not done that every morning. My God has been so good to give me what I need through each morning, each moment and each break down on my part. I have relied on prayer, encouragement from family and friends, and scripture! This one really spoke to me:

Isaiah 66:13

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem"

I think there was times when I was not showing as much compassion to my sweet Emily, who is grieving, in a country that she doesn't understand, on a very difficult schedule, and just wants to sleep, and adjusting moment by moment! I must have grace and compassion for my little one, just like God has compassion for us! All in all we are doing very well, and are so excited about what the Lord has in store for us, in all circumstances! Thanks for the prayers and stopping by to say hello, the calls, and the wonderful dinners that were cooked for us! They were so much appreciated ~ what a blessing!

PS ~ Wanted to post pictures, but Ashley took her camera, so I will post them later!