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!

IN CHINA!!!!

Hi, Connie here. Since bl*gger is blocked in China, please follow the Mueller's journey to Emily on their new website, When Love Takes Us In!

They should be on their way to the airport now in Shanghai for the final flight to Chongqing!!!

Its the Final Countdown!!

more day!!!!

We are at that final day, Am I ready????? I'm lacking confidence that I am, I don't feel like I am packed, when in all reality I think I am .

We are headed to Wichita tonight with dear friends, looking forward to the evening. Plan on having dinner and just chatting! I will be relieved when the packing part of the trip is over, I just want to board the plane. Although I am not a big fan of flying ~ I am looking forward to the trip over there, call me crazy!!! Not sure why I am but I'm thinking it will be that moment when it all sinks in..... As I was laying in bed last night thinking of what I should be doing ~ it occurred to me that I would be crying (more like sobbing) if my girls where not going with us. So I must praise MY LORD some more, for allowing this to happen, making everything work out, and for answering our prayers and giving of what our hearts desires!!! God is so good, and He gets ALL the GLORY for this part of our paths, all being His plans from the beginning!

In the past few posts I have listed my things to do:

Today I am not even sure of what I have to do, so please pray that I get everything together and have reassurance that we are ready! Have a wonderful day, and in case I don't get to post again ~ I will chat with you all the way from China!!! Much love to all of you!

Ps ~ Blogger does not work in China so I will be posting at http://www.whenlovetakesusin.chinastork.com

We're down to 2 days!

DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE!

Today I have to do some catching up, yesterday was not the most productive. I have most of the list from yesterday and have to add the list for today. I'm not complaining, just was hoping yesterday would have went smoother. I did get to have some girl time with two very dear friends, and that helped the day lots! But today is a new day, and I will rejoice and be glad in it, because my Lord has given it to me!

My list for today:

Bank Business ~ wished I could have checked this one off already

Buy gifts for special people in China ~ seems to be more difficult than I thought

Check over packing list

Rearrange backpack

Help my family finish packing

GO TO CHURCH ~ need this one!

Wash the dogs

Clean kitchen/laundry room

Lets see what I can accomplish today!!!!

I also have our web site for our journey complete!!! I'm very excited to share it with you all. So I personally invite you to share in our journey while we are in China by following us at www.whenlovetakesusin.chinastork.com I will be updating this one due to the problems people have had with blogger while in China!! Go and check it out, tell me what you think and then bookmark it, because we would love to hear from ALL OF YOU while we are gone. You are all so great and we are very blessed that you are part of this journey with us!!! Thanks for joining! Our prayer is that we are the light for Jesus, and that Gods uses us in a mighty way during this journey. We are so ready to see what God has in store for us!

Proverbs 8:17

"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me"

Woo Hoo 1 day closer!!

DAYS LEFT!!!

Yesterday was a great day, we (Linda and I) got all the list done!!! Thank you so much Linda for ALL your help, it so much appreciated, and your were a blessing to me! I also am praising the Lord for the miracle at the dentist, YES He did, He gave us a huge blessing and saved us $$. Kaylee is still paying somewhat for her irresponsibility, but I think it is a lesson she is learning ~ just slowly!

Today list is:

Bank Business

Buy Gifts for directors, guides, and many others

Go through paperwork

Check over packing list

Make necklaces

Rearrange Back Pack

I'm afraid I will be in Enid awhile today, so if that is the case it may be a late night!

I would like to ask all of you to please pray for David, for he is sick and has not been feeling well for a couple of days. It will be very hard to fly with a sinus infection (?), and we are worried about the swine flu, and the actions that China would take if they think he is sick with it. So please just lift him in your prayers, praying for quick health! Thank you all for everything you have done for us!

Getting Closer

Days Left

Good Morning!!!!

Notice the time I am posting..... Did not get much sleep last night! Here's to a brand new day with a prayer for a very productive and a miracle from our God concerning our dentist!!!!

Things to do today~
Prepare meals
Begin to clean the house
Pack items purchased over the weekend
Make a fast trip to Enid ~ broken retainer ~ not going to talk about it :)
Work on laundry
Phone chat with our agency
Basketball game ~ PTL its at home
Try to open web site to the public


This is probably enough for one day, now with much prayers and very much energy, I just might be able to get it all done!!!!

1 Corinthians 10:31

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God"

PS ~ this is where we will be staying in Guanqzhou, isn't it Beautiful!!!

Days until we leave!

We are preparing each day for our departure, but still have much to do! Packing, cooking, bank business, Hair Appt, and then add in some bball games and you see we have a full schedule! We are so ready to go! Today we are looking forward to spending some time with our church family this morning, and we thank them for all our support and encouragment they have given us! Many blessings to all of you!

Now on another note: Happy Birthday Mom!!!! We love you and are so blessed that you are wonderful mom to David and I and a awesome Grandma to Ashley and Kaylee! Hope you have a wonderful day!

From This to That!!!!

We are calling this post from This to That...... Many things in our household has been transformed from good to WOW!!!! We have been working on organizing, revamping, and rearranging. The biggest transformation in this household would have to be with out a doubt...... Kaylee!! After a few phone calls and a reschedule, much to her surprise, she was able to get her braces off 2 weeks early! I know, I get mommy of the year award!!!! She was speechless when she found out, we had kept a secret for 24 hours ~ difficult but worth it. Her teeth look fabulous!!! Thank you Dr. B for all the hard work, and Kaylee I'm so proud of you! You did so good at taking care of your teeth, never breaking a bracket ~ which is quite a task! You are so beautiful Kaylee!!!!

Just found out "I'm getting my braces off"

Look at me I'm not afraid to smile!!!! Ooh La La!

Another transformation is we have been working on Emily's/Kaylee's room for awhile now, a little here and a little there! We are very pleased with the way the room turned out, as far as space. We didn't redecorate which posed a problem ~ but not to big of one for my mother in law. We finally found some bedding that matched but it was not for a crib, but my mother in law made it to fit the crib and it looks beautiful. Kaylee is very excited about sharing with Emily ~ I hope this stays for a long time. When Ashley leaves for college, Kaylee will get her room with a complete make over! She feels that is a fair trade :) Our biggest challenge was making the somewhat small closet fit both of their clothes. David tackled the challenge and made it work, with even room to spare. Great job Dad! We are just about finished ~ waiting on one piece ~ all we need is Emily! The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and we are so thankful!

Scary, but this is the closet before!

Completely Clean Out!

Completely Organized! This is going to work great Daddy!

This is where the crib will be!

The crib set up!

The crib with the wonderful bedding Mema made!

Its perfect! Just needs Emily!