2007 Recap and Happy New Year!

oh my dear. . I feel compelled to write a "wrap up the year post". I don't even know where to begin. I'm actually having a hard time even remembering the beginning of this year! Hold on a sec, let me refresh my memory. . .

Jan / Feb: I can't think of anything from these months! What the heck? I don't even know what I did for my birthday which was Feb 2 (yep, go mark your calendars now)

March: Well, this is when Dumptruck joined our family. . .oh joy! Ok, Greg and the kids probably would consider this a highlight and I'll admit (only to you guys) that he was cute as a puppy. Now, however, I have 3 kids and do not need one more butt to take care of! As Brayden says, "Dumptruck: him's a good dog, but him's ugly!"

Also in March was our church BlockParty called, "Phun's Fair". This was a fun event, made more special by the Lord. Our entire team desparately prayed for good weather. We had temps that week in the 80's and were worried it would be too hot in the sun. So, we prayed together and stood back in amazement as God gave us a beautiful day at exactly 63 degrees (which is the exact temp we prayed for!). It was a God moment and will remain a standing stone in my life of remembering that God can do anything. It may seem like a small thing, but to me it was HUGE.

April - June: this is when our adoption talk began. Gracie turned one in March and we (Greg and I) began to discuss our next child. . .soon, we (and by we, I mean Laura and I!) began researching. In May, Greg and I flew to CA for a business meeting. I had lots of time to pray and drive up the coast (one of my alltime favorite things). I presented all of our research to Greg at a beautiful hotel overlooking the Pacific. I expected to come back with an answer, but that had to wait a few weeks. Finally after an evening watching American Idol and their African Children's Choir and before heading out to our Missions Service for our denomination, Greg told me that he had a final answer, "YES"! We quickly filled out all of our paperwork (and by we, I mean I! I would quiz Greg every time we got in the car for his answers) and began our journey.

July: We read about and then quickly accepted our referral for a beautiful little guy whose birthday sat 12.5 months after Brayden and was 8 months before Gracie's! Soon, our hearts were captured by little Henry Davis and we anxiously anticipated his joining of our family!

August-October: August was our Skate Event at church and September was our Women's Retreat with October holding our Fall Festival. Yep, I was busy, busy, busy!!! But, it was so worth it! I LOVE the team God has built up for us and have a blast working with them.

November was CRAZY! My sister got married! We had Thanksgiving! We left for Africa a few days later! Yep, crazy! We realized some things about our agency which caused us concern and began making plans to travel sooner than expected to get our little guy home. We pretty much decided we were leaving and left within 2 weeks. Oh yeah, and participated in our showers, bachelorette and rehearsals for my sister's wedding in the midst of it. I was freaking out, so Jess volunteered to go with me on a late night WalMart trip where we got almost everything done in one crazy trip!

December: well, this has hands down been the most exciting month yet! Possibly in my whole life! I lived my dream of going to Africa. I already miss it and can't wait to head back to the country that has stolen my heart. Liberia was amazing and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us there. I also met my son. How amazing to meet your 2 year old child. We had a rough beginning, as you know and have had rough days in the midst, but I wouldn't trade this crazy life for the world. He is a perfect fit in our family and I pretty much melt when he hugs my head (not just my body, but he grabs my head for hugs!) I also LOVE to see my kids hug each other, which is a frequent occurrence here! They just love each other, especially Gracie and Davis (whom she calls, "Dadis").

So, this has been an amazing year. I have learned so much and am oh so thankful for my Jesus! He walked this road with me and taught me so much. This was definitely a healing and growing year. Last year was pretty painful and this year I entered with a bit of trepidation. Yes, there has been pain but I have learned to find Him in it. Our pastor always encourages us to look for what God's trying to teach us about: 1. who we are, 2. who He is, 3. what He's up to, 4. Our strengths and weaknesses (I think there may be another point too. . sorry, Jon!). I have done a lot of seeking this year and a lot of learning, that's for sure. I am so thankful for all He is opening my eyes too. Africa has definitely been a theme. He has opened my eyes to pain and poverty that I had known about and not really let myself feel. He has given me a passion to be a part of His work in alleviating a little portion of this pain in the quest to show Jesus in a tangible way. We are still praying about what this will look like (along with other amazing families!) and researching organizations that are working there.

On other fronts, my friendships have expanded and grown and also retreated in some areas. . .this is both amazing and difficult at the same time. . .it's hard to have life change and difficult to discern what He's doing. However, as our small group has studied "Trusting God" this year, I am learning to do that yet again (I HAVE taken this class like 3 times already!). . .it's a journey, that's for sure and I'm thankful that He walks it with me. What an amazing, intimate, tender God we serve. Thank you Jesus! You are So Good to Me! and I don't deserve it at all. . .I can't wait to see what you have planned for 2008. Please change me, Please Use me, Please have YOUR will be done, no matter what!

Happy New Year to anyone actually still reading! I said it was a recap, not that it'd be short! If you've been reading this for any length of time or know me at all, you know that brief is not something I do well! Thanks for joining me on my journey this year. I appreciate your interest, your care, your prayers and your friendships more than you know!

The rest of Christmas

More Christmas pics. . .as you can see, the kids LOVED Christmas! It was fun having kids old enough to really enjoy it this year. Brayden was a hoot. They struggled a bit (like we knew they would) on waiting their turn and showing some of their inborn selfishness. . .but, did good overall. They were quick to listen and choose to wait and be excited for others after a little reminding. Greg and I were both proud of all of them.

First of all, here are some other Christmas Eve shots. At my mom's family Christmas, Santa always makes an appearance. What's really funny is that the older cousins (who "do" Santa) figured out that it was my dad the last couple of years. . .so, just to mess with them, my cousin Eric took the gig for this year!

As you can see. . .Gracie still LOVES "Anta". She kept calling his name and looking for him all night. She would have sat in his lap forever. Which is particularly funny since she doesn't really go to other people well. This is Davis and Jordan. . .Last month, I blogged about Jordan becoming an official member of our family when my cousin Jenny finally completed their adoption through the state. So, these are the 2 newest members of the extended Anderson family for this year!

These are from Christmas morning. We got up early (shocker!) and opened stockings as soon as Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Laura, Uncle Slim and Uncle Jimmy came over. How funny is this one? What a classic face! This boy loves his Diego! (except for the fact that I bought this at CVS and it already doesn't work!)

After stockings, we headed over to our friends' house for breakfast. . .a blast, but sorry, no pics! We came home for a nice long nap, then off to my parents' for present time there.

These were Davis' two favorites. He LOVES his new FP3 player and fun earphones from Nana and Grandad and LOVES his soccerball from "Tete" and Uncle David.
Davis and Aunt Stephani, who my kids call "Tete" (pronounced TayTay)

Gracie loved her new dollies all around!
Brayden loved all of his presents! suprise, surprise! He especially loved his scooter and leapster from Nana and Grandad

After presents, we headed over to my Aunt Shannon and Uncle Barry's home. For more info on them, read my festivus post! They are the best! We got there a bit late and hung out with my grandparents, cousins and my aunt's family too. It was a wonderful time and my kids LOVE going over there. . they have 4 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats, multiple drum sets and toys and oh yeah, lots of kids to play with too! The kids got Rock Band so my kids basically watched them do that. . .except for Davis, who was pretty sure he was ready to be a drummer already!

All in all, a wonderful holiday filled with tons of memories and special times. It was so special to have Davis home with us. Our recent trip definitely helped keep us a bit grounded during this time of greediness. . my kids are already tired of hearing, "well in Africa the kids. . .". I'm pretty sure this is the most amazing December ever! Thank you Jesus !!!

Trying to get a good shot. . harder than it sounds!

All I want is ONE, just one GREAT shot of the three kids. Yep, with ALL of them looking at the camera and smiling! My last one is about the best yet. Brayden is great at "saying" cheese, just not "doing" cheese with a smile and actually looking at the camera and remaining still!

Still it was an amazing Christmas. It was so fun to do Christmas with 3 this year. Oh what a blessing the Lord has bestowed on us with our new little man. We love him and are so blessed with each of our 3 wonderful kids! Merry Christmas! I've got LOTS more photos to post later!

This Christmas by TobyMac

Ok, the video isn't that great, but they didn't have this song on the playlist website. . .so, enjoy the song and you don't have to watch the video. Just listen to the words!



This Christmas, we celebrate with those of you who are home with your families, especially those home celebrating for the first time with your new little ones. Thank you for providing them a wonderful Christmas this year, especially those of you who have taken kids who are older. . .those that remember last Christmas and missing you. . .

We also ache with those of you who are aching for your children to be in your arms or who are spending the season wondering who or where your children are this Christmas. Thankfully, their first Father has them right in his line of sight. He'll be with His sons and daughters this Christmas.

Lord, this year, raise up your church to take care of those children. May next year be one of celebration for thousands of children who you will give a forever family.

Merry Christmas!

Festivus / my family is odd!

Because the days around Christmas are so busy, my dad's side of the family decided a few years ago to pick an alternate day to do Christmas. So, we've been meeting on Dec. 23rd. . .With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day having 'names', my Granny started complaining that the 23rd needed a name. We all teased her saying, "Goff Family Christmas doesn't do?" She persisted and we finally came up with a name. Festivus!

Ok, let me give you a litle bit of background before I tell you about "Festivus". . .this family gathering consists of my Granny and Papa and their 2 sons and their families. Let me tell you, by the time you are done reading this blog you may think we are white trash! Oh no, both my dad and my uncle are executives / presidents of their companies. My Uncle Barry's family consists of he and his wife (totally adorable, amazingly thin for 4 kids, can do anything kind of a woman) and their 4 kids. . .Brennan (16), Mitchell (14), Allie (12) and Justin (10). . Allie's a dancer and the boys are amazing athletes and all around really cool kids! My family consists of my sister Brittani with her hubby Mat and their kids Bradley (5) and Anna (2). . some of the cutest and funniest kids you'll meet and my newly married sister Steph and her hubby David (the epitomy of cool, both of them). . oh yeah, and us. . .but you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't already think we were half normal. . .now for the weird. . .

We are an EXTREMELY sarcastic / funny family. Always teasing and laughing. So, when Granny pushed for a name for our holiday, the family quickly took on one they had seen on Seinfeld, Festivus. Remember George on Seinfeld? This was his holiday. . so, it consisted of "airing of grievances" and "celebrating bitterness" and a "festivus pole". . oh yeah, and it was created b/c he was a non-practicing Jew who didn't feel right about celebrating Christmas or Hanakah so he created, Festivus - the festival for the rest of us. I know, weird for a family consisting of sold out Christians! This made us laugh so much that we had take it up a notch. . .
By this, our 3rd or 4th Festivus. . .our traditions include (and are being added to yearly)

1. The festivus pole (this is a large candy cane) that one family must take home every year and bring back redecorated the next. . . my parents had it this year and brought it wrapped in red garland with candy bars taped around it. . .don't ask!

2. The Airing of Grievances. . .this is where we make crap up about each other! i.e. Someone will anounce a grievance against my husband, Greg for eating too much. . .or some other nonsense. My sister said we left too much unpurchased on her wedding registry.

3. The Festivus Drink. . .well, b/c this holiday is originally about bitterness. . we all drink shots of lemon juice. . even the kids. . and then cringe

4. The obvious sharing of gifts and a meal. . .and LOTS of laughter!

5. This one is new for next year. . .beginning next year, everyone MUST come dressed in the ugliest holiday sweater that they can find. There will be a prize for the ugliest.

Yep, my family is crazy! But, hilarious! Let me just tell you, my cousins are the cutest things ever. Their whole family met us at the airport when we flew in at 1 am with Davis. These kids are thrilled about him and have been faithfully praying for him. That's why this year, they all got stuff either from Liberia or from the Product(red) line. In fact, the week after we arrived home, my 10 year old cousin, Justin (JJ) brought a new picture of Davis to school with him every day that week. You should have seen them with Davis tonight. They seriously lit up when he gave them the time of day (even the 14 and 16 year old boys!) They spent most of the night wrestling with him on the floor or throwing him in the air. I can't even tell you what it does to my heart to have a family that is as thrilled with our son as we are! I LOVE THEM!!

Anyways. . hope you don't think we're crazy! We may be, but I think it's the most fun family gathering ever!! I wish everyone had a Festivus!


The rest of our Christmas will be:
Spending all day tomorrow at my in-laws! We'll have a blast. . .here again we have the amazing Aunt Laura who you've already heard about and the rest of the family is a BLAST. . .there will be lots of card playing (I will win) while the kids nap. . .
a 4:30 Kids Christmas Service at church
tomorrow night with my mom's family. . .a HUGE family gathering that will be tons of fun.

Then, Christmas morning we're having stockings at our house, breakfast at a friends and a late afternoon present get together with my immediate family (always a hoot). . .then, off to Barry and Shannons for Christmas night. . . my kids love this b/c of the number of dogs, cats, fish and kids there. . .not to mention the pool, playground and drum sets available!

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Glog

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good glog!!!
There are many things to be thankful for as we approach this most joyous time of year. I have prepared a list of the top ten reasons I am thankful this Christmas season. Prepare to be amazed as you forge through into the wild yule yonder.
However I would like to offer this short word of caution as you read this most magical and magnificent list.

Warning: Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this glog as you may crash into an overpass and start a fire that will burn out of control! Do not attempt to read this glog while under the influence of alcohol (We all know that Christians never touch the stuff, but for those of you who may not be Christian, I want to be sure that you are forewarned) you may miss some of the "subtle" humor and the 8.5 minutes spent reading it would be a complete waste. . . and well that is 8.5 minutes that you will never get back. And finally, be sure not to read this in a public place as your uncontrollable laughter may hinder those trying to observe this most joyous of seasons.

10. I am thankful that I have made it 30 years and have yet to be eaten and/or scourged by a bear (black, brown, or polar... notice that I failed to mention panda which is a story for another day).
9. I am thankful that the Japanese had the forethought to invent sushi. I mean, they are truly culinary masters. Who would have thought it? Eight pieces of raw fish (total weight 1.1 ounce) for $11.95. They are brilliant and we are suckers. No wonder the dollar is so weak!! (FYI Brandi is out getting us some right now).
8. I am thankful for the word sucker. It is a great word that can have so many wonderful meanings. For example, your best friends just treated you to an evening of dinner and dancing and at the end of the evening, you could use the traditional approach of graciously thanking them in the widely accepted manor, i.e. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, it has been a pleasure to dine and dance with you." Or, you could try this... "Thank you for a wonderful evening ,it has been a pleasure to dine and dance with you ...SUCKERS." It completely changes the meaning and makes the statement much funnier. I recommend you try incorporating this word into your everyday life, I promise you won't be disappointed.
7. I am thankful for mistletoe. Without such a wonderful and useful berry I am likely not to get any action this season. (We have three kids under 4!!!) Warning to those of you whom I may see at holiday parties (still waiting for the invites btw) please note that I am not above kissing anyone standing under the aforementioned mistletoe.

6. I am thankful for the movie "A Christmas Story" and to TBS who blesses us every December 24th/25th with an all day marathon of this holiday classic. Where would we be without little Ralphie Parker and his pursuit of the official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model BB rifle with a compass in the stock. This is my favorite Christmas movie and I am likely to watch it 4-5 times on Christmas Eve/Day. Please note that this is not an endorsement for the use of guns among children. That type of personal expression of opinion should be saved for a more appropriate forum such as one's personal blog.
5. I am thankful for eggnog. What a wonderfully mysterious beverage. Does anyone know for sure what eggnog is made out of? I have done some personal research and found the chemical make up of eggnog is as follows: 2 parts egg, 3 parts nog, 100 parts delicious.
4. I am thankful for Menorah's, Dreidels, and Chanukah in general. I have officially adopted the Jewish holiday which means that I can make the holidays last from December 4th through New Years. I am going to push for the entire month of December to be called Chanumas and everyone can go on vacation beginning Dec. 4th. That sounds like a Judeo-Christian holiday that I can get behind.
3. I am thankful for my mom's Christmas cookies...they are good. Brandi's are not so good, but Brandi is the big winner as she gets me forever. Sorry mom (but please don't stop making the cookies..I will always love you).
2. I am thankful for my adoring glog fans and all of their wonderful comments. Brandi is still amazed that I topped 39 comments on one blog. But most of all I am thankful for the thought provoking and always insightful comments of anonymous, without whom glogging would be a mere shell of what it has become.
1. I am thankful for attachment parenting techniques (which I still don't completely agree with due to my claustrophobia) that have given me the wonderful opportunity to parent our 50+ pound, English Bulldog, Dumptruck in new and exciting ways. We have really grown closer as you can see. He loves our attachment sessions and often falls asleep in my arms. FYI the dog snores louder than I do.

So as always, in conclusion a preface, From our family to yours We Wish a Merry Chanumas, a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza, Blessed Aplastic Anemia Week, Happy Hand Washing Awareness week, Merry Coats for Kids Day, Warm Aids Awareness Day, Nutritious Eat a Red Apple Day, Wonderful Rosa Parks Day, Memorable International Day of Disabled Persons, Productive Volunteer Day, Happy St. Nicholas Day, A Skytopping Civil Aviation Day, Honored Pearl Harbor Day, An Educational International Children's Day of Broadcasting, A Hand slapping Grand Ole Opry Day, Happy Human Rights Day, A Unique Bonza Bottlers Day, A Fulfilling Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe Day, A Beautiful Poinsettia Day, A Delicious Ice Cream and Violins Day, A Happy St. Lucy Day, A Respectful Bill of Rights Day, A Wonderful New Jersey Admission Day, A Forgetful Forefathers Day, A Seafaring Maritime Day, Wonderful Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas Eve, Delectable Eggnog Day, Happy Canadian Boxing Day, Happy New Year's Eve (all actual December Holidays), And if I have offended you by being so bold as to exclude Happy Louis Pasteur Day; well than I guess you will just have to learn to deal with it, because I refuse to drink anything that is pasteurized.
Most Likely,
Greg

Christmas Fun

This week was full of Christmas fun! We didn't get a whole lot done (no wrapped presents under the tree. ..just a bunch of balls that Davis has removed from it). I had the fabulous idea to make Christmas cookies with the kids for Santa. Great idea. . .in theory! Let me just tell you now, if you are thinking, "oh I should do that with my kids". . .if they are 2 or under, just tell youself, "NO"!!! Gracie just yelled for cookies and Davis ate the dough. . .oh well, at least we got cute pics! Brayden, however, LOVED this! He liked the rolling out of dough, the cookie cuttering (that's a word, right?) and especially the decorating!

Then, the real fun began! Let me just back up and tell you that I had the fabulous idea on Monday to go take my kids to get their pics taken with Santa at the mall. Except for, because of poor planning on my part, we got there right around nap time only to find out it was a 45 min. wait and the cheapest package was $25! Well, I made the decision to leave only to have Gracie freak out screaming, "I hold you, Anta!!". . .oh yeah, AND Davis only wants to be held by me at this point (if you're wondering he has DEFINITELY attached), so I have 2 kids crying in the middle of the mall. Needless to say, I was like "Get me out of here!".. .

Thankfully, my dad has an awesome Santa suit. . .so, Santa made a house call at our house last night! Gracie was thrilled! In fact, when Santa took off his costume and it was just plain old grandad, she was NOT happy. She kept pointing to the suit and telling my dad, "Anta?" Surprisingly enough, Davis loved him too. It helps that it's really Grandad and the whole thing happens in our living room! Santa even brought presents. Thanks Santa!!!!

Christmas List: 1. A Dose of Perspective

This woman and her 6 children live in the home pictured below. They have a hole in the ground for a toilet (that the whole village shares) and cloudy drinking water from a nearby creek b/c their handpump well is broken. This Christmas season, maybe a dose of perspective should be on our lists?? Please spend some time considering this today. . .I know I need to.

Knowing People. . .without knowing it!

As you all know, most of the time we were in Liberia, we were looking for humanitarian organzaitons (NGO's) that were doing good work. This meant that I talked to everyone I could find and also (I'll admit it) eavesdropped on a few conversations! One of these conversations was in the airport in Ghana. I noticed a group of people talking and kept hearing the word, "Liberia". Well, when they broke up a bit, I leaned over to the people and asked what they were talking about. They said that they were discussing NGOs in Liberia. So, I of course, inserted myself right in and asked if they knew of good NGOs and told them what we were doing. The main guy who was talking told me that he was a doctor who ran an NGO and would love to talk to me. Right about then, they called our flight so he told me that he'd find me on the plane. To tell you the truth, I forgot about it with all the hoopla of entertaining a 2 year old on an airplane in anticipation of an 11 hour flight!

A couple of hours into the flight, the man came to find me and asked if it was a good time to talk. I quickly handed Davis off to Greg and went to the back of the plane to find 2 seats together. We found some and just began to talk. We actually talked for 2 hours! He is an emergency room physician in CT and runs a non-profit called HEARTT which recruits doctors to go to Liberia and do surgeries and other medical procedures at JFK Hospital for free for 2 weeks. He had taken 9 docs with him that time and does these trips 4 times a year. Isn't that fabulous? The cool thing is that he rasies money for the non-profit so that the trips are actually free for the doctors! If you or someone you know is in the medical community, PLEASE have them check this out.

While the conversation started out about his NGO and the different ones we had visited, it quickly moved to other topics. We covered the state of Liberia, the US, Bush's African policy, Darfur, the role of the Chinese Gov't in the third world and why the heck a crazy American would care so much about this sweet little nation. Although, after being there I don't know how ANYONE can go and not fall head over heels in love with this country! Literally, we debated policy and discussed options in gov't and aid for almost 2 hours! I was having a blast.

Finally, I asked him (knowing he was from Liberia and now living in the US) if his kids ever go back to Liberia and what they think. "Well," he replies, "My kids go, but they don't really get the REAL Liberian experience." What do you mean? "What with their Grandma being the president and all, it's just a little different for them with security and such following them." Now, it's sinking in for me. "Are you saying that YOUR MOM is the President of Liberia?" I ask. "Oh, yeah. I'm James Sirleaf. Nice to meet you" he replies! Oh my dear! Here I have been debating African policy and Darfur basically from what I know from the news and from reading Vanity Fair - the Africa edition! I felt like such an idiot! The rest of the conversation, I definitely bowed to his experiences, since they started out like, "well, when Laura Bush and I were talking about Darfur. . ."! Soon, thereafter, I had to leave to help Greg with Davis. . .

After we landed, I went up to him again. I told him how stupid I felt trying to debate African policy as a stay-at-home mom who knows NOTHING with the son of the PRESIDENT of Liberia! He was so sweet and told me that he had just been telling another doctor how much he had enjoyed our conversation. He's actually coming to FL in February and we're going to have dinner and brainstorm more ways to connect his organization and others and get the word out about HEARTT!

Yep, I'm an idiot! But, it was a cool connection and a chance to find out about a cool organization!

Disney for suckers!

Yes, you may think we are crazy! In fact, lots of people do. I'm not a stay at home and do nothing and make sure my baby doesn't get any germs kind of a girl. In fact, Gracie and Brayden were both less than a week old when we brought them to church and passed them around! Although, we are not passing Davis around. . we have seen a bit of the town already. So, in a "welcome to America" kind of a day, we decided to introduce our little Liberia to our great Florida icon, "Mickey Mouse"! To tell the truth, we did NOT know how this would go. But, we had friends that got us in for free so we figured if any of the kids freaked out, we'd just head for home!

It went great! The kids loved the day and it was fun spending a day doing just "play" stuff. We even met up with Jessica and Nathaniel and their little girl, Abbie (Brayden and Gracie's favorite person). I, of course, took lots of pics and since I can't pick just one (and my mom and laura would kill me if I did) I've posted bascially every one! If you're bored and just come here for my wonderful prose. . .ha ha. .wait, I know that's not true! Maybe Greg's wondeful Glogs (which you should expect a new one this week. . we've been taking animal pics for it, so possibly expect Dumptruck our dog to make an appearance).

Here's the kids on the monorail on the way into Magic Kingdom. Davis was pretty much in amazement and I kept wanting to take pics of his "first time". . .well, since my other two are so young, neither of them even remember going before so it was like everyone's first time!

Our friend, Sharon works at Disney. . .so, she is the one who got us in. She even knew the Mayor! ha ha! She also took the kids to "The Confectionary" and bought treats! Miss Sharon and Miss Whitney compete with my kids to be the "special treats" ladies and win favor!
Thanks, Sharon!

Davis was smiling and peeking out of the stroller at a woman making candy at "The Confectionary". He is pretty darn charming with that HUGE smile and she came out and offerred 3 choc. and sprinkle covered marshmellows to the kids (for free). Gracie's picture is the cutest, though, so she's the one you'll see! Can you tell she likes her sweets?

Then, we headed to Monster's Inc. "Laugh Factory" which is a new attraction that the kids loved. (My son is obsessed with this movie and we now have lost it, so he asks every day!) and then off to Toon Town to see Mickey's House. All of our kids watch, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" every morning.. .so this was the highlight. We toured Minnie's House (see their pic below on Minnie's couch) and saw Mickey's too. The line for Mickey himself was a bit long, so we decided on the shorter (30 min) line for Goofy, Minnie and Pluto. The kids were overjoyed! Brayden and Abbie pretty much thought they were meeting the real thing and Gracie was tickled by them and kept talking to and hugging them. Davis, on the other hand, not so sure! I can't even begin to imagine what he was thinking. He just looked at them like "what are you?"! ha ha!

Here's our group picture. Aren't we cute?

Brayden and Abbie with Minnie Mouse

Davis, not so sure of Goofy. . .but the other kids were determined to have a conversation with him!

Gracie just LOVED Pluto! As I said. . .Minnie's Couch

Lots of treats at Disney! Hey, with no naps. . .you do what you have to!

My little ham! Waiting in line and playing with cars! (I'm a Floridian, so I come prepared!)

Next, we head over to Animal Kingdom (my personal favorite) to see The Lion King Show. This is, by far, the best show in all of Disney! The music is amazing and so are the acts (they have fire batons, stilt walker dancers and gymnists). Gracie LOVED Simba the Lion and wanted to go sit with him.

We were in the "Lion" section and had to Roar when told. As you can imagine, Brayden and Abbie took this very seriously! They spent most of the show with their "paws" up and ready!

At the end, they call specific kids up to be a part of the parade and final song. Brayden was chosen, so Davis and I went too. Davis LOVED this show. The women dressed in African garb really caught his attention, as did the traditional African instruments!

Oh what a day! It was actually a LOT of fun. Soon, we'll have to introduce him to Shamu and Sea World! I think we'll save that for a couple of weeks since we do have Christmas coming up soon!

On a more serious note: I LOVE holding Davis during church. We sang, "Our God Saves". I've sung this before and it is true in my own life, but holding this little boy whose life God literally SAVED! Amazing! I was just crying while singing. Our God is so amazing. The next line is "he turns our mourning into dancing". . .how true for this little guy. And for us! Oh our God is so good. If you are struggling right now. . .just turn your eyes to our Jesus. No MATTER what situation we face, HE IS GOD and HE IS GOOD! The other thoughts that ran through my prayers were about attachment. You all know how we've been praying for Davis' attachment to us. I've spent time praying about it, watching for it, evaluting it and what it looks like.. .today, I asked myself how my attachment looked? How much do I cling to My Daddy? How connected am I? Do I regularly spend "holding time" with Him and continue to wrap my heart around His? Oh how I love Him. Oh how I've been blessed! I pray that you were too today!

The Ups, Downs and Photos of our first week

The ups and downs of the first week have definitely been varied! Two days ago I was telling people this was basically a piece of cake. This morning, I was crying and thinking "I just can't do this". I had to remind myself of one of my favorite truths. . ."my heart is not the boss of me". That is a little catch phrase that my friend, Tina, and I made up to remind ourselves of Jer. 17:9 "the heart is deceitful above all things. . .". I know that my emotions are NOT indicators of truth, which is good to remember b/c when I am tired I get emotional and easily overwhelmed.

Davis has been doing well. . .most of the time. He seems to be really connecting to me now. He runs to me for hugs and clings to me when frightened or in public. He still runs to Greg and shouts "yeah" with the other kids when he comes home from work. He is super easy out around town and just sits in the cart of whatever store we are in gazing in awe at all of the stuff! He loves to play with the other kiddos and can throw and kick a ball like no other. His smile lights up an entire room and is the focus of attention for basically everyone who enters our home. He seems to know that he's basically the center of attention in almost any circle we travel in right now! He is (and we are) so blessed to have such a large community that has been waiting for him.

On the other hand. . .he seems to be struggling with some of grief along with still some attachment issues. He is in Greg's arms right now, doing some "holding time" while kicking, screaming and pinching (he tried to bite Greg too). It seems we've had to do this a number of times over the past couple of days. Also, when something little happens (i.e. he doesn't get the toy he wants) he freaks out way more than is normal for a 2 year old. I have heard from others that this is a sign of grief. They freak out about something little and it just snowballs into a 20 min. crying and screaming jag. This age is really hard, to tell you the truth. He is old enough to certainly understand that he has lost everything he has ever known and yet not old enough to verbalize it. It has to be so frustrating for him. He also wakes up in the middle of the night freaking out for us. He yells and panics if he can't see us for a moment and spends the rest of the night laying on top of me. Literally, he has to spread his whole body across mine and must be touching me at all times or he gets very scared. I am exhausted. He also spent this whole morning following me around needing to be held. That just doesn't work all the time b/c I had to get ready and help the other kids get ready too. Hence, my crying on the way to small group and desperate call to Jaci who just brought her 3 year old little girl home from China not too long ago. We keep reminding ourselves of how hard this is for him. I can't even begin to imagine what he has gone through. He was only brought to the orphanage in April or May of this year. This means in the past year, he has lost his mama, grown close to his orphanage friends and nannies and lost them too, all to come here with people he doesn't know to a country that is completely foreign to him. . .that is seemingly too much for a 2 year old, not to mention what he may have gone through before ever arriving at the orphanage. And, he fights us. He has no clue that we are here to stay. How could he? He has no clue that we have to offer is security, love, food, (you know, a home, hope and future!). And so he fights. . .and we pursue.

Again, I am reminded and oh so thankful for my Jesus. I fight and he pursues. I push away what He has to offer and he keeps pursuing me. He is absolutely determined to PROVE His love for me (as if dying on the cross wasn't enough) every day. And so, I pray for the endurance the perseverance and the strength to prove my love, no to prove my Jesus' love to this little boy every day over and over again. And, to remember. To let this experience change me. To be sensitive to the Lord. I don't want His heart to break like mine does with Davis. I want to respond to His calling, to His offers of home, hope and future. To be willing to give up my comfortable for his best. I don't want to "get through" these days, but to learn exactly what it is that my Jesus has intended for me.

Here are some pictures to remind me of exactly why we are doing this. These first few are of Greg and Davis playing with a roll. It was actually a big deal b/c he was actually laughing when Greg would pretend to take his food. In the beginning, he would freak out if anyone even touched his food, so this was big for him!

And, MY THREE KIDS!!! The first pic I have gotten of all 3 of them together!

This was Davis' first park trip. We went to the park with Lisa E. and Sophie yesterday. Davis thought the swings were AMAZING! and he liked the slide too! (the little girl is Sophie)