American Girl Doll Store

Since we were blessed with the AG dolls for the girls, I decided to take them on a date to the American Girl Doll Store in Atlanta. We took along Tricia for back up, and as a thanks for all she does for us. The girls were so excited. The first thing they all wanted to do was get their dolls ears pierced. We stood in line, but Tricia ended up having to take the girls on to the Bistro so they could check in for our lunch reservations. I stayed in line and got appointments to get the dolls ears pierced. The lunch was truly fabulous. We decided to for go dessert since we had oreo balls and Jesus's Birthday cake at home. We had a lot of fun. Then after lunch the girls shopped and got the dolls ears done. Tricia and I decided it was a good thing I had made matching outfits because the store was crowded and it was easy to find them. The last picture is of the happy girls on their way out of the AG store. I got lots of hugs and kisses from the girls after we got home. What makes me the happiest is that they don't expect days like this, but instead they are just extremely thankful to get them. Hunter and I had our date today. We went to see Yogi Bear in 3D. It was super cute and definitely more up his alley.

The Special Gift

Noelle and I had been venturing off every Friday night to see Auburn's version of American Idol. We were really into it. We had our favorite and had made posters and everything in support of her. We looked forward to our weekly dates at the University. So after the semifinals, we along with Noelle's best friend left extremely disappointed. Our favorite had been cut. Not only was she cut, but the other person I thought would be her biggest rival in the finals had also been cut. So we headed out vowing to boycott the finals since the judges appeared to be tone deaf.

I had only been home about 20 minutes when my neighbor called to let me know that she had just pulled in her driveway and she had seen a little cat dodge out from underneath my car and head down the hill. I met her at the bottom of my driveway, and listened as a kitten was crying. I tried to get it, but only spooked it....right into the creek. She and I stood down there for a little while hoping to get it out of the creek, but it was cold, so we gave up.....we were obviously dealing with a feral kitten. I came in and tried to get ready for bed, but knowing that kitten was down there in the creek and now wet and freezing bothered me to much. I grabbed Hunter's light up Halloween skull, since it was the only light I could find, and some turkey and headed down to the creek. I was able to coax her up out of the creek, but I couldn't get my hands on her. I ended up calling my other neighbor since she loves God's furry creatures as much as I do. She came down with flashlights and crawled around the freezing ground with me. Her son finally came up to the house and got a live trap and brought it down to us. It was a little small, so we were worried about how successful it would be. We set it up and moved back to the hill to keep watch. After she successfully snagged a few pieces of turkey without tripping the trap, she got comfortable and moved all the way in the trap to feast on the food. We got her! We were all cheering...by now it is midnight. We were able to get her out of the trap and look her over. She was definitely a feral and she was covered in oil where she had ridden home underneath my motor. I know she is from the University as we had seen feral cats every Friday night. I didn't get a picture of her at the time, but as you can see, she looks like a direct descendant of Aubie. She was painfully thin and starving. She was scared and actually bit my neighbor. But I could see the potential in her. I thought I could probably hide her from Paul and he wouldn't ever know, but I decided to tell him the next morning in case he heard the cries coming from the basement. He was ready for us to go ahead and take her to the shelter before we became attached, but I knew she needed some TLC before she would be adoptable. It didn't take long before she was fine with people and I was able to take her in for a quick scan and combo testing. She passed all her vet tests with flying colors. Noelle was the most attached, and I really wanted her to be able to keep the kitty. After all, she had not asked for anything for Christmas besides a water park pass. However, things started looking a little grim for the kitty. Her stomach was expanding at an alarming rate which is a sign of a fatal disease called FIP. I made another trip to the vet and we decided to take the cheapest route and treat her for worms, and just pray it wasn't FIP. I checked the kitty poop everyday for worms only to find none. But she seemed to be stable, so I felt like it wasn't FIP. So we decided to let Noelle keep her as her Christmas gift....after all how do you give away a gift that it seems God himself sent our way? Here is Noelle opening her gift. It was an ornament that looked exactly like the kitten she had now named Cheeto. There was also a collar in the box. This is her reaction when she realized the collar was for Cheeto and that she would now be her pet. Cheeto's stomach continued to grow and look very out of the ordinary. Our vet had said that she is about 6 months old so there was a "possibility" that she could be pregnant. I was hoping not, but I would rather that than something more serious. We were blessed to have a friend help us check for kittens. I am happy to report there will be no kittens to deal with. In fact everything looked great. From everything they said, it just appears that she has an eating disorder.....like the kind where you just eat to much. She is very petite for her age, so the big belly looks a little out of place, but I'll take it. Sweet Cheeto is truly a little blessing for not just Noelle, but for me too. She has the same personality as my all time favorite cat, Toy. She loves to snuggle under the covers for a quick nap. She loves our 25 pound cat and is helping him to get the exercise he so desperately needs. This week, I had to say good bye to my 16 year old dog, and in the midst of cleaning up all his stuff, Cheeto was purring around my feet reminding me that God sends us what we need when we need it. When I was at Auburn, I made it a hobby to snatch feral cats and tame them. I didn't ever keep any of them. Our other cat was a feral from one of our rental properties that I grabbed along with his litter mates. We kept him and found homes for the others. I guess I was due to keep one from Auburn~Thank you God for Cheeto, I think I love her just as much as Noelle does!

Gift Time

In our house we carry on the tradition of only having three gifts. Jesus got three gifts, so we get three. It keeps Christmas simple and helps to keep the focus on Jesus and not a bunch of stuff under the tree. I also have a very small limit on what I will spend on those three gifts so I have to get creative sometimes to make things special. Hunter was so excited to see his walkie talkies. He has always loved walkie talkies, but these are the real thing. He can use these when he ventures out fishing, or to call me to let me know he has encountered a poisonous snake. We were able to pick these things up for a steal, and they made a huge hit. As you can see Hope had already gotten into the makeup kit Santa left her. I kept saying "Oh Hope, you are so pretty...I love your makeup, but no more okay?" She would say "okay momma" then next time I saw her she looked a little more clown like. She was excited to open this doll. It is Molly the American girl doll. I put out a plea on facebook to my high school and college students that may have AG dolls they no longer played with, and we were blessed! The funny thing about Molly is that I had her for awhile, but the week before Christmas, Hope brought me the AG catalog and said, "Momma, NaNa (what she calls herself) want this one," as she pointed to Molly. She loves Molly.

I got lots of super hugs from LeeLee when she opened up her doll. She got Marisol. She was a doll of the year for AG. For LeeLee it was love at first sight! She loves this doll! Noelle's favorite gift deserves it's own post, as it actually the most special gift of all~a gift from God himself.

Santa Makes His Visit

I am humbled each year by my kids.....Christmas is a time where I get to observe them, and see that the way we are raising them pays off. They each wrote letters to Santa this year, and for the most part the things they were asking for were sensible and cheap, except of course for the boat that Hunter asked for. While they were all really excited about Christmas morning, I worried somewhat about the fact they may be disappointed. As I scanned the items Santa had left, I knew that what they had asked for wasn't what was left. But I also had hope in the fact that my kids would be grateful anyway. They didn't disappoint! It is the simple things in life that make them the happiest. Hunter woke up at 3 a.m. and snuck downstairs to see what he had. I heard him because I was already awake, so I told him to go back to bed and that I didn't want to see him again until 6:30. Once we got all were up he headed straight to his stuff. This hat is his favorite. He calls it the hat with the puppy dog ears. It is perfect for our little outdoors man. Noelle was thrilled with her hat and umbrella. Somehow Santa must have known that she loves yorkies. If you were wondering why I was already awake at 3 a.m., well it is because LeeLee woke up at 2:30 a.m. I heard her on the stairs and called her into my room. Once she was in my room, she told me Santa had already come. I asked her what he had brought her, and she told me....that little stinker! Her favorite item was mittens. Hope has been so excited just because she could feel the energy from the other kids. She would say "It's Jesus Birthday" and "Santa is coming" When I would question her more, she really had no clue what was happening. However, on Christmas morning when all the kids ran into the den together, she ran straight to her pile. She was so excited to see this Barbie Karaoke machine. Hope saw this at K-mart about a month ago and played with it. She picks up songs very quickly and loved the Barbie girl song. I of course went back to look for it, and it was gone. I was so sad, so I was super excited along with her to see that Santa brought her the perfect gift. Santa even remembered all the furry critters of the house. Lulu was super excited to see these rawhide treats.

Christmas Eve

Boy was there ever excitement in the air at our house on Christmas Eve. All four of the kids were bouncing off the walls, and I wondered if our house would ever become quiet as a mouse. When we got close to bedtime, I asked the girls to come into the den and sit down. I then passed out a gift to each of them and they began to open them.LeeLee's face says it all. They were so excited to get new pajamas for Christmas. Don't worry about poor Hunter....Hunter doesn't really like pajamas. He wears slick shorts and t-shirts to bed. However, the entire school decided to do Polar Express on the last day before Christmas break, and Hunter needed some pajamas. Since I already had everyone's for Christmas, he just got his a tad early so he would actually be wearing pajamas for school. I carefully picked out each of their pajamas to suit there personalities. Each of them were very excited with theirs. I wish I could say that at this point they all went to sleep, but the excitement was to much for LeeLee. She was up until about 10:30 before she finally fell asleep.

The End of an Era

Years ago, my parents found a cut your own Christmas tree farm in Russell County. It was one of those great down home experiences. They put you on a hay wagon and ride you out to the tree fields where you search for the perfect tree. Then, you saw it down yourself, tag it, then wait for the wagon to come by and pick it up. About the time the hay wagon gets you back to the front of the farm, your tree is being shaken and ready for loading. For several years now, the family that runs the farm has been saying it is their last year. We were hoping that would never be the case, but as you can see, our tree was the lone tree left in a large field. It was what you would call a reject tree. It was browning in a few spots, and it had a messed up trunk. But having the hearts we have, we saw it's beauty and didn't want it to go all its life without ever being a Christmas tree. I was so sad to leave the tree farm. It felt like a part of us, our life, our history was being left behind. Part of me was sad that we had come, because I would love to have my last memories be of the fields of trees and trying to find the perfect one. But then the other part of me is glad that Hope got to experience it so when the other kids say "remember when." she will actually have that memory to share with them. I think Hope is a little confused as to why we currently have a tree in our living room. Once the lights were on and plugged up, she looked at it and said, "Oh, so pretty!" She enjoyed decorating it too. I can't wait until Hope really understands what Christmas is all about. I look forward to the rest of this Christmas season. I love the excitement around the birth of our Savior.

Noelle turns 10!

She is halfway to 20, and this is a problem for me!! Noelle wasn't to excited to be going to school on her birthday. She ended up having a good day because they had a pep rally at school and Aubie came. Since it was her birthday, he signed her hand. However, trust me that this is a very forced smile in this picture because she was worried that I didn't have a present for her. She had asked for the American Girl Doll, Nellie. Nellie is retired, so her prices have skyrocketed on ebay, and I wasn't willing to pay more for her than she originally cost. Noelle had been watching ebay too, so she knew they were way to expensive. What she didn't know was that one day while she was at school someone had listed one with a buy it now feature for 1/3 of what they were selling for. So everyday after school she would continue to look for a Nellie. About two days before her birthday she realized that Nellie wasn't going to happen, so she picked out a current doll in the catalog and decided to settle for that. I told her I would do my best, but that if probably wouldn't be there by her birthday (which wasn't a lie since I never ordered it.)I had hidden the presents in the car, so when we went to dinner, Paul snuck back to the car and snagged them. She was so excited, and we got a genuine smile when she saw Nellie. We will have her party after the Holidays. Happy Birthday Sweet Noelle!!! You are such a delight!!!

War Eagle!

I am a die hard Auburn fan. I always go to the games and I feel physically ill if we aren't winning. This season, I have missed most of the games due to staying home with Hope so she wouldn't feel abandoned. However, after the amazing season we have had, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. My mom was gracious enough to keep the kids so we could go. I was so proud of Hope for being comfortable enough to stay, so I could go. It was an AUsome game too! I didn't have to feel physically ill at all, as we ran away with the lead early. Now we are headed to the National Championship game. Paul will be making the trip with a friend because I don't think we are ready for an overnight away from Miss Hope yet. So, I will be cheering us on loud and clear from the theater room in the basement. I can't wait!

Happy Birthday to Me!

What a blessing my birthday was! I was woken up by the kids one by one bringing me special gifts. I got chocolate and lots of it (somebody must really love me), which is always my favorite thing. We then ventured out to Chick-fil-a for breakfast...another favorite. Then my mom came for dinner and brought my cake. It is the same cake I have gotten since I was a small child. It is still my favorite cake too! As the day came to an end, I was able to really reflect on life. I am so thankful for the life that God has chosen to give me. I am thankful for my amazing husband who truly is my hero. I am thankful that even though adoption was on my heart from the beginning of our relationship that God gave Paul the desire for biological children. I can't imagine if I had missed out on Noelle and Hunter. I am thankful that my heart never wained from it's desire to adopt. I am so blessed to be Hope and LeeLee's mom. For the first time, I feel like our family is complete. I won't say it definitively, because I don't know what God has in store for us. However, I am relishing in the feeling that my entire family is under one roof. Before, I always felt like someone was missing. Thank you God for another year. I am looking forward to seeing what you have for me.

Can we decorate now?

Those were the words that continually were coming out of LeeLee's mouth. It was as if Christmas couldn't come until our outside decorations were up. She was distraught. She even used peer pressure when she said, "All my friends have their decorations up already." We finally caved and put them up. She was so excited. The last thing before bed was getting the Christmas tree in the top window. Everyone always wants to know how we get it there. Paul and I actually lift it up and push it onto the ledge. Then Paul climbs out the girls window and into the middle window to plug it in. For some reason this year, he got stuck on the wrong side of the tree and had to carefully move with the tree leaning on his back. No worries though, it all ended well. LeeLee was finally able to relax, and believe that indeed, Christmas was coming.

A Welcome Surprise

As I searched for something that would stay in LeeLee's hair, I came across some adorable felt hair clips on Etsy. They were made by a lady in California named Derinda. She had an etsy store called EmmaLee's Boutique. I loved her stuff and ordered a few times. You may remember that last spring I won a clippie bouquet she had. I also referred friends to her who had Chinese daughters, because we all know how hard it is to get things to stay in their silky hair. Anyway, Derinda decided it was time to close up her store. I was bummed! Then, I got an email from her offering to send me everything in her store for free if I wanted it. I was so excited. She has blessed me with her generosity......and I am so very thankful! The girls love them and wear them everyday! Thanks Derinda!!!!!