Rambling.....

So much to say, not sure if I'll remember everything. Mom told me today I needed to blog about something I was telling her. And guess what, I forgot what it was......

The past week has been busy. Life always seems busy. The girls are back in the swing of things with school. They just love school. Jadyn has a new teacher. She has not talked much about her, but has said she likes her.

I have been busy getting the paperwork ready to start the homestudy for the adoption. It seems so overwhelming. But when I really looked at it all, there really was not much for us to do. Things have changed a little since our last adoption. So that is what was confusing me. Today, we got everything signed, everything is notarized, and we mailed it off to the FL office. We are just waiting for the physical forms from the doctors. The girls will be ready on Tuesday. Bill & I have doctor appointments on Jan 26th. Once that is complete, then we will be finished collecting the paperwork that is required (I think). We still have to do an 8 hr online Hague training, which neither one of us is looking forward to doing. But we have to. We will have the same social worker that did Jadyn's homestudy. We're excited. We really liked her. Hopefully, once the FL office receives the paperwork, they will say everything looks good and we can move forward.

I took Jadyn for her 5 year checkup yesterday. She's doing well. Growing like a weed. Then I took all 3 girls to the dentist for their 6 month check-up. Jadyn's teeth look good, but she needs to brush a little better in the back. Abby, well Abby has her first cavity. Please pray for her when the time comes to get it filled. The appointment will be in Feb. Then there's Miss Tiff. She is not brushing well around the braces. Her gums were inflamed and bleeding badly. So she had a good talking to and hopefully now she will brush better.

No news from China. They are getting ready to shut down for Chinese New Year. Again, I'm praying this is another slow down on Billy's paperwork that we need. Sarah has been in contact with the orphanage and they know we want to adopt him. They are doing everything they can to get his paperwork ready. Please pray that everything will go smoothly. And if he is meant to be our son, that the process will proceed. If he is not meant to be our son, please pray for him and his future. And pray for us as we'll be sad. Once I hear more from China, I'll blog about it.

I look at the girls and I feel so blessed. They are gifts from God. I see Tiffani and can not believe I have a 13 year old daughter. She reminds me so much of me. She loves life, and loves being with her friends. She loves God and loves going to church. I'm so proud of her. I can't believe 8th grade is almost finished. High School is calling. Tiff will be in the marching band. She is so excited. I'm excited for her too.

Abigail is changing fast. I look at her and wonder where the little baby we met over 4 years ago went. She is acting like a girl now, not a baby. The mannerisms and the things she says are so grown up. She has expressions that crack us up. She loves to snuggle and give hugs & kisses. She loves to please us. She's our "mini Tiffani". God knew what he was doing when he gave us Abigail. Abigail & Tiff could easily be biological sisters. They have so many similarities it's scary.

Jadyn is truly a gift from God. I look at her and I remember the first time I saw her photo from China. I saw a precious soul, a beautiful baby. I look at that photo now and know that God showed her to me in a different way. The photo is of a scared little baby. No hair, scared expression. I did not see that the first time. I knew from the moment I saw her photo she was our daughter. God showed us that we could have "twins". He answered my prayers from when I was a child. I always wanted twins. Well, now I have them (so to speak). I'm so thankful that Jadyn is our daughter. She brings joy to us. She is so funny, and when she laughs, it's a huge belly laugh. Her smile is infectious. Her hugs are strong. She is our precious Jade Mei!

Tonight as I'm typing this, the girls are having a sleepover in Tiffs room. I think it's so cute. They love sleeping in Tiffs room. After they made the plans, one of Tiffs friends called. I was worried that she would make plans to leave. Well, Tiff told her friend she could not get together because she was having a slumber party with her sisters. That made me feel so good. Tiff said she loves having slumber parties with them. Because then it's okay for her to watch "kid shows". :-) Tiff wants so badly to be "grown up" but yet, she still wants to be a kid.

So that is about all I can think of right now. I'm exhausted as usual. We have very cold weather now which is nice. I love wearing jeans & sweaters. Hopefully it will be beautiful weather for a while.

Thanks for checking on us.