Waiting to talk to Bill

Well it's 6 PM our time, 6 AM China time. I'm sitting here at the computer waiting to see if Bill will log in. We missed each other this morning. He was in meetings and could not get on until later. We had to run out to do errands that I have put off all week. Thankfully I was able to read his blog and see how his day went.
As I'm sitting here waiting, the girls keep coming in. So I took out my camera to capture the moment. Tiff posed like a teenager (I still can't believe she's a teenager). And then I had to "beg" Abby & Jadyn to act like they love each other (they really do love each other, they just were not in the mood for photos). As you can see in the girls photo, they have matching PJ's. We were at Target today and they spotted them. They wanted Panda jammies. Thankfully they had their size. They are so cute on them. I think I'll have them wear this to the airport on Saturday when we pick Bill up.
Today I had a scare. We came home from errands and Bills Mustang & truck (which are parked outside) were wrapped with plastic. At first I thought it blew over from the house next door that is being built. Then I noticed it was taped on. I freaked out. We thought teenagers came and did a prank. Then Tiff said "Maybe it was the workers. I think they are painting." So I walked over and yes, they were kind enough to protect Bills car & truck from the over spray of paint. Whew! When I took the puppies out an hour ago, I noticed the cars are back to normal. No more plastic.
I think that is about all the excitement we've had today. We are getting ready to take Tiff to church for youth group. Then off to bed. I hope we all sleep soundly.
Have a great night!
Love, Debbie

Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday. At moments it feels like forever since we've seen Bill. Then other moments it feels like he's been gone a short time. Right now it feels like forever since we've seen him. I think back to a week ago, when he was stressing out trying to get everything done that needed to be done before his flight to China. And now, a week later he has 2 more days of camp left.
I was able to chat with him online for an hour yesterday morning. We kept talking and I did not want to say "Bill I need to go" so we kept talking. At one point in the conversation (about 30 min into it) he said "Well I'll let you go to bed...." I did not know what he meant. Close to the hour mark, I said "I need to go make the girls lunch" and he said "Oh, I thought it was night time there. I was wondering why you were still up typing". :-)
He is having a great time. He said he was a little discouraged the first day. But he chose to put that stuff behind him and enjoy the moment. He has gotten to meet and know a lot of people & the kids. His heart has been touched. I can tell he wants to bring a few of the kids home. I wish it were that simple. He told me he has come out of this comfort zone and has acted like a complete fool. He's having a blast!
He told me he is eating food, not just junk food. So that is good. And he told me the ONE thing that he HAS to have is Pizza! So my mom suggested I have pizza waiting for him when he gets off of the plane. I remembered that there is a Pizza Hut at the airport. Unfortunately they close at 9 PM and his flight gets in at 10:30 PM. So I might just have to bring cold pizza, which he enjoys too.
He called home again last night. He was able to talk to the girls this time. They love that he is in China with the "big kids" or his "buddies" as Abby calls them. They were busy making signs for Bill last night to hold when he gets off of the plane. They are so excited.
Last night was the first night I heard tears. It was Abby. She was going to sleep and she wanted her daddy. She was sobbing. I told her he would be home in 4 days. And then I told her how we were going to have a sleepover with Grandma, Pop Pop, Aunt Denise, Colin & Dillon. She got excited and was able to calm down.
Right now I'm waiting to see if Bill will get online. It's about 8 AM so the kids should be getting ready for bed. I think he got online around 10. I have errands to run for him and I don't know if I should go now, or wait for him to try to chat.
The girls & I are doing fine. I'm nesting right now, trying to get the house perfect for when Bill gets home. My wonderful friend Kris said she would bathe the puppies for me while we are gone. They suddenly are so dirty and smelly. They were not this bad last week.
Thanks for checking of us and on Bill. Please continue to pray for Bill & Pete as they finish out the week. Please pray for their strength, health, wisdom, courage etc. Please pray for the kids.
Love, Debbie
P.S. The A/C guy was here at noon yesterday. It took 30 min to fix the air. YAY! It's fixed. Tiff was able to sleep in her bed again. :-)

Tuesday-A better morning

Well I survived Monday. It did not start off well at all. I think the lack of sleep (thanks to Zoe), the stress of Tiffs A/C being broken for 5 days now (thanks to the repair man) and the run-around the repair office has been giving me, having 3 teenagers sleeping on my family room floor and me trying to keep the house quiet for them to sleep (which is impossible with 2 four year olds who get up at the crack of dawn, and 2 puppies who are very hyper and loud in the morning) got to me. I was able to lay down around 2 PM for a little bit on the couch. That helped me a lot.
I waited around for Bill to log into the computer yesterday morning. I did not know when or if he would be getting online. Around 10:30 I had to leave to get dog food etc. So the little girls went with me. Jadyn was a HUGE help. Abby was just Abby, the social butterfly. Jadyn usually loves to help me carry in groceries. She will not complain if it's heavy. Abby on the other hand will take the lightest thing possible and complain that it's too heavy. So yesterday J took 2 bags for me. Half way to the house she said "Mommy this is so heavy". I said "come on muscle girl you can make it!" And she did. So I snapped this photo of her using her muscles.
Then later in the day, I just had to take photos of the puppies sleeping. They slept most of the day. I wonder why, being up all night long!
Last night was a lot better. I was able to talk to Bill on the phone. He sounds tired. He's not sleeping well. I was happy to see his post this morning with photos and videos. It looks like the kids are having a blast.
The puppies slept all night too. I don't know what was wrong with Zoe the night before.
So now, it's almost 8 AM. I have so much I need to get done today. The A/C people said they would be here today to fix the A/C. I hope so. Tiff would like her room back.
Thanks for the emails & encouraging words. We appreciate it.
Love, Debbie

What Was I Thinking???

I have no idea what I was thinking yesterday. Last night, I had 3 teenagers, 2 four year olds and 2 puppies in my house! The A/C in Tiffani's upstairs room is broken. It's been broken for almost 6 days now. We had the repair man out on Wed to fix it. All it needed was a charge. Well while he was charging it, he broke it. They ordered the new part and it was supposed to be delivered by noon on Thursday. LAST Thursday. It is still not fixed. So, all 3 teenage girls slept on the floor in the family room. Abby & Jadyn were sleeping soundly in their own rooms. I thought I would be the nice mom and take the dogs, in their crates and put them in my bathroom. They usually sleep in their crates in our kitchen nook. Well I guess Zoe did not like this. She was up all night. She was scratching the crate, shaking the crate, whimpering, barking, crying ALL NIGHT LONG! Zack could have cared less. He slept. Nothing I did would make her stop. So I was up all night.
This morning when I got up at 6:30 AM I let the dogs out. Then I brought them back in my bathroom so they could be "free". I picked up everything so they would not ruin anything. well I did not think to pick up the rugs in there. When I came back in there, they tore them up. Zack gave me this dumb look like "What did we do?" as he had carpet fibers sticking out of his mouth. He's a goof!
The morning is getting better. I'm trying to calm down. The big girls don't like that the little girls won't leave them alone. I told Tiff I can't lock A & J up in their rooms. So they need to deal with it.
Oh I pray the A/C people come out here today so Tiff can get her room back. It will make life so much easier. :-)
I'm waiting for Bill to get online. I see he is on the computer but he has not logged into the IChat. I have been praying for him all night. I can't wait to hear how his day went with the kids.
Love,
Debbie

Tiffani's Trio at church

Today, Tiff and her friends Ashley and Stefanie sang in church. They did awesome! It was wonderful. I recorded it. Unfortunately Bill could not see it. I hope he will be able to see the video in China. When they were finished (during both services) they received a standing ovation. It was awesome!

Enjoy the video.
Debbie

Bill is at camp

Bill called today. I did not expect this. We got home from church after 12:30. We decided to go and get lunch. I figured Bill would be trying to sleep so we did not rush home. Well he was there waiting for us. The IChat is not working, so he called. You can read about his adventure on his blog.
When I came home, Kim sent me an email to another blog. Nicole has been in China the past week or two. She is at the camp with Bill. She has a lot of info and photos posted. Get a tissue. I don't know how Bill & Pete are going to be able to say goodbye. I'm not even there, and after reading Nicole's post I cried. Why can't they just bring the kids home? I know Bill would if he could. And I would be okay with that.
I will add Nicole's link to the side and you can also click on it here.
Thanks for your prayers. The kids come around noon (midnight our time). I can't wait to hear about their day.
Oh, as I was talking to Bill, I think he was getting swarmed my mosquitoes. He said it feels like camping. :-)
Love,
Debbie

Comments for Bill & Pete

Good morning all,

I thought I'd ask a favor for everyone who is reading this. Would you mind posting comments on Bill & Pete's blogs? I know they would love to hear from you. Just words of encouragement or prayers or just silly comments would be awesome. Even if you do not know them well, please post a comment. It's easy. Just hit the comment link under their post and then you can sign it. Bill's was set wrong the other day. I was able to fix it so everyone can post.
I would really appreciate it.
We did not get to talk to Bill last night. They were able to sleep late. He did email and I did track the flight and they landed 5 min late in Zhangzhou, Henan, China. Hopefully when we get home from church we'll have an email waiting from him.
Again thanks for checking on the guys and on us. I'm excited to see how God will be working in and through the guys this week.
Love,
Debbie