My Musical Kids

Ashleigh is learning to play the clarinet, and Jay-R loves to sing. Here are two of their recent performances...."Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Happy Birthday."

A Hometown Story of Faith, Football, and Family on ESPN

On Tuesday night at 7 pm, ESPN will air a story about faith that is near and dear to the hearts of all those in my town. Please click on the link to my friend's blog to learn more about the Mealer-Richer families and their incredible story and please plan to watch the documentary.


http://brendawantstoshowyou.blogspot.com/2009/10/faith-reoccurring-theme-documentary-on.html

"Mommy, it's snow!"

Jay-R has been pretty cold these past few days. I keep telling him it's going to get a lot colder! Last night, it frosted so we woke up to frost all over the windshield. Yuck, I'm not ready for that! I showed him how you can see your breath. He stood in the yard for a few minutes amazed at the fact he could see his breath. He couldn't wait to tell his friend that! On the drive to school, he proclaimed, "Mommy, it's snow!" I smiled and explained it was frost on the grass, and he would have to wait a few more months for snow. I can't wait to see his eyes when we get dumped on this winter! It's so much fun experiencing the world through his eyes and being amazed at things we normally take for granted.

I promise to post more pictures soon. It's been an exceptionally busy week.

Tribute to Philippines Victims

Here is an awesome video on youtube. I can't figure out how to get the actual video on the blog. Here is the link, though. Please take a few moments and watch this video. The song is "You Raise Me Up" in Tagalog, though. It brought tears to my eyes...I can't imagine. My heart goes out to the Philippines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pAwx6gPF54

Good Picks from the Local Library

I love the library. I have always loved reading. I love the smell of old books. I love writing. So, I frequent our local library a lot. Jay-R learned to use a computer at the local library with the tiny mouse that fit his little hand. Unfortunately, the library took some budget hits from our state budget cuts, but this recession seems to have affected just about everyone and every area.

Anyway, I was thinking the other day, how can I explain Halloween to Jay-R? It's a silly holiday that is hard to explain the purpose, meaning...it's just something fun we do every year. And every year, I look forward to when my daughter goes to bed, and I can swipe some chocolate...it's a mother's right isn't it? My daughter never minds sharing and doesn't care if I eat some of her chocolate and banana Laffy Taffy. Jay-R, he might be another story. He doesn't like to share his candy! I found some great Halloween DVDs at the library with his favorite characters. He watched the Dora DVD tonight and he has the "Trick or Treat" thing down already! I also found some fun Halloween stories. I think I'll do the same thing for Thanksgiving.

Also, another great find..."Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies." It's an international adoption story told through the eyes of a little boy. It doesn't follow Jay-R's story perfectly of course, but it's a pretty good book. He was interested in it. It talked about being scared of the new places. Since he is older and understands he is adopted, I'm always on the lookout for some great adoption stories to read with him. I recommend it!

Now, I can't wait to start the new books I checked out for me!

Pray for the Philippines

I never watch the news so I'm a little out of the loop with what is going on in the world, but I opened one of blogs I follow and she had posted about the floods in the Philippines.

Here is a link to an article. Say a prayer for all the people in the Philippines! We don't know how bad White Cross was affected or Mary Joy, the little girl we sponsor. We have friends we have made that live there and our hearts go out to these people. We wonder how they are doing and if they are okay? Please, please, say a prayer!

http://archive.gulfnews.com/world/Philippines/10352339.html

Adoption Update

I just opened my email, and I had an email from our social worker that the consent for Jay-R's adoption has been received from ICAB! Yay!!! Now, I just need to contact our lawyer and figure out the next steps that need to be done before we go to court to finalize the adoption to make Jay-R officially an Allison.

That was quick...we just had our last post placement visit the first Wednesday in September so wow, less than a month. That is the fastest thing that has happened the entire process of our adoption!