Need your input please....

In light of some circumstances lately concerning one child, I want to ask my followers and supporters here a few questions.

Recently, there was a child named Teri Lynn that the Reece's Rainbow community rallied for and raised a FULL GRANT for in just about 2 weeks. Well, just yesterday, one sweet woman who pushed very hard for Teri Lynn had to post a blogpost that both was wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

That woman is Adeye, you can see her blogpost here  

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2011/07/update-on-teri-lynn.html

Now, here comes my questions.

1. If you donated to a fund, a push if you will, like this one with urgency for a child in an institution; would you be upset to learn the child was not available for any number of reasons?

2. How would you feel if your money was raised by an already committed family and in the long run they chose a child who was "not in urgent risk of transfer to the institution"? 

3. How would you feel, as a donor, if the family had known the "story" for a while but could not fully disclose information?

4. Would you be pleased to know you helped rescue a child, period, since the family was committed to adopting?


In the grand scheme of things, it seems that rescuing children is the main objective here. I know if I had donated to Teri Lynn's fund, I would not care where that money went and if there had been a family able to commit to her but, ultimately not adopt her for any number of reasons, I would not mind what that family did with that money so long as they followed God's lead and continued to adopt--even if it were a newborn they brought home.

Following God's call is often blinding at times, that is why it is called faith; and falling in love with the picture of child can be heartbreaking if that child becomes unavailable--but God has the chance to make something very beautiful out of such situations. Children can still be rescued and forever families finally united whether the child is 7 years old or 7 months old.

So what do you say?





~Christie~ "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Ready????? SET........

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last 3 documents we had redone for our dossier were accepted by our "connection". So, today, the twins and I drove to Indy and dropped the whole dossier off at the Statehouse for Apostille.

I will be able to pick the documents up on Monday and then I will check all the Apostille sheets to make sure they match the notary name for the document, put them in their proper order per our connection overseas and put that baby in a large envelope and ship via UPS. It is very likely the document will arrive ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!!   How cool is that? It may not but anytime close to that day is good enough for me.

We are nearing the beginning of the next part of this journey. Soon, we will meet our son, face to face and share LOTS of pictures with you all once again. I cannot believe in weeks, MERE WEEKS I will be the mom of 4 boys and two of them with Down syndrome. Can I tell you how blessed my family is?

I can hardly believe God has called me to all this, I am the woman that never wanted children. Certainly never imagined I would be married to a godly man, be a stay at home mom and raising 3 boys right now and working on our 4th. Amazing! Truly A-MAZ-ING!

Lately, I've had girlfriends tell me they love me and that I have yet to fully realize how and to what extent I have touched their lives. I am just me, no one special. Just a gal trying my hardest to do what is good and pleasing to the Lord. I know I fail, I know I fail miserably sometimes. BUT I am so thankful for the ability to say, "I am sorry. Forgive me; I love you, Lord."

Thank you to each and every person who has supported us through this process. Our lives are better for it and one special little boy is going to be blessed because of your love, support, and prayers too. 

This is my prayer, my song from here on out:

Psalm 131 (MSG)

A Pilgrim Song

 ¹God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain.
   I haven't meddled where I have no business
      or fantasized grandiose plans.

 ² I've kept my feet on the ground,
      I've cultivated a quiet heart.
   Like a baby content in its mother's arms,
      my soul is a baby content.

 ³ Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
      Hope now; hope always!

 The anxiety I have been experiencing lately is gone; we are well on our way. God has a plan and I am reminded to be content in the plan (even in the mounting unknowns) and to wait, WAIT WITH HOPE. HOPE NOW; HOPE ALWAYS!


~Christie~ "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Waiting....

We are awaiting a call from the doctor's office to say, "you're documents are ready, come pick them up." I am praying they are correct and we can get our dossier Apostilled (take just one day tops) and mail it off to the country we are wanting to adopt from.

From there, the dossier will be translated, and then submitted, and then we will get a travel date. Maybe this will occur within the next 6 weeks give or take a few.

Keep praying we need lots of answers yet still. BUT we did have one HUGE blessing come last night, we all received word that our homestudies now need to read for children at LEAST through age 7.......THANK GOD ABOVE, ours does so we do not need any corrections there and can still mail ours off once our doctor's forms are redone.






~Christie~ "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

The Hand of God in motion

Thank you, each and every person, who has PRAYED for the Warner Family. This was on Lisa's Facebook page at 4:30 this morning our time (means it was 11:30 in the a.m. there)

Thank you God- WE ARE ALL COMING HOME!! Flight leaves 5:30a from Kiev then to Frankfurt then to Chicago for a layover then on to Detroit at 6:38p

 

The prayers worked, Joshua is MUCH improved and the Warner's are no longer held in Ukraine!!!! They are about to embark on a very rough journey, still, however; Lisa and her family will bury Angie this week too.

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Host Blogger for TABITHA

 This is a post from my dear friend, Anna, you can link over to her blog by clicking on her name in the tabs above this post. For now, please read this post from Anna and begin following her blog to help Tabitha find her forever family AND read some great stuff from Anna and see WONDERFUL pics of Miss Ellie too!!!

*THIS WAS AN ORIGINAL POST BY ANNA---THERE IS ANOTHER GAL WILLING TO MATCH ANNA'S DONATION FOR TABITHA*

This is a very difficult post for me to write because it means that I have to let go.

Tabitha, Russia region 15H, Born May 2010

She is/was our daughter.  The daughter that Andrew and I cannot physically rescue.  The daughter that cannot be ours.  As much as it saddens me that we are not going to be her forever family, I KNOW that God led us to her for a reason.  I am devastated to say the least, but I must let her go.  However, I will not do so, until I have found her true forever family.

Forever Families are found in many ways and I know that exposure is one of them.  I also know that $$$$ helps.  There are families that want to adopt and save an orphan, but money is an issue.  A child with a large grant may increase the likelihood of being adopted.

Tabitha: Isn't she the most beautiful little girl?

So here it goes:

I currently have 49 The Chronicles of Ellie Bellie Bear followers.  Thanks followers, you are very much appreciated! Through blogging, I not only wanted to show how completely beautiful and awesome Ellie is, but to also increase awareness about Down syndrome and to increase awareness about the plight of these orphans in other parts of the world.  More followers means more awareness.

From now until Friday July 29, 2011, I will donate $1.00 per follower up to $150.  Unfortunately, I cannot afford more.  As of this post, I will be donating $49 for my fabulous 49 followers.

Daughter-Of-My-Heart Tabitha

If you read my blog and have not already clicked on the "Follow" button on the upper right side bar, please please pretty please do so.  You will not get pestered with emails or spam or anything of the sort.  My blog will just show up in you blogger "Dashboard".  There is also a "follow" tab at the very top of the browser.

Additionally, spread the Ellie Bear love.  Repost the blog (http://ellietheurer.blogspot.com) on FB or mention us on your blog.

Follow the Chronicles of EBB!

The same for Tabitha's Reece's Rainbow page as this is all about finding her a family.

Finally, if you happen to have a few dollars lying around, you may donate to  Tabitha's Grant.

Remember spread awareness, become a follower, and I will donate $$$ to Tabitha's Grant.

I am making sure that this sweet, angel face never leaves your thoughts. 

*Thank you to "my girls" for all of your support and help during this time.  You know who you are.

**Thank you to all of the Ellie Bear followers.  You are all fabulous!

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Immigration approved??????

Now, we just need our medical forms fixed (praying for that fixed next week), the whole dossier Apostilled (takes just one day) and OFF SHE GOES!!!!!!!!!!

Leaves little time to settle other dust still remaining, but God is big enough and HE WILL DO IT!!



~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Filling the NEED

Two days ago, we (God's people and the RR family) began filling the need for the Warner family. When they left for Ukraine, their FSP had $9,772 and some change in it (I think if my memory serves correctly). More funds had been added just before their time to return home...then all the wheels began to fall off the cart and they wound up landlocked---held by one doctor's opinion.

I began a rally for their FSP, I am not tooting my own horn. I am saying this, "I love Lisa enough to do all I could to help a family already tight on money who had struggled greatly in their own fundraising efforts and nothing more than that." I have had friends say, "You have done such a great job." I know what you all mean; but, please leave me out of this. This is GOD and His people at work. If you want to toot my horn, BLAST His horn first and give yourself credit where credit is due.

Before I took a picture of their FSP...it was at $10,372 and change. 

Then? Well, then this happened. 

And just a little over 24 hours later.....this happened! 

That is $2000 in just under 2 days!!!!!!  God's people are amazing. When I began this push, I alone was asking to see that FSP hit $15,500. IF we can do what we did in just a day or two all over again. THEY WILL HAVE $15,500 I've been praying for. I know God will provide exactly what they need. These are numbers in MY head and on MY heart---Lisa has never once asked for this financial help direclty, but I know they are in need of funds from our conversations previously when she was first in country and getting ready to come home.

I am in awe of God and His provisions for the Warner family and in His working He is calming my own inner turmoil with our own adoption process that has taken some very strange turns as of late.

Thank you, please keep sharing, praying and donating. 

DONATE HERE by clicking http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwarner

~Christie~ 

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

From Lisa Warner

Humbled..  by Lisa Warner

First off- I am humbled and in awe of those that offered advice, prayer and donated. I am speechless at how much our FSP has risen.

Now on to today's news. This morning we contacted the IOM about the sputum testing. The doctor requested that one of us come in without Joshua to discuss this matter. I went to meet with her and she explained about his size and the risks. She informed us if that testing was what we plan on doing that we would be responsible to find a clinic here to do it and at our expense. I think she truly believes it is a pneumonia issue as Joshua is better. The process takes 3 separate collections on 3 consecutive days so we would not be able to begin until Monday. We also are required to take along a representative from their country to verify collection collection and handling. They will provide one free of charge.

She offered up another option- she said if we insist or request an x ray earlier she would do it. And she said that if it improved enough to move up classifications she would sign off. The CDC recommended 6-8 weeks so I asked if the embassy would accept earlier. She believes they will as they know the situation and if it improved then we have the evidence of it. She will also include a note that we requested it leaving her off the hook on ordering too soon. On Monday it will mark 10 days from when he received his antibiotic. We might be cutting it close to enough improvement but we feel we must give that a shot before proceeding with collection.

Thanks to someone suggesting the American Medical Clinic here, we have gotten a consultation appointment at 2p. We are just getting our ducks in a row in case we have to proceed with the bronchoscope. The pediatrician asked that we bring what x rays and blood work we have gotten and she will look Joshua over, examine him to determine whether that clinic will do the bronchoscope for us. So if Monday the clinic says there is not enough improvement the bronchoscope can be done on Tuesday giving us 3 consecutive days. Going for this consultation will also give us an indication on whether she thinks his lungs sound clear and maybe an indication on results possibly Monday. Also at that time we will get a clearer picture on the cost of the procedure.

So those are our next steps. If Monday we are blessed and she believes there is enough improvement we will all try to travel out on Tuesday. If not we do the next step. I have to fly home on Tuesday irregardless. My parents are holding off on a memorial service till next week to give me some time and to make sure that my oldest son is there as well.. he has leave from the Navy next week. My mom will continue to watch Jake until I get home. Dave will stay with Joshua. If there are any other significant delays we will then decide our next step. It will probably involve me obtaining an expedited passport for Jacob and return here with him in tow. The older children will go to their fathers home and Dave will have to probably return home to work.

Hopefully I explained it clearly. I am awfully tired. Again I want to thank everyone for standing with us and supporting us. Never in my life would I have even imagined this happening. It seems as though this is all a dream or a cruel joke. My sister was suppose to meet us at the airport on Saturday. The last person who saw her alive claimed she was slurring her speech. When asked she replied they had changed dosage for her heart and blood pressure medication. That was the last time someone spoke with her. If we had come home perhaps I would have noticed and called 911 or insisted she go to the hospital. I know that God has a plan and really my sadness is more of a selfish for myself kind of thing because I know and believe she is in a beautiful place with no worries or pain. I miss her terribly and will probably cry for some time but I take comfort in knowing our separation is not forever and we will meet again. I take some comfort in knowing that although she did not meet Joshua before her passing she is watching from above. This is truly a moment in my life where there are only one set of footprints in the sand. God is firmly carrying me.

 Everyone, thank you so much for everything so far. Please don't stop. Let's storm heaven's gates with praise and thanksgiving for what He has done and prayers to bring the Warner's HOME NEXT WEEK.

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

WE MUST RALLY

Lisa Warner is landlocked in the Ukraine. She and her husband traveled overseas to ransom a child and bring him home. Fundraising was ALWAYS a struggle for the Warner's. I am begging you now, for all you know, to share this story and donate ANY AMOUNT to their FSP.

*yes, I know their FSP looks good and hearty...looks can be deceiving. When they traveled they had less than $10,000 in their FSP (adoption costs more than double that). They have now paid for one round of travel, the adoption, and all paperwork to come home. They paid for return tickets and LOST $350 for having to cancel those flights. I personally would love to their FSP hit $15,500. Lisa has not asked for ANY OF THIS. This is on my heart alone*


Joshua, their son, is sick. The Embassy doctor will not release him for travel. She believes he has pneumonia--however, she will NOT treat him for pneumonia and neither will any other doctor they have seen because they do not believe he has pneumonia.

They contacted the CDC with the xrays and doctor's reports they have---CDC is giving the doctors a few options. Wait it out (6-8 weeks and retest) or surgically obtain sputum samples to test of TB and risk Joshua's life.


The Warner's are in a very precarious situation. Lisa's sister was found deceased in her apartment by Lisa's mother. Lisa's mother has been caring for their other young boy, Jacob, at home in Michigan.

It is very likely Lisa and Dave will allow the surgical procedure to test for TB and rule it out. This is not an easy decision, nor is it safe for Joshua. The doctor who refuses to let them leave has said she does not want to do this test because it puts Joshua in danger. The doctor is consulting with her team but will ultimately leave the decision up to Lisa and Dave.

They need funds. I would love to see $6,000 more raised for their FSP. Dave has been without income for over a month now. Dave could lose his job over all of this. I pray that does not happen; but it is a real fear and one that needs prayers.

I have nothing to offer you, nothing to entice you with. No fancy cameras. No iPad. No Kindle. Nothing except the comfort in knowing you have helped bless the Warner's in a much needed manner.

You can donate directly to their FSP here http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwarner

You can follow Lisa's blog at BUILDING OUR VILLAGE

Please do anything you can, share, donate, PRAY.

There are literally stranded in a foreign country with little assistance at this point.

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Preparedness

Anxiety is not fun. Not today, not yesterday. NOT EVER.

My anxiety levels have been very high for awhile now. July 6th was a very bad day for me.

This adoption journey has not been smooth to say the very least. There have been ups and downs and DOWN IN THE DUMPS LOWS.

We are still not running smoothly. Not for my taste anyhow. Too many variables, too many unknowns. Too many questions. Too many doubts. Too many, just TOO MANY.

I have several close friends I share with, but I run to one person, her name is Cathy. I love her. She is my steadfast "sister". The one that will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear.  And she rarely apologizes (I love her for that!). She has suffered with me, cried alongside me, sobbed for the situation and prayed faithfully.

Just yesterday, I told her my anxiety was climbing again and told her again this morning it was hanging over me. She told me to give over to Him and I told her I planned to at church this morning. I could NOT wait to get to church.

The message today?

Enough said, right? The message I needed came loud and clear. God has had "this" all along. He is NEVER out of control. Even if I am out of control, out of mind, out of my heart, laden with anxiety. HE IS NEVER OUT OF CONTROL IN ANY SITUATION.

The word I needed today and communion followed it as well. I needed this today, I need to cling to that promise. We are awaiting the last bit of information we need for our dossier. Immigration approval. Soon, we will be able to travel and bring our child home.

Keep praying, I need the prayers, our family needs the prayers, the child waiting for us needs the prayers. Thank you.

~Christie~ 

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Moving right along!!!

Shawn and I left the house at 7:15 a.m. to head to Indy for our biometric fingerprinting. We were praying we could just walk in and be printed. Well, we arrived at 8:35 and we left the office at 9:10....FINGERPRINTS DONE!!!

We headed back home and when we got to the town our mortgage company is located in, we had our mortgage document updated. Drove to town, ate at Culver's then drove our bank to redo every document we have right now in our dossier--just to be sure nothing expires. After a nice 10 minutes spent with Mary we walked out with 30+ documents notarized and ready to go for Apostille. On our way through downtown, we stopped at the courthouse to get two new marriage certificates and our county home ownership paperwork done as well.

We were back home by 1:00 this afternoon!!  AMAZING. Nice morning and afternoon for the two of us and the twins enjoyed their time with Grandma and Grandpa too.

Once we have our immigration approval (praying next week, I believe we will be expedited) and then we will Apostille every document and send that puppy to the country we wish to adopt from!!!  We are getting closer and closer....

Now, enough of our good news....PLEASE pray for the Warner family. They were set to leave to come back home at 3:00 in the morning (just hours from now) but the medical clinic doctor believes Joshua has pneumonia and will NOT clear them for travel. The Warners simply DO NOT have the funds for this. Please pray for them, God will provide, but praying never hurts!!!  You can donate at http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwarner and read their blog at http://buildingourvillage.blogspot.com

thank you!!!


~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Let's do this the hard way, mmmK?

 Can I just say, I have an amazing knack for doing just about everything I have ever done the HARD way?

I've always been one to not follow the leader...because I AM the leader. Which means it takes me a hot minute (or year....whatevs) to realize I'm running myself ragged and the task at hand could have been sooooo much easier.


So, why on Earth did I think this adoption process would be anything but hard like the rest of things I have done in life? Seriously.

It would have been so much easier to early on just let it all go and say, "Ok, God, whatever you want for our family I am willing to accept." But, uh, ya. No. I had to just recently come to that realization!

Truthfully, I cannot complain, we've been at this for just 5 and half months. Sure there are variables and constants that are not fun; but in the end, it doesn't matter. In the end, we will have a new member added to our family.

We will be fingerprinted tomorrow. Praying we can walk-in with no issue to get this done. Otherwise, Shawn will have wasted a paid day for nothing but a waste of gas and we will have to go back down on Monday for our REAL appointment.

Thanks everyone! I will keep you posted 


~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Compassion and Grace

Compassion: (noun) Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

Grace: (noun) disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency

We all need a little more, dontcha think?

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Biometrics....

Friday, we will attempt to walk in for our biometrics fingerprinting. After that our immigration clearance should be released to us and we will then be able to submit our dossier to the country we wish to adopt from. We are getting very close now. There are some kinks that still need to be ironed out, God is working on them, I am sure. Keep praying and stay tuned!!

For those of you wondering where all the pictures of Alexander have gone? Well, I have come to realize he is not mine right NOW and I regret having flaunted his pictures around so flagrantly for the past 4 months. Believe me, when the time comes to get pictures of me with MY child, you will see those pictures. In the meantime, you will have to do without. Sorry, I just feel better this way. International adoption is a process in constant motion and ever evolving and this is just a part of the changes I am comfortable with. I hope you understand.


ETA: I totally believe sharing pictures of our children is EXTREMELY important to saving their lives. My decision is solely based on what is BEST for our family RIGHT NOW. If not for sharing pictures the children would remain LOST forever.

~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

In our midst, He is MOVING.

The shutdown that is set to start July 11th in the country we wish to adopt from will not affect our adoption afterall. Children with approved special needs per the law over there can still be adopted right now. YAY!!!


~Christie~

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

The face I will never forget

Today in the Reece's Rainbow community we learned of another angel who grew his wings and went home to his forever family. That child was Warner.

He was "on hold" for his family...yet he never knew their love.

This next child. NEEDS HIS FAMILY NOW...I've been waiting too long to post for him. The time is now. Period.

This is the boy I will never forget. I pledge to do all I can to help find this 6 year old boy named Sasha his forever home. I pray that he does not live out the rest of his days in the institution--a place where NO one, let alone a fragile child belongs.

My own adoption story is what brought me to Sasha. I've learned so much throughout our journey. What I have come to realize and hold true is this, God loves these children more than I can possibly imagine. God is with them even in the stifling confines of the institution.

Why does he need to suffer so? I have no answer for that. Why hasn't a family snatched him up and taken him away? I have no answer for that. Will his family ever come forward? I have no answer for that but I pray they do. And if they don't? My heart bleeds for Sasha and may God be with him and love him so.

I am not done championing for him. I will focus on Sasha and finding him his forever family and if he goes to heaven before having a family hear on Earth, I will grieve his loss and rejoice in that blessing.

Please, if you are his momma come forward--he cannot wait. If you know his momma--tell her, he cannot wait. If you have compassion in your heart for "the least of these"...scream Sasha's story from every outlet you have. You see, I owe it to him. He is the reason I found Alexander. God used this precious angel Sasha to show me Alexander.

I am blessed to weep for Sasha. I am blessed with the burden of sharing his story. Please help Sasha. Please---he cannot wait.

~Christie~

2006/2011

The first birthday party Jared ever celebrated in this house was his 4th birthday...just two days ago, we had a party, a 4th birthday party for the twins. I cannot believe we have been here for 5 years. The good times in this house, I am so blessed to have experienced. God has been to good to me and my family, even we I did not deserve His favor. That's just it, God is good. GOOD ALL THE TIME.

So here is a flashback to Jared's 4th birthday party.......ENJOY!!!

~Christie~

ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!

The party is in FULL SWING NOW!!! LOL

The twins celebrated their 4th birthday today. We had a nice, quick party with Nana, Papaw, Aunt Banana, Cliffus, The Doober, Boog and Nae (how's that for a motley crew?). Grandma Diane and Grandpa Terry came a bit later.  They enjoyed cake made by mommy and homemade ice cream made by mommy too!!

Got some new books, some great Cars stuff, and of course new Thomas the Tank Engine stuff too. Then we took the boys for their FIRST ever Fireworks show. They enjoyed them. Joseph kept saying, "Colors, mum. Pretty. Pretty. Colors. Boom-boom." Jared played with the sparklers and, eventually, Jackson got brave enough to try them too.

It was a great day, wonderful service at church and some great family time too. Doesn't get any better than that right now. Enjoy the pics!

~Christie~