Congratulations Grandma and Lon!

The Newlyweds
The new family

Does this look like the face of a little girl who is going to be quiet during the ceremony? It was!

My 100th Post Giveaway and I'm Baaaack!

Wow, quite a title to live up to! Yes it is my 100th post! I have spent way too much time on this computer don't you think?! Actually having no computer for the last week wasn't that bad :). I did miss all of you though! I am being very cautious right now, our computer was very infected, had to be completely overhauled, thankfully I had saved all of the important things before I took it in. I can't thank little Richard enough ( I don't know if he was little but he sounded that way!). He seriously called me as I was walking into the church for my mother in law's wedding and asked me what I needed saved off of the laptop, my life IS always THAT crazy! Anyhow, it is home and I am happy to have it, I have lots of work to get caught up on. So I am not sure how much blogging I am going to be doing from now on, it really does take up precious time with my family, tonight is Mark's last night on midnights for 3 months and I usually blog while he is working at night. I can't wait to have him home to cuddle with on these chilly nights! The kids are excited too! Yes my mother in law Phyllis and Lon were married yesterday, very nice simple ceremony and a nice dinner at home with our family. Like Mark said it is the start of a new era. I will post pictures in a few days when I get to them.

So down to business, it is my 100th post and I have a few items that I am giving away as a way of saying thank you to all of you for sticking with me for this long! I know alot of people who do this on their 100th post and I thought it would be fun! My sister was making these frames and I begged her to make one for my give away, it is precious! I also had her make a matching fairy wand for the tutu that I made also. I will post my how to make a tutu later. So you know what you have to do, leave me a comment or email me to enter, I will be drawing the name on Sunday, that gives you a week to contact me. I will have my little dark haired assistant help me pull a name out of her Matilda Jane hat ( I thought it was only appropriate). All items will go to one lucky winner! PS this is my 100th post, I have kept a few private!

I have a sick computer

Hi, me again from the basement computer. Poor laptop came home for one day and caught a bug again so she is back at the computer doctor again. I am not using the computer at all, this thing has problems too, so you would be amazed at all that I am accomplishing in a day now with no blogging to do, no pictures to edit (I should be but can't), no communication other than by the old fashioned way. Smoke signals. Morse code. The Town Crier. So it might be a while before you hear from me. We are going up north tomorrow for my mother in law's wedding. Mark has to work, poor guy has to work tonight, sleep a bit then drive up for the wedding, come back and go to work all night again. So I probably won't be reunited with my laptop for at least a few more days. But my very exciting 100th post give away is just 2 more entries away, we must get my poor computer working right!? Signing off for now, Leslie

Thankful Thursday

Here is Taylor being "slippery" as the paper called it!

Wow, Thursday already! I guess by looking at the calendar it has been a week hasn't it?! I am feeling very blessed this week for many reasons. I am thankful for:

-Mark, for once again picking up the slack around here while I am taking more pictures than ususal. For the beautiful red roses on Sweetest Day. For helping with science projects, Halloween snacks, and making sure I had time to get my hair done! Bless you! My grays were taking over! Also for scooping the ice cream on the nights you are off!

-Dayton, for staying up late with me to watch old family videos on a school night. We needed that didn't we? For doing a great job on your bridge project! Way to go!

-Myah, for another successful try on the big girl potty! We were so proud of you! For recognizing me on the old videos ( when I was much younger, skinnier,etc..) and waving at me through the tv!

-Aunt Ginger, she called me today and thanked me for all of the messages on this blog, she says she can feel the prayers working! She sounds amazingly positive, she is so strong and has kept her sense of humor. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to hear from you today, I still get teary eyed thinking about you. You are so sweet and such an inspiration to me! She told me to do my breast exam, she is calling her sisters every month now on the 20th to remind them, I think we should all do the same in honor of her! Her chemo will start next month, Uncle Billy is having surgery also next month so I am sure they could use all of our prayers. So thankful that you called!

-Phyllis (my mother in law) and Lon, I am thankful that you have found happiness together. We look forward to your wedding on Saturday.

-Cindy, for getting me in at a moments notice, you are such a special and dear friend. I love catching up with you even if you do call people a chicken (ha ha).

-Mel, for all of the adorable clothes that you gave Myah, she sure needs them! Also for drumming up more business for me, thank you so much! I love our late night talks, even though we don't share a bedroom anymore, we still stay up late talking, at least mom and dad can't yell at us now!

-For the purses that my cousin Sheri sent up to me, they made me so happy, thank you for doing that for me!

-For the can opener that Sheri W. sent me today, she saw me struggling with my old one, what a cute surprise! Thank you!

-For Debbie and Kurt's awesome party on Saturday, they are the most generous people I know. Thank you so much for Everything!!!! We had fabulous time! So glad you are staying here for the winter! Also thankful for little Felicia, what a miracle!
-For all of the good people of California who are dealing with the devastating fires, God bless you.

-For little Evan who made it home safely from China last week, can't wait to (set you up with my daughter someday), I mean meet you!

-For the computer doctor who fixed my laptop this week, boy did I miss it, especially with so much work to do on it!

-For Ms. Tiffany, thank you so much for being such a great teacher to Myah, she loves you ! We can't wait till the next session begins.
-For my nephew Taylor's very exciting win last week, earning a trip to the play-offs this week! Go Blue Devils!

-For all of you who continue to share in our lives and encourage us daily, we are so thankful for each and every one of you. Watch for a very special 100th post coming very soon, my little way of saying thank you for all of your support!

Look what I found!

Ok, the laptop is at the doctors. So I am using the computer in the basement that I never use. I was cleaning up some things on this computer and I came upon these first pictures that I ever took of Myah in our home. I had a little Kodak Easy Share camera, put her in my foyer with the natural light and this is what I ended up with. She looks little (to me) and still a little bit in shock. It has taken Myah over a year to really open her little heart to accepting us and looking back at these pictures I can really see the difference in her eyes. I had to share these with you all! We got Myah 5 days after her first birthday, this was just a few weeks later.

You're Welcome

I just have to say a very special "you are welcome" to Jennifer and Adrienne over at the very famous My Adoption Website. Everyone in the China adoption program knows who they are. They have created the best adoption online journals ever! I was so flattered tonight when I logged on and saw my name and a picture of precious Adrienne in her Matilda Jane hat. Jennifer ordered a hat at my sister's party and I sent it to her this week. She looks adorable in it just like I knew she would! I really feel like I am famous now that MY name is mentioned on her site. Seriously, I have checked their site every day for almost the last 3 years. I learned so much about adopting internationally from reading the beautiful journals of the many families who have used their services. I have recently been in contact with Jennifer and she is the sweetest person. I had to finally write her one day and tell her how much I appreciated all that her and her husband Joe do for all of us families who have adopted or are in the process. They are like China adoption royalty! They are in the process of adopting their second daughter from China right now. What is special about that is that while we were in China adopting Myah we logged onto their site to see a picture of Adrienne mailing in the paperwork starting the journey to her little sister. We pray that their wait gets shorter and shorter, they are the best parents to little Adrienne! Here is the picture that Jen sent me of sweet Adrienne modeling her new hat, to quote her she said she loves it " eighteen hundred thousand million!" Wow, she must really like it!!!

****The web address is http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/ and the hat is my favorite designer found at http://www.matildajaneclothing.com/ or also you may email Stacey and she will help you with your order her email address is staceyt@matildajaneclothing.com

tell her that I sent you! The hat that Myah is wearing on my header is also MJC. I just took some beautiful pictures this weekend of my nieces in their MJC outfits too, having a few computer problems this week and will post them when I get it fixed. My hat like this is on backorder too, must have been a big hit!

Happy Anniversary Melanie and Chris!

Mr. and Mrs. Finally
I was her Matron of Honor, I cried the whole way down the aisle, I didn't even do that at my own wedding!

Today is my sister Melanie and her husband Chris' 11th anniversary. They had a very romantic Sweetest Day, candle-lit, evening wedding. My sister is the best wedding/event planner that I know, seriously she can do things that I didn't know were possible! People have told her they look like "Hollywood weddings". She is also very resourceful and reasonable. Unfortunately, she is no longer accepting clients, unless they are her children or my children, sorry folks! Like the song says "life happened" and she is busy raising her family. When it came to doing her own wedding, she had every detail planned, pictures showing exactly what she wanted and had envisioned. It was beautiful. We laugh at a few of the little blips that her florist "screwed up" claiming that it was Sweetest Day and there was a shortage of red roses. Mel had a huge crush on Chris all through high school, he thought of her as just his good buddy. I can't tell you the nights that we would be up in our room and all she would talk about was Chris this and Chris that. He moved away after high school, she started dating someone else for 4 years who wasn't the greatest love of her life. One day after Chris returned back home, he heard her name, asked for her number, called her up, met her at a park to talk and told her he was going to marry her some day. We know God had a plan for these two. She came home, told my mom about her "meeting" said goodbye to the boyfriend and they were married within a year. Love happened! Best Wishes to you both today! We love you!

Better late than never Thankful Thursday

Wow, this week was a blur, still lots to be thankful for. I love doing this because it makes me take the time out of my crazy week and actually "think" about things and all that is going on in my life. I know many of you just like me are running from place to place, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, looking for sippie cup lids, praying that I make it to the gas station, and staying up past my bedtime just to get some quiet time. Thankfully for Thursdays I make time to think about the special people in my life, the big things and the little things that I might take for granted. Sometimes I re -read these just as a reminder of what has been going on in my life, time goes too fast, these help keep me real.
So here goes this weeks edition of what I am thankful for:
-Mark, I always name you first because I feel like you are the one I take for granted daily, you ask for the least and give the most. I am thankful for you supporting me all week while I am swamped with taking pictures, for hanging out with Myah while I went shopping with Linda, for appreciating my cooking (no laughing here!), for picking up my slack this week! Love you so much!
-Dayton, for getting an awesome progress report, for watching Myah while I took pictures, for a great talk that we had, boy you are wise beyond your years, I have so much to learn from you. For loving your new life group at church and saying it was awesome! I love you so much!
-Myah, for becoming "sweet" finally! I love hearing you say "thank you momma," "bless you momma" when I sneeze, and " I love you momma" . You are my daughter now and forever, I love you so much!
-For my parents, who have always been so supportive of me, and always my biggest fans, thanks for the Sunday night talks, you always make me laugh till I cry! I love you so much!
-For my Grandma A., I loved our talk today, you are the best Grandma in the world, so sweet and giving, always putting everyone's needs before your own. You are pure sunshine to me! I love you so much!
-For my Grandpa, thanks for letting us drop in on you last weekend, it does my heart good to spend time with you, I miss seeing you as often now that you live farther away. You are such a sweetheart. I love you so much!
-For great times spent with sweet ladies this week, Linda, Lisa, Sheri, you are all the nicest and kindest women. I am very lucky to have you all in my life! I love you so much!
-For Aunt Ginger. Even though her news wasn't good, she maintains a positive attitude, please pray for her as she starts her aggressive treatment this week. I love her so much!
-For Margaret, I am thankful that she is stable, please pray that her lungs don't bleed again, she is a wonderful loving grandma to my little nieces Annabelle and Chloe. I love her so much!
-For my favorite show "The Office" for making me laugh out loud this week! (ok I am done with the i love u's)
-For my Matilda Jane order that arrived! Yeah! Cute clothes for the darlings, hope all of you ladies who ordered have received your packages!
-For Robins' brownie recipe, they are delicious and I have had to share it with new addicts!
-For the glorious fall colors that are popping up all over the place, the view out my window is of bright red maple trees, oooohh I love that!!!! (sorry that one needs an i luv u)
-For my Aunt Mary who prints these off for my Grandma, she told me today about how you do that for her! I love you too!
-For the stickers that Danielle sent to the kids, I am still finding them all over the place, Myah found one today on the staircase, peeled it off and stuck it on her shirt, she loves them and is showing her "green" side by recycling! Thanks Danielle, we love you too!
-For the great advice from Kim, my personal counselor (wink) I appreciate your thoughtful words! Love you too!
-For the amazing story that Susan shared with me today, brought me to tears, thank you so much for sharing this with me, it changed the way I look at things all over again! ( I have a feeling I will love you soon too!)

Sorry for the mushy mushy entries, but it is my blog and I can do what I want to. If you don't like it, get your own. Just kidding, gosh you didn't think I could be THAT mean did you!?

Old Mission Peninsula

Overlooking one of the orchards at the winery, the beautiful Lake Michigan in the background
It was so cold and windy at the lighthouse
Believe it or not, this all used to be underwater, pretty sad!
Miss Myah modeling her new Old Navy jacket for you!

This past weekend we drove up north for a tour of the fall colors. We saw some of the most beautiful trees that I have ever seen, unfortunately, I was doing most of the driving so I didn't capture any images. Just take my word for it, you would have oooh and ahhhhed! We did stop at the Old Mission Lighthouse, I have visited this since I was a young girl and always love to take our family there. It is a special place also because it happens to be located on the 45th parallel, exactly the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. There are many wineries and orchards on the peninsula, it is breathtaking. The colors weren't at their peak just yet but the views were still awesome. It was very cold but a refreshing change, the beginning of last week it was 90 degrees, on the weekend it was 37 degrees in the morning, fall is here! Yeah!!!!!

It's not always bows and tutus!

Myah loves to put things on her head, like her bowl.
This is how we found her the other day after her nap, with her pants on her head.
How is potty training going you ask? Well, the potty seat makes a great purse...
and a fashionable hat! You didn't think she smiled all of the time did you?
Her favorite thing to do is to gather the calculators and play with them on the landing, in her diaper of course, notice, no bow!

I had to put a little reality into the blog. Lately, it seems all of my pictures are posed, poofy dresses, flowered hats and beautiful settings. I wanted to let you all in on a little secret, that isn't how we live! I do love all things pretty and am a neat freak, however, I am all for letting kids be kids, getting dirty, exploring their surroundings, and expressing their own style (within reason). Both of my children have their own minds when it comes to what they want to wear that is for sure. Myah does love bows and fusses if her bow comes out of her hair, sometimes I think it is out of necessity to keep her hair out of her face! She loves to have just a diaper on, she has been taking her clothes off while she sleeps and when she wakes up she tries to put them back on. So funny! I thought you might like a glimpse into our "real world" for a change!

Thankful Thursday

Lots to be thankful for this week!

I am thankful for :

-Mark, for our quality time together this week. Mark tore his rotator cuff in his shoulder over the weekend and has been off work all week. We have enjoyed hanging out together while his shoulder heals. He is doing better, still sore though!
-Dayton, for helping me out with Myah and Dad this week, you don't realize how much I appreciate all that you do!

-Myah, for saying goodbye to your crib and hello to your big girl bed, you are doing amazingly well, I wasn't expecting that! Also for your sense of humor that is emerging, boy do you make us laugh!

-For doctors and nurses, I am very thankful for all that they have done especially over the past week!

-For Aunt Ginger's successful surgery, praying for good news now!

-For little Evan and his new family, what a blessing!

-For Dayton's new baseball team, they have been very accepting of him, we were worried because he is the only boy from another city on the team.

-For Sheri and Jeff on the good news about their old house being purchased. What a relief!

-For my neighbor's new baby Madison, she was in the hospital with menangitis this week, she is home now!

-For the change in temperatures, it is definately feeling like fall now! Yeah!!!

-For the cute card and stickers that Danielle sent the kids today!

-For the great football game that my nephew Taylor played in last Friday night, Uncle Mark was so proud of you!!! (I was too but he understands the game much better than me!)

-For the man who died while running the Chicago marathon this weekend, he was a police officer in my hometown, he leaves behind a wife and 3 little kids, we didn't know him but know people who did and sounds like he was a wonderful man. My prayers are with his family and friends.

Congratulations!

I just have to post a huge congratulations to Kimberlyn and John, today was their gotcha day in Nanning, they held their son Evan for the first time! They look so happy! He is just beautiful!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took the kids to the most adorable pumpkin patch! A few years back this family won the lottery and put money into this farm and open it up to the public in the fall and at Christmas time. It is so hot here, we were drenched in sweat! It is never 90 degrees in October! We ran into our friends Mike and Cheri and their 4 little girls. We took a hayride, had cider and donuts and purchased a few pumpkins. We will definately be back for the Christmas festivites.
*By the way, thank you for all of the prayers for Aunt Ginger, the tumor was removed and she is in good spirits, she is waiting on lab work results on Wednesday. Please keep praying for her strength and recovery.

Christmas Pictures

I know, you are all probably thinking she has really lost her mind now! Actually, I am trying to send some pictures to Danielle to use for her new video business and I am having difficulty, so I figured this would be the easiest way for her to preview a few. I took these last year of my kids and used them for my Christmas cards. Myah was just starting to walk good and had taken 2 really bad falls on her face, hence the swollen lip, it is a sweet reminder though that we were able to see her first precious steps, at 17 months!

* Thank you for all of your prayers for Aunt Ginger, today is the day of her surgery, and all prayers are so appreciated!

Prayer request and Thankful Thursday

I ask you to please say a special prayer today for Mark's Aunt Ginger. On last Friday she was diagnosed with breast cancer and this Friday is having a double mastectomy. We are all very saddened by this news as Ginger is the sweetest lady and we love her dearly. My heart has been breaking all week for her and I just want her to know how much we love her and will be praying for her comfort as she deals with this illness. We found out on Monday, ironically that was the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I plan on wearing pink on Friday in support of Aunt Ginger. If you looked up the word sweetheart in the dictionary this is what you would see beside it:
Be strong Aunt Ginger and know that we love you and are praying for you!

In light of all that has taken place this week, I am going to keep my list short. Sometimes the little things seem so trivial in times like this.

I am thankful for:

Mark, for being my rock in troubled times, for taking care of me when I am weak, for loving me with all of your heart always and forever.

Dayton, for your kind and gentle heart. For being my son and also my friend.

Myah, for adding a very special branch to our family tree. You filled a huge void in all of our lives.

For Sophie's sucessful heart surgery.

For my special friend (you know who you are) who received bad news on Monday too, I am praying for your family. I am very thankful for your friendship.

Hollyhock Dolls

When I was a little girl my grandma showed me how to make little "dolls" out of her hollyhocks, something she had done as a little girl. I love hollyhocks and have planted a few in our yard, luckily the wind blows the seeds for me and they multiply each year. They are in full bloom right now, I never know where I will see little plants sprouting. I saw an article in a backyard magazine about these cute little dolls and I decided to make a few for Myah. All you need to make your own are toothpicks and two blossoms. I love passing down little traditions like this.

Cathy: I purchased the papers from Shabby Miss Jenn, the package is called Paris Flea Market.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie!

It's a party!
Robin and Ellie preparing the cupcakes
Isn't Ellie just precious!
This is Ellie pointing to her daddy on the special video
Mary with Sarah and Myah, she helps weave the red threads together.

Myah and I drove to the west side today to visit with Ellie and Sarah and their mommies. I have always referred to these ladies as my adoption buddies, we were there for each other through the good and bad moments in our adoption and I love them and their families so much. It was Ellie's 2nd birthday today and Robin had the cutest little table set up just for the girls. While we were there a package arrived that contained a video that Robin had made for Ellie. We all sat and watched it with tears streaming down our faces. It was priceless and I sure want to thank Robin for sharing it with us. After leaving Robin's house Sheri and I went to a few adorable shops and we decided to stop by Adoption Associates to vist Mary. Mary had been to Hubei with us and was there for our gotcha day and she was a very important part of our adoption. It was fun to take the girls into that building where we saw their faces for the first time. Thank you ladies for a great day! Wish I lived closer! Happy Birthday sweet Ellie!

Ready Set Play Class

Here are a few photos from Myah's little class through our community ed. She loves it! She is still the only little girl but that doesn't seem to bother her!

It passed!

Thankfully around 4:00 am the new budget passed. It raised our taxes of course but Dayton will have school, my mom won't be laid off and life can continue as normal! Whew!

Please Pray for Our State!

These were taken on Dayton's fourth grade field trip to our Capital, I love this building and was born right down the road from it.

I am not a political person at all however, I am freaking out right now with the decisions that our state government is facing this weekend. I don't know all of the details that led us to this place in our economy, our state is in a horrible place right now. Please pray for resolution before Monday's deadline. If they don't reach a budget we stand to lose so much. Like our schools! Our schools could possibly close as early as October 12 the only one in the state that would remain open is the school for the deaf. How awful! Our secretary of state offices will close, (like the dmv), no lottery, no state police, no rest areas, road construction will cease, drawbridges will be left open so boats can pass through, the food regulators will be no longer, environmental control will be gone, all state parks will close. Most state government offices will close. No regulators for gas pumps, department of history and libraries will close. Unemployment officies will close ( my mom works in this dept.), no financial aid or student loan checks will be paid. Is this scary stuff or what!? I am praying that this is just to scare us but you never know, times are very tough in our state. I had to chuckle a bit when I heard that they also will have no one to clean up the horse manure on Mackinac Island (for those of you who don't know, there are no cars on Mac.Isle.) Our state is so beautiful and we have so much to offer, it makes me very sad to say the least that it has come to this. I apologize for standing on my political podium but this is one issue that is going to affect our lives dramatically. I don't know what we would do if Dayton didn't have school! He loves this year so much, it would be devastating and confusing to him. So if you would please join me in praying that our law makers reach a budget by tomorrow, Oct. 1st. I would sure appreciate it, my heart is very heavy this weekend worrying about this matter.