Happy 40th Birthday Mark!

Happy 40th Mark (Daddy)!

Today my better half turns the big 4-0, I am so thankful that we can share this special day with him. When I think of people whom I admire for their hard work, strength and character, he is top on my list. I am a very lucky lady to have spent 22 years of my life with him, he has made me a better person in every way. He is a husband like no other, I have never had to question his love or devotion for me. He is a wonderful Dad, he has always loved children and I knew that he would be a great father, he is so much fun and has a way of looking at life through their eyes that is just so tender. He is a man of faith, integrity, loyalty and humor. Lots of humor! He laughs so easily and is a big practical jokester. Mark is a great boss, I hear so many great things about him from his fellow officers and I am know that having the respect of his co workers is very important to him. He stands up for what is right yet still respects people who have done wrong. He is a true sports fan, he loves to watch any kind from t-ball to golf, he is good at any sport he plays, sometimes I ask him if there is anything he can't do. He is such a help around the house, he is my right hand man, very hands on with the kids and with the day to day. He loves to cook, much better than me for sure! I always tell the kids that we will eat good when dad is on midnights because he does the cooking!

I could go on and on, but I won't, I am so thankful for him in my life, we have sure been through so many of lifes ups and downs and I look forward to many more with him.

Happy Birthday Mark!! We love you so much!

Party On Dude!

Today is Myah's little 3rd birthday party with her friends, I am so excited to see everyone and see Myah's reaction to it all. This is our second birthday with her. We had missed her 1st by just 5 days so we had to wait almost a whole year to share in the fun with her. Tomorrow Mark turns 40! I just can't believe it, where have the years gone? So much more life to enjoy with him, I get excited about that as well! Myah's actual bday is on Sunday, it is also Children's Day in China, a very special day to celebrate your child.

You know I will have lots of pictures to share, I hope everyone has a fun time today! We bought a pinata yesterday and she carried it around the store all by herself, she was very proud! My sweet friend Val took Myah yesterday and I was able to accomplish so much ! Thank you Val, she loves you all! Boy did she sleep good last night!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

It Was a Memorial Weekend

Myah and her buddies Aubrey, Mandy and Joni sitting in the shade at the parade
I always cry at this moment in the parade.
Dayton is in there somewhere.
Can you hear the Sur*vivor music playing?
Dayton thought that Eric was pretty awesome. He is a great role model!
Miss Whitney turns 5!
Our Chinese and Guatemalan party guests!
What would a weekend be without a baseball game!
Our budding chefs!
Myah loved helping me work in the garden, she carried this worm around and cared for him, it was like her first pet, yuk!

This weekend was jammed packed with lots of activities. We started out the weekend with a baseball game Friday night, Mark was working all weekend but it was in the city where he works so he was at least able to bop in and watch the game for a bit. Before the ballgame though we stopped by to visit Miss Whitney and share her 5th birthday with her. I can't belive that she is 5 already. She is so special to our family and Myah just worships her she couldn't wait to see her.

On Saturday the baseball tournament continued so we spent half of the day at the games.Myah loved having 4 little boys (brothers of Dayton's teammates) at her beckon call, they loved her! When we got home, Mark slept before work and I planted 2 flats of impatients while Myah napped. I have never planted so late in the year but with this cold weather it didn't seem appropriate! Dayton had his friend Austin (Whitney's brother) come over for a while and they surprised me by asking if they could make some mac and cheese. They both have a life skills class (like home ec.) right now and have been sewing and cooking. I was cracking up at their conversations, they even were sharing recipes. So funny to see these sweet boys grow into crazy teenagers.

On Sunday I spent the day working in my garden that I started last year with the help of my neighbor Pam. She has her house on the market right now and she is trying to make sure that I get all that I want out of her beautiful garden. I have a beautiful weed garden right now. The weather and baseball games have kept me from working out in it. I am amazed at how nice it looks when I am able to work in it. Today we attended the local Memorial Day parade to watch Dayton play his coronet in the band. It was so much fun, the weather was just beautiful, actually we got up to 84 degrees today! Tomorrow it will be back to 62, figures! We love our little town, every where you go you run into good friends. We were so excited to see Myah's little friend Joni and her family crossing the street so we all sat together and it was so much fun. I could not find Dayton in the band until he was past me, Mark said he got him on video though, I do have a lovely picture of the back of his little head. The highlight of our day was when we spotted a hometown boy who just was on Sur*vivor, Eric. Bless his heart he had it in the bag and the girls tricked him into giving up his immunity necklace to them. I felt so bad that he has been duped the worst player in Sur*vivor history. After the parade he was walking the sidewalks and came up to us and let us take pictures with him and his brother. He was like local royalty, little teenage girls were screaming when he hugged them, it was fun. We asked him about the show and he said he had left after Halloween and came back in December and was not able to say anything until a few weeks ago after the finale. He was very sweet. I hugged him and told him that we thought he should have won and that we were all proud of him. He said "hey I tried"! He was a doll! I thought it was sweet of him to walk around and let everyone share in his excitement with him. After the parade I went to Joanne's and Michael's to get some supplies for Myah's birthday party this Friday. I can't believe our little girl is going to be 3! She helped me plant one more flat of flowers around the house today, she was so funny, she loves getting down and dirty! My sweet hubby turns the big 4-0 on Saturday and Myah will be 3 on Sunday, big huge week for us!!! So I guess I should get going, what am I doing blogging, I have LOTS to do! But not before I go take a long hot bubble bath so I don't smell like my work gloves anymore!

Happy Memorial Day

May we pause today to remember those who have fought for our freedom, who have lost their lives and remain heros for eternity.

Maria Sue Chapman

Our hearts sank today when we heard this tragic news about the Chapman family. So many of us in the Chinese adoption community have been so inspired by their decision to adopt 3 little girls from China. Steven and Mary Beth have done so much for the orphans in China. Sadly their youngest daughter Maria,5, was ran over in her own driveway by her brother and killed. I ask you to remember this special family in your prayers. His song "When Love Takes You In" had a huge influence in planting the seed in our hearts towards Chinese adoption. Our deepest sympathy goes out to their family.

This was on their website, you can visit by clicking here to see a tribute and special video in her honor.
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.
Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

Congratulations Susan and Paul!

I am so happy for our friend Susan at Violet's Blue (my favorite store!), she received her referral on Friday for her daughter in South Korea! She has a son Willam (sp) from South Korea also and with the new changes in their program she was hoping for a girl but was not guaranteed that she would get one. What a blessing! She is 6 months old and so adorable! I stopped in to say hi to to Kathryn, one very beaming Grandmother, and they have pictures posted of the little darling in the store so I thought I would share in the excitement with her! I am so happy for you Susan! She is beautiful! Hopefully you will be traveling soon, lets go shopping for some pink things!!!

Catching Up!

With our hero, Daddy at his awards banquet

"Big Scott" as Dayton has always called him, coloring with Myah
Daddy (at the podium) reading off the awards for the officers.

Our good friend Chad was Officer of the Year, he asked me to take this picture of him and his daugther Sophia.Here is Dayton with all of our friends little girls!

Dayton hit a line drive to the fence with this hit!
Myah once again showing off her magic tricks, she was balancing her Dora bat in the car!
Nate pitching a great game
Then giving his little cuz and his "little"bro some sugar!
Rachel was pushing Dayton and Myah on the merry go round, Myah loved it, ok, Dayton did too!

Some quick pics up on the lake!

This is such a busy time in our lives. So much going on, we did not eat a dinner at home once all last week. I am not complaining! We did get to see alot of friends and family during the week and weekend so it was fun catching up with all of them! On Monday we drove all the way to a baseball game about 40 miles away (at $4.00/gallon I might add) , only to find that the other team did not show up. Fun times. Then on Tuesday we drove over to see our nephews Nate and Taylor play baseball on their high school team. It was so much fun. Nate is a Sr. this year and his season is winding down. Nate is a great pitcher and his younger bro Taylor is his catcher. Kind of cool! We were very fortunate to make it to this game especially because Nate broke the school record that night for pitching the most wins in a season, he also broke his conference record, he is a very quiet kind of guy and without alot of fanfare, we all knew that he broke it and so did his team, and that was enough for Nate.

We sat in the pouring rain at Dayton's game on Wednesday, luckily I had just ran to the car to fetch my umbrella. More fun times! I did enjoy snuggling up to Mark under the umbrella though! On Thursday we attended his annual police awards banquet. It was very lovely, a chance to dress up is always fun for me! We saw many of our friends and their kiddos, it used to be that Dayton was one of the few young ones at these banquets and now they are full of little ones. I love that children are invited to this special night honoring their daddies and mommies. They really are like our family. Of course Myah's sugar high kicked in after Dayton's several trips up to the chocolate fountain for her and she decided to run around the table. Sitting at the table next to us were the state representatives and city official as luck would have it! Oh and the local cable tv camera was set up just above our heads. I tried to stand in the back with her and she decided to have a "fake " choking episode, so as soon as applause broke out, I took her out into the hallway, where all of the other mommies were! Mark had to sit up front in order to hand out awards after the dinner, so Sgt. Scott was kind enough to sit next to Myah and color with her! So cute, no wonder he was our best man!

Friday Dayton had a dance after school, he opted to play basketball in the gym, whew!!!! After the dance we met my sister half way so that she could take the kiddos from us for the weekend!!!! This was the first time that Myah has stayed overnight with anyone away from us. It was such a nice weekend with peace and quiet! We went out to nice dinners, ate at places the kids would not like, we went to the Farmer's Market, and worked on finishing the garage. Mark turns 40 in a few weeks and this was his gift, we built a workbench together and hung shelves, this has been a loooong project, we have had the garage tore up since last August. It is almost finished. Mark has become a self taught handy man since we bought our first house. He amazes me with his skills! Very rarely do we call anyone to fix something, he always figures it out somehow, he is a major do it yourselfer!!! It was so fun just working together, lots of laughs and he is going to love having a nice garage to work in I can tell already! We drove up north on Sunday to pick up the kiddos and I am not sure that they missed us a whole lot, Aunt Mel and Uncle Chris have a cool house with a quad runner, how can we compete with that!? We also visited our parents, mom and dad are doing well, they love having the grandkids around. As long as there is a supply of apples, the little girls are happy! We walked out on to the dock and looked for bluegills, it won't be long and our poles will be in the water! We also visited with Mark's mom Phyllis and Lon, we got the grand tour of the new fifth wheel, looks like alot of fun!
We missed our kids so much, it was nice to tuck them into their beds last night. It was very nice to have a weekend with my sweet hubby though, we need much more of that! Sorry this was very long, I have to jot these things down or else I will forget!!! Here are a few pictures from the week!

Happy Birthday Grandma AND Lon!!

Today is Grandma Phyllis' birthday and yesterday was Lon's! We want to wish you both the best day ever! Happy Birthday!!!!! Turn up the volume on here, I am playing an Elvis song just for the two of you so you can dance in the office together!!!

National Police Memorial Day

Tonight we will be attending the awards ceremony and police memorial tribute for Mark's police department. We are always honored to attend this event and pay tribute to those who have shown great heroism throughout the year and also to reflect on those lives who were taken while on duty. This is something that we have experienced first hand. On July 23rd 2003, our friend and fellow officer Lew Stevens was hit by a drunk driver and killed instantly. He was the first and I pray the only officer that was killed in the line of duty at Mark's department. He was one of Mark's first training officers, a fellow detective with Mark and also his friend. This was one of the saddest experiences of our lives. Mark was ordered into work immediately, he lived there for the following days as he was one of the officers in charge of planning Lew's funeral. I have never seen anything like it. I was amazed at the brotherhood of all of the men in blue. I could see police motorcycles for miles and police lights for even longer. It was a beautiful tribute to our hero. Lew's name is on the memorial wall in Washington D.C., someday I would love to take Mark there to see it.
I know first hand the sacrifice that it takes to be a police officer, Mark always says he didn't become a police officer for the money. Sometimes I wonder why then? I believe in my heart it was what God chose him to do. He loves helping people no matter what the cost. After he fatally shot a man in order to save his own life, a few years ago, I did ask and pray for him to leave, it was a very difficult time for both of us. That moment changed our lives. God truly saved him. He was off work for 6 weeks while the investigation went on. As I posted last November, it is just now finally over and that was 3 years ago. I doubt a day goes by that Mark doesn't think about that day. But that does not stop him from lacing up his boots every night and doing the best job that he can do for his department and his community. Yes, many times "they" come first, it isn't always easy for me and the kids to accept, but I know he has a duty to do and a job he loves, he is good at it. Mark is the youngest Lieutenant that the department has, yet he has experienced so much in his almost 19 years. I am so proud of him and always have been, he is our hero and we honor him tonight as well.
Today marks the National Police Memorial Day around the country, if you have a flag please fly it at half staff in honor of those who ended their watch during the past year.

China Earthquake

Half the Sky foundation has set up and emergency fund for orphanages in China that may have been affected by the devastating earthquake earlier this week. My heart and prayers go out to the people of China, I can't imagine the state of chaos that they are experiencing right now. After being in China, I can appreciate the magnitute of destruction that this must have caused. The loss of life is heartwrenching, and from the reports that I have heard indicate that 80% of the Province of Sichuan is destroyed. Unbelievable. Sichuan is the neighboring Province to the west of Hubei, where Myah is from . Where we stayed in Wuhan is only about 300 miles east of the epicenter of the earthquake. I "know" a mother who just went to Sichuan last month to receive her daughter. As I last checked the death toll was 20,000 with 15,000 or more missing. There are several orphanages in that area, Half the Sky is updating their site regularly as to the status of the children. If you are interested in donating to this fund please go here.

The Best Gift

Last night I was tucking Myah in to bed. It had been a very long weekend as we had been up at 5 am each morning to be at the ballfields by 7:00. Myah was exhausted but we still sat in her bed together and I read her Bluberries for Sal, she was flipping through to the end, she was ready to drop. After her story always comes her prayers. She prays for everyone, even the neighbor's dog Ribbon. We always include her family in China, although this time I specifically said a special prayer for her mother in China. The words she spoke next left me speechless and tears in my eyes.
Myah: "You and Daddy come get me in China"
Me: "Yes we did, with Dayton and Grandma too"
Myah: "You bring me back to Michigan"
Me: " Yes we did, we brought you here to your house and we love you"
She has said all of this before but her next words were new to us.
Myah: " Mommy, you saved me"
Me: "um, um, yes we did Myah, and you saved us"

I was just blown away, I kissed her goodnight and ran down to call Mark at work, I asked him if he had told her that before and he said that he hadn't, and was just as touched as I was.
I am so thankful that she feels this way, what a priceless Mother's Day gift.

Happy Mother's Day

Flowers for mom.....

My daughter....
My son (taken today).....
My mother and sister....
My Mother-In-Law.....

My Grandmother.......

My reasons for a Happy Mother's Day.

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

This weekend we are at a baseball tournament with Dayton so I am spending my Mother's Day at the ball diamonds! I don't think that is what they had in mind when they say mom wants diamonds for her special day! Wishing you all a very special day!

Prom Past and Present

My youngest cousin Kortney and her date.

Kortney and her friends, aren't they gorgeous?!!
L-R Taylor and his date, Nate and Rachel and Rachel's brother Greg and his date. Nate and Rachel are seniors this year and Taylor is a sophomore.
Then we have this lovely couple, from 1988! We look like babies!
My crowning moment! Mr. H needs a chair to see over my bangs!! Andy the King and I are dancing in the first picture. (these are from my old scrapbook) This is right out of my high school yearbook! Andy and I are with our Prom Court, the bottom picture is just the two of us. See, no crown, no roses and big hair!




Prom season is upon us and every weekend we see young couples going out to dinner before the big event, dressed in their finest, smelling their best, 100 bobby pins holding up that hair, well tanned bodies, giddy in love and enjoying this special night in their lives. I know I have told you before that Mark and I went to 3 proms together! Poor guy had to come home from college to take me to my senior prom! Mark knows I totally get all gushy and geeked up when I see prom couples. The other night we were in Applebees and he said, "oh boy Les, it is prom!" He knew I would spend our dinner checking the dresses out. Wow have they changed since I went to prom, they look more like the pretty little something I wore on our wedding night!

Our nephews both attended their prom a few weeks ago and my cousin Kortney also attended her prom the same weekend. I can't believe that they are now as old as we were back then, where does the time go? Nate is graduating this year and has been dating the swettest young lady, Rachel for about a year now. Taylor went with a friend of his and Kortney also went with a cutie pie. Boy does this take me back! Twenty years ago this week I was crowned Prom Queen of the Class of 1988, my goodness, do I feel old! Twenty years!!!! Two decades ago! 20 dress sizes later too! (ok not really but close, I was barely a size 1 back then! ) I pulled my old yearbook out this week, it just seems so strange that I hardly see any of those people on those pages anymore. I felt so honored to be chosen as their queen, my mom had always taught me to be nice to EVERYONE, and I guess it paid off. I remember when they called my name, I was in shock, I thought it would have gone to one of the couples up for it. Instead, one of the guys who was in one of those relationships won the King and I was the queen. We were good friends and he was a nice guy so I was happy for him as well, we had to share a dance, it was a bit awkward but I remember us both shaking from the excitement and both shared how honored we were. My Dad's really good friend was our Assistant Principal and he crowned me that night. Our Principal had been in trouble for conducting a strip search and so our AP was the acting Principal at the time. It was kind of neat that Mr. H. got to crown me being that he actually knew my family well. The teacher advisor in charge of the Prom came up to me immediately and apologized for the fact that my bouquet of roses were at home in her refrigerator, she asked for my address and told me she would drop them off the next day after my track meet. Sure enough, the next day, I arrived home late in the day and they were on our porch. So in our picture in the yearbook you can't see my crown because I had huge 80's bangs and it got lost in my hair, and I had no roses! So typical of the way things go in my life! I remember looking over at Mark while I was dancing with Andy (king) and he had the biggest smile on his face, he has always been so supportive of me! I remember going back to Mark's parents house that night after the prom and his brother Scott was still awake and he asked how our night went, I pulled my crown out of my hair and he congratulated me. My parents were really proud of me as well. My dad kept calling me Queenie. That was also the name of our first Irish Setter so not sure that was a good thing! I will always treasure my little crown and the honor I felt that night, it was very special to me. Here are a few pictures of the new prom and the old prom couples!

Thank You Erin and Libby!

Such a pretty quilt square and wish!

The box of goodies!
I love this soap!!
Mommy Myah is all prepared with her new supplies
Isn't Erin's handwriting the cutest!!

I meant to post this last week but time got away from me! I received the sweetest package in the mail the other day and I squealed when I saw who it was from, Erin and Libby! I just love this special family. They were in China getting Libby the week before us. I remember following their website and reading every little detail, especially because we were going to be there next! They came home from China the day that we left. I am so thankful that we have been in touch, and have become bloggy friends. Erin is an amazing mother and wife, she has shown so much grace through some of the most difficult times in a mother's life.

Twelve days after coming home from China with her daughter Libby, her son James fell to his death while climbing a mountain near their home. He was 15 years old. We weren't even home from China yet. Erin didn't post about this incident until several months later, I remember reading her update and I sat here and cried. Last I had read, she was just home with Libby and enjoying her 5 children. I just could not have imagined the emotions that she must have been feeling. Not only was the death of James tragic, but Libby needed a major surgery on her skull a few months after arriving home. Her faith is so admirable and I wish we lived closer, I would hug her all of the time!


I just love her style, we are very similar that way. I could see us getting in lots of trouble if we shopped together :)! When her package arrived I was so excited! She sent Myah a quilt square for her 100 Wishes Quilt (still taking them by the way), I loved the fabric and wish that she sent, it is something I would have picked out myself!!! She sent me the prettiest smelling soap! I just love that store! Libby sent Myah a bag full of goodies for her dolly! She has played and played with it so much!

P.S. I still need a few more squares for Myah's quilt if you would like to be included email me at daysmom@charter.net for my address!

Thank you so much Erin and Libby, we truly appreciate your friendship and your thoughtfullness!