Once an Orphan...

Today is Orphan Sunday.  Many people don't even know that such a day exists, but it does, and it's today.  A day when many churches across the nation focus in on the orphan crisis and do what they can to draw attention to it and encourage people to participate in some way, to bring about its end.  To find fathers for the fatherless.  To bring hope to the hopeless.  To help.  To do.  Something.

Four years ago, I heard Pastor Alex Himaya preach a sermon about adoption.  It was life-changing.  God used his words to push our family out of our comfort zone and into the unpredictable, challenging, rewarding world of adoption.  Through a series of events (that you can go back and read about on this blog), we adopted a sibling set of three in February, 2011.  Everything changed, and yet, it doesn't seem like anything changed.  It's strange.  It is what was supposed to be and it's hard to imagine life any other way at all.

When we brought Bennet, Kaleb and Kali home, they were 11 and 6 (twins).  Bennet spoke a tiny bit of English and the twins could count to 10 and do their ABCs, kind of.  We had to enforce a "no Amharic" (their original language) rule so that they would stop talking to each other (about us) and talk TO us instead.  They learned English very quickly and they've, pretty much, never stopped talking since they got here.  ha!  To say they have adjusted well is an understatement...these three are INCREDIBLY adjusted.  They are loving, kind, crazy, selfish, silly, respectful, sassy, smart, giving, disobedient, repentant, sweet...all of that stuff that makes somebody, "normal".  They're great people.

Bennet is 14 now and is in the 8th grade.  For those of you who know us and know Bennet, you know that she did 8th grade last year in Franklin.  One of the big decisions we made in conjunction with the big decision to move to California, was to have Bennet repeat 8th grade.  This decision was one that she was hesitant with, but in her gut, she knew it was a good move.  And, it's been a GREAT decision.  She is LOVING her new school, Village Christian Academy, and is making all A's & B's, with very little help from us.  We're impressed.  She is a hard worker who is rising to the challenge of the more difficult assignments.  Her biggest challenge is English/Grammar, which makes total sense since she's only been speaking English for a little over three years.  Her favorite thing is soccer and she has big plans to go to Europe and play there as soon as she can.  Dreaming big.  I love that.  Bennet is making good friends at school and even went to her first slumber party last night, which she loved.

Bennet's adoption story is filled with many painful parts...things that would give her plenty of reasons to be bitter or sad...but, she is neither.  She is grateful to have had parents in Africa who loved her, dearly...her memories of them (especially her Daddy) are good and strong.  She is one hundred percent certain that she will see them again in heaven, and, because of that, she is able to be happy! Really, truly happy.  Content.  

When I saw the very first video of Kaleb that the orphanage sent us, I said to Brian, "Uh oh, he has a bit of a temper".  Every time he'd lose his temper in the video, they'd do an edit.  There were a lot of edits.  ha!!   We dealt with his temper the first few weeks he was home with us.  We rarely see it now, but when we do, he is quick to turn it around and make things right.  Kaleb is FUNNY and his laugh is one of my favorite things in the world.  I met with his teacher this week at school and she told me that he's one of her very best students...top of the class and that she really enjoys talking to him...called him "mature" and "highly intelligent".  Made this momma pretty darn happy.  He is testing above grade level and excelling in school, which is a huge blessing because he didn't like school at all last year...the move to this new school came at a perfect time for him.  Yay!  But, the number one thing for Kaleb is soccer.  He loves it.   He wants to play professional soccer one day, and I believe he can.  And will.

Kali is just the sweetest thing on the planet...it's a rare thing to have an issue of any kind with her.  I talked to her teacher last week and the teacher welled up with tears talking about Kali....couldn't say enough about how special she is...precious.  Kali loves school and is testing at grade level.  She gives everything 100%, and, although she isn't at the top of the class as far as grades go, her great attitude is off the charts, and I care a whole lot more about that.  She has, easily, made friends here, but she sure does miss the ones she left behind in Tennessee.  That's been harder for her than anyone else.  Kali loves "One Direction" and, loudly, sings all their songs, although we are still working on her singing on pitch.  ha!!   She loves to read and pink is still her favorite color.  To recap, Kali is pure joy.

Cooper and Gatlin say they don't really remember a time when we didn't have Bennet, Kaleb and Kali.  I mean, they do remember, but it doesn't feel like it was "us" before them.  That makes my heart so happy.  Even though they argue and get on each others' nerves, they would still choose them, if we were choosing again.  That's a big deal.

So, here we are on Orphan Sunday.  Here's what I'd say to you -- if you've ever wanted to adopt, go for it.  It's not an easy road, in fact, the process is hard, and it takes a long time these days.  But, it's worth it.  If you don't see yourself, actually, bringing an orphan into your family, then please consider donating to someone else who is in the process.  It is such an expensive process and families really need financial support.  Our adoption cost close to $60,000 and it was only because of our dear friends and family members helping us out that we were able to raise those funds.  One of the organizations that our family loves and donates to is Ordinary Hero.  Kelly Putty, the founder, met our kids before we did.  She took pictures of them and sent them to us and it meant the world to us.  We believe in the work that Ordinary Hero does and if you're looking for a place to donate, we highly recommend OH.  Here's the website link to check out.   http://ordinaryhero.org

And, lastly, if you aren't called to adopt, or you can't give financially, will you please pray.  Pray for the precious orphans out there.  Way too many.  Pray for the families in the adoption process.  And, pray for those who have found forever families but are struggling to adjust.  Our kids had an "easy" time adjusting, but that is not always the case and for some it is very difficult.  I believe that it was prayers for Bennet, Kaleb and Kali, by people who didn't even know them by name, that made all the difference in their world, both in Africa as they were surviving the death of their parents, and here in the US, as they were adjusting to their new ones.  Prayer matters.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans.  Isaiah 1:17

Christmas Poem 2013

The new kids never got a poem

And so. this one, I write

My brain is old and kinda tired

But, I’ll try with all my might

To give a yearly update

That’s not too long or boring

Want to fill you in on life

But don’t want to leave you snoring

2013, quite a year

For little Kali Green

She’s almost always smiling

Cutest thing you’ve ever seen

She’s got more friends than we can count

A social butterfly indeed

She absolutely loves her life

And brings joy to all she sees

Kaleb is a cutie, too

A soccer playing guy

He loves the sport with all his heart

And found it hard to say goodbye

When the season ended way too soon

For a team once undefeated

Hard to lose that playoff game

Don’t want that day repeated

Bennet is a crack up

Adding drama in the house

One way you’d NOT describe her

Is “quiet as a mouse”

She’s doing great in school this year

All A’s and B’s we find

On her report card, sitting pretty

It really blows my mind

So proud of all three younger ones

So grateful that they’re here

They continue to amaze us

With each passing year

They’re smart and strong and funny

And fit so perfectly

In the not-so-structured structure

Of our crazy family

When Gatlin and Cooper were four and six

They were both completely bit

By the acting bug that drew them in

And for years they’ve worked at it

They’ve honed their craft and tweaked their skills

They’ve sung for all to hear

And this year brought a nice surprise

That caused us all to cheer

A call from Nickelodeon

About a show called, “Twang”

Started things in motion

That ended with a bang

Two weeks on set in Hollywood

Could not have been more fun

We’re hoping and we’re praying

That the ride has just begun

To see them get to use their gifts

Together, is a thrill

To watch them grow in grace and love

Is even better still

To have the “littles” proudly watch

Coop and Gat performing

And hear them laugh a belly laugh

Is so very rewarding

Brian’s had a busy year

Both home and on the road

He’s been out with Steven Curtis

In frenzied tour mode

When here, he’s still producing

Songs and records left and right

We’re so very, very grateful

For the work the Lord provides

We did, however, have a loss

In August of this year

When Brian’s dad said goodbye

And took his last breath here

He’s now singing with the angels

And Brian’s mother, too

We couldn’t be more thankful

For that eternal truth

I’m just eating bon bons

ha ha ha ha ha 

You have to laugh or go insane

When you are the Mooooooommmmm (rhyme is lacking, whatevs!!)

To five amazing children

Who keep me on my toes

There’s never a dull moment

As all us Mommas know

I did have one big change this year

On January 17

I started with Rodan + Fields

Cause money had been lean

It’s become the kind of blessing

I couldn’t have imagined

Helping others find it, too

Has now become a passion

As this poem comes to a close

I want to wish you all

A New Year filled with things you love

Both big and very small

The smallest babe was born one night

In that stable far away

My prayer is that you know Him

And that HE will light your way

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

The Greens

Brian, Wendi, Cooper, Gatlin, Bennet, Kaleb and Kali

Things I Never Thought I'd Do...

All those years ago when Brian and I were dealing with the sad reality of infertility, we began talking about adoption.  There was never a time back then that the word adoption was ever put with “more than one child”.  Nope, never.  It was always, adopt “A” child.  So, as many of you already know, we NEVER intended to adopt THREE children.  After we were, miraculously, able to get pregnant, we didn’t talk about adoption for quite a few years.  And then, it wasn’t because we wanted more kids that it came up again...but it was a strong calling on my life that I couldn’t shake...didn’t want to shake.  So, we started talking about it again.  But, it was always one.  And, it was an Asian one.  We had a name picked out, we had a face in our heads, we had a plan.  HA!!!   So, when all that fell through, we stopped talking about adoption again.  But, not for long.  Two years after the original plan fell through, I saw a picture of the twins.  And I couldn’t get it out of my head.  Didn’t want to.  But, then there were three.  THREE!!  Oh my.  Never in a million years did we ever think we would adopt three kids.  But, God knew.  And, yesterday, as I stood next to my precious Ethiopian three in church, singing, “Your Great Name” at the top of my lungs, the words, “the fatherless, find their rest, at the sound of Your great Name” caused a lump in my throat and tears to stream down my cheeks.  And, in that moment, I was reminded again that God had fulfilled a calling on my life by bringing those sweet babies to me.  To us.  What an honor it is to be their mom.  They are precious.  

Following the adoption were the hardest two financial years that Brian and I have had in 20 years.  Doesn’t that just figure.  Listen, I thoroughly believe that Satan comes after us BIG TIME if we’re trying to do something good for the Kingdom of God.  And, our finances were under attack!!   It was very stressful.  There were so many nights that I’d lie in bed and wonder how we were gonna make it.  I had said (while we were making our adoption decision) that we’d eat peanut better and jelly forever if that’s what we needed to do, but in reality, I did NOT want to be forced to do that.  Yet, that’s where we were.  The crazy thing was, only two years prior to the adoption, we had had our very best year, financially.  We had gotten a cut on a Miley Cyrus record and the residual money had started coming in.  It was a little bit more than I made back in my “Sierra” recording/writing days. ha!  It was a huge blessing.  Because we had finally made some great money, we decided to invest in our retirement fund, which had been seriously neglected.  Well, to make a very long story short, the year before the adoption, the company that we had invested with declared bankruptcy, and it was devastating to find out that there had been embezzlement and fraud involved, and money that we thought was very safe, was not.  We lost ALL of our retirement funds.  All of them!   And so, there we were, three more kids, less money than we’d ever made, and no savings or retirement funds to pull from.  It was a little stressful, to say the least.  BUT, Brian and I looked at each other and said, “If the Lord allowed this, then the Lord will provide for us”.  And He did.  Looking back on 2011, we don’t know how we made it.  It was all God.  We laid our rocks of remembrance at the end of that year!

So, this brings us to another thing I never thought I’d do.  I never thought I’d have a job like the one I have now.  Nope, never did.  I’m a song writer, singer, worship leader.  Last year, when my sister started telling me about how well she was doing with Rodan + Fields, and that she wanted me to join with her, I was like, “how about I write them a jingle”.  Cause y’all, seriously, I did NOT think that was the cloth I was cut out of.  Months went by as I watched my sister become very successful in her new business venture.  I would lie in bed and be sick to my stomach wondering if we were going to have enough to pay all our bills, or any extra to do Christmas presents, or pay for Bennet’s school (which is so important to me because she’s doing so well there).  And, as I kept fighting the worry, and as my sister kept singing the praises of Rodan + Fields, I was reminded of this story.  

An old man who had clung to his faith sat on his roof and prayed. "Dear Lord, Please save me from this flood" After a while a boat came by loaded with rescuers and victims. "Come with us, we will take you to safety", they cried. The old man told them, "No Thank you, My Lord will Save me". Once more the same boat came by. "Please sir, let us save you". Again he turned them down. "My Lord will save me" he said. Hours went by and the old man looked around. All of the other families had been taken from their roofs to safety. "Where are you Lord?" He prayed. Just then a helicopter came and lowered a basket. "Please sir, get in the basket and let us take you to dry land" they yelled. "My Lord will save me" he told them and pushed the basket away. The next day the waters rose over the rooftops and the man was swept away and he drowned. When he got to Heaven he asked his Father, "Lord I prayed and prayed, why did you not save me?" The Lord replied, "Old man, I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

So, I decided to jump in the boat.  I had no idea exactly where that boat would take me and I wasn’t exactly sure it was the perfect boat for me, but I made a decision to at least get out of the stressful flood waters!  Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to sell you on Rodan + Fields here, but I will tell you that there’s a point and time where we have to step out in faith and get in the boat.  We have the ability to change our circumstances.  “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind”.  My sound mind was telling me that I needed to participate more to help out with our finances.  Brian has always worked SO hard, but times have changed, and the music industry isn’t what it used to be.  These days, Brian works twice as many hours for half the pay.  So, I needed to step in.  I couldn’t choose just any job because I have five kids and am running around in a million different directions at any given time.  I keep the books for our home and Brian’s business.  I am a part-time worship leader for our church.  I am the scheduler of all things “Cooper and Gatlin” in acting and music land.  Thus, I needed a job that was flexible that I could do from home.  That was my situation and that’s why this was a good choice for me.  I set a few short-term goals when I started, and have met all of them already.  Very blessed, very humbled!! 

Sometimes in life, we have to do the things that we never thought we’d do.  We have to take the chance.  Walk in obedience.  Do.  For real, the two I’ve just written about have taken me out of my comfort zone...they’ve stretched me....but they’ve also blessed me.  Big time.  I pray that you, too, will jump in the boat (whatever boat it is) and not miss what the Lord has in store for you!! 

My Mother's Day thoughts...

As I sit here having enjoyed a lovely rainy (my favorite) Mother’s Day, I can’t help but think of two groups of people...the first, the women who want so desperately to have a child, but haven’t been able to. 

I understand the desire to have a child and not be able to.  It took almost five years to get pregnant with Cooper.  I was lapped twice by both my sisters and attended countless baby showers for close friends.  It was a difficult season. I cried out to God so many times, pleading with Him to let me be pregnant, but the little stick said, “no”, month after month, year after year.  In 1992, I wrote the words to a song called, “When I Let It Go” about my experience with infertility.  I had to ask myself the question, “Do I trust God, and do I believe that He loves me, if I never have a child?”   My answer was, “yes”, but it wasn’t an easy answer.  My heart broke over the thought of not ever being pregnant and having a baby.  Writing these words proved to be cathartic. 

This time I've got to trust You

I've got to accept Your plan

I have tried to guide my circumstance

But there's just no way I can

When will I learn this lesson

Your ways are not like mine

Lord, help me to surrender

The control I try to have on my life

   When I let it go

   You take my hand and gently lead me

   Then You let me know

   Just how peaceful my life can be

   When I let it go

   Your never-ending blessings like a river

       start to flow

   When I let it go

Too many times I'm searching

For the things I think I need

But when I try to look for more

I always seem to give You less of me

Lord, help me gain the wisdom

My foolish mind still lacks

Til I find a way to let go

Of the part of me I'm holding back 

In 1993, a song-writer that I was introduced to, Connie Harrington, helped me put those words to music and my singing group, “Sierra”, recorded the song on our debut album that year.  And by God’s grace He allowed me to get pregnant and, ironically, hear that song on the radio for the very first time as I was driving to the hospital in labor (which is a long and funny story!).  

I will never forget giving birth to Cooper, or the moments that followed when he wasn’t breathing and had to be rushed out of my room to the NICU.  I couldn’t imagine losing him, and I’m beyond grateful that I didn’t.  I thank God for my precious son and I couldn’t love him more than I do.  

Two years later, I was happily surprised that I was pregnant with Gatlin after having been told that I’d never be able to get pregnant on my own.  We had no maternity insurance and, therefore, have always called Cooper and Gatlin our ten thousand dollar babies!!  (Cooper, because the fertility treatments were so expensive, and Gatlin, because of no insurance.) Gatlin was born in July of 1997, beautiful and healthy.  And our family was complete.  Or so we thought.

The second group that I’ve thought about today are those sweet mommas who have had to give up their babies, and the babies who were given up, or whose mommas died.   I just can’t imagine...and I realize that God doesn’t give us grace for our imaginations, but, wow, how someone has the strength to hand their child to someone else, even when she knows it is her only option in order for that child to survive (or have a better life than she can provide), is just beyond me. I can’t even comprehend that.  So amazed by the strength of those precious women.

We were not drawn to adoption because we wanted to increase the size of our family.  We were perfectly happy with our two children, but there was a calling on my life, a voice in my head that wouldn’t go away that kept reminding me of the verse that says we are to, “care for the orphans”.  I wanted to be open to that if God ever put it in my path.  And He did.  But, it wasn’t without heartache and disappointment.  

In 2008, we tried to adopt twice, and both attempts failed.  The first was not as painful because we were next on the list for a referral, so we hadn’t yet seen a face.  But, the second child had a name and a face, and we had his picture up in our home and spoke of him and prayed for him daily.  When the phone call came that ended that journey, our hearts were broken.  Gatlin and I laid on her closet floor bawling our eyes out.  And then I said to Gatlin, “Did we love God and trust Him before this happened?”  Through her tears she answered, “Yes, Momma”.  “Do we still love Him and trust Him now?”, I asked her through my own tears.  And again, she said, “Yes”.  And then we just cried.  And I decided that we were not meant to adopt.  

It’s funny how we decide things, isn’t it? 

Right at the time I decided that, a man named, Aleymu, died in Ethiopia, leaving three children behind without parents, because their mother died three years prior to that.  Little did I know then, that his children would become my children.  Our children.  I’m so very grateful to that man.  He was a very good man, and his beautiful wife was a wonderful mother prior to her death.  They deeply loved their children.  They protected their children.  They taught their children about God.  Because of the way that they loved their children, their children know how to love now!  Because of the way that they protected their children, their children don’t have serious physical and/or emotional scars that many others have.  Because of the way they loved life, and played, and laughed, these three precious children know how to enjoy life, and play, and laugh.  A LOT! 

So, today I’m a grateful Mom.  Grateful to have given birth to two amazing children.  Grateful to a beautiful mother in Ethiopia who gave birth to, and loved so well, three amazing children there, that I now have the privilege to mother.  And mostly, grateful to Father God Who kept His promise to “work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to HIS purpose”.  Romans 8:28

What a Difference a Year Makes...

Today was Kaleb and Kali's well-check doctor appointment (Bennet's is tomorrow).  As I was holding their hands walking into Mercy Clinic, I was overcome with thoughts of walking that path a year ago and how completely overwhelmed I was.  I broke out in tears numerous times during the almost four hour appointment...the first time being the moment I signed their names onto the sign-in sheet.  The women behind the counter didn't know what to think of me.  I didn't know what to think of me.  It wasn't really a me that I recognized.  I remember being so frustrated with myself because I couldn't snap out of it.  I wanted to put mind over matter and buck up and get a grip and deal with my life and pull myself together and all those things...but I wasn't able to do it that day...so I cried.  And cried.  And then cried a little bit more.  I was embarrassed, but the water works wouldn't stop.  It wasn't a bawling cry, just that constant lump in the throat, tears welled-up in the eyes, sneak a kleenex to your cheek, cry...you want to lie down and bawl your eyes out, but you can't.  The kids never knew how much I was struggling that day.

Today, I was able to laugh at that memory.

While we were waiting to see the doctor, I told Kaleb and Kali all about me sitting there last year trying not to plop on the floor in fetal position, suck my thumb and wail.  And then I told them that they don't scare me anymore...and we all three laughed and laughed and laughed.  So much better than crying!!

They had great check-ups and are perfectly healthy.  They are growing like weeds and doing great in every area; physically, mentally, spiritually.  They are AMAZING kids.  The doctor got to see them dance (oh my!) and as I told her our story (she's a new doctor for us), her response was, "God knew exactly what family to put these kids with".   Indeed He did.

Our family is hysterical....so many funny things happen in this house on a daily basis...we laugh ALL the time around here.  We fight sometimes, too.  Thankfully, this past year has been one of MUCH laughing and very little fighting.  God has blessed us beyond what we deserve, that is for sure.

People ask us if this adoption journey has been hard and Brian always answers, "It's not hard, it's just more".   That's a good answer.  Life is hard sometimes and when you add more people, there's potential to have more hard...BUT, life is really great, too, and we added a lot of great...it has way outweighed the hard.  Thank You, Lord!!

Last night Gatlin took her three younger siblings out for a walk around the neighborhood...they ended up walking for over an hour and it became dark and a little chilly.  I realized Gatlin didn't have her phone with her, so I hopped in the car to go find them and bring them home.  They were almost home, but when they saw me they jumped in the car, glad to see me and thankful for the ride.   Kali said, "I KNEW you would come and find us, Mom!"  That made my heart so happy!!

In Psalm 30:11, the Psalmist writes, "You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy".  I'm so very grateful that the Lord is faithful to us.  He  has been faithful to Bennet, Kaleb and Kali and he has been faithful to Brian, Wendi, Cooper and Gatlin...and this past year He has shown this group of Greens His beautiful, unfailing, extravagant love in way too many ways to count.

Our Christmas Letter...

It's hard to believe that a year ago we were on our way to Ethiopia to meet our three new kiddos for the first time.  We spent Christmas day in London eating fish-n-chips in a not-so-great pub, freezing our tushies off walking around London on our site seeing tour, Gatlin and I falling asleep on the tour bus cause the jet lag was so bad, and almost missing our flight to Ethiopia cause nobody in the London airport seemed to know where our gate was -- but I'm not complaining cause it all made for a great memory and fun story to tell.  

Fast forward a year...we were sleeping peacefully in our own comfy bed when three little black children excitedly ran into our room to wake us up to start the Christmas celebration!  LOL    Thankfully, it was 8:30 (I've trained them well - ha!)  And it seemed perfectly normal to me.

Isn't that amazing!   In the 10 months that the kids have been here, it's gone from a few weeks of feeling completely overwhelmed, to a few months of, "Ok, I can do this", to a couple more months of, "Getting kind of used to this", to now..."Can't imagine life any other way".   There have been some emotional ups and downs, that's for sure, but if I've learned anything at all this year, I've learned that it's just not about me and I MUST keep an eternal perspective in ALL things in life.  That isn't always easy, but it is imperative for a joy-filled life.  I want to choose joy.  

All five of our kids are doing really great.  Kaleb and Kali are loving first grade and doing so well.  Bennet is doing wonderfully in school, but that has been one of the biggest challenges for us...not having to do with Bennet, but just the communication between us and the school as to Bennet's needs and how to meet them.  We finally got the kinks worked out and things are running smoothly now.  She loves to read and it's been so fun to watch her dive into a book and not want to put it down.  It does blow me away that she's only been here 10 months and is flying through 3rd grade level books now - I'm so proud of her.  Gatlin is making all A's except in Algebra, and she has a high B in that one.  It has been such an adjustment for her to go from homeschooling to a difficult private school, but she's doing great!  I'm very proud of her for making such good grades and feel quite relieved, actually.  ha!!   I mean, I know she's smart, but when you home school and then put them in a school, there is a sigh of relief once you know they are doing well (and not just doing well, but excelling).  Whew!  Cooper is still homeschooling and doing great.  He is taking Spanish through a tutorial and is making a strong A in there, so that's great.  Homeschooling is such a great choice for him because it gives him such freedom to work on his music and to teach his guitar students.  So proud of him and his strong work ethic.

Brian is super busy these days, which is a HUGE blessing cause a couple months ago he didn't have work lined up and it was a bit scary, to be honest!   I've told this story a couple times, so if you've heard it before, sorry...but when we started the adoption process, we told the Lord that we'd eat peanut butter and jelly if we had to, but that we wanted to provide a life for these kids, and even a life filled with PB &  J would be better than the life they had in an orphanage because they'd have the love of a family.  Anyway, this year got pretty tight financially and I found myself just a little worried and crying out to the Lord telling Him that I didn't mean it -- I didn't really want to eat PB & J -- I wanted some steak!  You understand.  And, really, we have never gone without, it's just been different.  God is faithful and has provided everything we need and even things we want.  We are blessed.

I have to tell you that there have been friends that have been extremely generous to us this year.  We've had many friends give us hand-me-down clothes but a few that have just gone above and beyond and continually send us boxes!!  There's probably not a day that goes by that Kaleb isn't wearing something given to us by my friend, Shelli, and Kali is constantly in something from my friends, Tish and Courtney.  Bennet has been blessed by my friend, Kimmy, and Moriah keeps blessing Gatlin.  And MANY others have given us clothes -- it has been a HUGE, huge blessing!  It blows me away!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart, sweet friends!  

So, clothes weren't something we needed at Christmas (ha!) but Forever 21 did have an on-line clearance that was unbeatable so Gatlin got a couple new things, which was fun for her.  We got all the kids a pair of shoes -- the two big kids got Tom's and the three young ones got boots that they had mentioned liking.  Then they each got two other gifts from our family and a gift from Nana and Papa and Uncle Jack and Aunt Lora.  And then Uncle Jim blew us away with his generosity towards all of us.  We are blessed by him and how he loves our family so well.  

We enjoyed a casual lunch with our gang plus Uncle Jim and Cooper's girlfriend, Brianna.  Yep, that's big news this year...Cooper has a girlfriend.  We all love Brianna and it was great to have her here with us for Christmas as her family went out of town but she had to work and couldn't go with them.  That worked out well for Cooper!  LOL  She and Cooper have been close friends for a year and a half, but decided a few weeks ago to start dating.  Cooper is 17 and Brianna is 18 so they're at a good age and are displaying wonderful maturity and godliness in the whole dating/courting process.  It will be exciting to see what the Lord does with/through their relationship.  

Gatlin and Kali made a birthday cake for Jesus and decorated it so nicely.  We sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candle and celebrated THE life that gives all of us life.  How blessed we are to know JESUS!  How blessed we are to have brought three children into our family and now we get the privilege of helping them grow in their relationship with Him.  It just doesn't get any better than that.  All we have, all we are, EVERYTHING is because of HIM.  

One of Bennet's gifts today was to inherit her brother's old computer (a nice little Mac Mini, because Cooper bought himself a laptop) and so now she has an email account set up so she can email her family.  I was the recipient of her first email and it said, "Thank you for the gifts.  This was the first and the best Christmas ever.  Thank you so much and I love you very much".   Makes me cry again just typing it here.  Good grief, ya'll...it's AMAZING to think that somehow God allowed us to be a piece in the puzzle of a transformed life.  Humbled.

One last thing, today my sister left to go get her little boy, Crew, from Ethiopia.  It's been a year since they started the adoption process and it's been quite the roller coaster ride.  But, God is faithful to finish what He started and they will be home on Wednesday.  The timing is perfect for us to jump in the car and actually get to be there for their airport arrival.  How awesome is that!!   I can't wait to grab that little guy up and squeeze him.  I can't wait for him to see that he has cousins that look like him.  In a sea of white people, that's a special thing!!  Woo hoo!!   

I pray that you've all had a wonderful Christmas and that you know the joy that comes from knowing Jesus as your personal Savior.  Be blessed!

The Story of Crew Dawit Coder...

Monday is a VERY important day for my sister's family....the US Embassy will be interviewing the man who found their little boy and took him to the orphanage.  They will question his story and make sure that everything he is saying is legit.  After his interview, they will decide if they believe that Crew is, indeed, a true abandoned orphan, and their decision will determine if he will come home to the Coder family.

I wanted to take a minute and share the story of Crew - it's an amazing God-thing!  I won't give all the details of the story, cause those are theirs to share, but I'll tell you a little bit about my part in it cause it's pretty incredible.   I was looking at some pictures that my friend, Kelly Putty, had posted from a recent trip to Ethiopia she'd been on.  I was just glancing at all the amazing pictures when I scrolled down to one of her daughter holding a little boy - and my heart almost leapt out of my chest.  I KNEW that was supposed to be my sister's son.  I just KNEW it.  I emailed the agency director immediately and just casually asked her how many boys she was able to put on the referral list since she had just returned from Ethiopia herself.  I asked her if she thought that any of them would be my sister's son since they had started the process and were waiting for a referral.   She proceeded to tell me that she had exactly the amount of boys for the people she had on the waiting list, EXCEPT she might have one boy left and my sister was next.  Ok, I pulled the picture of the little boy off Kelly's blog and I emailed it to Sue.  I said, "Is this the boy, because I believe this little boy is supposed to be my sister's son".

It was, and now, he is.  Isn't God cool?!  I just love stuff like that.  I still have the email to Sue telling her how my heart jumped when I saw him and I just knew he was meant to be with my sister.  It's also really wild because he was actually referred to another family first as an infant, but then through a serious of events in Ethiopia, wasn't able to go with that family and they got another referral and brought their little boy home a year ago.  When I was asking Sue if that was him, she wasn't sure he was going to be available because she was waiting to find out if that other family could take him at this point, but since they had just adopted the other referral, they couldn't.  It's a long, complicated story, but it's an amazing story of God's hand because that other family lives 10 minutes from me and has been able to meet my sister through FB and pray for them as they bring Crew home.  So now they know that he is going to a loving, Christian home and have such a wonderful peace about it.  And their little boy is the sweetest thing you've ever seen.  Both these precious boys are in exactly the family that God meant them to be in.  Miraculous!!

So, Monday is a huge day and I'd like to ask you to spend some time Sunday night praying for little Crew and my sister's family.  Oh, how we'd love to hear a "HE IS YOURS" from the US Embassy!  Those words will be sweet music to our ears!   I can't wait til Crew gets to the Coder home and is surrounded by his four awesome siblings and his amazing Mommy and Daddy - and of course, all his fabulous cousins and Aunts and Uncles.  I just want to squeeze him so hard.  LOL

Check my FB page on Monday - I'll let you know as soon as I know.  I'm praying and believing for GOOD NEWS!

The Crazy Days of Summer (THE CONCLUSION!)...

We got to Oklahoma super late so we just did our best to tiptoe into my mom's house - I think we did a pretty good job, or at least they were too nice to let us know we were loud and rude.  ha!!   We're always so thankful to get to stay at my mom's house as we have the whole upstairs to ourselves and there's a bed for everyone.   Well, an air mattress for Cooper, but it's a nice one!  (:

It was wonderful to have no agenda for a couple days -- just sit around and relax and do nothing - ah, loved it!!   Mom has been fighting the cancer fight so she still tires easily, yet she was up serving the kids breakfast and making sure they were taken care of.  She let me sleep.  Now, how sweet is that!!  

Gatlin and I ended up going school supply shopping at the Coweta Walmart.   Oh yes, it was a treat!  Seriously, we probably spent almost two hours there.  Gatlin could NOT make up her mind even about simple school supplies.  How hard can it be to pick a folder - just grab one already!  Oh my!!  I seriously shopped for three other children while she got her supplies, and I finished before her -- way before her.  Goodness.  We went home and got everything out of the packages and labeled everything.  But then there's this one little funny part, AFTER I did all that, I saw a post from a friend about being glad she pre-ordered the supply kit from her school, and something about that sounded familiar.  And yep, AFTER all that shopping and labeling, I had already pre-ordered the kits for Kaleb and Kali but had forgotten - hysterical!.  So, we have their supplies for next year.  Woo hoo.

My sister's family came over for dinner and we just did a whole bunch of nothing - well, other than that labeling school supplies stuff.  The kids love being with their cousins and I'm quite positive that Bennet is hoping that the whole, "You can't marry cousins" thing is a lie.  LOL   She has quite the crush on her 16-year-old cousin, Kason.  Sweet.

The next morning we had breakfast with my dad and Viva at The Cracker Barrel.  Yum.  Had a really nice visit with them and enjoyed eating all the biscuits we could fit in our bellies.  I do love those biscuits.

It was off to my sister's house after that to hang out and let the kids swim.  Cooper picked up a guitar as soon as we walked in the house.  He hadn't been able to take one on the trip so was having serious withdraws!!  It was so nice to hear him playing again.  I forced my sister to make cookies (these are the ones that I used to be famous for, but can't seem to make right anymore).   My 90-year-old grandma came over for dinner and we visited while helping Gatlin do a book report project for school.

On Sunday, Brian, Cooper, Gatlin and I got up super early to go to The Church at Battle Creek where we were leading worship.  This is my mom and Jim's church and it's an awesome place.  Alex Himaya is the pastor there and he and his wife, Meredith, just adopted a little girl named, Lemley, from Ethiopia.  Alex preached a sermon years ago that was a catalyst to us making the decision to adopt.  God used him in a big way in our lives.  And, then, in a funny little twist, God used me in their lives as well, as I was the one who sent them a picture of Lemley and told them that I thought she was supposed to be their daughter.  My mom and I prayed over that little picture so hard and were so very happy when the Himaya's chose to adopt her.  Now they have her home and, wow, what an incredible little girl.  SO, it was wonderful to be at their church with them and we had a great time leading worship for their services.

We ate lunch and just chilled out the rest of the day....said our goodbyes that night and headed out the next morning for home.  I LOVE my family and it's always hard to say goodbye.  I'm so thankful that we'll be going back SOON to see my new nephew, Crew, when he gets here.   (And I'm pretty sure my next blog post will be about him and his amazing story).  We drove the 9 1/2 hour drive home and were so very grateful to be back in our own comfy beds again.  

And THAT was our summer in a nutshell.  ha ha ha ha ha   Ok, I know, it was a BIG nut.  (:    Honestly, the summer couldn't have been any busier, which made it fly by!   I hate to admit this, but I still don't quite have everything put away from our trip.  I've unpacked it, but some of it is still on the floor waiting for me to actually put it somewhere.  That's pitiful.   But the kids started school two days after we got home and it's just right back to crazy around here.  Blah blah blah...you know how it is.

On August 19, we celebrated the kids being here for six months.  SO much has changed for our family.  There are easy days and there are hard days, just like in any other family.  Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we still adjust to all the things that need to be adjusted to when you adopt three kids and go from being a family of four to a family of seven.  It's a wild ride, to be sure.  But, it is a ride worth taking.

 

The Crazy Days of Summer (part 5)...

Some of you may know that we have been friends with the Cyrus family for many years.  Tish (Miley's mom) and I were best friends when they lived here in Tennessee and I actually baptized her prior to their family moving out to Los Angeles (it was a sweet, private "ceremony" and our pastor baptized the rest of the family).  I used to take Miley on auditions with me back when she was about 10 years old...she would always book them and I wouldn't (little brat!  ha!!).   Back then, Cooper had a recurring role on a show called, "Yes, Dear", and on one of our trips to go out to CA for that, I asked Tish if I could take Miley with us and introduce her to our agency.  She said yes, and when I took Miley into CESD, our agent, Margot, signed her up on the spot.  About six months later, Miley landed the role in Hannah Montana....and the rest is history.

I tell you that story just because it sets up the next part of this post.  It would take way too long to tell the whole story, and I'm not even sure I would, but starting about four years ago, someone began trying very hard to drive a wedge between me and Tish.  It was a very difficult season for me, but I just kept reminding myself (and wonderful friends kept reminding me) that "truth and time walk hand in hand".  Tish and I have always remained friends, but it was just a bit different - a bit unsure - both of us being fed false information, but neither of us knowing it.  Anyway, the timing was pretty wild because one day, after two years, the truth was known by all involved and the veil was lifted.  Tish called and we discussed the series of events.  The air was cleared.  Things resolved.

A short while after that, Tish called to ask me to pray about a decision that Billy Ray was making regarding a possible job.  They weren't sure whether he should accept the role or not so she was wanting me to pray about it with her.  We talked for about 30 minutes and then at the very end of that conversation, I told her that we were considering adopting a sibling set of three and I asked her to pray about that for/with me.  The words she spoke next still blow me away to this day.  She told me that they wanted to help us pay for the adoption.  I assured her that that wasn't the reason I told her about it, but she knew that.  She told me to keep her posted on what we decided and if we decided to do it, she was there to help us.

AND, to make this very long story a little bit shorter, we did and she did.  (:   They ended up paying for a large chunk of our adoption expenses.  Without their financial blessing, I just don't know how we could have done it.  We raised the rest of the money and had help from so many amazing friends, but the amount that Tish gave us was above and beyond anything we could have ever imagined, and we will forever be grateful.  I knew I wanted to do something special as a thank you and thought that it would be great if I could give one of the kids a middle name from their family to honor them.  I began going through African girl's names that meant "joy" because that was what I saw when I saw Bennet's face in the first picture I ever saw of her.  And guess what, there it was, right there on the African-girl's-names that-mean-joy list - Leticia.  THAT is Tish's name!  It means "joy".  It's African.  What??  Come on!!  That is SO GOD.   And from that moment, Bennet became Bennet Leticia.

So, on Tuesday, we spent time with Bennet's namesake and the rest of them there Cyrus people.  We hung out at their home just talking and taking pictures.  We all had a wonderful time, but Tish and Bennet have a special connection.  Tish lit up talking to Bennet and you could just see a love for her that was sweet and special.  Tish said to me, "I want to be a big part of her life".  I am praying that God will arrange moments for them to spend some time together and get to know each other a little bit.  Oh, one little funny thing, Tish says Leticia, LeTISHa....but Bennet says it in this most beautiful African accent - it's Le-tea-c-ah.  It's so sweet.  So, Tish in her country accent said, "Yes!  That's how it's supposed to be said, ya'll".  Too cute!

After our time with them, we took Cooper and Gatlin over to take their head shots with Deihdra and the rest of us grabbed lunch.  We got to say a quick hello to my sweet friend, Jonna, and it was great to see her.  After our lunch, we picked Coop and Gat up and headed to the kid's agency to say hi to everyone there.  It was great to see everyone at CESD and to introduce them to the new kids.  The twins were "on" and it was hysterical.  Bennet was a little shy, which was also hysterical.  

We were late getting home so just spent the night packing to leave the next morning.  Cooper ended up having an audition the next day so we didn't pull out of Los Angeles until about 3:00.   We headed for Albuquerque.  Stayed the night there and then it was on to Oklahoma to be with my family for a few days!  

To be continued (but it'll be the last one, I promise!)...

The Crazy Days of Summer (part 4)...

First, I feel the need to promise you that I'm almost done with the summer post!  Geez...I need to learn how to make a long story short!!   But, this blog will become the new kids "life book" of sorts, so I definitely don't want to leave anything out.  I found out about this place that takes your blog posts and makes them into a book -- how cool is that?!  Gonna do that, for sure.  Ok, back to the post...

We ended up sleeping in on Sunday and skipping church since Cooper had Strep.  All of us were tired from the beach and the dinner party the night before, so we just enjoyed sleeping in and taking it easy before heading to Orange County on Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully, when Cooper woke up, he was starting to feel much better.

We headed to Santa Ana, which is where I grew up.  I had told the new kiddos that I'd lived there when I was little and they really wanted to see my house.  So, just like we had done with Cooper and Gatlin a few years ago, we went to my old house, took pictures out front, and then walked the path to my old elementary school.  I always cry on this nostalgic outing.  It gets me every time.  I guess because it was a time of such innocence and the memories come flooding back.  My parents were together - that's a biggy that turns on the faucet.  Anyway, we walked across the bridge and down the street to the school and I told them all about Brad Fartenessy, the boy who liked to chase me home from school and scare me.  His last name was actually, Fautenessy, but we always called him Fartenessy.  They laughed.

After that little side trip, we headed over to my Aunt Sharon's house for dinner with some of my family.  I love my Aunt Sharon so much.  She and my Uncle Steve live in a sweet, simple home in Placentia, and there is just something about being with them that is so safe and comforting for me.  Interestingly, Gatlin said the same thing this trip.  I don't mean this to sound weird (if you're reading this Aunt Sharon, this is meant as a compliment), but they don't have as much "stuff" as we do and I think that the simplification is comforting.  Does that make sense?  It's nice to go there and sit outside and sip tea and talk.  Brian, Cooper, Bennet, Kaleb and Kali played soccer in the backyard and Gatlin played in the kid's room the whole time.  No TV was on.  No Wii or XBox were set up.  Maybe they have all those things and they just don't get them out when we're there -- and for that, I'm thankful.  (If you do, keep hiding them when we're there, Aunt Sharon!  ha!!).  Aunt Sharon always makes us feel so welcome and loved.  We enjoyed dinner with the family and then had to scoot out early to see my friend, Sheri.

Sheri Rose Shepherd is one of my very favorite people.  Some of you may know her from her books or speaking engagements.  She's one of the most wonderful people I know and I was so thankful that we got to spend a little time with her and her family that night.  We hung out in their lovely home and she served us beautiful, healthy desserts.  The kids loved her little puppy and we had a really nice visit before we headed out to the hotel for the night.  Across the street from Disneyland!

A huge blessing given to us this trip was tickets to Disneyland.  A friend of ours (who we met through my Aunt Sharon), Matt Davis, hooked us up with them through a friend of his who works there.  We would not have been able to go had we had to pay for tickets - it's just more than we can spend right now on something that's not a necessity.  But, what a treat it was to get to take the kids there because of the kindness of others!  It was crazy hot and the lines were long, but we had a wonderful time and were so grateful we got to be there.  I can't remember everyone's favorite rides, but I do know that the California Screaming roller coaster was definitely a "go out with a bang" ending!   They all LOVED that!  It was a great day and we walked out of the park as the fireworks were lighting up the sky over our heads.

Growing up, I could see the Disneyland fireworks from my bathroom window.  I loved watching them each and every time I was allowed to stay up that late.  To this day, watching fireworks is one of my very favorite things!

On Tuesday, we had planned to spend a little time with the Cyrus family.  I'll start a new post with this part of the story, cause it's a bit of a story in itself.

To be continued...

The Crazy Days of Summer (part 3)...

And so, bright and early Monday morning, the 7 of us loaded into our 8 passenger SUV (the small kind) and started singing, "California, here I come...".  Actually, there was no singing...most of us aren't morning people. ha!   But, we did squeeze into the car (luggage rack on top) and we did start the long day's drive.  The seating arrangement for pretty much the entire trip was, Brian and Cooper in the front (height won over age), Gatlin and Bennet in the middle (with one seat down in that middle row so that the computer could be there for movie watching, and so I could stretch out my legs onto that seat, when needed, as I've had four knee operations and can't have them bent for long periods of time - yes, insert sad violin music here).   We made a hotel reservation in Amarillo for the night, and drove the 15ish hours to get there.  Honestly, not too bad.  I find the car to be relaxing - it's just really nice not to be able to do anything but sit there and fall in and out of sleep.  We got to Amarillo at 11:00.  Went to sleep and got up early the next morning to do the same thing again.

However, I thought that both days were going to be 15ish hours of driving...lo and behold, the second day was 17ish hours.  Fun stuff right there.  So, after 17ish hours of driving that day, we made it to California.  People asked me why we didn't divide it into three days, but honestly, we just wanted to kick it out and get there.  I have family in Oklahoma so we could have stayed there, but then it would have been getting it all out of the car and putting it all back...nope, just decided to suck it up and go for it.   Cooper help Brian a little with the driving, so it just really wasn't that bad.

**inserting an important note** As soon as we found the first In-n-Out burger on our journey, we stopped and ate there!  We absolutely LOVE In-n-Out and thank the Lord, the new kids do, too.  It would have been tragic had they not.  ha!!   Crisis averted.

Now, I have to tell you that we had THREE people offer to let us stay with them so that we didn't have to incur hotel expenses.  Isn't that amazing!  Friends that offer to let SEVEN of you stay in their home are true friends, indeed!  Our awesome friend, Laura, actually moved out of her house and into another friend's house so that we could have her place to ourselves and nobody would have to sleep on the floor.  Can you believe how wonderful my friends are!!!  

We hit the ground running in CA and it was first things first - a trip to the salon to get hair cuts for everyone.  We have a great guy in Tennessee that we use, but we also adore our girl, Ivonne, out there, so we wanted to not only stop in and see her, but also let her make us all beautiful for our time there.  We rotated in and out of her place and figured out which of our favorite eateries we would hit first.  We decided on Philippe's in downtown Los Angeles, which is famous for their dipped beef sandwiches.  They are SO good and I crave them often.  Our friends, the Shada family, joined us for lunch and it was wonderful to see them AND have a delicious lunch!

It was really great cause we were there on a Wednesday and Cooper was very excited to go to Wednesday night youth group.  We are so blessed to have fabulous churches both here and there and the kids are active at both.  Cooper has often led worship for the youth group out there and was thankful to get to hang with his buddies that night.  On one of the days (I just can't remember which one) we had lunch with the Roberts family.  Dave is the pastor of our church out there (Montrose Church) and his wife, Cyndi, is a sweet friend of mine, and their two youngest daughters, Sunni and Brandi, are friends with Cooper and Gatlin.  They treated us to a delicious Chinese lunch and I was so glad that we got to spend a little time with them and that they got to meet the new kiddos!

Thursday was a busy day because we were blessed by a professional photographer named, Deidhra Fahey, who offered to take pictures of our family for FREE.  This one brought me to tears because I have been wanting new pictures so badly, but just haven't been able to spend the money on it right now.  So, when my friend told me that Deidhra wanted to gift us with a photo session, I was just blown out of the water.  A true blessing from God.  Honestly, I'm not making enough of this....I had been thinking about this pretty much every day for a long time cause we just don't have very many pictures of the new kids in our house.  Honestly, we don't have a lot of pictures of anyone, but we do have a couple large pictures of Cooper and Gatlin from when they were younger and I've been wanting to replace those with a family picture and then individual pictures of each of the kids.  But, like I said, that costs money, and when you've just adopted three kids, there's not much (if any!) left over...so, we just haven't been able to look into getting pictures made.  Deidhra blessed our socks off.  She took individual pictures of each of the kids, and then the five of them together and then our family.  THEN, to top it off, she asked if Cooper and Gatlin could come back another day so that she could take head shots of them for their acting!!   The pictures she took are AWESOME!   I will admit to breaking down like a baby and crying in her den when I saw them.  It blows me away when people do stuff like that as a blessing for me.  It is just so humbling.  I can't express the gratitude I have for Deihdra and the blessing of the pictures.

From there we went straight over to a studio taping of the Disney XD show, "Pair of Kings".  My friend, Kathy Musso, got tickets for us to see the taping and meet the entire cast.  Honestly, could I be anymore blessed by my friends, I don't think so!!  What a BLAST!   We've been to a few show tapings and it is always such a fun time, but this was extra special since Bennet, Kaleb and Kali had no idea what to expect, and they just love the show.  We got to take pictures with everyone and it will be something they will never forget.  I owe Kathy a world of thanks for making it happen!!  I hope my friends know how truly grateful I am for their acts of kindness towards us.

Ok, I can't remember what we did on Friday (maybe that was the day we ate with the Roberts?) ha!   But, on Friday night we went to one of our favorite little restaurants called, Sharkey's.  It's nothing fancy, but their nachos are SO yummy and I knew Bennet would love that.  We let our friends know that we would be there from 7:00-9:00 and asked for anyone who wanted to, to come by and hang out with us.  It was so fun to gather there with so many people who have prayed for us during our adoption journey and so many who have given so much to us.  Loved getting to visit and catch up with these precious friends that we just don't get to see often enough.

On Saturday we headed to the beach.  It was a gorgeous 85 degrees inland, but when we got to Malibu, it was only about 70.  Oh my!  I should have worn sweats!!  It was chilly, folks!!   The kids didn't care one bit.  They LOVED the beach.  They ran around like crazy people - in and out of the water - in the sand, under the sand....they were in heaven.  It was so much fun to watch.  Courtney Hitchcok and her daughter, Bryce, joined us, as did the Charles and Shada families.  OH, but poor Cooper woke up feeling really sick and Brian had to take him to the CVS clinic, where he was diagnosed with Strep.  It was such a bummer.  He stayed home all day Saturday to rest and get better.  We stayed at the beach for a couple hours (and did I mention we had In-n-Out for lunch!!) and then home to get ready for our dinner at the Shada's house.

Our friends, Dean and Linda Shada, let me invite a group of people over to their home for dinner Saturday night.  I just love them.  I love knowing that they wouldn't mind at all if we invaded their home.  True friends!   I made White BBQ chicken and Dean grilled it for us and then everyone else brought a side dish.  In addition to the peeps at the beach, the Gipson family joined us and it was so great  getting to spend a little time with them!   We all had such a nice time visiting and catching up and, of course, eating!!   Man, I love my friends.

And, the blessings from friends just kept on coming.

To be continued...

The Crazy Days of Summer (part 2)...

So, yeah, we decided that it would be smart to go ahead and move Cooper down to the basement and make that his bedroom.  We thought about this prior to the new kids coming home, but I really wanted him to be upstairs with all of us cause I thought that would help with the bonding process.  I just didn't want Cooper to always be down in the basement and we never see his sweet face.  So, it was decided at that point that Gatlin and Bennet would share a room and Kaleb and Kali would share a room, and Cooper would keep the room upstairs by himself.  This was all great, in theory, but then the kids got here.  The, "It'll be fine for me and Bennet to share a room" wore off 15 minutes after they were home.  LOL   Actually, the room, itself, was never really a problem.  BUT, whenever there was a problem, which, in truth, has been somewhat often, the room became an issue - somehow separating them and putting Gatlin back in her own room was always the answer to any and every problem (from Gatlin's perspective).   For Bennet, she wanted to "be in the room with Gatlin for forever", but couldn't quite change the behaviors that were causing Gatlin to not want that.  In truth, there is a significant maturity level difference between pubescent, 11-year-old Bennet, and hormone-crazed, 14-year-old Gatlin.  So, after 5 months, in order to make the transition as easy as possible on everyone, we decided to change the rooms.

In truth, by the 5th month, Bennet, too, was ready to change rooms, but she wanted her OWN room.  Oh, it's always something.  ha!!   But, somewhat reluctantly, she finally unlocked the door and let Kali into their new shared bedroom.  LOL   We took Gatlin's name off the wall and put Kali's up there - and Bennet moved to the bigger, bottom bed, and Kali went to the top bunk (which was a fun change from the bunk she shared with Kaleb where he was on top).  And, lo and behold, Kaleb ended up with his own room.  We just figured it made the most sense to go ahead and separate the boy/girl room sharing and give Kaleb the room with its own bathroom, thus leaving the three girls to share the other bathroom with all their girl stuff.  Kaleb didn't actually love the idea of a room by himself, but he is trusting me that, at some point in the near future, he'll be very happy about it!  (:    And, can I just say, that moving Kali and Bennet in together has been so great.  They are much better roommates because they are both very nice and neat, unlike Gatlin, who is just a wee bit messy (like her mother was at that age - so she comes by it naturally).   They also both get ready for school very quickly and therefore, wake up at the same time in the morning.  Gatlin takes a wee bit longer (and no, she didn't get that from me, I'm fast!) so wakes up earlier and doesn't have to tip-toe around, which she is thankful for.

BUT, in order to make the room changes, we had to change some things in the basement, which, when we first moved into this house 14 years ago, was Brian's studio (now he has a free-standing studio next to the house).  The vocal booth in the back of the basement has been a music room of sorts (guitars and drums in there) and then the rest of the room was a game room, with a pool table in the middle.  So, first things first, we had to sell the pool table, not only to make room, but also to pay for the new shower we were adding to the bathroom down there.  A friend of ours lined up the plumber to put the shower in and we started the process.

Oh, but I haven't yet mentioned that we were anticipating company and were trying to get the shower done before they got here since they'd stay in the basement while here.  But, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong with the bathroom renovation, went wrong.  It wasn't our friend's fault, it was just a comedy of errors.  Like, the shower didn't fit through the door - had to take the door off.  Then, they had given him the wrong size shower and it had to be returned.  The flooring was taken up and was supposed to go right back in after the shower installation, but when they tried to put it back in, it no longer fit the area....so new flooring had to be purchased.  Things weren't drying and therefore couldn't be completed.  And the hot and cold water were backwards (which still has to be fixed!).  So, it was just kind of funny since we were trying to hurry and quickly get it done, which, of course, we should have realized jinxed the whole thing.  ha!!   So, I let our friends know that, yes, they would have a shower, but, no, it would NOT be pretty.  Thankfully, these sweet friends couldn't have cared less about such things.

We had an awesome visit with Nick and Ann Tunheim (our precious friends that we went to Ethiopia with for court and then, Brian and Gatlin went back again with them for the Embassy appointment).   They were here for three days, but OH, did I mention that my best friend, Angela, and her four boys, were in Atlanta shooting a movie and she called two days before Nick and Ann were arriving and said that she and the boys were done with the movie and were headed our way for a week long visit!  HA!!  I loved the fact that we were going to get to see them (cause they live in California), but the timing was hysterical.  SO, they got to our house the next day.  They ended up staying in a hotel though cause the basement really was too much of a disaster area at the point they got here.  So, we spent a couple awesome days hanging out with them and then Nick and Ann got here.  That weekend was our awesome adoption agency's reunion so we spent Saturday and Sunday with our amazing friends that we've met on this incredible journey.  And I'm telling you, it is really quite a miracle how God weaves our hearts together with others so quickly.  Dan and Tara Quinn brought their kids over for a swim on Friday afternoon and we just had a blast hanging out with them.  Nick and Ann stayed for that, too, and then at the end our time with them, Angela and the boys came back to our house to stay with us for one night before they headed back to California (so yes, Nick and Ann out, Angela and the boys, in - it was so funny, but you probably had to be here).   And oh, it was such a huge blessing that one of the Chick-fil-A stores in town had their large nugget trays on sale for half price cause I, seriously, took advantage of that FIVE times!!!  SO perfect for the large groups we had over in July - and so very yummy!

I was doing laundry and packing suitcases that entire weekend as company was coming and going, because on Monday morning we jumped in the car and drove THIRTY TWO HOURS to California.

To be continued....

PS.  I want to touch briefly on the Bennet/Gatlin relationship.  I don't want anyone to think that we're having any extreme issues over here - but I do want to be honest with everyone cause it's not always peachy, either.  The girls are sisters, and as sisters, they bicker.  Ok, they fight.  ha!   They both have areas they need to work on - and they are.  Bennet needs to work on not purposefully "pushing Gatlin's buttons" and Gatlin needs to work on not reacting so strongly when she does.  It is a process and we are working on it.  But, one thing I do realize is that I'm grateful that they both feel so bonded to each other that they are comfortable arguing.  Yes, at times it's a lot of drama.  Ok, a LOT of times it's a LOT of drama, but we just happen to have two very dramatic girls - and it's that high drama that makes me know that they are not in our family by mistake, God knew they belonged with me.  He knew I could handle it (oh, please, God, help me handle it - LOL) and He knew that I could understand their ways, since I, too, loved looking at myself in the mirror when I would cry...oh wait, that's another story!   Anyway, I believe that the issues we have are just normal sibling issues that every family has.  We are blessed beyond measure.