Just in case you have been wondering....

No, I have not dropped off the face of the earth!! I have not been kidnapped by aliens, nor have I abandoned all hope of ever blogging again! I have just been really busy, OK!!

Now that we have that settled. I can tell you about the last year. Wow, what a year. I would love to be able to say that the reason I have been so busy is because we have been doing so many fun things this year that I just didn't have time to blog. But the truth is, this has been a very difficult year for our family. We have had to deal with some major family issues that I won't get into, but we could still use your prayers. Thankfully, things are getting better, and the Lord has walked with us every step of the way, and continues to help us through our troubled times.

We have had some really great times this year also, and I will be happy to recap those for you in words and pictures. I will do a series of posts to catch up on the last year for you. Enjoy.

Cardboard Testamonies

Get the tissues ready!

Happy 4th Birthday Alenna!

Yesterday was Alenna's 4th birthday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! She has grown up and changed so much in the last 2+ years that we have been home with her. She has been a blessing and a challenge and has helped me to grow in so many ways. Thank you Lord for giving me the chance to raise this beautiful, smart, sassy and sweet little girl!
P.S. As you can see, she is a future professional Ukulele player! :)

Sugery was a sucess!

Yesterday, Alenna had her surgery. She went in at 11:00 am and came into recovery around 12:15. The surgery went well, she had to have 7 silver caps done on her molars in the back and several cavities filled in her front teeth. She also had to have one tooth extracted. It was not the one that we thought was going to have to be pulled, the tooth the Dr. thought he would have to pull turned out to be OK, but the one on the bottom that has been hurting her so much was dead. When they pulled it they found a large abscess that they didn't know was there. I am so thankful that they found it and were able to treat it. I can see the Lord's hand in this from the very beginning. It truly was a miracle that we were able to get her into the Dr. so quickly and that she was able to have her surgery so soon. It might have saved her life. Thank you for praying for Alenna and us, she is doing really well and is already back to her old self!

Funny thing about Chinese names....

A few days ago, I was in the car with Alenna, Arianna and Brandon. Alenna was sitting in her carseat and calling for Arianna. For some reason Alenna was calling Arianna by her Chinese name, Xiao Wen. As Alenna was calling her Arianna was not responding to Alenna at all, so I told Alenna that Arianna was the name that her sister wanted to be called by and that Xiao Wen was her Chinese name. Anyway, I went on to explain to Alenna that her Chinese name was Xiao Yu. When I said that, Alenna said "Xiao Me?" No, I said your Chinese name was Xiao Yu. Alenna again said, "Xiao Me?" I not Arianna! I'm Alenna! I tried several more times to explain it to her, but I don't think she quite got it yet! I will keep trying though.


Follow up on story...The next morning we were in the car again, and the subject came up again about the Chinese names. I was still trying to get Alenna to understand that her name was Xiao Yu. After a few tries, Alenna gets fed up with me, points to Arianna and says "XIAO HER"!!! I just let it drop after that! Needless to say, Alenna is quite the character!

Please pray for Alenna

We found out yesterday that Alenna was going to have to have dental surgery to fix her multiple cavities and to redo and try to save her tooth that was just filled last week! Her surgery is scheduled for next week. She is in pain from her teeth, so I am very thankful that she will be able to get in so soon. Please pray that all goes well and that they will be able to save her tooth.

School days have started :)

So, now that school is in full swing, my life is starting to settle down a little. But not much! Bryan is a Junior! in high school this year, I can't believe where the time has gone. It was just yesterday that he was a chubby little baby. Brandon is a freshmen in high school, he seems to be enjoying it OK. Annika started middle school this year and really likes it. She's not to sure about the homework, but knowing her it won't be a problem. Arianna started school here for the first time. She wasn't too happy about going to school at first, I'm sure that she thought that she was done with school and work once she left China, ha ha! But now that she has been in school for awhile she seems to be happy and says that she likes it. She has a wonderful, sweet teacher who I think will be great for her.
Alenna is happy to have me all to herself pretty much full time now, and is enjoying some peace and quite around the house. Since I didn't have enough to do with my five kids, ;) I offered to babysit for a friend. So now we have a baby around the house again for a few hours a day. Alenna does really enjoy playing with her, so it is nice to have her here.
I am happy to have a routine again! I can now get my cleaning done without tripping over kids all day, and maybe work on some projects this fall.