Finally Friday...

CAN I GET AN AMEN?!

We're heading to Virginia Beach for a loooooooong Labor Day weekend... to spend a little time at the bayhouse. The last time we went, Lilli was only crawling, so we should be for some real excitement. She's all over the place now & in to everything! Unfortunately, the bayhouse is not childproofed, so we won't be getting as much R&R as we truly need. But hey, that's what parenting is all about... right?Wishing all of you a HAPPY LABOR DAY... If you travel, please be safe! Blessings!!
His,
Jen

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I am thankful for my friend Pat... Lilli's "Pat-Pat"! Today is Pat's birthday and we hope she's having the best birthday ever, as well as some much needed, restful days away from work!

Pat-Pat... may your year be filled with God's love & richest blessings! We love you lots!!

His,

Jen

Fun in the sun...

This past weekend I celebrated my (gulp) 37th birthday... Danny, Lilli and I had the joy of meeting our friends Martha, James and Samuel down at the beach. The weekend was lovely... the weather perfect! We went out on the boat to one of our favorite spots...parked the boat on a sandbar and did a little seashell hunting! It was like being on our own private island. Needless to say, my birthday very peaceful, special & memorable. Lilli had a great time too!

Enjoy the pictures...

His,

Jen

Brings back memories...

Our dear friend Ann Cherry mailed us this picture yesterday. Thank you Mrs. Cherry! It brings back so many memories of our first days home with Lilli from China. Lilli has grown sooooo much, but she's still my precious flower... my little rosebud!

It seems like Lilli has been with us her whole life, yet on the other hand... it seems like it was just yesterday they were placing her in our arms in China. Believe me when I say... I am savoring each day, each moment! Being a Mom is AWESOME!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
His,
Jen

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I am thankful for my dear friend, Julie! Julie & I attended Mount Olive College together. From the very first moment that we met, we had an instant connection. We were resident assistants together, as well campus partners-in-crime. We were laughing the other evening about all the "crushes" I had on boys in college. Thank God for unanswered prayers, right? Some of those fellas... WOW! What was I thinking????
Julie has been a constant in my adult life, not to mention Mommy to beautiful Anna Parker! I always look forward to our 7:45 a.m. cell phone chats on the way to work. She helps me focus for my day... she makes me want to be a better person. I truly believe that I am a better person, better Christian because of her! :o) Julie, Glenn & Anna Parker drove all the way to Raleigh, welcoming us home from China.

Raleigh-Durham Airport March 2008

Thank you Julie, for always knowing the right thing to say, right when I need to hear it! I love you Julieta...

Abba, thank you for placing people like my friend Julie in my life!!
With more gratitude than I can articulate...I'm forever His,
Jen

Wordless Wednesday!

How to Destroy a Hairbow in 5 Minutes Flat!

The hairbow drama continues...
It's official! I have a hairbow defiant child! She'll wear one for a few minutes, but honestly, I don't know why I even bother. I'm seriously losing this battle. How do you deal with a toddler that REFUSES to keep the "pretties" in her hair??? Yesterday morning, she pouted when I put her hairbow in... She took the bow out and smiled... I put it back in and she frowned.... She took it back out and smiled... etc, etc, etc.
In an feeble attempt to get her mind off the impending hairbow drama, we went into her bedroom to read a few books and play for a little while.

Then, as we left for school, I "thought" I was being real sneaky, secretly placing the beautiful purple bow back in her hair. But no, wrong answer... Lilli's smarter than that!! When we got to school, this is what I found in her hands......and she had the BIGGEST SMILE on her face. She won, that little rascal! I wanted to let out a big ol' cuss word!

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. --Psalm 141:3

This hairbow drama is exhausting... but y'all know me, I don't give up easily!!

Have a blessed Tuesday. Love to all!!

His,

Jen

Water Baby!

This past weekend, Lilli was invited to a pool party celebrating her friend's Landon & Savannah's 3rd birthdays!! Happy Birthday again you two & thanks for inviting Lilli to your party... she had a great time! What many of our travel mates are all finding out is... our children have one major thing in common, they all LOVE water! Lilli's no exception and has quickly shown me that she is NOT to be trusted around a swimming pool! She has ABSOLUTELY NO FEAR! For this reason, we spent all our time in the baby pool area where it wasn't too deep. Sweet Lilli would just belly-flop, face-down into the pool and flounder around. It scared me half to death! I'd quickly scoop her up, she'd let out a cough and give me a great big smile. She did this at least 4 times while we were at the party. Can we say... get this girl some swimming lessons?!! We have been watching a lot of the Olympic coverage, so maybe she's inspired by Michael Phelp's Olympic performance!!!! Because I failed to carry my camera to the party, I'm sharing a few other pictures and video with you. Danny and I read the same book to Lilli several times while she's in the tub every night... She's definately learning by repetition!

Our friend's Rachel, Tony and Madison gave Lilli this book and she loves it!

Hope everyone has a beautiful Monday.

His,

Jenny

As promised...

I had mentioned in an earlier post that Lilli LOVES to watch the children's program "Hi-5" in the morning. I actually captured video of her excitement, swaying and clapping yesterday morning when it came on. My apologies for the video being so dark... I need to figure out how to "lighten" things up on my camera. If you pause the music player at the bottom of the blog page, you will hear the "Hi-5" music playing in the background on the video.

I think this is Danny's favorite part of the day too... He normally leaves for work about this time in the morning, but always waits until the Hi-5 introduction song is over.
She's our happy girl! How cute is she??? Have a great weekend everyone! Love to all...
His,
Jen

Thankful Thursday...

Ahhhhhh... me! I'm so thankful for quiet evenings of "Goodnight Moon"with my sweet Lilli and my dear husband. When Lilli's fresh from her bath, smelling like a little rosebud... & we read "Goodnight Moon" to her... over and over and over again.

It's AWESOME! We have tried to give her other selections, but Lilli only wants ONE book! What is it with that book??? My husband and I have it memorized!! After reading it at least 15 times (no, I'm not exaggerating!) we get a little playtime in before Lilli shows signs of complete exhaustion.

Enjoy the pictures & video... and have a blessed Thursday everyone!

Love to all!!!

His,
Jen

A WORTHY CAUSE!

I was so moved by an article I recently read, I would like to share the information with you. The article focused on the fact that Chinese citizens are not allowed to freely worship and are percecuted for being Christians. When we were in China, we attended a Palm Sunday service and actually had to show our passports just to get in the building. Our guide informed us that she would be waiting for us when we came out of the service, as she wasn't allowed to go inside. My heart sank!! The article was titled: "Groups Urge Prayer for China During Olympics" and was very well-written by Grace Pennington, a junior majoring in journalism at John Brown University.
"...as a reminder that amidst the publicity and preparations for the Olympics there are Chinese men, women and children, who are being forced to keep their beliefs in hiding. Out of the limelight of all of the new Olympic buildings, super-sized arenas and eye-catching advertisements, there are Christians across the nation who must hold their religious meetings in covert, crammed spaces under many risks. Although government officials attempt to make the world believe China has religious freedom, believers there are being punished for their faith daily through beatings, imprisonment and even death."

Please sign up to receive a free prayer band at http://www.persecution.com/

"...people around the country have the opportunity to be symbolically connected to Christians in China by wearing this band around their wrist and praying for China during the Olympic season."

I'll be keeping my band on beyond Olympic season! Want to join me??

His,

Jen

p.s.- No, I'm not driving down the road and taking pictures of my wrist in these photos... The light in my van was good! :o)

Ting-A-Lings

Our morning routine is basically the same every day, but recently I've been able to pull Lilli's hair up... in what I refer to as "Ting-A-Lings".Her hair is so thin, but is getting some length. Mommy can only fix her hair if she's watching Hi-5. The show keeps her distracted just long enough to pull up each side. I really need to take a video of her watching the show. It's her favorite!! She bounces up & down to the music!! Maybe that'll be tomorrow's post... stay tuned!

Have a beautiful Tuesday!

His,

Jen

Fruit Loops Anyone?

Our girl LOVES Fruit Loops! What child doesn't, right??I always swore I wouldn't give my children sugary cereal, but look at me now. I promise, Lilli only gets them for a snack from time to time...
She was content for a while, as I gave her a few fruit loops at a time, but eventually took over the whole container!!

We aren't spoiling her... are we???

Have a happy Monday y'all!!!
His,
Jen

High-Maintenance Woman in Training!

For many years, I dreamed of the day that I would have a daughter... and I am so happy that my Lilli is a true girlie-girl, a real princess!! At 14 months old... she already loves to play "dress-up". (Truth be told, Mommy likes to play dress up a little too!)Lilli loves jewelry, but especially adores these purple beads that I got at a ECU football game last year. She pretty much keeps them on when she's at home. Now, if I could only get her to leave the hairbows in her hair... then we'd be in business!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone... Hugs & love to all!
His,

Jen
p.s.- The video footage is a typical afternoon... Lilli sits on the floor, spinning around as she drinks her milk. I just don't get it?!?

Thankful Thursday...

Last night, after reading my bible (with my daughter draped across my lap sound asleep) I thought about what I would write for today's "Thankful Thursday" post. Today, I am thankful for having "enough"... God has blessed me with one perfect child. She is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. HE has richly blessed me beyond all measure!!!

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. -- Psalm 145:3 & 146:2

Lilli's Gotcha Moment - March 2008

Over the course of the last week, Danny and I found out that we would not qualify to go back to China to adopt again, per the new guidelines that China established in May of 2007... or rather we would qualify, but we'd need to accept the referral of an older child (10+) with a major special need. As many of you know, I have epilepsy & unfortunately, epilepsy is a big "no-no" under the new Chinese adoption guidelines. Thankfully, we were"grandfathered in" when we adopted Lilli because we were already logged in to the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs when the new rules took effect...
We are prayerfully considering this option, however... we also want to easily meet all of Lilli's needs in life, as well as the additional child we'd be adopting. It wouldn't be fair if we couldn't properly provide for them. We have considered adopting in the US, but we have fear the birth mother will change her mind before the adoption process is complete and take the child away from us. In the coming months, as we continue to weigh our options, we would be grateful if you would keep us in your prayers. I feel somewhat guilty for wanting "more" when God has blessed me with so much already! God has always provided me with "enough" & Lilli has certainly filled the painful void of a child we longed for... Perhaps God's plan was for us to have one child, this one perfect child! And she's perfect for us, a perfect match - a perfect fit!
As I close this post... I pray God give each of you "enough" as well.
Have a blessed Thankful Thursday!
His,
Jen

"That, that!"

One of our favorite activities to do with Lilli is sit on the front porch before bedtime, sing songs and look at the night sky.

Our neighborhood is so quiet and because we live further out in the county... the sky is so bright & beautiful on a clear night. The moon was lovely last night... & Lilli was so observant to the things around her. Notice in the video... "That, that!" Mommy and Daddy's translation: "Look at that!"

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

His,

Jen

Aunt Boo's Belated Birthday

Last night Danny, Lilli & I went over to my Mom and Dad's for one of our favorite meals... Chicken Pot Pie. My Mom makes the BEST Chicken Pot Pie from scatch I have ever tasted!!! Lainey & Caroline spent the night at Papa and Nana's house on Sunday night and helped make Aunt Boo's birthday cake. Lilli's Aunt Boo (Suzanne) turned 29 again on August 1st. Unfortunately, we weren't able to celebrate it with her until last night. Lainey had a few more birthday presents to open too!

The girls had a wonderful time playing with Lilli... they entertained her all evening long. They are going to be great babysitters a few years from now.

Happy Birthday again Sue!

Enjoy the pictures and have a blessed Tuesday y'all!

His,

Jen

Choo-Choo Trains & Birthday Parties...

Hi Everybody...
We had a great weekend, despite Lilli waking up in the middle of the night again. She just doesn't want to go back to sleep. Nothing we try seems to help. She'll close her eyes and as soon as we "make our move" to put her back in her crib, her eyes pop open and she cries her little head off... we think she may be having nightmares or terrors?? Unfortunately, we've resorted to placing her in the bed with us. Please tell me that several of you in "blog-land" empathize with me?!!! You gotta do, what you gotta do... Danny and I have to get some sleep too, RIGHT???
On Saturday, Danny and I carried Miss Lilli the "The Nature Center". It's one of the greatest things our city has going for it. There is so much to see and do! They have a planetarium & wildlife exhibit... swing sets and even a miniature train, all set against the backdrop of the Neuse River. Lilli & Daddy took a train ride... Lilli seemed to really enjoy it and needless to say, the day's events totally wore her out!

On Sunday, we celebrated my our niece Lainey's 10th birthday. Happy Birthday again Lainey! Lilli picked out some ladybug earrings for Lainey's birthday present! Lainey also got a really cool bike from her Dad and Michele.

Lilli had a great time swimming with her cousins Lainey & Caroline. She also loved spending some extra time with her Uncle John, Aunt Michele, Nana and Papa. Overall, it was a great afternoon... full of sunshine and good company!

Have a wonderful Monday everyone...
His,
Jen

p.s.- If any of you are wondering... Lilli's finally decided she DOESN'T like hairbows & she's pretty determined to be "bow-free"! I haven't given up on her though! :o)