Wow...the end of August..

I can't believe that the end of August is here. I truly thought that it was going to go at a snail's pace. Well, it didn't. :)

In the next couple of weeks, we should be hearing some adoption news. We are hoping and praying for GOOD news of course. News that would make us very happy. News that would tell us who our daughter is. I mean, I'm not being picky....am I?

On a sad note, we just found out that John's grandma has Multiple Myeloma. It's not looking too good for her right now. We are going to visit her over the weekend. She not only is suffering from this awful disease, she also has Alzheimer's. It's pretty bad. Everytime John's mom mentions his name, Grandma thinks he is still in grade school. Grandma is also the last living grandparent on John's side of the family--just so sad.

At church, we just finished a study on Ecclesiastes. Wow. Very timely. I highly recommend reading A Table in the Mist: Ecclesiastes Through New Eyes by Jeffrey Meyers. Good stuff.

If you think of it, please pray for John's family. Hopefully, I will be able to get some pictures of Grandma to post on our blog soon.

Happy Birthday John!

Tuesday, August 19th was John's 33rd birthday! We celebrated by grilling out steaks, brats, and veggies on skewers. It was a fantastic meal!

This picture was taken outside in our backyard.

Happy birthday John! May the Lord bring many more!

Love you!

How many ladies does it take to jump start a car?

A couple of dear friends from church got together to have some coffee from JAVA Brewing Company to hang out and talk...and of course, drink coffee. When Susan got up to leave, the rest of us were finishing up our conversations. A couple of minutes later, Susan walks back into Java and says that her car won't start...she left her lights on! So, we all jumped up and headed out to help. Susan pulled out her jumper cables, I pulled out mine. Thankfully, we were parked by eachother. With calls made to our husbands, sparks flying in my hands--right after my husband told me to be careful not to let the clamps touch! Trust me, this was an experience! Well, in the end, the ladies were victorious! Thank goodness Tracy took the clamps off for me..saved me a shock or two!

A nice lady who was parked by us readily stated that she would take a picture of this momentous occasion. It just so happens that Nichole had one more picture left on her camera.
So, if you are in need of some assistance on how to jump your car, I think any of us ladies would be able to answer your questions with flying colors!

Isn't it cool that we were making memories? Yes, it reminds me of a song...let me sing it to you...Memories..like the corner of my mind...misty water colored memories...of the way we were......scattered pictures.....

From the left to right: Claudine, Susan, Nichole and Tracy.

I love being Italian!

First, let me ask....have you ever had homemade, fresh pasta? Well my friends, I made it for the first time on Saturday and it was so much fun! Not to mention so yummy good! The pictures are an example of how to start making the fresh pasta. All you need is flour, eggs, and a pinch of salt (and a handy duty pasta roller/cutter).

Our good friends at Delizie Italiane (in La Grange, Kentucky)had a cooking class not to long ago on how to make fresh pasta (specifically from the region of Napoli--where my mom is from) along with 3 wonderful sauces. Wow! I learned so much.

Well, Saturday, I treated my husband to an authentic Italian meal. Fresh homemade pasta (thanks Caroline for allowing me to borrow your pasta roller/cutter--you saved me so much time and frustration--bless you!!) and homemade Puttanesca sauce. I also made a fresh Italian salad that we had ate last.

It came out wonderful! I highly recommend it!

Not this month....

Good morning friends and family. John and I just found out that China did not get to our LID this month. China sent out referrals through LID 1/31/2006.

This means that it will most likely be next month that before we receive our referral. We will be in Gatlinburg, Tennessee the first week in September (with several families from our church), so that will be just wonderful if we receive the news there! I hope we get cell phone service in the Smokies.....

I am so at peace with this. Truly, John and I believe the Lord was preparing us for the news that we would not receive the referral this month. He is so good.

So, we have 20 more days left in the month of August.......let the countdown begin!

I will post more later..I have to tell you all about the meal I cooked for John on Saturday!

Until then...have a great day!

Packages are in the air?

Rumor Queen just stated that packages (from China) are in the air headed towards agencies. What that means....um, not sure. All of us who are expecting referrals next are most likely hoping for...well...referrals.

This is the most positive news yet this week. At least it is something.

And if it isn't what we hoped for this time around....I guess I can wait another month. Really, what is another month? We have waited this long...can you tell I am trying to psych myself out?

Have a good night!

30 Months Ago Today

30 months ago today was 2/6/2006. I can't believe that it has been 30 months since we have been logged into the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs--in Beijing). Time has, in one way gone so fast, then in others.....so s-l-o-w.
Tonight we honor our daughter Lydia. We do every 6th day of the month. Typically, I will cook a special meal or we will watch a documentary on Chinese adoption. We love to watch China's Lost Girls. It is a great documentary about adoption through China. I highly recommend it. It is very informative. It gives us a very small taste of what it will be like when we go over there.
Over there....our daughter is across the world....wow! It reminds me of a precious passage from Isaiah 43: 6-7, "bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my Name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Gives me chills just reading it. Isaiah 43 is one of my favorite chapters from the Word of God.

Read it, it is totally worth it.

So, tonight, John and I toast to our daughter and give thanks to our Father who has taken care of her......somewhere in China.
We love you Lydia....we are on our way!