Our first tea party

We had our very first tea party this morning. We went out to play in the snow; which really was rain. We got soaking wet and decided that we would sit down and make some cookies and have a tea party. So, we made oatmeal cookies. While they cooked, we colored salt to make some "colored sand" and worked on the letter S. When the cookies were done, we made some tea and put it in a tiny tea set we bought in China. The kids had a great time.

Amazing news... well, at least for me it was amazing. I think you would have to have been around our home for the past 2 years to really get an understanding of the meaning of what I am about to share.

Sunday night, after sitting in our church service for 50 minutes, Ri asked to go to the potty (for the 3rd time during the service). I asked Sam to take him and not come back. We had walked out 3 times already and I didn't want to do it again. Elizabeth saw them leave and wanted to go too. I told her no. She began to insist. I told her that Ri was going to the nursery all by himself (ok- that was not actually true... I really didn't think SAm was going to the nursery... but it was a possibility, I just didn't want her leaving too and I was confident that she would not ask again because I told her if she went, she had to stay in the nursery all by herself too). Well, wouldn't you know it.. she asked to go to the nursery. I told her that I was not staying and she would have to stay in it without me. Believe it or not, she said 'ok". I thought I'd give it a shot.

Why? Well, because on Wednesday night, she and Ri stayed in the nursery the entire evening. But, before you are too amazed, I had to stay in the room next door. That in itself is amazing. I have never been able to step out of the nursery door without one of them losing it. Elizabeth generally freaks out. I do not mean cries loudly and sadly and whaling for me because she wants me... I mean FREAKS OUT. Mark described it perfectly. Her face and body respond as if it is a matter of life and death. She literally is terrified. So, we decided, after talking with several people, that the best thing for her is for me to stay and slowing take baby steps to assure her that she is safe (2 years of slow baby steps). With my other children, it was just a matter of leaving, letting them cry and assuring them when I came back. It was hard, but they learned. But for Elizabeth, it is much more then this. It is not simple and not something we felt we should force. THe circumstances are different. Anyways, Wednesday, she tried to climb up the door to get to me, but she wasn't freaking out. SHe was whining hard and grunting and groaning, but not freaking out. So I stood my ground and told her that I was not leaving and she was not coming in the room with me and I was not coming in the room with her. SHe would be able to see me and know I was there. So.. the whole night, I sat on a table for her to see me and I did a bible study on my own. A few times, she started to panick, but I stood my ground and talked her through it. In the end, she got M&M's for staying "all by herself". Back to Sunday night.... Since she had accomplished such a huge thing on Wednesday night, I thought it was worth trying again, even though there were only 10 minutes left in the service. I walked her back, she opened the door, walked in and didn't even say goodbye. She started playing right away and never once whimpered or cried for me. I sat down the hallway where she had no idea where I was. Not one cry! For me, it was a huge, huge, huge answer to prayer! Then Ri came down the hallway with Sam. I told him where Elizbeth was. He marched down the long hallway all by himself, the nursery worker opened the door, and in he marched! What an amazing night!

As for the following pictures... these are for my better half. I love you, baby!


Elizabeth has really been into pretending to be a dog. In the top picture, Ri was acting like a dog. I didn't catch the whole picture for you, though. He put on a sweatshirt that was a little big, a winter band around his head and then Mark's socks on his feet ... up to his knees... and his precious little tush was bare! It was a very funny sight!!!



Finally... Elizabeth is actually snacking on some healthy food! She usually refuses anything healthy, but last night (while pretending to be a dog), she actually requested oranges as a snack. Yippee!!
And then this morning, she asked to eat raw broccoli. Wow- what a thrill it was for me to give it to her.

Of course, Ri had to have some broccoli too... a whole mouth full!







We had a big snow the other day, Jacob came running in and wanted me to take a few pictures of it coming down. THe flakes were huge. He had fun trying to catch them with his tongue. Check the shadow out on Jacob's cheek from the snowflake!

Jacob turns 12 (a week ago, today)

I realized a few days ago that I hadn't posted Jacob's birthday. It is often difficult to juggle 2 birthday's back to back. I am sorry, my little boy! Jacob turned 12 years old. I can hardly believe he is 12, yet I can hardly believe he is only 12! He is so tender. God has gifted him with a tenderness and sweetness that one day will bless a young woman... many years from now! God has blessed Jacob with an incredible mind. He does not think like a normal 12 year old boy. Oh, don't get me wrong, he loves to play like a 12 year old boy... but he thinks far beyond most adults. His passions are history, reading, politics, trivia, and making sure things are done right. He can share with you the more details then you have time to listen, yet he continues because it is his passion. I have probably learned more from my son about life and what is going on in the world then I have learned from any other source. He cracks me up. I know more about this presidential election then I have ever known about any election because everyday Jacob comes home and shares with us what he has learned. I love to listen to the things that excite my little boy.

On the side bar, I have posted his fundraising progress for anyone interested in seeing how he is doing. Right now, he has raised $295.93. He is blessed with Mark's family!!!! For his birthday, his Mamaw & Papaw and Aunt & Uncle always give him money. He was so looking forward to that gift this year because it was going towards his trip. His Uncle and Mamaw have been buying him fund raising candy and drinks for him to sell at his concession stand. And his Mamaw and Papaw have been hiring him to work. So.. just about the whole amount he has raised has been due to the incredible generosity (and a little bit of hard work) of Mark's family. We have been hiring him to babysit the little ones; we both seem to benefit from that... .he gets money and Mark and I get time alone! :) If you have any work around your yard/house that you need done and would like to hire him, he is willing to do just about anything. We sat down and wrote out several letters to businesses asking if they would like to help sponsor him. Emily has taken a box of the candy his Uncle bought him to work. He has made nearly $30 from that box. Last night, Sam and Jacob attended their first 4-H meeting. THey are planning to take chickens to the fair. What started out as another avenue for them to raise the money for their trips seems to be something much better. I was excited to be at the meeting and learn a little bit about the hard work that is put into fair projects. I think this will teach them much more then just earning a little extra money.

So.. with the help of his family and the obvious intervention of the Lord... Jacob is plugging away on his goal and watching God work. What a wonderful lesson he is learning.

Happy Belated Birthday baby boy!

This is just a picture of the elipse from last night. It was a very cool sight.


Erin held a dinner mystery murder at our house Sunday night. The kids came dressed in costume and ready to play. THey seemed to really have fun. It was a Chinese theme... so we were in our element for decorations.

Some thoughts and updates on our family. Well,... we made the front page of our newspaper, thanks to a good friend who follows our blog. It cracked me up. Front page... ha ha. I have to admit, I about died when I heard it was the front page. Remember our dragon? My friend really liked the dragon and informed the newspaper of our visitor in our frontyard. THey came out and took pictures while Erin was home alone. SHe never answered the door because all she saw was some man with a dark briefcase coming up to the door. She knew not to answer. Then she saw him taking pictures of the dragon and put two and two together but still didn't answer the door. The next morning I got a message on our answering machine that the photographer wanted to take a picture of our family with the dragon. By the time I had called him back, he and the editor had decided to run it as is. My kids think the Panda was much better and wish that one had been in the paper instead. They crack me up.

Yesterday, SAm did a career shadowing of a geneticist in Cleveland. THe little ones and SAm and I headed out at 5:30 yesteday mornign for a full day. We dropped him of at 8:30 and began to figure out the rest of our day. We spent most of it at the Great Lakes Science Center. THe little ones loved playing there. Once we finally picked Sam up (3:30) we headed home, knowing we had 2 band concerts ahead of us. Sam and Jacob had concerts. I asked the kids if they wanted to come with me to the concerts or stay home with the girls. Elizabeth said she wanted to come with me and naturally, Ri followed her and said the same. I knew the best thing for both of them was to stay home, so I told them that it was fine to come with me, but they would have to sit still. Then I chuckled because I said "sit still" and Elizabeth proceeded to explain to Ri.... "Ri, we haf be quiet, O-tay?". I couldn't believe she made an interpretation of my words. Cracked me up! Ri's response?... "O-tay".

They are doing very well. Ri is growing like crazy. He is now only 7 ounces shy of Elizabeth. He is our little chunck-a-monk. It is so fun to have watched him put on the weight. He weighs 31.3 ounces. When we brought him home from China, he weighed 22 pounds. On February 21st, he will have been our son for 9 months! Oh how thankful I am that God chose us to be his family!

A little bit about our son... he is ALL boy! He is the biggest tease I have ever seen with his sister. He knows what will make her scream and he loves doing it... ALL DAY LONG! I am doing much better at dealing with that. For the longest time, I just got mad. Now that my sanity seems to have returned, it kind of cracks me up to see how he thinks. He isn't doing it to be mean... he just likes her response. Now she is the one getting disciplined because her responses are just not good. He looks at her with the ornery twinkle in his eye and she knows what might happen or at least what he is thinking and she screams as if her life is about to end. Other then that particular situation between the two, they play absolutely wonderfully together. Ri mimicks anything and everything she does. Luckily she is a pretty good teacher. It is important to Elizabeth to follow my rules, so she is often correcting Ri on her own. (she's a little mommy... well.. maybe a little bossy too). More often then not, he excepts her correction and does the right thing.

Ri is a great thinker. He can solve puzzles pretty easily, put together things that are messed up or broken (like toys). He seems to love fixing a problem. We were at the speech therapist a few weeks ago and he and Elizabeth were playing a game. They had to match the color and put it in place. The way the pieces were aligned, it is very difficult for kids that age to put them exactly lined with the page. All kids just lay the piece on the right color and it usually is upside down with the piece. Ri instantly placed it perfectly aligned with the color shape. The therapist was absolutely shocked. She said in all her years, she has never had a kid do it. I wathced Elizabeth, and sure enough.. when she laid it down, she did not place it aligned with the color. Ri did everytime. WHen Elizabeth saw Ri doing what he was doing, she started to fix hers. But each time she did it, her first instinct was to just lay it down. I guess you would have to see it to understand what i am talking about, but the bottom line is.. he is very advanced in that type of skill.

As for eating.. he is the best of all my kids. He'll eat most anything I give him, though vegetables are still somewhat of a struggle. He is potty trained (and often dry it the mornings). He will finally finish his meds for latent TB this month! Yeah! 9 months of meds is no fun. He is running much better. Yesterday I even thought his run looked like a normal child's run. It was such a joy to seem his feet moving so smoothly in a run. He is our only natural cleaner. Yeah - finally a neater kid:)

Well, I need to get going. Just wanted to update a little on our baby boy.

My Baby is 17 today! Happy Birthday Emily

It is hard to believe that this beautiful young woman was our little baby girl just 17 years ago today. She blessed our lives beyond belief on Valentines day, 1991... and she continues to bless us beyond our imagination today. She is beautiful in every way possible. She is a pure joy, a blessing, a gift from God. We are so proud of who she is and who she is becoming in Christ. Emily - you make my heart go pitter patter. You are my sunshine! Happy Birthday baby.

We have been working on our letters and learning to write them. This is Elizabeth's letter A.

On another note.....I hate forwards with a passion. Often I don't read them and might not even open them up, especially if they are from someone who forwards me things alot. Unless there is a personal note attached to it as to why they thought I should read this...it's often put aside or in my trash. This is one of those. I got the forward, kind of glanced through the first few sentences, looked how long it was and said - NO. Then I closed it up and trashed it. I figured it was good, but I have this thing about forwards that I just can't shake. Don't get me wrong, I read some forwards; especially from my friends who never forward me anything. Right or wrong, it is those forwards that seem to me like it must have truly meant something to my friend to actually have forwarded it to me. I don't mean to hurt anyone who forwards things on to people... but for me personally, it just doesn't mean so much when I get lots of forwards from someone. I am sure they are sending it out with great motives behind it. I am also confident that I might be missing out on something that would bless me... but when you get 100's of emails a day, you tend to learn to skim through the subject line and only read the things that you really need to or want to read. But... I was reading a friends blog and this same "email" that I got was on her blog. I finally took some time to read it. It took me a few days to actually read it and think about it. I went to the blog a couple of times before God opened my eyes to read it through my own eyes and not through someone elses eyes.

Here is the excerpt from Beth Moore's book Breaking Free ; Only Christ can set us free, all other gods or idols(anything or anyone we put in the place of God; or worship) can only enslave; therefore enslaved parents teach their children how to live in bondage even with the best intentions to do otherwise. For many years I have kept an excerpt from It's Always Something by the late Gilda Radner. The last paragraph shares a lesson on life every parent should heed.

When I was little, my nurse Dibby's cousin had a dog,just a mutt,and the dog was pregnant.I don't know how long dogs are pregnant,but she was due to have her puppies in about a week .She was out in the yard one day and got in the way of the lawnmower and her two hind legs got cut off.They rushed her to the vet and he said," I can sew her up,or you can have her put to sleep if you want, but the puppies are okay.She'll be able to deliver the puppies."
Dibby's cousin said,"Keep her alive."
So the vet sewed up her backside. and over the next week the dog learned to walk.She didn't spend any time worrying, she just learned to walk by taking two steps in front and flipping up her backside,and then taking two steps and flipping up her backside again. She gave birth to six little puppies, all in perfect health.She nursed them and then weaned them.And when they learned to walk they walked just like her.


Go ahead and laugh for a few seconds, then take this very seriously. The date I read this excerpt was exactly July 13,1989.Do you know why I remember it so well? Because after crying myself into a heap, I resolved to do anything and everything God willed- no matter how difficult- to make sure my two precious pups would not grow up and walk like their mother, the victim.(You add your own in there.Alcoholic,drug addict,liar, workaholic,people pleaser etc.)Or like her mother, the victim. I say this with deep love and respect.I was trying to do my best before that pivotal period in my life, but I still had areas of bondage I had convinced myself would not affect my children. I finally faced the fact that i had to break all chains,because even a thin chain can strangle the life out of you. I have found freedom right next to God's side.Breaking the cycle has been such hard work, but the glorious freedom God has given is worth it,because He is worth it.And He happens to think you are worth it!!


Well, I don't know how you read it. Maybe it means nothing to you and that's ok. It is only God who opens are eyes, ears, and heart to recieve the words He wants us to. For some, this isn't an issue. For me, I was reminded of the words and body language I often see in Elizabeth because of my responses at times. I was reminded of the many times I have lost Christ like behavior only to turn around and throw it in my kids faces that they are not behaving like Christ. I was reminded that my lack of patience and my "ordering" the kids around has been taught to my children. Many of the fallacies that I see in them (and hate) are the same exact ones that I OWN.

GOd reminded me of the example I need to be with my kids at all times. In my bible study on Saturday, I mentioned that one of my goals was to become Christlike to my kids. Our study had just brought to light the example I am to them. I do not want them growing up and walking the same way I have walked with them. I want them to emulate Christ and his attributes. The only way I can be at peace is if I begin to emulate him within the closed doors of my own home. I praise God for never giving up on me and for gently, as well as with a 2x4 at times, bringing me back to Him.

Albino Dragon escaped from China; found in Millers front yard

Well, it happened again. We found a wild animal in our frontyard.

We have so much fun when the weather works out to be such great packing snow. Unfortunately, it took Erin and I (and Ri and Elizabeth) 2 hours to put this one together. We were literally so soaked that we couldn't go on much longer. We aren't finished with her yet... hopefully we can still work on her tomorrow. I think the snow will be horrible packing though. We really wanted arms and legs and wanted to work on her tail some more but we just couldn't. Hopefully, our albino dragon will get some color tomorrow. If so, we will add the pics. Erin had a lot of fun working on it with me. She was amazed at what we could do with the snow. At first, she was totally baffled as to how this lump of snow balls was going to turn into a dragon. But in the end, she smiled. Sam and Jacob were gone, but were very excited to see a dragon in their yard as they drove up.

We had an enjoyable weekend. Erin is officially done with swim team. I think it is safe to say that all of us rejoice!! She ended the season with her best times. Emily worked Friday and Saturday, but was able to visit her Aunt Susan and Uncle Ed after work on Friday. That is always a highlight in EMily's life. They treat all of the kids as if they are their own... only they shower them with just about anything the kids want. Emily looks up to Aunt Susan and adores her with everything she has. I think it is safe to say that Aunt Susan would be able to fill my shoes if God were to take me home. Sam and Jacob earned money for their trips. They helped Mamaw and Papaw settle in to their new home by helping move some things. Mamaw pays them way, way, way tooooooo generously... but she is doing it to help them reach their goals. They each made $20.00 from Mamaw. Then Sam made money by watching the little ones for me while I was at a new bible study I started attending Saturday. Mark and Jacob had upward basketball, Erin was at the swim meet and Emily was with her Aunt and Uncle; so that left Sam. He didn't mind earning extra money. Then Mark and I went on a lunch date and had the boys watch the babies. So.. they both earned even more money for their trip. So far, according to Jacob, he only has $2894.07 left to earn. His goal is $3000.00. That is on the high side. The tuition is 2295.00. But he has travel costs and would like a little extra money for some souvenirs. He is now officially signed on to do the concession stand for 2 soccer leagues in the spring. Hopefully if it goes well, he can do it in the fall too. Sam's goal is $1800.00 for his trip. I'm really not sure how much he has so far towards it. But, we keep reminding them that if they work hard and count every penny, they will be surprised how it will add up. There are so many lesssons they can learn from this. I am excited to see them work.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to a bible study on Saturday. God is so good. New Years Eve, we went to some very good friends house. During the evening, we shared some of the difficulties we have experienced since we brought our beautiful son home. I shared how difficult it has been to even go to church simply because I spend the whole time in the nursery. I just about had given up and way too often found excuses to not even go just because I knew all I would do is sit in the nursery. Well, the next Sunday, my precious friend approached me and asked me straight up how I was doing spiritually. She sensed my pain and asked if I would be interested in a ladies bible study - one that truly dug into the word of God. God had laid it on her heart for months. She felt now was the time. I longed for it. And my precious husband shared with me that he wanted to do all that he could so that I could go. He has seen how difficult being in the nursery and not getting fed has been on me and wants to help me meet that need. So, I went on Saturday and rejoiced when I left. The ladies God placed on her heart are all precious friends to me and all but one knows where I have been spritually lately. There are only 5 of us. I am longing for that intimacy with these ladies. And the study seems incredible. So.. I am looking forward to how God will work in my life through this study and these 4 precious friends.

Who says you have to wait for Halloween to dress up! The kids discovered these costumes in the closet when I was cleaning things out. They insisted on trying everything up and pretending to be that character.


Having fun on the icy roads.



Time flies by without me even knowing it. Things around our home are wonderful. We are about to celebrate our oldest daughter turning 17! I can't believe it. Emily will celebrate her birthday on Valentines day. The next day, Jacob turns 12. Everyone is doing great. Erin is finishing up swim team this weekend!.. Yeah!!! Jacob has 4 more games of basketball. Emily is working a great deal and just beginning the college search thing. Sam was recently presented with an opportunity to travel with his best friend and family to Poland for a month over the summer on a mission type trip. So... add another one to our fundraising efforts! Elizabeth is talking like crazy now and truly is a hoot at times. She is doing much better with separation, at least when she has the opportunity to be with one of her siblings or her Daddy. She is cries at times when I tell her she has to come with me. As for nursery or preschool - she hasn't gotten comfortable enough to let me out of her sight. I am praying that she will in time. Ri is doing great. He is such a joy. It has been fun these past few weeks spending time with him. He talks quite a bit too. He is a great imitator of Elizabeth! Everyone has been pretty healthy. Jacob has had a touch of the stomach flu off and on all winter, but nothing horrible. I have been praising God because Elizabeth has been so healthy this season. SHe has had several bouts of runny noses and slight coughs, but nothing like last year.

Mark and I feel like we have gotten over the biggest hurdles since we brought our son home. Things seem to be much easier. We have even had a "date" or two! They aren't overly long ones, but - hey - I'll take any time I can get with my husband!

The kids recently had an "ice" day. The roads were covered with ice last Friday. So bad that Mark wasn't able to get to work. He got stuck 3 times before finally giving up. The furthest he got was 5 feet from our driveway. It was crazy but oh so nice to have him home with all of us.

The other day I discovered someone who is adopting from Ri's orphanage. It turns out that I had a great deal of video of their little girl. So, I threw together a video for her family to have that showed some of the countryside, city, and orphanage as well as footage of their little one. Here is the video if you are interested in seeing where Ri spent the first 2 1/2 years of his life.