She made it!! Yeah!

I just got back from the airport an hour or so ago. Emily has landed in Cleveland and is awaiting her next flight to LA. She is so very, very excited! We were up at 3:30 and out the door by 4:00. It was a good thing. She didn't even sit down. By the time we got to the gate, they were boarding. I was glad I had left so early. Elizabeth and Ri made the adventure with us. All 3 of the kids are going to be exhausted today! By the time Emily arrives in LA, she will have been up for 12 hours... and her day will just be beginning. I can't wait to hear all about it! She is so excited to see our friends! In fact, that was what she was most looking forward to. We are so blessed. Most teens would be looking forward to the adventure of California and all the mystery it holds for someone from Ohio. Not our girl, top on her list was saying our friends. Yeah!

I posted just a couple of pictures from a few days ago when the big snow began to thaw. Just a few quick things that come to my mind today.

- I catch Elizabeth and Ri constantly telling each other that they are their best friend. It is pretty sweet.

- Elizabeth is fascinated by dreams and very curious if anyone else has experienced it. She is constantly telling us about her dreams.

- Erin has been incredible with the 2 little ones. She has been stopping everything and getting on the floor and really playing whatever they want to play.

- God is stretching us, but it is good.

Well, I can FINALLY tell. I have been dying to tell Emily for a couple of months now. A few months back, I was checking into airline tickets. I do that once in a while simply because our family would absolutely LOVE to visit our precious friends in California, the Masyrs and the Lennards. We met both of the families in China when we adopted Elizabeth. The Masyrs daughter, Faith, is a "sister" to Elizabeth. They were from the same orphanage. Our families spent the entire 2 weeks together. The Lennards adopted Cheyanne. She was from another province, so we really only spent a week with them. But despite the small amount of time, our families have become very dear friends with one another. Both families met us at the airport in LA when we flew home with Ri. It was a wonderful "reunion". Then, 3 weeks later, the Masyrs made a trip to Ohio and spent a week with us. We LOVED every minute of it.

Well, when I was checking out the price of tickets, knowing we would never be able to do it with 8 people, it dawned on me that we might be able to get just 1 ticket. I called my friend, Christy and presented her with my thought. Since Emily was turning 18, Mark and I wanted to do soemthing special for her. She adores the Masyr family (and the Lennards as well). I asked Christy what she and her husband/family would think of Emily coming to visit on her 18th birthday. They were all for it. They have kept the secret all this time. I have to admit, though, I really wish I could be packed in the suitcase with her! I would LOVE to spend time with Christy! The Lennards have since moved a few extra hours away from where they were when we flew in with Ri. So, Emily will not be able to see them, though she would have loved it!

I was planning on waiting to tell her tomorrow morning when I woke her up at 3:30 in order to catch the plane. But, the kids were surprized today with another day off school due to a storm that came through and knocked out the electricity at the schools. Mark and I decided to tell her this morning so she could get all her school work done and not have to worry about it while she is gone.

Here is the video of her opening her gift. I literally woke her up and handed her a present. She was slightly dazed! I was going to be gone all morning and in order for her to have time before work to do what she needed to do, I had to tell her then. You might want to start half way. SHe is pretty silent during the reading... I think she was so dazed and foggy that she couldn't process it all.



Needless to say, she is THRILLED!!!! We managed to keep the secret, despite the fact that almost everyone she knows knew what was going on!

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.
On Abby's family's blog, they have what they call Hi/Lo Thursday. It is where they post the Hi of the week and the Lo of the week. They encourage others to "play" along. Oh, I have thought about participating every week since I started following, but I have realized since then that it is very difficult for me to pinpoint my Hi and Lo's. I think what it is is time. I know that sounds rather funny, but time is my problem. I experience something, either hi or lo, and time takes my life away and I forget about those moments. Other things have popped up and whatever was my lo for the moment has quickly been forgotten. Unfortunately, the same is true for my hi. But, I am going to attempt to think about it and put it up anyway. My Hi for this past week..... I have to try to remember what all went on. Hmmm.... well... I can't remember what all went on over the weekend and even just a couple of days ago. Let me see... Ok.. my Hi - watching Mark make time for Emily and take her on a date. I loved seeing Emily's excitement about having a date with her Daddy. The highlight for me was when Mark unexpectedly texted me stating "we have an amazing daughter". That was very cool! And while they were on a date, I was able to spend some one-on-one time with Erin as well. I had to drive her to a soccer game, but it was just the 2 of us. I love those moments alone with each one of our kids.

My Lo for the week. I think the biggest LO was hearing what little Abby was going through over the weekend. It seems strange, I know. I have never met her or her family, but through the beautiful world of the internet, I have come to love this little girl and her family. I have watched Christ in action as I watch them deal with her sickness. Another LO for me was when Jacob shared with me some things that happened to him at school. The middle school years are so hard on kids. And for Jacob, they seem a little more difficult. Each of our kids have gone through rough years at that age. It just breaks my heart when they hurt so deeply. All I want to do is take it away!


Not much else has been going on for us. I Erin is performing this weekend in an ensemble for a competition with school. Mark and I had the joy of watching her perform it for parents a couple of nights ago. I hope that you enjoy it.

Emily turns 18 on Saturday. I can not believe that my baby is becoming an offical adult! Yikes how time flies. I can't wait to share with you how her birthday goes. We have a few things up our sleeve.

Jacob becomes an official teen Sunday. Yep, we have birthday's back to back. And this year, they are the "big" birthdays. Unfortunately, none of Jacob's friends can come to a party for him on Sunday, so he is a little downcast. So.... if anyone of you would like to shoot him a quick note to wish him a happy birthday, I am confident that it would make him smile. You can comment here or send me the note through my email: jesuspaidmywages@yahoo.com I would love to share them with him and watch him smile.

This weekend, Erin spent some time with 2 of her best friends. They went to a movie and then Walmart (the happening place in our town :)) While at Walmart, they were elated to discover pop in bottles. Insisting they purchase them, they did and went Rachel's to enjoy. When girls, especially teen girls, get together, they often do silly things. One of them (I am suspecting it was Erin) decided it would be cool to perform a song using her new found musical instrument. They recorded it on a cell phone (which explains the quality). I loved it so much that I had them send it to me so I could put it on the blog. HOpe you enjoy it. THey have now convinced their youth leader to let them perform Amazing Grace.

Now, presenting Erin, Rachel and Bek performing Row, Row, Row your boat:




And now enjoy Taps

There are a couple of things I wanted to share. First, I have posted before about little Abby. SHe is not doing well. She is in the most serious part of the treatment and is in such pain that morphine and 2 other intense pain killers are not touching it. She cries in her sleep continually. SHe has horrific sores on her bottom and female parts causing her such pain and discomfort. She is terrified to go to the bathroom. Her stomach is so bloated that she looks as if she will explode. Please pray for her and for her family. This family has truly glorified God through every step of Abby's journey. Even now, they are praising God. Their website is: http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com

On another note, I wanted to share with you a little about my 2nd son. He is priceless. God has made him in a very special and unique way. He thinks a little different then most, to some it is a little confusing. But I am confident that God has made him just perfectly how He wanted to and He will be used in a mighty way. He makes me smile. Last weekend, the youth group went to a youth conference called Dare-2-Share. It is a conference that trains the kids how to witness to their friends. This year, God spoke to Emily in a very powerful way. Because of what God has been doing in her life lately and because of some of the things that He has been laying on her heart, she made a decision that was very, very hard for her to do. I do not need to give any details as to why, but on Sunday, she decided to end the relationship she had with her boyfriend. The decision was not based on her emotions, but on something God is revealing to her. It was precious to watch her be obedient to God, but difficult knowing the pain that she would go through and even more difficult knowing the pain that her boyfriend would be going through. Anyway, the conference always seems to speak to our kids in some way.

All that said, on to my story. All 4 of our children attended the conference. During it, a young man in the senior high convinced Jacob to sign up for a give-a-way that a radio station was having. There were thousands of youth at the conference. Jacob, in his normal way, told the young man that he wouldn't sign up. The young man was persistant, despite Jacob's lack of interest and his being adomant that he doesn't ever win anything. In addition, Jacob doesn't listen to music much and especially is not that interested in Christian Rock. He finally signed up.

Ok.. you guessed it. 2 days ago, Jacob recieved a package in the mail. I asked him if he had ordered something from RadioU. He simply said "no way" and grabbed the package. He then shared with me the story of his signing up. He opened the package and revealed 5 brand new CD's. He was blown away! Over and over he kept asking how he could possiblly win, he never wins anything. He never wins even when only 5 names are in a box. How could he win? He was so confused. A little later, he shared with me that it made him sad because his luck at ever winning anything is wasted for the rest of his life. He will never win anything again, especially since there were so many people who signed up and his odds were so small to win. I giggled at him, knowing that it is hard for him to just receive something and rejoice. He usually can't see something completely positively. Then I was proud of him. Instead of keeping the CD's for himself, he wanted to give them away. He sat and thought and thought about who he could give them to. He didnt' think it was right for him to keep them since he doesn't really care too much for that kind of music. I reminded him that he has 3 siblings who LOVE music and who have mp3 players that they would LOVE to put the music onto. But despite my reminding, he didn't think it was right for our family to have them all. He truly has a sweet and tender heart that ALWAYS is thinking about how to bless others.

I laughed as he reminded us all evening about his never winning anything. He was constantly trying to explain it away. He just couldn't except the fact that he won. The next day, I had to crack up. He woke up in the morning and the first thing out of his mouth was how he can't believe he won. As I was packing lunches for the day and he was eating breakfast, he announced that he knew why he won. He figured that the people at the table heard him say that he didn't want to sign up because he never wins anything. He thought they must have taken his paper, marked an x on it and set it aside. They may have done that with a few kids who said they never win anything. That would have narrowed it down to a very few number. I laughed and laughed. I told him he was just going to have to accept the fact that God blessed him and that was all there was to it.

Despite my young sons negative thinking, you could see the joy within him. He was smiling ear to ear. For 2 days, he would mention "I can't believe I won". Even though it took him a long time to just accept his blessing, he finally has and his a happy guy.

Last night, we took the little ones and Jacob to see the premiere of Veggie Tales Abe and the big promise (or something like that). Our local radio station was showing it. At intermission, they had door prizes to give away. There were 100's of kids there. Believe it or not, Ri and Elizabeth BOTH won a door prize! Ri won a Veggie Tale plate and Elizabeth won a banner to put on the wall in her room. You should have seen the smiles on their faces. Ri nearly walked up on his own (it was only a few feet from our seat). But when Elizabeths name was announced, Ri proudly jumped right beside her and pretty much escorted her to get her prize. It was very cute.

Emily had to write a story using an unreliable narrator. I am so excited to read her stories. I think she does a wonderful job. So I want to share the story with you and have it in my blog to include it in my future book. Here it is...enjoy:


The sun beat down on my slender body as I lay by the lake. I squeezed my eyes tight against the harsh light the sun provided. I looked over to see Jess, my best friend. She was so pretty, her light blonde hair flowed down her back. I was so glad Jess was here with me today. Something bad was happening, I just wasn’t sure what it was. I felt so empty, but that’s ok. Jess was here and she would help me.
“Do you want to go for a swim Jess? It’s getting so hot, come on! Let’s jump.” I said with a laugh.
“I don’t know Kim, I think I’ll just sit here and watch you.” Jess said calmly.
That was weird, Jess always jumped in with me no matter what the challenge was. Well, her lose not mine. I turned and screamed as I jumped in the cool water. The moment my body touched the glossy water, I found that the burning in my skin relaxed. The icy water gently massaged my body as it lapped over me in gentle waves. I looked down at the frame of my body in the cool water and noticed dark, purple splotches on my body. That was weird, I hadn’t noticed them before. Maybe that’s why my body was aching today. Didn’t matter though, I was going to enjoy my final days of summer with Jess with or without bruises on my body. I glanced back to the dock to look for Jess; there she sat with a very sad look on her face. I didn’t like that look, I much preferred when she smiled. That frown made her face contort into an unpleasant face. I waved at her to let her know she could join me. She just shook her blonde mane and turned way. I swam around for a couple more minutes before deciding to join Jess on the dock to see what was up. As I slid out of the water and unto the dock, I couldn’t help but feel suddenly weak. It must be all these bruises.
When my small feet touched the dock, I realized Jess was no where to be found. Where could she have gone? This frightened me very much; she never left without saying goodbye. I sat back down on the dock, beads of water slowly flowing down my wet body and dripping around me forming a puddle. What was wrong with Jess? I tried to remember the last time she had acted so weird. Maybe the time we had gotten in a fight over that stupid boy. Jess had stormed out of my house without a second look back. No, that couldn’t be it. I hadn’t done anything to make her mad this time; it had to be something else. I laid back and let the sun warm my chilly body.
When I opened my eyes again, I found Jess sitting beside me with that same frail look on her features.
“Jess, where on earth did you go? You scared me” I said in hysterics. I didn’t like it when Jess left me. It made me feel like she would never come back.
“I never left Kim; I’ve been here the whole time.” Jess said with a sunken voice.
“No you haven’t Jess; I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for you.”
“I’ve always been her Kim.” Jess repeated.
Maybe she had been, now that she mentioned it she was probably right. I’m sure she was here; I must have just been so weak that I feel right asleep and dreamed that she hadn’t been here. Still though, something did seem off. Why can’t I put my finger on it?
“I think you’re right Kim,” Jess said gazing at the blazing August sun, “I do want to swim, let’s go again.”
Jess and I jumped happily into the blue water. We kicked and screamed as we swam around the pond. It was fun when I had been there by myself, but it was so much better when Jess joined me. I hated it when we couldn’t hang out. I don’t know what I would do without her. She is the best friend I have ever had. We had meant in kindergarten on the first day. We had both been afraid of meeting new people, and had instantly clung to one another. Since that day we had been so close, our parents often said we were connected at the hip. I wouldn’t have it any other way to be honest. Jess knew me better then anyone else even claimed, and I knew her just as well.
“Ok,” I said weakly. “I’m sorry Jess, but I think I need to get out. I’m getting really tired.”
“Oh come on Kim. It’s just like old times. I feel like I can swim forever. Don’t get out please!” Jess begged me with pleading eyes.
“I’m sorry Jess; I have to get out now.”
I pulled myself back out of the water for the second time that day, for the second time I found myself even weaker then the time before. Something was wrong with me; I had never felt like this before. It felt like someone had hit me with a bus.
“KIM!” a voice frantically screamed.
“What mom?” I asked as I turned my face away from Jess and the lake. What was her problem? She was crying again, all she had ever done the last couple days was cry. It’s not like I did something wrong, I was just swimming with jess like I did every other day in the heat of the summer.
“Kim, you know you can’t be swimming, you’re too hurt.”
“What are you talking about mom? I’m fine.”
“Kim, you’re not fine, and even if you were, you are not supposed to swim alone. Come with me, the funeral is in an hour, and they want you there early.”
Funeral? Now what was my mom talking about? Funeral, well it would make sense and at least explain why my mom had been crying so much. Wait. Alone?

“Mom, what are you talking about? Jess is here with me.” I said as I turned behind me to make sure my friend was still there. Sure enough there was my friend sitting cross legged with her eyes closed, enjoying the sun shine. Had my mom gone blind or something?

My mom looked at me so seriously, something was very wrong. I squinted against the sun to see even more tears streaming down my moms face.

“Sweetie, Jess is gone.”

No! That can’t be. I turned back just to make sure that Jess was still there. She looked up and waved at me and laughed. I joined in with her easy laughter, how could Jess be gone?

“Mom, Jess is right behind me.” Laughter was consuming me, was this a joke?

“Kim,” my mom said through her tears, “You and Jess got in an accident three days ago. Jess died, we have to go to her funeral Sweetie. Please let it go.”

“NO!” I yelled. This wasn’t funny anymore. I turned and there was Jess sitting the same way she had been seconds before, drops falling all around her. “NO! Jess is not dead! She would never leave me! STOP SAYING THAT!”

“Kim, please come with me. Her family needs you there now. I know how hard it is for you, I know you don’t want to believe it’s real, but Jess isn’t coming back Kim.” The seriousness in my moms voice was something I had never heard before.

I turned back to Jess for help, but she was gone. Suddenly everything came back. Jess and I had been walking along the road after church. A car had swerved and hit both girls, Jess had been on the outside. I can still see her broken body. NO! This is a dream. This isn’t real. Jess would never leave me, she promised she would never leave me.

As I stood to go with my mom, tears falling from my face, I looked one more time back at the dock. There was Jess. She hadn’t left me after all.

Don't you wish you had an imagination like a child again?

Sometimes it makes me sad that I am all grown up. Being grown up often causes us to trade our abilities to play, to imagine, to have fun, to explore, to trust, to believe in something.... there is just something precious about the "faith" of a little child.

Our church is involved in the Upward Basketball program. During half time of every game, a devotion or testimony is given. I have had the privilege to give a few devo's. One that came to my mind in the beginning of the season was Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

A little child has a faith that adults can not fathom. We use to have it, as a child... but age, time, experiences harden us. It is sad.

I sat down to share some words the kids have said lately, and I was struck at the noise behind me. Before I began to type, I was distracted by the imagination of my little ones. Elizabeth had placed a bar stool on it's side and was sitting in the middle of it with a piece of cardboard (slim) in her hand. She was talking to her "horse" and using her "whip" to make it go. She was smiling from ear to ear and proudly announced that she was riding her horse, Sally. Ri immediately got a horse as well and they played for awhile. Next, Elizabeth proudly brought me a stuffed fish and announced that she had just gone fishing a Mamaw's house and caught a fish. Soon, Ri grabbed a dog (2 inches long) and introduced his dog to the fish. They began a conversation and started playing. The fish got in his "car" and the dog got into it's vehicle and they played in the "pond" (the chair). Earlier, Ri had found a USB flash drive and magnetic geomag sticks and instantly had a gun (of which he chose to chase his sister around the room). The horses are hitched and Sally is eating her food. All this has transpired in a matter of 10 minutes.

The imagination of a 4 year old. They have few inhibitions. They can laugh, cry, scream, dance, squeal, jump, pretend... whatever they feel.. .whereever they are. Me? Well, it is hard for me to pretend, hard to sing in front of anyone, rarely will I dance and squeal... becoming an adult does seem to stifle the fun in life. Oh to have the eyes of a child... and the simple faith that comes with it.

What I originally sat down to post were a few silly things that the kids have said. I wish I write it down right away because I ALWAYS forget it by the time i sit down to blog.

I was making a fire when Elizabeth started talking to me about it. She has all sorts of thoughts and questions. But the one that tickled me was when she asked me if the fire eats the wood.

A few days ago, Ri announced that he loved pizza hunting. I was slightly confused. He insisted I remember when he loved pizza hunting. I asked again what he meant, and he said, you know... when I was on the bus and went pizza hunting. Elizabeth then chimmed in reminding me when he went pizza hunting with preschool. I finally got it! He had gone on a field trip to Pizza HUT. I cracked up. Pizza hunting was his word for Pizza Hut.

Erin stayed home with the kids yesterday. They had a ball. SHe made crafts, made cookies and then dressed them up as clowns. They LOVED every minute of it. They were so excited to surprise us when we got home. I LOVED it! Aren't they just the cutest clowns you've ever seen?



Yesterday was a perfect day to play in the snow. We made VEggie tales for Elizabeth and Ri. They were a little less of a challenge to make then Chuck Norris. I made Dora for Elizabeth. It was very difficult. When I got done, she looked at it and proclaimed that it wasn't Dora. Jacob told me that I could not post it on the blog because it was such "lower" quality. So sad :(.

The boys discovered the icecycles that hung from our roof and had really enjoyed getting them.

I have found myself thinking and praying for Abby everyday. I follow their blog so that I can keep up with her story and watch God working. Through that, I have really been in awe of the faith of her parents. As I have watched them, I have looked into a magazine that they publish called Serious Life. It includes a lot of great content from bloggers, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by the Riggs family. They have seven kids, three who are adopted. You are already aware of little Abby who has leukemia. The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

The subscription is free, I thought I would share it with all of you. When you have a chance, take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. www.seriouslifemagazine.com