A Day With the Gray's

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! We got our Christmas present the day after Christmas and it was a call from Mary Katherine (our Anna Li). She was so excited that she called while Papa Denny, Mama Carol, Kevin (Chad's brother) and Bethany (sister in law) were here. She got to talk to everyone. She is doing very good and is very happy. That just made my Christmas complete. The kids on the night before Christmas looking all cute in their pj's. Bethany is way to polite to say she has a favorite... for goodness sakes, I couldn't even get her to tell me what she wanted Santa to bring! I believe her favorite was her Nintendo DS games and her North Face jacket. She detested the blow dryer he brought (didn't even want it in the picture) but mom loved it because that means she can quit using mine!! I know, I know! Santa has went overboard once again!! Someone is going to have to have a talk with that man. Colin's favorite was the bat cave. He spent hours on end playi...

I am so tired today! Dylan kept us up all night. I am not sure if it is teething or the stuffy nose.. or both but I pray we get some sleep tonight. We tried Tylenol last night but it seemed to just boost his energy instead of giving him some relief. I am so thankful for my husband for taking shifts with me. I was up until 2am and Chad took the 2-4am shift. I think he gave out sometime after 4am and we got a little sleep before getting up for work. Oh the joys of parenthood:) _______________________ I have also made the decision NOT to quit work right now. I know, I know.. I am heartbroken over this. There is nothing I want more than to be a stay at home mom. BUT let's face it the economy stinks! I have a good job with good benefits. We are just not where we need to be in order for me to quit.... BUT I will stay optimistic. I will continue to pray for Chad a full time teaching position. I will work really hard to pay down our debt. AND I will reevaluate things this fall...

Well, he will be in about 2 more days but close enough! Dylan is such a joy!! He is very active. He loves to laugh, smile, and coo. He was 11 lbs at 2 months so we will have to wait for his checkup to see how much he has grown. He LOVES to be held and walked around thanks to the girls! We have made it 3 months without any sickness minus the stuffy nose;) He loves his Bumper Jumper. He hates his swing and bouncer. He loves music and He loves his mommy!

We had such a fun time at church today! Last night Bethany and I baked lots of cookies for our Mission Fair at church today. The kids set up booths in the gym and sold their arts, crafts, and baked goods to raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Bethany was able to donate $22 from the sale of her cookies. We had Mint Chocolate Chip, Brownie Bites, and Sugar Cookies. To learn more about Lottie Moon go to: http://www.baptistheritage.org/StoriesforKids/TheStoryofLottieMoon/tabid/259/Default.aspx

Oh what a night we had!! 5 little girls running all over the house. 5 little girls giggling. 5 little girls with their high pitched screams. Oh what a fun night we had:) Happy Birthday Bethany! I hope you had a wonderful night! Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate These girls can put away some chocolate. They had chocolate cake and a bag full of chocolate candy bars. Washed down with about 3 litters of sugary coke= ONE wild night! The girls created their own fashion designs and put on a fashion show. I can now say I have no garbage sacks, cling wrap, or aluminum foil. They would have got the TP but there was only 2 rolls left... That could have been disastrous;) 1 girl went home sick (probably from eating too much chocolate) 2 girls went to bed at 2am and 2 girls went to bed about an hour ago (8:30am) Uhhh, that would be Bethany and her cousin Kailey! Pray for me today as I will have two very ill and grouch kids:) Colin spent the night with his buddy Luke... wonder what time he went to be...

This year we took our 2 nd annual after Thanksgiving dinner walk in the woods:) It was a little sad not having Anna Li walking with us but I know she had a wonderful Thanksgiving with her new family AND she called and talked to us the next day. She is really doing great in her new environment. We are so thankful for her and her family. I can't say enough how much it means to have them in our lives. Before you look at the pictures I want to share a few blogs with you. My dear sweet friend Vickie adopted a 13 year old about a year ago only to find out that her daughter had two biological brothers in China. She is now in the process of going back to adopt them (in the paperwork stage). Such a precious family click on their link and if there is anything you can do to help them out please do. http://wwwourchinagirl.blogspot.com/ Another great blog to check out is http://shpiruk.blogspot.com/ Myah and Emily were adopted around the same time from the same orphanage from two separate ...

I am enjoying my Beth Moore on-line Bible study so much!! (Thanks Jean, I would never have know this to exists if it wasn't for your blog!) It was just what I needed to heal from this difficult time. I do thank you all so much for your kindness, compassion, and friendship. It is going to be a tough holiday season for us but we know the Lord will carry us through. We have talked to Anna Li a couple of times and she is doing very well. We were so excited to discover the Nationals for AYSO is 10 minutes from Anna Li's house! We will be going there in July and look forward to visiting her and her precious family. Her new family has given her a new name. It is beautiful, just like her:) It will be Mary Katherine (if she doesn't change her mind again:)). It will take some getting use to but we do love it! We are looking forward to our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. I am praying my Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake turns out:) I feel truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. It se...

A dear friend sent me a poem about people in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. I am not sure who the author is but I have pondered this poem for sometime as I let go of my daughter to give her true happiness. Anna Li was put into my life for a reason . She changed my life forever and I will never look at things the same way again. She brought a joy into my life like no other. I love like I never loved before. I am changed. I believe we were put into her life for a reason. We taught her love. We taught her family. We shared the love of Jesus with her. She has overcome so much in the year we have had her. We were her stepping stone... to get her where she need to be and now when I see her I see nothing but true happiness. Anna Li was put into my life for just a season . We shared, we grew, we learned so much about each other. We laughed. We cried. She has taught us more than we could ever teach her. I knew from the moment I seen her face that she was a gift from God. Sh...

I am getting so aggrevated with blogger! It takes FOREVER for me to load pictures these days. So, I did get one loaded to share... Last Sunday we spent the entire day together as a family. We knew it would be our last weekend with Anna Li. Chad was able to get off work and he went to church with us. After church we went to the park to have a picnic and took some picture. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed it so much. We ended the day going to see A Christmas Carol in 3D. Anna Li and Colin thought it was a little scary. Anna Li slept through half of it:) I guess she wore herself out at the park. Today Anna Li is spending time with her new family but will come back to us tonight. It's a tough weekend for us and I ask that you continue to lift us up in prayer. Chad was having a hard time last night and I believe that Bethany is struggling with this as well. I am trying to stay strong for everyone but man I'm gonna miss her so much. I am so thankful she is going to such a...

All I can say is we had a wonderful first day with the new family! LOVED IT! I love this family! Precious, precious, precious!! Mom and Dad are GREAT and the kids are SO SO ADORABLE:) We went to the park and let the kids play and the adults talk. Then, Anna Li left went with the new family to eat dinner and enjoy sometime with them. I asked her when she got home what she thought and she said, "THEY ARE GREAT!!" and she is right... they are! So, God is soooo good and I just want to shout it from the roof tops:) I am going to miss my little stinker so much but I am so happy and blessed! Continue to lift us up in prayer.

Wow, tomorrow is the day that Anna Li's new family arrives. We are all full of so many emotions!! We have established a wonderful transition plan for Anna Li (subject to change per Anna Li's request). The family will arrive late tomorrow night so our first official day of meeting each other in person will be on Friday. Day 1: Our two families will meet with the social worker. We plan to meet at the park or somewhere fun for the kids so they can play and we can talk. Day 2: Anna Li will spend the day with her new family Day 3: Anna Li and her new family will be attending church with us. That afternoon we will have a special dinner for Anna Li. We will have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins there to meet her new family and say goodbye. Day 4 & 5: We will have the new family over for dinner. Day 6: Anna Li will be leaving with her new family. This will be such a special week for Anna Li to have both her families together. She is very excited to have them attend c...

So today is the day that I share with the rest of the world the changes going on in our family. I know it may be hard for some to understand and not all will agree, but I know in my heart that we are doing what is right no matter how difficult it may be. Anna Li will be leaving our home and joining her new family very soon. It was a very difficult and agonizing decision for us but it was a decision made with Anna Li and not for Anna Li. We love Anna Li with all of our being, and she loves us as well. We have made lots of progress over the past year. It seems as each day goes by we get closer and closer to each other. With that said, there is still a huge emptiness in Anna Li's heart. She misses her country, her culture, the food, and the people. Living in small town America limits the opportunities we can give to Anna Li. I choose not to talk about the difficulties we have faced in our small town, but you should know that there have been many. Through the adoption community, ...

Happy Halloween!!! Anna Li was a cat.. meow:) Colin as Darth Vader.. Bethany as Alex Russo (Wizards of Waverly Place).. and Dylan as my sweet little snow bear. We had so much fun this Halloween, I really do have lots of pictures to share but here lately I haven't been able to upload pictures without getting an error. So aggravating!! We went to our church's pumpkin festival Friday night and to my Mom's church on Saturday night for a fall festival then back home for some good old door to door Trick or Treating. Mr. Dylan is growing like a weed:) He is starting to smile and goo. What precious days these are. God is good. Dylan's first Halloween 6 weeks and 3 days old

The kids had so much fun making Carmel apples. Anna Li decided that apples are not that bad when covered in a ton of sugary Carmel... she ate every bite (and she hates apples)! Colin LOVES apples but decided the sugary coating was much better... therefore only ate the Carmel. Bethany loving apples and Carmel enjoyed her pre-Halloween treat:) Soccer season is winding down and it has been a HOOT watching these 5 year old boys play! Go Colin #6!!!! Can't end the post without some adorable little babies!!! Colin is so sweet to Dylan:) Last is my adorable nephew Canaan! Look at that sweet face!

Colin's Preschool Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch Dylan in the hay The hay ride The boys The girls "faking it" for the camera... smile like you like each other..

Zack, Matthew, Ginger, Lexas, Jagger October 22, 2009 the Lord called Matthew home after a long battle with cancer. He was survived by his wife: Ginger (my cousin) and threir three beautiful children Lexus (10), Jagger (6), and Zack(3). Visitation was last night and the funeral will be today October 24 at 2pm. Please join me in lifting this family up in prayer.

I Took His Hand and Followed Mrs. Roy L. Peifer My dishes went unwashed today, I didn't make the bed, I took his hand and followed Where his eager footsteps led. Oh yes, we went adventuring, My little son and I... Exploring all the great outdoors Beneath the summer sky We waded in a crystal stream, We wandered through a wood... My kitchen wasn't swept today But life was gay and good. We found a cool, sun-dappled glade And now my small son knows How Mother Bunny hides her nest, Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows. We watched a robin feed her young, We climbed a sunlit hill... Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky, We plucked a daffodil. That my house was neglected, That I didn't brush the stairs, In twenty years, no one on earth Will know, or even care. But that I've helped my little boy To noble manhood grow, In twenty years, the whole wide world May look and see and know .

Welcome to our family blog. We feel at this time it is best to change from an adoption blog to a family blog because that is what we are- a family. We have huge changes going on in our family. Some very difficult to understand but through lots of prayer we feel that these changes are for the best. We hope to be able to share with you these changes in the near future. In the mean time, we ask that you lift us up in prayer as we seek God's wisdom and strength. ****** The girls continue to enjoy being home schooled. We have participated in a lot of fun activities recently. Anna Li and Colin went to see "The Little Red Hen" at the Children's Theater and loved it. We also went to Camp Meadowbrook All the kids made animal tracks and went on a hike. Next week Bethany and I will go to see "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" at the Children's Theater. Colin and Anna Li will be going to the pumpkin patch with Ma-maw. So many fun things to do and we are really enjo...