Easter PICS and tomorrow is a BIG DAY!!!!!!

Coloring eggs!


My attempt at coloring eggs! I can drink it while I color it!

The Fab Five on Easter morning.







A good friend of mine loves to spoil my girls! At church, Miss. Denise (That is what the girls call her) gave them an Easter Bunny. It is a larger bunny holding a smaller bunny. Sarah has named the larger bunny "Kathy" and the smaller one "Sarah." Thanks Denise!


Lily with a chocolate in her mouth holding her new movie!


Sarah loved her new glasses...and her movie!


Lily reaching for an egg....all by herself!


This is Sarah being helped by Tyler in getting an egg out of the tree!



We colored eggs yesterday. I do not enjoy coloring eggs. I do enjoy watching my kids color eggs though! After we colored eggs we took the girls to church to see the Easter drama. Our church puts on a rather large production...over 200 people are in it! The girls sat through the enire thing. Sarah was full of questions (Why are the Pharisees like that? Will his booboos go away? Who is the man on the other cross and where did he go? And many more! Lily sat and sucked her thumb. We woke up this morning and went to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The girls were thrilled to put on their new dresses. The boys? They cooperated by not wearing t-shirts! Tom didn't have anything major witht he service this morning so we sat together as a family...a rare thing! We came home for a dinner. I hate to cook, but the ham was good enough. After lunch the boys took the girls upstairs while we hid baskets. TJ is too cool for that, but we hid it anyway! We then ended up hunting for eggs in our yard. I must admit that it was good to see the sun today!
Tomorrow is a BIG DAY for me! I remember when I experienced this day with Lily. When I wake up in the morning, I will be able to say, "Sarah has been with me longer than she lived in China without me!" We can't imagine life without her! I absolutely adore her!

Why is tomorrow a big day?

When I wake up in the morning, I will be able to proclaim, "Sarah has been with me longer than she was in China without me!" It's been a wonderful 22 months as she has transitioned smoothly into being the seventh Alexander!

Sisters

I know I'll have some pictures to share from our Easter weekend so I thought I better post these recent shots. I love to watch my girls play together! Sometimes I just watch them and think to myself, "It's amazing that they are sisters" They were born a few hundred miles from each other on the other side of the world! When we travelled to get Lily, who would have known that Sarah was just four months old living a bit to the west! We are grateful that God brought them together as only He could have orchestrated!

As some of you may have known, we had quite the snowstorm a few weeks back. The sled picture was during the blizzard. We were all watching TV one night and I was touched by how the girls were laying on the floor with their feet touching...thus the feet picture. How about those new coats?! I went shopping for new Spring jackets for the girls and found these on clearance. Lily HAD to have one. Lily wears it around the house like a robe....it is so funny. If anyone is concerned, they are man-made materials so no need to send PETA my way!

By His Wounds....

Tom sang this song in church yesterday. No, this isn't Tom. I'll try to get that one and post it. Until then, this is the crew that sang it at our church several months ago for a concert. This week is an important week to me...to our family.

By His Wounds we are healed,
Kathy

China on My Mind

I am working on a grant proposal that has taken up a lot of my free time. I'm really excited about it! If the proposal is accepted, and a grant issued, it could mean a trip to China in 2009! The trip would include stops in Yangjiang (Lily's birth city) and Qinzhou Citty/Nanning (Sarah's birthcity/foster parents home). Wouldn't that be exciting?! If it happens, the kids would be with us so there would be an extra blessing in providing Sarah an opportunity to see her foster family again. Lynn (thanks, Lynn) took these photos when she was in Nanning picking up her new daughter. I don't think I posted these photos yet. The one if of Ah-moo, Sarah's foster mother. She's holding the small package we sent along with Lynn. The other is of Sarah's foster brother and his wife.

Not much else going on here. Tom did turn 46 yesterday! We don't have any photos of the cake we had for him so I can't post. We only made him blow out one candle!

Oh, March 23rd will be a big day for me! When I wake up that morning I will be able to say, "Sarah has been with us longer than she was in China!"

TJ and a video of Sarah's sleeping arrangement

I'll post first about the video. I've been wanting to video tape Sarah sleeping for quite some time. As some of you may recall, we were told in a report from Sarah's foster mother that she "liked to sleep with hairy things." We understood that to mean "stuffed animals." Well, I have had moments of being concerned about Sarah! She likes things a certain way. Well, with five kids that can be a challenge. I tend to choose my battles in most areas. One of the areas that I have not made a battle is her sleeping arrangements. She is attached to a number of stuffed animals, toys and dolls. I make her put most of the toys on the stand next to her bed and allow her to keep all of her "friends" close by while she sleeps. I tell her, "Sarah, you have too many things in your bed!" She replies, "I always leave a little room for me." She KNOWS if I move anything! She gets frustrated when I do that. Take a look at the tower in the corner! Amazing! Now to another important topic! TJ!

Yesterday TJ turned 17! Wow! It's hard to believe that we are parents of a 17 year old kid! I wasn't as prepared for his cake this year so the poor guy got stuck with pink candles! He didn't mind.

Seventeen years ago yesterday I was sitting on our country-styled blue print sofa reading the Saturday paper when we got the call! TJ's birthmother was on her way to the hospital and this was certainly THE DAY. Tom and I jumped in the car and made the two-hour drive to Owensboro, Kentucky for the big event. Due to the circumstances of the event, we had to keep a low profile so we hung out in the chapel of the hospital. It was at 3:30 that our 6 pound 2 ounce boy came into the world. The hospital staff was wonderful to allow us to hang out in a private room off of the nursery. The first two days were very difficult. We had been through a few years of infertility treatments and even had a failed adoption. We had several years of being hopeful, being disappointed and then trying to be hopeful again. We were blessed to be able to leave the hospital with TJ the very next day, but had several more days before we got word that the birthmother followed through with the adoption. It was a long week!

I was talking with someone yesterday about infertility and the journey of going through that with the desire to be a mom. I asked God 17 years ago to not let me forget what that felt like...and He has been faithful. I enjoyed talking to this young woman and telling her that one day she will look back and see God's perfect plan in all of this. She may have a biological child or she may adopt....regardless....God's plan. Many sometimes view adoption as PLAN B in one's attempt to be a parent. Although our first desire was to have a biological child, we know that TJ was certainly PLAN A! God had to take us throught he journey of infertility to walk through the initial doors of adoption. Thank you, God! I believe, from the beginning of time, that TJ was meant to be ours! He was meant to be the big brother of four siblings....two little girls that think he is the strongest and best brother EVER! This has been God's perfect plan!

On another note, I have to comment about TJ's birthmother. I am so proud of her! First, she chose life for her baby at a time when she could have chosen an abortion. Second, she chose me to be his mother and Tom to be his father! She will forever hold a special place in our hearts. For those of you that walk a life of faith and incorporate prayer into your days, will you please pray for her? Wherever she is we pray that she is safe and at peace...especially as March 2nd rolls around every year. Thank you SPB....wherever you may be! You have given me a precious gift and I will forever sing praises over you to my God!