Maci China

GOTCHA....

2010-04-28T22:11:00.000-05:00

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

I cannot even begin to explain how amazing today was! We are so happy to finally have our Mylee in our arms! Our flight got into Taipei a little early so John and Cheryl had to scramble to get to the HSR when we got off the train. John's friends Craig Thompson and Peter Bennett met us at the airport and rode with us on a shuttle bus to the HSR. We had 12 suitcases all together so it quite an achievement to get them all on the train in around 5 minutes time. I don't know what we would have done without Craig and Peter there! Then we had about an 1 1/2 hour train ride. I didn't really get too nervous until about the last 15 minutes of the ride....then my heart started beating really fast and I was getting emotional. John was supposed to meet us at the platform when our train arrived....but they were running late because they didn't expect us until around 10:00 am and it was 9:00 am. The workers at the train station were so nice, they helped us unload our 12 pieces of luggage and started heading toward the elevator with it when we saw John running down the station.

Cheryl called and told us to call her when we were getting on the elevator.....and I said "Cheryl, we're getting on the elevator right now." She said "Okay, gotta go!" and hung up. When we were coming up on the elevator the kids were hollering at me saying "There she is Mom! There she is!" But I was looking the wrong way....until there she was! All smiles! Andrew and Moriah were holding up a banner with Mylees picture on it. I went straight to Mylee and wrapped my arms around her and just breathed this moment in....and it was AMAZING!

Our Welcome banner!

Mommy and Mylee's first moment together
Daddy and Mylee

The whole gang at the train station

I think she likes her big sister Peyton....

.....and Dillon too!

Dillon with his 2 little sisters

Daddy giving Mylee his first bottle

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR...

2010-02-27T22:23:00.000-06:00

Our good friends, Trevor and Jackie Borowiak held a Chinese New Year Party at their house. We all brought our own chinese dish and spent an evening of eating and visiting. All the kids wore special clothes from their country. We had quite an array of countries represented at this party....China (of course), Africa, Guatemala and America. This was such a great time for all of us adoptive families to get together. Check out the picture of all the kids together! Gorgeous! Our gorgeous cake made by Sherry Rafferty

Lindy & Molly Rafferty
The China girls

All from Guatemala

From Ethiopia

The whole gang...American, Chinese, Guatemalan & Ethiopian Sweet little Ava Bogard
Maci and Eden Wankel

Libby Borowiak & Maci

Maci & Jamison Borowiak

The kids all crawled up on Peyton's lap to watch Spongebob

Maci & Diego Borowiak

OUR PRINCESS TURNS 4.....

2010-01-17T11:12:00.011-06:00

Our baby girl turned "4" on January 3rd. When I asked her what kind of party she wanted...she said a Princess Party. So that is exactly what she got! We had her party at the church and she invited all her friends. In the invitation we asked for each princess to wear her most royal attire to the party. Maci got to wear a dress that her big sissy Peyton wore when she was 4!

Upon arriving, each "Little Princess" was taken to the table where our Big Princesses Peyton and Ashley did their make-up and hair. Then they had 3 different activities to do. At one table they could make a candy bracelet. Another table had different princess coloring sheets for them to color. And the other had gift bags they could decorate with princess stickers, jewels and glittery foam cutouts. We also had a castle bounce house for the girls to jump in.

Debbie decorated a chair as Princess Maci's throne and Lezlie made the most beautiful princess cake ever! We also enjoyed some Fruity Pebble Treats made by Maci the night before. After opening the gifts, each princess got a goody bag full of everything princess...a magic wand, jewelry, princess stickers, a ring pop and candy kisses.

The party was so much fun and all the little girls looked absolutely adorable!

Beautiful Princess Maci
Princess Maci upon her throne

Just look at that sweet "Princess" smile
Princess Maci and Princess Eden at the make-up table
Great-Grandma Farmer and Great-Grandma Seals
Princess Molly getting her eye shadow on my Princess Ashley

Maci

Princess Peyton applying lip gloss to Princess Josie

Princess Maci between our 2 Big Princess helpers

Whitney....beautiful!!!

Who says a Princess can't jump in her gown?

Princess Maci with her beautiful cake....Lezlie even made an edible crown with jewels!

Our coloring sheet table

Princess Gabi

Princess Madisyn

Princess Maci and Princess Whitney

Maci working very hard on her candy bracelet

Candy bracelet table

Princess Gabi making her bracelet

Princess Peyton with Princess Ava

Sweet little Princess Berkeley

Princess Maci opening her gifts

MERRY CHRISTMAS.....

2009-12-25T19:07:00.002-06:00

Our family would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas full of many blessings!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY.....

2009-12-24T19:22:00.001-06:00

We have made it a tradition to eat at Nagasaki every year on Maci's "Gotcha Day". Our family and the grandparents all go to celebrate the day that Maci was placed in our arms for the first time...which just so happens to be Christmas Eve! The night before, me and Maci made "Gotcha Day" cookies with our new cookie cutter in the shape of China. We all had so much fun and the food was absolutely awesome!!! We even ran into our good friends David and Jason while we were there!

Maci showing off her "Gotcha Day" cookie

The family sitting around the grill
David and JasonMaci ate her entire meal with chopsticks
Maci with her "Gotcha Day" gift Our beautiful little China girl.....It's hard to believe she has been with us for three years now. I can't even imagine our life without her. I love you Maci Marie JiaoLe Farmer!

HALLOWEEN 2009.....

2009-11-14T17:29:00.000-06:00

Maci insisted on being a flower for Halloween this year. I searched on-line and at every store I could find for a flower costume, but had no luck. So I decided to make it myself. I cut out pink foam pieces for the flower petals and glued them to ring I had cut out of posterboard to perfectly fit Maci's face. Then I hot glued ribbon for the center of the flower. The leaves are just a necklace I made out of ribbon and foam. Then I put a green turtle neck and green sweatpants on her and she wore her brown boots. I thought it turned out great and it was very cheap to make!!!Our pretty pink flower
Too cute! Whitney is dressed as "White trash" and Peyton is all dressed up for the 80's.

NO CAVITIES.....

2009-09-22T16:32:00.001-05:00

Today was Maci's very first trip to the dentist! I was a little worried how she would do...but she was GREAT!!!! She hopped up in the chair like a big girl and opened her mouth like she knew exactly what she was supposed to do!!! She was really excited when she got to pick out a new toothbrush that looked like a Crayola marker! And...NO CAVITIES!!! Yay!!! Peyton on the other hand was not so lucky! She has to go back Monday to get a tooth pulled...then we're off to the orthodontist! Not Yay!

Waiting to hear her name called Mommy, they said Maci!!!

Such a big girl!
All done!

Peyton and Maci showing off their pearly whites!

Look Mom...they're all clean!

DILLON'S WHEELS.....

2009-09-21T16:20:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that Dillon is going to be 16 years old in January!!! We bought this car for him over a year ago and have been slowly fixing it up. He is counting down the days until his birthday! Mom, on the other hand, is not quite ready for her boy to grow up!

WAYNE & WHITNEY.....

2009-08-25T09:27:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pics of Whitney and her boyfriend Wayne!!! Wayne's mom Joy took these pictures of the kids! I think they are just awesome! I asked Whitney if these were her engagement pictures...but she just told me to be quiet! Who knows!?!

2009-08-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

ImageChef.com

FEEDING MYLEE BABY.....

2009-08-19T16:51:00.001-05:00

Maci has named one of her dolls "Mylee Baby". She has turned into quite the little Mommy! She wants to take Mylee Baby everywhere we go...we even had to take her to the football game the other night! She's going to make an awfully sweet big sissy!!! Feeding Mylee Baby a bottle
What a sweet little Mommy she is!

HOLIDAY WORLD 2009.....

2009-08-16T20:49:00.005-05:00

We decided to go to Holiday World/Splashin' Safari before Summer was up! School had already started up around our area so we thought the park probably wouldn't be too crowded. Boy--were we wrong!!! They had 2 company picnics on the day we went, so the park was packed!!!

Dillon and Peyton wanted to ride the roller coasters so me, Donnie and Maci headed to the water park. And that is where we were all day long...until it was time to go home! It was a pretty hot day so the water felt great! At one point, we were floating in Lazy River and I looked over at Maci and she was just about to fall asleep! It was so cute!!!

As we were heading out of the park to go home we decided to see if Maci would want to ride some rides. Last year she screamed bloody murder...so we really weren't sure! But she loved them all! In fact, we had a hard time trying to get her off of them. Maci even got her picture taken with Santa Claus! It was such an awesome day with all the kids!

My little water bug
Riding Salmon Run

This was the ride she screamed on last year!

When she rode the airplanes....Maci told me she was flying to Taiwan to get Mylee Baby!

Just look how tired my baby is!

BLOG HOP - FAVORITE PHOTOS

2009-08-11T10:45:00.004-05:00

It was so hard for me to pick my favorite photos for todays post. I have so many favorites...these are just a few!

This is my favorite from our recent trip to Florida
My Peyton is just so gosh darn cute...I can't hardly stand it!
I love this picture of Dillon reading to Maci

This picture was taken just days after Eden came home from Africa.

I love this picture of Maci

This is Whitney's version of the kid getting his tongue stuck to the pole in "The Christmas Story." She's always doing crazy stuff like this!
Peyton played dress up with Maci on the day I took this picture! SOOOO CUTE!
And I couldn't post my favorite photos without putting this one in! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Maci that I took last summer!

FLORIDA FAMILY FOTOS.....

2009-08-01T19:22:00.011-05:00

These are just some of the family pics we took in Florida! Enjoy!

I love this smile!

The Wankel crew
My beautiful family
I love this picture...but you can't see Whitney
Me and Whitney

Peyton and me

Me and my gorgeous daughters

Boys will be boys

Dad and Peyton

Me and my honey

Daddy and Maci

MY LITTLE COWGIRL....

2009-07-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

I took these pics of Maci at my Mother-in-laws house! I thought they turned out really good! She looks so darn cute in the cowboy hat!

PICTURES OF MYLEE.....

2009-07-28T18:17:00.006-05:00

These are just some of the pictures of Mylee that we have gotten from John and Cheryl! The first two are my most favorite! She just looks like a precious little baby doll! I cannot wait for her to come home to her forever family!

FLORIDA VACATION 2009.....

2009-07-28T15:40:00.011-05:00

We were very excited to be going to Florida this year with the Wankel's! We stayed at a condo in Venice, Florida which is about an hour south of St. Petersburg. We started our drive down at about 7:00 pm on Friday, July 10th. We stopped at Nashville, TN and stayed then drove the rest of the way down the next day. The drive was long...but worth it once we got there!

If we weren't at the beach we were at the condo's swimming pool! So we all came back with a tan...but some of came back with a burn!!! We went to 3 different beaches while we were there: Venice Beach, Siesta Keys and a beach right next to Sharky's. Sharky's on the Pier is a restaurant right on the beach. We ate there on Wednesday night and it was delicious!!!

A couple evening's we went to an Outlet Mall about 30 minutes away! We all found some pretty good bargains there! One night Milady and Berkeley met us there! It was so great to see them! Berkeley is getting so big! On Friday night Chad, Milady and Berkeley came to the condo and stayed all night.

We had so much fun getting to spend our vacation with the Wankel's! I hope we get to do it again next year! I only wish we could've stayed in Florida a little longer! Maybe next time! A picture of the girls all buckled in ready for a lllooooooonnnnngggg car ride
Dillon and Whitney

I love this picture of Eden

Maci sporting her dad's sunglasses

Our first trip to the beach

My girls acting silly on the way to the Outlet Mall

My babies taking a silly picture

Whitney and Maci at Siesta Keys

Daddy and Maci lovin' the ocean in Florida...or as Maci says "Dorida"

Maci loved lying on the raft and riding the ocean waves

Sharky's on the Pier

A beautiful sunset

Love this picture

The girls all got in their underwear and wanted their pictures taken. Check out those tans!

Daddy and Maci

Peyton, Eden and Maci trying to build a sand castle

Chad and Berkeley

Donnie got up early and cooked us breakfast every day!

Dillon is all sacked out on the drive home

The 3 girls taking one of their many naps

REFERRAL FOR LI KAI SHING.....

2009-07-16T17:04:00.001-05:00

WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE REFERRAL OF OUR SWEET BABY GIRL NAME: Li Kai Shing

BIRTHDAY: July 8, 2009

AGE AT REFERRAL DATE: 8 Days Old

WEIGHT: 2.955 grams (6.6 lbs)

LENGTH: 48 cm (18.9 inches)

NATIONALITY: Taiwanese and Aboriginal (Ru Kai Tribe)

4TH OF JULY 2009.....

2009-07-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

We grilled out and had the Wankel family up for the 4th of July. We made pork chops, hot wings and fried livers. The livers were so stinkin' good! For dessert we made home-made ice cream in a bag. The kids absolutely had a blast! It was a little bit messy, but it was so worth it in the end. YUMMY! It was a rainy dreary day so we stayed inside. We watched the "National Hot Dog Eating Contest" for 2007, 2008 and 2009! Which by the way was extremely disgusting!

Peyton and Maci
Dillon and Maci with a crazy face
Best friends

Silly girls!

Shake, shake, shake....shake your ice cream!

I think it's done Mommy!

The finished product

BEALL WOODS.....

2009-06-28T21:29:00.000-05:00

We all went to Beall Woods today for my great-nephew's 1st Birthday party! Before the party started, I decided to take advantage of the scenery and snap some pictures. I thought they all turned out really good! After the party was over, we enjoyed some time on the playground before going home. These are some of the best pics of the day!

VBS SPORTSCAMP 2009.....

2009-06-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

Maci had so much fun at Vacation Bible School this year! She did cheerleading and had a blast! The "Mission Moment" was His Hands Taiwan. All together we raised $381! They are going to use the money towards building on to the home. All of the kids were so excited to raise money for this cause. An awesome night of the week was when we actually got to Skype on the computer to Cheryl Dunn in Taiwan so she could tell all the kids where the money was going to go. They all thought it was so neat to be able to talk to someone "LIVE" in Taiwan. Cheryl even mentioned us, and told all the kids to be praying for a referral for a baby very soon! Maci doing a little gymnastics
Peyton and Kylie getting ready for Praise and Worship time

Skyping Cheryl in Taiwan

I couldn't resist putting this picture of Gabi praying

Maci on top of the pyramid

Eden, Heidy and Maci sitting on Peyton

The banner that the kids got to run through...oops--they mispelled Taiwan

BROWN COUNTY.....

2009-06-06T22:45:00.002-05:00

We took a trip to Brown County this weekend with Donnie's mom and dad. Barb, Peyton and Maci left Friday afternoon, then Bob, Donnie, Dillon, Whitney and me headed for Nashville, IL after we got off of work. We stayed in a cabin at Abe Martin Park. It was a lot of fun! But we decided that we needed to do it again only stay longer. Little Nashville was a blast! Just walking around in all of the shops all day is my kind of vacation!Donnie and Bob making breakfast
Whitney and Maci

My gorgeous children

The indoor waterpark at the Abe Martin Lodge

Everyone enjoying a dip in the hot tub

Bubby and Maci

Four of the greatest kids in the world!!!

CLASS TRIP TO ZOO.....

2009-05-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

The Pre-K through 4th grade classes at Allendale took an end of the year trip to the zoo. It was so much fun! Donnie and I both got to go and enjoy the day with all her classmates and parents. While we were there we got to see a one month old baby Llama--which was very cool! It was just a really great day and I think Maci really had fun! Posing for a picture
Maci and one of her friends looking at a snake

Smiling with a Toucan

Cheesin' it with a Leopard

HELLO THERE!

Maci even got to feed the giraffe

FIRST TUMBLE MEET.....

2009-05-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

Maci had her very first tumble meet today. I was a little bit nervous whether she would even do anything. She did very well for her first time. No "tada's", but really good! She was really excited when she found out she got a trophy and certificate.

DONATIONS FOR HIS HANDS TAIWAN...

2009-05-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

Cheryl Dunn contacted me and told me that His Hands really needed outfits up to 6 months and lots of Desitin. So not only did I ask the church for help but Peyton wanted to see if Allendale school would like to help. Mrs. Stevenson's 4th grade class really got excited about helping out. Their class alone gathered up over 100 items!!! I even visited the class one afternoon to show them pictures of the babies they would be helping and answered lots and lots of questions. They were even more excited when they learned that our little Mylee would probably be wearing one of the outfits they got for His Hands. They also told me that when Mylee was finally home--they definitely wanted her to come visit them at school!

I took a picture of all of the items we collected, and I also took a picture of Mrs. Stevenson's class! Then I emailed them to His Hands! Holly and Trena, who run the home, couldn't believe how much we had! They were very appreciative! It ended up filling up 2 big suitcases. Cheryl's son Nathaneal is going back to Taiwan in May, so he will bring them with him.

MOTHER'S DAY AT THE PARK.....

2009-05-10T19:56:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Mother's Day at the City Park. It was a beautiful day! I'm such a dummy too--I didn't even get a picture of me with my Mom or my kids! Not too smart huh? We all had such a great time! I love it when we can get both sides of the family together! Donnie's family
My family

Maci on the kiddy slide

Maci and Grandpa getting ready to go down the big slide

Weeeeee! That was fun!

Slide with me Sissy!

My 4 Beautiful Babies!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!

JUST PAINTIN' THE HOUSE.....

2009-05-08T20:25:00.000-05:00

It just amazes me what my kids think of doing sometimes! Today Peyton was bored, so she asked Maci if she wanted to go outside and paint her house. Being the curious mom, I said "What do you mean paint her house?" Peyton replied, "We are going to paint Maci's house with her water paints." And I'm thinking--what a great idea! Why didn't I think of that! The girls had so much fun! They painted that little playhouse all different colors--It was so cute when they were done! And the rain we got the next day just washed it all away!My little painters
Peyton painted the outside...

...while Maci painted the inside

The finished masterpiece!

BUBBY & ME.....

2009-05-06T20:24:00.000-05:00

MY CRAZY GIRLS.....

2009-05-03T17:15:00.000-05:00

PEYTON, MACI & TRISTAN.....

2009-05-03T16:06:00.002-05:00

PROM NIGHT.....

2009-05-02T21:14:00.004-05:00

Today was prom in Mt. Carmel. My niece Megan and my nephew Jeremy both went. They are some pretty good-looking kids. They must take after their Aunt Gina Kay!!!

Megan looks absolutely gorgeous!

A natural beauty

I just love this picture

Megan and her date Will

Jeremy, Christy and little Tristan
Christy is just beautiful in her green gown!

Jeremy & Christy

FOREVER & EBBER.....

2009-04-28T20:46:00.002-05:00

Maci is always telling me she loves me...or as she says it "LaLa, moon and back, ebber, ebber, ebber, to the sky." I have been trying to teach her to say ever instead of ebber. You can see in this video she is trying to do that...well for a while anyway. When this little face looks up at me and tells me she loves me--my heart just melts!

PUDDLE PLAYING.....

2009-04-19T17:20:00.004-05:00

After it rained today, the girls pulled on their rain boots and went outside to play in the puddles. Maci had fun jumping out of the puddle--not in! She didn't get wet at all--but she had fun anyway!

GETTING EARS PIERCED.....

2009-04-18T20:23:00.005-05:00

Today me and my 3 girls all went to Evansville to do a little shopping. While we were in the mall, we decided we were going to get Maci's ears pierced. Whitney held her on her lap while I taped it. The shop we were in was all glassed in and by the time they were ready to pierce Maci's ears, we had quite an audience. Maci was such a big girl! She sat very still and only cried to about 30 seconds after they were done. Getting all sterilized

The lady showing Maci how she is going to put a dot on her ears where the earring will go.

All finished crying and showing off her pretty earrings

EASTER 2009.....

2009-04-12T19:45:00.006-05:00

These are just a few pictures I took of Maci on Easter. She's turned into quite a little ham when I take her picture. I thought she looked absolutely adorable in her little dress!

EASTER EGG HUNT 2009.....

2009-04-04T15:08:00.000-05:00

Today was the Easter Egg Hunt for all Toyota employees and their families. We took Heidy with us. We ate lunch, played in the inflatables and both girls got tons of eggs. Maci was all ready to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny, even though she didn't smile. But Heidy was a different story. She wanted absolutely no part of that--to put it mildly, Heidy is terrified of the Easter Bunny! It was a great day!!!

AFRICA, GUATEMALA & CHINA.....

2009-04-02T17:47:00.003-05:00

3 gorgeous little girls from 3 different parts of the world. Hopefully we will get to add Taiwan to the list very, very soon!Eden, Heidy & Maci

Eden is the newest addition to the Wankel family

"HOUSE OF HOPE".....

2009-03-21T13:35:00.001-05:00

Me and Peyton got up early this morning and helped hand out food for "House of Hope" a local food pantry. It was a very humbling experience for both of us. We were both very happy to help and are looking forward to doing it every month.

IS THIS A SIGN.....

2009-03-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

I took my Granny Yokel grocery shopping today at Fairfield. After we got done she wanted to go to the Chinese restaurant to eat lunch. When I opened up my fortune cookie this is what I saw...I just sat there not sure what to think. But I was really taken back when I read the "Learn Chinese" part! We had actually thought about spelling Mylee's name that way! I paused a moment and said a quick prayer. "Was this a sign that our daughter Mylee would be coming home soon?"

Then as we were getting ready to leave, I found another fortune cookie on the floor underneath our table. I opened it and you are not going to believe what it said.....it was the exact same fortune!!! Okay God, if you are trying to talk to me through a fortune cookie--I am definitely listening!

SCHOOL FRIEND...

2009-03-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

Maci has a little friend at pre-k that she talks about all the time. Her name is Jolie. Tonight when we went to one of Peyton's volleyball games, she was there. Maci and Jolie had the best time. I couldn't help but snap a few pics of them. Friends...

MOMMY AND ME.....

2009-03-06T15:17:00.004-06:00

OH MY GOSH.....

2009-02-20T15:52:00.005-06:00

I don't know how many of you watch American Idol--personally this is a certain show that our family will not miss! We follow along from the auditions all the way to the end, making our own predictions on who will win! Well, Maci seems to have really gotten into it this year and is already joining in with the rest of us poking fun at the contestants! The other night we were watching the show where they picked the final 36 contestants. When a certain Tatiana Del Toro made it through she kind of went a little nutso! She was screaming "Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh" and was acting just a little bit crazy. Well, Maci puts her sunglasses on and begins acting like Tatiana! This video is the funniest...I'm sure it will make you laugh out loud just like me and Donnie did!

PLEASE PRAY.....

2009-02-19T16:48:00.000-06:00

I am asking you all to be prayer warriors for our family. We are at the point in our adoption process to do nothing but wait on God's timing for a referral. "His Hands Taiwan' does not like families to progress beyond this point until they have received a referral. If we get too far in the process we may risk wasting money if the referral does not come before the I-600 or other documents expire. As babies become available "His Hands" prays over all of their applications and places the child with the family they feel God is laying on their hearts. Right now "His Hands" have no referrals to make.

The hardest part of the journey is waiting. But we are faithful that God's timing will be perfect! Please pray for peace for our family as we wait for a referral. I am also asking that you pray that babies will become available to be placed into the arms of their "Forever Families".

I received this scripture from "The His Hands Team" and it will definitely be one that I cling to as we wait. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5 & 6

Thank you for your prayers!

FUN WITH PHOTOS.....

2009-02-03T13:12:00.007-06:00

I've been having fun editing some photos on a website Peyton showed to me. It's called Picnik. These are just a few that I have done.

SNOW DAY.....

2009-01-29T19:37:00.006-06:00

Donnie got a "snow day" off of work today so he and the kids went outside and played in the snow. Donnie pulled Peyton and Maci behind the 4-wheeler around the neighborhood. We didn't get much reaction out of Maci so we're not sure if she liked it or not. She did have fun making snow angels though. I even let Donnie pull me around on the sled. Peyton got a video of me, but I will not be uploading it for your viewing pleasure. I am screaming like an idiot and looking a bit stupid! Okay, a lot stupid!

WINTER.....

2009-01-28T19:20:00.000-06:00

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY....

2009-01-26T18:05:00.006-06:00

Because today is Chinese New Year, I am taking treats to school so Maci's classmates can celebrate this very special day with her. Me and Maci made sugar cookies with red icing and red sprinkles. Then we filled red envelopes with chocolate coins to hand out to each child. I also let her wear her pretty green Chinese outfit to school. She was so excited about taking the cookies to school!

I got to talk to the kids a little bit about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. They were pretty fascinated by the fact that the Chinese celebrate for 15 days!!! But they were more excited about getting the chocolate money in the little red envelopes!!! They couldn't believe that I found money that you could actually eat!!!

I hung out in the class for a while and got to see what Maci does during her day! The kids all absolutely love her and take care of her!!! They kind of treat her like she's their baby! It's so sweet! She is starting to come out of her shell at school too! The other kids get so excited when she talks--and they are very quick to let the teacher know. If you listen closely in the video--you will hear one of the little girls say "She's not shy anymore!"

It was such a great day and a fun way to celebrate Chinese New Year with Maci's friends! I can't wait to do it again next year!

Getting ready to go to school in her pretty outfit!
Adorable!

Maci and some of her friends

Mmmmm......

Maci doing a little singing and dancing.....

Listening to the story

This video is so cute! They are singing "The Wheels on the Bus".

CONVERSATION WITH MACI.....

2009-01-23T15:46:00.005-06:00

Maci - "Mommy, LaLa!"

Mommy - "I love you too Maci!"

Maci - "Moon and back!"

Mommy - "I love you to the moon and back!"

Maci - "For ebber and ebber and ebber!"

Mommy - "I love you forever and ever and ever!"

Maci - "To the sky!"

Mommy - "I love you to the sky Maci!"

Maci - Mommy, where's WeeWee (Whitney)?"

Mommy - "She's at home."

Maci - "What?" (looking very confused)

Mommy - "WeeWee is at home. Where did you think she was?"

Maci - "I don't know."

Mommy - "Maci, you are crazy!"

Maci - "No Mommy! I'm not cwazy! I'm 3!" (holding 3 fingers up)

I SURE DO LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!
A WHOLE, WHOLE BUNCH!!!

SNOW BABY.....

2009-01-19T20:18:00.000-06:00

We had our first snow today and I let Maci go out and play for a while. The snow wouldn't pack but Peyton and Maci had fun anyway! They made snow angels and attempted to make a snowman.

MACI'S DOWNSTAIRS CAFE.....

2009-01-18T19:52:00.002-06:00

Peyton had a couple of her friends spend the night and Maci always tends to be right in the middle of what they are doing. Today, I went downstairs to get Maci so the girls could do what teenage girls do. Well, this is what I saw! They had tucked blankets into the ceiling tiles and made a restaurant--and Maci was their waitress! I thought this was so sweet! Maci was having a ball taking their orders and then going to her play food and serving it to them! Aren't big sisters and their friends G-R-E-A-T?!?

Peyton is eating her hamburger!

Mommy--do you think they'll leave me a good tip?

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY #11 - "EYES"

2009-01-16T23:15:00.001-06:00

HAP-BEE "3RD" BIRTHDAY.....

2009-01-11T17:48:00.002-06:00

We had Maci's "3rd" Birthday party at the church today. She is just crazy about "The Bee Movie" so that was our birthday theme! A friend of mine made the cake--which was absolutely adorable! We invited the family and all of her little friends. It was a lot of fun! I only forgot one thing--the birthday candles. But we improvised...Donnie cut down some taper candles and "VOILA"! Maci was in a bit of a funk during the party--she wouldn't hardly smile, she wouldn't blow out the candles and she wouldn't jump in the jumpy castle. The next morning she was running a fever--poor thing didn't feel good at her own Birthday party.

Look...it's even got a stinger!
Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!

Dillon, Maci and Heidy at the craft table

I told you she didn't even crack a smile

Donnie's grandma was even able to make it to the party

Little Gabi kept trying to steal the balloons!

My brilliant husband fixing the candles

Make a wish!

Enjoying a little cake with WeeWee (aka big sis Whitney)

Gabi and Alex having a little fun!

Look mom! I got a coffee pot just like you! Now I can make my own "CaCa"

Maci and Peyton

I just love this picture of Whitney painting Maci's fingernails!

It wasn't long before all the girls wanted in on the action!

Maci and all her loot!

Gabi finally got what she wanted...the balloons!

GOD IS SO GOOD.....

2009-01-10T15:32:00.001-06:00

The Farmer family was on quite a roller coaster ride in 2008. As a lot of you know, early in 2008 we prayerfully decided to adopt from China yet again. We were very excited and couldn't wait to start the paperwork process. Then in July, our agency was denied their Hague Accreditation and we were told to find another adoption agency. I was totally devastated and very upset--but we pressed on. This would mean we would have to completely start from scratch...a new home study, new birth certificates, marriage licenses, physicals, etc. Have them notarized again and send them off to be state certified...again! Our family and friends had selflessly helped us and were still helping us raise money for this adoption...and now those funds were gone! What were we going to do? Through endless prayer and lots of support we sent our application in to another agency. But, I was still very uneasy about the finances. Only through a miracle would we be able to afford this. But you know what? God sent me an angel...and her name is Cheryl Dunn!

Cheryl and her husband John are missionaries from Taiwan. Their family came back to the states on furlough for 7 months and lived in Mt. Carmel. Our church supports John and Cheryl and their ministry. They are a wonderful Christian family spreading God's love to the people in Taiwan.

I began to talk to Cheryl about our adoption in China and all of the ways Satan was trying to stop us from getting our baby girl! I spoke with her about the money and how I just didn't know how it would be possible--especially since we were wanting to take our kids with us this time. Then I began to ask her about adoption in Taiwan. We talked on several occasions and I asked her to please pray for our family.

I had been praying for God to please make it clear to me if this was His will. Sometimes I can be a bit oblivious when God is trying to tell me something. I needed Him to give me a clear answer--either open the door or slam it shut! Guess what? God's answer was as clear as day!

I remember the day like it was yesterday! On the morning of December 8th, I received an email from our adoption agency that the orphanage fees were going up to over $5,000 plus the wait could very well reach 4 years. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a slamming door! I quietly thanked God for the answer--even though I was extremely upset. Did this mean I wasn't going to have another daughter to love? My heart was completely broken! But I had accepted God's answer. I talked with Donnie when he got home and explained to him what God had revealed to me earlier that day. We cried and prayed with each other and felt this was God's will--not to adopt from China.

Then, around 8:30 pm I got the call that changed our lives! It was Cheryl Dunn! She began to talk to me about a non-profit organization that she was going to start working with when she got back to Taiwan. They are an organization birthed from the desire to build relationships with Taiwanese women. They are devoted to helping pregnant women who have no place to go and do not want to have an abortion. Cheryl had spoke to one of the women who runs the home and told her about our family and our circumstances. (She was not aware of what had gone on earlier that day) They were very excited to hear about us and told Cheryl to tell us to send in an adoption application. They were wanting to start doing international adoption and would like for us to be their "guinea pigs". Plus, Cheryl would be the foster mom to our baby before we went to pick her up! Is God not AMAZING?!?! He had slammed one door shut and opened another one for us--all on the same day!

But--all of this happening in one day totally freaked me out! TOTALLY!!!!! I called my best friend Debbie crying my eyes out hysterically! Before I could even get the whole story told to her, she was in her car and on the way to my house! Debbie has been such a great friend to me through all of this. There will never be any way for me to show her how much I love her and appreciate her friendship! God definitely blessed me immensely when he gave me my best friend and sister by heart...Debbie Jo! By the time she left, I was calmed down. But I was still worried about how we were going to afford it!

On December 12th I talked with Cheryl again! I just came out and asked her, "If we decide to do this, can our family stay with you in Taiwan when we pick up our daughter?" Her answer was like music to my ears! "Of course you can! We would love that!" Another answered prayer!

On December 17th, I emailed them our application and we were approved! After Wednesday night church, Cheryl called Taiwan to ask them a few questions. I had her ask them exactly what the cost was going to be. I really needed to see for sure if we could afford this. What Cheryl told me brought me to tears! They were going to waive all of the Taiwan fees--they did not want us to worry about money. They just wanted us to focus on bringing our little girl home! PRAISE JESUS!!! Our biggest and only expense was going to be airfare!

Someone recently sent me this scripture: "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." Psalm 20:4 I am reminded in this scripture that even though our plans were to adopt from China--God had bigger and better plans! He knew our daughter, Mylee, was in Taiwan all along. I believe that our journey throughout 2008, even though we walked through many a valley, helped us to be drawn closer to God! After all, isn't that what God wants. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." And just look at the mountain we are standing on now! Shouting God's grace and mercy to all who will hear!

This journey for us is not quite over! Not until our daughter from Taiwan is placed into the arms of her forever family! Which will more than likely happen this year! All I can say right now is...GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!

IT'S A MOUSE--OR IS IT???

2009-01-07T10:28:00.006-06:00

I was standing in the kitchen the other day and I saw a mouse run into our bedroom. I told Donnie to get a trap so we could kill it. By the time we went to bed, we still had not caught it. On Monday morning Dillon came running up the stairs and said he saw the mouse in the family room. Then he said he saw it run into the laundry room, so he shut the door and put towels along the bottom so it wouldn't get out. Okay!?! So, after the kids went to school I got a trap and went downstairs to put it in the laundry room. When I opened up the door, the stupid thing was just walking around in there like he owned the place. And, it sure didn't look like a mouse to me! Anyway, I put the trap on the floor and didn't go down the rest of the day. When Dillon got home, we opened the door to see if we had caught it. Well, either this little rodent didn't get hungry all day long or it's very, very smart--because it was still walking around in that laundry room very well alive! If this little animal was going to be in there all day long--the least it could have done was finish up my laundry!

When Donnie got home, he took a bucket and caught the mouse/mole and put it in the field across the road! I looked the thing up on-line and I think it was a shrew! Who cares what it was as long as it's not in my house anymore!

This is a video I took by just cracking the door to the laundry room

This is a video of my brave children when Donnie was catching the thing in a bucket!

MACI'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.....

2009-01-05T19:37:00.007-06:00

Today was a day that Maci has been looking forward to for weeks--her first day of pre-school! She went right to bed last night reminding me that school was tomorrow! When she woke up she again reminded me that she was going to school! She was so excited she was going to get to use her new backpack that Santa got her! Once we got there she acted a little scared, but she was a very big girl when Mommy kissed her goodbye and went home. Then the best part of the day was getting to ride the bus home with Sissy! I would say Maci had a FANTASTIC first day of school!

"Look at my new backpack Santa got me!"

"I'm ready for school Mommy!"

Just before we left--Maci is telling me how excited she is to go to school!

Maci with the "deer in the headlights" look.

Making friends

Doing a little drawing

Maci and her teacher, Miss Higginson

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY #10 - FAVORITE 2008 FOTO

2009-01-02T17:40:00.000-06:00

This picture is most definitely my "Favorite of 2008". I was just snapping shots of Maci in the back yard when I took this. I think this photo captures everything about her! Those beautiful dark eyes, that sweet little smile, her pure innocence. When I look at this picture...it just takes my breath away! Thank you God for my perfect little girl!

NEW YEARS EVE AT THE KEMPERS.....

2008-12-31T23:46:00.003-06:00

Several of us from church went to Troy and Trish Kemper's house for New Year's Eve. The gals all sit around the table and played games, while the guys watched western movies. It was a lot of fun!

This is about as much excitement as we could get out of the guys

Me, Theresa, Teresa and Cathy kicked the other girls butts in "Buzzword"

Julie and Trish

All of the ladies getting ready to play a game

And Troy thought he wouldn't be in any of the pictures!
Just hangin' out!

All of the kids watching the ball drop

Maci wasn't sure what to think of everyone kissing and hugging at midnight!

As soon as the clock struck midnight--we were all heading out the door! Man are we old!?!

SHINER.....

2008-12-30T17:39:00.000-06:00

My little baby was running and fell and hit the corner of a box. Needless to say--this is what she got. A BIG-OLE-BLACK-EYE!!!

GIFT EXCHANGE WITH HEIDY.....

2008-12-29T21:56:00.000-06:00

The girls exchanged their Christmas presents tonight! They were so cute! After they opened them they played dress up, put lots of make-up on and then pretended to wash each others hair.

Heidy got Maci some Disney Princess shoes.....

.....and the Rose Petal Cottage table and chairs

Maci got Heidy a make-up kit and bunch of lip gloss

Look at all of that lip gloss!!!!

Just puttin' on a little make-up

Heidy is such a little beautician

Heidy is washing Maci's hair

Now Maci is washing Heidy's hair

My little Princess

MY BROTHERS AND SISTER AND ME.....

2008-12-28T22:57:00.000-06:00

This has been the first time in a long time since all of my brother's and sister have been together for Christmas at Granny and Gramps house. I had to get a picture--since this might not happen again for another very long time!

From left to right is Kevin (the youngest), Tammy (39), Me (41), and Chris (next to youngest)

I'm so bad--I don't know how old Chris and Kevin are

CHRISTMAS WITH THE YOKEL'S.....

2008-12-28T16:08:00.001-06:00

We all got together today and celebrated Christmas with my Grandma and Grandpa Yokel. The only one who wasn't there was my dad. Me and my Aunt Marilyn brought all the food so Grandma wouldn't have to cook--but she ended up making a cake and a relish tray anyway. We all had a really good time and I think it meant a lot to Granny and Gramps that we were all there together.

My beautiful and handsome Grandma and Grandpa Yokel

Maci and Tristan are kissin' cousins!

Whitney and Tristan

Justin, A.J., Jeremy and Megan (my sister's kids)

Granny and Tristan

Granny, Jeremy and her great-great grandson Tristan

Peyton and my neice Raven

Tammy and her boyfriend James (We call him "Hootie" because we think he looks like Hootie

from "Hootie and the Blowfish)

My Uncle Barry and Aunt Marilyn from Charleston

Precious pic of me, Granny and Gramps

Grandma with her great-grandbabies Maci and Raven

My sister Tammy

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY #9 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-26T22:23:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!

CHRISTMAS MORNING 2008.....

2008-12-25T22:42:00.001-06:00

Christmas morning started later than usual this year! The kids actually slept until around 7:30. We always have a big breakfast before opening presents--so it was about 8:30 before we ate. After breakfast we all went down and the kids opened their stockings from Santa first! Then Maci opened her Santa present--and then the chaos began!

The Christmas tree on Christmas morning!

The kids cheezing it up for me in front of the tree

Checking out the loot Santa left in their stockings--or should I say bags!

Dillon digging to the bottom

Whitney got Dillon & Peyton "Guitar Hero".....they were very happy!!!

And this is how the family room looked after all the gifts were opened!!! YIKES!!!!!

Maci got an Easy Bake Oven...so she couldn't wait to bake a cake

Whitney helping Maci put the cake in the oven

My little baker!!!

That has got to be the most beautiful cake I have ever seen!!!

Dillon gives us "2 thumbs up" for his Patriots Helmet hat

Maci looks a bit exhausted from all of that gift opening

"GOTCHA" MEMORIES.....

2008-12-24T16:21:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that 2 years ago today, our precious little Maci was placed into the arms of her forever family! I can remember that day so clearly and it still brings tears to my eyes. Maci we love you so much and we are so glad that God chose you as our beautiful daughter!

To celebrate "Gotcha Day" we went to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in Vincennes. The only thing we were missing was a serenade of "Jinger Bers" and a "FaRaRaRaRa" to make our own version of the "Christmas Story". We filled our bellies with lots of yummy Chinese food and then presented Maci with a gift from China that we bought for her while we were there. I think she really liked the dolls--she carries them around with her all the time! It was a great way to share with our kids the time that we spent in China.

The owner of the restaurant calls Maci our little "Noodle Girl"

Maci and her "Gotcha Day" gift

CHRISTMAS EVE AT GRANDMA & GRANDPAS.....

2008-12-24T12:28:00.000-06:00

We spent the evening of Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa Farmer's. We always have a great time at their house! After opening all of our gifts, we played the game "Imaginiff". It was so much fun! I think we played until almost midnight.

Christmas Family Foto

Maci...videotaping daddy

Opening presents

Maci had to put on her High School Musical cheerleading outfit as soon as she got it

Daddy and Maci playing a little Dora Bingo

Now it's Grandma's turn to play Bingo

CRAZY CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS SUNDAY.....

2008-12-21T19:36:00.000-06:00

We had our Christmas Party in God's Gym (children's church) this Sunday. We have "Crazy Sunday" every 6 weeks and it just so happened that it fell on the Sunday before Christmas. "Crazy Sunday" is a day we set aside to be a little "CRAZY" for Jesus! We've had Crazy Hair Sunday, Crazy Sock Sunday & Crazy for Sports Sunday, just to name a few! We decided that on this Sunday it was going to be "Crazy Christmas Pajamas Sunday"! The kids just loved it...and I have to say the adults really got into it--including me!

I had to go out and buy Maci some really cute Christmas PJ's! I ended up finding a pair of green silk pajamas that she looked absolutely adorable in!

We had our "Muscle Money" store open for the kids to spend their muscle money in. We made Christmas reindeer out of Nutter Butter cookies, M&M's & pretzels. We served up a smorgasboard of treats and goodies, and we all watched "Alvin & the Chipmunks". It was sooooo much fun!!!!

Gabi with my snowmen on her head

Just a few of our kids in their PJ's

Maci blowing bubbles

Getting a little help from one of our elves

MMMmmmm....this icing sure is good!!!

Maci making her reindeer

This is Peyton's reindeer cookie.....

.....and this is Maci's reindeer cookie!

BEST BUDS.....

2008-12-21T19:05:00.006-06:00

I took this picture of the girls at the wedding reception the other night. Heidy and Maci are definitely "Best Buds". The girls play so great together and Maci's face just lights up when she sees Heidy. I hope they stay close their whole lives!

WINTER WEDDING FUN.....

2008-12-20T23:38:00.000-06:00

Some very good friend of ours got married this weekend--Natalie and Nate Stevenson! It was an absolutely beautiful winter wedding! The happy couple had a reception afterwards and we all had a great time! Maci had a blast dancing to the music!

Mr. & Mrs. Stevenson

What a beauty!

My little snow princess!!!

Maci going in to give Jayla a kiss

Look Mom...we're stars!!!

Auntie Debbie and Maci dancing the twist!

Gettin' Jiggy with it!

PRE-K SCREENING.....

2008-12-19T11:54:00.000-06:00

Since Maci had aged out of Early Intervention, she can now go to Pre-K. They already have a spot for her, but she still had to be screened. I had to work, so Grandma took her. Mom said she did pretty good. Now all Maci can talk about is SCHOOL!!!!! She is so excited about Pre-K, but I think she is most excited about getting to ride the bus home with Sissy!

Maci drawing her circles

Stacking blocks

Giving Grandma a grin for a picture

WE'RE GONNA MISS YOU TERRI.....

2008-12-16T18:53:00.000-06:00

Maci had her last speech therapy session with Terri today! It was a very sad day. Terri has been so good with Maci. From day one they just clicked! Maci was always so excited to see Terri and would just talk up a storm for her! I'm very grateful to Terri for working with Maci every week! She just had a way of getting Maci to say her words and phrases, even before we could get her to say them. She will be missed by me and by Maci!

Little Miss Maci and Terri

FANTASY OF LIGHTS.....

2008-12-13T22:32:00.001-06:00

We all loaded up in the van and went to Evansville to the "Fantasy of Lights" at Garvin Park tonight. We had never been there before, but it was a lot of fun! When you drive around the park you put your radio on a certain station and Christmas music plays. The lights were really pretty! Maci just loved it! She kept asking if this was Santa's home!

HO-HO.....

2008-12-11T23:00:00.000-06:00

I have been really talking to Maci about Santa this year. Last year she wouldn't even hardly get close to him. But this year she kept saying she wanted to sit on his lap. So we went uptown to see if "Ho-Ho" was in his house. I walked Maci up and we peeked in the window to see him. I took her coat off of her and she went straight to Santa and let him put her on his lap. Then she told him she wanted a baby doll and a cook (Easy Bake Oven). I couldn't believe my eyes! Maci couldn't hardly wait to get home to tell Daddy, Bubby and Sissy that she sat on Ho-Ho's lap!

ARRANGED MARRIAGE.....

2008-12-11T10:25:00.002-06:00

This is little Alex Brame, our youth minister's son. Alex's mom, Emily and I have decided that Maci and Alex are going to marry each other when they are older. I think he already has a crush on Maci anyway--he comes into my office at the church and points to her picture and smiles. Just look at that face...what a cutie!!!

MACI IN ALL HER CUTENESS.....

2008-12-10T22:13:00.000-06:00

BOW FRO.....

2008-12-10T13:37:00.005-06:00

During Thanksgiving weekend, Peyton's friend from camp--Sidney, came to stay with us. They dressed up a little crazy and decided to put my bows all over Maci's head. Thus...the bow fro! I think it is pretty great advertisement! It looks like Maci put on her own lipstick
Look at all of those pretty bows

Peyton, Maci and Sidney are looking a little scary

The girls strike a pose!!!

STUCK! STUCK! STUCK!

2008-12-08T18:01:00.002-06:00

We absolutely love the movie "The Christmas Story" at our house! So this year at Thanksgiving, Whitney wanted to do a little re-enactment of her favorite part in the movie...Flick's tongue getting stuck to the frozen light pole. I personally think her version is better than the original!!!

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY #8 - MY FAMILY

2008-12-05T16:57:00.011-06:00

My four gorgeous and amazing children!!!!

Me and my wonderful husbandWhitney, Peyton and Maci trying to look like "Charlie's Angels" As you can see, Dillon is not impressed.Still being silly

SWIMMING IN DECEMBER.....

2008-12-02T17:25:00.004-06:00

Last night Maci found one of her swim suits, started putting it on and told me she wanted to go swimming. I told her it was too cold to go swimming outside. So, my very smart little girl went in her bedroom and brought me her winter coat and said, "Swimming--coat on!" How funny!!!

WEEEEE.....

2008-11-29T19:21:00.003-06:00

Dillon came up with this bright idea to make a slide out of couch cushions and a sleeping bag for Maci. I will have to say it worked pretty great! Maci had so much fun! Now when she goes down to the family room, she will point to the couch and say "Slide Bubby".

ROLLERS, HIGH HEELS & A MAGIC WAND.....

2008-11-28T14:03:00.002-06:00

We go to our small group every Sunday night and Peyton babysits Maci for us. This is what we came home to one Sunday evening. Peyton had rolled Maci's hair in rollers and put some of her dress up clothes on. I believe she might have even got into the make-up. A fairy godmother in rollers...go figure!

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Favorite Foto Friday #7 - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

2008-11-21T20:39:00.001-06:00

This picture was taken over a year ago and is still one of my favorites! Whitney had just fixed Maci's hair and it ticked her off! Then we all started laughing and that made her even more mad!

I don't care what anyone says--my baby is still adorable even when she is throwing a crying fit!

NOT SO WORDLESS WEDNESDAY.....

2008-11-19T10:20:00.001-06:00

My little Maci is just about too big to take a bath in the sink...which means she is growing way too fast. Donnie snapped these pictures Sunday morning and they were so sweet I couldn't resist posting them.

PEYTON'S FIRST GYM MEET.....

2008-11-09T21:32:00.000-06:00

Peyton has been in gymnastics for quite a while now, so we finally decided to put her in competition. She had her first meet today after church. We arrived about an hour early so she could watch some of the girls compete. She was really nervous but she did just great! She placed third on the trampoline, third in floor and got first on the double-mini! She was so excited and is really practicing really hard for her next competition in December. Dad and Peyton watching the other girls compete
Warming up

Talking to Karen right before her first pass

Peyton receiving her very first medal

Salute!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY.....

2008-11-05T16:10:00.009-06:00

GRANNY MACI.....

2008-11-04T18:25:00.000-06:00

Me and Maci went to visit my Grandma today. While we were there, grandma decided to stick her wig (Gretchen) on Maci's head. I think Maci makes a pretty cute old lady!

FALL FESTIVAL 2008.....

2008-10-26T22:00:00.001-05:00

Our church had its annual Fall Festival on October 26th. We normally have it inside, but this year we were able to have it outside in our field. It was so great! We had all sorts of inflatables, lots of different carnival games, balloon animals, face painting, soap carving (which the kids love), karaoke, pony rides, a petting zoo, Trunk-r-Treat, popcorn, cotton candy, chicken-dogs (my favorite), nachos, pretzels, hot dogs, hamburgers and new this year, Pickle-on-a-stick!

We encourage everyone to dress up--even the adults! My family always gets into the whole costume thing! I believe we had over 450 register this year--but I know there was a lot more people there! It was so much fun! I can't wait until next year.

Our youth pastor got on the roof and took the next 2 pictures

Maci as Raggedy Ann
Peyton was a bottle of Ketchup

That's me! Ain't I purty?

Darth VaderAKA...Donnie Farmer

Maci taking a ride on the pony

Standing in line for food

This years Trunk-r-Treat winners

Registration

Our balloon clown

This was the Pre-School area

MYLEE'S CHIC BOWTIQUE.....

2008-10-22T22:00:00.009-05:00

I've finally got our Bowtique up and running! It's taken me a while to figure it all out! I have found out I am not as computer savvy as I thought I was. Anyhow, be sure to check out "Mylee's Chic Bowtique". It's a website that has a variety of bowtique outfits, pillowcase dresses, twirl skirts, bowtique bows, embroidered socks and greeting cards all "Handmade with Love". All of the money that we raise is going to go towards the adoption of our daughter in China. You've probably figured it out by now that her name will be Mylee! We are really wanting to take all of the kids to China with us this time, so we have a lot of money to raise. But God is faithful and there is no doubt in my mind all of the funds will be raised!

Just click on the "Mylee's Chic Bowtique" tag to the left and it will link you to our site. I don't have everything on it yet, so please check back daily. Tell all your friends...and don't forget to leave a comment!

BIRTHDAY PARTY.....

2008-10-01T20:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday after church, Madisyn Etheridge had her "3rd" Birthday Party. It was a lot of fun! They had a jumpy castle and a craft table for the girls to make things. Of course the cake and ice cream was a plus too! After the party I took some pics of Maci outside. She didn't cooperate very well. These are some of the better ones!

Don't forget to leave a comment! I love seeing who is visiting our blog! Thank You!

MOMMY, YOU ARE SO FUNNY.....

2008-10-01T19:03:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to leave a comment! I love seeing who is visiting our blog!

ANOTHER DAY AT GYMNASTICS.....

2008-09-30T06:27:00.000-05:00

Maci is really loving gymnastics. "Nastics" as she says it. Donnie got to go with us this time and snap some pictures.

A FAMILY VISIT FROM TEXAS.....

2008-09-30T06:07:00.000-05:00

My Aunt Alice and cousins Connie and Vicky came up from Texas to visit. My grandma and Aunt are very very close. I think it has been about 5 or 6 years since they have seen each other, so this was a very emotional goodbye.

Granny and GrampsSnapping a picture before they head back home

Grandma and Aunt Alice are like sisters
A tearful goodbye

MY NEPHEW GRADUATES FROM THE MARINES.....

2008-09-29T06:04:00.014-05:00

My nephew Justin just graduated from the Marines and he came home to visit for a week. Justin lived with us for a while when he was younger, so he's pretty special to me. When he leaves he will be going to South Carolina for training and we won't get to talk to him again until Thanksgiving. So we tried to spend as much time with him as we could.

My mom had a dinner for him and had all the family over. Justin told us all about his time in boot-camp and how hard it was both physically and mentally. We were all very excited to get to see him! Maci refused to smile
Getting ready to show Dillon some moves Are you ready?
Dillon's down...
Face it Dillon...you lose!
Giving Peyton the shake-down
Justin and his nephew, Tristan
Tristan just loves Justin...I think Justin loves him tooThere is a little smile on Maci's face

GABI AND MACI.....

2008-09-25T18:47:00.009-05:00

I took these pics of Maci and Gabi several weeks ago at church. They looked so cute sitting there together I couldn't resist.

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY # 6 - HOPE

2008-09-19T22:32:00.006-05:00

This is where I find my HOPE...

in Jesus Christ.

May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

HEIDY SPENDS THE NIGHT.....

2008-09-13T22:01:00.006-05:00

My friend Debbie called yesterday and asked if Heidy could stay all night tonight because her hubby Mark had planned a "Date" for them at New Harmony. Of course I said it would be okay. Maci loves it when Heidy comes over to play, so I knew she would be thrilled that she was going to stay all night.

Heidy arrived around 4:30 pm and informed me that her mommy and daddy were going on a date. When I asked her what she thought they were going to do on their date she said "I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO KISS!" And then she covered her face like she was embarrassed. She then pointed her finger at me and said, "THAT IS OUR LITTLE SECRET, OKAY!" I laughed and laughed at her! Some of the things that come out of Heidy's mouth are just hilarious. Or as Heidy says, "HIWARIOUS!"

Heidy and Maci had so much fun together! They jumped on the trampoline, had a tea party and played dress-up. We ordered a pizza for supper and then they took a bath. I made a bed on the living room floor for them to sleep on. I popped them some popcorn and they both laid down and watched "Daddy Day Care". It wasn't long before they finally pooped out!

I took a few pictures of them, but everytime I tried Heidy turned her head. Except for the ones in the bathtub.

Watching TV in the office

Bathtime

Do you think you have enough toys?

They were asleep by 9:00 PM

IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON.....

2008-08-30T22:35:00.001-05:00

The season has started for Dillon as a Mt. Carmel High School Aces football player. It's hard to believe he is a freshman already! We had a morning game today and the weather was great! Dillon played really well and the team ended up winning! Donnie took all the pictures this time--he didn't do half bad! Dillon is #81.

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY #5 - BLACK & WHITE

2008-08-29T21:04:00.003-05:00

I love taking black and white pictures. These are some of my favorites.

This is my all time favorite. Doesn't she just look absolutely precious?

SLIPPERY, SOAPY TRAMPOLINE.....

2008-08-23T09:41:00.004-05:00

Peyton had a friend stay this weekend and they came up with the idea to put the sprinkler on the trampoline and then pour shampoo all over it. The girls were slipping and sliding everywhere!!! I think they used almost 2 bottles of shampoo, but they had so much fun! Just listen to Maci giggling on the video. And what was great for me when they were finally done playing--Maci had already had her shower and her hair was washed!!!

FAVORITE FRIDAY FOTO #4 - FRIENDS WITH STUFFING!!!

2008-08-22T17:54:00.006-05:00

Maci doesn't have a favorite stuffed animal, but she does have her blankie, that we have respectfully named "Connie."

When we traveled to China to get Maci, we took along several blankies and a taggie for her to sleep with. But, she didn't want to have anything to do with them. We were even told by the orphanage that she had a favorite handkerchief--so we thought maybe she might like one of Donnie's handkerchiefs. But that didn't work either. What were we going to give her as her security blanket?

When we were on the flight home, the flight attendant gave us a blanket to cover up with. Well guess what? Maci took that blanket and put it straight up to her face and almost immediately went to sleep. Me and Donnie just looked at each other and laughed! Maci's new security blankie was a Continental Airlines blanket!!! That's why we call the blankie Connie!

After being home about 4 months, Maci's blanket was beginning to get a little worn. I never thought about taking 2 or 3 blankets--I just took the one. So I emailed Continental and explained to them what had happened and asked them if I could purchase some blankets off of them. Continental actually called me and told me how cute they thought the story was and that they wanted to feature an article in their "Continental Magazine" about Maci and her security blanket. They also sent Maci a care package with several blankets, a t-shirt, a toy airplane, a backpack and several cards and letters from Continental employees who had also adopted. Click here to read the article in Continental Magazine.

Here are just a few pictures of Maci with her beloved Connie!!!

POTTY TRAINING.....

2008-08-19T12:55:00.000-05:00

Now that school has started, I have decided to concentrate on potty training Maci. I tried a couple of weeks ago but it just wasn't working out too well. So...I totally and completely stole an idea from my friend Gina Bradshaw. Gina and her husband Eddie traveled to China to get their daughter Eden when we got Maci. Thanks Gina for such a brilliant idea!!!

I bought this "Vending Machine Bank" at Walmart for $10. Whenever Maci goes pee-pee in the potty we give her a coin or a dollar bill to put in the bank (2 if she goes poo-poo). Of course we have to give high-fives, clap and sing the "Maci went Pee-Pee" song first. She then gets to choose from the vending machine what her prize will be. Some examples we have put in the machine are miniature candy bars, tootsie rolls, stickers, Hello Kitty bandaids, rings, bracelets, smarties and these really cool little discs that you stick in water and they turn into a small towel. See pic below. The bandaids and towels seems to be her favorite right now.

Anyway, this whole process is really working great with very few accidents. She does much better in the daytime when the kids are gone--after they get home from school Maci is a little distracted. But I am so excited how well it is going. Check out the video at the bottom.

Maci with her vending machine bank

Eden with her bank
The disc before you add water....

Ta-Da.....it's a towel!