Building Families Through The Miracle Of Adoption

Feb 24, 2009

Happenings.... Thanking the Congressman in person and so much more!


Life has been really busy lately...so much happening! This past Friday night (Feb. 20th) Jason & I attended a dinner where we were able to THANK Congressman McHenry in person! It was a great feeling to say "THANK YOU" face to face and let him know how much we appreciate his representation. His response, "it's my job"! He made our adoption process (RFE and all) a "personal" issue and that is WHY we are forever grateful! David McCrary his constituent director in the Hickory, NC office was WONDERFUL! I told the Congressman that David started taking my phone calls (DAILY...I am being very serious) on April 16, 2008 and I talked to him daily until we left for VN in late August 2008. NOW THAT IS REPRESENTATION! We shared photos of Halle-Grace, he thought she was a beauty and is excited to meet her in person!
Another great perk about the dinner that we attended with our good friends Stan & Penny Shaw (while Jelly was baby sitting Little Miss Magic at our home) was meeting the Gov. of Utah, Jon Huntsman! WOW!!! I am pretty sure I cried at least 3 times during his talk! VERY IMPACTFUL speaker!! He and his wife (Mary Kay, who has NC roots) have 7 children...two of their children...they adopted internationally (well, you know my EARS perked up...thinking he could help with a new MOU between VN and America?!) He spoke about the beauty of life and his admiration for his children's "biological mother" especially on mother's day! It was so neat to feel that connection...I remembered my feelings especially on Halle-Grace's 1st birthday. I thought about how Halle-Grace's birth mom gave us the MOST AMAZING gift when she made the decision to give Halle-Grace LIFE! I admire her for her courage and thank her EVERY SINGLE DAY even though I have NO idea who she is, where she is and if she is even alive, I pray for her daily! I pray God gives her a glimpse of Halle-Grace's life and how she GAVE the most amazing GIFT and we love Halle-Grace more than I thought ANYONE COULD EVEN LOVE ANYBODY!!! Her decision was a decision of unconditional love! She gave her the opportunity to have a DEVINE life! OH, the thought of it being any different makes me shutter! SO, as Gov. & Mrs. Huntsman were leaving the country club dinner to make their way to the National Gov. meeting, Jason takes his BRAG book and darts after them! I saw him as he chased them to the door and of course they were stopped in their tracks when they saw the beautiful images of our Halle-Grace! It was a great NIGHT!!! Watch for Gov. Huntsman in 2012?? Who knows but how cool would it be to tell Halle-Grace, "when he was the Gov. of Utah we shared your story and photos...he said you were BEAUTIFUL...and now he is _____? Who knows, he could be the next President?? His message was powerful. He said that America has three values that sets us apart *LIFE, LIBERTY, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS and added "Economic Freedom"! When we arrived back home, Halle-Grace was sacked out in Jelly's arms sleeping but woke up in time to ride her pink poodle. If you remember from a previous post, Stan, Penny & Jelly gave the rocking pink poodle to Miss Magic! On Saturday, Granny brought Lizzy & Zoey to play and to get a photo of her blessings...here is the beautiful picThe picture displays their cute faces AND personalities! They played so hard! Lizzy had the MOST fun playing Guitar Hero with Jason on the Wii *and I must add, she is really good*
So, now it is Tuesday evening and I am posting this from Las Vegas! I am working the AAOS this week. Jason left on Monday for Dallas, TX for a two day meeting with AZ and THANK THE LORD for Granny! She has been a saving grace! She is staying at our house with Halle-Grace. She takes her to Maa Maa's house during the days and then picks her back up and they have PLAY MARATHONS till bedtime...I think I can smell the rotten from Vegas! I was told Halle-Grace CRIED for Granny when she left Maa Maa's house this morning (HELLO, she doesn't cry for me???) Little monkey--she is so darn cute and I miss her so much! I cried when I left her, so she should CRY FOR ME TOO!
MORE......She is up to SO much these days...she says "be back", "good girl", calls the cat "mal", loves her refrig. leap frog phonic alphabet and has the "i" down pat! She draws it out (our southern belle)! She also says BAA BAA for Bye Bye...and she says "I...as she points near her eye (see pic)crosses her arms to say love then points at herself normally for you (I guess because we point at her when we say it...she is a copy cat)! She loves southern cooking *thanks to Maa Maa* and plays NON-STOP! When she is UP, she is UP! She is constantly on the move, talking, singing...loves the jogger stroller (she & Jason jog daily)BUT just wait till the summer and I teach her water babies in our pool! Then she will be a little fish! DON'T worry, we are getting a pool alarm (safety is MOST important)!!!
I know you have heard, "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it"...so, I rest knowing HE is the one who ultimately watches over us all! And finally, WE are finished with all post-adoption sessions! YEAH!!!
Please pray for Jason to have safe travels home tomorrow (Wed) I know he is ready to see his baby girl (who is 100% DADDY'S PRINCESS). Also, say a special prayer for Nanny's neck. She has been in a lot of pain but the doc is going to fix her up...hopefully SOON! We gotta have our "SHOPPER" back...I am sure Wal-mart and Coach stock are falling (now that is a combination...LOL)! Halle-Grace says, "Nanny, I will be the surgeons assistant and take good care of you just like I did for mama's surgery"

I hope this catches us up *well at least a summary* I need to prepare for my long days ahead at AAOS. I am thankful that when I have to be away, I have a career that I love (that makes the world of difference)! STILL, my most important and rewarding job is being MAMA to Halle-Grace and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLy LOVE this career and I will NEVER retire!!!

PS. Miss my hens and think of you ladies DAILY! Can't wait to see you ALL in June!

Feb 19, 2009

15 months old today...Happy Birthday Aunt Sally


Halle-Grace is 15 months old today! The person who coined the phrase "time flies when you're having fun" is one smart cookie! She is definitely getting taller and her hair is growing out of control. She's gonna look like Crystal Gayle before we know it! She is a BUSY little girl. She NEVER sits still, she is ALWAYS on the move! She is chatting up a storm and continues to mimic anything we do.
She is very smart and doesn't forget *which can sometimes be a slight problem* out of sight, out of mind, she does not BUY any longer!
She loves to SPEED read, which means, if you are going to read her a book YOU better read fast because she flips the pages in a flash!! Jason has the ABCs and numbers written on her chalkboard in her toy room. They practice them at least twice a day! Any of you who "really" know Jason, know that he is highly intelligent (seriously)! He should be a writer (right Jamye? unlike the blogger here who can't stay on task)....what I am trying to say IS-- it is VERY important to Jason to "teach" Halle-Grace something daily! I think he is an AWESOME dad in so many ways! This kid is stinking rotten! She has so many people who are NUTS over her...it's beyond LOVE...She truly has a magnetic personality... before you know it she has pulled you in...and you are STUCK! I really wish time could stall...but then again, what would we miss? Everyday brings something new, fun, exciting! Jason & I feel like kids on Christmas Eve most every night! We talk about what she did, how adorable she looked in her outfit (by the way, she needs another closet for all of the gifts she STILL receives), the funny moments and...then we go to bed excited to see what tomorrow will bring! I BET MORE MAGIC!

Feb 18, 2009

Happy Birthday Nanny!!!

Today is Nanny's 40+++++++++++++++++ birthday!
OH, she is just a spring chicken! WE LOVE YOU NANNY! We hope your day is as wonderful and special as you are! EVERY child deserves a "Nanny" like Halle-Grace, Hunter & Hannah have...and Suzanne & I are SO blessed to call you MOM!

We love you and we pray God blesses us with many more years to celebrate your day, the day the world became a better place many moons ago!

Happy Birthday, we love you!

Feb 17, 2009

Personality!!!

Our MISS PHOTOGENIC! WOW!!!

Little Miss MAKE-UP...got into mama's make-up (scary thing is she knows where things go...except what she thinks is blush is eye shadow?)
Still loves shoes!!! Wants to put EVERY pair on that she owns, loves her SPARKLES

Dances ALL the time! 7am WOO HOO!
Hair grows over night (seriously)! Wakes up with all types of styles...what does this look like to you? Jason can vouch...we did not create these horns!!

Feb 16, 2009

Beautiful Chicken

Lulu has a new blog. www.beautifulchicken.com AND her mom, M....has a NEW pink camera so we can expect lots more photos of the photogenic princess! We miss Lulu!!! We will get to see her and many other TQ babes at SESAME PLACE in June! We are SO excited!

Nanny's birthday is Wednesday (Feb. 18th)!!!

Feb 14, 2009

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW GALLERY IN PHOTOBUCKET
Valentine Princess

Feb 11, 2009

Devine Valentine 2009!

Our first Valentine's Day with our tiny miracle...now THIS is what LOVE is ALL ABOUT! I have to admit... I never believed in "love at first sight"...until Little Miss Magic came into our lives!
She is such a sweetheart! We are SO excited about this Valentine's Day! We have "Little Miss Magic" to share it with!
As you can see, she is already enjoying her rocking "pink poodle"! Stan and Penny showered her with this special Valentine's Day gift. Thank you! She loves her "Pink Poodle Rocker"! She & the Pink Poodle are just TOO CUTE!!!


Feb 4, 2009

The sweetest thing...AND Snow on Mama's Birthday


I received this photo in an email from Suzanne. Hannah is sleeping with a photo of Halle-Grace (you can see it in the bed with her to the left)...now how sweet is that? She told Suzanne that she can't WAIT until Halle-Grace is old enough so they can spend the night together. This just melted my heart! Since the "blog" is serving as a "storybook" for Halle-Grace, I try and post/type all of the little and big things as she will someday have ALL of these pages in a binder, or file cabinets (HA HA) to read.

Look snowing on Mama's Birthday!CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE TO VIEW GALLERY....
THANK YOU Papa Dale and Granny for helping us out this week when daddy had night class!!! It is VERY much appreciated!!! SO, it snowed on my birthday (Feb. 3rd) but just for a little while. Not enough to cover the ground but Nanny received at least 2 inches at her house! The day I was born 30++++ years ago it was snowing in Shelby, NC! So this has been the BEST birthday ever! My family is safe, happy and healthy (except for minor colds, etc), I saw a little snow, the TARHEELS won and we have our "tiny miracle"...Miss Halle-Grace! God Bless you all...enjoy the pics!

Feb 1, 2009

Pray for Baby Carter

A dear friend of mine, Deanna, who prayed Halle-Grace home is watching her baby boy Carter fight for his tiny life! My heart breaks for Deanna and Andy, two of the most amazing individuals...would give you the shirt off their back, Andy serves our country daily...I could go on & on.
Baby Carter was born at 23 weeks. Only God knows what tomorrow brings but PLEASE pray that He allows this "tiny miracle" to grow up to be a strong little boy with his mom & dad.
Some of the same individuals who prayed/fasted the entire month of Aug. 2008 in efforts to "Bring the Devine Baby Home" (Halle-Grace) are doing the same for baby Carter. Prayer is POWERFUL! When I saw so many people praying/fasting I left the US and headed to Vietnam (without a 1-600 approval) I knew it was time!
PLEASE tell everyone you know to PRAY! All three need our prayers!
God Bless Andy, Deanna and Baby Carter!

Some kind of WONDERFUL!

WALKING on sunshine!CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW GALLERY!!!
It has been a week since I blogged...sorry! Things have been quite busy!! This past week I had a minor medical issue arise that put me out of the loop for a few days. THANK YOU NANNY for taking care of Halle-Grace while Jason served as "head nurse". I married the BEST! He is SO patient and I am a HORRIBLE patient!
Nanny has this spell she can cast on her grandchildren...I can't quite explain it...but Mike Turner will agree! HA HA HA! Nanny, ALL THIS ROTTEN that came back needs to stay at your house next time! GEEZ, this child is SO SPOILED! I think she said WAL-MART today! Halle-Grace and Nanny
Seriously, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU MOM! Papa Gene and Johnny were at her beck and call as well... so you can only imagine! But, that's what grandparents are for...to spoil them rotten...and rotten, SHE is! She loves her Valentine bow...she & Hannah have matching "love bows" I'll take their picture and post it!
Our child is SIMPLY HILARIOUS and SO entertaining! She & Jason are attached at the hip *I admit, it's really sweet*, and she is singing and dancing ALL of the time and saying a lot these days!
Daddy's Girl