Snow bunny
Playing with Daddy in the Snow
SNOW!!!
Ready to watch Miss America~and this is the WINNING walk!
Go Miss NC!
Want to see more photos click here http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Snow%202010/
Jan 30, 2010
Jan 29, 2010
She's MAGICAL
Looks like a serious conversation is taking place (haha)...such a blackberry, iphone (any type of phone) lover!
HG is truly "Little Miss Magic"! I LOVE LOVE LOVE snow...maybe because it was snowing the day I was born (many years ago)? When I was in college we had lots of snow...but since my college days, very little! Since Miss Magic came into our lives it SNOWS!!! Last March we had a big snow and we have LOTS of it on the ground now and it is STILL coming down! It started around 3pm today. Pictures coming soon:)
Praise Report...Mamaw Parker is home from the hospital and Nanny is taking GREAT care of her! They are snowed in too.
Prayer Request....Please keep Scott Thornburg in your prayers. Many of you know Scott. He received one of Jason's kidneys in September 2007. For whatever reason his levels are high! The doctors think his body could be rejecting? PLEASE PRAY they can alter the anti-rejection medications and get everything under control. Scott is in the hospital tonight and we ask you to please pray for him! "Scotty too Hotty", we LOVE you!!! You are in our thoughts and prayers buddy!
Jan 22, 2010
Writing Mamaw Parker a "get well" note
Mamaw Parker is in the hospital. She had surgery yesterday afternoon and is going to have more possibly tomorrow. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you!
Jan 18, 2010
Slashing "red tape" for Haitian Orphans
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/17/haiti.orphans/index.html?hpt=C1
God is GOOD!!! Please continue to pray that Government officials will do what is best for the safety and well being of these innocent, precious children.
God is GOOD!!! Please continue to pray that Government officials will do what is best for the safety and well being of these innocent, precious children.
Jan 15, 2010
"Adoptions of Haitian children thrown into chaos"
The story below brings back memories of the worry that caused sleepless, tear soaked pillow nights each time a hurricane/flooding of any sort ran through TQ before we traveled to adopt HG (none of which were anywhere near as devastating as what happened in Haiti. My heart goes out to everyone in Haiti! The Adoptive Parents are horrified! I can only imagine!!! God please move Government officials to do what is best for the safety of the children!
by: Glen McGregor, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, January 15, 2010
OTTAWA -- In an orphanage in the mountains above the shattered city of Port-au-Prince, twin boys Jacques and Jackson are waiting for the Canadian parents they have never met.
The Poirier family of Regina is adopting the two active 19-month-year-olds and hopes to bring the boys home to Canada to take their place as little brothers of Maia, a five-year-old girl adopted from the same orphanage three years ago.
The Poiriers are among an estimated 100 Canadian families whose adoptions of Haitian children have been thrown into chaos. They are calling on the federal government to fast-track the adoptions and bring the children to their new home.
"It's a matter of the Canadian immigration deciding that, yes, we will accept children who are already in the process," said Laurier Poirier.
Although he has learned from another Canadian family visiting the orphanage this week that the twins are safe, Ms. Poirier worries what will happen if food and water run out.
NDP MP Olivia Chow wants Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to issue emergency visas for the children, allowing their Canadian parents-to-be to travel to the Dominican Republic and overland into Haiti to retrieve the kids. So far, she's had no response from Kenney's office.
Normally, these adoptions must be approved by a Haitian court. But the government building that houses the offices that process the applications is reportedly in ruin, and there are reports that the Haitian judge who signs off on adoptions has been killed.
"There's no Haitian government anymore," says Ms. Chow. "The Canadian parents are ready to fly there to pick them up. They just have to be allowed in."
Ms. Chow says food is running short and orphanages are likely to become more crowded as they take in more children left homeless by the disaster.
Adoptive parents are ready to do whatever it takes to get their children home safely, says Heidi Van Ry, a physiotherapist in Edmonton. She and her husband, Brady, visited Haiti last year to meet the little boy they plan to adopt. They know that Trey, now a year old, is safe in an orphanage far from the city, but they are desperate to bring him home.
"He's just such a wonderful little boy. We love him to pieces. He's our son," she said. "We really need to get all these little guys home."
The news on television is particularly difficult to watch for Canadian families who have already travelled to Haiti to meet the child they will adopt, said Rev. Gordon Lewis, who runs the Toronto-based Mission of Tears, the only agency in Ontario that deals with Haitian adoptions.
"They've already held these children. They know these kids and it is like someone tearing these children from their arms," he said. "It's almost more than they can bear."
His agency has seven Ontario families that have been matched with Haitian children. There were reports on Friday that three teenage girls had been killed in one orphanage, but there has so far been no information about children bound for Canada being injured.
Across the country, a Kelowna, B.C., couple are also anxiously awaiting news of when they can get the little girl they're adopting out of earthquake-crippled country.
Dana Smid was standing in the future bedroom of 19-month-old Carmalisa when she heard the quake had hit.
"We heard that [the orphanage] swayed ... they could actually see it swaying back and forth," she said.
Dana and her husband, Ryan, recently visited Haiti to spend time with Carmalisa and sign some legal documents; since the adoption still didn't have final approval, they returned to Canada without her.
The Smids heard quickly the child was unharmed but the Haitian judge in charge of the adoption wasn't so lucky, he was killed. They now worry the paperwork could also have been lost, which could force them to start all over again.
"We wait so long and its been so emotional and we fought so hard to get her home," said Dana. "The thought of having to do that all again and leave my daughter there breaks my heart."
"It's time to bend the rules and get children home to their families," Ryan added.
Many of the children have been sleeping outside their orphanages for at least two or three nights because of the fear of aftershocks.
Though reports indicate the children in the orphanages are safe, he is concerned about the kids living with families in Haiti and awaiting adoption by relatives in Canada. Getting information about these children is difficult.
God's Littlest Angels, the Petionville orphanage where Jacques and Jackson now live, withstood the earthquakes and its children are safe, said Jerry Epp, president of an Alberta organization that helps runs the orphanage.
About 120 children there have been matched with adoptive parents, many of them in Canada, Mr. Epp said. Completion of an adoption in Haiti takes anywhere between 10 months and two years and must be approved by a Haitian court.
"We anticipate this will slow down the process quite a bit."
For parents, the earthquake means longer delays and more uncertainty about the safety of their children. "I can't comprehend what they're going through right now," he says.
Adoption agencies fear that the reams of paperwork required to complete adoptions has literally been lost in the rubble of collapsed government buildings, says Fabienne Dubeau, a volunteer with the Quebec adoption agency Soleil des nations.
Her agency is processing adoptions for about 40 Quebec families, she said.
"They are very courageous. They just want their children to be alive but they know it will be very, very long," she said. Some parents were as close as two weeks from bringing their children home when the earthquake struck.
Also watching closely are families that have already completed Haitian adoptions. Alice Hutton of Ottawa adopted a girl two years ago from God's Littlest Angels.
"It's a difficult thing to explain to a four-year-old. She hears Haiti on the news and her ears perk up, then she hears people are dead."
Some adoptive families stay in touch with the birth parents of the children. Sharon Bellerive of Gatineau, Que., says she was able to learn that the birth father of her two teenage boys, both from Jacmel, Haiti, survived the disaster.
Her boys, aged 14 and 15, have been watching the television coverage, she says
"They're just so glad that they're here and not there."
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=2447400#ixzz0cjX5g90U
by: Glen McGregor, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, January 15, 2010
OTTAWA -- In an orphanage in the mountains above the shattered city of Port-au-Prince, twin boys Jacques and Jackson are waiting for the Canadian parents they have never met.
The Poirier family of Regina is adopting the two active 19-month-year-olds and hopes to bring the boys home to Canada to take their place as little brothers of Maia, a five-year-old girl adopted from the same orphanage three years ago.
The Poiriers are among an estimated 100 Canadian families whose adoptions of Haitian children have been thrown into chaos. They are calling on the federal government to fast-track the adoptions and bring the children to their new home.
"It's a matter of the Canadian immigration deciding that, yes, we will accept children who are already in the process," said Laurier Poirier.
Although he has learned from another Canadian family visiting the orphanage this week that the twins are safe, Ms. Poirier worries what will happen if food and water run out.
NDP MP Olivia Chow wants Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to issue emergency visas for the children, allowing their Canadian parents-to-be to travel to the Dominican Republic and overland into Haiti to retrieve the kids. So far, she's had no response from Kenney's office.
Normally, these adoptions must be approved by a Haitian court. But the government building that houses the offices that process the applications is reportedly in ruin, and there are reports that the Haitian judge who signs off on adoptions has been killed.
"There's no Haitian government anymore," says Ms. Chow. "The Canadian parents are ready to fly there to pick them up. They just have to be allowed in."
Ms. Chow says food is running short and orphanages are likely to become more crowded as they take in more children left homeless by the disaster.
Adoptive parents are ready to do whatever it takes to get their children home safely, says Heidi Van Ry, a physiotherapist in Edmonton. She and her husband, Brady, visited Haiti last year to meet the little boy they plan to adopt. They know that Trey, now a year old, is safe in an orphanage far from the city, but they are desperate to bring him home.
"He's just such a wonderful little boy. We love him to pieces. He's our son," she said. "We really need to get all these little guys home."
The news on television is particularly difficult to watch for Canadian families who have already travelled to Haiti to meet the child they will adopt, said Rev. Gordon Lewis, who runs the Toronto-based Mission of Tears, the only agency in Ontario that deals with Haitian adoptions.
"They've already held these children. They know these kids and it is like someone tearing these children from their arms," he said. "It's almost more than they can bear."
His agency has seven Ontario families that have been matched with Haitian children. There were reports on Friday that three teenage girls had been killed in one orphanage, but there has so far been no information about children bound for Canada being injured.
Across the country, a Kelowna, B.C., couple are also anxiously awaiting news of when they can get the little girl they're adopting out of earthquake-crippled country.
Dana Smid was standing in the future bedroom of 19-month-old Carmalisa when she heard the quake had hit.
"We heard that [the orphanage] swayed ... they could actually see it swaying back and forth," she said.
Dana and her husband, Ryan, recently visited Haiti to spend time with Carmalisa and sign some legal documents; since the adoption still didn't have final approval, they returned to Canada without her.
The Smids heard quickly the child was unharmed but the Haitian judge in charge of the adoption wasn't so lucky, he was killed. They now worry the paperwork could also have been lost, which could force them to start all over again.
"We wait so long and its been so emotional and we fought so hard to get her home," said Dana. "The thought of having to do that all again and leave my daughter there breaks my heart."
"It's time to bend the rules and get children home to their families," Ryan added.
Many of the children have been sleeping outside their orphanages for at least two or three nights because of the fear of aftershocks.
Though reports indicate the children in the orphanages are safe, he is concerned about the kids living with families in Haiti and awaiting adoption by relatives in Canada. Getting information about these children is difficult.
God's Littlest Angels, the Petionville orphanage where Jacques and Jackson now live, withstood the earthquakes and its children are safe, said Jerry Epp, president of an Alberta organization that helps runs the orphanage.
About 120 children there have been matched with adoptive parents, many of them in Canada, Mr. Epp said. Completion of an adoption in Haiti takes anywhere between 10 months and two years and must be approved by a Haitian court.
"We anticipate this will slow down the process quite a bit."
For parents, the earthquake means longer delays and more uncertainty about the safety of their children. "I can't comprehend what they're going through right now," he says.
Adoption agencies fear that the reams of paperwork required to complete adoptions has literally been lost in the rubble of collapsed government buildings, says Fabienne Dubeau, a volunteer with the Quebec adoption agency Soleil des nations.
Her agency is processing adoptions for about 40 Quebec families, she said.
"They are very courageous. They just want their children to be alive but they know it will be very, very long," she said. Some parents were as close as two weeks from bringing their children home when the earthquake struck.
Also watching closely are families that have already completed Haitian adoptions. Alice Hutton of Ottawa adopted a girl two years ago from God's Littlest Angels.
"It's a difficult thing to explain to a four-year-old. She hears Haiti on the news and her ears perk up, then she hears people are dead."
Some adoptive families stay in touch with the birth parents of the children. Sharon Bellerive of Gatineau, Que., says she was able to learn that the birth father of her two teenage boys, both from Jacmel, Haiti, survived the disaster.
Her boys, aged 14 and 15, have been watching the television coverage, she says
"They're just so glad that they're here and not there."
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=2447400#ixzz0cjX5g90U
Jan 10, 2010
US Congressman Patrick McHenry...An Adoption Advocate
Words cannot describe our feelings of gratitude for US Congressman Patrick McHenry! Early 2008, I had a "gut feeling" that things were not going quite the way they should be with HG's adoption process....so, I started contacting politicians left and right! It was our Congressman who stuck by us all the way to Vietnam and was incredibly instrumental in bringing Little Miss Magic home with me! J and I always say "whatever he is running for, we will vote for him". He is one politician who took our issue and personalized it. THANK YOU Congressman McHenry for everything you have done and all that you continue to do. HG will someday look at the above 8X10 photo you sent her for Christmas and say "that is a cool dude"! We all appreciate you! God Bless you!
Jan 9, 2010
Magic Carpet Rides (posted by Little Miss Magic's Daddy)
So, it has been quite a while since I blogged an entry so the need is long overdue. But length of time between entries is not the motivator for me to write about this week. It was a coincidental, or not, occurrence, that leads me to sit and type.
Since the turn of the year I have taken a break from school and part-time work to return to full-time employment. I worked five straight days this week (GASP). As such I made the decision to be intentional to have “date nights” with each of my ladies, HG and S. So this past Wednesday, January 6, was my first “official” date with HG. I didn’t ask, just imposed it upon her, for fear of being rejected and trumped by “Again” which is her way of requesting to watch the Wizard of Oz.
At any rate, the plan was to take her to play land indoors at the local Chick Fil A followed by her first trip to the theater to watch the Princess and The Frog. Trying to keep my usual long-windedness short, I will simply say for various reasons, those plans fell through. The date ended up just being some playful daddy daughter time at home as S excused herself from the mix. What resulted was pretty neat.
After dinner and playing in the den multiple different games we decided to relax in the glider and see if something was on television that might foster her sitting on my lap, be it ever so short lived or not. We happened upon the Disney movie Aladdin, which immediately captivated HG. About half way through watching it the coincidence struck me. The date was Jan 6. It was the first “official” date with HG and we were watching the movie Aladdin. My mind quickly went back 17 years to Jan 30, 1993 and the first “official” date between S and me, going to the theater to watch the movie Aladdin. Completely unplanned or orchestrated, I ended up having my first date with each of my girls surprisingly in similar fashion, albeit, my affection for the younger was more openly received and returned than with the older.
Funny how that works, because then I am struck by the irony of the two dates. For, with the older, time fostered trust and a growing willingness for affection, with the younger, time is the enemy. For there will be someday in the teen years, hopefully short-lived, where the younger will be embarrassed by her overly affectionate father and shy away from public kisses and hugs. But until then, I will relish the opportunity to make her giggle by rapidly smooching her neck and cheek only to have returned to me icy-pop covered lips that make my cheeks sticky and smell like fruit. To many more wonderful dates…I sure do love my girls!
Jason
Photos taken with blackberry. HG sharing her icy pop with daddy.
Since the turn of the year I have taken a break from school and part-time work to return to full-time employment. I worked five straight days this week (GASP). As such I made the decision to be intentional to have “date nights” with each of my ladies, HG and S. So this past Wednesday, January 6, was my first “official” date with HG. I didn’t ask, just imposed it upon her, for fear of being rejected and trumped by “Again” which is her way of requesting to watch the Wizard of Oz.
At any rate, the plan was to take her to play land indoors at the local Chick Fil A followed by her first trip to the theater to watch the Princess and The Frog. Trying to keep my usual long-windedness short, I will simply say for various reasons, those plans fell through. The date ended up just being some playful daddy daughter time at home as S excused herself from the mix. What resulted was pretty neat.
After dinner and playing in the den multiple different games we decided to relax in the glider and see if something was on television that might foster her sitting on my lap, be it ever so short lived or not. We happened upon the Disney movie Aladdin, which immediately captivated HG. About half way through watching it the coincidence struck me. The date was Jan 6. It was the first “official” date with HG and we were watching the movie Aladdin. My mind quickly went back 17 years to Jan 30, 1993 and the first “official” date between S and me, going to the theater to watch the movie Aladdin. Completely unplanned or orchestrated, I ended up having my first date with each of my girls surprisingly in similar fashion, albeit, my affection for the younger was more openly received and returned than with the older.
Funny how that works, because then I am struck by the irony of the two dates. For, with the older, time fostered trust and a growing willingness for affection, with the younger, time is the enemy. For there will be someday in the teen years, hopefully short-lived, where the younger will be embarrassed by her overly affectionate father and shy away from public kisses and hugs. But until then, I will relish the opportunity to make her giggle by rapidly smooching her neck and cheek only to have returned to me icy-pop covered lips that make my cheeks sticky and smell like fruit. To many more wonderful dates…I sure do love my girls!
Jason
Photos taken with blackberry. HG sharing her icy pop with daddy. 
Jan 3, 2010
Show Hope~God is on the Move!
It is my desire to see more orphans (just like Miss Magic) find their forever family! During our adoption process and journey to Little Miss Magic, I came across a song that brought me to tears immediately! "What Now" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I LOVE to hear the words of that song as they SUM UP my journey to my daughter. You see, God had the PERFECT PLAN all along! I didn't know His plan/masterwork (He didn't share that with me, or maybe I wasn't listening?) I could have saved a LOT of restless nights of worry and heartache...I can't imagine my life without HG. She is PERFECT! Thank you Lord for allowing me to be the one she calls "mama"! OH, how sweet!
The Chapman family quickly became my "role model" family when seeking advice...I found so many words of comfort through their experiences! I have received many emails, messages, comments, etc in 2008 asking various adoption questions. We all have them...I had a laundry list! Show Hope helps families who cannot financially fund an adoption and so much more. In October, 2008, Show Hope gave its 2000th Adoption Aid Grant!!! With more awareness, more children will find their forever families!
http://www.showhope.org/
Show Hope is a ministry that enables individuals and communities to change the world for orphans by not only addressing a child’s need for food, shelter, care, and spiritual nourishment, but by also addressing the root issue for an orphan: the lack of a family.
Who We Are:
Show Hope is a non-profit organization that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans and provide waiting children with families by giving grants to those adopting.
Learn about What We Do
Established in 2003 as Shaohannah’s Hope, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth initially founded Show Hope out of their desire to see more children find their way into forever families. Though many families they talked to were willing to adopt, the financial costs to adoption were simply too high.
Originally named after the Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman, Shaohannah’s Hope has grown far beyond the initial vision of helping a few orphans find homes. In 2009, after changing the name to Show Hope, this organization has seen an amazing explosion in growth. From a six-story caring facility in China, equipped to provide surgeries and medical care to special needs orphans, to multiplying the effects of the adoption grant program by assisting churches in setting up their own adoption funds, Show Hope continues to expand in it’s remarkable worldwide impact.
Core commitments:
* Orphans in families: Whether it is through adoption or by facilitating a child’s support to reflect the care of a permanent family, Show Hope exists because every child should know the love of a family.
* Individual and Community Engagement: God’s plan is for His people to be the ones who care for orphans (James 1:27). It will take you and your sphere of influence, as well as the combined efforts of individuals and communities around the world, to face this crisis.
* An Intergenerational Movement: We need the wisdom, integrity, and commitment of the adult generations combined with the passion, vision, and humanitarian focus of the younger generations.
* A Kingdom Reality: God is on the move. Ultimately, this is about His Kingdom. Through our actions we show the love of God, and through our message we proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. In view of the love God has lavished on us by adopting us as His children, let us go and Show Hope to the world.
The Chapman family quickly became my "role model" family when seeking advice...I found so many words of comfort through their experiences! I have received many emails, messages, comments, etc in 2008 asking various adoption questions. We all have them...I had a laundry list! Show Hope helps families who cannot financially fund an adoption and so much more. In October, 2008, Show Hope gave its 2000th Adoption Aid Grant!!! With more awareness, more children will find their forever families!
http://www.showhope.org/
Show Hope is a ministry that enables individuals and communities to change the world for orphans by not only addressing a child’s need for food, shelter, care, and spiritual nourishment, but by also addressing the root issue for an orphan: the lack of a family.
Who We Are:
Show Hope is a non-profit organization that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans and provide waiting children with families by giving grants to those adopting.
Learn about What We Do
Established in 2003 as Shaohannah’s Hope, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth initially founded Show Hope out of their desire to see more children find their way into forever families. Though many families they talked to were willing to adopt, the financial costs to adoption were simply too high.
Originally named after the Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman, Shaohannah’s Hope has grown far beyond the initial vision of helping a few orphans find homes. In 2009, after changing the name to Show Hope, this organization has seen an amazing explosion in growth. From a six-story caring facility in China, equipped to provide surgeries and medical care to special needs orphans, to multiplying the effects of the adoption grant program by assisting churches in setting up their own adoption funds, Show Hope continues to expand in it’s remarkable worldwide impact.
Core commitments:
* Orphans in families: Whether it is through adoption or by facilitating a child’s support to reflect the care of a permanent family, Show Hope exists because every child should know the love of a family.
* Individual and Community Engagement: God’s plan is for His people to be the ones who care for orphans (James 1:27). It will take you and your sphere of influence, as well as the combined efforts of individuals and communities around the world, to face this crisis.
* An Intergenerational Movement: We need the wisdom, integrity, and commitment of the adult generations combined with the passion, vision, and humanitarian focus of the younger generations.
* A Kingdom Reality: God is on the move. Ultimately, this is about His Kingdom. Through our actions we show the love of God, and through our message we proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. In view of the love God has lavished on us by adopting us as His children, let us go and Show Hope to the world.
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