Generous Hearts Gala

We are so excited to be attending this year as a COMPLETE, FOREVER FAMILY!!!!

From the CAS website: Calling All Generous Hearts:
Orphans around the world are dreaming of a brighter future, wishing for a family to call their own and hoping that someone will reach out to them. In partnership with Carolina Adoption Services, You can answer that call, on April 17, 2010, by attending the Generous Hearts Gala. Through our ongoing efforts over 2,700 children have found their forever families and over a million dollars in donations have gone into overseas humanitarian aid to help the vulnerable children still in orphanages.
Click to visit the 2010 Gala page for more information about “Generous Hearts" and the auction items... http://www.carolinaadoption.org/2010/03/24/calling-all-generous-hearts/
These children depend on your donations of time, services and funding. The Generous Hearts Gala offers you a unique way to help. Through your attendance, sponsorship or donation orphaned children will have a chance of a better life and brighter future. Help change the world one child at a time by participating. 100% of the proceeds from the event will go toward happiness, health, and love.

If you would like to attend, donate to, or sponsor the event, please contact Siri Scott by visiting http://www.carolinaadoption.org/2010/03/24/calling-all-generous-hearts/

Remember every day there is an opportunity to make a difference. Please spread the word and help the children.

National Council for Adoption has a NEW website

As an Adoption Ally for the National Council for Adoption, I love the new website! It is fantastic!!! Check it out... http://www.adoptioncouncil.org/ the link is also posted in the top right hand column on my blog.

Mamaw Parker leaves behind a beautiful lagacy...

Mamaw Parker passed away on Thursday.  I know she is having one more homecoming in heaven. We miss her so much but we know she is finally at peace and has started her eternity in heaven! I thank God for blessing us with mamaw...what a beautiful legacy.

Steven Curtis Chapman "Cinderella"...taking Miss Magic to see this Magical performance

To help advance Show Hope's mission of caring for orphans in distress, a star-studded cast is teaming up with the Nashville Symphony to present the classic musical, Cinderella. It will be a "one night only" concert performance without scenery but with colorful costumes, a flourish of makeup, a bit of dancing, and a good measure of magic.  Friday, May 14th 7:00 pm at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN

Show Hope's Presentation of Cinderella will feature:

Steven Curtis Chapman...Grammy and Dove award winning artist

The Nashville Symphony

Heather Headley - Fairy Godmother...Tony Award Winner from The Lion King

Jodi Benson - Queen....The Voice of The Little Mermaid

BeBe Winans - King...Grammy and Dove Award winning vocalist

Alli Mauzey - Cinderella....Glenda from Wicked on Broadway

Anthony Federov - Prince Christopher... Former American Idol finalist

Jake Speck - Lionel... Cast member of Jersey Boys on Broadway

Pass along this special $5 off offer to friends and family who may be interested in this amazing opportunity to show hope to orphans through this exciting event!

Purchase presale tickets and save $5 off of each ticket today using the promo code HOPE! Visit http://www.showhope.org/Cinderella  to purchase tickets.
This exclusive presale promotion ends Friday, April 9. Tickets are available to the public on April 10.

Happy Birthday Aunt Amen and Papaw Ronnie

Today is Aunt Amen's birthday (that's what she calls Amy...too cute)!!! Tomorrow is Papaw Ronnie's birthday! Wishing you both Magical birthdays! We love you!

More of Miss Magic by Terra Bailey Photography

http://www.terrabaileyphotography.com/

Is there anything more beautiful...Miss Magic & helping others in need

"Is there anything more beautiful" words from the photographers mouth...Miss Magic was once again in front of the camera Saturday morning. She jumped on the "gator" with Goolie (that's how she says Julie) Julie Abernathy with Ella Kate and Terra Bailey (Terra Bailey Photography) and off they went into the field. Here's a sneak peek of our tiny miracle! GOSH, she takes my breath away!!!

Terra Bailey, a photographer in Hickory, NC arranged "FAMILY FIELD DAY" and all proceeds, donations, etc went to the Safe Harbor Rescue Mission. They service women who have been is abusive relationships, homeless, single moms, etc. giving them HOPE!

Let Terra capture your magical moments! http://www.terrabaileyphotography.com/

Such an inspiration...

Halle-Grace with her great-grandmother Parker

My grandmother is very sick and her sweet body is so tired! I pray for peace and understanding and above all comfort for her. I don't want her to suffer. It's been a difficult week for my family but God continues to show His presence and for that I am so very thankful! Last night as Halle-Grace was going to bed (our routine is to say our prayers, sing songs, read a book...well maybe the reverse order) the sweetest thing came out of her mouth. "I want to see Mamaw Parker"! Sometimes she just calls her "Parker". She loves her and she knew something was different about last night....she didn't get to visit with her because HG has the pink eye (which is clearing up thanks to powerful eye drops).

My grandma Parker is an amazing, strong woman who truly inspires me! She's endured so much in her life...losing her mother before she was a teenager, losing her husband when she was only 47 years old, losing a child, a grandchild, most of her brothers and sisters that she practically raised...BELIEVE me, she is a remarkable woman who's legacy is BEAUTIFUL!!! I admire her! and I love her dearly! God gives me comfort in knowing that all of those she has lost....she will see again! His promise is beautiful! God Bless Mamaw Parker.

Only God knows when we will meet again...

Angela, you were taken so soon...but you fought the fight and tonight in heaven you have WON the prize!!! Thank you Lord for blessing this world with Angela for 37 years. We know she is with you and is finally at peace! Please continue to comfort us...until we meet again.....

I Have a Place in Heaven

Please don't sing sad songs for me,

Forget your grief and fears,

For I am in a perfect place

Away from pain and tears.

It's far away from hunger

And hurt and want and pride,

I have a place in Heaven

With the Master at my side.

My life on earth was very good,

As earthly life can go,

But Paradise is so much more

Than anyone can know.

My heart is filled with happiness

And sweet rejoicing, too.

To walk with God is perfect peace,

A joy forever new.

~ Author Unknown ~

When will Vietnam reopen for Adoption?

Read from Voices for Vietnam Adoption Integrity
http://www.adoptionintegrity.com/2010/01/02/vietnam-adoptions-one-agencys-perspective-and-future-outlook/.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!

Today marks a very special anniversary!!! March 5, 2008 is a day Jason & I will never forget for as long as we're alive! March 5, 2008 started out like any other day for me....until I received a phone call from Carolina Adoption Services. Nancy, our 2nd adoption coordinator, was calling to introduce Allie (our 3rd adoption coordinator)...why??? Why are we receiving a 3rd coordinator? for what reason??
What I didn't know was the NEWS Allie and Nancy had to share with me...news that would change our lives FOREVER!!! I remember saying to Allie, "I hope you will be the last coordinator". That's when she spoke up and said, "I have some really exciting news...are you near your computer?" My heart fell to my feet as I said YES...WHY, WHAT...Do you have our baby???? I was already screaming before she could confirm. YES, SHE HAD HALLE-GRACE!!! Well, Hallegrace was in VN but she had our referral for HG! I couldn't believe my ears....and I could have never prepared my heart and eyes for the most beautiful sight!!!! I will never forget shaking as I hit the check mail button and opened the file with her photos! I thought I would just BUST WIDE OPEN! My heart went into some crazy fluttering freenzy....It was LOVE at first SIGHT!!!!!!!!!! I didn't believe in love at first sight until March 5, 2008. The love we felt for HG carried us through the months to come as we fought to bring our baby home! Jason told me along the way..."not bringing Halle-Grace home is NOT an option. We will fight for our daughter, we will bring her home". He was right...the fight to DC, all the emails, phone calls to elected officials, my HENS who I love dearly, family, friends and often strangers who heard about our journey.....all of you helped bring HG home! Thank you!!

Thank you God for the miracle of adoption, thank you for the miracle of Halle-Grace.

"Mamaw Parker I am praying for you everyday and I love you."

Thinking about adopting? Worried about where you'll find the funds? http://www.showhope.org/adoptionaid/adoptiongrants.aspx

Show Hope is a beautiful organization that helps make dreams come true for so many families! Please visit their website and take a look around. Their personal story will leave you crying, laughing...full of joy and hope. http://www.showhope.org/

 From the mouth of her daddy, "Just when you think she can't get anymore beautiful..."

Miss Magic has a dimple. How did we not know this before last night? God continues to bless our little girl with so many cute qualities. Her personality is something else these days! She steals the show everywhere she goes...we love our tiny miracle.

              SO everyone has said since day 1 that Halle-Grace looks JUST LIKE HER DADDY! She has grown so much in the past two years....and Jason's hair has grown along with HGs....LOL

I love my tiny miracle...

Daddy and the Princess...she has it made...he is wrapped!!!

Just this week I have noticed HG is growing taller and it's kinda sad (all of you parents know what I'm talking about...they are growing up way too fast). Jason replied "but just wait for ALL that's in store and all the amazing things to come". He seems to know just what to say and when to say it. Sometimes I find myself lost in a daydream...how, why did God choose ME to be Halle-Grace's mom? Did I really do something so profound/wonderful/amazing to deserve her?? Whatever the reason, I am more than thankful Lord! Adoption is such a beautiful blessing! Many people have asked me to "blog" more about adoption...how to get started, who to call, what to expect.....and I spend a lot of time talking to parents who are thinking about/praying about/starting their journey. Just this past week I had the chance to counsel "R" about the journey she and her husband are beginning. I call her "R" for privacy reasons. For those who have adopted, you all know how things can be, you want to do everything just right and not jeopardize anything! Last summer, I had the opportunity to "walk the entire journey" with a young mom who chose adoption...it was one of the most rewarding, beautiful  experiences...to watch her through her pregnancy, and witness the adoptive parents full of joy!!! WOW, it's really hard to put into words. I cried tears of joy and tears of amazement....it's just too beautiful to type and make it real! If you want to know more about Miss Magic's adoption story, I tried my best to capture it as we traveled the road....to the RFE....to Washington, DC....and eventually to Vietnam without the I-600 (signing the paper that stated "I will not return to the US until she receives a visa...even if it's 2 years"....to the joyous homecoming and the daily life/joy/happiness and complete MAGIC that Halle-Grace brings to everyone who meets her! She truly is THE blessing God intended for Jason & I and I am SO thankful that he made this all possible! I can't imagine life without her. She is perfect! She is beautiful! She is smart! She is MY GIRL!

SITTING PRETTY! My little rubberband!

The weather is beautiful so we're off to capture some pictures and to visit with mamaw Parker. Until next post (with pictures) remain blessed!

Little Sweetheart

There's no place like home...

If you have spent anytime with HG in the last two months you already know her favorite movie (obsession) is the Wizard of Oz. This past week I wanted to tap into the power of Dorothy's ruby red slippers and come home. I attended my National Sales Meeting and I was homesick! I missed Little Miss Magic so much! So, when I arrived home yesterday afternoon, I rushed to get un-packed, showered and ready to play. Here is her SWEET reaction when she saw me!!! AND, If you're wondering what's all over Jason's face...that would be STICKERS. HG is also obsessed with stickers and she wants him to put them all over his face. She instructs him where to place them and he does...for example; chin, cheek, nose (you get the picture and now you can see the picture) and yes he rides around town looking like this................

I just beam when I see this precious little girl who calls me MAMA. She is the cutest thing ever!!! She had a great week. Luckily, the eye infection we battled last weekend is all clear and she is feeling great! She had two Valentine parties this week (here's just some of her loot) and LOTS more to come. She especially likes peppermint patties, suckers and gum.

and it appears from "Jack Frost" outside that we may not make the Tet Celebration tomorrow :( Don't get me wrong, I love the snow and welcome it anytime...I was really hoping to see CAS families and celebrate. We will have to see what the weather is like early in the morning. Either way, we will be celebrating TET and Valentines. I am so blessed to have Jason & Miss Magic in my life! WOW, I am such a lucky girl!

And, I am so excited that we finally have HG's 2 year old photos framed and hung...and I LOVE the way they look...these are 16X20 and her one year old photos are 20X30 because there are 2 vs. 3...with the 2 year old photos, I couldn't decide. She is SO photogenic, therefore, it is difficult to just pick one.

Miss Magic will be 27 months old next Friday, so... what is she up to? WOW, what is she not up to? She is extremely active and talkative! She loves to run and loves dance so there is no surprise that she is only 20.7 lbs. She is extremely smart...she can say her ABCs (only missing a few letters here and there at times), she counts to 10 very well, she recognizes letters and numbers, she knows her colors pretty good, she picks out shapes, she talks in complete phrases and she is not afraid to let you know exactly what's on her mind! I LOVE THAT PART because she is very independent and knows what she wants. She loves all types of food and eats extremely well. She loves fish, chicken, all types of veggies...corn, asparagus, salad, queso dip, grapes, apples, peaches, berries, bagels and cream cheese (actually she LOVES cream cheese), and the list goes on. She loves music and can sing "Somewhere over the Rainbow"!!! She will totally crack you up! She thinks she is a big girl!  

She is the apple of our eye that's for sure! God is so awesome and I am so happy that he gave us the most precious gift. She's spoiled rotten...but did you expect anything less??

HAPPY VALENTINES AND HAPPY TET!

Please  keep Mamaw Parker in your prayers. She came home from the hospital...only to return after she fell. Luckily, there were no broken bones but she took a hard hit on the head. Bless her sweet heart! I pray she can remain comfortable and pain free. Mamaw Linda fell yesterday and broke her hip! She's in the hospital as I type and will be there a few more days. God be with them both!

Be safe in the SNOW and hug the ones you love! I'll post Valentine & Tet pics soon! I'm off to get rest...we have a Big weekend ahead...and we are planning our upcoming TRIP!!!

Prayer Request

Please continue to pray for Mamaw Parker who is back in the hospital. She was admitted again yesterday. We love you Mamaw Parker and we are praying for you!!!

Preparing for Tet-The year of the Tiger

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year is February 14th and HG is already receiving gifts. A very special package just arrived... all the way from Vietnam! Ms. Hau sent Halle-Grace two au dai (traditional dress), a Vietnamese doll and a beautiful picture frame! She is an amazing lady! We will definitely spend some time with her on our next trip to Vietnam.

More about Tet ....
"Tet, the Vietnamese New Year is the most important Festival of the Vietnamese people. When Spring arrives, all Vietnamese are thrilled by the advent of Tet. Wherever they may be, they feel an immense nostalgia, wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of the particular flavors of the Vietnamese festivities. This Festival occurs sometime between late January or early February, depending on Lunar Calendar. Although officially a three-day affair, festivities may continue for a week or more with every effort made to indulge in eating, drinking, and enjoyable social activities. It is also a time for family reunions, and for paying respect to ancestors and the elders. Gifts of food are made to friends, neighbors and relatives in the days before Tet. Loved ones gather for a dinner of traditional Vietnamese foods like bánh chung (a square cake made of sticky rice stuffed with beans and pork), mang (a soup of boiled bamboo shoots and flied pork) and xôi g?c (orange sticky rice). This is followed by a visit to the local pagodas. Everyone is in a rush to get a haircut, buy new clothes, spruce up their homes, visit friends, settle outstanding debts, and stock up on traditional Tet delicacies. Businesses hang festive red banners which read "Chuc Mung Nam Moi" (Happy New Year) and city streets are festooned with colored lights. Stalls spring up all over town to sell mut (candied fruits and jams), traditional cakes, and fresh fruit and flowers. Certain markets sell nothing but cone-shaped kumquat bushes. Others sell flowering peach trees, symbols of life and good fortune which people bring into their homes to celebrate the coming of spring. As vendors pour into the City with peach trees strapped to their bicycles, the streets look like moving pink forests."

We will be celebrating Tet with other families in Winston Salem again this year! I am excited to learn more about Miss Magic's birth country. AND....I am really excited that Mary is going to teach us how to make bánh chung!!! Stay posted......

I LOVE this photo of  Miss Magic and her Daddy.

Snow & Miss America...a great day!

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/

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!

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!

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.

"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

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!