A Beautiful Weekend

This past weekend, I was honored to attend a very special get together with 9 precious ladies from across the United States. 
We had SO MUCH FUN!  But we also had SO MUCH IN COMMON!

These ladies are wonderful moms who have adopted children of all ages.  We laughed so hard that we cried, and we shared stories and swapped wonderful information.

My trip was made possible by one of these ladies and I am so very thankful!

It makes me want to start something similar in our area!

Here are some pictures of our weekend.....

 My feet are in the middle

 Here we are all together! What a fun night!

I don't know why, but chasing all these seagulls was so fun!  It was a one two three go! With Christine. :)

We all left lifted up in the Lord and Refreshed in each other's company. :)

Anna's Grade

I went on a fantastic retreat over the weekend which I will blog about soon.  While I was there, Miss Anna texted me that she received a 90% on her Geography test.

The thing is, she was really afraid to take that test. She had studied, but didn't feel she had studied enough.   She thought she had failed it for sure.

When I got her text that she received a 90 I told her how awesome that was.
This a.m. when we were on our way to school, she opened up and said, "Mama, should I talk to my Geography teacher about my grade?"
I asked her, "Why?"
She said, "Because I really didn't deserve it.  Honestly, I only knew some of the questions and on the rest, I just guessed."

I am so proud of her.  She was being so genuine and honest.

I have never encountered this question.  I told her if she felt she should tell him, then go ahead and tell him, but she did give her best guesses, and that is what she is supposed to do if she isn't sure of an answer.

I'll be curious what her Geography teacher says if she does let him know that she guessed at a lot of test.  I think she just doesn't want him to think she studied harder than she did, or knew more than she did.
Proud of her.

Any thoughts on this?

She Couldn't Make Up Her Mind

And They are Back!

Erika and Sarah are back from the Ski trip! We brought a friend home for the night. :)
Yuri will be flying to Houston tomorrow.

 This cracked me up.... a Dog potty at the air port. :)

 One last group hug.

 What a great group of girls.

Dr. Ellis and the girls.  They just love him.

Our sweet friend Yuri! :)  Yuri is also from Ukraine and was adopted by good friends of ours. :)

Erika and Sarah are Skiing!

They left yesterday with Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, on American Airlines.
What a wonderful opportunity for them.  
Alli is thrilled to have mama to herself during the day. :)
Here is a link to an article in the Dallas Morning News:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140210-teenagers-get-chance-to-look-beyond-disabilities-with-ski-trip.ece

And here are some pictures at the airport.

 Waiting to go!

 Erika had to be searched.

 A beautiful buffet before takeoff

 Our friend Yuri

 A pilot who lost his leg in an accident 4 years ago, who is now back to piloting airplanes.

 Dr. Herring addressing the group.  He has flown almost 2,000,000 miles on AA!

The Send off Picture

How Do You Solve A Problem......

We had fun this a.m. getting Miss Alli out of bed! Apparently after the debate last night, she stayed up to do art.
I understand how she couldn't just go to sleep. I am the same way. After watching something like that, I have to have some wind down time.

BUT..... 8:30?  Sorry sweetie, Out of Bed for you! :)

A Retreat!

I am going to have the honor of going to the Retreat with Christine Reed, from www.smilesandtrials.blogspot.com

SOOOO EXCITED!~
I still cannot believe it..... but a friend talked to me this a.m. asking why I wasn't going.   And then, they made an offer I could not refuse! 

God is so good!  I know that the Lord wants me to go and He made provision for this trip!

SO thankful!

See You Soon!

Alli and Mike had Birthdays!

Alli turned 14 this weekend, on the same day as Mike turned 54! :)

She loves having her birthday, but birthdays have also been a "trigger" for her.
In the past, ( we have celebrated 12 and 13 together)  they brought about huge memories of her bio siblings, and a birthday party in her first adoptive  family.
This year, she was especially anxious with her Birthday coming up and wanted to know exactly what was going to happen! I shared most everything, EXCEPT the fact that her bio sister was coming as a huge surprise. :)
Her sister texted me 10 minutes before arrival so I could get Sweetie 4 out of the house and they could hide. :)
We came back home and the girls offered to play a favorite game.
It sounds awful, being called "Murder in the Dark", a game they made up.
It isn't violent.  It is just a game in the dark  where the mystery "murderer" touches your leg or arm.
Alli's bio sister Tatyana  and her friend Gibson were in the closet hiding in the dark when the game started and within a few minutes, sweetie 4 figured out there were more people in the room.
The lights came on and the hugs started! :)
It was so fun to surprise her!
And guess what!!!
All that birthday anxiety, melted away. :)

Hiding in the closet!

 Sarah gave her a foot ball. :)

 Erika and Mama gave her water color paints

 Sister love

The new mice.....

She had a wonderful birthday time.  All of her sisters loved on her and daddy. :)

I think we should surprise her sister next month for HER birthday. :)