Oh the joy of pretending, dressing up, walking at nite with your siblings, and then coming home to your treats

Is Mady not the cutest purple cowgirl, fairy princess ever ? ( She had a difficult time deciding what she wanted to be - which is so Mady )

Getting ready to go out with Daddy ( Paw Paw) and, Keith

Milo was just plain cute camo guy. 

 It was warm but it started to sprinkle a bit tonite...It did not hold up them from having fun. Pure and innocent fun. Nothing scary or frightening just a fun filled nite with the family- we eat candy, play games and the little ones dress up and go trick or treating. Coming home and sharing their candy with each other... and no the kids don't get hyper from all the sugar ( mine never have in all the 34 yrs I have been a mom). We studied Martin Luther and Reformation Day in school this week and we here know who is the real ghost- the Holy Ghost or Spirit. Sorry I don't get all upset about celebrating Fall and eating candy . It is not my favorite holiday- Actually Easter is but, I enjoy all the special memories we make at each holiday.

Celebrating and having a great Fall day

Roasting pumpkin seeds..the little ones waiting for them to bake.

We made our carmel apples - Abby's first one and she loved it.

It has been warm and sunny the past few days so we enjoyed carving our pumpkins outside. We saw the idea on Pinterest to use a drill and Leah did a great job spelling our name. Tomorrow Mya, Luke on down will dress up and go trick or treating with the Johnsons in their neighborhood. I think this year has flown by...I can't believe it's the beginning of November already.

We will be traveling soon to Ghana.....more tomorrow.

Yesterday I was so thankful

Yesterday early in the am we woke to our fire alarms going off and the smell of smoke. I was in a deep sleep as were most of the rest of the family.

I am thankful for :

Fire alarms that work
For a husband who checks the batteries in them often so they do work
For having taught my kids what to do when there is a fire
For watching my children....


As I came out of my bedroom I saw all of them quietly and patiently walking together downstairs and out the door to the tree out front.

I saw none of them carrying a stuffed animal or special blanket or toy ....

Instead I watched them all holding onto each other and helping one another to safety. The older girls and I were talking later about what we observed and how much the children really understand what is valuable...the lives of their sisters and brothers, their family.

I am glad it was nothing more than a burn in the heating system coil even though it was very scary for us...but , I feel blessed when I think of my children holding on to their most prized possession- their siblings.

Thank you to a friend who shares something special with the kids at each holiday

Our friend, Leasa always shares something special with the kids for the holidays. This time it was making halloween cookies. As you can tell they loved making them and eating them . Thank you Leasa for loving on the kids. You are a special friend.

They come to me running....

 Do you know why I love being around children ? I see things.....

They get excited about rainbows ....

Full moons....

They come to me running to have me go outside to see what they just saw....they are excited and so full of joy at the Lord's creation. I might have missed seeing these 2 special sights this week if my little ones had not seen them first and pointed them out to me.

An update on my daughter , Jenn and her husband and their life in Haiti

http://thehambrickfamily.blogspot.com/2013/10/this.html

Here is the link to my daughter's blog. She and her family left for Haiti Sept. 15. They are doing well after being there for over a month now. If you would like to read about their first month in Haiti here is the link to her blog.

Please keep them in your prayers as they deal with a very different culture, weather and life. I loved this last post by Jenn and I know their struggles but they continue to offer Jesus what they have...and they have fallen in love with the children they share their life with in Haiti.

We have celebrated 4 birthdays since Sunday here

Lily turned 14 and she loves Duck Dynasty...so we had a Duck Dynasty party.

A chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.

Anna turned 18 and she wanted a different take on our most favorite dessert choice dirt dessert...we had beach dessert in remembrance of our vacation 

Andrew with his new weighted ball, blanket and a rubber mat ( actually a floor mat )... these all meet his sensory seeking.Andrew turned 9 and I turned.... : ) This was Andrew's first b-day we felt like he understood we were celebrating him. His dessert was a butter scotch pie ( which he was able to eat all by himself when we put his piece in a bowl ). My cake was a combination chocolate and yellow cake- It had the names of all my kids who were here , MK's family and Ana. Andrew and I share the same birthdate . 

This week was again full of lots of activities...We celebrated 4 b-days, I had 3 doctor appts. - one for Andrew, one was all day at NIH with Mary Kate and Abby and, yesterday I took Mya for her post op with Luke for his check up in Baltimore Thursday...so I am ready to spend my Saturday at home. I love being home. 

Please help us bring Shadrach home

http://projecthopeful.org/matched-families/briggs-family/.    Here is the link to help us bring our Shadrach home. We have already spoken with the cranial facial team at Johns Hopkins . Please pray for him.

We need your help- Actually Shadrach needs your help

This is our little guy, Shadrach. His skull has fused shut and he is struggling to breath at times. He is also in lots of pain at times. It is so very hard to be on this side of his adoption and not be able to help him, not be able to hold him and comfort him during his struggles. I can't even let me mind or heart go to the what ifs. We are presently adopting 2 older , precious ones. We covet your prayers for their passports to be issued soon and for our exit interview to pass so we can bring them home. They are already our children. They have our last name and our hearts. We have never asked for help to fund our adoptions. We are now for the sake of Shadrach. We also ask for prayers for his health and his process to move quickly so he can come home and receive the necessary medical care and to be loved on by us.  Here is a link that people can give to that allows you to give and be able to write it off as a tax deduction if that is important for you. Thank you for praying and giving if you choose to.

http://projecthopeful.org/matched-families/briggs-family/

Playing before bedtime...Love these boys and their joy !

A busy week full of many things accomplished...

This was Luke recovering from a fall during the early morning hours 4:20 am as we were leaving the beach...He fell 10 steps down , head first and  he hit the bottom...fortunately no stitches or concussion.

This is Mary Kate and Keith and their family on those steps Luke fell from. So glad he wasn't seriously hurt. Then we drove off early in the am and not 10 minutes down the rode their daughter, Kloe ( the one sitting on MK's lap between Keith and MK started to throw up and did all the way home ........We were glad to get home that day :)

Little Calea at 3 months is so much fun now.

Andrew is quite the goofy one too.

He fits right in with these 2 silly boys.

Isn't she precious - you can see her sweet, sweet sprit.

This is Immanuel and Papaye who are almost home- pray for their passports to get done. Two very tender spirited children whom we are missing terribly.

Mya is healing and getting around well with her crutches after surgery on her knee and ankle Tuesday.

 Then there is Shadrach---We have mailed his dossier over to Ghana ( actually to someone who is delivering it for us ) . We have also mailed off his I600a...documents are being prepared and we hope to hear soon about court. Can't wait to hold him in our arms. I have also shared his medical with our craniofacial team at Hopkins .