Waiting Continued

I was hopeful that we would be matched with our little girl this month, but it did not happen.  You see, the China Special Needs list is only released 1 time each month, and this month our file did not make it to China in time to get matched.  So now we wait for the April list, which will probably be released around the same time...21st or so of April. 
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disapointed.  We feel so ready to meet our little girl.  But we hold onto our faith that God is in complete control and maybe SHE is not ready to meet us yet.  We know that our God is not bound by the circumstances of the adoption process; such as when the list comes out, or when we get logged into the system.  We believe that His arms are wrapped tightly around our little one and He is preparing the way for us to get to her. 
Although there are many things along this long difficult road that we do not understand, we believe our God is sovereign and we will understand all the delays that happen along the way....one day.
I guess the hardest part for me is knowing that our little girl is in an orphanage so far away. We want to hold her, kiss her, play with her, love her, give her what she needs....a family.  We wait with open arms and heavy hearts.  Please Lord, hold her close.  Surround her with your angels to meet her needs in a way noone else can.  Bring us to her in Your perfect timing.   We trust You, the author of her life.  We know you care for her and want the best.  Give us the patience to wait for a little longer.  We can only imagine how worth the wait it will be!

Back to the Beach

Every year we spend more and more time actually ON the beach. 

Every year, it gets easier and easier.

The kids had a ball playing in the sand.  They were really into digging deep holes, which was great for us because it usually kept them occupied for a long time.

We took lots of walks looking for shells and even caught sand fleas and sand dollars out on the sand bar.

RIP

For anyone who read the blog post a few weeks back about catching the bird,.  http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3207881805367984232&postID=8039468721132871349

here is an update on her status. 

We returned to the beach and found this in our mailbox.  I am sad to report that it looks like the quick hand skills on my 6 year old may have cost this bird her life. 

Rest in Peace little chipping sparrow!

All Four

Spring Break 2011 and it was a beautiful week at the beach!  In years past, we have sat on the beach in blankets, freezing!!  But this year was a full week of not a cloud in the sky and very warm temps. 

The kids even got in the ocean.  I made it knee deep and my legs eventually went numb it was so cold.

I got a few pictures throughout the week of all 4 kids, which is a feat in itself.

They aint pretty pictures, but Oh well!  We are ALL on vacation...even Mommy.  

So, if our hair is a little crazy and greasy and our clothes are mismatched and we are constantly making silly faces, just know that it is just another day in the life of The Carrington Crew and I love it!

Do You know what DTC means?

You know the adoption world loves an acronym and this is one to be excited about....

WE ARE DTC

This means that our Dossier (the enormous stack of paperwork we have been diligently working on for the past 5 months) is "TO CHINA"

DOSSIER TO CHINA!!!!!!!

For my family and friends who do not understand the significance of this phrase, it means that we now are officially waiting for our little girl.  Once it actually arrives in China  (2 days by Fed-Ex), it will be translated and we will have an LID (log in date).   From this point, we wait for a girl named Lily (whom we have never met or talked to) to match us with our little girl.

Please pray with us over the next few weeks as we could possibly get our referral very soon.  We are trusting in God's perfect timing and His perfect plan to unfold.  Words cannot express how excited our whole family is to finally get to see our little girl...very soon!

1 Samuel 1:27
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.

Japenese Playdate

Yesterday Owen had a friend from his class come over to play after school.  Owen has had this little boy over quite a bit and I have figured out why he enjoys his company.

"K" is from Japan and there is a little bit of a language barrier.  His family is here in the U.S. for a 5 years, while his Dad works for Honda.  His mom speaks very limited English so arranging a playdate can be a challenge.    Owen loves "K" and it comes back to the language thing.  You see, because "K" speaks broken English, Owen gets to be the boss and "help" K figure things out. 

I heard him explaining something to K and here is how it sounded....

Owen (in his best Spanish accent) :  "You get sword.  I get other sword....no understand?"

or this one..." You like drink?"

It was hilarious!

Whenever he comes to play, his mom always brings us a gift.  One time she brought us a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts (SCORE!!!).  This time she brought

"real Japanese snack" 

After hearing about the devastating Earthquake, I emailed Michiyo to make sure her family was safe.  She said that they were, and seemed to be doing very good.  I can only imagine how hard it would be to be so far away from family when something like this happens.  I am so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to get to know this sweet family and to pray for their country in this time of need!

A Day in the Life.....

I was always shy as a kid.  Well, at least I was when I had to get on stage in front of hundreds of people. 

This is not the case with Wills.  He is so happy to be front and center with all eyes on him. 

It is so fun to go to a school program and see your child singing, swaying, and smiling. 

It was so cute and we are so proud of him!

FYI....The Japanese attire is part of the program, although I am pretty sure he would wear it again on a "normal" day if I let him.

Can you SPOT him? 

top, second to left.

And because things are never dull around the Carrington house, can you guess what is in the box?

I will spare you the picture because inside this box is a tiny chipping sparrow that Owen managed to somehow capture in a shoebox.  All I know is that there was a bird trapped on our screened porch, and to occupy Owen's interest, for what I had hoped would be hours upon end, I said "yes" when he asked me if he could try to catch it for his pet. 

Of course, I thought this feat to be impossible.  He held only a box in his hands, and who catches a bird with a box?  Apparently Owen does.  That child managed to get a bird into a shoebox in less than 15 minutes. 

I hear an excited, "MOM, I CAUGHT HIM" , and sure enough the poor little sparrow was sitting in the box with one of his legs looking severely distorted.   I ushered Owen and the box outside to open it up and let the bird free, but lo and behold, the bird couldn't fly away. 

Here is what I know...

1.  The bird was flying around the screened porch just fine.

2.  Owen caught him

3.  The bird could not fly anymore and had a gimpy leg.

I felt pretty sorry for the bird because I am pretty positive we Owen injured it.

I knew that Oak Mountain State Park had a rehabilitation center for injured wild birds, so in the car we go with birdie in the front seat and the kids in the back.

We arrived and admitted the bird to the center, said our goodbyes and headed to the car.... 

Of course our crew cannot leave without leaving our mark!

By the time I turned around, it was too late.

I know Oak Mountain State Park cannot wait for our return!

"Children Of God"

A friend shared this with me today and I am so touched by it! 

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.


~Ephesians 1: 3-8

Mom's Trip

I am so impressed  with my "hubs".  He handled a weekend of being a stay at home Dad like a champ!  It felt strange to be on the other end of this phone conversation...
Me:  Hey!  How is everything going?
Him:  It's going really Greaaaaa......Oh, my gosh.  Mal, I am going to have to call you back. 
I thoroughly enjoyed my girl's weekend, although I do not recommend running a half marathon the week after the stomach bug!  I was hurtin! 
I did finish though, and am actually proud of my time considering I spent about 5 minutes in the porta potty at mile 9!
Much more than that....I enjoyed a weekend of:
riding bikes (a cruiser with an amazingly comfy BIG seat)
eating amazing food  (and taking my time to taste it)
not doing laundry
laughing
talking
sleeping
not cleaning
being silly
shopping
not being needed
I am so thankful for the wonderful friends God has put into my life!
The bonus was pulling into my driveway and seeing that my house is STILL there, and my family CAN survive without me! 

Great Friends

HomeSchool Lesson I

Owen's wish came true, because he DID get the Stomach virus last night.  I knew he wasn't feeling great when he got home from school because he did not shovel as much food into his mouth as usual.  Sure enough, last night it hit.

But, kids are resilient and move on quickly.  Today by 11:00 he was perfectly fine and really enjoying being at home while everyone else was at school.  He said he loved not being at school because nobody was telling him what to do!

So, Owen held his first day of Homeschooling, and today he learned how to build a tee-pee.

Tomorrow I leave with some girlfriends for Seaside.  We are running the half marathon on Sunday.

Details to come!

School is cool (or not so much)

I had the opportunity to read to Owen's class today in honor of Dr. Suess birthday.  Oh, how it brought back memories of my days as a teacher.  

Before I went in to the classroom, I checked out some of the art work in the hall that the class had done. 

This is what Owen wrote....and check out that mischievous little smile in his picture.

The reason I think this is so funny is that He really isn't too keen on the whole school thing.  This is a conversation we had a few weeks back

Owen:  Mom, I know why you are always so happy!

Me:  Ummmm Ok, why am I always so happy?

Owen:  Because you never have to go to school

Me, thinking to myself in my head:  Ummmmm Yep!

Here is another one.

Mom:  Ok Kids, you are not going to want to get near me because I have the throw up bug.

Owen:  I don't care if I get the throw up bug because then I get to stay home from school all day

I think this child is a good candidate for Homeschooling one day!

And now for my little man who is so worried about being a second late to school.  Really, he stresses in the morning about being late. 

I happen to see him on his way to P.E. and snapped a picture of his cute teacher, who dressed up in honor of Dr. Suess.  Now, come on..How many teachers would do that? 

She is awesome.  We love her! 

Survival of Mom

If your husband has the glamorous job of traveling a good bit, I think you will agree that if you or someone in your family is going to get sick it will be most conveniently when your significant other is MIA.
I haven't blogged in a while because, honestly, not much is going on in our household.  We have been just going along our merry way, enjoying the Spring like weather, when WHAM!  Mommy wakes us in the middle of the night running for the toilet because I have the Stomach Bug.  I will not call it the the throw up bug because that  is not all it entails, if you get what I am saying!
So, I spent most of the night sprawled out on the bathroom floor in what I felt were my last days on Earth.  I can't help it but I am a wimp when I get the stomach bug.  I just cry and cry and cry and feel so sorry for myself.  I guess when your husband isn't holding back your hair (only kidding), that is what you do.  Somehow I managed to pull myself up off the floor when I heard my alarm go off at 6:15.  I crawled my way upstairs actually crying to my boys to be nice to me.  Especially after Owen screamed, "Mom, you ALWAYS wake me up".  Clearly, he doesn't remember all the sleepless nights when he was a baby or every Saturday and Sunday morning when he comes in my room to announce to me, in his loudest voice, that "He is up and STARRRRRVVVINNNG!!" 
Anyway.....
I manage to sit on the floor of the kitchen while the boys ate who knows what for breakfast.   Next I hear Gray and I just CANNOT pull myself up off the floor, so I send my poor 7 year old to get Gray out of the crib, dress him, and bring him downstairs.   Kate is yelling for me from her room, and I think I might have yelled, "Go back to bed".  I get the boys on the bus and now it is time to handle my 2 neediest children.  Luckily I have Little Bites for breakfast and throw them each a pack.  I muster up the strength to load them up and contemplate for a few seconds on NOT strapping Gray in his car seat because I don't have the energy.  I buckled him anyway and drove to the preschool, which is thankfully only 3 minutes down the road.  I am dressed in nothing that any human being should ever been seen out wearing, and I am pretty sure I frightened a few little kids on the way in.  I walked Gray to his class and practically threw him in the room because I had to run to throw up in one of the smallest potties I have ever seen.   
I gathered my coolness and said goodbye to Gray and Kate and somehow got home and crawled back into bed only to wake up at 1:30 to go get the kiddos.
I am feeling surprisingly better right now. I am pretty weak and have a massive headache, but we all took it pretty easy once everyone was home.  We escaped a tornado by seconds....at least that's what I told my kids, and I ordered pizza for dinner, which made my stomach turn upside down again just smelling it.  I just could not cook tonight.
So, this is for all you moms out there that just have to go about doing what they normally do day in and day out, regardless of the fact that they are underpaid and under appreciated and on their deathbed.   I applaud you and I think we should all take a moment and pray for our husbands to not catch what we just endured because there is NO WAY IN H-E-double hockey sticks they could survive it.

Loving the Change

Let me just start by saying that the weather we have seen here over the past few weeks in Alabama has been AMAZING!!!  It feels like Spring is here.  I have seen daffodils blooming already.  I can wear shorts and not be cold.  I have a slight tan line from being outside! 

On top of that...the kids can play outside until dusk...barefoot!  We can eat snack outside! 

Everyone has a little skip in their step around here and I welcome it!

Here are 3 of mine hanging outside! (C, in front, is our neighbor, who I joke is my 5th child)....I think Owen might be in the tree (his new fave spot)

I have also been enjoying my training in this weather.  I am competing in the Seaside Half-Marathon this year.  It is March 6th and I have loved that I have been able to do my last few long runs in perfect running weather!

 

I also just got my bike back from the bike shop, and I will be ready to get back on it in a few weeks.

I DO NOT bike in cold weather.  It has not be ridden since early November. 

I am looking forward to some nice long rides come Spring!

 And lastly, I am so excited for Kate to be one step closer to her baby sister.  Things are moving right along with the adoption, and this little girl has been trying to be patient...after all, she did tell me that she has been waiting her WHOLE life to get a sister!

Next Up!

And now we are on to Soccer.   Spring Soccer!  This year, the boys decided they wanted a break from baseball and wanted to try Soccer again.  I was all for it, as Soccer is a great fast paced sport and I am excited for them to try it again now that they are a little older.

They are also on the same team, which is a bonus for ME!

Here are my Soccer Studs!

 Wills was so excited to find out that a friend from his class is on his team. 

Don't worry...I haven't forgotten about these two! 

Kate will be taking swimming lessons in March and

Gray...well, he thinks he gets to do it all and we don't tell him otherwise!

Hip Hip Hooray!

WE GOT IT!  Let me just say that with much persistence on my part, which I really don't think made a difference (but did make me feel better), we received our I-800A Approval today!  I am so happy!  This means we are D-O-N-E with Immigration and on to China.  We will be sending our "Dossier" (a fancy word for a TON of paperwork) to China very soon.  My social worker will be authenticating my information in the Dossier and we will fed ex it to China and it will be in the hands of the Chinese government.
Once it arrives in China, we will be logged into the system and can get referrals.  I am hopeful to get a referral as early as March, but would be happy with April too!  Basically with a Special Needs adoption, the list is available once a month and I will be matched with a child that fits the characteristics we stated on our desired child form.    Lots of things going through my mind today, which I am sure to blog about later, after I wrap my hands around the fact that we are in the home stretch to knowing our little girl!
Thank you God for your faithfulness.  

A Perfect V-Day Gift

Matt and I never get each other gifts for any occasion.  If we are going to purchase something, it is usually together, and with the adoption costs racking up, we have just nixed the gift giving for the next, oh....25 years! 
There are lots of things I can think that I would love to have, but we always joke that we are having yet another kid, and we are already a little overwhelmed by the thought of what college will cost in 12 years times 5.
The other night at dinner, I was asking the kids questions to try to get some "normal" dinner conversation that didn't revolve around poo poo, making farting noises in your armpit, or the ever hilarious bathroom jokes that we usually put up with.
I asked various questions such as:  Where would you want to go if there was an airplane waiting for you in the driveway? or
What do you want to name your baby sister---btw...I need some help in this area, but Misty and Dawn (Wills' top picks)WILL NOT be it...no offense.  I just can't name our Chinese baby, Misty Dawn Carrington.
Anyway, the final question was what do you want to be when you grow up? Here are the answers
Wills (7)--A Pokemon Trainer (no college needed there)
Owen (6)--A firefighter  (I think you can do that with a GED)
Kate (4)---A missionary (no college needed)
Gray (2)---Garbage Man  (no college required)
This leaves our family possibly only putting 1 child through college.
Of course, we were joking, but not really at the same time!
Anyway, back to my point....I couldn't have possibly asked for a better Valentine's Day gift...
A BEAUTIFUL AMAZING 60 something degree day!  Matt did a great job this year. 
So, here is a picture of Matt and I .  This was 12 years ago on a trip to San Fransisco. 

Young Love...

we had no idea what God had in store in the kid department back then....bless us!

 I snapped a photo today because that is my daughter Kate in her BATHING SUIT....she was loving the nice weather too...not sure I would wear a bathing suit, but I did show a little forearm today!



The End

We ended a fun basketball season with one final win and a team party ...CiCi's style.

I must say that I LOVED coaching.  My team was actually really good and such a sweet group of boys.

I think my own kids actually liked that I was their coach too!

At CiCi's, I was able to pass out the medals to each of the players.  They were so proud to wear them and I was proud of such a great group of young boys!

Timberwolves

2 Boys and their Boxes

Can you guess which child is more excited about taking his Valentine box to school?

I think the kid on the left is in a daze that yes, it is Friday and yes, we go to school on Fridays!

Mom in Waiting

I have been hoping for some adoption news for 2 weeks now.  I still call U.S Immigration Adoption helpline daily, only to find that my file has still "not been assigned an officer".  To say it is frustrating is to put it lightly.  Today when I called, I made the lady reassure me twice that she knew for a fact, 100%, that my file was there.  It is!  This gives me hope!   She said I am on day 65 of waiting, and she thought my file would be handled soon!  That gave me some hope too.  I pray it is not false hope.
The good thing about waiting is that I am quite busy around here.  My plate is pretty full and I am actually enjoying having a few hours a day, a few times a week to myself.  That is something I have not had since my first was born.  I felt so guilty about having free time at the beginning of the year, but I am over that now.  I can justify it because I realize my job never really ends.  I might have a few hours during the day a few times a week, but I am doing laundry, dishes, putting toys away, and packing lunches among others things, long after the kids are in bed.
The hard thing about waiting in the adoption process, is that I know my little girl is somewhere all the way across the world and doesn't have her Mommy to hold her when she cries, to kiss her cute little mouth, to rock her, to hold her close to me, to comfort her when she needs it!  THAT is what breaks my heart.  She has a family...US.  We are waiting for God to bring us to her.  We know the author of her life is in control.  We can only trust that every obstacle, every week we are still waiting,  is only because God is orchestrating it to get us to our little one. 
Please pray with us as we pray for protection over our daughter.  We pray that she will be the comfort of the Father, His presence, surrounding her as she lay in her crib.  We pray for her caregivers.  The women who work in her orphanage.   We pray that these women will have a bent heart towards our little girl. 
Until we can get to this precious child whom God has called us to, we will pray.  We will trust.  We will have faith.  We will have hope. 
Evey night, Gray wants me to sing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", and we always sing....
"He's got your little baby sister, in His hands". 
What better place could she be until we can hold her with our own?

Basketball and Tears

Here is my sweet basketball team...The Timberwolves!  I have 9 of the cutest little boys on my team.

Of course, I am extremely biased to 2 of them and that is why I am so proud to say that

They BOTH scored their first baskets on Saturday!

Of course, this didn't happen without some drama!  You see, Wills scored first.  He caught a nice long pass, turned around, took a shot and scored.  His face was so cute.  He had the biggest smile on his face and was so proud.  He knew that he had just earned $10 for his first basket ever.

Well, this brought poor Owen to tears.  He knew that if he didn't score, his brother would be spending his money and he would not!  I must say, my $10 incentive plan backfired on me.  Owen is out on the court crying that Wills scored.  Ugh....I was so frustrated.  I took Owen out of the game and calmly (not really) told him that he will not get  a chance to get in the game until he stops crying.  It actually took him quite a long time to dry his tears, but I was not going to send him out there crying like a baby.

2 minutes left in the game and he is finally ready to go in.  I am praying for a miracle because that is what it was going to take.  Owen  has only 2 minutes and the kid has not even come close to making a basket yet. 

The Lord smiled down on us on Saturday.  Only God could have made this happen because someone passed Owen the ball and he scored with less than a minute of the game left.  Thank you Jesus is all I can say!

Our Saturday went from, what could have been unpleasant, to 2 happy giddy boys with $10 in their pockets.

On the way to the store to spend their money, I told them about what I got when I scored my first basket....a banana split (that I ended up spilling everywhere).  I also made sure they knew that from now on, when you score a basket, you get to enjoy the thrill of the basket for free!