If You Live In Texas.....

Happy New Year's Everyone!

If you live in Texas, you can spend December 31st at the Zoo! It was a breezy 62 degrees, but fine with a hoodie! We had a great day visiting the animals at Caldwell Zoo today. Here are a few of my favorite photos. I'm playing around with some new special effects my camera software has...so I did two photos in the Cartoon style. Pretty Cool. Hope 2008 is a great year for us all!

Bryce Lost A Tooth !!!

Right after he pulled it! EWWWWW! Boys love this kind of stuff, so if you have all girls & are adopting a boy, get ready!



Bryce pulled his first tooth out last night! He was so excited.
The 2nd photo is the morning after...Blake has 5 missing & now Bryce finally has had a visit from the tooth fairy!


The 3rd photo is Blake's "Big Boy Teeth" coming in!

A Glimpse of Christmas Morning

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s81/CaleighLydiaGrace/Christmas%202008/?action=view&current=eda1c8bf.pbw

Just click on the link to view our slide~show...it's short but sweet. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Wishing for many new blessings in the New Year!

Isaiah 43:5
My daily prayer for the new year. Thanks be to God!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL & TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

May 2008 bring you Peace, Joy & Happiness

Love, The Murphys

Christmas

Christmas changed we we became a family of four. I pray for all of you waiting for your first child & just know that you will be standing in lines at Toys R Us soon at Christmas~time! After about age 4 is the best because they really understand what Christmas is about & really look forward to the day in anticipation of Santa having come! This year at age 7 is really neat because they fully understand that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth, they know the meaning behind the candy cane & everything that makes Christmas so special. I can hardly imagine what next Christmas will be like for our family!

We hung our special ornament that we bought last Christmas for Caleigh on the tree again this year. I hope it is the last year that we only celebrate her at Christmas in spirit.....next year, we hope she's home with us! It's funny, I was going to write this post last night. This morning I get up and read Christina's note on the forum asking us if we "feel" the presence of our children yet....my answer was yes, I do feel her spirit. I do not know if she is in the womb or if she has been born, but She Is....she has a heartbeat. I can just feel it.
God Bless.

Wishing

Star light, star bright.....I wish I may I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.....you all know what it is! :)

The Best of Friends

The Best of Friends:

And....Twins 'til the end! I wonder if this is how they were in the womb??? Yes, they really were sleeping this way! I am so happy that they will always have a friend.

~How Our Tree Got Decorated This Year~

Having kids is so much fun! Watching them grow & the new things they can do~like decorate the Christmas Tree! They did a great job. I love this age: They actually like to work! Now, if I could just get them to clean their room....

My New Baby Girl

Here is our new baby girl...well, I had to have a little girl by Christmas! Still hoping for a referral, but this little one is pretty cute! Her name is Bella & she's a boxer baby. She's 10 weeks old & cuddles & gives sweet kisses....She's a nice diversion. Hoping to hear from Dillon today regarding the Summit in Washington last week. I really won't feel better until referrals start happening. Gotta go love on my girl! Take Care Everyone!

Having Fun Yet?

So, is everyone having fun shopping yet? I ventured out today for the first time to Toys R Us & Tuesday Morning....then off to Starbucks & I'm done for the day. I did manage to find some things for the boys today...I just couldn't bring myself to buy any more action heros...they're taking over our house! They're at a good age for games, so I stocked up...anyone remember MouseTrap? They still have it! I played it when I was a kid; fun!

No shopping the day after Thanskgiving or the weekend for me. The weather was miserable, cold & raining. That's stew & chili weather curled up on the couch & watching movies weather! Not to mention, every football game known to man was on!

Tried my skills at the black & white photos..didn't even know my camera had a b & wh setting. It's not so great, but I did get a cute one or two.

Hope this week brings us good news from Washington! Praying for my blogging buddies waiting to hear news of travel too! Bring on the G & Rs & Referrals! We're all going crazy! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Santa was at the Mall today, so we went ahead & had our annual photo made & told our wishes to the Jolly Old Man! I hope everyone has a happy & safe holiday...The boys are already on countdown for Christmas Day. I am really going to try & go all out this year. I'm worried by next year they may have heard the dreaded rumor that Santa is not real. I still don't believe that myself! Hmph! James is going to get everything out of the attic over the weekend & my plan is to have the house decorated by next week. We had a cold front blow in today & it's supposed to be high of 50 tomorrow...that's pretty darn cold for us Texans! It needs to warm up a bit so I can have lights hung on the house!

HO HO HO! TIME TO SHOP!

To all the prayer warriors...

To all of you prayer warriors out there today, please take a minute to say a prayer for my Blake. His Asthma is really bad today & was yesterday as well. After a trip to the doctor this morning and three new meds, two of which are steriods, we are really hoping to get it under control before tonight. I'm sure it was the 30 degree temp. drop from Wed. to Thurs. that got him. He hasn't been this bad in a while. It's very scary to me...THANK YOU!

Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me

Well, I'm in a thoughtful mood today, so if you don't wish to read my thoughts, please feel free to skip this post! I'll warn you, some are a little grumpy...but, it is my blog, so...

Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me Along The Way:

1. Choosing public school over private means you have to be REALLY INVOLVED in your child's school! Like, a LOT!

2. If you buy a 3,000 sq. ft. house it should come with a maid. If it doesn't, be prepared to spend a lot of time cleaning. UGH!

3. Having a home on an acre is hard to come by in Tyler, Tx., but be prepared to spend a lot of time in your yard!!! You'll love this when you're 25, but when you're 35, there will be many other things you'd rather be doing.

4. "You can always adopt" should immediately be followed with the reply, "Really, is that what you did? Is it really that easy? I think NOT!"

5. If you do chose to adopt, be prepared for your family who have no clue what infertility is or how adoption works to never ask you how you are, how the adoption is going, can I help you with anything, etc. Out of sight, out of mind. (Except for good old mom, who'll ask you every day! :)

6. Be prepared for the question, is 40 too old to get pregnant? You still have time don't you? Yeh, I have time...I've only tried for 15 years! What's a few more? DUH!

7. If you are lucky enough to form your family through adoption, be prepared for idiotic questions about your children every single day of your life, if you choose to go out of your house. That is if you have red hair like me & your children are beautiful Asian children with Black Hair~

8. Always, always, always marry someone who is your best friend! Who else would go through this journey called life with me & actually enjoy it!!! Luckily, I married mine!

9. Don't spend all your time planning for the future, it really does plan itself.

10. Network with other Moms; they will keep you sane through the ins & outs of parenthood. Well, I should say, network with other Moms that will tell you the truth....not the everything's a basket of roses & my kids are perfect, type.

11. Spend a lot of time talking to God. He's the only One that will tell you that He Believes that you can go to the school, clean your house, keep up your yard, love your kids, deal with your family, deal with idots without being sarcastic, give your testimony about adoption when you have the chance, take care of your best friend, your husband, give Him control over the future & make friends with other Moms who can help you out. He is also the only One who can give you Peace when you need it!

Well, that's it for today. I'm sure there are many other things....if you so desire, you can share them with me by leaving a comment!

To Be or Not To Be....

That is the question of the minute! In short, there are changes being made in the VN Adoption process....there could possibly be another shut~down on VN Adoptions in June 2008. Hmmm, this is all sounding way too familiar.....James & I have decided to wait it out a bit. If our daughter's in VN, all is well. Maybe I misunderstood & she's in China! Boy, I really need to work on my listening skills!

Pray...pray hard people! Pray that God will show us the way! Pray for the children of Vietnam. Pray for the orphans of the world....for there are too many to count.

I'll let you know when it's revealed: to be or not to be...it may be a while, so stay tuned as they say.

I'm going to play with my kids, who by God's Grace were meant to be...
Love To All Waiting for a child to add to their family. This is so hard...

Check out my Slide Show!

Time Change

Is the time change really necessary? Why is being awakened at 5:15 in the morning by my lovely munchkins supposed to benefit me? I think I need a 3rd cup of coffee & its only 7:11 am! On A Sunday! We'll be ready for Sunday School in record time...hungry before we get out of church, grouchy by 6 pm & in bed by 7, only to repeat this dreaded schedule through the school week for at least two weeks before our brains adjust. Oh, and Daddy got up at 4:45 am to head to Dallas for the Nascar Race. For those of you with very little ones, who maybe just got the sleep schedule down to an art, I feel for ya! I really am a positive person, just not on daylight savings weekend! :) Now, for that 3rd cup of coffee.....

It's Halloween Time!

It's Halloween Time! The boys picked out their costumes on Friday after school & they've been in them off & on all weekend! I love that they still like to dress up & play...it's fun to watch. They were on the trampoline 'fighting' with their 'swords'; I really should've had my video camera out. I never have that darned battery charged when I need it. Blake's the Ninja & Bryce is Luke Skywalker (Don't tell him he has Darth Vader's Lightsaber...they only had red!)

We wish everyone a happy halloween & lots of fun trick or treating.

Just a Dreamin...

Well, I must admit, I've been doing a lot of dreaming lately. Dreaming of what life will be like with our little girl in it. I find myself cleaning & dreaming, driving & dreaming (yes, I'm still paying attention), cooking & dreaming and of course, dreaming during the night and waking up and not able to go back to sleep. Our kids talk about her all the time now; I think they can read my heart or something...somehow they know we're getting closer. I try not to talk about it in front of them too much, but you know that old saying "kids know more than you think", well it's so true. I can't help it....I look at all of the beautiful photography sites & search Vietnam, look at all of the lovely children & wonder what our daughter will look like. Dreaming....it's all good. Reality, the waiting....it really stinks...I try to put on a happy face & attitude, but I'm ready...ready for the dream to become our reality. We're ready for our sweet, sweet baby....

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is James' Birthday!

The cake was special ordered by the boys. Cute!

He treated himself to half the day off & a round of golf.

He got XM Radio from us for his truck so he can listen

to talk radio & sports all day. What more could a man

want? Oh, his baby girl! She'll be here for #47 Daddy!

A Flashback

As we continue to move closer to the referral of our little girl, I thought it would be fun to try & remember the feelings we had the day we received the referral of our little boys 6 1/2 years ago. I just can hardly wait for the call telling us we have a daughter! I know how wonderful and amazing it is to have someone on the other end of the receiver telling us a child has been matched with our family. Here are the photos we received shortly after our boys' referrals....it seems so long ago, yet just like yesterday, all at the same time! The excitement around here is growing...we are somehow remaining patient...God's Grace! You should be able to click on the photos on most of my entries to make the photos larger & easier to see!

Dear God

At dinner the other night, my children were saying their own prayers before we ate:

Child #1: Thank you God for our food. I Love You.
Child#2: Thank you God for our food. Can you please send our Stein home? We miss him. Thank You. I Love You.

Stein was our 12 year old doberman who died last year when the boys were almost 6. He was there waiting for them when we came home with them from Vietnam. He was so gentle & loving & always a constant in their lives. He's been gone a little over a year now....his name still pops up from time to time. We have a new dog; he's still in the puppy stage & a little rough at times although very sweet tempered & good natured. I think they really want their Stein back! :)

I guess we're doing ok as parents...they love God & the love their Dog in Heaven with Him. Of course, my husband & I looked at each other & almost busted out in tears, but we somehow held it together! I am so much more emotional now that I'm a parent. I can cry at the drop of a pin. Look out world when we get that referral; I'll be an emotional basketcase.

Off to buy pumpkins & hay. The Fair is tonight & it's showing signs of possibly cooling off. Fall is my favorite season so I can hardly wait! My kids want to be Transformers for Halloween; I need to start working on that! The costumes are $50 on EBay! Good Grief!

CanTho Babies Reunion

Once a year we meet up with the families we traveled to CanTho with 6 years ago. We talk about our wait for our children & the fabulous journey to bring them home. We ooh and ahhh over how cute they all are and how much they have grown and accomplished over the year. We watch them in amazement that they are truly our children and made especially for our families. How God matched each of them specifically to us is such a miracle since they all were born within just a few weeks of each other & all came into the orphanage at almost the same time. God knows who are children are before they are even born! I am trying so hard to be patient, but my humanity is testing me waiting for a referral. I am so thankful for the long weekend we recently spent with these precious children & their families! It reminded me not to worry! God is preparing the way for our adoption & everything will be as it should. Here is a cute picture of all the kids at the lake. One little boy wasn't feeling too great, so he isn't in the photo. There were 5 kiddos there this weekend. Two other families couldn't make the trip this year.

Am I allowed to whine yet?

Not knowing what's going on in referral land is driving me nutty. There's my one~liner whine for the month. Am I even allowed to whine yet?

First Day of First Grade

First Day of First Grade! School has actually been in session for 2 weeks now. I'm just a little slow posting photos! The boys are in different classes, but are only separated by a water fountain. This is good for the mommy who has to jump from class to class on party days! Hoping for a good year.....

Happy Birthday Blake & Bryce

Happy Birthday to Blake & Bryce! I cannot believe our boys are 7 years old today. It seems like yesterday we were bringing them home. 1st Grade starts on Monday. A new year begins. Some days I wish I could turn back the clocks. Their birthday always brings rambling thoughts going through my head. I won't subject you to them all. For some reason I've found myself on the edge of tears all day. Grateful for what we've been blessed with yet sad for all we missed. Grateful for the young lady who saw them on the day of their birth, sad for all she's missed. Today I think of her more than others and I pray for her a sense of peace. I wish that she could see them today & know that they are happy children. So, I pray to God that He will place the peace in her heart that only He can give. Happy Birthday, Happy Day.....We are too lucky.

# 8

I e~mailed Katie at Dillon yesterday because not knowing was driving me crazy!
We are officially # 8 on the waiting list. I'm a little bummed because I thought
we were # 6 or 7, but it is what it is and that's that! Everyone in front of us is
waiting for a girl also...

Moving Up "The List"

OK. I try not to focus too much on "The List"...The waiting list that is. That being said, I'm happy to report that we're in the top 10! Actually, we're either #6 or #7 I think. There were many referrals over July 4th & 5th. There was another referral yesterday. Not everyone on "the list" participates on the forum. So the actual list belongs to Dillon Staff alone....And, there are many variables that could cause referrals to be made out of order, so, that being said... We're in the Top 10! Yippee! Now, more waiting. :) Here's a cute pic of me & the boys at the zoo. I just had to take it myself for proof that I actually do things with my children! I'm always the photographer, so tons of pictures of the boys & the daddy! Someday when they're grown I can prove to them that I WAS THERE! :)

Now One With Missing Teeth!

And then there was one twin with his two front teeth missing! Long story, short ending; Blake has lost his two front teeth! Needless to say, his brother is quite jealous. The tooth fairy needs to think quick! This was totally not on her list today! :)

The High~Chair

OK, depending upon the little one's age, I don't know if she'll be able to use this right away, BUT I LOVE IT! Mom & Dad had an old high chair in storage; Dad was worried it was lead based paint. So, I sanded it, primed it and painted it a vintage shabby green. I found the most adorable transfers & put them on the other day. It turned out so cute! It will be great for nieces/nephews until she can use it. It looks so darling in my kitchen...can you tell I LOVE IT!

The Room

My friend in Troy, AL. Carlene, came through & custom made our daughter's bedding. I got it in the mail a few weeks ago and it is so cute. Here is the fabric. She made the bedskirt, a top blanket lined in the sage green color and also a toy bag that ties to the crib. It is accented in black & white gingham fabric. I just love it! I have cleared out "Grandmama's room" where she stays when she comes. I am going to buy the paint & hopefully get started painting in mid~late July. I am having trouble with a decision on the color. The pale/sage green (I'm worried it might be a bit dark), or the pale pink. I like both choices! I'll post the photos of the room when I'm done. :)

LID!

We have our Log In Date! May 25, 2007 our Dossier was officially logged in Hanoi! Now, the paperwork's been done & Approved...here comes the hard part: Waiting!

Last Day of Kindergarten

Well, today is the last day of Kindergarten. I don't think I'm ready for summer! Swimming lessons start next week. It's too hard to keep my eyes on both of them at the pool! I really need some good little fishy swimmers. Here are Blake & Bryce this morning before school.....boo hoo! My little ones will be 1st graders before I know it. :(

Dossier To Vietnam

It's Spring at our house! Spring has brought good news. Our dossier was mailed to Vietnam last week. We are excited as this is the last step before we can be added to the 'official' waiting list for a referral. According to Dillon, it will be approximately 40-60 days before we hear news of a Log-In-Date (LID). This is different from our previous adoption as our dossier was not sent over until our referral was accepted of the boys. Now, our dossier must be approved before we can be given a referral. So, we're waiting again....Next will be the long wait for a referral of our little girl! We'll get there!

Moving Along

Moving Right Along.....We have received our INS Approval and are now completing our dossier. The only papers we lack are the doctor's letters (to be mailed to us today) and our local police background check (should be received within the week.) We have everything else ready to be notarized and mailed to Dillon. Only after our dossier is approved will we be added to the waiting list for a referral. We hope for this to happen within 1 month. There are several families in VN this weekend uniting with their children & a group of several waiting for travel approval to canTho. Boy, does this bring back memories! Luckily, our finances are in place for the remainder of the adoption expenses... God is preparing the way.....I have already ordered the printed cards for our referral annoncement even though it is many months away. They are beautiful. TaTa! We'll update you on the wait in a couple of months!

Homestudy Completed!

Yeah! Our homestudy is completed! It will be forwarded the first week in January to Dillon, then a copy off to INS. Once INS Receives our homestudy approval, we will get an appointment to travel to Dallas for our fingerprinting (Federal background check). That's the next step!