Spring Break Fun

Last week was our Spring Break!! It was a MUCH NEEDED break from it all! Doug works so hard...and when he isn't working, he is busy coaching the boys in baseball. So, needless to say, it was SO NICE to have some DADDY time!!! We went to Tennessee for a few days. We weren't sure how the girls would do, but they were AWESOME! (As were the boys!) The girls slept in the car there and on the way home. We were worried about how Lily would do in the pool. When we got home from China, this little girl HATED water...HATED a BATH!!! We wondered if she would EVER want to get into a pool...well...check out this little sweetie now!!! She had a BALL!!! She was jumping in to her Daddy. Love her face in this one! LJ LOVED it too. They kept Daddy, Uncle D and the bros busy!!

LJ was getting more confident with big bro bren coaching her on!

Bryson cuttin' loose and havin' a blast!

Doug's sister and bro in law were able to come down as well..that made it all the more fun! Here are the twins (separated at birth...two mommies 5 days apart)

Brennan and Darci

Derek Andrew was being his silly self!

We were able to get a day with 65 degree weather, so we went for a hike! I didn't get any good shots of the girls..they were in the stroller as it was dangerous. We did let them out one time and they were running from us and it made me nervous!

Brennan Douglas

Bryson Quinn

Darci Renee

Derek Andrew

I LOVE this pic of four of my fav kiddos in the world!!!

Here's a great pic of Doug's Sis and her beautiful family!

Darryl and Deana

Rare photo of me and my sweets!

One blessed Momma! So thankful to have the time to slow down and enjoy the amazing blessings God has given me. So not worthy!

This time off really got us excited for the relaxation of Summer!!!

Be the HOPE 4 Orphans!

Julie

Lily Hope Jiatong- Home 6 months!!

6 months ago today...

I held my Lily Hopers and brought her home to the U.S.

She was one scared, but PRECIOUS little girl!!




6 months later....
She is full of LIFE, LOVE, and JOY!!!
Lily Hope Jiatong, I'd choose you again...

And Again...
Again....

And Again!

Here are the girls on their first stroller ride together shortly after returning home from China. They weren't sure about each other...one minute they were fine...the other minute Lily was kicking Lola and vice versa.

Here they are today!!! (NO KICKING and a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE!)

Little Miss Lily has made AMAZING strides in the last 6 months. As I think back to our first moments with her, I am simply amazed and so thankful for the progress that has been made. Lily was SUPER QUIET...I'm talkin' barely EVER made ANY sounds...no babbles, no coos...NOTHING...for a while. And today, she is repeating everything we say. (Is it clear enough for everyone to understand...BY NO MEANS!) Lily receives speech therapy once a week. We partner her words with signs. All 6 of us are learning to sign together...and we love it! Lily had her cleft palate repaired in November, but developed another hole in the roof of her mouth. She will have another surgery to repair this, but our surgeon would like to wait until she is three years old. He says we will be able to do a full speech and language eval at this time and see if she'll have to have this other surgery...so he'd rather do them both at the same time to save her from another traumatic surgery. We're totally fine with that as well. Lily has truly blossomed and is the silliest little one in our house. She now has a ready smile. She says mmm mmm and squeezes us to hug (this didn't happen in the beginning! She didn't want or really know how to be held, hugged, rocked, etc.) She says "Luh Muh" for LOVE YOU...but I know what she means!!! It means the WORLD to hear these to words come outta her sweet little mouth!!! Lily is a great eater. She loves to read books and play with her big sis. Their new thing is to hold hands and sing" ring around the rosies". LOVE IT!!! In the morning when I walk into Lily's room she says a quiet..."hi!". All I can say is, I am SOOOO thankful for my sweet, long awaited Lily Hope.I am so proud of her for learning to trust...to hug...to snuggle...to love and be loved!
Praise be the God for His INDESCRIBABLE gift!! We LOVE YOU Lily HOPE!!!

Love you FOREVER!!!

Happy Birthday to my biggest boy and prayers for Ethiopia

11 years old!!?? Where has the time gone!!??




Brennan Douglas!!
Just typing that brings me to tears. ha..I'm so mushy! I have to say, I LOVE ALL FOUR of my kiddos so much! They are all SO different, so unique, so talented, and that's what makes them so special! Bren, you have a heart of gold. You're a go getter! Mr. Hustle. You give everything your all...110% Super athletic. Daddy's stand in when he's working or out of the house. You're an amazing big bro. The lil' sis' have you wrapped. And although you may not want to admit it, you and Bryson are inseparable and lost without each other! Your heart is so big. Your heart aches for orphans, the poor, and your newest endeavor CLEAN WATER! Love it! So proud of everything you stand for! I know God is going to do big things in you, He already is!
Love you forever!!
Momma
Oh..and that charity:water update...well...I promise it's coming. I can't wait!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!
Have you given get??
www.mycharitywater.org/stanleycharitywater

Prayers for Ethiopia
I would like to ask for special prayers for Ethiopian Adoptions. My heart aches tonight in light of hearing of some changes that could be taking place as early as March 10. Last week, the Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) announced their intention to reduce inter country adoptions by a staggering 90% beginning March 10, 2011. Having been to Ethiopia, adopting a child from there, having friends who are currently adopting from there, and LEAVING behind little faces...ugh ...this news is truly breaking my heart. BUT...I have HOPE. My HOPE is not in the Ethiopian Program, it it NOT in MOWA, it is not in the people at the Embassy, but my HOPE is IN HIM. Jesus!!! Jesus, who IS MIGHTY TO SAVE. Praying on behalf of the Orphans who wait. Praying for the family's whose hearts ache. Praying that the people who are making these decisions become broken and SEE the faces of these children at night in their dreams. Praying that Satan takes a back seat, and that OUR MIGHTY GOD WILL INDEED....BE MIGHTY and SAVE!!!!

Happy 2nd Bithday to My Ethiopian Princess!!

Okay, so Lola Joy didn't have a great start to her 2nd birthday. She was pretty pitiful and had to go to the dr. :-( She has a runny nose, cough, and ear infection...so when I came home from work...I found one pitiful little girl.

She did cheer up by the end of the night!

Here's her sweet cake. She LOVED it.

She said.."It's MINNIE!!!" "It's CUTE!" "I LIKE HER PINK BOW!!"

We LOVE her all the way down to her sweet little pink boots!!!!


Lolee Joy LOVES her baby dolls...

I LOVE her sweet chocolate brown eyes!

You are so yummy, I could eat you up, girl!!

Lola Joy Kalkidane...

You are something else, let me tell you!! You have one VIBRANT personality. You light the room the moment you enter into it. You talk with your hands. You're prissy..so prissy...and Sassy, too. You LOVE music and to dance. You would watch Barney 24/7 if we'd let you. You LOVE your new SILLY SONGS video. When you go to sleep you have to have your BB, Blanky, and Monkey. You are so smart..and funny...and lovable. You are so stinkin' cute...and we simply cannot get enough of you. You love your big bros and oh do they love you...and look out for you. And then there's "Lil". God brought you a twin sister from around the world, but the two of you couldn't be more perfectly matched. You are the PERFECT PAIR!! You adore one another. You are always together, playing, dancing, reading, hugging, oh my it's totally adorable. Seeing the two of you together is the sweetest miracle to watch each day. I squeezed you tonight and you squeezed me back soo tightly. It broke me into tears, just so grateful...so thankful...I didn't miss this little miracle in
Y-O-U!!!!

We love you Baby JOY!!!!

Stay tuned for an amazing charity:water update!!

If you'd like to donate...click the water link at the top right of the blog with the charity water logo...or click

www.mycharitywater.org/stanleycharitywater

Water Wishes for the World: Charity Water

(This is long, but PLEASE read this!)
Hello Friends! February begins with birthday celebrations at our house....then we party through April..have a small break until July. Bryson's birthday is February 7, Lola Joy's is February 28th, Brennan's is March 8th, Doug's is April 12th, mine is July 6th, then Lily's is August 25th. Each birthday is a time to celebrate another year of life that God has blessed us with. And each year we're showered with many gifts. Many in which we don't even need. I mean, let's face it. Our pantry is full, fridge is stocked, closets stuffed, toy boxes over-flowing. I could go on. You get the picture.
Well...we want this year to be different. Since traveling to Ethiopia, our family has not been able to get the vivid images out of our minds. The people of Ethiopia are some of the most beautiful people I've ever met...inside and out. They have a joy that blows me away living in the horrific circumstances and living conditions...but .... we also saw great poverty. lepers. victims of HIV and AIDS. and people living without their basic needs being met...shelter. FOOD.

ClEAN WATER.

I remember getting into the van as we were headed for the airport leaving Ethiopia. I BAWLED. I mean, SOBBED. Doug looked at me, wondering what was wrong. We had our precious four month old baby in our arms and we were headed home to our boys and family waiting at home. But, I was overcome with emotions. Overcome with great joy and deep sadness. I fell in LOVE with the people. The Country. And I saw what I saw...and I didn't know how to process. How could I come back to the comforts of my home and live the way we live...knowing what I know. Well, we're still dealing with this issue and processing how God is going to use us. All we know is we're willing to be used by God. And we're praying for His direction.
Our boys eyes have also been opened to the needs in the world around them. I was reading this blog one night and saw that they had joined a campaign to help get clean water for people in developing countries. Unfortunately, I read this when they had already raised all of the money they needed, or we would have donated. I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk to the boys about how almost 1 billion people on the planet do NOT have access to CLEAN water!!! We watched the video and the boys were touched. Each and every night since then, they have been praying that God would provide ALL people the opportunity to have access to clean water. And then we realized that we could do something about it! So, this year, we wanted to give up our birthdays. Most of the time when you make a wish and blow out the candles, you don't share your wish. This year, we're sharing our wish...and we hope it will become your wish too. We are asking our friends and family to donate to our charity water campaign. We have titled it Water Wishes for the World. You can click here to check it out for yourself and donate. This organization is legit. It has been recognized on the national day of prayer by President Obama. 100% of your donations will go to build wells and bring clean water to people in developing countries. A donation of $20 will provide clean water for 1 person for 20 years!!!!! Our goal is $5,000. We say.."Go BIG or GO HOME!" $5,000 will build a well. You can give a little, or blow us away, challenging your family to sacrifice and give BIG. If you have questions or problems donating, please leave a comment. I'll walk you through this. At the bottom of this post is the website address. Simply click on this. Then there are buttons you can click to donate. It will give you detailed instructions. We have a few months to accomplish this. Please, consider challenging your family to donate. And if you work at a business that would like to match a donation, PLEASE talk to them and let us know!

The boys had one of their two family parties this past Friday night and collected $400!!!! Yay family! You guys rock! (It will show up on the donate page once the check arrives to the organization and Doug is mailing it tomorrow!!!)

Be

the

Hope!!!!

Julie

www.mycharitywater.org/stanleycharitywater

Instead of giving your sweetheart a box of chocolates, give a donation in honor of your loved ones and make a difference that can CHANGE the WORLD! (I did! i paid with a credit card and it took a minute and was so easy..and I got a tax deductible voucher a minute after i donated!)

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who keeps our hearts and weighs our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act."

Proverbs 24:12

My baby boy turns 8!

My baby boy is 8 years old today! So hard to believe!! We had a blast this weekend celebrating our youngest son. He invited a couple of friends to go snow tubing. What a blast!

Here he is acting like his silly self.

Bren invited a his buddy, Kyle. Love these boys.


Bryson and his crew! Sweet!

TWO of our FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!!!
Heather and Corey

Me and my man!

Sweet Sophie Belle

And...the birthday boy on his special day.

My sweet Bryson. Where has another year gone? You are getting so big. You are such a jokester. You love to tell us jokes. You tell long stories...and it's so adorable to listen to you. You are so smart. A walking, talking encyclopedia. You love to learn new things and share what you've learned with us. You can play some basketball, little man. You scored 17 points on Sat...and blew us away. You are courageous. You are strong, yet gentle and sweet. Your smile lights up each day. Your heart for orphans, the poor..ugh brings me great joy and chokes me up. You want to be a missionary. Your prayers are the most heartfelt sweetest things my ears have ever heard. We are so proud of the little man you've become..and we CANNOT wait to see the man of God you will be.

We're here for you through it all. Your biggest fans.

Always and Forever.

We love you 39 cents.

Momma and Dad

(My grandparents watched the girls so we could have a night to spend with our boys. We are forever indebted to you Mamaw Jean and Papaw Bob!!!!)