The Young Family Farm

Some times–my little ones just take my breath away. I turned around and saw my angel sipping on her milkshake tonight and just had to snag the moment…she’ll be grown and gone before I know it. How I love her.

Everyone got a sweet treat tonight. Loo wanted a Sonic shake. But the boys–oh the boys had the right idea:). They wanted cupcakes from a sweet little shop in our historic town. Not sure which looks more delicious. The cupcakes…or my boys…

Definitely…my boys:)

I think everyone in the sweet shop stopped to be entertained by these cuties. I like to THINK they were happily entertained…but we may have disturbed their peace;).

But I’m quite sure they were entertained TOO.

Watching Frankie baby wait patiently for his cupcake in his tie…

And then to watch him eat it…not so patiently;)

Seriously…I could just gobble up my little ones.

And then…the sandlot kid. The one that can knock a black walnut ball over the fence…

They just take me back.

And they make me feel like I was made to live in another time.

A slower one.

Where there isn’t email…or portable phones. Or distractions from the here-and-now.

Where there are few expectations from the world…and really…I let so many of those go a long time ago.

This mom is perfectly content just being with my family. Spending time with them. And just being together. (If you’ve sent me an email or tried to call me…and it’s gone unanswered–please forgive me…I really do live in a different world. I was made for the early days I’m convinced. If I see you on the sidewalk though, at the grocery…or you come by for a visit–now that’s a different story…I’m telling you–I was made for another time. Or either I’m just really bad at returning calls and emails:)

Each morning…is a chance to love them more. To invest into their hearts. To dig deeper into their thoughts. And each day is new…and fresh…and it’s never too late.

I’m so thankful for how the Lord has led us in the last year…

To slow down and really enjoy RIGHT where He has us…RIGHT now…

Blessings to you as you begin a NEW week.

A fresh one.

Where you can slow down…and enjoy the moments. RIGHT where He has you.

XOXO,

Andrea

P.S. Excited to finally have my rheumatologist appointment tomorrow at 10am!!! More blood work–but hopeful we will know more! Currently I have a diagnosis of Lyme’s disease and with my blood tests–the doctor thinks I’ve had it for over a year which has caused a lot of other problems (vision, arthritis, fatigue…the list goes on) and which also means it’s beyond just a simply antibiotic treatment. Because of some of the problems caused by this–I’m now having to lay off the gluten and sugar (two of my favorite ingredients;). My blood work also showed possible Lupus and Sogren’s–and you can’t adopt from China with Lupus–so I’m praying that one will be ruled out. If it’s not…it will be one door closed. But where one door closes another one opens…and we the momma of the house needs to be 100% healthy (or at least close to it) before growing again. Say a prayer that I’ll be better and back to myself soon!!! Thank you so much for prayers! May you have a blessed day!

Sooo…Rico and I live in the South where college football is HUGE. We, however, don’t get into it…EXCEPT for just one game (meaning…we just watch it:).

Rico went to Georgia.

Momma went to Auburn.

And the kids sport GA or AU depending on who got ’em first:).

Isaac WAS happy about supporting the Tigers today…

And Frank SHOULD have been happy to support the Bulldogs as they slaughtered us…but he just woke up on the wrong side of his crib–bless his heart.

Isaac couldn’t believe the game–and couldn’t take his eyes off it while Frankie baby snuggled with momma.

AND Parker and Laney are at Gigi’s tonight!!! They’ll come back tomorrow just in time for mom to take some family pictures! I have a fun idea for our Christmas card and thought tomorrow would be worth a try because it’s supposed to be a beautiful day.

Finishing up Laney Loo’s birthday invitations so I can pop them in the mail on Monday. I searched high and low for the perfect invite for her creative and sweet idea to have a “Praise God Party” and I just couldn’t find the perfect fit. SO…Loo and I hit Michael’s and bought a few things to make them. I think they turned out sweet:)

I need one of those Cricket machines because hand cutting 12 of these ballerina’s out was quite the chore (Thank you Karissa for helping me!). BUT it will be oh so worth this sweet party! I called several dance studios and even our church to see if we could use space–but no luck…so we’ll roll up the rug in our living room and make it into a ballet studio for her special day!

Hope you all are having a blessed weekend!

XOXO!

Andrea

We left Sunday to tag along with daddy on a business trip–and decided to make it into a little history lesson or three:). We stopped in Asheville, North Carolina for dinner with my little sister Katie and her man Rama–AND Dru and Asher Collie of Sole Hope…some of my favorite people:)

On Monday–we played at a national forest because Charleston, WV is lacking on the historical sites and family friendly activities…which as you know all was well until Isaac fell in the river:)

BEFORE

AFTER

On TUESDAY–Rico left at 6:30am for business…and we attempted a peaceful breakfast downstairs courtesy of Embassy Suites. We checked out just before lunch to start what we thought would be an educational day in Charleston, WV…and it was peaceful until Frankie baby pulled the fire alarm in the elevator on the way out. He cried–I laughed…and I don’t think he’ll do it again. No pictures to prove that one…momma had her hands full:).

There is one child-friendly museum in Charleston–so we tried to go…

We had already paid for parking…managed to walk a block with 4 little ones…made it inside–and they told us the museum isn’t opened to the public on Monday or Tuesday…schools only (we didn’t count;)…so we were fresh outta luck. I asked the kind lady behind the desk if there was ANYTHING family friendly or educational to do in Charleston, WV…she thought for awhile–asked around..and gave me directions to McDonalds. Nice:). Alright–so the hubby goes there because he manages insurance for energy, oil and coal companies…so there’s A LOT of coal and coal miners there–but not as much on the family friendly fun side (that we were able to discover anyway!).

Thanks to my handy little iPhone app historical site finder I did find a historical site to visit for the kids! AND it was open and there was a man on duty…BUT he said the porch had just been painted and they weren’t used to having people come by…so we were welcome to look around all we wanted but—that was about it. I pulled some history out of my pocket on this one determined to make this as educational as possible!

SOOOO…if you are ever in Charleston, WV–you can swing by this place and see where George Washington’s doctor’s GRANDSON lived. Alright–so that’s not anything to plan a trip over…BUT it’s history none-the-less:) And my 7 year old son thought it was cool:)

They had the most fun playing in front of the old cabin…

We left to go grab lunch at Blossom’s which is said to be a famous soda in the 50’s. This was by far the highlight of our Charleston pitstops (you could argue a little bit of history…but the kids thought the bar was really cool:)

Grabbed this one on my iPhone…

After the soda shop stop–I called a few places to try and squeeze in one more thing before meeting Rico at 4:30 when his business was over and we’d start South. The waitress had given me an insider tip on a possible place to visit–but when I called it was a casino (once again…nice) and she didn’t have any scoop for child friendly places other than the closed museum either. We spotted a train and a few barges on the river…and that was about all the excitement that came our way. Not as much to do in Charleston I’m afraid. As soon as Rico was done at 4:30–we scooted out of town and headed to Bristol, Virginia as momma had mapped out a day of history for us for Wednesday! After our day struggling to find something to do…I couldn’t WAIT!

We started our Wednesday by heading to Piney Flats, TN–which I HIGHLY recommend! This is BEAUTIFUL country…and we loved the Rocky Mount Living History Museum. We got to see the sheep and learn how the pioneers lived off the land. Everyone was in full pioneer gear, and they even asked us where we were from in such modern, interesting clothing:) The kids kept giggling thinking we REALLY had stepped into 1791!

The sheep on the Cobb land…

Before we stepped back into time–they showed our family a movie to prep us for what it would be like! We had the theatre all to ourselves!

Here’s “Mrs.Cobb” letting us in her home…

Here are Mrs.Cobb’s grandson’s who told us all about when the president came to stay with them while his home was being built, how to write with feather pens, how to make checkers out of corncobs and how to cook…everything from churning butter to making sauerkraut. The kids were jaw dropped over history! (I only had to scold Rico Suave once for making fun of the pioneer’s clothing;)

The Cobb’s nephew took us in the spinning house and taught us how to make yarn on the spinning wheel…

This was really so fun for the kids and it was SUCH a treat after the adventure we had the day earlier struggling to find some history fun. I think we made up for it with the Rocky Mount Living History Museum! If you ever go–pack a lunch and enjoy lunch in the pasture under the trees!

We, however, had lunch in Johnson City, TN at the Crazy Tomato…which I ALSO highly recommend! SO YUMMY!

We needed something sweet afterwards…so we scooted on over to history Jonesborough, Tennessee which has GOT to be THE cutest historic town on the planet. It was so charming!!!

AND if you are ever in Jonesborough–you can trust your sweet tooth can be cured with a good run down the historic streets toooo…(I told the kids they were in for a BIG, FUN, SWEET surprise but they had to run until I said STOP!)

And STOP!

‘Cause you’re at THE…

It’s history people!! According to Boone Magazine…“it was once home to the only lodge in America with its founding documents, its dispensation and its charter, signed by a United States president, Andrew Jackson. Today it is the Old Sweet Shop Restaurant.” AND it was a HIT for my kids!!!

They had EVERY candy imaginable…and EVEN BUGS!

We left with 1.5 pounds of candy. And it was all gone before we got on the interstate:) I’m a good mom like that;). Some times you just gotta let your kids be kids!

BUT before we hit the interstate…we took back roads to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee to see David Crockett’s birth site. YES–we were squeezing all kinds of history fun in!

This picture was taken just before Parker attempted to stuff his two little brothers in Davey Crockett’s food storage house…

And this was after…

Here are the boys applying what we learned about bartering with their m&ms:)

THEN our history adventure was over–BUT we got to take in the MOST beautiful countryside on the way to the main road. JUST beautiful!

ALRIGHT…so this is officially my LONGEST post in history!!! I think our next history trip will be to D.C.! Too bad Rico Suave doesn’t have any business in D.C. Now, if you live in or around Charleston, we need your tips on things to do around there! I’m sure there is a goldmine just around the corner we just don’t know about! We love some Tennessee and Virginia…and the mountains in West Virginia were so beautiful too!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Blessings to you all…(holding my breath for another doc visit on Monday…but determined to have an amazing, sweet and fun weekend with my sweet little ones! SO thankful for all He has done and will do in our lives. Trusting Him for each day–no matter what it brings!)

Andrea:)

I think I have the most amazing friends and blog readers:).Thank you for the sweet words and prayers that have been sent on our behalf. I am so thankful.

I received some results back I had taken for a 2nd opinion from another doctor…and what they found lines right up with what the first doctor thought. I think we may just be on a journey–a little detour…but I’m ever confident about the Lord’s plans for us to one day adopt again…even if it isn’t now. We want this momma to be completely 100% before growing again–so we will wait on the One who called us…and rest in His perfect plan (often easier said than done;)…it’s day by day over here. I go to the rheumatologist on monday for more tests–yet…I’m 99% sure what we’re dealing with but still want to be sure. Will share soon–thank you for your continued prayers. The Lord is good ALL the time.

Job says it best in Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

The Lord has been ever present with me as we seek Him and hold on to Him–walking by faith and NOT by sight. I am reminded in 1 Corinthians 14:33 “God is not a God of confusion, but of peace“. And in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind“…so I will not let fear creep in.

I need to catch y’all up on our hilarious adventure home from West Virginia (which started with Frankie baby pulling the fire alarm as we left Embassy Suites Tuesday morning:). We made one too many stops on the way home hitting almost every landmark imaginable (from 1781 live pioneer re-enactment TO Davy Crockett’s birth site TO the original Lollipop shop in Jonesborough, TN…the list goes on…and I’ll grace you guys with those pictures soon). BUT for now…just gonna share some moments that melted my heart with a bit of His word that I hope might also minister to you…

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

…your works are wonderful, I know that full well…

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.

…All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be…

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” Psalm 139:13-18

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” Psalm 139:13-18

“Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths…

You care for people and animals alike, O Lord…

All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

…You feed them from abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight.”Psalm 36:5-8

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

From full hands and a full heart…I am thankful…

Resting and waiting on His plans,

Andrea

I feel like we’ve been on an unexpected roller coaster this last week–and truly…I am amazed at the Lord’s PERFECT timing in our last minute get away. Really–it wasn’t last minute. Rico Suave asked about a month ago if we’d like to trek on up to West Virginia with him where he has to travel to regularly for business. It’s a LONG drive for him–and usually boring…so we made it totally un-boring;) for him and CAME ALONG!

And…the timing of it was PERFECT.

I didn’t think I’d blog about this–but sharing our journey…just makes it more beautiful…as I truly believe the Lord has a plan for us and will be glorified as His plans are PERFECT. Always.

Last week marked a pivotal and exciting day for us in our adoption journey to a precious princess who I have hoped for and dreamed of for many years. Last Wednesday was our LAST and FINAL home study visit–and we could finally take a breath! It was yet another sweet visit–yet there was something on my heart and on the back of my mind during it…

For the last couple of years I have had some small, almost unnoticeable symptoms. This summer–I noticed my vision getting blurry…so I went to the eye doctor. My eye doctor notice my red eye…which I told her is on and off ALL the time…which she gave me steroids for…which I told her wouldn’t help…which they didn’t…and she sent me back to the doctor to get bloodwork. (I’d passed all the “typical” adoption blood work stuff with flying colors–so I just assumed all was well:). She said it was typical of arthritis–and my joints had been sore (but’s what mom with four kids DOESN’T have sore joints?!). There were a few other weird things…like my hands and feet tingling (I thought maybe just African parasites maybe…NO joke–I really thought that and even tried putting vaseline on them and wrapping them in saran wrap like a learned from a video on YouTube to get rid of them! But–to no avail–I don’t have African parasites.).

SO–I went in for more blood work…told her all about my tingling hands and feet…even told her I was sure they were probably African parasites because that’s the crazy life we live. She didn’t think it was as funny as I did…I guess I’m glad to have a serious doctor but I’m so far from serious in most all situations. When she asked if I was allergic to any drugs–I chimed in that 4 years ago I took malaria meds and had NO reaction but when I took them in June–YOU guys might remember what happened (if not–you can be thoroughly entertained here with the story). Our doc thinks there is a link to that reaction…so I’m thankful for the puzzle pieces to come together.

God’s timing is always perfect–and although I would have LOVED to know the results BEFORE our last home study…I got the results ONLINE–1 hour after our home study was over…and the results weren’t what I was going for. Since last week, I’ve gone in for more tests and I have another next Monday to the rheumatolgist–and hopefully we’ll know exactly what is going on (I’m praying for miraculously NOTHING)…but for now–we have put our adoption on hold as it’s unknown and knowing a few of the things the results line up with so far would actually disqualify us from adopting from China for now. God can always heal and even completely take away things–but we know His plans are best…and we wait on and trust in them.

I will share more when we know exactly what this momma has before her–and while I’m still prayerful it’s nothing–I also know that it’s going to be okay no matter what. We have already seen the Lord’s hand all over our journey–and we know He has a purpose in it. We know that He called us to grow again…and we also know that it just might not be in the time we hoped or thought it would be. At first, I was really, really confused–and even upset. But the Lord has given Richard and I such sweet time together this week–and I know He never let’s go…He has us, our children, our future child, our journey–ALL in the palm of His hand.

There is a precious little girl in China who we have been praying to have a forever family. The precious sister in Christ who is so dear to me that is now going to be this little girls mom sent me the sweetest email…reminding me of His blessings…and how they often come in the most unexpected ways. (Thank you T). I can’t tell you how many times this has come on the MINUTE I get in my car the last few days…(you can hear it here)

So…now we just wait. And I could wait until everything was beautifully ironed out and when it all already made sense to me to share…but I really think HE gets more glory from the sharing even when you are broken and unsure of how things are going to end. Yet–in every ending there is a beginning. Where one door closes, His faithfulness opens another…and over and over and over…He has been faithful–and on the other side of that door…because His faithfulness repeats itself I know it will be even more beautiful than we ever imagined.

So about a month ago–Richard asked us to travel with him on this business trip. I can’t imagine being home by myself this week…and I’m just AMAZED at how the Lord takes care of me. We have had such an amazing time bonding as a family. The Lord has shown His majesty to us through the mountains and rolling hills…He has reminded me of His tenderness through the hearts of my children…and He has reminded me our hands and hearts are full–by every waitress that has served us, (“My! Y’all have your hands full don’t you?” It’s really been music to my ears and heart…and even ministered to me realizing that maybe our hands and hearts are as full as He wants them to be right now.)

Please just pray that His will is done in our lives…that if there is something wrong with this momma that His healing hand will wash over me…that we will rest in His plans…that He will give us direction and understanding…and ultimately that He will receive the glory.

I wish I could wait and share my heart when it was all clear–but I am really, really, really bad at NOT being real. You guys were with us when we started our home study in March–and you celebrated with us. For over 8 months I have carried this precious one in my heart…so if the Lord completely closes the door in the week ahead it won’t be easy–but He will have a more amazing plan. If He chooses to make my last tests flukes and make all well…well, then He will receive all the glory–and bringing home that baby girl will be even more beautiful! Thank you for being on this journey with us…during the mountains and the valleys. And thank you for praying.

Here are a few pictures from our business trip tag-a-long fun…

We went to a national forest today while Rico Suave went to St.Mary’s for a meeting. Frankie baby fell asleep on the way to the forest. SO–he only got part of a nap. Loo-bear thought she could ease him into HAPPY…

BUT–no such luck;)

Frank didn’t want to participate in anything like pictures–so he plopped in my lap for the next hour. Momma is about the only thing that cures Frank’s tired! That boy requires his nap!

My only little princess…OH she melts me!

And a little bit later–Frankie baby warmed back up too…

My little girl lives in a “rainbow world” where you just have to hear her talk…her squeaky little voice…and how she just sees the silver lining in EVERY situation. She has dreamed and prayed for a sister for years–but we have had some heart to hearts these last few days…and she insists that if she is the only princess in our pack…she is perfectly happy. I am so thankful for her heart and LOVE of life! This picture captures her personality and zest for life (I am SOOOO blessed to be her momma!)…

I was just standing there…taking it ALL in. AND THEN…some one got WAY too close to the river. AND…

FELL IN. Momma threw down her camera…scooped him out. He cried. And then about 30 seconds later he started laughing and said he went swimmin’. So much for the picturesque moment, huh?! (Can you tell he is SOAKED from head to toe??!!) Okay, I normally never like to post pictures of my kids crying–but that picture says perfectly how momma has felt this last week. But I feel the Lord doing a miracle as we wait on and trust in Him. It feels a little more like this…

Gathering leaves…Picking up the pieces. Looking around at all the beautiful things He has placed in our lives. Gathering my little loves in my arms and seeing how amazingly blessed we already are. Trusting that His plan is more beautiful than we could hope for ourselves. And can’t wait for the day…when I toss those leaves up and celebrate His perfect, pleasing and good will being completed in our lives.