The Alamo (& other stuff)

We went to the Alamo today (obviously!!). Philip really enjoyed it! It was crowded from the Alamo Bowl game last night. We also rode on one of the Riverwalk boats. All of us had a great time but we are ready to be home!

Kids in front of a cannon at the Alamo. It was an 18 pounder!! (that is what PJ just told me!)

Philip looks like his grandpa here. Grandpa Philip that is. (Philip is named after him & his daddy & also a great-grand father.) He is studying the Alamo map.

I took this picture. It turned out not too bad.

The kids on the Riverwalk today.

Philip hanging out in the pool this afternoon.

Ashlyn being the "super-star"! Great picture PJ!

"Sea World is Awesome"

Ashlyn pretty much summed up Sea World in her post--it was AWESOME! All of us had a great time. From petting the dolphins to eating lunch with Shamu to getting completely soaked--it was a blast. We sat in the "splash zone" during the Shamu exhibit. We thought we might get misted or a few drops on us. Oh my goodness--we were so wet when we left! A great time.

Philip and Ashlyn realized today that they are very afraid of birds! Just like their mom. One of them wanted to go into a bird cage & feed them nectar. Philip freaked out when he first got in & spilled all of his nectar (which was probably a good thing). Then a bird stopped on Ashlyn's head & she just started bawling. This sweet little man helped her out of the cage. In the meantime, PJ was covered in birds (which was so disgusting). One thing good--nobody had bird poop on them! Tomorrow we are heading to the Alamo & riding on a riverwalk boat.

Ashlyn's Vacation Post

Today we went to Sea World. Shamu splashed us! We were soaked. Shamu is HUGE. Shamu did cool tricks at our lunch. The standing on the nose trick was really cool! Shamu was really cute. I bought a stuffed Shamu & named it "Dippy"! When Philip & I went into the parrot cage with Daddy, one of the parrots flew on my head and scared me! I'm afraid of birds now. I tried to touch a dolphin but could not. I did not want to feed them the fish because I did not want to touch the fish. They are slimy!
Going to the Alamo tomorrow.

Philip's Vacation Post

Austin is a fun city. We started out by walking to the Bell Tower. (I took that picture) And wow was it hot and humid. Then we went to the co-op & got tons of Texas Longhorn stuff. After that we went to the largest fountain. We ate lunch & played hide and seek.

Then we went to the Capital building and explored the building for a hour. We went up and down 119 steps. From the bottom we looked up into the dome and saw an eight foot across star but it looked like an inch from down there.

Later Daddy & I went to the Bob Bullock Museum. We had a great time. We saw a replica of the statue that is on top of the capital building. Then we learned all about the battle of the Alamo. The museum floor was decorated to match each theme. Then we walked through the ranching section. It's floor looked like dirt and had cow and hoof prints on it.

On the way out, we went to a Cabela's store. We all went in. In the store, we saw HUGE trophy game taxidermy jobs. The largest one I counted was 19 points. Then Mommy and Ashlyn went back out to the car. Daddy bought me a clip light then we left.

Off to SeaWorld tomorrow.

Christmas Pictures

This is just a bunch of random Christmas pictures!

My Parents & Me

My mom, Aunt Val, Uncle Joel, GG & me

My cute little niece Ava & me

The A-Team (Ash & Ava)--Ava loves both of the kids!

Philip & my Dad--during their Christmas jam session

PJ's cousin Cole Vinyard, PJ's Granny Winnie Vinyard & PJ

Austin Trip

This was the view from our hotel room. We thought it was AWESOME! This was the kids first time on campus. We walked to the Bell Tower, shopped at the Co-op, had a picnic by one of PJ's favorite fountains, toured the Capital (another 1st for the kids) and then PJ & Philip went to the Texas Museum. Ashlyn needed a 2 hour "rest"!
I was trying to be DK (a really great photographer!!). I need a lot of practice!

PJ always loved this fountain. It is right by the football stadium. We used to catch our bus right here back in the day!

Kids being silly! Hook'em Horns.

We are going to Sea World tomorrow. Our lunch date is Shamu! I think the kids are going to try & get on to post something special tonight.

No Go

We pulled up to the Application Support Center (fingerprint place) this afternoon & quickly realized they were closed. Which is probably why we received the 2nd fingerprint appointment. PJ & I were/are really bummed about not being able to get them today. Especially since PJ talked with the National Benefits Center earlier this week & they said "always go to the first appointment." PJ said the end result is still the same (Hope!). And he is right. But I still feel like we will be delayed at least 2 more weeks with our approval from USCIS (average is already at 90 days).
We tried to cheer ourselves up by finding the closest Sonic for a coke! You gotta love Texas--always one around the corner no matter what town you are in!
Bright news--we arrived in Austin at least 2 hours before we planned--so the kids thought that was GREAT! Our view from our room is awesome. Well if you like the University of Texas.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! Our family had a wonderful Christmas--with several celebrations. We are headed out after Christmas for our fingerprint appointments & then a family trip to Austin & San Antonio. PJ & I think it could possibly be our last family vacation without Hope. You never know! We are praying that we get to keep our fingerprint appointment this week.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

ps I'm not sure what the kids are doing in the picture? I think Ashlyn said "Do a pose!". That is her usual "pose". Philip looks like he is someone from his Wii Star Wars game?? They are in their new jammies.

Appointments are still a Go!

PJ spoke with the National Benefits Center this morning concerning our double fingerprint appointments. The lady told him to keep our 1st appointments. So, we are still trying to get our "biometrics" taken after Christmas. The lady informed PJ they were called "biometrics" not fingerprints! What??!!

Christmas Parties, A Birthday & Bummer News

The kids had their Christmas parties at school on Friday. The parties were at the exact same time so we (PJ, my mom & myself) split between the two classes! Everyone had a lot of fun! The kids are looking forward to Christmas. Philip asked for a Star Wars AT-TE. It looks really cool! Ashlyn asked that Santa bring her an Easy Bake oven & the mixes. She talked with Santa on Saturday at the mall. She was "really nervous"!

It was my birthday on Saturday. 33 feels just like 32!

Adoption Bummer News- We received another fingerprint appointment in the mail?? This one is in the middle of January. No mention of the one after Christmas being cancelled or anything. I'm going to try to get ahold of someone at the USCIS office tomorrow. We are thinking about trying to get prints on the original appointment. This will put us about 3 weeks behind the average 90 days to process. Ugh! We are not real happy about the new appointment.

All I Really Want For Christmas

I know what you guys are thinking--not another video! Sorry guys. It has been awhile since I posted one (a little over a week!). I love this Christmas song by Steven Curtis Chapman. A lot of his songs make me cry. (pause my music at the bottom before playing :)!)





I think that the majority of us (myself & family included) focus on the buying, presents, Christmas cards, etc. We should be thinking about all the orphans in this world that just want someone to LOVE them. Can't wait to give "lovins" to Hope! Maybe we will have her next Christmas.
Please say a prayer for the Chapmans. This is the first Christmas without Maria.

Over the Weekend

Just a couple of pictures from our new camera!

Yes-we think that Ashlyn looks like a teenager. Scary!
My Aunt Val, GG & Mom. And then some weird reflection. I'm still trying to figure out the camera!

Looks more like a 5 year old here!

My sweet Philly & me!

Fingerprint AppointmentS!

Who-hoo! My fingerprint appointment arrived today! It is the same day as PJ's but different time?? We will probably have the kids with us anyways, so it works out!
Enjoy the snow tonight (if you live in the panhandle)!

Fingerprint Appointment

Notice in the title that appointment is not plural. PJ received his fingerprint appointment but I did not. What does that mean?!! I'm sure mine is on the way just delayed somewhere. Our appointment is only 2 hours away from our home & it is right after Christmas. We had already taken the day off back in September--so it worked out great! God's plan is awesome.

The TRUTH

When you decide to adopt--suddenly a lot of your free time is spent on reading other people's blogs. I came across this blog from a friend of Sheri's. I was disturbed by this blog's facts:

The TRUTH is that there are 147,000,000 orphans in our world today. 147,000,000.

The TRUTH is that 70 percent of these precious children will never have an education.

The TRUTH is that every day, 16,000 children die from hunger related causes. That is 5,840,000 a year.

The TRUTH is that about 1 in every 3 people living today does not have access to clean water.

The TRUTH is that 10,600,000 children under the age of 5 die each year. 54 percent of these deaths are from PREVENTABLE, TREATABLE illnesses.

This blog is a twenty year old young woman ministering to the orphans in Uganda. Check out her blog. It is POWERFUL.
Please pray for the 147 million orphans in the world tonight. 147 million. Our "Hope" is just one of the 147 million.

Notice of Action

We received a letter from USCIS stating that our application has been received. The letter states that our fingerprint appointment will follow in another letter. No mention of when that letter might come!! We do have a case number--that sounds official & exciting.

Signs of Hope

No-not our Hope. I came across this couple's blog & LOVE IT! Jacob & Carrie work in China volunteering with an orphanage that helps mainly special needs children. Maybe our Hope is there! I posted their button to the right. Check it out! Their blog has pictures of precious children!!

Merry Christmas Video

I watched this on another family's blog & loved it! Grab Kleenex before watching & pause our music at the bottom! (check out the family's blog--they are China Bound in 2 days!!)

No longer private

You probably thought something was different when you did not have to provide a login & password. We decided to open the blog up to "anyone". I added a "follow along" button--so sign up! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Charm Addiction Giveaway

Our friend Sheri is having a HUGE giveaway on her blog. Ashlyn & I wanted to enter (& hopefully win)so here our are favorites. I love the Hope charm. Everytime I wear my Hope charm I think of our "Hope"--what she might be doing, what she looks like. I told myself that I would buy the Made in China charm after we receive our referral. Just gives me something to look forward to! Ashlyn loves the Best Friends charm because of the butterfly wings & it is pink.

Go check out Charm Addiction & pick your favorite! You just might win it! Sheri's stuff rocks!

Thanksgiving

We hope that everyone had an awesome day. We enjoyed spending it with our family. Here are few pictures from our day (we didn't take as many as we thought--too busy eating!):

Philip's hunting adventure

We woke up at 5:26 am, ate a quick snack and headed out. After dropping off another hunter at his deer stand, we arrived at ours a little after 6. The first deer were seen before daylight. There was a huge buck with these and Philip was very excited and a bit nervous. By the time there was enough light to shoot, those deer were moving away too fast for Philip to get a steady shot at. Another couple of bucks arrived about 20 minutes after the first left and we tried to get Philip on sight for one of these. The first was walking away from us and Philip was unable to hold steady on him either. I laid by backpack down for Philip to use as a rest and that did the trick. The next buck Philip got his sights on was in trouble. I started giving him the take your time speech and where to place the shot and Philip asked if it was alright to shoot when he was ready. He didn't need to hear the rest of my speech. I got my rifle up to help if needed. It was not. Philip shot and the deer fell instantly. Philip kept repeating, "I did it ". I was probaly more excited than he was. We are having the deer processed and having Jen cook venison will be an entirely different adventure.

Sharp-Shooter's 1st Deer (Philip's 1st Deer)

Philip shot his first deer on Saturday morning. He was super excited! It was a 9 point. I was told it was a great 1st deer. The deer went down immediately because Philip is such a great shooter (Sharp-Shooter). I think Philip told me he shot him in the lung. Maybe PJ can post the specifics later!