Punkins for my Punkins!

Every year my sweet husband spends a few hours
carving pumpkins for the kids.

Going to the little pumpkin patch is a big deal.

They get to pick out their pumpkin and then search the
web for the perfect design.


Rachel and Mary ran straight for the "Baby Pumpkins".


Found Mine!


Yeah....Rachel is a little excited.


Ben found his. This is actually 1 of 3.
Yeah...He is Mama's Boy. Everyone else only got 2.


Caleb sharing his 'Pumpkin Patch Wisdom'.


Hannah's beautiful Pumpkin!
Notice the camera focused on Ben.....
Dang- you Automatic Focus!


Rachel kept calling this "the banana pumpkin".


Ben counting the Pumpkins that would go into the car.
We had 14. 11 for the kids and
3 for me and Stacy......

We like Punkins,too.

Times like this REALLY make me wish Layton and Riley lived here.

We missed you girls!

Maybe next year!

Peace.

My Babies Make Me So Proud!

Two of my little monkeys have been cast in the MLT production of
A CHRISTMAS CAROL.


My Sweet Hannah is a "Little Street Urchin"

and


My Caleb has one of the lead roles as "Young Ebenezer".

It will run the first week of December.

They are excited.

I am,too.

Peace.

Got An E-mail.................

Got an email this morning stating that the boys had
been placed with a family.

Everyone pretty much thinks that it was a Chinese family...since they
"look" O.K.

I am a little sad, but I am happy they are going home.

Please say a little prayer of "Thanks" and ask that they leave the CWI
soon.

They need their Mama-now.

Thank you for all of your prayers .

Peace.

Project Merry Christmas

“It’s OK to say Merry Christmas”

Help preserve our tradition of saying “Merry Christmas” by sponsoring Project Merry Christmas in your church.

It's hard to believe that there are companies and individuals who want to ban "Merry Christmas" and replace it with "Holiday Greetings" because, they say, they don't want to offend anyone.

Christians can take a stand and proclaim to our communities that Christmas is not just a winter holiday focused on materialism, but a "holy day" when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

We can do it in a gentle and effective way by wearing the “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” button.

You can help preserve our tradition of greeting others with a “Merry Christmas” by taking a vital leadership role in AFA’s "Project Merry Christmas."

Here's how~

AFA is making available an attractive button and Glossy Sticker that carry on our tradition of saying “It's OK to say Merry Christmas."

Purchase enough buttons for each member of your church and enough Glossy Stickers for each family to have one to go on their automobile.

Urge your fellow members to wear their buttons and display the Glossy Stickers during the entire Christmas season.

If you are unable to sponsor your church yourself, ask your Sunday School class to make it a class project.

You can even order buttons and Glossy Stickers to share with co-workers, children in Christian schools, customers, etc.

Some might think simply wearing a button or displaying a Glossy Sticker is a small thing, but God can use small things to make a big point, and to create opportunities to share the Good News.

And what a great time to do that at Christmas!

AFA is asking individuals like you in thousands of communities across the nation to head up this project in their local churches.

Your willingness to underwrite the cost for your church and enthusiastically promote this project is the key to making an impact in your area.

Click Here to Order

Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, ChairmanAmerican Family Association

*** I600-A Letter from JCICS ***

Dear Families & Friends,

After advocating on behalf of adoptive families for the past 6 months, Joint Council is very pleased to confirm that USCIS has announced a very positive ruling concerning the I-600A process.
In summary, it is our understanding that, effective immediately, families who filed Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008 and whose USCIS approval of that petition (aka the I-171H) has not expired, will be able to proceed with their adoption under the I-600A process if they take certain steps while their approval remain valid.
This means that families with valid Form I-600A approvals will not be required to transition to The Hague process via Form I-800A.
In order to maintain their status as ‘grandfathered’ cases, families with non-expired Form I-600A approvals must request a one-time free extension.
Then, prior to the expiration of the one-time free extension, families must file a new Form I-600A and pay the appropriate fee.
It is also our understanding that families with a Form I-600A approval that has expired and who have not obtained an extension or filed a new Form I-600A, will need to undertake the Hague process.
The Hague process will also apply to any petitioner who has not completed their adoption by 2014.
As we noted in our Position Statement, this ruling will save adoptive families thousands of dollars, eliminate countless sleepless nights and ensures that their adoption can proceed to completion.
On behalf of over 10,000 adoptive families, Joint Council extends its appreciation to the following individuals and organizations for their tireless efforts.
Diane Kunz, Executive Director of the Center for Adoption Policy;
Dianne Pearce, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition;
Debbie Reynolds, Joint Council China Caucus Co-Chairperson; Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute;
David Yurkovich, Waiting Parent and Co-Organizer of the Fairness for Families Petition; Members of the United States Congress;
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
We offer our collective congratulations to everyone who participated in the Joint Council Call-To-Action and the Adoption for All: Fairness for Families petition.
And we also send our congratulations to all who participated in the countless meetings, conference calls and emails over the past 6-months.
Joint Council is built on a principle of collaboration and this very successful effort clearly demonstrates this principle in action.
Our collective voice is definitely stronger than any singular organization or individual.
Joint Council notes that our interpretation of the ruling is offered as a courtesy only and should not be used in making determinations or decisions.
Please refer to the full text of the announcements by USCIS which can be found at USCIS Announcement and USCIS Q&A in making any decisions.
Joint Council will provide more specifics as they become available and asks you to visit our website for the latest news and updates.

Best Wishes & Congratulations, Tom TOM DIFILIPO President & CEO Joint Council +1-703-535-8045
Assistant, Taylor Fleeson www.jcics.org

If Daddy Can't Come to Dinner..................

We'll take dinner to Daddy.

The kids have a"Daddy Clock".

They will look around and if he isn't home by 5p.m.,
they start asking if he is "on call".

This means that there will be an empty chair at the dinner table
and no-one is happy about that.


So we decided to hop into the van(aka BUSOLUV) ,drive to the
nearest Little Caesar's, and take dinner to the hospital.


The kids were excited and thought it was cool that Daddy was surprised.

It's really hard to surprise Stacy!


Listening to Rachel's play- by -play account of the days activities.


Ben is only interested in the pizza!


Rachel telling Daddy, "You need to shave. Your face is sticky.
See! Feel!"


Goofy Time!


Everyone getting in on the fun!


Rachel's hat was a big hit!


Hannah thinks they all "need help".
She's right.



Stacy takes the kids in and has them find things
on CT's, and straight films.


Here is one he pulled up for the little ones.
Mary and Rachel pointed to everything correctly.


Ben is looking at a CT of the spine and rib cage, and base of skull.


Hannah and Rachel are looking at a scan of the pelvis.

Hannah and Caleb are old pro's.

Caleb starting naming body parts on Hannah's baby ultrasounds,
when he was 4.

Once , when we were in the OB/GYN office, my MD was doing
an ultrasound and was LOOKING for Hannah.
Caleb yells out,"You miss her!"
My MD-"What?"
Caleb-"You missed her! Go Back a little.."
The MD moves the wand back a couple of inches and there was Hannah's
sweet face.
Caleb-"See. You are moving that thing too fast. That's why you kept missing."
My MD- "Caleb, Do you know what is on the screen?"
Caleb walks over to the monitor and says,"This is her eyes, her nose,
her chin, this is her hair, she is sucking her thumb, she does that alot,
If you move it over here-you can see her booty and her legs,
she is a girl-you know,Daddy says she is fat. Can you see it or do
you need me to show you again?"

My MD had lunch in the lounge that day and had to tell Stacy and
the rest of the guys about "being educated" by Stacy's 4 year old.
Stacy was very proud.



All of the day staff was gone, so Rachel and Mary had the run of the Radiology
Department....as you can plainly see.

We had a good time.

Rachel thinks that we should do it"every time Daddy has call".

We'll see.

Peace.

!! PLEASE PRAY !!

One of Caleb's friends was shot in the eye with a paint- ball gun and is in the ER preparing for surgery.
Stacy looked at the CT and it appears that the child will most probably loose his eye.
It was homecoming, Justin and the others were going to their cars and another boy walked up, stopped about 3-4 feet away, and fired.

This is absolutely tragic.

Please take a minute and pray to the Lord that this boy does not loose his eye,
that the Lord will guide the hands of the surgeons, and that Justin's family will feel peace,
as he is going through his surgery.

And please pray for my boy.
He and Stacy have gone to the hospital to join the support group and pray.
This is the first time he has ever been faced with something like this.
He does not understand how this has happened.

Thank you so Much.

Peace.

***UPDATE

Out of surgery. Went well. Not sure if he will be able to keep his eye.
Does see a little light. That sounds promising. More testing today.

Pray for this child.
He was to be tested by the National Guard on Monday.
This was going to pay for his college.
He cannot pass the physical, now.
He feels defeated.
It is hearbreaking.

Thanks.

**** Day 2. Still has eye. Can see a little light. Doctors not promising anything, but say that they are a little more hopeful. I think the shock has worn off. He is crying alot.
Family and friends visiting. The boys in our youth group are being really supportive, but they are all very angry. They are all trying so hard to be men.
God is at work.
Keep praying for him and for my friend Lisa and her family.
Justin is her daughter's boyfriend and she has been doing"Mama Duty" for Justin and her family.
She is tired. I know that she would appreciate it so much.

Thanks.