WE WISH YOU A

VERY

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2 YEARS AGO TODAY

Mike and Austin were on their way home to the USA from Vietnam. Mike celebrated his 60th birthday on a plane with his new son, while I stayed behind in Hanoi with baby Paisley, waiting for her paperwork to be completed. Oh what memories. I'm so glad it happened on a special day like Mike's Birthday, now we will never forget when those special moments happened.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

BIRTHDAY!

To

My Perfect Gift from God

My Knight in Shining Armour

The Man who Makes my Dreams Come True

My Husband & Best Friend

Mike

xoxoxoxoxox

Sammy

And the climber...a 10 ft. ladder

Yes, Miss Paisley climbed up there all by herself...while we were finishing the Christmas tree. She's FAST and QUIET when she wants to be, the ladder was right there in the livingroom. This is the ladder Mike used to put the top on the tree. it's high, I won't get up there! Meg started to run to get her down but we told her NO, don't scare her, go slow!!! There's never a dull moment in out house!

The TREE

Trimming the TREE

My Little Cookie Helpers

As you can see, Paisley like to eat more than help.

Meg reciting Scripture in church

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JESUS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

FROM

OUR HOME

TO

YOURS

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!

I'm NOT gonna make it..............

I have SOO much to do and SO little time.

Last night we went to church for the family carol sing. Megan read the scripture, actually she memorized it, LUKE 2: 1-7. She was great. Paisley and Austin were good for the first half of the service, but halfway though they got "antsy". Mike picked up Paisley and held Austin's hand and took them to the nursery. Of course we weren't sitting in the back. So, as he's walking to the back of the church Paisley asks very LOUD. "Where are we going daddy"? He answers "You'll see" as everyone smiles as he walks by their pews. Once there Austin goes right in to play, and Paisley SCREAMS & SCREAMS until she falls asleep. I know this becasue I could hear her all the way down to my pew, 6 rows from the front...It's a BIG church. After the service we pick them up, Paisley is still sleeping. She woke up in the car as were were driving home. She's crying again and said between the screams, "Daddy, I'm upset". She's TOO MUCH! Anyhow, she screamed and cried for 2 hours once we were home. Bet she behaves in church on Sunday morning!

Once home, Mr. Austin had an accident in his pants, well, not really an accident, he still wears pullups, but I swear, after last night, we are going "Commando" next week and getting potty trained! Anyhow, he ended up with his first ever diaper rash. He was in so much pain,and SO upset when I put desitin on him he started crying... AND crying. As I'm putting his PJs on he's still crying, then he started to puke, all over the carpet ( that poor carpet) Mike ran in and thought he'd deflect it by putting his hand in front of his mouth. NO NO NO!! HE DEFLECTED IT ALRIGHT. RIGHT INTO MY FACE! It was NOT a good night at our house. And I still have SO much to do for CHRISTMAS!

Oh right, that was the point of my post today. I need to grocery shop for Christmas dinner, wrap about 100 gifts, clean the house, do the laundry, color my hair, get everyone's clothes ready for Christmas Eve, make cookies, ha ha what a joke! Those cookies! I promised the girls we would do that today, so, they are going to watch the babies while I wrap. WHEW, I'm tired already..must be from breaking up a zillion fights over the train under the tree! Gotta go, a naked Paisley is standing on a kitchen chair eating the sugar in the sugar bowl and cutting bandaids..thank GOD it isn't her hair again! How does she find the scissors! Here comes Austin with a knife and an apple...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X , an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their treesupside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday !*

Please, all Christians join together

and wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY

COURTNEY

XOXO

Grandma & Grandpap

WANT SOME ADOPTION NEWS???

ME TOO!!!
We're still waiting to hear something POSITIVE from the Gov. of Vietnam. I'm praying for a Christmas Miracle.

GREEN

Used to be my favorite color...but this morning it's the color of my load of khaki clothes! 4 pr of Mike's Dockers, 4 pr of Ryan's uniform shorts, and 2 of Megs NEW uniform capris are GREEN! How can one little crayon do so much damage? They are COVERED in green! I pulled them out of the washer and thought " when did I buy Meg these ugly tie-dyed capris?" SOMEBODY had a small green crayon in their pocket because it fell out of the washer with the clothes! I am only thankful I was too lazy to search the house for more clothes to add to that load last night.

SANTA'S VISIT

Tonight we go see SANTA.

I'm hoping Paisley does a little better than she did last year.....

christmasstory

REFERRAL ANNIVERSARY

Today, our 2 year anniversary of Paisley, is also our 4 YEAR anniversary of our very first REFERRAL. Yep, that's right. It was 4 years ago today we received our referral for YUE MENG YAN aka Megan Noel Meng Yan from Guangdong Province, China. What a very special day today is in our home. Meg, what a wonderful, loving daughter you are.

We LOVE you Meg,

XOXO

Mom & Dad

2 YEARS TODAY!!

Today is PAISLEY'S DAY. 2 years ago today we became Paisley's mommy & daddy. Oh how time as flown by. I know we all say that, but it's so true. One minute she was a litle dumpling in Vietnam, and boy was she a dumpling, and the next she's 27 months old, singing songs, having real conversations with us, coloring, counting, playing with her babies and trains, watching the Aristocats ALL DAY LONG, shopping at "Libby Lou" for bracelets and glitter, and going out for lunch! She's amazing and beautiful and we thank the Gov. of Vietnam for allowing us to adopt and love this beautiful, precious child.

We love you PAISLEY JANE TA THI TAM.

HUGS & KISSES

MOM & DAD

Make a Smilebox slideshow

OOPS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED!!!

XOXO

Mom & Dad

Dang! With all the Thanksgiving commotion, I forgot to wish our Son-in Law a HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Friday, Nov. 28th!!!

But we did have a Birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him on Thanksgiving :)

Sorry Ted.

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!!!

WE'RE GOING TO BE GREAT GRANDPARENTS!!!!!

Oh my goodness!! More beautiful babies!!!!!!!

Thank - You GOD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAN!

XOXO

YOUR BIG SIS!

Another RED THREAD, Jan just adopted a beautiful 13 yr old daughter this summer!

MORE RED THREADS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MIA

XOXO

Aunt Sandy & Uncle Mike

Mia is my niece whose Birthday just happens to fall on Ryan's "gotcha Day." Mia was adopted from China in 2005, she is also CP/CP like Ryan, AND we stayed with her in Dallas when we adopted Ryan. Mia is 5 YEARS OLD TODAY!!

This picture is of Mia and Ryan having breakfast Dec. 2, 2005, the morning after we arrived at my sister Tia's home in Dallas. Look how little they were!!!

TRUE LOVE

Today, along with our celebrations, we pray for peace and healing for Ryan's first American parents. They loved him SO much. I'm writing this with tears streaming down my face. I remember it like it was yesterday, how could I ever forget, the love and heartbreak on the faces of that loving couple who had waited SO long for a son. Both families met at the attorney's home. I remember Ryan's mommy passing a scared little boy to me in the kitchen, the hugs and tears all around, and then them, quietly leaving when we took Ryan to the back yard to watch the deer as they came out of the forest in search of food. It was a bittersweet day. The beginning of our dreams and the end of theirs. Today, we keep in touch through pictures and updates of Ryan. Ryan always gets an extra kiss before going to bed, his Texas Kiss! He's my little Texan! Someday, when they are ready, Ryan will meet his saviors. That's a day we will CELEBRATE! My wish is for Ryan to have a special relationship with them, because without them, there would be no Ryan Joseph Du Xuan!
Today I am also thinking about Ryan's birth parents. They must have been so happy to have a son, and so crushed to see his little face and realize the only way to give him a fighting chance would be to give him up. TRUE LOVE....
Ryan is such a blessed little boy. He has 3 sets of parents that love him more than life itself.

YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY!!

Today we celebrate 3 years with our precious son Ryan Joseph Du Xian. The pictures say it all. Look at that sweet baby boy in his referral picture. The next picture is Ryan with his first family at the White Swan in Oct. 2005. The pics of 2 yr old Ryan and 1 yr old Amy are from December 1, 2005, the day we received our first son! Wasn't he sweet? All 20 pounds of him! Oh how tiny he was. 10 weeks later we would celebrate his 3rd birthday! Amy was 13 months old and home from Guatemala 5 weeks on that day! And of course, the last picture is my handsome man now. Ryan, Mommy & Daddy LOVE YOU!

AUSTIN'S DAY TODAY!!!

Today, THANKSGIVING, is our 2nd anniversary of

Austin Alexander Nguyen Be Phuong's adoption!!!What a great day!!!

Austin, We LOVE YOU!

XOXO

Mommy & Daddy

HAPPY

THANKSGIVING!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Good Sunday Afternoon Gang,

Today we woke to some wonderful weather for South Florida. Sunny and 60. It's heaven here today. Our windows are open, there's a nice breeze blowing and it's as close to Fall as we will feel.
Today Mike will get the Christmas decorations out of the attic and we'll sort through them wearing jeans and sweatshirts and drinking hot chocolate, without sweating while drinking it. What Fun!
The kids are all outside playing in their playhouses and riding bikes around the pool ( yes, we have a pool fence). They're enjoying the cool weather too, although can't understand why they have to keep shoes on and can't play in the water!
We're having cool weather like this all week so I'm taking advantage of it and making Christmas cookies while we still feel "Christmassey."
YES! This is a big deal to us...it's always HOT here!

No news yet on the adoption front, but we're hopeful this week will bring good news. If not, there's always next week and the week after that.
Have a great week everyone!

TIME FLIES

We've been waiting a month now for a new referral from Vietnam. Yes, it's been a long 4 weeks with lots of ups and downs, but our spirits are high. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve are all coming up. In 2006 Mike and I were in Vietnam adopting Paisley & Austin during those Holidays. This year we will definitely be home. In 2005 we were in China adopting Megan during the Chinese New Year's Celebrations. Maybe this coming year, 2009, I will be celebrating TET in Vietnam with a new daughter or son? Wouldn't that be wonderful???

THANK-YOU VETERANS

And Thank-You to my wonderful husband

for your service on the

USS INTREPID

1965-1969

GO NAVY!!

FOR ALL MY SISTERS OUT THERE

The One Flaw In Women

• By the time the Lord made woman,
• He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
• An angel appeared and said,
• 'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'
• And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
• She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,
• have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable
• and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,
• have a lap that can hold four children at one time,
• have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart
• and she will do everything
• with only two hands.'
• The angel was astounded at the requirements.
• 'Only two hands!? No way!
• And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day.
• Wait until tomorrow to finish.'
• 'But I won't, ' the Lord protested.
• 'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
• She already heals herself when she is sick
• AND can work 18 hour days.'
• The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
• 'But you have made her so soft, Lord.'
• 'She is soft,' the Lord agreed,
• 'but I have also made her tough.
• You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.'
• 'Will she be able to think?', asked the angel.
• The Lord replied,
• 'Not only will she be able to think,
• she will be able to reason and negotiate.'
• The angel then noticed something,
• and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.
• 'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
• I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.'
• 'That's not a leak,'
• the Lord corrected,
• 'that's a tear!'
• 'What's the tear for?' the angel asked.
• The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy,
• her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,
• her loneliness, her grief and her pride.'
• The angel was impressed.
• 'You are a genius, Lord.
• You thought of everything!
• Woman is truly amazing.'
• And she is!
• Women have strengths that amaze men.
• They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
• but they hold happiness,
• love and joy.
• They smile when they want to scream.
• They sing when they want to cry.
• They cry when they are happy
• and laugh when they are nervous.
• They fight for what they believe in.
• They stand up to injustice.
• They don't take 'no' for an answer
• when they believe there is a better solution.
• They go without so their family can have.
• They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
• They love unconditionally.
• They cry when their children excel
• and cheer when their friends get awards.
• They are happy when they hear about
• a birth or a wedding.
• Their hearts break when a friend dies.
• They grieve at the loss of a family member,
• yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
• They know that a hug and a kiss
• can heal a broken heart.
• Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
• They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
• to show how much they care about you.
• The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
• They bring joy, hope and love.
• They have compassion and ideals.
• They give moral support to their family and friends.
• Women have vital things to say and everything to give
• HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN,
• IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

THE PICTURE SAYS IT ALL, RIGHT LADIES?

My friend sent me this. I think it's important enough to print here

Remarks from CBS SUNDAY MORNING


I only hope we find God again before it is too late!!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday MorningCommentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.

And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees..

I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.

I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .

If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.

I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.

I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country.

I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way:

where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:

This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.

She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this , just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.

How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?

'In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.

I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.

The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.

And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.

'Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did.

But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards,

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

GET OUT AND VOTE!

LOOKING AT THE PICTURES

Of the flooding in Hanoi makes me SO sad. I can just imagine the devastaion to the shops in the Old Quarter. Vietnam is such a wonderful place, and the people are so loving and friendly. I really miss it. We were there 6 weeks in 2006 and I just can't get it our of my heart. It really opened my eyes and my heart to the people of Vietnam. My friend K's husband has an opportunity for a job there and I am SO JEALOUS! I told her, if Mike had a job offer in Vietnam, I would be packed and ready to go within a week! YEP! I told Mike that too. What an awesome opportunity she has. She has also adopted from Vietnam (twins!) and loves it there.

HALLOWEEN 2009

That's right, HALLOWEEN 2009. I'm thinking ahead! I just got done cleaning Austin's carpet, and Austin is now out of timeout! But the 3 little ones are running around like KIDS ON SUGAR right now, and I don't even believe in sugar highs! Amy, the one that said nothing about Paisley and the nail polish, remember? Came out to tell me, after the fact, Austin opened Ryan's Halloween candy. So, I stop downloading the Hanoi Flood pictures for this BLOG and go look for Austin. There he is in the boys bedroom, standing in a sea of candy and candy wrappers. Bits of chocolate spit all over the lime green carpet ( that's getting replaced but that's another story) chewed skittles everywhere, lollipops sucked and stuck to the carpet and under the dresser. You get the picture. Poor Ryan, he's still at Sunday school and all his candy is now in the trash. So, I have now decided...next Halloween will be spent at WDW and there will be NO CANDY in this house anymore!!! Now to figure out how to pay for Disney passes for this tribe!

HANOI

The flooding continues in Hanoi. T sent me more pics that I posted below. She said the rain stopped and the sun came out for awhile on Sunday afternoon, then the rains started up again. It's still flooded there, Sunday night. People are getting out and walking through the high flood waters to get to grocery stores. Food is going at premium prices right now. I've been checking others' BLOGs and news reports. They say this is the worst flooding in 20 years in Hanoi, over 20 people have died since Oct. 30th in this surprise rainstorm.
Stay inside and stay safe T.
xoxo
sandy

HANOI FLOODS SUNDAY NOV.2

HANOI STILL FLOODED