{black and white wednesday} a precious little face

Today we got Pre-Approval for Isaac!

Pre-approval is when the Chinese people say that you can for sure adopt the child that you are wanting to adopt. So, as you can imagine, we were very excited.

Pre-approval also means that we can finally share his picture. So, with out further ado....

Here is Isaac Xiao Hui, my new little brother.

Dear Isaac,

Today we were told that we can officially adopt you! I'm so excited to have yet another little brother. I can not wait to see your little face in person, and hold your little hand. I love you already. I love your little smile. I love your little almond shaped eyes. I love that you're a part of our family. One day in the not-too-distant future, I will meet you face to face, how I long for that day! Is it possible to miss someone you've never met? If it is, then I miss you and your brother Joshua so much. But I know that God is preparing both of your hearts for us, and our hearts for you and Joshua. I love waking up in the morning and seeing both of your pictures on the table by my bed, and I love thinking about how one day when I wake up I'll be able to see your little face in person. With every day that goes by, I'm a day closer to meeting you, isn't that exciting!?

Love your big sister,

Kimberly

linking up with Black and White Wednesday

saying yes to two.

Well, lately there has been a lot of decision making in our family.

Big decisions. Big changes. Lots of prayer.

A number of weeks ago, while we were having family devotions, my dad was praying. I noticed he said something about asking for wisdom as we decided whether or not to adopt two boys, not just one, but two.

The idea really hadn't even occurred to me. Honestly, I was surprised when they first told us that we were adopting Joshua.

Two?

I was completely surprised. It was one of those things that you don't expect to ever happen- at least not right now.

I was astonished. I didn't even know they were thinking about adopting two boys. Where they serious?

I was scared. Our car won't hold that many people. Where will he sleep? How old would he be?

Honestly, I had so many thoughts running through my head that I didn't know what to think.

Our parents talked about it with us a lot. They wanted to know how we felt about it. We were all thrilled--and hopeful that they would say "yes" to getting two boys.

And soon after, they decided that they just really didn't feel like they were being called to adopt two little boys.

I was disappointed. How amazing is the opportunity to bring two home at the same time?

However, a good friend of ours who was a foster mother to Moriah in China, sent us a picture of an adorable, precious, four year old.

We feel in love.

It's as simple as that. After much prayer our family has decided that we will be bringing home not one, but two little boys from China this Winter.

Words can not express the many thoughts running through my head. The main thing that I keep thinking is - We are so blessed.

Not many people have the opportunity to bring home two children home from China at once, but the Lord has called us to adopt.

I believe that when the Lord calls you to do something; there's no saying no.

This little four year old boy in China, who we're going to name Isaac, has a family.

And this {soon-to-be-not-so-little} family, has two precious sons and brothers who are waiting for us in China.

I couldn't be more happy.

The Lord truly plans everything that will happen to us. When unexpected things such as this happen, it reminds me of how our God holds us in His hands. He knows perfectly everything that happens in our lives. It reminds me of how though, we don't even fathom some things happening to us, He knows that things will be for our good, and His glory.

Where this road is going to take us, we certainly don't know. There will most certainly be challenges and struggles, but there will be times of happiness, excitement, and triumph. Through all of that, we know that no matter what things we are going to go through with all this; God has a plan. We can rest assured that He will help us through any struggle we might face.

{Linking up with Sunday Snapshot}

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you John 14:18

{We're not allowed to post any pictures of Isaac at the moment, but once we are able to, I can't wait for all of you to see his precious little face!}

where the wind blows and the cows are abundant

Summer. It's a magical time of year. Though I think I must say that about every season.

I've noticed that I keep talking about the lovely sunrises, the warmth of the sun, the splash of a cannon ball in the pool- all things that make Summer oh-so inviting. However, the things that Summer brings along with it, make me ecstatic. Life seems full of adventure and sometimes, I feel as though I fall in love with life and the beauty that surrounds us.

My trip to Missouri was absolutely lovely. Not only did I get to spend time with wonderful family members that I haven't seen in years, but I got to sit back and really realize how blessed I am.

The drive to Missouri seemed to stretch on and on. There are those moments, though, when road trips are oddly refreshing. Sitting in a car surrounded by pillows, listening to music while drinking an iced coffee is relaxing.

As you get closer and closer to your destination, your excitement seems to build. With every passing hour you want to get there faster and faster.

Once you reach the place that you've been longing for over the past fourteen hours, and you crash into the fluffy hotel bed, it is pure perfection.

Meeting relatives that you've only heard stories about, laughing together about past memories, and relishing every moment of the trip makes one feel alive with joy.

Relishing every moment of laughter, smiles, and memories.

Life is road trips and songs. Life is hills of grass and cows in pastures. Life is Summer.

Life is beautiful.

What is life you to? Do tell.

Natalia's Guest Post.

Hi there. 

I know you're supposed to write a post and then introduce yourself, but I like to switch things up.

I'm Natalia, and I'm guest posting for the crazy awesome Kimberly today. Please, hold your applause.
Just kidding, there's no need for applause, as I still don't even know what I'm going to say.

The title? That's what I've had the title be the past couple days, to avoid any confusion.  But I like it. So there's that. Well, let me start over and be normal. Here's your guest post :)

******

This is the face my mom, sisters and I all fell in love with almost three years ago.

We (meaning my mom for the most part) had been looking up different adoption websites, agencies, and had filled out some stuff in order to view photos of certain children.

We knew hardly anything about the boy in the above photo. He had been burned as a baby, but nobody knew how. He was two years old.  He was a happy little toddler.

Besides that, we knew nothing else, except that he was meant to be in our family.

My mom and I were ready to hop on a plane and go meet him. But we still had to see how everyone else in the family would react.

My dad came home that night from work, saw the photo on the computer screen and said that if we were going to adopt, we were going to adopt this boy.

Within the next week or so, we found out that the boy's name was Sanjai, and that he was living in India.  We started filling out lots of paperwork.  I didn't have to do much, except for drawing a couple pictures, talking to social workers, etc.

Usually with an adoption, you fill out the paperwork, and then get your referral. Our process was sort of backwards though, as we knew about Sanjai, and then started filling out all the paperwork.
This was a blessing and a curse. He kept us going, but we just wanted him to be with us!


In the beginning, we were told that our adoption process would take 6-9 months. It took 23.
There was lots of miscommunication, and stuff I don't like to get into that much.  It was a long process.

But in July 2010, we got a call saying basically that we could go get Sanjai!

My parents and little brother were going down to India while my two sisters and I stayed with my grandparents.

And in August last year, we were together as a family!

Sanjai has been doing remarkably well. He speaks English, plays with friends, and was a trooper as he had to have a surgery a few months ago.

His surgery went well, he had to have a plastic surgery on his face to help pull skin up because the skin on his face was tight due to the burns. He now has to wear a mask to hold it in place, but he never complains and we are SO proud of him.

Adoption has touched my life in so many ways. I can not even begin to get into details.

I'm not going to lie, there have been tough times.  But I think for our family, one of the main reasons we adopted was because we felt God calling us to.

It wasn't for selfish reasons, it wasn't to prove anything... it was simply answering God's call to be an adoptive family.

And just so there's no mixup, I don't look at Sanjai as "adopted". He's my little brother -- the end.

The thing is, during the process a few people questioned it.

Why are you doing this?
Don't you already have four kids?
How old is your youngest anyways?
Why not a child in America?

Most of the questions were fair. But still, sometimes I just wanted to tell people that we are simply following the path God has chosen for us.

Through adoption, many amazing things have happened.  I've met new friends, grown closer to old ones, had a chance to share not only the miracle of adoption but my faith as well...
Adoption is truly a blessing.  If you would like to find out more about Sanjai and our adoption process, you can go to this website (and I post photos of Sanjai all the time on my blog, so you can see them there, too).

Well, I hope I didn't bore you all too much. Thanks again to Kimberly for letting me do this!
And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or on my blog :)
You can also click the link below to watch a video with photos summing up our adoption.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmWQKbFg7-c

About the author:
I'm just a girl striving to follow God. I have a blog that's really like my journal. I keep thoughts, ideas and memories in my posts.
{nisfornatalia.blogspot.com}










Thanks again, Kimberly! You rock :)

in which i become extremely excited.

I feel a need to state the obvious; I am again, very excited.

And yes, I know. Excitement happens to me a lot. I'm not sure why, but I suppose I tend to get more wound up about things then your average Joe. Except I'm not even a Joe, or a guy, so really that statement doesn't even apply to me. {Well one of my middle names is Jo, but that doesn't count.} Ok, well now that we have that out of the way, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell y'all exactly why I'm so very excited.

I'm going to Missouri!

{via}

My grandparents are traveling up there for a funeral, which is definitely not a good reason to have to travel somewhere. But, they're taking me with them, and we're going to visit some family members that I haven't seen since I was about 2. {I think I may have changed a little since then...possibly.} Hopefully, we'll be going swimming, and do some other things while we're there. I just found out that we are going this afternoon, and we're leaving Tuesday morning, so tomorrow I'll be packing, and packing...and packing some more! I'm very excited {there I go saying that again} and I know that spending time with my grandparents will be absolutely lovely, and I love traveling! {Long car rides with your ipod, a good book, and an iced tea are pretty amazing too!}

Anyway, as I'll be gone for a number of days, and I don't think that I'll have Internet connection, the lovely Natalia, from {The Journal Of} Natalia Rose, has agreed to write up a guest post while I'm gone! I'm so excited to see what she posts, and I know all of you will love it too! {Thank you so much for being willing to do this for me, Natalia!}

I'll see you in a bit, my lovelies, with a bunch of pictures and lots to tell! Have a lovely week while I'm gone, and be sure to look for Natalia's post!

xoxo,

Kim

what's another word for excited?

Well, after days of staring at a picture on the computer, typing in the tracking number to see where the box is, it's here!

What's here you ask? Well, take a guess...

Can you believe it? It's a Nikon D7000!! I've been wanting my dad to get a DSLR for a while now, and he actually got one! Mostly so he can use it when he and my mom go to China this Winter, but also for me to use since I've been into photography lately! Oh, I'm so excited! I keep saying that, but I can't exactly think of another word that explains exactly how I feel.

The lens hasn't come yet, so we haven't been able to try it, but as soon as it comes {hopefully, on Monday} then I'm sure that I'll be taking picture after picture.

My dad signed my mom and I up for THIS class in Denver, CO. I can't wait, because I know that I'll learn a lot.

{I'm sure that I'll be referring to this user's manual a lot.}

I am so thankful that I have this huge opportunity to learn more about photography, and so grateful that my {amazing} dad got this camera! I'm done with my point-and-shoot! Yes!!

these are the times i want to remember.

When you have two brothers and a sister who try to be really funny and are naturally very crazy, then chances are when your mom wants to get some good pictures of all of you, it's going to be next to impossible.

Of course, I'm not the most photogenic person, so I'm not one to talk.

But there are those times...

when your mom wants some good pictures of everyone.

And it really, really, really...

Doesn't work.

But...

{a side note- Moriah really isn't picking her nose here, at least I hope not.}

You end up having fun. {Even if none of the pictures turn out}

Oh and photo-shoots in the sun, with your crazy siblings? Very fun. These are the times I want to remember. Times of laughter and smiles. Of hugs and kisses. Of craziness. Of joy.

{Oh! And little crocs with princess dresses make me smile.}

These are the simple things that I want to remember forever.

Even if they are a little crazy.

----------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Sunday Snapshot!

ramblings.

a new blog design.

I thought it was time for a change, and so Frills has a new look to it! Instead of having lots of little pictures in the header, I decided to just use one. I quite like it! I thought that having my title spelled out in scrabble pieces was a lot of fun, but I think the picture could use a bit of tweaking. However, I love it just the same. How do y'all feel about the new header? {EDIT- Well, I looked at my heading for a little bit longer I decided to just go back to my original. Sorry for being so indecisive but I really just felt like my old one was more "me." I might change it up again, but for now I think I'm just going to stay with my old header.}

because the sun was shining.

I took Moriah Mei outside this morning and we sat on a blanket and soaked up the amazing sunlight. It was so nice to be outside in the beautiful weather, enjoying God's creation which surrounded us. Oh, how I love Summer! There was a slight but oh-so subtle breeze, and the sun slight just made everything glisten. A few butterflies flew past, and we just sat there enjoying every little second of it. Moriah colored in some of her coloring books, while I amused myself by taking pictures. Moriah decided that she also had to "read" me a few books. I agreed.

confession.

While I'm here telling you all about my Summer, I think it's time I confess something.

...I ate ice cream in my bed.

And I'm not going to lie, it. was. good. Coffee ice cream + chocolate on top = a very happy, but slightly guilty girl. It was worth it. Every bite of it.

this is going to be embarrassing.

Well, I've kept my promise! I did my first video blog (vlog). It was so fun to film, but then I sat down and watched it and realized how very stupid I actually looked. Never the less, I'm going to let you lovelies see it anyways, because I don't think it will get much better. When you watch it, I'm sure you'll agree- I'm just not made to make videos, but practice makes perfect, right? :)

Ugh, are you still alive after watching that? Horrific. I'm sorry you had to sit through that.

Again.

I know I've said this about a million times, but I really feel the need to say it again. I want to meet this little man so badly. I can't wait to see this precious little boy in person. The wait is getting hard, but I know it's worth it.

And because it makes me happy.

I had to share this picture of our grass. Green, tall, and lush. One of my Summer loves for sure.

Do you ever feel the need to ramble? About what? Do tell!

Linking up to Sunday Snapshot!

{friday favorites} summer love.

Summer.

How I love that word! Tons of things come to mind when I hear the word "Summer." Long evenings spent at the park in the sunset. Glasses of iced tea, and painted toe nails. No school, late nights, late mornings. Farmers markets, swimming pools, sandals, and sun tans.

But here are just a few of my very favorite things about Summer...

Flip-Flops.

Dear Flip-flops, I love you.

Arizona Iced Tea.

2 for 1 sale makes a happy, happy girl.

Big huge watermelons.

Yes, please.

Throwing out school papers.

Throwing away all of those no longer needed papers for school, and cleaning out my notebooks, makes me excited.

Raspberry lemonade.

Lemonade + Raspberries + Ice = lovely raspberry lemonade made by my grandma. {That right there, is math that I can do!}

Going to the park.

In the warm weather. With friends. And a camera.

I'm Linking up with...

Head on over and check it out!

Don't forget to link up with your favorites!

What are some of your favorite things about Summer this year?