Our First Place!

Okay. Occupy Investment has paid off!

As of 8:30 this morning we are officially leasing our first place.

Which happened to be our first pick.

Camping paid off!

Wanna see?

Of course you do!

The apartment was rented at the time so we had to go in and take very few pictures!

The dining area to the right of the door...

Continuing around in a circle to the living room...

Then to the kitchen!

Making a complete 360 to the laundry closet to the left of the front door...

Spare room/study and bathroom to the left of the kitchen.

Notice there's no picture of the master bedroom?

That's because the current tenant was sick and staying in there while we looked at it!

It's okay though. We have seen the virtual tour and we like it! 

Wow...our first place. I feel so grown up!

Musings...ChenZhou 2012 Part 1

It has been a few days since we announced my call to China this summer.

And I have gotten reactions that span from positive, to negative, to absolute disbelief.

The most common question goes something along the lines of, "But, you're going to be newly married! What are you two going to do without each other for TWO WHOLE WEEKS?!"

And that's what I'd like to address. In this I have 3 main thoughts:

1. The most obvious is yes, we will miss each other but we are both grown adults who can take care of ourselves for 14 days.

2.Once we get married, my husband does not become #1 in my life. The Lord and His will are still #1. Period. And being called to mission is being called to mission, whether it comes 2 months or 20 years after we are married.

3. Are we a little scared to be apart and have limited contact for two weeks? Um, duh. But do you know what is more scary to me/us?

• Living for storing up treasures on Earth (Matthew 6:19)
• Ignoring a clear calling from the Lord.
• Living a life of apathy to these sweet children's plight. (James 1:27)

We are taking a leap of faith here, because honestly, I have no earthly idea how we will get the money and on time.

But we strongly believe that if the Lord calls, which He has, He will provide. Period.

So what now? 

Support raising, that's what now.

Tax deductible donations.

How to Donate:

1. go to visitingorphans.org
2. click donate in the top right
3. Pick "fund category" "ChenZhou July 2012"
4. Fill in the rest of the info.
5. If you'd like to donate to a specific team member, click "Team Member or Ministry Name" and fill in the name.

       *side note if you decide to support my trip: I am going under my maiden name as I will not have time to change my passport before the trip*

Above all else, PLEASE pay attention to this:

Pray, friends. Pray for our team, for health and safety and bravery, and pray for our loved ones back home. Our team leader is leaving 4 of her 5 babies and a husband. Many are mamas leaving their babies. I'm a newlywed leaving my husband. And most of all, pray that the kids, the nannies, our guide, the hotel workers, everyone will see Jesus.

Mommy Days

Today is a Mommy Day.

Meaning a day where my appreciation for mommies grows a TON.

Days like these I didn't expect to have for another, I don't know, 10 years?

When Chad and I have our own little ones?

Today...wow...my brain and body are running on "E" so forgive me if I make zero sense.

I woke up early today feeling pretty good.

I was able to get some things done before an easy drive to work.

And then I walked in the door.

And little man took one look at me and started to throw a tantrum.

Throwing himself on the floor, screaming, crying, the works.

So. Very. Two year old.

And then Allie walked in the door from her sleepover and the first words out of her mouth were, "Guess what?! We stayed up until 1am!!"

And she has another sleepover tonight.

And her mommy had set up for us not only to dye 2 dozen Easter eggs, but ALSO bake cupcakes.

Mini cupcakes.

In this little cupcake maker that Allie got for her birthday but never used before.

The one that only makes 7 mini cupcakes at a time.

You can do the math to see how long that could take.

So of course, little lady was tired and becoming hyper active to counteract that so as we are starting to get the egg dye out she was literally shaking and spinning around the kitchen.

Have I mentioned that it has been so long since I've dyed eggs that I had to read all the directions because I didn't remember?

As the child is spinning around the kitchen?

I also talked to my mom during this time and she had 2 pieces of not so great info for me that I was trying to process.

So as we get deep into egg dyeing, little man wakes up from his nap screaming.

Of course.

So I got him out, tried to change his diaper but they were all gone.

Ugh.

So then it was his lunch time as "Sissy" kept dyeing eggs, as well as her shirt and fingers.

So I got his lunch all made and he wasn't wanting to eat, which was strange because normally he's a big eater and wouldn't eat breakfast.

Mom called again and I was telling her how crazy things were around here.

And then I went over to Allie to help clean up the dye mess that had been made while she started violin, and then I heard the sound...

You know, THE SOUND.

The one we all dread.

Yep, sure enough, little man threw up all over himself and high chair.

Cue panic, running a bath, notifying his mom, and bathing him.

With amateur violin artist is playing in the background, for 45 minutes. Loudly. 

I checked his temp and it was 99.2. Not bad, but still not normal.

And as I am doing all of this, little lady finished up her violin.

As I was wrestling little man back into clothes (and I diaper I thankfully found!), she asks me,

"Miss Amy, can we bake the cupcakes now?! I'm bored!"

I actually kept my cool.

But I won't tell you how much caffeine I'm running on.

Easter Wreath Time!

This is probably the cheapest Easter wreath you can make.

No, seriously.

I calculated my total cost to be less that $5.

That isn't counting the spray adhesive I had at home!

I took the other half of plumbers pipe fitting and secured it into a circle. ($.49)

Then I spray painted it green (the whole can was $.94 because I bought the cheap kind)

And let it dry.

Then I took the spray adhesive and coated what I decided to be the front (how much does that stuff cost? I don't know. I bought it so long ago that I forgot)

**crafters note: the spray adhesive is nearly impossible to get off wedding rings and glasses. You may want to remove them first!**

Then I took the green Easter basket stuffing and stuck that to the adhesive ($1 and I didn't use the whole bag)

Then another coat of adhesive to get it all to stick.

After it was dry, I took my bag of small Easter eggs and my E-6000 glue and started gluing them on top (Eggs: $.70 for the bag and I didn't use them all, and I don't remember what the glue costs. A little goes a long way and I'm pretty sure its not more than $2-3)

I let that dry and then added a ribbon bow that I made and a ribbon to hang it with ($1 bin at Michaels!)

And then I ended up with this:

Excuse my lack of photography skills.

Total Cost: $4.13

I think its cute and worth all the scrubbing needed to get the adhesive off my hands!

An Interview With Landon

An interview with Landon, age 2 years and 7 1/2 months

If something doesn't make sense it's because I quoted him exactly!

Tell me something about Mommy: don't know. she's pretty she not have hair like brown.

About Emmett: he's emmett hes my best friend. and lilah and libby and jackson.

About Daddy: he has white hair.

About Bella; she has red hair like daddy.

Who is your brother: Emmett

Do you like him? Love him? yes, Yes

Favorites:

Food pretzels (eating currently)

Drink: chocolate milk and milk

Show: Little Bear and Dora

Color: I like blue, I do like blue

Game: Backyardigans (I thought that was a show but whatever!)

Toy: going to your house (Amy and Bella)

Book: The Hockey Game

Animal? jaguar like Baby Jaguar

What does he say? Mao Mao! just like that.

Song? no but I have dance.

Go? the park

Store? get some food, restaurant with food with me getting food and going home and eat it

Outside? play my swingset

Sport: "bam bam" on Kinect

Movie? don't know, Cars 2

How do you feel about potty training; I already do it. I like it.

Do you like it? yes I just go potty one weekend though.

What color is your hair? I don't know, I want to see my hair. (heads to mirror)

Do you like me asking you all these questions? NOOOO.....

Then he left to go fill his pants while talking to himself.

The Things I Am Not...

Its funny how unexpected situations can teach you so much about yourself.

Like fishing with my fiance this past weekend.

I haven't been fishing since I was probably 10 and I went with my dad.

Which I liked because he did all the "yucky stuff" that I wouldn't.

I am not okay with leaning halfway into the water with danger of falling.

I am NOT okay with putting a worm on a hook.

I am not ashamed to be proud of the one time I cast the line more than a foot.

I am not a fan of touching fish.

Or taking them off the hook.

But I am a fan of paper towels so that I didn't have to touch it's slimy body.

Side note, it took me so long to get up the guts to touch it that Chad had to put it back into the water on the line two times so it didn't die.

The only reason I agreed to do it was because when Darren came down to join us he told me that it was a pregnant fish. And I didn't want the babies to die.

You're probably reading this and laughing.

And that's totally fine.

I'm 20, almost 21, not afraid to fly off to China with mostly strangers, yet I can't touch a worm or a fish without freaking out.

Oh, the irony.

Malehloa Update-March

We got it.

The packet with all the info on our sweet baby girl and her country.

Malehloa Letsatsi is our precious one!

She lives with one brother, one sister, and her parents.

Sweet baby will be one year old on wedding day.

She lives in an AIDS affected area of Africa (Lesotho, to be exact)

One thing I adore about World Vision is that they give information about the area in which our child lives.

So here's what we learned:

• Lesotho has a population of 2.067 million people.
• It covers 11,720 square miles, most of which is mountainous.
• Life expectancy is 46 years.
• The literacy rate is about 90% with 85% of children enrolled in primary school.
• Only 85% of their residents have access to clean water.
• And the average income is about $1,020/year. (SIDE NOTE IF YOU ARE STILL READING: My trip to China costs about 4 times this much. Please consider donating to our team!)
• The good news is the country is about 80% Christian. 

As I stared at her picture again while we watched the intro DVD they sent, I began to have visions of bows and bracelets and all the other girly things we could lavish on a child finally! (2 nephews = no pink, no bows, no frills. which = bummer.)

We are allowed to send gifts as long as they fit in a 6x9in. bubble mailer.

We are in the process of writing am email to her, and will send pictures and gifts by snail mail as soon as possible.

Chad and I were talking tonight, and we realized that not only were we agreeing to adopt this little princess, but her family as well. She's not even one yet, so while they may read her the letters we send, and put her hair in the multitude of bows I plan to send, we are really ministering to the parents. They get to see the firsthand effects of our sponsorship, and we are not taking it lightly. 

Did I mention I am incredibly in love with her already?