We are watching the Alabama vs. Auburn game and all I can say is:

ROLL TIDE ROLL
36-0
WE NOW have 364 days of BRAGGING rights!!!!

You have gotta see THIS..... what a remarkable story it is.....

I would love to see him in person!!!

You can view the highlight of our family HERE. I hope you enjoy it.

TURN OFF THE MUSIC ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG....



I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

SO HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR MONDAY??

I took Isabella and Giovanna to the Dr's today along with Lily in tow. After waiting for so long and having a lunch picnic on the floor of Primed this is the end result...

Both girls have upper respiratory infections and both have some black spots on the lungs BUT PRAISE THE LORD NO pneumonia...YET (Im hoping we got it in time)!!! I know people think Im nuts when i say the girls get sick quick...and BOTH of them seem to be acting fine....BUT I knew they werent completely act right..... I picked up Giovanna at school at 11:15 and headed to the Primed...Gabby stayed at school because I knew it would be so much easier with 3 instead of all 4. The girls did remarkably well....we sang songs, had fun drawing, talk to folks waiting along side of us, did a phonics game and had our little picnic on the floor.... It was crowded so we found a corner and sat down....

I was so eager to get out of there....and finally at 2:15 we were cut loose. I had promised the girls we would get a hamburger at the end of the visit so even though we had a PBJ picnic...a hamburger was sure to fill them up as well....got home just in time for the bus!

SO HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR MONDAY??

THIS POST IS FOR ONE OF OUR BLOG VISITORS WHOM LEFT US A COMMENT....WE WE WOULD LOVE TO VISIT YOUR BLOG NADIA...

Nadia from Canada i would love to be invited to view your blog....I dint know your holiday's were OFF from ours in the USA.... We also have HUGE sales the day after Christmas here...


Rita
rlba272@hotmail.com

Go check this out...her work is awesome!!!

http://kandykissesboutique.typepad.com/

BLACK FRIDAY

BLACK FRIDAY: TO DO OR NOT TO DO???

I'm just curious.....what do yo u plan to do the day after THANKSgiving??? Does the sales ads get you excited enough to brave the crowds at 5am? OR do you want to spend the day with family and gorging yourself on the yummy leftovers?? OR is this your day annually that you put out all your Christmas decorations?

If you are heading out to the stores....what are the items you are dodging the crowd for? What is your favorite store to hit? If you have older children 19+ whats on your list this year for them??

We are only ONE WEEK away from the SHOWDOWN! Leave me comments and tell me your plans..

Have a blessed day!

An Orphans Prayer

An Orphans Prayer

I am waiting…somewhere far…far away
on the other side of the world.
I may not know who you are or what you look like
But some how deep in my heart I know you are out there.
That one day you will come and find me.
It’s a long journey, and it takes a lot of time…
I wish it could be easier.
But I know that the ones who come for me
will not count the cost.
They will only see the joy of finding me.
For now I abide in the fields of the fatherless.
Day by day wondering why I was born here
and not somewhere else?
Asking…why my life couldn’t have been different?
It is so lonely…Even though I am surrounded by
hundreds of other children,
I know that something is missing…
I know in my heart I need a place to call home.
My arms long to be wrapped in a father’s embrace…
I long to be saved by a mother’s love…
Gazing out the orphanage window I offer a
prayer of hope,“Oh God please help them
come quickly.”
Even as I lay in the darkness of each night
somehow I feel assured,
That no matter how lost I appear I am not alone.
Holy hands guard my steps; sacred fingers wipe
my tears, touching my lonely heart.
The one who made me,
The God that knew me before I was born
Hears me every time I call
He whispers His promises in my ear.
I listen with hope to His voice.
But what I worry about most is that no one wants to look for me.
The fields are vast and there are so many scattered all over the earth.
I wonder how one little child, so lost, can be found?
Yet He calms my heart and assures me that He will find you.
That He will make sure that you hear His voice clearly.
He has promised me that He will make a way through the fields,
That He will personally cut a path and lead you right to my orphanage door.

My prayer is…When He speaks…Please don’t forget to listen…
When He calls don’t be too afraid to go
For I am waiting…somewhere, far…far…away
On the other side of the world
To come Home


PLEASE help this dream/prayer of hope come true for a child...visit www.reecesrainbow.com and visit the angel tree. Help support a family waiting to find their forever child... sponsor a waiting child!!!!

SYDNEY IS Coming home!!

After almost 2 yrs of waiting....Kristi and her family will have their Princess Sydney home with them FOREVER!!! They are in Guatemala and will pick up the visa today and head home on Thursday!!!! Praise be to God!!!!

UP CLOSE: A MOTHER'S VIEW

Meredith is having a blog give away for a book.... UP CLOSE: A MOTHER'S VIEW Go check out the details at her blog and register...

As I have mentioned before in my blog...The REECE's RAINBOW Down Syndrome Adoption Awareness is now holding the Angel Tree fundraiser... go check it out! http://reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2008.htm

This is an awesome way to support orphans and help give them a FOREVER FAMILY!

The day at the dentist

Yesterday afternoon we took all 4 girls to the dentist. This is not a task i like to do, but something that must be done. William had taken yesterday off so it was a perfect day for the "chore". 6 months ago Lily and Gabby surprisingly did wonderful without even a tear, fuss or hesitation...this time gabby was a new creature!!! She screamed unlike anything I had heard from her....like they were really hurting her..... BUT they weren't! William had to hold her down, which was no fun for Daddy. I was in the private room with Giovanna...and that was such a pleasure!!! N O T !!!! You literally have to lay on top of her just about and restrain her arms... They try their best to get a good cleaning done, but as long as the Dr can get a good exam of their teeth, and they do try to clean them well, but as long as he feels the exam is good and there are no cavities then we have succeeded! There were no cavities for any of the girls but some not so great news!!!!

Lily: When we brought her home, she has a fused front tooth (meaning one of her front teeth is 2 put together) and she is missing some. Her mouth is full of teeth, but you can look at how the teeth are and see that all of them in their correct placements didnt come in. They were able to do an xray of her mouth and noticed that some of her permanent teeth are the same. She is missing 3 of her permanent teeth so far. We are hoping that maybe they are just slow coming in but Im afraid that is not the deal. He said we will just have to wait and see when she is older and I am sure the lovely orthodontist will be glad to see our family coming in yet again...

Giovanna: She has lost 7 baby teeth! That is hard to believe....he said that her adult teeth will be over crowed, so we will have to cross the bridge of ortho with her as well.

Gabby: Her teeth are SO TINY! Smaller than any of the other girls. He couldnt believe that she was 6 yrs old like Giovanna. She has no signs of a loose tooth anywhere...we will continue to watch her mouth and wait for the tooth fairy to visit!

Isabella: Oh my dear Bella...Her mouth is so crazy!! She will indeed be at the orthodontist. She finally got that last baby tooth in about 4 months ago and it has come in behind the others... So when she smiles, it looks like she is still missing it...She didnt like the dentist at all. This was her first time because she has really just finished getting in all her baby teeth within the last 6months.. WE were SHOCKED to hear that her two front bottom teeth are LOOSE! She isnt even 4 yet. He told me to watch them, and not purposely try to pull them. He said she could have fallen (I dont think this is it) or just be an early tooth looser....She could have 2 sets of adult teeth (WE ARE HOPING THIS IS NOT THE CASE). So we wait and see what lye's ahead with her little mouth.

I cant believe that in our future we will once again go from having 2 in braces to having 4 in braces at a time!!!! What a joy!!!

Here is a picture of the girls yesterday. I took this with William's IPhone so you can tell it was a quick job...lol

Have a fun filled day!!

Catch up post!

Sorry it has been awhile...just craziness around here....BUT hey that's ok!

Michael come home again this weekend...Lyndsey did not..

I have been finishing up my orders for Thanksgiving shirts and now am finishing up a birthday outfit order....this is so much fun!!! I also started and almost finished all 4 of my little ones' Christmas outfit to go see Santa in....they turned out so cute. The shirts now have rhinestones on the top of the trees and also a few on the Christmas tree itself...The girls love them!! Lily is modeling one of them(without the rhinestones)....she has on Gabby's pants, so they are too short for Lily...

William took yesterday off, Monday, and He, Michael and I went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrell, after we got all the girls off to school and I finished up Gabby's revised IEP meeting.

Gabby is now mostly in her regular ed class during the day with the exception of 45 min self contained class in the morning (to get her AAA testing done) and then all her therapy classes in the afternoon. She is doing good at school, and we felt she was ready for the regular ed class most of the time. Her teacher and Aide are doing a great job of adding things in the class to help Gabby out....Giovanna is still doing great in her regular inclusion class all day with the exception of therapy as well. She is talking so much now....and becoming even more SASSY! I didnt think that was possible from a overly sassy 6 yr old already...lol!

I have enjoyed reading so many blogs lately of families FINALLY bringing home their angels with and without Down Syndrome...It is so exciting to see these families that GOD put together!!! There are though times in the beginnning with adjustments and such but WOW.... how awesome it is to finally give these childrent the chance to a LIFE that they would never have...and to love them FOREVER!!! I am so thrilled to have all of our children...God made each of them just for us....Starting with the twins all the way down....They were ours before they were born!!!! Im still praying for that sweet angel V in India....I know God has her in His hands.....please continue to pray with me!!!!

I hope a week doesnt go by for blogging again...I will post a pic of the girls yesterday! ALL 4 of them went to the dentist....can you say we had loads of fun?? NOT! Giovanna, Gabby and Bella were terrified! Gabby did fantastic last time, but yesteray.....WOW....she was a changed girl! Screaming like I had never heard!!! I will share more about our dentist post when William sends me the pictures.

Have aBlessed day!!!

Rita

THANK YOU!

Today is Veteran's Day and I want to say a HUGE THANK you to all the men and women who have faught and who are currently fighting to keep our country FREE! I am so proud of my husband! He has been in the service now for just over 20 yrs and is proud of his job. He loves taking part in the most selfless act of protecting His country, and for this I am proud! I have met so many people that are connected to the military in some form or fashion and to hear their stories are just so neat. Everyone has a different story, but somehow it is still the same.....they love what they do!

To the families who have lost a loved one, Im so sorry, but I can say "It must make you so proud to know they were protecting something they loved!" I cant understand how you feel, and I pray I never find out....but if I do, then I know my husband was doing his calling.....protecting!

May God Bless each and every Veteran today and Always!!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA MY HOME SWEET HOME

I KNOW I KNOW BE POSITIVE....BUT

I had to share....

Someone sent me a email off a group Im on and said

"Dont they look happy?" Well girlfriend, I think Pres Bush is saying "Oh H@LL what has America done now??" YES America We are in for a change alright...Put your seatbelts on, put your water waist high boots on because there is about to be alot of not so good stuff happening......

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY....get yourself ready to step out of your comfort zone if your a christian, there is alot to get done...and we need everyone PRAYING FOR AMERICA!!!!

Thanksgiving Shirts

Here are the Turkey shirts Im working on....I have had several orders lately and just finished them yesterday. Now Im working on my 4 little ones tops....BUT GOOD news for you all....You still have time to place an order for your little ones for the big day.

The color scheme will vary, you just tell me what you like and I will do my best...I make them for girls and boys. the color of the shirt and style of shirt will vary depending on what I can find available. BUT it will all match the color scheme of the turkey. I can make these in just about any size. You can have your choice of feather designs, either the way shown or with the feathers in a more squared off design. If you need a picture let me know. Several folks order that style for the boys.

Cost is only 22.00 plus your choice of shipping. If you order 3 or more the price goes to 20.50 ea. I take NON credit or debit paypal, cash or checks....GET your order in soon!!!

Leave a comment or email me at rlba272@hotmail.com

I will need to have your order in no later than Friday Nov 14th.....

Ive been sewing away today....

look for the pictures tomorrow....

I have a few orders for Thanksgiving TURKEY shirts and wanted to make all my girls one..so Ive been busy! they are for sale as well.... but get the order to me this week. so you have them for the big day.

TAG....I'm IT!

I have just been so bummed with the presidental election that I thought I would share some fun. Thanks Amanda for the tag!


Here are 7 random/wierd things about me...

1. I love eating peanut butter on top of
my vanilla ice cream.

2. I have been to a total of 3 countries adopting or girls. Our family is now made from Guatemalan, Colombian, Indian and American Blood!

3. I like to sleep in sweat pants in the winter.

4. I married at 19 and have been married to my dear sweetheart almost 20 yrs!!

5. I lived in FL my whole life until we moved to Alabama for the military.

6. My favorite TV shows as a teenager were: Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard.

7. I had my first real crush on a boy when i was 12 yrs old (WAY TOO YOUNG)


I now tag the following people: These are totally RANdom people from my reader list.

Leigh
Susan
Kristi Watch their exciting journey to Guatemala to bring home their daughter Sydney...they have waited far too long
Amy Watch Amy as she is getting ready to travel back to Russia to bring home her little son
Charissa watch her little Ava grow!
Emily
Jill

PRAY FOR OUR COUNTRY....

IM AFRAID WE ARE REALLY GONNA NEED IT!!!

I want to be like this in 15-20 yrs

I found this link on my best friend Susan's blog and just had to share it...

Some of my readers have adopted children outside of their race, like William and I our children are obviously not our biological children....but WE DONT CARE...they ARE OUR CHILDREN.

I love the way this woman and her son express their views on intercultural families and what its like growing up ....different.......I wanna be just like this!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26856184#27514997

GET OUT AND VOTE!

This is your American right.

Dont think that since the lines will be long,
there is not alot of parking and you have to walk a ways,
the weather is not good,
you have to bring the kids along,
you think your ONE vote isnt going to make a difference
your not in a great mood,
OR you just dont like either one of the candidates.....

STILL GET OUT AND VOTE!

300 years ago, you would have not had the right, and you would have had to listen to someone else make ALL the rules and you had NO voice....

Well thanks to our men and woman who have fought the fight to keep America FREE, you NEED to do this. OUR country depends on YOU!


Rita,
who bleeds REPUBLICAN RED!

The Halloween evening in URGENT CARE!

Last night around 4:30, while I was finishing up Giovanna's Tutu, Lyndsey was playing with the girls. They were so excited to have her home and even more excited I think to get their costume's on and head out to Trick n Treat!!!! Giovanna was playing on the ottoman and fell off backwards and hit her ear on the wood of the bay window....and POW! She busted her ear open and busted a blood vessel or something because it swelled up so big (like the boxer's ears when they get hit)! Scared me to death!!! I come running downstairs to get her and whew I was trying to not to panic! William hadn't made it home yet. I gave her Motrin and put a cold rag and ice on it and held her still. Once William got home I called the after hours Dr at the base and they said to take her in to the urgent care after hours clinic. LUCKILY for us it wasn't all that crowded....maybe 4 people in front of us. They cleaned off the blood, put some cream on it, gave us a prescription for antibiotics and some cream and sent us home. We were back home by 8pm. They told me to watch it and if it was to build up more blood to bring her back right away... I was so nervous!!!

THEN the Dr that we were seeing made me cry (after he walked out of the room!) He was an Indan Dr, very soften, kind but totally NO bed side manners! After he looked at Giovanna (from afar- he just looked and never touched her) and started to walk out the room, he turned around and pulled the door back closed....HHMMM....I was wondering what was going on....he then said to me "Does she have any other medical problems?" Well no not from her ear, she the busted ear, I said. Now my brain wheels are turning....what is he talking about....He starts to studder and was like, No I mean any thing else wrong with her....WELL NO I said, Just her busted ear...Still you could tell his question wasnt answered....puzzled he asks yet a third time....I then am like "Oh you mean her having Down Syndrome?" I did not think that was a chronic medical problem... "Yes, she has Down Syndrome and yes she has had open heart surgery and a few other surgeries but I assure you, she is fine!" He is still standing there with this puzzled look on his face because he sees clearly on her chart that she is adopted. He watches Giovanna sitting on the table looking at a magazine, and he looks right at me and says "Well, Intelectually, is she ok?" Well HEck yes she is OK! "Does she talk?" In my head Im thinking NO she grunts! I say to him, YES she talks, she loves school and plays alot! He is still staring at us both with this puzzled look...and says kinda quietly, Well where I come from (it is obvious INDIA) kids like her dont do anything, talk, walk, and you dont see them out and about like your daughter!!!! GUYS- I am just about to die! I wanted to be the strong advocate for my daughter and let the world (the DR) see that she can do everything any other child can do ...you just gotta give her a chance....BUT inside the tears were forming!!!!

I want so badly to jump on a plane and go to INDIA to bring home V and I know she will be aging out of her baby orphanage by next Oct IF NOT SOONER, and will be sent away....AWAY where no one ever will see her, where no one can finally welcome her in to their family!!!!! PLEASE stand in prayer with me....pray that the Lord will bring her FOREVER FAMILY (I still pray it is ours!) quickly.....please help sponsor children just like her all over the world that NEED and deserve to be a child just like my Giovanna (and Bella and Gabby) Please, give them a chance to live....a chance to grow... a chance to feel the love that only a mommy and daddy can give....give them a chance to know who Jesus is.... a chance to blossom into the beautiful children that our God designed them to be..... Go to Reece's Rainbow and see all the waiting children with Down syndrome from around the world....Sponsor them with as little as 1.00. By giving this unselfish gift, it will help their forever family commit to them and help with the extremely high international adoption expense!!!! PLEASE let these angels have a chance like my Giovanna. She too could have ended up just like the children this DR spoke about in his country!! I think it would have blown his mind if I would have told him that I also had 2 other daughters with Down Syndrome and best of all ONE of them is from INDIA! Do you think his puzzled look would have changed???

ITS NOT TOO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST, your teacher gifts, the gifts for friends and family who are hard to buy for......when you visit Reeces Rainbow please click on the angel tree link....this will take you to our page that has all the children around the world, whose forever families HAVE NOT FOUND them yet, YES that means they ARE available for adoption, they need sponsors! By donating a TAX deductable gift of any amount you can help change the world of these orphans. If you make a donation of at least 35. you will get a ornament with the child's picture and a gift card. This will be mailed to the person you choose. What better gift this season to give someone than the gift if LIFE! Wont you join us and help bring these children home!!!

Click the link below to change a child's world forever!!!


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