Life in the Berg's Nest

Our busyness!!

2010-08-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Emma little Chinese friends at her Chinese dance class. <3 Our happy child, Emma!

5th birthday celebration!

A visit in Sept. with my son, Nathan, and his friend, Tony while they were driving west to begin their lives as Californians. He loves living in SanDiego.

AUGUST 23, 2010

I have finally caught up with the blog. I think it's time for a new look here and perhaps a new name. I'll get back to you on that!

So, it's August and summer is coming to an end. We sure have had a hot one!! In the 90's most of the summer with little rain. The garden did terrible!!!!! Grew fast buy has yielded little. :(

We will have some pumpkins this fall though and I think the kids will enjoy the fact that they came from our garden. Our little rabbits have enjoyed what veggies we have had. It's a good thing I enjoy the furry creatures!!

Emma took the the water this summer like she was born with fins!! Yes, the little mermaid is real!! No longer does she wear water wings, just her own and she dives under and swims the length of the pool across. She is faithful to put her pink goggles on and will swim for ever given permission. She has also begun to jump off the diving board into the deep end which does make both her dad and I a bit anxious since she cannot swim!!! Guess this year we will look into those swimming lessons at the local YMCA.

Nadya is quite content to spend her days sitting in her room, practicing her guitar. She has done well since Christmas teaching herself with the help of a friend and sister, Bekki. She enjoys putting her own writing into music too. This week she began 8th grade as a home schooler and again will take some classes thru PEP. This year she is taking, Logic, Alg. I, Conceptual Physics, Spanish I, and Debate. I'm sure it will be another good year for her.

Bekki is in the process of filling out her application for a long term missions trip thru YWAM, Youth With A MIssion. She will go for 9 months beginning in Jan. 2011. The trip will involve her being in a decipleship training class for the first 3 months. Her location will be aboard a very lard catamarin sailboat off off Belize in Central America. She will also learn to sail and intern with YWAM. The second 3 months she will be doing outreach using her sailing skills as they navigate the ports thru-out the area sharing Christ and meeting the needs of the poor. Upon completion of these 6 months she will then have the opportunity to either do an internship with another missionary anywhere in the world for 3 months or go to a secondary training school for which there is a wonderful one in Belize that has a focus on music worship. So, we would appreciate your prayers and if you see Bekki let her know.

Aimee and Brett have been married for almost 2 months!! Photos to come.

2010-08-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

WELL IT HAS BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE I LAST POSTED HERE! HOW QUICKLY TIME GOES THESE DAYS.
HERE IS A RUN DOWN OF OUR PAST YEAR IN WARP TIME! :)
AUGUST 09 SCHOOL BEGAN FOR NADYA AS A FIRST TIME HOME SCHOOLER IN THE 7TH GRADE. SHE TOOK SOME CLASSES AT A LOCAL CHURCH AND PARTICAPATED IN A PROGRAM CALLED PEP. HER CLASSES INCLUDED, GENESIS THOUGHT, PRE-ALGEBRA, GEOGRAPHY, COMPOSITION AND LIT., AND ART AROUND THE WORLD.
SEPTEMBER 09 WAS BUSY WITH US MOVING A CHILDS HOPE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY AND KIDS AGAINST HUNGER TO A NEW LOCATION IN BLUE ASHE, OH. WE WERE MORE THAN BLESSED BY SO MANY! AIMEE BEGAN HER SENIOR YEAR AT UNIV. OF CINCINNATI WITH HER FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. BEKKI CONTINUED TO WORK THE COFFEE SHOPS AS SHE WAS CONSIDERING HER FUTURE. EMMA IS HOME WITH MOM, ENJOYING HER CHINESE DANCE CLASS AND HER GYMNASTICS FOR WHICH SHE IS A NATURAL.
OCTOBER 09 WE COMPLETED OUR MOVE AND BEGAN THE PACKING FOR KAH ONCE AGAIN. LARRY AND I TOOK A MUCH NEEDED 3 DAYS AND DROVE TO GAITLINBURG WITHOUT OUT CHILDREN! WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME RELAXING AND PEOPLE WATCHING.
NOVEMBER 09 I CELEBRATED ANOTHER BIRTHDAY! SORRY AGE IS NOT AVAILABLE. :) WE LOOKED FORWARD TO HAVING OUR FUTURE SON-IN -LOVE COME FOR THANKSGIVING. KAH WAS EXTREMELY BUSY WITH GETTING FOOD PACKED.
DECEMBER 09 HERE WE ARE CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. EVERY YEAR I PROMISE MYSELF TO KEEP IT SIMPLE AND I THINK WE FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT THIS TIME. :) WE HAD SOME FRIENDS FOR DINNER AND JUST KEEP IT SIMPLE. AIMEE FLEW TO CT. TO BE WITH HER FIANCE, BRETT.
JANUARY '10 A NEW YEAR!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL, HOPE IT HAS BEEN A GOOD ONE. TRAGIC EARTHQUAKE HIT HAITI LEAVING DEVASTATION ALL OVER. LORD WE PRAY AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRAY UNTIL YOU RETURN.
FEBRUARY '10 LARRY TOOK A SMALL TEAM TO HAITI TO SEE HOW OUR KAH COULD HELP. DIFFICULT VISIT, NO WATER, NO FOOD, NOTHING!! SADNESS EVERYWHERE, BUT CHIRST WAS STILL LIFTED UP AMONG THE RUBBLE. EMMA HAD HER 5TH BIRTHDAY AND BEKKI HAD HER 19TH BIRTHDAY. :) HOW THE YEARS FLY. BEKKI HAD A FEW FRIENDS COME FROM CT. TO HELP CELEBRATE. :)
MARCH '10 KAH IS BUSY COLLECTING AND PACKING FOOR AND AID FOR HAITI. IT'S A DAILY EFFORT. AIMEE, BEKKI AND I DROVE EAST TO CT FOR A WEDDING SHOWER GIVEN BY SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT OUR HOME CHURCH, CALVARY. WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE THEM.
APRIL'10 LARRY AND I CELEBRATED OUR 35TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!! WE WENT TO DINNER AT THE MONTGOMERY INN TO CELEBRATE. EASTER OR RATHER, RESURRECTION SUNDAY IS AMIDST US THIS MONTH. MAY WE BE EVERY MINDFUL OF WHAT HE DID ON THE CROSS FOR US. PRAISE THE LORD!
MAY '10 NADYA COMPLETED HER FIRST YEAR AS A HOME SCHOOLER VERY SUCCESSFULLY...STRAIGHT A STUDENT! :) GETTING READY FOR AIMEE AND BRETT'S WEDDING!
JUNE'10 LEFT OH ON THE 18TH AND DROVE TO CT. AIMEE AND BRETT GOT MARRIED ON THE 25TH OUTSIDE ON A BRIGHT SUNNY DAY. THE LORD SURELY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER AFTER SO MANY YEARS. WE RENTED A LITTLE COTTAGE FOR THE TIME WE SPENT THERE. LOVED SEEING OUR GRANDCHILDREN AND THE BEACHES. JULY '10 HOME AND LOVING THE SUMMER HERE IN OH. IT'S BEEN SO HOT, BUT WE HAVE CENTRAL AC AND A BEAUTIFUL POOL TO KEEP US COOL AND HAPPY.
PHOTOS COMING IN NEXT POST!

PROM 2009

2009-07-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Group photo of the two couples

Bekki & Kirsten

Emma and her boys!! Learning early.

Bekki and BF, Seth

Bekki & Seth in living color!!

I am way behind in my posts so I am trying to cover some ground here. Today, the prom. This event actually took place on May 16th at Mason High School here in Mason, Ohio. They really do it up well and I know my daughter had a wonderful time with her friends. Here are some photos to enjoy.

Graduations!!

2009-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Bekki's senior picture. Aimee loves photography so we hired her to do the shots. I think she is very talented. :)

Nadya at her 6th grade graduation! She is the one with the pink skirt!! :)
Nadya's 6th grade photo, by Aimee.

Graduation Day for two of our girls!! May 30th our daughter, Bekki, graduated from high school. Bekki has been home schooled for all her schooling and with the help of a program called PEP that she was enrolled in these past 3 years she has completed her studies!! Yeah!! We are very proud of her accomplishment and dedication to the work load. PEP is a wonderful though acedemically challenging program for home schoolers. We are very thankful that we had that available to us. She is taking a year to work and save $$ with plans of attending Hillsong School in Australia in 2010-2011.

We also had our daughter, Nadya, complete the 6th grade and with great honors is ready for the next faze of her education. Nadya received multiple awards; Leadership, High Honors, Writing Excellence, Team Player, Social Studies Achievement, Art Award and the President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence with a letter. So, basicaly, she is our little nerd. :)

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY GIRLS!!!

MOTHER'S DAY AT THE PARK

2009-05-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day has come and gone once again. This year I must admit I had my reservations as usual about it being "Mother's" day. I had decided early on that I would do something different and take the afternoon away from the family. I know that may sound odd to some, but I have been in such need of a break from all the bodies and voices at home. So, my dear husband was planning to pack me a picnic lunch of my favorite foods; roast beef sandwich on rye, chips, pickle, iced tea and I would get myself an ice cream as a treat. Sounds good to me!! Anyway, Sunday came and the weather was just too nice to spend it by myself. I rushed home from church and packed a picnic for the family. Sandwiches, chips, watermelon and drinks. I surprised them by inviting them to the park with me. It was a wonderful time for all. Emma enjoyed the playground toys and the girls enjoyed hiking the trails. My husband and I just enjoyed relaxing with no phones or requests. It was probably my best Mother's Day!! I say that because often I am the one to spoil the fun times planned by the kids. A fancy meal is not what I want and seeing them all running around the house trying to make everything perfect is just too stressful for me!! I want to get away and just do nothing!! This year we did just that and I am very thankful for that opportunity. Thanks kids!! I enjoyed having a day off and just hanging with you all. :)

Friday Frenzy!

2009-05-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Friday again!! How many Friday's have passed since I last posted? Hmm...

So, why is the Friday Frenzy! Ok, today was a pretty typical day except that in the afternoon I had to drive my daughter, Bekki, to a location that was not so close and navigate a very busy Friday afternoon road-system that is just plain crazy and scary!! So, I drove the 30+ minutes to the location where her drama club was performing in the evening. I dropped her off and turned around towards home. Emma fell asleep, not good, and I once again fought the endless Friday traffic home. I made a stop at the grocery store to pick up some goodies that I needed to take to the performance and then home. It's now 30 minutes that I have to dress, eat, put a cheese tray together and make sure my 4 year old is fed and cleaned up. Now we are headed back to where I was only about an hour ago, thus my frenzied Friday. :) In the mean time my husband had a presentation at our daughter, Nadya's, school for the Kids Against Hunger program we do on Saturdays. Nadya was planning to go to a freinds after school and we had to pull the plug on that when we realized we had nobody at home to retrieve her from her friends home after dinner. Just a lot of odds and ends that were getting lost in my plans. I really should place a large planner on my wall and have everyone fill it out around my committments. I will.....some day!!

The drama was put on by our daughter, Bekki's, home school group. There were two groups and they each did a comedy on church related stuff that was actually very relevant today! They all did a great job and wish I had a photo of Bekki's costume because she really shined! Way to go Bekki!!!

That's it for now. I will try to get some new photos of the gang up next time.

HAPPY MAY DAY!!

EWB

SPRING HAS SPRUNG HERE IN OHIO

2009-04-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally come to Ohio after a long cold winter. Every year it never ceases to amaze me just how much I dislike the cold!! And I mean strongly DISLIKE the winter. Coming from New England where our winters are long and cold, there is also the element of snow. For much of the winter we looked at a white blanket on the ground covering all the deadness. Ohio winters are bleak. Not much snow so most of the time we are looking out at gray skies, gray trees, gray streets and well, pretty much a dismal place. Every year I beg to move to a warmer climate where the sun shines most of the year and the leaves stay on the trees!! Anyway, it's spring now and I love this time of year. New birth in so many ways! The flowers, trees, birds, bunnies and other living creatures are coming out to see the wonderful creation God has provided for our pleasure!! Thank you!!

I have not blogged for a month and I can't believe how the time passes. This week Nadya is on school break so it's a nice time to relax. The other girls have already had spring breaks. We are looking forward to celebrating EASTER, the Resurrection of our Savior. I have been reading and listening to recounts of Jesus's last days and it is always a somber reminder of just how much He suffered for us! So, I will ponder his life and death on the cross these coming days.

The family is doing well. Aimee went and got engaged a couple of weeks ago and we are very happy for her and her fiancee, Brett Beatty. In a family full of girls it's a nice welcome to add another son. :)

Nadya

2009-03-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

Nadya with BF Abby in Ct. 2006

Beach Babe on Cape Cod 2006

Photo shoot with sister Aimee. 2007

Bekki and Princess Nadya 2004

Well, spring is almost here!! I can feel it in the air and smell the emerging grass and tiny sprouts pushing their way thru the ground. Isn't God great to give us spring after a long cold winter.

I thought I would share some of my daughter Nadya's daily life with you all. It's not all that exciting, but she is growing up before out eyes and I thought she needed some special attention.

Nadya is 13 and thinks she is ready to take on the world. I think that is pretty much what all 13 year olds think. Having several older sisters gives her a view into the gradual freedoms that have been earned and much to her dismay she will have to wait, just like them. My husband and I set our own standard and decided that a cell phone was not necessary until they were working and/or driving. Most of Nadya's school friends have their own cell phones and that makes it very difficult for us and for her trying to fit in. Clothing is also another area that we have tried to adress among the skimpy dress we see everywhere in elementary school and soon in middle school. That is very disturbing to us so we have made a prayerful decision to home school next year and perhaps for Nadya's future years. She will be part of a program called PEP, Providence Extension Program. Our daughter, Bekki, is graduating grom that program in May with a graduation ceremony and diploma. Anyway, this will be a new journey for Nadya and I think she will do very well.

Some things about Nadya:

Compassionate, especially towards animals

Servant, best helper in the house

Strong Willed, Lord help me!!

Smart, very!

Artistic in many different areas

Desires to grow up way to fast

Can argue with the best of them, should be a lawyer

Thoughtful

Loyal

Inquisitive

There you have it. :)

Bekki turns 18!!

2009-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well, my youngest birth child has gone and turned 18 on us!! How did this happen so fast I say! It seems like only yesterday that she was a 14 year old girl trying to find herself among all the changes in her life after our move to Ohio in 2005. I am truly amazed at just how much she has changed and become a woman of great faith. Now, that's not to say that she has reached her potential, but she is on the right road to finding it.

Bekki will graduate from high school in May. She has been home schooled for her entire education and I am proud of myself and of her for sticking to it. It's not easy getting thru high school and making sure all has been completed. I am thankful for a program called PEP for short or Providence Extension Program in which she attended classes two days a week and worked independently at home to complete each weeks studies. The program is very agressive and excellent. There were times when I just wanted to free her from the demands of the program, but she insisted she stay the course and complete it and she will in May 2009. Congratulations dear daughter, you have done well.

A few things about my daughter, Rebecca Lyn

1. Has very strong opinions...could win a debate

2. Excellent writer and speaker...may this ability continue to be challenged

3. Loyal...will stand with her friends

4. Tends to hold her emotions inside herself...ends up hurting

5. Thoughtful of others...will always go the extra yard to make them feel appreciated

6. Musically talented beyond ... plays piano & guitar and loves to write songs and sing

7. Beautiful...inside and out

8. Can be a hard worker....when out serving others

9. Committed to things she believes in....

10. Enjoys baking...that will come in handy when she finds her husband

11. Excellent ice skater...dedicated many years to competitive skating

12. Dancer at heart... always

13. Big sister to her two younger adopted sisters....not always easy

14. Desires to work in ministry with music...would like to attend the Hillsong School of Worship in Australia in 2010.

15. A good friend

16. Will become a driver very soon...takes it seriously

17. Has always wanted to attend a "ball" and be like a princess

18. My daugher...I love you Bekki!!

Brithday Celebrations

2009-02-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Emma celebrated her 4th birthday this past week. I don't know why I am having such a hard time with this new age, but can't they stay 3 a bit longer? I love the age of 3. I was a year full of newly aquired skills:

1. NO MORE DIAPERS
2. SLEEPING IN HER BED ALL NIGHT
3. SPEAKING IN SENTENCES
4. RIDING A BIKE
5. HELPING WITH CHORES
6. BEING AWARE OF THE NEEDS OF OTHERS
7. PLAYING WITH FRIENDS, VERY WELL
8. TALKING TO HER GRANDMA ON THE PHONE (HER FAVORITE PERSON)
9. HAVING A FAVORITE MOVIE, CINDERELLA
10. TELLING HER MOM THAT SHE LOVES HER SEVERAL TIMES A DAY!

Ayway, so long to 3 and hello to 4. I am looking forward to seeing how Emma will bloom this year. I don't wish the days away as growing up happens much too fast for this mama!!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MY SWEET EMMA-LIA GRACE!!! MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH ANOTHER AMAZING YEAR.

Emma's Favorites

2009-02-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of Emma's favorites. Donna, I had to steal this from you. :)

1. FAVORITE TOY: stuffed green dog that was a backpack, but she made me cut the straps off! You have no idea how hard it is to find a green dog.

2. FAVORITE THING TO WATCH ON TV: Mickey Mouse Club and doing the Hot Dog dance!! This has been a favorite without fail for 2 years now.

3. FAVORITE CHORE: Dusting with mom or sweeping up with her dustpan.

4. FAVORITE WORD: I'm hungry, all day long. We feed her constantly!!

5. FAVORITE TRICK TO PLAY: Hide behind her bed and jump up to scare me!

6. FAVORITE ANNOYING HABIT: Telling me she's hungry!!

7. FAVORITE DRINK: Apple juice

8. FAVORITE FOOD: Mac & Cheese or anything with cheese!

9. FAVORITE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION: Any car as long as she gets to go out somewhere. She loves to travel and rarely wants to go home.

10. FAVORITE OUTFIT: Tutu dress :)

11. FAVORITE TREAT: Chocolate chips, reward after going potty that has not ended.

12. FAVORITE THING TO DO: Play with her sisters who are very good with her.

13. FAVORITE COLOR: Green!!!

14. FAVORITE OUTSIDE ACTIVITY: Swimming in the summer

15. FAVORITE GAME: Her Match the Faces game and she can beat her dad bad!

So, I thought this was a lot of fun and it made me really think about what my little Emma is all about. She will be home with us for two years in a few weeks and we cannot imagine our lives without her bubbly personality. She is a daddy's girl during the day and a mommy's girl at night. She adores her sisters and talks about growing up so she can do all the things that they do. I tell her that she needs to stay four for a long time!!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2009

2009-01-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here is Emma and her dragon mask she colored, with moi help. She carried this with for the parade and was mighty proud to do so!! Look at that face! This is the gentleman who did the sword dance. The kids were so facinated with him, they never moved!! He was quite good and talked about what he was doing so we could understand. I think I would like to take a Tai-Chei class this year. (spell check please) Anyone know of one?

Nadya and Aimee hoping for good fortune!! See their pearls!! Thanks Auntie Victoria!! We love them!!
Now, Nadya just had to try these on for size. It was quite a feat for her to fit them into her eyes!! Nice look!!

This is the older girls dance team. They did a traditional sword dance and it was done very well. I am excited that Emma will now be old enough to take lessons.

This is what my husband did during the celebration, read the paper. :) He was interupted when little Miss Emma decided that she needed the mic from the emancee. They requested that Emma's parents please claim her!! She just has to have a mic of her own!!

The sites on the table. We enjoyed all the festive decorations on the tables along with some great little crafts for the kids. Thank you FCC!!!

Emma showing off her lovely Chinese outfit. She often asks to wear one of her little dresses just for fun and of course we indulge her!!

The Red Envelope and gold coins that are traditional.

Happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrate this special holiday! We have cleaned the house and decorated with lights and red lanterns in recognition of the Chinese New Year. This is the year of the OX. On Sunday we enjoyed a large celebration with other families who have adopted from China as well as many from the Chinese community here in Mason, Ohio. The place was packed with families and children adorned in red which is a sign of luck. Emma wore her sweet two piece red and gold princess dress purchased in China by a friend when they traveled last summer. Cindi, thank you. She loved wearing her special clothes and has enjoyed this celebration two years in a row now. We are amazed at just how comfortable she appears in such a large group, must be that so many look like her!! She marched in the Dragon parade this year, a first. She wanted to help carry the dragon, but she is too small so perhaps another time. We enjoyed watching a master sword dance, our young girls who take dance classes and are learning to do the traditional dances, a puppet show, karate demo, lion dance and of course the wonder Chinese buffet. My sister, Victoria and her daughter, Sidney, joined us this year and we had a wonderful time celebrating together. She gifted the girls with a lovely set of fresh water pearls. It was fun having some family with us. Thank you for joining us!! Here are a few photos.

The Best Christmas Present...

2009-01-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

City of Qianjiang in Chongqing, China 2009, the birthplace of our sweet daughter, Emma. As you can see it is a very mountaineous city. We hope to visit with Emma one day. Look at this little bed!! This is Emma sleeping in her little bed! No crib!!! She is in the one with the pink head bumper pad. They slept two to a bed, even the tiny ones!!

Emma is playing on the floor mat with some of her little friends. She is the one on all fours!!!

Emma in her walker, the place she spent most of her young toddler years, playing with one of her favorite toys, stacking cups!! She still loves these cups today at nearly 4 years old!!

This is a photo taken when she was around 15 mos. Sometimes it's hard to know for sure, but we have other photos like this taken by other visitors. She always wants to wear a beautiful dress, she asks every morning. I know this is short lived so I will indulge her as often as possible. :) She looks to have a cold and possibly eye infection.

The Chinese woman in this photo is Emma's appointed caretaker, called an Aiyi or auntie. They care for the children until they leave or are adopted, the same person. Each one cares for about 4 children so the other children are Emma's pals.

Tasting the yummy bumble bee teething toy! She is just so cute!!!

Another sleeping photo, sorry they are out of order. :) Emma is in the upper left bed.

Emma and her aiyi with friends. I'd love to know who the little girl in the blue dress is!! Anyone out there know? She is so pretty!!

Entertainment!! Look at the sweet little jammies, I am very sure they were part of a very genereous donation, possibly thru my Qianjiang Yahoo group. :)

Ok, this is only some of the photos we were sent by someone who visited the SWI in June 06. This person was touring with a group to several SWI's in the area which is very big! I am so very thankful that she noticed another photo of my little Emma on the APC group and contacted me! Perhaps one day I will get to do the same for some other family. Thank you!!

Happy New Year 2009!!

2009-01-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy New Year 2009 everyone!

It's hard to believe that another year is yet upon us, how quickly times goes by! We have much to be thankful for during 2008 and look forward to seeing what this year brings for our family.

First up, Emma did not end up with her surgery on the 30th although we did spend a good part of the day on Dec. 30th at Children's Hospital. Emma had her first of 3 heart echos and EKG's to check on her little heart. All is looking well, she is a pro at laying still for the 40minutes it takes to do the proceedure. The reason they did not do her surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids is because she is a low maintenace dose of baby aspirin daily to prevent blood clots going to her heart for 6 months. They decided last minute that the risk for bleeding was too high so we will wait until she completes her meds for the heart. We had so wanted to get this surgery done so she could sleep better. Guess we will make it through another few months. :)

We spent New Year's Eve home with our two youngest girls. We ordered our favorite Chinese Food and ate with candelite. We put little Emma to bed early and then Larry, Nadya and I enjoyed watching Prince Caspian. We did not stay up past 11:00PM, getting too old and tired. It was a nice quiet evening at home. :)

It's been flurrying for days and the skies have been gray for months!! I am really missing the blue skies and warm sun!! I am ready to head south!! :) Anyone want to buy a house in Ohio? :) Larry has been very busy with A Child's Hope International setting up meetings with many different people. It's amazing how many people we have met in such a short time! Larry is often on the telephone speaking with folks from various parts of Africa, India and Haiti. He has made contact with people in China as well. The Kids Against Hunger program is wanted everywhere!!!! Check out his blog at www.bergsnest.blogspot.com

Threads for Mia Hope

2008-12-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

Emma is modeling one of the sweetest outfits sewn by Robin from Redthreadstitches. She has been sewing away for some time now in order to raise funds to bring her daughter, Mia Hope, home from China. She is nearing the end of that process and waiting on her LOA. Please check out her blog. www.redthreadstiches.blogspot.com

A little video of Emma having fun with the modeling. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

2008-12-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Dear husband got his new coffee maker curtesy of his two sweet daughters, Aimee & Bekki

Bekki examines the gift from Nadya, two of the scented oil decanters! Nice!

Playing Apples to Apples on Christmas Eve!

This stocking is almost as big as little Emma! She was so thrilled with her stocking full of stuff! Notice the tutu I managed to add. :)

Emma's auntie VJ gave her the cutest little backpack full of animals!! She was very pleased!

Aimee's treasured gift. She savored this one since good things come in small packages!!

Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the house....the stocking they hung by the chimney with care....

Well, hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! It's hard to believe that several days have past since that distinct day and once again we are getting ready to begin a new year. I don't know what 2009 hold for us, but 2008 had a lot of twist and turns!

We celebrated Christmas Eve at home with my sister driving up from Kentucky with two of her kids, Ashleigh and Sidney who are 12 & 13. I set out a simple buffet and we relaxed and played Apples to Apples as well as chatted about life. It was good to spend a simple evening together. The girls went to the 11:00PM candlelite service at a local church. :) Christmas day was very layed back. Everyone slept in and then had a lite breakfast while the girls and I prepared brunch for all. The stocking were the first thing to be opened and enjoyed. Little Emma was so excited to open that stocking with her name on it. This is the first time she has fully enjoyed Christmas as far as the gift thing is concerned. We are working on the reason we celebrate Christmas with hopes of her fully embracing that next Christmas. :) The afternoon was relaxing as we slowly made our way through the gift opening. We had some very genereous "Secret Santa's" this winter. Thank you for making our Christmas more special. I decided not to prepare a big dinner since we were all enjoying just relaxing so we put out all our left-overs from the night before and munched on those until we were very full. Larry and the older two girls went to the movies that night to see the movie about Hitler, can't remember the name. Evidentally it was a very powerful movie. So, that was Christmas for us this 2008. No large crowds so we could keep Emma healthy for her surgery that is taking place on the 30th. Enjoy the photos!

Emma's tutu dress

2008-12-16T17:03:00.001-08:00

Emma loves to wear her tutu-dress as she calls it. As you can see she is embellishing the tutu-dress with her precious jewels and other assorted accessories. She is such a girly girl and so much fun watching her. Her daily request is to wear a dress to which I, her mom, try to indulge her in most days, even with jeans under if if necessary to make my sweet girl happy. :) I know all too well that one day she will not want to even look at a dress so I will sit back and enjoy this time in her little life.

Photos of Emma's Big Day!!

2008-12-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

Hello again! I thought I would show you in pictures how our day went. This first photo is the device Emma had placed in her heart. The one she has is 22mm in size. This is before it goes into the catheter, see the photo where it is attached.

This photo shows the device up close. It is made ot titanium and mesh. As you can see it has a mushroom shape on both ends. The middle is called the waist and is what is plugging the hole in Emma's heart. Over time her tissue will grow over this device and it will become part of her heart permanately. Praise God!! I am in awe of just how miraculus this surgery is!! Not long ago Emma would have had open heart surgery. Technology is amazing!

Here is Emma and her primary care nurse, Sara, preparing for the surgery. Emma had lots of questions, like how to work the T.V. :)

Getting impatient with the waiting. We were scheduled to have the surgery at 11:00AM so we arrived at the hospital at 9:00AM and the surgery did not happen until noon. She was very hungry and let us all know it!! Poor baby.

On our way to surgery. As you can see, even with the sedation given to her in the room to help her along she was still awake and ready to drive to her surgery! :)

Surgery is over and she is in recovery with her best buddies!! Doggie and Pinkie! :) She has the oxygen mask close by because we found that she would drop too low when she was sleeping.

Thursday morning and ready to role!! What a difference a day makes! Emma loved traveling the halls in her little sports car!

All cleaned up, new pj's and lunch in bed!! We were waiting to be discharged on Thursday afternoon.

Emma and her other nurse, Sara. I cannot say enough about the day nurses at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. Thank you!!!
So, that is it in pictures in a nutshell. Hope the visual helped. :)

No surgery today...

2008-12-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Emma was scheduled to have her heart surgery today. Well, typical of many kids this time of year she got sick. Yes, I tried my best to keep her healthy, but someone else picked up this tummy bug and brought it home!! So, the surgery has been post-poned until next Wednesday. Tuesday she will have all her pre-op done at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and then the surgery on Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM. Please keep her in your prayers and we will keep you up to date on the happenings. Here is a photo of her yesterday, poor sick child.

THANKSGIVING

2008-12-05T07:39:00.001-08:00

This year we decided to spend Thanksgiving in Boston with some of our family members. This was quite a feat since we live in OHIO! Packing up 6 people and flying is no simple task! I agreed to bear the brunt of this task since my husband is in the early recouperating stages from a double hernia surgery. He could offer no physical assistance which made the process of moving all our luggage somewhat challenging!! But...I did it...we did it...and had a great time once we arrived at Larry's sister's home. We spend Monday the 24th to Sat. the 30th enjoying an extended visit with family we rearely see. The matriach, Grandma B, joined us and observed all of her adult children, 5 of them, their spouses, children and grandchildren!! We filled this house that is typically a quiet place with joy and laughter. Thank you Jeanne & Tim for allowing us to move in!! The newest family member, Emma, whom we adopted from China in the spring of 07 had a great time getting to know her beloved grandma and other family members. She will have some wonderful memories. :)Here we are cooking away in preperation of the delicious meal

Chowing down and conversation!

This photo should have come first, the table before chowing down all that food!!! I looked so nice.

Emma with one of her favorite cousins!! Ginny she enjoyed your attentions all week!!

Call the doctor...please!

2008-11-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Our little Emma happily playing with her favorite elephant! She loves her animals, even has conversations with them. :) Dolls stay in her room and do not ever move, much to my dismay. Is she not the sweetest little girl!!

Emma in China. Look at that little hopeful face!! Those eyes tell many stories of her past. We can only hope and pray that some of those stories will fade with time and new stories will take their place.

Well, we have spent the past 10 days visiting all sorts for doctors!! It's that time of year and we are trying to meet our deductible for our insurance in order to cover all the necessary surgeries facing us for Nov. and Dec.

The first Nov. appointment was the 7th with an ENT for Emma. She is a noisy sleeper and a mouth breather. Sure enough they want the tonsils and adenoids removed. This may aid her speech in the long run. If not, she will at the very least breath well and sleep well. :)

On the 10th of Nov. Emma had a visit with the speech path. for a full evaluation at Children's Hospital and she is doing ok. They will monitor her and review her again in the spring. Emma's speech while plentiful in vocabulary, her articulation is not quite where it needs to be. We have some exercises to do and I have to keep a check list for the speech doc. I hope I can get at least some of it done!! Then on the 11th Emma was at Children's for her heart echo and EKG. This is the long awaited visit that determined whether or not she would have surgery. While we did pray that she would have complete healing, we are not concerned and look forward to her having her little heart repaired once and for all!! This will be done on Friday, Dec. 5th at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. The plan is to do the surgery thru catherization, but we are aware that when they begin and if it does not work that way it will be open heart surgery. Big difference in her hospital stay and recovery. So please pray for this up-coming surgery. Once this is complete she will have her T&A surgery, likely right after Christmas. So, the Bergeron family is planning on a long Dec. of recovery. To add to this, Larry had a double hernia surgery last Thursday, the 13th. He is recovering nicely from the surgery although he has a terrible cough from a cold he picked up prior to the surgery. He cannot go near Emma as she needs to remain healthy to have these surgeries. :)

Here are some photos of our little shining star, Emma.

Tagged

2008-11-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is my first. I am proud of myself for figuring out how to get this little clip onto my blog!!

Seven things about me...

1. I think I will never be an empty nester!! At my ripe old age, in my 50's, I still have a 3 year old running around!! Let's see, when she is 18 I will be...71!! Yikes!

2. I think I have some definate ADD symtoms. I often find myself in the middle of some task only to forget and begin another!! Maybe it's old age!!

3. I have to load my dishwaser a certain way. If one of the kids or my husband does it I usually have to unload it and begin again!! OCD Glassware in the right place etc. :) I want them to come out clean!!

4. I am a blogaholic!! Yes, I need some help! I am sure I would accomplish so much more each day if I stayed away for the blogs!! My best friends are my blog buddies!!

5. I procrastinate all the time!! Yes, I know what needs to be done, make lists of things to do and yet, I find a way not to get them done!! My husband hates this about me and I must admit that I feel the same way. Someday I will learn. Right?

6. All my life I have had a fear of heights!! As a child I can remember falling down the stairs because I just could not manage that first step down the staircase!! For years I would not even go near stairs. When I was on my honeymoon we went to the new Disney World and I tried to venture up the Swiss Family Tree house only to get stuck on the stairway at the 3rd level which blocked the stairway and everyone was yelling for me to move. I was terrified!! Never did that one again!! Today when we are in a mall or building I stay far away from the windows. Odd thing is, I love flying!!

7. I have a deep yearning to live in another country for a bit. I love traveling and meeting other folks. I have been putting this bug into the ear of my husband for a few years now with no success. I am not content to stay in my little box in my little town as life passes by. We only have one chance in this world as we know it now.

OK, not too interesting, but that's where my brain is tonight.

Another month gone...how?

2008-11-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am again, another month gone by! I just don't know how that happens!! We have so enjoyed this fall weather, my favorite time of year! The days are warm and the nights are cool, great for sleeping. :) I love sitting by the window and watching the leaves fall from the trees with all their many colors. It's such a peacful time of year. The cold weather has made an appearance so we have tasted what is to come soon. I really could skip the winters all together!

Life at home has been busy with all the comings and goings of the girls. It seems we rarely have dinner as a family these days although we really do try! I guess that goes with having older children out seeking their paths in life as we continue at home raising our second family. Never a dull moment!!

We just booked tickets to Boston for Thanksgiving. We will spend a week with the family and with my husbands mom who has been unwell for the past weeks. She is nearly 85 and has been such a blessing in my life. Thank you mom!! We have other family arriving from Tampa, Fl. and hopefully our girls from Ct. I miss my little grandkids like crazy! We seem to have these famly reunions here and there with no planning so the logistics of who is camping out where is somewhat of a challenge. Jeanne and Tim, get ready for your visitors!!

Our Saturdays are full of Kids Against Hunger at the Berean Christian Bookstore Headquarters. It was a full house of volunteers today and both Larry and Aimee are exhausted after the days work. We are amazed at what God has done in such a short time with this ministry. Many mouthes will be fed as the result of so many caring people who have put their time and money out to help. Thank you to all who have blessed this ministry, we could not do this without you. If you haven't checked out the web site you should, it's on my blog side bar, and you can read Larry's blog from the home page too!

Emma continues to be such a bright star in our lives! She is so happy and full of life. :) We cannot imagine life without her and all the chattering that comes with her. LOL!! She has a busy week ahead with a speech evaluation at Children's Hospital on Monday morning and a heart echo on Tuesday morning bright and early!! She will then prepare for surgeries for her heart and then having both her tonsils and adenoids removed once cleared by the cardiologist. So we welcome your prayers for these things.

Larry will also have surgery this week for a hernia. This will take place on Thursday late AM and we are praying for a speedy recovery since he needs to work in order for us to get a paycheck. :)

I do have some photos of Emma on Halloween, but can't post them yet as they need to be put on my computer.

Off to check out some other blogs.

Homecoming Dance 2008

2008-10-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Bekki and Seth doing a photo shoot before the dance. Don't they look awesome!! Thank you Bill Simmon's for taking pictures. :)
Emma trying to steal the show as usual. Do you notice a color theme?
Emma begging for Seth's attention!
The four-some heading out for a night of fun!

Haiti Trip 2008

2008-10-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Trip to Haiti.............this is the food that we package thru Kids Against Hunger.
Children sitting in a church eating their daily meal of the rice mix. Typically they do not get a meal. Have you heard of Mud Cookies? I will post a photo later. It is yellow dirt from the countryside mixed with water and oil and shaped into cookie shapes and dried. They pay 5 cents for one cookie! My husband, Larry, brought some home and they are like eating plaster.
Typical home, before the hurricanes. Most were destroyed.
This is the woman who lived in the previous house. She is proud to have a home.
Look at that smile!! Priceless!!

The island is very mountaineous and has a lot of beauty outside the cities. The white that you see is mud washing down the mountains.
Childlren waiting for a meal. They are so precious! Brother and sister

more faces
Woman cooking the rice mixture.

Still here and enjoying the end of summer days

2008-09-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Enjoying herself on the playground.

Well, it has been longer than I planned since my last blog. I am truly sorry about so much time passing. The summer has been full. Most weekends we have been very busy with our new ministry, Kids Against Hunger. The kids seem to enjoy working at the packaging of the food that will feed a hungry child once shipped. Our focus has been on Haiti for this shipment and with good reason!! They have suffered thru two terrible hurricanes this season which have left them with no power on the island! Larry and Aimee are there right now and things there are very bleak. I look forward to hearing more and seeing the photos that Aimee has taken. She is a very talented photographer.

I think our kids enjoyed this long summer and were ready for some directed activities! I know that N was for sure!!! She told me herself!! N is a child who loves to have something to do, now I don't mean just hanging with a friend, she likes to have a specific thing to do. She is a reader and often I have to pry the books out of her hands and force her to rest her eyes! N loves to wrtie on the computer and would sit in front of a television for hours is allowed. She is loving her 6th grade class with all the different teachers and lockers this year. I have a good feeling that she will continue to enjoy this change. I think B is antsy to school to just be over completely!! She is just not a lover of disciplined learning although she is an excellent student!! This year she has two classes she attends 2x a week and works on her math at home. Not too bad for someone who really doesn't like school. She has signed on to the PEP choir and drama group and that should give her some fun things to do. B is also very involved in her friends which is normal for a girl of 17. She also has a "boyfriend" that is a great friend to her. S is a nice youngman with some amazing talents! I will post a painting he did of B from a photograph!! Amazing!! Anyway, they have enjoyed each others company for over 2 years now and will hopefully continue to do so. A is going into her junior year at UC with a major in International Affairs. Perhaps she will be a candidate for VP one day!! LOL!! A continues to love traveling and is Haiti with her day now. She is working at a coffee shop as is Bekki, so we don't lack for good coffee!!! Well, that is the family catch-up minus Emma. She is a story unto her own.

Emma is now 3 1/2 and is so amazing!! Looking back 18 months ago when she joined our family, she was a completely different child. She was actually at baby at 24 months and now is a little child. She is funny and full of energy. She loves to laugh and does so often! Her favorite thing is her stuffed dog she named Woof. He is with her constantly and is looking a little worn! I've purchased a replacement she has named Boo after her favorite guy S's dog. They don't look alike, but are similar so hopefully one day when Woof says his last woof Boo can step in. E also tells us she will not be going to school because she doesn't like it. She has never been to school . Yes, E will go to school for a bit to give mommy a little down time soon. :) E is also feeling her wild oats and will talk-back to me frequently! I've had some pretty grown-up conversations with my 3 year old lately!!

Well, Larry and I have enjoyed another summer here with our beautiful backyard pool. It has been a blessing to our family and we hold losely to it. The fall is fast approaching and we are ready for the change.

Dance Party in China 07

2008-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the kids dancing with our guides and the head of USAA, Norman. Enjoy!!

A couple of photos of ME!

2008-08-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hi, a friend commented that there were no photos of me on the blog! Well, right, but if you go back a year or so you will find a few from our trip to China. I really haven't changed much so here are a couple. :) I will try to keep that in my mind when photos are being taken. :)

Emma and her mom celebrating! This was our last night and the USAA team planned a big party in a resturant from us. They treated us like VIP's. Emma enjoyed dressing up and dancing with her little friends to some crazy music. I will have to post some of those.

Mom with an unhappy Emma. She wanted to run in the hotel lobby and mom said NO!! Look how tiny my girl was! She wore a 12-18 mos. size and had little feet and a little hair etc. Look at her little hand on me.

Keeping Cool

2008-07-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of the kids and their da keeping cool. While they dunk in the pool I find the AC in the house much more enjoyable. :)

Little Emma enjoying her snack after swiming. She loves the pool and has made great progress this summer.
This is a really hard lifestyle! Me and my da are enjoying some conversation and floating around in some really big water!!
Nadya and her dolphin ride. She is a fish too and has finally learned to dive! I will get that up on video soon! It is entertaining.
A budding artist!!

Remembering....

2008-07-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine is in China now with her family completeing the long journey to their little daughter, Ahna who is 13 months old. As they have been in the throes of this journey it has brought back the very sweet memories of our own journey to bring Emma-leah home. We have been home for 15 months and our little one is now 3 1/2 years old, how dare she grow up!! The memories are inscribed on my mind with hopes of sharing those memories with our daughter when she is at an age to listen and hopefully embrace her beginnings. That may not be as easy as it sounds, but with much prayer we will tell her of her meek beginnings and of a country so full of history and color and smell. Here are a few photos I have not posted. They are the very heart and soul of China.

Mom and baby in a sweet basket backpack.
A grandmother and her grandson walk hand and hand, not unlike the families today in America.
A shop keeper on the street selling her wares and food. The people were so gracious.
Two little girls heading to school.
one of many shrines on the roadside.

I've been tagged...by Arielle

2008-07-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hello, sorry it's been so long. I've been busy reading friend's blogs while they have been in China adoption their little chidlren. :) Ok, let's get on with the tag.

1. Where is your cell phone: right next to me
2. Your significant other? in his office at home
3. umm...favorite place? away from it all
4.Your mother living in Florida
5.Your father? with our Heavenly Father
6. Your favorite things? books and little children
7.Your dream last night? don't think I dreamed
8. Your favorite drink? peach iced tea
9. Your dream/goal? to have my life organized so I can focus on God
10. Room you are in? kitchen
11.Your hobby? reading & decorating my house
12.Your fear? age
13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? six years younger!!
14.What you are not? super woman!
15.Muffins? orange-cranberry
16. Wish list item? TIME
17.Where you grew up? New England
18.Last thing you did? wipe a little hinny
19.What are you wearing? capris & shirt
20.Favorite gadget? AC for sure!!
21.Your pets? 2 dogs
22.Your computer? Dell
23.Your mood? tired/needing a break from it all!
24.MIssing someone? Yes, Aimee & Bekki along with my other kids and grandkids in Ct.
25.Your car? Toyota Sienna
26.Something you are not wearing? makeup
27.Favorite store? Homegoods
28.LIke someone? Yes
29.Favorite color? (s) red/sage/gold/brown/turquoise/pink....
30.Last time you laughed? just now :)
31.Last time you cried this am when I saw the little Simmon's baby, Ahna!!

Random photos of Aimee

2008-06-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Aimee cleaning up the beach in Thailand after tzunami

Aimee and lovely Thai child playing games
Summer 2007 in Thailand helping in orphanage with children that are HIV positive. These are her little charges!! Aren't the just beautiful children!!!!
Aimee and team friend in India going to church in native attaire. The young man with her is Indian, but was adopted as a young child by an American family. He was part of the missions team.

Working the street in Israel. Aimee on left

Swimming in Jamaica with one of the kids
Franklin Graham with Aimee and Mary after 9/11. The shipment of shoeboxes went to Afganastan.

What day is it?

2008-06-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Photo taken in the fall of 2004 of Aimee on the right and Brett (middle) and Krista on left as they prepare for their winter Cotillion.
Aimee and friends at the Honor Academy in Texas. She spent a year there being decipiled and challenged in her walk with Christ.
Aimee and her dad on graduation day at the Honor Academy Aimee's trip to India broke her heart and helped shape who she is. This is a photo of a young mom and two children.

Aimee and friend in Israel two summers ago. They were in the country days before the war broke out in that part of the world.

Let's just say that the days have begun to run together lately, it's hard to know when the week begins and ends. Perhaps that is just another sign of my age! Do I have to admit that? :) We have been cleaning out "stuff" that we seem to continue cleaning out on a weekly basis, where does all this "stuff" come from? When we moved from Ct. to Ohio nearly 3 years ago we emptied the closets of excess stuff and left usuable things with dear friends in order to simplify our lives only to find ourselves doing the same thing now. Not that we are moving, but the potential is always in the back of our minds. So, we will continue the quest to live simply even if that takes till our days where we no longer realize that we want a simple life.

Last weekend we tried the familiar "tag sale" stragedy with little success. Preparing for one of those events takes a lot of time and then manning the tables for the whole day is another time committment resulting in the approximate pocketed cash of $63.00. I think that breaks down to about $5.00 an hour. Is it worth it, not for a minute, but it is fun chatting with our neighbors and others who venture out for treasures.

Our home is quieter right now. Aimee left on Father's Day for a summer job in Ct. at a children's camp. She is working full time with a group of kindergarten age girls thinking that it would be a piece of cake!! She phoned home on her 3rd day on the job and said she was exhausted and that somehow she would make it through the whole summer. I think this is a great experience for her, not that she needs experience. She has built up several years of experience while on her missions trips around the world. I remember that last summer in Thailand her saying that she was in charge of a small group of young children and that they were so full of energy! Somehow she had forgotten that experience!! That reminds me of my own pregnancies. Each time I gave birth I told myself that I could never do that again, but somehow the years soften the memories and I am ready again. So, Aimee will undoubtedly have memories of her years caring for young children in the US and abroad and over time she will have only good things to remember.

I don't have many photos of her available, but here is a sampling of her and her travels.

Thru the year with Emma

2008-06-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Emma on the day she was placed in our arms. She was not a happy little girl, but quickly a little smile began and she hasn't stopped!
Six months home! Love that little smile!!
This was taken in the winter, she looks like she got away with something! Home 10 months.
Home for 14 months! Our flower child.

A DAY AT THE PLAYGROUND

2008-06-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Random photos of Emma and her sister Bekki at the playground.

Ops...this was taken on a different day!! LOL! Cute photo!

Prayers for Chapman family

2008-05-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Many of you know by now about the tragic accident in Steven Curtis Chapman's family. It has been a week today yet our prayers are still fresh for this family. Steven and his wife, Mary Beth, adopted 3 daughters from China over the past few years and they have become huge supporters and advocates for adoption. Their youngest daughter, Maria, died last Wednesday at her home after being hit by a car. The family is mourning the loss of this vibrant child who spent only a few years with them. Please remember them in your prayers. The song downloaded before has so much more meaning now than when he first wrote it. May our Heavenly Father hold this family close during this time.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But REJOICE that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-13)

In this you greatly REJOICE, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-05-28T18:21:00.001-07:00

Family

2008-05-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Nadya giving us her biggest smile!! A pensive Emma.

I decided to post some family photos for you all to see how we are looking these days!! Grampa and baby Hayley!
Hayely and Melissa hunting Easter eggs on our front lawn.
My sweet smiley faced Hayley!
Hallie and Sam keeping warm in the sun!
Melissa and Aimee Easter 2008

A MOTHER'S DAY PRAYER FOR ALL THE MOMS I LOVE

2008-05-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a special blessing on Mother's Day. I think this day often comes with high expectations and disappointments. So, it is my prayer for you all to try and put this day into perspective.

Lord, please watch over these dear family members who are also mothers. Being a mother is a special calling and often goes without any praise or acknowledgement. Let them feel encouraged in their calling and let them remember that being a mother is something that will last a life time. May you all feel God's love as you journey thru life and mother your children. I love you all!!

Africa 2008 continued

2008-05-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Larry serving the meal he helped cook for the children.
This is the meal from Kids Against Hunger.
This little girl is enjoying her new meal!! Yummy!!!
The team, John Warden, Gary Angstat, pastor and Larry.
The Kids Against Hunger food package!!!

I decided to continue this post on Larry's trip to Africa this past January. Although we love see the photos of the faces and places he visited, the purpose of the trip was to determine how to feed these little children a healthier meal so that they would have better chance in life. They currently eat a meal that consists of a corn mush and one cup of water that may or may not be clean!! There are no bodies of water nearby and water is carried in jugs, often for a couple of miles from it's source. The team went to see if they could provide a prepackaged meal that was high in nutrition thru Kids Against Hunger. This organization is located in Mo. and provides food both locally and abroad. The mixture was prepared over an open fire and served to the children while they were there and much enjoyed!! It consists of rice, soy protein, dried vegies and some dried seasonings along with vitamins. Yummy!!! We would also like to have wells put in at each of these carepoints. Many churchs have committed to supplying these needs. PTL..Larry and I have decided that we are ready to begin a new journey that would help provide food, water and other necessities to children around the world. The ministry called The Coalition of Care will focus on adoption, foster care, humanitarian aid and orphan care. We are still in the beginning steps so please pray for us as we trust God to lead us down this path.

You can check out our new web site at www.achildshopeintl.org

Swaziland, Africa 2008

2008-05-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Larry holding the hand of an African child, so different yet the same.
This is how these kids eat at this "carepoint". Most of the children have no family and live alone. They walk daily to these carepoints to have a meal of corn mush and a cup of water, that is it.
One of God's treasures!
Tribal chief and my chief!!
These kids have a special headcovering called "underwear". These kids received some new undies and did not know what to do with it until my dear husband showed them!! Yes, it makes a great hat!!

Spring Bling

2008-04-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

My ladybug yahoo group did a "Spring Bling" cyber shower this month and sent each other cute little hair accessories for the girls and hats for the little boys. My ladybug friend Karmen was very genereous to Emma and I. Here are some photos of the cute things she sent to Emma. Thank you Karmen!!

Enjoying the dandilions of spring!

2008-04-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi, yesterday was such a beautiful day and Emma was outside with her sisters enjoying the newly discovered flowers! She picked her first bouquet for me and they made a little flower crown for her to wear! She was so pleased! Here are a couple of photos. I also love the pretty "real flowers".

Photos of visiting family

2008-04-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Emma & Hayley...auntie feeding niece! Emma & Hayley giving their first concert!
The two little munchkings contemplating their next deed. :)

How we celebrated Easter

2008-04-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Emma and her neice, Hayley, enjoying their first egg hunt!!! They sure cleaned up too!!

Hello all, I thought I would post some photos of EAster this year. We had a sunny but cool day which still allowed for Emma's frist egg hunt. Our daughter, Melissa, and our granddaughter, Hayley, joined us in celebrating Easter as well as my DH's 60th birthday!!!

Enjoy the photos!!

The Blizzard of 2008

2008-03-08T16:34:00.001-08:00

Well, as the title states, we have just come through a two day snow storm, labeled a blizzard, by Ohio standards! While it is the most snow we have seen in almost three years, about 14", this is a common snow storm back in Ct. Way back in 1978, when by first child was only 7 months old, we had a huge blizzard. We were living in Ma. at the time and we were shut down for five days!! Try shouvling 4 feet of snow! It's was a good thing we were young and thought it was a great adventure. Then in the year 2000 my oldest daughter was getting married. Her wedding date was Dec. 31st and guess what, we had a blizzard!!!! We had to cancel the limo and call up everyone who had 4-wheel drive! In the end, almost everyone came out and it was the most beautiful wedding ever. But, I have warned the other five ladies in my home that there will be no more winter weddings!! Photos to come!!

Ready for spring!

2008-03-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

These are photos of our girls from Uganda and Philippines. Reyna is on the left and Phoihna is on the right. They were both sweethearts!

Well, today is Tuesday and Ohio's primary and it is pouring outside! Yesterday was a tease with the temps being 70 degrees! Emma enjoyed a walk with her da looking around the neighborhood. :) Life has been busy this past week. Nadya was sick over the weekend with a sinus infection among other things. Today I am sick with the "other things". I have had this same cold/cough 4X this winter!!! I am so ready for some sun and warm breezes and green grass and pretty flowers.

LOOK FOR THE GIRL WITH THE RED DRESS ON!

2008-02-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

If you look closely you can see Emma weaving in and out of the kids as she follows

the Chinese dance instructor. She was so mezmorized by her. I think Emma was the smallest on the stage.

photos Chinese New Year FCC group 2008

2008-02-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Emma just watching the puppet lady!

Emma enjoying her plate of yummy Chinese food provided to the familes for the Chinese New Year celebration with our FCC group. There were aboaut 600 people celebrating and Emma had a blast dancing and eating and just playing!

One Year Ago

2008-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

EMMA'S GOTTCHA DAY!!!

Well, it was a year ago that Larry and I traveled to China to bring home our little daughter Emma. It is hard to believe that a year has past and harder to believe that she has not always been with us. :) Emma is the most adoreable sweet child and we love her so much!

Since it has been so long since I last posted, I decided that I would just recap things by telling you some little things about our Emmi. So here goes.

1. She has a sparkly personality
2. She is strong willed at times
3. She has gained 8lbs. and grown 6 inches
4. She has a dimple on her left cheek that I love
5. She adores her sisters
6. She adores the two little dogs, but they do no adore her!
7. Last summer she learned to put her little head under the water in the pool much to our surprise and she loves to swim!
8. She can count to 10 and say her abc's
9. She is potty trained as of the first week of Feb. 08 and is potty training her stuffed animals right now.
10. She loves to sing songs about Jesus and pray
11. The guitar is her favorite intrument and she wants her own!
12. Seth is her first male crush!!
13. She loves to mosh! (dance)
14. She is a social butterfly and the official greeter at church
15. She HATES all bugs!
16. She wants to eat all the time!
17. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, just like her sister Melissa!
18. She adores her neice, Hayley, who is 2 and talks about her all the time.
19. She considers her sister, Aimee, her other mom.
20. She is a joy to all of us!

So, with all that said, I will try to journal this next year with some regularity. I'd like to figure this blogging out.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 2007

2007-07-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY FROM OUR NEWEST US CITIZEN, EMMA-LIA GRACE!!!

It's the 4th of July today and we began our day with a parade just up the street from us. It was nice to be with a large number of families giving honor to this special day in the US. May we always remember that our freedom comes with a cost. My prayers are that we will not lose site of this freedom.

Well, it has been too long since my last post. Life with Emma is busy as with any two year old! :) The most remarkable changes in her are her growth! She came to us wearing a size 3 shoe and is now in a size 6W!!! That growing must have been painful. She is also out of her 12 month sizes and wearing 18-24 months. She weighs a whopping 25 lbs. at 29 months old!! Our little granddaughter, Hayley, who is 17 months, is the same size! Too bad we live so far apart. :(

Emma had her heart echo done in early June. We were hoping that the results would show us that the hole had closed, but it has not. She is scheduled for a second heart echo in Dec. 08 and surgery will follow. Please pray for healing as Emma is really traumatized by any medical care she has. The results of some of the simple tests take weeks for her to recover from emotionally.

May 10, 2007 ...LIFE IS FULL :)

2007-05-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all, Emma is really blooming like the pretty red flowers she has her little nose in! What a blessing she is!

She is doing great and we can hardly believe she has been ours for over 2 months! We love her to pieces and we believe she is feeling the same. :)

Emma is a very energetic child with a creative mind. She loves music in any form and will move to the rythym. We were at Bekki's piano recital and Emma was bopping her little head to the music as each student played their piano piece. I see a future conductor for some symphony!

Larry is in Co. for an adoption summit at Focus On The Family. He has run into some old NE friends and some new Oh. freinds. This is his first time away from Emma so we were interested to see if Emma would notice. Hmmm..so far no notice. I sure that doesn't mean she doesn't love him anymore. :)

2007-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

SMILE........ I AM SO CUTE......................

April showers bring May flowers!!

2007-04-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's the middle of April and we have had Emma for 50 days! It seems like just yesterday that she was put into our arms. PTL she is home safe and sound.

Emma is a very vivacious little two year old! We were told that she was kept quiet because of her heart, but I see no stopping this little one! She loves any physical activity...swinging both in the swing and from someones arms, climbing...she is a little mountain goat, dancing...any music starts her body swaying and finding her way up the stairs! We have grown those eyes in the back of our heads in order to keep track of her as well as gated every possible opening much to the furry friends and humans dismay.

She had her evaluation at Cincinnati Children Adoption Center and it is a wonderful place! The people were great and they tried to make Emma feel comfortable. She had several vials of blood drawn as well as a TB test and various developmental observations. Health wise she is in great shape except for her heart. No parasites or TB. Developmentally she is a bit delayed and who wouldn't be if you were kept from doing any physical activity! :) She is catching up fast!! She loves to try new words and seems to understand many of the words I say. She is strong willed, but not overly so. Emma loves to be hugged and kissed and will give them out as well. She has a favorite toy, a stuffed pink pig! I guess she knew it was the year of the PIG in China! LOL :)

Daddy is her favorite, besides me. She loves it when he comes into the room or comes in from work. Her squeals or joy are so sweet!! He even gets called DADA! We are still waiting for her to call me mommy or some variation. I think she gets confused with EMMA and MAMA. I may have to come up with a new name for myself. :)

Her first Easter was spent with her whole family! Yes, the crew from Ct. came out for a week to meet their new baby sister. It was a full house and we had some wonderful times together. My grandbabies got to meet their Auntie Emma. :)

Spring has sprung here in Cincinnati!

2007-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

What wonderful weather we have been having and Emma is enjoying her nice outdoor time. This morning it was so funny to put her in a sweet little green sundress and barefeet! She was just adoreable!!!! My older girls are eager to open our pool, but I am sure that this weather is just a tease!

Life with Emma is certainly different. We just love her so much! Her days are filled with the busyness of a two year old which warms my heart. :) She has two furry friends that follow her and sometimes run from her during the day. Sam and Hallie our ShiTzus. Sam thinks he is her appointed guardian. In fact last week she managed to sneak out the back door into the garage while I turned my back. Sam started whining and I just sushed him. When I looked for Emma she was gone and Sam was still whining at the backdoor! I opened it and there she was decending the steps! PTL I caught her before she fell onto the concret. Thanks Sam!!

We are trying to bring our Ct. children out to Ohio for Easter. This is a large task since it involves six people. I think five of them will drive out in a rented van and our son, Nate, will fly out. We are excited to have them meet their new little sister, Emma.

I am still waiting to post photos. DH has not been available to help me. In time! Sorry to all who are looking for them. :)

We are home now!

2007-03-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

We have arrived home and are glad to get life back on track to some degree. Emma was a great traveler! She slept most of the flight from China to L.A. and then again at the hotel that night. It was so nice to be in a hotel with nice soft beds! I wanted to sleep forever!!! Thank you Hampton Inn. :) Our flight from L.A. to Cincinnati was long. Emma did not want to sleep and although she was quite good, I ran out of steam keeping up with her. The jet-lag is really tough! When we arrived at our final destination we were greeted by Aimee, Bekki and Nadya holding a Welcome Home Emma sign that Nadya made. :) We also had friends there that video taped our homecoming. Thank you Bennetts! We were very thankful for that since we did not have a video camera for the trip. In fact our good old digital camera died on us while we were in China and we had to buy another one. You would think they would cost less, but they don't.

We have been home for six days now. The jet-lag is less, but still hits us in the early evening. Emma is slowly adjusting to life at home with the girls and dogs. She was a bit timid with the dogs at first and now they run from her! Sam tries to stay out of her way and Hallie is just a nice little girl dog that Emma bops over the head if she is in her way. :) I think Emma is letting them know who is in charge! She is still very clingy to me. There are times when she feels confortable playing near me, but always needs me in her view. She enjoys going outside to play and that is my only break. She will go with the girls then. As far as food goes, Emma will eat anything so far. She fed herself for the first time last night and was so proud of herself. It was cute to see her working so hard with her little fork and getting it to her mouth. :) When Emma joined us on Feb. 25th she was drinking formula from a bottle several times a day and eating a rice congee and steamed eggs. That is about it. We have gotten her to eat almost everything! Fruit is still her least favorite, but she is coming along.

I would like to thank all of you who helped care for my girls while we were in China. They had more food than they could eat! :) Rausch's, thank you for taking Nadya into your home and seeing to her needs. She enjoyed you very much. I can't thank you enough! Cindi, thank you for driving Bekki everywhere! There are many more of you that have watched over the girls and we are very thankful. :)

Photos coming.

A View of Life in China

2007-03-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

photo #1: bathroom in Chongqing photo#2 moms enjoying their new girls.

photo #3: Larry & Wendy in hotel Photo#4: Our Red Couch photo with Em
lobby with Emma

photo #5 dinner at local resturant photo#6: children at gym class

photo#7: out shopping with friends photo#8: Emma admiring statue

photo #9: shopping at shop under stairs photo#10&11: Emma in hotel room

photo#12: Emma in mirror avoiding us photo#13: finally sleeping!

The plane ride to Guangzhou was a first for this wee one. We did not know what to expect as she just had double ear infections. But the Amoxicillin worked (PTL).

We have been in Guangzhou now for a few days - climate is more humid than Chongqing and clearly a large city - always busy. Emma continues to cling to Wendy which is good. As far as she is concerned, I beleive Emma would prefer that I disappear. The China Hotel is ok but nothing great - we have had to have them fix a few things. As always, the Chinese people are very nice. They live the community life which Americans seem to busy to enjoy.

The medical clinic tests were interesting. The doctor seemed concerned about what he heard in Emma's heart so he consulted with another doctor. They wanted her original charts which we did not have. As it turns out, they think she is ok - the heart "noise" is not of concern to them. We have an appointment at Children's Hospital on April 4. Our prayer is that this little one will not need heart surgery -wouldn't be awesome?

So many children were being adopted by Americans that it was very impressive.

Greg and Maren Rausch have been just an awesome family that have assisted us with caring for Nadya while we are gone. In addition, they introduced us to Jordan. We brought things from them for Jordan and he was most thankful. After spending time in his store we decided that we needed a suitcase to carry our treasures home. At 140 yuan, this case was a bargain at $18

shopping at Jordan's Shop with friends, Jordan is in the middle.

notice the LARGE suitcases the men have, they are full of goodies

purchased at Jordan's. I bet he was happy!
Some of the people we have travelled with have taken ill - various issues. So far, all is well with the three of us though. Emma goes to bed at 8 PM and the room must be dark for her to settle down. She does not like the crib so Wendy gets her on the bed and tries to calm her down. In time, she falls asleep and we move her to the crib. We are most fortunate that she sleeps all night. This morning for example, she woke up at 8 AM and stood up in the crib just looking at us. She may still be wondering what happened! God is good

Small yet determined

2007-03-02T04:25:00.000-08:00

I just love this place...fountains to get wet in...all the food I want and served right to me....

Emma-Lia Grace has a distinct personality. At 28" tall for a 2 year old, she has spunk wired into a strong will. She is no pushover. When I (Larry) come near her, she wimpers, she whines, her face becomes a frown. If I dare to pick her up, the wail peels the wallpaper off of the wall. Very effective technique (better than steaming it off).

She is standing next to my sneakers in this photo. She loves to play and run all the time. Very expressive - somewhat like her older sister Bekki. Bekki talked to her dolls and so does Emma!

We suspect that there were no men in her orphanage and so, men (like me) are strange. I have heard that before on occasion.

All of our notarized papers were delivered today - the adoption is final although I think that Emma wants to have a judge hear her case (as it relates to me as the father). She is fine with Wendy taking on the Mom role.

Walking the Streets of Chongqing

2007-03-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

We had a fascinating journey today exploring the streets of the city. They are not wide but they are filled with people, small store fronts, dogs and opinions. The local people did not beleive we had Emma dressed warm enough and they politely (?) told us in Chinese. The variety of fruit and flowers was amazing. Rose buds were individually wrapped in netting to protect them before sale. Men carried bamboo poles and baskets - the baskets contained everything from boxes, bricks, food and gravel!

Small dogs were common - as pets - in they were in the food I did not know that. The variety of tiny store fronts was amazing. Everything was for sale, shoes could be fixed, clothes mended, motors repaired, etc. All on the sidewalk in front of the store which was often only 4 feet wide.

The Chinese people are very sociable and enjoy community life - each night they gather, walk, talk, eat and play games. The lights of the common area (like Times Square) were brilliant. The numbers of people contantly moving was fascinating. There was no pushing, yelling, fighting or rough stuff.

Countless thousands are on the street - many times using cell phones since land lines are too hard to install because of the terrain.

Electronic items are cheaper in the US. Buy there before you come (i.e. memory cards, cameras, etc). The DVDs are cheaper though but watch for the language on the DVD.

Truly these are a very special people, very hard working, skilled and community oriented

Journey to Chongqing Day 1

2007-02-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

First Post: Hello Friends and Family,
After much trial and error we are hoping that this post is posting!
We are in the city of Chongqing which is a 90 minute flight from Guangzhou. The city is huge! It is built on many hills much like San Francisco. The river is dry due to a drought and the weather is very warm and a bit humid. Of course we packed all clothing for a cooler climate!!!
The people are friendly and we are enjoying our visit. Today is also "gotcha day" and we will meet our little Emma around 3:00PM. wuk

There are about 15 families that are receiving their babies. We will travel by our faithful bus to the Civil Affairs Office to complete some papers and get our little ones and have a family photo taken. :)

When we arrived we were taken to the floor where the babies waited. The building is very new and modern. What a site we saw! The babies were grouped by orphanage and each group wore there own little outfits! There were babies in walkers and some walking wearing orange, pink, red, yellow and one little light blue outfit which was our little Emma. She traveled alone from her orphanage with her nanny. All of the babies looked wonderful! It is obvious that they have been well taken care of and loved. :)

One by one we were to receive our babies and that allowed us all the time to congratulate and take photos for each other. We were the second family to receive our baby. It went like this;
Her nanny placed her on the floor since she is walking and called our name. We walked towards her and she totally freaked!! That was very encouraging to us.....so we are told. I, mom, picked her up and just rocked her as she cried her little heart out. I sure felt like a mean person to be upsetting her little life. I will tell you that I was scared and as soon as I saw her I was in love! She is lovely and tiny. I am going to love on her until she is ready to love on us. :)

This is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. We felt that way when we brought our Nadya home from Russia, but this is different. We knew Nadya and she was old enough to communicate with us. Little Emma is a baby and is so dependent on us. Those of you waiting to travel for your child, prepare for the most amazing time in your lives.

China here we come! :)

2007-02-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Well, the day has finally come and we are leaving in one hour for the airport. We fly to L.A. and stay the night to visit and then we are off to China at 11:50PM Friday. Yeah!!!

Aimee, Bekki and Nadya, We love you, take care while we are gone.

Sam & Hallie (the dogs) Don't miss us too much! LOL

Family and Friends, stay in touch through e-mail. We love you all.

Katie and Nate, we will see you very soon!

Nicole, Melissa, Brian and Nate, We can't wait for you to meet the newest family member!

2007-02-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

Feb. 12, 2007

Shopping and Packing for travel! We celebrated my daughter, Bekki's, 16th birthday today! I can hardley believe she is so grown up. She is such a blessing to our family.

I spent several hours browsing the aisles of Target and Old Navy today picking up some items I need for Emma. There is so much out there! :) I will start packing tomorrow. I can't wait to leave in 10 days! We will get Emma in 13 days! How do you like this sweet photo of her from last June 2006? Isn't she a cutie?!

Saturday night my husband's assistant threw a wonderful baby shower for us! So many people came to wish us well and we feel so blessed to be here in Ohio. Thank you all! I will post photos later.

We are expecting a winter storm tonight, and I thought we had moved to a warmer climate! LOL

Emma, we are coming for you soon. We love you!

Travel dates all set!! Another step closer!

2007-02-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

What a busy couple of days it has been. First keeping up with my ladybug believers posts that I love to read. Thank you ladies! So, we will fly to LA on the 22nd and stay the night. We hope to visit with my neice and her husband and their little girl, Ellie, who is 2-1/2. I have never seen her! :) (except photos!) We will meet with our group at LAX on the 23rd and fly out that night direct to Guanzhou, a 15 hours flight! Yikes!! That will be hard enough on me never mind the return with a two year old!! Better make sure the Benedryl will help her relax! When we land at 6:20AM in China we will be wisked off to the China Hotel to drop our bags and then off to a welcome breakfast of dim-sum. They call that breakfast? After that we will take a little tour or the area and then back to the hotel to rest and get to know each other. We leave the following day for Chongqing and will spend five days there at the Mariott Hotel, not too shabby!! I looked at it on line and it apprears to be quite nice. :) We will also receive our little girl the same day, it is called "gotcha day". That is all I know at this point. We are trying to make the travel plans and getting ready to pack. I think we will purchase 2 large rolling LLBean adventure bags which are reccommended. I will keep you all posted.

WE'RE GOING TO CHINA...TA ARRIVED TODAY!

2007-02-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

We received our TA today around 2:00PM. The phone kept beeping in while I was on another phone call and I looked at who was calling. When I saw that it was from Florida I knew something was up. So, we have been approved to travel and we will be leaving Cincinnati on Feb. 23rd!!! We are still waiting on the consulate appointment, but that is in the works. Yeah!!! :) Cloud # 9!!! My DH is smiling from ear to ear! Tomorrow reality sets in and all that needs to take place before we go. I've got 3 weeks to pack. YES!

I will post more photos later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!! 2007 is here.

2007-01-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of photos
of Emma's room.

Well, a new year has begun and with it our wait to pick up our little daughter in China continues. It has been 119 days since our dossier went to China although we were not to receive a DTC date because she has a special need. We are eager to have her home with her new family and the kids are wondering how much longer it will take. We are so ready to get her!! :) This has been a continueous learning experience for me. I know I say I trust in God's perfect plan, yet my heart yearns to hold my little child so far away. My days are full and yet I think of our little one constantly! It's as if she were away for awhile. I am sure it will be a bitter-sweet meeting we will have with her. Our desire to finally hold her being met and her grieving for the loss of all that she has known in her short life. Please pray with us that God would release her to us soon so we can finally love our little baby girl. We hope to have a new photo up soon that we found in someones photo list. :)

CHRISTMAS 2006

2006-12-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

Well Merry Christmas to all our dear friends and family. I can't believe that my favorite day of the year has come and gone. It's a good thing that I take seriously the 12 days of Christmas!

We spent the morning at home enjoyed each other and calling family to wish them a blessed Christmas. The girls enjoyed their traditional egg casserole for breakfast and I am sure our little Emma will get to enjoy it next year. :) The afternoon was spent at my sister's in Kentucky with her family. We had a wonderful dinner and time to visit with each other.

We are still waiting for our travel dates. Just keep praying that it will come soon and that all will come together with few if no glitches. :)

Have a Happy New Year!

Christmas is in the air!

2006-12-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we are well on our way towards celebrating the birth or our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we prepare for this special celebration I have had time to reflect on what it means to "prepare". Just as we clean our homes and decorate them to the hilt with all the wonderful seasonal decor(I am currently deep into this faze) preparing to celebrate Christmas day, I realize that we need to be keeping our "human" temples, our spirit homes, in the same fashion. Clean on both the inside and out, presenting ourselves to our King in the best way that we can! Listening and reading the word of God, praying and just being like Jesus to others. How hard is that? We look forward to spending time with family and friends, exchanging gifts and sharing meals, isn't that what we will do in our eternal home!!God has surely provided us with the best training ground possible! I have also learned that God is always faithful to those who trust and wait upon Him. I don't need to be anxious, I try to remember that, and I know that God's timeing is just perfect! I am at peace waiting to travel to pick up our little Emma-lia from China. She has grown up over the months and is no more a baby, but a little girl! I cannot wait to meet her and to help her become a Bergeron family member. :) God has planned our family, even when we think we have it all set and done. What do I know?! So, we are waiting for a travel date and expect to hear in late Jan. 2007. My timing would be now, but we have to learn to wait on His timing, it is just right.

China Journey

2006-11-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

China Journey

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We spent the day cooking and serving turkey dinner to a couple of hundred people from our community and church family. It was a very busy and wonderful day for all! There were many from outside that were blessed by this offering. :) It makes me sit back and think about all that God has blessed me and my family with. We have not heard any news on travel to China. Perhaps we can use this extra time to get some things done in the house.

Our friends have returned from China with their little son, Elijah. They are slowly adjusting to haveing a toddler in the house and he is the cutest little guy! It was wonderful to see them. :) My friend in Kentucky got her travel date and she and her husband will leave on the 6th of Dec. to pick up their little girl. We are excited and hope to follow them while they travel. Thank you Greg and Maren for sharing your trip with me. Keep on praying for our travel. :)

No Travel

2006-11-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy Birthday to me and some news that we will not be travelling in Dec. but likely in February 2007! We are greatly disappointed...:( So, we will not be putting much up here for a while. If you would, please pray for our travel and for our little Jingxiang. Thanks friends.

Little Orphan Girl

2006-11-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about this? For awhile God said nothing then He replied, "I certainly did do something, I made you."

I do not know who wrote that, but it sure confirmed our decisions that we are doing the right thing with this adoption. :)

We hear that there are many travel dates coming out this week. We have no expectations, but prayerfully hope we will be one of the families chosen. God knows the right time for us to go. :) Hang in there Trayce, our time is near! :)

Post-Placement Completed for Nadya

2006-11-01T05:22:00.000-08:00

Today we had our last meeting for the adoption of Nadya. Yeah!!! We will no longer need to submit a report and photos of our life to the Russian government. However, we will soon begin a new post-placement with China. They only require one year with three meetings, much easier than Russia with their three year requirements. I should feel relieved that we do not have to report to our childrens' government until they are 18 like some of the other countries. :)

The Wait for Travel

2006-10-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hello to all. Well, we are at the end of October and no news on our travel. We have been told that if we do not travel in early December we will not travel until February. So, we are put off again. Emma will be two years old the 4th of February and we would have loved to have her home before she was two. We are trusting on God's timeing as he is in charge. Just a remimder, Emma was 15 months when we accepted her referral. It has been a long wait considering the fact that she is a special needs child and will need medical attention when she arrives home. So, please pray with us that we will have a travel date before Christmas. Thank you!

photos added

2006-10-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

We are trying to add more photos to the site.

Wendy

ewbergeron@adelphia.net

513-755-6702

One Small Child - Her City of Birth

2006-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Chongqing

Here is some interesting information about the "little one" on a journey to a new home in America. This is the only information provided by the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) to us:

Name: Qian, Jingxiang

DOB: Feb 4, 2005

From: Chongqing, QianJiang District SW1

Special Need: heart defect, ASD

City Information:

Chongqing only officially became a "city" in 1927, but its strategic position at the head of the Yangtze Gorges has made it a trading capital for centuries. The "Mountain City" rises high above the Da Jiang (Yangtze River). Chongqing lies at the confluence of the Yangzi and Jialingjiang Rivers, centered on a hilly peninsula encircled by the rivers, in what was formerly the eastern part of Sichuan Province. Also known as the Mountain City, Chongqing is 1,025 km (640 miles) northwest of Hong Kong, and 1,800 km (1,120 miles) southwest of Beijing. It is one of the four “furnace cities” of China, with blazingly hot and humid summers and cold, foggy winters.

Language: Mandarin Currency: Yuan

One Small Child - Her Story

2006-10-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

This is the story of our journey to bring our new little daughter home to her forever family.

We began our journey a year ago when we began praying about whether or not we should consider adding to our already large family! Our youngest daughter, Nadya, who we had adopted from Russia almost 3 years ago was the prayer warrior for our newest family member. She began praying in school with her class for a little sister from China. We learned of this through her teacher at a student conference and denied that we were going to adopt again. LIttle did we know that the prayers of a child would be heard by our God.

January 2006 the paperwork began. We had committed to a "Waiting Child". That is a child with special needs.

February 2006 we were fingerprinted. The homestudy is well underway. We had our medicals.

March 2006 our homestudy is complete and we file for the I71 document.

April 2006 we are waiting for approval. I finally arrives the last week of April. Yeah!

May 2006 We have all our documents completed and our dossier is ready to be sent off. But....we hear some news that puts us on hold for a bit. The age of the child we desired may not be possible due to our old ages!!!

June 2006 I begin looking at other agencies both for the age situation, but more importantly, the timeing of our referral. We are told we will not hear anything until at least Dec. 2006 or Jan. 2007. We know that our paper will start to expire if we wait. We begin praying...praying...what should we do?

July 2006 I receive a telephone call from a woman that works for an agency in Fl. She introduces herself and we immediately connect. I hung up feeling greatly encouraged and Larry and I discuss changing to this agency. We decided to enjoy the weekend of July 4th and to make the decision after.

July 9th I received another phone call from this wonderful lady, Martha. She shares that God had laid it on her heart to offer a child to us. This child is promised to another family, but they may decide not to go forward with the adoption. We would have to wait the weekend to hear.

July 13th at 3:10PM I received a phone call from Martha asking if we still were interested in this little girl?! YES!!! We wanted to make Qian, Jingxiang our new daughter. :) I could hardly control my excitement and the call came just when I was visiting our pediatrician for one of the other kids. This gave me the opportunity to talk with her about the medical condition we were taking on. No Problem!!!

July 25th We left for Cape Cod, Ma. for a much needed vacation and family reunion. We enjoyed two weeks with family and felt ready to come home and begin the next step to bring Jingxiang home to Ohio.

August 15th we received our pre-approval from China. Another step closer!

September 2006 Our dossier is in translation for China. We wait.

October 2006 We are still waiting. I am getting anxious to bring her home. We have not settled on a name yet and the kids have put there ideas before us. We will start working on her room next week. I would like to make one of the 100 square prayer quilts that are a China tradition for babies. I don't have a sewing machine so I need to find a volunteer to help me. :)