A Celebration and A Visit to the Fair

This past weekend was quite busy for us!  Our nephew had his 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, my aunt, sister and brother-in-law came to town for the occasion and we all attended the Northeast Florida Fair.  It was great getting out and about this weekend!
The original plan was for us all (my sister and her family, my other sister and her husband, my aunt and our family) to go down to Universal Studios for my nephew's birthday, but after much conversation (and some pregnant lady limitations) we decided on Chuck E. Cheese instead.  And I have to day, I'm glad we did.  They honestly did a great job putting together a birthday party for my nephew!  He got balloons, a crown, a medallion, free tokens, a trip to the ticket blaster (which his daddy did for him), pizza, cake, pinata, a cup and Chuck E. Cheese himself came out to hang with the birthday boy for a while. :)  I have to say I was pretty impressed! :)  The other kids got a goody bag, a cup and a balloon, plus tokens for the games.  Reese seemed to enjoy herself for the most part - although we had a complete meltdown when Chuck E. Cheese came out.  She literally tried to climb me to get as far away from him as possible.  She's so funny about certain things . . .apparently grown men/women dressed up in a mouse costume freaks her out. :)  Anyway, other than that, we had a great time!  Jet enjoyed it, too, except that he wasn't allowed to get down and crawl around.  That boy does not like being tied down!! :)  All in all it was a great celebration (sadly, I have no pictures to go with this!)

On Sunday we made our annual trip to the Northeast Florida Fair! :)  Again, it was lots of fun and we had great weather for it!  Reese wasn't up for riding any rides and she walked around with her fingers in her ears saying it was "too loud". :)  Seriously, this girl gets another year and then Mommy is going to be "strongly" persuading her to ride some rides and loosen up. :)  Reese did enjoy the food, though, and knew what she wanted (cotton candy).  Oh! She did get her face painted and really liked seeing the animals (cows, horses, pigs and goats)!  Again, Jet did fairly well, but started getting frustrated with having to stay in his stroller the whole time (I keep telling him that if he would just start walking it would solve all of his problems!)! :)  He, too, enjoyed the food! :)  It was a nice time of being with my family. :)

Thankfully, we got one more day with Aunt Betty, Jess and Tom before they had to fly back home!  Monday was spent just visiting and enjoying the nice weather outside!  The kids made a mess of themselves with sidewalk chalk, bubbles and playing basketball. :) 

It was a great weekend!!! :)

Jet's Birthday x 3

I've been meaning to post about Jet's birthday for a little while now, but my exhaustion/forgetfulness due to this pregnancy has caused some laziness. :)  Better late then never, though, right? :)

Anyway . . . Jet lucked out for his first birthday and got to celebrate it not once, not twice, but three times! :)  Be prepared for lots of pictures!! :)

The first time we celebrated Jet's birthday it was with Frank's family.  We had a good time spending time with each other and eating some really yummy food! :)  It was great getting to watch Jet dig into his first birthday cake - he was unsure at first and then once he figured it out (with the help of his cousin Jake) . . . he went to town. :)

Click here for slideshow

His second celebration was a bit quieter and smaller.  On his actual birthday, I made him a breakfast of a waffle with syrup and his first sippy cup full of whole milk.  He took to the milk very well and of course, he loved the food! :)  We spent the day just playing and having a good time.  I made him a turtle cup cake for the evening. :)  When Frank got home from work we had a nice dinner of pizza and breadsticks, then sang Happy Birthday to Jet (with Reese and Daddy blowing out the candle) and he had a cupcake. :)  It was a good day! :)

Click for 2nd Slideshow

Jet's 3rd and final celebration was on Sept. 30th.  My sister and her family came over after church to help celebrate.  We grilled out, the kids played outside on the swing set and in the water table, we opened up gifts and ate some yummy cake! :)  It was really a fun day! :)

Click here for 3rd Slideshow

So that was Jet's birthday!  I can't believe he's one already!!!  He's not walking yet, but he is taking steps and getting closer each day!  What a blessing he's been to us and continues to be - kids keep you busy, but they are worth every second!! :)  Happy 1st Birthday, Jet!! :)  We love you!!

P.S. I'm sorry for the links to the slideshows.  For some reason, Photobucket has not been allowing me to post the slideshow to the actual blog this time. :(  Thanks for still reading! :)

Hair Cut

I took Reese to her Aunt Nancy's salon today to get a big hair cut (She's had a trim before, but this was more than just a trim.)! :)  She sat so nice for her Aunt Nancy!  I asked for about 3 inches to be taken off and then I decided to get bangs cut for her.  Her hair is always falling in her face and I was hoping to get something to help with that! :)  Anyway, I wasn't quite prepared for how grown up (and different) she looked afterwards!! Reese wasn't my little girl anymore.  I am not ready for her to grow up (It's hard letting go, isn't it?)! :)  Here is the before and after pictures of my little girl (who is also potty trained now)!! :)

Life is sweet, isn't it? :)

Our Trip to PA (the second week)

Okay, so here we go with a recap of our 2nd week in PA! :)  There are lots of pictures again, so be prepared! :)

Sunday:  This day was spent visiting with my cousins from IN (Doug and Patty) and my friend, Nicole (who was gracious enough to come in this weekend to visit).  We were able to relax in the morning and then in the afternoon there were a couple good games of Bocce Ball. :)  It was a nice day just spent with family. :)

Monday:  Mom, Frank, the kids and I went shopping on this day.  We had a nice lunch at Red Robin (yum!) and then hit Target, Michaels, the mall and Toys R Us.  The big purchase of the day was getting a tricycle for Reese - her first! :)  As soon as we got back to my parents' house, she wanted to try it out! I was so proud of her!!  She did really well (and, of course, she wanted to ride it every day!)! :)

Tuesday:  We truly had a down day on this day.  We spent time outside playing and just messing around.  That afternoon we went over and visited with my grandmother (who is 95 and doing well) and my aunt.  Then we went up to a local ice cream place and got ice cream.  Not bad for a day. :)

Wednesday:  There's a cute little store in a town about 30 minutes from us (Rockwood, PA) that sells lots of different things.  It also has a cafe, a pizza place and best of all, sells local Maple Syrup.  No, not the fake kind sold in stores - the REAL kind.  This is usually where I get my syrup from and it was worth the trip out.  We ate lunch there, looked around, got some syrup and then went back home.  After dinner, we went to a park that's really close to my parents' house.  Reese spent time climbing and sliding. :)  Jet had a great time, too (he tried to stand up on the equipment)! :)  Right before we went home Reese had races with Mimi, Pappy and Daddy. :)

Thursday:  This was our last day with my parents (they left for IN on Friday).  We spent it just visiting and then my brother and his girlfriend came over the afternoon/evening.  We again played some bocce ball and Reese loved climbing all over Uncle Zac!  She also couldn't get enough of Miss Allison. :)  Jet, of course, was his usual happy self. :)  It was a great last day with my parents.

Friday:  Frank and I decided to stay one more day (I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to making the trip back home.) and I'm glad we did.  We went to breakfast at Seven Springs with my grandmother and aunt that morning.  We hung around a little bit afterwards and ended up playing some games down in the arcade room.  The nice lady who was working down there actually ended up giving us tickets . . . she fixed a couple of games and they ended up having tickets.  All in all, we ended up with 1400 tickets.  Reese picked out an ice cream pillow, 3 bouncy balls, a frog, 5 stickers, a balloon and a monkey for Jet.  It was a fun morning! :)
That afternoon we all took naps :) and then spent the afternoon playing.  Aunt Betty and Grandma came over that evening to eat dinner with us and visit some more.  It was a nice end to the day. :)

So that was our vacation to PA!  I am so thankful that we were able to spend so much time with my family.  I hate being so far away from them, but I am grateful for every visit I get with them!  And this was a great trip!! :)  Thank you for taking the time to read about it!  Knowing me, I probably won't blog again until the baby arrives! :)  Until then . . . :)

Our Trip to PA (the first week)

What a time it has been since arriving in PA on the 17th! It started with a fairly decent trip to PA (my mom was kind enough to fly down to Fl and drive back with me and the kids) and has been nonstop ever since! :)  I am going to do my best to recap the time here so far (WARNING: There are lots of pictures in this blog). :)

Saturday:  We enjoyed a nice morning at a local Farmer's Market and tasted a lot of yummy food. :)  Reese discovered that she loves hummus. :)  I also found a nice Steeler's scrunchie for Reese and a Steeler's bib for Jet. :)  It was a nice morning out and about. :)  The afternoon we just spent enjoying the beautiful evening weather. :)

Sunday:  Another relaxing morning - this time it was spent at the house with Reese digging in the dirt. :)  We spent the afternoon over at my grandmother's house visiting.  One of my cousin's and his family was also over there so we were able to visit with them as well.  It was a very nice day!

Monday:  My sister-in-law, her two little girls (her son wisely stayed behind), and her mom met my mom and I (and the kids) at Target that morning to do some back to school shopping.  Reese had a great time walking around with her cousins and "helping" get supplies. :)  Afterwards, we all enjoyed a nice lunch at Steak 'N' Shake. :)

Tuesday:  Preparation Day!  My sister-in-law, her 2 girls, her sister-in-law and her mom came to our house for a nice lunch and work! :)  My sister-in-law had brought the info for the race packets and kids' bags so that we could help get everything put together.  Reese and her cousins enjoyed playing outside (with Pappy supervising) while we adults (and Jet) worked inside. :)  It was a nice morning/afternoon of visiting and getting things ready for the race/fundraiser on Saturday. :)

Wednesday: This was a great down day for us!  Just lots of relaxing and playing outside at my parents' house.  I love the summers here!  The evenings are so nice and pleasant!!  It's great that Reese can be outside so much (Not something she can do very easily in FL).

Thursday:  There is not really a zoo close to where my parents live, but there is a place called Living Treasures.  This place is pretty close to a zoo and is really cute!!!  They had a lot of neat animals and the kids were able to actually feed some of the animals.  A last minute change in plans was that my brother (who had just arrived from MA the night before) came down this morning with all 3 of his kids.  They were able to join us at Living Treasures and stayed for the whole day.  Boy did Reese love playing with her cousins ALL day long! :)  

Friday:  My mom and I (and the kids) did a lot of running around this morning.  We had quite a few things to pick up for the race/fundraiser on Saturday.  Both kids did great, though, and when we got home Jet took a good nap! :)  Reese was able to spend some time with Mimi and "helped" her bake some cookies! :) My cousin from IN (Doug) and his wife (Patty) arrived this evening as well and we enjoyed a nice visit with them.  I was also thankful that my friend Nicole was able to come in for the weekend and she arrived this evening as well.  

The best thing ever was that Frank flew into town this evening and our family was once again all back together!! :)

Saturday:  Race/Fundraiser Day!!  We had such a good time at the fundraiser!  This was the 2nd year my brother and sister-in-law have put together this fundraiser (For more information on why this fundraiser is necessary, please visit their website www.finleyfighters.com.) and it was a HUGE success!  They had a 5K walk/run, a 10K Walk and a 1 mile Fun Run.  There was also face painting, games, animal balloons, basket raffles and a lunch.  Reese had a great time having her face painted (by her Aunt Jessie), playing on the playground, getting her nails painted and playing games.  Jet also had a great time . . . he got to swing for the first time and even had an animal balloon! :)  All in all, it was a wonderful day for a worthy cause (And we raised almost $30,000!!!)!! :)

So that was the first half of our time in PA!  I will blog again once we get back to FL about the 2nd half of our trip (which is starting out to be just as much fun as the first!).  I hope you enjoyed the pictures!! :)

How Time Flies

I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last blog!!  My, oh my, how busy life can get!! :)  This will be a brief post just to catch you up on what's been going on in our lives for the last 8 months. :)

Jet is now 10 months old, has 1 1/2 teeth (the 2nd one is taking awhile to come in), is pulling up on everything, cruising around the couches and with his walker and eating up a storm. :)  He is still a pretty happy baby and can melt your heart with his smile. :)  It has been so much fun watching him grow! :)

Reese is 2 1/2 years old and boy, is her personality showing!! :)  She loves to talk (about anything), build "castles" (out of legos), dance and sing. :) She has such a fun, outgoing personality and really likes to do just about anything.   Reese seems to enjoy playing with her brother, too - she is constantly saying, "Come on, Jet.  Come play with me." :)  I keep waiting for the day, though, when her brother isn't so compliant with the way she plays (I.e, taking toys from him). :)  For now, though - I'll take the peace. :)

Frank and I are doing fine.  Most of you know by now that we are expecting our 3rd child in January. Those closest to us also know that this was a complete shock and surprise!  Frank and I had agreed that after Jet, we would be finished with our family.  My pregnancy with Jet was a little harder than expected (for example, being hospitalized to stop preterm labor and being on bed rest for 5 weeks) and my body doesn't seem to handle pregnancy that well, so we decided to stop after Jet (We were so thankful for having Jet and Reese.  There was a time when we honestly weren't sure we would have any children of our own.).  Apparently, though, the Lord had a different plan. :)  At first we were a little shell shocked and didn't quite know how to handle it, but after a couple of days we were able to see this pregnancy as a blessing just like the others.  I know this pregnancy may not be the most enjoyable for me (praying that preterm labor does not happen again), but God is so good.  We are so undeserving of the children He's given us and then He gives us one more.  When I stop to think about things and the way our life as gone (not as we planned or expected), I can't do anything, but thank the Lord for His hand in our lives and our marriage.  I get truly overwhelmed by His goodness and grace (when I truly don't deserve it).  And so, Lord willing, our family will truly be complete come January when our baby girl is born. :)

That's the update for now!  My mom is flying down this coming Wednesday to travel back to PA with me and the kids (Yes, we are driving.  Yes, I realize this may be a little crazy.).  We will be visiting up there for about 2 weeks.  I am really looking forward to the visit and getting to spend some one on one time with my family! :)  I am also excited for Reese and Jet to get to spend this time with my family as well! :)  Plus, we get to attend my niece's annual 5k walk/run, 10k run this year (If you don't know my niece's story or the work my brother and sister-in-law are doing on her behalf, you've got to check out their website - )!!  It's being held in Connellsville, PA on August 25th - so if you're in the area and want to have some fun that day, come join us!!  They'll be face painting, balloon animals, a BBQ lunch and basket raffles!!  Just go to for more info! :)

Hopefully, I'll be updating again once we get back! :)  Lots and lots of pictures to look forward to . . . :)

Catching up . . . kind of

I know it's been a while since I've posted - things have been a little busy lately. :) Since I last posted, Jet has turned 2 months old, Reese is 23 months old (Where have these last 2 years with her gone?!) and we're still losing sleep. :) So this post is going to be a little bit of a catch up post.

We've had some really nice weather this past month (stinkin' southern winter) so we were able to get out and do some things during the months of October and November. Jet, Reese and I went to the zoo (Jet was super thrilled about his first trip to the zoo!) with my sister, two of her boys and my aunt (who was in town visiting). Reese even fed the giraffes - until she saw the long tongue of the giraffe and then promptly refused to feed them any more. :) She did, however, have no problems mingling with the goats. :) It was a fun day.

We also ventured out to the Callahan Fair over this same weekend in October. This is the next town over from where we live and they have a fair every year. It's a nice small town fair with the typical fair rides and games. We like going to help support our local community. Nearby farmers will bring in animals for the kids to look at and pet, plus there's usually some local produce around as well. This year they even had a rodeo. It's fun to go and see people we know - the local high school band always has a funnel cake booth and we NEVER have a problem supporting them (Several of the band members are in my Sunday School class at church - I teach middle school/high school girls). :)

Jet also turned one month old during the month of October - his first month truly flew by! We traveled to Frank's parents' house to celebrate this day with them! He even had a cake and we all sang happy birthday to him (This is tradition in the Chinese culture - you celebrate one month and then the 100th day of the child's life. We were able to do this with Reese as well - it is so nice to be able to share this part of their grandparents' heritage/culture with our children!). No, he didn't get to eat any cake, but he still had fun! :)

The last thing we did in October was visit a corn maize about a half hour away from us. This is a pretty popular local place and was the first time we visited (Thank you, Groupon!). The day we chose to go was the day in which the kids could dress up in costume. It was also a themed Wizard of Oz day, so as the kids walked through the corn maize they would come across characters from the Wizard of Oz and the characters would give them candy (we went October 29th). It was a lot of fun! Reese dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Jet was a pumpkin - thanks to a cute hat that my mom bought him and a precious outfit my Aunt Joan sent! :) The kids got some candy, walked around a maize, played in a playground, looked at some animals and danced to music up on a stage. :) Oh, yeah, they also played in a haystack - I can't believe I forgot about that - it was their favorite part!! :)

November was slightly less busy for us. We started the month off by participating in two walks. The first walk was for the Leukemia and Lymphona Society. Frank and Reese walked in this one in support of one of his co-workers. Reese enjoyed "talking" with his friends. :) The 2nd walk we all took part in was the Buddy Walk. This is the Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville's yearly walk to support the research for Down Syndrome. We walked this year in honor and support of our close friend's baby boy who has Down Syndrome. Our team was called Abram's Army and there were a lot of us! :) It took place on the beach and unfortunately was one of the cooler days of the month! Frank and I tried to make the whole walk, but it proved very difficult with strollers. :) We were happy to have come out, though, and support our friends.:)

I was able to visit with some friends this month by hosting a 31 Party. It was nice to have some adult interaction and fellowship! :) I was also able to get down to my old work place and introduce Jet to my ex co-workers. :) Of course, Reese loved being there and walked into the classrooms as though she owned the place. :) She is such the social butterfly! :) And we visited a local duck pond where Reese had a great time feeding the ducks (she was sad when they swam away)!:)

It was great to end this month with Thanksgiving and Jet turning 2 months old. We spent Thanksgiving with Frank's family and truly enjoyed the day! There was lots of yummy food and of course, football! :) We have so much to be thankful for this year (as we do every day of the year!)! It still amazes me every day how two little lives were added to our family! What a gift!! :)

Now if we could just get Jet to understand how thankful we would be if he slept through the night . . . ;)

Funny Feelings

It all started innocently enough - a night out to dinner, a walk around Toys R Us and then home for a cup of coffee (decaf) and bed. Only my walk around Toys R Us was not very comfortable - so uncomfortable, in fact, that I had to sit down a couple of times during the visit to the store. That should have tipped me off that something was amiss . . . but I just chalked it up to the baby being really low. So home we went where I sat and relaxed.

Then came 4:20 a.m. on September 25, 2011. I woke up suddenly and knew something was different. Then the pain came . . . and I started timing it. For the next hour I kept my eye on the clock and focused on the contractions. At 5:20 or so I woke up Frank and said that it was time to call my OB. He groggily caught on to what I was saying and got up. I called my OB who told me to go to the hospital, which I happily agreed to do. :) Upon arriving at the hospital I was placed in triage and was placed on the monitors. After a half hour or so (I'm off on the timing a little due to the pain of the contractions) I was checked and had only dilated a cm, if that. They decided to monitor me for another hour and then called my OB to see what she wanted to do (they were pretty sure I'd be admitted so they had already started an IV with fluids). Since I was over 40 weeks at this point and obviously in active labor, they admitted me (Yay!!). I got moved upstairs and waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive (I was counting the minutes). After receiving my epidural, my OB arrived and checked me (I had dilated to 6 cm in the span of about 3 hours); she then told me to call my sister, mom, husband's parents and have them come to the hospital now (they were all going to wait for a little while). Once they arrived (everyone got there about 1 o'clock) my OB broke my water and within a half hour I had dilated to 9 cm. Around 2 p.m. I started pushing and at 2:21 p.m. Jet Xiang Ting was born. :)

It is amazing how instantly and totally your heart is captured by such a little person!! :) Frank and I were so blessed to have Reese and now the Lord has given us another blessing. The only feeling I have is utter amazement and gratitude!! My prayer is that we never take for granted these gifts that have been given to us!

Rest and Relaxation

About 2 weeks ago I was given rest and relaxation orders. Now to many this sounds great! However, my rest and relaxation orders were given due to our little boy trying to make an early entrance into this world. :) I guess he's getting as excited to meet us as we are of him! :) We had to remind him, though, that he needs a little more time cooking! :) It took some convincing too . . .

Wednesday, July 27th, I woke up feeling very crampy. Now I've felt this way before, but it usually goes away quickly enough. This time it didn't. So after having cramping for about 3 hours (I had had some the night before as well) I decided to call my OB's office. I figured they would tell me it's nothing, probably Braxton Hicks or something like that. Nope. They wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored and checked out. Yay. :/ So I finished feeding Reese her lunch, ran her over to my sister's house (whose husband was very kind to watch her along with his four) and then met my husband at the hospital. They got me situated pretty quickly and hooked up to the fetal monitors. After a little while they told me that I was in deed having actual contractions and that they were going to start giving me turbo (I don't know how to spell the full word). I got a shot about every hour (up to 3 shots). The first shot actually did stop them for a little bit. The next 2 did nothing. Bummer. And unfortunately after going through all of that, it turned out that I had actually dilated - so I was admitted to the hospital and was going to receive magnesium in an effort to try to stop the contractions. Not what I wanted to hear, but if it stopped the contractions and kept little man safe then it was worth it.

I ended up receiving fluids, plus magnesium, plus antibiotics. I was also given 2 shots of steroids that would help speed up little man's lung maturation (just in case he did come early - I was only 32 weeks at this point). Thankfully after receiving the magnesium for about 2 days my contractions actually stopped (for the most part - I still had a few, but nothing like when I arrived on Wednesday) and I was able to start taking procardia (a pill that's supposed to relax the uterus and prevent contractions). It was a relief to know that things had been halted - thankfully I hadn't dilated any more over the course of those 2 days. After being monitored for another day or two I was able to go home - with strict instructions to be on bed rest.

My parents actually left for FL the Wednesday night I was admitted and made it to the hospital mid morning on that Thursday. It was so nice to see them and have them here! My dad has since gone back home, but my mom has stayed to help out. I am so thankful for her being here!! Because she's here, Reese has been able to be at home with us and even though I can't pick her up or play with her, I at least get to see her and talk with her every day. How much I would miss that if my mom weren't here! I am also thankful for my in-laws who will watch Reese in a heartbeat - they actually kept her during my time in the hospital and for a couple days after I got home. Frank and I are extremely blessed with family who take such good care of us!!! I don't know what we'd do without them!!

Anyway, that's my exciting story! Lord willing, little man will stay put until I'm at least 35 (I say at least, but we're praying for him to make it to 36 or 37 weeks) weeks. That's how long I'll be on the medication, so we'll see how it goes after they take me off. :) I appreciate everyone's prayers!!!! :)

Vacation Time

This past week was our bi-annual Pletcher family trip to Lake Norman, NC. It is always a mix of fun, chaos (especially as we add more and more children to our families) and relaxation. :) It was wonderful seeing all of the kids play together and watching Reese interact with her cousins! :)

We had beautiful weather and enjoyed many evenings out on the back porch, reading or just enjoying the sunset. Of course we swam in the lake (which Reese loved) and we rented a pontoon boat one day and jet skis another. Reese tried out both with no fear or reservations! :) I think she had a blast!! :) There was a water balloon fight on Wednesday thanks to Aunt Jess and Uncle Tom, plus s'mores. :) Our family held a small baby shower for us while we were there (which we are very grateful for and appreciate!) and we celebrated the kids birthdays (those that were in the months of June and July - there are four of them with summer birthdays). The kids had fun opening presents and trying to break the pinatas that Uncle Zac brought. :)

We ended the week by going out to dinner Friday night at a local steakhouse. It was a nice way to finish up our vacation. :) Please enjoy the 100s of pictures below! :)

Decision Time

I originally began this blog with the purpose of sharing our adoption journey. It started back in 2007 with Frank and I filling out the paperwork and getting on the list to wait. Then it was a waiting game. What we didn't expect was the miracle of our little girl, Reese. So in 2009 we were put on hold on the list (no one was able to see our file or choose us to adopt their child). We were okay with this - we knew we would need the year or so after she was born before we were ready to welcome another child into our home. And so, when this past January came around we were getting ready to update our home study and be made active again. Then . . . . we found out I was pregnant again. This time Frank and I both knew what this would mean. It would mean being put on hold until, at least, our little guy turned 1. However, this time when communicating back and forth with our contact at the adoption agency (Who is wonderful, by the way! This kind woman has been super encouraging throughout it all and has been nothing but honest with us!) we were asked a tough question. Would we consider pulling out until we are truly ready to go through with the adoption? I want to tell you, this was a hard question to take. We'd been going through this process for 4 years now and we both truly believe that the Lord would have us to adopt. But we also recognized how the Lord's been answering our prayers throughout the past years as well. At each time we were to update our paperwork, I got pregnant. It happened with Reese and it happened with this little one. So we took a lot of time to talk, PRAY and consider what was best. Not just for us, but also for the other families who are waiting and longing for their forever child.

So with heavy hearts we agreed to pull out of the adoption process. We are still open to adopting and will be following the Lord's leading. We are so thankful for the children that the Lord has given us and we pray that one day we'll be able to add one more - one who is waiting right now for us as we are for them. Thank you for following along with us and supporting us as we began and now end (for the time being) this part of our journey.

We love you all!!

Easter 2011

It seems amazing that we are celebrating Easter at the end of April this year - even more amazing is the fact that it's the end of April already!! Where is this year going?! :)

This past weekend was a lot of fun! We were blessed to have Frank join us on Friday (he rarely gets a day off on holidays) and went to the beach with my sister and her family. It was Reese's first time at the beach and she had a blast! :) She kept running further into the water - scared me, but she was loving it! Even when she got knocked over by the water, she just took it in stride, got back up and kept playing! :) It was a lot of fun!! :)

Saturday was our church's Easter egg hunt. Reese was so little last year that we didn't even take her. This year, she seemed to enjoy finding the eggs - or at least holding on to them. :) We enjoyed watching her just run around and have fun. :) Her cousins were there, too, and she always seems to have a good time with them! :)

After the egg hunt (and nap time), we went over to my sister's house to hang out and dye some eggs. Thanks to Aunt Carrie, Reese didn't eat much dinner, but she did get some good candy and a nice, big cupcake! :) It was fun to watch the older kids dye their eggs. Marcail wanted to put sparkles on all of them. :) Reese did end up eating one of the eggs that were cracked . . . :)

Sunday was another busy, fun day! We got up, dressed and went to church to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. I love Easter, but it always reminds me that we should be celebrating His resurrection every day! Anyway, it was a great service and the nursery always does something cute with the kids. So we ended up with chicks made out of Reese's feet on a piece of paper. :) It was cute. :) Then after church we headed straight over to my sister's again for a nice Easter lunch and another egg hunt. The kids had a blast looking all over her backyard for the eggs! Reese got a little distracted by the slide, but after we redirected her to the eggs, she got the hang of it! :) After the egg hunt and lunch we all just hung around and visited for the rest of the afternoon. It was a wonderful day of remembering what Christ has done for us and spending time with the family!!

Yesterday I had my anatomy ultrasound. It went really well and the baby is doing great! We are always so thankful for the good reports on the baby! We also found out that we're having a boy, so now the hunt for the perfect name will start! :) This one will probably take us a lot longer then choosing Reese's name did! :) Below is a slideshow of the ultrasound pics - there are 7 of them and the very last one is the shot proving it's a boy. So if you don't want to see it, quit watching after you see his profile shot. :) Enjoy!! :)

Blessed

Many of you know already, but for those of you who don't - I'm pregnant! :) Frank and I are very excited about enlarging our family and we know that Reese is going to be a GREAT big sister! :) God's goodness never ceases to amaze me! :) So far the pregnancy has been going well - except for the all day nausea and lack of energy. :) Keeping up with Reese (who is now walking) takes a little more out of me than it used to! :) But so far all doctor appointments have gone well and our little guy or gal looks healthy and strong! :) It is hard for me to believe that we will have two little ones to be thankful for this Thanksgiving instead of just one. God is so very good!!! :)

Baby Ting #2

Reesey Girl Walking

I'm One!!!

While we were in PA, Reese celebrated her first birthday! It is hard to believe that a year has gone by so quickly!! So many changes, so many lessons learned, so many blessings!!! :) We can not imagine what our life was like before we had Reese anymore!! She is such a joy and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with her!! :) We love you, Reese Lan-Li!!!! :)