Dixie and Matilda Jane...

Lovin Matilda Jane,but after the recent Vet trip.... not getting to love as much Matilda Jane!!

First please be praying for Little Miss Dixie...I know that sounds weird to pray for our puppy, but I am a believer in prayer. Dixie has had a rough couple of days. She started vomiting Friday evening and then all day Saturday and Sunday. By Monday morning she wasn't even able to walk. We took her to our vet first thing and he indicated she appeared to have Parvo... I informed him that she has had all of her vaccinations and didn't know how this could be possible. He asked me to bring the front page of her records so he could contact the vet who administered the vaccines. I raced home and the clinic ran a few tests and took some x-rays... when I got back to his office he told me that the X-Ray showed a 2 inch sewing needle in Dixie's tummy.. TEARS.... I have told Hoot a million and one times to make certain he picks up all his Legos, small toys etc. so that Dixie didn't choke on them. I was sewing some bows some time back and I dropped the needle while trying to thread it. I had completely forgot about this!!! I was in the kitchen and I heard it hit the floor... I looked and couldn't find it so I went for my Oreck to vacuum it up.... I never in a million years would have thought she would have chewed a needle.... so we took her to a specialist in Houston and they removed it. However, she didn't get better after the procedure. Our Vet said she did test positive for a mild strain of Parvo... The vaccination records were accurate.. I learned that the Parvo vaccine is only 96% effective.... there is a chance that even with the vaccine... a dog can contract the virus. We picked her up from the specialist yesterday and continued to give her fluids via an IV... we took her back to our vet this morning and they observed her all day. she is better, but really really weak! Hoot is so sweet and he's going to be such a great big brother... he lays on the floor next to Dixie and prays for her. He'll sing and talk so sweet and gentle. He's just a wonderful kid. I am truly blessed. He takes after his daddy.

WOW that was a lot about Dixie and Parvo.... maybe TMI, but she's family.

I hosted a Matilda Jane Trunk Show... it was fantastic!!! This is such a cute line of clothes for little girls. I had bought a few items for Libbie on E-Bay so I decided to host a show. I have GREAT friends that came and shopped. It was hard to decide what to buy. EVERYTHING was so stinkin cute. Matilda Jane is based in Ft. Wayne Indiana near my folks.. It's a relatively new small business that started as a home business. The rep informed me that it's a booming business that recently grew out of the family home and now has it's headquarters in a studio called 435. Congratulations Matilda Jane family... you guys are awesome and sell a top quality product!

Sundays

Cheesy Potato Soup... It's 95 degrees outside. I want some fall weather... I want Indiana.... REAL BAD!!!!

Am I alone on CRAZY Sundays??? It seems like we're up as early as all the other days of the week. We rush to dress, eat breakfast, run by Snowflake (the best donut place EVER) and then make it to church to teach... we catch the second service then go out for lunch... we get home around 2:00. We need to practice for Awana's, prepare something for small group, do any weekend chores that we haven't done during the week. Shortly after 4:30 we race out the door to take Hoot to Awana's throw him out on the curb and race across town to our small group.. We pick Hoot back up around 7:30 and come home to start preparing for Monday... I used to catch a nap on Sunday's but who can do that these days?? I'm tired.... Today I made a cheesy potato soup for small group. I hope everyone enjoys it. Seems kinda warm for soup, but it's football season and we eat soup during football season.... it's what we do... Dixie is sick... really sick... we're taking her to the doctor first thing in the morning... we have a lot of Nerf wars around our house and I think she's eaten her fair share of Nerf bullets. I don't know how she gets them.... we always pick them up... but I have found two or three rubber ends- minus the foam bullet shaft....

I hope the rest of you enjoyed the Sabbath.. Next week, I'm taking the afternoon off. i'm going to cook Saturday night so I won't have to cook Sunday after church. I love my Sunday afternoon naps!!

Spur of the Moment Road Trip

Sorry the pictures are all over the place... I'm not thinking!

Outlets!

Walton's. I fell in love with creamy colors and vintage look before we even walked in. I didn't want to leave.

Hyatt on the way home..

Thank you Lord that he was asleep... it could have been bad!

Yummy Rice Crispy...

Dreamy

We don't usually do well with spur of the moment (ANYTHING). Lambert thoughtfully plans every detail when we travel. He knows where were going to stop and eat along the way. He plans out what activities we'll do when we get there and fun stops along the way home.... The last time we made a spontaneous road trip, we traveled to San Antonio for the weekend after work one Friday. (this was pre-Hoot). We arrived in San Antonio around 9:00PM, tired and ready to find a room... We pulled into the River Walk Hyatt (w/o reservations)... the reservations clerk looked at us like we had lost our minds... It was George Strait Weekend...Need I say more?? We drove until about 2AM WAY past Austin before we finally found a (MOTEL) to sleep in... We were so exhausted we didn't care where we stayed. Here's a little secret about Lambert... He doesn't recover quickly. The weekend was a disaster!!! He was so cranky, the only thing I wanted to do was get back home. So Saturday when he said, "let's go to Austin." I flashed back to 1997 ( I remember this because it was the weekend Princess Dianna died). I wasn't sure I wanted to go there again. However, I knew Hoot would love to get away. We drove up 290, hit the Outlets, drove through Brenham (Blue Bell was closed... not good) and then headed to Austin. We had lunch at Sandra Bullock's, Walton's Fancy and Staple. I LOVED it. I had a Cesar salad and Lambert had the Monte Cristo... (TOO DIE FOR) It was served with a Strawberry Onion relish that was out of this world. Hoot had the biggest Rice Crispy Treat I've ever seen. After lunch we hung around the park and then decided we would drive back via Hwy 70... We couldn't decide if we wanted to stop in Columbus and go to Splashway Water Park the next day or just come back home... Along the way we passed Hyatt Lost Pines ... Lambert made a U-Turn to see if there was any possible way they might have a room... NO Luck. Thankfully Hoot was asleep or he would have lost it when we had to drive back to the interstate! I must say I was a little bummed too. We stayed the night in Columbus and planned to get up early and hit the water park. We didn't tell Hoot what the plans were (THANK THE LORD). When we woke up the storm clouds were on the horizon so we decided to head back to Houston. We got back home early, lounged around the house, watched Nannie McPhee, played Chutes and Ladders, ate a little home made pizza and now were winding down! I hope everyone had a restful Labor Day weekend with the ones you cherish most.

1 Corinthians 15:58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I Can't Keep It Any Longer... Here Goes!

Here she is ...Meet our girl Libbie, The Libster I've wrestled about posting our absolutely wonderful, amazingly GREAT news.... I wanted to wait until we had received our I-800A approval, and then I thought I should wait until we had received the Pre-Approval from China and then I thought I should wait until we mailed our announcements... but I just can't wait any longer!! I (WE, Lambert and Hoot are here blogging with me) proudly introduce Libbie Lin~Zhang Lambert... I just can't wait any longer. You may be receiving the same announcement in the mail within the next few days, but I had to share the good news with my blog friends. Thanks for all the encouraging e-mails and support. I've not wanted to share a lot about our referral on this blog, just to protect her and to make sure that we were without a doubt approved!!!

We're not certain about travel. Our dossier should be ready to go to China in about 3 weeks. It should be 3-6 months after DTC before we actually travel to China. Libbie's birthday is in December. She will be 3 years old. I am praying boldly that we will travel in December... I know that it will be only by God's grace that everything will be done by then, but I also believe God's still in the business of miracles. We have a friend from a Yahoo group that is in China now. They are going to try to snap some recent photos for us when they visit the orphanage this Thursday.... I am praying for a sweet photo of our precious Libbie.

1 Thessalonians 5:24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

I first read this verse on another beautiful announcement and I claimed this verse for our family after speaking to Kim at 3 Peanuts... she gave me so much encouragement when I really needed it. This scripture has brought me such a peace when there was a lot of uncertainty in our journey. If God calls you to it... HE will see you through it. He is always with you, even when you feel alone or distant from him. He is there guiding your steps on the narrow path. I wish all of you that are in the process or beginning to think about adoption, the courage to trust in The One who is calling you. Just trust Him!

My Heart is Singing for Joy

I'm a southern gal.. i love all things from the South and I love old Baptist Hymns!! One of my favorites is "Blessed Assurance" So my heart was filled with Joy when I learned that in Music class Hoot was learning Blessed Assurance by Frances J. Crosby. It's a beautiful little melody, but the lyrics are sweet sweet music to my soul.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!Heir of salvation, purchase of God,Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:This is my story, this is my song,Praising my Savior all the day long;This is my story, this is my song,Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;Angels, descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,I in my Savior am happy and blest,Watching and waiting, looking above,Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

If you haven't listened to it in a while go to Playlist and take a listen!!!

Miss Dixie

Dixie is the newest addition to our family... we brought her home from our summer vacation this year. We lost Bernie early this summer and weren't sure about getting a new puppy. We had a lot going on and there are going to be more changes coming to our family in the future. I think we waited about three (maybe two) months and then decided we (Hoot)really wanted a family pet. It's nice having a dog around the house. Hoot loves her and I have to say... she is a GREAT dog. The first night home, we had driven almost 14 hours and I was just certain she was going to cry all night long... she never made a peep. She ALMOST house trained and she has a great personality. She follows me everywhere. I've taught her to sit, but that's about all... she won't STAY yet and I can't take her off her leash. She can't be trusted with all the cats and squirrels in our neighborhood. She loves to go for walks and she LOVES to chase the water from the water hose. It wears her out and then she wants a good belly rub. I come home at lunch and let her out and play with her for a while. She willingly goes back in her kennel and waits for me to get home. I leave the Disney Channel on for her... I won't let Hoot watch Disney, so he wants to know why it's okay for Dixie... These eyes keep her out of a lot of trouble! She's family!

Hoot turns 6!!!!

This was from last year's birthday party. The year started off with a splash and has been a blast. Hoot has grown and matured so much this past year. I have truly enjoyed each year of his life for so many reasons. The first year was filled with all the many firsts, the second was great because his little personality was developing and he FINALLY walked. The third was fun and challenging as we learned to guide him and his little personality!! His 4th and 5th year of life seem to have flown right by. He has become a little person right before our eyes. He is loving and kind, funny and witty. He's truly more than I could ever have imagined. Other parents told me the love I would have for him would be indescribable... they were right. It's hard to put into words the love I have for this child. We began today with waffles in bed.... it was early... no coffee yet.

Then it was off to school. Parents are only allowed to bring healthy sugar free snacks for birthday parties... BUMMER. Hoot's favorite snack is popcorn, so we prepared goodie bags for each classmate. We also made a fun birthday fact sheet about our sweet boy. 6 fun facts about Hoot: he loves popcorn, plays piano, loves legos, star wars and is going to have a baby sister from China soon, and his favorite restaurant is Double Daves Pizza!

After school we stopped by Target so Hoot could buy one toy with some of his birthday loot... he chose The Optimist Prime Transformer... It's really loud!!

Next we met daddy at Double Daves for Cheese Rolls and Pizza.

Hoot had two more gifts to open... One from Daddy and the other from Granna and Papa!! Let me begin by saying my family loves cars... classic cars and Rat Rods.... you probably haven't heard of a Rat Rod, but Hoot thinks they are VERY cool... this character is Rat Fink... he is also very cool in Hoots opinion. Papa searched for a t-shirt in his size and found not one but two! This may have been Hoots favorite birthday gift this year....

More Rat Fink tattoos.... he'll have to wait for the weekend to wear these!

Lambert loves surfer classic cars and all things California.... Ron Jon is one of Lambert's favorites... Hoot has asked for a Ron Jon shirt for a while now so Lambert found one for him!! He said this was the best birthday ever!!! It's 8:15, he's bathed, homework is done and he's on his way to bed... We can't wait to see what the big #6 has in store for Hoot!!!