Activity Time

Today was such a fun time with the children! This morning after breakfast I gave Matthew an assortment of pots, pans, and fitting lids. We had so much fun stacking and banging them together! Matilyn even joined in the fun.

Next we each took two spoons and had a parade, all three of us marching around the house while tapping our spoons together and singing some of our favorite songs.

After the parade, Matthew was interested in spending more time with the pots and pans, so Matilyn and I sat at the table and played a game. We had a big bowl of Goldfish crackers, and each had our own empty bowl. We took turns rolling the die and then counting out that number of Goldfish into our bowl. At the end of the game (when the Goldfish had all been placed into our bowls) we each counted our crackers. She loved this game!

For our next activity we took cheerios and threaded them onto a long piece of dental floss. When we were done we tied floss together and Matilyn had an edible necklace. This was a BIG hit! While eating the Cheerios she looked at me with this HUGE smile on her face and said, "This is GREAT!" Matthew joined in and ate a ton of Cheerios himself. LOL!

For our final morning activity we took big diaper boxes and tied scarves through the side (handle area) and over the top to make a handle of sorts. We called them trains! We made invitations to a party for our stuffed animals, and delivered the invitations to them. Then we loaded the animals into the "trains" and off we went. The children pulled the animals around and around the house. It was so funny! Then we stopped near their play kitchen, where we prepared a feast for the party. We lined up all of the animals along the wall and set their party table. They even sang happy birthday to Matilyn's favorite bear, who was happy to wear his special birthday hat. The children couldn't wait to load up the trains again and pull the animals all around the house. Matilyn even took hers to the playroom, calling it the Children's Museum! Those stuffed animals had a ball! We had a snack and then it was nap time. Whew! Mommy was tired after all of that playing. :)

After nap time daddy was home! I spent some time reading the Bible with Matilyn while daddy played with Matthew in the play room. After reading it was time for some tweezer fun! Yes, you heard correctly. I gaveMatilyn a bowl of dry beans, a bowl of macaroni, a bowl of Cheerios, and an empty bowl. I showed her how to use the tweezers to transport the different items into her bowl. She loved this one and sat for quite a while transferring the various items. I read that this is a good game for improving a child's coordination and small muscles. I'll tell you, it was a big hit!

We noticed that the sun was shining and checked the temp outside. To our delight it was fairly warm. We all bundled up and had some family time outdoors. We chased each other in the yard and ran around with Andi for a while. I brought Matthew in early to allow for some daddy/daughter and mommy/son time. Matthew and I had a great time stacking large block and knocking them down. We also read his favorite book, Baby Boo!

After dinner it was bath time. Daddy had fun bathing Matthew while mommy allowed Matilyn to squirt shaving cream into a large tupperware bowl and mix a drop of food coloring into it. This makes great fingerpaint for the tub! Then it was bath time! The tub was foamy and the entire room smelled like a freshly shaven daddy! LOL! It was a great end to a fun filled day.

Wishing You All A Wonderful Christmas!

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the true reason for the holiday. Matilyn is so excited about having a birthday party for Jesus. We are decorating the house with streamers and balloons. Tomorrow we are also baking and decorating birthday cake. This is our favorite time of the year!

I am sorry that we have not posted in so long. God is doing some great and exciting things regarding our adoption. We have completed our part of the home study. Our social worker is currently completing the final draft. After we receive the home study we will be submitting it to USCIS along with our I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan). We have collected all of our dossier paperwork and will be submitting it to our agency soon. The dossier consists of various papers such as: copies of our marriage certificate, birth certificates, passport copies, criminal clearances from local police departments, employment verifications, medical clearances from our physicians, etc...... We are so happy to be completing this part of our exciting journey. God is sooooo good!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. There is much more to tell regarding the adoption, and we hope to post in full sometime around mid January. Please pray that the Lord will guide us to our child, and that the Lord will keep him safe. We also ask that you pray for a safe and speedy adoption process. After receiving photos/information about our child and accepting the referral, the time until travel to bring him home can be up to 6-8 months. We are praying that God will bring our baby home much more quickly, and we know that He can do it. :)

We truly appreciate all of your support and prayers!

Wishing you all a great Christmas!

Love,

Jarrod and Anita

Outdoor Winter Playtime

We had a fairly warm winter day, so on with the coats and hats. It's time for family playtime outdoors! We are always thankful for a day when we can run around, ride bikes, and just have fun together!

[slideshow id=1585267068835492941&w=505&h=400]

Can't Catch Me, I'm The Gingerbread Man!

Matilyn was invited to Aunt Joye's house for a special afternoon of gingerbread cookie fun. Aunt Joye read the story of the Gingerbread man, a sweet version found online. She and Matilyn then made a paper chain of gingerbread men. Then it was on to cookie making! They had a great time together playing in the kitchen. I was able to sample, and sample, and sample the cookies. YUM!! Thanks for a wonderful time, Aunt Joye!

[slideshow id=1585267068835498357&w=505&h=400]

Adopt Shop: Shop for the holidays, save money, and support adoption

Did you know that you get discounts on your online purchases from major retailers such as Target, Toys R Us, Sears, Best Buy, Walmart, and Buy.com (just to name a few) and support our adoption in the process? It's easy! Just use our online shopping mall, Adopt Shop, as a starting point for your online shopping:

http://visitourmall.com/adoptshop

Please keep us in mind when making all of you online purchases. Adopt Shop will remain open for the next several years. We would really appreciate you sharing our website with family and friends who shop online as well.

Magazine Subscriptions And Renewals

Hi Everyone!
Just wanted you to know that you can support our adoption by renewing your current magazine subscriptions or ordering new magazines through the following website:

http://www.magfundraising.com/rousseladoption

The subscription rates are great, and 40% will go directly into our adoption fund. We will be offering these magazine subscriptions for the next several years, so please keep us in mind when ordering.

Snork!

Matilyn found her swim goggles and runs up to Anita holding them. She said, "Mommy, I found my goggles. Can we go outside and fill up my swimming pool so I can snork?" Trying not to crack up, Anita replied, "Honey, its too cold outside. The next time you take a bath we can fill up the bath tub so you can use your goggles." Without missing a beat, Matilyn replied, "Mommy, I need to take a bath now! I'm dirty!"

Offering Family Photography

Jarrod and I love photography and would like to offer our services to those of you who need family and/or children's photos. We can come to your home or go to a location of your choice to do the photo shoot. We will provide a disc for you including all of the photos soon after the photo session. You will own them all and be able to print them as you wish, without ever going back to a studio to pay additional fees. We are doing this as a fundraiser for the adoption of our son from Taiwan. For examples of the kinds of photos that we like to shoot please see the water table post (under older posts). These were done using our new 35mm DSLR camera. We will work with you to get the photos that you want during the photo shoot. Please contact us if you would like additional information. You may email us @ rousselab@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays!

On Saturday November 3rd we celebrated Matilyn's 3rd birthday (Nov. 5) and Matthew's first birthday (Oct. 19). We had so much fun that day with our family and friends. The party was as Imagination Station complete with the Winnie The Pooh theme, pizza, and cake. All of the children had fun playing on the playground together. We are so happy that many of you could join us to celebrate their birthdays this year! (Photos coming soon......)

Pumpkin Head Fall Fun

Since it's fall we decided to do a pumpkin craft today. Mommy poked holes into a small pumpkin and Matilyn had fun making Mr. Pumpkin Head using her Mr. Potato Head pieces. It's amazing how using a real vegetable rather than a plastic potato can heighten the fun for the little ones!

Adoption Fundraiser: Fresh Pecans For The Holidays

The pecans are here! They are so delicious! Thanks to everyone who supported our adoption through purchasing pecans for the holidays.

For those of you who live near to us, we are placing another pecan order soon. If you are interested please let us know. The cost is $10 per pound for fresh pecan halves. They are so tasty and perfect for baking. They come in resealable bags, which are perfect for freezing.

email: rousselab@yahoo.com

Why riding toys don't need batteries

Today baby brother discovered a fun new challenge and big sister discovered why her riding toys don't need batteries! I was cracking up when I walked into the room to see the following! Enjoy the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtcQ-17fD6E]

Happy Birthday To The Boys!

Happy birthday Jarrod and Matthew! What an exciting day! I'm so happy that you are both in my life. I am truly blessed!

It seems that all of the boys will have reason to celebrate on October 19th! It's also a very special day for our future son as well! Today we got the official word from our agency, Families For Children, that our application has been accepted. Now we can finally begin our home study!

We are so thankful and excited to step out in faith and see all that the Lord will do!

Popcorn Craft Time

Matilyn and I had a great time making popcorn and creating designs with it on paper today. She thought it was great! I was planning to let her glue it to the paper to create popcorn masterpieces, but she preferred to not use glue and retain the option of eating it as she made her designs! She liked using cookie cutters to arrange the popcorn on her paper. She is so much fun!

Discovering Walnuts

Today we went on a nature walk. Our Nina came along. Matilyn had a great time collecting leaves, which we will use tonight to make a placemat during craft time with mommy. Matilyn also found her first walnuts on the ground. They had fallen from a neighbor's tree. Nina had a great idea to bring them home and help Matilyn to crack them. Well, they were still green and stained everything in sight during the cracking process! Needless to say, after trying to open one of them the others are being left to dry out in the sun! :) God gave us such a beautiful day and we had fun enjoying it together. We were even able to stop for a short while at the playground.

Nina With The Children Enjoying The Day

 

Found a walnut. I've never seen one of these before

 

Blowing Dandelion

 

Baby Boy With His Nina

 

Sweet Girl Swings In Her Shades

 

I found some leaves mommy

 

See them?!

 

The girls have craft time

 

Fun with glue and leaves

 

Little hands at work

 

Finished product. This place mat helps us to remember our awesome God,our nature walk, and the time we spent together.

 

 

To learn more about our heart for adoption

We have found a site that explains why we are adopting. It couldn't be explained any better. We hope that some of you are able to visit this site and to share our heart for adoption. Love, Anita

http://www.hfgf.org/heart_for_orphans.pdf

A Day At The Riverwalk With Friends

We met some friends from our mom's group today at the Riverwalk. It was an absolutely gorgeous day by the water! We had a nice stroll and the children had a great time playing together. Matilyn especially had fun with Gabriella. They were walking around holding hands and having the best time! I also enjoyed spending time with Stacey. Baby Landon is growing by leaps and bounds and is such a cutie pie! Matthew had fun just hanging out in the stroller, and practicing his balancing act while drinking his juice. (video and photos coming soon)

Family Picnic

Tonight when Jarrod got home we went to the playground for a family picnic and play time. It was lots of fun, with bubbles, toys cars, and pizza! I'm so thankful that the weather is finally cooling down!

Baby Days

I am posting a video of our little one doing some of his favorite things. He loves to blink in order to make us laugh. He also loves to say "tickle, tickle, tickle!" I guess it's because we tickle them a lot. He brings so much laughter and fun to our lives!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlrRoRGH4No]

To Make Contributions Toward Our Adoption

Water Table Fun

Today was such a nice warm day, we took the children outside on our back deck to play with the water table. They had so much fun. It was the first time that our sone had played with the table, and as you will see from the video and photos he was overjoyed! Our daughter is ALL about wearing her swimsuit, inside and outside, day and night. Thus, her request on the video was no surprise to us. :) I love having children!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngUgn2oR7Qo]

The Adoption: How It All Began

Adopting a child has been the desire of our hearts for over 10 years now. Our names are Jarrod(35) and Anita(35). We have two biological children: one daughter who is almost 3 years old and a son who is nearing one. We had our first appointment to begin our home study four years ago when we found out that I was pregnant with our daughter and decided to put the adoption on hold for a while. It was clear that God had placed the desire to adopt in our hearts, but it just wasn't the right time.

Our daughter grew and captured our hearts, and then along came our son, who filled our home with more smiles and laughter. Once we had our newest addition into a nice sleeping routine, Jarrod and I once again felt that it was time to begin praying about and researching adoption. We know that it can take several years to bring our child home, and we didn’t want there to be too much time between our second and third child.

Since 4 years had passed between our first adoption "attempt" and now, we felt that we should research countries and agencies again. We had previously decided to use CCAI to adopt from China. They were so sincere and organized and seemed to have a great reputation in China as well. We began to research countries in July 2007. As we continued to pray and research, we found and fell in love with Taiwan. We are so happy that God moved us to research countries again! Everything about Taiwan adoption seems to be the perfect fit for us: the ability to choose foster care or an orphanage; the potential to meet the birth-giver and to have some health history for our child; the possibility that one day our child might be able to find their birth-giver if he so desires; the wonderful care and love that the children receive in Taiwan; the length of stay in country, which is less than most others; and the possibility of adopting a boy, since he will be closer in age to our youngest. All of these things, and mostly that God is leading us to Taiwan, made it the perfect choice for our family.

Great! By the end of July we had found our country. Now, where to find an agency? Next, we joined several incredible Yahoo! groups. Reading all of the member’s posts and suggestions regarding agencies was exciting. We began to call to request information packages. After receiving packets from two different agencies and speaking with them on the phone, we started to become quite frustrated. We had ruled out all of the other agencies with Taiwan programs for one reason or another. And the two from which we received packets just didn’t seem right for us. Continuing to pray about the situation, we “happened across” an agency called FFC (Families For Children) in Utah. We spoke with several different agency representatives on the phone and via email, and we read everything that we could find about them. Jarrod and I believe that we have finally found our agency! I can’t even begin to explain the feeling of relief.

Next, we began to think about how we would know for SURE when we should begin the process, and if we could even successfully raise three children. We are just beginning to get into the “swing of things” with our children. It truly would not be an issue for us to have a third child if all we wanted to do was get our children to adulthood by clothing them, feeding them, getting them from point A to point B, and educating them. However, Jarrod and I have decided to make it our highest goal to raise spiritual champions. Knowing that this is our goal, we had to have a plan and to be intentional about living it out. We are aware that the final outcome is up to the Lord, and our goal is His desire for them as well. However, we know that we have a responsibility to do our best to achieve the goal of raising godly children. It doesn’t usually happen by default. Thus, we would need to have quantity as well as quality individual and family time to devote to each of our children. Do we really have within us what it takes to achieve this awesome goal? After much prayer, God’s answer to us has repeatedly been to step out in faith, and He will provide for all of our needs. We continued to pray for God’s guidance……

On August 17^th, I had a very interesting dream. We were living in Tennessee, there was a HUGE hurricane coming. We just felt that we should go to Baton Rouge to weather the storm (Jarrod's family lives there). The storm was HUGE and was due to hit all of the southeast, even Tennessee to some mild extent. It was, however, headed straight towards Louisiana. In the dream, someone that we know (who lives here in our home town) told me that they didn't know why we were going to Baton Rouge and that it just "didn't make sense" (since the hurricane would be passing right through Baton Rouge). We left anyway believing that we would be safe in Baton Rouge and feeling like God was directing us to go there. It was interesting because when we arrived at Jarrod's dad's house we could look out of his window and see the ocean. It was like we were in New Orleans. I remember that we were watching the weather channel to decide when it would be best to return to Tennessee and the hurricane was about to hit Baton Rouge when I was awakened. NOW.....I told Jarrod about the dream in detail when I awakened, because I thought that it was so strange. We lived in Charleston, SC for quite some time, and I don't remember ever having a hurricane dream while we lived there. I had not even heard about any hurricanes this year. Anyway, later Friday evening (same day as the dream), I spoke on the phone with the person from my dream about our adoption plans. This person doesn’t seem to be completely against our adopting, but I know that they don't see how it will happen financially since they know that we don't have an extra $25,000 to$30,000 available to pay for the adoption expenses. So during our discussion, they told me that they didn't see how we could adopt and it just "didn't make sense" how it could happen. The same thing that they said in the dream!! Late Friday night, I got online to see postings on the Adopting From Taiwan Yahoo! group about a category 4 typhoon (Taiwan's equivalent of hurricane) due to hit Taiwan that day! I posted that I would pray for Taiwan and for those in the adoption process. Just after I posted, the dream came back to me! The HURRICANE(Typhoon) was hitting Baton Rouge (Taiwan). It didn't make any sense that particular person what we are planning to do (at this point), but we went to the hurricane location anyway following God‘s leading! I told Jarrod about it, and we both got chills. I called a friend who is very grounded in the Word to make sure that I wasn't reading too much into it. She truly felt that it was a message from the Lord about our adopting from Taiwan. I know that some of you may find this strange, but we serve an awesome God who can speak to us in any way that He chooses. Nothing in the dream seemed to go against what God says in His Word, and actually supports His views. He loves orphans and knows that we are open to His leading, so it just makes sense that He would direct us to add our next little miracle to our family through the process of adoption.

Within the next few days, one of our dear friends reminded me of how Abraham had to leave his comfort zone, all that he had ever known, in order to follow the Lord. Abraham had to take one step at a time following God daily, even if it meant leaving the familiar. She then proceeded to tell me to take each next step until God "shuts the door". The very next day I received an email from someone on one of the Yahoo! groups. It was her first email to me. She shared the following: “My local social worker has always told me to pursue until the door is closed. If the door closes, it's not in God's plan.” (Thanks, Kaye!). And there we have it; another confirmation!

OK. Not that I didn’t hear God speaking loudly, but I just want to know that I know that we are hearing from God correctly. So I continued in prayer, this time asking for a specific “sign.” I love how God has this great sense of humor with me even when I keep asking and asking. I know, I know. How much MORE clear could He be?! Well…..

Jarrod and I were starting to fill out our application, even as I continued to ask for my sign. We were on the couch and for SOME reason Jarrod decided to change the TV channel to one that we have never watched before tonight, Discovery Home. I don’t even know what the show was, but within a minute of turning the channel, I hear him say, “you are NOT going to believe what I just saw! The host of this show was standing in front of a sign that said TAIWAN!” I was a bit skeptical thinking “were his contact lenses working well this late in the evening?” I am soooooo glad that we have a DVR. I said “QUICK, REWIND IT!” He did, and there it was ON A SIGN!!! (I know that God must have been chuckling and enjoying answering me in this way!) And not only did it say Taiwan, it said TAINAN, TAIWAN! (For those of you who don’t know, that is the orphanage location that we have felt led to go, which is called St. Lucy Center). The Discovery Home program was not being filmed in Taiwan, and it appeared to be some sort of landscaping/home show. Well, HERE’s Your Sign! Now, I had no more questions for the Lord. If I didn’t get it this time, there was no hope for me! *Lol*!!

God was even gracious enough to address every concern that I had during a Bible study that I attend on Thursdays, called BSF (Bible Study Fellowship International). My three concerns were: 1) Should we begin the adoption process to Taiwan now (Obviously He has already addressed this one very well!); 2) How are we going to pay for the adoption; and 3) Will we be safe traveling so far from home? Our teaching leader spoke Thursday morning and this is what she said: “God guides, God provides, and God protects His own!” WOW! God guides: He clearly guided us to take the first step of faith to begin the adoption process. He provides: He will provide for all of our needs in the process including financially. While we can’t currently “see” how this will happen with our physical eyes, He has confirmed it to be true. She also reminded us that God delights when we turn to Him for help just as I delight to give my child all that I can when they approach me asking for my help. But, unlike my own resources, God’s resources are unlimited. God protects His own: He will keep us safe during our travels.

Now, on to the timing. When should we begin this incredible process to bring our baby home? When should we mail the application and make it official? We were hoping that our next child could be around 2 years younger than our youngest. We learned that the wait for a healthy infant boy was steadily increasing in Taiwan. Then, on September 16^th shortly after Jarrod left for work, I decided to check my email. Initially to my horror, I received an email announcing that Families For Children , the adoption agency, would be accepting applications until October 15^th only, at which time they would place a moratorium on new applications for at least 6 months. Jarrod and I prayed during the day. By the end of the day, we knew in our hearts that the time is now! I called to set up meetings to interview social workers for our home study. We spent the next few weeks completing the FFC application packet, which included a letter of introduction from our family to the orphanage and possibly to the child’s birth-giver. We also created duplicate scrapbooks with approximately 15 photos of our home and family activities. On October 2, 2007, we were happy to announce that the application packet was on it’s way to FFC. After a brief scare that it had been lost, Laura confirmed that it was actually received by FFC today! We are currently awaiting their official approval in order to begin our home study. We celebrated tonight as a family! We are so excited to begin this awesome journey and look forward to getting to know many of you along the way!

Welcome to our blog! Why "BIG Loves?"

Hello everybody and welcome to our family blog. In case you were wondering we chose the site "Big Loves" because it is a phrase heard often around our home, referring to BIG HUGS! We are a family who loves to hug and have fun. Our three-year-old daughter enjoys talking about how we will meet Jesus one day and He will "give us BIG LOVES and swing us around!" It's a heart warming picture of Christ's love for us all.

Our names are Jarrod and Anita. We have two biological children, our daughter who is almost three and our son who is nearing one year. They are both such blessings and we are so thankful to be their parents. We are currently beginning the adoption process to bring our third child home from Taiwan. Here you will find information about our life's journey and all that God is doing in the process. We are so excited to see all that He has in store!