Sunday, September 28, 2008

Our Sweet Baby Boy

Can you BELIEVE all of that hair? We still can't believe it.
He is growing like crazy and oh so cute. He's stealing our hearts!
Mommy and Daddy can't wait to come get you, little guy!

Andrew singing "Jesus Loves Me This I KNOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Isn't it truly amazing how advanced he is already! :)
That camera phone kinda scares me.....
Ok, I'll try to pose a little for this one. How about I pull my head back and try a chubby baby pose?
Here's another nice black and white shot. Check out my cute little lips and my sweet eyes!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

YUM! Order Your Freshly Harvested Pecans Now

For those of you in the the Chattanooga area, we are getting ready to place our orders for our Pecan Fundraiser. These are the same fresh pecans that we ordered last year, and they are delicious! We are taking orders now, and the pecans will ship out after they are harvested, around the middle of October. These Fancy Medium Pecan Halves come in one pound bags. They freeze beautifully and are perfect for eating straight out of the bag or for holiday baking. The cost is $10 per one pound bag. Please contact us via email at calledtoadopt@yahoo.com for more information.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Homeschooling Preschool

We had a blast today. We did a study of Noah with crafts that were a big hit. While I read from my Bible (Genesis 6-9) we discussed and the children colored. They each colored a rainbow and two pieces of an ark. When they were done we stapled the ark pieces together and added the rainbow for a handle (Matilyn cut out her rainbow. She loves cutting paper with scissors), resulting in some cute little ark baskets. We then added animal crackers to their arks. They had fun loading the animals on board. They were more excited about the clean animals and birds, since they came in 7 by 7!! LOL!

What tastes better than animal crackers from Noah's ark?!!
Enjoying the fruits of our labor, or crackers of our labor if you will....
mmmmmmmmmmm
Completed Ark Baskets
Then we acted out the story using a huge box that we could crawl into. Matthew loved marching up to the box pretending to be all sorts of animals as we sang and made animal noises. Then we made progressively loud rain sounds, followed by progessively quiet rain sounds (mommy's favorite part. LOL!). At the end of the story I hid some "olive branches" and Matilyn was the dove. She went out looking for them and had a blast on her olive branch hunt!

Next we made playdoh animals and loaded them into an ark box. Matilyn made sure to load up plenty of food, so that they wouldn't get hungry!

Cutting Playdoh Animals
This ark is getting full!

It was such a great time together learning about our awesome God!

Andrew Photo Update

Hi everyone. We are excited to have some new photos of Andrew. Apparently he really enjoys his naps, A LOT! LOL! Enjoy!

Now THIS is what we call 'Out Like A Light!'
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Our sweet baby face

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Church And My New Favorite Adoption Song

Church was AWESOME today, as usual. We are so blessed.

Just wanted to share a song (yes, I know I have shared a lot of songs lately, but the Lord just keeps speaking to me through songs...). We sang this one in church this morning, and the words reminded me so much of all of us on the adoption journey and our babies who are waiting to come home. Listen to the end. It's so worth it!

Praying for you all to have supernatural strength as you wait....

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Great Family Day

This afternoon, after my Home & Garden Party and nap time, we ate dinner and headed out for an evening on the town. We had a blast with the little ones, visiting the aquarium. Then it was off to Rembrandts for coffee and CHOCOLATE! YUM!!!! We ended the evening with a nice stroll downtown. What is the place? It's not the Chattanooga where I grew up. I love this town!!!

Walnut Street Bridge

The Glass Bridge

"Look, Look! It's gonna FLY!"

"Look, Matthew, It's a BUTTERFLY on mommy's arm!"

SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Practicing counting with the children. "1001, 1002, 1003..."
"Mommy, can I give the fish LOVES? I want to pet him!"

Chattanooga Aquarium's Newest Exhibit
'A Crab Tank Full Of Roussels'

Song For My Fellow Mommies

Here is one of my old favorites. Wanted to share it with all of you who have been little girls, teens, wives, and mommies.
Love, Anita

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Dinnertime Photo Opps

Over the past few nights, we had the opportunity to take some fun photos of the children. Here are some of the results. Enjoy!
Yes, he STILL loves ketchup!
Having fun with a popsicle stick pose
"Chocolate is great, but would someone PLEASE clean my hands!"
"PEESE!" Matthew asking for another popsicle. Matilyn was cracking up saying, "Look at Matthew, he looks like a CLOWN!"

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Praise Report: POAs Arrived In Taiwan!

We are so excited that our POAs have arrived safely in Taiwan! This is such great news. Thanks to everyone for your prayers for Andrew!

Please continue to pray that our final paperwork arrives here quickly and safely. Also pray for our other paperwork that is being submitted in Taiwan to AIT. Basically AIT will give approval for us to proceed with the adoption of Andrew. After their approval, and our receiving and sending our last packet of paperwork to Taiwan, we should be ready to enter court there. I can't wait to report that we are in court! That will be a great day!!

Nice! COOL Weather AT LAST!

We had such a nice cool morning here today, so we decided to play outside. The children were thrilled to ride their bikes and had fun just running around in the yard. They then took mommy for a walk to our neighborhood playground. We had so much fun swinging and sliding. They were thrilled to see and catch several lady bugs. Matilyn was fascinated watching them. We also played a fun game where they were on the ship (slide, rock wall, play gym) and I hid underneath it, jumping up and saying rrrrroarrrrrrrrrr and pretending to be a shark. (Yes, I know that sharks don't roar, but they LOVED it! LOL!!!) Needless to say, naptime was grand as well! LOL. I love cool weather....

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Our Scrapbook Is Complete

Tonight I finished our scrapbook.  This is a compilation of photos that will be seen by the courts in Taiwan during our adoption proceedings.  I used our scrapbook that we made months ago for FFC, and added a few updated photos.  One new photo of the children and some of Matthew's and Andrew's bedroom. So glad to have this completed! We are planning to mail it to Deana within the next few days. Yea!!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Andrew's Video Debut!

Our day was great today, and ended with an incredible surprise. I was on my way to bed an a little birdie rang my phone telling me that I had a video of Andrew in my email inbox. THANKS LITTLE BIRDIE!! LOL!

The funny thing is that I was just looking at pictures of him from his delivery and wondering how much he has changed. Jarrod and I want to thank our incredible foster family for the wonderful updates, and for taking such good care of our baby boy! You are amazing!

It is so much fun to see Andrew smile and to see him get sooooo excited about dinner time. Enjoy!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

BSF And Inspiration

Today was wonderful! I awakened and got the children ready to go to their grandmother's. After dropping them off I headed off to Bible Study Fellowship. On the way there I was listening to the lyrics of this awesome song! Someone recently asked which song really speaks to you about adoption. This song REALLY speaks to me, about adoption and so many other things in life! It's one of my favorites that we sing at church, so I thought I'd share it with you....



This year in BSF we are studying the life of Moses, Exodus through Deuteronomy. The lecture today was amazing! Our teaching leader spoke about something that has been on my heart for quite some time: "Do you want your life to count for something?" She then answered that in order to live this kind of life, one that is lived to the fullest, we must make knowing God our top priority. Not just knowing ABOUT God, but really knowing Him intimately, like you know your spouse, you best friends, or your children.

At one point she quoted some verses that made me think our our precious Andrew:

Psalm 139
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
God has always planned for Andrew to be a part of our family. And He has always planned for all of us to be alive, right here, right now. He has a plan for my life, and for yours. Which inspires me to continue asking, am I living this life to the best of my ability? I want to KNOW Him well enough to hear perfectly when He calls, so that I can move in His will and in His perfect timing. And as God has recently re-confirmed to our family, as we listen and respond in faith, even when it's not the easy thing to follow Him, it is so worth it!
I love that BSF continues to inspire me to move into an even deeper relationship with the Jesus. If you are looking for a great Bible Study, BSF is in many different areas and many different countries. There is also an incredible children's program too! There are even classes in Taipei! (We should check that one out, Becky!!) For more information you may visit the website at: http://www.bsfinternational.org/

Baby Update & Prayer Requests

Andrew is doing well. He seems to be tolerating his formula very well, and from what we hear he is a very good sleeper. (Thank you Lord!) We are so happy that our foster family is not protecting him from noise during nap times, since it's not always quiet around here! LOL!

Please pray as we await an important piece of paper from our social worker, that it arrives very quickly. It is holding us up a bit. Once that paperwork arrives, it will be translated and added to our home study, which can then be sent to us for some final notarizations. We are praying that we will receive the final paperwork soon, so that we can return it to Deana and hopefully around that time be entering court......

Please remember to keep Luke and Deana in your prayers as he travels to China on an important missions trip and she is caring for a house FULL in Taiwan.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Gotta Get Out Of The House

Today was one of those days that we just had to get out of the house. I know all of you moms know what I mean. LOL!

So it was off to run an errand, and then I was going to stop by mother's for a visit. After heading off to my errand I discovered that mother was not going to be home today. WHAT TO DO!!?? There was no way that I was going home before nap time today. LOL!!! So then it "hit" me! THE MALL! There is a great indoor playground where the children could have fun and get some exercise. They had a blast! Wish I have taken the video camera to share some footage with you. It was hilarious watching them. After playing for a while they hopped into their stroller, happy as clams, and we were off for some lunch. We had fun talking and eating together. After lunch, we stopped by Smoothie King for a little treat. YUM! I think it was the hit of the day with the little ones. Next we went to Build A Bear to check out the possibility of sending a bear with an audio message from the family to our Andrew. (Thanks to Sarah for that great idea). Matilyn was in stitches over some of the bear outfits. Then we went to Kohl's to window shop, and then home for a late nap. It was a fun day for all!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Bath Pics Of Our Baby Boy

Our sweet Andrew taking his bath
Am I finished yet?
Wait a minute, this is not so bad. Kinda nice actually!

Monday, September 8, 2008

We Love Our New Announcement, Sarah!

Our friend Sarah made this AWESOME birth announcement page for us. We love it! Wanted to share it with all of you. Thanks so much Sarah!!!!!!!

You can follow along with Sarah on her journey to her precious Josiah, at http://taiwankiddo2.blogspot.com/

Just Saw A LIVE VIDEO Of Our Little Andrew!!!

Hi Everyone!
Well, the adoption contracts are now signed and Andrew is home with his precious foster family!
They were so sweet to take the time to let us see him via Skype on LIVE VIDEO!!! Yea! We were not expecting this any time soon, so it was such a treat for us! We were able to snap some shots during the video, and are hoping to get OOVOO going so that the next time around we can record some video to watch again! :) Here's a peek at our little guy.....
              

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Welcome To The World Gabrielle!

My sister-in-law, Lani, had her little girl today! Gabrielle, who is Matilyn, Matthew, and Andrew's cousin is only 2 days younger than Andrew! We thought this was pretty neat! She weighs 7lbs 11oz and is 21 inches long. She's such a cutie pie too!

Please pray for Lani as she recovers, for baby Gabrielle, and for a great transition for their family. Welcome To The World Gabrielle!

We are so blessed!

Gabrielle Rose
Alexis Meeting Garbrielle For The First Time
Happy Family

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Are You In Need Of A Blogover?

A HUGE thank you to Sarah K for this AWESOME blogover! We were greatly in need of a change, and she made everything look just perfect!

If you would like a fresh new look for your blog, just contact Sarah at taiwankiddo2@yahoo.com for more information.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Paperchasing Again

After finding out about Andrew being born, I drove to my mother's house while our Power Of Attorney forms were being sent to us via email. I thought I would save time by being at my mom's when they arrived, since she lives closer to all of the upcoming errands! LOL! So when the POAs arrived, I quickly tried to print them out. What happened next was hours of frustration as I tried to convince mother's computer to print out our documents in CHINESE! Let me just tell you, it wasn't fun and it never worked. Thank the Lord that Jarrod had a computer at work which was much more cooperative, and he was able to print out all of the necessary paperwork. YEA!!!!

Next, I spent the ENTIRE day running around town getting things notarized and county clerk certified. Then it was off to purchase a money order. Next to FedEX and the Post Office to find out the best ways to ship everything! WHEW! I must have been at the post office for OVER AN HOUR as they tried to figure out the right way for me to ship the packages! I kept getting completely incorrect info from them. I have to thank my awesome friend Sarah, because honestly without her insisting that the postal workers were steering me in the entirely wrong direction, I think I would STILL be at the post office...... *sigh*

I am so thankful to mother for keeping our children. Don't know WHAT I would have done without her. They ended up missing their naps. We got home at 7pm, just in time to get them ready for bed before they crashed!!

It was such a busy, but awesome day!! The POAs are in the mail, on their way to TECO and then off to TAIWAN!!! YAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we wait for the contracts to arrive, and then start the process again. At least I will know what to do this time around! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Andrew Joel Roussel

Our newest blessing has been born!
This morning at 7:50 AM EST Andrew Joel Roussel was born in Taiwan.
He weighs 8 lbs 3 oz and is 21 1/4" long! He is doing well and will be joining his foster mom in a few days.
We are so excited! It has been truly amazing to see all that the Lord has done during out adoption process. He has never ceased to amaze us with His perfect provision and faithfulness!
Now we fill out more paperwork and wait. The court process in Taiwan can take months, and can vary greatly depending on which judge is assigned to our case. Please pray with us so that we will be able to bring him home soon.....
Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive during our journey to bring Andrew home. We love you!

Andrew resting in a nursery bassinet.




Andrew taking a yawn shortly after being born.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

12:30 AM And I Can't Sleep

It's 12:30 am on Thursday morning and I can't sleep. I just realized that bio mom is being induced tonight at 11pm our time (where has this week gone??!!), and Andrew will be joining us soon after that!!!!!! I am guessing that his birthday will be September 5th! That would be neat, because Matilyn's birthday is November 5th! Easy for mommy to remember. LOL!

So now we are awaiting more good news from Taiwan.

Can't wait to annouce our referral! God is just amazing!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

They Are Here! They Are Here!

We are again doin' the Happy Dance here in Tennessee! Only 10 days after applying for our passports, and after much prayer, the have both arrived!!!! That's right, our passports are now in hand.

God is so amazing! We were told that the current wait was about 1 month. Thanks to everyone who was praying with us about this. Jarrod and I are so thankful! We are now completely ready to move forward with the remaining paperwork, which will be started once Andrew is born.

Got an update from Taiwan today. Bio mom went for another OB appointment. She is now 40+ weeks. On Thursday night the MD is planning to begin induction if mom is not already in labor. She would be 41 weeks on Saturday. It's almost time for our baby boy to enter the world, and we are overjoyed! We can't wait to see our precious little miracle!