Some new photos of my sweeties

Not a whole lot of news around here, things are pretty quiet, which is good! We had a wonderful Christmas! I am LOVING this snow, and hoping we get snowed in good at least once this winter! Trying to save money to send Dale and Patrick to Nicaragua this summer, on a mission trip, and to send Bronwyn to Germany to spend some time with Brogan and Zachary. Everyone has been fairly healthy, which is amazing! No new children, no new pets, just settling in and trying to keep up with all that I have! God is good, and he continues to bless me! Enjoy these photos!

Court Date!

This was a great week! We went to court this past Wednesday, to officially adopt Daley Faith McKinney, and to re-adopt Emily MengYan McKinney! It was a pure blessing to make these girls "official" family members, ever though they have been since the minute they moved into our home ( and hearts!).

Court was crazy! We have adopted 4 times before, but this was the first time we spent over an hour in a tiny little storage/conference room filled with toilet paper! Our hearing was postponed for an hour, and our attorney did not want us to wait in the hallway with the inmates (thank you), so we spent some "close family time" in the storage room! LOL It was interesting!

Update on other things: I think I am ready for Christmas! Done with shopping, done with wrapping, almost done with baking.
Dale may have a chance to take a day shift at his hospital. Please pray he does! I don't think he wants to, but I would sure like for him to try it. I would LOVE having him home every night! Although Rory would be pretty hacked to get kicked out of my bed! Timmy is still with us, but will be going home to spent some time with his momma over Christmas. She was able to get a house, and we are helping her move in tomorrow. Timmy has gotten As on his pat 3 spelling tests! We were also able to get his bad tooth looked at, and a treatment scheduled. Brogan and Z are doing well in Germany, but I am sure gonna hate not having them here for Christmas. It will feel so weird, not having my oldest baby here! I miss her very much. Our van broke down, but is finally fixed, now we are trying to get the tractor running before any more snow hits! With our 1000 mile driveway (ok, it just seems that long), we cannot be without a tractor!!! We would be snowed in for week! (hmmmm, might be nice!).
Making huge decisions on the kid's education. After 12 years of homeschooling, I am finding myself questioning my capabilities. Daley makes my days so difficult, and our entire school year has been so out-of-whack. I would never do public school, but there is a Christian school I am praying about. My other option is to hire someone to help with Daley for a few hours each morning. Hmmmm, lots of prayers going up, but no answers coming down..........

Well, thanks for checking in, and here is a quote that I just totally love!
"Jesus did not come just to comfort the afflicted, He also came to afflict the comfortable".
God Bless and Merry Christmas!!!! Happy Birthday Jesus Christ! :)

"Timmy"

I'm back! It has been a while since have had a chance to blog! This guy above the type is part of the reason.
Seven years ago, Timmy came to stay with us for a week, and ended up with us all summer. We fell in love with this little mocha boy, and we missed him dearly when he went back home with his momma. We have kept in touch loosely through the years, but have always had a special place in our hearts for him.
About a month ago, we got an email from his momma. She was in a very rough spot. She is currently homeless, she has lost both her job and her car, and she literally has nothing. She asked us to help with Timmy, as she did not want him to suffer because of her situation. We began keeping Timmy over the weekends. We offered our home to her as well, but she declined. This past week she called and asked us if we could take him full-time, on a temporary basis. So, Timmy has moved back in!
He is a joy. Despite his rough life, he is happy, and his smile is contagious! This little guy, who is now ten, came to us having been abused, neglected, and bullied. He brought a bag of his belongings.....6 WWF wrestling toys, a WII game, 2 prs of jeans, 2 shirts, and 1 pair of undies. No coat, no hat, no mittens, no socks, no toothbrush. My bestest bud Kimberly went on a shopping spree and bought him some clothing and essentials. The school generously donated a coat to him, and also bought him shoes, gloves and a hat. Now we are spending our evenings helping him get caught up on school, and working on some social skills that are a little lacking.
Some family members & friends think we have gone crazy, for taking in another one of God's children, who is in need. One even suggested I let DCFS do their job. Will they ever get it??! If we Christians would step up and do what God has asked us to do, there would be no need for DCFS! If we take off our blinders, and truly look, we will see hundreds of children like Timmy, right in front of us. Yes, the need overseas is HUGE, but the need in our own backyards is there too!!! I challenge you all to take a look around. Find a child who doesn't have the things your children do, and then ask God how you can be a blessing to that child.
I ask that you keep Timmy in your prayers, as well as his momma. His momma needs a job, and a safe, clean place for him to live. But until that happens, we are having fun getting to know him more, and watching him blossom into a wonderful, handsome, joyful young man!
God Bless!

Are we REALLY against abortion?!?!

Ooooh, touchy subject. But I cannot help it! Let me back up and explain. Last week, my wonderful adoption atty called. Now, she usually only calls me to let me know about an upcoming court date, or when she needs help placing a special baby. This call was about a special baby. A Downs baby, that was being delivered on Thursday of last week. She had not one family interested. I spent a good part of the week advocating and networking for this little guy. Last I heard, there was one family semi-interested. Breaks my heart. Where are you Christians?!?! Now let's chat. Are we really anti-abortion?! Cause if we REALLY are, then we have to step up, and be a family for these babies who are unwanted by their mommas. And I don't mean just the healthy white babies. I am talking about the brown babies, the bi-racial babies, the latino babies, the babies whose momma's used drugs and alcohol. The babies who do not look perfect, or who have a disability of some sort. The babies who need xtra love and care, and YES, EVEN THE BABIES WHO WILL NEED TO BE PARENTED FOREVER.

Can you imagine being young, scared, pregnant and alone?!?! Can you imagine making that terribly difficult decision to place your child for adoption, only to find out that no one wants your child?? Wouldn't that make abortion just about your only option?! Is this really what we want?!

How much do you trust your Lord?! Do you trust him enough to step out and do something crazy, scary, and completely out of your comfort zone?! Is He asking you to consider parenting one of His special children? Has be placed a child on your heart?! Don't be scared. He will guide you! What you should be afraid of is saying No to Him. If you say NO to Him, He may decide not to ask anything of you again!

An amazing thing happened this week to me. God literally spoke to my heart through a Beanie Kid in my living room. You see, years ago, I started collecting Beanie Kids that resembled my children. I have one for Brogan, Patrick, Keagan, Bronwyn, and Tobin. I later got one for Rory and Meng. And then for some crazy reason I bought one with long blonde hair and blue eyes. MANY times I thought, why on earth do I have this doll?! I will never have a child that looks like this. And now I have Daley. My Daley has pure white hair and beautiful blue eyes. My Daley is severely disabled. Daley is my joy, but she is also my fear. I am AFRAID of her dying. I am AFRAID for her future. I am AFRAID of me not being able to give her all she needs. But when I looked at that silly little Beanie Kid, it hit me, that I bought that doll years ago, not realizing that she represented my Daley. And for some reason (God is Good!) I had placed in her hand, a little hand painted tile, that a young boy made for me years ago. And on it are these words PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR. I literally cried! God was waiting for me to get this message. A message that He sent me years before Daley was born! He knew! He prepared me, without me every knowing it. My love for her will drive away my fear! And just as He sent me this doll to reassure me, He will do the same for you! He will bless you beyond measure for stepping out in faith to help one of the "least of these".

My prayer is simple. I pray that we will wake up and realize that the treasure of a child is beyond all value. Despite the needs of the child. I pray that the next time Kirsten calls me with a special baby, that there will be families fighting over this child! Please, consider taking that step of faith. It is an amazing journey!

God bless!

A Cure for my Meng?!?!?!

My sweet Emily MengYan! She and I just returned from a 3 day trip to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis TN. She has been accepted into a research project, for her Beta Thalassemia blood disorder. We had a great time having "mom and Meng" time, and the staff at St. Jude spoiled her rotten! She had labs, an eval at the hematology clinic, an eye and ear exam, and finally a Feriscan of her heart and liver. She handled it all like a real trooper, and made her momma quite proud.
We got some really good news while we were there. There is a fairly new program in the works, it involves gene therapy. Gene therapy has improved red blood cell production in Bet thal rats and monkeys, to the point where they no longer needed transfusions. St. Jude just got the OK to begin testing this therapy on humans! Their first cases will be kids 16-21. Meng's hematologist feels certain that this therapy will benefit Meng, and hopes to try it on her in as little as 3-5 years! This is leaps and bounds of when we expected!
Our God is good. He has protected Meng while in China, he has restored her health since she has been home, and now he has led us to the place where she can be cured. He is an amazing God!

These are a few of my favorite things.........

What to do with Halloween?!?!?!

I love this time of year, Fall is my absolute favorite. But I hate the dreaded issue of what to do with Halloween. HATE IT. This is only October 3, and Bronwyn came home from youth group with an invitation to go to The Scream (local haunted house) with her youth leader!!! You have got to be kidding!
When Brogan and Patrick were little, we did trick-or-treat for the first few years. Then we felt this huge conviction to NOT celebrate this pagan holiday. We offered an alternative to Halloween, a party we called The Pumpkin Bash. We had this party every Oct 31 for 10 years, and averaged over 300 in attendance. And then we moved, to an area that was not fenced, and not very safe, as we are very close to a lot of forrest, and the Sangamon River.
So, we began attending our church's Trunk or Treat party. Well, all of a sudden, I feel like I have been duped into celebrating a pagan holiday again! I feel like little by little, we have given in, and are celebrating a holiday that glorifies death, witchcraft, blood, gore, and fear. OK, so no more. The kids are gonna hate this, but we will not celebrate halloween ever again, in any fashion. What do you all think??!! Do you think our Lord Jesus would approve of our kids participating in Halloween?! Everyone has to make their own decision. Pray about it. Seriously give it some thought. Going with the flow is easier, but is it right??!! hmmmmmmmm