I'm Moving...

my blog - that is!

Decided that this one isn't working for me like I want it to.

My new address is http://gatheringpeeps.com

or click HERE to link...

I am super-fancy now with my own domain name :)
LOL!!!

my friend, Debbie

Hey all!
I am posting this to my Blogger and I will post it to my Type Pad later today (gotta get in the shower!)...


I have a friend - Debbie. She's a pretty special person - and if you'll humor me for a second, I will share a quick story.


Back in October 2005 (wow... that was a long time ago!), Chris and I were getting ready to drive to our adoption agency and hand deliver our completed dossier to adopt Amy. We didn't know who she was yet and we were still at least a little over a month away from being able to send the dossier (waiting on my 30th birthday). We made some contacts to see if anyone locally might be DTC with us and might be able to meet us for lunch.


Debbie and her hubby were planning on being DTC in December and so we met her for lunch.


SUCH a neat lady! I was looking forward to possibly traveling with her to bring our sweet Chinese-born daughters home before next Christmas (2006).


Well, SOOOOOO many factors contributed to the different roads our journies would take. Their dossier wasn't ready to go soon enough to be DTC in December and obviously, we found Amy not too many days after ours went.


And because of the drastic slow down of referrals from China, Debbie and her husband are still waiting for their referral.


Their journey has been long, but they will soon be seeing the face of their precious little Darci.


Would you consider checking out Debbie's Etsy shop? She makes beautiful coasters/trivets/decorated tiles and is selling them to raise funds to cover a recently increased orphanage donation.

trying something new...

more on this later (on this blog)
but just in case you are *dying* to see some christmas pictures...
go to

Gathering Peeps

Welcome to Our World - Chris Rice

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child

Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger

How I wish we would have known

But long-awaited Holy Stranger

Make Yourself at home

Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence

Bid our hungry souls be filled

Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world

Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us

Tender brow prepared for thorn

Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born

Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You

Breathe our air and walk our sod

Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God

Perfect Son of God

Welcome to our world

tagged by Joy

(And honestly - since she knows I am struggling with my picture posting, I think she is just messing with me... :) But - since I love her so much - I will oblidge!)

I am supposed to post the 4th picture from the 4th folder and the 5th picture from the 5th folder (photo folder). The disclaimer - I got a new computer before I went to China, so the pics aren't that old.

UPDATE: I can't even upload ONE picture to Blogger right now. WHAT is wrong with my stupid Blogger???

The pics would be: 4th is Anna - holding her baby in some amazing sunlight
5th - me holding my newest nephew Reed (although my brother Adam's baby boy will be arriving in our world very soon!)

dedicating abraham

I think I am on a gingerbread buzz (yes - I did destroy the house! - and darn it! It was good!).

One might have thought two little girls were high on gingergread this morning...

(this sequence was within maybe 30 seconds)

Ok - I'm not proud that I know this... but this shot reminds me of a SNL skit :)
"Hi, my name is Mary Katherine Gallegher... SUPERSTAR!"

Note the "look" the girls are getting in this shot

Temporarily Amy decides to have a seat

It was a comedy, really. And the truth is, once Amy was the one being naughty, I knew it was a lost cause.
This *is* what parenting is all about, right? Knowing what battles to choose?
They were just being little girls.

It was a fitting way to end my week (seeing today as the end of a week).
Committing to raise this little one in the LORD.
To teach him about Jesus.
To be held accountable by our church body.
Praying that he would trust Jesus as his own Savior at a young age.

It's the 5th "baby" we have dedicated with this same body of believers and this same pastor.
We committed to raising him in the local church - and Dave said something about this one or "any one in the world"
(or something like that)...
Wow.

One more thing:
If you were at our church on Mother's Day 2006
and witnessed Amy's dedication -
you would know why we didn't stop our silly, sweet little sunshine of a girl this morning.
Not the same little girl we dedicated to Him 2 1/2 years ago...

gingerbread

Gail brought Noah and Lily over yesterday to help us celebrate the first day of the big kids 16 day Christmas break!!!

Gail and I decided Thursday to have a gingerbread house-making party Friday morning.
It kinda ended up lasting 7 hours!
It was just a *little* bit chaotic, but here's the thing: it was like medicine to my soul.

I have never made a gingerbread house before. I found this recipe and modified it only slightly (I didn't have enough molasses on hand, so I topped it off with honey). It was super easy to make (although I haven't tasted it yet!) and I used her measurements for the templates. I used an empty pop can carton to cut the templates. I made a standard Royal Icing to use as "mortar".

The kids each made individual houses out of graham crackers. The only thing I wish we had done differently was to have "built" their houses in advance for them. It was difficult and we ended up doing it for them, anyway, and it was hard for them to wait for the icing to set. Each kiddo had their own ziploc baggie with icing in it and did pretty well! I even let Abe in on the action... a little. I iced some of the cookies and graham cracker pieces and stuck candy on them for him to pick off and eat! Suffice it to say - the boy got an impromptu bath in the kitchen sink when he was done.

After the kids were finished, our gingerbread had cooled. The kids went off to play (Austin and Noah were outside for hours!), Abe went down for a nap and Gail and I set to work. Ashleigh kept us company as she perfected her house with a bonfire, a pond and a fence!

Gail will likely post some pretty amazing pics later. She is very "artsy" in her photography lately :) But she did teach me something new today (we have a similar camera), and here is a little sample of that...

(OK - I AM SOOOO MAD! I have been trying to upload a few pics for over 24 hours - to no avail... I will try a few more in a separate post.)