It's a wrap.... At least it is for spring break!

Well I know it is ridiculous but this wraps up are spring break week!! I know it's late, you ask why even have it when we literally only have three school weeks left for the school year! Their reasoning was test scores but I'm afraid the kids brains were totally fried while testing I know at least this momma, teacher and wife's brains were not functioning, my entire body was in survival mode and it was barely coasting.. So I can say better late than never ill take it when I can get it I guess I don't have a choice in the matter so I might as well get over myself ha!! See I work for a private church preschool but we follow the Cullman City's school schedule which makes my life's easier considering the boys go to city schools.. It's been a blessing working this year after being home for ten+ years and I'm loving being out of the house but guys my house is not going to survive next year, you see I'm only teaching two to three days a week right now and on my off days I keep my girlfriends kids for her at my house but I'm barely treading water now, with laundry, ball season and dinner which I never cook who would be there to eat it not us! Oh well something has to give and for now it has to be the house which if you knew me it is not an easy task somedays I want to hyperventilate and run out screaming, I don't but some days I do just leave because I'm overwhelmed and need to call in the reinforcement aka(hubby) he's a real life saver most of the time... Oh well here's the kicker next year I go back full time which I'm excited about but nervous my family will take of residence else where because they don't like messes but also don't like to clean.. I take that back if the hubs has time he loves to help out and Brody are middle child loves helping with whatever task your doing!! He's gonna be a big help when little sis gets here from China and I also think Riley and Emerson will step up to they're all excited to have gotten are first call from our SW yesterday.. Me to this momma is tickeled pink and can not wait to be matched.. Here's to the future may God give us strength and mercy through this process!! Then to add to the caus we call life, are house is on the market so we've been on the search for a house in the city limits with more bedrooms, pray friends please pray we put in a offer and haven't sold our home that makes this momma nervous but I'm just trying to give it to God and let him decide and wrestle with the decision! It would give us a lot more room see now we have a 3 bedroom 2 bath with about 2 acres of land and the house we put an offer on has 6 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and we plan to turn one of the bedrooms into the laundry because the hook ups are in the basement which I hate.. I have good reason on my hind end massive bruises from falling down them, its lovely and sore I'd show you but it's to close to the crack ha!! I don't have a modest bone in my body since having kids and could honestly be just as comfortable naked as fully dressed but the boys think I'm crazy and so I have to hide ha ha.. Don't want to scar my boys for life you know. Well I can say this we've done nothing productive all week but have played and relaxed at the house and around town we call it are staycation and it's becoming are ultimate favorite there's no packing involved or stressing over $!!! So today were enjoying are last day of fun before the week starts back!! As they say in the movies it's a wrap!

It's Official....

Yes for those of you who are unaware it's official....what's official you ask? Well we've finally made the first step and have turn in our application to adopt with Lifeline Children's Services! Can I tell you how excited I am to make it official it already seems real and it's just the start of our journey to adopt our daughter from China. I mailed in our packet yesterday and of course had to overnight it, then today I missed our very first phone call from the agency but luckily they reached Scott and he handled the first of many mistakes I'm sure I'll make! Ha we forgot to put our names on our personal testimonies really what were we thinking..Oh well if that's the worst of what I mess up on I'll be doing great in my book!! As I sit here typing were enjoying a quiet evening at home, due to the lovely rain,ball was canceled for the night..Can I get a hip hip hooray? I needed this night off and time to just relax with the boys and zone out while they enjoy the movie Adventures of Tin Tin. It's allowed me to catch up on reading blogs, cook dinner(yes I cooked), and actually attempt to blog today. Don't get me wrong I'm loving ball season but with three boys playing and three teams that means three different ballparks, times and equipment and I'm struggling keeping this act afloat. Thanks to my hubby for being such a trooper and never complaining about ballpark duty!! You are my rock and comfort. I can't imagine it yet but I do know that in twelve to fifteen months we will have our daughter home.. The thought alone makes me smile. I'm going to try my best to be positive and continue to pray that God gives me strength and patience thru this process of adoption. We are a family of five but will be a family of six, how exciting soon we will have a daughter, another blessing from God. I long for the day we get her referral and actually get to meet her! Until then I've got three boys that keep me on my toes and running! God bless and good night all!!!

Informative Adoption Meeting!

Tonight we made plans for the grandparents to come up and take over ball practice and evening duties, so we could attend Lifeline children services informational meeting. While I felt aware most of the information what we did learn was we were at the right place to begin our journey and that along with God, Lifeline would be by our side to guide us and answer questions. This is where we are being led by God and our hearts, can we say China here we come! It was so neat to here that the couples who had sat in the same seats we were sitting had already traveled to China and were now home with their children. What a blessing knowing we are on this journey with other couples everyone's stories a little different but still the same as we all desire to do what God has commanded us to love his children and to reach ours and make a difference in a unwanted child's life. We're driving home as I text my dear friend, Kelly to share our news and I feel so blessed to know she truly is sharing joy in our decision. I can't wait for our daughters to meet one day soon we will be there Kelly thanks for the support and encouragement.. I know I'll need more so bring it on friends and family as we being our journey of adoption!!!..

Pics of the cruise...

Carnival... Do I need to say anymore!

The last week of January was a dream at least once we made it on the ship! My dear sweet in-laws gave us a trip for Christmas and boy was it nice..Can we say Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel! I'm still dreaming of the sleep I experienced let's just say I've never slept better I don't know if it was the ship rocking me to sleep or being away from the real world but I slept all night every night with no neck or back pain.. Now thinking back I wish I had of checked the pillows because once we came home my neck began killing me again if only I had looked at the tag to see what kind of pillow.. Sigh.... Oh well! Don't get me wrong but preparing for the trip was the worst, packing for a family of five is not an easy task especially for seven days including two formal dinners, ha my boys think jeans and polo shirts are formal so polo shirts and izod kahkis will have to do! I became more and more resistant to going dreading packing and finalizing the trip then comes the sickness and I'm mean it was relentless first Scott came down with a cold virus, then he came down with the most horrific stomach virus. To say I was scared was the understatement of the year I was petrified that we would all get it or get it on the ship, then I got sick with an upper respiratory infection and tried to self treat until I gave up and went in to see our dear friend Richard who gave me two shots antibiotic and cough medicine. Now that I was on the mend I was trying to pack and work and deal with the kids school about being out for a week. Which was not easy by the way until this year it had never been an issue so I was caught off guard at the resistance I mean really they are only in second and third grade and they can do the make up work. I won't bore you with the details but I know why so many people are choosing to homeschool their children. To top the list the boys came down sick the night before we left with fever and congestion and I was distraught so the next morning were running with our heads cut off so now do we run to birmingham just to go to the pediatrician or urgent care here in town..? Decisions so urgent care here we come with our oldest begging for no shots and me praying that they would give them two but boy did he get lucky we rolled out with antibiotics and cough medicine! Now were on the road fever and all here we come no turning back now... Well here we come Carnival sorry we lied the first question they ask is have you experienced any fever or flu like symptoms oh no were all fine with the load of medicine we have were good for two weeks! Well they were so excited to be there and I was relieved and so glad to sit back and breath! Can we say haleilugh praise Jesus we made it here and we are going! Scott's parents, my mom and our family friends Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Jim and Matthew, along with a few other friends we were crusing to paradise! I'll hopefully add some pictures later when I get around to downloading them! I'm so tech challenged it's not even funny, if only I had known I could have turned my phone on airplane mode and could have used my camera on my iPhone but that info came a little late like our last day in port! I was so worried about international rates that they kept texting us that we turned off our phones and put them in our room safes. The trip flew bye and was a blast in Jamacia we went to Doctors Cave Beach in Montego Bay and visited margaritaville for lunch..can we say cheeseburgers in paradise are expensive Jimmy Buffet is making a killing but I still had to have a tshirt! Who could resist no shoes, no shirt, no problem I could live my entire life on the beach. Then we were off to Grand Cayman and boy was it nice I would love to relive that day so relaxing but way to short. Scott and myself laid on the beach at Royal Palms for a total cost of $14.00 instead of paying a ridiculous excursion fee and it paid off. The boys however visited the turtle farm with their grandparents and I think it was the highlight of their trip also! We met a wonderful group of ladies who were cruising on Carnivals Liberty ship out of Miami it was their last port of their trip, but I truly believe God placed them in our path and what a blessing they were their encouragement in our decision to adopt and our discussions on faith were without a doubt one of the best parts of the trip for me strangers who became friends in only a couple of hours. I pray for these sweet ladies and can't wait to get in contact with them and see our pictures we took that day! Then our day in port was over we were on one of the last tenders to the ship barely making it on the ship opps, we were going by their time Miami time oh well we made it back just in time! Now we were off to the Cozumel for what we thought would be a day in the sun on our private island in paradise but the sun forgot to shine that day but it was relaxing and enjoyable for everyone.. Mexican buffet, open bar, and playhouses and trampolines for the boys we were all enjoying our time but it sure flew bye and it was time to take the catamaran back to Cozumel then straight to the ship with a quick stop bye the Ron Jon Shop at the shops at port! Now we were back on the ship for a ride back to the real world with a few more dinners and meals.. I think I gained ten pounds easy but it was well worth it I ate everything even dessert almost every night and it was heaven. Now I'm crying cause my jeans are to tight maybe having this tooth extracted this past Friday will aide in my weight loss ha who am I kidding I doubt it has helped I've drank my weight in liquids and soup. Oh well were officially back to reality along with my tooth extraction this past Friday, Scott was diagnosed with the flu and had to take off work for two days but he was able to take tamiflu and is doing much better and Richard also started me on it and we all stay away from him I slept with Riley and did everything we made him stay in the bedroom and sleep so I'd like to think were in the clear but your never know so say a prayer that were in the clear and can stay healthy for a while. Now I'm resting and the boys and Scott are at church I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life and can not wait to start the official adoption process with him! While off this week he took the time to feel out his paperwork and answer the questions that lifeline asks us parents doctrinal questions on our faith and beliefs. I'm so excited to be on the same page with him on adoption and that God is leading uson our journey. If only adoption wasn't so expensive why and how are the questions that keep me from moving forward I know God is with us we just have to tighten our belts and do whatever it takes to get the ball rolling to bring our baby girl home wherever she may be, God will show her to us he will lead her home and that I truly believe! I ask that anyone and everyone pray for our journey of adoption and that God will lead the way! I pray that God will allow that to be our last trip as a family of five and next time we will be a family of six with our little girl in tow! God bless you all!

Decisions...Decisions... What does God have in store.

Well well well does the Lord Almighty have things in store for the Schaefer family. I'm sure as a slacker in the blogging world there's probably not many people following me, but I'm attempting to use this blog to record my thoughts and activities that fill our days here in the Schaefer household. As well as an attempt to reach out to others who have adopted or are in the process of adopting, because as a mom of three I need all the help I can get.. Bring it on leave me comments and ideas, everyone has different experiences and suggestions and we are ready for the advice! Because we don't have a clue on where to begin. Of course we know there are many decisions to be made..like what agency to use, oh and who can forget what country? The only thing we know for sure is that God has placed it on our hearts to open our home to another child, one of his lost children. It is possible that child is born and alone in an orphanage, being raised with many other children who knows maybe the child isn't even born yet, let alone conceived...but make no mistake about it the child God has in store for us is heavy on our hearts and minds already. We pray daily for them, God's children, the orphans that is what God asks of us to do. I'm trying to not be in control and to allow his plan to take place in our lives and in the lives of the child he wants us to have! So with that being said we are having a hard time trying to decide which country to choose! My dream has always been my china doll, well that's what I've called her and dreamed about, ever since I saw Oprah's show on how Chinese girls were treated and discarded in the streets..You have to think I was a young teenager when I saw this, before I met my husband, before I birthed my three sons I knew I wanted to in some way help these little girls, because their mothers weren't because of the Communist country they lived in. Now after having three children of my own all of whom are boys, I would love to feel our home with the warmth of a little girl, whether she is from China or any other country, so I'm staying open and waiting for God to tell us how and when to take the next step.  There are a lot of things that could lead us astray from adoption, like the cost, fear of the birth parents changing their minds, what our friends and family think, but with God on our side I feel he will move mountains, and other peoples concerns are not our problem. We have been called to save a lost child, who we can show the love of Christ to through his word and our actions. I can't wait for our friends and family and our church family to meet this child and I long for the day to bring her home. I can't wait for her brothers to meet her they are already so excited and love to talk about her, our oldest son says we should adopt twin girls....Oh my what have we got ourselves into..haha no really I love his heart, he will be a wonderful big brother for any little girl to have! Sorry to cut it short but it is movie night in the Schaefer household so I'm signing off for now. Goodnight and God Bless!

Dear Belated Christmas Pics

Ok so I know I'm late but I wanted to share a few pics from Christmas, since the family was here for Christmas morning we video taped more than taking still pictures!! God Bless and Happy New Year!