Christmas recap

Well, Christmas for us was absolutely wonderful! The kids had a blast and got lots of great stuff. Today we went to my grandmother's and she gave each of the great-grands a blanket she had crocheted. They are beautiful. We grandkids each got one growing up so it was nice to have the kids get one too. Tomorrow Jim and the kids leave to go to his folks. I will be going later in the week, but want to spend some time with my dad first.
Now I must share about one of my presents. Jim gave me a four-slice toaster. I had wanted this because it makes cooking toast and such a lot faster. Well, Blake made the comment that now we could have more kids since we had a bigger toaster. (8 year old logic=) Anyway, I was relaying that to Jim and he said, "Well if I had known that I would have gotten a 6-slice toaster." Woah! This is coming from the man who just a few short years ago was against any more kids. Now we have Samuel and he says ready for more. Isn't God great! He truly does answer prayers.

Santa

I know the topic of Santa is sometimes controversial, especially in Christian circles. However, our family hasn't gotten the memo yet I don't think. My kids know that we have Daddy Clause. Daddy buys to gifts to bless his children. Even so, we still sit on Santa's lap and when folks ask what the kids want Santa to bring they tell them. Well tonight we had a moment that just tickled me. Grace was telling Granny that Daddy was Santa and he brought the gifts and then five seconds later she looks out the window and says "I see him!" We came home and got on the computer to track Santa. Blake of course wanted to look at all the info, but Grace said, "I don't have time for this. I'm going to bed." Is that girl not a hoot.
Samuel is taking this Christmas thing in stride. He opens one present after another, not even really paying attention to what he opened. Their favorite gifts of the night: Blake, his set of three pocket knives from my brother; Grace, her make-up from the same brother; Samuel, his nerf gun (He's already shot Blake in the eye) from my sister. I can just hear it now "You'll shoot your eye out!" Let's hope things go better tomorrow when Blake opens his real gun. I will update again tomorrow.

Our Recent Adventures

This is Blake at the Dome, playing with the band.

Samuel working on the Gingerbread house.

Say CHEESE!

"Oh, now I see how to do it."

The finished project.

Okay, I had a little technical difficulty with this post. The pics aren't in the order I wanted or turned the right way, but you get an idea of our last few days. Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Well, today is my dad's 74th birthday. We had a small party for him with all of my siblings and his sisters. It was a fairly nice day and he seemed to enjoy it somewhat. It's tough because his mind is really slipping. After the party my mom asked him if he enjoyed his party and he didn't even know it was for him. His health is also very poor. He spent the entire day in the bed except for the short time he was at the party.
It's tough for all of us to watch him like this, but it is especially tough for my mom who is having to do everything for him. He gets up several times a night and she has to get up and pull him up and help him to where he wants to go. I stay as often as possible to help out, but with three children in tow it's hard. My brother also comes over as much as he can, but he works an hour away so his time is limited. I do ask for your prayers as we walk through this time. I know God is there to carry the burden, but at times it seems very overwhelming.
As for the kids, they are great. Grace loves being a helper to Papa and taking care of him. I think I may have a nurse in the making. Blake was recently on GPTV (PBS) and this has given him some fame. Lots of people comment about seeing him on tv. It has really boosted his ego. And Samuel, oh what to say! Tonight we watched the Wizard of Oz and of course it has some scary parts. Grace crawled on the couch with Granny, but Sam quickly informed me he was not scared. He would simply shoot the witch with his gun he got for his birthday! Glad the gun Blake is getting for Christmas comes apart. I will have to hide the shells!
Not sure who all reads my posts, but if you do, I love reading comments. Drop me a line or two.

The Nativity (Revised)

Once there was a baby born in the city of David. His mother wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him a manger. The shepherds who were watching over their flock came to see this child that had been born. Then came the wise men from the east. They came to beat up on Joseph. He was then defended by shepherds who were each weilding a staff. Okay, okay so I know that is a little off base but that is the story from a 4 year old who has never had Christmas before.
We have a little stuffed nativity that I have sitting on the steps for the kids to play with. As I was walking thru the house this morning I hear "*pow*, uh!" punch and kick. This coming from Samuel as he is playing with the nativity. I guess we still have a little more teaching to do about the birth of Jesus.

On another note, our football teamed played for the state champ title yesterday in the Georgia Dome. We did not win again this year, but it was lots of fun. Blake was actually on tv as he was part of the band. Jim hid from the camera person because he didn't want to be interviewed again this year. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Psalm 37

Okay, so I was reading this and several verses jumped out and spoke to me. The first being verse 4: Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. So I'm like, yes LORD, you will unite me with the little girl whose face I have been looking at longing to adopt her. Then verse 5: Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. Okay God, this is yours! I am trusting You to act for me. Verse 7: Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. HUH?! You want me to wait. Hey I've been staring at her pic for a month and a half.

No seriously. I have been praying about a little girl in Korea that I mentioned several posts ago. The more time that goes by the more I really do feel like this little girl is supposed to be a McBride. However, there are many obstacles (finances, husband, etc...) Please pray with me that I can be patient and trust God to act. Even though the answer may not be exactly what I want to hear, I know God will give me the right answer. Thanks for the prayers.

Wow that was fast God! Well I just got on the waiting child site for the little girl I was talking about and found she has been matched. I'll just keep waiting and praying for just the right little girl.

Spreading Christmas Cheer!!!

Okay, I am going to try and add a link. I hope this works. Here is the deal, go to Robeez website, send some holiday e-cards and they donate product. You can read more here http://seasonofgiving.robeez.com/intro.aspPlease follow this link and make a difference. I know first hand that Robeez donated lots of shoes to the Vietnam orphanages that Dillon families visited. Merry Christmas.

Nguyen Thi Xuan Lieu

To this woman I will forever be greatful. This is Nguyen Thanh Tam's birthmother. This is the woman who carried our son for nine months and then cared for him for 5 days before giving him up for adoption. I know today her heart must be breaking just as my heart rejoices. She may never know how much we love this little joy who we call Samuel. The little boy whose face is all smiles and can make you laugh at anything. Our son who so easily fits in our family and seems as though we have always had him. We missed the first 3 and half years of his life, but yet it seems as though we haven't.
Thank you LORD for all those times Jim said no to adoption. Because had he said yes we would not have Samuel. Thank you for directing our steps in the process. Thank you for his loving birthmother who cared for him. Thank you for the nannies who took such great care of him and loved him. Thank you for bringing this wonderful blessing into our lives. I will forever be greatful to a woman I may never know.