I survived Black Friday!!!

Yep, I'm one of the crazy people who are up and out of the house before the crack of dawn is even awake to snag the deals.  The past couple of years I've left my house @ 2am and drove 2 hours to go shopping.  I was beginning to think that I had a screw loose until I started running into people I knew!!   This year I went by myself as my counterparts decided to skip out on me!!  I treated myself to Salsarita's for lunch and stopped at an Indian place in Corning on the way home.  I got home around 6pm which I didn't think was too bad, but Hubby thought otherwise.  When I go, I shop until I am too tired to keep moving!!  He claims that when I called to check in at 8am I said I was done!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!  I was just getting my second wind!!!  It's not even like he had all 3 boys!!  Treyton and Cooper stayed at my mom's!!  Silly daddy!!!

"Can I have pie yet?"

That is always the famous question from Cooper on Thanksgiving! Ha!  I'm sure I'm not the only mom that has heard this one before.  We have a rule that you have to eat everything on your plate in order to have dessert.  We ate buffet style at my cousin Bill's house and each of my boys made their own plate of food.  Cooper's plate consisted of 2 rolls, a handful of olives, a couple of pickles, and a scoop of mashed potatoes.  He ate it all and asked "I ate all my food.  Can I have pie yet?" Uh... nice try Coop!  I think next year we'll change the rule to 2 plates!!  Ha!Ha!  

Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday for my side of the family.  For the last couple of years it has been bitter sweet for us but this year had a little special meaning for us.  My cousin Bill and his wife hosted dinner in honor of his dad, my Uncle Roy.  My mom's brother Roy passed away a couple of years ago from cancer.  He was the glue of the family.  He didn't care what excuse you had, you had better show up at Thanksgiving dinner no matter what!  Back in the 70's he had started to build a house and never finished it for some reason or another.  It had been left abandoned for years and right before Roy passed away Bill and Roy would go and putter around it.  We all thought it was better off being dozed it, but when my uncle died Bill decided he was going to finish the house for his dad.  Except for a few minor cosmetic things, the house was finished this year just in time for Thanksgiving.  After all this time, the original wall ovens still worked!! :)

My cousin Wendy's death holds heavy on our hearts this time of year too as we lost her the day after Thanksgiving.  I try not to mourn her loss during such a glorious time but celebrate her life.  We have come together to be thankful and appreciative.  I used to pick on Wendy because she despised Black Friday.  She was the store manager at Macy's Department store and dreaded the "biggest shopping day of the year".  We always bickered about it.  Yes, I am one of those fools who is in line and waiting 1 hour before the stores open.  She would have her retail names for me and such.  She passed away on Black Friday just about the time I would've been walking into the stores!  But instead that year I was in Virginia with the rest of our family at her bedside.  I chuckle every time I think about her watching over me while I'm standing in line with my flyer in hand freezing my butt off.  I can only imagine what she's saying to me but I simply look up and give a wave with my flyer and smile.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We all have a lot to be thankful for.

My BARGAIN on Craigslist!!!

So... I've been shopping for Asha again!!  Go figure right?!  This time I hit the jackpot!!  I was searching Craigslist during my break at work on Friday and found this nursery furniture.  It's not the crib or finish that I had picked out but... it was a steal!!  I emailed right away and scheduled to look at it on Sunday. Everything looks brand new and they are good solid pieces!!

3 SOLID WOOD PIECES: Armoir w/baskets, changing table/dresser w/baskets and crib  --- $350.  So... of course they came home with me!! :)  

I was really hoping for a convertible crib but I really couldn't pass this deal up.  This picture is the Craigslist photo just to show what the set looks like.  I will certainly post pictures of Asha's room when we get things settled.  If you are crib shopping, there are some smoking deals on Craigslist.  We had to drive 2 hours to Lancaster, NY but I got lunch at Tandoori's Indian Cuisine out of it.  :)

There is no other news to report as we begin our week of Thanksgiving Blessings! We are still holding at #4.

WATOTO Children's Choir of Uganda

(4 of the beautiful girls that I was able to spend time with after the concert)

If you have not heard of these wonderful children, you must check them out.

I had the chance Tuesday evening to see the WATOTO Children's Choir perform at the Full Gospel Church here in Wellsville.  They were amazing, to say the least!!

Sometimes we get so caught up with our own problems that we forget that there are people out there dealing with bigger issues.  "In the Swahili language of East Africa, Watoto means the children.  To the destitute children of Uganda, Watoto means Hope."  The children in the choir are orphans of the war or HIV/AIDS in the African nation of Uganda.  The Watoto Children's Choir has been touring the world since 1994 and spreading the message of hope for Africa's 60 million orphaned children through their inspirational songs and testimonies.  Today the Watoto Ministry is caring for over 1,700 orphans in their villages.  They provide a loving and nurturing environment for these children to grow up in.  The children live in small villages and have house parents. They live like families rather than in an orphanage type setting. The children are cared for by a mother and father figure called Auntie and Uncle.  Their mission?  To care for and raise responsible christians so that they may be productive citizens in the future.  The children are not open for adoption.  One of Watoto's goals is to teach the children to follow their dreams so that they may be great leaders one day.  They are the future of Uganda and with our continued support and prayers will be able to bring change to their nation. 

Watoto Ministries mission statement is Rescue a child-Raise a leader-Rebuild a nation.

These children will change your life!!  Open your hearts and reach out, check out their website.  There are beautiful Christmas ideas in the gift shop.

This is a video that I took of the children singing "I Am Not Forgotten".

The chorus is... I am not forgotten, God knows my name.

These children are truly a blessing and inspiration!

THANK YOU to all who have served!!

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!

Thank you to all the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces and sacrificed themselves for the freedoms of our nation.  Words cannot express enough how grateful I am to you!  May God bless you and keep you safe! 

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

                                               -Lee Greenwood

For a touching tribute to our veterans, please follow the link below.

http://www.managedmusic.com/php/BYGIndex.php?page=playBYG

With a little HOPE...

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. ^[1] To hope is to wish for something with the expectation of the wish being fulfilled, a key condition in unrequited love.^[2] Hopefulness is somewhat different from optimism in that hope is an emotional state, whereas optimism is a conclusion reached through a deliberate thought pattern that leads to a positive attitude.

With the election and all, we decided to have a vote of our own!  We have decided to name our future daughter ASHA.  Asha means "hope" in hindi.  We were going to wait for our referral but we all agreed that we are sick of referring to her as "the baby". :)  She will still have her birth name somewhere in there but a definite middle name has not been decided yet.  Shad has had Asha picked for her name from the beginning and I just kind of said "Yah, whatever!"  He has stood his ground for almost a year now with this and never backed down.  The least I could do is let him name our daughter.  After all, she is going to be his daughter too! :)

Now that the holidays are fast approaching, we have opened a "MALL" to begin a little fundraising to help with our adoption expenses.  Please consider using our link when you are doing your holiday shopping.  www.visitourmall.com/bringingashahome

So... hopefully I will be able to share some good news soon!  Happy Election Day!!