Faithful Friday - "Two Little People"

First of all today, I want to thank you all so much for the prayers for our family during the loss of my father-in-law (Pawpaw).  We know it was a prayer answered in that he went so peacefully and it wasn't long and stretched out for him, which was so important because he hated being bed-ridden there at the end.  We know he's with the Lord now and there is great rejoicing as he rejoined Jason's mother there in heaven too. 

This week has been really busy with all the affairs that follow a death in the family, including taking care of Pawpaw's home and belongings.  However, I didn't want to let today slip by without a Faithful Friday post.  Joy was sweet to let me "borrow" her post, her words.  And important words they are! 

Remember Leiney Grace? 

She's the precious 9 year old from China that we did the Auction for Adoption for here on my blog?  She is just blooming where God planted her in the Bryant family.  Well, since she's been home, she has talked and talked out of concern for two special friends she left behind in China.  She wants them to also know the love of a family, so we're trying to get the word out!  I know their family is out there somewhere!  Please read on (from Joy):


Today's post isn't going to be like a lot of posts. Today's post is just going to be about people.

Little people.

Two little people, to be exact.

Their names are Maria and Ricky.

They have dark hair.

Almond-shaped dark brown eyes.

Brilliant smiles. And a little something special--it's often called a special need--but it's really just a special need for love.

Maria and Ricky are orphans.

Mari, 8 years old, with the big smile, and Ricky, 7 years old, with that adorably mischievous smirk.  :)

They live in a little orphanage in Hunan, China. Both have been on the Shared List for a long time and are now on BAAS (Bay Area Adoption Services--the wonderful agency we used for Luke's adoption)'s list.

Maria was born in August 2003. She will be turning nine soon, and as you can see, she is about the size of her friend Ricky, or "Di Di," who is seven. Maria's special needs (for love!) are described as "left cross foot, post-operative resection of benign lumbo-sacral tumor."

Maria needs a family. In some pictures, Maria's lovely smile has disappeared!

Maria needs a family to put that sunny smile back on her face. Here's a little bit about her from a mom, Ms. Jan, who adopted from her orphanage:

"'Maria' is 8 years old and has lived in the orphanage with Leiney Grace since she was 2 years old. She had a benign tumor in her lumbosacral area and deformed feet upon admission. She was given surgery in 2006 to remove the sacral meningocele and repair her tethered cord - based on this information- I am assuming she has spina bifida although her file does not state that. According to her growth report in her file and according to our Leiney Grace, "Maria" is a smart little girl and is developmentally on target except for gross motor due to her feet. Her deformed feet have never been treated. From what I have read in her file and asked Leiney Grace, I believe she is continent, but I am asking Xiaoqing (the BAAS coordinator) to check on this.

"'She is expressive and a sensible, strong, and brave child. She has difficulty walking in shoes because of deformed feet so sometimes she only wears socks. Especially in winter, she has chillblain (blisters?) on feet which may break, but she still insists on walking alone. All caretakers are moved by this.' Leiney Grace says that she and Mei Mei went to school and that Mei Mei reads every day. She also says that Mei Mei played the violin with her. The two of them slept together and apparently were very close yet when Leiney Grace left the orphanage to come meet her mama, Mei Mei did not cry and told her to 'Go to Mama and Baba.' Oh, how I want this child to know the love of a family and most importantly the love of Jesus and the hope He brings."

And Ricky. Adorable Ricky.

 Ricky was born in March, 2005. Ricky's special need (for love!) is "polydactyly of hands and feet and cleft lip and palate."

Ricky has an adorable, mischievous look about him--I have a feeling there's a whole lot of personality behind that face! :)

Here's what Ms. Jan wrote about Ricky:

'Ricky'just turned 7 in March. He has been in the orphanage since he was a newborn. He is post-operative for polydactyly of hands and feet (extra fingers, toes) and is listed as having cleft lip, palate, deformity of tongue, and cleft vermilion tubercle. I do not see a cleft lip in his photos.

He does have a deformity of his tonuge and mouth. He can speak but Leiney Grace says his tongue is a circle - not so sure about that. He will likely need surgery and speech therapy though. He is described as 'a very diligent child, takes an initiative to clean the room, clever and gentle."

Both of these children desperately need a home! I have more pictures of both children. If you would like to see them and would like more information, you can either email me at: countrygirlathome@att.net Ms. Jan at dfbjhb@windstream.net

Not everyone can adopt, and I understand that. Please, please keep these children in your prayers.

***********************************************************************************

Please join us for Faithful Friday (today or any other Friday)!  Just leave Joy a comment here on her blog, letting us know you've participated and we'd love to come visit!  And if you just stopped by to read, we thank you for making it part of your Friday!  Have a great weekend!  :)

Update

Hi blogging friends! I just wanted to take a minute to post and update you. Pawpaw (Jason’s dad) passed away this morning. I won’t be back here tomorrow for Faithful Friday and probably not until after the funeral which is Monday morning since we will also have family coming in from several places. We would appreciate your prayers! Thanks so much!

Faithful Friday - "Folding the Napkin"

I’m a day late with Faithful Friday, but I decided to do it anyway. :) Jason’s dad is not doing well and several of Pawpaw’s brothers and sisters have come in to see him while he will still know them. With company here and lots of trips to the Hospice House (which is one hour away from us), our schedule has been a little hurried the past few days. But….I figure better late with a Faithful Friday post than to not do it altogether!

Anyway, when I received this in an email this week from a sweet homeschooling friend, I knew I wanted to share it on my next Faithful Friday, especially since we just celebrated Easter. I’m not sure how I ever missed reading this somewhere along the line but it was very interesting, informative, and exciting that Jesus took time to leave a small gesture to reveal His promise to us!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?


Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this....

The Gospel of John 20:7 (YLT) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.


The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see... The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this
tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he
made sure that it
was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table,
because.........
The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'
**********************************************************************************

Be sure and stop by and visit Joy’s Faithful Friday too. We invite you to join us for Faithful Fridays (usually on Friday, not Saturday).

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

Be Blessed!
~ Tammy ~

Squeezing in a Little Fun Time

Too many days or evenings have been spent in hospitals or funeral homes here lately. In between all of this, we’ve had some normal moments and just some fun times we’ve squeezed in just for the sake of giving the kids something to look forward to or something more uplifting.

One evening after visiting Jason’s dad at the hospital, we discovered it was the last night of the carnival in town and Joy had been asking to go. So it was late….really too late to have our 4 year old out, but we stopped in for about an hour and a half of fun for the kids. It was a nice distraction from all the sadness lately. And I had forgotten just how entertaining those carnival folks can be. :) Let’s just say that I am convinced that one of the requirements to work a carnival is that you have to be very unique. Joy has her theory but we won't talk about that here. :) We definitely got a few laughs and are still laughing when we recall those moments!

Joy is up there on the top. :)

Luke rode everything with Joy except the Moby Dick and the ferris wheel.

One day after a doctor’s appointment, we stopped in at the big city park. My niece, Laci, was here from Alabama for her spring break. Bless her heart, we didn’t get to do many fun things while she was here because of everything that has been going on, but we managed to do a little. They enjoyed a little bit of fun at the park followed by a trip of Baskin Robbins for ice cream.

Luke loves his preschool games on the iPad. It’s a wonderful tool to keep him busy (and happy) while we are getting very needed time to work on our school and he's getting a little school and doesn't even realize it!  :) He is quite a whiz at it now! Maybe better than me! :)

Before his very needed haircut by Amber.

When we went to Alabama for my Grandma’s funeral, Missy (my SIL) gathered all the grandkids and attempted to get a picture of them all together while we had them all in one place. It’s not that great of a picture and it was no easy task trying to get them all to cooperate at the same time. But it is what it is. At least they’re all there!

Luke loved his job of trying to keep Ellie still....can you tell?  :)   From the top left to right:  Trey & Colt,  next row Kemper & Joy.  Next row down Laci & Luke and Sydey & Ellie in the front. 

And I did get a couple of pictures of Joy and Luke on Easter before they came in from church and got comfortable out of their Easter clothes. Colt came out later for lunch and I never even pulled the camera out the rest of the afternoon. I wish that I had!

Obviously, I needed my glasses on when I took this picture. I cut Joy’s head off! I think that is payback because I used to tease my mom about doing that!

Okay, I did a little better here, but it’s on the blurry side. In my defense, I was using Joy's point and shoot camera (which I am not used to), not my camera because the battery on mine was dead.

I'm thankful that we were able to grab a few enjoyable family moments the past few weeks.

Thanks so much for stopping by! If I haven't been around to visit your blog lately, it's not because I don't want to. Don't give up on me! :)

Have a great day!

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies (A Yummy Quick Supper)

Don’t you just love Pinterest? Pinterest is responsible for our family enjoying new meals here lately. And just about every one of has been a hit.

Last week I tried this one. With all that has been going on, we’ve been on the run. This was quick and it was really good! They’re called Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies.

Before they went into the oven....

Here’s the recipe:




Recipe from beyerbeware.blogspot.com



Ready to serve.....

We just added potato chips…..what a great quick supper....on paper plates! And we even had some left over, so we enjoyed it again for lunch the following day!

I'd love for you to follow me on Pinterest.  You can find me here.  :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Faithful Friday - "My Father's World"

It's Faithful Friday. Today, I just wanted to take time to give thanks for just one of the ways that God reveals Himself to me and provides His presence, comfort, peace, and just shows me daily through the little things that He cares for me.

I have always loved the words to this beautiful hymn, This is My Father's World, as well as its tune. I was reminded of it as I passed by our knock-out rose bushes. These beautiful roses, His creation, is just one simple pleasure that God provided that I can enjoy from my kitchen window or as we walk from our carport into our home.

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

********************************************************************************************

I would like to invite you to join us in Faithful Fridays. If you would like to share anything from your Christian Walk, just leave a comment here on Joy's blog (my daughter began Faithful Fridays as a day set aside for Christians to share and encourage others in their Christian Walk).  We'd love to come visit you!  And if you don't have a post to share, we still thank you for stopping by and reading!

Take a moment and enjoy all the beauty of God's creation today and give thanks to Him. Have a great weekend!

Be Blessed!
~ Tammy ~

Updates

I’m sorry for leaving you hanging with no information on several things I mentioned in previous posts!

First of all today, I’d like to thank you all for the prayers for my father-in-law (whom I call Pawpaw) and for our family. We are now at the point where Pawpaw is in hospice care and is basically completely bed ridden because of the damage the multiple myeloma has done to his bones and kidneys. Of course, only God knows how long he will be here with us but according to the doctors, it won’t be long. We really do appreciate your prayers, especially for Pawpaw at this time, and of course for Jason and his sister.

Secondly I told you there was going to be a change in this room.

Most of you guessed correctly when you said new furniture. The wall color is staying the same, however. I have always loved being surrounded by that New England Red so I figure why mess with something I love already.

We’ve had our furniture for 22 years now. Actually, the beige recliner is older than that….probably 25 years old. Every once in awhile I would remind Jason of just how old our furniture was and that we really needed new furniture. He normally would joke and say, “Nah, it’s only 22 years old” or “It’s still got some years left” or "Tammy, it's sentimental". That part is actually true......this furniture has gone through all three of our kids' toddler years and it has the wear to prove it! :) One particular arm on the couch is especially worn because Colt and Joy particularly loved to lean across that arm when it was near the wall heater for keeping warm while watching TV. And there are stains from the sippy cups (that weren’t supposed to leak).

For a long time, I’ve wanted a red checked couch. I also dreamed of Johnston Benchworks furniture. I had decided I would live with worn out furniture rather than settle for something I didn't really want. Thus the long wait. As you know, Johnston Benchworks isn't exactly the least expensive furniture out there. It took quite a bit of researching and looking at fabric samples and pouring through Country Sampler magazines to find what I wanted. There were so many wonderful fabrics that it made the decision difficult. In the end, my love for red won. When I got these three fabrics side by side, I knew it was me. It was what I envisioned for my living room. It goes with my red wall and it’s simple, casual, and informal which pretty much sums me up too. :)

Here are the fabrics:

I made up a color combination with my wall color behind it with the fabrics laid over it.  Here's how it looks:

The one on the left, the small check, is called Liberty Check Brazen. It will be on this chair (which is called Miller’s Creek Chair). I was able to sit in one of those chairs and it is SO comfortable! It just enveloped me and I felt so snug and secure in it. Jason has plans to make a footstool to go with it so we are getting extra fabric to cover that.

This is the style chair that will be by the fireplace, but not the fabric.

The middle fabric, which is called Colony Mustard, is for two recliners. The recliners I chose were the Maple Spring Recliners, which do look alot like wing chairs.

This is the style of the recliner, not the fabric.

And I got my wish…..my dream come true…..my red checked couch! :) I tried other red checks which were too pinkish, or with other colors added in with the red that I didn’t exactly love……..but this one was definitely "it" when I saw it. It is called Steiger Red.

And it will be on this style sofa: (Country Chippendale)

This is the style of sofa, but not the fabric I chose.

The furniture is being made right now and won’t be finished for another 3-4 weeks and then we have to wait for delivery which could be another 2-3 weeks. So, I still have quite a wait, but after 22 years, I guess a few more weeks won’t make a difference! I’m really excited! :)

And we have a lot of things (and stress) going on now, so not sure how it's going to work out before the furniture gets here, but we hoped to take up the carpet on the staircase and put in wood that will include painted risers and stained pine step treads. Oh, and the wallpaper will come down in the foyer and be painted instead. And I could definitely envision a cabinet (cupboard style) in the foyer. I haven't filled Jason in on that part yet. Shh....we'll let him in on that later. :)

You can see how the red stops here right now.

I'm really not sure about the paint color for the foyer. I have to ponder that a little more. My first thought was that we would paint it the color of the dining room and then I was thinking that might be too much break up of colors and wondered if continuing with the red might be better. I’m really confused and unsure about that. Any thoughts?

This shows the color of the dining room wall.

Along with these changes, I hope to add a wall of gameboards behind the two recliners in the living room and I have always wanted an oil painting of some sort of George Washington to go with my Colonial Americana. I found one and will share it when it gets here. All of this will hopefully come together slowly after the furniture gets here.

And so......that is what has been going on in our neck of the woods these days. Speaking of neck of the woods, how much is gas in your neck of the woods? It rose to $3.85 a gallon here yesterday! It actually jumped 16 cents per gallon.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!