Prayers for an amazing family

Maria Chapman and her daddy

I am completely saddened and at a loss for words by the news I heard this morning.

The Chapman family have adopted three little girls from China and have lost one of their angels in a tragic accident. They have done so much work for the children of China.

Please give your children an extra hug today and tell them you love them. Most of all, please pray for their family while they go through this difficult time.

Daniel's Double Digits!!

Daniel with puppies



Daniel with Jamie Moyer (Ex-Seattle Mariner)



Daniel turns the big 1-0 today!! Ten years ago at 10:40 a.m. our gorgeous son was brought into this world. He weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 18 inches long. I will never forget the moment I first heard his cry....it was the most amazing thing in the world. Similar to my pregnancy with Kelsi, Daniel's was also full of surprises (3 months of bedrest). After being on fertility pills again, it was confirmed we were finally pregnant! At 18 weeks along, I had an appointment to get an ultrasound done to see how things were progressing. Kevin and Kelsi were in the room with me (in fact, Kelsi was sitting on my doctor's lap while he was performing the ultrasound....they just adored each other). Dr. Sand asked us if we wanted to know what we were having and we said "yes of course"! I've always believed that it's easier to plan ahead - and you're never disappointed. I remember him telling us "well congratulations - you're having another little girl"! I think my mouth must have dropped open because I just "knew" I was pregnant with a boy...having another girl never even crossed my mind. The three of us left the doctors office went out to dinner to celebrate. The very next day my dad and step-mom sent me a dozen pink roses with a card that read "Congratulations on another daughter". I have to admit it was a little difficult trying to wrap my mind around having another little girl when my instinct was telling me I was having a boy. A week later I was sent to the University of Washington to see a specialist because my blood pressure was creeping up too high already and it needed to be addressed. Upon check in at the UW - they said they had a new ultrasound machine and asked if we'd be interested in having one done (no charge of course) because they wanted to try it out. We didn't pass that offer up and the next thing we knew we were looking at our baby. The technician asked if we already knew what we were having and we told her it was a girl (at least Dr. Sand said he was 90% sure). When she put the wand over my belly she immediately said "Ummmm....you're not having a girl....it's definately A BOY". I think our little Daniel was trying to "show off his stuff" to make sure we weren't going to rush out to buy pink for him.

Daniel is truly an amazing kid and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. He has a gift of being very athletic, smart and a great sense of humor. Let me tell you...he is all about sports...and it's something that I think he was born with...he just loves any type of sport - but has a bigger passion for baseball and basketball. When he started school his teacher said she wanted to start a book of "Daniel-ism's" because he is so funny! People get the biggest kick out of watching him play sports because they don't expect to see what he can do because of his size. When we went to China to get Maci, he was probably more excited than all of us put together. He literally could not sit down in the van when we were going to pick her up at the Civil Affairs Bureau...he kept jumping up and down. We were all laughing at him. He was truly beaming with pride to finally hug the little sister he had been waiting for, for so long.

Daniel, we hope you have a happy birthday. We are so proud of you and love you so much!

A wild couple of weeks

It's been a "wild" couple of weeks around our place since I last posted.

Kelsi ended up injuring her left knee, four days after her birthday at a friends house on a trampoline. We previously owned a trampoline for a few years and the kids spent hundreds of hours on it without ever getting an injury...but the one time she goes over to someone's house and gets on one...she got hurt. She ended up in the ER that evening and has been on crutches ever since. She saw an orthopedic today and they have an MRI lined up for Monday afternoon with a follow up again on Wednesday to give us the results. Hopefully, she did not tear anything, but it's a possibility which would require surgery. We're praying that she only dislocated her patella and with a few weeks of rehab, she'll be back to full activity. She only had three weeks left of her fastpitch season....so to say the least she's been really down not being able to play. She does attend every practice and game to cheer her teammates on - but does find it really hard to just sit and watch.

Daniel got his two pigs for 4H last weekend! So, once again we should be seeing a couple "pig rodeos" in our yard just like last year when they managed to escape. Trying to get two pigs back into a pen is one of the hardest things to do. He has not named them yet. He had "Ketchup" and "Mustard" last year and everyone thought those names were hysterical. Who knows where he came up with those names so I'm anxious to see what these two little pigs names will be. Daniel has been playing baseball games 2-3 times a week and is loving every moment of it. I'm not sure who looks forward to it more...him....or me! I love to watch him - not only is he amazingly talented but he plays with heart and everyone comments about it. I am so proud of my kids for always giving it their all when they do something.

We received notification for Maci's early entrance for Kindergarten testing. Hopefully she'll be testing right after school is out for the summer and we can begin preparing her for her first day of elementary school. Although her birth date is only five weeks after the cut off for Kindergarten they have offered to test her because of her circumstances. Unfortunately we will never know her exact birth date. When she was abandoned in the lobby of the children's hospital, she was extremely sick. She was checked and immediately sent to the orphanage where they said she "looked" like she was five months old...and assigned her a birth date. According to her surgeon in China that I still am in contact with, as well as our pediatricians, they believe she is at least a few months older than her given birth date. I would give anything to find out her real birth date because it is something that a person identifies with their entire life. Although she will be the youngest in her class, developmentally and socially she is definitely ready.

Well I'm off to get some cleaning done around here since we haven't been able to get much done lately.