Torture

I was looking thru some of the blogs I follow and came across this post about this cool store called Anthropologie and it's not the first time I've read wonderful reviews of the establishment. This particular post included several pictures of things at the store and how well they do displays. Well I was all over it until I saw this picture. Those of you who know me will understand......PURE TORTURE I TELL YOU.......PURE TORTURE.

(Be sure to click on it to zoom in and get the description)

I have a thing for wooden utensils...particulary wet wood. It wigs me out big time. I do not own a wooden spoon and it is the one thing I will leave while doing a sinkful of dishes at someone else's house.(just ask my aunt Freddi) I just can't handle the texture and the thought of putting it in my mouth.....AAAAAHHHHHHH! I think having to eat with all 3 utensils of wood would send me over.

Well....you may all now consider yourself a bit more educated on the finer points of the girl that is Megan Everitt--weirdo quirks and all.

Really.....is there anything sweeter?

Missing!

Please be advised that we are on the look out for a missing head. The subject has a dark complexion....actually it's more of a milky complexion with longer than normal ears and some small beady eyes. The missing head was last seen in the Everitt family cabinet and had been there since Sunday. If you have any information about this missing head please notify us immediately. We have a little Everitt who is quite disturbed by this recent disappearance.












Ok....I'm sorry people but the little beady eyed thing has been sitting up there in my cabinet right next to my coffee mugs (which I open multiple times per day) since Sunday. Sunday people.....come on I held out for 5 whole days and I promise you it ALWAYS called my name even louder during Xan's nap time. Chocolate bunnies are known to not show any mercy in the "luring you in" category. So.....keep this between us ok.....I don't want my kid to think her mom's really into mutilating furry little cuties.



And....lest you think I'm totally horrible and have no self control....here is a look at my latest reading material. I'm trying to get a plan together to make a change. More to come on that subject....I will be needing some accountability soon and will be couting on my bloggin friends to keep my real. (I have a sinking feeling that chocolate bunnies aren't anywhere in there either).

Special Deliveries

We had two wonderful packages arrive at our house today. Now I don't know about all of you but I LOVE getting packages and really any type of mail. There's just a little bit of excitement seeing something with your name on it show up in the mail box that doesn't require a payment of some sort. So when I went outside and had these today.....well let's just say Xan and I both were pumped.


Xan was so excited to have a box to open when she got up from her nap today.....VERY EXCITED! She is now the proud momma to "Sweetie" a stuffed Cheetah who sleeps not so quietly and drinks her milk ever so slurpingly. You will be happy to know, however, that Xan has already mastered the art of multi tasking....she was able to feed Sweetie while also devouring several of the Starbursts that were in her package. She loves candy and she comes by that very honestly......I snagged a few myself. :) (If you care to see more there is a video below of her explaining her gift.)




Now this may not look like much to most of you but to me it's pure wonderfulness. (pardon the making up of my own words but this situation requires it). This signifies the end of a long road....actually it's not really the end but more like the beginning of the next stage. This is the seal that is given to documents sent to the Chinese Embassy



We sent 11 of the 13 documents required for our next adoption to the "next to last" and then "last stop" in the paper chasing process. We sent them to the US Secretary of States office where they are certified and then they send them over to the Chinese Embassy where they certify that the US Sec of State is ok to certify them.......of course all these stops require a fee. This little package cost us about $300 in fees but hey...whose counting. Anyway.....here are the documents we received back today. The top page you see on each one is from the US Sec of State and then the sticker/seal you saw in the pic above is placed on the backside of each one by the Chinese Embassy.



We are now only 2 documents away from being finished with the paperwork. Unfortunately one of those 2 takes about 80 days to receive so we're still waiting but God is good. His timing is perfect as is so evidenced by the little starburst eating momma that is my Xan.

Once we get the final 2 documents completed and through all the various certification processes then we will send it all to China and that date is referred to as your DTC date which stands for Dossier (pronounced doss ee aa) To China and is a very big day. Everything really begins moving thru the Chinese system on that date and you calculate the anticipated wait from that date. We will throw a party.....you will be invited....we will celebrate.....we will dance.....we will jump up and down.....we will be oh so happy.....I will probably cry.....we will throw a party. That being said, we will also begin a very long wait. The current wait time is over 3 years from DTC date to getting our child. AAAHHHHH....just thinking about it saddens me but again I look at Xan and am comforted by His adorable, sweet, little Asian reminder of His sovereignty.



Enjoy the video. Love you Nana & Grandaddy!

Easter....past and present

This time last year our family was in the middle of a crisis that we could have never imagined and certainly not desired but even now when it is all still so fresh and far from officially over we can so clearly see the hand of God throughout every part of it. On Easter Sunday 2008, our nephew Caed was about 20 days into a life threatening condition that had him hospitalized for 70+ days, 3 surgeries and their family being away from home for 9+months. He is doing amazingly well today (although still a sick little boy with a condition that will follow him the rest of his life). If you want to be blessed be sure to check our my sister-in-law's blog http://www.curiousaboutcaed.blogspot.com/. The Lord has blessed her abundantly with a gift to share her heart and what HE is doing and has done throughout the ordeal. It is well worth the read but I warn you....kleenex alert.

Anyway....couldn't help but think about where we were and how God has blessed and protected our family this past year. WOW...truly amazing. So here a just a few pics to represent God's goodness to us on this wonderful holiday when we get to praise and worship HIM for the ultimate gift that HE gave us.--Redemption and Reconciliation because HE CHOSE TO DIE for us and hallelujah.....HE IS RISEN.

Caed---Easter Sunday 2008


Caed ---Week before Easter 2009 (check out their blog for a great Easter story 2009)
http://curiousaboutcaed.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-story-part-1.html


So while we going down memory lane.....look how my baby has grown.

Xan---Easter Sunday 2007 (she also took her first steps this day. There are pics and videos on our old website. http://www.stanandmegan.com/



Xan----Easter Sunday 2008 http://everittfamily.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-easter.html



Xan --Easter Sunday 2009



Stan and Xan 2009

Palm Sunday

Xan got in the car waving her hands last Sunday and telling me she "do it without her mommy". I wasn't sure what exactly she had been learning in Sunday school and tried to figure out what the pageant wave was all about. Finally on the 4th or 5th time she started waving her hands and shouting Hosanna, Hosanna. OK...so I was a bit slow but I did get it at that point....they had been practicing their march into the sanctuary for today's Palm Sunday service. So very sweet to hear your 3 year old yelling Hosanna, Hosanna-even if she doesn't have a clue what she is saying.

So today was the day and they all did great. All the kids were so excited and were such excellent little palm wavers. What a sweet memory we made today......preparing for a wonderful week of reflecting on what exactly our Savior did for us....for me! The magnitude of it is often overwhelming. This verse has stood out to me lately,

For God was pleased to have ALL His fullness dwell in Him(Jesus), and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19&20)

Seriously....the creator of the universe was PLEASED to have ALL his fullness come to earth, suffer and die to pay the debt for me. WOW!

Ok.....thanks for letting me digress just a moment. So here are some pictures from this morning. As is often the case, I'm reminded why I am not a photographer. Oh well the memory was captured....just not too artistically.

Sunday Morning Cutie (with a goofy smile)


Cutie doing the BOP (actually she was running from a bug :)



Most of her Sunday School class (l-r) Elizabeth, Eva, Reese, & Xan
They were all patiently waiting in the vestibule for their time to wave the palms.


Here is a lovely shot of the group and please notice the well mannered Asian child
giving the crowd a nice peek of her Dora undies. (that is her friend Anna Grace beside her with the pink bow and deliciously cute curls)


Ther rest of the group......still waiting.



All that and I didn't get a shot of the actual event. Oh well.....I warned you there was no artistic stuff going on here.....but I promise there were palms and sweet kiddos carrying them.