Gotcha Day!!!

This is a little late in posting, but I wanted to mention our Gotcha Day this year....Gotcha Day is referring to the day you were given your baby when adopting. April 5th is the day Grace stole our hearts in Nanchang China. My mom and sister were kind enough to buy me tickets to the Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith United concert that was on April 5th here in Norfolk Va. I was going to take Kyle originally but he seemed less than enthusiastic about it and when I realized it was Grace's Gotcha Day I thought it would be a great event to take her to. Steven Curtis Chapman and his family have started a foundation, Shoahannah's Hope, which gives grants to families for the expense of adopting, are major advocates of adoption within the christian community, and have three girls adopted from China as well.

We started the night off by going to Chili's (my favorite) and enjoyed our "mommy, Gracie dinner" (that's what Grace called it) The waitress cleaned our table off while I was taking Grace to the bathroom...I guess the downfall of going out without another adult....but what we got to eat was great!

We had great seats at the concert....(3rd row)....and even got a shout out from Steven Curtis Chapman when he saw our sign (see above pic). I'm not much of a "sign holder" at events like this but this one was worth it and Grace had a blast holding it high for all to see!!!

All in all, it was a great night and the concert was spectacular!!!

On a side note, as May 21st approaches please pray for the Chapman family. Many of you may know that his five year old daughter from China was killed last May 21st in an accident in their family driveway. Please remember to lift up this family and this man, who inspires and ministers to so many through his music, in prayer.

Did I happen to mention Darin comes home May 22nd!!!!!!!!

Dates, Dates, and more Dates!!!!

Exciting times! Darin received his tickets to fly home from the ship almost a month early so he can help us out here at home before our move to Singapore. The Navy has been good to us (more specifically the Operational Ministry Center and the USS Nashville)! He will be home by the end of May!

Within the three weeks after Darin returns home, we will 1) go to Disney for a family vacation June 10th-17th 2) pack out of our house the 18th (yes the day after returning from Disney) through the 24th 3) fly out of Norfolk to Dallas TX June 29th 4) fly from Dallas to Singapore July 2nd, arriving in Singapore July 4th. Whew...just writing it makes me tired!!!! (not to mention fly our dog to Singapore separately out of Dulles International at some time within that window as well). Really it sounds hectic, but things have really fallen into place for the most part, with the exception of the dog!

So for now, I am busy trying to make arrangements for the dog and get the house in order! The kids are getting excited, at least Kyle is. Grace is most concerned with whether the dog will be moving with us or will she "be getting a new family." Thus the push to bring the dog with us.

Our Singapore address is as follows:

PSC 470 Box 2916
FPO AP 96534

We'll keep you posted! Hope to see a lot of you as we travel to FL and TX!

March madness!

I must admit, I was dreading March. I know it's an awful thing to wish your life away, but when your husband and father are away from you, your only desire is to be back together again, counting the days until that happens. It's hard not to feel like your life is on hold; like you are wishing days to pass. I have tried hard to keep positive for the kids and for my own sanity. Having visitors and planning small trips help the time pass. March was going to be a long month without many visitor and no trips planned. Thankfully I had unplanned guests and Grace's birthday (which we seemed to celebrate all month) seemed to break up the monotony. I can't say the same thing for Darin although he seems to be doing well and keeping his spirits up. We have not heard from him in about a week, since his ship left Nigeria. They will be pulling in to another country in the next few days so hopefully connection will be up again soon!!!
We received our official orders to Singapore so we are trying to plan our move over there which is quite problematic when the active duty member is not Statesside. Seems that I am half human in the eyes of the military because I am just "the dependent." I like planning and having everything squared away so not being able to check things off of my list is quite stressful. But I know it will all get done, maybe not on my timetable but eventually it will all come together! We plan on leaving for Singapore the first week of July, if all things go according to plans. I am reminded daily of the following verse, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16
On a lighter note, you will notice in the above picture that my girls have taken to playing "doctor" with our bassett hound as their patient. Poor dog...I'm sure she's wishing for a new family right about now. She takes it like a trooper!!!

Hi Grandma

A message to Lauren and Laney

Feel better soon

Singapore, Sea and Sun!!!!

One month down, four to go!!!!

So Darin has been gone for more than a month now. It's always exciting to see the passage of time when he is deployed...just one day closer to when he comes home. He is doing well and seems to be upbeat and positive about his time at sea with the Nashville.

Florida Trip and Family Visit!

The kids and I have been trying to stay busy. We took a trip to FL a few weeks ago with my mom and stayed with my sister. My brother was also passing through Jacksonville FL on his way to Disney World so we got to have all the "Saar" cousins together for about 24 hours. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Then my niece and nephew were brave enough to fly up from FL by themselves for a long weekend to help out with the girls and hang out with Kyle. I think we all had a great time and enjoyed celebrating Travis' 13th birthday while they were here.

It's Official!!!

We finally received official orders to Singapore. We will be moving this July. Darin will be responsible for the base Chapel there, along with other duties I'm not sure of!!! :) It looks like a great place to live and the military will pay to send Kyle (and eventually Grace) to a private school, since there are no Department of Defense schools there. It is suppose to be the best quality of living in the US Navy, according to who I'm not sure!!!! Of course, having Darin's father and brother living in Thailand is a huge bonus (Bangkok is about a two hour flight from Singapore). We'll keep you updated on the move!

Trying to blog more often although I don't feel like my life warrants that much publicity!!!