Our Family Site

Summer...

2009-08-04T14:16:00.011-06:00

We've been gone ALL SUMMER LONG!!!! Or atleast it seems like it anyway. Time is really flying by and the longer we have Grace the more I realize it's just only gonna go by faster. Funny-some things you never realize until you have children. So what have we been up to this summer? First there was our family vacation to the beach...

Grace on the beach...

Grace and her daddy...

This one is scary...

Mine and Grace's footprints...

Then we were home long enough for VBS...(Grace and my niece and nephews)

Then we were back to the beach for a girls trip with all of our China girls!

Grace and Addie "Laying Out"...

Our beautiful Jiangxi girls...Addie, Katie Lin, and Grace...

And my favorite...

There have been many other things we have done, but they will have to come later! We are incredibly blessed and I thank God everyday for the miracles he has done and is doing in our lives...Check back soon for installment 2 of summer fun...

Things You Just Don't See Everyday...

2009-08-04T14:09:00.004-06:00

I have really been seeing random things lately. So-I just decided to start taking pics of them! Now-we live on 12 acres that border the wildlife refuge on three sides so we are very use to seeing all kinds of wildlife. We've seen coyotes, bobcats, A LOT of deer, racoons, oppossums, you name it. We've never seen geese. I walked out our door the other day and BAM! There they were! So I snapped a picture because I figured Brandon wouldn't believe me. Here they are! Wonder what we'll see next?

Hidden Treasure...

2009-04-07T14:10:00.009-06:00

If you are the parent of an adopted child you will certainly understand what you're about to read. Unfortunately, children who are institutionalized in an orphanage or even still in foster care are terrified of what I call "not having". Not having enough to eat, not having enough babies to love, not having anyone to love them unconditionally. We have struggled with some of these issues with Grace. Even though we have had her for two years, we're just now seeing the light at the end of some of these "not having" issues. Our biggest "not having" issue was with food. When we first came home with her, Grace would hide food. Behind the toilet, the curtains, in her bed, in her toy box, in the dog's bed, it just went on and on. At the beginning of March I was cleaning her room when I stumbled onto something interesting. I can't tell you the joy that filled my heart when I realized that Grace was no longer hiding food, but she was now hiding her treasures!

Notice the stool on the floor beside her bed...

This is what I found under it! This picture was taken around March 5th. She had these pumpkins for her birthday party. On October 16th. That pumpkin had been there a long time!!

Notice the green pillow...

This is what I found inside of it! She is on a mermaid kick lately. Everything we get has to be a mermaid or mermaid related. She even wants to name her sister (who we will begin the process of adopting in August! Woo Hoo! Yea!!!) Ariel. I haven't found a way of breaking the news to her that it's just simply not going to happen! Hopefully, she will forget about that by the time we travel. She has about a year to a year and a half to forget!

Notice the curtain...

This is what I found behind it! It's the pig that Grace bought with her $5 budget she had at Wal-Mart. It actually cost $3.50.

This fear of "not having" is something that we have always dealt with. I feel like the hard work has been done in this area although I feel like it will never be completely gone for Grace. I know repair work will need to be done periodically, but I am so glad we have turned the corner!!!

Snow! In March!?! Only for Like the Second Time EVER!!!

2009-04-07T13:24:00.007-06:00

I love this picture....

We tried several times to get her to come eat breakfast, but she did not want to leave the window! She said she was scared it would stop snowing when she wasn't looking!

The dock and the pond... Trying to hit daddy with a snowball...

One of Grace's MANY snowballs...

What's more fun than just throwing snow up in the air? Not a lot!!

I've Changed My Playlist!!!

2009-04-06T14:54:00.003-06:00

Okay, most of you who know me well know that I love music! My seasons of music change as quickly as the weather does. My closest friends will tell you (including my husband) that I can listen to the same song 100 times!!! Over, and over, and over again! I am a firm believer that God speaks to us in individually and specific ways. Music is my way. I can study my bible and the same passage for months on end and still struggle with its content. Boy you put that same content in a lyric and set it to music and I've got it!!! Right now, the Lord is really using the music that Chris Tomlin has written to speak to my heart. As it says in the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (which is my favorite hymn by the way!) my heart is prone to wonder. Moreso these days than others. The music you will find here helps refocus me and bring my heart back to where it needs to be. Enjoy!!!

Lifeline Picnic...

2008-07-08T14:33:00.011-06:00

I am quickly becoming known for doing five or six different posts at one time! Things sometimes just pile up on you don't they? Anyway, here we go! At the end of June Grace and I, along with Sonya and Katie Lin Hodge, as well as Melissa, Steven, and Thomas Ross attended the Lifeline Picnic. It was sponsored by Lifeline Children's Services, the adoption agency who helped us bring Grace into her forever family. We all piled up in our van and headed to Monte Sano State Park for some hot, summer fun!

Here we are on our way...

Here is Katie Lin with her mom...

Our beloved Karla...

Karla was our social worker when we were working to bring Grace home. She endured many phone calls, crying spells, and yes, even fits from me when I wasn't understanding God's perfect timing! All the time being patient and encouraging me to hang in there. Hopefully, whenever we decide to do this again, Karla will be willing to put up with the same!!! We love you Karla and you will always hold a special place in our hearts!!!

I love this picture of Grace... This is Steven with Grace...He is such a great helper with her and treats her just like his little sister. I keep telling Melissa that he's going to be a great big brother one day. Hint, Hint, Hint...

For some reason, this picture makes me want to call him "Turkey Thomas". Generally, we just call him "T". I can't believe I caught him still long enough to take his picture!

Katie Lin kept wanting to climb this really tall jungle gym and Sonya wouldn't let her!!! Doesn't she look like she wants to climb it really bad?

Father's Day...

2008-06-24T14:00:00.002-06:00

My two loves... Brandon and Grace. It has been amazing to watch Brandon grow into the father that he is. Grace wanted nothing to do with him when we first got her and it hurt his heart. After all, we waited so long for her we wanted her to want us too! Boy has she changed! She loves him with all of her heart, and when he's home she's quickly on his heels wanting to do everything he does. We got him a sprayer for the four wheeler, and Grace picked him out a hat for him to wear while he mows our grass. Happy Father's Day to Grace's favorite man (even though it's late!)

Meet Reynolds Warner Ratliff...

2008-06-24T13:53:00.004-06:00

This beautiful child was born June 16th, at 9:26 P.M. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and has beautiful hair! Reynolds has been prayed for about two years now. Her mom, Amy, is a good friend of mine and we belong to the same prayer group. Reynolds is a daily reminder, to her parents and anyone else who prayed for her arrival, that we serve an awesome God who always shows up right on time!

By the way, when we left the hospital, Grace looked at me and said, "I want one of those!" Hmmm.....

Know, Speak, Live-God's Unshakable Truth!

2008-06-24T13:06:00.009-06:00

This past week was VBS week at our church. The theme this year was, "Outrigger Island". We had an absolute blast! Whitney, our children's minister, did a great job of getting this together. I helped a friend of mine with preschool snacks. I've never actually "constructed" snacks before but I might start now! It was really fun getting to see the kids faces when they showed up at the "snack shack" for their snack for that day! Grace particulary likes the VBS music! It sounds very Hawaiian, and we have been listening to it now for almost two weeks. Lifeway always does a great job putting the music together, but this year they outdid themselves! The verse this year was Psalm 86:11 which says, "Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you."

Here are Whitney, Anna, Briley, and Madison getting ready to lead worship during the worship rally...

Sarah and Abigail helped too...

It looks like Grace is having a blast!

My nephew, Joseph, went with us this year...

One of our "constructed" snacks! We followed this with a fruit kabob that had bananas, grapes, and marshmellows, along with some pretzels. They had lemonade to drink!

Our Beach Pictures of Grace

2008-06-05T13:50:00.010-06:00

This year I decided to take some pictures of Grace to hang in our bathroom. They turned out great! I took 309 pictures of her on the beach late yesterday afternoon. They were all good, but these are just a few of my favorites!

This is one of my favorites! She's just standing there checking everything out!

In this picture she was drawing in the sand with her finger.

This one is sweet

There are those sweet, little feet again!!!

This is her true smile! It's sometimes hard to catch on film. I'm glad we got this one!

Random Pics...

2008-06-05T13:34:00.006-06:00

Here are just some random pics that I couldn't really fit in anywhere but still wanted to share with you! Enjoy!!!

TA DA! That's what Grace was saying when I snapped this picture! Lately, when I tell her I'm going to take her picture she automatically wants to pose. Some of her poses are absolutely hilarious!

A couple of days ago I opened the door to our room at the condo so the noise would wake up Grace from her nap. About five minutes later we heard Travis talking but we couldn't find him. We found him in our room just as you see him now. He was saying, "Wake up Gracie Bug". It was so cute!

They are awake and ready to go! Travis and Grace have a unique, love/hate relationship. They will be loving on each other one minute like they are in this picture, and then they'll be screaming at each other because they want what the other one has. This has made for an interesting week!

How Many Pictures Do You Have to Take to Get the Perfect One?

2008-06-05T13:16:00.009-06:00

With these kids there's no limit. We never did get one of them all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. Here's a sampling of our shoot...

Actually, now that I'm loading them this one isn't so bad! This was attempt number 1!

Attempt number 2. I don't really know what Grace is looking at.

Now we're just being silly!Travis, Jay, and Grace talking...Our beautiful Grace!!!These are two of my nephews, Travis and Jay. They went with us to the beach this year.

Walking down the beach with Jay

Jellyfish, Stingrays, and Crabs Oh My!

2008-06-03T15:08:00.010-06:00

Well today is the first day we've been able to go out onto the beach because of the million jellyfish that have been down there. There were only a few left so we made a morning of it. While we were in the ocean we saw a stingray swim by and then some kids beside us caught a beautiful, huge blue crab! Lots of sea life where we are this year! Enjoy the pics!

Today on the beach Grace would sit and shovel sand into her bucket until it was full and then take it and pour it into the ocean. This process was repeated about a gazillion times! Seemed like aimless wondering to me, but who cares! She was having a blast!

Grace is normally not scared of anything. Today it was taking a little coaxing getting her to go into the water. Could have been all the things we saw in it!!

One of my favorite things about Grace are her long, narrow, little feet. How can you not love something that cute? I also love her little hands. Next is a picture of her and her daddy holding hands.

Grace kept wanting her daddy to bury her in the sand. We didn't think she would like it, but becuase she is a persitant little rascol we finally buried her. She loved it! Especially coming out of it!

This is one of my favorite pictures so far this year. Last year when we were here this picture would have been unheard of. What a difference a year makes! She loves her daddy now more than anything! What a beautiful picture of a daughters love for her daddy.

Vacation Is Here! Let The Picture Taking Begin!

2008-06-02T16:11:00.012-06:00

Hello from the beach! We began our vacation bright and early last Saturday morning at 6AM! There's nothing I love more than being at the beach except for taking pictures! So, combine them both and I'm in heaven! Here we go!

After 5 1/2 hours on the road they are finally asleep! With only 1/2 hour left to go!

This is Grace's second trip to the beach and this year she loved the sand even more than she did last year!!! Everyone cover your eyes 'cause sand is gonna fly! I absolutely love this next picture of Grace. Grace is very passionate about life so we jump full speed ahead into everything we do-including throwing sand!

Grace and her daddy walking...

No fear of the water! This is why we are taking swimming lessons when we get home!

The first night of our vacation it is tradition to eat at one of our favorite places- The Crab Trap!

This is Monkey See and Monkey Do climbing over the gate. They had just seen their older cousin, Jay, do the same thing.

This next picture could have come straight from China! When we were there getting Grace everytime any of the Chinese people would take a picture they would make hand signs. I guess she had been practicing these except for that I have no idea where she learned them. She just said, "Mommy take my picture!"

This is Grace being her silly, fun self. It was so late by this point that we were all gettin kinda silly!

Grace and her daddy... she has become quite the daddy's girl lately!

How Do You Survive A Day At Bradford?

2008-05-27T19:51:00.012-06:00

Grab about five or six extremely overworked people, throw in some food from the cafeteria and some cake, sit them around in a circle in the classroom and let it fly!! Most of what was said in that classroom cannot be repeated due to confidentiality laws, but we had some fun! So, before I go back in time to January I just wanted to introduce you to some really beautiful people.

Meet Kim,

Kim, otherwise known as, Kim Possible, is one of the adolescent counselors who truly has a desire to give these kids the tools they need to stay sober. She is one of the nicest people that I've ever been privileged to meet and work with. However, when talking to Kim it's always important to have something shiny to dangle in front of her in case she needs to refocus!

Meet Sonya,

Sonya is another one of the adolescent counselors at Bradford. The stand- up comedian of the group, Sonya is always ready for an impression of some sort to lighten the atmosphere. Sonya was also the mother of the group, always guiding in the direction that is best for that person. I could always go to Sonya if there was a situation where I was having a hard time making a decision and she would always be able to question and guide in the right direction. She is an awesome leader. But-anytime there was bad news she had on freshly applied lipstick. So-anytime the lipstick was shining we went the opposite direction! Notice the no "pooting" sign on the chalkboard. Always important to have when working with teenagers.

Meet Rita,

Rita is the education assistant at Bradford. Rita taught the life skills class at Bradford while I was busy teaching the kids who were still enrolled at school. I could always count on her to have the intake information of our new kids ready for me in the morning and have treatment plans and assessments ready as well. She was extremely helpful to me when I first started at Bradford. Rita is very willing to help no matter what the cost. She would give the shirt off her back if she thought anyone of us needed it. I will miss her so much! Thanks Rita! You are one of my favorite people of all times!

Meet Changela,

Changela, who is obviously out of Bradford dress code in this picture and apparently going to vote for Barack Obama, is the director of the family program at Bradford. Changela was known for having one of everything from the cafeteria on her tray at lunch. We always knew where she was sitting in the classroom! All jokes aside, Changela is a very beautiful person who has a truly unique way of dealing with our families during this time of crisis in their lives. Hers is a hard job and one I would not ever want! Changela, bring Autumn over for a play date!

Meet Angelina,

Actually, Angie or Angela, is her real name. Angie was always talking in code and calling people by their code names, which is fine. Until you can't remember their real names. This has almost gotten Angie in trouble several times particularly during clinical staffing on Tuesdays. However, regardless of the confusion, it was quite funny and gave us many good laughs. My code name by the way is Velma (from Scooby Doo). Where are my glasses? Miss you Angie!

Meet Sasha,

She is one of our recreational therapists who has been my savior many times over. Anytime I needed a paper day Sasha and Rita would take the kids out for Arts and Crafts where I could contact schools, make phone calls, or spend countless hours in medical records filing. Thanks Sasha! Miss you lots!

Last but not least, Meet Wesley,

Otherwise known as Jimmy Newtron (Angie's code name for Wesley), Wesley's last day at Bradford was on May the 9th. This picture was taken on May 23rd. Not really sure why he's still here. Hmmm..... No really. When Wesley was with Bradford he was family counselor who worked with our teenagers on family days with their family contracts. These were eventful days most days. But, Wesley was great at working with them. Thanks for coming and eating cake Wesley!

Well, as you can see I've worked with some great and awesome people. I miss them dearly. I am now trying to re-enter the school system. With Ms. Grace, that's going to be the best place for me and I miss the classroom so much. Keep me in your thoughts as I interview! Now as Sonya would say, "I have expended all the extra time that I have and now I must go and do some work." Actually, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight!

Finally updating...

2008-05-27T19:45:00.003-06:00

Ok! I am finally updating! I know you guys can't believe it and you're possibly even hyperventilating, but- take a deep breath, grab a cup of coffee and some cake, and get to reading! You've got lots of catching up to do!!! Being the perfectionist that I am I'm going to start back in January and update you month by month. So-let's get started!!! By the way- thanks Keisha! I'd really like to learn how to do this one day!!!

So Where Are the Updates?

2008-04-24T20:58:00.001-06:00

New blog design and updates coming soon! Thanks to all my blogger buddies who have been bugging me about it! It's finally coming! Hang on for the change!

Merry (late!) Christmas!!!

2008-01-01T17:33:00.001-06:00

This was our Christmas card this year. I took the picture out by an old barn at our house and emailed it to Teresa Prince in Birmingham. I met her through our adoptions and Lifeline, our agency. She is a photographer and graphic design artist. She designed the text for me and here's what it said, "May the celebration of Christ's birth bring you... wonderful peace, sweet joy, perfect love. Merry Christmas! Love, Brandon, Paige, and Grace Betterton. I wish you could see the finished product but the computer just wouldn't cooperate!!!

Just one of the many pictures I took before I got the perfect one! She is very much into making faces at the camera now!

The Night Before Christmas...

The Loot Santa Left...

The first look at the loot...

Still looking at the loot...

We think Santa did a great job!! She loves the horse!!! It has affectionately been named Bullet. Don't really know where that came from...

Remember us?

2007-12-30T19:18:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone in blogger world!!!! Remember us? Our last post directly corresponds with my going back to work! I went back to work the beginning of August. I am now employed as the Academic Coordinator at Bradford Health Services in Madison, Alabama. I work with adolescents aged 12-18 in their chemical addictions unit. I coordinate with their school systems in helping them get and maintain their school work while they are in rehab. It is very stressful and has taken me almost the entire five months of working their to get use to it. Grace attends Decatur Heritage 3K program full time and is in the same class with Addie. She likes it but it has brought many changes to her behavior that we are still learning to deal with. I am still in grad school and Brandon is still hard at work so we are busier than ever! Since our last post we have celebrated our second Gotcha Day, Grace's 3rd birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We've had our first family photo made, and I had my galbladder taken out! So-as you can see-we are very busy!!! Please continue to pray for us as we still learn to juggle everything we are doing and give Grace everything she needs and even more than she needs!!!!

A Post From the Heart...

2007-07-24T19:35:00.000-06:00

Last week was one of the hardest weeks I've ever had in my adult life. We grieved and celebrated the lives of two wonderful men. One whom I've known my entire life, and the other whom I was only priviledged to know for four years. Russell Smith, grandfather to my best friend Marisha, died a week ago last Sunday morning at the age of 84 from cancer. I spent half of my childhood at Marisha's house in Auburn, AL. We grew up together and even though we were two years apart in age, we were thick as mud. We have pictures of us together in the same crib!! Thick as thieves we are! Mr. Russell was a figure who visited often and it seemed he was always treating me as one of his grandchildren. He was diagnosed with cancer right after we returned from China with Grace. I took them meals, but didn't take Grace with me a lot because he was very weak. She painted him beautiful pictures of orange and blue, sat in his lap where he would give her hershey's kisses to her hearts delight. She even rang out in a chorus of War Eagle! every time she saw him. He always told Brandon and I how proud he was of what we had done in adopting Grace even though we saw ourselves as the ones who were blessed. He was very quick to tell you what he thought although very careful in how he told it. He was a soldier who fought in the battle of the bulge, a loving father, an adoring husband, and a spoiling grandfather and greatfather. He loved his family, his country, his church, and most of all his God. What a legacy he has left! We will miss him dearly. Linnes Melton Waldrep, father to Phil Waldrep who is friends of mine and Brandon's, passed away Monday afternoon in his home. Grace and I ate breakfast with Pa-Paw Linnes every Monday morning at Chick-fil-A. She would eat her chicken mini's and then he would promptly bye her icecream at 8:15 in the morning! It drove me crazy, but it made his day! His favorite thing to say to Grace was, "Tell that man who I am" and Grace would proudly proclaim, "Pa-Paw Innes". He loved her like his own grandchildren and she loved him more than words can express. She doesn't think we can go to Chick-fil-A without seeing him. She sees the sign and says, "Pa-Paw!" We were suppose to eat breakfast with Linnes last Monday. We couldn't go so we met him the previous Friday. He wanted to buy her icecream and I wouldn't let him. Oh how I wish I had!!!! That Monday afternoon his wife came home and found him dead in their kitchen floor. That morning he had breakfast with his grandchildren and gone to the hospital to pray with a sick friend. What a way to leave this earth! It was later determined he had died from a massive heart attack. At the funeral home, Phil said Linnes had three pictures in his wallet. One of Maegan, one of Melodi (his two grandchildren) and one of Grace. Chick-fil-A retired his chair and served his breakfast at his normal place the day after he died. This is not a verse I would probably normally think of in this situation but it seems to fit these two men. Genesis 6:4 says, "In those days and even afterward, there were giants in the land." These two men were giants. Giants to their communities, their churches, their families, and their friends. Giants to me, and giants to my child. I can only thank God everyday for the honor of knowing them. I always want to remind Grace of their love for God and for her. And now that I think about it, it's okay to eat icecream at 8:15 in the morning.

Grace with Pa-Paw Linnes. She was taking his picture with an old digital camera. I can't seem to find a picture of Grace with Mr. Smith. I know I have one somewhere I just haven't located it yet.

Coming Soon...

2007-07-02T20:28:00.001-06:00

There is a new blog design and beach pictures coming soon!!!!!!!

Second update from Iraq...

2007-07-02T20:19:00.000-06:00

I just want to thank everyone so much for keeping Jim and Toni in your prayers! Here is Jim's second update. We received it awhile back-I'm just now posting it. Hopefully, we will receive another update soon! We haven't heard anything in awhile! Hopefully, we'll get some pics of him soon as well!!! Here's Jim... Well, this is the first time I've been on a computer in a while. The last couple of weeks have been very busy. Thank you to everyone for the e-mails you've sent. I have a new home now in Tallil, Iraq. The last time I wrote I was in Camp Buehring, Kuwait. We did some convoy training there and then caught a C-130 out of Ali Al Salem to Tallil. When we got to Tallil, the First Sergeant picked us up and took us to "tent city" where we stayed for a few hours while we got some much needed sleep. That afternoon we were taken to our new trailer-type rooms where we have been since. The rooms are about 10'x10' and have two beds and two wall lockers in them. They are also equipped with AC, which is nice. I was put into a room with the other sergeant that I have been with for a while. He is an alright guy, if you can look past the snoring, which I think you can probably hear back in the States. We were able to buy a small TV and DVD player from a guy on his way home and we get a few channels on Armed Forces Network that show a little of everything. Overall, the rooms are ok and should make for a more comfortable time here. The company I was supposed to be a part of, the 731st, had enough people so I went to C-2/142FA, otherwise known as Charlie Battery. They are a National Guard field artillery unit from Ozark, Arkansas. They fall into the same battalion as the 731st and are also doing convoy escort missions, so there is no real difference for me. After sitting around and not hearing from anyone for a few days, a 2nd Lieutenant came by and told my roommate and me that we were part of his CET, or convoy escort team. There are six CETs in C Btry, commanded by either an E-7 or a Lieutenant. The LT was in charge of our CET and we met the rest of the guys that night when they had an after action review after their mission. The group seemed to be alright; they were mainly glad to know that the two new guys were from the South. Tallil is an old Iraqi base that is now run by the US. There are people here from the UK, Australia, Romania, Uganda, and probably a few other places. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but on Tallil there is Ali Air Base and Camp Adder. My address says Camp Adder but I haven't seen any signs that say it. Everyone lives in large living areas surrounded by concrete walls about 15 feet high. I'm in LA 3. LA 1 is closest to the DFAC (dining facility) and the PX. LA 3 is about 3/4 mi walk from there or you can ride the bus. Either way takes about the same amount of time. I usually take the bus to keep from having to salute every two minutes on the walk there. LA 7 is about 300mi from everything so I'm glad I don't live there. There is a small gym and a place with computers and phones about a fifteen minute walk from where I live. That is where I am now. The phones are good, but the computers stay full. Hopefully I can get internet in my room eventually. The terrain around here is just flat desert. The ground is more dirt than sand which wasn't what I was expecting and there are a few tree-like plants here that grow to a maximum of ten or so feet. Everywhere people normally walk around here is covered with several inches of gravel and there are large drainage ditches and retention ponds throughout the base. I thought that was a little strange until it rained. Just an hour of rain turned Tallil into a lake. Evidently this dirt doesn't perc well because there is still water standing four days after the rain. I was off the base for a few days and when I came back after the rain I had to wander around for a while until I could find a dry route to my trailer. Like I mentioned earlier, our mission is to escort convoys of 18-wheelers from here in Tallil to bases in other parts of Iraq. Some of the convoys are made up of TCNs (third country nationals) that drive regular 18-wheelers. Other convoys are KBR convoys that have armored 18-wheelers and are driven mainly by Americans. We drive armored Humvees that usually carry three or four people. On my first mission I mainly rode along in the back seat to get an idea of what we would be doing. This past mission I was swapped to the Lt's truck as a driver. The missions usually take around 10 hrs one way but that varies a good bit. Our usual pattern is to spend three or four days on the road and then stay in Tallil for two or three days working on the trucks. Because the missions are at night, sleep can be hard to come by. That also means that we don't get to see much scenery because it's dark when we're on the road. Our missions take us through Baghdad and a few other cities, but as of yet I haven't been able to see much and what you can see is a bunch of rubble. At night the roads are empty, as far as civilian traffic goes, due to the fact that there is a curfew starting at 10pm for Iraqis. However, on a normal night there are lots of military convoys traveling. Iraq is very dark at night. Where there is electricity, it is intermittent and the only lighted places are Iraqi police checkpoints. That makes going through the populated places very eerie. It reminds me in that way of New Orleans after the hurricane. Well, that is about all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are things I've forgotten to mention and I would be more than happy for anyone to write me with any questions. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Jim

It Takes A Village...

2007-07-02T19:58:00.001-06:00

Memorial Day Part Two... We kept trying and trying to take pictures... The hairbow kept coming out... Once we got the hairbow back in, everyone pitched in to try and get Grace to take a picture with mommy! Even Molly tried to help, but Grace still didn't want to look at the camera!

One more try... And finally...

She's looking at the camera and she's smiling!!!

Our Family

Memorial Day Part One...

2007-05-28T19:39:00.001-06:00

Memorial Day in the past for me has always come and gone with no particular celebration. It has always been a holiday we celebrated when I was a child. My father fought in Vietnam and both of my grandfather's fought in WWII. I appreciated it, I thought. Maybe I feel differently this year because I am now a mom. Maybe its because we traveled to a communist country last year to bring our daughter home where she can experience freedom. Maybe it's because the war in Iraq has become personal. Maybe it's all the above combined. Whatever it is, I know it has to do somewhat with my cousin Jim. He reported for duty last January after marrying his high school sweetheart, Toni. We miss him dearly and pray daily for his safety. Grace says "Gim" instead of Jim. It's so sweet. Especially when we are praying for him. Today was Jim's birthday. Growing up, his sister Amy and I always tortured him when we were playing. I won't go into details in case Jim is reading this, but I will say it involved dresses and hair bows! We made him a cake and sang happy birthday to him and Grace loved blowing out his candles. We wish he was here in our country to celebrate with his wife and all his other family, but we will certainly celebrate when his tour is over!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Grace was literally putting all the sprinkles on Jim's cake one at a time!!!

She was concentrating so hard on where each and every little sprinkle went! If she didn't like where it landed she would move it!

Some of the sprinkles never made it to the cake at all! They went straight to the mouth!!

The finished product!!! I can't tell if she's happy that she's done or if she wants to keep going!

Thank you for serving your country!! Happy Birthday!!!

Update from Iraq...

2007-05-26T12:10:00.000-06:00

Many of you read my blog about my cousin Jim who is serving Iraq. He has started sending updates to our family. Several of you have asked about him so I will start posting them as I get them on the blog. I'll post pictures also as I get them. I don't know why part of this is underlined. Here's Jim... This is the first update or journal of what will hopefully become a regular deal until I get back home. These will be just general info that I'll send out to anyone who might be interested. Email will be the easiest method of staying in touch while I'm deployed so if anyone has anything to say you can write me at . I don't have a mailing address yet. I've bought a cell phone that works here so If I'm up when people back home are awake I can call home (there is a nine hour difference from central time). To catch everyone up- On Jan 14 I reported to Ft Benning, Ga and did paperwork/medical screening/classes for two weeks. Next I went with 12 other guys and 1 girl to Ft Leonard Wood, Mo. I was there for three weeks, during which we did about 15 minutes of training, ate a good bit of Mexican food, and generally tried not to die from boredom or hypothermia. I also improved my poker and ping-pong skills quite a bit. After that the army sent 10 of us to Ft Bliss, TX (or Ft Blistex as Toni calls it) and did the whole paperwork/medical screening/classes thing over again. During the Benning and Bliss stops I received no less than eight shots. I got on the plane to head for Kuwait on Friday the 23rd at 9pm. We stopped in Gander, Canada and in Budapest, Hungary before arriving in Kuwait City around 3am on Sunday. We spent a total of 21 hours on the plane. Now I am here at Camp Buehring, Kuwait for a few days. After that we will go to Ali Al Salem to do more in-processing before going north to Tallil near An Nasiriyah, Iraq. Being in southern Iraq it gets fewer mortar/rocket attacks which is good. The group of 10 guys I am with (all IRR) is getting attached to 731st TC of the Kansas National Guard which is attached to the 34th Bde combat team. I think they are from Minnesota or somewhere up there. Our job will be doing convoy security. They said we will end up seeing most of Iraq by the time we are done. It sounds like a less than desirable job but it should make the time pass by quickly. This part of Kuwait is just one big, flat desert. There aren't any sand dunes or anything, it is all flat dirt and sand with no vegetation except for random weeds spaced about two miles apart. For some reason there are birds here but I can't figure out where they could be coming from. It seems like everything that could fly, walk, or crawl would get out of here as soon as possible. Other than birds and ants, the only wildlife I have seen is camels. At the firing range on Tuesday they had to cease firing twice to chase the camels off the range. They are a lot like sheep or cows. You will see a herd of them in the desert with one or two people walking with them to herd them. The weather here is nice. So far it has been mid 80's during the day and 50's at night which feels cold. I haven't seen any clouds yet. I'm glad I got here early in the year so I can slowly get exposed to the summertime heat. Sunday night some country singer came and gave a performance here. I didn't go but it was supposed to have been ok. There is a PX and some other small stores here on post. They have a Burger King, Taco Bell, and a KFC. I haven't gone to any of those; the chow hall is pretty good. There is also a coffee shop called the Green Bean that we have gone to a couple times. It's probably the only coffee shop where everyone is carrying a M16 or 9mm. The guys I am with right now are a fairly good group. Everyone gets along well and no one has caused any problems. There is the usual amount of complaining that is always present in the army but so far so good. Most of us are from 23-25 years old and there are eight E4s and two E5s. Well that is all I can think of that anyone might want to know but I am sure some people will have questions. Feel free to email me or Toni if anyone needs anything. Thank you to everyone that has helped us these past few months. Jim

One Year Ago...

2007-04-23T17:04:00.000-06:00

One year ago today Karla called us with the news that she had a file of a beautiful little girl for us to look at! My how life has changed in one year! When we first saw the picture of this little girl I immediately fell in love! I loved how she had her tongue stuck out of her mouth in that first picture! I had wondered if that was going to be her thinking face! Guess what? It is! If she is thinking about something really hard she sticks her tongue out! Precious! Also, that bruise on her forehead? We have had many bruises in that exact spot since we got her. I will never get over how I felt this time last year! Our wait was over; We had a picture of our beautiful baby girl!

Six Months Ago Yesterday...

2007-04-16T13:33:00.000-06:00

The first time we saw her in person!

Our first family photo!

Smiling for the camera!

First bath

Since I was out of town this weekend I didn't get a chance to post, but I certainly wanted to post today! Six months ago yesterday, we became a family of three! My have we experienced some change (mostly for the better) in this six month period! Our biggest and most welcomed change has been in Grace's sleeping. She is soothing herself to sleep at night and is sleeping in her big girl bed all night long!!! When we first came home she wouldn't even get in the bed so this has been the biggest change! Also, she is in preschool two days a week and loving it! Since beginning preschool, her speech has really taken off. We still can't understand most of it, but everyday words are getting a little clearer. What does she say? Her favorite word seems to be "no" and it is very clear. Other than that she says, Mama, Daddy, Nana, Papa, Mimi, Molly, Jesus, pizza, chicken, please, thank you, no thank you, puppy dog, Oobi (her favorite TV show), Dora (my least favorite of all her shows), Abbie, gum, phone, movie, cup, bottle, ahya (for Aunt Lauren), Tah (for Uncle Todd), Addie, Tee (Thomas), Steben (Stephen), book, Bible, spoon, nastics (Gymnastics), Pa-paw, no mam, open, eat, and probably some more words that I will think of later. She loves to eat! She now will eat anything we put in front of her as long as we let her think she's picking it. She is warming up to her dad more and more everyday and everytime the dog barks she says, "Daddy?" wondering if he has come home from work yet. Her favorite thing to do with her daddy is riding the tractor and she gets to do that a lot with 12 acres of grass to cut! She has also become very interested in playing baby. She likes for me to hold her like a baby and play like I'm giving her a bottle and she talks "baby talk". She'll randomly look at me throughout the day and point to herself and say "baby". Then she'll point to me and say "mama". Of course, I say " that's right your the baby and I'm your mama". I love it!!! My most favorite time in the world with Grace is in the morning. This is the time that she lets me love on her. Every morning she climbs in the bed with me and we snuggle. Oh she will let me love on her and sqeeze her to death! That's also when she tries to talk to me because she will look me in the eye and try her hardest to tell me her heart. I treasure those moments with her! We still struggle with some things ( mainly that fowl temper of hers!), but overall we cannot complain! Enjoy these pictures!!!

We Thought We'd Seen It All...

2007-04-10T14:53:00.000-06:00

Much to our surprise she loved it!

Grace first trying the asparagus Okay you know how you try to get your kids to eat wierd things so you can see them make funny faces? We'll we tried that recently with grilled asparagus that had been marinated in seasoning salt and Dale's. Needless to say it back fired on us and she loved it! We hope she continues to eat "wierd" stuff like this for years to come!

Eye Update!

2007-04-10T14:47:00.000-06:00

Grace loves sitting in the big chair! This looking over the top of her glasses is something new! She especially loves to do this when she is upset with me about something!

We recently went back to Callahan Institute in Birmingham to see Dr. Cogan again. Grace has had her glasses three months now. Dr. Cogan was very pleased with her progress and said that she is already using her left 100% more than what she was! We see him again in six months for another re-check to get new lenses!

While the Boys are Away the Girls Will Play!

2007-04-10T14:33:00.000-06:00

The finished product! Doesn't Grace look thrilled?

Putting the bear's clothes on

Giving her bear a bath

Grace and Uncle Todd

Rubbing her bear's heart on her head so that she will be smart!

Grace and Travis

Jay at the Rain Forest Cafe Recently, my husband and his brother went hog hunting for the weekend in South Georgia. We love for them to have hobbies like that because it usually involves them giving us money to take the kids and go shopping! This time was no different! We loaded the kids in the SUV and headed to Opry Mills to go to Build A Bear, eat at Rain Forest Cafe, and do some spring shopping for the kids. I was a little bit worried about how Grace would react at the Rain Forest Cafe. She loved the butterflies and the aquariums but was not at all happy with the gorillas! Uncle Todd met us at Build A Bear and we had a great time!

Fun Days...

2007-04-10T14:26:00.000-06:00

Joseph, Grace, Rachelle, and Jorday (in back) at our play date at the park!

Whit and Grace riding the carousel Some of our favorite things to do are to go out to lunch with Whitney and go to the park with our cousins! Whitney are her husband Larry are finally DTC!!! We can't wait for them to go get Elizabeth Grace! We eat with Whitney atleast twice a week and try to go to the park every chance we get!

Just a swingen...

2007-04-10T14:24:00.000-06:00

Grace loves to swing!

Stocking the pond...

2007-04-10T14:07:00.000-06:00

Helping daddy with the fish

Grace couldn't wait to get the fish out of the bag!

Petting the fish

Feeding the fish

Molly is trying to decide if she wants to snap at the fish!

Trying to find the fish!

Recently we bought 200 little catfish and put them in our pond. We also bought a few other ones, but being the girl that I am I don't remember what they were called. Grace loved the fish! She wanted to hold them immediately, but I didn't quite want her too!

Happy (and very late!) Chinese New Year!

2007-04-10T13:20:00.000-06:00

All the beautiful girls (minus Katie Lin and Addie) with their siblings!

Our forever family!

Grace and Addie! They look like their up to something!

Grace holding her red envelope. It is customary for parents in China to give their children red envelopes filled with money on Chinese New Year.

Grace and Brooke

Grace, Katie Lin, and Mr. Jeff

This is what was left of Grace's Chinese Yo-Yo. She didn't quite understand how to use it!

Baby Dedication...

2007-04-10T12:57:00.000-06:00

Me, Grace, and her daddy on her dedication day!

Some of these next few posts are very old so just bear with me! Between having a very active two year old, gymnastics, preschool on Tuesday and Wednesday, church on Wednesday night, keeping up our house, trying to sell our house, and me being in grad school, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day! Grace's baby dedication was on February 18th which just happened to be Chinese New Year. The verse we chose to read for that day has been a theme for us since before we even had Grace's picture! We read Ephesians 1:5 which says, "For we were predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace with which his has blessed us." For me the physical act of our adoption of Grace is the perfect picture of how God adopts us into his on family. Grace had no name, no father, no inheritance, and no hope. Now here she is with her forever family! She has a new name, a father, an inheritance, and hope. It is the same with us before we were adopted into our eternal family. We had no name, no father, no inheritance, and no hope. Praise God that he has given us a new name, a heavenly father, an eternal inheritance, and an everlasting hope! This is the only picture I have of this day. Lots of video tape! My sister took some pictures on her camera so I promise to post them when I get them!

Aloha!

2007-03-16T12:35:00.000-06:00

We love us some Aunt Lauren!

My other outfit from Aunt Lauren!

Modeling her outfit from Aunt Lauren My sister recently went to Hawaii on a mission trip. She brought Grace back these outfits! As you can see she loved them! I have had to hide the hula skirt from Grace at least until the weather gets a little bit warmer!

Making Cookies...

2007-03-16T12:26:00.000-06:00

Can't hide the evidence!!!

You can't cook them without eating them!

Showing off her skills at icing a cookie!

The icing was just too good! She kept trying to eat it instead of putting it on the cookie!

Making cookies for Daddy

Way Behind...

2007-03-16T12:17:00.000-06:00

I am very fortuante to be in prayer group with 7 wonderful women! Last month we celebrated a birthday for two of them! Happy Birthday Amy and Ali!

Amy and Ali opening their gifts...

Grayson loves the bubblewrap!

Headed to Iraq...

2007-02-23T12:52:00.000-06:00

Jim and Toni at their wedding reception

This is a post that I wish I wasn't having to do. My cousin, Jim Patrick, will be leaving to go to Iraq tomorrow. We have no idea where he will be when he gets there. Here, he was involved in transport. We all know that over in Iraq transport is the worst possible job you could have. We found out shortly after Thanksgiving that he would be leaving. At that time he was engaged to Toni. They really wanted to get married before he left so they moved their wedding up and were married on December 30, 2006. He left for his training on January 14th. Please keep Jim in your prayers. Pray for his peace, his safety, his alertness to everything around him, and his safe return to his beautiful, wonderful new wife. They dated for what seemed like forever and then were engaged for what seemed like forever again, and we are finally glad to welcome Toni into our family! Please be safe Jim and hurry home!

Remembering...

2007-02-20T14:29:00.000-06:00

Our last picture together. This picture was taken at Jimmy's office after I dropped them off on our last day!

My favorite picture of me and Kayla

My favorite picture of me and Carmen

My favorite picture of me and Chelsey

Chelsey and Kayla at Build A Bear

Me and Carmen at her dance recital

Me and the girls at my shower

Me and Chelsey

Kayla and Carmen last summer after VBS

For those of you who didn't know me before the adoption, I was employed as a nanny for two girls- Carmen and Chelsey. When I started, Chelsey was twelve and Carmen was four. They are now 6 and 14. During that time I was undergoing fertility treatments and taking care of them afterschool and it was exactly what I needed. It took care of some of my "mothering" needs! They also rode the ride of international adoption with us and were at the airport to welcome us when we came home with Grace. It wasn't until towards the end of my employment that Kayla entered the scene. Jimmy (Chelsey and Carmen's dad) began dating Laura (Kayla's mom) so I got to spend a little time with Kayla as well. When school started back this year I gave my notice because I knew we would be traveling to China. I have missed them so much! You can't be a daily part of someone's life for almost two years and completely cut off ties. I still feel a protectiveness of them like I did when I was with them everyday. I don't get to see them as much as I like, but we do keep in touch and I still keep tabs on them! I wanted to post because I know they check the blog and I wanted them to know how very much I miss them and think of them often! Even though I don't get to see them daily anymore there is a part of me everyday that looks at the clock and knows they are getting out of school and wondering how their days went. Especially around holidays like Valentines Day. I hope we can get the girls together soon! I need my fix! Chelsey, Kayla, and Carmen- I miss you and love you very much!

Meet Claire Sandlin...

2007-02-20T14:22:00.000-06:00

This is Grace and Claire! For some reason Grace looks just a little stunned!

We were at Guadalajara last week and met another adoptive family from Athens! This is Claire Sandlin. Isn't she a doll? She and Grace just jabbered away like they had known each other for years. I don't remember exactly where Claire was from in China, but I know it was in Northern China. We hope we get to see them again at some of the Decatur/Athens FCC functions that are coming up!!! It was great to meet you Claire!

Happy Birthday x 3...

2007-02-06T13:38:00.000-06:00

Katie Lin and Ana Claire eating pizza

Katie Lin blowing out her candles

Grace and Addie riding in the car. This seems to be their favorite thing to ride!

Grace, Addie, and Katie Lin dancing with Chuck E.

Grace kept trying to blow out Travis' candle so we finally just let her do it! Travis is looking at her like "Why are you blowing out my candle?"

Travis loving the cake!

Travis was literally wearing the cake! It was all over his face and hands! Precious!

Travis wearing the hat...

Travis not wearing the hat

Thomas blowing out his candles

Grace wearing her Spiderman mask from Thomas' party

Thomas sporting his birthday cake on his face!

A group picture at Thomas' party. From left to right: Stephen Ross, Grace, Thomas Ross (the birthday boy!), Joshua Glenn, and Jacob Glenn

Whew! What a Saturday! Last Saturday Grace had 3 birthday parties to go to. That's right! 3! At 10:00 we went to Katie Lin's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. Then at 11:00 we went to my nephew Travis' 1st birthday party that just happened to be at our house! After a quick nap, it was on to Thomas' 3rd birthday party at the Priceville McDonald's. Overall, I think Grace handled all the chaos better than I did! All of these children, Katie Lin, Travis, and Thomas are miracles. They each have thier own stories of their births and how they came to be with their families. All different I might add. We love them all and will be happy to share another chaotic day with them next year! We can't wait!

Dinner with Addie...

2007-02-06T13:18:00.000-06:00

Many faces of Addie #1

Many faces of Addie #2

We love oranges!

These two are silly!!

Grace and Addie laughing

We had dinner with Addie last week at Canton House. For those of you who don't know, Grace and Addie were in the same orphanage before they went into foster care. Also, Brandon and I along with Jeremy and Alicia Nails went to China at the same time to get them. Thier Gotcha Day's are the same and they are two months apart in age. They also came home from China at the same time! What a blessing they share! Alicia and I try to get the girls together as much as possible, but with our busy schedules it isn't always easy. As you can tell in the pictures they absolutely love being together! We love us some Addie! We can't wait to do it again!

Our Week in Review...

2007-01-29T20:36:00.000-06:00

Grace laughing her head off at Debbie's!!!

Grace is very OCD about some things. If it is out of place she has to fix it and the world quits until it is the way it is suppose to be. Has there ever been a case of OCD diagnosed in a child this young?

Sophie finally decided that she liked Grace. She probably licked Grace about a hundred times in the face while we were there!!

This picture was taken when we went to see Maegan. We took lunch to her this week from Chick-fil-A. Maegan had brain surgery three weeks ago and has done remarkably well. She actually moved into her new apartment today at Union University. WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU MAEGAN!!! (Sorry about the text Jon!)

Grace and mama riding the horses

Grace, Mama, Aunt April, Travis and Mimi (in the background) riding the horses at the mall! It was Travis' first time to ride and he loved it!

Preschool Here We Come!

2007-01-29T19:55:00.000-06:00

She is very excited about school!!

Sporting her lunch box and backpack. Her backpack is almost as big as she is!

Grace showing off her new lunch box!

Tomorrow is a big day in the Betterton household. Grace begins preschool tomorrow! I think she will do so much better than I will!!! We've been doing Sunday School for a few weeks now and she loves it! I'm hoping that she will like school as well! She has two friends from Sunday School in her class, Adeline and Ali. I know she will love seeing them. It is hard to believe that almost four months ago this beautiful little girl was very introverted and shy and really didn't seem to be emotionally there. Now- there's not an introverted bone in this child's body!!! And her emotions? She wears them all over her face! She is very expressive for a two year old. I am also hoping that school will help Grace acquire language faster. I have been doing some exercises that the speech pathologist has given us, but most of the time Grace really could seem to care less. Tomorrow could be a very interresting day for us! Please keep us in your prayers!

Flipping and Spinning...

2007-01-23T13:40:00.000-06:00

Katie Lin swinging on the rings

Grace's friend Amelia in the barrell

Grace and Mrs. Cara on the bars

We love gymnastics! This has been so good for Grace. Not only does it get her around other kids her age it is helping her to learn to wait her turn and listen to what it is she is suppose to be doing. What is Grace's favorite thing at gymnastics? Definately the bars. She can already pull her feet all the way up and over by herself. She also likes to jump on the trampoline although she is kind of still learning to jump. Most of the time she just runs across it! She is getting better at it though. We love gymnastics at Brown's Gymnastics Academy!

Visiting Friends...

2007-01-23T13:27:00.000-06:00

Grace with John and Peggy

This weekend we got to visit with some friends. I had the priviledge of meeting John and Peggy Clarke one summer ten years ago when I was their first summer missionary at Moriah Baptist Chapel. I learned a lot about myself that summer as well as how hard it is to live in an area and minister to people where less than 10% of the population goes to church. They were in town to speak at a banquet sponsored by Phil Waldrep Ministries (www.philwaldrepministries.org). We had the wonderful opportunity to take them to lunch and spend the afternoon where they could get to know Grace. We are so grateful that Grace got to meet them.!

Preschool Play Date!!!

2007-01-22T11:12:00.000-06:00

Grace and Emory riding in the BIG truck!

Grace and Mrs. Whitney at the same car! Whitney and her husband Larry are waiting on CIS approval. We can't wait for them to get Elizabeth Grace!

Brandon and Grace riding in the car!!

Last Friday we went to the Preschool Play Date at Chuck E Cheese with all of our friends from church!!! Grace loves Chuck E. Cheese! Especially the big truck when you first walk in the door! We are looking forward to our next Preschool Play Date at the Priceville McDonald's!!!

Grace Gets Glasses!!

2007-01-11T14:09:00.000-06:00

I took Grace to see Dr. Cogen at Callahan Eye Institute in Birmingham on January 2nd. Much to my surprise we found out that she has pretty horrible vision and that she had to have glasses! Apparently, she favors her right eye and pretty much doesn't use her left eye all that much! If we didn't do something she would have lost the vision in her left eye by the time she was 8. The glasses are suppose to help reprogram her brain to help it send images to her visual cortex and help her start using it more. Hopefully, she won't have to wear them after she turns 8. Atleast, they're cute! Of course, I think anything on her would be cute!