Connor's Bedtime Thoughts

Sometimes Connor isn't as tired as he should be at the end of the day, and he just lays in his bed and we talk. Most of the time, he just asks us questions, he always says, "I just want to know everything." For the past two nights he has been terrified of going to heaven. He has said, "I don't want to go to heaven. I want you to go with me. Jesus is going to make me die." Yeah, try to reason that out with a four-year old.

On a lighter note, tonight's question for us was, "When did you buy this house?" Greg said, "Right before you were born and you were still in Mommy's belly." Connor then asked, "How did you carry it home from the store?" We laughed pretty hard and tried to explain that you don't buy everything from a store. You never know what kind of questions you'll get at bed time from a curious little four-year old.

The Adkins Family Goes Green

Back around Christmas, I really started to thinking about the environment. I am far from the "tree hugger" type and my idea of "roughing it" is staying at a hotel not named the Sheraton or the Hilton. I started thinking about it after watching some environmental documentaries, and basically just really pondering what I was teaching Connor and the legacy I was leaving behind for my children. I also was horrified at the health statistics I had been reading about cancer and respiratory problems caused by enviormental factors. Then, I started learning about everything from a religious perspective. I think Christians sometimes have the mindset, "Jesus is coming back, so who cares if we use up the Earth." I have learned that this attitude is just terribly wrong! God has given us stewardship over his creation, and whether or not you think all of these statistics are a lie (if you think this, please do some research), you still need to take care of what God has given you. I've learned that everyone can do something, even if it is something you think is insignificant. I never in a million years thought Greg would jump on board. I must admit, in the beginning, everytime I recycled something he called me a hippie. I would tell him to turn off a light, and he would say, "one light doesn't matter." Even he is making a change! I'm really proud of him!

The Adkins family is a crazy busy family living on a pretty tight little budget, so I will share with you the changes we've made:

1- First and foremost, we have set up a recycling center in our garage. We have gotten some free recycling bins, but I also went to the dollar store and got some cheap trashcans as well. Connor thinks it's a game to figure out where things belong in the recycling center. He also is constantly asking about trash, "Can I recycle that?" We make trips to the recycling center in Powell when our bins get full and he loves throwing all the stuff in the giant dumpsters. If a four year old can do it......

2- We have cut our energy consumption! We haven't had our thermostat on in weeks because it has been beautiful outside. We only have lights on when absolutely necessary. We have unplugged all of those "phantom power" sources such as toasters, can openers, cell phone chargers, etc. We only have something plugged in when it is in use. We have our entertainment center and computer on a powerstrip, and turn the whole thing off when not in use. We have been trying to wash our clothes in cold water, and hang dry when possible. We are also in the process of changing over all of our bulbs to CFL's. It is an investment, but absolutely saves money over the long run! We're doing a few at a time!

3- Water- I cannot part with my long,hot showers. Call me selfish. That is my time every morning. I'll come around eventually! I'm trying to teach Connor to turn off the water when brushing teeth. I'm also trying to remember that you only need the faucet turned on enough that a pencil size flow comes from the faucet. You don't need the water full force when washing hands or brushing teeth.

4- Food- I'm trying to buy as many organic products as our grocery budget can afford. Yes, they can be pricey, but I am willing to cut other areas of our lives to not put chemicals in my family's bodies. Yesterday, I bought a gallon of organic milk on sale at Ingles for only $4.69. I would highly recommend, if you do nothing else, replace your meat, eggs, milk, and produce with organic products. Also, now that Spring is here, we will begin to buy products that are locally grown.

5- Coffee- I am addicted to coffee....very addicted. I have started to only buy "Fair Trade", "Triple Certified" coffee. Starbucks does not brew this kind of coffee unless you ask. Bad for me, good for Greg's wallet as I try to break my Starbucks addiction.

6- Driving- We have have tried to combine our trips, so we're not driving so much. I'm in West Knoxville every Sunday for church, so I try to save my errands out there for Sundays. Greg and I have done a lot better about riding together to places, and enduring each other's errands while we're out instead of running them seperately. It has definitely taken more patience on his part! We will still work on decreasing our driving, but it's hard to take alternative transportation with kids. You will never see me with my child on one of those seats that attach to the back of your bike. So dangerous!

Our future goals- We hope to begin composting eventually. I will also try to increase my purchasing of organic products as I run out of the ones I have. My next goal is to replace all of our cleaning products and toiletries with safer, more natural products. We are also planning to buy a water filter after payday, so I can cut out the bottled water. More than anything, we will just try to buy less and consume less, simplify our lives a little. That means saving more money, which equals more to give away.

So, that's how our family has gone green! Are you up for the challenge?

Connor Quote of the Week

This is the conversation that took place tonight as we were pulling into the garage:

Connor: "I love you, Momma!"
Mommy: "I love you, Connor Andrew Adkins!"
Connor: "No, Momma! Don't call me by all those names....that means I'm in BIG FAT TROUBLE!"

A Year of Change

This weekend will be the one year mark of what I call my "Year of Change." One year ago, I had the closest, most real encounter with God than I ever have in my life. One year ago this weekend is when I felt the calling to adopt, and basically everywhere I turned for an entire week, I was shown God's presence. I have not been the same since. In the past year, my entire relationship with God has changed so much. I don't even know how to describe what I've been through.

A few weeks ago, Mark asked our small group to come with six words that described our life so far. My six words were: "Trying too hard to impress others." My whole life has been wrapped up in myself, the car I drive, the house I live in, and the clothes I wear. I was always trying to impress my teachers, parents, friends, students, and bosses. As a naturally competitive person, most of my adult life has felt empty and filled with discontent, always striving to keep up with "The Joneses." The past year, I have finally found peace and contentment, honestly because I finally feel like I am trying my hardest to live out God's purpose and plan in my life. I am less concerned with myself and what others think, and more concerned with showing people God in my life, and trying to be faithful in doing what I'm called to do. In the past year I have tried so hard to cut out the negativity in my life and everyday conversations. I've prayed for God to bring the right people in and take those who will bring me down out, until I am strong enough be a better example to them. I drive to and from work everyday in silence, spending time in prayer, praying for my family, my day, my actions, and my students. I am learning to take care of God's creation and trying to teach my son the same, not because it's the cool "Hollywood" thing right now, but because it is what He made for us, and we have destroyed so much of it in our selfishness. I am learning that I don't matter, but what I can do with my life does. I am learning how to be a much better wife, even though I am still far from perfect. I still haven't figured out how not to be tired, I'm still working on that!

I think what I have realized more than anything is that I feel like I finally have a purpose that is bigger than the money I make or fitting in, but I know that I will always struggle to overcome the mindset that our culture has imprinted on my mind. I have been overwhelmed with the realization of the temporariness of our time here on Earth and feel such a strong push to use every moment of my life for a bigger purpose. I know God has put me in my job for a reason. Everyday I get to work with underprivileged children, and I feel like I do a really good job of connecting with them, teaching them, and loving them. I know that not everyone was created to be an inner city teacher, so every day I kind of feel special that I was chosen to do this. I am so excited to adopt a little girl who needs a home (maybe a little boy someday too, shhhh....don't tell Greg). I don't understand why I was chosen to do this, sometimes I feel a little unworthy of such a huge calling. Everyday I find some new reason to be terrified, and everyday I hear, "I know what I'm doing, just relax." All these things in the past year I have discovered in humbleness, and my prayer is that people see that it is genuine, and in no way a platform to raise me up higher than themselves.

So much has changed in a year, and I am so excited to see what this next year will bring. I am open to whatever I am called to do, even though that scares me a little. I am hoping to continue to grow and looking forward to see what I can write next year! This year, I have spent a lot of time working on myself, so I am hoping that this next year, I can work on building more meaningful relationships and spending more time with people I love. Mark asked me what my new six words were, and I told him I didn't know yet. The more I've thought about it, the more I hope the six words for the next part of my life are "Always seeking His plan in humbleness."

Now That's Fast!

We got word today that our dossier has arrived in Taiwan. It was A LOT faster than we expected! They are hoping that the orphanage will have it by Monday. When you are so used to waiting forever for everything in adoption world, that kind of turnaround is amazing!

Still..... a lot of waiting to do!

On Our Way to Taiwan!

From: Angela Beemer
Date: April 8, 2008 11:17:19 AM EDT
To: Greg Adkins
Cc: Stephanie Carpenter
Subject: Dossier

Greg and Jessica,

We are pleased to announce that as of today your dossier is on it's way! We are excited and praying for you and your family!!

Thanks,
Angela

Angela Beemer
Administrative Assistant
Shiloh Adoptions

One Year Later

Last April, we made the decision to adopt. At that time, we planned to adopt from China. Today, almost one year later, we have changed our course a little, but we mailed off the last of our documents to our agency. We mailed off the copy of our I-71H, a letter we wrote to Claire's birthmother, a photo album, and of course, a very nice little check to pay for our program fee.

Making the photo album this week is one of the hardest things that I've ever done. I was up so late every night trying to portray our family as accurately as possible. People are so visual, and I knew that if it was me making this painstaking decsion on picking the perfect family for my child, the pictures would be so important to me. I know what a wonderful home we can provide and how much love that we have to give. I know how much we laugh and how much we all love each other. I know that we value happiness, our closeness as a family, and our relationship and faithfulness to God above all else, but how do I show this in pictures? I prayed so much that God would lead me to create an album that would be everything that Claire's birthmother needed to see, so I feel at peace that God will take care of the rest.

So, it's done. It's out of our hands. Our paperwork will be on it's way to Taiwan to begin translation soon. The long, long wait begins. Thank God we have a four-year old, who is so sweet and goofy to keep us entertained through this wait of 18-24 months. He is currently, as I type this, showing me his mad "jumproping skills." They still need some work!

The Day We've Been Waiting For!

Today was a great day!

We got up early and went to breakfast. IHOP has a special Dr. Seuss breakfast right now. They have "Whooville Pancakes" and "Green Eggs and Ham". Connor was pretty excited about it. He took in his Horton toy and his Green Eggs and Ham book and was ready to eat!

After breakfast we headed to Cades Cove for the day. We had so much fun exploring and looking for deer and bears. Connor had fun collecting "nature stuff" like rocks, leaves, and tree bark (yes, he's all boy!). Everytime I go up there, I am amazed at how beautiful and peaceful everything is, and so thankful that there is still some of God's creation that has escaped being bulldozed for a shopping mall.

We had to run around a bit after the mountains, so we didn't get home until 9. I thought we'd already had a good day until Greg came up the driveway with the mail as I was getting Connor out of the car in the garage. After almost 4 months of waiting, we received pretty much the most important piece of our adoption (other than our referral of course), our I-71H. For those of you who do not know what that is, here is a quote from an international adoption site:

"The I-71H is officially called the, “Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Procession of an Orphan Petition”. When prospective parents are waiting for any bit of news about how their adoption is moving forward, there are few things better than the I-71H. In a process that at times can seems as though it is grinding to a hault, the I71H is welcome news."

I screamed very loud and possibly woke the entire neighborhood up! This means we're approved by the U.S. to bring Claire home and our dossier can go to Taiwan! God is good!

Easter

I made an egg!


It's way too early for this!


The shirt did not stay tucked in the entire day! Just give it up, Mom!



The three of us at Nana and Granddaddy's.


Connor and his cousin Marion freezing their booties off on their egg hunt.




We had a great Easter weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we dyed Easter Eggs. Connor thought it was a lot of fun. He loved putting the stickers all over them! He kept taking out the eggs all day long, just to look at them. On Sunday, Connor and I got up really early! He rushed downstairs to see his treats the Easter Bunny left. He saw his bat and ball and told me, "It's what I always wanted!" We rushed to early services at Powell and then went to Crossings with my whole family. After church we headed to Nana and Granddaddy's for a yummy lunch and a VERY COLD Easter egg hunt with cousin Marion. The kids had a lot of fun, and Connor stayed the night so Mom and Dad could have a date. It was a good Easter, our best yet (I know, I said that last year!)

Connor can Google!

In all seriousness, I just walked into the playroom to get Connor off the computer and upstairs in bed. He was singing the tune to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, only he was concentrating really hard on the letters. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. He kept saying it over and over again, as he searched for the letters on the keyboard and I said, "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm spelling Mickey Mouse so I can look it up on the computer." Welcome to 2008.....even four-year olds can use Google!

A Ski Trip to Celebrate Eight Years!

The very first post on this blog was a picture from our seventh anniversary trip to Hilton Head last March. I absolutely cannot believe how quickly this year has passed. Greg and I now have been married eight years, officially half with and half without our Connor. We were talking this week how slowly the first four years went by, and how quickly these last four went by. He is getting so big and we love him so much. It is so amazing how much better life is with him around.

Greg and I got married over Spring Break when I was still in college. It's so cool that our anniversary always falls on Spring Break, so we try to do a little get away. While we were away, we talked about the past eight years. We agreed the hardest was the first year, trying to figure out how to live with each other, and even after 5 years of dating, learning new things that we didn't know about the other. The easiest was our third year, we found out we were pregnant, took our trip out west which was a trip of a lifetime, started getting ready for Connor,bought our house, and two months before our 4th anniversary, we celebrated the arrival of our little man. It was a good year. Year five was REALLY hard! Trying to adjust our lives to us both working with a small child was stressful and extremely hard. It was a whole new world neither of us were ready for! It would have been easy to give up when things got hard, especially in this day in time. Thankfully God has put family and friends in our lives to encourage us and to help us through.

If you know us, you know we love to travel and we have seen A LOT in eight years. One thing we hadn't done in a LONG time was snow skiing, so we headed up to Winterplace Ski Resort in West Virginia for our anniversary. This is where I skied growing up, so it was so much fun to go back. We had a great time and came home in one piece, and with the Adkins family, that is a good, good thing! We never know what is going to happen with us!

Greg joked that he rented out the whole resort for our anniversary because there was absolutely no one there. It was warm, no one was around, and it was perfect! Each time we go away, I remember how much I love my husband, and how thankful I am that I married my best friend in the whole world.

Update

Well, as far as Claire goes, our I-600A application is still sitting on someone's desk in Memphis. They are processing extremely slow, so it looks like we will not recieve our approval until May, possibly even June if their website is accurate. According to them, they just processed September applications, and ours was sent in December, but our fingerprints and homestudy didn't arrive until late January. Waiting on Memphis has been beyond frustrating. We have now had our I-600A in for 14 weeks on Thursday. It just seems ridiculous! Three and half months with another expected two months! Give me a break! We are completely ready with our agency, we're just waiting on Memphis, extremely slow Memphis.

Things here have been good. Greg had a great trip to Chicago with the boys and Connor and I spent some time with Nancy and the kids in Nashville. I have managed to come down with bronchitis (as far as I can tell from self-diagnosis, but I get it every Spring). I can barely talk and today one of my kids said, "You sound like a man." If you've ever heard my voice, you know that it's anything but masculine, so it's kind of funny having this deep, hoarse voice.

Connor is doing great! He is looking forward to the Easter Bunny. He's also looking forward to a visit from Mimi this weekend. Greg and I are going away for a few days to celebrate our eighth anniversary. Most people head somewhere warm for Spring Break and where are we heading.....to a ski resort. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to spend your anniversary all cuddled by the fire. Acutally, we're both really excited to get away and stay in a nice resort.

Connor and I have been looking for Easter outfits all week. On Sunday he said to me, "Okay Mom, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I really want a yellow shirt and a yellow tie." What boy thinks about these things? I guess the same child that frequently says to me now, "Is this stylish?" He did not get a yellow shirt and tie, but we compromised on an adorable little outfit. I can't wait to take pics on Easter morning.

While I'm talking about my little man, I have to say what an incredible eater he's been lately. He has been driving us crazy for a year now, only eating chicken, corn, and peas, and PB&J. He's gone to bed hungry, he's turned meal time into torture, but he has FINALLY turned the corner! He's eating broccoli, peaches, mashed potatoes, beans, mexican casserole, enchiladas, and basically anything I have given him in the past few weeks. I am so proud of him. His doctor told me not to give up, keep putting it in front of him, and though some nights I wanted to lock myself away, it looks like we have finally turned the corner!

Stay tuned for vacation and Easter pics.

Help a Needy Child Visit Washington D.C.!

Do you remember safety patrol when you were in fifth grade? Across the country, being a "safety" in fifth grade is a huge honor. The most exciting thing is the trip to Washington D.C. at the end of the school year. About six years ago, I got the opportunity to chaperone the annual trip, and it was so much fun. The kids got to see a lot of our nation's capital and they learned so much. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for students at my school, who due to finances might not have gotten the opportunity.

This year, the trip costs $399. This is a lot of money for any family, and especially a lot to students in my low-income school. They have had many fundraisers, but unfortunately this will not be much help to some of them. If you would be willing to donate money to this trip to help all of these students who have worked so hard this year, please e-mail me at adkinsj3@k12tn.net and I will get you the information you need to make a donation. Any amount will help, whether it be five dollars or even more! These students are considered the best of the best in our school and they deserve this opportunity, despite their economic disadvantage!

Jesus the Magician

Well, this morning Connor and I accidentally overslept. I don't remember turning off the alarm, but I guess I did. Usually Connor is up no later than 8 a.m., but he couldn't fall asleep last night until after 11. Must have had something to do with 8 boys downstairs yelling at the television!

Anyways, at 9:30, Connor woke me up saying he wanted waffles before church. I told him that we overslept and we wouldn't be able to make it in time. He was extremely upset and said, "I really wanted to see Mark and hear my Jesus story." I told him that I could tell him a Jesus story, and we'd just have church at home. So, I made waffles, turned on some Bible Songs and decided to read him the story about Jesus feeding the five thousand. We looked at the pictures of the boy with his basket of two fish and five loaves and the crowd of people. Connor definitely agreed that wasn't enough for all of those hungry people. We kept reading and Connor's eyes got really big when he realized that Jesus fed all of those people and had baskets left over! He turned to me and said and I quote, "Mom, I knew Jesus watched over people, but I didn't know he did magic tricks!" We had a good laugh and then I explained to him what a miracle was. We made some fish crafts, talked about Jonah and the Whale, sang some songs, and then ate some lunch. It was kind of fun to have church at home, but I'll be sure to set two clocks next Sunday!

Life is Good Again....Back to Normal!!!!

Things are looking up again back in the Adkins' house. We've had a great past couple of weeks. I had a three day weekend last week and we had my niece's 4th birthday party. The kids had a blast at the Young Chef's Academy. They made pizzas and had a blast.


This week I worked a whole two days, I was off on Monday, worked Tuesday and Wednesday, and then they cancelled school Thursday and Friday due to illness. I was so excited. I had cleaned house all day on Monday, so I've had nothing to do this little break but to hang out with my two favorite guys. Yesterday we had family day. We went out to lunch and took Connor to Sprout Studio. We are kind of in love with that place! Today Connor and I spent the day together. We went out to lunch, cashed in his piggy bank, and he bought a stuffed kitty and a stuffed puppy that came with a little carrier. He has named his kitty "Sorry" and his puppy "Please". Who knows what goes through the mind of a four year old!

I will end in a funny story. I am prissy and all girl. I have been that way since birth, according to my parents. I love clothes and fashion. I can't wait for Claire to get here so I have a girl in the house to share all that girl stuff with. Well, I think I may have rubbed off on my four year old little man. Today, we were getting him dressed. He was putting on all new clothes and shoes. When he was done he turned to me and said (I swear), "Is this stylish?" I fell on the floor laughing. I said, "Where in the world did you hear that from?" He replied, "If you're stylish you're cool, Mom!" I immediately called Greg at work to tell him that I had ruined our little boy. Here's a picture of my little model after he asked me if he was stylish. Enjoy!