We have a pool!

Here is the first picture. Many more to come once we're done swimming :-)

Happy 6th Birthday Sadie

This post is actually a little over due...but with good reason. Here in the Garcia household we celebrate birthday's for days and sometimes weeks. The festivities began on Friday June 20 with a family dinner at Longhorn. After we ate a delicious dinner we ordered the biggest cake and ice cream desert they offered and I think the entire wait staff came to sing Happy Birthday to Sadie. Sunday was her actual birthday and we celebrated again - officially. This time with presents and more family, more cake and naturally more ice cream. Then on Tuesday our Home Fellowship group thought it only proper to have ANOTHER party...so we did :-)

Here are some pics of her week.

Thank you to ALL our friends and family who made Sadie's day SO special. We love & cherish you all!

Prayer Request

Brian is in Orlando today taking a big exam (as I type). Since the exam was this morning he headed up there yesterday. Around 6:30pm last night he took a break from studding and went to dinner. While at dinner his car was broken in to (in broad daylight!). Somebody smashed his passenger window and stole his brief case- which contained his pay stubs, his social security #, ministry checks for foreign missions, a check book and many other important documents. They also got his GPS unit.

PLEASE pray for the person/people that did this. They are obviously in a state of desperation! Please pray a special blessing upon them. That they would have their needs met, fears overcome, peace restored and that they would look to the Lord who LOVES THEM and longs for them to trust Him. My heart aches for these people I can not imagine what they might be going through….

Also please be in prayer for my husband. He has been preparing for this exam for months and for the last week it has completely consumed him. Unfortunately this event has his head in many other places right now.

The windows that were smashed cost “less” than our car insurance deductible and the items that were stolen from Brian’s car are “less” than our home owners insurance deductible…so that is all out of pocket with the added pressure of his identity possibly being stolen he needs A LOT of prayer to stay focused and concentrated on this exam!

Many Thanks in advance!!!

The Banana Test

This is a cute test… please READ THEN ANSWER. DO NOT CHEAT!

There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4
Animals… a Lion, a Chimpanzee, a Giraffe, and a Squirrel,
Who are all standing under it. They decide to compete to see
who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.

Who do you guess will win?

Your answer will reflect your personality.

So think carefully .. . . Try and answer within 30
seconds.

Got your answer?

Now scroll down to the bottom to see the analysis.





































If your answer is:

Lion = you're dull.

Chimpanzee = you're a moron.

Giraffe = you're a complete idiot.

Squirrel = you're just hopelessly stupid.

A COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS.

Obviously you're stressed and overworked or not getting enough sleep. You should
take some time off and relax!

Previous Posts Edit

Guess what?

I FINALLY learned how to upload pictures from my camera to my computer...I'm really making some progress here! :-)

So, to show off I edited 2 previous posts (G'ville Day 2 & G'ville Day 3) by adding pictures.

Enjoy.

RootClip

Hey Guys,

My friends Les and Erin (from CCPSL) are in the newest rootclip chapter. Erin plays an alien, quite well I might add. They haven't won the past chapters but hope this one is different! So please take a minute and watch this clip - if you like it please vote for them!! If you click on the link below, it will take you directly to the video. It's called Alien Technology. In Chapter 5. http://rootclip.com/clips/good-luck/5/alien-technology/
If you already made an account , you'll just have to sign in and vote. Otherwise you'll have to register (which only takes a min) and is kind of fun.

Thanks SO much!

Home Sweet Home

Oh what a feeling!!

Sadie had a great week at speech camp and even made a BFF - Bailey! The two were inseparable this week and they both cried when they had to say their final it good byes! It was both sweet and sad. Before we made it home Bailey was already calling Sadie on my cell phone and when I tucked Sadie in to bed last night she said mom, I really miss Bailey :-(.

Now the fun begins - LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY and MORE LAUNDRY...Then grocery shopping followed by sweeping and mopping the floors. Oh, I think I hear another vacation calling :-)

G'ville Day 3 - Fabulous, Fun and almost Free

What a great day!! This morning began with coffee and breakfast poolside - so nice! Then Ethan & Nana did some "exploring" in our hotel - up and down ALL the stairs on both sides and in and out of every door that opened with our key. Then we all went for a nice walk to the McDonald’s on the corner where we each had an ice cream cone. We were a little bummed because the playground was closed but Nana asked around and learned there was a great park down the street. So off we went. And what a FABULOUS park we found. It was huge with lots of running room, two play grounds, a tire swing that Ethan & Madison laughed so hard on I didn't ever want them to get off. There were also the biggest and best climbing trees I have ever seen. It was unbelievable. The kids had a fabulous time. Then it was back to the hotel for a little cool down and dinner at a quaint Japanese Hibachi Grill - for the 2nd time this week. After dinner we took the kids back to the park and they were thrilled!! We stayed for an hour or so before the rain came. Once back at the hotel Ethan wanted to show everyone a "short cut" he found while "exploring" with Nana. Can I just say he is like every man that wants to take a shortcut? Instead of going through the front door of the hotel he insisted we walk around the building to the guest entrance where we had to use our room key to get in. Then he had us walk all the way back to the front of the hotel in order to find the elevator but instead of taking the elevator he suggested we take the stairs because it will be "much faster". When we finally made it back to our room Madison said "Ethan, that was a LONG shortcut!” Boy was she right!

I can hardly believe our time is G'ville is about over. Tomorrow we'll pack up our hotel and spend some time around town before we can pick Sadie up from camp. Oh, how I miss her!

Gainesville Day 2

Yesterday we went to the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo here in G'ville. This is one of my favorite zoos because it is run by students who are studing to be someone important to animals. They give you a personal tour of the zoo and they stop at each exibit and share EVERYTHING there is to know about that animal with you. It's GREAT! Ethan's favorite were the monkey's and Madison's favorite were the snakes. YUCK!

After the zoo we came back to the hotel for lunch and a swim. Then I took Madison for her first mani/pedi. For those of you that know Princess Madison you know just how much she enjoyed that and just how much trouble I'm in now. :-)

I took pics to share with you but I forgot the picture thingy to upload the photos so I will need to edit this post with pics when I get home.

Goodbye for now.

G'ville Day 1 - Speech Camp

When we adopted our oldest daughter Sadie from Russia in 2004 she had an unrepaired isolated cleft palate. Her cleft was repaired in 2006 at Shands Medical Center in G'ville (an AMAZING hospial). And since her repair she has been in intense speech therapy 90 minutes a week and she attends a week long speech camp annually. Well today was the day I dropped my little (yet SO big) girl off at camp. This year they changed the rules a bit. In past we were able to vist daily and have dinner with Sadie and the other campers. This year however parents are not aloud to do that. The daily seperation can be difficult and it can also be hurtful to the children whose parents were not able to come...So, although I understand I am SO bummed!! Thankfully we bought Sadie a cell phone that allows her to call me, Brian and Nana. So at least we can talk often. For now, I'm just hanging out by the pool at the hotel in G'ville with Ethan & Madi and my mom and enjoying some R & R but I'm already missing my Sadie Baby. :-(!

Happy Father's Day

I am married to one SUPER dad who also happens to be one AMAZING husband! Brian, I could not have asked for a better partner to spend my life with or man to raise our children. You are everything I could have ever hoped, dreamed or imagined. Today we honor and thank you for who you are and for all you do for our family. WE LOVE YOU!!

I also have a fantastic Father whom I LOVE and CHERISH! Dad, thank you for always being there, for believing in me and supporting me and all my crazy ideas. For encouraging me when I was afraid and comforting me when I was sad. Dad, I love you and I wish you the happiest of Father's Day's.

And to the WORLD'S GREATEST FATHER IN LAW. What can I say? I'm stronger because of you, not SO sensitive because of you, I have a better sense of humor and of course I have MUCH thicker skin all because of you. Thank you for the years of torment, torture and endless "pick on Jen" moments. I TRULY love you and miss ALL of that when you are not here. :-)

And Finally, my Heavenly Father. The Father that grants me not just forgiveness for my sins, peace in my sorrow, and hope in my future He grants me ENTERNAL SALVATION spent with Him. WOW! Father God, THANK YOU!! Thank you for my blessed life, thank you for Who you are and thank you for making me who I am.

Happy Father's Day to all of you Dad's out there.

Today Only

A Good Treat for a Good Cause
This weekend, you can help support Foster Care Adoption just by buying a Frosty! Participating Wendy's will donate 50 cents from every Frosty purchased on June 14 and 15 to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Their goal is to raise $1.3 million to support the Foundation and Wendy's Wonderful Kids, which funds full-time adoption recruiters to match parents with waiting children.
Since 2004, Wendy's Wonderful Kids has helped 3,500 children in Foster Care, and more than 500 of those children now have finalized adoptions.
So share a delicious treat with your family, and help children in the U.S. Foster Care system find their own forever families!
http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/News/2nd-Annual-Father-s-Day-Frosty-Weekend

Disney

The 7 kids out numbered the 6 adults, the temp was 102, and the lines were long but as you can tell from the pics below we had an AMAZING time at Disney!! THANK YOU NANA & PEPE for such an incredable trip! The memories that were made will last a lifetime! WE LOVE AND THANK YOU!!!

Disney

Cast Be Gone

As most of you know, Sadie broke her arm by falling not once but TWICE from the monkey bars. We aren't sure which of the two falls actually broke her arm but after a trip to Urgent Care, serval x-rays and LOTS of guilt we learned Sadie's arm was indeed broken!! She picked out a beautiful purple cast, had all of her family, friends and many fans sign her cast which she proudly wore for 3 weeks! Oh and by the way, this cast did NOT slow her down one bit. She continued to swim (with her cast tightly wrapped and bagged), she still climbed the monkey bars, played in the "woods" and managed to paint and eat all with her left hand!!! Well, on Tuesday 6/10 just before we headed to Disney we stopped at her ortho for a check up. The x-ray revealed the arm had healed and the cast was ready to come off. YEAH!!!

Good Times

My sister and her family are visiting from PA and my cousin with her son are here from NJ.

The last time I saw my sister was this past January when my nephew Chasen was born and WOW has he gotten big! So has my niece Coral and her brother Canyon!

My cousin Crystal and her son Gage were here about 2 years ago when her son was just 2 1/2.

All of the cousins are having a FANTSTIC time swimming in Nana & Pepe's pool, hanging out in the "woods", selling lemonade to the inocent neighbors and then swimming some more. Even Sadie with her broken arm has figured out a way to swim and not miss out on any fun.

Soon we'll be off to Disney. More pics and updates to come :-)

clothe His children

My friend Jill owns Boomerang consignment store (http://www.boomerangconsignments.com/) here in PSL. Jill knows my heart for orphans and my desire to minister to adoptive families so with my vision and her generosity we created a ministry to clothe His children. Each week Jill DONATES any and all of the stores unsold items. These items range from strollers, pack & plays and walkers to boppy's, and toys, books and games, not to mention clothes galore. You name it this store has donated it! Jill's generosity has blessed families and orphans not just here in PSL and throughout the United States but also as far as Guatemala, Haiti and Russia. Should you or anyone you know be in need of this ministry or if you are traveling to meet your child and would like to bring a clothing donation to the caretakers please reply to this post. For those of you that are local and have not been to Boomerang Consignment yet I highly recommend that you check it out. Jill is an amazing women with a heart the size of Texas and runs one CLEAN & ORGANIZED consignment store.

Jill, I would just like to personally and publicly thank you for who you are and for partnering with me and believing in my vision. I adore you!!

Let the Music Play

Ok Blogger friends,

I am still VERY green at this blogging thing. But I'm setting little goals and forcing myself to become a little more "techy" :-). So today's goal was to add music to the site for your listening pleasure and I DID IT (with very little assistance)!!!

I thought it would be fun to allow the family to help me with the music selection. Here is how the choices break down:

The love of my life chose the following: Mighty to Save and Word of God
Sadie chose: We will Rock You, We are the Champions and Awesome God
Madison: Best of Both Worlds and True Friend
Ethan: couldn't be bothered :-)
All the rest are mine - and truth be told I'm kinda stuck in the 80's :-)

And since its a moment for truth I should add Pour Some Sugar on Me is an ALL time favorite :-)

Happy 5th Birthday Madison

Boys

Just my boys! Ethan and Brian