My name is Amie, and I am a blog SLACKER.

I have no excuses.  I had decided to take a little break from the online world for a bit, to focus on  Wild Olive. And apparently, I REALLY  focused. So much so that the bit, expanded into a gigabyte.
And for the record, if you heard that I had considered changing the date of the previous post to a more recent date, so that it didn't look like I had been gone as long as I had, chances are the person who told you that is probably a slacker too,and trying to draw attention away from themselves.

Just sayin'.

So much has happened with so many of my bloggy friends that I have missed out on.  That's what I get for slackin'.  Rest assured that the "episode" has not gone unpunished as I have given myself 50 lashes with a wet noodle. And it is true what they say. It did hurt me more than it hurt you.

I can't wait to catch up with you all!  And to those of you who are still here, thanks for the loving nudge to pull my blog out of the back of the closet and dust it off. I love that you love me in spite of my slackerness.

love you!

I dare you.

I heart this little man!

                       Happy 'Gotcha' Day!

We Love You, Miss Vivi!

Sending Lots of Love to you, dear friend, on this most blessed day!

*do I lose points for stealing this post from his private blog? still counts, right?


As I was fortunate enough to catch some time with a friend today, and her beautiful daughter who came home from China about 4 months ago, I was reminded through our conversation that Anxi has been home over 2 weeks already. WOW. Has it really been two weeks??

When I think of all this little big guy has had to endure this past month, and how he has come through it all smiling and seeming to really love his big ol' family... I just can't help but tear up. I don't think anyone who were to meet this little boy would believe me if I told them he has only been here for just over 2 weeks. He is just so settled. So comfortable. So happy. So accepting of our love and so giving of his. So just one of the gang. And I so could NOT be more thankful. An answer to SO MANY prayers.

Thank you Jesus!

I love that he has been with us long enough now that we acutally know a little bit about his personality... his likes and dislikes, boxers or briefs, if you will. for example..

*He is a big family kinda guy. This little guy was no doubt hand chosen by God to be in this family. I cannot even describe to you how much he loves his peeps. He just cannot get over how many there are to call "his". So many who marvel when he adds an English word to his vocabulary. There is Always someone who will go jump on the trampoline with him. He is Never short a friend to build legos with, or play WAR with, or look for WALDO with him. If the kiddos are at school, he is always asking about them, or thinking about them. Just the mention of any one of their names makes him smile BIG!



*And he has the sweetest heart. If Johnathan is sad, he will come over and rub his head. He is constantly handing out unsolicited hugs and kisses. If I am sitting on the couch reading a book to one of the girls, he will smile really BIG, and run over and plop himself right next to me, snuggle in and sometimes even lay his little head on my shoulder. So sweet. He also gets that he is a BIG brother to 4 little ones, and it is his job to look after them. One day when we were walking to the park and he was riding ahead of me on his scooter, I saw him jump off his scooter and run ahead. I thgought he was going to run into the street, or just leave his scooter and race ahead to the park. I start to call out to him, when I notice Allie had fallen off her bike up ahead, and he had run ahead to help her pick it up. Is that adorable or what?

*He is a rule follower, and likes to be the enforcer. When David was little, being that he was my first, he was a rule follower. I don't know where we got this little nickname, but we used to call him officer Buckle. Can I just say there is a new Officer in town. We are being pretty strict with our rules with the kiddos, so that Anxi will pick up on them more quickly. For example we try really hard to remember to not wear shoes in the house(but that doesn't always necessarily happen). We have explained this rule to Anxi, and he gets it, though he needs reminding every now and then. Sometimes, I will leave my shoes on , like when carry in the groceries, or if I have justcome in from outside, but I am going back out again. Officer Buckle will get on me in less than 30 seconds. No No Mama. Shoes, No NO. I mean seriously, Officer B is all over it. Makes us laugh every time.

*dude loves him some Ramen Noodles. Would eat them 5 times a day if I let him. Stef, he and Jude will get along just fine.



* He loves Math and is much better than I am at it. He can add in his head, without using his fingers. I still use mine. One night I was working on math with Grace and we were doing simple addition. We had little cards with numbers on them and little stones, and she was working on forming simple addition equations, using the stones to match the numbers on the cards, to help reinforce the concept. Anxi was watching and I asked if he would like to have a try. I spoke very slowly. almost as if he were my elderly grandfather who was losing his hearing. I said twoooooo. pluuuuuusssss. twwwoooooo... Anxi. Twooooooo. pluuuuuuusssss. twoooooooooo. okaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy? twooooooooooo. pluuuuuuuuuusssss twooooooooooo. He looked at me like I had two heads. He did this little smirk. shook his head at me.. let out a little laugh, and lightning speed, pulled out two 2's, the addition sign, the equal sign and the 4, and set them up in the proper order. huh? okay.. maybe a fluke. try again. This time we did five plus two. fiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvveeeeeee. pluuuuuuuuuuusssss. twwwwooooooo. you get the picture. Again with the head shaking, and the sly little smile,(which is so stinkin' cute by the way)... 5+2, done. just as fast. Before you know it, we were doing double digit addition, with subtraction thrown into the equations as well. He must have had a good laugh at me over that one. lol.

* He loves to learn. He is already working on his ABCs...he can sing the whole song and recognizes letters, and can spell his name already.

* He loves school. He asked to start on the way home from the airport. He started last Wednesday, and he thinks school rocks! I think it did not hurt that he knew his big brothers and sis went to school during the day. A new big school, with all new friends, all of whom speak a different language than him. So much braver than I.


* He hearts Martial Arts. He will go out on the back porch and practice his kicks and punches. We decided to start him in a class this past week. When he arrived at the school, and saw what the other kids were doing his eyes lit up! And he started punching and kicking and SMILING so BIG! And when he put on his uniform, I am certain there has never been someone so proud. As we watched him through the windows, he kept looking for us, and when he would find us, he would smile s BIG. He just wanted to make sure his peeps were still there, and that he had someone watching him do his thang. He knew we were proud, and he could NOT.STOP.SMILING,

* Did I mention he was Brave? Since he has been home, he has had to accept our big ol' gang as his family, get on a new time zone, endure another TB shot, a couple of doctors appts, had several teeth pulled, started a new school, ride a school bus for the first time, and basically turn his whole routine upside down and trade it in for a whole new one. such a very brave little big guy.

*He thinks belts are the cats meow. He discovered that he had some in his closet, and he has worn one every day since. He thinks they are superhero belts. So the first day he wore his, he went aroud telling everyone, and I mean everyone about his belt. And then he could be found trying to inspect others to see if they too were belt wearing members of the superhero community. That has made for some awkward times.

*He is the tickliest little person I have ever met. Might take advantage of that when I am gently reminding him of the rules. If he gets a little ornery.. tickle torture. Pulls him right out of it. Thank you for that one Jesus!



* Dude has a swagger. I can't describe it, but to say he walks like hes a rockstar. And he is.. in our world. Go on with yo' bad self, Anxi.

*He tells people he has 2 names. But do not call him Samuel. "No. No. Samuel." with the finger shakes. funny funny little man!

*Little big guy is loved by all he meets. He is such a people person. And so friendly, and accepting of new people. He just exudes JOY.

I could go on and on...

He is just pure love.
And we are just so blessed.
We heart our little Big Guy!


God is so very good!

Today I become a mama(in flesh, already been in my heart) … to ONE more blessing from God.

which means...


ONE more little face to the family picture.

ONE more setting at the table.

ONE more face smiling back at me in the rear view mirror of BIG MAMA!

ONE more silly song singer.

ONE more nonsense Joke-maker.

ONE more giggler

ONE more family dance party dancer.

ONE more little coat to zip.

ONE more snowman builder

ONE more lego tower maker

ONE more little artist who will create masterpieces for my wall.

ONE more to tuck in and snuggle with at night.

ONE more I will no doubt mortify and embarrass thousands of time throughout their lifetime.

ONE more to hug.

ONE more bed jumper.

ONE more snack sneaker.

ONE more chore avoider.

ONE more bus rider who waves enthusiastically at me out the window as If I am a ROCK star, as they head off to school.

ONE more bath-tub scuba diver to certify.

ONE more who will bring home flowers(weeds) to make mommy smile.

ONE more little stocking to fill!

ONE more cup of hot cocoa waiting after playtime in the snow.



ONE more who will no doubt teach me to love a little more like our Father Loves.

ONE more who WILL know Jesus.

ONE - hundred forty seven million, less ONE, orphan in the world

ONE more who will be given the chance to live to their potential


ONE more to love with all my heart….

Have you been over to No Hands But Ours lately?  Several adoptive mamas have agreed to be contributing writers for the No Hands blog, and to share stories about their adoptions. For the past couple of weeks, there have been some amazing stories posted. Like this one, and this, how 'bout this one,  Or maybe this one, and on and on and on. , There is no doubt that through sharing their stories, these women are going to help open others hearts to the blessing of adoption. That means more kiddos finding their forever families. Good stuff!!

I hope you will take the time to head on over to No Hands But Ours, and be blessed by these heartwarming and honest stories! 

While you are there, why don't you take the time to become a follower. That'll make it even easier to keep up with all the wonderful stories still to come!

And as a bonus we will be giving away a Wild Olive tee a week,  for the next five weeks. We will choose a winner a week from the followers list. The first winner will be chosen next Saturday, October 24th out of the list of 'followers', and we'll continue to do that weekly... with the last winning name being chosen on November 21st.

So head on over to check out No Hands but Ours. And venture off to the side and click on that followers widet  and get yourself entered into our Wild Olive tees giveaway! And why not tell others about NO HANDS BUT OURS! You never know how many seeds you will plant!

See you on over at No Hands But Ours

   I have set up a private blog for Samuel's Journey. If you would like to follow along, please e-mail me at heartsmiles08@gmail.com.  in the subject field, please put SAMS BLOG, so that I can keep the e-mails straight. Also, if you don't mind, if we haven't "met" yet, please tell me a bit about yourself, or if you have a blog, where I can find you!  I like to know whose hangin' out round these parts! 

Isn't he the sweetest??