SNOW---Lots of it!!

As most of you know, the DC area got a huge snowfall this weekend. We measured 17" in our yard as you will see in one of the pictures. All four girls had a marvelous time, although the big girls enjoyed it the most. It was actually a bit too deep for Lauren and Anna to really enjoy it. They could not walk through it without help. They did enjoy sliding down a snow slide that the neighbors made. It was a fun weekend with us being together as a family...although we did talk about and miss our girl who is waiting for us in China! Next winter she will be here to enjoy the snow with us! Merry Christmas everyone.



Sarah walking through the front yard--the snow was up to her knees.


Emily coming down the snow slide that the neighbors made.




Look at this sweet face! I LOVE this picture!!


And well, look at this sweet face too!




Yes, the snow plow got stuck on our street and the neighbors had to help dig him out!



This is how our yard looked in the middle of the storm. That is our black lab in the front yard. You really couldn't even see across our street very well.


The official Mansfield measurement!

Anna Grace's first snow

Wow! Two posts in 3 days! But it is snowing and this is the first time Anna Grace has ever played in snow so I had to post! We have been surprised at how much snow we are getting today. The big girls have been outside most of the day. They come in briefly to warm up and then go right back outside. Anna went out with Daddy earlier and I was able to get some cute photos. Hopefully it will stop snowing so that she has a chance to actually go out and play for longer than 5 minutes. Enjoy the pictures of our little one. I love watching her experience new things.

Yes, Shawn gives all our children a taste of the snow.

Anna Grace wasn't too sure what to think of that snow on her lips.

Throwing snowballs at mommy!!

I love this girl so much! I can't believe we've only had her for 9 months. What a precious, precious blessing she is.

November re-cap

I'm a bad blogger, I know! Life just gets away from me. On November 10th Emily turned 12! I cannot believe that my oldest daughter is 12 years old! Holy Cow! When did that happen? What you can't see from her picture is that she was sick on her birthday. She began running a fever at dinnertime that night. And yes, three of my four girls had the dreaded H1N1 that week! Which is my only excuse for not posting pictures of her birthday that week!
Emily is such a blessing to our family. She is a wonderful big sister and is a huge help to me. I am enjoying watching her grow into the young lady that God created her to be.
At the end of Emily's "birthday week" we left home for Disney. Yes, LOTS of praying for her to recover by Sunday! On our way to Florida we stopped off in NC to get my mom and dad. While there we made time for a visit to get my hair cut. We also got the back of Anna's trimmed. You can see CLEARLY from the picture what she thought. Now you should know, we have seen Melanie three times previously with Anna Grace so she wasn't a complete stranger. As a matter of fact, Anna knew exactly who she was. When we walked into her studio and she said hello, Anna immediately began saying "bye bye" to her. But we really needed to trim the back as Anna was growing a mullet and well, we just couldn't have that! So Melanie was very quick!! Very!! I don't think the torture went on for more than 90 seconds. And I have to say, it looks so cute in the back!


So after the hair cut trauma, we departed for Disney! What a fun trip we had. Anna Grace absolutely loved everything about Disney! She especially liked the SpectroMagic Parade. The lights on all the floats were mesmerizing to her! And quite honestly, I just had fun watching Anna! Emily and Sarah were thrilled to be back in Florida and tall enough to ride the big rides. Sarah loved the Rock N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios while Emily loved Kraken at SeaWorld. Mama?? I loved all the roller coasters! : ) Daddy and Lauren preferred to stroll through the parks and people watch. We are thankful that we were able to take this trip with our girls. And quite honestly, the only reason we were able to go this year was because Disney was offering free tickets to active duty and deeply discounted tickets to military family members. We are thankful that Disney was honoring military in this way; our family certainly enjoyed it!

Anna Grace saw these balloons and had to have one....and sucker that I am...I paid the crazy price for it! But look at that smile. You would have too!

We returned home just in time to get things ready for Thanksgiving. We began the day at church. I love that our church does a Thanksgiving service. It is always the nicest way to start the day. Later, we ate dinner with friends from church. The food was good, the company even better. God has given us very special friends at every duty station He has put us in.

This past weekend we decorated our Christmas tree. I was keenly aware that this would be Anna Grace's first Christmas tree. What fun we had with her. When Shawn brought the tree inside and set it down, she stretched her arms out and wrapped them around the tree as best she could and gave the tree a hug. And that was BEFORE it had lights on it! I just knew she would be enthralled when we lit it. No....not really! She just looked at it from Emily's lap. So I guess lights didn't trump a tree being in the living room. That is just how life is with children, isn't it?? I think one thing will be exciting for my children and its something entirely different that lights their eyes! Lauren has reacted to the tree exactly as she did last year. She really likes the left side and brushes her hands across it EVERY SINGLE DAY knocking off ornaments and pulling strands of lights. I have quit putting them back on and now just lay them under the tree. Yeah, I gave up quicker this year! We think she must like the way the tree feels so it is hard to fuss at her too much.

Yes, both of the little girls were trying to escape this picture session and were being held in place by their big sisters. Sometimes you just can't get the perfect shot!

The hug!

We are still preparing our paperwork for the adoption of Xiao Li. We have all the necessary documents except for immigration approval. We are hoping to hear from them next week about fingerprints. We continue to be able to e-mail her and are so thankful for that gift. Please pray with us that God will prepare her heart for our family. It is going to be such a tremendous change for her. One adoptive mom has told me that she thinks the prayers of many have made all the difference in her daughter's adjustment. So know that we covet your prayers for our family.

This was taken over the summer when Xiao Li attended a camp. This was the first time she had ever eaten cotten candy. I can't wait to experience all the firsts with her next year!

Thanks for sticking with our blog even though it rarely gets update. I looked back over the past year and realized it takes an adoption or surgery to get daily posts out of me! So, one adoption and no surgeries for the coming year. You'll get one good month, for sure!

I hope as you go through the Christmas season that you will remember why we celebrate. It really isn't about lights on trees or how many presents we have left to buy. It is ALL about God coming to earth in the form of man to rescue us from our sins. How thankful I am that He gave the greatest gift EVER 2000 years ago! Merry Christmas to you all...(just in case this is the only December post!) : )

Orphan Sunday is tomorrow

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday. How will you spend the day? Will you please pray for the 132 MILLION orphans in the world? So many children who need a home.... so many children who need to hear the name of Jesus and know that He loves them more than they can imagine! The Cry of the Orphan is hosting a celebration in Nashville. It will include Steven Curtis Chapman and Dennis Rainey. For more information click HERE. I wish I could be in Nashville tomorrow for this celebration. We will have to be content watching it online.

But the Mansfield's will have our own celebration tomorrow. We will be celebrating that soon there will be one LESS orphan in the world. Xiao Li, who has been waiting for a family for 12 long years, will not grow up alone. She will not turn 14 only to be deemed "unadoptable," thus sealing her future. Xiao Li will not be turned to the streets at 16 with no one to care for her. No, Xiao Li will come home to a mama, daddy, and 4 sisters who already love her. Xiao Li will come to a country where she can hear about the love of Jesus and know the One who created her perfectly. She will live in a family who will help her reach her full potential to be everything that she was created to be, not limited due to her gender or disability.

Please join us in celebrating that soon there will be one less orphan in the world.

Avery XiaoLi Mansfield
will come home to her family sometime during the summer of 2010.

We are praying now for God to prepare her heart for the many changes that are to come. Will you join us in that?

I was totally planning on ending the post with that but realized that I would be so ill if I was left with so many unanswered questions...so here are some of the answers.

"Why are you going back?" Most of you know that Shawn was adopted at 14. Our family reaps the benefits every single day that there was a family who didn't turn their backs on a boy in need. Shawn is the man he is today because a family took the chance on bringing a 14 year old boy into their home with 3 little girls! I have no doubt that I would not be married to Shawn today and our girls would not even be alive if his family had not lovingly accepted him into their home and family. So for us, the bigger question would be, "How can you NOT go back? How can you NOT adopt an older child who has waited so long for a family?" We can never repay Shawn's family for the life-changing gift they gave. But we can bring another child home and give her the same opportunity.

"Why are you going back so soon?" The timing was totally God's plan. Our plan would have been to wait until next year but as all Christians know, our plans do not always mirror God's plans. And He has been VERY clear in confirming that Xiao Li is our daughter. We began this process very tentatively and yet, God has provided so many things to show us that now is the time and this is our girl.

"Where is she? Is she in the same place as Anna?" Xiao Li is in the same province as Anna Grace was but not the same city. There is an American group in her orphanage and it just happens to be the same group that is in Anna's former orphanage. That is an amazing fact considering that this group is only in 3 orphanages in the ENTIRE country. Coincidence? No, just the first of many confirmations from God.

"What is her special need?" She has a repaired cleft lip and palate, just like Anna Grace. We have a fabulous doctor who she will see when she gets home. He most likely will need to do another surgery and we are good with that. Other than that, Xiao Li is perfectly healthy!

"How did you get the name Avery?" We actually have a contact at Xiao Li's orphanage and she is helping us begin a relationship with her. We are able to send e-mails to her on a regular basis, which is amazingly wonderful!! We first asked Xiao Li if she even wanted an American name and she did. We then sent 4 names for her to choose from and Avery was her pick. We love it!

I am sure there are other questions but I'm drawing a blank....and I really need to go feed my little girls breakfast anyway! Post questions in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them. Thank you for joining us in praying for Avery XiaoLi.

As you begin your day tomorrow, please stop and pray for the millions of orphans worldwide who do not have a family excitedly preparing for them. Ask God what He would have you do. Some of you may be called to adoption. It is a scary thing for many people but I can promise you, it is an amazing journey and one that God ordained. God may be calling you to help another family who is called to adopt. Or to help an organization that sends resources to orphanages throughout the US and around the world. Or He may just be asking you to pray for orphans on a regular basis. Whatever you are called to do, I firmly believe that Christians are called to do something. Tomorrow, on Orphan Sunday, would you ask Him what you are supposed to do? I will be praying for you.

Our pumpkin fun

First I want to let you know that a computer techie friend of mine has put a nifty little link in the upper left corner of my blog. If you sign up, you can now receive an e-mail when I update. That is a good thing for people who read my blog because I am told that MANY of you visit a lot more often that I post. So now you can sign up and get an e-mail telling you there is a new post. Pretty cool, huh? I think so...
Thanks Jim!


So in our house we didn't get our pumpkin carved until November 4th but it did get carved! I am pretty sure Shawn thought he would get out of it this year but nooooo, he did not. Emily and Sarah had big plans for him.

I am sure Anna Grace had never put her hand inside a pumpkin before!
She didn't mind the goop at all.

Lauren was another story. I think her picture speaks to how she felt about the pumpkin goop. Emily and Sarah conveniently disappeared so Mama wouldn't make them stick their hands in...so no pictures of them!

What were the big plans the girls had for their pumpkin? Well, they wanted a cloud and a lightening bolt on the front. And they remembered a past pumpkin where Shawn wrote Sarah's name in the back. He actually carved it backwards so that when the light shone through, her name would be spelled correctly. And they wanted him to do that again. So Daddy wrote Xiao Li in the back of our pumpkin. Who is that you ask???

Come back tomorrow!!

For cute photos of Anna with a Hope Haven buddy, click here

Anna Grace's first Halloween

Tonight Anna Grace experienced trick-or-treating for the very first time! She LOVED it! We go to the mall to trick-or-treat because that tends to help Lauren stick with us a bit longer. It was really crowded tonight but the girls had a great time. Lauren did too although she was watching Dora on her ipod. She was very nervous as soon as we were surrounded by children in costumes. But she has a fabulous daddy and he hooked her up with some Dora and all was right in Lauren's world. Anna, on the other hand, thought everything about the night was fabulous, especially the candy! She was Minnie Mouse and she carried a small backpack on her back to hold her candy. At every store she would smile at the lady and then turn halfway around so they could drop her candy in. Very cute!! I think it is safe to say that she enjoyed herself....I can't wait to see her at Christmas!

Girls Rule!

Our family...as you can see, Lauren had decided this wasn't fun

Sarah was a spider princess

Lauren was Dora the Explorer...we tried to branch out this year with a new costume but this was the favorite. Don't mind the dirty face...this was taken AFTER eating the candy!

Anna Grace in her Minnie Mouse costume!

Emily was a spy...and somehow I didn't get a picture of her by herself. Maybe she will humor me and put her costume back on tomorrow so I can get a picture!

Getting a good picture of 4 children is MUCH harder than getting a good one of only one child. I know there is a mathematical principle there but have no idea what it is. Here are just 3 of the 10 pictures I took trying to get a good one of them all!



Photographing a two year old is also a challenge to your patience! You will notice in the first picture that she is watching her daddy to make sure he doesn't eat her candy. We told her that she would get it after we got a picture of her....we then had to clarify that she had to actually look at the camera for said picture!

"Okay, I'm looking!"

"Ta Da!"

"Seriously people...I am looking and smiling! Can I get that candy now?"

"Ahhh, just what I've been working so hard for!"

"Ya know? I think I like this American tradition!"

"Yep, I am certain I do!"

These are just some bonus shots from the other day. My sister found the CUTEST outfit ever and sent it to us. Anna Grace did pose for a few pictures but was happier kicked back in the chair singing.