Sunday, March 29, 2009

Dada Can't Get Enough....

of Meredith, Madison and Matthew Ray!!! He has spent every spare second with each of them...

Date Night with Meredith at Ruby Tuesdays...

Speaking at Meredith and Madison's school...He brought Madison to the front and told everyone how much he loved her...she was truly embarrassed but loved every minute of it!

Shrimp sandwiches on the street with Matthew Ray (they called it their "buddy time" while the big girls were in school...

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Annual 2K-5K Race...

Every year the kid's school sponsors a 2K-5K race in the desert. This year Meredith won 1st place in her division and Madison and Matthew Ray received certificates for participating! :) Last year was so much fun and this year proved to be even better because Dada was there for the action! Make sure you watch all of the video...it is 3 clips put together of each child's "run." They all ran their little hearts out!





Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Dada's Here!!!

Dada (Matt's dad) is here and we...well, he...has been busy! Here's just a few of the things going on this week:
**Dada has been able to meet several of our local friends on this visit.
**Dada has had a "buddy date" with Matthew Ray where they went to eat shrimp sandwiches on the street.
**He also had a dessert/french fry date with Madison to McDonalds after dinner one evening.
**He is getting to teach some local pastors with Matt all week.
**He and Matt picked up a new "dulab" (Egyptian closet) for us yesterday and came home and put it together...only a little blood, sweat and tears but they did it!
**At the end of the week he and Meredith have a date planned for the 5 story mall!
I got these pictures from Dada's camera...hopefully I can get some more as the week goes on.




Monday, March 23, 2009

You Scratch my Back....I'll Scratch Yours :)


I (Stacey)met such a sweet friend a few weeks ago. She works with autistic children and needs to learn more English to earn her degree in this field. We meet once a week. She is a lot of fun to be around. I teach her English and she teaches me more Arabic...it is an eventful 2 hours each week!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Juliana's Adoption...

Hello all! We have been a little busy these days and haven't had a chance to post anything. But I have a treat for you today! My parents wrote Juliana's adoption story for the mom's blog that I also write for...Prayer of Hannah. I wanted to post it here as well because I think my parents and Juliana are amazing people and I am so blessed they are part of my life!

In 1990 I was a home health nurse. A patient assigned to me was an elderly woman who was bed fast. On one of my visits I discovered two toddlers sitting on the floor beside her bed, eating out of paper plates. She told me they had been left there by a family member, for her to care for. Now, this woman could not take care of herself.She could not even turn over in bed by herself. I immediately began to call some of her other family. The problem was solved quickly. That evening I told my husband, Haynes, about the visit I had made that day. We both agreed how sad it is for children to be neglected. I believe this was the day the Lord planted the desire in our hearts to adopt a child.

A few evenings later we watched a T.V. special about starving children being adopted in Romania. Over the next couple of weeks we talked about the children in Romania.We prayed and prayed about adopting a child. The idea of adopting began to grow in our hearts. You need to know…we had raised five children, and just sent our last child to college. The thought of raising another child had never entered our minds before. The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways. We decided that adoption was what God was calling us to at this point in our lives. The process began to take shape.We talked with a lawyer, we got in touch with other people who were in the adoption process, and we prayed and prayed.

A few weeks later Stacey, our youngest daughter came home from college for the weekend. That evening the exact same T.V. special was repeated again. At this point we had not mentioned a thing to any of our children. As the program was ending, Stacey looked at us and said, “Ya’ll need to adopt one of those children!!” I began to smile. She quickly said, “This is not funny! I am serious! You need to go and adopt one of these children!” I told her I was not smiling because it was funny…we then told her we had been discussing adoption, and planned on discussing the possibility with all five children that weekend, beginning with her. This was a very happy weekend for our family. All five children were thrilled and excited. They were all asking questions and wanting to help. We believe it is very important for all close members of a family to be in agreement about such an important event.

Then the real work began. There were mounds of paperwork, a home study, finger prints, passports, and plane tickets. With lots of prayers, and help from lots of friends, we were on our way to Romania...

Two days after arriving in Romania, we were traveling with a lady who wanted to adopt a little boy. We were told there was a little boy for adoption in a nearby village. Translation into another language sometimes does not always translate correctly. The little boy was a beautiful curly haired girl. She was wearing only a cotton jacket…and it had been snowing! I knew the moment I saw her, she was for us. Her name was Juliana. We fell in love with her and her name. Juliana was the fourth child of a young woman, age 18. After finding the young woman and talking with her and the government official, they set a court date.. The adoption only took a few minutes. The main question we were asked, “Will you take care and provide for this child?”

Juliana was a very happy child from the beginning, even though she was malnourished and had a severe sinus infection. She quickly learned where she ate and where the food was kept.She wanted to stay in the kitchen and play. Also Juliana wanted to be held and patted all of the time. This is where the bonding began. (Now at age 19, she still loves to be hugged and patted:)

From the beginning, Juliana was like a sponge. She quickly began to say words and interact. One of the most important words we used from the first day was “adoption.” My husband and I believe it is important to tell a child they are adopted from a very early age. Explain all of the details you can for their level. As time goes on, they will have more questions…answer them. Do not leave an opportunity for any surprises along the way. I think the fact that I was also adopted helped with a lot of the answers for Juliana.
Juliana is now a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University, majoring in speech pathology. We have six children: Drew, Phillip, Stacey, Tracie, Jana, and Juliana. I can tell you without a doubt, there is no difference in the feeling you have for an adopted child and a child you birthed. It is amazing to see Juliana now grow into a lovely young woman! How quickly time flies and what a joy to be a part of this precious child’s life! The Lord has so blessed us! I look forward to what He has for us in the future!

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of you heart…Psalm37:4

Monday, March 02, 2009

Bon Qui Qui Kid Dunavant Style

If you don't think Bon Qui Qui is funny, you won't appreciate this video. However, if you are one of our "Bon Qui Qui Friends" (you know who you are)...this is for you!