What I am Thankful for Day 30

Today I am thankful for the fact that I have another day to live. So many were denied today. While I woke up and began my day someone else ended their last day. I love the life I have and I am so blessed to be able to live. I have amazing friends and family that I love dearly and I could not be any more happy with the way things are going in my life right now. I am thankful to have been given another day to love the people I love and to do the things I love.

Taylor

What I am Thankful for Day 29

Today I am thankful for birthdays. I have the worlds best group of friends and I cannot wait to start our week+ of birthday celebrations today!! I am thankful that we are all turning another year older and wiser! Growing older is something that is denied to many and I am thankful that I am able to celebrate another birthday with my girlfriends and family! ALSO A BIG HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO MY ROOMMATE COURTNEY!! I love you friend and will rub it in your face for the next few days about how old you are! Then I will stop cause I will be old on Monday!

So in Honor of Courtney's Birthday Today here are 20+ reasons why I love her!!

20+ reasons why I love you!!!

1. You are the best friend and greatest I could possibly ask for!

2. You give great advice

3. You listen when I need to vent

4. You are the fashionista of our suite and have great style

5. You hate pants as much as I do

6. You love comfy clothes 

7. You are able to handle my feistiness 

8. You can dish back what I put out

9. You wash my dishes and put them away (thanks mom)

10. You listen to all my pointless talks/rants

11. You’re crafty 

12. You love sweets just like me

13. You don’t judge when I bum

14. You correct my grammar

15. You dislike Mondays like me!

16. I love how loud you are when you eat cereal! I will never be late for class or over sleep!

17. You tell me when I’m being unreasonable

18. You won’t let me leave the room looking like a mess

19. You’re honest when I ask your opinion

20. You helped me name my car Feisty!

21. We’re so much alike it’s really not funny

22. You can finish my sentences which scares me sometimes.

23. You know what I am thinking just by the look on my face
24. You put up with my occasional manliness 

25. Yes I said 20 but I couldn’t stop. Most of all you put up and live with me and are the coolest, most stylish, and sassiest person I know and I am blessed to call you friend!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY I LOVE YOU TONS AND YOU ARE OFFICIALLY NO LONGER A TEENAGER!!!!

What I am Thankful for Day 28

Today I am thankful to be able to breathe through my nose!! After a week of having a stuffy nose it is a wonderful feeling! I am so happy to be able to sleep through the night and not have to wake up at odd times and blow it! I am so thankful that I am better almost. I cannot wait to not cough again or see another tissue!!

What I am Thankful for Day 27

Today I am thankful for my health. Granted yes I have been sick the last few days but I am thankful it was just a cold or whatever and it is finally passing! I am thankful that overall my health is great and I have no major health problems. I am not having to take 15 different medicines, or shots or anything that seems unpleasant I am thankful for my immune system that it is able to fight off just about anything that I come in contact with and it is not compromised in any way.

What I am Thankful for Day 26

Today I am thankful for me time. Granted I love to live life on the go and always have things to do because it keeps me busy and helps pass time. But occasionally I just like to be able to sit down and have nothing to do. I enjoy being able to just sit in my room when no one is around and have me time. I love people for the most part, I really do, but I love being able to just be by myself, think about how things are going, and make my schedule for the rest of the day or the next day. Normally I try to plan for at least 30 minutes of just alone time where no one else is around and I can be strictly by myself. It is so nice and I enjoy the alone time where I can recharge and sometimes but not always knock a few things off my to-do list or simply read a good book. Me time tends to be at night or later in the afternoon when all my classes are done and I can finally relax. The only exception to that is Tuesday and Thursday's when it is in the morning before I go to class.

What I am Thankful for Days 19-25

Sorry I have been away lately. I  have been super busy with school before break and was out of town during my break and without internet access. Below is what I am thankful for, for each day that was missed.

Day 19: Breaks from School. As much as I love being at school it gets crazy occasionally and I need a break. Since the semester is winding down things are even crazier and Thanksgiving break was openly welcomed. It was nice to sleep and not have to worry about classes.

Day 20: The slight drop in gas prices. It is so nice to be seeing gas prices slowly going down and under $3.50. They are still slightly higher here at ASU but it was nice to fill up my gas tank on the way home for under 30 dollars.

Day 21: My bed at home. It is nice to sleep in my wonderful bed at home and to get away from the hard slab I sleep in at school even though I miss my school bed when I am away from it.

Day 22: A home cooked meal. Even though our dining hall is okay, I miss home cooked meals and the foods that I love. It is so nice to be able to sit down at an actual table and eat food with my family that I love dearly.

Day 23: My family's lake home. It is nice to just head up to the lake and get away for a little bit. I am almost completely disconnected from society no internet access except the little bit I can get on my phone and we also have very poor cell service up there but it is nice to just get away from it all for a bit.

Day 24: My cell phone. I would probably be lost without it as I have no one's numbers memorized and it is my connection to the social media world 9 times out of 10. Rarely do I get to sit down at my computer to check my email or get on facebook. IT is normally all done through my phone since I feel like I am always on the go.

Day 25: Modern medicine!!!! I have been sick the last few days and NyQuil/DayQuil have been my new best friends. I hate being sick and thankfully I rarely am. I cannot wait to be well again and breath out of my nose.

What I am Thankful for Day 18

Today I am thankful for those individuals who do so much to help those children left behind in orphanages around the world. 

China Organizations: *Most of these organizations I have personally dealt with and can answer questions regarding their work in China.

Agape Family Life House
http://www.agapeflh.org/aflh/

An Orphan’s Wish 
http://www.anorphanswish.org/

An Orphan’s Wish Kids 
http://www.anorphanswish.org/meet-our-kids

Butterfly Children’s Hospices 
http://www.butterflych.org/

Dianjiang Kids

http://www.dianjiangkids.org/

Doves Wings

http://www.chinaheartint.org/

Eagles’ Wings Foster Home 

http://www.eagleswingschina.org/pages/home.php

Half The Sky

http://www.halfthesky.org/en

Little Flower Projects 
http://www.littleflowerprojects.org/work.html
Living Hope International
http://livinghopeintl.org/Sponsorship.asp
Loaves and Fishes
http://www.loavesandfishesintl.com/

Love Without Boundaries Blog 
http://www.lwbcommunity.org/

Morning Star Family Home 
Beijing http://www.morningstarproject.org/

New Day Foster Home Blog 
http://newdayfosterhome.blogspot.com/

New Hope Foundation 

http://www.hopefosterhome.com/
Shepards Field
http://www.chinaorphans.org/

Starfish Foster Home 
http://www.thestarfishfosterhome.org/index.aspx

Swallows Nest Foster Home 

http://swallowsnestzz.org/children.php?action=archive&category=All

I am also thankful for those that help children who are in orphanages outside of China and in institutions worldwide. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with many organizations outside that help children outside of China but here are the few that I do know of

Ukraine: 

Loads Of Love

http://www.loadsoflove.ca/EdsMinistry/index.html

Russia: 

Big Family Mission 

http://www.bigfamilyministry.org/ 

Uganda:

Amazima

http://amazima.org/

Nepal:

Hope and Home Journey with a Purpose

http://www.hopenhome.org/

*Please note that I have not volunteered with or worked with organizations outside of China and therefore cannot vouch for their work or give any advice on working with them.

*There are so many more organizations world wide that work with orphaned and improvised children if a specific country calls to you odds are there is an organization you can volunteer with. 

Today I am Thankful for Day 17

Today I am thankful for Amanda de Lange and  the life she lived. Amanda was a dear friend of mine who saved the lives of 100+ children. She ran a small foster home in Xi'an China Starfish Foster home where she cared for special needs children who were sick and vulnerable babies until they were adopted or welcomed into Heaven's arms. Amanda passed away from her fight with cancer this past July but her legacy lives on. I am so thankful and blessed to have known such a wonderful woman. She truly lived out my biggest dream and I loved the two summers I got to volunteer with her. Because of Amanda I met and cared for so many children that I feel head over heals in love with. Had Amanda not followed her calling there would be 100+ less little world changers in the world today. Amanda saved their life and I know that because of her and the marks she left on their little hearts everyone of them will be massive world changers.

What love can do. Ava arrived not too long before I did my second summer and was severely malnourished and close to death but Amanda saved her by bringing her to Starfish and provided her not only with the food and care she needed but also love to repair her broken and damaged spirit.

Taylor (I didn't name her) is another little one who arrived while I was at Starfish in 2011. Amanda helped nurture her back to health. Thankfully though Taylor came straight from the hospital to Starfish and never had to spend time in the orphanage.

Justin was a very tiny little boy in 2011 when I got to Starfish much smaller than that first picture of him. He weighed about 5 pounds and was literally skin and bones. Under the care of Amanda and the Starfish staff he was nursed back to health and has now had his surgery for his cleft lip and will hopefully soon has his paperwork ready and be adopted by his forever family.

Life, Laughter, Love

What I am Thankful for Day 16

Today I am thankful for the blessing of having a car. I don't quite know how I would get anything done if did not have my lovely car Feisty (yes there is a story behind her name). Feisty gets me from point A to B all the time and she does so safely. Granted I do not need a car at school really as the bus will take me anywhere and everywhere I need to go to in and around campus it is nice when I need to go grocery shopping to just hop in my car go get what I need and then pull up to my door almost unload my things and then go and park my car. It is very nice not having to carry everything I bought from one bus stop to the next and then from the  drop off location to my room. It is quite a hike at ASU.

Feisty and Courtney last year during exam time when we spent the day at the library.

Feisty's trunk full of groceries for an event that we took individual shopping for.

What I am Thankful for Day 13, 14 ,and 15

I am cramming in a couple of things I am thankful for into one post as I am behind on the posts and these are all rather small things and can be grouped together...

Today I am thankful for Chocolate.... I am a chocoholic and those that know me know this I love anything chocolate well almost anything do not give me 60% or more dark chocolate because that stuff is nasty. I am much more of a milk chocolate fan or a dove dark chocolate fan.

Caffeine: Those that know me know that without my caffeine I cannot function and I tend to be a very grumpy person with out it. It is normally the first thing that I drink in the morning just so I can get out of bed. I hate coffee though so please do not give me coffee. I am the world's biggest mountain dew and dr. pepper drinker and would probably die if the Pepsi company ever went out of business. Caffeine is what keeps me sane and awake so that I can get hings done.

Naps/sleep: I love naps and sleep at that. I could probably sleep all day if my friends and roommates would let me. I love sleep so much and I am a very grouchy person without it ask my mother who had to always make sure I was awake for school and during those early years woke me up. Also you could ask my roommate who occasionally gets to see the morning and tired grouch in me.

What I am Thankful for Day 12

Today I am thankful for my awesome job. Well okay it's not that awesome but I do love it. I work with amazing people who make it fun. I work the student gates at our home football games and I also help on the field. The people I work with are simply great to say the least. I don't think I could have picked better people.

Rachel: Rachel is a fellow UCer gotta love us we are simply the best. She went to a high school not far from where I went to high school. She is too funny and is my dance buddy. I hate that she is graduating this year because I will miss her tons next year.

Catherine: Catherine is a good friend already and we work together. She is a hoot and is tons of fun to spend time with her at work since our schedules conflict during the week and we don't get to see a lot of her.

Matt: Matt aka John is my gate buddy. We normally have gates that are side by side and he makes sure to pick on me at every game. He got his nick name John because he couldn't remember my name and started calling me Ashley so I gave him a new name.

These 3 individuals are the main reason aside from the pay check that I enjoy working at my job. We have a blast together between dancing, laughing, and laser fights. Yes we have lase fights hard to believe we are in college with the way we act. Our scanners for the student ID's also can scan bar-codes and we have too much fun with them.

Rachel and I being super heroes at our last home game. It was too hot to wear our work jackets so we made capes out of them.

Rachel, Catherine, and I

Me and Matt

What I am Thankful for Day 11

Today I am thankful to be a Mountaineer!!! I love my school dearly and I am so blessed to be at such an awesome place. No where else in the states compares to my university. I have the mountains and beautiful gorgeous weather. There is always something happening so I rarely get bored. I live on a beautiful campus and our football team has been awesome this year. We are SoCon Champs and are headed to the playoff! GO APPS!! I am proud to be a Mountaineer!

Today I am Thankful for Day 10

Today I am thankful to be an American and thankful for the freedoms that I have as an American. I am thankful to live in the country where I am allowed my voice and allowed to think differently from everyone else. As we all know I am a very opinionated individual and it is probably a good thing that I am an American and can freely express my views without the fear the the government is going to come after me.

I am thankful for the freedoms that I have being an American. Freedom of speech, religion. press, etc..... My siblings are from a country where you speak out and you are gone and I am so thankful that I can say what I want to say and express my differing views and publicly disagree with the government we have. I am also thankful I am allowed to believe the way I believe and not have to follow a mandated religion and that if I want to read something I can freely read it and don't have to hide what I am reading or fear that if caught I will be killed.

I am thankful to have been born in a wonderful free country.

Today I am Thankful for Day 9

Today I am thankful for the Veteran's that have served this country and kept me and my family safe and protected our freedoms. Thank you to the men and women who have sacrificed so much and gave everything that they had to protect our freedom. Your work does not go unnoticed.

Today I am Thankful for Day 8

Today I am thankful for this little girl right here!

Four years ago today you completely changed my life. Four years ago today in a HOT hotel room in Nanchang China you came into our family as one very upset little girl but soon after we learned all about your personality.  I am so blessed to be her big sister. You have completely changed our family for the better and I am so blessed that God placed you in our family. You are the feistiest,  and spunkiest little 4 year old I know but I love that about you! You stand your ground like your big sister and have so much attitude. You have so much energy and keep us all on our toes. You are very funny and keep the family laughing. You may only be about the size of a 3 year old but you act as if you are about to turn 20. You are wise beyond you years already and have the best style of anyone in the family along with the most shoes. But above all I love you with all my heart and I am the luckiest person in the world to have you for a little sister! I love you Lily Grace!! Happy Gotcha Day!! We have come a long way in our 4 years as sister but I wouldn't trade you for the world! I love you from the top of your head to the tip of your toes!! 

First ever picture with her daddy!

Lily and her Raisin Box(We had to pry this thing out her her hand)

The first bottle I ever gave Lily

You have grown so much over these four years and you are absolutely beautiful inside and out. You love your family more than life's itself. You are a big love bug and most of all you are my little sister! Today I pray that your "China Mommy" knows just how loved and cherished her little girl is and that the hardest decision she ever had to make has given our family the biggest blessing ever!

What I am Thankful for Day 7

Today I am thankful for my pets. I love my pets so much and they are the cutest animals ever. I love that they are always happy to see me and love unconditionally. With me away at school I don't get to see them as much as I like but they are the cutest little and big things ever.

Break Down of the Pets:

Little Dogs: Shih Tzus, Tibby and Gabby

Gabby

Tibby

Big Dogs: German Shepard Fred, Great Pyrenees Jack and Lola

Lola

Jack

Goats: Esther, Sadie, and Rossie

Sadie

Esther, Lily's Favorite goat.

Llamas: Lizzie, Catherine, SweetHeart, Yosef, Phantom, and Winston

Catherine

Yosef and his mom SweetHeart in the background

Winston

Sorry there are not pictures of all of my precious animals I will try to find pictures of the ones that are missing and post them. Not pictured are as follows: Fred, Lizzie, SweetHeart, Rossie, and Phantom. 

What I am Thankful for Day 6

Today I am thankful for life long friends. These individuals have been by my side for quite a while some since we were in elementary school and some for just a few years. These are the people that I can go to with anything and everything and I know that they will not judge or criticize me. They have seen me at my weakest points and have been there with open arms. They have offered me their shoulders to cry on and have just listened to what I needed to say and get off my chest. They have been the strong ones when I was down and have helped me though so many dark days. They have helped me thorough quite a bit actually. They know all about my quirks and everything that sets me off but they have still hung around. They know the things I love and the things I hate. They have been the ones I have shared many good laughs with and many talks with. These 3 people probably know more about me than any other person on this earth. They have been sworn to secrecy and know that if they ever spill about me I have just as much on them. I love these 3 individuals so much and I am so blessed to have met them. Granted we all live in different towns and don''t get to see each other often nothing has changed and our friend ship is just as strong as it always has been. That is something that I love about them, we don't have to be together every waking minute of our lives or see or hear from each other often but when we are together it is like we never left we just pick back up from where we left off. Many people have come in and out of my life but they have always been there for me and I look forward to where our lives will continue to lead us.

Sarah and I go all the way back to the good ole days of elementary school. We met in the 5th grade on the play ground at recess and we have been going string ever sense. The two of us together are a crazy mix. We are the most random people ever and always have a great time together. Sarah is the creative one out of the two of us. She has had my back since the day we met. Sarah goes to Gardner Webb so we don't get to see each other as often as we like but man do I love this girl. She knows everything about me and could probably write a book about my life. She has been there with me through everything. She knows all of my pet peeves, everything that I love, hate, what sets me off etc. She knows all my quirks but that hasn't scared her away yet. I love having her as my friend and love that even tough we don't see each other much when we are together it is like nothing has ever changed.

Collin and I met our freshman year of high school in none other than world history! Collin is literally like my brother. Him, Sarah, and I are a dangerous mix. He is that guy friend that I can just go and talk with and he will listen to what ever it is that I have to say. He has been with me through some bad and good days and has hung around. He like Sarah knows so much about me but has chose to hang around. He is one of the biggest goof balls I have ever met and can make me laugh very easily.

Ashton and I did not meet until I was a Sophomore in High School and I probably scared the crap out of her when I met her! Our youngest brothers our both from the same orphanage in China and our families traveled together to adopt Jacob and Andrew. We actually did not meet face to face until January 20th 2010 and we hit it off very quickly. We spent 3 weeks together in China but by the time we left it was if we had known each other for forever. She shares my love of China and orphans and together we run SWW. She is that girl that I could call and she would help me bury a body or dispose of any evidence of anything. She is the person I can call about anything and everything and she will just listen. We are very close and our friendship has only grown since those few weeks in China. 

What I am Thankful for Day 5

Today I am thankful for the Miracle of Adoption. Four years ago today my family left for the biggest journey of our life, and 3 short days later we would meet the little girl of our dreams and our family would be one step closer to being complete. Adoption has been the best decision our family has ever made. I have the world's best and cutest siblings anyone could ever ask for and I love them with all my heart. The adoption of my siblings was the best decision my parents could have every made and granted it wasn't always rainbow and heart it has been worth it. Seeing these precious faces everyday makes it worth every challenged we have faced and may face in the future.

I love you two and I am so thankful to be your big sister! 

Below our the children that were adopted on our adoption trip for Jacob.

All of the children adopted in Jacob's Travel Group Jan 2010

Jacob's Travel group! All of these families have been blessed by adoption! During our trip 7 children were united with their forever families and orphans no more!

Raising for Vonnie

As many of my followers know I along with my friend Ashton and our SWW team are the Angel Tree Warrior for precious Vonnie who is listed on Reece's Rainbow. Our goal between now and New Years Eve December 31st is to raise $1000 dollars for her grant fund which would help a lucky family bring her home. In order to do so we will be holding a drawing that will have 3 prizes. In order to be entered into this drawing you would need to donate 10 dollars for one chance to win, $20 for two chances or 40 dollars for 5 chances to her grant fund. You can also get another entry into this drawing for sharing about sweet Vonnie on your blog or facebook with a link back to this blog post or the blog post on SWW. Note: Please send us the link to the post so we can check and make sure everyone is playing by the rules. If you post on facebook make sure the post is public so we can view it.

The prizes include:

1st prize: A complete blog maker over all inclusive with header, background, side pictures, button, and tabs valued at over 100 dollars

2nd Place: A blog maker over with a new background and header Valued at approx. 45 dollars

3rd prize: An original facebook cover page photo of your liking with up to 4 pictures and 120 characters. Valued at 15 dollars

Disclaimer: All prizes have been donated so no money would go to help pay for the prizes.

If you donate to Vonnie's grant fund please email us at Stillwewait@aol.com We would need your name and the number of chances you donated for. We will check with Reece's Rainbow and Vonnie's grant fund to make sure everyone is playing by the rules. The winners will be announced  January 1st by 1pm in the afternoon. The raffle will end at 11:55 pm on December 31st. We will contact the winners via email and post them on the blogs as well. We thank you in advance for helping us raise money for Vonnie. To donate to her grant fund please go HERE and click on the donate button below her picture on her RR page. After you donate email us and we will enter your name for the drawing.

All of the money donated would go to help a lucky family bring home this cutie right here.

Vonnie was born with Down Syndrome and a few heart defects which may have corrected themselves or she may need surgery on them upon returning home. Vonnie will be turning four sometime this month and is waiting in an Asian country for her forever family!

What I am Thankful for Day 4

Today I am thankful for my friends. The people that I have met since coming to college are simply awesome. I love them all so much and owe much of my sanity to them. They keep me in line and we always have a great time when we are together. I have met the best group of individuals since I have been away from home.

Sam: Sam and I met my freshmen year at the kick off for the different churches here and been. We hit it off from the get go. She is my adorable little Asian friend. Her faith absolutely astounds me and I love how much she loves God.

Lauren: Lauren and I met at the kick off for churches here at ASU as well. Her and Sam were roommates their freshman year. Lauren is probably one of the few people I know who is as obsessed with China as I am. She is gorgeous inside and out and loves Jesus so much. We have so much fun when we are together especially picking on Dubald.

Charlotte: Charlotte was my suitemate my freshman year and I couldn't have hand picked a more perfect person to live with. Like anybody going off to college my biggest fear was would I get along with the people I would be living with... Well when I met this one it was like we had been friends for years and we kicked off a wonderful friendship from the start. We do not live together this year but we are still very close and I love her dearly. She helped me survive my first year away from home. I have so many nicknames for her (Frenchie, Dubald, and others that I won't post). Dubald is nothing short of AMAZING. She speaks 3 languages fluently. She has been all over the world and love little kids just like me. 

Madison: Madison and I did not really get to know each other until second semester freshman year when we ended up in our Watauga class together. Madison is a wonderful person and the biggest over achiever I have ever met. 

Catherine: I cannot tell you exactly how Catherine and I met because quite frankly I do not remember. But I can say that I am thankful to have met her. She is the funniest person and can always make me laugh with what she has to say. She is so random and that is what I love about her.

Claire: Oh how I miss her!! Claire and I were roommates my freshman year. I couldn't have picked a better roommate for my freshman year. Claire is from China and Xi'an of all places. She kept me laughing last year so much and I learned a ton from her. I can say even though we never had Chinese lessons my Chinese improved because of her. I miss Claire tons and even though she isn't here we still skype fairly regular and I plan on visiting her on my next trip to China.

Dwight: What to say what to day... Dwight was my RA freshman year and we quickly became great friends. Dwight is like my older brother and he is a great person to just talk to when you need to talk. He is always willing to listen to whatever anyone needs to say and will offer advice if you need it. The funny thing about Dwight is he is from my home town so he understands all of my UC jokes.

There are so many more amazing people I have met but these people right here are some of my best friends and I love them all dearly! Of course my roommates make the list of some of my best friends and I blogged about them yesterday please go back a post to read all about Yesenia, Megan, and Courtney!

What I am Thankful for Day 3

Well what would a girl be without her AMAZING roommates! My roommates are absolutely wonderful and I love them dearly. I could not have asked to room with a better group of girls. These 3 keep me in line and thank goodness because someone needs to. We all get along great. I love the late night talks we have about anything and everything and all the good giggles we have. We laugh all the time and I love it, some nights I go to bed with my stomach and abs aching. We are a crazy bunch sometimes. These girls have quickly become some of the best friends I could ever have. They are each some of the most beautiful and wonderful people

Courtney: Oh how I love her, she gets the pleasure of living in the same room with me. I love rooming with her. She probably has the toughest job since she has to live with me :). We are so alike in some areas it is not even funny. I love living with her and we get along wonderfully. My hair always looks great too since she is awesome at doing it. All the pictures of my hair curly or up in some fancy way I owe it all to her! Court is the craftiest out of all of us and can make just about anything. I owe it to her for all my cute little nick knacks. Thanks for putting up with me Court and not kicking me out!! 

Megan: Megan is the sweetest out of all of us. I do not know of anyone who could ever say anything bad about this girl if they could I would hurt them though. Megan is probably the sweetest person I have ever met in my entire life. She will go out of her way to make anything better for anyone and that is what I love about her. However, she does have her feisty side and knows how to keep us all laughing. 

Yesenia: This one right here could keep me laughing for days. She can put a smile on your face no matter how down you are. She also has an awesome talent for finding the funniest videos online. Yesenia is always on the go and nothing slows her down. She is the one along with Megan who keeps me in on the know and a lot of the reason why I can do school and maintain a social life. She is the social butterfly out of all of us along with Megan. I have met so many people because of her.