Twins! The long journey to China for our babies.

2010-04-28T16:29:00.002-05:00

2010-03-26T13:21:00.002-05:00

Farm Day at Landmark Park Faith loved the cotton candy. Hope took one bite and her hands got sticky, so she was done!

Sheering a sheep the old fashion way

It was a great first day of spring

2010-02-16T12:56:00.005-06:00

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY EVERYONE!

Mardi Gras Parade Panama City Beach 2010I think they got the hang of it!
Standing on our balcony as the parade floats set up in the background.
We just had to walk a short distance to wait for the parade to begin.. YEA
Patting myself on the back for this one, since I am the one that made the reservations....

Faith with her HOT DADDY ☺ He's got the baldness going on!!!
(He will love me for this one)

The girl's had a blast, they got LOTS of beads and much.... much.... more! The girl's necks had to be sore after this, they just kept on throwing them to the girl's and always made sure if they threw one they would send another for the other. I am pretty sure the girl's had the most beads thrown to them at the parade... at least this early in the evening.. lol

FAITH

HOPE

We all really had a great time at Panama City Beach. It's so nice to be so close to such great beaches, even if we didn't go down to the water. We stayed 3 nights at the condo, took the girl's swimming in the heated pool and ate great food.

GREAT FAMILY TIME!!

THANKS HONEY FOR PAYING THE WAY

2010-01-03T23:46:00.002-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year in Texas. In fact it was a white Christmas, which was very special. We made a slight 2 day detour to New Orleans on our way to Texas, and sure want to return there soon (maybe without the girls....) :) Hope everyone has a great NEW YEAR!

2009-11-08T21:35:00.003-06:00

National Peanut Festival and Parade
2009

2009-10-10T17:00:00.004-05:00

Happy "Gotcha Day" Hope and Faith!

It's hard to believe we are celebrating the third anniversary of that wonderful day when two special little twin girls came into our lives and made us all smile again -- we are so very blessed.

Happy Gotcha/Family Day to all of our group!

Taking a look back ----

This will always be one of Mimi's very favorite pictures --- what a wonderful feeling it was to see such a look of happiness and joy on my daughter and son-in-law's faces when they saw the girls for the first time ---

Some Then and Now pictures for you to enjoy, it's amazing to see how much they have grown -

Such scared little girls that day -

~Lindsey Family on 10/10/2007~

~Lindsey Family on 10/10/2008~

~Lindsey Family today (10/10/2009)~

~2006~

~2007~

~2008~

~2009~

~2006~

~2007~

~2008~

~2009~

Click here to revisit the of post of Gotcha Day.

2009-08-28T11:20:00.012-05:00

If ONLY ................. ( a Mimi post)

Tara said it "best" but since I'm the Mimi and have been thinking about this day all week (and forever), I must also add this post ..... I can't tell you why except that it somehow feels like I'm able to speak to these precious grandchildren I've (WE'VE) lost five years ago today .......

What IF .....

What would they be like, what would they look like, what would they be doing?

Rachel -

Rachel would be 15 .... 15 years old! I know she would be such a beautiful teenager -- would she be getting ready to cheer at the first football game of the season? Would she still be showing lambs? (I really think so) Would she have a boyfriend (or two)? Have experienced her first kiss? Been to her first dance? I can almost see her now, so grown up and looking forward to a great year in high school .... HIGH school!

Madelyn -

Madelyn would be 11 ..... She would be in 5th grade, the grade Rachel was in when they left us. I can see her now, with that red hair and twinkle in her eyes --- she would be enchanting everyone as she always did. Would she be showing pigs (her choice) or lambs? I'm thinking that in Heaven she can show those dragons she always told me she wanted to show ... when she was old enough ... a time that never came.

Yates -

Yates would be 5 ..... Just starting Kindergarten! I think about Neeley starting Kindergarten this year and smile through my tears thinking about how excited he would have been! Would he be playing T-ball or flag football or soccer? Would he be thinking of ways to convince Dad that steers were what HE would want to show when he got a 'little older'? Just a little guy when he left us, it's the most difficult for me to imagine what he would be like as we knew him for such a short time.

I KNOW they are in a better place, a place where there's always sunshine and rainbows and always joy and happiness and they are having a wonderful time with their Papaw and their GDad but that doesn't make us miss them any less.

If only............

PLEASE Don't Drink and Drive! Please don't cause another family to live through what we do!

and so it goes ---

and BECAUSE ---

because of this terrible tragedy, the sun shines through those tears as three years to this very day a wonderful phone call was made to the Mom and Dad --- to tell them there were two little girls -- twins -- waiting half a world away for them ...

Our Hope and Faith - our sunshine ............

and what Hope and Faith they have given us! What beautiful and dear little girls they've grown into.

I like to think that during that 3 plus months after we lost Rachel, Madelyn, and Yates and before Hope and Faith were born, there was a time in Heaven when they knew each other and three beautiful children helped in sending down from Heaven two beautiful little Chinese twin girls to help fill our lives with such love and sunshine!

I know it isn't our place to question so I'll just have Faith that it was part of His plan and Hope that the sun keeps shining through our tears.

I feel so blessed to have 10 wonderful grandchildren ---

the Mimi

2009-08-28T10:58:00.004-05:00

Five Year's Today

It's five years today that our children were taken from us by a drunk driver. Some days it seems like it was just yesterday and other days it feels like a life time ago. I can only imagine what they would look like today. Beautiful and handsome, I'm sure! The twin's have to be so confused about it all, they know they have 2 sisters and a brother and that they live with God, but just the other day Hope brought me a notebook that was Rachel’s that she had wrote in and asked me who's was it, when I told her it was Rachel's she wanted to know why she left it here. One day they will understand, but in their little minds, being with God is just another place you live, and they are so right... we will see them again when it's our time to go. PLEASE, DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK, because this is what happens to innocent people. Give your children a hug and kiss today, and tell them you love them!!!!!

2009-06-19T17:02:00.000-05:00

2009-06-02T13:43:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Sydnee on your graduation!

We are so proud of you!!!!!!!!

We sure wish we could have been there to see it, it sounds like you got a few scholarships, way to go. It pays off to study hard, and stay focused!

Lauren Congratulations TONIGHT on your graduation

We are so proud of you, we wish we could be there as well. I hope Karen is cooking a good meal for you, with peach cobbler for dessert.... Because that's what I would want.

Best of luck for you both in your future, stay safe, make wise choices, and keep God close.

2009-05-26T13:02:00.002-05:00

Chinese Adoption Reunion

We went to the adoption reunion, and were able to see one of the families we traveled with to China, most of our group lives in California or Florida so we do not get to see them much. The reunion was around Orlando, if only the girls new how close they were to Cinderella's Castle. We actually were going to go to Disney, but did not want to tell the girls until we made our mind up when we got there since it was during a Holiday weekend, and we were not sure how things were going to go. We are so glad we didn't say anything because Florida was getting flooded, and it was raining on us the whole time we were there. So we will just have to go back soon to see Cinderella!

We did tell the girls we were going to see some Chinese girls before we left for Florida and they said " Were going to China" no in Florida. When we were there they asked me if there were Chinese boys in China, yes girls. I even showed them a Chinese boy.

2009-05-16T13:24:00.003-05:00

Dance Recital

Hope refused to be in this picture, she was not happy about getting a rose, she wanted a gift not a flower! Well I guess I can't make them both happy all the time.

They did a really good job, I was so afraid that once they saw the people watching them that they would just stop and not dance, but they didn't.

They were extremely beautiful, I must say.

2009-05-04T16:21:00.002-05:00

Walk Like MADD

We would like to thank all our friends and family who donated to our walk, it means so much to us to have you support us in keeping our family as well as yours safe. I am so happy to say that we raised around $ 4800.00 for MADD. We were the TOP Friends and Family Team ( our Church ), and Dirk was the TOP Walker!!!!! For the Montgomery, Alabama MADD Walk

2009-04-27T08:16:00.001-05:00

Official Strawberry Pickers

The girls had a field trip at their school Friday, and they got to go to the strawberry patch. They were so excited about this that I didn't even have a problem putting them to bed the night before. I did however have to convince them that it was okay to grab the strawberries, because they do not like to get their hands dirty. They had a great time and enjoyed eating them, as did I.

2009-04-22T18:56:00.002-05:00

The Miss America Pageant at Our HouseYes, it's the wave!
The walk!

and No I am not entering them in any pageants!

at least until they are older, when they really understand what it's all about, and it's their choice, not mine, and they know that you can't always win, and with twins there will aways be one that doesn't.

Oh the challenges that lie ahead!

2009-04-14T19:18:00.002-05:00

Took some pictures of the girls last weekend when we went to the beach, but the sun was not in our favor and the beach was very crowded. We had not planned on taking pictures on the beach, I really wanted some on the dunes, but they had these signs up that said please stay off the dunes, so well we stayed off the dunes! So these were all that even made the cut at all.

2009-04-11T22:51:00.002-05:00

Happy EasterThe hunt is on....

Finally a picture with the Easter Bunny (without tears)! He must have been a very special bunny!!!!!

2009-04-06T07:47:00.002-05:00

Habitat for humanity had a carnival at the Boys and Girls Club here in town and Dirk had to pass out information for MADD ( Mothers against drunk driving). So the girls got to enjoy the carnival, they started playing some music ( Sweet Home Alabama) and Hope was out on the floor dancing, as if there was no one watching. She won't even do this at DANCE CLASS! I guess they are not playing the right kind of music for her! Faith finally joined her as well. The slides were the hit, although I was afraid someone was going to break their neck the way those kids would come flying down that slide all together at times. We had a good time and glad we were able to help in some way, maybe, just maybe we saved one life today!!!!

2009-03-28T14:46:00.003-05:00

It's Not A Sunny Day, as Hope would say. In fact its flooding!

This is pictures of our house, and while we are playing in the rain our neighbors down the street are putting out sand bags to keep it from coming into their house, but we did not know it was that bad down the street until later. We did offer to help after finding this out. No more playing! I am hoping the rain will stop for awhile so that there will be no more flooding.

2009-03-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

2009-03-22T19:43:00.003-05:00

Spring Break

We went to Destin for Spring break with Aunt Chell and Uncle Shane and the cousins Cody, Tanner and Bailey. The girl's had a great time with them. Poor Bailey didn't get much time to herself, because the girls shared a room with her. The twins enjoyed crabbing, we caught a lot, just outside of the condo. The dolphin's were the best, they swam right next to the boat and stayed around for a long time. We hope everyone had a good time so they will come back next year to see us!!!!!!

2009-03-09T08:59:00.002-05:00

Trampoline Play

It was a beautiful day yesterday so the girls enjoyed playing on the trampoline after church.

2009-03-06T15:36:00.005-06:00

Click here to support our walk with MADD :

http://support.madd.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=2481&px=2467904

any amount will help!

Please if you can help us try to reach our goal to raise, for a cause so dear to our hearts. The walk will be May 2 at the Montgomery ZOO, so help us WALK Like MADD and raise the money to support mothers against drunk drivers keep the impaired drivers off our streets.

What am I doing?
I am walking to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in saving lives on our nations streets and highways. Please help me reach my fundraising goal by making a donation now.
What does MADD do?
MADD works in more than 600 communities across the country, and has more than 1,400 trained victim advocates on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support victims with comfort or legal assistance they can rely on.
Finding a cure...
Unlike most others, our cause doesn't need a cure; it already exists-it's you and me, our friends, our neighbors. It's all of us choosing to drive sober or designating a driver if we drink alcohol.

2009-03-05T11:10:00.002-06:00

Saturday Morning Cartoons!!!

As you can see things around here have not changed much, girls are still running around half dressed, at least they have a shirt on, even if it was from the day before, I guess I will not get MOTHER OF THE YEAR AWARD! I walked in the livingroom to find Hope sitting in the laundry basket, when I asked her what she was doing she just said watching cartoons, as if there was nothing strang about sitting it that basket. Faith on the other hand wanted no part of the picture taking, so sorry if the picture is not good, she refused to stay still so I could take her picture.

2009-03-02T14:47:00.002-06:00

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party

at school so the girls got to dress like a Dr. Seuss character, so we did Thing 1 and Thing 2, how appropriate! I made the shirt so it wasn't great, but it made it through the day, so that's all that counts. They looked cute, Dirk asked me how I chose who got to be 1 and who got to be 2 and I said who I dressed first, The one that was done eating breakfast first was the first number. They seem to be fine with that, Faith did say that she could be number 1 next time, and I said that's right.

By the way Faith has been carrying this purse around with her lately!

2009-02-08T14:41:00.002-06:00

A day at the Park

The girls had a birthday party to go to at the park Saturday so we decided to make a day of it and stay later and have a picnic. This is a really nice park with nature trails and farm animals. It was nice to be able to look at the farm animals knowing that we would not have to feed them ( YEA!!!!) They even had twin lambs. They have old buildings at this park, like the picture of the old Church, the girls are ringing the bell, and when we got to our Church this morning, which is an older church the girl's wanted to ring the bell ( It doesn't have the rope that I know of) , but it does have a bell that rings.

This is our house, not the park

2009-02-06T09:13:00.003-06:00

Tammy passed along this little award. Thank you Tammy!

www.enjoyingourjourney.blogspot.com

Now here are the rules for this award:1. Pass it on to 5 fabulous blogs, including the one that gave it to you (and link them) and List 5 of your fabulous addictions..... .Easy enough!

I choose:

landfam.blogspot.com
mygardenhat.blogspot.com
everydaythatiwake.blogspot.com
watchourblessingsgrow.blogspot.com
www.nienieandgoose.blogspot.com
Addictions

1. Family
2. Blogging
3. Friends
4. Coffee
5. Beach

2009-02-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday MimiWe love you and miss you !

2009-01-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

2009-01-28T08:54:00.003-06:00

Chinese New Year

Year of the ox

We celebrated Chinese New Year at Troy University Saturday Night

2009-01-23T09:07:00.001-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

2009-01-18T22:31:00.002-06:00

Faith eating a snickers bar, these girls amaze me how they can keep their clothes so clean even when their hands are covered in chocolate.

2009-01-13T09:28:00.002-06:00

World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions

We took the girl's to see these horses last weekend and they really enjoyed them, they called them the dancing horses. It was really amazing what these horses can do. The pictures are not great, but here are some, for some reason I had two four year old climbing all over me while I was trying to take pictures.

2009-01-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

2009-01-07T08:58:00.003-06:00

This first picture is of the girls stopping at the doorway Christmas morning looking both ways making sure that Santa has LEFT THE HOUSE, they were very excited about him coming, but wanted to make darn sure he would not be there in the morning when they woke up.

2008-12-22T21:44:00.002-06:00

Christmas Movies

The girl's are really into Christmas this year, I think they have watched every Christmas movie on television in the last 2 weeks. Talking a lot about Baby Jesus, Santa, and what they want for Christmas which is pretty much Princess anything. I am so excited to see how they react Christmas morning, Mom get ready Dirk says were baking cookies for Santa at your house Christmas Eve.

2008-12-22T15:24:00.002-06:00

The Lindsey's are off to Texas

We would like to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and for safe travels, also we ask that if you are going to drink this holiday if you would please do it responsibly. Too many lives are cut short during this time of the year.
It can happen to you, and it will eventually if you don't make the right decisions before you go out to socialize.

Please Do Not Drive Drunk!

2008-12-19T21:49:00.002-06:00

School Christmas Party

The girl's enjoyed their party, I think Faith liked her cupcake the most. Hope got a sticker book and Faith got a play school house, they spent and hour playing with them at the dinner table when we got home. They made a beautiful cross to hang on the Christmas tree.

2008-12-19T21:32:00.002-06:00

The Christmas Program

The girl's had a Christmas program at school, and they were angels
( How Fitting). The girls usually cry when we show up to any school functions, because they are afraid we are going to leave them there, so this time we tried to hide behind the people in the audience so the girls didn't ruin the whole program. It worked they did great. You could really hear Faith sing.

2008-12-17T08:42:00.002-06:00

One of my friends I went to high school with has just moved to Shanghai China with her Husband and two little girls, you will have to follow her blog as she lives this adventure. I am jealous I would love to have this opportunity. The blog is also under my blog list:
http://landfam.blogspot.com

2008-12-10T14:25:00.002-06:00

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Seminole today.
Please give your children a hug and kiss today and tell them you love them.

2008-12-08T15:56:00.002-06:00

Christmas Party

We were invited to a Christmas party with a group of local adopted Chinese children. It was a lot of fun. We went on a hay ride, and met a lot of very nice families. We look forward to the next get together. I just have a few pictures to share , because my camera was messing up.

2008-12-08T15:52:00.001-06:00

The twins Birthday Party

2008-12-03T09:22:00.004-06:00

I can't believe the girl's are already four, they are growing so fast. They are such a blessing to us, and we cherish each day with them. We thank God everyday for sending the perfect girls to us. May all their wishes come true.
The girls had a good birthday, I took cupcakes to their school, so they were able to celebrate the day with their friends. Dirk cooked Chinese food for their birthday dinner. We will have the birthday party Saturday at a pizza place here in town with some of their friends from school and church. I will post pictures of party later.

2008-12-01T21:19:00.002-06:00

Happy 4th Birthday

2008-11-29T20:56:00.005-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent our Thanksgiving at the beach. Booked a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the Boatyard, so no cooking, no cleaning, and no leftovers for us. YEA!!!!! We had a great time.

The first pictures are of the girls before their Thanksgiving program at their school. They of course spent most of their time crying, afraid I was going to leave. They don't do well with crouds.

2008-11-23T08:10:00.004-06:00

This photo was sent to me from one of our friend's, they seem to like Faith's cookie-eating method

Fantasy In Lights at Callaway Gardens

We went with a group from our church to Callaway Gardens in Georgia yesterday to see the Christmas lights. We all had a wonderful time, it is such a neat place to go. The girl's favorite lights were of Tinker Bell, and with the help of a little girl from church we were able to get pictures of them with Santa without tears. The Butterfly Center was neat, the girl's fed the fish in the little pond and a butterfly landed on Faith's head, which I'm not to sure if she liked that much. The girls also got to decorate their own angel cookie, and did a wonderful job.

2008-11-14T09:27:00.004-06:00

Runway Barbie
The girls got to create their own barbie on the computer, and have it come out on the runway at FAO Schwartz. This worked well until Faith saw Hope's Barbie which was dresses like Cinderella. ( Dad helped Hope pick hers out. Shame on mommy, I should have known.) So we had a little fit in the store, until Hope looked at Faith's Barbie and saw it had a purse so Hope was glad to trade with Faith. Thank goodness, Hope is always helping me out.

2008-11-14T09:12:00.002-06:00

Some New York pictures of Central Park in black and white.

2008-11-09T17:35:00.000-06:00

2008-11-07T20:55:00.005-06:00

Here is the website of Robert Maniscalco, the man that did the portrait for us. It is absolutely beautiful.

http://www.maniscalcogallery.com/

Words can not express how thankful we are to have had this experience and to meet these wonderful people. Thank you to all the people at the Today Show, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Jayme Baron, Paulo Szot, David Friedman, and Robert Maniscalco.

The song was amazing, how honored we are to have our very own song to share with the girls as they grow older.

2008-11-07T16:20:00.003-06:00

WSFA Montgomery Alabama News

2008-11-06T11:31:00.005-06:00

Everyone Has Story -----

-------see Tara and Dirk's Story Here-------

Mimi thinks they did great and is very proud :). I'm sure there were folks all over Texas, Alabama, and beyond watching today --- especially those in DeLeon, Seminole, and Dothan who were all very happy to see Tara, Dirk, Hope, and Faith. I can't wait to see the portrait, it looks beautiful, and the song was wonderful!

Update - This is the story from the NBC Today Show website.

By Rina Raphael
TODAY staff
updated 1:20 p.m. CT, Thurs., Nov. 6, 2008

One night in 2004, Tara and Dirk Lindsey decided to go out for a celebratory dinner with their three children, Rachel, 10, Madelyn 6 and baby Yates, 5 weeks old, to commemorate their plans to start a sheep farm in Seminole, Texas. But fate had other plans in store for them: A drunk driver, three times over the legal drinking limit, struck the driver's side of their car, seriously injuring the couple, and killing all three children.

Rushed to the hospital, the couple was in critical condition for a week before comprehending the reality of their situation. “The medical staff did not want us to know [about our children]; they were afraid it would make our condition worse,” Tara, 35, and Dirk, 41 said in an essay sent in for the “Everyone Has a Story” series hosted by TODAY’s Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

When Tara finally woke up, surrounded by friends from her small Texan town, she knew something was terribly wrong. She recalls asking about her children’s whereabouts, and the silence spoke for itself. “It was all so crazy — I couldn't believe it was happening to us,” Tara said. “We weren't doing anything wrong.”

Still fighting for their health, Tara and Dirk couldn't even attend the burial. Instead, Tara’s mom planned her grandchildren’s burials, as her daughter mourned in a medical ward. “We were able to attend the funeral by ambulance and then we were brought back to the hospital,” Tara said.

Adding to their grief, the drunk driver held responsible — who recovered in the same hospital — never apologized to the Lindseys or acknowledged her guilt. “I just really want her to know what she's done to our lives,” Tara said. “You can't get them back.”

The driver received three life sentences and will be up for parole in 27 years. The mangled vehicle from their accident in now is a mobile exhibit for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and travels around Texas sharing the Lindsey's tragic story.

Despite their painful loss, the Lindseys knew they had a great deal of love they still wanted to give. They wanted a future with children, and weren’t afraid to rebuild their family. “We couldn't imagine life without [children],” Tara said, who pursued adoption since she had her tubes tied after the birth of her son.

Exactly two years after the accident, they received a phonecall: their adoption agency had approved their request, and they would soon be parents of twin Chinese girls. “We went from a horrible day to a happy day,” Tara said of the anniversary. “In our hearts, we know what the day is but we try not to acknowledge the day in order for us to get through it.”

“It was our faith and hope in God that we would survive this tragedy,” she said of her ability to move past the accident. “So we named the girls Hope and Faith.”

Today, caring for their beautiful children, the Lindseys understand their new family can never replace their previous one, but they are thankful for a new chance and are trying to provide their girls with a normal, happy childhood. Photos of Rachel, Madelyn and Yates line the walls of their home, but they are careful not to overwhelm Hope and Faith with the family’s past.

“We don't want them to feel like they are in the shadow but we will never forget our birth children,” Tara. “We will always have that pain in our hearts, but you can live after a tragedy.”

When questioned about how many children they have, the couple answers that they have five: three in heaven, two with them on Earth.

After the Lindseys described their ordeal, singer Brazilian singer Paulo Szot of Broadway’s “South Pacific” sang an original song titled “Heaven’s Rope,” written by Kathie Lee Gifford and her collaborator, David Friedman. The lyrics represented the couple's remarkable struggle and perseverance:

No one can stop the pain from the loss
That you feel when you're torn apart
All you can do is hold on to
The ragged end of heaven's rope
Clinging with all the strength that you have
With your last bit of faith
Your last bit of hope
Holding on to heaven's rope

The Lindseys were the fifth winners featured in the “Everyone Has a Story” series, which will continue for three more weeks. Like previous participants, the Lindseys were presented with a tailor-made gift: Artist Rob Manascalco gave them a touching family portrait that included Rachel, Madelyn and Yates alongside Hope and Faith. “It was a labor of love,” Manascalco said of the artwork that took him five weeks to complete.

Holding Faith and Hope on the TODAY set, the Lindseys were thankful of the opportunity to share their story with viewers.

“This is our story of thinking life cannot go on, yet God had another plan for us,” Tara said of her strength to move forward. “We thank God everyday for giving us a chance to be a family again.”

2008-11-03T17:43:00.010-06:00

Everyone Has a Story -----

----- and this week's story is Tara's!

A Mimi post.

Everyone Has a Story
by Kathie Lee Gifford and David Friedman

Everyone has a story
Different as night and day
And everyone has their own journey
Some follow their path, some wander away
Everyone has a moment that changes their life and then
Its suddenly clear in that moment that nothing will ever be the same again
Careful the plans we make
Careful the roads we take
Careful the hearts we break along the way
Careful the things embraced
Careful the time we waste
Careful the dreams we taste and toss away
Everyone has a purpose
Different as day and night
And everyone finds their own answers, some blinded by fears some guided by light

Yes everyone has a story
A beginning, a middle, an end
But if there's a god in the heavens above
And if there's such a thing as a thing called love
Then there must be a way for anyone's heart to mend

Careful the chance we take
Careful the choice we make
Careful for heavens sake, the road we take

Everyone has a story

Awhile ago the NBC Today Show announced a contest called "Everyone Has a Story" asking people to "send in their amazing, inspirational stories" and Tara entered. She thought their story was something she wanted to tell and if she won, this would be a way of hopefully reaching people with the message to "Please don't drink and drive" and that when your world seems to be coming apart, with faith and hope you can get through anything. She didn't tell anyone she had entered until the Today Show had contacted her that she was a potential winner. We've waited through four weeks of winners and this was "our" week --- they called Tara this morning to tell her she was the winner this week! Mom, Dad, the the twins are on their way to Birmingham now to catch an early flight tomorrow morning to NYC. They will appear on Thursday's show (11/6) --- the last hour of the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee so be sure and watch!

While Tara and Dirk have visited NYC several times, this will be the twins' first trip. They have their little American Girl Bitty Babies and are hoping Mom and Dad will take them to the American Girl Place. They won't have a lot of time to site see but will have Wednesday to spend and will hopefully get a chance to see some of the sights. Mimi is wishing she was along --- I do so miss NYC and would love to be able to spend this time with them.

2008-11-01T15:36:00.009-05:00

Festival

We took the girls to the festival today, and they enjoyed it a lot. Their favorite ride was the race cars. They went around a track but when they got to the curve it would swing them around real fast, and they would LAUGH and smile so big.

My favorite was the fried snickers, I of course had to try the fried Twinkies too, but its not as good. I was hoping the girls would help me eat them, but they didn't care too much for them so I ate them both!!!

2008-11-01T15:33:00.003-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T19:17:00.007-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

We took the girls trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, and Hope would say " GO HOME" and Faith would say " NO HOME", so we went to a few houses then went home. I think Hope enjoyed answering the door for the trick-or- treaters. I think they are finally getting the hang of it, now they open their bags real big and stare at them, then turn away. Maybe next year they will say trick-or- treat!

2008-10-28T18:47:00.001-05:00

2008-10-28T17:36:00.002-05:00

Dirks mom sent me roses for my birthday, so the girls enjoyed their photo shoot with them. ( Anyway to bribe them )

2008-10-26T15:24:00.005-05:00

Fall Pics

2008-10-19T18:38:00.003-05:00

TRUNK R TREAT

We had trunk r treat at our Church, and as you can tell we decorated our trunk in chinese decor and we all had our chinese outfits on. The girls had a great time, but are still not sure about the trick or treating yet. The girls won a trophy for their costumes. I didn't really have to do alot to make them look like chinese girls (lol).

2008-10-16T20:40:00.004-05:00

Here is Hope putting a 100 piece puzzle together.

My camera is broke, so I will not be posting any pictures until I get another one. SORRY

2008-10-15T15:22:00.001-05:00

HAPPY

HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

Happy "Gotcha Day" Hope and Faith!

And here it is again, the second anniversary of that wonderful day when those two adorable little twin girls came into our lives and made us all smile again -- can you believe it's been two years? We really are so very blessed.

Happy Gotcha/Family Day to all of our group!

Taking a look back ----

This will always be one of Mimi's very favorite pictures --- I can't begin explain what a wonderful feeling it was to see such a look of happiness and joy on my daughter and son-in-law's faces when they saw the girls for the first time ---

Some Then and Now pictures for you to enjoy -

Such scared little girls that day -

What a happy Lindsey Family on 10/10/2007

Happy Lindsey Family today (10/10/2008)

~2006~

~2007~

~2008~

~2006~

~2007~

~2008~

~2006~

~2007~

~2008~

Click here to revisit the of post of Gotcha Day.

2008-10-09T19:54:00.047-05:00

"Where Angels Play"

A Mimi Post -

Last April when the Mom, Dad, and twins were visiting in DeLeon for Cousin Cody's High School Graduation, the DeLeon Methodist Church had a special dedication service to dedicate a playground the members have lovingly built in memory of Rachel, Madelyn, and Yates and of Bruce Mix. Bruce was a great gentleman and member of the church who especially loved children.

The playground is located just behind the church and is a wonderful place for children to come and play.

Hope and Mom at the dedication --

and Dad and Faith

Lindsey family and church friends --

and Bruce Mix family and church friends

The playground ---

Mimi thought what better way to celebrate this dedication in memory of their big sisters and brother than for Hope and Faith to play along with those angels so here are some pictures of the girls having a great time!

2008-10-03T15:56:00.002-05:00

The Table is SetI came into the dining room and found it all set, and if you can see in the chairs they have placed some barbies in them to eat.

Such silly girls

2008-09-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-09-14T20:08:00.003-05:00

I bought this video Hope is dancing to when we went to China, the little girls in it are dancing and are about the twins age. They have enjoyed it for awhile now, but yesterday I went upstairs to their room and caught Hope dancing like the girls in the video, she was doing pretty well I thought. She was even singing with them, of course she had no idea what they were saying. Thought you would enjoy as well.
Please excuse the girls messy room I gave up on cleaning it a few months ago, and for my children that refuse to wear clothing in the house.

See Video Below
PS Pause the music down below to get the full effect of this video

2008-09-14T20:06:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-09-11T08:36:00.001-05:00

Remember September 11th

2008-09-08T20:20:00.001-05:00

Before Dance Class

I am not sure how this toy stayed pink, when I turned this pic black and white

2008-09-05T12:58:00.003-05:00

This is the girls before schooland this is what it it looks like after school, just as soon as they walk through the door they remove all items right down to the hairbow.

2008-09-05T12:34:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-09-05T11:09:00.004-05:00

Under the dining room table!

8 Barbies
1 Dora
1 Pillow
2 Doll outfits
Barbie house furniture
2 Clips
1 Minnie mouse
2 Little ponies
1 Beanie baby fish

I hope they had a good time!

2008-09-03T22:33:00.002-05:00

Thumbs up Sarah Palin, on a speech well done!

2008-09-03T14:08:00.001-05:00

The Girls First Day of School

2008-08-31T12:59:00.006-05:00

Faith was the Acolyte at Church today, it was her first time and I was praying that she did not burn down the Church today, she did great. Hope will get to do it next week, and she is excited. The girls have really been enjoying Sunday school, and at children's time they run up to the front of the church, after children's time they leave and go to children's church, which is great for us because we get to listen to the sermons now. We all have really enjoyed our church and our Preacher is GREAT, I have learned so much from him. The girls are still so excited about going to school, they wake up and want to know if they are going to go see their friends today, I keep telling them just a few more days. I am so glad that they are excited about starting school, I was a little worried because they have been spending so much time with me at home.

2008-08-29T09:53:00.006-05:00

School Orientation

The girls had school orientation yesterday, which was good because it kept my mind off of what the day was like four years ago. God did however turn this day around to a joyous day 2 years later, He works in mysterious ways. Well I had been telling the girls all day that we were going to go to their school and meet their teachers and meet some of the kids. When they woke up from their nap, Hope said "I'm ready to go see my friends" , I'm not sure what friends she thought she was going to go see. When we got there the teachers all had stickers for the kids to put on their name badge, and a way of getting them to communicate with the teacher. ( Which was a smart way of doing it). The teachers would ask which sticker they wanted, and of course Hope was the first to respond, then she proceeded to pick out which sticker Faith wanted. So the teacher picked up on this and said she would ask Faith first for awhile in class. They had them sitting next to each other in their class, and we discussed that this would be good for a little while, but to separate them later, so that Faith would be able to be her own self. Hope likes to be first at everything, and if she isn't then she gets upset, so we have been trying to teach her that she has to take turns and that its OK that Faith does things first. They got to play at the playground at school, which was good because the girls started interacting with the other kids, so many times they team up together. The girls really liked going to the school, and said they are ready to go back to see their friends. YEA!!!!

The school it doing a cheer clinic, and if you know me, of course I signed them up its from 3-5 on about 8 days and they will get to cheer at 1 Pep rally, and 2 half time shows. AND IT'S ONLY $ 85.00 EACH, the amount of checks I have been writing to this school, I'm surprised the bank hasn't called me to see if something is wrong. O well its for the girls, and almost anything goes, RIGHT DAD!!!!

2008-08-28T07:36:00.004-05:00

August 28 ------

A post from Mimi -

How can one date hold the greatest sorrow and the greatest joy at the same time ----
-- four years ago today three beautiful children lost their lives when a drunk driver crashed into the vehicle they were riding in with their parents.

-- two years ago today two beautiful little twin girls from China were referred to their forever family.

It's a day of tears and smiles for me (and I'm sure for everyone who has lived this experience with us) but certainly one I just can't NOT recognize. It seems I'm destined to spend this date in New York as I find myself there today -- just as I was four years ago and just as I was two years ago ------ so here I am remembering those beautiful children (my grandchildren) and while I know they are in their forever home and smiling down on us today it is with tears in my eyes that I write this post today. They will never be forgotten and their memory brings us joy to have had them in our lives, brief though it was.

-- and I am also smiling through those tears remembering the call from Tara (the Mom) to tell me that they had gotten "the call" that there were two little twin girls waiting for us in China (my grandchildren)---

Give your children (and granchildren) a special hug today.

A day of remembering ----

2008-08-26T14:12:00.002-05:00

The baby doll has a name " Baby Jake " and baby Jake wears headbands and goes to dance class. The girls love their cousin baby Jake, so now every baby we see ( Boy or Girl )is baby Jake, and now the doll. See video below.

2008-08-26T13:32:00.000-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-08-23T10:17:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-08-22T22:22:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-08-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

Beach Vacation

cut short due to

Tropical storm Fay!

( But here are some pics that we got while we were there.)

2008-08-18T16:53:00.000-05:00

Some pictures of the girls cousins Garrett & Colton

2008-08-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-08-14T17:04:00.001-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-08-14T17:03:00.001-05:00

2008-08-14T12:14:00.002-05:00

It's a Picnic

( in the toy closet?)

I found the girls in their toy closet playing picnic, I took a video and you can see it on the right toolbar under youtube

2008-08-12T16:10:00.005-05:00

Our other blog

http://www.threeinnocentliveslost.blogspot.com/

(click on it on the side bar to the right)

2008-08-07T21:40:00.006-05:00

100 Good Wishes Quilts

Here is a photo of Hope & Faith's 100 Good Wishes Quilts:

(Yes 2 Quilts)

Thank you to all who contributed! I know alot of time was spent doing this and keeping it a secret from me. These guilts will always be cherished. The girls have really enjoyed looking at all the different sguares telling us what each is. It means so much to us that our family and friends did this for us.

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!

They turned out very beautiful!

PS MOM I Know you will want to add to this, but you have been so busy lately.

In some parts of Northern China, when a baby is born, family and friends of the child donate fabric scraps from old clothing to the child's mother. She then makes a quilt for the baby from the scraps. It is said that the luck, energy and good wishes of the people who wore these clothes surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. This is the tradition upon which the 100 Good Wishes Quilt is modeled

2008-08-03T13:53:00.003-05:00

Pictures of some of the Cousins

you can click on the images

2008-08-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

2008-08-02T22:26:00.003-05:00

Ready For SchoolThe girls thought it was fun trying on their uniforms, and getting their picture taken, and yes the girls will be wearing the twin outfit, I will do this as long as they will let me. I know my time is limited on this, but as for now the girls will not let me dress them different, not even the hair bows now. They think they must look alike. I am not sure if they will be able to wear the big hair bows to school, but we sure are going to try.

2008-07-29T15:31:00.003-05:00

Hope informed me today that her new kitten is Chinese. I'm always telling the girls that they are Chinese, that they were born in China, so I guess that where she got it. They are very concerned about where the kittens Mommy and Daddy are, I keep telling them I am the Kitty's Mommy now, and they keep looking at me funny. They are doing so good with the kitty.

2008-07-28T23:19:00.003-05:00

My Good Deed for the Day

Today I adopted a kitten at the local Petsmart, the girls and I went there a few days ago to look to see if they had any kittens to adopt, and they did, we played with them awhile and then left. I was not sure if dad was going to go for this or not, but then again when does he have much say over it ( just kidding). I thought about it a few days and decided to go ahead. It's a male 6 weeks old, and a very sweet cat. Hope is really very good with it, Faith on the other hand, not so much. I really hope this one will stay around.

2008-07-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

2008-07-23T06:14:00.003-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday Yates !!!!

2008-07-21T23:53:00.003-05:00

Thought I would put this picture up, this is a picture of me and the girls with their great grandmother who lives in Texas, whom I have always adored.

2008-07-17T07:44:00.002-05:00

The Johnson's were in Panama City Beach for a Peanut meeting, so we were able to go see them. We had a nice time visiting, and the girls were not ready for them to go back to Texas. Her are some pictures of them playing at the house, by the way these girls make great baby sitters.

( IT WAS SOOO NICE !!!!!)