Merry Christmas!
As most have heard we were snowed in for Christmas. Our usual family visits were canceled. It was the first time in Adam's life that he was not with his parents at his grandparents house on Christmas Day. WILD! My Christmases were different every year as both my mom and dad's sides live out of state. We did end up getting to see my mom, step-dad and sis in the afternoon. It was nice to have them be able to get out and all of us exchange gifts with one another. (Will post pics of this along with other family events once they are rescheduled.)

This was also Nehemiah's first Christmas in his forever family. Last year at this time we were packing up to head to Vietnam. We left on December 30 and spent New Years Eve over the ocean.

Avi Joy was up early and ready to open presents! We ate cereal and Jesus' birthday cake for breakfast then waited for the boys to wake up. We gave the kids their one special gift first. Avi Joy got a Cinderella doll.
Then we opened presents from my dad that he sent from Atlanta. The kids loved their new toys, socks and games.
The pack of sunglasses were the day's favorite gift for both kids.
Then we bundled up the kids and headed outside. Our backyard is protected from the wind and we had the best time playing in the snow.
Some areas of the yard were only about a foot or so but other areas were up around 3+ feet.
I was SO proud of Avi Joy... she usually stays away from physical activities (more into crafts and reading) but she played in the snow twice and had a ball. She "swam" across the backyard and actually enjoyed getting stuck in the deep snow.
Nehemiah on the other hand... not so much.
Adam found his corner. He ran across the yard and swandived into this pile of snow. Obviously this kind of snow is rare around here. It was the highlight of my day (along with three more pieces of cake throughout the day).
We also made perfect snow angels!
Our prayer is that God and His angels protect us as we actually try to venture out tomorrow. We have been inside for 3 days now (I have not even changed p.j.'s!) so we are ready for a little fresh air. Not so fresh that we are stuck on the side of the road though!

As our day came to an end we turned off the fire- which had been on all day, opened the last Advent box and read the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 from the Bible. We all love eggnog, so we sipped on that until it was time for bed. Everyone is winding down and I am off to rest from resting. How can too much downtime be exhausting?

Peace On Earth!
The Perryman's

Merry Christmas Eve!

We had all kinds of big plans tonight... heading to church then our annual family CE Party, but because of the weather all things were canceled. Including Christmas Day at the grandparents with family!
Here is our backyard covered in beautiful snow. (Only pretty because I don't have to be out in it!)
We were able to go to the Homan's this week and make cookies. We accidentally left the flour out and the girls went a little crazy! (she got some great pics)
Then all 3 kids went wild with the sprinkles. Thank you HH for having us over and for cleaning up the sprinkles... no doubt you are still finding them around the house.
My favorite shot of the week. I served the kids breakfast, then went back to grab my own... in that time Mr. Cool had put his shades on. KIDS! So funny.
The Advent box is going well. One day left!
Today we baked Jesus a birthday cake. From scratch and OMW is it gooooood!
Since we are in the house all day here are some things we did... Flew both kids...
Love both their total fear/fun faces.
We have a new tradition that the kids open a Christmas Eve gift. It is new p.j.'s. Brother's set has a lion on one and a monkey on the other.
Avi Joy's has cute animals on it with JOY at the bottom and the other set has snowflakes on them. Very appropriate.
Our last project was to paint the kids silhouette's. I have been wanting to do this for a while and there was no better time than now. Gotta love a husband who will go along with all my artsy antics. We took a flashlight into the bathroom, held the kids still and I drew their profile on a sheet of paper. I cut it out, traced it on another piece of paper, then painted it in black.
Avi Joy is on the left and Nehemiah is on the right. Not totally perfect, but a great project for a snowy day that is for sure!
We closed out the evening with Avi Joy's second "real" movie of the holiday season. We have not even watched cartoon movies (just the normal Kai-Lan, Little People, Wiggles, Dora shows) so this has been fun for her. A movie night with pop-corn. We have always been super picky about what and how much t.v. she watches, but in the last week we have really let loose. Her first movie was Elf and now she is watching Night at the Museum with her daddy.


"Who should not revere You, O King of the nations? This is Your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no-one like You." Jeremiah 10:7

The Perryman Family
(Happy to be together, sad to not see our family for Christmas!)

Going to be sent!

We were able to take pictures of the Butter Family last week. Avi Joy asked me yesterday why she only had two cousins. We talked all about it and she said she wished she had more. Then she said, "You know, Alicia has a lot of kids, maybe they can be my cousins..." So Alicia, your four now have some new cousins!
This is my funny of the week...
I sent out Christmas cards and let the kids play with the large sticker that comes on the stamp sheet. The next morning Nehemiah woke up with one on his back. Avi Joy came running in yelling, "Brother is going to be SENT! Where mom, where?"
Our Advent box each night is going great. We tasted and saw that the Lord is good by building a gingerbread house...
SO heart these upclose pics Adam took.
She really loves making crafts and doing projects.
Avi Joy had her first Christmas Pagent at school. It was adorable- enjoy the video!


We were blessed to babysit the Jones boys as they prepare for Africa. Hudson and Joy Joy danced around like a Prince and Princess. Enjoy, yes another video! More on the Jones' in Africa on InternationalBlend.

And- this was a big week- she had her mini-recital at dance. They were Christmas mice. I know at least my family will still watch... enjoy yet another video! : )




Enjoy your week. Looking forward to posting Christmas pictures soon!
"And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
The Perrymans

Getting a staff infection...

OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, and FAMILY PICTURES
ADVENT CALENDAR part ONE and TWO

Well the good kind- not the real staph, but STAFF!
ADOPTION NEWS:
TODAY is the first time our family will be "staffed" with DHS.
This means that all the case workers will have a staff meeting with all the children's case workers. This staffing happens once a month and today is the day!

They will talk about all the children that are up for adoption and review all the homestudies of families who are ready to adopt. [insert us here-yeah]
We are fully ready to adopt and are hoping to be matched with a child.
In reality, this may not be the month when a child who matches our homestudy will be available. [insert- or the child God has for us is not available as of yet- keep waiting...]

Actually, as disheartening as this sounds, DHS states, "you are never guaranteed a match."
We are NOT believing this for our family. We are in prayer and hope that a child will come to our family sooner than later. We did have a moment where we were like, "NEVER??? Well, should we seek other options to build our family??" But that "knowing" that comes from our Lord was still there and we knew we were exactly where we are supposed to be.

We have a few things in our favor. [insert again- HA! Favor could mean to still wait!] We are open to multi-ethnicity and older children. We started out with age 5-6, but now we are open to 5 and up. We will see where this wild ride takes us.

We have pulled out our winter attire as it is now in the 30's everyday. I took a lot of pictures of Avi Joy in her cute hat, she was on a roll: dancing, sticking our her tongue and making many cheese faces. But this seemed to catch her personality the best- she was telling me a fully animated story.
Brothers turn. He likes hats, he could wear them everyday if I let him.
My two artists painting at the kitchen table.
This picture is not doing justice to the cuteness of this tee-shirt. I bought it in NY after my aunt and uncles wedding. It says GI JOE and has an army man in the middle. It just seems so fitting for this little boy.
Olive fingers. Both my kids love olives...
As we walk through this adoption process we have noticed a pattern. All three times we experienced more-than-normal spiritual warfare. You may personally not believe that we live in a world that has a war going on. We do, because we can see it, feel it. We have been praying like crazy for our kiddo. Anytime a child comes from darkness into the light, satan wants to stop it.
Here is a scripture that I love:
"Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies." Psalm 60:11-12
Amen!

The Perryman's

All because two people fell in love...

My grandparents celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary this year!
They had 5 children. (Ummm, within 6 years I might add. Oh, and my grandma was only 24 when she had her 5th!)
Who then had 9 children altogether (grandchildren).
Who then had 4 children and growing (great grand-children).
Our family has walked through losing precious family members... All my great-grandparents, my uncle and cousin are now in heaven praising our Lord. But the losses make us more appreciative of the times we are together.

Seven+ members of our family are deaf. In this picture below we are all doing the I love you sign. Most everyone knows sign language in the family (my hearing aunt is an interpreter for the deaf) and if we don't know it well, we know some home-signs and we just make due with lots of body language, reading lips and writing things down.
My sweet grandparents, Harold and Ruth.
I love this laughing picture. I had just told them to kiss like they made 5 babies and that got them giggling.
My uncle Alan and Aunts, Lynn and Sonja and my mom Angela.
The sis's.
Alan and his wife JoLynne.
Their family.
Their girls, Hannah and Jansen.
Lynn and Bobby.
Their oldest son was not able to make it this year, but here are their two girls. My cousin Misty and her boyfriend Stefan.
My cousin Jamila and her boyfriend Ryan.
They have two peanuts. Trevor, age 2 and Jayke, 8 weeks.
Here is baby Jayke.
My aunt Sonja and her husband Joe.
Their kiddos Joseph and Sarah.
Sarah and her husband Jason.
My mom and step-dad Chet.
My step-brother was with his mom this year, but here is a picture from his 18th birthday party last week. He is very handsome!
Their family.
My step-sister, Emily.
I heart this cute, artsy, tween picture of Em.
Our family.
Us.
All the cousins.
We have cousin look-alikes in the family. My cousin Hannah and I favor so much in our facial features and some in personality as well. (Little lips, nose moves when we talk, love making earrings, all kinds of things!)
ONTO THE FUNNIES AND AMAZINGS...
I asked my grandma on this trip to describe herself in 3 words. She said, "Busy ol' woman." Can you believe that! I think she is young, but I have to agree about the busy. That woman NEVER stops. That was her quote to me a few years ago when I asked how she raised 5 kids so young, she said, "never stop." Seriously before the fork is out of your mouth, it is hand-washed and in the drawer. I chose this picture because one of her children, Sonja, got this gene. They were of course, in the kitchen- cleaning and organizing.
My uncle Alan is AMAZING! Seriously he is the most awesome artist and sculptor. I always say he is like my grandma (who taught art for 35 years) my mom (graphic artist) and I (fine arts degree) rolled into one person... times a million!!!
Here is a recent sculpture he did in bronze of a woman lying on a table. Even the table is sculpted people. I had my cousin Jansen cover her goodies. I do LOVE a beautiful nude sculpture. We are all amazed by his work.
Here are a few of his things. Alan Gibson Art.
Our family was going for a morning walk. Well, it was very cold so I asked my grandma if she had a scarf I would borrow. She comes out with these two rayon head scarfs. This is SO my grandma. She is always wearing these. I meant a real neck scarf of course and proceeded to laugh at her. She quickly corrected me by saying, "These scarfs are all the rage. Jackie O wore them with big glasses and she is timeless. I would never put a wool neck scarf around me." Well I stand corrected! My mom and I acting Grandma Ruthish.
THERE IS ALL IS! WHEW!

I cannot believe in the old saying, "Blood is thicker than water," because my family is built through adoption. Rather I would like to think that a family is a group of people that He alone united so we can do life together. The good, bad, sorrow and joy- people in your world you are to love like Jesus loved. You know He is the blood that is thicker than water...
Here are some good family quotes I found:

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~Dan Wilcox

Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie - not perfect but who's complaining? ~Robert Brault

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt

The Perryman Family