The Adventures of the RamFam

Small Beginnings

2012-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

Years ago now..16 to be exact...B was preparing to come on staff at his home church in Valrico, Florida. He would spend his days working on everything from leading worship...to small groups...to outreach. The position was a big deal for 2 very young, newly married, Bible School Students and this church in particular was a place we really wanted to be...under a Pastor we had a great deal of admiration for.

Elizabeth Joy had recently ~~rocked~~ entered our world and although I was passionate (and busy) with both motherhood and ministry, I still felt led to pray for my own niche - which I hoped would fall outside the realm of baby diapers and church.

Having been a Performance Music Major, my mother-in-law gave me the family piano and I tossed around the idea of teaching. My across-the-street neighbor was a sweet, kindly music teacher with more than 20 years experience and on occassion we'd find ourselves chatting about the subject.

I remember clearly the day I decided that I would begin teaching piano lessons. I said to B, "Well, if I'm going to do this, I need to advertise. God's not just going to drop students in my lap." About an hour later, my neighbor knocked on our back door (those are still in use in the South) and said, "Here is the name and number of a mom who would like piano lessons. I can't take anymore students in my schedule so, I thought of you. Infact, why don't I recommend you to people who call me from now on." I guess God can do whatever He wants to do.

Thus began a little cottage industry where I would teach music while Elizabeth Joy played on a baby blanket on the floor and B was out saving the world (so to speak).

Over the years, I continued to teach private music lessons while expanding my abilities -- teaching classroom music in schools of all types and becoming a liscensed Kindermusik Educator.

16 years in and I'm ready to take on the expanded role of mentor and encourager to young teachers, just like me, looking to make the world a better place and instill a love of music in young students in Colorado Springs.

This coming year, my studio, Creative Music Concepts will be expanding to offer private lessons in more than one location in our city. We will once again be offering Kindermusik classes to children and their parents/caregivers ages 3 months - 5 years old. We've hired teachers, wonderful musicians in their own right, and the kind of young people you really want your kids to be around.

Now, will you help us by spreading the word? You and your friends can "like" us on Facebook by searching Creative Music Concepts. Also, feel free to pass along our information should you come across anyone needing private piano lessons or might be interested in Kindermusik classes.

We are grateful for the rich place God has brought us too, in our family, in ministry and in business. We look forward to the next 16 years and living life well with many of you.

Blessings,
Shanna and Billy Ramsdell 719-290-2449

Excessive Parental Boasting

2012-01-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

Warning...this blog is filled to the brim with sheer and utter "braggy"ness...if you have a problem with excessive parental boasting...please stop now....

Tonight, Elizabeth is helping to lead the charge at the DSM prayer meeting. She knows prayer is a valuable way to spend her time. She is beautiful and wonderful and I can hardly believe she belongs to me. Actually, she belongs to God and I've always known that. Consecrated. Set apart. And the fact that God loaned her to me is a sign of His goodness. These days our home is filled with talk of College, Cars, Jobs, Future, Future, Future...and I'm gonna miss her like crazy when I don't get to see her everyday.

Hosanna is praying too. She's also kicking academic butt in one of the best schools in the nation! From the moment God put the very thought of her in my mind, I knew she would be someone special. She's beautiful and wonderful and tonight before DSM -- she paused her busy schedule to cook dinner for the family. I love her willingness to serve and the fact that she's just as comfortable behind the scenes as she is on stage. I think she's pretty amazing.

Benjamin is working hard to please his parents -- and admittedly we are sometimes hard to please. He claims he'll go to cotillion if I want him too, although he thinks fancy manners are useless. I'm convinced he's growing in wisdom -- allbeit S.L.O.W.L.Y. I think he is destined to follow in his father's footsteps...to defend the fatherless...to love his family like crazy...to be kind...intense...and care about the things God cares about. I'm crazy about him really.

Victoria is sitting at the piano. She's playing...singing... worshiping. Her favorite past times. I love that I only taught her to play a chord chart 5 minutes ago. I love the way she loves...how she gives her whole heart to something. I love that she is sensitive to words -- and she knows for her this is a good thing -- and a hard thing. Victory comes easily for her...and she is our sunshine on a cloudy day.

Eli is whining. It's annoying really. Regardless -- these past 2 years he's proved himself brave...and he's becoming filled with true joy. Amazing. I love him to death.

So there ya have it. The RamFam clan at it's finest...at least for today. Great days don't happen all the time. At least they don't for the 7 of us. This day in fact began with grumpiness (I didn't sleep well)...and boredom (I didn't want to do the list of things I H.A.D. to do...much less those things that keep our household functioning...like dishes and laundry). But, my friend Valerie likes to encourage people to choose the color of their day. Gray? No. I'm not really a gray girl. How's about RED...or ORANGE AND PINK or GREEN AND BLUE! Even if I liked Gray...I'd want something Red hanging on the wall in front of it. So...looking through THAT lens...we ended up with a GREAT day. And, I'm so thankful.

Blessings and more blessings to you and yours!

Shanna

Great weekends are much appreciated

2012-01-08T21:37:00.001-08:00

We had a great weekend. It started with an email response from an old friend. You see, I am "somewhat organized". This leaves plenty of room for "somewhat disorganized". I like my kitchen counters cleared off, for instance, but if you open my "junk drawer" -- well lets just say it looks like a good old fashioned junk drawer. IAM JUST FINE WITH THIS.

Still, I sent one of my oldest and best friends, Ginny Thomas, a long email (it probably took her 4 hours to read) lamenting my need to re-organize virtually every area of my large life. She graciously responded with the kind of response only someone who really knows you can give...Shanna, you know what needs to be done...you just need to actually DO what needs to be done. Yes.

It takes a long time to become "old friends". It's worth it.

Billy and I have decided to make 2012 "our year". Ya know it goes like this, "No, we are not taking the 5 of you. Only me and dad are going out to dinner". And, "No, we aren't all staying the weekend in Breckenridge - only dad and I". It's only January 8th and our kids are already notably confused by this. So...what do you do when you need a cheap date? Friday night we piled sleeping bags in front of the TV, ate popcorn, watched the World's Worst movie, and listened to the 80's station. For parents of 5 children, this was almost like being in the spa. Almost.

Saturday, we drove 2 hours to Limon, Colorado where our youngest daughter, Victoria's worship band class had the opportunity to run through a real rehearsal and lead an hour worship session. They did a fantastic job thanks to a lot of hard work and a great teacher/leader. After a week of "Celebrity Wife Swap" and Facebook conversations about pastors on "Dr. Phil", I am especially grateful for humble, Godly men, like Victoria's teacher, Gary Trobee, who are willing to serve God in quiet places without any fanfare. My heroes I tell ya.

Besides having a great time with our daughter and her friends, we were able to have dinner with too new friends, Valerie and Ron Lumsden. Valerie brought me my first birthday gift and let's just say we are planning on the Lumsden Family becoming old friends.

Today, after a very enjoyable church service we had CHRISTMAS DINNER compliments of my sweet in-laws. Yes, Christmas Dinner on Jan 8th and it tasted just as good. Not to mention that AMAZING win by the Broncos.

Here are a few misc pics for your viewing pleasure!

Blessings!!!

Back to blogging

2012-01-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

Looking forward to blogging more in 2012 (thanks to my new iPad). We decided to take a winter hike shortly after Christmas. At one point, Elizabeth froze and said, "Dad, are you growling at me?". Well, that's never good...although we never saw any other animal capable of growling....thank the Lord! Here are a few pics from the day.

FALL 2011 - lots of news

2011-10-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

Catch Up: >>> It has been months since our last post, mostly due to a crazy amount of activity and little time to think and share. Eli has been growing in so many ways in recent months. I will jump around, but share what details I can remember for now.

Summer: >>>> Over the summer Eli traveled thousands of miles to Denver and back for Church, Elitch Gardens and other fun. He went from no-rides to roller-coaster-rides and loved everything about Elitch. He became famous and loved at our Summer Church in Denver, referred to as "the Denver Church". The teens loved him and asked to hang with him all the time. He loved to sing, dance, play and run around with the youth group. Another thing that was cool about this summer was how intimate Eli became with the other kids. He and Benjamin spent time together and Victoria really helped take care of him alot. Elizabeth and Hosanna also really connected with him. His cousin, Jeffrey, moved to Colorado and has taken a liken to him, which is a great surprise. Another summer change was Eli's love for skateboards. He began playing on a skateboard nearly everyday. Between a scooter and skateboard, that kid lived on wheels.

Fall: >>>> Last night we went to a concert with Steven Curtis Champman and other artist in support of ShowHope, an organization that gave us a grant for his adoption. While hanging out with the ShowHope staff person, who was sort of a road manager for SCC. He found out that Eli was about to turn 5 yrs old and kindly surprised Eli with a $5 dollar bill. Later while talking about school and school buses, this man, David, offered to take Eli to his bus. Eli doesn't understand, but of the 1200+ people at the concert, I'm sure few got to go onto SCC's travel bus like Eli. Another Fall surprise for Eli was an early snow. We had 5 inches of snow in early October and he went outside with Benjamin and Victoria all day to play in the snow.

School: >>>> Last year Eli had Mrs. Lynn and a team of D20 special teachers to learn from. He loved school, the bus and everything having to do with school. His language, sight and speech all get special attention. The ladies giving him this help fell in love with him and love teaching him. We decided to move to Denver for Church Ministry and left this preschool with much sadness. However, over the summer it was decided to reconsider the move. After months of prayer and waiting, circumstances unfolded that would leave us in the Springs and Eli back in the D20 preschool. Last week we went to an assessment with that team of teachers to review the plan for Eli and they once again expressed their love for Eli and commitment to his growth. They are working on his vision, speech and learning ability. They understand Eli and have taken special steps to make sure he learns all he can. One teacher said she would go to whatever D20 school we move to for Kindergarten to have the ability to work with Eli. We are so thankful and can't explain with words how special this team of teachers are to us and to Eli.

Eyesight and Glasses: >>>> Eli has been doing well with his vision, considering. We have an amazing doctor who gives Eli lots of attention and favor, once again, we are so thankful. One eye just is not working anymore. The other eye has 2200 to 2400 vision, which is legally blind. However, the kids runs around like he has great vision and is fearless on the playground, house and sidewalk. When we brought him home from China, he could barely walk, would not play on the smallest of playgrounds and could not walk from one floor texture/color without stopping to check each step. Now, the kids runs like crazy, and wears his glasses 24/7. We went to get new glasses recently and he wanted blue frames, so bless God, he gets blue frames. We are thankful that he thrives under the care of so many helpful people.

Friends and Fame: >>> Eli has girlfriends at Church and the Neighborhood. He loves to hang out with a few girls from the community and has special love for a little girl named Ansley from church. It has been great to see so many people become a friend to Eli. Even friends of Elizabeth and Hosanna love Eli and come to visit. They talk directly to him and he considers them all his friends. His full personality is alive and kicking, which has made him into a regular socialite....

Eli is a huge blessing..he loves for me to "tuck him in" every night and has stopped asking if we are coming back to get him. He still asks about where he will eat sometimes, but so does my other kids. He seems to love his home, family, church and friends. He has started asking about China, which has been good so far. He seems to love the fact that we call him SON, and that he has a mom and dad. And....make no doubt about it...WE LOVE HIM.....He has changed our life in so many ways....Bless God....

CROWN

2011-04-10T20:52:00.001-07:00

This is a busy season. Crazy busy for the RamFam. But -- I can't hide the fact -- that we love it.

We are apart of a large production at our home church called The Crown. It all began 6 years ago when I was on staff at New Life. That year, about 5 weeks before Easter, our children's pastor announced that we needed to come up with a kid friendly production to go along with The Thorn. We all thought he was crazy. He was crazy. 5 weeks isn't much time and that year the whole thing was painful. Truthfully, I figured if I had to be miserable, I might as well have my whole family miserable and make them participate with me (Besides there weren't that many people too participate that first year!). To my utter shock, it stuck. And 6 years later, we can't imagine Easter time without all this craziness.

We've been demons, angels, disciples, townspeople, and makeup artists. We've had 3 trips to the emergency room due to Crown injuries and we've spent countless hours with Crown friends only to cry the next morning when we are too tired to get up for school/work. (Eventually, our fatigue takes over and we just start dragging in later and later to school. Schools love that btw. Not.) About the time we think we have a Crown hangover, performances begin (this year 8 total) and we get a renewed burst of energy, passion and a sense of God's crazy love for children and families.

We expect God to stir the hearts of over 1,000 kids and adults this year. We expect hundreds of people to be drawn to God's crazy love for them...just like we were. As we prepare for this -- I get the priveledge of serving with dozens of teens, kids and their parents who love Jesus...who love worship...who are passionate about prayer...and love one another.

That's right...I witness weekly DOZENS of TEENAGERS and CHILDREN who really do love Jesus and church -- who spontaneously gather around and lay hands, praying over a sick team mate....who pray for God's love to reach others in the hallways during the Cruxifiction scence...who pray over each other...and pray over all the people who will come to see the productions -- usually with no adult prompting. I watch adults instruct and train, "Boys and Girls lift your hands and let's pray"..."Boys and girls, worship starts in 5 minutes. Be there." "Guys, this kid is sick//that kid was injured...let's pray now for them." "I see you're feeling discouraged, I'm going to pray for you."

I watch CROWN parents pull kids out of other activities and forgo school assignments for a time -- because THIS is simply more important....moms - up early, cooking and packing dinner, costumes for kids AND for themselves, etc. Directors make 5:45am runs to Starbux to make sure volunteers make it through the morning. I watch kids spend HOURS perfecting their parts, working out, praying, listening, watching for what God is doing...and when instructing these kids, there is no talk amongst those working on the production about the "short" attention span of children...no expectation that the teenagers don't want to participate in spiritual things. On the contrary, there is an expectation that THIS YOUNG GENERATION is called to change the world -- and we are called to instruct and train them...and it's a joy to do so.

People work hard...but more importantly they expect God to change lives and do what only He can do. There's alot of joy and freedom in that.

So...the RamFam is tired. And very satisfied. And very expectant about this upcoming week...along with alot of other great families we've come to really love!

Here's to Crown season!

Loving the world, hating the dark

Shanna

Vacation Planning

2011-03-26T13:02:00.001-07:00

We love vacation! I even love vacation planning! One vacation just makes me want to plan the next one. Seriously, a vacation every other month would be fine by me! For the FALL...we are considering this....

Makes me happy!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Back in December we were planning a little mini vacation for our family. It fell through when Billy took a new job -- so we shot for Spring Break instead! After a very busy allbeit fantastic Sunday (Church, leading worship, baptism, The Net outreach, wedding rehearsal - just a few of the many things we packed into this day), we arrived in Breckenridge, Colorado about 7pm.

God blessed us by using new friends who sweetly provided our family with the perfect condo right in downtown Breckenridge! Snow + Sun = Great Fun! We had plenty of both!

After sleeping in on Monday and lazily watching a few episodes of Cake Boss, we headed out to the Sled Hill. Fitting all of us AND our belongings into a Kia is ALWAYS a challenge.

After sledding and a little snowboarding, we headed to Eric's for an early dinner! As you might imagine, it's NEVER cheap to take 7 people out to dinner -- so when we can combine lunch/dinner into one eating out meal a day -- we've done good! So good infact, we have a little $$$ left over for the arcade and candy store!

On, Tuesday, we still hadn't had enough of the snow -- so we headed to nearby Frisco to tube and snowboard. As SOON as we got to the top of the lift -- a massive wind/snowstorm began to blow through. My words can't express how cold it was coming down that run! The affect was like riding through a freezing rain storm on a motorcycle going 80mph with no helmet! Eli hid and occasionally answered affirmative to the question, "Eli, are you still there?"

We are no quitters however -- and managed to enjoy the tubing hill and each other for the full session.

After drying off, the kids and B went back out to practice up on their snowboard skills. Me and Eli stayed near the warm fireplace drinking hot chocolate!

After a day of outdoor excitement, we repeated the dinner ritual from the night before (after all, it worked so well the first time!) by going back to Eric's AND the candy store. We shopped a little and bought the game Quelf. I won't post the pics of B putting on lipstick...but lets just say, it's a great game!

We had Chinese and shopped a little more on Wednesday, then headed back down the mountain late that evening. All in all it was a fast, but very satisfying mini vaca. Would love to hear what your family did over Spring Break!

Doctors, Doctors and more Doctors

2011-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

For the last 8 months I've been dealing with a certain medical condition that's...well...annoying. The first doctor to see me diagnosised the simplest solution possible and threw an antibiotic my way. Weeks later when it didn't work, she threw me another. After the third didn't work -- I went some place else.

My first sign that Doc #2 didn't have a real medical degree was the Foghorn Leghorn tie. Without the slightest glimpse at my transferred medical records he asked, "Which antibiotic would you like?" After multiple visits, once HE had prescribed the third antibiotic, I said, "No thanks" to anymore and requested to see a speacialist.

By now, months had passed (7 months to be exact) -- we've changed insurance twice -- and I'm beginning to go a little loopy. After jumping through SEVERAL hoops for the insurance company, the speacialist says, "Figuring this out is gonna take some time."

This past month, I've done numerous Xrays and a CT scan. They revealed a kidney stone in my left kidney. Who knew? Today, I began seeing the "Infectious Disease" doctor as the particular infection (which has probably attached itself to the stone) now shows up as "resistent to every known oral antibiotic".

At Doctor #4, I sat in a room filled with chairs, with IV lines hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a scene straight out of the movie Inception. As I get ready to have my 2 week long IV inserted, I say to Billy, "This is the WEIRDEST thing I've EVER done." He says back, "Really? We'll it isn't the WEIRDEST thing I've EVER done!" Nice.

So, the next couple of weeks will include an hour at the clinic each day for an intravenous antibiotic drip...I will even grace them with my presence on Saturday and Sunday. All this while making up 26 piano lessons and helping sub the makeup lessons at KMP for my boss...I have a love/hate relationship with snow days!

Hopefully, BY TOMORROW, I will feel the symptoms of my infection leave -- and have the kidney stone blasted on Friday. Shortly thereafter they hope I'll be infection free. I pray so.

In the meantime, I've already been asked such irratating questions as, "Mom, what's for dinner?"..."Do you wanna go workout at the Y?" I just keep holding up my arm -- and smiling really big...saying in a sweet as pie voice, "I have an I V!" You should probably pray for them!

RamFam Happenings

2011-02-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

2010 was a strange year for us. It seemed like everytime we prayed for something, God did the exact opposite. We were often stressed, pressured, and perplexed by this. Billy and I were fairly confident that we were hearing Heaven's next step for our lives...but frustrated that we had no earthly means to "make" anything happen on our own behalf. If any "next step" was to take place, God's word would have to bring it about by His Spirit -- nothing else was working.

For sometime we believed that God was calling us to go back into full time ministry, but we had no idea where and how that would eventually transpire. Actually, we were quite aware of how WE WISHED our situation would transpire. It was hard for us to imagine that God would call us AWAY FROM the community we have become so imbedded in. We love New Life -- we love Colorado Springs -- we love TCA -- we love our friends, our kid's friends, our neighbors, our dry cleaners...you name it...we are emotionally attached to it. We believe in "staying steady" after all and being planted in a community. Yet, there was a nagging sense that God was calling us out.

From Abraham to the Disciples, the Bible is filled with stories of God calling leaders to come out of where they have been and directing them to go someplace else. We didn't jump to identify with any of them however. We mostly commiserated with Joseph. You know, legit vision from the Lord -- thrown in jail at no fault of his own. We felt like God had us in jail.

"Perserverance" is a hard lesson to learn. Maybe the hardest. The very nature of the word suggests what you are going through is "hard" and that the "hard" is lasting a "long time." I prayed many times in 2010 for God to "Give us a break" -- LITERALLY -- I wanted a vacation, a trip away. Each prayer like that was meet with a new challenge, more work, a broken appliance, another "situation" to handle.

To make a long (but VERY good) story short, we were surprised at years end with a sudden answer to our prayers. Billy accepted a job at Smoky Hill Vineyard Church in Denver as "Family Pastor" and 2011 took off with great force. We are very greatful that this "job" seems to have been custom built for Billy and our family. The people of this new community have joyfully embraced the us. However, if I'm honest, the timing took us by surprise...as God's timing so often does. Between working in Denver and coaching JV Basketball at TCA, today was the first day Billy's truly been off work since December 14th. We can't wait for Spring Break! (We are looking forward to the fast approaching end of the sports season so we can regain a little balance.)

Looking back at all those desparate prayers in 2010 for a "break" - a "vacation", "refreshing"...what I now see is that those things were simply not what was needed. Inorder to come into the place where God wanted us with excitement and energy to spare, we didn't need to go hide away in the tropics first. What we, what I, really needed was for my CAPICITY to be ENLARGED -- so that the BIG LIFE that God was calling me too could be a blessing to me as well as to others. God does many, many things through rest and vacation. We are BIG believers in them -- just ask our kids! However, God has used REAL LIFE...PRESSURE...FASTING...even SUFFERING to enlarge our capacity for what He's called us to do "next".

At just the right time, I was ready to shoulder the things God was calling me too -- even looking ahead now at the daunting task of selling the house, moving, readjusting five kids to new schools, friends...embracing a new community -- seems more of a blessing than a burden. After all, God isn't only at work at New Life Church and in Colorado Springs. Whereas we may bring a new perspective, we are not bringing God to Denver. He is already working there. He is at work all around us..all the time...inviting us to join Him. For the RamFam He seems to have invited us to rely on Him in a new way in 2011. All 7 of us.

"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we dispaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2 Cor 1:8

Immeasurably More....and me some Toby Mac

2010-10-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago I began looking towards October...3 bdays, the beginnings of the holiday season and lots of changes around the Ramsdell home that would require planning, planning, planning on my part. Tuesday is Billy's 41st bday (holy cow) and I had heard Toby Mac was coming to Colorado Springs.

THE PLAN: First, I contacted all our friends to see who wanted to go with us. Sadly, no luck there. We have busy friends. Next, convince Billy that Toby tickets would make a really great bday gift. Always up for a concert, it was strange when Billy said he'd skip it (code for no way should we pay $50 a ticket). Sigh. After trying to get Victoria (turning 10) to have a "joint party with daddy at the concert" -- MY excuse for paying $50 per ticket -- no such chance -- I let it go. I happen to believe that much of life is learning to let things go, but that's another blog.

Life as usual happens. Leading our large family is like navigating the Titanic at times...big ships don't change course on a moments notice easily. However, God works "suddenly" at times -- and we are definately open to His blessings. And when He does, He often blesses our family beyond what I would have "planned" out.

Last night about 5 (concert doors open at 6), my 15 year old calls and says to her dad, "I have FREE Toby Mac tickets!" She had been offered a FREE ticket herself and went back to ask if she could have (2) more for her parents. "Happy Birthday Daddy!" God didn't give me FREE Toby tickets. Even better, He gave them to my daughter to bless her dad on his bday.

SIDE NOTE: Only some of you will understand the significance of Shanna Touchton's child giving Toby Mac tickets to Billy Ramsdell. Of course, she's his child too, but after 16+ years of marriage I still OCCASSIONALLY have the thought, "Oh my gosh, I married Billy Ramsdell!" I use to think he was Toby Mac (again, only some will appreciate).

On the way into the concert I say to one of Elizabeth's friends, "Elizabeth's daddy used to be a rapper." Elizabeth points at me and says in an exaggerated voice to her friends, "SEE! I don't make this stuff up!" :)

BACK ON TOPIC: After much re-arranging (Ben will skip football, Shanna will get her hair colored on another night, Kids will eat dinner with MawMaw, Hosanna will bum a ride home, etc), I pile 5 teenagers in my car and head out.

Lizzie's friend Issac demonstrates his execptional directional skills by finding us a FREE place to park. Free tickets, free parking -- check! And in we go.

We've brought with us a young friend whose only recently accepted the Lord. Watching the concert through her eyes is fun...and I was able to do this because my teen daughter invited her parents to sit with her and her friends in GREAT seats that we weren't assigned too. Great seats, check! Nice.

During the show, my own daughter has a renewed passion to use her own musical gifts and talents for the Lord. She says, "I think dad's really been praying for me in this area." I smile. She has no idea. I simply say, "Yes, he has."

I realize as the concert progresses (Toby Mac, Max Lucado, Michael W Smith, Rachael Lampa, Third Day)that this has all been orchestrated far better than I'd hoped or imagined. The price was right. We carried others with us who were blessed and encouraged in their young walks with Christ. My own daughter was stirred in regards to her calling and ministry, and her parents were deeply encouraged. Apparently, it HADN'T been about me hanging out with friends or lovin me some Toby Mac. It didn't really appear to be all about Billy's 41st bday. I speculated that MAYBE it was just about that moment where we simply allow God to love on us. For Him to be a generous father, to get a chance to whisper, "I'm proud of you."

We sang, danced, banged our heads, worshiped, cried, received encouragment, skipped the Tshirt to get pics with the drummer and piled back into the van. On the ride home, I listened to teenagers open a Bible and discuss what they felt God was saying. Life has come full circle in some regards and it's a good life. It's seldom been an "easy" life for me and Billy, but certianly blessed. It was an amazing night.

That's what I get for eating at McDonald's

2010-09-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well...we don't go there very often...because...well...WE HATE THE FOOD! However, tonight I as a single mom with 2 hungry sons and no dinner plan following football practice.

We decided to go in.

As I stood in the LONG line (no joke! Really? Other people actually LIKE eating there?)a young man who had been waiting for his food approached the tray on the counter. As he stood there eating the fries -- appearing to be waiting for something else -- the man behind him says, "Excuse me sir, that's my tray." Yes, he'd been eating off the wrong tray.

I stood there in line laughing at this -- when all of a sudden I turn around and my own 3 year old (granted, he has limited vision) was pulled up to someone else's table eating THEIR fries! Embarssed, I was tempted to leave him there, but sent Ben after him as a compromise. Guess that's what I get for eating at McDonald's.

Lazy Summer: Day 1

2010-05-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

It’s been the perfect 24 hours. I really don’t say that that often and it’s usually a surprise to me when it happens.

Last year, on the last day of school, I hijacked my kids with a sudden water balloon fight. Unannounced to them, I had filled 200 water balloons that am and we attacked them shortly after arriving home. It was a great way to begin the summer.

I wanted to do something similar this year, but I ended up doing some makeup piano lessons in the afternoon right when school got out. Instead of bemoaning my poor scheduling choices, I decided that the best strategy was to just work with it. I made little bags for Ben and Victoria to celebrate amongst themselves while I taught. They were filled with bubbles, silly string, pop rocks and snappers -- all found at the Dollar Tree. My son, especially, had fun setting “booby traps” for any guest approaching the front door with the snappers.

Shortly thereafter, we took a trip to Chucke Cheese. We hadn’t been here for at least 2 years if not more. There was no one else there and it was fun to have the run of the place. The food wasn’t great, but we played ski ball, basketball and video games to our hearts content.

We left there around 9pm and decided to go the 10pm dollar movie (hey, why not, it’s summer). We got home at a delightful 1am.

Today, we slept in (which means 8am) and I was tempted to begin my day doing chores. By 8:15 I had already seen the wisdom lacking in this decision so I climbed back into bed intent on reading at least 1 chapter of The Way of the Wild At Heart by John Eldridge. It was glorious.

After lunch, I took the kids by the Glen Eagle Pool (“just to look”), and ended up getting a membership (totally looking forward to that). We went to Focus on the Family to purchase new Bible study material for everyone to work on this summer and ended up at the Library. We had planned to sign up for the summer reading program there, but low and behold -- it doesn’t even begin for 4 more days! Wow! We then made our way over the Sonic for “Happy Hour”. The slushies are good.

This afternoon the kids had some friends over as well as some family for a cookout. At 9pm, we were STILL on the tramp, riding the long boards and laughing over glasses of kool aide.

With such a large family, there are RARELY moments when we are all happy at the SAME time. When it comes to most days of summer, if I can get 3 out of 5 kids to be happy with an activity, I figure that’s roughly 60% of the people…and that ain’t bad! Today was no exception to that rule. Still…the perfect start to what I hope is a great summer!

Our Journey with Eli at 9 months home

2010-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

We have now been home with Eli 9 months…and quickly approaching a year. The time has passed quickly as I knew it would. Shortly after coming home, as I walked around the neighborhood just starting to get to know this sweet, quiet, painfully shy little boy…I sensed that the Holy Spirit was telling me that Eli’s “transition” -- his “adjustment” would be slow, take a long time yet be uneventful. That is exactly how the last 9 months have panned out. He has made slow, very steady progress in all areas. He has had no notable attachment problems or sleep issues. Just slow and steady progress.

He is talking a lot at home, still not so much out in public and definitely not to strangers. He uses new phrases and words weekly. The past couple of days he’s been “concerned” about a blown light bulb in my bathroom. “The light is broken” he’d tell me several times a day. “Yes, Eli”, I’d say back, “And daddy will fix that when he gets back from his work trip.” Tonight he noticed the motion detector light go off outside. He quietly walked over and flipped the switch until the light came back on. He then ran into the kitchen and yelled, “Mommy! I fixed it! I fixed the light!”. Billy says boys just innately wanna fix things. He has picked up on all our little phrases and inside family jokes well…and uses them at appropriate times -- totally delighted to be “fitting in” around here!

He’s animated at home and LOVES when we are all together. He’s quite funny actually. Last night he sat through a 1 ½ hour long symphony concert. Nearing the end, during a very quiet transition he says in a LOUD EXASPERATED voice, “OH. MY. GOSH.“ throwing his head back as if he couldn’t stand one more song! When Billy laughed and leaned close to him to say, “Shhhhhhhhh” -- Eli leaned back and said, “Y O U SHHHHHHHH!”

He enjoys going places and doing things…especially as a family. He told his grandmother recently that he was “hiking with his family.” He does not, however, enjoy people outside our family talking to him still…he makes NO eye contact with strangers and turns his head when they attempt to communicate with him. I’ve grown tired of trying to “explain” his behavior…so I just don’t. J

I’ve only now begun to “leave” him places on a rare occasion…preparing both him and myself for Fall Preschool. This past week, I took him to the YMCA where I dropped him in his “class” for an hour. Upon picking him up, I asked, “Eli, did you do good?” He said, “No.” I said, “What did you do?” He said, “Cry.” He’ll get the hang of it -- so people tell me.

He still out eats his 10 year old brother…but hasn’t gained a pound. Seriously. He was 29.7 when we got here…and 30.1 pounds today! Instead he has grown 3+ inches in the last 9 months! He’s certainly doing better in the “potty training” arena -- although we still have a ways to go. He seems a little more relaxed and settled lately and therefore certainly open to discovering and enjoying all kinds of new things!

When we were in China, we were baffled that he didn’t seem interested in all the “new” things around. Surely, he’d never seen such before. Now we know that he didn’t have any sight there…so no…he hadn’t seen those things before. 9 months later…his “settled”ness and new found communication skills and ability to use his glasses have meant he is opening up to all kinds of things and interested in so much. It really is fun.

Having been institutionalized for soooooo long meant that little Eli truly came to us at the age of 2 ½ with NO family skills. He couldn’t communicate, eat with a fork, go to the potty, put on his shoes, smile, play, etc., etc, etc. At present, he has 9 months of “Family Skills” under his belt. And as we all know, “9 months” is a much more delightful stage than “newborn”…if you understand what I mean! He still seems so little and young to us.

I told a friend the other day that I see how “one year home” will be good -- but that “three years home” will be even better. She reminded me not to wish the time away…which is not how I really meant it anyhow. I do look forward to the day where Eli has been in my home for longer than he’s been in that orphanage…to a day when he’s had a mommy longer than a nanny. Whereas I am one to enjoy the here and now (when the here and now is enjoyable), I look forward to a day when we have even more memories of Eli being with us.

On another note, all the rest of us are doing well too. It’s been a roller coaster for me with happy moments, fears that we were under too much stress or that we’d never find a new normal, crazed moments where I just knew I have more kids than any one else on the planet and there is no way I can take care of them all, and deeply satisfied moments too. God has been faithful to our family and we are truly all learning and growing. Just like those that have BTDT have told me…we all DO INDEED seem to be finding a new normal. A blessed, satisfied new normal.

Eli's Most Recent Eye Exam....(warning: LONG)

2010-04-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s been 9 months since we’ve brought Eli home. His recent eye surgery was telling. When we left to get Eli we expected him to have Cataracts in both eyes and childhood Glaucoma. In reality, Eli had HAD cataracts as an infant…most likely either from birth or from an infection shortly after birth. Chinese doctors had performed a surgery before his first birthday to remove the cloudy lens from each eye. This sounds severe, but our doctor assured me that this is the same surgery we would have performed on an infant with cataracts here in America. Apparently, by mistake, the lens was not completely removed in one eye. Therefore, when the cataract began to develop again in that eye, he underwent a second surgery to remove the piece of damaged lens. As you may be wondering, no, you can not see without your lens. What SHOULD have happened, was that Eli SHOULD have been put into glasses right away to correct his FOCUS. Eli went 2 years in the orphanage with no glasses. As a result his eyes became more and more OUT of FOCUS. Our American Doctor is sure that in China, he could see little more than light/dark. In the meantime, Eli was also developing higher and higher eye pressure in his right eye. Just like high blood pressure damages a heart…high eye pressure damages the optic nerve. Eli’s right eye pressure measured double what it should have been. During the surgery to correct that, the American Doctor discovered that Eli had a birth defect in his eye that could be corrected. However, “birth defect” meant that Eli had most likely had the high eye pressure since…well…BIRTH. He was now three years old.

His recent eye exam performed under anesthesia showed approx 99.9% damage to his right optic nerve. The .1% vision that was left was being impeded by the scarring from the previous surgeries. The scar could be removed, but the risk to his eye would out weigh the .1% vision he might recover. The Doctor recommends leaving it alone.

Upon leaving that visit, I pondered all I had just heard. Not best case scenario…but not worst case either. Oddly, I felt better reminding my self that Eli’s vision problems (which could have totally been taken care of in infancy) were not my fault. I wasn’t the one who had neglected him. I reminded myself that the amount of money I have or don’t have rather combined with the high cost of medical care…and the fact that I have more children than I know what to do with…these things are not the cause of Eli’s vision loss. I replayed the words of the Doctor -- that in fact -- Eli hadn’t “lost” any vision. From birth, Eli had simply never developed vision and for him there was no big difference here. He was simply seeing how he’d always saw.

In the meantime, the Doctor said, we’d work on strengthening the vision and focus of his left eye (he’ll still hopefully be a good candidate for an artificial lens put in in the future)…and work on saving the right eyeball. The Doctor mentioned that prosthetic eyes are very real looking and that no one would know that Eli’s eye wasn’t real unless they were very, very close to him. I of course attempt not to shudder when the Doctor talks of fake eyeballs, but in this case, Eli would probably appear more “normal” with a prosthetic eye. On the other hand, saving the eyeball means that future advanced procedures that may “re-grow” his optic nerve would be a possibility. The Doctor is not optimistic that his eye can be saved. It’s already very red and some what painful to Eli. That along with the very low pressure is an indication that the eye is getting ready to die for lack of better words.

We pray over him of course, and like good Charismatic Christians claim everything we know to claim over him. But the reality is that when my young son walks up to me and says, “Mommy, Eli eye hurt” - I feel the need to act and do something. If we do end up needing to remove Eli’s eye, I’m not disappointed. For all practical purposes, we are married too this once “Waiting Child”. When adopting him we were presented with the “risks” -- the best case AND worst cast scenarios. We still gladly, purposefully, joyfully, educated and with eyes wide open took on the task of making him a member of our family. There are 7 people who live in my household and I can’t fully or even mostly say where life will take any of us, after all. Only God knows where Eli is headed and to have both eyes completely restored -- isn’t the big miracle here anyway. The BIG miracle…what I have real, burning faith to believe God for is this…that Eli has a bright future now. He won’t be a beggar on the streets of China, who lost vision in both eyes without anyone to advocate for his health -- living in disrespect, cold at night and wondering where his next meal may come from. On the contrary, he’ll grow surrounded by a family…he’ll go to college…he’ll remember dozens of Christmas mornings and bday parties…he’ll watch family movies and fight with his big brother…he’ll have his favorite stories read to him over and over and get an IPOD all his own…he’ll have multiple pairs of shoes and good food that he can have at any moment. He’ll be able to find himself in HUNDREDS of Ramsdell Family Photos. He’ll be reminded over and over by his parents why God created him, who God created him do be and the purpose for which he lives…he’ll have parents who draw these things out of him and call him to be a disciple of Jesus…he’ll have the opportunity to become new…to have old things pass away…THAT is the BIG LIFE TRANSFORMING MIRACLE. Regardless of which way we go, in our home God is still God…and we’ve learned to say in all sorts of circumstances that He is good…as will Eli.

Lizzie's lastest blog...

2010-04-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

My Lizzie wrote a blog recently that I thought was good...here's the link! Enjoy!

http://elizabethjoy100.blogspot.com/2010/04/longings.html#comment-form

Trip to Breckenridge

2010-04-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed to Breckenridge, Colorado for some much needed rest after what's been a very stressful month (or two...or three...I've lost count). My wonderful husband made arrangements for our trip to be moved up a couple of weeks and it turned out so great! Here's a view of Peak 7.

Here's a view of the same peak from the balcony of our hotel....

On the way there, we stopped to see the Buffalo...we eat these here in Colorado. They make for tasty burgers.

We drove through a tunnel that I imagine was in the movie 'I Robot'.

We ate a cupcake from here...best $3 I've spent in a L O N G time.

B got to level 100 on the 1981 version of Galaga...I had a little trouble and ran out of men on level 5...if B could only do THIS for a living....

We got a free crepe....amazing....

We relaxed by the fire....

Watched people snowboard and ski...

We shopped and didn't ride this...

Here's B as he is in his mind...

Here's me pretty much doing this stuff everyday....

Bottom line...all parents deserve 24 hours with no one knocking on the door, asking what's for dinner, and hogging up all the hot water...at least once a year! :)

Eli singing to Mommy

2010-04-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

My favorite part is when he sings "...to you mommy!" ;)

Eli being Jon Egan

2010-04-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

"You hold it all together. You hold it all forever. You hold it all, you started it all, you are my all in all."

Eli dying Easter Eggs

2010-04-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Like Father...Like Daughter

2010-03-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

My daughter has a guy friend...she blogged about it...and I thought the blog was good...

Here's the link

http://elizabethjoy100.blogspot.com/2010/03/fathers-view-on-things.html

Garden of the Gods

2010-03-13T18:18:00.001-08:00

Love hiking here in Colorado. Love going to Garden of the God's on a sunny, warm day and climbing. Here's a few pics of our recent trip!

A birthday redo

2010-02-06T19:37:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was my birthday redo! Well actually, Billy had given me a "night away" as my gift. So, here's what we did....

We started with a cheap lunch...in the Walmart -- bc for some reason we always end up at the Walmart. We ordered a Veggie Sub with hot peppers and a side of Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly's. No, I'm not pregnant...and I didn't eat them together. It was just symbolic that I'd get to pick what I WANTED for a change. After all, I wasn't having to share with anyone!

We checked into an out of the way hotel room in Denver. The people were sweet and pleasant. The lady origionally sent us up to the wrong room -- but she gave us $25 of FREE breakfast gc's for our "trouble".

Next morning we ended up here....

We decided to tour the Coors Beer factory. Some may think that is in bad taste, but it was free and interesting. This is Billy on the self directed tour listening to his electronic tour guide.

Here's me sitting on an ice cube!

In the "sample" room, I got a ROOT BEER bc it tastes better than COORS!

Finally, Billy saw this car outside...and well...he just thought it deserved a picture!

We so appreciated this night away. Two nights would have been spectacular...and for all those parents who manage to get an entire week away...hats off to you! We are looking forward to that one day too!

It's cold here!!!

2010-02-06T19:26:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of us and some good friends, The Rodger's Family, out on a frozen lake!

Can I please have a quarter?

2010-02-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Victoria is a member of the Little Mozart's, the beginning beginners of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. Each year, parents of this assosication agree to contribute $100 via the sale of raffle tickets. No, I didn't wanna buy $100 worth of raffle tickets myself. So...we shamelessly signed up with other like-minded families to sell our tickets in front of King Soopers. Today, we did our second (and last) 3 hour shift. Here's a pic of Victoria playing the Cello for some interested little visitors.

As we were out there for a purpose, I duitifully set about asking each and EVERY person who left the busy store, "Would you like to support the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony and buy a raffle ticket?" MOST of the time, I wasn't able to finish my sentence before the patron responded, "No. Not today." I truthfully understood and would politely say back, "Thank you. Have a nice weekend." I imagined in some small way to be blessing the people of my city.

I often leave Walmart or the grocery store and I too walk quickly past the people sitting and fundraising at tables outside the door. I usually DON'T have cash in my wallet. But after the past 2 weekends of taking my turn on behalf of a very worthy organization, the CSYSA, I have a few insights.

Alot of times, the people running these make shift "stands" are just passionate parents trying to do something good for their kids. Maybe they can't actually afford the fees expected of them. Maybe they are of the small presentage of people who are willing to give their time and contribute to the worthwhile organizations of our city. Here's a biggie you should know the next time you see them, actually making EYE CONTACT with them when you're coming out the door -- does not obligate you to donate any money. Actually walking past them, versus turning your buggie in an ackward direction coming out the door, still doesn't obligate you to give money. They DO understand when you don't have cash or when you're in a hurry. They also understand LOTS of people can't afford to part with their cash...especially these days no matter how little.

However, if they hold the slightest amount of interest to you, take a moment and ask what they are doing there. This too doesn't obligate you to give...however...you might find joy in putting that $1 or loose change in their bucket. You might even win a raffle!

Today, Victoria and I raised MORE than our required amount -- all while she got in some good "performance" time. Last week she was chosen to be interviewed and photographed by the newspaper. We were able to contribute the "excess" we raised to another family who hadn't quite meet their quota. It was fun to have finished our task sucessfully and we are thankful to have blessed and been blessed by so many generous people in our community!

Wanna See?

2010-02-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

My mom is a great gift giver. She has to date bought me the perfect pair of pants, cute shoes and more than one ring (all three of which I'm a very hard fit for). Getting a package in the mail from her is always fun. This year when she called and asked what I wanted for my birthday, I duitifully answered, "Money. I need to get the tags on the van renewed." Boring. I know. But I live a VERY grown-up life and it just goes with the terriority some years.

A few weeks later, I got a sweet card and a $200 check in the mail. However, like I said, my mother isn't your average gift giver. She also sent a BIG box via UPS. Wanna see what else she got me for my birthday?

This vase is similar to one she has that I just love. It was hand made by a family friend from a block of wood from a Camphor tree. It's beautiful and I love it's uniqueness.

This necklace is a gift she had previous bought me, however, it had broken. So at Thanksgiving she confiscated it, took it back to the botique and had them replace it. Just bc she's my mom, she threw in a new pair of earrrings to match! So pretty.

Finally, she got me a Christmas Ornament (I dream of a tree COVERED with Hallmark Ornaments). It says, "Like mother, like daughter". :)

Well, there ya have it. Might sound like I'm bragging, but my mom deserves it. ;)

If you don't like Controversy, turn back now! ;)

2010-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

I know the current "Health Care Debate" in our country is controversial. After all, I DO pay WAY TO MUCH for my families Health Care. However, my friend David posted this on a FB Note and I liked it. Since this is MY blog -- I'm gonna repost it here!

Blessings.....

I was reading this article in the BBC on the health care debate. Very revealing in it's condescension and complete misunderstanding of the United States' deeply rooted aversion to governmental authority. In it the author poses the question: 'Why are so many American voters enraged by attempts to change a horribly inefficient system that leaves them with premiums they often cannot afford?'

I just started laughing hysterically because the immediate answer that came to my mind was in the form of the lyrics to a Jonathan Coulton song:

I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don’t like it
What’s with all the screaming?
...
Isn’t it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?

Understand- it isn't just that we resent being told by someone in Washington what is in our best interests, it is that we have deeply ingrained in our culture (and enshrined in our Constitution) a philosophical belief that government simply should not be given any more power than is necessary for the safeguarding of our liberties. That way lies serfdom. The ancients knew it. Our Founders knew it. History has proven it - and deep down in our gut the American populace knows it even if some of us cannot express it so eloquently as Madison, de Toqueville, or Friedman.

Yes, Virginia, they would be inept tyrants if you let them

Proof that I really do have a Toddler again!!!

2010-01-18T10:50:00.001-08:00

36 year old Birthdays on the cheap....

2010-01-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

This is me pretending like it's really ELIZABETH'S bday when they were singing the Happy Birthday song. :)

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. It started well. On Saturday evening we got the chance to go out to dinner at a favorite resturant with some good friends. We both had coupons and the balance for me and B's split burger and all-you-can-eat fries was $0.00. I actually made B purchase another drink -- so we could tip the waitress. Total = $7.76

On Sunday (my acutal bday), my teenage girls brought me breakfast-in-bed. It was sweet, complete with english muffin, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and fruit. Not to mention, yogurt and milk (skim for me, whole for B). They claimed that they left behind a "clean kitchen". As it turned out, this was "mostly true". As a mother of 5 children, my request for my bday was a "clean house and total family harmony for a day" -- and all mothers realize -- this is a big, if not near impossible, request. I can dream however. The morning buzzed along. My oldest daughter took responsibility for helping her 2 youngest siblings pick out church clothes and dress. Benjamin tucked in his shirt and brushed his hair for the occasion. Before we walked out the door to church, he even vaccumned the kitchen floor without being asked (all this being proof that they do have the ability to do this daily if they so wanted).

Church was good as usual...oldest daughter serving the nursery, 13 year old daughter participating in worship at the altar, 10 year old son sitting by his father underlining things in his Bible (this bc he got in trouble the week before in Children's Church, but hey, it was going well THIS week), 9 year old singing her lungs out and enjoying the worship set, Eli on our laps also seemingly enjoying just being there, Godly husband and in-laws.....and I enjoyed a brief moment where all seemed right in my world.

Then enter: The Crown. The Thorn and The Crown are two HUGE Easter productions put on by our church. Really, the magnitude of these productions can't be over stated. 1,000 plus volunteers. Weeks of rehearsals. Tons of prayer. Live animals. Crazy schedules. Anyhow...I could live without the extra stress and busyness of having a crazier than usual schedule, but keeping my kids away from this is nearly impossible. They LOVE it and this will be our 5th year participating (and yes, every year I say "I won't do THAT again" -- and there I am the next year right back on the participants list!). The "kick off" meeting was scheduled at 1pm -- and whereas it wasn't set in stone, in the back of our minds, we knew that the possiblilty of a surprise, and extend "audition" was there. Surprise! The kids auditioned for everything from main characters to angels and demons (Elizabeth is ALWAYS a demon and Hosanna is ALWAYS an angel -- but they are all open to other parts). We were done....at 5pm. Yes, that's right -- on my bday -- we were at church from 10:30am - 5pm.

Once we were done, we were all pretty much exhausted. Long gone were my hopes of grilling steaks for lunch (we ate bags of popcorn at the church), a bday hike through Garden of the God's and catching a dollar movie. I sucked in my disapointment and tried to remember the joy I experienced during those hours where little Eli ran all over the church's Theatre acting like he owned the place.

After much deliberation, we decided to scratch any plans we might have had -- and go out to dinner. It was fun -- we don't go out as a family much anymore -- and I was happy for a nice ending to what became a very LONG day.
Cost of spontaneous family dinner out = $43.00.

At dinner, Billy gave me my gift. Knowing I've been wanting a weekend away, he used our Frequent Flyer miles to get us a nice hotel room in Denver and a few resturant gift cards. I loved it. Cost = $0.00.

After dinner, we took my bday cake ("Banana Split Cake" -- my Granga's receipe which, incase you doubted I'm from the South, contains 3 sticks of butter) over to my in-laws where I took 2 Advil and watched Extreme Home Makeover. Cost = $0.00

Finally, we came home and watched a movie. FAME was checked out, so I had to settle on Terminator Salvation. Beings that Terminator is a hard movie to follow (in my opinion), I feel asleep before it ended. Cost $1.

So -- there ya have it. A 36 year old bday party on the cheap (all in all, gift included we spent $51). My special day included 5 kids, breakfast in bed, a little less house work, one husband who tried real hard, a church I love, about 150 virtual Happy Bdays, real life flexibility, 6 and 1/2 hour stint up at Thron/Crown rehearsals, a change of plans, an unexpected dinner at a resturant, an evening with friends, one with family and well...you get the point.

My life is filled with all kinds of things...I've experienced some tradegy, loss and dissapointment. I reguarly experience a messy house, sassy kids, financial ups and downs (I prefer the "up" times), and job changes. I've gone through years of finishing college (no small task) and years of dieting and working out -- and still have 40 lbs to go before I'm satisified. I sometimes fight with my great husband, kids and friends. We've moved, we've loved and laughed. We work very, very hard MOST of the time. Then we play and vacation with all our hearts as well. I've now known Billy for as many years as I didn't know him. All and all it's a life that I love and am willing to work of -- even when it's really, really hard -- and even when special days don't go just as plan.

I've said this before...

2010-01-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

I've said this before, but people regularly say to me concerning our adoption of Eli, "Congratulations!" I understand (and appreciate) the goodwill behind this gesture...I mean this is the exact word we hear when we give birth. Come to think of it though, I've always taken THAT particular congrat to mean, "Congratulations your not pregnant anymore." Having had (4) children in 5 years, I couldn't have taken it to mean any other thing...give me a break!

I sometimes snicker to myself however, "Congratulations Shanna, YOU'VE taken on MORE responsibility". Or, "Congratulations, you now get to work even HARDER, lose even MORE sleep, do MORE laundry, spend even MORE money and MORE time away from Billy and those ever elusive hobbies." I'm actually just joking with myself (a sick form of encouragement)...but as every parent can attest -- along with more joy -- with each child comes all those other things too.

Tonight however, at the New Life Prayer Meeting, a young girl asked to pray for Eli. I don't know this person very well...but she's been a great influence on my oldest daughter. I appreciate her from afar. When she was done praying -- she said something that ministered to me as well. She said, "Shanna, I have such a heart for this type of ministry. Thank you for all your doing for Eli." That was it. Thank you. It massaged my heart though - Might as well have been spoken to me from the Holy Spirit infact. To all my adoption friends, Thanks...for ALL your doing. In the midst of multiplied responsibility, laundry, and toys on the floor...I'm still happy to be involved in what God's doing in the world. Blessings!

Winter Wonderland at the Zoo!

2010-01-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

Eli getting an up close look at the Giraffes!

Our little friend Emma isn't so sure she likes them in her face!

Eli enjoys looking at Christmas lights...and having a daddy!

Warming up with sis, Hosanna.

My honey...a great guy to spend a fun evening with!

New Year's Day

2010-01-01T22:37:00.001-08:00

We spent an hour or so today sledding at Toboggan Hill with Ben and Victoria. Great fun!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:44:00.001-08:00

This is what I think about my families last 15 years together...and certainly about our 2010...Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Movies

2009-12-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

I enjoy going to the movies. I especially love it in December. This year we saw Did you Hear about the Morgans, The Chipmunk's Squeakquel, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. It was glorious and I hate to see it come to an end! Here's a cute pic of Victoria and Hosanna....

2009-12-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

5 months home with Eli

2009-12-29T16:31:00.000-08:00

I was planning on writing some of my thoughts lately about parenting an internationally adopted child...about the frustration of feeling your way in the dark...and the satisfaction that comes from getting some direction, a plan. But alas, I've decided to ponder it in my heart a while longer. In the meantime -- I didn't want you all to miss out on this cute pic!

Eli's first Christmas

2009-12-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well, everyone's been asking, "How was Eli's first Christmas?" At first I was gonna answer "uneventful" -- but that's not really it -- it was very fun and full with activity. However, Eli doesn't know enough about American Culture to be "excited" about a holiday. He doesn't speak enough English for us to explain and then to "anticipate" things he's never experienced before like getting up on Christmas morning and opening gifts. However, he is certainly learning our ways. He loved looking at Chrsitmas lights for instance! He could have done this over and over. Here's a house we went to a couple of nights ago! Can you tell it was snowing?
He's really enjoyed having the tree up and loves asking us to "turn on" some of the decorations. Not knowing about presents it didn't occur to him to be curious about them. He never touched them or tried to open them. He did, however, break a few ornaments! I think he'll be sad to see the tree go "bye bye".
We were all, Eli included, delighted by the Christmas Service at New Life...we all agree it's one of our favorite Christmas activities. Actually, it might be our families all time favorite Christmas activity.Eli couldn't decided whether to laugh or cry when i made him sit on the stage for a picture. He's yet to "smile" on command.

Eli opened about 10 gifts or so from us and the grandparents. He would painstakingly tear each package into 1,000 tiny pieces. He got shoes, a cute little bath robe, and toys. He got a new backpack, a baby cell phone and a TON of candy. He also got this...
Now, how did we enjoy our first Christmas with Eli? Most importantly, how did Mommy enjoy the time? I'm happy to report, we all have had a GREAT couple of days. Really, I don't think I could have asked for a better time. The kids were wonderful -- and all seemed to enjoy the festivities. They loved the goodies, time with friends, Christmas movies, decorating (my girls did a great job on the table).
Thanks to Billy's mom, we all enjoyed the food, the gifts and each other! Tonight we joined the thousands of other people at the movie theatre and laughed through the Chipmunk's Squeakquel. What more could a mother of five have asked for? Billy and I even enjoyed a date in Denver -- with NO kids!

We are looking forward to an even more relaxing week! My favorite week of the year infact -- between Christmas and New Year's -- when I truly have nothing to do (well...you know what I mean). Hope your family had a Merry Christmas! Looking forward to a New and Happy 2010!

Teenagers, Birthday Cakes and Purity Rings

2009-12-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

This month our 2nd daughter turned 13 years old. Around this time, I like to emphasize (2) important things to our girls. Number one, despite recent upsets, they do have a Godly Heritage. On both sides of the family, they have parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. who have honored God and have therefore allowed a generational blessing to be passed down for them to enjoy. Number two, I like to emphasize the Godly Community that surrounds them. They have Godly teachers, leaders, mentors, friends, and friends of their parents all around them. Despite how they may feel from time to time, they do not walk the Christian journey alone. There are many others who walk it as well, along side them. There are many who are watching over them, encouraging them, hoping the best for them, and who are willing to pull them away from questionable situations. I joke (only slightly) that there are many "momma's" and "papa's" that are looking out for them in this city! On that note, we are so thankful to everyone who took time away from their busy Christmas schedule to spend the afternoon with us and were such a blessing to Hosanna.

At the Ramsdell home, our daughters origionally initiated the idea of getting a purity ring. In our family, the ring simply represents a Godly desire. We believe that the particular desire to stay pure until marriage is a worthy one to pursue and is definately worth our affirmation. I have emphasized with my girls, maybe all their lives, that their responsibility at this time in terms of male/female relationships is not to pursue a young man, nor is it to seek the pursuit of a young man -- even if it is a Godly young man. Their responsibility is to become the right young woman. If the principle that we "attract who we are" makes any sense, and I belive it does, taking the time to become Miss Right before attempting to land Mr. Right makes all the difference. When our daughters asked for purity rings, we realized it does not speak to what will happen over the next 10 years or so. It does however speak alot about the kinds of women my girls desire to become. We believe that the "becoming" must begin to take place before the "pursuing". When Hosanna finally reaches her wedding day, what sweet gifts, the gifts of her purity and loyalty, will be. How helpful to a marriage to already have done work in the areas of patience, perserverance, loyalty and waiting.

So...today...we presented our daughter with a purity ring as a symbol of our affirmation of who she is, who she desires to become and of the future relationship we pray she has one day with her husband.

Recently, she told me she didn't like the color blue. She told me this AFTER I'd bought her a blue ring and had it sized for her 3 3/4 finger! My reasoning on getting this blue ring was an old tradition. At least in the South, girls wear something Old, something New, something Borrowed, something BLUE. So, I thought that just maybe her ring may become her "something blue".

Our Christian community layed hands on her and prayed for God's blessing on her life. We ate cake and opened presents. It was a nice day...a sweet party and we are so happy God is allowing us to be able to raise such a sweet girl!

Christmas...even when I don't feel Merry

2009-12-23T08:37:00.001-08:00

I look forward to the holidays. Around this time of year, I wish we could just take off of EVERYTHING and concentrate on only those things that bring enjoyment. Having unrealistic expectations seems to be a constant theme for me lately.

This year Christmas has felt a little different. We are smack dab in the middle of our transition with Eli. It has been difficult for me lately -- in ways that I don't even know how to articulate very well. I run a small business...Billy is starting a large business...we have lots of children who love being involved in life (and rarely love cleaning up after life happens)...we have far less resources at our disposal than in year's past...I miss my extended family whom I haven't seen in a year and 1/2 (it's being at my Grandmother's during the holidays that gives me that "holiday feeling")...my little sis has had 2 children I've yet to meet...and I've even found myself revisiting the sadness of my father dying in a car accident almost 10 year ago. We feel alot of stress at the moment. Billy and I both feel tired. I feel fragile...much more emotional than I normally am. A sweet friend today said, "You sound like a first time parent." She couldn't have been more accurate as to how I'm feeling. My lack of confidence in parenting Eli has caught me off guard. However, this blog isn't about Eli.

This Christmas season has still seemed, well..."Christmasy". Not in a "merry" sort of way...but I've definately sensed God's sweet presence with us. Life this past year has not gone smoothly...therefore...I don't expect that Christmas go perfectly either. Infact, I know it won't. I'm ok with that. However, here's a short list of things I've just reminded myself that I know too....

- Christmas is about the night when God sent hope to the hopeless. I've been a Christian more than 1/2 my life -- yet I must confess that I still feel a sense of hopelessness from time to time when life's stress is more than I think I can bear. God sent Jesus that night for me...just for me. We couldn't have made it this far without a belief that regardless of life's circumstances, His love is sure and never fails.

- Christmas is a time to celebrate the love that lives inside you and me. Getting my mind off myself by giving this love away -- is a good idea.

- That quiet, calm night, God broke through the darkness with light -- dazzling light. He breaks through mine too...often when I'm "still, knowing He is God". I'm a lover of that moment. Really, I can't express enough how much I love a moment where God shows up and comes through. To have that moment -- I also have to have the experience that brings me there.

- "Doing" Christmas this year - with less resources than I've had in the past -- on top of everything else - has required a certain amount of courage out of me...I have proven I can be brave.

- My love language is "Quality Time" which means what I really desire this time of year is time to spend with the Lord and time with my family. To make this happen, there are other things I need to give up in the future. Next year, if I don't invite you over -- it's because my house is a wreck -- I'm making time to read my Bible instead of picking up. Next year, instead of getting a Christmas Card from me -- I'll be praying for you instead. :)

We have been in a time of stretching and growth. Those words are always bittersweet. BITTERSWEET. At any given moment -- in an emotional sense -- I look like I've just completed a hard, long workout. My faith feels truly worked out and it has felt like this for quite sometime. Actually, the faith of my whole little family is getting worked out. I can only believe that God is headed someplace in all that we are doing --- the words of this blog infact is proof of my trust and faith -- after all I'm still here walking the narrow road He's called me to walk...and I have hope.

The Journey of Our Lifetime... at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-12-02T17:01:00.001-08:00

I believe God's grander plan is coming true for Eli. Enjoy....

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Eli's Eye Surgery

2009-12-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day for Eli. As the Dr. did a surgery that basically saved his vision in his right eye, we experienced some of the enormity of what the American Health Care System can offer him versus what he wouldn't have gotten in China.

Eli had cataracts as a baby - in both eyes. At 1 year, 8 months, he had surgery in China to remove the cloudy lens from both eyes. Since the part of the eye that we use to focus is absent in Eli (the lens), he has very thick glasses. The good news is that he is a good candidate to have artificial lens put in when he's older. The other good news is that he has (4) older siblings to fight off mean, playground bullies. Bullies beware as the Ramsdell's have no wimpy children.

With the cataract problem being solved...Eli also has Glaucoma due to a birth defect in his eye. Glaucoma is simply high pressure in the eye. Prolonged high eye pressure can lead to damage to the optic nerve and eventually loss of vision. Since Eli is only 3, the concern is that he is looking at managing high eye pressure over the course of a very long life-time (vs if he got glaucoma at the age of 90).

After being sedated, Dr. Lee was able to get a very good pressure reading on Eli. Good pressures fall in the range of 10 - 20. Eli's left eye was a 14. Great! Enough said there. His right eye was a 30 --- with 90% damage to the optic nerve. Chances are he's already lost some peripheral vision in this eye (as we suspected even in China). The surgery came just in the nick of time.

All went well and as he heals we will be able to tell where the procedure has left him. Best case scenario, the surgery was enough to lower the eye pressure and nothing more will be needed.

The bottom line is...the boy has sight. He will be able to play, read, go to school and most likely drive. I believe God's grander plan is coming true for him.

Home three months...plus some....and still only the beginning

2009-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

We have officially been home with Eli for 3 months plus an extra week or so! Sometimes it still all feels unreal. When I look at Eli I know it's possible for faith and courage to take a dream and turn it into reality. He used to just be a thought that tugged on my heart. Today, he stands in my kitchen literally tugging on my arm saying, "Mommy, Eat!".

We are doing well at this point. Very, very tired (hey, 5 kids is ALOT!), but we are alive and well for sure. We are daily seeing God's strength being made perfect in our weakness...after all, our strength gave out months ago.

Because we were in the adoption process for almost 3 years (and because of how old and tired we feel), it's tempting to think we've been at this forever...in reality though...we know we are just getting started. I'm so thankful to get to say, it's been a very good start.

Eli was not old enough when placed in the care of the orphanage or when he was adopted to know what was happening to him. However, he was old enough to know that something was indeed happening to him. Most people do not give thought to the trauma a child experiences in this situation. Having been the adoptive parent in this case, what they go through seems overwhelming from my vantage point. God truly made these kid's to be some of the most resilent children on the planet.

Eli seems to be going through the bonding process with his new family very well. We have prioritized bonding as the most important issue on our plate concerning him. I still have a feeling that his attachment process is "fragile", but it's coming along well none-the-less. I don't mean "fragile" in the sense that I might make a mistake and ruin him forever. God didn't bless Eli with perfect parents. I mean that I believe Eli is learning to trust us -- which is good. It's great infact! Yet, at the same time, remnants of mistrust still obviously remain in his heart. I am praying that time, repetition of needs meet, and the Holy Spirit will continue to bring healing to him. We continue to work hard at reinforcing family relationships (whose who), proving that we can be trusted to meet his needs, putting him in an environment of praise & worship (and asking the Holy Spirit to knit our hearts together). I believe God said to us through His Word that He would "bring our son from afar" -- that means in his heart and emotions as well. I am claiming that as a promise. We continue touching, cuddling, playing and simply loving, loving, and loving in the ways an adoptive child needs to be loved. And...we are still only at the beginning.

Speaking of the beginning, I also believe that Eli is BEGINNING to feel safe and settled in our home -- which is wonderful! Again however, I sense that he is yet to feel COMPLETELY safe and settled. Thus, I give our current attachment and bonding situation a "fragile" description.

I'm certainly encouraged by the whole thing and can see how a year from now -- we could possibly look like a completely different family! Weekly, Eli changes. He has begun expressing true joy much more frequently. Not a laugh or smile because something acts on him from the outside...but a joy that comes from the inside...something he allows himself because he is indeed beginning to feel safe. Spontaneous smiles and laughter are a daily occurence.

His eye contact is improving. He more frequently rejects others outside of the family holding him and will avert his eyes and mumble when "strangers" try to have conversation with him. He may appear rude to others, but this is actually a good thing for him to do.

He willingly gives affection when it is asked for (as in "Eli, give me a hug!") -- at least to his family members. Occasionally, he is the initiator of the affection. He has opted to sit in my lap alot lately and will smile and rub my face. A good sign (and fun for me). I currently feel like he views me as a cross between what a mother might be -- and his favorite "nanny". Our social worker says I should expect this to be the case for a good while longer.

He is healthy and growing stonger. He sleeps very well. The peditrician puts his speech development at 20 - 22 months (which is excellent after only being in the country for 3 months). Physically, he is about a year behind -- but making great strides. I believe physical and occupational therapy would greatly benefit him, but bc of our efforts in the "Attachment" area -- we will put this off awhile longer and simply have him climb, jump, and run with all our other children. The Dr. sees no reason he will not "catch up" before Kindergarten (with or without therapy).

He has trouble holding a spoon/fork and feeding himself. Possibly because he had never seen an eating utensil before July. He holds his spoon like a chopstick as a matter of fact!

He wears pull-ups and will "go potty" as long as I remember to take him. A few times, he has told us when he had to go, but this is not the norm. We are resisting the temptation to focus on potty training at this time -- partly because we hate it, but mostly in an attempt to keep our forward momentum going in the bonding area and in the developmental areas he willing steps forward in.

His little googly eyes have become normal to us...even cute! Although, our children have already had to step inbetween Eli and the insensitive comments of some of their friends. I'm glad they are willing to do so! He is looking at at least a couple of surgeries (beginnging in December), patching and eye therapy...maybe even meds to bring down his high eye pressure. But all in all, he is not hindered by his sight.

We are surrounded by some of the best adoptive families in the country. Our friends and literally our next door neighbors work hard to keep us encouraged and supported. We have a sense that they won't let us fail if they can help it. We couldn't be the parents we've grown to be without these people. So thankful for them! They've saved me alot of money in therapy already!

And...believe it or not, Eli isn't all that's going on around here. Billy continues to work very hard at building a new cliental. He's as motivated and energized as I've ever seen him....purposeful...focused. After 15 years, it's still a blessing to be married to a Godly man...well, most of the time (who am I kidding?). I am teaching part-time and running our family with a passion. My teen daughters are beautiful blessings. They have grown into strong, mature, Godly young women -- surpassing anything we would have hoped for them. They have emerged as leaders in their school and youth group. Our choice to put them in the best spiritual environment that we were aware of has proven to be an AMAZING blessing. Our younger two are full of energy and learning to live with all their hearts -- and pointed in the right direction. For the most part, we love our home, our city, our church, and our relationships...and in the midst of intese, hard work -- we are simply enjoying the life God has given us.

So...there ya have it! A status report. A long, wonderful report card of how the Ramsdell's are really doing. As a matter of fact, I'd love to hear how your family is doing too! So -- give me a hollar when you can! As we begin the holiday season with a time of gratitude, know I'm so thankful for all of you!

Billy's Gratitude

2009-11-10T07:12:00.001-08:00

From the statistics I have seen recently, nearly 40% of the people on the planet live on $1 or less a day of income. Then I consider America and the fact that even those in poverty levels live on much more than $1 a day. Then I consider my struggles over the past 20 years, both in family and finances and realize how petty they are in comparison. For me, I really do believe we are the most blessed nation on earth and that I am blessed more than I deserve. My home, my job, my amazing wife and wonderful kids. There is no way I could thank God enough, I mean really, I am totally and completely blessed and yes, Thankful.

To all my fellow bloggers

2009-11-05T11:18:00.001-08:00

My daughter, Hosanna, has a cute blog I thought some of you might want to follow!

She'd love you!

www.dancingqueen96-hosanna.blogspot.com

Being Thankful

2009-11-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

I say this to my friends every year, but it's so good it's worth mentioning again.

Billy and I hate unthankfulness, especially in our children. Of all the crimes you can commit in the Ramsdell household -- it is the one that will get you the swiftest, heaviest penalty. God hates it too. He dealt the children of Israel 40 years worth of punishment for the 'grumbling'. That's a stiff deal for something we might consider trite in America these days.

Barbara Rainey (whose husband Dennis hosts the Family Life Today radio broadcast) wrote a great book called Thanksgiving, A Time to Remember. The book chronicles the real life stories of the Pilgrims. It's an enjoyable read for school-age children, teens and adults alike. It also has short highlighted passages for those reading to preschoolers. It can be read in a 45 minute block of time OR it can be read over the corse of a few days in shorter time increments.

Finally, the book contains a journal for families to record from year to year those things that they are most thankful for. It's can become a great keepsake.

This is our 3rd year using this resource and I love it so much, I give it as a gift. Here are a few notes from our pages:

"I am thankful for a forgiving and unfailing Lord! Also, for the freedom of religion and for the gifts and talents to praise God with." Elizabeth age 12

"I'm thankful for my mommy cooking us dinner. And! I'm thankful no one died today!" :) Hosanna age 10

"I'm thankful that Shanna 'goes with me'. " Billy 2008

In November it's so natural to focus on gratitude. Here's too doing it deliberately!

Cute Little Give-Away

2009-11-01T19:30:00.001-08:00

Here's a give away worth checking out from Melissa's Heart and Home!

http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/2009/11/one-year-ago-giveaway.html

Eli's 3rd, first bday, and Billy's last night as a 39 year old!

2009-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Eli's 3rd birthday. It was also Billy's last night as a 39 year old as today is his 40th birthday. Two very important milestones that we celebrated in an understated, quiet way.
It seems common to wonder about your adoptive child's birthparents...especially around their birthday. Are the birth parents thinking about them, still greiving their loss, or perhaps regreting their decision? Are the parents still praying for him -- praying that he'll find his way to the life they desire for him.

I have given thought recently to the parts of Eli's story we know nothing of. All the parts that occurred before he entered the orphanage at the age of 9 months old. I believe my thoughts are inspired by the Holy Spirit as one day I will tell this story to Eli. I'm still formulating the whole thing...and I won't tell him it's how it actually happened...I'll simply tell him it's how I imagined that it happened.

I do not imagine the people who gave birth to this wonderful child as terrible, heartless humans. The people of China have the same needs and reasons to put babies up for adoption as we do in America...however with far less support. Their government and culture simply do not make allowance for it. Therefore, creating a strategic plan to leave a child in a place where they are sure to be found becomes their "adoption plan".

I believe Eli's mother is a woman of faith and prayer. I imagine her to be a member of the underground church. I do not believe she just flippantly decided to leave her baby. I believe she was like Moses mother in Exodus chapter 2, "A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn't hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile."

I believe that she loved and cared for Eli for 9 months. I think she understood that their was a calling and a destiny on his life. I think she struggled and greived with why God was not seemingly providing the necessary resources for her to care for him. And at last, with trust and faith in her heart, she made her plan to place her baby in a basket. And leave him in God's hands (literally) to be found.

Satan comes to most of us in childhood with attempts to destroy our lives. Eli's early years seemingly taught him not to trust -- and that the world is not safe. On the contary, Eli is as safe as all the rest of us. God's hand has been on his life since the beginning for a plan and a purpose. We trust that God has placed him on a path since birth to equip him with all that he needs to live out God's will for his life....just like he did for Moses whose Godly mother released him to be raised by another family. We hope to prove to Eli that adult's are trustworthy. We will fail on occasion, but we are absolutely sure that God will prove himself faithful to Eli.

I think Eli just may one day find himself as a missionary to China. It's not to far fetched if you've ever meet my other children. We all like the idea of going into all the world to share the gospel. We hope to do right by the woman who gave him birth and to honor her through out his life. We are so happy to be able to wish Eli a Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday. God didn't have to pick us to be his family. But we are glad he did.

Cute Ideas!

2009-10-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

Check out this cute craft from Beneath My Heart -- it's a great blog to follow!

http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com/2009/10/easy-bulletin-board-project-and.html#comment-form

Wight House Gifts: Halloween Giveaway!

2009-10-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

I don't like decorating my house for Halloween. What can I say? I don't like cob webs and scary, death dealer guys. However, I bought a set of these magnets and they are so adorable. They lend just the right amt of "somethings different" for the upcoming Halloween festivities!

Wight House Gifts: Halloween Giveaway!

You win some, you lose some....

2009-10-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today, I spent my second weekend convincing myself that Saturday night was really Friday night (for the sake of my sanity). I know...it's a little weird. We actually had a pleasant Friday night (the real Friday night). Our 3 oldest kids had sleepovers AT SOMEONE ELSE'S HOME. This doesn't happen often. That left us with only Victoria (whose bday is on Tuesday) and Eli so I decided to take her and a friend to a fun play place called IT'Z. Billy arrived home from work at 7pm -- just in time to walk out the door with us. While the girls played, we spent 2 hours trolling around, talking and enjoying Eli seeing things he's never seen before.

This morning though, Billy was out the door again bright and early -- or should I say out the door in the freezing temperatures. Rallying myself, I blared the new Desparation album and cleaned until my house was sparkly (I actually like cleaning if it does indeed result in a clean house). Then, me and Victoria braved the cold to stock the house with groceries. I normally don't buy groceries this early in the weekend -- but what the heck! If I'm gonna change it up...might as well go for broke! So, by 4pm the house was clean, pantry full, beef stew in the crock-pot and homemade hot cocoa on the stove! Beautiful.

Billy came in with the hankering to play a game of Yahtzee. I love playing Yahtzee. However, playing games with my kids is another story. It's loud...it's crazy (and I don't mean in a fun way)...people telling each other to shut-up, stop cheating, etc. Basically, we yell at each other to say, "Stop yelling!". Hosanna got a Yahtzee. However, the game really wasn't enjoyable. I refuse to lose heart though. You win some, you lose some. In the case of this game, I lost. Literally, I had the lowest score. But I'm determined that we learn to play family games in a civilized fashioned. So...next go around...I'll put a little money on the table. Seriously, maybe $20 to the most quiet kid or best all around??? Maybe I'll give'em all $5 to play with me -- then take $.50 away everytime they get loud (in which I'd probably make money by the end of the evening).

Sometimes the strategy for raising a big family....raising a good family...is simply being persistent with trial and error. I heard today that "IMPOSSIBLE" was just fear's excuse not to try. Right now, I seem to have an uncanny ability to make "light and momentary trials" bigger than they really are...so...when it comes to Yahtzee...I will CERTAINLY give it another try!

Homecoming...

2009-10-08T10:32:00.001-07:00

These are pics of Elizabeth's 9th grade Homecoming Dance.......

Debt-Free Living, College Savings, Investments and more!

2009-10-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Shanna and I trust that you and your family are doing well!!! Changes are many in the Ramsdell Home.

* Adoption this summer. Eli, www.usandeli.blogspot.com
* Launch of New Business, www.edwardjones.com

We are deeply grateful to have such a wonderful group of friends and clients. As I sat and talked with a couple of parents last night I realized that it would be good to let Shanna's clients/friends know what we were doing.

First, I want to thank some of you for doing business with Shanna. I'm sure you agree with me in saying she is one of the best Music Teachers in town, of course, I am a little bias. While she has gone to daytime lessons only, we remain blessed by the great students and families she works with.

Second, on behalf of our family and the new business, I wanted to ask for a favor. I would like to ask for the permission to introduce you to the new Edward Jones Investment practice beginning this month, and ask for permission to call on you later for personal conversation about financial planning and goals, possible referrals, and feedback.

Third, and lastly, I would deeply appreciate you checking us out at, www.edwardjones.com and sending me a reply email to confirm you took a second to consider my request and confirm that you don't mind me reaching out to you later in the Fall.

Personal Comment: We will eventually have an Open House or Grand Opening and would love invite you and your family. I'm sure you know by now, Shanna and I have the heart of a pastor, love to teach and love to see families built up, successful and thriving. I believe this will be a powerful expression of these same elements. One of the reasons I agreed to work with Edward Jones is the fact that they are a Full Service Firm who has the best partners, tools, research and practices in the Industry, useful for helping any family meet their financial goals, along with the personal touch of a local Personal Financial Planner, meaning, I can trust them and so can my clients. We have NO proprietary products to sell. We have thousands of local offices, but you get "one" State & Federal Certified Advisor to help your family build and leave a financial legacy as well as accomplish short term goals. Full Service means, retirement, college saving, checking, saving, CD's, insurance, stocks, bonds, annuities and more, delivered through the personalized, high touch and convenient service of your own Advisor. My focus on individual families & small business, along with non-profits, will allow me to pay special attention to each client.

I will love to call or drop by to pay you a personal visitl, but until then, let me say a very special and sincere THANK YOU, for being a great part of Shanna's Music business over the years and great friends. THANK YOU for considering being a "foundational friend" to the new Edward Jones family I am beginning.

Have a great and wonderful Fall. Feel free to call or email anytime. Blessings on your home.

Billy Ramsdell
Cell 290-2449

A different kind of Sunday

2009-10-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

This has been a different weekend for our family. Billy has been working on Saturdays for a little while -- and probably will be for quite sometime. I've been feeling a little sorry for myself as my "weekends" have not been going as I planned. I like to be finished with work and have a sparkly clean house by Friday night. I'm far from a "neat freak" but I relax and enjoy my time better when the WHOLE house is clean (you can imagine my children's delight)...and this doesn't happen often.

By Friday evening, I like to relax and enjoy dinner together. In my mind, Saturday is a day we should be doing something different and fun. Usually, Sunday comes and we enjoy church -- but afterwards the house is a wreck and I'm kinda at a loss for what to do next. I feel like I should be getting ready for the week ahead, but frankly, I don't want the weekend to end so I definately don't want to be spending 1/2 a day getting ready for the week ahead. I usually end up going grocery shopping (one of my least favorite activities). Sundays aren't my favorite day of the week to say the least. Friday NIGHT is my favorite day of the week.

However, with Billy working on Saturdays...it kinda throws a wrench in things. I'd be lying to state I don't have pity parties...I do. Sometimes, I have intense, dramatic ones. But, always the good sport -- I eventually decided I needed to be done grieving this "life change" and accept my new reality. So...Saturday, while Billy worked, I cleaned the house. I ran errands. All the while, I was PRETENDING it was Friday. Are you scared yet? Anyhow, my good imagination worked well for me. By Saturday night, I was ready to sit down to steaks on the grill and a good movie. Then, today after church (house still clean) we decided to head up to the mountains for a day of fun. If we had any luck, we might see some fall leaves (lots have already fallen off).

We made it to Woodland Park, Colorado in about 20 minutes...what can I say...Billy drives fast. We stopped at the Doughnut Mill for a treat. This is a great mom-n-pop doughtnut shop...with HUGE doughnuts. It's the kind of place my Florida friends would imagine a doughnut shop in the mountains to be. Then we jumped into the car and headed to Decker, Colorado where we found the most beautiful place on the river to spend a couple of hours. It was a cold day, but the fly fishers were out in huge numbers. The kids enjoyed playing near the water and climbing the steep cliffs all around.

I climbed too. Going up was very slippery -- which made coming down even more of a challenge. Benjamin felt sorry for me and suggested with "slide down". This worked great and was lots of fun. However, it was a little like a rock slide as I was coming down below and he from behind me. He said, "Mom, I'm the one who's gonna take care of you when your old." :)

We ended the day with dinner at the Mason Jar. Another local, mom-n-pop place. They served what I'd call Southern Food -- "Chicken Fried Steak" with white gravy. One could think a long time on what exactly "Chicken Fried Steak" is.....

Anyhow, possibly, this is how all Colorado families should spend their Sundays!

Cataracts, Glaucoma and other things....

2009-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today, I took Eli back for his second eye Dr. visit. He has quite the glasses prescription. Infact, he looks just like chicken little! I've told my four bio kids that that's why I had them first -- so they can beat up all the playground bullies that may pick on him later in life! As a baby, Eli had cataracts in both eyes. They may have been congenital or they may have come as the result of some sort of infection he may have had. In China, to save his vision, they removed the LENS from both of his eyes...which explains the coke bottle glasses. The lens is the part of the eye we use to focus...so without it...one can only imagine what he sees. He also developed Glaucoma. Glaucoma is simply high eye pressure. The pressure in Eli's eyes should be "20" or less. The pressure in his right eye today was "40". As with high blood pressure, the Dr. will try and bring the pressure down with medications. Specifically, we will begin with eye drops. If that doesn't bring the pressure down significantly by December, the Dr. will take the most common, sure approach and operate. Since Hosanna will be having her surgery to remove the hard wear in her foot in December -- maybe they can share a hospital room! Sigh. Anyhow, once having the surgery some kids need nothing else, but many still need meds to keep the pressure low. Glaucoma in children can be likened to diabetes...it doesn't go away, but is something that CAN be kept under control and managed so that Eli sees the bright, exciting future God has instore for him -- with BOTH eyes!

Boots....

2009-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you want me to have a pair of these?

2 months home!!!

2009-09-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

We have officially been 2 months home with Eli. In those two months our four bio kids have started school (one in highschool, one in Jr. high), Hosanna has undergone extensive recovery on her foot, and Billy has begun a new job. We've just begun to add "after school activities" into our schedule and yet EVERY DAY is brimming with things-to-do. Life is never boring...and it's never idle!

Eli is changing every week. Currently, he is as animated as we've ever seen him. He's laughs a lot and talks all the time. He has about 20 American words/phrases that he uses regularly and at the right times. The other morning when I went to fish him out of the crib, he said, "Good morning. How are you? Good." He has entire conversations memorized as a matter of fact! He uses the names of family members and certainly recognizes his own. He's enjoying a weekly story time at the library and loves playing outside. He's certainly has become interested in his environment, toys and tentatively delights in his new found freedoms.

Eli eats everything...and I do mean everything. Just a few minutes ago he yelled from the kitchen, "Mommy, Eli hungry! Eat!" We'll work on his manners.

As far as "bonding" and knowing there is something special about the 6 members of his family...and knowing there is something special about his parents -- he continues to come along. It's a slow, steady and fragile process.

His glasses have done wonders for his sight and his enjoyment in looking at things. We actually do not feel like we deal with his "special need" on a daily basis besides keeping up with where we put his little glasses. Friday he will go to the eye Dr. to have the glaucoma that's in his left eye checked. Glaucoma is "high eye pressure" -- you can liken it to high blood pressure. If it's high enough he may need a medication or procedure to relieve it. I'll keep everyone informed.

For now...the Ramsdell's are alive and doing well!

More cute pics of Chicken Little

2009-09-26T18:17:00.001-07:00

These were too cute not to post!

Good use of a Saturday!

2009-09-26T16:12:00.001-07:00

I like to paint things. I love wearing paint overalls! Paint under my nails at the end of the day probably means I spent time doing something I think is worthwhile. Actually, I like to slap paint on. I like to jump right in on a project, before I'm totally prepared (that means I don't tape up), and just get it going! I appreciate finger paints, water colors, collage materials and sidewalk chalk. I'm the mom who keeps playdough on a low shelf for easy access -- and I think playing with moon sand is a great use of time as a matter of fact. I'm a messy painter, but I have fun doing it.

Today, I did my front door. Since I was basically left uniterrupted for the most part...my arms are tired, but my brain feels like I've been on a mini vacation! With no less than 11 children in and out of my house...that's pretty amazing. Here's to a good use of time on a Saturday!

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

I love this too!

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Father's Heart - The Epic Unfolds (from Billy)

2009-09-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

The Bible says that men should not presume to be teachers. I agree with that and in the life experience of adopting ELI I have found myself, even though I have fathered 4 other kids for a while now, becoming a student of life, parenting and child development all over again. As a good student I listen, discuss, object and then attempt to adjust my understanding according to new found truth or facts. Through the intensity of the past 2 years surrounding this adoption, including this very day, I might add, I feel like I have swallowed a river worth of living waters full of refreshing and energy. There is something special bottled up inside that little boy we have all so naturally begun calling Eli.

I say that to say, I am not a teacher, but rather a student who likes to teach. Truth is, I really like to tell stories, to recount moments in life when something powerful, funny or special brought attention to some interesting fact. One example would be, and follow me here as I change decades, the time when I was around 7/8 years old with blood all over my face from a backyard brawl. The setting was the backyard of a small suburban home playing beside a new possible step brother named Scotty, don't ask, and his sisters. We were playing in our cool tree house on stilts when the 6th grade bully from the next lot over came to play. He played but he also bullied Scotty's sisters. So, as we had discussed, with the precise planning of a special forces operation, we stepped in and defended the ladies. The perfect example of chivalry and bravery, with honor at stake, we lured the unsuspecting bully up the stairs of our tree house then attacked. For the sake of our family name and with every ounce of "scrappy" we could muster up at 4th grade and 78 pounds, we attacked. The battle included tackling down the stairs, rolling on the ground, hitting, kicking and bloody noses. There is a secret picture to prove that Scotty and I, were both laughing and crying as the medical staff treated our bloody faces while the bigger, tougher and now defeated Goliath of a 6th grader ran away, jumping the fence in fear to never return again. It was fun, memorable and perfectly executed, teamwork at it's best. It was a story that 33 years later still makes me admire my friend and almost step brother Scotty and makes me wish we had more opportunities to defend more innocent ladies of Tidewater Lane.

Getting back on topic, I would like to write about my personal experience with becoming the Father of our newly adopted son, Elias Zhang Wei Ramsdell. For the longest time we were just doing paperwork and getting ready to adopt. Eventually we got pictures of Eli. I thought he was cute, I showed them around to friends and prayed over them, but never felt any real confirmation or connection, they were just pictures. Eventually, I was beginning to feel like we were not being decisive, mainly me, and that something needed to happen to confirm we were headed down the right path. This was Spring of this 2009. In pursuit of greater confidence in the matter, I ditched work to spend a day, the first official day of Spring actually, hiking up Stanley Canyon behind the Air Force Academy, seeking God's heart on the matter. As I hiked, still feeling the pain of a recent ACL reconstruction on my right knee, I prayed. Sometimes being physical helps me pray more focused and more intense. I stopped along the way to rest, drink water and read scripture. I was also listening to some kicking praise on my iPod. At one point I was wondering if I should just turn back. I was weak due to fasting, tired due to being out of shape and breathing hard due to the cool rain and altitude. Pressing on, however, proved to be just the right thing to do as I eventually found a great spot to sit and to pray. It was there that a normal prayer for God to speak turned into a life experience worthy of retelling. In the following moments, as I drank water, rested and really began to focus in on the heart of God, that a miracle happened. With no words and with no visions, and during a normal moment of quiet time before God, my heart began to break. The more I prayed the more my soul began to become torn and twisted inside of me. The heart of Father God, especially the heart of God for Elias, deeply penetrated my own heart and broke me like a baby. I cried, I sobbed. For a few minutes upon that mountain side, I fell apart. Easy to understand though was the reason for the breakdown. It was, like I have said, God's heart, the Father's Heart, reaching out through me to one of HIS dear sons, stuck in an orphanage thousands of miles away without a family, father or chance in the world. God's brokenness over Eli's situation broke me. I pictured him going to sleep at night, cold, uncomforted and alone. I felt the feelings of abandonment, I felt the feelings of deep sorrow and I felt the passion God has for this little ones. After this short time, I didn't have to pray for God to speak or to show me, I knew, like a Father knows, this boy was mine. I had felt both his pain and the pain of his Heavenly Father and was now fully vested as his Earthly Father.

As if that is not cool enough, there is another piece to the Father's Heart puzzle. It has to do with our Baby Dedication just 2 wks ago, 2 months or so after we actually brought Eli home. Without anyone in the world knowing about the above experience we went forward for Baby Dedication Sunday morning. A pastor was assigned to us, to pray for us and to symbolically receive the child from our arms and we dedicated him to God and God's Purpose. We went through the routine and the prayer with a sizable group of family and friends around us for support. A group we are very thankful to have with us, by the way. Following the dedication the pastor standing with us gave me a word about an impression he received while holding Eli. He said that God had shown him that Eli DID IN FACT have a place in our family, a place made by God and that the place was near The Father's Heart. Say what, The Father's Heart? Did he really say that, why yes he did. So, you know what I thought of...that day on the mountain. It was a confirmation that God had been involved in every step of the way and that HE had placed Eli in our home and that He had given us the right amount of space in our home and heart for Eli.

I do believe that Eli is my son. I know he has biological parents and I believe that his birth dad is his dad. But, he will never be his Father and he will never be the kind of Father I can be to him. There is a special bond between us already and I appreciate the way God has breathed into our lives through this young man. I look forward to writing about it and talking about it in the days to come. The first year of experiences with Eli at home have already started with amazing growth and surprise. I can only imagine what he will be like 6 months from now. And without being a teacher I hope to share more about the parenting we have engaged in and practiced in response to this unique experience.

Limeaide

2009-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Determined to make homemade lemonaide while it was still summer (at least technically), I went to the grocery store to buy lemons. They didn't have any...but limes were abundant. So...we squeezed 25 limes and made Cherry LimeAide. Summer isn't over until Tuesday people!!!

Book Signing...

2009-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we went to the Barne's and Noble where Paul McCusker (who we know best for his Adventure's in Odessey series, loved by kids and adults in our family) signed a copy of his newest book for us! His book, TSI: The Gabon Virus, is an excellent read if I do say so myself!

Happy Apple Farm

2009-09-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, my family (including my in-laws) went to Happy Apple Farm. It's quite a cute place...just what you'd think. We rode in a hayride of sorts down a lane lined with sun flowers to be dropped off in an over priced apple/pumpkin orchard.....you pay for the experience. The kids had a blast and so did I! We left with 30 plus lbs of apples and 85 lbs of pumpkins! Hope you enjoy the pics.....

Can I Have This Dance?

2009-09-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last night, my oldest daughter Elizabeth and her friend Taylor Parsley ended TAG's $10 Homecoming service by singing "Can I have this Dance"? They were amazing. It's such a joy to parent this child! Thanking God today for a large, busy, hectic and totally worth it life! Enjoy!

Indian Summer

2009-09-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today, as I get my studio ready for students to return tomorrow and put out Fall decorations -- I secretly go over my T.T.D. list for the summer and am aware that I did several things on my list...but not all of them. Instead of lamenting about not finding a "Hawaiian Shaved Ice Stand" (or even having one snow cone for that matter)...I'm going to give myself the grace of an Indian Summer. The weather is still warm here...the days are just beautiful. Actually, it STILL IS SUMMER!

I make "lists" of these things because I believe we always need something to look forward too...whether it be a simple, patio picnic with our kids, a nice vacation or a Starbux with Billy. My lists are my way of making sure I stop and smell the roses. So, along with my review of those activites I had planned to do in May, and before I make a list of all the wonderful things to enjoy this fall, here's what I hope to do with my last few days of SUMMER.

from post on May 25, 2009

1. Fly to China and adopt a little boy whose life will be forever changed. Ours will change as well...and we can't wait! This we did! And it was profound, wonderful, scary, overwhelming, incredible, etc. We are enjoying the adjustment period at the moment. Praise God!

2. Send Elizabeth off on her second international mission's trip, Germany! Try not to cry and act anxious every day she's gone. This was an incredible trip for Lizzie. Thanks to all our friends and family who helped her go! I'll just say...I missed her alot!

3. Find a Hawaiian Shaved Ice stand and frequent it often; Settle on a snow cone if I must; As a last resort, there is always the ice cream truck, but I'm a little grossed out by that. I didn't even do this once! I do however find contentment in the fact that I did eat a strange looking ice-cream thingy from the seven-eleven in China.

4. Walk to the park with the kids and lay by the fountain until I get sunburn on my cheeks. Feed the ducks even though the sign says not too. This we did several times...and with great friends I might add!

5. Make the drive to Denver and lay by the wave pool in Six Flags at least 4 - 5 times; Ok, I might have to settle for standing in the kiddie pool. Hard to do with Hosanna's broke leg...but we did...the last time was the best....Hosanna's cast had just come off the day before! The sun and pool were glorious!

6. Camp. Even if it means sleeping in a tent. Choose a camp ground close to the movie theatre so we can go see Transformers. Transformers, I saw twice! Camping...not even once!

7. Grill and Eat the most spectacular burger on the planet. We grilled ALOT! We had some GREAT ribs! "Most spectacular burger on the planet" -- didn't happen.

8. Nuture the few plants in my yard and hopefully eat some home grown lettuce and tomatoes. A vicious hail storm destroyed my first crop! Not one to be defeated, I sowed a second. There is still hope that I MAY harvest some tomatoes yet!

9. Spend a few lazy mornings reading my Bible as long as I want. This is certainly a luxury for me. I did spend a few mornings doing this very same thing....I'm gonna spend a few more mornings doing this too!

10. Remember to kiss my husband and hug my children more often. Do this after crushing them in a game of badminton in the back yard! The kissing and hugging went well...the badminton...only once!

My days of Indian Summer will include....

One batch of Homemade Lemonade, a few more lazy days of reading my Bible as long as I want, one more game of badminton, and one good try at kite flying! It's not over til it's over!

The First Day of School

2009-08-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school. It was infact, the first day I've EVER been alone with Eli. The house was quiet. Very quiet. My brain enjoyed it. I could feel myself slowly begin to unravel - just a little - from the profound and busy summer we've had.

So...what did we do today? The weather was so beautiful...just the right amount of "summer" left in the air. So we went for a long walk. I took a route I normally don't take. We enjoyed the sounds of dogs barking, the wind blowing, and Air Force Academy Cadets jumping out of airplanes over head...all things new to Eli. We walked along side walk paths and detoured onto the thick grass without our shoes for awhile. We picked wild flowers.

I enjoy my relationships alot. But I can't live without some quiet time. Really, if I go too long without quiet stints of time to think -- I sorta go crazy. Just ask ANYONE in my family. So this thinking time was good for me. What does Eli need right now? What does my family need right now? What do I and Billy and I need right now? All very good questions to ponder. My conclusion was that my family just came through a summer that was...well, profound...and we feel a tad bit tramatized over it. Elizabeth went on a long, international missions trip and has begun asking herself and the Lord all the big questions of life; Hosanna broke her leg and needed more help than she wanted, she grieved and she learned the lessons of contentment and perserverance; Billy took the series 7 test...twice and began a new career he's never even dreamed of having; We left our children in the care of others for 16 days -- and flew 1/2 way around the world to gather Eli....and from this whirlwind we are all still spinning. This summer was profound...blessed...and it made us very tired.

Having been home only 3 weeks, people ask us daily how we are doing. The last couple of days I have begun to answer, "We feel like we've just gotten our legs back under us...we're standing, but shakey...ask me again in 6 months when hopefully by then we'll be walking". I don't expect to run for sometime. It sort of feels like we've been holding our breath for a long time and have just recently decided it was ok to breathe again.

So...what do we all need right now? My thoughts today were that we need to continue doing what were doing....taking things slow...quiet...a pace and dynamic we're not used too. I believe that the next 6 months hold in store for us refreshing, renewal and regeneration --- and we will make it back to full speed eventually.

We weren't ready for this particular First Day of School. We all desparately wanted...needed more time....more summer. But it's ok. Today we took a few more baby steps towards slowly figuring out a new normal as we make Eli a part of our family and help him lose his instutionalized mindset....and even though we step slowly, we do step forward...with great peace.

Oh Glorious Day!

2009-08-19T06:48:00.001-07:00

Hosanna......CAST-FREE.

Last Days of Summer

2009-08-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

One of our last days of summer we went to America the Beautiful Park and sat near the fountain for awhile...Hosanna was 2 days from cast removal so she even got a little wet. We also went to Prospect Lake and Uncle Wilbur's....yes, all on the same day.

Helping Hands

2009-08-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight we moved Victoria's bed into Benjamin's room -- and set up a new (old) bed for Victoria. Hopefully, soon, Eli will join Ben and actually sleep in this bed we set up for him (currently he's still sleeping in a crib in my office). Here's a pic of Eli climbing all over Billy while he's trying to assemble the bed!

Eli's first visit to Peditrician....

2009-08-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today, Billy and I took Eli to his very first peditirican appointment. We were there a whopping 2 hours! It took quite a while for them to go through his Chinese immunizations and figure them out. Fortunately, Dr. Golda felt comfortable enough with them that he only had to have 1 shot today. He was VERY unhappy about it.

The bottom line is that Eli is a very healthy, smart little boy who seems to have had great care in the orphanage. He was in a program called Half the Sky Foundation -- and actually received some preschool there. The ministry is worth checking out online www.halfthesky.org.

Eli's small motor skills are right on target. The Dr. expects his gross motor skills to catch up in 4 weeks or less. He most likely had great verbal skills -- in China. She was happy with his ability to copy words and will see him again in 6 months to better access his speech development. All in all we were very, very pleased with the visit.

We are so excited about how well he seems to be doing since coming home. Each day he "comes alive" just a little more. All 6 of us are enjoying this time with him. We are thanking God for his mercy and joy!

Moving into 2nd Gear.....

2009-08-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's a pic of Eli eating a doughnut....welcome to America!

Eli has been ours for 24 days! We've been home for only 12 of those. This week, a little less jet lagged, having the excitement of re-uniting with our bio kids settle a bit, and our extended family gone home ---- we've really been able to more clear headedly observe Eli. He actually seems to be doing so well! He seems more relaxed, happy and playful. He laughs alot and enjoys the affection of all his family members. Eli has certainly become more familiar with the layout of our home and the dogs. Infact, he has yet another english word under his belt, "Maddy-Franklin". Our 2 dogs are named "Madison" (because it's cute) and "Franklin" (after the singer Kirk Franklin -- they look alike). He likes to walk around and yell their names...as one name, "Maddy-Franklin"! He shows them whose boss...as long as they don't get too close. He regularly uses the words "Thank You", "All done", and "Bye Bye" at the right times. He's been said to have used "Stop!" as well. He seems to have begun to understand - just a little - that the 6 members of our family are special to him --- and that within that group -- there's something different about Billy and I.....it's all good.

I also believe I see in his questioning eyes an undercurrent of "how long is this going to last" - A tad bit of insecurity that tomorrow may be his last day here. He OCCASIONALLY calls me "Mommy" on his own, but he also uses the Chinese phrase for nanny alot. We gently correct him, after all, nannies come and go...but mommies stay forever.

To see or not to see...

2009-07-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today we took Eli to his first visit to the eye Doctor. His special needs were described as "Glaucoma and Post-Cataract Surgery". Our American Doctor, Dr. Lee, said that Eli was neither best case nor worst case. Looks like his original problem was having a cataract in both eyes --- possibly from birth or possibly from an infection. He has already had 2 surgeries in China. The first was to remove his LENS. This apparently is common for cataract patients under the age of 2. The second surgery was to remove fragments of his lens that didn't get taken out correctly the first time.

Eli could have developed the Glaucoma on his own OR another cause for this in children is actually 'cataract surgery'. Regardless of how it developed, he also has glaucoma in one eye.

The doctor was dissappointed that he was not given any help getting his eyes back into "focus" following his China surgeries and felt like that could have helped him considerably. Not having any such therapy has put us a "little behind the eight ball" so to speak.

Regardless, the first thing he wanted to do was get Eli into glasses. The perscription is fairly significant -- but getting his eyes back into focus is key. Since the lens of his eye has actually been removed, he'll be looking at glasses or contacts for the rest of his life most likely. We got him the cutest pair. He looks so smart! I can't wait to see his reaction to being able to see things better! He has obviously learned to compensate for his vision issues.

Glaucoma is the result of too much pressure in the eye -- and therefore -- damage occurs to the optic nerve. He was able to get a general reading on Eli and didn't feel it was that significant. He will do a more specific test for eye pressure in 2 months after Eli has had some time to adjust to the glasses. At that time, we'll know if we are looking at medication or surgery to manage the glaucoma. In the meantime, the glasses should improve his vision in a huge way.

We are praying this little boy sees a bright future!

Expecting vs Expectations

2009-07-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

I had planned to continue to chronicle through all our China experiences, but life is moving along quickly, so maybe all you need to know is that we arrived (after a 26 hour itenerary) home safely.

Throughout this journey I have not been given to too much "expectation" concerning Eli or our adjustment once arriving home. I've had 4 newborns and know quite well what it's like to kick the bottom block out from under your family structure and need to rebuild a daily routine accomodating a new person and temperment. Maturity and perspective are surely working right now and I'm thankful for them. However, with Eli there were so many unknowns. I didn't know how big he actually was, how smart he'd be, how developmentally behind he'd be, how culturally behind he'd be, how jet lagged we'd be, if he'd love the kids or not, if he'd cry alot or not, if he'd like the dogs, if he'd have tenacity to deal with the running arounds of a busy family or if he'd meet new people with fear or laughter. Unknown was the biggest known. So...I just decided that until we'd at least met, having expectations would be hard to figure.

Adjusting in China and re-adjusting upon coming home are different things. Eli has not changed much since we first met him, but his environment has changed many times...my neighbor yesterday said it can only be described as an alien abduction. I can only guess that's it is overwhelming for him. Everything in our home -- EVERYTHING -- is something he's never seen before -- much less going to the grocery store, zoo, neighbor's house, park, etc. He does seem to be tenacious -- and tired.

Right now, I can best describe myself as feeling like my head is "floating in a land of no expectations". It's kind of like having medicine head or vacation head -- but a little different. I'm not getting alot done except for resting, nor do I feel any pressure to get anything done (maturity and perspective). Our home looks as if we'd had a newborn...gifts, clothing, dishes, laundry -- all outta place -- some don't even have a place yet. I've declared the "Beauty of the Lord" over my home -- and moved on. I can't be too bothered by the clutter. My jet lag is worse than I'd hoped and it looks like I'm probably still another week from fully adjusting my sleep (Eli has seemed to have had little problems in this area). The meals on the table each night are being mercifully provided by friends. In general, our world looks different and a month from now it will be different even more...JUST as we expected. Soon however, we will begin rebuilding the blocks of routine and function in the Ramsdell home, but for now, this is all the expecting I have the energy to muster up.....

1. REST - for us, Eli and the kids; I can't function correctly until I've "caught up" on sleep. So catching up becomes functioning correctly. Eli needs lots of sleep to allow for his brain to assimilate all the newness it'sbeing slammed with. Not forgetting that this is something we are doing as a family...Hosanna still has a cast on and is looking towards another surgery and PT, school starting soon, family still in town, etc. -- we all just need rest. Rest is going to take up our time. So, that's what I expect to accomplish in the next week...rest.

2. COMMUNICATION - I'm hoping over the next month Eli can learn and begin to use some English phrases. Right now, he will respond correctly to "Sit Down" "Come Here" and "No". He seems to recognize his name. He ocassionally uses on his own "Bye Bye" and "Thank you" and repeats anything and everything we say including a hearty "Vote Republican". I'm hoping that this next month will bring the use of other identifying words like "Eat" "Potty" and "Mommy." A side note here, Eli will use the Chinese word for "Aunt" to address me from time to time. It is what he called his nanny. Eventually, we want him to realize that Nannies go -- but Mommies stay forever.

3. FAMILY CENTER - Right now, Eli feels like the center of everything -- just as if we'd had a newborn. He's been an orphan for more than 2 years. He's needy. To the kids, he's like a new puppy. I imagine a day where Eli isn't so much the center attractation in the Ramsdell family...a day where the family gets back to business as usual...when Eli is truly A PART of the FAMILY. For this, we also permit time to take it's course.

So...that's it really. My short list of big (or not so much) expectations for the next.......well......while. We've grant ourselves grace and time to accomplish the good work God has planned and I'll let ya know how it goes!

Gotcha Day

2009-07-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

Our "Gotcha Day" experience certainly ranked very high on my list of "Things I've Never Done Before". I have physically birthed four children, and make no mistake about it, birthing Eli was harder.

There were 6 adopting families in our Travel Group including us. To say we were blessed and honored to travel with them would have been an understatement. We truly enjoyed being with them including the sweet children they recieved...Lucy, Ellianna, Mia, Jake and Ahn...3 girls and 3 boys.

On our fourth day in China, we flew from Beijing to Zhengzhou, the capital city in the province where Eli's orphanage was located. Our hotel room at the Crown Plaza was very nice -- and a much needed refreshment from the chaos of downtown Beijing. That evening a hotel employee showed up at our door with a crib. When they wheeled it into the room Billy says, "Why do we need that?" It hadn't registered yet.

First thing the very next morning, July 13th, we were all bused to the registration building to "get our babies". The plan was simple. All 6 families would wait in the conference room -- and the babies would be brought in one by one and handed to the right family. They would call out the child's Chinese name -- and you had better know your child's Chinese name! All the while, we'd be video tapped for a Chinese news show.

Before we made it to the conference room, I realized I left Eli's gift on the bus -- so Billy ran back downstairs to get it while me and a couple other moms decided to visit the ladiesroom. When we returned about 5 minutes later, one of the moms babies had already been brought in and was in the arms of his father. She gasped...and cried. It was a great moment. Layered on top of this, Billy walks in the room holding Eli's hand. They had met in the elevator coming back from picking up the gift on the bus! He says the nanny recognized him from his pic and ran up to him with Eli saying, "This your papa!" He had certainly never met one of his children in this way before. Eli was calm for about 10 minutes -- and then the waterworks started flowing. Infact, shortly thereafter, there were 6 crying babies in the room!

Eli cried for about 30 straight minutes, we asked a couple of questions of his nanny, and walked back to the bus. "Congratulations! You have your child," our guide says. We made friends over a cup of Cheerios.

The rest of the day, we slept and got to know one another...just a little. Eli has a mommy and a daddy....it was a profound experience that's difficult to process all at once and certainly hard to put into words.

It's a brand new day...

2009-07-25T21:16:00.001-07:00

So...what do you do when you arrive home after being gone for 16 days...around the world...on a profound adventure? I cleaned the nobs on my stove, washed my hair and gave Hosanna a pedicure -- slowly paying attention to things I'd neglected and beginning to reconnect to a life that now looks so different with a 2 year old! It's a brand new day.

China was many things. It was most definately an internet communication nightmare! The government was blocking facebook, blogspot and a variety of other important social networks! Sheesh! I will therefore slowly process my thoughts and download by blogging about our time there and uploading pics.....soon.....really.....if I can get over the get lag!

In the meantime, and thanks to so many people, Eli is doing great.....a little shocked I think to discover once returning home that he wasn't an only child. He has a forever family. Here we go again.

For the sake of my children

2009-07-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Since we were both out of bed by three am, we dressed and went down to the breakfast buffet. It was really good....fried rice, noodles, pastry....Panda Express stuff. Daddy even tried a milk steamed bisquit. It doesn't sound brave, but it looked raw so you would have been very surprised. We met our travel group (all of whom we really like) and headed to tour the city. We seen Tian'am Square, the Forbidden City, a Silk Shop and rode a rickshaw through the Hou'ton. I probably spelled all those words wrong, but I'm very tired! It was very hot (like Florida), but smelly. There are so many people here that you are always surrounded by more people than are at Disney World! You'd hate it. The funniest thing was our dinner. It was "local" -- loud, live animals running around, dirty, crowded, squatty pottys -- your basic funny nightmare. Dad volunteered to get his dinner first. It looked fine enough -- noodles and veggies -- then they dumped a bowl of black, sticky, gunky stuff on top. You should have seen dads face! It was hysterical. We'd love a Red Robin hamburger right about now.

For My Children's Sake....

2009-07-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday, after surving a 12 hour plane ride (with terrible food, and 4 movies), we met our Guide, Sindy, in the spectacular Beijing airport. The people here are really serious about not getting Swine Flu. They took each persons temperature 3 times before we finally got out of the airport! We were put on a very nice tour bus and taken to our Holiday Inn Downtown. The city looks surprisingly American, except it's very dirty, it smells and is soooooo crowded. The place looks foggy all the time, but it's really SMOG. We were soooo tired this first night we fell asleep by 7pm (and then were wide awake 2:30am). Dad walked through the streets some trying to find a way to get his cell phone working, but no one spoke English.

Maybe I've gone crazy...

2009-07-07T21:40:00.001-07:00

I have no time to be "blogging" but know if I don't jot down my thoughts, I won't remember them. My "expectation" for this day was that I'd have all the bags packed...YESTERDAY. Last night we'd have a nice family dinner out and today we spend time doing "fun" things with our children. Not so much. I wasn't packed. We had a dinner out...but were all tired and grouchy. Today, we made a quick doughnut run and have been working hard at getting everything together ever since. My neighbor came over to check on me. She occassionally knocks on my door, unannounced, and asks to see how I'm doing. This is a very southern thing -- even though she claims to be a yankee. Billy regularly tells people that I need someone popping in and checking on me...and it's true. I like it.

I said to my neighbor, "Colleen, I can't believe how stressed I am. I'm going to leave my house in a wreck and my kids are getting on my last nerve!" She says very sweetly, "Oh, that is a gift from God to you." I say, "How?" She says, "Well, Shanna, three days ago you were crying about how you couldn't leave your four children -- and now -- you're ready to dump them at your in-laws and hit the road!". Deep wisdom.

It's hard to believe how many people have helped us up to this point. It takes an army to raise a Ramsdell. ;)

Goodnight!

Crawling to the Finish Line...

2009-07-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

Today is our last day home packing. We just got back from a doughnut run in our PJ's. We will head to the airport at 4:30am. Certainly, we feel as if we are crawling to the finish line. To once again quote my friend Jamie (who is in Ethiopia right now adopting), "People think adoption is about teddy bears and hearts. Mostly, it's about blood, guts and glory." Certainly it's not for the faint of heart...maybe the hardest thing we've ever done.

BE YE TRANSFORMED...

2009-07-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you happen upon a spontaneous, life-giving idea. About 11pm tonight, Billy swooped up Hosanna (doned in PJ's and cast) and Benjamin and took them to see the mid-night showing of Transformers. For a brief moment, my son hollared with excitement. Hosanna hobbled to the car with the biggest smile (and a little concern) on her face. We all needed that.

As luck might have it, the movie was sold out between here and Denver until a 2:15am showing at the drive-in. We believe in being transformed, so we'll perserve.

I don't know "karate", but I do know "crazy" and I ain't afraid to use it....

2009-07-03T13:52:00.001-07:00

Last night, at eleven pm, my 3 children were watching the old, old version of King Kong when we got the call that Elizabeth's flight had landed an hour early. Fortunately, her anxious-to-get-his-daughter-back daddy was already at the airport. She brought back tons of candy and we all enjoyed the reunion (and chocolate). She's been resting and hasn't had much time to download to us about her trip, but we are planning a special dinner tonight and look forward to the stories.

Hosanna is recovering, physically. Her toes are swollen and she truly grieves over the loss of her mobility and summer plans. Tears are frequent...anger too. My bright ideas of signing up for an art class or getting a manicure haven't seemed to help. I'm going to suggest she "blog". I am limited to stepping back and allowing grief to take it's course...praying that God would speak to her and comfort her as she embraces a new, allbeit temporary, reality. I prefer situations I can fix.

We are busy getting paperwork together, some of which I'm having a difficult time putting my hands on. We have more passport photos to take, meds for Eli to pick up, meals to get in the freezer, 7 people to pack, phone calls to make, a house on the market to situate, dogs and a fourth of July BBQ to host. I lost my drivers lisc today. Basically, the scariest environment imaginable. Adoption is hard, hard work. Period. Actually, I would say good families are hard work in general. I quoted a friend a line from the movie Shanghi Noon the other day. It describes our life well at the moment. "I may not know KARATE but I do know CRAZY and I ain't afraid to use it!"

Good grief, but it is well....

2009-06-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

I imagined this weekend going differently in my mind. Friday night we were home grilling hamburgers, I was watering plants and the kids were happily engaged with one another on the tramp. We were planning a fun weekend, a last hurrah so to speak before we got busy packing for China next week --- a day at the lake on Saturday with a paddle boat, and Sunday at Six Flags with good friends.

Accidents of course aren't planned and by their very nature change the coure of a particular moment. In an instance, our 12 year old jumped up (doing the most beautiful straddle on the planet) and came down sideways on her foot. She had the most terrified look on her face I've yet to see in one of my children and when she called my name I turned to see her foot very misplaced and flopping like a wet noodle. Doing what I do best in ER situations, I yelled for Billy. Doing what he does bes, 20 minutes later we were at the Emergency Room.

It's notable at this point to say that my 12 year old, whom I believe has the gift of intercession, prayed -- loudly -- over herself the entire car ride.....she thanked God that he was with her, that the ER was going to process her quickly, Dr's had supernatural wisdom etc. We've tried to teach our children than nothing has the power to save but the name of Jesus. We took some comfort in the fact that this lesson seemed to be sinking in. Infact, by the time we arrived in the parking lot, Victoria was calling angels to Hosanna's side and Ben was rebuking pain. "I think they've got it handled," Billy said.

In moments Hosanna was splinted, X-rayed, diagnosised and admitted to the hospital. "You've somehow gotten the best surgeon on the floor," her nurse said, "He just happened to be here."

We are heading to China in 10 days. We have summer plans. Hosanna has summer plans. I just got her father out of a brace, done with PT and off crutches for goodness sake. No one likes the thought of their child being put to sleep for surgery.

About midnight, Hosanna is settled in her hospital room (anxious, tearful and prayerful) and as comfortable as she's gonna get for the evening. Billy's decided to sleep by her side and I'm driving home to pick up Ben and Victoria -- situate them -- and be back at the hospital in the am before Hosanna goes back for the procedure. By this time, I'm tired, I'm worshipping to Chris Tomlin's "All my Hope is in You", feeling the ground rumble beneath our feet (in the emotional sense), pondering how we are on the right track, and thinking about who I can bless - what I can give - to knock the devil up side his head. Billy calls around 1am. We contemplate how we have 1 child in Germany, 1 child in China, 1 child in the hospital and 2 asleep in our bed --- maybe we are a litte over extended.

None of us really slept, but made it to the hospital just fine in the am. I look at my tearful child and attempt to speak courage into her heart, reminding her that God had answered everyone of her prayers to this point -- and these are the times where our faith really matters. I know she's grieving the loss of her summer dance and athletic programs already - I can hear it in her words. We decide to let Satan know that he will steal nothing from Hosanna, not a single good work that God has planned in advance for her. We remind Hosanna that dance and the teams she's on at New Life belong to the Lord; He'll provide wisdom.

Today, after surgery, we are safely at home. Our daughter, who is quickly growing into a beautiful, Godly young woman, is downstairs doing her Girl Time Biblestudy. She's a hardworker and will do fine with PT, making a full recovery I'm sure. Another surgery is in her all too soon future -- but she has a new level of courage -- and we've met our insurance deductible for the year!

Lots of people question how we are able to do all we do. We are hardworkers, but the truth is -- we simply have lots of help. Billys parents function as VIP's in our kids life -- and most of time it takes us, them and a few friends to run things around here. We are thankful for their help and that of good friends who without hesitation jump up and live this life with us.

God does not fail...all is well...

13 days until China!!!

2009-06-25T15:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, only 13 days until we leave for China!!! I sort of have a fuzzy headed feeling like there is so much to do and I don't know where to start. Or maybe it's that life as we know it is about to forever change. Whatever the reason for my fuzzy head -- the shopping is done, the TTD lists are whittled down and we are definately ready to get on with the show! In the meantime, what we are choosing to do is spend time relaxing and enjoying the four kids currently in our care who are out of school for the summer! And what a summer it's been!

Rainbow over the Ramsdell home...

2009-06-22T09:29:00.001-07:00

This is actually my neighbors house, but that rainbow went clear across the street to my house! It just didn't turn out so obvious in the pic.

Last Day of School

2009-06-22T07:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here's a good story. This was going to be different summer for us. So...I wanted to start it off in a way my kids would remember. Thus, the water balloon war.

Billy and I spent the morning (and I do mean the entire morning) filling up 250 water balloons. If you have not done this in awhile -- it takes longer than you might remember! When the kids got home from school, I asked them to go sit on the back deck for a "Last Day of School Picture". I counted 1, 2, 3 and when they all said, "Cheese", Billy started drowning them with the balloons. They were truly surprised and throwing things at one another seemed to be quite therapeutic for our family!

Thoughts on sending my child 1/2 way across the world....

2009-06-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

This morning at 6am Billy helped drive our oldest daughter, Elizabeth Joy, and 29 other New Lifers to the Denver International Airport. I was secretly thrilled when they asked if Billy would drive them. I just felt better knowing her father would see her off as far as he could.

She couldn't be more excited. She enjoys hard work and being a member of a team. She is a leader and likes to push herself. She thives on adventure. Lizzie's extroverted, friendly nature makes her easy to get along with, and a friend to everyone. God's favor on her life opens doors for her. She talks about becoming a missionary. Her words were, "Mom, I just like the idea that the entire job is about growing the kingdom of God." I quietly think, "Whose child is this?"

I couldn't be more nostalgic. Yesterday, we looked at Elizabeth's baby pics as a matter of fact. I remember being pregnant with her like it was all too recent. Billy and I were only married about 5 months when I took the test. Positive. He was at work -- making pizzas -- about 30 miles away. So naturally, the first person I told was a close college girlfriend. We immediately drove to surprise Billy with the tinest pair of athletic socks the world had ever seen. This was Billy and I's "signal". It was a Friday night -- and Pizza Hut was slammed. I'm not sure Billy could even make it out of the kitchen, but somehow I got the point across.

On June 22, 1995 (14 years ago, today) -- at 12:30pm -- Elizabeth Joy Ramsdell entered the world. She's been on the go ever since.

For 9 months we had prayed for a name. We believed that God saw this child and her future. We believed that God knew what He had to say about her -- and her name would be a sign, a source of faith, a vision for God's origional purpose for her life. It would reflect the way He saw her. Elizabeth means 'Consecreated and Set Apart for the Lord'. For the past 14 years we've prayed and reminded ourselves, her, Heaven and hell that she was created for God's purpose and plan...she is set apart...different...to do that which God would have her do. She is a "joy" to her Heavenly Father, us and others. We believe God is opening doors for her to bring joy to the impoverished around the world as well.

I've always had a suspicion that one day, her name (consecrated and set apart to the Lord) was going to have to mean something to me as a mother as well. So today, I open my own heart and mind up to what God is calling my daughter to do. I release her to accomplish the good work God has planned in advance. I also smile, bc in a very little while, I'll call her dad's cell -- just to make sure he got her on the plane safely. We'll continue to hold her hand and walk beside her as long as we can. ;)

Life in the Fast Lane....

2009-06-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a series of amazing celebrations for the Ramsdell Clan. Some may speculate that we didn't plan very well. (June 18) First, our 15th wedding anniversary! I'm so blessed to be married to Billy. It was been a journey that I couldn't have imagined. On Thursday, he picked me up and took me to a quaint picnic in the middle of a rose garden in a beautiful part of Colorado -- complete with my favorite sandwhich, wine and ice cream! It was wonderfully special and I totally loved it! We ended the day with Billy's parents and a Chili Dog at a local ice cream parlor. Perfect.

Next we celebrated Elizabeth's 14 bday (actually on June 22)! A beautiful day at the water park and gourmet burgers at Red Robin were the ticket. She requested her own camera and loved the red one we picked out. About 10 male waiters came over to sing her a happy bday song -- and Billy loudly informed them all that she was only turning 14. She's grown into this amazing young woman and we are sooooo excited about her future. Tomorrow morning at 6am she'll leave for 10 days in Germany. She can't wait.

Celebration number 3, Father's Day (June 21). So far -- this has been a quiet day soon to be filled with steak, car shows and Oreo cookies.

In the midst of it all, we've finished shopping for both international trips, Germany/China. We meet a 2 1/2 year old (same age as Eli) and were shocked how small they are! We've bought plane tickets, attended church events, went swimming, shown the house, and set up toys and a bed for our newest family member.

We are LOVIN this summer!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-06-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we have plane tickets in hand! We leave at 6am on July 8th from Colorado Springs airport! We will be going through San Fransico, California to Beijing, China. We tour a couple of days and then fly to the capital city of Eli's province in Henan. We hope to get Eli on July 13th. We fly to Guangzhou and then to Hong Kong where we'll leave for the US on July 24th. Bc we'll be "flying back in time" -- we'll arrive home at 4pm on July 24th. Can't wait!

The Father's Heart - SPREAD THE WORD

2009-06-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

Billy Here --

Hello everyone, as we prepare to journey accross the big ocean, please help us by doing a few things.

1. Spread the word about the blog. If you know others who know us, let them know about our journey and send them the link. The love we feel for Eli and other Orphans is contageous.

2. Pray for us. We need intercessors to stand in the gab for us over the next month and 1/2. We will be sending our daughter to Germany this weekend then preparing to leave for China over the next few weeks. There are many exciting and demanding things going on in the RamFam so please pray for our Protection, Energy, Health/Safety, Finances and Wisdom to make the adoption work for Eli and glorify God along the way.

3. Check us out on Facebook as well. Shanna is up to date and I am not, but we will keep some version of pictures and updates posted.

I have a longer blog for later, but for now, thanks for your support and love.

The Father's Heart,
Billy Ramsdell
2COR517

Watch Out China, the Ramsdell's are on their way!!!

2009-06-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today, we got a phone call from the adoption agency. They have our Travel Approval in hand!!! They would like us to fly out on June 24th, but we've found ourselves in need of delaying just a bit. So, barring any problems with our appointment at the U.S. Consulate, we will fly out July 8th and be gone for 16 days!

We are surrounded by lots of people in various stages of adoption right now. Many times it has felt like we were fighting on behalf of our little boys destiny -- trying to get him home. My friend Jamie (a fellow adoptor, courageous and true) said that lots of people think that adoption is all teddy bears and hearts ---- really, it's mostly blood, guts and glory. I'm sure that's what Jesus would say too. I certainly couldn't agree more. Tonight, I find myself with renewed energy to fight awhile longer to bring Eli home.

Count down to China......30 days.......

The Father's Heart - 1

2009-05-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Billy here.... I'm sure I am violating some unspoken blogging rule by getting into this blog-versation that Shanna started! But, I figure my role as Father to Eli earns me a few lines of space. -- While the Thunderbird Jets fly test runs around our home, kids experience the last week of school, our home is looked at every few days for potential sale and I work on a very new work project, a little boy named Eli, Elias to be more exact, spends his days within the small and non-eventful orphanage he now calls home. At this very moment he sleeps, one day ahead of me. I wonder; is he cold, is he lonely, did he eat or get cleaned up before bed? Did someone tuck him in and say goodnight, or did he fall asleep restless and needy? I wonder how things happen in the morning. Does he enjoy waking up or is he grouchy? I wonder how long he goes each day before hearing a loving voice or receiving caring attention. Does someone sing with him or tickle him? Can he find a toy to play with? -- Realizing there are hundreds of thousands of kids in this type of situations, I find it strangely easy to focus on just this one little guy, my new son Eli. -- I am listening to an audio book about the Google Story, yes the technology company. The way America provides the environment for 2 young guys to build one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world out of their garage illustrates the vast ocean of opportunities soon to be available to Eli. America and the Ramsdell home will be a refuge for him and though he does not know we are coming, there is a date on the calendar and a time on the clock, somewhere near in the future, when his destiny will drastically change. Being passed from the arms of his caregivers to his forever family will mean a transformation in every area of life. We thank God ahead of time for every opportunity he will realize while being in our family. We also thank God for giving us the love and ability to open our heart and home to him. -- We pray, more than anything, that the God of the Universe, Father God Almighty, would visit this little boy each and every night until we come, speaking and singing His love over him, causing his heart to long for the Father in Heaven and feeling comfort and peace. -- If I could speak to him now I would call him by name. I would tell him, "Elias Ramsdell, you have been chosen by God just as I have. To leave the life of an orphan and to live forever in the arms of Father God, a son so deeply loved that nothing will ever be the same for you. You will never go hungry, never be alone and never live a day without the love of a family. Watch for us, we will be there soon, we love you."

Until that moment, I fight the distraction of this great adventure and go back to work.....

Summer, Glorious Summer

2009-05-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

There are certain things that just scream summer to me. When you live in Colorado, every season is beautiful -- but you wait and watch for summer with great anticipation! You're pretty positive it's going to arrive, and then comes one more wet, cold, maybe even snowy shower that literally dampens your expectations. Summer does come though and while it stays it's glorious!

Today, Memorial Day, is perhaps that last cold, wet day of Spring. Just maybe, summer will arrive tomorrow. If it does, I'm prepared! Here's my list of things I must do this summer...

1. Fly to China and adopt a little boy whose life will be forever changed. Ours will change as well...and we can't wait!

2. Send Elizabeth off on her second international mission's trip, Germany! Try not to cry and act anxious every day she's gone.

3. Find a Hawaiian Shaved Ice stand and frequent it often; Settle on a snow cone if I must; As a last resort, there is always the ice cream truck, but I'm a little grossed out by that.

4. Walk to the park with the kids and lay by the fountain until I get sunburn on my cheeks. Feed the ducks even though the sign says not too.

5. Make the drive to Denver and lay by the wave pool in Six Flags at least 4 - 5 times; Ok, I might have to settle for standing in the kiddie pool.

6. Camp. Even if it means sleeping in a tent. Choose a camp ground close to the movie theatre so we can go see Transformers.

7. Grill and Eat the most spectacular burger on the planet.

8. Nuture the few plants in my yard and hopefully eat some home grown lettuce and tomatoes.

9. Spend a few lazy mornings reading my Bible as long as I want.

10. Remember to kiss my husband and hug my children more often. Do this after crushing them in a game of badminton in the back yard!

I also reserve the right to: plan a couple spectacular vacations for the fam in my mind (Washington DC and the Disney Cruise come to mind!) -- and start saving my money for them!, sell the house, clean out closets, plant more flowers that I can afford, hike, hike, hike, go out to 'adult only' dinners with friends, read pointless fiction books, start a nature journal like Mr. Spiderwicks, go fishing, bike the Santa Fe Trail, try the incline, Aerobics for an hour, etc. etc. etc. But...we'll see!

Hope your summer is a memorable one as well!

Initials and dates

2009-05-25T09:46:00.001-07:00

There's a lot of initials involved with international adoption: LID, LOA, MCC, LOI, TA, DTC, (LOL) to name a few. And who can state the importance of adoption dates and timelines?

For those less familiar here's the run down of the adoption alphabet from our start date to where we are now.....

* We first attended Orientation at Chinese Children Adoption International in Denver, Colorado with application in hand in Feb of 2006.....8 months before our little boy was born.

LID (Log.In.Date.) 4/17/07 - this was the date the chinese government received our official stack of paperwork (dossier). Our dossier has been holding our spot in line ever since.

MCC (Medical.Conditions.Checklist) 9/24/08 - on this day, we turned in a form to the adoption agency stating exactly which "known" medical conditions we were open to accept...this decision ultimatley led us to our "match".

LOI (Letter.Of.Intent) 4/2/09 - today we officially accepted a "match" for Zhang Wei. We actually found and chose this boy ourselves from our adoption agency's website. We submitted our letter stating that we intended to adopt him.

PA (Preliminary Approval) 4/8/09 - we received an electronic acknowledgement from China today saying that we were tenatively approved to adopt Zhang Wei.

LOA (Letter Of Acceptance) 4/15/09 - today we received an offical, electronic letter from China saying we were actually approved to adopt our little guy. We must now resubmit our stack of LOA paperwork for a second approval!

LOA #2 (Letter of Acceptance - 2nd fililng) 5/15/09 - today we have recieved official notice that our second filing has made it to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs. We are hoping to travel within a month!

TA (Travel Approval) ??? - we are currently awaiting notice from the Chinese Government that we are approved for travel. The travel approval is good for 5 months. At this point, we'll be able to book plane tickets!!!

We are also anxiously awaiting our Gotcha Day (day we actually get Eli), Family Day (day we finalize our adoption of Eli) and of course the greatly anticipated "We've actually returned to America and can take a breath Day!" ;)

2009-05-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

The beginning - but not the beginning beginning

2009-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I thought I should start my families blogging experience with a nice L O N G blog about how Billy and I came to be married. After all -- it's hard to appreciate where we are if you don't know where we've come from. Enter...my four bio kids trying to finish up their school year, a husband immersed in a busy career and ministry, a relator whose trying to sell our home, clients and students of my ever growing music studio, and well...you get the point. A long, romantic blog about our glorious beginning may never happen.

While you wait for that amazing blog -- here's a quick list of 10 things you need to know about the Ramsdell's.

1. The God of the Universe pursued us. When we realized this, we responded to Him. He graciously set our feet on a path to follow Him. Our life is NEVER boring.

2. We think being married and being parents is fun --- most of the time. We're not a perfect family, but we are a forgiving family.

3. We have the most creative, brilliant, energic bunch of bio kids in the history of bio kids who have no appreciation for cleaning their rooms. They have a life -- and we have our kids!

4. We love sunscreen, the beach, a tan, a good book and a great Jon Egan song.

5. Speaking of music, we love music. I play piano and Billy plays the CD player. We have kids who play guitar, recorder, dance and sing. We have 5 IPODS and over 1,000 CD's.

6. We think going to church, praying and serving is a good time.

7. We believe that every once in awhile Cheez-It's, Oreos and/or Cereal makes a fine dinner.

8. We'd vote for a 4 hour/4 day work and school week if we could, but in reality we'd all be far too serious to stick to it after awhile! On most days we work long and hard.

9. Because we believe in working long and hard -- we LOVE vacation and we LOVE our down time. We can plan and pull off a family vacation better than any family I know. We're crazy about it actually. We also love Friday nights snuggled on the couch watching a movie, going to the movies anytime, taking walks to the park, skating, swimming, riding ATV's, hiking, shopping, and blogging.

10. We are on a journey right now to a little boy in China we plan to name Elias Zhang Wei Ramsdell. We'll call him Eli for short. He of course doesn't know that he is waiting for us -- but shortly -- he'll take the plane ride of his life and become a Ramsdell. His life will NEVER be BORING.