Happy Halloween!

Josh... Jesse...

This was our kids first Halloween. The boys got a taste of it two weeks ago at their pre school Halloween party.

But they had a blast Halloween weekend. We kicked off the weekend by going to a party Friday night. The friends who hosted had a projection screen in the front yard with blankets on the ground and the kids watched Charlie Brown Halloween among other movies with they sampled Carmel apples and hot cocoa. It was a blast.

Then Saturday we started trick or treating at Vince's parent's house. Then went home and did a little on our block kicking leaves in the gutter as we went. We headed to my parents house for dinner and more trick or treating. The boys lasted about an hour. Then came back to my parents house where they rested on the couch and watched Peter Pan. Sarah was not about to stop. She was the die hard and headed out for more with her cousins PJ and Anna and aunts and uncles. Her pumpkin got so heavy with candy that the strap broke! So she had to carry it home. They had a blast!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

baby Emma.....

The proud papa!

Hooray! She's finally here. Emma Gianna Nguyen was born Wednesday, morning at 6:24. It was a very fast labor. We got to the hospital a little after 2am and it was a blur from about 3 until she arrived. Actually it's been a blur since then.... but in a good way.

She is the cutest baby we've ever seen. We can't get over how precious she is. We just sit and stare at her.

We're all in love. Sarah is thrilled to have a baby sister. She did not want another boy in the house. Praise God! He knew exactly what our family needed. ;)

The boys love baby Emma too but are less phased by here than the rest of us. They're like oh neat and on with their usual business. (we haven't let them hold her yet because they have a little cough but we'll get pics with them and baby Emma soon)

Emma with Nino and Nina (my parents)

Emma's Great Grandma Lou

Emma got her first bath from Vince's mom Friday.

Welcome baby Emma .... we LOVE you!

All that's missing is the baby!

Here are the nursery pics. We finished about two weeks ago. It is such a cozy room. My mom was over right after we finished and Josh was standing on the edge of the crib looking in and said, "Where's the baby?" Good question Josh.

I was hoping that the baby would be born today. The Feast day of St. Jude. St. Jude is the saint of lost causes. I've gone to him many times with prayer requests that I felt were absolutely desperate asking for his intersession....and every prayer was answered. I believe that St. Jude prayed for Vince and I to be able to conceive this child that we so desperately wanted. And even though my prayer was not answered at the time I'd asked it came in God's time and still is a miracle (an answered prayer) to us. So I desperately wanted our child to be born on this special day so that I could share that message and they would have a special bond.

This morning my mom called to tell me that my cousin (who lives in Texas) had a baby boy this morning. She wasn't due for several more weeks. But the baby is healthy. I was instantly jealous, that her baby was born today because I wanted our baby to be born today. So of course I felt guilty for being so selfish and feeling so jealous. I prayed to apologize for these feelings and to ask for their good health. (But God knows I'm still a little jealous.)

So I guess this is another one of those tests of patience, and God's perfect timing. But I did want to honor St. Jude today by sharing this story. He will still be a patron saint to our baby and we will still celebrate his special feast day.

This is the prayer for intersession that I've prayed many times:

O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, people honor and invoke you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, for I am so helpless and alone, Please come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly that__________, and that I too may praise God with you and all the saints always. I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.
The following is more information about St. Jude and other St. Jude prayers:
St. Jude, known as Thaddeus, brother of St. James the less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.
He is an author of an epistle (The letter of Jude) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostic’s.
This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century of our era. Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is know of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.
Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God’s mercy.
HOW TO PRAY THE SAINT JUDE NOVENA: Traditionally, the novena prayer is said for 9 days. The 9 days signifies the 9 days the early Apostles prayed together during the time between the Ascension of Jesus, and Pentecost, when they experienced the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. However, there is no hard and fast “rule” for praying; it is best if you adopt a series of prayers and a rhythm for saying them that is comfortable for you and allows you to open a dialogue with God.
THE SAINT JUDE PRAYER (NOVENA)Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.
FOLLOW-UP PRAYERS (Three Times Each)
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
OPTIONAL PRAYERS
PRAYER TO THE SAINT OF THE IMPOSSIBLE: Saint Jude, patron of the desperate and Saint of the Impossible, I turn to you in trusting prayer. Centuries of Christians have found you to be a mighty helper in overcoming seemingly impossible barriers. We entrust to you our present need. Pray that we never lose heart when the way seems dark and dreary. We await your help and praise God for guiding us to seek your help in especially difficult situations. Amen.
PRAYER FOR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES: Dear Saint Jude, kinsman of Christ, we pray for those whom God has given us to hold in special affection. We recommend to you all who are dear to us, all our close relatives and friends. Please intercede for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Help us to lighten their burdens and to brighten their days. Look tenderly upon us and assist us to fulfill the Lord’s precept of loving others as ourselves. Amen.
PRAYER FOR PEACE: Dear Saint Jude, we honor you as an apostle of Christ, a herald of the Prince of Peace. You remained faithful to your calling and died a martyr before being reunited with Christ in glory. Please look down with compassion upon our turbulent world. Intercede before the throne of grace that the present global turmoil may give way to peace and harmony among all nations. May we live at peace with one another and serve the Lord Jesus as messengers of his peace as you did. Amen.
Saint Jude, disciple of Jesus, pray for us. May we become the persons our Savior wants us to be.
Saint Jude, reigning with Christ in glory, pray for us. May we bring forth fruit to life everlasting.
Saint Jude, advocate of hopeless cases, pray for us. Remind us that we can conquer all evil through Christ who loves us.
PRAYER TO SHARE CHRIST WITH OTHERS: Saint Jude, apostle and preacher of the Good News of Jesus Christ, we thank God for choosing you for this glorious mission. You saw Jesus face to face, walked and talked with Him, and served Him without counting the cost. Pray for us, blessed preacher of the Good News that makes even bad news bearable. May Christ be the center of our lives. May we welcome every opportunity to share Him with others. This we ask through your powerful intercession. Amen.
GIVING THANKS TO SAINT JUDE & JESUS FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
Examples of Thanks for Prayers Answered…“Thank you God for answering my prayer; thank you St. Jude for interceding on my behalf. I will encourage devotion to you always.”
“God, thank you for all the grace and favors which you have given me through the prayers of your Apostle, Jude Thaddeus. St. Jude, I thank you for your intercession in response to my prayers. I will always be grateful to you and will spread devotion to you. Be with us always so we may face our problems with courage and serenity.”

My wonderful husband...

This post is dedicated to my wonderful husband. Vince turned 33 this week, Happy Birthday Honey!!!! I bought him a nail gun about two weeks ago for his birthday present. We were renting them so often that it just made sense to buy one. So he was very surprised Sunday when the kids and I surprised him with a birthday bash! Sarah and I went on a quick shopping trip to get him a few presents and his favorite cake from DQ. When we got home we made our stealth move to the basement to wrap the gifts after hiding his cake in the freezer. Then we ran up and got him and the boys and went to Olive Garden for dinner. It's his favorite place to go because he knows that no matter what he likes pretty much everything on the menu. The kids hadn't been there before so it was a treat for them too. When we got home we surprised him with cake and presents. I had to sing loudly enough for everyone because the boys don't know the birthday song yet and Sarah is a little quiet.

Vince has been working non stop fixing up the house. He just finished the linen closet. He built this from scratch. Turning a wall into a wonderful, functional closet.I love it! It was absolute Bliss to move our things into the linen closet and get out of our boxes!!! Thank you Honey.

He spent his actual birthday working on the babies room. The carpet guys come Friday!!! It's so exciting!

These are pics of the rooms He's already finished. Aside from needing to replace the chandelier in the dining room we're done in there. He basically re plumed the entire house the first two weeks we lived here in addition to changing out old doors and doing little things that had to get done to make it livable. I am so proud of him. He's really made our house a home. It is so cozy and warm and wonderful.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and the kids adore him too. He is so patient and kind. The boys think Daddy can fix anything because they always see him working on projects, it's so cute. Most mornings they get out of bed and run to the babie's room to see what he finished the night before. After he finishes something they tell him, "good job, Daddy". We just discovered the Home Depot workshops in September and have been to the past two. Which they just love! Sarah enjoys it too but not like the boys. The just love working on the projects with Daddy.

Sometimes I miss having him all to myself. But life is so good I can't complain. Here we are just last August celebrating our anniversary in Oregon. Longing to start our family.

It's been 8 months since we brought the kids home. It seems like so much longer. They are all speaking English fluently and Sarah's reading is improving every day. Sarah is also doing very well in all of her subjects which is pretty remarkable considering how much she had to learn just to catch up to the other children in her class. Socially she is soaring too! She was so quiet and shy when she first moved here. But she's really come out of her shell. She has made more friends and seems to be enjoying herself more and more.

The boys are doing very well! They are so quirky. We have to add broccoli or asparagus to new foods to get them to try it. They can put together puzzles like little professionals. Lucky for us puzzles are hours of endless entertainment for them. They love anything to do with transportation too. Cars, trucks, trains... they are forever taking their train track apart and putting it back together. They love story books too. Josh will carry books around he just can't get enough of them. Jesse loves to be read to but is not entertained by flipping through books alone. Their new favorite story is Llama Llama Red Pajama. I have to admit it is super cute!!!

As far as Vince and I. We are crazy busy getting the house ready for the baby. Which seems to be a theme for us. We worked up to the night before we left for the Philippines getting out old house ready for the kids and I think we'll be doing that again! Vince is in the process of building my linen closet. We've taken two feet from the babies room to frame it in and the doors will face the hallway outside the babies room. So the babies room is a construction zone. After he's finished with the closet (hopefully this weekend) we'll paint the babies room and the carpet will be laid soon after. Then hopefully he'll have time to work on our master bathroom before the baby comes. The bathroom was gutted by the former home owners. Which is nice because there is no demo for us (Vince) but it's another thing that has to get done soon. Poor Vince. He'll be very sleep deprived when the baby does arrive. I'm getting more and more excited about the baby every day! I can't believe we'll be meeting our son/daughter in 4 weeks! It just doesn't seem possible!

Incas and Conquistadors

The kids came down with a bit of a cold this week. It started Sunday with Sarah telling us her throat was itchy. Then Monday they all had runny noses and the boys had a cough. So last night I said to Vince, "Here we go again. It seems like at least one of the kids was sick from the time we brought them home in December up until May." His response was, "Well, honey what do you expect it's like the Incas and conquistadors."
Huh!?!?! Unlike my ingenious scientist husband. I don't watch the history channel for fun and don't remember much from history class.
He went on to explain that the kids were like the Incas and because they are in a forgein environment are more susceptible to disease than we are. He explained how the Incas were basically killed off by the Conquistadors because they could not get well. Thank God for modern medicine. I don't think our children will die off like the poor Incas.
His analogy just cracked me up and I had to share it.

Glory to God

It has been weighing on my heart to glorify God in our blog lately. We have had so many changes this past year and God has seen us through them all. There have been many moments that have been overwhelming but we placed our trust in the Lord and He has seen us through everything. It is also a testiment to God that through all of these trials Vince and I have grown closer to each other.
First of all the miracle of adoption that we have been living. Our children are thriving and it so neat to watch them grow and learn. It's hard to imagine life without them.
Second the miracle of pregnancy. For all of the heart ache in trying to conceive it has been a complication free pregnancy.
Last but not least financially. Many people are intimidated by the financial side of adoption. We were. But we put our faith in God and He provided for us 100%. In the past 7 weeks alone we've had an extra $11,000 in bills. Between closing costs, medical bills, car repairs and insurance premiums some how God has provided. Three days after we moved into our new home. Vince's car broke down and the repair was $718 . This happened on a Wednesday the following Monday we received a check in the mail for $729, to reimburse what we'd over paid on our former homes insurance. Last week our washing machine broke. Luckily we have a home warranty. Because our machine was beyond repair the warranty company sent us a check. The machine we bought was on sale for 15% off and we happened to have a 10% discount at that store. The remaining money was exactly enough to pay off Joshua's latest medical bill! God is so good!
It's a little awkward to share about personal finances. But finances are a big part of every one's life and a big reason that some people choose not to adopt. I don't know how many people look at this blog. But I want to help those people who want to adopt but are afraid to take that leap of faith see how God provides not only for the adoption but after.
We've been extremely careful with our money because of these extra expenses. And it hasn't allowed for much fun. But none the less. We have everything we need and feel so grateful to God that He has provided so well for us. It is so humbling to know that He is watching over us. I am humbled by His mercy and love. I've always been aware that God is watching over me. But to see His work manifest in daily life is overwhelming to say the least. I do not deserve His love or these blessings but am so grateful to God for all that He has done for me and my family.