Our baby girl is sick!!

Sweet little Eliana is super sick....and we would love your prayers. She has been fighting a cold for a few days....and yesterday she started coughing. I started having flashbacks to Guatemala and her little body suffering with bronchitis. It is the Lord that we found a great after hours pediatric clinic (in Tulsa). We took her there tonight just to see if they could give her an antibiotic. The second the doctor started looking at her....she said that we needed to get chest x-rays. We had to buy another breathing machine (because the one from Guatemala had the wrong voltage). She screamed and kicked and cried through the entire breathing treatment. Then, the chest x-ray took her over the top. They had to put her tiny little body in a plastic machine with her arms straight up in the air. It was so pitiful....I just cried watching her scream. Once it was over, she yelled "NO, NO" to the x-ray technician. It made me laugh. Our little girl had two ear infections and pneumonia. We are going to be giving her breathing treatments every 4 hours for 4 days....around the clock. Pray that she will not fight them....and that they will help her cough. I will keep you updated.

Love you all,
Lindsey

P.S. We got to take Eliana to Oklahoma City today (not knowing she was so sick) to finally meet her great-grandmother Mee-Maw!! It was an incredible time. I will post pics later. We love you Mee-Maw (Jeanie and Melissa)!!

Christmas with Papa G.....

SO MUCH has happened in the last week and a half.....so I am starting from the beginning. We had Christmas with our dad last week at his house....Eliana had a BLAST unwrapping her gifts!! Dad got her the Fur Real Kitty.....it acts like a real cat. Eliana LOVES it. She loves saying "no, no" to Polly (our dog) and Daisy (mom's cat)....so now she says "no, no" to her fake cat. She also decided to grab an apple from the coffee table arrangement and started eating it. She is pretty much the cutest thing!! There are more updates to come....hope y'all all had a great Christmas!!

Love you all,
Lindsey

P.S. I had to add the picture of my new hair.....basically, Eliana and I have twin haircuts. Trust me, I didn't know she was cutting 7 inches off.....but I am learning to appreciate how easy it is to do my hair in the mornings!! :-)

Merry Christmas!!

We love you all!!

The Wheeler Family

Eliana loves her family....

We are in Little Rock with the family....and loving it!! Eliana loves being the center of attention. Kay-Kay got down a lot of our old toys, and she has had a blast playing with them. I am so thankful to be here.....I have needed this!!

Love you all,
Lindsey

Eliana's 1st SNOW!!!

It snowed a little bit the other night.....so much fun!! She liked it....but wanted to go back in the house after about 2 minutes. WE ARE SO READY TO SEE OUR FAMILY....the countdown is on!! We love you all so much.

Love,
Lindsey

Can't shake this......

"...once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

Her favorite word.....

.....is "NO"!! This picture captures it perfectly.....she will point at the person, dog, or object and say "no, no" with a ton of conviction. Not sure where she got that from. It really is funny, but I am trying to teach her "yes" with everything that is in me. She also is saying "puppy" all of the time. I love all of her new words. I am afraid that very soon she will be talking non-stop without taking a breath.

Love you all,
Lindsey

Acoustic Christmas....Chris, Lindsey and the TWEENS!!

One thing you need to know about me is that I LOVE concerts....and I LOVE to win free tickets!! I am persistent....if there is a radio contest, I am that person that calls a thousand times. Chris makes fun of me until I win....then, he thanks me. This is us driving to Acoustic Christmas 2008 (I won tickets two days before the concert). Don't we look excited?! Oh, plus, I won backstage passes to meet Kevin Rudolph (didn't know who that was until we googled him)....enjoy our pics from the LONGEST NIGHT EVER!!!

Let me explain "longest night ever"....there were 8 acts: Lady Gaga (more on her later), Brandy, Metro Station, Saving Abel, Shontelle, Sara Bareilles, Kevin Rudolph, and Boys Like Girls. Don't stress if you don't have a clue who they are...we didn't either (we knew about one song from each performer).


We were both thrilled to have a "date" night....I have been suffering from extreme exhaustion for the past few weeks....so it was good to just get out of the house!



We got to go in first because we were the "VIP's"!!


This is Chris watching "Metro Station".....all I can say is YIKES!!! The guys in this band were about 12 years old....and they kept swinging their "Chi'd" hair all over the place. I know Chris and I look very young for our age.....but we felt OLD...VERY OLD!!


This was by far the best performer of the night....Sarah Bareilles. Her voice was amazing!! Too bad she was the first act of about a six hour show.



I could go on and on about Lady Gaga....let's just say that her performance almost scared us to death. It was so freaky....beyond freaky.


This is us with Kevin Rudolph at our "meet and greet". We found out he was from Miami....and that's about it.

Sorry if I sound harsh. We really did have fun because we LOVE the experience....but we believe 8 bands is too many for one night....and a lot of them will probably be one-hit wonders. I can't wait to try to win again next year though.

Love you all,
Lindsey

Pray for the Azhderian family.......

This amazing family needs so much encouragement and prayers right now....they found out that their precious little Josi (who they have been adopting from Guatemala) was killed in a home invasion. She was just weeks from coming home to them. I can't imagine their pain and confusion....I am so thankful that this sweet little 5 year old girl knew she was loved and that she was wanted. Lord, please surround this family....bring comfort and hope like only You can.

Here is the link to their blog:

The Azhderian Family


Love you all,
Lindsey

Cowboy Christmas 2008!!

Love this picture!! Eliana has no idea how much she is loved!!!!


Chris loves creating this event every single year.....COWBOY CHRISTMAS!! The pictures don't do it justice. The students had a blast....line dancing, root beer, cookies, dressing up, and a mechanical bull!!! This year was even better because Eliana was there.


This picture strangely resembles her "Santa" picture.....we woke her up and dressed her up (so she wasn't too happy at first)....she warmed up to the idea of being a cowgirl quickly.


She loves her daddy....he was pretty proud of her!


Thanks Ellen and Greg for giving Eliana her 1st pair of boots and her first cowgirl hat.....they are ADORABLE!!!


Eliana loves Ellen....they are so, so cute!


The mechanical bull was a hit!! Our friend, Zack, was one of the first to ride the bull.

WAY TO GO CHRIS!!! I am so proud of you....you are incredible at your job. I loved watching you in your element. Love you.

Love,
Lindsey

These are a few of her favorite things.....

Eliana loves cell phones (I think every kid does)....she walks around with her hand on her hip with the cell. Isn't she cute in her "Grosgrain" skirt?!!


She LOVES her tooth brush....she would brush her teeth for hours if we would let her.


Eliana loves her friend Robertson! We get to hang out with him 3 or 4 days a week....she always gets so excited to see him!!


Of course she loves her parents!! This is the three of us at our baby dedication service a few weeks ago.


Probably her favorite person in Franklin is Greg....she loves him!! Seriously, when he leaves our house, she gets so sad.


Our little girl loves to feed herself!! She is literally pouring the spaghetti into her mouth. She makes us laugh!!

Love you all,
Lindsey

Here comes Santa Claus.....

Well, we had the bright idea of seeing if Eliana would love to sit on Santa's lap....she was terrified!! The Santa was really sweet....he actually adopted 2 kiddos 40 years ago. For a minute she forgot where she was and smiled at us, but the second she turned around and saw him again....freak out!


Can't you see the fear in her eyes?! She smiled when we showed her the picture of her and Santa later on in the night.


Chris really got into Black Friday....he actually was spending his b-day money at REI. He has been wanting a cool sleeping bag for a while. He got plenty of stares while he "tried on" the sleeping bag. This one was the winner. He actually slept in it last night in our bed. Sometimes I forget that he is 30 and not 13!

This week has been so much fun....lots of food....the game Apples to Apples....and mom helped us put up Christmas decorations today. Eliana is mesmerized by the lights!! We could care less about the presents....I just love the holidays. Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving week....

Love y'all,
Lindsey

So thankful....

There is so much going on in the Wheeler house. Even though we feel attacked from all sides right now, Chris and I can't help but feel INCREDIBLY grateful for our precious Eliana. I wish I could even begin to describe how much we love her....her spirit....her laugh....her talking non-stop....her humor....her sensitivity....her loving heart....her sassy self. She was made to be in our family. There are moments we look at her....and are amazed at how this sweet child became apart of our family. God is SO GOOD!! We are so thankful. We are also so thankful to all of you that have walked with us, supported us, cried with us, rejoiced with us, prayed for us, and encouraged us at exactly the moments we needed it the most!! I wish I could meet each one of you and give you a big hug. We couldn't have done this without y'all. Thank you just isn't enough. Please keep praying....for our hearts, for the transitions, and for the big things being thrown our way right now. We love you all so much.

Love,
Lindsey

CHRIS IS 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will post later....just wanted you all to know that the best man in the world is the big 3-0 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you so much hubby.
Lindsey

Pure love

It's been one of those weeks....and it's only Tuesday!!

I can't go into a lot of detail....but I have really had a hard week!! Satan is trying to really get me down emotionally, physically and mentally. Please just pray for me. Of course, my husband is a CHAMPION!! Yesterday, he surprised me and came home early, brought roses, a magazine, took Eliana, and made me go to bed!! HE IS SO GOOD TO ME. I feel the weight of a lot of things on me right now....and am really praying for wisdom and discernment. And, I am so tired. I can't shake it.....so completely exhausted. I still feel like I haven't gotten caught up from living in Guatemala. On top of all of this, I am going to be missing my dear friend Melissa Scott's wedding this weekend. We couldn't swing it financially and it is killing me. I love you Melissa...and will be praying for you and Scott this entire weekend!!!

Thanks for letting me be real.
Love y'all,
Lindsey

P.S. The highlight of my week: Erika and Chris (our dear friends) are getting married!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! Below is a picture of them with Eliana!!

Another year at the Shaohannah's Hope fundraiser.....

AND AGAIN, I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!! Chris and I look forward to this night all year. It is a night of worship, community and stories of lives changed forever. I know to take a box of tissue with me because it is intense. Chris looked at me during part of the night and said, "I am going to get under the table and just cry." It is emotional....and this year was even more so because Eliana is home. Last year, we sat at one of the tables watching families share stories of bringing their children into their forever home.....and we were just beginning the process with little Eliana. We didn't even know if the Guatemalan gov't was going to allow us to even complete her adoption. We also were in the midst of grieving the loss of little Xio. This year, we were one of the families.....we were in the back of the Shaohannah's Hope booklet of families that were given a grant. THANK YOU LORD!! There are SO MANY children that need homes.....so many kids that need HOPE!! I am in awe of what this ministry is doing. They are allowing families to adopt that don't have the financial means to complete an adoption. Chris and I will forever be their biggest fans (at least we think so)!!

The night was a little more somber because of little Maria Sue Chapman's death....but her momma Mary Beth shared her heart for her little girl. It was beyond beautiful. The tribute showed how BIG this little girl's five years on earth was....and that God had a powerful story to tell through her life. The ministry is in the process of building "Maria's Big House of Hope" in China for special need orphans. Steven sang in a way I have NEVER seen.....there was such a depth and passion in his voice. Chuck Colson began to share with the crowd about "the fellowhip of the suffering"....how serious Christians will go through serious pain in their life on earth. It is NOT our home. We are not here on this earth to be happy....but to be holy....to be set apart.

Chris and I want to be different. We want to "Show Hope" to every person...we would LOVE to have the opportunity to bring another orphan into our home. We will ALWAYS be involved in this mission. We both needed this night.....it helps to bring perspective. We have struggled for the past month about our debt and how in the world will we pay it off.....when orphans are being left to die all around the world. How selfish we are.....so know that we are about to go for it. We have no idea what God is calling us to....but we are ready and willing.

Check out Shaohannah's Hope at:

Shaohannah's Hope

We love you all so much!! We are so proud of the lives you are walking. It is not an easy journey....but SO WORTH IT!!

Love,
Lindsey

She keeps us on our toes!!

She loves to feed herself now.....unfortunately, she liked to put the mashed potatoes everywhere except for her mouth!! She thought is was hilarious!!


This look is priceless.....it is like she is saying, "I didn't do this."


Eliana loves, loves, loves to be chased by Dada!! It has become a nightly ritual. She runs at top speed around the house screaming!!


This is her favorite "hiding" place (beside the fridge). If she becomes extremely quiet, we know where she is.


I couldn't resist this picture of her in her tights and boots....Chris said she looks like a football player. She had green beans stuck to every part of her....and Polly LOVED it.

Our little Eliana continuously surprises us with her HUMOR!! Seriously, her facial expressions are beyond priceless. Chris and I will admit that we are pretty dramatic people....but she beats us both already!!!

Love y'all,
Lindsey

P.S. Was I just the only one in the world screaming at the top of my lungs at the ending of the Biggest Loser??!!! I WAS SO EXCITED that Vicky did not get her way. She is so mean to everyone. :-)

I'm in love with............GROSGRAIN!!!!

Okay, for those of you that know me....know that I LOVE clothes. I love unique, funky, cool clothes that you just don't find anywhere. Today, I found the greatest new store for Eliana. The owner of Grosgrain decided to start creating outfits for her daughters and it turned into an actual business. She is already sold out of so many things and the store just opened on Thursday.

CHECK IT OUT:

GROSGRAIN


Warning: You will want to buy every single item for your daughter....I DO!!!! Wouldn't Eliana look adorable in the little skirts?!!!

Way to go Kathleen!!

Love y'all,
Lindsey