a few days in the life...

Well, it's Saturday night and I am about to head to bed, but first...I wanted to share with you the last few days.


Thursday, Aly and I went to get haircuts. I really didn't want to cut her hair, but it was starting to get rather ratty looking. You know...that length where it ALWAYS looks like it needs to be brushed and it always appears as though animals have taken up residence somewhere up in all those locks? I had finally been able to put her hair into two precious little pony tails on the sides of her head...that looked SO STINKIN CUTE!! But...it needed to be cut!

Okay...aren't those pony tails the cutest??? I personally LOVE the look Lili is giving the most!!


So much better!! It is amazing what just a 1/4 of an inch will do!!


Okay...I know I biased, but isn't she just beautiful?????

Friday morning we got up very early (my girls are late sleepers) and headed out to Cracker Barrel (or Barrel Crackle as Lili calls it) to meet some dear friends from Tennessee. Let me back up...when we lived in Tennessee, we were a part of a wonderful group of families all of whom were either in the process of or had already adopted amazing and beautiful children from China. Aly had some good friends there and calls them all her "China cousins". Anyway, there were two families from there who were on their way through on vacation and we met them for breakfast. It has been about a year and a half since we all saw each other and Aly was so very excited to see her cousins!! The girls had such fun and we got to catch up with our friends as well.

Eliza, Aly, Lili, Ruby, Jaida...I can't believe that we got them all to smile AND look at the camera at the same time...it's a miracle!!

The two youngest members of the group...Ruby and Lili. They are about three months apart in age...almost three.

I had to post this one of Lili in the GATOR rocker!! GO GATORS!!!!!!

Aly is so totally dreaming of the day she has long hair like Jaida!! One day babe...one day!!

Sheila and Richard (Jaida and Ruby's Mommy and Daddy)

Donna and Joel with their precious Eliza



Yours truly and my crew...that would be Lili, David, Aly and moi
God is so good to bring us sweet moments and occasions in our lives like that. We left there with smiles on our faces talking about how good it was to see everyone and catch up. It was a great way to start out the weekend!!

Today I took the girls to the church I grew up in for their VBS kickoff party. VBS starts Monday at this church and Aly will be attending. Sorry Lili...you are too little this year!! Lili did enjoy going to the party today however!! They got to play some games, sweat a little, get their face painted, sweat some more, drink gallons of lemonade to counteract all the fluid loss from sweating so profusely, sweat some more, register for VBS, pray that they won't be outside too long next week at any given time for fear of heat stroke, sweat some more, drink some more lemonade, play a few more games, and head home!! I'm here to tell you that poor Aly sweats more than me...I was really getting worried with how much water was pouring off her sweet little head!! She looked like someone had poured a bucket of water over her...it was NUTS!! That poor kid just cannot take the heat AT ALL!! Lili was sweating too, but it was normal...like the rest of the people there. Not Aly...she was sweating like she was trying to break the Guinness World Book record for most sweat by a 4 year old!!! She absolutely did not want to leave, but since what she was saying with her mouth was most definetly NOT jiving with what her body was saying...we left. Sorry...no pictures :-(
We had to run by Target to get diapers and of course the girls found dresses that they simply could NOT live without...so of course we got them...DUH!! They are beautiful...see?


Okay...am I stylin or what??



TA DA!!!!! Look at my new dress!!!!


Um Mom? I know you are busy showing everyone these stupid pictures but I have my new glasses on and I'm ready to go swimming !
Okay...I stole them! There...I said it! I stole the glasses from Lili...but they look better on me anyway!!! Can we please go swimming now?????

We brought home lunch and then Dad, the girls and I hit the pool!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!! Cool refreshing chlorine...gotta love it!!!
Aly is becoming quite the little swimmer. David has been working so hard with her both swimming on top of the water and underwater as well. She is struggling on top, but is like a crazy 4 year old torpedo under the water!!! It is hilarious!!



Lili has gone from terrified of the water a month ago, to swimming with her face in the water with her floaty suit on. It is a great suit by Speedo that has these zippered pockets on the front and back. In those pockets are these inflatable thingys that you can adjust how much air is in them. So you start with them fully inflated and then as your child gets more confident, you let a little bit of air out. They don't realize it and they get more confident and before you know it, they are swimming all by themselves. She is doing really well so far!!



About 3pm it just started raining out of nowhere. I had just gotten out of the pool for a bit and was under the gazebo. There was no thunder or lightening or anything. As a matter of fact the sun was out for most of it. A couple of times it was really coming down pretty hard...the girls loved it! Right before the bottom fell out, my dad wandered out to check on the little swimmers, and he got caught out there in the gazebo with me for the duration. He really did enjoy himself ...he always enjoys himself when it comes to his grandbabies!! The sun rises and sets with them in his eyes!!!

Swimming in the rain is awesome!!!!

Well, showers, lotion, dinner and a little play time are done, the girls are in bed, I have one load of wash that needs to be done before I go to bed and then I am off to bed!!!

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show you his kindness and
have mercy on
you. May the Lord watch over you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26

In His Mighty Grip

DO YOU MIND??!!

Lili is becoming quite the little teenager...even at two. Oh yes!! She can turn on a dime and lay any of us lower than the basement when she gets it in her mind to do so. It is quite amusing to watch her tell us what she does and doesn't want to do on any given day in any given situation. What is funniest about it is that she actually thinks we will say something along the lines of..."Oh...I'm sorry...you don't have to if you don't want to." Boy...are we in for fun with this one!!
Aly derives such pleasure in aggravating Lili to no end. Even so, Lili finds a way to make her presence known...especially to Aly.
Take today for example...Aly was finishing her breakfast while Aly and I were learning the 10 commandments. We were up to the 4th commandment when Lili finally finished her breakfast. She said, "Momma, I want to learn too!" Hey...nothing like a willing student right?? Anyway, I began to help her learn the commandments and right on cue...Aly had to stick something in her face and aggravate her! I was about to reprimand Aly, but Lili took care of it all by her little two year old self. She snapped that hand up to Aly in her best Supremes "Stop in the name of Love" hand motion and bellowed, "DO YOU MIND??!!" I'M TRYING TO LEARN MY COMMAMADENTS!"
I love to watch this little one come into her own and take command of her little world!!

~Oh Father God...what wonderful personalities and traits you have given our
girls... help us to PLEASE channel the little queen so that her kingdom doesn't
crash down around her. I can't wait to see what your plans are for our
babies...give us wisdom so that we can help them to learn what you want them to
learn so that they are prepared for your plans!!!~

My friend Ann said this...

"how do we teach our children to lose their lives so that they may find
them? Jesus whispers the answer:
'It is enough that a disciple be like his teacher' Matthew 10:24
Jesus was the first model...and now we live as the model to our next
generation.
What will it profit my children to gain the whole world of knowledge yet
lose their own souls?
There is only one thing necessary...
That I lead my children into a closer communion with Christ. That I
make the way for them to spend time at his feet. That I amd the matchmaker
between my children and the lover of their souls! One Thing-
Simple!"

In HIS Mighty Grip~

my little aly...a Lili story

So tonight was trucking along much like every other night...the girls were getting ready for bed, telling everyone goodnight...following their normal bedtime routines. Pretty much every night it ends with Lili having a melt down if Aly doesn't pray for her. Aly usually then walks her to the nursery with me following behind. It is precious alright!!

Tonight...well, tonight was a bit different. After Aly prayed for her baby sister, she didn't walk her to her room. Lili and I just went on and headed for bed. About the time we got to the door of Lili's room, she started crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I want to pray for Aly!!" Okay...well, this is certainly a change of events...a first...why not...lets go with it.

So, I came back in the living room and told Aly that Lili wanted to pray for her. I think Aly was kind of taken off guard a bit...she didn't say anything. Lili came running into the room and climbed up on the couch next to her big sister. They both "assumed the position", folded their little hands and Lili's prayer started like this..."Dear Jesus, thank you for my little Aly. I love her..." She went on to thank God for her Daddy and me and for Poppy (my dad).

It was absolutely precious!!! I cried...David cried...Jesus smiled...

God let out a soothing sigh...and was pleased.

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul,

and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou

liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21

In HIS Mighty Grip...

a time for everything...

Well, I guess my 30 year old midget really does get it...most of it...on many different levels. Oh where to begin...

For the last few nights at bedtime, Aly has been asking a lot about marriage, falling in love, her Daddy and I, etc. Last night it all kind of came to a head in her little brain. She has one of our wedding pictures on her bedside table...it is her favorite. (She used to bring it into our bedroom with her when she would sleep over with us.) Anyway, last night she looked at it and asked if that was the only picture I had of when her Daddy and I got married. I told her that there was a big album on the shelf and asked her if she would like to see them. Of course she did. So she and I sat on her bed and looked through our wedding album. She thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Then she started getting all weird acting again...much like at the pool the other day. I asked her what was wrong and she finally said that she didn't know how to say it. I told her to go for it and even if she said it wrong we would figure it out together. So she finally mumbled something about not wanting to ever get married. She said that she would miss us too much and she would always be our daughter and she would never leave us like that. HOLY COW...it all clicked in my pea brain. She was associating getting married with Abandoning US!!! We then had a LONG talk about how that is not what happens when you get married and that when you marry your husband you are SUPPOSED to cling to him and go to live with him and not with your Mommy and Daddy anymore. I told her that was how God designed it. I reminded her of all the times we called her grandparents and visited them...that we didn't "leave them", we just started a new life with each other and that one day, God willing, she would do the same thing. (I also assured her that we would never let her marry anyone who wouldn't agree to our terms...building a house here on this property right next to our home so we could see her daily!! She thought that was hilarious!!) I assured her that marriage was a LONG way off in her future and that she would be an adult when that happened and that she would feel differently by then.
Oi Vei!!!! I can't believe my FOUR YEAR OLD is going to these places in her little FOUR YEAR OLD brain!!!! God help me when she gets to be a teenager!!!
Oh...speaking of God helping me. Any guesses where Aly is at the moment?? Well, she just came in and asked me if there was anything I needed her to do because she wanted to go into her room and close the door for a little while. I asked her if she was alright. She said, "Yes, I'm fine...I just need to regroup!" Then she looked at Lili and said, "It wouldn't hurt you to go regroup a little while too!!"

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to
uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to
build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to
dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to
refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw
away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to
speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for
peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Well, I guess my little munchkin has a lot to learn about times and seasons...but she is well on the way. Maybe we will start memorizing this verse...perhaps it will help her to get it all straight!!

~Abba...thank you for my amazing children. Please keep my words right and give me divine discernment when it comes to my girls. Help me to know their hearts and minds in amazing ways so that I can help them to be amazingly God-ly equipped for what you have planned for them- Amen~

In HIS Mighty Grip~

An accounting of yesterday...

Well, David is officially 47 now. Or as he would say, "I have successfully completed my 47th year and am now heading into my 48th year of life" I know...I know...he's a "wierdie" I sure do love my 47 year old Wierdie!! We had a great day celebrating his birthday!! The girls got everything ready and we woke him up right on schedule. They had a ball...here are the pictures...

Daddy-Man and his babies

Then they decided to get me in on the action...

We had planned to haul all the food out to the pool, but then said forget it and we just ate inside and then headed out to the pool . We had a blast, forgot to bring the camera out with us and we didn't get out of the pool until something like 6:30 last night!! It was wonderful. A totally relaxed and fun day!

Oh, I forgot about the birthday hat that the girls decorated for David. This is the first year that I let them do it ALL by themselves. Absolutely NO HELP WHATSOEVER from me. You have no idea how hard it was to completely walk away and tell them to "go for it." Everything in me wanted to help and add something and make it a little different. But, I didn't do it. I let them do it all by themselves. Actually it was just Aly...and she did a great job! The hat was hilarious...and absolutely beautiful!!!

I know that this picture cuts off part of Lili's face, but I think it is such a beautiful picture of her!! She looks so grown up!!

You can't see all the decorations very well, but you get the idea!! :-)

Something else happened yesterday that I found very important. While we were out swimming in the pool, I noticed a couple of times that Aly was kind of withdrawn a bit. At first I thought it had to do with the fact that Lili was getting a lot of attention as she is in the early stages of learning to swim now too. Aly was just floating along in the deep end or she would get out of the pool and just sit in her chair. Finally I kept asking her to talk to me and tell me what was wrong and she finally did. In her softest, sweetest little voice she said, "I was thinking about my birth-mother" I thought I was going to sink to the bottom of the pool!!! It totally hit me out of left field...I was in no way expecting her to say that. I guess she was thinking about it as it was David's birthday, but it was so sad. I asked her what she was thinking about and she said that she was thinking that she couldn't remember her and she didn't know why. I explained to her that she was just a tiny baby when she last saw her birth-mother and there was no way she could remember her. She then asked me the question I have debated in my head for nearly three years and how I would answer it. She said, "What do you know about her?" WOW...I actually know NOTHING about her and Aly knows that, but she needed something...she needed to know my heart. So, I told her what I believe in my heart of hearts to be true. Among other things, I told her that she probably looks a lot like her birthmother and that she probably acts like her in many ways. I also told her that she is probably a very smart woman because she is so smart. Then we had a conversation about "traits."

Without going into details of Aly's abandonment here on the blog, I will say that I told her that I believe with every fiber of my being she was loved by her birthparents. I believe that because of several reasons. Regardless, I told her that God had a plan for her life from the very beginning and whatever the circumstances of her abandonment, she is loved loved loved. She got back in the pool and hugged me and told me that she loved me and then she was just fine.

Whew...jumped that hurdle...oh Lord...how many more will there be? I'm glad I don't know when the hurdles will be coming...I don't think I could take it! :-)

~Father...please help David and I as we come up to these hurdles in our babies lives. Give us the words that would honor you and show your love for them above all else!! We know that you ordained...before the foundation of the world...that these girls would be in our care for this time to raise...and you can answer all their questions and heal all of their wounds!!!!~

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was
made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16

This verse comforts me for my girls...I pray that it will be a source of comfort for them as they grow and begin to question their lives. David and I will ALWAYS point them to God for those answers...I pray that they will quickly learn to seek HIM themselves for those answers!!

Okay...well, that was our day. I hope that you had a wonderful day too and that you made lots of wonderful memories for your families. I know we did!!

In HIS Mighty Grip~

Let Freedom Ring!!!

David and his babies just one short year ago...can't wait to see how tomorrow's picture comes out!!

Well, tomorrow is a special day in our house. Tomorrow is the 4th of July...it is also David's birthday!!! It is also a very special day for Aly and Lili as they are both LEGAL immigrants to this country. (As the mound of paperwork we filled out both here and in China will attest!! :-)

Anyway, we have a very special tradition that we again observe in the morning. I buy the girls a July 4th outfit which they wear with their red bandana Do-rags and they come wake Daddy up first thing to wish him a Happy Birthday. He puts on his red Do-rag and I take their picture together.

The girls and I also go buy a hat and decorate it with markers for Dad to wear at the beach or the pool so as to keep his ...um...ever so slightly balding head...from getting ever so slightly sunburned!! (We love your balding head Daddy!!!!)

So, tomorrow morning, early, the girls and I will get up and get his hat all ready. Then I will get them into their outfits and we will pile...guns a blazing...into bed with Daddy for our July 4th photo shoot!! We plan to spend the rest of the day poolside!! WHOOO HOOOO!! We are having BBQ, potato salad, baked beans and deviled eggs by the pool under our new Gazeebo.

We might try to make it downtown for the fireworks, but that remains to be seen. Just to relax with my Hubby, my Girls and my Dad is enough for me. I will try to post pictures tomorrow night :-)

David said, all through the wait for Lili, that he knew that she would be his birthday buddy since Aly was mine. My birthday is New Years Eve and Aly's is two days before mine. Well, that didn't happen as Lili is also my birthday buddy...coming in on Dec 2nd! I guess it is okay with him however...he gets to share the 4th with them both.

How unbelievably blessed we are this day!!! God has truly given us many good things...the most amazing things being these beautiful children!

Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness...
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. Psalm 150:1& 6