The Three Amigas...

A few shots of my 3 sweeties...

All smiles


Always ready for a photo shoot

Pretty in pink

We call her Carly Grace, fair of face...can you tell why?

She went shoe shopping last week and picked out her own tennies

I love her style

Of course little Miss had to have her "shoe shot" too...love that expression

Girls may to want have fun (and these 3 certainly do) but they also bring a lot of joy!

Adoption Day Remembered...

Yesterday was Lia's adoption day. The day we made official by law what had already transpired in our hearts months earlier...she was our daughter.

Here we are with her orphanage director on Scott's right and the notary on my left.

It wasn't official till Lia signed it with that sweet little foot of hers.

What I love about this day is that she went into the appointment bearing the name of her orphanage. She left bearing the name of her father.

Last night we celebrated with Dora cupcakes and cake batter ice cream. Yeah boy.

And of course a present or two.

Her peeps weren't coming fast enough for her satisfaction so she was "encouraging" them to get a move on.

I think she liked her new "cooking" outfit.

And so did Alex. No worries, though. His man-card is still up to date and active.

Happy adoption day to our sweet girl...your family loves you a bunch!

One Year Ago Today...

...we met this sweet girl for the first time.

And now...

...none of us...

...can remember...

...what life was ever like...

without her.

We love you little girl!

If You Think About It...

say a prayer for my Alex today.

He has his pre-kindergarten check-up this afternoon which means multiple shots.

Our last visit to the pediatrician was a memorable one. He needed to have a wart removed and screamed so loudly that in his words "He shook the building down."

I'd say that was a pretty accurate description.

Thanks in advance for your prayers for him...and for me.

We're gonna need them.

Finally...

....a sunny day for a couple of kids that really needed one!

While the big kids were at piano, we found a park close by and burned some energy...

Ready, set, go....

Alex , who never meets a stranger, was playing peek-a-boo with a new friend

Anything he can do...

...she can do too (or so she thinks)

The slide was a big hit with Lia

And the knees say it all...we are ready for more days like this

We're Going to Cameron, Baby...

That's right...Cameron Indoor Stadium to watch the Hokies battle the Blue Devils this Sunday night at 7:45.

Scott was able to pick up a couple of tickets this week in the student section no less.

He asked a co-worker, who is a season ticket holder, if his rabid fandom for the visiting team would get him accosted since he'd be sitting with the Cameron Crazies.


The guy just looked at him quizically and said, "It's not like we're Maryland or anything."


Still, I take great comfort in the fact that if things were to get ugly there's probably at least a couple hundred doctors in the house.

Should be exciting.....and as Lia says....

Go Ho-tees!

Backyard Visitors...

Early this morning we had six deer in the backyard about 30 feet or so from the deck.

One of our guests was an albino deer which we had never seen before.

And just in case you've never seen one either....

"Mommy Brain"

"Mommy Brain"...the inability to remember details, certain vocabulary words, or pertinent information say...about your children

I suffer from it constantly.

Like today, for instance, at the social*security office.

I needed to apply for Lia's social*security number and instead of entrusting her passport, adoption decree, and certificate of citizenship to the United States Postal Service I decided to wait with the masses at our local SS office.

I lined up a sitter, packed up some books, swung by Starbucks, and headed over to the office to camp out for a while and get this thing done. That's when it flared up.

Mommy Brain Moment #1: As I entered the lobby to get my number I was greeted by a very nice (but very large) security guard who took one look at my cup and told me no food or drink was allowed inside. (Sigh). Apparently I had missed the big red sign that said, "NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED INSIDE." So I kissed my Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte good-bye and sat down with all the other unhappy people in the room. At least now, I knew why they were unhappy.

Mommy Brain Moment #2: As I perused through my book stack looking for something to read (since now I wouldn't be eating), I picked up the folder with all Lia's documents. NOTE TO SELF: All manilla folders ARE NOT the same. I had brought the wrong folder. (Ugh. I'm moving from bad to worse here).

So I got back in the van and headed back home to retrieve the correct file (during which time I greatly enjoyed my Cinnamon Dolce Latte..thank you very much). 20 minutes home, kiss kids, 20 minutes back, new number, new chair, same unhappy people...

Mommy Brain Moment #3: When at the window, I handed over the documents for the worker to begin the process, she said, "Your daughter needs to be here to answer some questions..." Seriously? "Um...she's two," I said. Come to find out I put the wrong birth year on the form (in my defense, it was a birth year that did belong to one of my kids, just not Lia....however, they were not amused). It delayed an already lengthy process since she had already entered some of the information and "the system" doesn't take kindly to mistakes .


Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the deed was done and Miss Lia should have 9 lovely digits coming her way in a few weeks.

As for me and "mommy brain" I think it's hopeless.

Sometimes It's The Simplest of Things...

...that trigger the deepest thoughts.




Like last night when we were getting ready for dinner.

I asked Lia, rather nonchalantly, to get her plate from the drawer and set it at her spot on the table.

And with an "O-tay, Mommy," she did it.

And it struck me that a year ago not only had she never spoken a word of English, she had never heard a word of English. And now she hears a few words, knows exactly what they mean, and acts accordingly.

I just find it amazing.

And that's not all.

After she retrieved her plate from the drawer and was on her way to the table she lifted it up to Scott and said, "Daddy, I got pwate!" knowing he would be pleased.

That was not lost on me either.

As she set her plate on the table, it represented her place there...in the family. Her family.

And at dinner, Lia prays. Always. Even if it's not her night, she waits until the initial prayer is finished and then says "My pray!" And does she ever.

Last night, she started with her ususal "JE-SUSH....and then rattled off every one's name at the table...Ki-chael, Lar-Lar, Line, Ayee, Mommy, and Daddy," thanking her Je-sush for each of them.

And every day, we thank Him for her and the ability to watch her grow and learn and know the One who has had His hand on her from the beginning long before we were ever a part of her life.

Also, last night we began teaching her the first set of catechism questions:

Yes He did little one. By Him and for Him you were made and it is our prayer that as you grow in wisdom and in stature, that you grow even more in the grace and knowledge of Him as well, that you may experience the delight of your heavenly Father as you do your earthly one.

From language development to dinner-time theology it is all just simply amazing.

A Tisket~ A Tasket...

...look who we found in the laundry basket...




Looks like we might need to invest in some dryer sheets!

I'm Not So Sure About This...

It was an afternoon mothers dream of...

The kids were off playing happily (and quietly) together enabling me to get a little extra work done around the house.

When asked what they were engaged in, they responded, "Oh we're just playing with our animals."

Stuffed animals. Harmless, right?


Not when the animals are huddled in the corner of the bedroom playing POKER with each other!

POKER?!?!? Where did I go wrong?

(Although I do have to say, the lamb does have a pretty good poker face).

The Guest of Honor...

...at our Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year celebration.

...and yes, when you're that cute, you get to stand on the table.

My Funny Little Valentine...

...ran errands with his Daddy yesterday and came home with a surprise...

...for me...

...that he picked out all by himself...

....he said he didn't know if I'd like the color but he knew I'd like the smell...

Actually, I loved every bit of it...especially that little face hiding behind the bouquet.

On Days Like This...

...with another round of snow...

...in a land of no snow plows...

...I guess she won't be needing the pretty pink shades that she donned last night...

...at least not for a while.

Actually, if we have to have snow, this wasn't too bad. Enough to be pretty but not enough to keep us off the roads. The countdown for days of flip flops and sunblock continues....

For those of you back in Virginia, I'll stop my whining now :)

Road Trip...

On Saturday night we did something rather unpredictable for us. We loaded everyone up in the van and drove an hour to Greensboro to take the kids (yes, all of them) to their first concert. There was a Winter Jam concert at the coliseum and for $10 each we got to see Newsboys (Caroline's favorite) and Third Day (my favorite) plus several other groups.

The show didn't start till 6 and by 9 we were still waiting for Third Day. By this point, Alex and Lia had exhausted their air guitars and were doing somersaults in our laps but we persevered and made it to the end. When Third Day sang "Cry Out to Jesus" Lia most certainly did but it was definitely worth the wait.

Our pre-concert group shot. Yeah, we're crazy like that.

When Lia woke up the next morning, I saw just how tired we must have been the night before. Notice her pajamas and socks...none of which match.


Not quite ready for early service (or her waffle) just yet.