Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Kindness

Sometimes I am amazed at the kindness I have experienced from fellow bloggers. I have met (not really met) so many wonderful women through this blog. When I began the blog my intentions were just to journal and connect with other moms on the adoption roller coaster. I have formed wonderful friendships both with women I really have met (in person) and those I've only conversed with through the blog. I love that I feel a kindred spirit with so many of you. You have encouraged me when I needed it most and inspired me to do more with my life. When I'm feeling overwhelmed it never fails I come across another woman that has more on her plate than I can imagine and juggles it all with such grace. There are a few blogs that I have followed for years and continue to read today. One friend calls it "blog crack" you get an introduction to one innocent blog post... it's just the gateway to all the others... before you know it you've been on the blog crack for three hours, dinners burnt you can't find the kids and you've lost track of where it all started. I've cried with these women, celebrated with them and literally laughed out loud. Four years ago I didn't know what a blog was... I think I googled china adoption moms Houston.... there it was... Three Peanuts... http://3peanuts.blogspot.com/ I still follow this blog today and love this family. Through Three Peanuts I discovered Lucy.... http://ourlittlechinagirl.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-08-28T15%3A36%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=50I was smitten by both Kate and Lucy. They are both just precious and have such sweet personalities. I could not wait to meet Libbie and experience all that comes with being a mommy to a little girl.
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This week I was BLOWN away by a package we received in the mail. I've read this family's blog for about three years now and have been so entertained (truly entertained) by this kiddo. When Libbie came home... she was entertained too. We spent HOURS sitting at our PC watching Lucy OVER AND OVER again and again. Libbie's first words home were, Lucy... gin.. (again). As soon as I would stop the videos or say it was time to move on the crying (whaling) commenced. We enjoyed Lucy's videos before Libbie came home, but we had no idea just how much we would appreciate Lucy until after Libbie arrived. I remember a photo of Lucy when she first came home and I actually saved the photo in my inspiration file...

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Is she not the cutest?!?!?!?! I just want to pinch those cheeks!

I planned on having a seersucker dress made for Libbie and taking it to have a little L monogrammed on it... you can't imagine how big and disorganized my inspiration file is... well needless to say, I lost the photo and never had the dress made. I guess it was meant to be... guess what was in the package?? I sure can drag out a short story... My point is... how precious you sweet blogger friends are to me.

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I (WE) want to thank Lucy and Dawn for passing along this precious little dress to Libbie. She tried it on this weekend, but it's still a tiny bit big... we'll post photos of her in it soon! PS I have much to catch up on... we've had a great visit from the Indiana grandparents, kinder graduation, piano recital and lots of Memorial Day celebrating going on! I am over my head and WAY behind!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Bad Blogger

I got nothin... I do have the crud. I started feeling bad yesterday evening and by late last night had fever,chills sore throat and runny nose. I felt terrible all day today and did absolutely nothing but lay on the couch. It's hard to be at home and not get things done. I have ZERO energy. We have family coming on Thursday and were really looking forward to it. However, if I don't get feeling better, they won't have fresh sheets on their beds! Well... I'll have Lambert do the chores for me! (hope you're reading this Lambert) We've been crazy busy with all the end of school year fun stuff. Hoot is beyond ready for summer. I can tell he has summer fever. He wants to stay up later and can't seem to wake up in the mornings. The weather has been beautiful and we've enjoyed the past few weeks outdoors. Libbie has mastered the skill of driving Hoots Jeff Gordon's race car around the driveway. She is SOOOO proud of herself. She can finally steer and push the gas pedal simultaneously. I think she feels so free when she's driving. She's very intense and takes it very seriously.
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Hoot is loving his basketball goal and plays almost every evening.
He's about as athletic as his mamma!
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I've tried a couple new recipes and have a tomato garden growing! I really need to find a method for keeping STRAY cats out of our yard. I purchased some spray at Home Depot and almost gagged applying it around our yard only to find three cats lurking when I came out an hour later. I don't want to hurt them, but I can't stand having cat poop in my flower beds. They also get in our garage and spray if we leave the door open for any amount of time. We've had to purchase two new car seats due to these pests! Sorry cat lovers, they stink.

Dixie LOVES Libbie, but she always seems to knock her down. Libbie isn't afraid of Dixie at all, but she's constantly mad at her for making her fall. She's shouts, "No No Dixie bad gul (girl). Go in Kunnnel (kennel)
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I think Libbie usually has food on her face so Dixie enjoys licking her. She just yells at her to Stop dat!!
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Hoot is an amazing big brother. I sooo love hearing the two laugh with each other and bicker with one another. Libbie has already learned how to tattle (even though it's in Cantonese, we know she's tattleing) She's pretty bossy too. I guess it just comes natural for us!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Glory In The Highest

What a Mother's Day! It was just glorious! I have no other words to describe what a wonderful weekend we had. Lots of swimming, eating and relaxing! We went to my moms for the weekend and celebrated mothers day as well as birthdays. We didn't do much of anything which made it all the more wonderful. The kids spent most of the time in hot tub or the pool and we lounged around watching them! We did go to church Saturday evening and I got a few shots of brother and sister since I totally missed Easter photos. We came home rested and relaxed. We also came home to a surprise! Our adoption story made the FRONT PAGE of our local news paper. The story is great, but the photo... not so much. We didn't know the reporter was coming so none of us spruced up. We had been outside playing... the photo just made me realize, I need a haircut, highlights and lap band (or some other drastic weight loss measure). Oh well. I have the best family and loved having my kiddos in my nest this mothers day! It was an extra special day having both my chicks in my nest!

You can see from the photos Libbie loves her Hoot!
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I tried for a kiss... this is what I got...

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Instead I got one from him

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The sister and niece

The girls
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The kiddos
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James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Thank you Lord for your perfect gifts!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Spring

Last year I purchased two plants to bring home from our Indiana trip. I was certain they were DEAD after the last mini freeze we had here in the South. I love Hosta and I love love love Hydrangea. I dragged my mother in law and step mother to nursery after nursery looking for a SPECIFIC type of hydrangea. They are the most beautiful shade of green and have the fullest blooms you've ever seen. I saw a garden full of them when we first arrived and the obsessive search was on.
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But look whats in my flower bed this year!!!
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AND....
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We finally found them the day before we left and My mother in law and I each carried one back to Texas. I carefully planted fertilized and watered hoping it would survive in our zone. (i'm not a gardener by any means) A couple of weeks ago I noticed little leaves!!! My Hosta came back too. I'm putting in an order for more Hosta when my step mom comes later this month. I have the perfect spot for them. We've been spending a lot of time outdoors and we even planted a small (tiny) vegetable garden. I can't wait for tomatoes. We're enjoying the beautiful weather that will surely be long gone in just a few short weeks. I'll be complaining of the heat and the mosquitoes before you know it!