New Years Eve

Even though we have many plans for this new year, it seems like for the first time I can go into it with a peace in my soul. For years now we have spent New Year's Eve dreaming of how we can become parents and bring our kids home. This year, unless God does something really crazy-we will not be welcoming any new little ones (or dogs) to our household. As exciting as that time was, this time feels so much better. I can relax and focus on the huge responsibility of raising the ones I've got. I also will not be going on any kind of "health or athletic kick"...I mean who am I kidding- I barely have enough alone time to get a haircut. I will however be working towards cleaning up our life, getting organized, selling some of our clutter on craigslist, getting Vivi a social security number before taxes are due...you know the really important stuff!

So I am excited for 2008! My baby is going to have her first birthday party!! Woohoo...ya'll know how I love kid's birthday parties. My sister is having a son...my first nephew, due in April. We would like to go to Florida for a week this summer to play on the beach and visit Billy's aunts. And Isaac will hopefully begin basketball at some point if we can afford the fees! :)

I don't do resolutions...because I am like every other American in that the resolution fades by like mid February...you know right around Valentines day...

But I do have goals and wishes for this new year and hopes and dreams. It is exciting to see what the Lord will do with another year of our life.

May His Goodness be abundant in your family this year both in the trials of life and the celebrations.

Our other family

We took a little road trip yesterday afternoon to a Burger King. We were there to see Vivi's birthfamily! Their faces just lit up when they saw her and after a few minutes of warming up she was happy to be passed around. She was loved on by her birthmother and her two little ones, her mother, and her roommate. So sweet! Vivi even gave M kisses and laid her head on her shoulder! Adorable. We got a couple of cute pictures and of course they couldn't stop snapping pics of our little cutie! M thanked us over and over for setting up a time for them to see her at Christmas. We gave them gifts and they gave the kids each a toy. I made a little photo album scrapbook of Vivi's first Christmas for M to have and some ornaments. It was such a sweet time. I told her about the movie, Juno and how much it affected us. I was able to tell her how much Vivianna coming into our life healed the hurts we had suffered through infertility and foster care. She said how thankful she is that Vivi has us and what a relief it has been to know she is safe and loved. It is such a sweet time everytime we see her. M's mother said she told her son that they were coming to see Vivi and that they were just enjoying one visit at a time because they never know when they will get an opportunity again. But we assured them that as long as we live within driving distance we will be bringing her there to see them. We are grateful to have an opportunity to aid in M's healing as well as she gets to touch and hold and smell the baby that I am sure she thinks about often.

We know that if Vivi grows up knowing who M is that it will be the best way for her to grasp and understand her adoption. It won't be some mystical thing she creates. We want her to have a relationship with M, so that when she is like 8 years old she can ask her all her questions and get direct answers instead of our guesses. She will be able to see how her half birth sister has her same exact ears!! And as a teen, when she wonders why she has such an independent spirit and stubborness- she will have to look no further than her birthmother! (Of course she can just blame me for that too!) She will always know that God creates families in different ways...through birth, marriage, and adoption. And she was lucky to be part of that. She has a birth family who loves her dearly and she has a Mommy and Daddy and brother who think the sun shines right on her brown little head all the time! I wish for Isaac the same thing, but sadly that isn't his reality and we will cross that bridge when it comes. We are thankful that it is a beautiful reality for our daughter.

Oh, and (as you can see from the photo) Vivi is pointing now!! I will post about my excitement for this milestone later. :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy

Would someday walk on water?

Mary did you know

That your baby boy Will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know

That your baby boy Has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered

Will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know

That your baby boy

Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know

That your baby boy

Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby

You've kissed the face of God.

The blind will see

The deaf will hear

The dead will live again

The lame will leap

The dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb

Mary did you know

That your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know

That your baby boy

Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know

That your baby boy

Is heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding

Is the Great I Am

Mark Lowry

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas Eve at church with my parents and grandmother. At church Isaac said, "Mommy, where's Jesus?" I guess he thought He ought to be at His birthday celebration!

Today we have been busy opening gifts, playing with new toys, baking, and enjoying friends who stopped by. We are going to my sister's tonight for dinner.

We remember our Lord and Savior on the day of His birth. Even though our gingerbread house crumbled into a heap of graham cracker and goo, three times...we can have peace knowing our house (our faith) is on solid ground because of Christ.

We feel incredibly blessed to have two beautiful children to celebrate with this year. We know there are many parents waiting for their children to come home by birth or by adoption and we think of you today. We pray for all of our friends and family- a Merry Christmas and hope for a new year full of promise.

The Best Movie

Billy and I had a date night last night as our Christmas present to each other. We went to see this movie and it was the best movie we have seen in years. The description of it on the web states, "Juno, starring Ellen Page as an offbeat young woman who makes an unusual and bizarre decision regarding her unborn child." Hmmmm...so the world sees adoption as unusual and bizarre. Wow. That is insane. I asked the guy at the ticket counter if he had seen it and he said yes he loved it but couldn't get his wife to see it because she thinks it is a pro-life movie and refuses to see movies with an agenda. I wanted to say "you mean, she refuses to see movies that aren't her agenda." But I didn't. Anyway...this movie did not have an agenda. It was not Christian, it was raw and edgy, at times shocking. I won't give it away because Billy and I want every single one of our friends and family to see this and then talk to us about it. I cried a lot...but you may not. It's not a sad movie...just so real and moving. And in light of the Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy that is plastered ALL over the headlines...this movie is so relevant and needed right now. It gave me chills, I walked away changed in some way. And the thing I appreciate about it most is that yes, you can see that she gives birth to her baby but there is not a big sappy scene at the end where she holds her newborn and ponders what could be. She grieves and she is healed. Juno should be in theaters everywhere by Christmas day. Run- don't walk to the theater and see it. It gets a standing ovation from us and we hope it is seen by everyone over the age of 13, twice.

Christmas Portraits

Baby's First Christmas

Preschool Party

Today was Isaac's "Happy Birthday Jesus" party at preschool. We brought the cupcake cake which was yummy! And we also had pizza. The kids loved singing the birthday song to Jesus and doing a book exchange. On the way home, Isaac ate a candy from his gift bag and we didn't even know it until we saw his chocolaty face. Sheesh.

Samantha's Birthday

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

This past Sunday was my niece's 3rd Birthday party. It was a Hawaiian, Luai theme... which was really fun in December! All the kids had a great time and the food was delicious! The kids got to dig in a sandbox for shells as their party favor. The decorations were really pretty too! My sister knows how to do a kids' birthday party! Here is a short slideshow of my favorite pics from the party. Happy 3rd Birthday, Samantha!

Shopping...Dr's Visits....Jesus cakes, and gossip magazines

This is going to be a busy week. Isaac has preschool tomorrow, play therapy and Christmas pics with baby sister (round 3) on Wed. and Thursday at school is his happy birthday, Jesus party. He is very much into this and tells me almost every day that we have to make a cake for Jesus's b-day. We will actually be getting store bought cupcakes for the party, but he and I will be making a cake on Christmas Eve for Jesus. He told me yesterday that Jesus will be so sad because we ate his cake all up! Ha! I told him that it makes Jesus very happy when we enjoy remembering his birth day by eating his cake. He smiled at that! So sweet.

Vivi had her 9 month check-up today. She continues to be a petite little thing at 17 lbs. 2 oz. and 28 inches long. But this just makes her easier to carry around! She did not have to have any shots and she didn't cry once during the exam...along with Isaac sitting on Billy's lap quiet as a mouse...this made for a very good dr's visit which gave mommy the energy to tackle Walmart the week before Christmas with two little kids in tow! Vivi took a nap in the cart so that gave Isaac and I extra time on the toy aisles! I felt like supermom when we left the toys without any fits so I indulged in my little secret sin of purchasing People magazine and reading about how Jessica misses Nick. Why do I care, you ask! Hey...there is only so much Boz, baby toys, dog barking, and dirt on the carpet that one woman can take! Not to mention the constant dialogue that runs in this house "Mommy... I need to be wiped! Oscar is chewing your shoe! No, Isaac you can not have another candy cane...no...because....you just can't. Vivi is eating dog hair! I will not forget to make the cake for Jesus' b-day and yes you will eat your vegetables at lunch. If your stomach doesn't hurt for candy canes, it doesn't hurt for vegetables....."

So because they were angels at the store (and with People to refresh me) I had it in me to tackle an hour of baby food making! Productive afternoon for me, wahoo!

I bought Vivi some new sippy cups, we got to get on that as she will be off the bottle and on to whole milk in just 3 short months! She is in full swing with her self-feeding. She sucked down a tray full of pear pieces at lunch today and fussed for more! And she had two full snacks of cheerios and puffy stars! She must burn off all that food just like her brother! I am convicted that I need to brush her teeth more, but I just forget! Poor baby. We've got to keep those pearly whites in good condition! That along with her dirty ears (man those things are hard to clean!) and her long nails have just made me feel so neglectful! :) But last night I trimmed her claws and tomorrow during her bath I will go to town on her teeth and ears so maybe I can sleep better in the coming days.

Tomorrow Vivi is going to try pineapple for the first time. Wish her rashy butt, luck! (Her body has a way of rejecting all things foreign in the form of some very messy diapers!)

So Isaac went to bed with a runny nose and a cough...great...just in time for Christmas. If he wakes up with a slight fever...don't think I am a bad mom if I give him two chewable tylenols and send him to preschool, anyway. Come on!! You know the other moms in the class have done that too! Where do you think he got his cold? Okay...so I'll leave my cell phone number with the teacher...happy?

***update*** Isaac woke up with a fever at 5 am and I didn't have the heart to send him, afterall! So I am now fighting with him to stay on the couch so that his coughing does not overtake him...but sitting still is not something he can do, even with a cold! I guess peppermint bark making will have to wait for another day!

Mall Santa

Yeah, he creeps me out a bit too, Vivi!

(Even though we had 4 poses to choose from, I had to go with the one where she was crying. Isn't it classic for baby to cry on her first visit to Santa!)

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

The Problem with Hair

One of the biggest comments we get when people meet Vivianna is "Look at her hair! Little Pebbles Flintstone, adorable." Yes, we do have a preferred hairstyle with her and ya'll know what it is. Now, I have to admit that I often feel guilty about tightly binding my babies soft, delicate mop into a single tiny little hair band. Especially, when I read that this can cause bald patches, eek. However, need I remind you of what the first 4 months looked like?

Yep, that's right. This was how she looked day and night.

And combing has never helped, it will just pop right back up.

This was taken the other night, you can see things aren't much different in the hair department, we have just found a better way to manage it! Now, don't take me the wrong way. I love her hair. I have friends that pray and plead with their daughter's hair to just grow long enough so they will be able to stop fielding the "how old is he?" questions. I am pleased that her hair is growing, alot. And this means we have been able to try some new styles...

Like the side barrett.

And although this is so precious, it just does not stay in like the top pony tail.

So hopefully you will be able to enjoy seeing Vivi in some more natural hair styles in the future, but for now we will stick with Pebbles. She was the cutest Flintstone, afterall.

Vivianna is 9 months old!

Well, another month has gone by which means our baby is getting older. :( I feel like we are on the home stretch to turning one now and I don't like it one bit. I have really enjoyed these baby months and I don't want them to be over. This month Vivi began standing up on her own. She usually only does this on Isaac's bed because it is a soft place to fall, but she can stand for several seconds. She holds her arms up like a surfer! She started it on our bed in Hawaii, last week (pictures below). She also now feeds herself cut-up food at every meal. She just started to walk behind her push toy. She loves to go all over the living room now, when she used to just stand behind it. But the big excitement is that she says "Hi Dada!" She calls everyone Dada for now, but it is so cute to hear her little voice! Hopefully I can get a video montage of all her new skills on here soon. Stay tuned.

Isaac's Preschool Christmas Program

Last night we had fun watching Isaac and all the other toddlers at his Preschool program, sing 3 songs and shake jingle bells! Several kids were crying and Isaac kept standing during a certain part in the song. The funny thing is that none of the kids sang! Thirty 2 and 3 year olds sat there staring at the crowd and shaking bells. Thankfully the 4 year olds were behind them singing the songs! His teacher had to keep telling Isaac to sit down. He looked so adorable in his Christmas tie, we were so proud of him. At the end he held the basket and collected all the bells. Way to go Isaac!

Happy Adoption Day, Isaac William!

One year ago today, we stood in a courtroom and adopted our first child. It was a very special day because of the rough year leading up to it and how lucky we felt to be called this little boy's mom and dad. Every year I will buy him a book on his adoption day and write a little message inside. This is the one I got for him today.

Christmas Decor

I just love decorating for Christmas. This year was the easiest yet because we did it in shifts. Plus, this is our 4th Christmas in our house so I have it down pat where everything goes. We usually have our Willow Tree nativity on the piano but we decided to make it more simple this year. As you can see, I am waiting to get some pictures developed to put in the frames! We will do our little nativity with Isaac as it gets closer to Christmas. Isaac really enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree. Vivi has enjoyed taking them off! I will post some of the those pics later.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com