Happily Ever After...

I was born in the mid-west and grew up in Colorado. I LOVE winter. I love SNOW even more! Living in Virginia, we got our fair share of decent snowfalls. I woke up as excited as the kids at 5 AM to hear if schools were closed. We spent our days sledding, sipping hot chocolate, and enjoying all things winter. We are so crazy about the stuff that one year IN THE MIDDLE of a blizzard, we walked 2 miles pulling the boys on sleds to the grocery store. Not because we needed anything. Nope. Just for the thrill of walking two miles in the blustery snow. Crazy, I know. This weekend, we celebrate 7 years of living in Georgia. It has flurried a few times, but the only significant accumulation happened when we were in the Mediterranean and we missed the whole thing. Mind you, no one heard me complain from Greece about the one I missed! To give me that "winter" feel, I decorate my house with reminders of snowfalls past. This year,I decided to extend some of my Christmas decorations and mak...

The girls and I were talking about how we all have the same last name, which was a "light bulb" moment for Gianna. They then, asked me what my other name is. I had to stop and think. Do I have another name other than Mommy or Honey? Oh right. I'm D..... Cristy Cl@xton. (but since I don't answer to D....., except at the Dr.'s office, I'm Cristy to all my friends. And acquaintances. And BJ's, Netflix, Costco and any other retailer that has my name.) So I'm Dawn. Except I'm not. Which the girls found to be rather funny. Aria then asked me what my Chinese name is. She was SHOCKED to learn I don't have one. "So I call you Mommy but your name is D... and you go by Cristy, and (gasp) you have NO Chinese name???? " "Where were you born?!?" "I was born in the United States of America, Sweetie." She started to giggle and said, "So, you're only American? Well, I am Chinese- American." I guess in the melt...

Every year at Christmas, Daddy takes all three of his girls to do something special. This year, we went to our favorite place to have tea. We laughed and laughed about the differences in our girls. Both are very girly girls. Both are giddy and excited about tea with Daddy, but one of my girls may or may not need additional manners training. HA! Aria is my prim and proper girl. Patiently waiting for her tea, making sweet small talk, and remembering all her manners. Gianna's not gonna lie- For her, it's all about the FOOD. And she wants it NOW! Aria showed me how to politely fold her hands while waiting for more hot chocolate. Gianna couldn't wait to down that poor unsuspecting mouse! Aria remembered to lift her pinky finger when sipping tea. Gianna forgot that shoveling food in your mouth AND talking excitedly at the same time *might* not be polite. But BOTH girls were very polite in careful in the gift shop as Daddy let them pick out a tea cup to start their collection. Eac...

Naughty Bentley can't resist the ornaments. He's just SURE they taste like chicken. Fortunately, we catch him before he gets too far. The fact that he is ridiculously cute wins him a Christmas pardon every time.

Aria means beautiful melody . We named her that because the very thought of her brought a song of joy to our hearts. We wanted that little baby girl with every fiber of our being. And although we had not yet seen her sweet face, or held her in our arms, the dream of who she would be caused us to raise our voice in worship to our Saviour for blessing us with the gift of adoption. And, in such a God-like fashion, He blessed us with a little angel who LOVES to sing. She wakes up singing every morning. She loves to make up songs that fit our circumstances. She calls those songs her " song collection" as if she has an ipod stored in her head. (And she might) When she makes up a song, she rarely forgets the words. Some have become family favorites... "When the sun goes down, And the moon comes up It's night night time for you and me." I'm sure the inspiration for that song could never be from me saying, " Look, it's dark outside, up to bed !" Cer...