Happily Ever After...

Two months ago two terrified little girls were placed in their Mommy's arms for the first time. They were fragile. Emotionally and Physically. In just two short months,  here is a sampling of what they have learned: That Pj time isn't too scary. And with good nutrition, therapy and LOVE, holding our head up isn't as hard as it once was. Sofia learned... That bath time is FUN! That everyone gets to try new things, regardless of ability. And brothers are good snugglers. That sisters are your best friends. And you can never say NO to the Yo. (Not for long at least!) That Mommy thinks the more girls the merrier. And Daddy is the most amazing man ever! That Krispy Kreme can help put 4 lbs on you in 2 months. And Christmas cookie decorating is a rite of passage. That some one will always meet you on your level. And cousins are SUPER fun! That therapy doesn't always have to be alone. And most importantly,  that adoption is just ONE DAY in your life...

For those of you who don't know, a CP diagnosis (without MRI) in China could literally mean ANYTHING. The scope of CP is vast, from very mild to extremely severe. It can affect cognitive ability, (which ranges from mild mental impairment to mental retardation), and can affect any/all body part it chooses. It is brain damage, so while it will not progress, what is damaged is damaged, and you try to retrain the brain the best you can. When we researched this special need, we realized that there is a HUGE amount of faith that goes in to accepting a child with a CP diagnosis. There are too many unknowns, and each picture of her holding her head up doesn't show the second before, and the second after.  Pictures can be posed, charts can be filled out by well-meaning caregivers who want a child placed. Medical data is gathered by antiquated means, and not always reliable or current. So we decided not to pray if this diagnosis was for us, and instead if these babies were for us. L...

Well, hopefully my 2011 beginnings are not indicative of the year. I wasn't feeling well on New Year's Eve so Greg suggested I nap to see if I felt better. I started running a fever, and almost couldn't lift my head off the pillow. My throat felt like I was swallowing glass, terrible headache- the works. Ugh. We cancelled our plans to have friends over, and I dug out an antibiotic that we took to China, because I was pretty sure I had strep. Or the flu. I figured in 24 hours I would know if the antibiotic was working or not. Scientific, I know. Spent New Years snoozing away. Last night, I started to feel a little bit better, so I decided to wash the sheets. (I HATE sleeping on "sick" sheets) Somehow, I pulled my back out while pulling the sheets out of the dryer. Literally locked up on me and I was frozen bent over in the laundry room. You can stop laughing now. So now, I am laying on a heating pad, and feeling rather old. Anyhoo..... on to the real post..... ...

We started Y2K in VA with 14 and 12 yr old sons, thinking the world's computer systems might crash, and  then were thankful when they didn't.  Yes, we were one of those people. HA! Since that New Years  Day 2000 to New Year's Eve 2010 we have: ~Sold our first townhome and bought our first single family home. ~Left a church we had been at for 16 years, and lost  almost all our friends. ~Moved to Georgia and started over. ~Took the boys to ski in Colorado. ~Braved the olympic training slopes and black diamond runs in Tahoe. ~Went on vacation to Florida, North Carolina, California, Washington State, Nevada, Colorado. ~Suffered broken fingers, a sawed off finger, broken ankles and shoulder tears- and that's just Greg and I!! ~Bought 9 cars in 10 years. I know, that sounds bad, but a few were for kids! ;) ~Faced being laid off two times. Once at Christmas time. ~ Learned a lot about FAITH and TRUST in God's provisions through those times. ~Had 2 ...

 Having adult children, school age kids and babies has it share of challenges. Trying to find things that we all can do as a family is the biggest problem we face. Anytime everyone can be at the same event and everyone is having a great time is a SCORE! Today, the big kids and their friends were getting together for some flag football. We decided to bundle up all the girls to watch for a while.  Fortunately, Daddy brought a few balls with us.  While the big kids were playing this....  ....the little girls were doing this. The babies?  They were watching, and eating and...  smiling a lot. Then Daddy got a great idea to get those babies out of the stroller to let them play too.  Sofia was ALL about stealing Gianna's purple ball.   "Hey! Where'd my ball go???"  Well, Miss Celia has a mean steal! She is one quick lil' kicker.  She LOVED being a part of the girls soccer team.  Aria has decided she wants to play soccer on a tea...

Hearts entwined Twenty fingers, twenty toes, two sweet babies with cheeks of rose. Born on the same day, two gifts from above, lives entwined, two babies to love. ~Author Unknown