Random Sweetness

Just a few random pictures....

Silly on St. Patrick's Day

Hanging with Gramps

Having Fun playing with my hair-bows and head-bands. Being a princess is hard work. A girl has to look her best!

Awww..getting sleepy!

Crawling in my toy basket. This makes my Mimi very nervous!

Looking cute!

Mimi  bought me this great pink toy chest because she didn't like me crawling in the basket. Ha-Ha....look at me now! I crawl on top of the toy chest! 

I LOVE to climb!!

Have I mentioned how much I love this sweet girl! I am so lucky to have her in my life. I just count my blessings everyday!! 

Walking & Easter Bunny

This weekend we went to a local Easter Celebration. It was windy and cold--but Janie met the Easter Bunny! 

And, she has been trying soooo hard to walk-she usually just takes 1 step then drops to crawl. On Saturday she took almost 4 steps before squatting to crawl...see video below! It won't be long and she will be on the move-then my life will totally change :):)

Every Moment Matters

My agency, All God's Children International, sent out a newsletter this week "Every Moment Matters". Please take a second to read this inspirational message....(and check out one of the cuties on the top of the page--you may recognize her).

Click HERE to see it!

Also, sweet girl has been trying sooo hard to walk. She takes 1 step and then drops to crawl.....but today she took almost 4 steps!!! I was lucky to catch it on video--I'll post later when I have a little more time! We went to the local Easter Celebration today--played games, met the Easter Bunny, watched pony rides, etc. It was cold and windy but lots of fun..I'll post pictures soon.

Oh, by the way....I finally saw "The Blind Side" yesterday! I rented it, never had a chance to see it in theater.....I LOVED IT!! I loved it for so many reasons! It is now one of my favorite movies!!

Fun at the Park!

This past weekend I loaded up a carload of Janie's gear and headed off to MiMi and Gramps! 

Usually MiMi comes to visit Janie and me at least 1 day each weekend--but this weekend we decided to spend it at thier house. MiMi needed her sweet Janie this weekend--and boy did she deliver! Janie was GREAT the entire weekend--she was her usual sweet, silly, happy, joyful self and I know MiMi and Gramps enjoyed spending the weekend with thier grandchild!

The weather was sooooo nice on Saturday that we went to the park. Here are a few pictures!

Look how grown-up she looks in those pictures! When did my little bundle of joy stop looking like a baby and start looking like a toddler??? 

I forgot

Life is so full of happiness and joy around here that March 12 came and went and I didn't even notice. March 12, 2008 was the day I received the referral of my Vietnamese daughter. As you know a few months later I lost the referral and then Sept. 1 the MOU expired and no more Vietnam referrals to the USA. Several dates with that failed adoption make me a little sad: March 12, the referral....June 24, losing the referral, and of course Sept. 22, her birthday. I often think about that precious little girl. I wonder if she is OK? I pray for her often. Although I never met her, held her, or heard her voice--I do consider her my daughter. I still talk about her occassionally and I call her Pheonix (that was going to be her middle name-it was the English translation of her Vietnamese name).

This year, March 12 came and I honestly didn't realize it. I feel bad for missing that date, but I am thankful that my life is so full right now that I didn't dwell on the loss.

I still have her picture in my living room and always plan to! Please join me in prayer that she is feeling God's love each day!

13 months old and 6 months home!

It is so hard to believe that Janie is 13 months old today--and that she has been home 6 months! Sometimes it still feels so unreal--all the months (really years) of waiting and praying for her and I often have to remind myself that she really is here--my daughter is home! Then other days it seems like she has always been here and always been a part of my life. It's really hard to remember life without her.

One thing I do know: She is the absolute light of my life. She is 100% pure joy and I thank God everyday for allowing me to be her mommy!! 

Here are some random pics. You will notice in many she is pointing....that is her new favorite thing to do. She points at everything, especially when she wants something! She lets you know!!

She is trying SO HARD to walk. It seems to be her main goal in life right now! She can stand for a few seconds but then bends down when she realizes what she is doing!! She loves to push her toys all over the house--she walks so fast behind them. She used to just "keep up" with them, but now she seems to be more in control of them.

She babbles all the time but has a few consitent words: mama, baby, bye bye, dog, and ball. Her favorite word is balloon-she usually says it "boon" but sometimes she gets that "l" sound in there too!!

Janie's 1 year photos

Janie turned 1 on Feb. 14 and a few days before that we went to a wonderful photographer (Stylized Portraiture) for a custom photo shoot! We met with them this past weekend to order some of the prints! They were all so WONDERFUL! It was sooo hard to choose! And they were too sweet--they already had a beautiful 16x20 printed for me that they gave me for free! They have a great program titled Celebrate Adoption! I love them!!

Her on-line gallery is available for viewing! The gallery is only available for 10 days and it expires on March 12..so if you get a chance in the next 10 days-go check it out! And, if you live in the area, I highly recommend them!

http://www.stylizedportraiture.com/clients

Click on "Day" next to Janie's picture. The password is janie

Enjoy and get ready to SMILE!!