E turns 9!

Yesterday, E turned 9. It was nice that her birthday fell on a Sunday as we celebrated all weekend long. Friday evening she invited a couple of friends and we went to eat and then to a ceramic shop. The girls painted little bears with their birthstones in them. They had a terrific time. Before church on Sunday, E opened her gifts. She is such a joy as she only asked for a pogo stick, nothing else. O and I went out birthday shopping on Saturday and bought her a few things. Her favorite was a new bathrobe. Such a sweet girl. I am blessed to be her mama. On Sunday we actually had beautiful weather, so we headed out for a walk around the zoo. E enjoyed her day and had cupcakes/cake several times over the last few days.

A New Big Girl Hairdo

This week C got a big girl hairdo just like O's.

Soccer!

This fall E and O are playing co-ed soccer at the local family center.
E is in the league for 3rd/4th graders. She is the smallest on the team--by alot. That does not slow her down one bit. She gets in there and plays with all her heart. She is pretty athletic. If only I could convince her it is OK to not be so polite...just steal the ball! Her team is the Black Widows but she is definitely my Itsy Bitsy Spider!




















O is on the Tigers! She gets out there and hustles after the ball. She was unsure if she wanted to play soccer. She tried to opt out for something indoors where there were no bugs. I think she has been pleasantly surprised and has enjoyed playing so far.

C, of course, is just plain cute! She is our little Baylor Bear. Sic 'em Bears!

H1N1 aka Swine Flu

Well, that didn't take too long...Took O to the doctor today as she had been coughing and started running a 102 fever last night. She had to don a face mask when she entered. They did not run the official test because they said it was all of the classic symptoms they were seeing in children the last week or so and having it confirmed would not change the course of treatment. We are just suppose to treat her symptoms...fever, headache/bodyache, runny nose, coughing, sore throat. So, another sleepless night awaits. I will set the alarm for every few hours to medicate her with the tylenol/motrin cocktail to try to keep her temp from getting out of control. 102 is miserable, but not scary like the 105 she had this last spring. The doctor did give me a tamiflu prescription for C. She said that she is in a high risk category not so much for her heart but for her age. The tamiflu is suppose to prevent her from getting it while it runs through the house. Ironically, she said not to worry as much about daycare as our home because the schools/daycares are being very vigilant in their disinfecting right now. She asked me a good question, "Did you disinfect all of the toys @ your house today? Did you wipe down all of the doorknobs today? etc." She said people don't think about doing those things because they are their own germs. Makes sense.

So, we tried to make the best of E's Gotcha Day while tending to O. E and I took 3 tubs full of clothing to the local resale store together and then went to Sonic for a treat. Tonight we had "Spa Night" and cake.

Here is a pic of my patient...






















E getting ready for her Gotcha Day cake...















C in her new hot pink patent leather shoes and big girl clothes and enjoying some seaweed treats that a friend brought back from China for her...

Happy Gotcha Day, E!

Today marks the 8 year anniversary of the day E, my oldest daughter, was placed in my arms. She will turn 9 next month and is turning into a beautiful young lady. I could not have asked for a more caring, tender spirit in a daughter.

This is my first glimpse of E via an email picture. It was love at first sight!


Of course, digital camera were still fairly new and expensive at the time of my first 2 trips to China, so many of my early pics of E were taken with a good old fashioned camera and 35mm film. I finally upgraded to digital after I came home with O. E was 3 at the time.












And look how she has grown! A more beautiful rose has never bloomed that is as sweet and pure as my precious little E.

Amazing...

I have considered recently if this blog gives a true picture of what it has been like to adopt and raise 3 girls as a single parent. I don't know if I can truly answer that question. Like all of us, each of my girls came with their own baggage. They each possess their own set of quirks. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. I have come to discover, to some extent, what makes them tick and know how to avoid triggers that will set off behavior that is not beneficial.

For instance, when E came home, it was a seamless transition. Such a loving girl, thirsty for love. It was a good thing she was such a sweet, good baby as this single mom didn't know one end of a baby from the other. She made my job very simple. She was easy to love.

When O came home, she brought with her emotional baggage. She was very angry for reasons I will probably never know. Perhaps I was as much of the problem during those first years we were together in that I made assumptions about why she had the temper tantrums she had. We had a rocky start. Now, she is my shadow. When she smiles, her eyes twinkle brighter than any star you will ever find on a clear, dark night.

When we met C in China, she was not all that happy to be with us and cried for several days (pretty much nonstop.) But once home, she is a happy, easy baby who, on occasion, can be stubborn but never holds a grudge. She is funny and freely gives her love unconditionally.

So where does that leave us? I know many who read this may think my response is one you would expect from Pollyanna. But I must be honest...yes, there are days that are difficult, but they are becoming few and far between. Yes, I am often exhausted and my nerves are worn to a frazzle at the end of the day, but when I tuck my sleeping beauties in long after they are asleep, my heart aches with love and pride that they are mine and the weariness of the day seems to melt away. Bottomline, they are regular kids with individual personalities that sometimes mesh and sometime clash. None the less, I would not trade one day, good or bad, with these girls for anything in the world.

So, I guess I have intentionally used this blog to share a few of the hard moments, but mostly share with the world the awesome power of God's grace and love. We like to throw around the addage that love conquers all. I think that in the end, that is true. However, there are often times where we must cling to the faith and hope that love never fails. On occasion, I have had different people remark about the extraordinary thing I have done in adopting these 3 girls. I must disagree. I am by no means extraordinary. I am just an ordinary single woman who is blessed beyond her wildest dreams to get in on the ground floor of an incredible act of God to not just show His love for 3 little girls, but He also shows His love to me. He created a family not just for the girls, but for me as well. Now THAT is extraordinary.

So, since I am fairly certain that my words have failed to portray the depth of love and admiration I have for 3 little girls that I am so glad to call my own daughters, I will end this post with a few pictures so that you can see my precious ones through my eyes. I hope that you can see the love for each other that they genuinely share as well as the joy and life that God has shed abroad in their hearts.

While on vacation this summer, we visited a place called Claws and Paws. The girls loved looking at the animals. They were able to feed a giraffe. O was the only one brave enough to hang onto her carrot until the giraffe took it away.