Monday, July 23, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Grace is One!!!!
The birthday girl waking up on her day!
Grace's Pappy took her and her baby on a morning ride in the wagon. Still in her jammies she had a great time.
We were all guessing - how would she respond? With the presents she had a look on her face like "This looks like something I could get in trouble for." She was unsure about tearing into the paper. Like we were enticing her to do something bad. After she started opening the gifts and didn't get into trouble, she went to town tearing at the paper and the boxes. The boxes were great!
She didn't immediately dive into the cake. She kind of began pinching at the icing. Then she really got into it. She had icing in her ears and up her nose! The chocolate icing looked kind of gross, but she loved it! She was licking her fingers so she wouldn't lose any icing.
We are going to do this all again on Saturday for her official party.
Grace's Pappy took her and her baby on a morning ride in the wagon. Still in her jammies she had a great time.
We were all guessing - how would she respond? With the presents she had a look on her face like "This looks like something I could get in trouble for." She was unsure about tearing into the paper. Like we were enticing her to do something bad. After she started opening the gifts and didn't get into trouble, she went to town tearing at the paper and the boxes. The boxes were great!
She didn't immediately dive into the cake. She kind of began pinching at the icing. Then she really got into it. She had icing in her ears and up her nose! The chocolate icing looked kind of gross, but she loved it! She was licking her fingers so she wouldn't lose any icing.
We are going to do this all again on Saturday for her official party.
Monday, July 16, 2007
A Great Weekend
This weekend was one of the best weekends of my life! I am truly serious about that. My sister Terri and I drove to Nashville to visit some dear friends who both have daughters born in Vietnam. On Saturday the Que Son Girls had a reunion. No the Que Son Girls are NOT a band for tweenies, they are three lovely girls from the Que Son orphanage. Lucy, Lily Ana and Grace are from a tiny village in central Vietnam where they slept all lined up in a row.
The Que Son Girls
Grace's history is with Lucy and Lily Ana. She has known them longer than she has known me. I am so thankful that the girls will always have each other. I am also thankful that their moms are my lifelong friends.
Saturday was great. Lily Ana's mom was gracious enough to open her home to us. Very brave lady. There is no way I can describe to you how beautiful they were playing together on the floor. Little bitty Lily Ana was amazing the way she fearlessly kept up with Lucy and Gracie. She is three months younger, but she refused to be bested by the bigger girls.
Lucy and Grace had a great time checking out Lily Ana's toys. This was a favorite.
I was speechless when I saw how much Lucy had grown. She is almost as tall as Grace. It shouldn't be surprising. She and Grace are only two weeks apart in age, but Grace has always been so extremely tall.
I was anxious to see how Grace interacted with the girls. She doesn't go to daycare and her cousins are older. She hasn't really had the opportunity to play with other kids her age. They were all fantastic. If you didn't know better, you would have thought that they play together all the time!
We spent four hours at Susan's house where they played, ate and napped. Kelly, Susan, my sister Terri and I enjoyed the girls and each other's company. We ended the day at a restaurant where the girls were the center of attention. People would come up and say "I don't mean to be nosy, but what's going on?" They were always touched and amazed as we told them the story.
On Sunday we all met up for lunch where we were joined by the lovely Annslee and her parents. She is such a big girl and Grace would just watch her at lunch. Annslee would do something and Grace would just giggle. It was fantastic.
It was very sad to part. We stood around outside the restaurant and talked for a while. There were lots of pictures taken. I left my camera in the car, but check out the pictures that Kelly took. They are fantastic.
When we got home Grace was worn out and ready to get out of the carseat. She had been in a carseat, highchair or stroller most of the day. She was thankful to get down and crawl a while. Then she was out.
Tomorrow will be another big day. Grace will be a year old! Check back for birthday pictures.
Lucy looking like a beautiful little present.
Lily Ana getting some loving from her momma.
The Que Son Girls
Grace's history is with Lucy and Lily Ana. She has known them longer than she has known me. I am so thankful that the girls will always have each other. I am also thankful that their moms are my lifelong friends.
Saturday was great. Lily Ana's mom was gracious enough to open her home to us. Very brave lady. There is no way I can describe to you how beautiful they were playing together on the floor. Little bitty Lily Ana was amazing the way she fearlessly kept up with Lucy and Gracie. She is three months younger, but she refused to be bested by the bigger girls.
Lucy and Grace had a great time checking out Lily Ana's toys. This was a favorite.
I was speechless when I saw how much Lucy had grown. She is almost as tall as Grace. It shouldn't be surprising. She and Grace are only two weeks apart in age, but Grace has always been so extremely tall.
I was anxious to see how Grace interacted with the girls. She doesn't go to daycare and her cousins are older. She hasn't really had the opportunity to play with other kids her age. They were all fantastic. If you didn't know better, you would have thought that they play together all the time!
We spent four hours at Susan's house where they played, ate and napped. Kelly, Susan, my sister Terri and I enjoyed the girls and each other's company. We ended the day at a restaurant where the girls were the center of attention. People would come up and say "I don't mean to be nosy, but what's going on?" They were always touched and amazed as we told them the story.
On Sunday we all met up for lunch where we were joined by the lovely Annslee and her parents. She is such a big girl and Grace would just watch her at lunch. Annslee would do something and Grace would just giggle. It was fantastic.
It was very sad to part. We stood around outside the restaurant and talked for a while. There were lots of pictures taken. I left my camera in the car, but check out the pictures that Kelly took. They are fantastic.
When we got home Grace was worn out and ready to get out of the carseat. She had been in a carseat, highchair or stroller most of the day. She was thankful to get down and crawl a while. Then she was out.
Tomorrow will be another big day. Grace will be a year old! Check back for birthday pictures.
Lucy looking like a beautiful little present.
Lily Ana getting some loving from her momma.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Gracie's Story
My baby will be one year old on Tuesday. I can hardly believe. It seems like it was just yesterday that I saw her little three month old face for the first time! I stared at that little face. I memorized it. Even though she has changed so much I can still see that little baby when I look at my big girl.
I wonder what her birth mother is thinking about right now? I know that her thoughts must be about her baby and the upcoming birthday. She must be wondering so many things. Where is she? How is she? Is she happy and comfortable and loved? I wish that I could tell her what a beautiful gift she has given me. I wish I could let her know that Grace is healthy and happy and loved by many. I wish I could thank her and give her a hug.
Most of the time in adoption you never really know the baby's history and what you find out is sometimes highly suspect. I wonder about the details of the report of Grace's abandonment. After visiting the orphanage I try to picture things. Did it happen that way? I don't know the answere to that but I do know that it is the history that we have to hold on to. Therefore it is the history I will tell Grace someday.
The report said that at about 4:00 p.m. the people inside the orphanage heard a big noise coming from outside. When they went to investigate they found a baby girl who was just a few days old. She was in a blue plastic basket with blue and white towels.
I imagine a girl bringing her baby to the orphanage and then making noise so they would come out and find her. Was she hiding, watching to make sure the baby was taken inside? It makes me think of the story of Moses - birth mother who loves her child and wants the best for the baby. This is the story I will tell Grace.
I wonder what her birth mother is thinking about right now? I know that her thoughts must be about her baby and the upcoming birthday. She must be wondering so many things. Where is she? How is she? Is she happy and comfortable and loved? I wish that I could tell her what a beautiful gift she has given me. I wish I could let her know that Grace is healthy and happy and loved by many. I wish I could thank her and give her a hug.
Most of the time in adoption you never really know the baby's history and what you find out is sometimes highly suspect. I wonder about the details of the report of Grace's abandonment. After visiting the orphanage I try to picture things. Did it happen that way? I don't know the answere to that but I do know that it is the history that we have to hold on to. Therefore it is the history I will tell Grace someday.
The report said that at about 4:00 p.m. the people inside the orphanage heard a big noise coming from outside. When they went to investigate they found a baby girl who was just a few days old. She was in a blue plastic basket with blue and white towels.
I imagine a girl bringing her baby to the orphanage and then making noise so they would come out and find her. Was she hiding, watching to make sure the baby was taken inside? It makes me think of the story of Moses - birth mother who loves her child and wants the best for the baby. This is the story I will tell Grace.
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