Finding Gracie in Vietnam

We are the Truth

2010-04-15T20:16:00.006-05:00

In light of what is happening with Russian Adoptions, the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCIS) has asked families to celebrate their successes by sharing their adoption stories on their blogs today as part of their “We are the Truth Campaign.”

We are the truth - Grace and I. The truth is a girl in Vietnam made the hardest decision a woman could have to make when she gave up her daughter. The truth is that I am blessed to be Grace's mother and I hope that somehow her birth mom know she is truly loved. She is my rock star. I loved her long before I saw her face. And then I memorized ever detail of her chubby face while I waited to bring her home. It was a bit surreal when we finally met. This is the day I met Grace - December 28, 2006. My girl loves to eat so the bottle was probably a great icebreaker!

The truth is that she is my heart. I love to see her learn new things or try something for the first time. The truth is that she told me no about a hundred times today and she yelled at me when I told her that it was getting dark and when needed to go inside. But I won't remember that tomorrow. What I will remember is how she crawled up in my lap and told me she loved me. I am so blessed to be her mother. That is my truth.

I did not rescue her from life of poverty in Vietnam. She rescued me from a life of ordinary and shows me daily how fortunate I am to be the mother of an extraordinary little girl. Here's Grace holding her referral photo on the third anniversary of her referral.

Who's Your Daddy?

2010-02-21T00:25:00.006-06:00

I wrote about this just a bit last post. But this has been a big deal around our house lately. After visiting her friend Reilly and seeing her with her daddy (who is normally at work when we get together) she talks about daddies all the time. Gracie has name everyone's daddy. She starts with friends she sees all the time. Mr. Scott is Reilly's Daddy. Mr. Tony is Emma's daddy. She always has to tell me that Annie's daddy is Mr. Warbucks. It continues until we get to friends we rarely see. Mr. Justin is Lucy's daddy. Gracie has an amazing ability to remember names so this can go on for some time. I wish she would ask about Petunia's daddy. Then we could discuss that her Pop is her daddy just like Gracie's Pappy is her daddy. She came up with that one on her own. While naming people's daddies she said Pappy is my daddy. He was of course elated. She says that Pappy is my daddy, Momma's daddy, Aunt Terri's daddy and Uncle Mitch's daddy. She always comes first but we are just thankful the she includes us! So far I just say that's right and move on.

Let me preface this by saying that I am NOT going to go out daddy shopping. I would never change my decision to adopt Gracie on my own. However this whole revelation makes me so, so sad. She realizes that she is missing out on something. She is only 3 1/2, how will she feel when she there is a father/daughter event at church or school? She has her grandfather, uncles, older cousins who she is close to and love her dearly. They are great role models. But they are not a daddy. I guess I am worried that I am shortchanging her in some way. I hope she doesn't feel that way as she grows up.

This is a downer post but I want to remember this and I hope that someday I can read it and laugh.

We have had an amazing amount of snow this year. I feel like I don't live in the South anymore. It was beautiful falling though.

We enjoyed it at first but are really missing playing in the yard and on the swingset. The ground is just saturated with water after all the snow. Grace is tired of it too. She has to settle for swinging in the gazebo and it just isn't the same.

Crazy girl in the bathtub. I keep threatening to cut her hair off because it is like this alot. She is being very resistent when I try to comb her hair. Not tenderheaded, she's just very busy and doesn't have the time.

Diving Back In

2010-02-13T20:30:00.003-06:00

Ok I have not posted for three months. Facebook made me lazy. Then when I would think about posting I would just put it off. It had already been so long what did another day make. So this may be a weird, rambling post. But my hope is that if I get that first post done, the others will come easier.

What has Gracie doing? Here are a few things...

She has had a tremendous growth spurt. One day I noticed her sleeves and pants were looking too short. It seemed to happen all of the sudden. When I measured her she had grown 2 1/2 inches in 5 months! Grace is now 39 inches tall. I haven't weighed her in a while but I would guess she is between 30-35 lbs.
Just before Christmas we went to visit my friend Karen and her daughter Reilly. Reilly's daddy stopped in for about 10 minutes at lunch to pick up something he had forgotten that morning. Scott is normally at work when we visit. Since that day she has had this obsession with daddies. She is always telling me who someone's daddy is or asking me who that person's daddy is. And I mean constantly. Then she'll say "My daddy is Pappy." This is really breaking my heart. I know that she has more fantastic male figures in her life than many little girls and I know she is better off than if she had a "dead beat dad." But it still makes me sad knowing that this is obviously something that she is very, very aware of. I didn't know this day would come so soon.
Grace still loves music better than anything. Her favorite toys are her piano, drums, and keyboard. She loved her guitar but it sincerely drove me crazy so I hid it. She sings all the time. She remembers lyrics and sings in tune too.

I don't want to tire myself out on my first post so here are some recent pics I took. She calls this her puppy dog jacket. It was sweet when she said it, but as I was typing it seemed like animal cruelty! No puppies were harmed to make this jacket.

Doesn't she look grown up? Her legs and her hair just keep growing. She has become a real pain about being still to have her hair combed. Sometimes I want to get her a short haircut with bangs.

We have had a couple of really big snows. Like 6-8 inch snows.

Happy Halloween/Merry Christmas

2009-11-01T22:31:00.003-06:00

Grace started talking about Christmas about a month ago. She has had not time for Halloween. Didn't care to talk about it, about costumes, and didn't care to say trick or treat. She is all Christmas, all the time. She wants to listen to Christmas music all the time. And the mail man better watch out. She devours ANY magazine or catalog that has anything to do with Christmas. It doesn't matter if she is looking at monogrammed guest towels. She doesn't care as long as it's Christmas. This week she has started asking about a tree. So I got a Christmas tree costume. I really worried that she wouldn't keep it on because because it's bulky and she had to stick her face out a hole. I had to make her take it off. As you can see in the photo, she even rode Trigger in costume. We went to see some friends and she still didn't say trick or treat. She came out with "Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock."

Referral Anniversary at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T21:33:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the third anniversary of Grace's referral. Last year we started a family tradition. We celebrate the day with a trip to the pumpkin patch. There is a great pumpkin patch near my house. They have lots of great places to take pictures and who wouldn't love running around the rows and rows of pumpkins?

Gracie's smiling with her referral picture. Is that a gorgeous smile or what?

She loved the ones that looked like they have warts. I think those are interesting too.

She ran and jumped in Pumpkinman's lap. Then she started going through his pockets.

She is such a nosy girl.

She was tired of having her picture taken.

A Day with Friends

2009-10-04T21:24:00.005-05:00

My sister Terri, Grace, and I traveled to see friends and their beautiful girls. We got to visit with Susan and Petunia and Justin, Kelly, Lucy, and Annie. All of the girls are from Que Son, Vietnam. Grace, Lucy, and Petunia were all roomies. We also got the added treat of visiting with Kelly's mother, sisters, and the two most adorable, curly headed, little boys. Despite the rainy and chilly weather today was a fantastic day. Kelly is an amazing photographer and took pictues of Petunia and Grace. I can't wait to see them.

Petunia had fun collecting leaves.

Grace standing still for a moment.

Lucy, Justin, Annie and Gracie found a butterfly on the ground.

Looking through my pictures I noticed that Grace was watching Annie in lots of them. She would be a good big sister.

Ready to Go

2009-09-28T00:18:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning I was sitting in Gracie's bedroom floor trying to figure our what I wanted her to wear for her pictures next weekend. She was running around the room in her panties. I told her that we were going to see Justin, Kelly and the girls and that Kelly was going to take her picture. She heard nothing after Justin. She grabbed the dress I had laid across the end of the bed and threw it on and grabbed a flower get her hair out of her face. She already had on mismatched black shoes that I had been trying on her. She then ran to the door and said, "I want to go see Justin please." She looked so funny I grabbed my camera. Justin you should probably be prepared to get your groove on, I think she is expecting you to entertain her.

Since she looked so pitiful, I took a picture of her this morning before church. This dress is my favorite. I had good intentions of taking her down the street to the wildflower garden and getting taking her picture, barefoot in the flowers, in this dress. This will just have to suffice.

For some reason she thought it was hilarious that I was taking her picture before church. She giggled and giggled. I think it is a cute picture with Ellie lounging on the chair in the background.

Update

2009-09-12T23:37:00.004-05:00

I am so ashamed that it has been so long since my last post. I post pics and stuff to Facebook and forget to blog. Here is a little about what's been happening.

Grace weights 30 lbs and is 36 1/2 inches tall and is in excellent health.

She would eat rice for every meal.

People warn you about the terrible twos, but no one says anything about the threes. Age three came with a big dose of attitude. My mild mannered daughter now shows her temper and is at times unreasonable. Imagine that.

School is going well this semester. I absolutely love my classes. It blew me away when I realized that I would begin teacher at the same time Grace goes to Pre K!

Grace waiting for the Wiggles to come on stage. She was hilarious. For the first part of the show she sat their mesmerized. She could not believe that they were really there! The second part of the show she spent dancing and clapping. It was so hot that day, I thought we were going to melt.

Grace and her cousin Brody play well together. They are so fun to watch. He adores her and follows her everywhere and he thinks everything she does is awesome. She spends a lot of time ignoring him.
My mother got this card for her birthday six weeks ago. It plays the Chicken Dance and Grace loves to carry it around with her. I wonder what will happen when it quits playing?

Gracie Turns Three

2009-07-20T14:37:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that Grace is three years old. She is such a big girl now. It amazes me to watch her, I often have trouble remembering a baby!! Her birthday was on Friday and we had her party on Saturday. This year she was all about birthday. She started singing Happy Birthday to Me a couple of weeks before her birthday. And she always put great emphasis on the "me" when she sang. I tried spacing out her gifts. I gave her the first one in the morning. It turned out to be a favorite. It was a bobblehead UT football player that sings Rocky Top. It is particulary annoying but was a replacement for one she loved but it no longer played music after being dropped. After she opened it she played for a few minutes and came into the kitchen and said "I'd like another present please." I was so glad that she loved her piano! She is such a musical girl. It was hilarious how she tore the paper a little and when she saw the keys she began playing with the paper still on. Doesn't she look professional in the third photo?

Saturday morning we had a play date with Reilly. The two girls always have so much fun together and Reilly is a real sweetheart. It is always nice for me to catch up with her mom too!

Don't you love that face!?!

She looks like a power walker!

Here's Grace the night of her party.

She loves her Gator but still wants to ride on the Mule with Pappy.

Missing Child, Please Help

2009-06-28T18:17:00.002-05:00

I have hugged Grace so tight today. My 10 year old cousin Lindsey is missing. It is like she just vanished. They have had two different sets of hounds track her and they all lose her scent in the same spot. I heard from them a few minutes ago and they have found nothing.

Lindsey's mom and I grew up together. I cannot imagine what Melissa is going through, not knowing where her daughter is...my heart is breaking for her. They live in a very small town in Washington state. We are from a very small town and when we were in elementary school a girl at my school was kidnapped, raped and murdered. I know that must be on her mind. Please pray that Lindsey is found safe. Here's a link to the story. If you'd like to post it on your facebook or send it out to your friends I'd appreciate it. You never know where she could be spotted.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/49383897.html

First Day of School

2009-06-25T08:12:00.004-05:00

Gracie had her first day at daycare yesterday. She did a fantastic job. She is going to the daycare where my niece Kayla (Brody's mom) works and Kayla teaches the three year olds. Grace is in her classroom and I think that has made all the difference. No meltdowns like last time. The first time I tried daycare she went for two hours and was sent home. She is a very loud screamer. This happened three days in a row and then we were done with daycare for a while. I knew having Kayla there would make the difference. Her is a pic of her at breakfast yesterday.

The only problem she had was a little fit when she didn't want to help clean up. This morning she got right up and said she was going to see the kids. My sister picked her up to take her to Kayla's when she went to get Brody. Grace said let's go Terri! It means alot knowing that she is having fun!

Puppy Love

2009-06-22T13:32:00.002-05:00

After Kelly shared Annie's love for kissing Bianca, I thought if would fess up and let everyone know about Grace's love for Ellie. My mother always grosses out about this and refuses to believe me when I tell her that, scientifically, Ellie's mouth is cleaner than Grace's. At least Grace doesn't eat the dog food anymore. I took this back in February.

Quick Update

2009-06-18T22:25:00.006-05:00

It's been awhile so I will give a speedy version of what's been going on lately. But first here are some photos from Aunt Rachels's visit which was so fun. Aunt Rachel, her daughter Pat and son Dan were wonderful houseguests. We had a great visit and on Friday we had lots of family over for dinner. There were about forty people here including Grace's cousins Ellie and Tyler who are her age. They had so much fun. I thought we were going to have a confrontation over Trigger but the crisis was averted. Grace adored Dan because he would swing her around, sit on the porch with her and do pretty much whatever she asked.

Grace and Dan

Aunt Rachel and Pat

Ellie, Tyler, and Grace

Working on potty training and she is doing a good job. Occasional accidents but she loves wearing panties.

With my classes being on line we have been hanging out together lots. She has become a real Momma's girl. I don't want her to get too dependent on having me right there with her ALL the time. However it has been so sweet. She loves to sit in my lap and rock. Every morning I get us something to drink, she will crawl in my lap with her blanket and we will rock. At bedtime she will crawl in my lap and we will put a blanket over us and snuggle. We watch The Sound of Music. How awesome is that? If I have my arm around her and move it, she will grab it and put it back around her.

I am thankful for these sweet times because I think three is going to be tough. In between morning and bed time she is not always so sweet. She is really testing me these days. She will be an absolute angel for my mother or sister. With me she is always trying to test the limits. This includes yelling at me when she doesn't like what I say, refusing to clean up her room, and running from me (this really irritates me). Some days I feel like all I do is correct her or put her in time out. I really try to make a big deal about the positive things so I don't feel like a warden.

On the upside we have had no more trouble with climbing. It took three days of spanking her bottom and putting her in time out to get that under control.

She has started chasing Ellie. She will walk up to Ellie and say "Run" then begin chasing her. She will just laugh. Ellie will always tire out first and duck under the couch.

She has three loves (not counting Trigger of course). They are lawn mowers, tractors and the Mule (like a gator but made by Kawasaki). She and her Pappy go everywhere on the Mule. She has a booster car seat on it so he can strap her in and it is so cute how you can just see her head sticking up. They have this crazy purple monkey hanging on it. They go ride and visit the neighbors. She loves to go see our next door neighbor Mr. Luke. He has is a farmer and has lots of tractors.

Grace and Pappy on the Mule

A Busy Week

2009-05-26T08:24:00.005-05:00

The university has this new thing called a "Maymester." It runs May 12-29. That means I have five chapters and five quizzes to cover each week. I had the midterm last Friday and the final is this Friday. Also thrown in there are two research projects and two case studies. The really hard thing is that Grace is having terrible problems sleeping. If I am not in the bed with her she immediately wakes. My best study time is after she goes to bed and I have completely lost that. I think an A is out of the question, please pray I can keep my B.

The fun news is that my Aunt Rachel will be here for a visit tomorrow! She is my 92 year old aunt from Chicago and I absolutely adore her. It is a quick trip, they will be leaving on Saturday. I'll be having 30 for dinner on Friday. It will be great to see people I haven't seen in a while. Grace has a couple of cousins her age so I think she'll have fun. I hope to have all my classwork done today so all I have left is to study for the final.

Brody riding Trigger with Nanny's assistance.

Look how big Brody has gotten!

Gracie discovered her old walker when we got it out for Brody. All these baby toys seem so great to her!

Grace loves cinnamon biscuits (cinnamon rolls).

All About Ellie

2009-05-18T11:26:00.003-05:00

I must start by telling you that Ellie is the biggest "chicken" you will ever find. I have always been more worried about Grace hurting Ellie that the other way around. Ellie is terribly afraid of thunderstorms and will just shake. Grace thinks it is hilarious to try and catch her shaking ears. Sometimes Grace will take hold of two of Ellie's legs just to watch her stand perfectly still. She never hurts her, but I have to watch them nonetheless. Ellie appears to feel a bit preyed upon.

Grace and I went outside the other day. As usual, Ellie went with us to enjoy the day. I got one photo of Grace and all the rest were of Ellie. She finally found something she could dominate...a tiny frog. She played with this frog forever, before allowing it to escape. For those of you who may not know this, when a frog pees in a dog's mouth it will foam at the mouth. Little Ellie looked like a rabid dog. In defense of itself, the frog did this over and over. Ellie was not deterred. She would just stop and shake her head a few times. Then she'd start foaming again and start playing with the frog again. I think she was so happy to find something that she wasn't afraid of.

This may sound cruel, but please know that the frog jumped away in the end. Very dazed I am sure. Even though most animals are bigger than she is, she is even scared of tiny puppies or kittens. I was just so happy for her that she had her moment.

Ellie and her frog.

"Rabid" Ellie

I Love Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T23:14:00.005-05:00

Mother's Day is a very, very big deal in our family. For my entire life we have gone to visit Mother's family on that day. My Memaw passed away a few years ago, but my Aunt Florence carries on the tradition. It is the one occasion when everyone does their best to be there and we always have lots of extra friends join us. We even visited with my cousin Paul and his family, who live in Brazil, via Skype.

My desire to be a mother was always magnified on this day. The year I was waiting for a referral was particularly melancholy. Now it is such an awesome thing to be there with my Mother and daughter. It was a great days as always.

Grace with her cousin Claire. We are so proud of Claire. She just lead her team to victory in the Arkansas high school softball championship. She is a freshman and a pitcher who was chosen MVP!!

Three mothers I admire so very much. My mother, my Aunt Florence and their cousin Eda Claire

Going Fishing

2009-05-06T01:01:00.003-05:00

Well I figured I should be proactive about my blog...fish or cut bait. Don't you love those Southern euphemisms! I have been terrible about blogging lately and I am going to try very hard to do better. I have been keeping this blog for Grace since the wait for referral and it would be too sad to abandon it now. Therefore I am going to do better about documenting things in Grace's "online baby book." On to news on the climbing front.

Monday was simply awful. I walked in her room and she was kneeling on top of the chest of drawers. I know she had been there before, but I was not prepared for the sight of her in such a precarious position. I grabbed her swatted her on the diaper and put her in time out. I immediately put the chest in the bathroom. After I calmed down I realized that she had to LEARN not to climb and just removing things wasn't a solution. So I moved it back into the room.

Tuesday morning she was playing in her room, clanging pots and pans in her kitchen. When the noise ceases I go to investigate and find her sitting on her stove. She instantly knows she is in trouble for climbing. Now when I spank Grace it hurts me more than it does her...literally. About 90% of the time I miss her bottom and pop myself on the hand that is attempting to hold her still.

As I walked toward her she started to whine and shake. She looked afraid! It was all I could do not to burst into tears and stop dead in my tracks. Thankfully my sister had just had a long talk with me about being strong. I have to be firm and consistent because her safety depends on it. So I swatted her diaper and put her in time out. The rest of Tuesday and all of today went without incident! I know this is probably not the end of the climbing but I am very thankful for a good day! I am just going to try and be as consistent as I can and hopefully she will keep her feet on the ground. As far as the fearful look goes...my mother told me to just wait until we are in public shopping or something and she gives that fearful look!

I will try to do better about taking pictures too. I got a semi-hard case for my camera for my birthday and it makes it super easy to grab and go. I really love it.

This sad photo is the only picture I took today. Her legs look so long (she is 36 1/2 inches)! Her hair looks long too. I haven't cut it in a while, just shaped up a few times.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2009-05-03T23:16:00.005-05:00

Today I turned 39 for the third time. Today I am feeling all 39 + 2 years. Grace has given me a series of near heart attacks this weekend. Her climbing has been out of control!

There are multiple contributing factors to this behavior. She has been sick for a week. First an ear infection that was treated by a HUGE shot of Rocephin. It literally took two nurses and me to hold her still on the table for the shot. Then she developed a snotty nose. I taught all week and when she feels bad she tends to whine for me, even when she is with Nanny. Thankfully her last molar came through a week earlier. That would have been too much. For the record- the perpetual drooler finally quite drooling when the last tooth broke through!

Another problem has been the continual rain! I feel like I need to get my ark ready. She hasn't been able to play outside and climb on the gym set in a very long time.

OK that's it for the excuses, back to recent events. Yesterday morning I am fixing Grace breakfast. She was busy looking at books in her room. I had been in the kitchen for just a few minutes and I hear my dad at the front door. I go to the door and he asks me if I know where Grace is and I said I thought she was in her room. He moves aside and there is Grace on the porch in her panties and t-shirt. I live behind my parents and Mother just happened to be looking out the window and saw Grace and Ellie leave the house. Daddy then ran to the rescue. Grace had climbed on a chair and opened up the one door I didn't think she could open.

The climbing has been horrific. She has spent so much time in time out. I have spanked her (controversial I know, however at our house dangerous activity constitutes a spanking), nothing has deterred her from her activities. I have found her climbing her kitchen and climbing on top of the dresser. But I did not witness the worst transgression. There are two lanterns I bought in Hoi An hanging above her chest of drawers (see the picture for height). I found one of the lanterns in the floor. When I looked I could see where she climbed on top of the kitchen and crossed to the chest displacing the objects on top of it. I wanted to throw up when I saw this.

Maybe I should replace the hardwood with a bouncy floor like they have at gymnastics! I am praying for good weather so we can get outside this week!

She loves to take the sink out of the kitchen and climb in.

Is that check high or what? Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

Pappy had a birthday recently and here are Grace and Pappy opening presents. She had a problem pottying with her dress, so she is wearing her nightgown.

A Fun Weekend

2009-04-19T14:02:00.005-05:00

Friday started out a tough day for Grace. Just before lunch we were at my sister's house and when she reached out to pet one of her dogs he growled at her and jumped off of the couch. When he jumped he his head hit just below her right eye, leaving her with a swollen eye. It scared us all, I thought he had bitten her when it happened. Then just a little bit later I caught Grace standing on top of Ellie's crate (seems like a dog thing going on). I told her to get down and when she bent to get down she fell off the crate head first. I felt so terrible, like I caused that one. I should have just walked over and put her on the floor. Hindsight is 20/20.

Every spring businesses in my town sponsor a mini-carnival with free rides for all the kids. My sister and I made plans to take Grace after her nap on Friday. I was a little skeptical about taking her after the morning's excitement. Our track record for the day wasn't too good. I wanted to avoid a carnival mishap. However we went as planned and had a pretty good time. The carnival is mainly for school age kids, so she could only ride the carousel and the swings. She looks so sad in the photos. She most enjoyed the $20 in cheap blow up crap she won at the duck pond. You can't have too many plastic trumpets.

On Saturday we went to Reilly's house and had a great time. Reilly is such a sweetie and is just one of those kids you love being around. At one point during the day Grace asked my friend Karen to play some music. Karen asked her what kind of music she liked. She immediately said "rock and roll!" One of the highlights of her day was playing the piano.

I ♥ Faces Amateurs - Spring/Easter

2009-04-13T10:07:00.003-05:00

I took this photo last spring right after I got my "big girl" camera. I love the light and shadows and how Grace is really soaking up the sun. Check out all the other talented people at I ♥ Faces.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T22:10:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter. It is always nice being with family. This morning's service was wonderful and it is always nice to see the church full. I wish it were like that every Sunday. We have a wonderful church family, everyone is so caring and I feel blessed to have them in my life. In addition to all the loot she got from "the Bunny" and family, she left church with three Easter baskets.

I have been so proud of Grace and her awareness of Christian holidays. I want her to enjoy Santa and the Easter Bunny without losing the reason for the celebration and joy. She ADORES Santa and still is singing Jingle Bells. She was Miss Christmas and is still celebrating even though it is April. In spite of her love of the bright lights and Santa she would always tell you that Christmas is Jesus' birthday.

I wanted her to enjoy all the candy and fun while still knowing that Easter is about Jesus. Since resurrection is a bit much for a 2 1/2 year old, we said that Easter is Jesus' special day. She would always tell you that when you asked her...until today. I wanted to show my sister how smart Grace was so I said "tell Aunt Terri whose special day is Easter." She shouted happily "THE BUNNY!!!"

Just like last Easter she loves that crazy duck with the bunny ears. Sadly it sound really sick and I doubt it will be around next year.

Don't they look so sweet in their blue outfits? He is sooooo white. I am so used to Grace's skin that he looks so pale.

Isn't he adorable in his little hat?

Fun with Friends

2009-04-11T00:20:00.003-05:00

Today Karen and Reilly came to visit. Karen is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Her daughter Reilly is one year younger than Grace. Reilly is just the sweetest, friendliest little girl and was the perfect guest. Grace was less than perfect in the hostess department. She isn't used to sharing her room and toys with someone else and it was hard at first. Reilly would get a toy and Grace would grab for it immediately. She was much nicer when we went to Nanny's house. She shared like a big girl and even let Reilly ride Trigger.

Grace got tired of my multiple attempts to get the cute picture on the horse.

iHeartFaces - Green

2009-03-17T20:06:00.003-05:00

I have enjoyed seeing all the photos that others have shared and I thought that I would share in the fun. This week's theme is green. This was taken last summer. I can't wait for summer. We have so much fun outside. Check out all the other great photos.

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Before Gracie

2009-03-04T22:46:00.006-06:00

Life was much different before Grace. I was a completely different person that the mommy in me has trouble identifying with now. I don't know what I did with my time before I had Grace. I spent a lot of my time doing single people stuff with my single friends. I loved to paint. I traveled a lot. I loved my Minolta 35mm and I thought digital was a dirty word. I loved shooting and painting landscapes.

These days I spend a lot of time doing mommy stuff with Grace. Instead of oils I use finger paints. Travel is different, no more jumping on a plane with a carry on bag. Travel now involves many bags and is family focused as opposed to the self focused travel of the past. The Minolta is on a dusty shelf in the back of my closet. I now have the most vibrant, beautiful subject and I am leaving the landscapes to Monet.

I am now working on getting my negatives together and having them converted to digital images. This is a long overdue project. These photos were taken with my trusty Minolta and are from my last grown up trip to the south of France.

I stayed in Paris a couple of days before I took the train south. I am at a cab stand trying to get this shot as my cab drives up. I was practically lying on the sidewalk and the group of Japanese businessmen behind me got perturbed.

Mont Sainte Victoire - It was early morning and I was standing outside the kitchen of my apartment in my jammies.

Boating in Marseille

Marseille Harbor

Chateau d'If

Snow

2009-03-03T21:28:00.008-06:00

It snowed this past weekend. This was Grace's first opportunity to get out and play in the snow. I was worn out by the time we dressed to go outside. It was really windy so Grace wore her kitty ski mask. It is great to protect her ears against those nasty ear infections. It wasn't so great when it slipped over her eyes and caused her to fall. Falling in the snow was the end of Grace's adventure. She did not like falling in the snow one bit. She much preferred going indoors and riding Trigger.

Good Friends

2009-02-23T08:13:00.007-06:00

I am a little behind posting this, but Grace and I had such a fun time last weekend. We traveled to meet Cliff, Chandra and Boo. I feel like I have known Cliff and Chandra forever and it was great to meet them in person and to see Boo who I have followed for so long. Also there were our very dear friends Susan and Petunia who I feel like I have known forever.

We meet up in Susan's room at our hotel. Petunia and Boo were so sweet and shared their toys with Grace. We had the best time. We visited, ate lunch and went to a nearby farm. The girls had fun watching the horses and the ducks. I barely got any pics because I couldn't let go of Grace. She was determined to get in the water and see the ducks closer. I have no doubt that if I had let go we would have been fishing her out of the pond.

Grace is such an inquisitive (a nice word for nosy) child. My family keeps telling me I am paying for my raising because I was the same way. The hotel room was such a playground for her. New stuff to explore. She loved hiding in the closet (she is not at all afraid of the dark) and got so upset when I didn't look for her. She also had big fun cleaning the room. That's what I said - cleaning the room. My mother has passed on her OCD onto Grace. My mother is a clean freak, she sees a little spot on the floor and has to wipe it up immediately. Grace has seen this so much she imitates Nanny. In the hotel room she occupied herself by taking a washcloth and scrubbing the windows, sofa, etc. I have some great video of her cleaning frenzy that I spontaneously took on my cell phone. I just have to figure out how to edit it. I kept turning the phone and some of it is sideways. It is hilarious though.

When we woke up Sunday morning Grace was immediately ready to go downstairs for breakfast. I was juggling Grace, coffee, etc. and was trying to get juice. Sitting a couple of feet from us there was this nice older couple we had met the day before. Grace walked up and began talking to them. I glanced away for a second and I heard her ask the man to pick her up. I then turned around she was in the man's lap eating eggs! That scared me to death, that happened so fast and I was practically standing beside them. I am so glad she is friendly, but Grace is too friendly. She likes to say hi to people and talk to them, but she has never asked someone to pick her up before. Scary moment aside, it was a fantastic weekend. I hope we can do it again soon. I did manage to get a couple of photos while holding onto Grace...

Gracie and Petunia playing at the hotel. Petunia is such a little petite thing, Grace towered over her.

Grace and Boo admiring the horses. Grace found a spot where one side of the bottom bar was down. Fortunately I caught her just as she was going in.

Boo is just as sweet as she looks. She has the sweetest smile and those cheeks are just as awesome in person.

Petunia and her Mommy admiring the ducks.

Is this a sweet baby or what?

2009-02-09T19:40:00.009-06:00

My nephew Brody is getting so big. He started out as just a little thing, less than 7 lbs. Now he is 2 1/2 months old and weighs in at 11 lbs. Before he was born I was worried about how Grace would react to her new cousin. She had been THE one and now she would have to share with another little one. I continue to be amazed at her response to Brody. She is so interested in him and not at all jealous. She likes paying attention to him. She will point out his eyes, ears, hair, etc. and name each part like she is teaching him. It is so precious. She sings Rockabye Baby and is just very gentle. The gentleness was a definite surprise, thankfully she treats him much better than she does her dolls. For now at least.

I told Grace she needed to show Brody how to go to sleep. Lately she has been doing this fake snore when she is feigning sleep, so she did a great job at demonstrating for Brody.

How sweet is this?

Hello It's Me

2009-02-04T23:57:00.011-06:00

I cannot believe that it has been so long since my last post. I don't even have a good excuse, just laziness I guess. The weather has been so cold and I find myself missing the 100 degree days of summer. The recent ice storm barely missed us. The area 30 miles north of here was devastated and many are still without power. You run into these poor folks at restaurants and in stores and my heart just goes out to them.

After all the frigid temps it was nice to get a couple of pretty days last week. We made it outside and it amazed me how much Grace has changed since summer. Not just in size (now at 28 lbs and 35 1/2 inches) but in maturity. Before she looked for you to entertain her outside. Push my swing, come here, etc. Now she explores and does her own thing.

Look at my little daredevil. I shouldn't be surprised she ran straight to the ladder and climbed to the upper level.

She could make it up to where the bump in the slide and that was it, but she kept trying.

She was fascinated by the grass growing through the spaces between boards.

This is the beloved Nanook.

Grace is growing up so fast. She has always loved music and is on a Justin Timberlake kick again. She likes to dance with his dvd. She spots him on magazines, advertisements, you name it. I really need to find a G rated dvd so I can quit having to fast forward the dvr. I think this little quirk comes from her love of music. She is always singing, playing a toy instrument or listening to music.

This is a bad picture but she was so into her dance.

Healing Nicely

2009-01-16T00:27:00.003-06:00

Doesn't her face look great? I am so glad, I was afraid that it would scar her pretty face. And she has also quit running out the door ahead of me, I hate that it took a nasty fall but at least one positive thing came out of the incident.

Today has been a very frustrating day for me. The saga started last week when I found out that I could get initial licensure to teach through the masters program. I thought I needed to do the undergraduate work, but I could get my masters without doing any undergrad work. So I decided to enter the graduate program. It wouldn't even take any longer for me to get my masters than it would to get the undergrad degree in education. It is very sad that no advisor or professor shared the information with me about this option.

Since I just made this decision last week I have not had the graduate exam needed to enter the program. I was told that I could however take a couple of classes. I have been waiting all week for them to process my application so I could register. I went to see them face to face today. As it turns out I need a 3.0 GPA to take classes without passing the GRE first. I have a 2.96 and they were unwavering. I sincerely wanted to punch this lady in the face. I mean come on! So that means I can't take classes this semester.

The awful part is I feel like I will be wasting time until June. I was in school full time, I have no job. What do I do? My plan is to substitute teach and in the summer I can take grad classes full time. What else can I do? Today was my sad day. Tomorrow will be better and summer semester will be here before I know it.

Injured

2009-01-11T17:33:00.002-06:00

This happened yesterday around lunch. It looks much, much better today. Grace took a nose dive down our front steps and landed face first on the brick. I was holding her hand at the top and she pulled away and went tumbling down. All I could do was watch and that felt like the longest moment. She landed on her face and I was terrified to turn her over. I felt certain that she had some terrible injuries. I couldn't believe that she only had a very, very nasty scrape. She did look pretty rough in just a few minutes. Her lip swelled about 4 times it's normal size. It was so awkward for her to talk. Fortunately everything is fine except for a very nasty scrape that I am sure hurts a lot. I am giving her tylenol when she complains and I am keeping it moist with ointment. I am so thankful that she only has a bad scrape. It could have been so much worse. And banged up face and all, isn't that the sweetest smile?

Vietnam 2006 - Hanoi to Home

2009-01-07T08:54:00.001-06:00

The next day we checked out of the hotel. As we were waiting for our taxi to the airport I realized that I had left my cash in the safe. Fortunately I got the room key and retrieved my cash without a problem. Hanoi to Taipei was uneventful. I was hoping we wouldn't hear "baby cold" in a new country. We heard that the entire time we were in Vietnam. They thought Grace needed a coat and hat because it was only 80 degrees. The airport in Taipei is huge. Even though we had an adequate layover, the long lines took forever. We had to run through the airport to make our flight. We had cameras, carryons, paintings, diaper bag, etc. and we last saw our stroller in Hanoi. We were a sight running with all this stuff and Grace. We literally thought we would die. Where are the people who drive the golf cart through the airport when you need them?

We made our flight and Grace was awesome the entire flight from Taipei to LA. However there was this one passenger on the flight who was unbearable. He was so rude to the flight attendants telling them they should speak better English and demanding to see the pilot. Everything out of his mouth was rude and he was loud. He complained about the food and anything on the flight you can imagine. And we were in business class so everything was wonderfu. He was like this the entire flight. Terri cannot block things out like I can and she looked like she was about to explode. I kept expecting her to jump over the seat and choke him. Thankfully she had gone to the bathroom when we were waiting to get off the plane. The man looked at me and said "there is something wrong with that baby, her eyes are all funny. You need to take her to St Jude because there is something wrong with her." He kept saying this over and over again. Terri would have clocked him if she had of heard this. When she was a baby it was very noticeable, but Grace has a pseudostrabismus. That is when eyes appear crossed because of the flatness of her nose. It goes away as she grows.

Immigration was a breeze, it just took a few minutes. Then we headed to McDonalds. We had to go from the international terminal to the regular terminal. We had two carts full of luggage. We were very inventive and unzipped Terri's large duffel, laid it in front of me in the little basket on the cart and lined it with blankets. I pushed and held onto her. It was like her own little cradle for the long walk between terminals. She never complained.

Again Grace was good from LA to Chicago. She was kind of restless from Chicago to Nashville. But she was still pretty good. Eddie George was sitting in front of us. The flight attendant was adopted from China as a baby and it was nice talking to her. We arrived in Nashville and were greeted by my dear friend Susan, my dad and Terri's husband. We were finally home.

I was glad to see my family, but it was so special having Susan there to meet us. I guess this is because she could understand my emotions and we had been waiting together for our girls. I had Gracie and I had held Petunia while I was in Vietnam. It is like we shared the crappy days and now we were sharing the joy. When we got home everyone was there and we were so glad to be home. There were signs and pink balloons all over the place. I immediately abandoned Grace to take a shower. She had plenty of attention. Our long journey had come to an end and our new life was beginning.

Vietnam 2006 - On to Hanoi

2009-01-04T01:53:00.002-06:00

It was very bittersweet checking out of the Royal Duxton. I loved, loved Saigon and was sad to leave. However Hanoi was our last step before going home and I was ready to take Gracie home. We had a very eventful ride to the airport. Traffic is always crazy and I was always expecting a wreck. The right of way belongs to the person who is most aggressive. On the ride to the airport a young woman on a motorbike wiped out and landed on the curb. The van carrying the other half of our group was directly behind her and slammed on their brakes in an effort to avoid hitting her. In a chain reaction our van rear ended the van with the rest of our group. The young woman hit her ribs on curb and was obviously in pain. We were all ok and we waited on a new van for the rest of our group. Once it arrived and they switched vans we made our way to the airport.

Grace did not sleep on this flight. She was a very good girl and did not fuss. We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and made our way to our hotel. When we arrived we found out that they did not have cribs for us because they had several adopting families staying in the hotel and they were using the cribs. Quoc contacted the hotel and they went out the next day and purchased cribs. Quoc was fantastic. The other families adopting were from all over. We met another group from the US. They were using an agency I was unfamiliar with and were having lots of problems. Their babies were sick, very sick. And they were also very young. I am not quite sure how they got babies so young. Their agency had told them nothing. The didn't know they needed a physical before the interview, etc. I felt really bad for them. It made me feel better and better about my agency who had made this experience so easy.

Unlike in Saigon, our hotel's location left something to be desired. We were staying in the plumbing district so we didn't have the freedom of wandering about, we had to plan our outings. The weather in Hanoi was fantastic. It was funny because everyone was bundled up and we were enjoying the 70 degree weather. It was like spring here in the south. Our second interview went off without a hitch and we hoped to get the visas the next day and head home early. However the travel agent didn't give alot of hope for coming home the day we got the visa. We'd have to wait until the next day.

One outing we planned was to see the water puppet show. I had the tickets for Justin, Kelly, Lucy and myself. I was going to meet them outside the theatre. Terri didn't want to go so she was going to stay at the hotel with Grace. When I got ready to leave I had their tickets but could not find mine. It was one of those crazy things. You lay something down and it is right there in front of you somewhere but you can't find it. I headed out to take them their tickets. When I arrived they said that Terri and Grace were on the way with my ticket. Strange thing is, when Terri arrived I was kind of over going to the show. So I skipped the show and Terri and I did our thing - shopped. That was the most beautiful area and I wish I had spent more time there. The lake was directly across from the puppet theatre and it was just beautiful.

The visas were ready the next day and we were ready to go home! We had all our stuff packed just in case he could get us out that day. However it looked like we would be spending one more night in Hanoi. Justin and Lucy came up to our room that night to get some sinus medication. They were flying out that night. I was glad for them, but it was sad separating Grace and Lucy. We had joked all along that they kept looking at each other like "you're still here so I'm ok." The next day we were heading home too.

Vietnam 2006 - Finally in Saigon

2009-01-02T21:46:00.003-06:00

New Years Day 2007 Grace took her first ride on an airplane. We were scheduled to leave at 6pm but our flight was delayed for a while. Grace slept through the entire flight and awoke on the drive from the airport to the hotel. Saigon's celebration of Christmas was all glitz and glamour. Lights everywhere. She was amazed.

The hotel was fantastic. It was located in the middle of lots of shopping and we could get out and walk around. It was great after being stuck inside while in Danang. We loved putting Grace in the stroller and getting out. One thing that was noticeably different about Vietnam was the lack of accommodations for handicap people. You take it for granted here in the US, there is always an elevator. At the Royal Duxton you enter the hotel via beautiful staircases in the front. There was always someone who would carry Grace up the stairs in her stroller. The Vietnamese are just really nice people.

The shopping was my favorite thing about Saigon. I did most of my shopping there and came home with some great things. I got Grace gifts for each year. When you are wandering the streets there are a couple of things you must master. Motor bike drivers anticipate your moves when you are crossing the street so DO NOT hesitate. If you do you will be mowed down by a motor bike. Step out with confidence. The other thing was that Terri and I had to work together as a team to maneuver the stroller along Saigon's awful sidewalks.

The business part of our stay in Saigon went well. We had our first interview and the lady was very, very nice despite things I had heard about her from others. The babies had their passport photos taken and Grace was such a big girl. At the hospital. We sat and waited on this waiting room that was actually an open air porch. Grace did so well through it all. When we saw the dr. I really was shocked that she only weighed 18 lbs. She has always felt much heavier than she really is. I asked the dr. about her ears, she had been pulling on them. He looked into her ears with his little flashlight (real sophisticated medical equipment) and said that it was "itchy ear wax." Grace has a habit of pulling on her ear when she is sleepy. My mother always says I hope it's not another ear infection. Terri and I both tell her "no it's just itchy ear wax."

There was a coffee shop just down from the hotel. It was a favorite stop during our excursions. One day we were having coffee and there was a table of 3 or 4 Vietnamese businessmen next to us. One of them came over and asked me if he could hold Grace. He said she was a beautiful girl. He took her, kissed her on the cheek, told her she was a pretty girl and handed her back to me. I was very shocked, but Vietnamese people tend to always love children.

There is another thing that happened in Saigon that just makes me laugh every time I think about it. It is probably one of those things that you had to be there for, but it was hilarious. Kelly, Terri and I were in the lobby with the babies and were about to take the elevator up. Kelly was wearing Lucy in a sling and was walking in front of us. We were casually walking and talking and as we approached the empty elevator the doors began to close. Without missing a beat in the conversation, Kelly kicks her leg out in front of her to trigger the sensor and open the elevator door. What a woman - she can take care of her baby, engage in conversation and open an elevator door all at the same time! That me laugh every time I think of it.

I had some good experiences with food in Saigon. In retrospect I wish I had been more adventurous, but I was so thankful for the familiar food we found there. The breakfast buffet had waffles and crisp bacon. I had a fantastic filet mignon with baked potato and salad at Amigo's. I had real Texas beef in Vietnam at a place that sounds like a Mexican restaurant. This is probably kind of gross, but I changed Grace's poop diaper at the table in Amigo's. It was late afternoon and we were in a room all to ourselves. This is where the stroller came in handy. I just laid her back, changed it quickly and bagged it. I don't remember seeing many diaper changing stations, so your work with what you got. Probably too much information but this about helping me remember the little details.

Amigo's was next to the hotel and across the street was a great Italian restaurant that we really enjoyed. One bad food type experience was the tiny, tiny coffee cups at the hotel. I am a coffee person and when I would go down for breakfast I would get a couple of good gulps from those cups. So when we went for our interview I bought a coffee mug from the USA and I would take it down to breakfast with me. The staff was very gracious about my giant cup. One thing I never understood about Vietnam my inability to get a cup of coffee to go. That is probably because the American way of life is all about being on the run. Others seem to enjoy life more than we do.

Like I said, shopping was what I did in Saigon. We wandered the streets everyday just looking around. I bought so many great things and bought two pieces of luggage for my goodies. I bought silks, rosewood carvings, beautiful embroidered pieces, and lots of other stuff. Grace was so good. In the beginning she got a little overstimulated. All the sights and sounds made her really fight going to bed at night, she wanted to see more! After I began partially draping a blanket over her stroller when we went out, she settled down. It also helped us avoid being stopped constantly by people wanting to look at her. It is very sweet how she was loved on, but sometimes it made it hard to get anywhere.

Saigon was such an awesome city that I was sad to leave. But the flight to Hanoi would bring us one step closer to home.

Vietnam 2006 - The G&R

2009-01-01T22:52:00.004-06:00

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

December 28, 2006 was the day that life changed forever. Grace and I officially became a family. I woke up that morning with a fever and feeling awful so I started my antibiotics. I really can't tell you what went on that morning or what happened before we went to the courthouse in Tam Ky. I don't even remember what time of the day the G&R was held. At some point we bought strollers, water, formula, etc but I am really not sure when. Maybe Kelly or Terri can help me out with that one.

I do remember that it was a long drive to Tam Ky. However it was far less bumpy. As much as it would have been nice to see her orphanage, I was very glad we didn't have to go through that awful drive with the babies. The orphanage director and the nannies were bringing the babies to the courthouse. I was a bit disappointed that I had this adorable dress to dress her in for the G&R, but I was glad to have her clothing from the orphanage. It is a part of her past really is special to me and I hope it will be to her too.

When we walked in the front door the orphanage director was there holding Grace and he immediately handed her to me. We went into a conference room for the ceremony. While we were waiting for things to get started the nannies would come and get the babies and take them to feed or change them. I think they were just having such a hard time giving up the children they had been caring for. As the ceremony was beginning I looked around and Nanny V was still gone with Grace. Luckily she appeared soon. After the quick formalities we went and got something to drink. We had just ordered and they told us it was time to go and apply for passports. The fathers went and the mothers stayed behind with the babies. Since Deborah and I are single mothers we went too. It was so hard leaving Grace right after the ceremony. I know that she was in the best care with Terri but it felt sad. As best I can recall, when we returned we loaded and headed back to Sandy Beach. Grace was such an angel on the way back, I don't think she ever wimpered. She talked alot and she really liked a set of toy keys I brought with me. All babies seem to like those plastic keys on a ring.

When we got to the room I stripped her down to her diaper and was running water to give Grace a bath when the phone rang. It was Quoc telling me I need to get a certain form and come to the lobby. Terri took Grace and proceeded with the bath as I set about finding the right paperwork. Then I hear Terri scream from the bathroom. She is frantic, telling me to look what someone has done to this baby. Her butt was black and blue. I got caught up in Terri's frenzy and I completely forgot about mongolian spots even though I should have known exactly what it was. I call Kelly to find out if Lucy has anything like this. Justin answered and very sweetly reminded me about mongolian spots. I know he was probably thinking I was such an idiot. So I then went down to do paperwork. When I returned to the room Grace was clean, dressed and sleeping. That night I was still so sick and had fever. I was not putting her in that awful, metal crib and I didn't want her to sleep with me and get sick. So she slept with Terri. That day was the most important day of my life, but in many ways I felt like I was missing out on so much! I told Terri that Grace would probably think she was her mother.

The next day the fever was gone and I was a different person. I think maybe that was the day we went into Hoi An with Justin and Kelly. All the days at Sandy Beach sort of run together. The one thing that sticks in my mind was our visit to an area where they could make custom clothing. We were looking through books and the ladies were holding the babies. The Vietnamese love children and often want to hold your baby while you are eating, shopping, etc. This didn't bother me because I was right there, but then this woman walked off with Grace and was showing her to people in other booths. This was an extremely crowded area and since I am short I quickly lost my visual on Grace and began to really, really freak. Justin said he could still see her and watched her until the lady brought her back.

Grace amazed me, she was such a good little girl and very easy going. She liked tooking at lights and the ceiling fans. I was glad I had bought the stroller that laid back because she was still on orphanage schedule. She would take the little catnaps all day. It really helped to be able to lay her back. Like I said, days at Sandy Beach all ran together. We couldn't really leave the hotel because the weather was so bad. We literally stayed in our rooms and walked around the hotel. Our days were broken up only by the breakfast buffet and eating late in the afternoon. It was funny because we would constantly run into each other on our walks through the hallways. The second floor had a Christmas tree with a couple of couches around it and that was a popular spot. There was one really funny thing that kept happening. There was a console between the beds that controlled tv, lights, etc. I always hit the wrong button when turning the tv on and put it in sleep mode. We never figured out how to fix that. We just kept "rebooting" the room. The lights, electrical stuff, etc. only worked when your key was put into a slot by the door. When I messed up the tv I would remove the key and reinsert it to get the tv to work. Even though I was ready to leave, I really liked all the staff at Sandy Beach. They were incredibly nice. There was one waiter who I don't think ever left. No matter what time of the day it was, this guy was at work. And he was always so nice and pleasant. He had a great smile.

Our agency bought us tickets to a New Year's Eve celebration at the hotel. I think we were all so tired of that place we didn't care, we just wanted to leave. Terri and Grace were fast asleep early in the evening. I think Justin must have been too because Kelly, Lucy and I decided to go down and check things out. While we were waiting for things to start, Kelly and I had the nicest conversation with two sisters from Australia. One actually lived in Vietnam and ran a school for Vietnamese children. Her sister was there for a visit. They were very taken with baby Lucy and interested in our adoptions. And in an interesting twist, the told us they had one grandmother named Lucy and the other named Grace. We went inside for about two minutes and determined that it was not for us. There were several buffet lines, but most of the seafood still had faces and that just isn't for me. I grabbed a plateful of Vietnamese spring rolls and headed to the room. Terri awoke and we shared spring rolls and ushered in the New Year. Then it was off to sleep. The next day we were FINALLY leaving Danang. We couldn't wait to get to Saigon.

Vietnam 2006 - Meeting Gracie

2008-12-30T23:08:00.007-06:00

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

After killing time in Hoi An, we loaded up in the van to head to Que Son. This was the bumpiest road I have ever been on in my entire life. I took a little video of the rice paddies and scenery but it makes you a little car sick to watch it. Not only was the road bumpy, but we were traveling at a relatively high rate of speed for the road condition. We had what felt like some close calls with other vehicles, but the Vietnamese are fearless when it comes to transportation. At one point there was a truck that had run off of the bridge and was half on the bridge and half in the ditch. You just had to close your eyes and pray.

Finally we pull up outside the orphanage. We get out of the van and Terri and Kelly both begin yelling "there's Grace!" Where? It was one of those times where seconds felt like hours. It seemed like it took forever for me to find her. She was on the porch with her nanny. I instantly gave Terri my camera and ran toward Grace. The woman I had seen holding Grace in all the pictures was the one holding her there on the porch. We would soon give her the nickname "Nanny V(for Vietnam)" because we kept getting confused when referring to her in conversation as my mother is called Nanny by all the grandchildren.

She walked inside with Grace before I made it to the porch. I don't remember if she handed her to me as soon as I walked in or if they waited until we all got into the room. I do remember holding her for the first time, it was really weird. Was I truly holding this little thing I had waited for for so long? She didn't cry when I took her, she just gave me her serious look. She is still this way with strangers. I had brought a small toy with me and it turned out that she was more interested in playing with my hair than with the toy. By this time I am sobbing. Yes because of my love for her, but mostly because these nannies are crying so hard and visibly in pain. I soon found out that this orphanage was brand new and Grace was the first baby in the orphanage. Two weeks later Lucy arrived and soon after that Khai. There were only seven babies in the orphanage total (two of those were newborns). We were taking away the babies they had been caring for for months. They loved them so much and we just hugged the ladies and cried with them. That is a really special memory for me, we all loved Grace so much. That was the common bond we shared.

Grace slept in a metal cradle with metal slats that were covered by a thin bamboo mat. There were dishpans underneath each bed because the babies usually wore no diapers. It was a very small room and it was sparsely furnished. There was a line of five cradles from the window to the door, two twin beds for the nannies and a glass front cabinet with formula and miscellaneous items. One of those items was the famous pink blanket that Grace and the other babies were laying on in all their pictures. I took a picture of it folded in the cabinet. Grace's cradle was beside the window, she did have seniority after all. I remember looking out that window at the dirt road and occasional motor bike, thinking what her life there would have been like. The window was on her left and Lucy was on her right. The back of Grace's head is flat on the right side. I can only guess that she was spent her time looking toward the other babies and that is why it is flat on one side and not the back.

I got to feed Grace a bottle while I was there and I was so surprised when they handed it to me because it was scalding hot. She took the bottle without hesitation. Then the Nanny V immediately took her from me and placed her in her cradle covering her with a wool blanket that was folded over so it was double thickness. She then began to swing her high, I mean very high. I thought she was going to go flying through the room. She immediately went to sleep. It was funny because she and the other babies were sleeping with their arms above their heads, like "I surrender." Grace slept this way forever and still does occasionally. They napped for a very short time and woke up. It seemed that their routine consisted of 2 oz. hot bottle, swing high, short nap, repeat.

It was so hot in that orphanage I could not believe that they were covering them with those heavy blankets. They also had heaters running, aimed directly at the two newborns. The babies all had on undershirts and sweaters. Poor Grace was sweating so much her undershirt was wet. I told Terri and Kelly to feel of her shirt and as we were talking about it they came over and removed her sweater. I guess they could tell what we were talking about.

By the time we left I was so hot and thirsty. We loaded up in the vans and headed back to Sandy Beach. All the way back I thought I was going to die I was so thirsty. I kept watching what we were passing and shockingly there were no convenience stores! When finally made it back to the hotel. It was now late afternoon and we headed directly for the restaurant. I most likely had my usual lasagna (I ate it almost every meal at Sandy Beach) and we each ordered a bottle of water. This very sweet gentleman who always seemed to be at work was waiting on us and told us that one water would be enough for both of us. We got one and almost immediately drank it all. After that Terri and I walked down to the beach and I took a couple of photos. Little did we know that would be the only time we visited the beach. Bad weather was coming.

That was the day I met my daughter. The next day we would travel to Tam Ky for the G&R.

Vietnam 2006 - continued

2008-12-30T22:16:00.002-06:00

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

When I awoke on December 27, 2006, I knew that it was the most important day of my life. I was meeting Grace that day. I was so grateful that we were leaving at 8am because there was no way I handle waiting until later in the day. The other two couples and I were adopting from the Que Son orphanage and Deborah was adopting a baby girl from the Hoi An orphanage. We went to Hoi An first and got to be with Deborah when she met her sweet little Lily. Lily was the only baby in the orphanage, all the others were older children. We went to the conference room and they brought in Lily. That was so amazing seeing Deborah meet her daughter. GT then came in and told us there was a scheduling problem and we could not go to the orphanage in Que Son until 1pm. It was so disappointing. So we wandered around Hoi An for a while.

Two things stick out in my mind about this time. First - there was a very, very young woman who I am certain was trying get Justin to buy her baby. She walked up to him to show him her baby. The baby had on a ball cap and she kept adjusting it and saying "cute baby." You heart just had to break for this young girl.

The second thing is when my sister got chased through the market by hourds of Vietnamese women! This was so hilarious I am laughing as I type. Terri was being a good southern lady and acknowledging each lady that tried to sell her something. The problem was that only encouraged them to seek her out as a potential customer. Justin, Kelly and I had to stop because she was so far behind us. I kept telling her to look forward and do not engage in conversation. She said she didn't want to be rude. She heard things like you so pretty, you my best friend, and I love you. And there was a pregnant lady that asked Terri to help her baby. We bought some lovely silk postcards from her and I have them in Grace's trunk of stuff from Vietnam. Before we knew it the time had come to go meet the babies...

My Thoughts on Vietnam 2006

2008-12-29T23:51:00.003-06:00

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

On December 24, 2006, my sister Terri and I left for Vietnam to bring Grace home. Five airports later we arrived in Saigon on December 26. We didn't know what to expect when we got off the plane. Would someone meet us at the gate? The answer was no. Unsure what to do we followed the herd of travelers and got in the long lines. We had our passports and visas ready for inspection.

Our visas were not stamped in our passports, they were pieces of paper that you just stuck in your passport. When I got the visas in the mail mine was fine but there was a letter stapled to Terri's. It said that when issuing it they made a mistake in her name. The letter showed the correction and was stamped all official like. Why they didn't just issue a new one I do not know. Paper shortage maybe. When we came to the front of our respective lines I zipped right through. Terri did not. They took her from one official to another. I began to get concerned, afraid that she was going to be thrown into a Vietnamese prison in a case of mistaken identity.

This room was packed with people and I strained to keep Terri in my sight. Another problem is that I am 5'2" but at least Terri is 5'10." Well they finally let her through and we got our luggage and headed outside. When you walk out the door there is this crowd of people who look like they are waiting for a celebrity. I might have felt special, but I was in such need of a bath special was out of the question. There were lots of signs bearing peoples names and we scanned them for mine. Wouldn't you know they had Terri's name on the sign. Probably thought it was the man's name.

We arrived at a hotel and were met by Quoc, my agency's in country facilitator. He informed us he had a room for us and that we had about 2 hours to shower/rest before we headed to the airport to catch a flight to Danang. After a much needed shower we went back down to the lobby to prepare to leave. That is where I met my good friend Kelly. She and I had been emailing forever and I absolutely couldn't wait to meet her and Justin. We also met the rest of our travel group.

Our accomodations in Danang were fantastic. We were right on China Beach and the resort was just beautiful. The rooms was lovely and there was a crib already in the room. A metal crib that had metal slats on the bottom. It was incredibly cold and uncomfortable looking. And the bottom was about an inch off of the ground. As short as I am I would fall in trying to lay her down in that crib.

I didn't really care about that because the next morning I would meet my daughter...

Our Second Anniversary

2008-12-28T22:26:00.002-06:00

Today is our second anniversary as a family. Grace has been a bit under the weather the last few days so we didn't get out today. She had no fever today, so we plan on getting out and celebrating tomorrow. When we were in Vietnam, internet access was a nightmare because of an earthquake in Taiwan. It makes me sad to look back at my blog and see the lack of documentation. I am going to do my best to post each day about what we did on that day in Vietnam. Hopefully I can remember.

It feels like that was a lifetime ago. I guess it is because it's hard for me to remember a time before Grace. What did I do with my time before we became a family? During holidays and special times I always wonder about her birth mother. I pray that her birth mother has somehow seen the pictures I have been sending back to Vietnam. I pray that she has seen that she is healthy, growing and happy. Whoever she is, her sacrifice gave me the most precious gift. Today is definitely as much about her as it is about Grace and me.

Tomorrow...we celebrate.

A Few Christmas Pictures

2008-12-26T09:16:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Well Miss Christmas continued her excitement of Christmas morning. Waking up yelling Santa Clause at 5:30. That is nothing new, she has been waking up at 5:30 for a couple of weeks. I am guessing it is all the excitement and am hoping that all will return to our normal 7 am now that Christmas is over. She is sick today. Luckily low grade fevers, none of the crazy stuff. She is sneezing and coughing. We all are. It was 6 degrees outside on Tues and it was 65 two days later. Crazy.

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed. Grace had so much fun and it was amazing to watch her excitement. If your kids like Wonder Pets you must check out Ming Ming. His cape flaps and he "flys." Very fun.

Here are a few pictures. It is hilarious because the little girl who would not smile for a camera has become a camera hog. Now she poses and says cheese.

She needed a way to get out her jumping energy, so I got her a new horse. Her other one had gotten way too small. She immediately began calling it Trigger, which is what she called the old one. I love the way she pointed at the camera. She looks so tough.

How sweet is this, kissing the baby? This amazed me because she has never played with dolls very much, especially in a loving way! I told Terri that the doll had a flat head just like Gracie.

Grace got a kitchen from Santa. It is wooden and has these neet accesories like a blender with fruit that comes apart and a toaster that pops up the toast. Here she is eating a wooden chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.

This is one of those posed smiles I was talking about. How beautiful is that? You can also see some of her kitchen stuff on the table. We are having so much fun.

Picture with Santa

2008-12-18T21:05:00.004-06:00

Today we went to visit professional Santa at the mall. This is the same one we saw last year and he is wonderful. She was pretty excited when she saw him sitting on his Santa throne in the middle of tons of decorations. She went right up to him and couldn't quit staring at him. He really got a kick out of that. She sat on his lap until I made her get down. She went back up to him while I was paying for the pics.

We had so much fun singing and shopping today. She just cracks me up when we go shopping. I guess it is from watching us, but she loves to rearrange the hangers on the racks. She isn't destructive at all, just moving the hangers like she is looking for the perfect outfit. She loves it at Old Navy because they have those really low racks in the toddler department.

We listened to Christmas music on the way home. She went straight from the carseat into the bed. Here is Grace and her true love...Santa Clause.

Quick Update

2008-12-16T07:39:00.003-06:00

Christmas is an around the clock celebration at our house! Singing, Santa, snowman, cookie Christmas (as Grace says), Christmas tree...you name it. Grace is full of Christmas spirit! She is amazed everytime we go into a store, she has to verbally identify every tree, angel, Santa, etc. As much as she loves all of this, when I ask her whose birthday is at Christmas she always knows. Most of the time she says Jesus but sometimes she says God. She is too young to understand, but I am so thankful that she has that beginning knowledge of what Christmas is about.

The other night we had our children's program at church. At the end Santa came in with two elves bearing cookies. My mother has been saying that Grace would probably be afraid of Santa this year. Well that girl was not afraid. She literally was pushing her way past other kids yelling Santa, Santa. Only one little girl managed to get in front of her and she was just talking to him when it was her turn! Santa had to tell her a few times to look at me because she was so intent on him and didn't hear me calling. We need to make a trip to the mall soon to see professional Santa and buy some of those terribly expensive pictures he sells. Here are Grace and baby Brody with Santa.

I took my last final on Friday and am off until Jan 12! I made a 3.42 (4 As, 2 Bs and 1 sad little C)and I am very pleased.

Old Pics and New Pics

2008-12-09T10:47:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Susan tagged me and I'm supposed to go to the fourth photo folder on my computer and post the fourth photo in that folder. Like Susan, I wondered what that photo would look like. Can I play fair if I hate the photo? I checked it out and just grinned when I found the fourth folder. It was the folder that contained Grace's referral photos and the updates while I was waiting! Photo number 4 is Gracie at 3 1/2 months.

This photo is from my first set of update pics. I remember loving those little fingers spread out on her belly(many of you remember my finger anxiety after some comments made). And look at those thighs! I remember she even had fat rolls on her butt. Now she can't keep her pants up. Thank you Susan, those are such great memories and I am so glad that I had you to go through all of it with me. I would have died if I hadn't had her to talk to.

School is almost over for the semester! Four down and two more finals to go. So far I ended up with 2 As and 2 Bs. I can finally relax. What was I thinking taking 20 hours with a 2 year old? In the beginning I thought piece of cake. I worked 50+ hours a week. I can handle this. I didn't not work with Grace in my office. Now I attempt to study and keep track of her at the same time. I am ready for the break.

Grace is so excited about Christmas. She is constantly singing Jingle Bells. Constantly. And she can't stop commenting on the decorations. On to new pictures from Christmas card photo attempts...

This one cracks me up. She had been pushing off the coffee table to rock and had her feet on, then she was messing with her lip and it looked like she was deep in thought. Actually she had just bloodied her nose and lip and it was really starting to swell.

Typical Grace

Finally! And you can't even really see the nose/lip injury.

Baby Brody is Here!

2008-11-22T08:21:00.008-06:00

My niece Kayla gave birth to Brody on November 20, just a few minutes after midnight. He is such a beautiful baby, just under 7 lbs and 20 inches long. He is soooo tiny, it feels like you are holding nothing. They Kayla was fantastic and I am so proud of her, she handled labor like a champ! Terri (aka Nana) is over the moon. We were all anxious to see what Grace would think about him, she has been everyone's baby since we came home. We went to see Brody yesterday when they came home. We have been talking about Brody (or as Grace says Bodie) trying to prepare her for the meeting. I was so proud. She didn't even mind when Nanny and Pappy held him and that is a big deal. Congratulations Kayla and Jody! Meet my new nephew...

Kayla and Brody, isn't she beautiful and on the day she gave birth!

My nephew Brody

Nanny showing Grace her new cousin!

Pappy inspecting Brody. This kid has the longest toes and biggest feet I have ever seen!

Whats been happening...

2008-11-01T11:59:00.003-05:00

Grace now has a big girl bed. She had absolutely no trouble transitioning from a baby bed to a full bed. She is loving having lots of room.

Constantly amazes me the things she says. She and I were going out the door the other day and she said "Ellie (our dog) stay here." They really do pay attention.

Still working on potty training

School is going well. I have an A in 5 of my classes and 1 B.

Had fun on Halloween. Even though I was running like I had my hair on fire! Didn't feed my daughter until 8pm. Thank goodness we had candy to see us through.

One of Grace's first words was duck. I have no idea why, but it always amazed how she pronounced it perfectly. She likes those hard, definite sounds like k and t. Whenever she sings Old McDonald she does duck over and over. She has many ducks that accompany her in the bath. She has many, many stuffed ducks as well. Well I thought it was appropriate...

Have you ever seen such a cute duck?

She ALWAYS thinks her Pappy is hilarioussssss.

But he was really funny with her duck head on.

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T22:45:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. I had planned to make our annual trip to the pumkin farm last week, but Grace and I both visited the dr last week. So we waited until we were both feeling good. And Sunday was the second anniversary of Grace's referral, so it was nice to do something fun to remember the day.

Just like last year Kristan, Kayla, Grace and I had a fantastic time. Kayla is due next month so we'll have baby Brody with us next year. I figure Grace will try to leave him under a pumkin or something. She has been the only baby for so long and now everyone is going to be playing with this little boy. I am guessing that she won't take that well. Here are some photos from the day...

Fall is Here

2008-10-06T22:21:00.003-05:00

Fall has arrived!!! I love fall. Sweaters, football, leaves falling... it just the greatest time of year. Remember how fun it was going back to school in the Fall. You missed your friends. You were bored. My favorite was shopping for school clothes. I miss getting tons of new clothes just because it is Fall. Grace gets that privilege now. I am very proud to say that I have almost all of her new Fall clothes washed and ready to go. I have also been going through last year's things and pulling the things she can still wear. However I DREAD the chore of putting away the Summer things.

People always say this about their kids, but I am so amazed how grown up Grace is getting. She is sooooo tall. She has gone from wearing 12-18 mos clothes this summer to a 2T for fall. She still has a 12-18 butt, however she is just so long. There is no way she is wearing any pants, other than leggings, this fall.

She acts grown up too. She just cracked me up the other day. We were shopping and she had been in the stroller all day and I knew she needed to stretch her legs. We went in Old Navy and I got her out of the stroller while I looked at things for her. I looked over and she was standing at the low racks, not destroying things but moving the hangers like she was shopping. She did that the entire time we were in there. My child likes cell phones, computers, shopping. She is also noticeably partial to men. I could be in trouble.

Here are a few photos of Grace doing her favorite thing. Doesn't she look big?

Quick Update

2008-09-24T00:44:00.004-05:00

School is great. I am taking six classes and have all A's. Yay for me. Grace is doing wonderful. Getting more and more spoiled every day. I am looking into child care centers. I think part time would be great for her. She spends so little time with children her own age. We live in a rural area so there are no Mother's Day Out kind of things. She sees her friends at church once a week. I am hoping to get her into the child care center where I am doing my child care practicum. I work there four hours on Wednesday and do activities, lesson planning, etc. The director is the instructor of a couple of my classes.

This weekend I got together with old friends. We had the best time. These four are true friends. My friend Sandra has a daughter, Kennady, who is a couple of months older than Grace. I wish we could get together more often. Even though we live 5 minutes apart, it is tough with work, school, etc. I am going to make sure I do better about getting these two together more.

Grace almost seemed like she didn't know what to do with someone her size. She was much more interested in playing with my friend Melissa's daughter Claire, who is quite grown up and in school now. Here are a few pictures.

Kennady and Grace were playing nicely. Until they both discovered a keyboard. They were trying to push each other off the ottoman.

Isn't Claire beautiful?

The Smile Award

2008-09-16T22:23:00.003-05:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my dear friend Melissa for giving me the Smile Award. There is no way I can convey adequately my great respect for her and the fact that she thought of me just makes me smile.

The award was created by Laura. Here is the low down on the award:
Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award.
1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator.
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

People I’d like to give the award to:

I could never have gotten through Grace's adoption without Susan. She and I talked on the phone every night. She listened to my obsessing and my ranting. I am so thankful that we are able to visit each other and that our girls will grow up knowing each other.

Melanie is one of the strongest, Christ-centered people I have ever met. She has handled great adversity with grace and optimism. This woman is already a mom and her Kaylee will be blessed with a great mom.

I have always been very touched by Kelly O and her family. I was most touched by Kelly's boys. I, along with lots of other people, prayed that the boys would both join her family. I love seeing them on her blog. God is good.

Traci called me shortly after I brought Grace home. She was researching my agency. This lady has been through alot for her two kids. She loves her family. Her son was adopted from the same orphanage as Grace.

I first got to know Jonathan when we were both waiting for referrals. Then I had the privilege of meeting Jonathan's son Parker when he was just a few days old. He was left at the orphanage just before I arrived to meet Grace. He continually amazes me at the lengths he goes to to insure that Parker keeps in touch with his culture. He is a great dad.

Celebrity Crush

2008-09-14T01:34:00.013-05:00

In response to Kelly's post, here's my crush. Justin.

It's been soooo long.

2008-09-12T11:45:00.003-05:00

I have been a terrible blogger. Things have been so crazy and most of my free time is spent studying. School is great. I am having so much fun. All my classes are education and are interesting. Now I am going to pat myself on the back a little. I passed all my licensing tests. These are the test normally taken after you have completed classes and are ready to graduate. I took them on the front end, when I was hoping to get alternative licensure so I coiuld go to school while teaching. These tests are what they stress in all my classes and I have them behind me. I attribute my good fortune not to my amazing brain, but to the fact that I have spent my career writing grants for children's programs.

Gracie is doing fantastic. She had a hard day this week. She was whiney and nothing satisfied her. She was back to her old self the next day. Even little people have an off day sometimes. We are still working on potty training. I am happy to say she has not regressed. I was afraid that might happen when I started back to school and was not right there with her.

She is staying with Nanny while I am at school. She is getting so, so, so spoiled staying there four days a week(shocker huh). A recent conversation I had with my mother - "Mother don't pick her up every time she asks you to, she is a big girl and can walk on her own two feet." She replied "I am going to pick her up as long as I am able, I am not telling that baby no." Now who do you think is in charge while I am at school?

I am really, really wanting to get her into childcare part time. However I am having a hard time gathering my courage. Last time was terrible for both of us. She went for three days and I was called to come and get her by 10am each morning. Now you might think I am exaggerating when I say my daughter can scream lounder and for longer than any other child I have ever seen. Hey all kids are loud right? Not like Grace. And she has amazing staying power. But I need to ease her into this very, very, very slowly. At a snail's pace kind of slow.

Visiting Good Friends and Big News

2008-08-24T21:03:00.009-05:00

Recently Grace and I went to visit Susan and Petunia! My dear friend Susan is recovering from a very painful foot surgery. My sister Terri, Grace and I had the best time visiting with everyone. Petunia is the most petite little thing. Grace looked like Yao Ming standing beside her and Grace is only three months older.

Saying hello and getting reacquainted.

Looking at books with Petunia's Aunt Lulu. The girls are both standing flat on the floor.

Here Petunia is standing on the stool she uses while playing in her kitchen. Grace is standing on the floor. Grace loved that kitchen.

Grace really loved Petunia's Nana. I am not sure how Petunia felt about that.

The big news is that I start school tomorrow!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!? I have wanted to do this for years and on Thursday I decided to go back to school. Friday I registered. It has all happened very, very fast. A degree in Early Childhood Education will take about 50 hours for me to complete. I am so excited and nervous. I graduated from college in 1991. Things are very, very different now. Fortunately my niece Kristan (Grace's beloved former nanny) and I are going to the same university. She can help me get up to speed with how things work these days.

Up to this point my career has been in Resource Development, almost exclusively for nonprofits dealing with the education of young children and at risk children. I hope to finish up my degree in summer 2009. Please keep me in your prayers. As a grantwriter I am very aware of the educational needs of children and the obstacles they face. That is why I want to teach.

What will she eat next?

2008-08-11T23:02:00.003-05:00

Grace is a great eater. I have always been very thankful that she will eat anything and I don't have to coax her during mealtime. Grace loves salads, tomatoes, grapes...all the stuff that is good for her. Grace also loves cookies and ice cream. She isn't crazy about meat but she loves bacon. She has a very diverse diet. Today Grace did some eating. After her nap she had watermelon. We were outside and had a great time. Later in the afternoon she had another snack. Crayons. She will be pooping a rainbow for the next couple of days.

What's been going on?

2008-08-08T22:57:00.011-05:00

Today we had a glorious day! Temperatures were in the high 80s with a nice breeze. What a relief! Grace was thrilled to spend lots of time outdoors today. She would play on the gym set, run and swing in the gazebo and then run to the glider to sit. She did this over and over and over. She discovered the big girl swing and thinks that is the way to go.

While on one of her infamous indoor climbs Grace bloodied her nose. You can't really see it (even though she was trying hard to show it off) but she has a cut on her right nostril and a puffy lip. Do you think it stopped her from climbing? NO. But bless her heart after a bloody nose she still smiled.

We have also been working hard potty training. Grace has had several successes but she made me so proud yesterday. I was running her bathwater and she walked over and picked up her little seat that fits on the toilet. She laid it on the toilet so I asked her if she needed to potty. She lifted her arms up and when I sat her on the potty she immediately started peeing! Isn't it funny how the little things mean so much.

Hot, Hot, Hot

2008-08-03T22:01:00.002-05:00

It has been in the high 90s here with 90-100% humidity. I was in Vietnam in December/January so temps were mild. However I can't imagine it is much hotter in Vietnam than it is here. I have no new pictures. When I walk outside my camera lens fogs up. When the sun hits your skin it feels kind of like it does when you first realize you are getting a sunburn. Saturday I was out with my sister and she said it was hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell.

Grace really misses playing outdoors. She has all this energy she needs to run off and she gets upset that Ellie gets to go out and she doesn't. Grace will do her best to escape when I let Ellie out. She will stand at the door and cry "OUTSIDE!!!!" Ellie takes care of her business and runs back to the door to come inside. She isn't a very outdoorsy dog.

The proofs from Grace's two year pictureswere FINALLY posted. My child doesn't smile for posed pictures. I tried all the little stuff that makes her laugh and she just looked at me like I was crazy. It occurred to me later I should have let her hold my car keys. If she gets her hands on a set of keys she will push the panic button over and over again. she thinks it is hilarious that she controls the car horn. We got one, little smile. And it is not one of the better shots. Even though there is no smile she looks so sweet and very grown up. I put her in one of the hand embroidered, smocked dresses I bought (for $5) in Vietnam and she looks so pretty. Yellow is a good color for her. The only smile came from a photo taken while chasing the photographer's dog.

It's Here!

2008-07-21T21:27:00.004-05:00

A Party for Gracie

2008-07-20T22:20:00.011-05:00

We had a very low key celebration on Thursday. Pappy brought her a tricycle that she loves, especially the fringe on the handlebars. She opened a few toys. Last night we had a big party for the two year old. My house was packed with friends and family. We had Grace's favorite for dinner - corn on the cob. Then came the presents!

The Dora tent was a BIG hit.

The Dora ball pit was a REALLY BIG hit. She jumped into it as soon as she got out of bed this morning.

She loved all her new Little People toys especially this house.

Kristan was shopping for books and look what she stumbled across.

Grace and her cousins Josh, Ryan, Crystal, Kristan and Kayla

At the end of the evening she was a sleepy little girl.

Her big present didn't get here yet. There was a delay and it just didn't make it for her birthday. But it should be here tomorrow...

Almost Two!!

2008-07-16T23:05:00.002-05:00

In one hour Grace will be two. Another thing about Grace that amazes me is her deep love of animals. She isn't even scared of really big dogs (which means I have to watch her very carefully around new animals). She had her picture made on Monday and they had two dogs. She was in heaven! They got some great pictures of her chasing the dogs. Sometimes her animal love is a bit more extreme than I would like. She has this thing about eating Ellie's food. Science Diet small bites - apparently very tasty. If I mistakenly leave the door to Ellie's crate open she will run and get in. Her new thing is chasing Ellie around with food or the water bowl trying to get her to eat/drink. And she squeals and laughs when she does this. Sometimes Ellie will retreat to my bedroom for a little quiet time! I love that she truly enjoys animals.

NEWSFLASH - Grace pooped in the potty yesterday! We hope to have other potty training successes in the near future.

A few of the things I love about Grace

2008-07-14T21:45:00.002-05:00

Since Gracie is going to be two on Thursday I thought I would take the next couple of days to share the small things I love about her. She has so much excitement for the things she loves. Music is one of her favorite things.

She sings constantly and when she is not singing she is standing by the stereo saying "music please." Then she will sit down in the floor and listen. She sits still and listens. AMAZING.

We watch the movie Annie all the time. Often we just watch the song and dance numbers. And it's not just Annie. She loves musicals - Hairspray, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sound of Music you name it.

She also loves Justin Timberlake, her cousins introduced her to him. Non-traditional toddler music but she truly loves him. We have his concert on DVR and if anyone turns it on she will start waving her arms and dancing around saying Justin. The other day I was referring to Lucy's parents and when she heard me say the name Justin she started dancing in place and waving her arms.

I love the excitement and enjoyment she gets from music.

Gracie Goes for a Checkup

2008-07-07T00:56:00.008-05:00

This week Gracie went for her 2 year checkup. All signs of her ear infection are gone and Dr. Amy doesn't think her ear infections are frequent enough to talk about tubes yet. She has had three in seven months. She weighs 25 lbs. and her height is in the 75 percentile. She has all of her teeth with the exception of her 2 yr molars. Hopefully when they come through she will cease being the queen of drool.

Not only has she become averse to medication, she now hates going to the doctor. She SCREAMED when Dr. Amy looked in her ears, throat, etc. When Dr. Amy was leaving the room she said bye in a not nice tone. Little did she know the worst was yet to come. Next came the immunizations and another crying fit. Then came the blood draw. She hated having her thumb pricked but that was nothing compared to her reaction to the nurse squeezing her thumb to get blood flowing. There was a consensus among everyone. She is a very, very strong little girl. I already knew this and I am constantly amazed at the things she can pick up and carry around.

We are working on potty training. She hasn't actually used the potty, but she will sit on it. But not a potty chair she wants to sit on the real thing so we have a little Elmo seat that fits on. Maybe she hasn't gone on the potty, but she is champion hand washer. She will sit on the potty just to get to wash her hands after. She loves having a little stool by the sink so she can do it on her own. In the past when she got quiet I would find her in the bathroom dunking a roll of toilet paper in the toilet. Now when she gets quiet I will find her in the bathroom washing her hands (pretending to wash her hands but really playing in the water).

In a week and a half my baby will officially be two years old.

Grace has a shoe thing now. Everytime she gets a flip flop it ends up on her leg.

2008-06-30T22:34:00.004-05:00

I really can't beleive that Grace is almost two and it has been a year and a half since we came home from Vietnam. This time last year I was preparing for her first birthday. In additional to celebration there were practical things on my mind. Things like switching from formula to milk, facing front in the carseat and saying goodbye to bottles. As her second birthday approaches I again have practicality on my mind. This year it is potty training, behavior and manners. It amazes me. Now we have big girl issues. Here she is playing outside this morning.

Feeling Good and Ready to Go!!

2008-06-28T07:39:00.010-05:00

Grace is back to her busy life. This includes playing outside in the morning. It has been 95 degrees and humid so afternoons outside are spent in the pool! Grace adores animals and isn't afraid of them at all. She loves the big labs best! Of course that also means you have to watch her closely. Here she is when she spotted Tommy the cat taking a nap.

She is very nurturing (ha ha) and loves pushing around her baby.

When pushing the grass proves too tiring ...

...something else catches her eye and she abandons poor baby!

Doesn't she look sweet? Not at all like her normally crazed, almost two year old self!

After the Illness

2008-06-24T21:25:00.004-05:00

When Grace is sick I cater to her every wish (with the exception of giving medicine, but I'll get to that later). Thankfully now she's feeling better. But now life must get back to normal and first on the list is behavior. When she is sick she whines if she wants something. Now that she is well she demands it and I am not kidding. The last couple of days her favorite words have been NO and STOP IT. The capital letters infer yelling.

She has spent many minutes in time out today. I am very pleased to say she even cried when I put her in time out. I am not saying that to be mean, but time out has never been very effective for Grace. Normally she will busy herself by poking at her belly button, playing with her shoestrings, etc. You know that it is not working when your child is giggling to herself while she is in time out. Well today she was upset. Not to the point of being sorry for her actions, but just being sorry that she got caught. It is a definite improvement. We are getting back on track with bedtime. She is still resisting going to bed, but tonight it only took about five minutes of crying and pleading before she gave up and went to sleep.

Her eating habits are back to normal. She would not eat or drink while she was sick. The drinking part worried me tremendously. I could not get her to drink anything. She ate pedialyte freezer pops ok, but that was about it. **WARNING** BAD MOTHER ALERT - I was so concerned about her lack of fluids that I tried everything I could and I found one thing that she drank. Yoo-Hoo. Terrible I know, but she did drink it.

Grace has always taken medicine well. She is older and more mature now, she is not going down without a fight. I tried to get her to drink it herself, you know make her feel like she had some control. No way, if I wanted her to have it I'd have to give it to her. She was poised to spit it out as soon as she saw me coming toward her. I had to hold a struggling child, tilt her head back, give her the medicine and blow in her face so she'd swallow. Did anybody ever see the HBO movie with Hillary Swank about women's suffrage? Her character was on a hunger strike and they forced a tube down her throat to force feed her. That is the image that was going through my mind everytime I had to give her medicine. Fortunately her antibiotic is sweet and I put it in a little cup with a straw and tell her it's a milkshake. Deceptive but it works. Here she is feeling better and enjoying her chocolate. Chocolate it the one thing she automatically says please for, she sees you with it and she walks up and says please!

You give me fever...

2008-06-21T09:53:00.004-05:00

at least that how Grace is feeling. Another ear infection in her left ear. This is the third in about six months. Temp started on Wed, but her infection doesn't usually present itself for a couple of days so we managed the temps of 102 for a couple of days. No biggie for her.

We went to the dr yesterday. Her pediatrician was on vacation so we saw a partner. Her temp had been fluctuating up to 104 but was still manageable. Of course it was down to 99 at the dr's office. Left ear was fire red so we got a shot of Rocephin and 10 days of antibiotics. My mother drove us and on the way home (takes about 40 minutes from my house to dr)she got the chills and was shaking terribly. My mom stopped and ran in a store to get a blanket. I was unprepared I know. I had given her motrin about five minutes earlier and her temp was 103.5. I took her temp again to see how things were working.

Prepare yourself. In the span of a few minutes her temp had gone from 103.5 to 106.5. I almost freaked, however she was alert and responsive so that was good. I had my mom continue home. There was a hospital on the way. I continued taking her temp and it was going down. The motrin had kicked in. By the time we got near the hospital it was down to 103. We opted not to stop. Her temp was going down and my friend Karen is a dr. Karen's house was only about 15 minutes away. I knew she was home taking care of her sick son. Thankfully her temp continued to go down and was about 102.5 when we got home. That's nothing for Grace.

By ten last night fever was gone and so was the constant stream of snot. The rocephin had kicked in and I was thankful. Last time she got rocephin it didn't kick in until the next day. Today we started the ten day antibiotics. She has no fever and is feeling much better. We are dealing with intermittent bursts of whining but she deserves that. We are watching Baby Einstein non stop. She doesn't like cartoons just stuff with real people and animals. She likes Einsteins (as she lovingly refers to them), Sesame Street and the Wiggles (the freak me out but she likes them). So today when one dvd ends she'll bring me the dvd remote and say "einsteins".

I am so thankful that she is better. I am thankful that I was a kid who ran high temps like that, so I know how to get them down and when to get help. I am thankful that I live next door to my parents who have dealt with crazy high temps.

She will have a recheck on July 2. That will also be her two yr checkup. TWO YEARS. Her second birthday is on July 17. And that is a whole other story...
'

Thanks!

2008-06-13T10:56:00.003-05:00

Thanks for all the great feedback. It helps to know that others are fighting the same battles. We have tried redirection, explaining that I am afraid she will get hurt, time out, etc. She climbs with a purpose - to get things that she knows she is not supposed to have. Things such as the CD player and night light on her dresser, the pictures on top of the bookcase, etc. I have read before that human behavior is based on pleasure and pain. I think that she figures the pleasure of retreiving the forbidden is worth the pain of sitting in time out. Her eyes just glow when she does get that picture from the shelf.

I am definitely going to look into some appropriate climbing alternatives. And I think she is just going to encounter a few bumps (hopefully not injuring herself) and maybe that will overshadow her love of climbing. Please let me know if you have any more advice.

Calling All Moms - HELP

2008-06-11T07:40:00.002-05:00

Grace is a climber, I have written that before. Things are now out of hand. It has become hard for me to get anything done without fear she will fall and break her neck! In the past I have been able to put her in her room with the gate up and have no fear. Now I will walk in her room and she will be climbing up on the chest of drawers. She will stack toys, table, glider...whatever she can come up with. She a smart girl.

I can't take her into the laundry room with me when I am washing clothes. She is two and will be pulling something onto her head, unplugging the freezer, etc. So what can I do? If I am loading the dishwasher she will be climbing on the door or grabbing a knife. If I leave her in the living room watching Sesame Street while I am doing it she will climb onto the big chair and straddle the back like a horse. If she fell that would be an awful fall. She has climbed onto the dining room table and the buffet. You name it.

She is strong and can relocate things where she wants. Help!! I have baby proofed, etc. to try and make things safe. But I have to go to the bathroom quick or she will push a dining room chair over to the bookcase and be attempting to climb onto a shelf.

No exaggerations here. I could give you a million examples. Advice please.

Hot Days

2008-06-08T16:29:00.012-05:00

The temps are really heating up. Grace loves to play outside in the afternoon, but has been so hot that running in the grass is now reserved for the morning. She plays in her little pool in the afternoon. She adores Kristan's dog Nanook and they have been having a big time in the water.

In other news...stubbornness abounds at our house. Grace walked up to me a few minutes ago and opened her mouth wide so I could she bits of chewed up orange crayon she was enjoying. Crayons are a constant battle. She loves to draw but when left alone she will munch on the crayons.

Playing with Nanook

Guess who got in trouble?

Grace and Brady

2008-06-03T23:22:00.006-05:00

Brady is five days older than Grace. My mom is friends with Brady's grandmother. Recently the grandmothers got Grace and Brady together to play. They had such a good time. When it was time to go home his grandmother told Brady to tell Grace goodbye. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Isn't he a cutie?!

Climbing, Swimming and Good Times

2008-05-29T22:37:00.013-05:00

This morning I was making the bed and Grace was playing in her room. Suddenly I heard a cry which I immediately identified as her "I'm in a tight spot" cry. When I go to investigate here is what I found.

Does it make me a bad mother that I ran for the camera before I rescued my daughter? In my defense, I could tell that she wasn't hurt. My daughter is a climber. I used to never worry about putting her in her room with the gate up, that is no longer the case. She is very good about using various items around her room as steps. The other day I caught her trying to pull herself onto the chest of drawers. She had pushed the glider into position so she could climb from the seat to the arm to the back and onto the chest. What makes it worse is that she is strong. It amazes me the things she can move. Does anyone have any advice?

Onto the day's fun. We got out the little pool. She looks so cute in her duck swimsuit. She loves anyting with a duck.

Grace adores her Pappy and he can always make her laugh.

Also he gives her ice cream.

A Few Pictures

2008-05-21T22:29:00.009-05:00

Doesn't she look like a proper little lady? Not quite. This was taken just before she shoved a handful of animal crackers in her mouth.

Check out this finger. Gracie is double jointed and I crack up everytime she points her finger. She also can do crazy stuff with her wrists/hands.

We has spent a lot of time playing in the yard this week. Grace will run and roll around and have the best time.

From the Mouth of Gracie

2008-05-18T00:43:00.007-05:00

Grace always has something to say these days. You have to really be careful, because she repeats EVERTHING. Then it is permanently in her vocabulary. Some of the things that she constantly repeats and have really cracked me up recently:

Biiiiiiiiite - this is Grace's really, really southern word. She makes the word bite last forever.

Amen - we say the little kiddie prayer before meals. One day when we finished she emphatically said amen.

Ugly - her Aunt Terri came by the other day and when she came in she asked how's Grace toay. I immediately answered she's been ugly. Grace looked at Terri and said ugly.

All right - I was playing Wii and hit a home run. I said all right and that is now here phras.

Stop it - this is her favorite not mine and it does not crack me up.

Typical Gracie faking the head injury. She doesn't get enought attention.

Kaylee's Mom

2008-05-14T00:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Grace and I met Kaylee's mom. I have been following her blog for some time and we recently realized that we live about 2 hours from each other. We had the best time! We had lunch, shopped and had a great time getting to know each other. It was such a blessing to meet someone with strong faith and a positive attitude.

Melanie and her husband are still waiting for Kaylee's referral. They have been waiting soooooooooo long. Please say a prayer for them. Melanie is already a mom, she just needs to see little Kaylee's face.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-12T14:00:00.007-05:00

All my life we have spent Mother's Day at Memaw's. It was the one time that you saw all the cousins, aunts and uncles, family friends, etc. When my Memaw passed away the tradition continued at my Aunt Florence's house. She is my mother's only sister and they are very close. Grace adored my uncle. He has a sheep named Courtney that he raised from a baby and he took Grace out to pet her. After lunch Grace was sitting in his lap drawing a picture when she decided to lay back and take a nap.

I am happy to report that today I received a call from the office of one of my senators. A few weeks ago I wrote letters to my elected officials voicing my concerns over the situation in Vietnam. I am please to report that the person returning my call wasn't just a random staffer, but someone who knew exactly what was going on and he called to give me an update.

* I forgot to mention what the staffer told me. He was vague, but told me that the US had decided to actively pursue a new MOU with Vietnam. They will be working with reputable US adoption agencies/officials to help this process.

A Great Birthday Present

2008-05-05T01:20:00.002-05:00

Saturday was my birthday. The singer in the family gave me the best present. Grace sang Happy Birthday to me! The only words she sang were "Happy Birthday Mom" and she hummed the rest but she was perfectly in tune. Thanks to my mother for that surprise.

Grace's musical gifts have only surfaced recently. She sings constantly! And it amazes me that she can replicate a melody after only hearing it once or twice. She sings(using "da" in place of all works of course)both verse and chorus of Jesus Loves Me.

The best part is that she is happy. She will sing a song and then say happy, happy, happy. I love that.

This is a long one.

2008-04-27T21:45:00.006-05:00

A record of my thoughts for Grace

Most of the people who read this blog know about the recent changes in the world of Vietnam adoption. For those of you who are not aware of the changes, here is a quck summary.

The US is supsending Vietnam adoptions because of supsected corruption. The government says that mothers are being paid to give their baby up for adoption, babies are being given up for adoption without the consent of the parents, etc. Parents who do not have a referral by September 1 will receive their dossier back from Vietnam and they will not have a child referred to them. These reports have stirred up so many emotions in me. I thought that blogging about them might be help me sort out my thoughts and to record them so that I can share this with Grace someday.

There are so many wonderful people who are waiting for a referral. People who will be fantastic parents. My prayers are with them. I pray that they will receive referrals in the next four months. I cannot imagine coming so far and not completing an adoption.

If I had stayed with the first agency I signed with, I would most likely still be waiting for a referral. When I signed with them in Dec 2005, I was told their was a 6 month wait for referrals. When I got my 171 in July 2006 I was told it would 18-24 months. I was devestated. Then I found out that a friend who began the adoption journey the same time as I did was up next for a referral. They had switched to a new agency. After researching the agency I made the decision to switch. The agency had recently began to facilitate adoptions. They had previously worked providing humanitarian aid in Vietnam and made the decision to handle adoptions.

As they were new, the waiting list was very short. Within a week I had turned in my dossier and was number four on the list for an infant girl. That was July 28, 2006. I received my referral on October 12. On December 28, one year after beginning the adoption process, we had our G&R and Grace officially became my daughter. Everything happened so quickly. I am a bit embarressed when I think of the many wonderful people have waited for soooo much longer and they are faced with a deadline.

Even though I have the utmost faith in my agency and their ethics, there is no way that they can be certain of exactly how a child came to be in an orphanage. The recent allegations of corruption makes me wonder about Grace's family. Was she willingly given up by her mother? The report says she was abandoned. Grace is from a very tiny village and I truly beleive that the nannies probably knew who Grace's mother was. I can't stand the thought that some mother had her child, my Grace, taken from her without her consent.

I truly believe that God picked me to raise Grace and be her mom. I believe that is true even if she was taken unethically. Taken unethically - that makes me sick to type. I believe that God has power over EVERYTHING. Does God take babies from their mothers? No. Does God give man free will to make decisions which are often bad? Yes. I believe that God often cleans up man's messes. He took babies who had been essentially stolen and placed them in loving homes.

I am going to raise Grace in a God centered home. It is my hope that she will be equipped to make sense of the diffcult things in life. This includes not knowing the truth about how she came to be in an orphanage. Whatever the circumstances, I truly hope that her mother can feel in her heart that Grace is happy.

Pictures from the park.

2008-04-25T15:44:00.010-05:00

More Pictures from the Weekend

2008-04-22T09:31:00.008-05:00

Here are more pictures from the zoo. I especially love the last one. We were in the Asian area and Grace walked up to a statue of Buddha and started rubbing his belly! It was hilarious. I love the zoo and had a great time. However it does make me sad to look at some of the animals. Does the cheetah ever get to run at full speed? The bengal tigers were just sort of pacing around. Do they have exercise areas at zoos, places where animals can be taken to run freely? Anybody know? Anyway, I hope the animals don't lead sad lives. We sure enjoyed seeing them. Here in Tennessee there is an elephant sanctuary for female elephants. They have been neglected by their owners and get to retire to the sanctuary. Check it out.

2008-04-20T21:27:00.006-05:00

It has been a beautiful weekend. The weather has been perfect. We have made the most of it by spending lots of time outdoors. On Saturday we went to the Memphis Zoo with Aunt Terri, Kristan and Kayla. They have a fantastic zoo. Grace loved naming the animals and imitating how they sound. She really loved the sheep ane the ducks.

The Memphis Zoo has a fantastic Asian area. The pandas are the main attraction at the zoo, so they really did a fantastic job with the area. There are beautiful gardens, pagodas, etc. They had this cute, little hollowed out tree with a small panda sculpture where kids could have their picture made. Gracie was so cute. She reached down and petted the little panda.

I have a ton of pictures. Will post more later.

A Nicer Bedtime

2008-04-17T08:34:00.006-05:00

There have recently been many posts about sleep. Sleep has also been an issue at our house. After we had only been home from Vietnam for a week, Grace began sleeping through the night. Nighttime has never been a problem at house, our problem is bedtime. Our problem is that Grace thinks she should be held while she sleeps. She can feel it as you pull her away from her body to lay her down and she will immediately be on her feet with arms outstretched. When I say immediately, I truly mean immediately. There is no way you can rub this child's back or hum to comfort her back to sleep.

Now this habit doesn't just happen with me, so I have no delusions that it is a "Mommy" thing. She merely wants to be held. Several people have helped facilitate her desire to be held while sleeping, but I must break this habit. I began this process on Monday and I am pleased to report that we are doing well. In hope that she would remain asleep when I put her down, I previously rocked her until she had been asleep until about 20 minutes. We now have a new routine. After her bath I rock Grace until she is almost asleep. I make sure she that her last memory is of her crib. That way she will realize that is where she should sleep.

The first night she yelled for about 20 minutes. She doesn't cry, she yells. This has been steadily decreasing and last night she only yelled for about 5 minutes. As a nice bonus this new bedtime habit has also positively impacted morning. She used to begin calling out "milk" as soon as she woke up. Now she will occupy herself for about 20 minutes! I will hear her talking, singing and jumping. WOW. She has had this same problem at naptime. This week we have been out and about alot. However we will be working on naptime as soon as possible.

I got these tips from a great book that my social worker recommended during my home study. The book, Your Child's Health, has information on rashes, fevers, immunizations, behavior. You name it. It has been so helpful to me as a first time mother. Here are some new pictures of Gracie.

Sneaky Grace

Sweet Grace

Her new thing is to go to the pantry and help herself to raisins. Problem is she gets them everywhere. The first time I stepped on one and saw it on the bottom of my shoe I thought Ellie had an accident in the floor.

Playing with Reilly

2008-04-15T22:50:00.006-05:00

On Saturday my best friend Karen came over with her daughter Reilly. Reilly will be one year old the end of next month. It is so much fun having kids around the same age. Grace was very nice and hospitable. She shared with the baby and I was very proud of her. I think she wondered why that baby didn't get up and run around and climb like she does. Here are some photos from the day.

2008-04-11T23:11:00.007-05:00

Grace is a climber. It all started innocently enough. She began by climbing into things...the laundry basket, drawers, etc. That quickly got boring and she began climbing onto things...everything. If I turn my back, even for a second, I will find her on top of something. Grace has great problem solving skills therefore nothing is safe. She will climb from her Pooh car onto her activity table and try to climb onto the changing table. She will climb onto her little table and try to climb into the baby bed. The only thing that slows her down are jeans. If I put her in jeans it limits her stretch.

Getting caught on one of her favorite climbs - the big chair. She likes to climb onto the arm and ride it like it is a horse. That puts her about three feet in the air and it terrifies me every time I catch her doing that, I can just see her toppling off onto the floor.

Grace trying to charm her way out of trouble.

Pouting in time out.

Yesterday we went to visit Aunt Terri. Grace was wowing everyone with her front flip.

Terri has this great hammock swing in her back yard and Grace had the best time.

Sick Baby & Video with Friends

2008-03-31T10:46:00.005-05:00

When I bought my new camera I planned to post all the time. I haven't managed to do that lately. I have had a sick baby for a week. On Tuesday Grace had a temp of 102 (nothing for her). I immediately called the dr., not panicing just trying to find out if it was an ear infection. The last one was awful by the time she started showing symptoms. She found nothing and said it might be Roseola, to look for a rash in a few days. She said to call her if any other symptoms presented themselves.

Wed. she woke with a snotty nose and cough. She was stilling running temps of about 102,but it was managable. I was impressed to find out that my daughter knows how to blow her nose! I reached down to wipe it and she blew! I called dr. who said that she still thought that the cold symptoms and the fever were unrelated. She said to continue treating the fever and look for the rash. No rash came on Friday, so on Saturday dr. met us at the clinic to check Grace over (it's true a dr. on Saturday, she is a close family friend). She had the beginning of an ear infection in her left ear. Began antibiotics on Sat. and Grace is now fever free.

She is a fantastic dr. and is always right on the mark. I am still looking for a rash. I'll let you know if she gets one. Grace is feeling better that is the important thing. The only problem now is that with the return of her health she is now acting bratty. She has felt so bad that all I have done is hold her and she could't breathe lying down so I would sit on the couch and hold her all night while she slept. Now comes the transition back to the real world. Here is sick Grace looking a little scary. She had butt paste all over her face because it was terribly chapped from the runny nose and the wiping. She had just enjoyed a Pedialyte popsicle.

The video below shows Grace with Nanny, Duck and Bunny. She and Nanny have this ritual with Duck and Bunny. Grace will do one of two things as they play. Sometimes she will sit in Nanny's lap and bounce (see how she turned around and backed up) and other times she will let Nanny hold onto her while she does "the wild jump." Whether sitting or jumping she always does the duck wings with her arms.

It's a Girl

2008-03-25T00:00:00.013-05:00

Laurie and Travis have a daughter! The last few days I have been very preoccupied with the baby's impending arrival. Check out Laurie's blog. She is a Supermom. The baby has been born and now I have time to post.

It was a chilly Easter. Grace had to wear a sweater over her pretty smocked dress with the bunnies. I also forgot to take a picture of her in her pretty dress. However I got lots of pictures later in the day.

She was sooo disinterested in the egg hunt. She would just look at an egg and run off to chase the dog. In the picture below you can see how she was distracted by a pretty baby on the porch. She was admiring herself in the kick plate on the front door and blowing kisses to herself.

This is her "Gracie Lou Who" hairdo, courtesy of cousin Kristan

Grace and her cousin Ryan simply adore each other. They both break out in huge smiles when they are together.

I have some great video I will try to post soon. I got Grace with the bunny and the duck, one last dance together. Strangly enough, the bunny and the duck cannot be found anywhere.

Gracie is Growing Up

2008-03-20T21:13:00.008-05:00

Grace turned 20 months old on the 17th. I can hardly believe that she is almost two. It seems like just yesterday she was that little baby who couldn't even crawl yet. Now she is a fearless, big girl. So about Grace...

She has a very extensive vocabulary. Some of her words (especially words with A) often sound the same, so you must pay attention. Lately she has started something new. When she burps, she follows it with a loud announcement - BURP. She did this during church last Sunday.
She is extremely stubborn. For instance-she can be standing on the furniture and I will ask her to sit down. She will comply only for a second. Then she will stand up slowly, looking you directly in the eye and waiting for a reaction. We do this often, different activities but always the same battle.
She will eat ANYTHING. I am fortunate.
I am not exactly sure what she weighs or her height. I am guessing about 23 or 24 pounds. Height who knows, she just keeps getting taller. She can still wear most of her 6-12 mos. clothes from last summer, somethings are too short in the torso or stride. Thank goodness for summer. I don't have to worry about her pants either being too short or falling off of her.
She has a great sense of humor. She loves to make people laugh. The weirdest things will just crack her up, you never know what it will be. She is always laughing at Ellie.
She loves music and will begin immediately begin dancing. She loves watching musicals like Annie, etc.
She HATES going to bed. She will fight to stay awake.
She is obsessed with phones, remotes and my purse. I went to pick up lunch today and had no money or debit card. They were all in the floor of my bedroom. Thank God I had my Amex.
She has a mouth full of teeth. She has the new habit of sticking her bottom lip out like she is pouting. She does this all the time. I think she is getting used to all those teeth.

Here are some photos from today. We had so much fun playing outside.

This photo shows the offensive bunny and duck. See previous post for further explanation.

Duck

2008-03-18T22:19:00.006-05:00

Grace loves ducks (see the first photo below, there is one attached to her crib). Or maybe she just loves to say the word, I don't know. You can go to Wal-Mart and she will spot every duck in the place. That's tough this time of year! She wants to play them all, because we know all these type toys have to sing a song or do a dance. She is quite adept at finding and pushing the little buttons in the hand, belly, etc. Sometimes she will turn it on for a couple of seconds and then turn it off. She can keep this up for a long, long time. She loves to jump and dance along with them. That is why my mother and sister continually buy more. And she loves them soooooooooo much that I can't bring myself to turn them off. I just endure. She loves her gorilla that both jumps and sings. Very talented gorilla. Being the giving person she is, she often insists that you enjoy them with her. I am looking forward to next week, when a bunny and a chicken that are particulary annoying will diappear. Hey they're Easter toys right?

Ellie and Grace have so much fun together. I have to get video of them chasing each other. You will crack up!!

I still haven't read the manual...

2008-03-16T22:39:00.004-05:00

...but check out the pictures. I have no idea what my camera can do, but I have captured smiles. You have no idea how much that means to me. Grace is almost 2 and I have only gotten a handful of pictures with her smile. Kelly the camera is a Canon Xti and I promise to post more! Saturday morning Nanny and Aunt Terri came for breakfast. Look at what fun she is having (with jam on her face). She adores her Aunt Terri whom she met the same day she met me! Speaking of the first people to know Grace, I tried to catch some special pictures for "Uncle" Justin. Uncle Justin is Lucy's dad. Since Grace doesn't have a daddy, Justin was the first man in Gracie's life. While in Vietnam he graciously endured Grace's jumping. She was a wild woman. She still is and I wanted some good photos to show him she still loves to jump. The photos I took did not capture her wild jumps. I did however catch her love of acrobatics. Justin I will continue trying to catch the jumping. Or maybe we will see Lucy and family soon!

Smiles!!!

2008-03-15T09:19:00.003-05:00

Now you can see what I see. Big toothy smiles. It always amazes me how many teeth she has, it looks like she has cotton in he mouth when she smiles. Such a big girl now.

Well, I was sick and tired of no smiling pictures so I bought a new camera. My other camera is a camera/video recorder that writes directly to a cd. Real high tech, just a long delay when taking pics. Well this camera will take 3 pics/second. I got smiles. Here she is playing with her Pappy who she thinks is hilarious. I hope to read the manual this weekend so I can learn to use my new camera. More smiles to come.

A Messed Up Weekend

2008-03-07T19:35:00.003-06:00

I was looking forward to seeing my friends this weekend. We had plans to travel to Nashville Sun/Mon to see Lucy, Kelly, LilyAna and Susan. However Lucy, Kelly and Kelly's mom are sick. I haven't seen Lucy and Kelly since July and I am dying to see them. Lucy has changed so much. As soon as everyone is well we will set a new date. I really want to make sure these girls all know each other as they grow up. Get well soon!

It is snowing like crazy now. I mean we have a few inches and this is not the norm for Tennessee. That would normally be great. Snowed in for the weekend, have some down time at home. However I work for Boys & Girls Club and we have a benefit tomorrow evening. I have a million things to do tomorrow to set up. I live about 45 minutes from the venue and we southerners are not snow/ice drivers.

Gracie and her beloved Trigger.

It amazes me how grown up she looks with all those teeth.

She really loves to feed herself. She isn't good at getting the food on the spoon/fork, but if you get it on there for her she likes to take it from there. However forks and spoons also make fun toys. After each bite she likes to make the spoon go up and down by moving her mouth. As you can see in this photo, she is extremely talented and can keep the spoon firmly in her mouth while drinking milk! Impressive huh?

I have a climber on my hands. She climbs on EVERYTHING. I am constantly saying Grace get down or Grace sit on your bottom.

My Two Girls

2008-02-24T21:33:00.003-06:00

Gracie and Ellie were sleeping on the couch together Saturday night. I took this one right before I carried Grace to bed.

2008-02-21T21:38:00.004-06:00

I hate it when my bath starts to get cool. Grace however doesn't seem to mind. In this picture sheis cracking up at herself. She kept turning on the cold water to play in it as it ran from the faucet. I have the hot fixed where she can't turn it on, so her bath kept getting colder and colder.

Feeding herself has proven to be great fun for Grace.

Drama, Drama, Drama

2008-02-20T08:41:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted in a while because I hate to post without pictures. This update needs no pictures, just imagination. I know that I have posted before about Grace's tendency to "fake" an injury to get her way, to get picked up, etc. This is no longer a tendency, it is a way of life. Seriously - she tried it at least three or four times before I left for work this morning! I am raising a drama queen. She understands that the head bump always gets attention. Some examples of her devestating injuries are:

When she falls on her thickly diapered butt and immediately rubs her forehead and looks to you for a response.
When Grace is STARVED for attention she will tap her head on/with something. Sometimes she will tap her head on the chair arm and other times she will use her sippy cup to tap her forehead. She is shameless when she does this. She will look you straight in the eye, tap the sippy cup on her head and her hand immediately goes to her forehead. Next the arms go in the air reaching for you.

How does you deal with this one? I am trying to deal by telling her "Grace you are not hurt and Mommy is not going to pick you up." The head injury ploy is also a favorite when she is in trouble. Then there is my mother who says "I am picking that baby up when she holds her arms up." What a sucker.

Anyone else raising a drama queen?

Grace Has Been Sick

2008-02-01T13:58:00.000-06:00

On Sunday afternoon Grace woke up from her nap with a temp of 102. Her nose had been running for a couple of weeks, but so had everyone elses. Other the the fever she showed no signs of illness. We battled high temps, up to 105, all night. Before you panic Grace, like her momma, tends to run VERY high temps when she is sick. Monday morning we went to see Dr. Amy. She was surprised to see us, Grace has only been sick once before.

Grace had a very, very red throat and a RAGING ear infection in her left ear, the right looked perfect. She not only had an ear infections, there was pus behind the ear drum. This child had not tugged on her ear once. She had not exhibited any signs of illness until the fever. She got a big, bad shot and ten days of oral antibiotics. When I say bad shot, I mean bad shot. Has anybody ever had a shot of Rocephin? I had never heard of it. My sister in law, who works at a clinic, said that she had seen grown men with tears in their eyes after having a shot of Rocephin. It is very painful as it works it's way into your system.

Poor little Grace was hurting so bad. Grace only cries when she is faking it or she is truly uncomfortable/in pain. She cried her eyes out for an hour after the shot was given. I have never wanted to take her out of her car seat so badly. All I could do was put my arms around her.

She battled temps Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night her temp went up to 105. Motrin/Tylenol wasn't helping. I bathed her with cold cloths and it finally went down. Wednesday her fever broke. Not being able to help your child is the worst. I can't believe that there were no signs that she was sick. My girl is tough.

Grace is on the mend and has had no fever for two days. I pray all signs of infection are gone by the time she finished the antibiotic.

It's Been a While

2008-01-24T21:51:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to post for over a week. The problem is that every time I have the opportunity to sit and blog, I fall asleep. Last weekend was fantastic. My friend Susan, Petunia and Lela came to visit. Aren't they adorable playing?

We missed Lucy and her parents so much! Here is our attempt to get all three Que Son girls together for a picture.

Here's Grace all decked out in her cowprint.

As you know I have been dying to get pics of Grace smiling. I have to tell you...she's tough to get. She will be laughing and smiling but when she hears the click of the camera being turned on and there are no smiles. After working very, very hard I captured the smile I love. Now you all can see the sweet smile that makes my heart full.

I've been tagged.

2008-01-13T00:33:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by my friend Melissa who is mother to the stunning Mia. I cannot wait until I meet them. We live in the same state and I think it is a terrible injustice that we have never met. And Melissa's answers were just too good. I can tell we'd get along. I am tagging Beverly, Chandra and Kristin

1. What is your occupation? I work for a non-profit agency as Director of Development
2. What color are your socks right now? I don't have any on
3. What are you listening to right now? the dishwasher
4. What was the last thing you ate? peanut butter and jelly sandwich
5. Can you drive a stick shift? no
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Terri, my sister
8. How old are you today? 39
9. Favorite drink? coffee
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? football
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes
12. Favorite reality TV show? I already have too much reality, I prefer fantasy
13. What was the last movie you watched? Sweeney Todd. Yes that's what I said Sweeney Todd. It started slow, but it really picked up when they started killing people.
14. Favorite day of the year? The day of the fall time change - one extra hour in bed.
15. What do you do to vent anger? Oh I HAVE to tell somebody, if not I am quite sure that my head would blow up.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie. I also loved my mom's shoes.
17. What is your favorite, fall or spring? I love them both but I must say fall. Winter is very mild here and summer is unbeleivably humid. It is so nice when the weather starts to get cooler.
18. Hugs or kisses? I am a hugger, but I absolutely agree with Melissa about the boobs
19. Cherries or blueberries? blueberries
20. Do you want your friends to email you back? Unless I am asking a question or need a response, I don't need emails or phone calls for that matter.
21. Favorite dessert? is there a bad one?
22. Who is least likely to respond? who knows. I was probably the least likely, but look at me
23. Living arrangement? Grace and I live in a house in the country with our dog Ellie. I live beside my parents and across the road from my sister. My brother is 2 miles away. With all these babysitters I never have to take Grace grocery shopping!
24. When was the last time you cried? I can't recall. Is that good or bad?
25. What is on the floor of your closet? I actually have a path down the center. Luggage, shoes, and (shamefully) clothes along the sides
26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? ??
27. What did you do last night? cleaned my house and did laundry. big Saturday night28. Favorite smells? coffee, bread baking, Grace after a bath
29. What inspires you? people who are always kind and thinking of others
30. What are you afraid of? It all revolves around Grace. Will she be bullied in school, will she be the bully, what if something happens to me, will I be able to meet her needs, etc
31. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers? cheese
32. Favorite breed of dog? Yorkies. I love my Ellie
33. How many years at your current job? one
34. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
35. How many states have you lived in? one - Tennessee
36. Celebrity crush? Justin Timberlake, that boy sure can move
37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? no
38. Who is your favorite NFL team? Tennessee Titans
39. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? yes
40. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? It depends-can I hang out at the pool?

Company's Coming!!!

2008-01-12T23:36:00.000-06:00

I am so excited. My friend Susan and her adoable Petunia are coming to visit one week from today! Susan helped me keep my sanity (and my friends) during Grace's adoption.

Susan and I talked on the phone almost every day. We talked about what our daughters would be like, if they were born yet, how big they would be (shopping purposes), etc. We talked about our girls incessantly. Without her as my sounding board I probably wouldn't have any friends left. Now that we are both busy, single moms we rarely get to talk. It will be so great to have the day to catch up and watch our girls play together. The only thing that would be better is if Lucy could come. Hopefully we will all get together soon.

You will never believe what Grace's new "thing" is. If she is down on the floor and needs some attention, she will touch her forehead to the floor (just a light tap). She will then put her hand on her forehead like she is injured. Then she starts the fake cry and walks up with arms outstretched. All that just to get picked up - and it works on everyone except for her cousin/babysitter Kristan and me. Here are a few pictures of my drama queen.

Christmas Pictures

2008-01-06T22:40:00.000-06:00

I am a little late, but here are some pictures from Grace's first Christmas in America. Here she is at Nanny & Pappy's on Christmas Eve.

With lots of family and lots of presents soon Grace was getting tired. Here she is after changing into her adorable new pajamas.

And before we knew it, she was out like a light.

CHRISTMAS MORNING! Checking out her new horse from Santa.

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She got this great doll with it's own bottle.

This is what she did with the bottle.

I spent too much money and Grace's room is overflowing with toys. But we had a fantastic Christmas together.

More Nostalgia

2008-01-04T23:32:00.001-06:00

On our first Family Day (well actually the day after) Grace and I began a tradition. When I was in Vietnam, I got her tons of gifts. Things in various sizes and suitable for various ages. My plan was to celebrate our Family Day by giving her a gift from Vietnam each year. Looking through the trunk of treasures I decided that this pink ao dai might be too short for her next year. So I dressed her up for a photo and the ao dai went back into the trunk. I want these to be treasures she will have when she is old enough to appreciate them.

When I was in the trunk, I took out the bag containing the clothes she had on when they brought her to the G&R. I took them downstairs so my mother and I could look at them and be all sentimental. Since we were changing her clothes anyway, I decided to dress her up in her "orphanagewear." Check her out - then and now.

Happy Family Day!!!!!!

2007-12-29T16:18:00.000-06:00

This is Grace on January 1, 2007. We were still in Danang anxiously waiting to head to Ho Chi Minh City.

Friday was our one year anniversary. It's only been a year, however I really can't remember my life before Grace. It feels like we have always been together. Our celebration was small - just the two of us. We have so little time together so it was very special to celebrate together - just the two of us. We did see Nanny and Pappy for a few minutes in the morning. And what Family Day would be complete without a visit from Aunt Terri who was along for the entire journey. Here's Aunt Terri feeding Grace dinner and helping her perfect her wink. It looks alot like the Elvis face when she winks.

Our G&R was on December 28. The nannies and orphanage director brought the babies to the government building where the ceremony was to take place.

We walked in and there they were dressed in their thick sweaters. It was about 85 degrees outside! The orphanage director was holding Grace. He immediately put her in my arms.

We all went to the room where the G&R would take place. While we were waiting for things to get started. The nannies were having their last moments with the babies. They would come and take them off to another room for a feeding or maybe just some cuddle time. It was so hard for them.

I couldn't believe that it was such a short and simple ceremony. I signed a big book then they asked me you to come up front where they asked me a few general questions about how I will love and care for her. Then they handed me Grace and some papers.

That is the moment we became a family. One year ago.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T21:25:00.001-06:00

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas! Grace had so much fun with paper and boxes. She got tons of stuff from friends and family. I wondered how she would react to her gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. They were unwrapped, under the tree in the living room. She noticed them immediately, threw down her cup of milk and went from one thing to another. I will post Christmas pictures ASAP. I left my camera at my parent's house today.

I feel so blessed this year, celebrating Christmas at home with Grace. We will soon be celebrating our first anniversary as a family. December 28 is our "Family Day," the day when Grace officially became my daughter. My thoughts are consumed by meeting Grace, Vietnam, and the friends with us on the journey.

At almost this exact time last year I was meeting my daughter for the first time. Our visit to the orphanage was originally supposed to be in the morning, but was pushed back until after lunch. We visited the Hoi An orphanage (where we got to see Debbie meet baby Lily) as planned that morning so we had time to kill until we could go to the Que Son orphanage to meet Grace, Lucy and Khai. I really don't remember much about what we did during that time, I just remember checking my watch constantly. It seemed like 1:00 p.m. would never arrive.

When we finally got to the orphanage Kelly and Terri began shouting "there's Grace, there's Grace." Even though I know it was only a second, it felt like it took me forever to locate her with my own eyes. Suddenly there she was, one of the nannies was on the porch holding her. I immediately flung my camera to Terri and took off. It was like seeing a superstar whose picture was plastered all over my house. It was very surreal. This was the first time I saw her, she took my breath away.

I am so fortunate to have friends like Kelly and Justin. They are wonderful people and we all feel it is important for our girls to always stay in touch. We have been able to get together a couple of times this year and I hope that we can do it again very, very soon. I am dying to see Lucy. I am so thankful that I heard from the other two families during the holidays. I am going to do my best to keep track of these families. I want to see how all the babies grow and change. Here are the mommies and their angels in Hanoi.

Grace is Seventeen Months Old

2007-12-17T15:41:00.000-06:00

Today Grace is seventeen months old. She is not a baby anymore, she is a little girl. She looks so grown up to me. Last night I was looking at baby pictures. She was such a little chubby thing with big cheeks and no hair. It is funny looking at pictures of her at different ages. I can still see that little baby’s face lurking in the picture, no matter what age she is…just more and more beautiful each day. Grace is such a little individual. She has her own personality and is not afraid to show it. Some things about my little girl:

• She is 33 inches tall, weighs 22 pounds and has 8 teeth.
• Bubba is her word for “play this.” My mother has this doll named Bubba that talks when you squeeze his hand. Therefore any toy that sings, talks, etc. she will bring it to you and say Bubba. That means she wants you to play it.
• Duck is her favorite word. Go figure. I think it must have to do with her love for bathtime and the stuffed duck she carries around.
• She knows how to work the system. She uses the fake cough, fake injuries and fake tears. She takes it all in stride when we call her on it. She will just continue on about her business.
• She had her first haircut on Friday. It looks SO much better. I was so proud of her, she sat on the booster thing they put in the chair just like a big girl.
• I am blessed with an extraordinarily good girl. She sleeps well. After we got home it only took two weeks until she was sleeping through the night. Grace is a happy morning baby. She has always been a good eater. The only thing she won’t eat is Jello. She only cries if she is hurt, sick or faking it.
• Grace gives strangers “the stare.” She will let anyone hold her, but if she doesn’t know them she will stare them down with a solemn face. I get so tired of people saying -“she is such a solemn baby, doesn’t she ever smile?” Grace’s smiles, giggles and belly laughs are reserved for people she knows and things that crack her up. However I truly do hate it that she won’t smile for pictures. She has to be amused by something. Saying cheese and squeaking a toy doesn’t do it with her.
• She melts my heart when she blows me a kiss. It also cracks me up because she not only blows a kiss, but she has to pucker her mouth up like a fish to do it. It is so sweet.
• I think she wants to be a dog like Ellie. If I am not careful she will eat Ellie’s food or crawl into her kennel. I have a hard time keeping her from getting on her hands and knees in the tub and drinking her bath water. It is so disgusting I know. When Ellie growls ferociously out the window at some random dog, Grace does it too.

I could go on and on. I am truly blessed.

A Break in Routine

2007-12-10T00:07:00.000-06:00

My morning routine usually begins the same. Normally when I hear Grace beginning to stir I get out of bed and put on the coffee, let the dog out, fix her milk and fix my cup of coffee. Then I go to her room to get her out of bed and change her diaper. Yesterday my morning was like usual until I got to Grace's room. I opened the door and there she was standing in her crib jumping and talking. When I saw her I died laughing. One of her arms was completely out of her pajama top and she was so happy and smiling. I broke routine and grabbed the camera. Isn't she precious?

Here is Grace in an adorable outfit her Nanny bought for her.