Today is an anniversary I never dreamed we would have to reach. Two years today since DRC closed adoptions. Three years since I fell in love with Mr. U. Our families have spent three years on opposite sides of the world from each other. Running a marathon where the finish line keeps moving farther and farther away no matter how close we seem to the end.
Oh Mr. U,
Everything in me aches not having you here with us. Every meal, every family dance party, every vacation, birthday, holiday. Every bedtime, every car ride, every family get togethers, every church service, every hectic day and every lazy day. You are always missed. Every. Single. Moment.
We love you and pray God would move mountains and bring you home.
Love you,
Mommy
Friday, September 25, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Sesame Place
One of my favorite parts of the whole day was while we were watching this show. A was all into the music and dancing until a bee started flying by. She quickly watched the bee trying to catch it. Only A would be in the middle of an amusement park and find catching bugs more exciting then what's going on around her. ;)
Friday, June 19, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
A's 6 Year Old Birthday Letter
You can read previous Birthday letters here and here.
My Sweet Miss. A,
Happy Birthday my bug, heart, worm, bee loving girl! You are one enormous bowl full of love and silliness my dear.
This year was a big year for you! Each weekday you left home for 6 1/2 hours as you explored life as a Kindergartener. You made lots of great friends and learned oodles more than I expected. You can now read books and do math like a champ. And although you love all that you are learning, you could do without the school part. Sad to say you are pretty bored with school. It is truly only because you are an outdoors kind of a gal who loves exploring life and using your wild and beautiful imagition all the day long. Being inside all day is just not nearly as exciting for you. You regularly tell me that you can't go to school because you are "school sick" which is your way of saying you are sick of being at school. It may also be that you miss your sister as you also almost daily tell me that you wish you and M were twins so she could come to school with you. You two are besties!
When you are home you stay outside as long as we will let you. You have expanded your love for worms and bugs to bees and wasps. Thank the good Lord that you don't get much, if any,reactions to stings! You have a love and heart for these critters that is truly enduring. One day I found you praying and crying outside. I walked over to you to see what was going on and you said that you had tried to stop a bee from stinging M and killed it by accident. You then realized it was a bubble bee and felt awful since you know they don't usually sting. You were praying that God would make it come alive again. Needless to say we had a little burial for the bumblebee and thanked God for its life.
That heart of yours. If you keep even a fracture of the empathy you have for others you'll do amazing things in this world.
Along with your empathy, your faith is inspiring. You pray for your friends when they are hurting at school. You pray regularly for hearts to fly around our home and your cousins home and expect it to happen each and every time. The questions you ask about God are thoughtful and often. The questions usually come in car rides and I will say that those chats are one of the high points of being your mommy. I pray the Bible verses you are learning stay forever etched in your heart and mind and that your faith always stay so childlike.
Along with your inspiring faith, you also have a confidence from God that is so unique; especially in girls. You love what you see when you look in the mirror. You wear the clothes you like with confidence. You love your hair however it decides to move; up or down, flat or fro. You are as goofy and loud or as quiet and restful as you feel. You are who God created you to be and you don't mind if that doesn't fit into everyone's mold. Daddy and I are thankful you made it through Kindergarten maintaining this gift and pray you can hold on to that as you hold on to His Faith.
Now Miss. A, you may not realize this now so let me tell you, your relationship with your daddy is out of this world awesome. You give him the silliest of nicknames and could play silly games with him even more than you play with your bugs (and that says A LOT!). You still hang on him and crawl on him each and everyday as if he is your personal jungle gym. That is not an exaggeration. You hang yourself upside and swing from him, climb up on his head or make him into monkey bars. I don't know how you do it even when I'm standing right there watching. You also have a comfort level talking to him about anything...science, bugs or things that upset you. You two just get each other.
One of the things that I admire about you A is your ability to express yourself so honestly and openly. For most people that is a struggle and for someone like you who has to fight through life a bit harder than most one would expect expressing yourself would be a huge hurdle to overcome but sweet A you do it and you do it without reservations. You tell us how you feel about things in the moment or things that have gone on throughout the day and through that you give us the gift of learning and growing together as a family. You have brought our family even closer with your honestly and vulnerability.
And I can't forget to mention the love for running that has sparked in you over the year. You call yourself the sprinter in the family and refer to M as the cross country runner. I'm not sure running is your real joy or if it's the awards and trophies that you receive when you participate in races but either way you seem to have blast at races! You also took your first swimming lessons and grin ear to ear the entire 30 minutes in the pool. You are the cutest fish I've ever seen in your heart bathing suit.
You have lost two teeth this year. It's hard to believe you keep growing up. I keep thinking at some point you'll grow up so much that we won't have as much fun together but by golly just the opposite seems to happen. You are a blast to be around filling this home with an outpouring of laughter. You are a beautiful blend of goofy silliness tied together with faith, thoughtfulness and sprinkled with some bugs and hearts. :) We love you so much Miss A!
Love you tons!
Mommy
Questions I asked A (I asked her the same questions in her previous birthday letters):
What is your favorite thing to do at school? Go to Recess
What do you want to be when you grow-up? A worm doctor
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Do the whoopie cushion
What is your favorite thing to do with mommy? Play with you
What is your favorite thing to do with M? Go outside
What is your favorite toy? The whoopie cushion and bubbles
What is your favorite TV show? Dora and Friends
What is your favorite color? All the colors
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? watermelon
What is your favorite food? Red velvet cake
Where is your favorite place to go? The park
What is your favorite Bible story? The one with the stinky feet (when Jesus washes the disciples feet)
My Sweet Miss. A,
Happy Birthday my bug, heart, worm, bee loving girl! You are one enormous bowl full of love and silliness my dear.
This year was a big year for you! Each weekday you left home for 6 1/2 hours as you explored life as a Kindergartener. You made lots of great friends and learned oodles more than I expected. You can now read books and do math like a champ. And although you love all that you are learning, you could do without the school part. Sad to say you are pretty bored with school. It is truly only because you are an outdoors kind of a gal who loves exploring life and using your wild and beautiful imagition all the day long. Being inside all day is just not nearly as exciting for you. You regularly tell me that you can't go to school because you are "school sick" which is your way of saying you are sick of being at school. It may also be that you miss your sister as you also almost daily tell me that you wish you and M were twins so she could come to school with you. You two are besties!
When you are home you stay outside as long as we will let you. You have expanded your love for worms and bugs to bees and wasps. Thank the good Lord that you don't get much, if any,reactions to stings! You have a love and heart for these critters that is truly enduring. One day I found you praying and crying outside. I walked over to you to see what was going on and you said that you had tried to stop a bee from stinging M and killed it by accident. You then realized it was a bubble bee and felt awful since you know they don't usually sting. You were praying that God would make it come alive again. Needless to say we had a little burial for the bumblebee and thanked God for its life.
That heart of yours. If you keep even a fracture of the empathy you have for others you'll do amazing things in this world.
Along with your empathy, your faith is inspiring. You pray for your friends when they are hurting at school. You pray regularly for hearts to fly around our home and your cousins home and expect it to happen each and every time. The questions you ask about God are thoughtful and often. The questions usually come in car rides and I will say that those chats are one of the high points of being your mommy. I pray the Bible verses you are learning stay forever etched in your heart and mind and that your faith always stay so childlike.
Along with your inspiring faith, you also have a confidence from God that is so unique; especially in girls. You love what you see when you look in the mirror. You wear the clothes you like with confidence. You love your hair however it decides to move; up or down, flat or fro. You are as goofy and loud or as quiet and restful as you feel. You are who God created you to be and you don't mind if that doesn't fit into everyone's mold. Daddy and I are thankful you made it through Kindergarten maintaining this gift and pray you can hold on to that as you hold on to His Faith.
Now Miss. A, you may not realize this now so let me tell you, your relationship with your daddy is out of this world awesome. You give him the silliest of nicknames and could play silly games with him even more than you play with your bugs (and that says A LOT!). You still hang on him and crawl on him each and everyday as if he is your personal jungle gym. That is not an exaggeration. You hang yourself upside and swing from him, climb up on his head or make him into monkey bars. I don't know how you do it even when I'm standing right there watching. You also have a comfort level talking to him about anything...science, bugs or things that upset you. You two just get each other.
One of the things that I admire about you A is your ability to express yourself so honestly and openly. For most people that is a struggle and for someone like you who has to fight through life a bit harder than most one would expect expressing yourself would be a huge hurdle to overcome but sweet A you do it and you do it without reservations. You tell us how you feel about things in the moment or things that have gone on throughout the day and through that you give us the gift of learning and growing together as a family. You have brought our family even closer with your honestly and vulnerability.
And I can't forget to mention the love for running that has sparked in you over the year. You call yourself the sprinter in the family and refer to M as the cross country runner. I'm not sure running is your real joy or if it's the awards and trophies that you receive when you participate in races but either way you seem to have blast at races! You also took your first swimming lessons and grin ear to ear the entire 30 minutes in the pool. You are the cutest fish I've ever seen in your heart bathing suit.
You have lost two teeth this year. It's hard to believe you keep growing up. I keep thinking at some point you'll grow up so much that we won't have as much fun together but by golly just the opposite seems to happen. You are a blast to be around filling this home with an outpouring of laughter. You are a beautiful blend of goofy silliness tied together with faith, thoughtfulness and sprinkled with some bugs and hearts. :) We love you so much Miss A!
Love you tons!
Mommy
Questions I asked A (I asked her the same questions in her previous birthday letters):
What is your favorite thing to do at school? Go to Recess
What do you want to be when you grow-up? A worm doctor
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Do the whoopie cushion
What is your favorite thing to do with mommy? Play with you
What is your favorite thing to do with M? Go outside
What is your favorite toy? The whoopie cushion and bubbles
What is your favorite TV show? Dora and Friends
What is your favorite color? All the colors
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? watermelon
What is your favorite food? Red velvet cake
Where is your favorite place to go? The park
What is your favorite Bible story? The one with the stinky feet (when Jesus washes the disciples feet)
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| The four of us experienced fishing for the first time together. Despite A not killing any of her friend worms for the sake of catching a fish we were still able to caught one before we left. |
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| At swimming lessons. |
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| Grandpa got to visit with A in her Kindergarten class for a special snack and project. |
Monday, June 1, 2015
3rd Birthday Letter to Mr. U
You can read previous Birthday letters to U here and here
Dear Mr. U,
Happy Birthday my 3 year old Birthday boy! My lovable little guy you are so loved and so cherished. You have no idea the love boiling over for you in this family. It is thick and mighty!
You are an active little boy who loves playing outside with balls. You love making up games for your foster sisters and neighbor friends to play. We hear that you don't like sharing attention with your foster sisters...you'll fit right in here. :) You like pretending to be cartoon characters and making voices like them. You are described by loved ones as hilarious. The joy and laughter that you bring to those close by and those far away is abundant and infectious. I have two very short video clips of you from last year and I watched them regularly laughing each time as if it's the first time I watched it. That says a lot considering I've watched them a few hundred times. I can't get enough of you.
Oh baby boy, although today is a day of celebration of your life (and we'll be doing a lot of celebrating) it is also so hard not to be with you. If you were sitting here with me I'd look you right in those big beautiful eyes and tell you just how much I love you. How three years ago God placed a love for you in my heart that was so true and strong that I never let it go. I have longed for you and prayed for you every day since. And just like with your sisters, the love that I first had for you has done nothing but grow in leaps and bonds.
A and M talk about you often and can't wait to play with you. M wants you to sit in between A and her in the car so they both can be next to you. She also asks to save special snacks for you. They both have made pictures for you and when they draw family pictures they always include you in their drawings. They love their little brother!
And your Daddy. Mr. U your daddy loves you so much that he has literally spent an entire year (to the day) pouring himself into French books, French cartoons, French music, French everything to learn French so he can talk with you when you come here. Your daddy is truly amazing little guy! You and your sisters (and me) hit the jackpot with him. Little did we know that French is actually your 2nd language not your first. Oops!
We are so so so thankful that on your 3rd Birthday you are being loved on and celebrated right where you are. We are celebrating you here too and are praying for you. We love you sweet boy!
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy
Dear Mr. U,
Happy Birthday my 3 year old Birthday boy! My lovable little guy you are so loved and so cherished. You have no idea the love boiling over for you in this family. It is thick and mighty!
You are an active little boy who loves playing outside with balls. You love making up games for your foster sisters and neighbor friends to play. We hear that you don't like sharing attention with your foster sisters...you'll fit right in here. :) You like pretending to be cartoon characters and making voices like them. You are described by loved ones as hilarious. The joy and laughter that you bring to those close by and those far away is abundant and infectious. I have two very short video clips of you from last year and I watched them regularly laughing each time as if it's the first time I watched it. That says a lot considering I've watched them a few hundred times. I can't get enough of you.
Oh baby boy, although today is a day of celebration of your life (and we'll be doing a lot of celebrating) it is also so hard not to be with you. If you were sitting here with me I'd look you right in those big beautiful eyes and tell you just how much I love you. How three years ago God placed a love for you in my heart that was so true and strong that I never let it go. I have longed for you and prayed for you every day since. And just like with your sisters, the love that I first had for you has done nothing but grow in leaps and bonds.
A and M talk about you often and can't wait to play with you. M wants you to sit in between A and her in the car so they both can be next to you. She also asks to save special snacks for you. They both have made pictures for you and when they draw family pictures they always include you in their drawings. They love their little brother!
And your Daddy. Mr. U your daddy loves you so much that he has literally spent an entire year (to the day) pouring himself into French books, French cartoons, French music, French everything to learn French so he can talk with you when you come here. Your daddy is truly amazing little guy! You and your sisters (and me) hit the jackpot with him. Little did we know that French is actually your 2nd language not your first. Oops!
We are so so so thankful that on your 3rd Birthday you are being loved on and celebrated right where you are. We are celebrating you here too and are praying for you. We love you sweet boy!
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
Family Run for Our Family in Africa
March 22nd marked the two year anniversary of the first time we saw U (via a photo) and became a family in our hearts. We decided to use the day to raise funds for an amazing amazing organization called Our Family in Africa. We sent out letters asking friends and family to sponsor us in this family run. Then on March 22nd we made racing bibs, bundled up and went on a 1 mile run. A had a bad cold so she sprinted her little heart out for as long as she could and then took breaks in our jogging stroller. While A seems to be following R in his sprinting footsteps, M surprised us with being quiet the cross country runner. She ran consistently for the entire mile with just a couple little pauses.
It was too windy to keep the race bibs on that we made. We wrote Victory on the stop because that is the meaning of U's name. The bottom says OFA for Our Family in Africa and the 6-1-12 is U's birthday and the 15 is because we're praying he is home in 2015.
It was such a special and sweet time for our family to run for something so close to our hearts with the support of so many friends and family. We are so thankful to everyone who supported on this day and through the past two years!
Saturday, February 21, 2015
K's 4th Birthday Party
M had an awesome day with about 8 of her friends as we celebrated the silly loving girl that she is!
The theme of the party was "Ponies"
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| Pin the bow on the pony game |
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