trip to AZ

emma lael and i went to AZ to visit my parents for a few days...had a great time visiting lala, papa & charlie (the dog)...we also visited kim, daniel, kathryn, grant & abigail we met kim & daniel while in china when they were adopting abigail (the youngest) in the photos...the day they landed in the states abigail was taken to the ER and spent the next 7 weeks in the hospital...she is a miracle..she had her 4 heart defects repaired...suffered many complications after her surgery...she went over 15 minutes without a heart beat...did i mention she is a MIRACLE...the only thing they see as being slightly delayed is her speech otherwise she is doing great...my mom has became a family member to this family...she loves kathryn, grant & abigail as if they were her very own grandchildren...it is cool to see how God can orchestrates such perfect people to enter our lives just when we need them...emma lael was able to see horses...chicken...javalenia's and many animals she'd never seen before...grant told emma lael all about snakes...not to step in horse poop...do not touch the fence because it would shock her (the horse fence)....he was the perfect little gentleman during out visit at his home.

Where Does God Live?

this was a gift given to emma lael...i had never seen or read this book before...it is a book worth purchasing...i am not an avid reader (as evident by my writing abilities)just wanted to share a good children's book that talks about our amazing God!

fearless

i find it very interesting how some children can make it through rough spots and others can't...emma lael has been had her share of rough spots...to say the least...she learned how to adapt to all types of changes...she's a trooper...as i watch her on the playground...she's a "go getter" "fearless" "leader" i watched her watch a little boy go down the slide on his belly...she ran to me and put her hands in front of her and said "mama down" i knew what she was trying to tell me she wanted to go down the slide on her belly...i said "go ahead" she ran over to the slide without any hesitation she positioned herself on her belly and down she went with a Big smile on her sweet face...i love her zest for life!!!!

A week of friends

this has been a very exciting week for emma lael...she's had 3 play dates...today we spent a couple hours with lilykate and eleanor...they were adopted from china when they were a bit over 1 year old...lilykate & eleanor's birthday is 3 days before emma lael...we will have a fun BIRTHDAY month this july...lilykate and eleanor are in emma laels pre-school class...as i watched the 3 play at the park today i was in awww of how God orchestrates things...His plan is always so much better than our plan could ever be.

Girls just wanna have FUN

emma lael went to the park today with her friend anna...they are 6 weeks apart in age and play well together...let me tell you ms. itty bit emma lael kept up with all the kids...even though she is tiny she didn't let that stop her...she climbed...jumped...ran...went down the slide...climbed up the chain ladder she was so determined to keep up with everyone...this was the first time i'd seen her with so many children her age and at once..she held her own that's for sure...a little boy came up to her and said "are you a baby climbing up the ladder? i will help you not fall" then he told her he was 5.5 years old...he was protective of her made me wonderful if he had a little sister at home? if we could all take a few pointed from this little boy the world we lived in would be so much happier for everyone...she has tackled many obstacles already but i have NO doubts she won't let anything get in her way of having FUN! in her normal fashion she was as happy and joyful like always!

Happy Valentines Day

This is our little Sweet HEART! garrett is now 18 has his own valentine ;)
natalie has her own valentine....kent & i have eachother plus our 3 PERFECT valentines kiddos! thanks God ;)

inner mongolia china to fayetteville, ga

shiloh and emma lael are both from inner mongolia, china...shiloh was adopted in june...emma lael in september...we live 15 minutes from eachother...today we had the pleasure of going to play with shiloh and her big sister dakota...emma lael had the best time playing with the girls...so amazing how God brought these 2 sweet girls from a far away land to fayetteville, ga...we have many years to share together...these are the first of many photos.

Sunny February Day

emma lael and her two best buddies ruby & george enjoyed time outside today on this beautiful day...check out that cute little tummy ;)

Best Friends

tuesday is TRASH day....ruby hears the trash trunk coming down our street she will pop up and look out the front door...not far behind is emma lael...emma lael talks to ruby like she is human (she has gotten that from me) together they watched the trash man pick up our trash can and empty it into the BIG trash truck...being a parent of a toddler at age 48 is different...this time around i am seeing so many things for the first time through emma lael's eyes...she is very curious...so was garrett and natalie when they were toddlers but i had two toddlers at that time... i guess you could say i wasn't as observant to the world they were seeing and learning for the first time.... as i reflect back to when they were 3.5 it seems like forever ago....then i will see something that will make it seem like it was only yesterday that they both were 3.5 yesterday...hopefully, this time around i will continue to STOP and smell the roses and cherish every step of the journey as an older parent with a toddler ;)