The king is on his throne...

Surrounded by his royal subjects.
They loyally support him in all of his "grand endeavors".




At your service your royal highness!
Such devotion is vital if a king is to carry out his "kingly duties".

I'm also linking up with Alicia at A Beautiful Mess for Wordless Wednesday.

Smile

I dare you NOT to!

Have I mentioned she's reading?

Oh...I haven't?

Well...she's reading!

Brag much?

Walk Down Memory Lane

On this date, four years ago, we met our little S-girl for the first time.
Miss Jin Xia Yue.
Xia Yue means "Summer Fun".
Something our lives have been full of since we met her!
Here is the exact post copied directly from my adoption blog.
Excuse me while I take a walk down memory lane.

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                                          Meeting S-girl for the first time!!

                                             S-girl's nanny

 
                                               First time in Daddy's arms


It is with great joy that we welcome little S-girl into our family. We have truly been blessed. We feel so honored and privileged that God has entrusted this little one to us.

What an amazing experience. The anticipation before seeing her and then those first few moments were just precious. She came to us without a tear but you could feel the fear throughout her little body. Her nanny seemed to really love her and had a hard time saying goodbye.

When we got back to the hotel S-girl just clung to me. Many time you could tell she was trying not to cry and she eventually broke into silent tears. Tears just streamed down her face but not a sound. Of course, I sobbed too. Just knowing the fear that she must feel in this strange environment away from everything she has ever known.

After a few hours Darren got to hold her and of course, he got the first smile from her. It is then that we realized she has the sweetest little dimple in one cheek.

That evening we decided to go on a walk and find a KFC. She loved the walked and cooed and smiled the whole time. But whenever we get back inside the fear comes back!!

She slept great and woke up at 5 a.m and had a bottle. It was so cute..she would open her eyes, look at me feeding her, and then shut them again...it was like she was just pretending I wasn't there!!

She has been quite sad all day and is also running a fever. She has not really let us put her down (except to sleep) and is quite consolable. So that is an answer to prayer. I just feel so bad for her because you can just see the fear in her little face. We may take her down to the pool and see if she likes that!!

I can't stop looking at her little face. She has gorgeous long black eyelashes and beautiful skin. Her eyes are so big and expressive. We are just in love. D-man is really cute with her. He is just soaking her up. She seems to like both of us the same at this point so that has been nice.

It has been wonderful having Jonathan and Cindi and Jenny and Liza here also. I am so glad that family was able to experience this with us. They have been our photographers...but also such a great support.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers. We have seen God's thumb-print all over this experience. We are praising Him today!!

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I look at our daughter, four years later and am in awe of the person she has become.  She came to us a grieving, frightened little girl. One who was very sick and in need of open heart surgery.  Today, she has a zest for life. Her laugh permeates a room. Her smile is one of the friendliest I've ever seen.


But, I will be honest.  On many days, but this day in particular, I ache for S-girl's birth mother. I don't claim to know her circumstances.  But I do know that she has suffered great loss.  I know she wanted the best for her daughter.

"We wish for her to find a good family", was scrawled on a note attached to her blanket.  

Oh that she could know this beautiful little girl.  I wonder if some of her strength was passed on to "our" daughter.  Does she share the dimple that is so sweetly nestled on S-girl's cheek?  Do they have the same smile or sparkling eyes?  


So today I honor S-girl's birth mother.
I know that we are worlds apart.
But we will forever be connected.
We share the same daughter.
There aren't words enough to express my gratitude for choosing to give life to this dear child.
A more precious gift we could never have been given.

Below is a short clip of the first moment we laid eyes on our daughter.
A moment that tops the charts forever!!

She's Five!

A setting sun that paints a tie-dyed sky

A feather bed, an ancient lullaby

A kiss good night from one whose love is true

That's the kind of day I wish for you!

A field of flowers dancing in the spring

A little creek, a tree, an old rope swing

Cotton candy clouds against the blue

That's the kind of day I wish for you!

The faith of knowing deep inside your heart

That heaven holds more than just some stars

Someone's up there watching over you...

That's the kind of day I wish for you!

~lyrics by Faith Hill

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!


You are loved!

Immensely!

Pressing On

I almost displayed an extreme lapse of judgement.
I originally was going to bless you with a photo of the mouse intestines that L-boy handed to me today.
Thanks to our very resourceful cat.
Talk about a "you know you're a mom" moment.
Or more like a "disgusting, throw up in your mouth" moment!
However, on second thought....I decided to spare you the gory details.

Instead....I thought I'd share this moment with you.
Because it made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
We walk down the road to fetch the mail every evening.
I say "fetch"  because I'm pretending to be Laura Ingalls.
Pushing L-boy's stroller down the hill is a breeze. 
The kids often fight over who gets to do it.
But when her "fickle" older brothers are nowhere to be found on the way back up...




This "little mommy" digs in and gets the job done.

L-boy is one blessed little dude!

And I am one blessed mother.
 
 

I'm joining in with Arizona Mamma and The Long Road to China today.
How about it....
can I tempt you to do the same??

Mom n' Me Monday-{All about Feet}

Mom n' Me Monday was created in an attempt to make myself get in the picture with my kiddos. When my kids are grown, I don't want to look through my photos only to find that I am not in any of them! So, I'm on a mission to "capture" these memories.

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Sunday evening came crashing down and I realized I had no Mom n' Me pictures to share.
Shocking, I know.
As much as I begged and pleaded...my face was not cooperating.
It had nothing to do with the bad hair day I was experiencing.
And the 10 pound bags under my eyes were screaming to have their picture taken.
However, my face was having none of it.
It just said "NO".
And so I settled for the next best thing.
Feet!
Mom n' me feet, that is.

I didn't want my daughter to grow up and look back on our time together, only to find she had no pictures of our feet.
That would be tragic.
Don't you think?
Foot hug...anyone??


If you don't like feet.
I'm sorry.


But I enjoy feet.
They are good for walking, skipping, and jumping...
and squeezing mud.
They take you where you want to go.

Oh, those beautiful, hard working feet.
They carry the load!
Especially when your face isn't willing to!
Amen.

And for those of you who read Friday's Letter of Intent, I would like to say that blogger did absolutely nothing for me in regards to my missing menu bar.  Of course, I never actually contacted them.  I did slave over a new menubar.  Yes, my fingers bled yet again. But this time I saved a copy of the code.  See, I learn from my mistakes.

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I can't wait to see your pictures. You can grab the code under the button below and paste it into the body of your post. Then add your link into Linky tools below.

To use Linky tools, be sure to link your Mom n' Me Monday post, not your main blog url.

To do this, go to your blog. Click on the title of your Mom n' Me Monday post. The url in your browser window will become a direct link to that post. Copy that url and paste it into the Linky tools window, along with your name, or your blog's name.

If you don't want to grab the Mom n' Me button, just link back to the Peanut Gallery so other's can join in if that's what their little heart's desire :)!











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That dimple!

I love black and white photos.
Maybe it's because I'm not a very black and white person.
I think I'm sort of "gray".


Look at that dimple.
I love that dimple.


I Heart Faces has a "dramatic" black and white photo theme this week.
Is this dramatic enough?

Mom n' Me Monday

Mom n' Me Monday was created in an attempt to make myself get in the picture with my kiddos. When my kids are grown, I don't want to look through my photos only to find that I am not in any of them! So, I'm on a mission to "capture" these memories.
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S-girl is our dear, sweet little girl.
Today she is 4 1/2.
We saw her sweet little face, for the very first time when she was 10 months old.
On our computer screen.
We were immediately in love.




Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing



This was the first day we held S-girl in our arms. Here is a short clip.
She had just celebrated her 1st birthday 4 days before.
She was terrified.
Her heart beat wildly in her chest.
I could feel it as she pressed against me.
She cried.
Silently.
Huge tears rolled down her cheeks.
And yet not a noise did she make.
My heart hurt for her.
She had most likely never seen anything like us before.

But this quiet, fearful little one, had a strength and vibrance that surprised us all.
One open heart surgery, and 3 1/2 years later, she amazes us each day.


Those first few weeks were difficult.
I questioned whether her fear would ever turn to trust.
Today her child-like faith is simple and true.


In those first few months, I wondered if this little girl would ever laugh.
Today she laughs louder and harder than anyone in our family.
Our sweet S-girl has 3 brothers who adore her.
And she adores them.
She can karate chop and wrestle with the best of em'.
She is always "game" for any adventure presented to her.
And there are many.
She hugs us daily and often just clings to my leg and says, "I love you, Mommy."
And we love her.
Boy, DO WE LOVE HER.
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Now, because I loved my sweet friend Shannon's out take last week. (you know..the Arizona Mamma)
And because the majority of photos of "moi" turn out like this.
Because I believe this post has become much too serious.
I thought I would share this.


Look closely at my eyes.
Or don't.



Here, let me crop in nice and close.
For clarity's sake.
What is wrong with my eye.
I kid you not, one out of three photos of me looks like this.
I even try and make a mental note to keep my eyes somewhat "even" looking, when I smile.

Obviously, it doesn't work.
Does anyone have a diagnosis for what "ails" me?
I need all the help I can get.
Speaking of help, can anyone recommend a good anti-aging eye cream?
It looks as if I am in desperate need of some.******************************************************************************


I can't wait to see your pictures. You can grab the code under the button below and paste it into the body of your post. Then add your link into Mr. McKlinky below.

To use Mr. McKlinky, be sure to link your Mom n' Me Monday post, not your main blog url.

To do this, go to your blog. Click on the title of your Mom n' Me Monday post. The url in your browser window will become a direct link to that post. Copy that url and paste it into the Mr. McKlinky window, along with your name, or your blog's name.

If you don't want to grab the Mom n' Me button, just link back to the Peanut Gallery so other's can join in if that's what their little heart's desire :)!








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The way it really happened..

So, this is the way we do things around here.
I happened to run into the library to pick up some books on hold.
I mozied on over to the children's section.
We needed to fill our book basket with some new and interesting reading material.
You know, the kind of books that stimulates a child's imagination.
The kind of books that allow them to travel to exotic places right in the comfort of their own home.
You know "living books". The kind of book that teach facts, that would otherwise be boring, in an animated, riveting new way!
Well, we found just that.


Now, to be clear, I didn't thumb through this book before I checked it out.
It happened to be one of the "display books".
You know, the ones that sit on the top of the book shelves as if to say "pick me".
And yes, I will admit, this is how I pick many of the children's books that we check out. Somehow, squatting down and thumbing through a bajillion books, just isn't my favorite thing to do.
The title got me.
Welcome with Love.
I bit.

Fastfoward to that evening.
S-girl always has me read a story, or two, or three, before bedtime.
So we snuggled into her bed and began to read said book.
We read about a family who is preparing to welcome a new baby into their home.
Jack, the little brother is telling us the story.
They are setting out tiny socks and clothes and really just "nesting".
"Ahhh, what a cute little story!" I think to myself.


Soon, the midwife arrives.
She proceeds to set out instruments that will be used during the babies birth.
Oh look, big sister is listening to little Jack's heartbeat with a doppler.
Could you get any more delightful than that?
At this point, I think,"Hmmm...this will be interesting. A home birth. I'll get to explain to S-girl that some people choose to have their babies at home. Yes, we are learning something new here."


Then mom, with labor not progressing, decides to go for a walk.
In a snowstorm.
I think, "Well, what woman in her right mind would do this?
Is she going to get lost in the woods?
Is this going to be THAT kind of story?
You know, where the baby is born in the woods and a friendly bear comes and snuggles mother and child until they are found?"


Oh, PHEW...she found her way home.
Now she's explaining to Jack that during labor she might make a lot of noise, because that's what it's like when babies are born.
Yelling and screaming will help her to feel much better. (She obviously hasn't heard of the GLORIOUS epidural. I kid, I kid)
I keep eyeing S-girl to see what she thinks of all this. At this point she is very quiet. As if she is pondering it all.


Ahem... the walk in the snow storm did the trick.
Labor is progressing.
Mom is yelling so loudly the whole town hears it.
I'm thinking, "Oh, I'm so pleased they are actually showing that walking during labor is O.K., and can be beneficial for the progression of labor!" (just the R.N. in me!)
Who KNOWS what S-girl was thinking!
I must say, at this point, I am beginning to wonder where all of this is leading. (I mean, I KNOW where it's leading...but you know what I'm sayin'.)



O.K..... I think I KNOW where this is leading.....




But, nothing could have prepared me for this turn of events!
How did she go from fully clothed, to fully un-clothed with a baby in between her legs all in one page!!!!???"
I continue to read calmly.
I am desperately trying to hold in my laughter.
For some reason, this picture is conjuring up the giggles in my mature, 36 year old self!
But we are at the point of no return.
S-girl has already seen the picture.
So we might as well chalk it up as a LEARNING EXPERIENCE!
After I read the page, S-girl looks at me, wide eyed and says,
"THE BABY CAME OUT OF HER BUTT????"
I, of course, went on to explain the "3 hole scenerio"!
Ya know, the one where mommies have three holes.
One for peeing, one for pooing, and one for pushing babies out!!
Oh, you haven't heard that one before?
Well, yeah, I'm quick on my feet and thought it was a pretty sophisticated way of explaining it all to a 4 year old!
Her next question was, "Is that lady going to eat the baby??"
Looking at the picture, I can see where S-girl is coming from!
Her mouth is open, for goodness sake!
I quickly reply, "No honey, she's just catching the baby!" But I think to myself, "With the way this book is going, they'll probably eat the placenta!"


Moving on....O.K...I guess we are not moving on yet! Somebody, get that baby a blanket. We don't want hypothermia to set in! Especially with a snow storm raging outside!
Oh, and get mom a blanket too! Please.



And finally, they are all tucked in.
Now we get a lesson on all things placenta.
I must say we did enjoy the lesson, though!
And guess what?
It was a very HEALTHY placenta.
For which, we are all thankful!



And finally, Jack is so happy that everyone gets to sleep together that night.
And so am I. And so am I!!
I'm thinkin' little Jack may have a few nightmares after all his little eyes have witnessed.


So how was S-girl, after seeing such a fascinating portrayal of childbirth?
Just fine, thank you.
In fact, when D-man went in to say good night, I had him ask her what she thought of the story.
She didn't even remember I had read a story.
Out of sight, out of mind!
Or maybe that was just a "coping" mechanism.


Thank you Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas.
For stimulating my daughter's 4 year old imagination!
For teaching her something in a new and exciting way.
For taking her on an adventure, right there in the comfort of her own bedroom.
I don't think I could have described it any more vividly myself!



***disclaimer***
I am in no way against "natural" child birth!
I am in no way against "the family bed"! (except for at my house!)
I AM against "eating the placenta"! (not done in this book)
Lastly, I AM against "natural" childbirth when it comes to little ole' me!
Give me an incommodious hospital bed, a snap up gown, and an epidural in my back...and all is well in the world!

Thank you and Goodnight!

edited to add: I wrote this awhile ago, but just had to share it over at O My family book week. Visit her to see more wonderful book reviews.