Gingerbread House Fun

So building a traditional gingerbread house has been a flop at our house a time or two.  The kits come cracked, the bread is heavy, and the girls are so little they can't really do any of it independently.  Many years ago, we started making these little houses that use a milk carton, like the ones you get at school lunch, as a form.  We cover the cartons in graham crackers and decorate them just as you would a gingerbread house with candy, cookies, and trim galore.  I even use store bought icing because somethings are worth saving time for.   The girls can do it 100% by themselves, and they enjoy it so very much.

 It's no surprise that my artist spent a good long while decorating her house.  She used just about every embellishment known to man, and even built snowflakes out of icing and marshmallows.

 Molly went right to work choosing only to use all red gumdrops on one side.

 She didn't finish the entire house by herself mostly because she was too busy eating entire spoonfuls of icing.  Oh my girl!

 Doesn't everyone decorate a gingerbread house while wearing cat ears?  This girl has enough personality for all of us.

 Molly's house ended up being decorated by me a bit.  She was off and playing after about 10 minutes.  Here is her house.

Anna Mei's creation was all her own this year though.  It was a fun, fun day!

Molly Writes and Spells Her Name

This amazing girl of mine has been handed her fair share of challenges.  She has only been in our family for 18 months, has no thumbs, is missing radial bones in both of her arms, and has severe hearing loss.  The first time she began to hear sounds at all, with the help of her aids, was not even 12 months ago yet.  She has had many things stacked against her, but she continues to blow us away with how quickly she is learning so much.  She is such a bright, bright girl who has such a strong will to take on this world with all those challenges and conquer it!  I am in awe of her..

 I  made this sensory bag below with hair gel, 

a quart freezer bag, 

some silver duct tape (to seal the seams),

and foam letters that spell her name.

It is small so we can take it with us

to keep us busy squishingly sequencing and spelling 

her name where ever we go.

  

And here she is spelling her name..

For three years old, her cognitive ability is pretty much where it should be!

Though she has only been hearing for 12 months, her receptive language is within average range!

She is amazing!  We are so blessed to call her our daughter!

Snow Good

 We had our second snow of the season,
and the girls could hardly wait to get
home from church yesterday to play in it.
I had dinner to make myself,
but I could hardly wait to get out there with them. 

 I left Daddy in charge of the mashed potatoes, 

and I went out to get to work on this guy with my two helpers. 

 

Happy girls!

This is the first time the sled came out.

They are heavy to pull so finding a hill will be necessary soon.

Here sits Molly.  

She did not want any part of playing outdoors in the cold.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We kicked off the Christmas season by decorating our memory tree.

Anna Mei has affectionately given it that name because it has all the ornaments, pictures, and special items we have collected over the years.  As we decorate, it is so fun to remember the moments we have had along the way.

It's hard to believe that this is the last Christmas with this girl living under my roof.

Where did the time go?

Having a teen sure puts parenting the littles in perspective as I understand just how precious all of these moments the Lord grants us are..

I am grateful to have had the many moments of parenting this growing up treasure.

This is the first year that Jillian has actually had no stress about the tree going up.

Though she has been home for five Christmases now, they are still always rough on her.

This year, she had no anxiety whatsoever!

In fact, she actually decorated the tree for the first time.

She went back and forth to the ornament box completely on her own, and decorated the same spot on the tree with five thousand ornaments just as the other little girls did.

Daddy bought the girls some candy to eat as we decorated.

Molly was a goof ball as always.

This girl is truly our family clown, and we love, love her.

Big smiles from this girl as walking down memory lane makes her so happy.

It has never been more apparent to me as it is with this one that our children, at this age anyway, believe that they are who we tell them they are and I pray that the truths I am speaking into this precious girl stay  put for a lifetime.

Seventeen, five, three, and seven this Christmas looks pretty good on us.

Our TV Star

This summer we were blessed to be a part of a program that helps children with hearing loss.  Our Molly attended twice a week for six weeks this summer, and it was an incredible experience.  The mountains of information we were able to get about her hearing, and the connections we made have been so very valuable.  One day the Big 10 network came by the program and did a piece that they aired on the University of Iowa's program.  You can see our Molly throughout it.  She has the makings of a star..don't you think?

Our Dossier Is Authenticated

Our dossier is certified, authenticated, and being overnighted to our agency in California this very minute!  I am giddy!  My fourth dossier is about to make its way across the world to Ch*na!  I never dreamed this for myself, but God~God knew all along how this would all go!  Praying like crazy that I get my Letter Seeking Confirmation (our next step in this process) before the shutdown for Chinese New Year at the end of January.  It is nearly impossible, but I have seen impossible before many, many times in this process so I am hoping!  Now to get Anna Mei's passport, and begin to get things in order for our travel.  Oh, I can't wait!!

I LOVE ADOPTION

I love adoption for a million reasons, but today I love adoption because, as much fun as Sean is, making Christmas ornaments with only my man by my side wouldn't be near as much fun.

These faces..

 these precious moments..

 the loud laughter..

 the joy that fills my home..

 is so much more than I ever hoped for when planning out my life.

 Good, exceedingly good, is the Lord for bestowing such tremendous blessings on me.

Praising Him today because His plans are so much better than mine.

1 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

Jeremiah 29

Surviving Winter

The cold weather is pretty hard on this girl of mine as she loves, loves being outside.  Out in our sensory rich backyard, she explores the pea gravel, branches, sand pit, mud, leaves, grass, and water for hours.  Some days, she can spend five hours back there easily.  It is her happy haven.  That makes winter a bit of a challenge for her.  As a result, I have become a master at whipping up all sorts of sensory dough recipes for her to fling in the kitchen.  This is one way to get her needs met even when she can't be outside, and, though it is very, very messy, my girl keeps her senses more balanced which is worth the few extra minutes of clean up.

Sleeping Baby

How I love, love watching my babies sleep.

 When I only had Jillian, I would often just sit by her bed all afternoon as she napped.

I would read my bible, and just stare at her face.

These precious baby moments are gone too fast.

Now that I have many more little ones to chase after,  I don't get to stay too long by their side as they sleep.  I did snap these pictures the other day though.  Oh this precious girl has my heart.  I love every inch of those chubby cheeks!  This babe is a priceless treasure.

Our I-797 is Here!

Our I-797  is here.  Our dossier is off to the consulate tomorrow!  We are almost Dossier to China.  WAHOOOOO!!!!!  From here, we wait for our dossier (all the paperwork) to get logged in by the China Adoption Agency (CCCWA).  Then we wait for our Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC).  This letter might be to us before Chinese New Year in February and that is what this momma is hoping for with all her heart!  We are still looking at an spring or early summer travel date, but the sooner the better!

Molly

 This girl is growing up and changing every single day.  To say that I feel extremely grateful that God would allow me to be her momma is a HUGE understatement.

 She is sassy, so funny, inventive, and always B-U-S-Y.  Her favorite activities include mimicking her big sister, and teasing her Daddy.

I don't know how I lived so much of my life without her in it as she provides me so much JOY!    She has a smile that adds so much to our family.  I am so, so glad that God brought her to us.

Bloomsbury Farm

One of our favorite fall memory making days is spending time at Bloomsbury Farm together.  It is so fun to have such a sensory rich place so close to us to bring our girls each year.  It is an added bonus that the homeschool day price was so much cheaper.  We enjoyed our day so much!

 Jumping Pillow Madness!

 Growing so tall..

 Giant Slide Mania!

Love these faces!

 Here we are minus our big girl.  Next fall, our hands will be even more full of baby goodness, and we couldn't be more thrilled at the thought of Ellie Grace here with us. 

Fall Farm Photos

 We enjoyed our annual trip to Radar Family Farms with Grandma in October again this year.

Three, five, and seven have been so so good this fall as these ages are so much fun.

 This girl is a farm girl at heart as few things make her happier than playing on the farm.

 These photos with pumpkins mean so much.  The first fall home, my Jilly screamed in terror at a farm like this one as these orange round objects scared her to death.

 Now look at all three of my beauties who own this pose having the time of their lives.

 When she smiles, her eyes always disappear.

LOVE that about my middle girl.

Hanging upside down is definitely how this one rolls.

I am dying to know how Ellie Grace will fit in to this mix next year.

I hope she likes this active, lively crew because we love her so much already.

We can't wait to see her sitting in the pumpkins next to us.

Our Darling Doggie

Darling Doggie Barks...

Have you ever seen anything more darling?

She Ate Cake

There are no words to describe how blessed we feel that our Jillian attends such an incredible, amazing public elementary school.  She is valued there beyond anything that I could have ever hoped for.  Her teachers, her peers, the school nurse, the office staff, the other parents..even the lunch lady..love my girl.  It blows me away continually.

It is no surprise given the kindness that she is shown every day at school that she is included in just about everything.  She has been invited to many birthday parties, and it always makes me tear up when she brings an invitation home. As a momma of a very special child, you hope and pray that others will call her friend.  You beg with God for a small tribe to come alongside her, and get her the way you do.  Well, my prayers continue to be answered as this girl has some truly special peers.

Earlier this month, her friend Lauren turned eight and invited her to her art birthday party.  We went to the store early Sunday morning before church, and selected a gift for her friend.  My Jilly stood next to me in the arts and crafts aisle, and selected a craft kit just as any other seven year old girl might.  She signed excitedly "party"  all throughout church because she knew that we were headed there that afternoon.  When we arrived at the party, she greeted her friend, explored her house, and smiled so big.  When it was time to paint our creations on canvas, my girl grabbed the brush, and painted blue-gray wave motions signing beach while four other girls at her table cheered her on.  She tried on the props at the photo booth.  She sat at the table while they ate walking tacos.  She watched her friend open gifts, played kickball, and had a wonderful time.

Perhaps the most miraculous part of the day though was when my precious little treasure stood at a table full of sixteen girls, sang happy birthday, and ate a piece of cake.  This was the first time she had every eaten birthday cake!  Before my baby came to me, this would be a moment that I would take for granted.  It wouldn't have even been blog worthy that my seven year old daughter was smashing up and eating cake, but my Jilly has taught me so much about what a true miracle in the making these every day moments are for her.

I love the Matthew West song "Mended".
The lyrics say..

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home

(AND MY FAVORITE PART)
So hold on, it's not the end
No, this is where love's work begins
I'm making all things new
And I will make a miracle of you

My baby girl is the physical representation of this song.  She is a miracle whose brokenness is being repaired daily by a God whose story for her is so much bigger than any special need label she wears or any trauma that her past has handed her.  What an incredible blessing to be on this journey beside her.  Hopefully the sobbing momma sitting next to her at the cake table won't deter her friends from inviting her to the next party.