I am a firm believer that Earth was created to be a tiny inkling of the majesty and splendor of Heaven.  I believe this is true of many of our Earthly customs, too.  Therefore, I am sure that the angels threw a great celebration today - the day our daughter, Madeline Kate, entered her eternal home 11 years ago.  And I have no doubt that any earthly birthday party would pale in comparison.

We celebrate with the hosts of Heaven today the life of Madeline Kate...and long for the day we are all together again.  Happy birthday, Baby Girl!

Although we miss our daughter, we are thankful for a God who truly brings beauty from ashes, and who works everything for good.

I grouted the fireplace yesterday - all by myself!  I've never done it, but it wasn't too bad.  Here is a "before" that I found from Christmas. 

                                 

                             

                                                   

                     

Look at all the fun we've been having this week!

Monday I took the kids to see the Percy Jackson movie.  Grant has been reading the books like crazy (he finished the 3rd one this week - read it in two days).  He keeps asking me if I remember this Greek god and that one...I don't remember much about Greek mythology (sad for an ex-English teacher, huh?).  But I gotta tell ya that I loved this movie!  I went in with zero expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was!  There were some intense scenes for sure (Medusa for example).  Halle Grace (7) covered her eyes a couple of times.  Garrett (7) was completely engrossed in the whole thing.  Grant (9) kept comparing it to the book, but loved it anyway.  I think I may have to read the books now.  :)

Tuesday it was cool an rainy, so we mostly stayed inside.  We painted these fun bird houses for our backyard.  Halle Grace's is the pink one and Garrett's is the other one.  Grant hadn't finished his yet.  They were so excited about their projects and had many discussions about which one the birds will like best and why!

Today was a beautiful day!  We went to the Fort Worth Nature Center and did some hiking and picnicing.  It was a perfect day for it and we had a blast!

Happy Spring Break!

This is my blog entry from two short years ago today...
As a mother, this is the memory that is the equivilent to the moments I held each of the boys after they were born.

In she walked – this precious little girl. It’s one of those moments you know will stay in your memory and in your heart forever. She had on a purple turtleneck, a denim jumper with a butterfly on it (which she was very proud of!), yellow knee-high socks, and silver sandals. Her brown hair was in a ponytail, and I was just dying to take down that hair and play with it! She was very polite and we spoke to her via our translator. She started telling us all the things she likes to do – she likes Cinderella, dressing up, baby dolls with strollers, cooking, and dancing. Then she belts out in PERFECT speech this Russian poem about sunflowers! Precious! We knew right away that she was meant to be ours. We showed her the photo book we brought with pictures of our family, our home, friends, etc. She pointed to the bed in “her” room and said, “I want to lie down on THAT bed” (in Russian, of course). Little does she know the hours I spent choosing that fabric and making that bed look perfect just for her! When it was time for her to go, she gave me the biggest hug and would not let go. I also got a couple of kisses on the cheek…while she probably got all wet from my tears! What a precious gift this little girl is!

It's amazing to read this post and realize that, although she has been through so many changes, she is still that same little girl who charmed us that day.  She still loves the same things...she's just added more to the list.  She still can't get enough hugs and kisses.  What an amazing journey it's been since that day!  We're still on that journey...and God continues to knit our hearts together.  We have learned that it is a process, with some days easier than others.  We stand on God's promises and are so thankful...

A friend just announced that her family is adopting from Ethiopia! They have three children and are hoping to adopt a little boy. They have a sweet story on their blog about the way the Lord led them to this new adventure.
Since I am a sucker for a great adoption story AND a sucker for cute monogrammed stuff...I am passing this along from Heather's blog:
BEACH TOWELS!

Two years ago, we sat nervously in the State Department of Adoption in Kiev, Ukraine. Our appointment was at 11:00am. We were walking in blind faith, having no idea what to expect. We were hopeful, but realistic as we knew that many families don't find their child at their first appointment. We were prayed up and ready for whatever God had in store!
After reviewing several files, and due partly to the pushiness of our amazing facilitator, finally we were shown the file of this little girl named Vica.

We just knew she was ours! Our guess is that this picture was taken sometime before her 4th birthday (she was 5 when we met her). She has changed so much since then! Her curls are gone (booooo), but her hair is much thicker, her wondering eye is corrected, she has more freckles, and she's grown into our beautiful, sweet-as-pie, loving little girl.
After hearing her tell us about life with her "bad mommy" (her words, not mine), when I see this picture, I see a survivor. I see a little warrior princess who has endured so much, but is stronger for it. God has transformed her life and she knows it. She thanks him for it every night...and so do I.
Halle Grace Victoria, today we celebrate the day your were chosen! Love you!!!

We have teeny tiny baby carrots, basil, thyme, and parsley!!! Whoo-hoo! I have never done this before and am super excited that it is actually working (so far). It truly makes me marvel at God's creation. Looking every day for our zucchini and cucumber to catch up. The strawberries are coming along in the pots outside (plants, not seeds).

HOWEVER, I am NOT marveling at God's tadpoles. These tadpoles are worthless! Grant had to turn in his science project yesterday. Here is his conclusion: "Even when provided a safe, predator-free environment, tadpoles still take a really long time to change into frogs". They are still 100% tadpoles...who are stinking up my kitchen. So much that even Grant asked this morning if we could let them go today. Hallelujah! They will swimming in a nearby pond by the end of day! :)

We're coming up quickly on two years home with Halle Grace. This weekend will be 2 years since we had our SDA appointment - that blessed day when we were shown the file of a little girl that would be our daughter.
About this time 2 years ago, we were getting settled into our temporary home in Kiev:




(Ha! This cathedral wasn't our home...)

We seem to be coming full circle this weekend, when our friends Brandon and Katie (whom we met in Mariupol and stayed with for over 2 weeks) are coming to stay the night with us! We are so excited they are coming and we're looking forward to reminescing about our time with them in Ukraine. Halle Grace remembers them, so that will be fun for her to see them, too!

Finally changed my blog background. Popped over to ShabbyBlog.com - cute site! I know...I still need a pic for my header. All in good time. I've been up late helping out with the school yearbook...and ready to call it a night! Tomorrow's agenda = clean house.

We have been busy around here! Everyone has a project.
Halle Grace has been asking to start a garden ever since we brought her home from Ukraine. I have been putting her off, but she has finally worn me down! I do not have a green thumb. I'm the kind of gardener that gets all excited about the beautiful plants in the plant store and in the magazines, plants with great hopes, and kills them by August (if not before). So I was hesitant to start a high-maintenance vegetable garden and didn't want to disappoint her. Halle Grace assures me that she will help (which she has been)! We planted a bunch of seeds in egg cartons and have them in a sunny window sill. We planted cucumber, zucchini, chives, thyme, cilantro, and basil. In pots, we have started carrots and strawberries. When it gets warmer, we plan to start some tomatoes (not from seed). We had a little mishap the other day, when I put the seeds on the patio table to get some good sunshine. I came out to check on them, and one of the cartons (twelve little plants!) had blown across the yard and was scattered everywhere. It was a bummer. But we are still hopeful for the rest of them!


Grant's science fair project is raising tadpoles. I'm still not sure how he talked me into this. They are disgusting! This is the 4th week we have had these stupid creatures, and they are still not frogs! The project is due on Wednesday, so the kids are all praying that God will turn them into frogs this week. :)
He has been drawing pictures of their changes every few days, and not a lot has happened. The kids have enjoyed having them, although I am more determined than ever to refrain from ever having fish-type pet in our home.
Here is Grant with Bob and Freddy. Freddy jumped into the sink the other day while I was cleaning out their bowl. He tried to go down the disposal. I admit, my first reaction was to turn on the water to let him "go" easily. I turned on the water, but the little guy held on somehow. I gave in and rescued him. It was disgusting. All in the name of love for Grant and science! :)

Garrett and Halle Grace both had desert dioramas to do this weekend. Ugh. I detest "parent homework". I never assigned this kind of stuff as a teacher. But we got through it with just a few tears and the kids did a great job! Here is Garrett with a couple of kiddos from his class this morning turning in their projects. Garrett's animal was a scorpion. Halle Grace's was the Thorny Devil lizard (don't have a pic of hers yet).