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12/16/2006 Part 2 Today was a little slower...we enjoyed the day at home other than a birthday party for one of Lauren's friends. Tonight, Maria and Daddy stayed home; I took the other two to see the ballet "The Nutcracker". Hunter's "friend" (he calls her his girlfriend :) was in it, along with her three brothers. (They are quadruplets) It was just enchanting to watch...I think Maria enjoyed the time at home alone with Daddy too... I have two quick "God things" to share...God has really shown Himself to me in the last couple of days. One was a man who approached my car at McDonalds last night (in the drive thru!) to let me know my car tags were expired...they have been since August! (That whole time period is a blur to us...) I don't know what inspired him to share, but I appreciate it! The other is when we went to buy tickets tonight for "The Nutcracker" (we had tried to get them in advance and couldn't), I decided we would save money and do the balcony. The very kind lady offered me some tickets for balcony prices that would be okay (according to her)...they were the SECOND row! (on the side, but close to the center) God is good...ALL of the time! Happy birthday, Papaw! |
| 12/17/2006
Oh my, I really don't think my children (particularly the older two) can get any more hyper than they are right now. They have always been busy children but for the most part, containable. Right now, they canNOT handle the excitement of the season. I may need a tranquilizer (either for them or for me) by the end of the week... Oh, yes, by the way, I am in school until FRIDAY. Yes, Friday. I am just thinking, if my two normally pretty calm children are acting this way, what will a whole roomful be like by the end of the week? And when will I get things done at home? Good question. :) Church was good today. Maria really enjoys her class now and is quite happy in there. Tonight we went as a family to the candlelight service...we decided to bring Maria in too. I just couldn't help but cry when I looked over at her sweet face glowing in the candlelight (or her little voice, "What's that???" over and over :). I think about this time last year. We had just gotten her abandonment; we were waiting for it to be certified to start the adoption process (which we didn't realize at that time would take another three months). It was very painful, and I have not forgotten the agony of the wait. We were also preparing to go visit her for the first time. Our hearts were just so eager to meet our new daughter. Now I can hold her little face and tell her how thankful we are to God that He brought her into our lives. It makes me cry. If I wrote all of the new words she was saying, it would take up the whole page I think, but she is phrasing a lot more. Tonight she said either "I do it" or just "do it", telling Mark that SHE would put on her own socks. Oh, and she is very familiar with Santa and says "Ho ho ho" when she sees his face. But, of course, our favorite is still, "I love you..." "Seeds of Love", 101 E. Church St. #100, Tarboro, NC, 27886. It is even tax deductible! (That is not where the Hogar is obviously, just the agent who gets the money TO the Hogar...)I have been there...those nannies work tirelessly to help take care of sweet little faces like Maria Elizabeth's.... |
| 12/18/2006
Mark is at Kinko's as I type. He is running off our Christmas newsletter so we can get these cards in the mail. That is our major project for the night. :) Today was a good day. I guess Maria was still not happy about going to day care. (She went today so my mom could get a few things done for Christmas which is QUICKLY approaching.) Her teacher was even already there, and Maria still threw her whole body down. She can be quite dramatic. However, she didn't stay as long today. Mark picked her up early so Maria and Hunter could go to their eye appointments. The eye appointments...well, Hunter still has nystagmus (always will, it is genetic and a life-long condition). He also has amblyopia (a.k.a. "lazy eye"). When one of his eyes has to work alone, his vision is VERY poor. But together, they work pretty well. We have wondered many times about Maria. We had noticed that in almost every picture sent to us that one of her eyes was "straying" (but not necessarily the same one). We have noticed it on and off here, though it has improved drastically in just the past few weeks. Usually it is worse when she is tired or doesn't feel well. Apparently it has a name. She has exotropia. That just means her eyes turn out. It isn't common, but it isn't uncommon either. From what I have read about it (since finding out a name), it could get worse and require patching or possibly surgery. But at this point, our opthomologist is not concerned. He says she has very good control over it. We really only notice it when she first wakes up and it takes a little time for her to "focus". Our dr. also said that it can be aggravated by stress. (Someone asked me if it was bad last Friday when she had the hour-long meltdown...I replied no, but mine probably were by the end!) So we are going to just keep praying and hoping it clears itself right up! Tonight as the kids were settling down to eat, I told them good-bye. (I was going to meet my kindergarten co-workers for a meal; it is our "Christmas gift" to ourselves/one another.) Maria looked at me and said, "I love you." She has said it many times before, but always in response to MY saying it. Of course, my heart melted. (Apparently, though, after I left, she was quite the turkey and was doing her best to aggravate her brother and sister...I guess she got a ticket to go to bed a little earlier than usual. :) I thought of a few more "language" things she has picked up. She answers questions "Yep" or "Nope". Obviously at some point, we will work on more appropriate ways to answer. But right now, it sounds really cute. :) Oh, and as we were walking into the store today, she said, "Look at that!" She also likes to tell us "Watch!". And if you ask her how she is doing, she will respond with "How are you?". Tonight she pretended to be on the phone and said, "Ummm, yep" or something to that effect. Oh, and I have taught her to say "adios" now. On that note, I better say "Adios". I have GOT to get these cards sent out so I can start working on things like...wrapping! Oh, if you think of it, please continue to pray for Brent. His family is dear to my heart. He has gotten some bad news, but God is BIGGER than the news and cancer. And things happen in HIS time... |