Just a cute picture

Indiana trip

Last weekend the girls and I took a trip up to Indiana with my parents to visit my sister. They live way out from town, and have lots of animals. We had a nice time, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed spending time with their cousins.Taking a bath in Aunt Molly's neat tub.

Trying on Aunt Molly's reading glasses. They think Aunt Molly is wonderful!


Riding the 4-wheeler with Aunt Molly. There was also a golf cart that Uncle Roger took them for rides in, but I didn't get any pictures of it. They think Uncle Roger is wonderful!

Mia looking cute in her wading boots.


Playing badminton with Nathan. They think Nathan is wonderful!


Riding in the rain with Brian. On Memorial Day it rained all day, so Sarah and Brian finally gave up hope that it would quit, and took the girls for a little ride just as it was about to get dark.



They think Sarah, Brian and the horse are wonderful!

Cousins giving back rubs. They think Josh and Danielle are wonderful! We all had a good time, and Claire and Mia were so disappointed to have to leave and drive away with dull old Mommy, and go back to our dull old house!

Dress-up girls

My girls still love to dress up. I really need to make Claire some dress up clothes, because she's outgrown most of what we have. This dress is a small ladies size that we got at the Goodwill store - pretty cute!

Forever Family Day!

One year ago today we were here:

Staying here:

Picking up:

It is hard to believe, but today is one year since we picked Mia up at the hogar. What a year! It has probably been the hardest year of my life (and hers, too, I'm sure!) - the adjustments have been really hard for all of us...and we're still working on it. Mia has learned so much. She has gone from a scared little Spanish-speaking 4-year-old to a brave, outgoing English-speaking 5-year-old who just finished Pre-K, and is ready for Kindergarten. She has grown over 3 inches in height. Her English is great. Last night at the Kindergarten graduation at her school, Mia got up front and led the congregation in a pledge and song. It brought tears to my eyes when I thought of how far she has come. After living a sheltered life with a very consistent routine, it's been tough for her adjusting to our varied and hectic schedule. She still asks daily, "School today?", "Church today?", "Grandma going to pick us up?", "You going to pick us up?" - her little head is spinning all the time! But when I think back to those first few weeks - wow - she has come SO FAR! I can't say she has taken all of the changes in stride - she has fought us every step of the way. She's still learning to trust us, and we have a long way to go - but I believe we're going to make it!

FFF - Mommy!

I remember holding Claire on my lap when she was just a few months old, taking her lips, moving them up and down like a little bird, and saying "Ma-ma...Ma-ma". I wanted so badly to hear her say it! I wanted it to be her first word. (It wasn't - I think her first word was, "More" in reference to FOOD!) Now I hear the word "Mom" so many times a day that I sometimes think I'm going to go crazy - but in spite of all of the tough times, I do enjoy being Mommy to my girls, and would so much rather be their mom than not a mom.

Since I posted a picture of Mia and me a couple of weeks ago, I'll post a couple of my favorites with Claire this week.

This one was taken in October of 2005...


...and I'm not sure when this one was - maybe '04 - taken with the camera on my computer.



Here's a little video clip from the first day we met Mia in Guatemala - Thanksgiving Day 2007 - the first time she called me Mommy.





Hope you have a great Mothers Day weekend! For more FFF posts, see Sarah's blog.

FFF - Getting Along

Sibling rivalry is alive and thriving at our house. Sometimes it about drives me nuts! The bickering - the tattling - the insisting that everything be FAIR! This is one of my favorite recent photos of my girls during a sweet moment of getting along.

Have a great weekend. To see move FFF posts, check out Sarah's blog.