Santa Clause came to town!

You have to love Christmas Church Dresses!

After an eventful weekend filled with new hair do's for the girls, of course we had to show off their beautiful Christmas dresses. You can't imagine the magic that occurs when the girls dawn a new dress! I love it!

Presenting Princess Addy!

Addy too loves her new braids. She kept tossing her hair and saying "Mama do it?" She thought that was pretty cool. I was so lucky to receive many special kisses from Addy as I did her hair. I love my girl.......

Deb's extension debut!!!

I am so thrilled with my first set of extensions for Cam. She looks so beautiful and those bouncy curls are too much! Thanks Rachel for a fun afternoon playing with hair!

Sleeping beauty....

As I tucked in the girls tonight, I was greeted with a wonderful surprise. For 13 months, Addy has slept with all of her covers over her face as if to hide in fear. In Ethiopia, first of all it was very cold at night, so I am sure she was taught to cover her head, and I can't imagine the noise and just the pitch black of night that would scare such a sweet little girl to death. And the fear of roaming animals that might enter their hut and scare the family would just be terrifying to anyone. Tonight,however, she had her covers tucked gently beneath her chin with her hands place sweetly beside her cheek. She was breathing so calmly. These are the moments I pray for daily with my sweet Addy! She is slowly emerging. What a treasured moment. I never want to forget it. It is progress......I know you are strong Addy!

Where to begin.....

I am going to post completely out of order, surely to mix things up a bit. Really, I am posting because I have come to realize through our recent move how terribly much I miss all of my friends and their dear children. I do think however that I can become re-committed to posting so that somehow I can keep the connection going. I have so many things to say about the last 10+ months. I hope you enjoy the stories. This past labor day we were able to visit Mt. Rushmore with some family. We had so much fun seeing a new part of the country. The girls loved spending time with their cousins. It was a trip right up there at the top of the list. However, we deeply missed Ash who was busily getting ready to hit the books at the Y!

It's time for an update......

I have been so busy I don't know where the time goes each day. I am so behind, I am not sure where to begin, but here goes. The girls are sleeping through the night, yea! That has been wonderful. There were a few really long nights initially, but they love their room and especially their books. Their favorite are the ones with the buttons on the side and they can push and make fun sounds with. They both have a great love for "Dora the Explorer". She is a cute girl, I can see why they like her. We watch her on TV and they have books and toys with "Dora" on it. She is a fav!

I have never gone through so many eggs in my life! The girls LOVE eggs! They usually eat 2-3 each every day along with some oranges or maybe a cup of oatmeal. They love breakfast! They are starting to enjoy some TV while they wait for me to cook their breakfast. I think they understand so much more English now that it is somewhat enjoyable. They both have the funniest sense of humor. Whenever something funny happens in the house or on TV they are very quick to point it out and to start laughing. It is contagious for sure!

Addy started preschool and just loves it. I have really seen a change in her attempts to talk although she (most of the time) still chooses to speak her native language. She talks a million miles a minute when I pick her up from school. It is so cute and so animated. The teacher has told me how the kids just cheer when she says or repeats a word in English. They are very sweet to her and cheer her on!

Cami would jump right into preschool herself if she could. She still needs to tackle the potty thing. All in due time. She is an amazing help at the grocery store though. She and I usually pick a time and run and do the shopping when Addy is in school. She is a charmer and always waves and says Hi to anyone that passes by! She is very loveable and is really doing well on her English too!

I continue to be in sheer amazement at how resilient children are. The girls have adapted so well and are making such wonderful progress. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look and them and think of their birth parents and just have such great love and admiration for them.