FB Friday

June 22, 2013 ~ "Not too tight or the blood won't be floating." Lol

An hour and a half later, Maya K's hair is hopefully good to go for the week!!!

June 23, 2013 ~ I'm prepping for two days at a Heartland AEA class this week (Wednesday and Thursday). I have not been apart from Maya K for more than 4 hours (and she was sleeping for part of that) since our Gotcha Day (nine months ago TODAY!!!) and now I will be gone for nine and a half hours two days in a row!!! I'm not sure I am going to make it!!!

June 24, 2013 ~ "You are very smart, Mommy. Do you know why you are very smart? You are very smart because you know a lot of things and you know when what I say is a lie." ~ Maya K

We have come so far in the past 9 months, but we still have a ways to go. It was raining hard today when we left the grocery store so I had Maya K get in the car right away while I put the groceries in the trunk. I then quickly went to put the cart away (for the past 9 months, Maya K has always gone with me to put the cart away). I ran back to the car and got inside to find a wide-eyed scared little girl. "Mommy, I thought you leave me!!! I think you not coming back." I quickly assured her that I will NEVER leave her and not come back!!!

June 25, 2013 ~ Can anyone guess what is special about today?!?!

One year ago today, we received that long-awaited phone call!! Nathan asked me to wait until he got home from work to open the e-mail and I anxiously stared at my computer screen until he came. When I clicked to open the e-mail, I didn't read ANYTHING in the message. I quickly looked for the picture that would show me my DAUGHTER'S face for the first time!!!!

HERE is our referral story!!!!

June 26, 2013 ~ Prayers would be appreciated for both Maya K and I as we spend our first day apart!!! I'm confident that things are going to go well, but I'm still praying!!!

We both made it through the day!!!

June 28, 2013 ~ I'm getting ready to order Maya K's school curriculum for the fall. Soooooo exciting!!!!

I took Maya K's flat twists out today and now she is rockin' the "twist out" look!! It looks very cute right now so we'll have to see what it looks like by the end of today!!! I'll try to get a picture in a little while.

"I see you at the church for the bath??" (translation: a wedding shower)
"God can burp too???" (I have to admit I never thought about that before.)
"Does Oreo [our cat] know God???"

FB Friday

June 15, 2013 ~ Let's see if Nathan will actually wear what Maya K bought him for Father's Day to church tomorrow!!!!

June 16, 2013 ~ Happy 1st Father's Day, My Love!!! Watching you become a Daddy these past 9 months has been such a blessing to me!!! I love you!!!!

June 17, 2013 ~ "Mommy, did God know that the bad king was going to kill the babies? Why didn't He stop the bad king? You said He can do EVERYTHING!!! Why He not stop the bad king?" My deep thinker!!! She is already pondering questions that many believers have struggled with for years!!!!

Maya K's bedtime prayer ~ "God, thank you for the....the...the....food I not like for dinner, and thank you for the strawberries that I do like, and thank you.....(continues for another 5 minutes)....Jesus' name, Amen."

June 18, 2013 ~ I'm not sure who is more tired after our day at the zoo - me or the girls. I think it might be me!!!!

The water balloons are filled!!! Maya K gets to learn something FUN tomorrow!!!

June 19, 2013 ~ Grrrrrrrrr!!!! I'm having a rough day.

June 20, 2013 ~ Maya K is having some "separation anxiety" tonight. This doesn't happen very often and I'm praising the Lord when it does!!!!

June 21, 2013 ~ "Mommy, did you and daddy decide who I will marry? When I marry I will ask him if we can stay home so I can be with mommy. Mommy, maybe I marry Ben or Joseph (I quickly explained that she can't marry her cousins!!!). Then, maybe I marry Ben & Joseph's cousin (???). The one who send me the fairies - her boys......brothers. Maybe I marry them???!!!! 

FB Friday

June 10, 2013 ~ We get to leave on our overnight anniversary trip this afternoon!!! Lucky Maya K gets to go with us this year :-). She was THRILLED when we told her yesterday that she is going to get to go SWIMMING at the hotel!!!! We are going to a mini indoor water park; yes, it's kind of more for her than for us this year!!!

Maya K LOVED the little water "park"!!!! After she got up the courage to go down the water slide she did it again and again and again!!!! It took her a little while to figure out how to use the floaties to stay above water but then she kept kicking her feet over and over and over again!!! Her giggles and belly laughs kept coming!!!!

June 11, 2013 ~ Happy Anniversary, Nathan!!! I'm so thankful and grateful for the 9 years of marriage God has given to us. I'm praying that He give us MANY more!!!!

Our first kiss!!!

Hmmmmm. Nathan gave Maya K some orange soda with dinner (not a lot). Then he left for softball practice. He better be glad that he gave me flowers and a necklace for our anniversary last week!!! Just sayin'.

June 14, 2013 ~ We're heading to Big Creek today!!! Maya K is VERY excited to get to finally play in the SAND!!!! We just have to get through my eye apt. (where they treat Maya K like a rock star and can't stop gushing over her [yes, she notices. I'm not sure how to stop it.]) Then it's off to the "beach"!!!!

Big Creek was FUN today!!! Wading in the water, digging in the sand, collecting trash to dig and build with, finding a dead fish, playing on the playground, splashing your cousins, throwing sticks into the water....these are all Maya K's "favorite tings!!!!"

The meal that makes my daughter giggle and clap her hands when she sits down to eat: rice & beans!!! (We also had chicken, but the rice and beans are what she DEVOURED and begged for more!!!!)

FB Friday

June 1, 2013 ~ Maya K: "Daddy, why you say 'poly cow'?"
Nathan: "I didn't. I said 'holy cow'."
Maya K: "You said 'poly holy cow'?"
Nathan: "Nevermind."

June 2, 2013 ~ "I'm too TIRED to go to sleep!!!" ~ Maya K

June 4, 2013 ~ I'm learning how to make green smoothies :-). So far, so good. They have been YUMMY and Maya K likes them!!!!!

Last week I made a Shutterfly photo book for Maya K of our two trips to Ethiopia. It came in the mail last night and I read the "story" to her of when we met her and then brought her home. Right now she is sitting on the sofa with her friend "K" and she is telling her all about the pictures :-). I love it!!!!

June 6, 2013 ~ We are in the middle of a long "discussion" as to whether or not cows like the color red. Maya K keeps telling me that we need to ask the farmer because he will know what color his cows like. I keep telling her that because cows can't talk, they can't tell the farmer what color they like. She is very insistent that the farmer WILL know!!!!

Can a dog bite his tongue? Why or why not? My daughter wants to know.

My hubby let me get away tonight!!! I enjoyed dinner with my friend Gretchen, and then spent some relaxing time in a used bookstore from which I brought home a large pile of BOOKS!!! (Thankfully, I had a gift card!!!)

June 7, 2013 ~ My dream is to someday have room for more bookshelves so I can have all my "friends" out of boxes and able to be seen and enjoyed!!!!

Here are my "finds" from last night. Along with some beautiful roses that Nathan and Maya K bought me for our anniversary (it's next week, but Nathan doesn't like doing flowers on the "expected" day)!!!!

My next project ~ bring all the boxes of books in from the garage, sort all the books we own, re-box up the books that we don't have room for in the house, label the boxes, and take them back out to the garage. Now the details/questions ~ Should I start hauling all the boxes in myself today since I have the motivation to get started?, should I wait until my hubby is home since he is better at carrying heavy things up lots of stairs without falling down and dropping everything?, should I start sorting the books in the house without the boxes from the garage?, etc. Hmmmmmmmm............