We are loving getting to know our daughter! She says some of the funniest things, and we don't want to forget them because they are so cute, so I thought I'd make a list of a few of them. I'm sure there will be more to come:
Tadum! (Instead of tada!)
The 100th of the days (the 100th day of school)
Mickey the Mouse (Mickey Mouse)
Alients (Aliens)
The one who's upstairs (Her teacher, Mrs. Bowyer)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Why I cried during Beauty and the Beast 3D...
I mean, besides the fact that I ALWAYS cry at the end... when he turns into (spoiler alert! haha!) a human again, and he says, "Belle, it's me!" and she looks at him, recognizes his eyes, and says, "It is you!" and then they kiss, and live happily ever after....
But today I was crying for a different reason. I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast in the theater with my mom when it first came out. I remember how mom gasped (and still does) at the ballroom scene and how her dress moved and swayed and twirled. It had never been done before in a Disney movie, and mom was blown away.
Today, as I took my daughter to see it in 3D, I was overcome with emotion at the goodness of God. I was overwhelmed as I thought about His perfect plan for us- how He handpicked Kristen to be in our family before the creation of the world- how He knew that He would bring her to us through adoption- how He would prepare our hearts for adoption- how all of my experiences have led to this: that I have the honor of being mommy to a 6 year old who has the sweetest heart of anyone I know. There are so many things that God has done to lead us to this point that if I listed them all, the post would never end, but it is so abundantly clear that He has ordained our steps- the good ones, and the bad ones- in order to prepare us to be the family that we are now.
But today I was crying for a different reason. I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast in the theater with my mom when it first came out. I remember how mom gasped (and still does) at the ballroom scene and how her dress moved and swayed and twirled. It had never been done before in a Disney movie, and mom was blown away.
Today, as I took my daughter to see it in 3D, I was overcome with emotion at the goodness of God. I was overwhelmed as I thought about His perfect plan for us- how He handpicked Kristen to be in our family before the creation of the world- how He knew that He would bring her to us through adoption- how He would prepare our hearts for adoption- how all of my experiences have led to this: that I have the honor of being mommy to a 6 year old who has the sweetest heart of anyone I know. There are so many things that God has done to lead us to this point that if I listed them all, the post would never end, but it is so abundantly clear that He has ordained our steps- the good ones, and the bad ones- in order to prepare us to be the family that we are now.
I was only going to post 1 picture, but I love her little Elvis lip in this one below! Check it out! :)
Friday, January 20, 2012
So..... now what?
This seems to be the question that I keep getting asked, so I thought I would answer it here. :) (I LOVE all the questions I'm getting about how she's doing, and what this adoption process looks like, btw!)
So here's the answer... or what we know of it anyway. ;)
....The rights of her birth parents have already been terminated, so there's no chance that she'll be placed back with them, or anything like that. She's ours!
After she's been in our home for 6 months (June 20th) we can get a note from our "agency," The Kentucky Department of Child and Family Services, that says we are adopting. We take that note to a lawyer, who draws up our adoption paperwork. After that, it's anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months before we get a court date. Our court day is our legal adoption day! They will issue her a new birth certificate with our names listed as the parents! (Talk about a picture of the gospel!!!) This is also when she will officially get her new last name, which, she's already been telling people is her last name now.
3 other questions I've been asked--
Q. Are you pregnant yet? Because everyone I know who has adopted ends up pregnant soon after!
A. Not that we know of! :) If God chooses to bless us in that way, we'd be thrilled, but we won't be disappointed if He doesn't. We are NOT adopting Kristen to somehow appease Him, or do our "good deed" so that He will "owe" us biological children. We are adopting Kristen because God called us to do so, and we are thrilled to be her parents!
Q. Are you going to adopt again?
A. Have you been reading my internet searches lately? lol. Yes! We would love to adopt again if the Lord leads in that way (which we think He is, one day). Will is reminding me (wisely) that we still have a lot to learn about Kristen, and we probably need to legalize it first, ;) before we pursue another adoption. We will also have to pray through the path that we want to go- older child or infant, foreign or domestic, which agency, etc. There are A LOT of things to work through, first.
Q. Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I've just never heard of anyone doing this. Does it bother you?
A. NO!!! :) Ask away! We'd love to grab coffee and chat about it with anyone who wants more info.
Or.... come to our church, 9th and O Baptist Church, THIS Sunday (the 22nd). Will and I are being interviewed in the 9:00 and 10:30 services about our adoption. www.naobc.org
I'll leave you with this picture. Monday I was working on report cards all day, and she picked up my glasses, put a bobby pin in her hair to pin back her bangs (like I do) and said, "Look mommy! I look like you!" Love. this. little. girl!
So here's the answer... or what we know of it anyway. ;)
....The rights of her birth parents have already been terminated, so there's no chance that she'll be placed back with them, or anything like that. She's ours!
After she's been in our home for 6 months (June 20th) we can get a note from our "agency," The Kentucky Department of Child and Family Services, that says we are adopting. We take that note to a lawyer, who draws up our adoption paperwork. After that, it's anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months before we get a court date. Our court day is our legal adoption day! They will issue her a new birth certificate with our names listed as the parents! (Talk about a picture of the gospel!!!) This is also when she will officially get her new last name, which, she's already been telling people is her last name now.
3 other questions I've been asked--
Q. Are you pregnant yet? Because everyone I know who has adopted ends up pregnant soon after!
A. Not that we know of! :) If God chooses to bless us in that way, we'd be thrilled, but we won't be disappointed if He doesn't. We are NOT adopting Kristen to somehow appease Him, or do our "good deed" so that He will "owe" us biological children. We are adopting Kristen because God called us to do so, and we are thrilled to be her parents!
Q. Are you going to adopt again?
A. Have you been reading my internet searches lately? lol. Yes! We would love to adopt again if the Lord leads in that way (which we think He is, one day). Will is reminding me (wisely) that we still have a lot to learn about Kristen, and we probably need to legalize it first, ;) before we pursue another adoption. We will also have to pray through the path that we want to go- older child or infant, foreign or domestic, which agency, etc. There are A LOT of things to work through, first.
Q. Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I've just never heard of anyone doing this. Does it bother you?
A. NO!!! :) Ask away! We'd love to grab coffee and chat about it with anyone who wants more info.
Or.... come to our church, 9th and O Baptist Church, THIS Sunday (the 22nd). Will and I are being interviewed in the 9:00 and 10:30 services about our adoption. www.naobc.org
I'll leave you with this picture. Monday I was working on report cards all day, and she picked up my glasses, put a bobby pin in her hair to pin back her bangs (like I do) and said, "Look mommy! I look like you!" Love. this. little. girl!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Train up a child...
Don't worry everyone, we are raising our daughter right! Check it out! GO DAWGS!!! :D
PS- Please excuse the random grocery bags in these pictures... They are her new school supplies that we have out, ready to take to school tomorrow! :)
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