Prayer Thought for the Day...

This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it....or use it for good. But what I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in it's place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, and not loss, good and not evil, success and not failure, In order that I shall not regret the price I have paid for it....

(we all have days in our lives that only we wish we could trade back... .....days that we wish we were nicer to family , friends or someone we just met and crossed paths with, days were we said the wrong thing or wrote the wrong words that you can not take back.. things we did that hurt someone , that lives were changed because of it and so on.... we all have made some mistakes along the way and may have some regret.....God forgives , we forgive each other, learn from our mistakes and move on.....and hopefully closer to God...

Mountain Climbing....

Neyvada, Matteya, Betsy and I went mountain climbing ... first time for Matteya. She made it to the highest point , but had enough by then and she was not too happy that she had to turn around and come back down...... i made her walk all the way back down and told her what good exercise it is... I don't think she cared.. but Neyvada did great and led the way...

Celebrating 2 Adoption Days.....

Anabella - 5 years old
Neyvada- 3 years old
Bella...
Neyvada....

Anabella and Neyvada..... Through the miracle of Adoption, God has truly blessed us..Precious Anabella was placed in our arms 3 years ago . In the middle of Gabriela's adoption the agency called and said the birthmother had another baby would we please consider adopting her so at least these 2 sisters could live their lives together......Anabella was at Hogar Cuna Orpahnage in Guatemala (now Eagles Nest operated by the Boggs family). Bella's adoption was finalized in Guatemala and came forever home this week of Sept.2004. Anabella has come a long way since she came home.. Bella came home at 14 months and could barely sit up. With lots of love and therapy and hard work she was crawling by 16 months and walking by 18 months and she is still in speech therapy . She has become a strong beautiful little girl, who loves to be a big helper at home and at school. Bella is now 5 years old and in a pre-k program . She loves playing pretend with her sisters , is a great swimmer , loves reading and playing outside.

Neyvada..... Every time I look at Neyvada, i can not help but think of her birthmother and her birthmother's heart... when she relinguished Neyvada at the age of 2. I can only imagine how heart breaking it was to relinquish her after holding and being with this very precious little girl for the first 2 years of her life. I believe God has a plan for all of us ..... When i recieved that unexpected call in Jan (less than 2 months after 8 month old Matteya came home.. again unexpected phone call, God had a special plan for our family and for Neyvada) .... i looked at her picture and knew she was my daughter. Neyvada came forever home a year ago on Sept 26th....It is hard to beleive she has been home a year already..I was suppose to travel to Guatemala, but broke my ankle the week before embassy appt and had surgery the week of my embassy appt and with many tears had to cancel my trip. Neyvada was escorted home by Tracey from the agency....Again life would change with our 4th little Guatemalan princess. Neyvada spoke and understood only spanish when she came home but with in months she was speaking only english..We have spanish day on Fridays , she still understands but prefers to speak english. Neyvada learned how to swim in 6 months and is a very good swimmer today . She is in pre-k3, loves to read books, play dolls and pretend and loves her new school and adores her 3 sisters.

Neyvada is a very special little girl with a huge smile and dimples on both sides of her smile..

Happy Adoption Day Neyvada and Anabella..We love you !

Uncle Joe and Aunt Joanne

Uncle Joe and Aunt Joanne came to visit us.. We have not seen them in about 3 years. We had so much fun playing and swimming with them.. They were only here for 2 days, it was a quick visit but a super fun one :o)

Pretty in Polka Dots...

Thank you so much.... Aunt Joannne and Uncle Joe for the beautiful dresses , hello kitty shirts, dainty black skirts, sparkly jeans and jackets:o)) We love our matching clothes:o))

Thought for The Day...

Thought for the day...
The man whispered, "God, speak to me" and a Chickadee sang. But, the man did not hear. So the man yelled "God, speak to me!" And, the thunder rolled across the sky. But, the man did not listen. The man looked around and said, "God let me see you. "And a star shined brightly. But the man did not notice. And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle!" And, a life was born. But, the man did not know. So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here! "Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on..... Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect..............

Matteya Posing....

Matteya ... 2-1/2 years old now... and in between the " terrible two" moments , she is a silly and happy little girl:o) .

Beautiful Butterflies...

Happiness is a butterfly.... which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you..... ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Seeing With the Heart....

Here's a touching story about a transracial adoptive family, from NPR's "This I Believe," titled "Seeing With the Heart."http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94461060

This precious picture was taken by my awesome friend Amy B.

Fun Picture of the Day...

Lots of smiles in the sand...( i have lots of pictures from Mexico:o)

Neyvada, Matteya , Gabriela, Anabella and Cambria....

Friends and Mexico...

John and Dione
Bella
the girls..
me and Gabi...

Friends can touch one's heart with just a smile and their kindness.....Treasured friends... that is what John and Dione are to us...We can not thank them enough for their endless kindness and generosity. They opened their huge hearts and their absolutely magnificent home in Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) Mexico on the shimmering Sea of Cortez to us and our friends Patty, Craig and their 2 children C.J. and Cambria. We all had an amazing time. We played on the beautiful sandy beach for 3 days. We took a banana boat ride, walked the beach and picked up lots of sea shells. Teya , Bella ,Neyvada and their friend Cambria got their hair braided on the beach. Gabi got a tattoo. C.J. found jelly fish and a hermit crab on the beach. We went to an outside market to do some shopping and had a wonderful lunch at Manny's. I had to have an authentic mexican taco before i went back home, i had 4:o). Manny's had ground beef tacos that were the best! Their was a dance floor that the girls had fun dancing on , since we were there early and there were no other customers yet. Then we went to an aquarium on the way home and learned about different sea creatures. We fed the sea lion and i fed a turtle who was was a little anxious and bit my finger as he was getting his fish. i am ok....John made fantastic greek meals the first 2 nights and craig cooked the last night.... I met Franciso and his beautiful family of 5 soon to be six. He was selling jewlery on the beach to support his family. We were able to visit an orphanage Esperanzas. The children (about 30) there, are not adopted, but brought to the babies home when the families can not feed and take care of them and bring them there until they get back on there feet and then they come back for them. I made a donation and brought them cookies. I hope to bring the girls there someday to do some volunteer work.. We had alot of fun and loved to watch the moon light on the Sea at the end of the day...It was a delightful get away !! Many many thanks and many many hugs to John and Dione..We will all remember this awesome trip...

more of Mexico...

Teya, Cambria,Neyvada, Bella and Gabi..
frank..Gabi

Matteya..
Craig and Patty

i took LOTS of pictures.....thats why i am in very few..

more of Mexico...

Neyvada and her new braids
Matteya ...
Gabi and Teya at the market..
the girls dancing...
Bella and her new braids...

more of Mexico...

Bella and sea critter.. C.J., Craig, Gabi, me, John, Dione,Bella, Cambria and Patty.. Matteya was in there hiding.. she was afraid of the sea lion..

Gabi and sea critter..
Neyvada...
Amigo and his horses.. Adios....

Amusement Park Fun...

I took Gabi, Bella, Teya, Neyvada and Betsy to the amusement park on Sunday... Gabi is tall enough now to go on most of the rides with an adult or by herself. Anabella and Neyvada also were able to go on a few more than we thought .. but poor Matteya only had a choide of a few... maybe next year. The girls really enjoy their sister time together...