Movin' and Groovin'

We have such a fun time at Disneyland...it is a blessing to be so close and have annual passes! When relatives come in to town, we get to go, too!
Yesterday we FINALLY saw some of the characters that D has been dying to meet. Happy girl! She loved Mickey...and Pooh...but she loved Pluto best of all!

And we watched the parade. Actually, I watched Dorie watching the parade! Didn't I tell you my girl's got some serious moves? She can't stand still with music playing...but how does a booty move like that??

(sorry it's sideways...can't figure out how to rotate it without having to pay for an upgrade...)

My Little Dream Come True

My sweet girl loves to cook...and yes, I let her help me at the stove. Come on, people! This girl has probably done more cooking in her 5 years than most young adults! She's a great little chef! And she lost another tooth. Do you see the gaping hole? So cute!

We love this stepstool!! (thanks, Charity!) And the darling apron, too! (thanks, Lisa!)

So, back when I first bought my home I had my kitchen redone. One thing I wanted was a little bar area near the sink. I said that someday my kids would sit there to do homework while I finished the dinner dishes. The other night, I saw my dream come true!

Photos from my FOUND Camera

So now that my camera has been found, I can post photos of our trip to Hume Lake!

Memorial Box Monday

So Linny told me I had to do a Memorial Box post (click if you don't know what a Memorial Box is) when my cameras were found...and I have to admit I didn't think I'd be writing one. Not for lack of faith, mind you. I was just at peace with my cameras being gone. Don't get me wrong, I wanted them back...I was just okay if God felt there was something I needed to learn by losing them.

So here's what happened. We were on a big family vacation to Hume Lake (amazing, amazing Christian camp in the middle of the Sequoia National Park). This was the vacation I had prayed and prayed that Dorie and I would be home for. It was the last night of our trip, and we went down to the lake to take family photos (kind of a tradition). I was irritated because Dorie was being silly and I wanted a good shot of the two of us together . We left the lake and went for the absolute yummiest hand-dipped milkshakes at the snack shop, and I set my camera bag down next to me. Apparently I walked away and left it there but I didn't realize it until we were home the following evening.

When I called the lost and found, the sweet girl told me she had no cameras turned in. She even called the snack shop to check. Nothing. I was bummed. My camera and zoom lens are worth $1500, and my video camera another $350. But what really got me was the fact that I hadn't downloaded my video of my first days with Dorie. I had all the photos, but no video of her first bath, or of our memories in Uganda together. But I told the Lord it was okay. If I got my camera back I would be SO grateful, but if I didn't, that was okay, too. In this adoption journey I have come to realize that "things" just aren't important. That video footage was of no eternal value. But I was still disappointed in myself for being so careless.

Two weeks passed, and suddenly I had a call from the lake's lost and found. They found a camera bag that they thought was mine. They needed to verify the contents with me. Instead of asking me about my cameras and lenses, she asked if I traveled a lot. I began to tell her that all my pictures were of my daughter and me in Uganda. Then she asked if I'd possibly have a ticket for the Vatican in my bag...the funny thing is that I had been to the Vatican in 2008 on my way home from Africa. I never keep momentos like that, but for some reason I'd thrown it in a pocket of my camera bag and never threw it away. I had actually noticed it just before our trip and had planned to throw it out, but I didn't!

Thank You, Lord! You are so good to me! I am so thankful!

My camera was delivered to my front porch this afternoon! Everything is inside! Amazing! So I pulled out that little ticket from the Vatican, and Dorie put it into our Memorial Box (the one I won from Linny's blog!)...now we will both testify to God's faithfulness in this situation for years to come!

Heard At My House

Okay, so in this case, it was heard at church and recounted to me, but I thought it was hilarious...

Sunday School Teacher: Dorie, what a cute doll you are playing with! What is her name?

Dorie: I don't know.

Teacher: Let's look on her tag. Sometimes the doll's name is printed on the tag.

Dorie: Okay.

Teacher: No, it doesn't say her name.

Dorie: What are those words?

Teacher: "Made in China."

Dorie: Oh, her name is Maiden!

Who will it be???

I just noticed my counter is getting REALLY close to 10,000 hits. A very humbling thought, by the way. So if you visit my blog and notice that you are my 10,000th visitor, will you let me know who you are? Just for fun!

Happy Days

I am blessed to have some pretty great friends. We met in college and have remained close throughout all these years...21 years! Wow! It's hard to believe. We've been friends for more than half our lives.

We've rejoiced together over weddings and babies, and this time, the rejoicing was for me! Such a sweet evening. Everyone brought their families, and in lieu of a traditional shower, they just held a welcome party for Dorie. She had a great time!

All the kids together (minus one). SO fun to see MY child in the group!

New friends!

Sunday at church someone gave Dorie a new book. She promptly gathered her cousins and instructed them to sit down on the floor of the cafe so she could "read" to them. They were very willing participants. I love, love, love moments like these!

Oh, and do you like Dorie's hair? My first attempt at a real style without braids. I was super proud of myself. She liked it, too.

Heard At My House

Just when I think she gets it...we had a conversation yesterday about the post-placement visits for finalization of the adoption:

Dorie: Mom, I no want you adopt me.

Me: Why not?

Dorie: Because I just want you be my mom forever.

Home Again

We got home from our vacation last night. It was SO wonderful! Dorie loved every minute of it. We all did. I enjoyed watching her interact with our family every day, and seeing the bond grow between them all. She is definitely fitting in.

It was also fun to see what conversations sparked with other families. D and I definitely stand out and I got to share with several families who are adoption minded. It was exciting and a blessing.

At one point during the week I shared with my sister about something D does that drives me crazy. My sister started laughing and said, "Gee, I wonder where she gets that?" Huh? Apparently I do the same thing. And they say adoption isn't genetic? I've got a list going of "proof" that D is my daughter. I'll have to post it next week.


Pictures to follow if I can find my camera. It appears I left it at the camp in the mountains. Praying someone was honest...