new year. late posting.

Yep, folks.  Back again after falling off into the abyss.  I have emerged with no promises of further postings...  I have three kids now and I underestimated the amount of time I would spend in doctors' offices or at home with snotty noses and coughs this winter.  Guess that should mean more time here, but nope.  I truly have no excuse.  

So on one of those aforementioned doctor's visits, Sweet P is browsing a magazine in the lobby.  She gets to this page and hollers to me, "Mama, Thailand!"  For a non-reader, I was surprised, but that was followed by unwarranted pride that I'm keeping her culture in the forefront of her little mind.  Glad she can recognize the golden buildings from our coffee table Thailand photo book.  I haven't looked at it with her for many months.

...and on a side note, she has taken to answering as follows, when asked "How are you?"... "I'm Sweet P + last name.  Thailand!  'Merica!"

I have no idea.

Nice transition into this picture, from Peanut:

It was taped on her door one day when I went upstairs.  The sad part is the realization that it only prohibits Buddy from her room, who she is endeared to deeply.

See below?  Isn't he charming?  This day it was cool and I told him I needed to grab a jacket before we left the house.  His reply?  "Mom, you don't need a jacket.  I'll keep you warm."

Melt my heart, little man.

Sweet P talks about kangaroos and their pouches for the joey pretty much every day.  She has started carrying her baby dolls in this manner to follow suit:

I am friends with an incredible family in Illinois who is adopting another little girl whose face we saw on the initial waiting child DVD.  It warms my heart to know she will have a family soon!  Her family took part in a fundraiser and sent us t-shirts.  "THAILAND 1.4 million minus 1"... the number of orphans, but it's minus one because their sweet S will soon be home with her forever family!

Guess who turned four?

At Buddy's birthday, Sweet P got to hold her first ever live baby.  She loved it, to say the least.  When asked afterward about holding baby T, she kept saying, "Hold the baby.  Heh-bee."  Meaning, heavy.

As tradition goes, Buddy had a private breakfast date with Daddy on his actual big day.  I promise you, he ate every bite except a few pieces of fruit and jello from those plates.  I am not sure I can financially feed him in ten years!

Until I get back here to finish.  Blessings, angela

a letter of thanks.

A surprise showed up in our mailbox a couple days ago... 

...a Christmas card from Sweet P's orphanage!  We never dreamed we would hear from them personally at any point, so this was a wonderful surprise.  It was sent to our previous address and then forwarded here.  That likely explains the late arrival.

I have wanted to be sure the nannies who cared for Shiloh know of our great thanksgiving for their care, but I also wanted to give them a medical update.  Below is a somewhat edited version of what I wrote in a return letter, along with pictures in the envelope.

Dear Miss C and the Nannies at Pakkred Babies’ Home,
 Greetings to you!  We are the family of P.....  She now goes by the name of Sweet P, which means “gift,” because she is our gift from God.  She is such a blessing to our family and we are grateful for each day we have with her home.  Sweet P has made a very smooth transition into our family and is doing wonderfully!
 After we left Thailand and arrived home, she was seen by a pediatric neurologist and neurosurgeon and had a brain scan done.  Her brain no longer shows seizure activity, so we were able to wean her off both medicines.  Also, the neurosurgeon told us her shunt is no longer working and her body does not need its assistance.  We are thrilled to report she is medically considered a healthy child!  If her mom or dad someday inquires about her, please tell them so!  We often think her birth mom must wonder, since she knows of the shunt surgery and seizures.
 We are so grateful to each of you for the excellent care you gave to Sweet P during the two years she lived at Pakkred Babies’ Home.  She is thriving in our family much in part to the love and attention you gave to her.  Thank you.  She is such a gift to us and we cannot imagine life without her.
 Thank you for the Christmas card!  Enclosed are pictures of Sweet P and our family last year. 
 Blessings to you,
 K and Angela

Christmas cheer.

I remember all too well the intense longing I had at Christmas last year for Sweet P to be a part of the celebration.  It was with overwhelming joy that we shared in Jesus' birthday ... celebrating His birth to save creation from sin and adopting us into His eternal family.  How amazing to share in His birthday with our own adopted child!  The celebration was beyond wonderful!  


K's work has a fun little Christmas party for the children each year.  Once Santa arrived, Buddy grabbed his hand and escorted him into the building.  He wasn't letting go.

Sweet P had an agenda of her own with the big man.  She only wanted to show off her pink nails!  

Peanut felt the need to tell him several times she wanted roller skates but otherwise wasn't her smiley self.   She had a collision in the bouncy house with someone's head and her tooth took all the impact.  It has since turned darkish and hopefully will be loose and fall out shortly.  Such is life.

We always open gifts on Christmas Eve, and Sweet P caught on very quickly.  ...so quickly, in fact, that while others were opening theirs, she was sneaking another from under the tree and opening it.  Even if it wasn't hers.  Funny.

I said in the last post I failed to take a picture of the Jesse Tree, but I did!  I snapped one Christmas Eve as K read the Christmas story from Luke 2 to the kids.  

Then we spent Christmas Eve with our church family...  The children had practiced "What Child is This?" and memorized Bible verses to recite at the service.  It was precious.  

We still play the "game" of Santa at our house.  The kids thought it appropriate to leave him cookies and milk with carrots and an apple for Rudolph.  

Christmas could not have been more blessed with our Sweet P home!  Seeing everything through her eyes was a treasure... "Mit-muss lights!"  "Mit-muss tree!" "Baby Jee-dus!"  "Woo-doff!"  "Frah-tee da No-man!" (Missing that front tooth makes many consonants difficult!)  Thanks for sharing this special time by way of blog.  Blessings, angela