Happy Adoption Day Princess Jadyn!

What a wonderful and special day...Adoption Day! It seems to us like this is the last stop on a very long journey...our journey to Jadyn. Now our journey has become watching her grow and change before our very eyes. What a journey it is with incredible scenery. She is truly an amazing child!

Our attorney, Ms. Burk, was wonderful and made everything so quick and easy for us. Also, the judge made everything so simple too. He allowed us to bring in cameras and video cameras and record the whole proceding (about five minutes!) While I felt very blessed to have everything go so smooth and easy, I have to admit I felt a little cheated to not have had the opportunity to promise to love her, cherish her, buy her everything she wants (hee hee) and all that. I didn't even get a chance to pull out a kleenex ;( Of course this would have been difficult anyway with a toddler running all over the courtroom! So I'm sure it all worked out for the best :)

We celebrated the special day with lunch at Swanky Franks (where else?) and cake complete with a princess tiara and scepter for our Princess Jadyn. We sang Happy Adoption Day to you, happy adoption day to you, ... and Jadyn gave her shy little smile. She was soon running all over Swanky Franks sporting her jeweled crown and waving her sceptor.

At the end of the day it felt a bit like the end of Christmas day to me...I felt so joyful, peaceful, and full. Shane and I talked about how amazing it is to love someone so much that you feel like your heart will just exlpode at times. Someone told me once that having a child is like having your heart walking around outside of your body... I totally get that statement now. WOW!

As I was dressing Jadyn for our court hearing this morning, the Lord reminded me once again about His grace and love that He has shown us in order to bring us to this exact day. I was humbled as I thought about being adopted into the family of God and how, like Jadyn, I haven't done anything to earn it. There isn't anything I could ever do to cause Him to love me more... just like Jadyn couldn't do anything to cause us to love her anymore. He just loves me, just LOVES me. I think about how much we love her, and again am humbled that God loves me so much more than that, and His love is perfect. Anyway, I just wanted to share that thought and just say how much I love Him and praise Him for bringing us to this amazing day!

Father’s Day, Fireworks…and Fever

Okay as you can tell by the title I’m just a little behind on posting, but I always say better late than never. So here goes…

Shane had his first Father’s Day. We bought him a pocket watch and had it engraved “My daddy forever Feb.17, 2007. Love, Jadyn” We also bought him a new wallet with Jadyn’s pictures tucked inside...handy for showing off to friends and family… which he does quite often.

We had a busy month going to aqua tots and baby signs… so much fun for both of us! It was a great opportunity to meet other moms and Jadyn made new friends too. Jadyn officially graduated from Baby Signs and is doing well using signs for eat, drink, more, blanket, banana, bath, diaper, and many more but my all time favorite sign she has used is stink… that’s right… stink! Stink is signed by putting the index finger on the nose. I teasingly called her a little stinker one day and she immediately looked at me and put that finger right on her cute little nose! I laughed and laughed. This sign is also used on many dirty diaper occasions:)

We also spent a few days with my Aunt Peggy and Cousin Teresa (Jadyn’s Godmother… better known as Teeta the Fairy God Mother) Thanks for a great time in Texas girls!!!

Our first Fourth of July together was so special. Jadyn can best be described as our little firework! She is full of energy and lights up our lives with a brilliance of colors and fun!
She seemed to like the fireworks… actually, mama was the scared one. Some of those stray sparks just get a little to close for my liking. Shane just laughs at me as I tuck my head and run for cover during big displays, and then sheepishly slip back to my seat after the big ones are over. Of course, Jadyn had to endure this too because I was holding her the whole time so she never actually saw an entire display uninterrupted. Better safe than sorry I always say (or is it better late than never?)

Miss Jadyn also had her first real illness recently too. She had a pretty high fever and vomiting. Being new parents, we didn’t waste any time getting her to the ER, as we feared she could quickly dehydrate since she wasn’t keeping down even a teaspoon of liquids. A quick peek at her throat from the doctor and he immediately announced “strep throat! But that’s an easy fix.” We breathed a little sigh of relief as he left the room to go and get the meds. It was indeed an easy fix… after the prescribed meds and a few popsicles she was feeling much better the next day and playing and laughing by the evening. I couldn’t help thinking about how blessed we were to have good medical care and medicines readily available to us for Jadyn. My heart just ached to see her feeling so badly even for a brief period of time. My thoughts turned to some of the mothers I had seen in India holding their tiny babies in such devastating poverty. How terrible to see your child hungry or sick and not have what is needed to comfort them.

I just want to add, once again, how blessed we feel to have Jadyn in our lives. It is truly amazing how one little person can bring such warmth and love to a home. She literally takes my breath away. I’m amazed at the miracle she is. As I look around our house at all the little clues that show there is a child here now (toys all over the floor, cheerios and goldfish crackers, little shoes here and there ),I just whisper yet another little praise of thanks for all that God has done in our lives over the past few months.

1 Samuel 1:27 (NIV) I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord, For his whole life will be given over to the Lord.

MAY MEMORIES

May has been a busy and fun month with Jadyn. Her little personality is really starting to blossom and we are having so much fun with her. She is always doing something that makes us laugh. She is very active and always busy. She really keeps us on our toes! The little quiet baby girl we brought home from India is a distant memory. We are so happy that she has adapted and adjusted so well to everything.

We had a great time at the zoo with little Mia and Ian and their mommies and daddies. They were both adopted from the Matri Sneha orphanage in India just like Jadyn, but they have been home over a year now. It was so great to be able to spend time with these two wonderful families. We ended the evening with dinner at India Palace. Thanks to both families for such a special day!

Mother’s Day was obviously incredible for me this year. Last year was special because we had just found out about Jadyn, but it was very bitter-sweet not having her in our arms yet. Shane made this Mother’s Day extra special for me; he gave me a beautiful necklace that I will always cherish. We also had a wonderful lunch with our mothers after church.

Jadyn turned 18 months the 23rd. Shane made one and a half chocolate cakes for her (Thanks to Karen from the Dillon forum for sharing this great idea… we just tweaked it a little). She had her first taste of chocolate and liked it, but didn’t gobble it up… we were a little relieved, as we wondered what kind of effect chocolate might have on her bedtime routine (heehee). Shane’s chocolate cakes have been known to put people into sugar shock!

I’ve also included a couple of random photos from home with Jadyn playing outside at her sand and water table and …for my own personal pleasure… Jadyn with her Starbucks cup…don’t worry it’s only water…well, you have to start somewhere!

Showered With Blessings!

I'm a little behind on posting so... I'm updating all in one post. What a blessing the past few weeks have been! God has been so good to us. Our precious Jadyn is such a tremendous blessing in our lives. I often become teary eyed when I think about what a miracle we hold in our arms every day. She is truly an amazing child. She brings such joy everywhere she goes. She tells everyone hi (she has the Oklahoma "hi" down perfectly) and blows them kisses. Such a little charmer! I'm really enjoying my time at home with Jadyn and praising the Lord for being able to be with her for so long. The time is flying and I know I'm going to turn around and it will be fall and time for the new school year to begin, but for now I'm just enjoying each day that we have. We play, sing, dance, go to the library, shopping, and just have fun. It's an especially exciting time of the day for Jadyn when daddy comes home. She is just all smiles and laughter and ready to jump in his arms. What sweet and precious times these are to us. LIFE IS GOOD!

Our friends and family have just poured out so much love and support for Jadyn. This is a pic of the shower the teachers at school gave us. I feel so honored to teach with such a wonderful group of people. They have done so much for us and I could never say thank you enough. We received so many adorable clothes, fun toys, and love, love, love! Thanks guys!!!

Our first Easter egg hunt. Mama had to help a little. It was sooo cold! After church, we had to change Jadyn into jeans, sweater, and sock hat before hunting eggs. Everytime she put an egg in her doggy basket everyone had to clap and cheer (so much fun!)

March 23rd was Jadyn's sweet sixteen! Well... sixteen months that is. Daddy decided he should bake his girl a cake. So we had homemade strawberry cake... yum! Thanks daddy! I'm hoping for chocolate on the 17th month... we'll see (this might be a bad habit to get into.)

Easter Pictures

Baby of Mine... a gift of joy

This precious little one came into your world in the arms of an angel, on the wings of a dream, with the heart of a child.

Wanting you, needing you, trusting you... already wrapped in the warmth of your love.

and for a single fleeting moment time stood still whispering a quiet song of wonder.

How can it be that a life so small brings joy so great?

How can it be that a dream so beautiful is yours to hold?

If each breath of life is indeed a gift, what greater blessing could there be than this?

The helpless cry that first met your ears and pierced your heart,
the tiny fingers that first reached for your face and longed for your touch,
the first smile that fell upon lips too perfect for your heart to imagine,
the first time you knelt beside your sleeping baby and saw the face of an angel.
the first sound of laughter,
the first sigh of wonder,
the first prayer of gratitude...

These moments are the music of love's timeless lullaby...
the moments that change your life forever.


-C.R. Gibson

More Pictures!

Visiting grandma's house before our first Sunday at church together. Daddy's girl!

A stroll by the water

cruisin'... on a Sunday afternoon...