Celebrating and Remembering

Nine years ago today, we met 2 of our precious daughters, Sunshine Joy and Katelyn Joy in the wee hours of a Sunday morning. It is hard to believe how quickly the time has flown. That day our lives were forever changed as we welcomed one daughter to the world and said goodbye to another. Those few moments are etched in our hearts as we long for the day when we are all together again. I am so grateful to have been the mommy to twins. Katelyn Joy, you truly are such a joy and a blessing to us. You are a strong girl who has overcome and persevered through many obstacles to become a wonderful, well-rounded daughter. Your strength keeps us on our toes, but you have a soft side to you that cares deeply about others. You can get along with so many types of people and can fit in just about any situation. You look so much like your Grandmom Marlene, especially when we see pictures of her when she was young. It makes my heart happy to see her in you. It does make me sad to know how much you miss Sunshine, especially now that you realize more what you are missing when you see other twins playing together. We miss her too, but you will always carry her with you in a way that we can never truly know. You are a precious treasure that we have the privilege to love and parent. Happy Birthday, dear girl! We love you so much more than you can ever, ever know!! We pray that you continue to grow in strength and character, and that your love and compassion for others will continue to grow as well.

 

Then.

Now.

Today we also celebrate two years ago when another beautiful daughter entered our family, Emma Mei Yi Shan.  It is no accident that we met you on the very day that we first met our other two princesses.  We saw our first glimpse of you and every part of me longed to scoop you up and love on you right then.  My patience paid off as you let me hold and love on you back in the hotel room that evening when all was quiet and peaceful. You have had my heart since the first moment I saw your chubby little cheeks on the internet and my first instinct was to giggle at your cuteness.  Since that day that we met two years ago, you have become a bubbly little girl who brings joy to almost everyone you meet.   I am so thankful for the privilege to be your mommy too, and I am thankful that your birth family in China chose to give you life.  You too have experienced loss in your life of your birth culture and birth family.  I think that taking you on that plane that took you away from China was one of the hardest and saddest moments for me as I saw what you had to leave behind to become a part of our family.  I pray that you will always keep your joy no matter what and that you too will continue to grow strong and never lose your compassion for others.   You are a precious, precious girl whose presence in our lives is nothing short of a miracle.  

Then.

 

Now.

I am so thankful for my three princesses.  The gift of being their mommy is one of the greatest gifts of all.  They fill my heart with indescribable joy and happiness.  My cup runneth over.   

First Grade Plays and other Katelyn Stuff

Last week, Katelyn's class did their First Grade Plays.  They did them in their classroom on a makeshift stage.  It was sooo fun, and all of the kids did a great job.  They had to memorize their lines for one play that they were in, but the second play was read.  When I asked Kate if she needed to memorize her lines for the play "The Homework Lesson", she told me:  "NO, Mom, it is readers theater."  I laughed, because I don't think I "knew" what reader's theater was until I was in college or at the very least in high school.  She played the teacher for her readers theatre. They did a cute one about a mean teacher giving too much homework.  Her expression and inflections were just adorable!  I love that she gets such a well-rounded education at Kent City Schools.  She went into 1st grade unable to read, and now she is reading chapter books like crazy.  I have had some deja vu from my childhood when I have to lead her through the school parking lot while she is reading a book.  We have been sooo blessed to have such great public schooling available for her in our area, and her teacher this year has been absolutely phenomenal.   We are so proud of her.   Pictures of the day here:  Flickr set

Another cute thing is her new sign on her door:  NO Toddlers Alowd. Whoever could she be referring to?  Ha, ha! Once again, I don't remember having a concept of what a toddler was at age seven either.   

One night, we were talking about heaven as she has become really interested in it since she made the wonderful decision to believe in Jesus at Release Time Bible class at school a couple of weeks ago. She and her friend decided that it would be really cool if we could all (parents too) could be kids in heaven so that we could all play together.  I just love how kids think!   She also asked some sweet questions about her Grandmom Marlene who passed away just shortly before she was born. She wanted to know what happened to her and why she went to heaven. As we were talking, she said, "Mom, I never got to talk to her.  I can't wait to see her and talk to her in heaven."  I told her how much she loved our girls even though they were not born yet. She wanted so much to hold them and love them. Somehow, I think that is going to be a great day when they finally get to meet face to face!