worth it

So this is what it's all about.


I've mentioned before that adoption doesn't come without complicated emotions, the obvious being that our gain is another's great loss. That's not an easy thing to process, especially if you imagine the roles being reversed... I know that Cora will have incredible opportunities here that she never would have had in her home country. Still, that doesn't magically make things "all better" for everyone...

But we are giving her the most precious gift she could ever receive. This little girl will grow up learning about a heavenly Father who created her and loves her more than anything. More than any parent, biological or adopted. So today we had Cora dedicated in front of our church, acknowledging her as a gift from God and committing to raise her in a Christ-centered home. She's been through a lot in her short, little life, including the transition into our family. It's been hard. But it's all worth it.

(That's our pastor praying for her, and at his side is his wife, who was also my Bible study leader last year. She was with us for most of the ride last year, from the day we saw Cora's face till the day we brought her home, praying for us the entire time. I was thrilled that she was part of this celebration.)

On a lighter note...

Since this was such a special day, I had dolled the girls up and just had to get more pictures! The day had surprising warmed up a bit, so we took our short sleeves down to the local lake/park to play.











I asked the girls to give each other a hug. They refused. I told them I would give them ice cream. Cora bought into that.



Nice hug.



They loved it. They thought we were there to play, even though we were really there for pictures. I just wish they didn't move so fast!

referral day!

One year ago, today, we saw Cora's face for the first time. Knowing a new list of children had been released the night before, I sat by the computer that morning waiting to see if we might get an email from our agency about a child. We didn't even know yet if we had been logged into China's system (but we were sure hoping we had!) Eventually, I saw an email from Brendan, and all he said was to call him. I found my cell phone to call and he said that our agency had been trying to contact us and asked if I would call them back. (I don't know why I didn't realize that they would try to call us! I would have known where my cell phone was, if that were the case!) Sure enough, they had locked in a file of a little girl for us. I was told that she was a little over a year old, she had a heart defect, and that she was cute. She asked if I wanted to review the file. ("Um, yes, please!!!") and so I waited again for that email to come. (and thankfully it came through shortly) I skimmed the summary about her on the report and went straight for the pictures. Oh goodness, yes she was cute!

And here she is today, holding that first picture we ever had of her (the one that we stared at for months!)

I like this picture better.

sewing for fall

I love to sew! I especially love to sew fun little sundresses for the girls. (I love summer!) So it has taken some time to gather up enough enthusiasm to switch gears and start sewing for fall, but then I found a new pattern (and some beautiful fall fabric that I adore) and my sewing for this season is off to a decent start!

Want to see what I made?














So it's a little hard to see what I made. (Trust me - it's still cute!) The girls were being unusually cooperative during our impromptu photo shoot, and I couldn't help but focus on those sweet faces. Cuties.

ps - I know these still look like sun dresses. I guess I can't help myself. I plan to layer with either a cardigan or long sleeve top to make it work for cooler weather.

family zoo day

Am I the only mother who probably is more disappointed than her children are that the zoo has closed for the season???

Oh well... We took advantage of the gorgeous weather last weekend and Daddy joined us for one last trip to the zoo before it closed for the regular season.

Now that the girls are 2, we got to take them both on the sky ride! I started to second-guess the common sense in doing this once we started our ascent. There was no getting off of this ride, and I was concerned that Cora might completely freak out because of the height. I should have known that our little thrill seeker would do just fine. She loved it! And so did Olivia!




We showed Daddy all our favorite exhibits...












And then tried to get a good picture with him, too. Which didn't go very well.




But we had FUN! Can't wait until next year...

apple orchard

A friend of mine and I took our kids to the apple orchard this week. This was actually a "first" for both girls!

Olivia had fun dragging the wagon...


While Cora was intent on carrying both buckets...

(And they really were so serious about their jobs!)

They also liked riding in the wagon:






We did pick some apples. (Here the girls are watching.)


And tried to take pictures on some of the fall arrangements that were set up.



(The girls just weren't feeling it. Can you tell?)

But it was something different for us to do. I think the girls had fun when I wasn't bugging them with the camera, and they were definitely thrilled to get treats to take home. And they're big fans of cider, now, too.