Four years ago

Four years ago we brought this tiny baby home.  Four years ago this little peanut changed my life.  My Adriana.  She has been such an adventure to parent, teaching us so much about ourselves and about determination.

She loves her big sister and little brother and though she is getting bigger every day, she loves to be babied!  She is our earliest riser, ready to take on each day regardless of what day it is or what it will bring.  In fact, she has to ask every day what day it is and what is planned for the day.  The day of her party she asked repeatedly:  "Mom, are you sure today is my party?"

She is always thinking of her sister, never does she get anything without thinking and asking for "one for Elena".  She is the sweetest most hug & contact loving person I know.  She not only craves attention but she craves snuggles, and hugs to the point of waking me up at 4 a.m. to tell me her bed is wet and that she needs to snuggle with me (the bed wasn´t wet but I discovered that after the fact).

She is today a little woman in the making.  She has a strength of character that I know will take her very far in life.  Her sensitivity and her sweetness soften the determination of her black and white world.  She knows what she wants, when she wants and how she wants it... for the most part.  She is still a little girl that needs molding, guiding, and shaping and I pray every single day for the insight to do a good job in helping her become who God wants her to be.

We are so very grateful for this little spark of joy in our family!  Happy birthday sweetest girl!

Tuesdays can be days of thanks too

I think I might just change this to Tuesdays because our Monday routine is making it too hard to sit and post, so I think my list of thanks will have to be published on Tuesdays...


And this week I am giving thanks for:

#26  The unconscious laughter of a sleeping toddler.

#27  Swimming pools!

#28  The simplest games that make a day amazing for little people and the inspiration to come up with them.

#29  Cheap Target "crocs" that put a smile on little girls´ faces.

#30  The excitement and anticipation of an upcoming birthday party for a soon to be 4 year-old and the provision to make it happen even in tight times.

#31  Friends who understand, and encourage just by "being".

#32  The biggest brown eyes on the little tiny face of a 3 y-o-l.

#33  The ever increasing questions of a 5 y-o-l so eager to understand the world that surrounds her.

#34  A constantly growing little person inside of me whose movement I feel more and more every day!

#36  Sleeping in... not that it has happened but I will be extremely grateful when it does!

#37  Pictures and video, although I am not as diligent as I wish, it is such a blessing to have records of our life.

June and a Thankful Heart

Let´s see how we can fit a month´s worth of posts in one day...

#21.  We took an airplane ride!  This queasy pregnant tummy was a bit nervous about it, so I packed a couple paper bags in my purse and off we went.  We had a wonderful time, made it safely to our destination and were left with a wonderful experience and a thankful heart for the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.

#22:  One of our tenants gave us his 30 day notice.  He had left by the end of the month, leaving us with an empty apartment.  We are not sure what we want to do with it yet.  My first thought (or should I say thoughts)?  "Oh, the possibilities of hosting again!  Maybe I can invite my uncles that are in the country.  We could host my whole family and my best friend in December.  We could connect both apartments and give us more wiggle-ahem-bed-room upstairs..."  But that thought was quickly intercepted by the reality that with the empty space comes a new limitation to an already tight budget.  We are prayerfully considering our possibilities...  and yes, I am thankful for the opportunities ahead of us.

#23:  We have inherited pieces of history of Grandma´s life.  With her moving to the Assisted Living Home and needing to empty her apartment, we found ourselves looking through years and years of accumulated evidence of life.  Some furnishings are now sitting in the empty apartment I mentioned earlier, just in case we do need to furnish it for our future guests.  Some others are sitting awkwardly in our downstairs living space, waiting for a final welcoming spot in our home.  So many years of life gone through in about a month... so very thankful for the opportunity to inherit some of these treasures and for a glimpse of lives past that have allowed us to be where we are today.

#24:  Parenthood brings its challenges, don´t we all know it.  Some of those challenges require a bit more energy to overcome.  Some challenges are resolved with a simple change of pace, a change of habits or a renewed vision of an old solution.  Some other challenges bring with them the opportunity to closely examine our motives, our beliefs, our priority systems and may actually require a complete makeover in our everyday life.  Above all things I am grateful for the sensitivity to recognize those challenges, and the patience to endure until we find a solution.

#25:  And speaking about parenthood I must admit I am thankful for a new stage in the life of a 5 year-old who is asking all kinds of questions about God, life, death, and heaven that have kept these two parents on their toes but at the same time have given us the opportunity to appreciate and ponder on those things afresh!

#26:  Knowing that although things are tight financially, we can still go to the grocery store and buy most of the items in our list and some extra ones to boot!

So I guess if I had to summarize the month of June I´d have to say it has been a month of opportunity.  I pray we made the best of each opportunity that came our way!

Late

I know this is rather late.  Our week was crazily busy and even when VBS was officially over by 2.00 p.m. yesterday, I still came home to cook and clean for company.  That doesn´t mean that my heart hasn´t found reasons to be thankful and here are some:

11.  Three super excited children who could not wait to leave for VBS every morning.  Here they sit by the door ready for this mama to take them.

12.  A little ray of sunshine that still thinks I am the most wonderful person on the face of the earth.

13.  The man who gets inspiration every year to pull off the craziest themes, skits, props, etc. for VBS.  He has been doing this for what?  13 years?

14.  The swishing sound of a tiny heartbeat.  There IS a little person hidden close to my heart, growing in secret, mysteriously developing inside of MY womb!  Is there anything more amazing and miraculous than that?

15.  A heavenly Father who continually shows Himself to me through the simplest of things.

16.  Nuggets of insight and revelation of wisdom to lead these little people into their godly destiny at the most unexpected times and places.

17.  The World Cup!  The one sport that I can actually sit and enjoy with my husband because I understand it the most.  Every four years he literally is the happiest man on earth because there is a sporting event I am as much into as he is!

18.  Cinnamint Mentha Lip Shine from Bath & Body Works that hubby put in my stocking for Christmas.

19.  Cans of Ducal refried black beans.  Guatemalan black beans are the best!

20.  A day with nothing planned so we can just be and rest.  Waffles for breakfast, one (or two) soccer games watched with my love, little people being as cute as all get out playing the wii and taking it slow to enjoy the rest of the day!