May Days

May has been a very busy month and we can't believe it is almost over. I am very behind in updating the blog. The Lord blessed me with an opportunity to work full time hours with my job which will allow Tim not to have to work his 2nd job. Thankfully, I am still able to be home with Maci most days and she is able to come with me to my job on the days I work in the office. When mommy hasn't been working, we have been having fun enjoying the beautiful spring days we have had. We have explored a new park close to where we live and have visited some of our favorites closer to where we use to live. Last Saturday, we went to a park where M was able to feed the ducks. She really enjoyed that. You will see from the pictures below how much she has grown in the last month or so. She grew 2" in less than 2 months. Her vocab is quite amazing and she is quite the "ham". Every morning as I hear her feet pitter patter down the hallway and hear her saying, "Mommy, good morning, it is "M" and I am feeling good", I am reminded of how blessed we are to be her parents. What a joy she is! The slide show below has quite a few pictures as I decided to do one posting to get updated...I will try to update more often. Enjoy the pictures.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Family Needs Prayer!

Steven Curtis Chapman, Christian Music super star, and more importantly husband and father of six - 3 of which were adopted from China, and his family need our prayers. Yesterday at their home in Franklin, TN, a tragic accident occured taking the life of their youngest daughter, Maria, 5 years old and adopted from China. Their 16 year old son, Will Franklin, was backing out of the driveway and hit Maria. She later died at Vanderbilt Medical Center. This is such a tragedy and would be for any family. For those in the Chinese Adoption Family, this breaks our heart. Steven and his family are the "poster" family for Chinese adoption. They have done so much good for the adoption world and for helping others realize the dream of adoption. The songs, When Love Takes You In and Cinderalla, both on this blog (you can click on them at the bottom of this page, are sung by Steven. I have met Steven and have talked with him about our road to adopting Maci. I will never forget what he told me. He said, "Shonda, adoption is the heart of God and that it has provided him the great moments of his life...that there is nothing like being a father." Wow...for someone who has accomplished so much in His life, to the glory of God, realizes that his 6 blessings from God is what matters most! Please join our family in praying for the Chapman's at this time and for their son, Will, who has to be suffering from tremendous grief and guilt. I do not understand why on earth something this awful had to happen, but one thing for sure, God does. There is a reason and a purpose...and His name WILL be glorified from it. Thank you for reading and for your prayers. Hug your little ones tighter today! Here is a link to a video of Maria and Steven...so adorable. Above is a family picture of the Chapmans and a close up of Steven and Maria.

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

Sweetest song you will ever hear!

What a blessing it is the hear my princess sing, Jesus Loves Me. It brings tears to my eyes every time. I think about her life in China and how if God didn't place her in our hearts and home if she would have ever heard the name of Jesus. Enjoy listening to the sweetest angel singing about the sweetest name anyone can ever hear...Jesus! (I recommend scrolling to the bottom of the screen (the play list is in a burgundy box and it is at the very bottom) and pausing the other music that is playing so you can hear her sing. You may have to click in the "music list" square to activate the controls...then hit the pause button. The pause button (which is very tiny) is in the top left corner of the play list and looks like a equal (=) sign placed on it's side (vertical). Then go back to this post and hit the play button under Maci's picture. Enjoy!)

Picnic and Play Day

Today was a gorgeous day! M and I had a picnic on our deck and played outside. She is getting better on her bike and continues to enjoy exploring her world. Today she was intrigued by some worms...yes, that is right, our prissy princess was totally captivated by some worms that were under a piece of cardboard I moved that was in the grass. I finally had to tell her that it was their nap time to get her to move on to something else. :) Our yard is so pretty! The trees are in bloom and the flowers are gorgeous. This is our first spring here. It is neat to see the things popping up that were previously planted. What a little piece of heaven we live in. I think it is so neat that what I call weeds, M finds beauty in them. Enjoy the photos.

Piggy Toes and Watermelon!

I know, what a strange title...but it sums up our day. M had a great day today. It started with her dressing up in her TuTu and ball cap, then quickly moved to painting piggy toes. I really didn't want to put a picture of my feet on M's blog, LOL, but she insisted...and for those of you that know her well, you know when she insists on something, it is very hard to sway her. So there you have it...a picture of M's and mommy's piggy toes, painted pink after she ran from her room and proclaimed, "Mommy, my piggy toes need painting". The day was beautiful. We played outside and worked in our yard. Daddy planted our garden this last weekend and M and I planted a flower garden. While at Lowe's this last weekend, M spotted a little child watermelon planting kit...so we bought it for her. M and I met Nanny for dinner then picked up daddy from work as his truck is in the repair shop. When we arrived home, M asked her daddy to "show her how to do her watermelon"...so some sweet daddy & M time followed. M was proud of herself and was ready to eat her watermelon. She wasn't quite thrilled that she had to wait for it to grow inside in a cup, then be planted outside to grow - but she came around. What a thrill it is to be her mommy! I adore her. Enjoy the photos below.