Snowmen!

Our beautiful snow is melting but not as quickly as I thought it would. There is still quit a bit and the kids were sad to go to school knowing it would likely be gone when they got home. If only the pile of wet clothes they left would magically disappear before they get home. I think they soaked and changed clothing three times! And the final count on snow ice cream...four batches!!! It's a good thing there were lots of kids around to help eat it all.

Even though I missed the "sledding" yesterday I did get a few cute pictures of Emily and her friends making snowmen.

Caitlynn's looks as pink and girly as she is. Later she found a pencil and used it for the nose...very creative!

Shelby used KayLi's cowboy hat and it turned out really cute! These snowmen may look small to you but they are gigantic to us!

Sidenote: Shelby's mom had sinus surgery this morning. I just heard she is in recovery and doing well. I know she would appreciate your prayers. Thanks for lifting her up!

And just in case you missed KayLi's pout yesterday...

I cropped it so you could get a better look.

I love it!!!!

A HUGE Fundraiser!

Another sweet family is raising money to bring their little one home. Adoption shouldn't be this expensive but it is. Please consider helping them. A $10 raffle ticket (and there are A LOT of prizes!) would really help.

Another Snow Day!

We went to sleep last night knowing we would likely wake up to snow. We didn't realize we would wake up to 2+ inches and that it would continue snowing until 10:00 am. We actually ended up with over 4 inches. The most we have had in one snowfall since we have lived in West Texas. This is huge here!

Everyone is thrilled to have another snow day!

Except KayLi. She does not like it. When I opened our back door to show her the snow, she immediately starting closing it saying "No, dat no cold."

Don't you love the way a cleft baby pouts?

After a slow start Emily bundled and headed out to enjoy all this glorious white stuff. She and her friends were off being pulled around on a sled and trying desperately to find a small hill they could slid down. Good luck with that. I was really hoping she would take a few pictures with her phone. Nope. Not one. "It's too cold to take off your gloves off to push the button."

So Allie bundled KayLi and headed out. Just for a little while because, seriously, she doesn't like it. I understand. I love the snow. It looks very pretty out my windows.

When I stepped onto the porch to take these pictures, I knew, why Emily din't take a single picture.

It's 1:00pm now and EVERYONE is inside. Were it is very warm. The fireplace is blazing. Soup will be on the stove soon. Three batches of snow ice cream have been made. Lots of kids helped eat it. Shoes and gloves are drying by the front door. Curling is on the television?

Huge flakes just started to fall again. Really huge flakes. They are outside. Looking beautiful!

I love snow days!

Our Week in Pictures

MONDAY:

After spending the weekend in Austin, Ryan surprised us by stopping by and staying the night on his way back to Lubbock. We all love it when he gets to visit!

Ryan LOVED Mercer Mayer's Critter books and it was so surreal to look over and see him reading one to KayLi.

TUESDAY:

KayLi loves her little pink sunglasses, so when these two swapped glasses I ran for the camera.

I will love this picture forever!!!

WEDNESDAY:

KayLi loves making crafts! For this one she "rumpled" tissue paper and glued it onto a card stock flower. With every piece of tissue paper she would say "Rumple, rumple, rumple."

THURSDAY:

Ah, F*cebook. These two were cut from the same mold!

Sorry for the terrible lighting. I was trying to sneak the picture before they refused to let me take it and turning on lights would have ruined the moment.

FRIDAY:

I had no idea how influenced by China I was becoming until KayLi walked over to me wearing her cowgirl hat and I said "Yee Hao!" As in

Ni Hao + Yee Ha = Yee Hao!

SATURDAY:

Most of you already know that Allie plays guitar and leads worship at our church. I haven't written much about it but Emily is awesome on the djembe (drum)! Seriously awesome! Every week these two instruments are hauled to church and then put back in this little corner. It touched my heart to see KayLi guitar thrown in the mix!

SUNDAY:

Emily walked out of her room saying "She begged to be put in here mom, really she begged!"

She must have because she stayed in this laundry basket for almost twenty minutes. When I would ask her if she wanted out she would say "No. KayLi looking." And she was...through each little hole.

Emily took a lot pictures of KayLi in the basket. Since I couldn't decide between these two, you get to see them both!

Our Little Artist

Emily helped out in our church nursery this morning, which meant that I felt comfortable leaving KayLi for the first time in months. Don't ask about the last time. I'm still trying to forget it. This time my cell phone was on silent and Em could text me quickly if KayLi had any problems.

I was very excited.

It was so nice to worship and really listen. Too bad Em can't help out every week. And praise God she does help, every Sunday night. It's the only hour all week that KayLi isn't with me.

Anyway, they colored a little and with Emily's help, KayLi drew her first drawing that actually looked like what she was drawing. Emily drew the eyes but the rest is all KayLi.

What? You can't you see the eyes? It's a perfect likeness. Can't you tell what she drew? Come on, really? Look closely...

It's Goliath, or as KayLi calls him "BIG!" As in "Ahhhh, Big coming! Oh no, he Big!" Which is what KayLi says every time she watches it.

KayLi was so excited to show me her "paypa." When I asked about it, she told me "Dat Big. Big mad!"

She's such a budding artist. I love it!!!!

Can you help?

This sweet family is having a great fundraiser raffle. $10 is all it takes to help bring a precious little one home to her forever family. And who knows...you just may win?

Chinese New Year Recap

We celebrated our 1st Chinese New Year with our sweet friends the Kendricks and it was so fun! We had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, where KayLi had her favorite "Nonnles!"

Is Toryn adorable or what?! He told his mama that morning that he looked "petty." I think he's right!

A small side note...We have been trying very hard to teach KayLi who is a boy and who is a girl. Last weekend KayLi was going through her mental list of just about every person she knows asking if they were a boy or girl. When I would answer, she would move down the list to the next person. But not when she asked about Toryn. When I answered that he was a boy she replied, "Dat myyyyyyy boy."

He's even cute when he's making silly faces at the camera!

I can't figure out where this silly face came from though...pick one, they're both silly!

Don't the guys look excited!

It was so fun to celebrate with these sweet people. Red envelopes and stuffed tigers are a far cry from a big traditional New Year celebration in China but these two precious little people couldn't have been more loved!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Valentines Day & Chinese New Year!

We had so much fun today celebrating Valentines Day and Chinese New Year!

Don't you love how Allie got the girls to pose so sweetly?

OK, cheesily! Like my new word?

Yes, poor KayLi's eye is black. She fell last week and it was terrible. At least she's very quick to tell everyone that "It all betta now."

I tried to get Emily to pose with her Valentine gifts from her Dad and a very sweet young man but this was the best she would give me.

I also tried for a couple pictures of KayLi in her Valentine outfit yesterday.

Please tell me her cuteness makes up for how lacking I am behind a camera?

And of coarse when I tried to get KayLi to pose with her Valentines from her Daddy, she mimicked Emily's pose! It would have been nice if she had covered the black eye with the heart box.

I'll post more later about how we celebrated Chinese New Year with these great people!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day and a happy Chinese New Year!!!

Eye Contact

Yesterday as we were leaving speech therapy, KayLi's therapist stressed how important it is that we encourage KayLi to look at people when they are talking to her. That she needs to watch people talk in order to see how words are formed and imitate them. Hmmmm.

On the long drive home I couldn't help but look back at KayLi's infancy. She missed so much.

The loving stares of a mother and her infant as she is nursing. The soft sounds that are imitated back and forth as a baby begins to forms it's first coos. The loving eye contact that takes place as a mother sings a lullaby. KayLi missed it all and it made my heart break for her all over again.

I would give anything...seriously, anything...to be able to go back and give her what she missed. I can't. All I can do is help her to go forward. Forward with as much love as possible. Every night she falls asleep with her face a few inches away from mine...looking into my eyes. She needs that. We play "Baby KayLi" often. Oh, how she loves being rocked and pretending she's a baby. She asks me to sing "Lullaby and G'night." It's my joy. I'll play as long as she wants me to.

An innocent request from her speech therapist was meant to encourage eye contact and communication skills. It did. It made me look up into the loving eyes of my Father. It encouraged me to pray more fervently than ever. That God will restore as only He can. That I will be able to teach KayLi about His amazing love for her and that she will willingly receive it. That someday she will find complete healing looking into His eyes.