Can you feel the mountains tremble - 1 year later

This past week has been full of stuff - getting ready for Christmas "stuff", school fund raiser "stuff", post adoption placement "stuff", and all the other "stuff" associated with 5 children and one grand child in a small house built for 2 (ok - maybe 3 or 4...but not 7!) 

Overlying it all for me, however, has been the memory of where we were a year ago. When I get nostalgic I love that I can look back and see what was happening. This is the post I wrote a year ago - Can you feel the mountains tremble? 

It's hard to believe that a year ago, I was getting ready to travel to China

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we did not know this child who has become woven into the fabric of our family. 

It's hard to believe that less than 12 months ago, she did not know the security of a family. 

12 short months. 

From this - 

to this

The reminder of where we have come from - how far we have traveled as a family in these 12 months - is the strength and encouragement that some days I need to keep moving. 

It is a reminder of the faithfulness of God through the hard times and the good times.

It is a reminder that we have never walked alone.

When I can remember that we have never walked alone, then I can begin to teach my children that they have never walked alone. That even when their humble beginnings and tragic circumstances seemed to suggest they had been forgotten, they were not alone. 

The mountains are still trembling; we can feel them. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

In previous years, we have usually gotten our tree the week after Thanksgiving. Given some scheduling issues and long term planning, we decided to get it the weekend before Thanksgiving and decorate it as an activity for the kids on Thanksgiving morning. 

I have to explain the typical tree shopping in Southern California. First - you go to Lowes, or Home Depot, or if you are really into nature and outdoor experiences, the tree lot fenced in on the corner of an major interaction parking lot. Seriously. Not exactly a traditional Currier & Ives Christmas tree experience. Because we are putting the tree up so early, I needed it to be super fresh, so I found a tree lot in Orange County where you could actually cut down your own tree (or have a nice man in an orange vest saw it down for you!). 

So off we went - all of us! 

This was a first for Cami - she is enjoying getting into the spirit of all the traditions even if she doesn't fully understand them! 

Becky was having a much better time than is indicated in these pictures! 

and this was the best one I had of Matt and the girls! 

Doug and his legacies! 

Doug and I have one picture a year taken together - it's getting our tree...and he always wears the same sweatshirt! 

And the winner is! 

My city girls had a fun time running in and out of the trees - although two of them were a  little concerned about the "dirt".....

Melidee was less than impressed with the whole ordeal - but her momma had a good time! I think being married to a Montana mountain man is rubbing off on her! 

Finally home - and Cami got to hang the first ornament of the season seeing as it was her first time ever decorating a tree! 

Hard at work - we only lost about three ornaments to the tile floor doing the process! 

The finished product! 

I usually like to wait till Thanksgiving is totally over to start Christmas, but I will say this limited overlap that added a little bit of spice to the day! 

Give Thanks

in the midst of the birthday celebration this week, we also did manage to squeeze in the traditional Thanksgiving celebration! 

 And what Thanksgiving would be complete without the traditional family photos? (We also had the traditional plumbing back up this morning but thought it best to spare the photos on that one!)

We are thankful for all the expected things - our family and friends, that beautiful new baby, our health and prosperity. 

We are most thankful for the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ through whom all this is given to us. Through Him we have found abundant life here on earth and the promise of eternal life after. In Him, we can do all things. In Him, we put our trust in today and our hope for tomorrow. In Him, we are thankful with hearts full of gratitude. 

Giving thanks with grateful hearts! 

Thankful Thursday

It's fitting that this Thanksgiving week we also celebrated Katie's 7th birthday. We are so thankful for her in our life. From the moment God put our second adoption on our hearts, He knew how Katie would change the fabric of our beings. Starting with the bonds formed with friends on our adoption trip for her right up through the legal battles and therapies, she has changed everything about us. For the better. She has broken through preconceived notions about what we were capable of. She has been a picture of what the essence of forgiveness is. She loves BIG. She wakes up singing. Early. Every Morning. 

We celebrated on Monday with her friends and Wednesday with family. 

Sisters Celebrating! 

 Sissy hit a home run with her big Rapunzel doll! 

Birthdays can be hard for kids with shaky starts - and they can often be triggers for anxiety and fear based behaviors. While they are simply a cause for celebration for most kids, for our kids they also represent a huge loss and a empty space filled with nothing but unanswerable questions. 

We are not sure how much of Katie's struggles are rooted in her trauma event or the subsequent orphanage stay. We will never know if she was born with her disabilities or if they developed because of her history. I am not sure if she truly understands her history on a cognitive level. 

But I do know that this time of year - 7 years ago - someone made a choice. A choice that changed her life and ours. 

Of all my children, her's is the hardest history for me, I know the heart of this child - and I know how deeply she must have been affected that day 7 years ago. It hurts my heart deeply if I dwell too long on what that actually must have been like for her. 

I can't look back there though. I need to be here today for her. I need to love her where she is and celebrate who she is today on her 7th birthday.

And who she is today is the most big hearted, fun loving, enthusiastic, forgiving and endearing child I have ever met. 

Happy Birthday Katie Bug - you are our lightening bug that lights up our lives every day! 

Special Friends

We had a fun event a couple of weeks ago at Eastside - Grandparents & Special Friends Day. Our grandparents were all far away, so our very special friends came! 

Auntie Linda and Cami were side by side from the moment Linda got there. 

 Aunt Mari and BEcky had a fine time doing crafts together! 

 Cami has some great friends in her class - and we had a lot of time to get some class pictures. 

 The best group of third graders around! 

 Edible arts & crafts! 

We are so very blessed to have these special friends in our lives. Our girls treasure the relationships with the people that are walking this journey with us. 

Guess who's here?!?!?

You a ll must remember the newest star of our family - the perfect Miss Melidee! Well, God apparently felt that the US Army needed her daddy in Afghanistan more than she needed him home, so his deployment continues for another month or two. 

It was very hard for Melidee and her mom, so last Monday, I headed up north to get them and bring them home - tough duty for NiaNia to have to fly up and get my hands on this sweet little baby! 

God's hand was truly over this as I was able to get up to them on the first flight of the day and bring them home on the last one - all on miles we had in various account. Melidee on her airplane ride! She was not unhappy at all on the flight - I think in this picture she was more annoyed I made Ashlee turn her around so I could get a photo! 

 Meeting grandpa.....(pardon the quality of these photos - it was 1 am and I was too tired to find my good camera!). Day 1 - he is a goner for her! To be honest - we all are! 

 Aunt Becky - who is SOOOOO happy to have Sissy home. I let her stay home from school the next day until Ashlee was up - she couldn't stand it! She is referring to Melidee as "my baby"!  

 Aunt Cami is clearly more skilled at baby holding - 

 It has been so great for the girls to have Sissy home - she is doing a great job at being a new mom with all those demands but still making time for the "littles" and making them feel important. 

 Great Grandma with Melidee - she stepped to the plate big time and drove a car over from Arizona so Ashlee would have some mobility! 

 Auntie Erin - I remember these two from freshman year in high school.....look at them now! 

While it has been amazing have this precious time with Melidee, it is bittersweet. It is through her daddy's commitment to serving his country that this gift comes to us. 

Jonathan,

 We love you and are so very proud of you. It is an honor to have you in our family. Your dedication to serving God by ministering to those on the front lines of defending freedoms - those freedoms that allow us to worship freely our God - is nowhere more evident than in our house right now.

Thank you for entrusting your two most precious loves to us while you are gone. We promise to take great care of them while you are gone - knowing that nothing can replace you in their lives. 

Godspeed - we love you.