Catching up!

I'm finding it a little harder to blog these days! Besides the fact that we've been busy with the Holidays and trying to get things back in order and not having a lot of extra time, I'm really enjoying just "living." It's so wonderful not having to wait for any paperwork or approvals, or wonder what our little girl is doing in China while we are desperately waiting to get to her! I'm so thankful to be at home with my 3 daughters and just enjoy what each of them are going through.

Laura.......

Laura has officially made the decision to go to University of North Georgia!!! So we have put down our confirmation deposit, and soon she will decide upon housing. This is such an exciting time for her! She's studying and doing homework every spare moment. For Laura there will be no such thing as an easy senior year. This year is better than last year, but it still requires all of her time and energy! She's so smart and I just can't wait to see the plans that God has for her!

Christine.....

Daddy and Christine on her 13th birthday!

At Iron Wok---they sang Happy Birthday to Christine and put this  beautiful hat on her!!

Christine turned 13 YEARS OLD on January 5th!!! I just can't believe how fast time has gone. It seems like yesterday that she was just a little girl!! We had a celebration weekend for her and she had a surprise visit from her Nannie and Poppa and Aunt Jane, Uncle Ashley, Ellen, Rebekah and Ross! I'm so proud of the young lady that she is becoming!!

Ava....

Saying her prayers!!! Precious!

Playing with Daddy under the tent!

Sliding down the slide with her favorite bear.

January 1st marked our 2nd month home with Ava. We went out to eat Chinese yesterday and we were talking to one of the Chinese waitresses about Ava. When we told her we had been home with her for about 2 months, the waitress hesitated and said "2 years?"  We said no, that  we had only been back for 2 months. The lady was shocked and said that Ava looked like she had been with us for 2 years!! She said Ava seemed so comfortable and loving to us that she couldn't believe that it had only been 2 months! I have to say that I feel the same exact way. Ava truly fits into our family like she's been with us all her life! She really understands most everything we tell her. She follows directions so well. Her vocabulary is still pretty basic and hasn't changed much in the past several weeks. She still follows me around like a little shadow, but she doesn't scream if she's left alone; she usually just calls my name and runs to find me or when I answer she will tell me in her own way to "come here!" She does like to act like a baby sometimes, especially at night, and whine and be rocked and sometimes even take a bottle. I don't mind the bottle at night because I put carnation instant breakfast in her milk and any chance I get to feed her I take advantage of.  She's getting more picky about eating, and that can be VERY frustrating! But I'm learning to back off, because she really does eat when she's hungry. She also is a very "Social Eater" and does so much better at a restaurant or when the whole family eats together. I struggle getting her to eat at lunchtime when it's just me and her!  Ava is very loving. She has her moments when the answer to everything is "NO!" and she throws things at the dogs, or hits us when she's angry, but some of that is just being a toddler and testing out her boundaries.  I have had some "conversations" with Ava and I have told her that she is no different than Laura and Christine and she's going to be "nice" and "respectful" and I will not allow her to become a "spoiled brat!"  I'm real sure she understands those "conversations"! haha  My philosophy is simple....she's my child, I love her, we are starting from scratch meaning that I am letting her have her whiny stages and her baby stages and her terrible two's etc., because I believe that's important. But she's also gonna have to understand that she can't hit the dog and throw things etc. So far what we seem to be doing is working. A lot of distraction when she gets really angry, and telling her to be "gentle" when she is too rough. Thankfully she doesn't have horrible episodes very often. If she gets the sleep she requires and will eat, she is normally just a happy, funny, little girl! Oh and by the way, she is DEFINITELY a mommy's girl now. We are best buddies, and you know that just makes me very happy! Most of the times she shuns Craig, which was not in the plans....I don't know why she can't love us both, but in China it was all Craig, and now that we are home and Craig is back at work, it's all me! Of course her 2 big sisters are the light of her life, she loves them to pieces!  We just have to work on the Mommy AND the Daddy part now. I just thank God every day that things have gone so smoothly. We are blessed indeed!