Day 58 - Graciously Blessed

We were blessed beyond measure with the most PERFECT toddler shower today by our church family! So many darling and practical goodies and THE cutest shower theme I've ever seen!! Our last name is Cotton so there was a theme of "cotton" things and ALL white food and of course, PINK everything else. True to being a family in children's ministry, one of our great leaders put together games for the kids that were all cotton themed or rabbits (cotton-tail!!!). Absolutely BLESSED!!!

(Everyone knows that all things are not finalized with the adoption yet, but will be soon!)

Photo courtesy of my wild & precious friend. Thanks. ; )

Day 57 - Precious

Boy-hidee! Raising a two year old at age 40 is a whoopin'! I just want others to realize that between an 8 year old learning to deal with a new sibling who's 2, dealing with a 2 year old who can't be disciplined quite like "your own child" and tripping over a 400 pound deaf dog that follows every. single. blessed. step I take.....I am loving it! OK.....I am overwhelmed at times and blow up very easily then calm down just as easily, but she is so stinkin' precious and CUTE. She makes me laugh so frequently. PG is really doing well despite being 8 and having to jump in the deep in after doggie-paddling in the shallow end for 7 years. My heart is tired, but very full of JOY.

Day 56 - Tomato Basil Soup

Dined at one of my FAVORITE places today with a dear friend!! They have THE best tomato basil soup. Love the beautiful wood, stone and French cafe' decor. I am so sad that they no longer serve drinks in lovely goblets. They must have broken them all and now use styrofoam cups. Kinda takes away from the French-ness of it all, but still great to go there none-the-less. GREAT conversation with my friend.

H.R......does this pic look like my life is just perfect? LOL!!! You know better! ; )

Day 55 - Bag Ladies

We had to make a semi-long trip for PJ to make a required visit with her birth parents so I packed up all our snacks, drinks, wipes, tissues, paci, extra clothes, pull-ups, DS & games, things to do, etc. into these darling girly bags. We are all three quite a scene with all our bags in tow.

Day 54 - iwantmypaci

PandaJOY is seriously attached to her paci. Baby girl has had so much transition and change in her little life that I don't care if she needs it til she's 18....she can have it! OK, I'll probably try to get it away from her within the year, but for real....she needs some sort of comfort and by the looks of her terrible bite, we are in for a big dental bill later on in life so she might as well enjoy her paci while she can. There are two more around the house somewhere. One is in her darling little mouth while she is sleeping safe, sound and secure in her bed right now.

Day 53 - Pull-Ups

Day 52 - Happy Daisy

My man's favorite flower. I made this bouquet from the Valentine's flowers that he brought me. The other flowers were wilting and these beauties were doing well.

Day 51 - House O' Hair

Between the THREE of us girls in the PandaFamily we comprise all these hair products! PandaGirl just started using Pr*ell for oily hair and has used the detangler for years. PandaJOY needs her own shampoo, conditioner and special olive oil lotion to make her hair workable and I need the rest. I'm actually working on getting some product for PJ called "MixedChicks" made especially for bi-racial hair. Supposed to make her curls curly and not wire-y. Oh, the price we pay....

Day 50 - A Father's Touch

Sweet PandaJOY had gotten her finger stuck in the slat of a lawn chair and screamed her little heart out. PP was right there with her and she allowed him to comfort and soothe her into relaxation. There is nothing like the arms of a loving father......or the arms of THE Loving Father.

Day 49 - A Boy & His Dog

We could not have asked for a better dog he is the sweetest thing ever!

I wish you could see him in real life to understand how gorgeous he really is. His fur is like velvet. His muscle tone is amazing. His eyes are the color of a swimming pool and he stands at regal attention.

He is perfect for our home. He cracks us up all the time when he "hears" something and barks his head off in protection mode. He adores PG & PJ despite my freaking out and almost getting rid of him two weeks ago in fear of him hurting PJ.

We love PandaDoggie...Rookie.

Day 48 - Nostalgia

Today, PP, PJ & I were cleaning up the garage with the door open letting the overcast skies blow in a great 72 degree wind on us. After more playing than cleaning on mine and PJ's part we made lunch to take out to PP in the garage. (We missed PG, but she was at school. Shh...don't tell her we did this....it would break her heart to not be a part of it).

We have a great table out there so we had an impromptu garage picnic. I happened to buy bologna (or better known 'round here as boloney!!) for PJ and decided we'd all have mustard & boloney sandwiches with a pickle and some Fritos. With a bite of each item I was taken back to my childhood and loved every second of that lunch! Memories flooded in by the simple taste of that trio of foods together.

Day 47 - Winnie the Pooh & Play-Doh, Too!

PandaJOY is keeping us hopping! She is a bundle of energy, fun, giggles, bossiness, a few tantrums and lots of cuddles. I am so stinkin' in love with this little girl!!! There have been some tough transitional moments and more are sure to come, but we are moving right along and cannot wait for it to all be FINAL and she is ours for good.

Day 46 - Huggable

Did you ever see "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"? If not, you've missed a treat. Very delightful movie with lots of simple, yet profound lines. There is a sock monkey on a wall of stuffed animals and it reaches out to give a hug to the character who doesn't "play" anymore and he doesn't even notice the little monkey.....until the end of the movie. Awe. PandaPop gave me this cute little Valentine sock monkey and said it's for me to remember that I always have a hug from him...my man! Collective "awe".

Day 45 - Happy Valentine's Day

Day 44 - The Weight of the World

It's not easy going from an only child for 7 years to the older sibling. It is certainly not easy becoming a big sister to a 2 1/2 year old who is completely adorable. Add on top of that being adopted from China, having had lost a "brother" who came & went in six days' time a while back and being 8, which has its own set of stressors. Wow. My baby girl has gone through a lot. I love & admire her so.

Day 43 - She's Stolen My Heart

Day 42 - What She Brings

This little one is bringing us smiles, giggles, lots & lots of work and a whole lot of JOY. Thank you, Sweet Jesus!

Day 41- Daddy/Daughter Waltz

Daddy/Daughter dinner & waltz at our church put together by the lay leadership.....aka....regular daddies!! It is so cute to see the girls from preschool up to high school dancing with their dad. Precious moments, indeed! PJ got to come to and was just a doll. The only way I have a pic is because yours truly was the photographer.

Day 40 - JOY

Day 39 - Four of Us

What sweetness fills my heart!!! Still a long journey ahead, but she's here.

Day 38 - Three of Us

By the Grace of God....tonight will be the last night for just the three of us. We have had a wonderfully wild ride being 3. In the morning we are scheduled to get number 4 of us. A bit surreal.

Day 37 - JOY Cometh

She's coming. We got to have her overnight now we wait until Tuesday. A new long leg of the journey begins then, but at least we'll have her. LOTS of transitions, but oh, such sweet JOY.

Day 36 - Red Velvet Yum

Day 35 - PandaSNOW!!!!

On the FOURTH day of no school, the ice storm turned into a beautiful SNOW fall that just keeps on falling.......not really common for these neck of the woods!

Day 34 - Here a Jump, There a Jump

Tomorrow will be the FOURTH day of no school due to a horrible ICE storm we have going on. We resort to alternate kinds of entertainment.

Day 33 - Just Not Right

We live in North Texas. We can handle 106 degrees on a late July day, but we are just not suited for 13 degree February days. No thank you.

Day 32 - Delayed by Snow

While snow is beautiful, ice is not. Ice is dangerous to drive on and makes for terrible traffic conditions. Ice was a problem for us today making it impossible to get to our required appointment with PandaJOY and the caseworker. Next Tuesday still stands for her placement date which is most important, but today just shows yet AGAIN how the enemy has fought us the whole way to getting our girl home. The Lord must have amazing things planned for the enemy to be so frightened by us adopting her.