Ivy's Daddy

Ivy "lubbs" her Daddy as she so sweetly states. We celebrated his birthday this weekend so I thought I'd post this picture taken on Fathers Day. (Her hair has grown so much since this photo was taken. Stay tuned for pigtail pics!) Ivy thoroughly enjoys family birthdays and is the self-appointed 'pass out the presents' person. She was hesitant to warm up to Daddy early on, since undoubtedly she hadn't been around men. But he quickly stole her heart. When Daddy leaves for work, Ivy hollers (and I mean HOLLERS), "I NEED A KISS!" Daddy is known for creating the color tickle game. We had been reading a book teaching her colors for some time. She just couldn't seem to learn the colors. I had about decided she was color blind. Then Daddy so brightly tested her with tickles. He asked, "What color is this?" When she responded with her usual "I don't know" he proceeded to tickle her. Oh how fast she blurted out all her colors in an effort to end the tickles. The stinker knew them all along. So now she begs Daddy each night for the color tickle game, and she plays dumb just long enough to survive some tickles.

Ivy doesn't know all that her Daddy did to make her adoption happen. He interviewed numerous agencies, compiled the vast number of documents, and did all the adoption paperwork himself. Someday we'll tell her all about it...even the part where he passed kidney stones on the flight home from China. But he would want me to tell you that he's far from perfect. One of our complaints with social media is that we paint perfect pictures of ourselves. We are a family of sinners who God is faithfully redeeming. We're thankful for a Daddy who is serious about redemption. Happy Birthday Daddy, and thank you for bringing Ivy home. 

 "Adoption is the visible gospel." John Piper

Taken with my Nikon D5000