hello 2013

Hard to believe January is passing us by. Life is full. Ivy continues to astound us with her ability to adjust and acquire language. I believe her English vocabulary has about caught up with her age. Never would have dreamed this could happen in nine months. Here's a sampling from just this week: "I'm cooperating very well today!", "This bumpy road makes me so nauseous!", "Mommy, does everyone have to die?", "Look, that lady looks like she's Chinese too!", "If I don't obey will you take (send) me back to China?" That one is heartbreaking. It was another opportunity to assure her that she's not going anywhere. She was happy to hear, once again, that this is her forever family. Her response.."It's going to take me a long time to learn to obey!" She's a corker through and through. Lots of laughs, lots of work. Training, bonding, and unlearning orphanage behaviors, takes time and patience. But rewarding it is.

Speaking of work and patience..we celebrated our sweet Macy's birthday this weekend. She tirelessly serves her family daily with joy and humor. Honestly, I don't know how I would have survived 2012 without her working by my side. She is mature beyond her 14 years, has endured a lot of physical pain the last year,  and always wears a smile.

Happy Birthday to our middle child.

Taken with my Nikon D5000