The right way to eat a cupcake....

...as demonstrated by Abigail.

Sisters!

Frances took this photo on her new camera. It cracks me up!

Frances is TEN?!

Frances had her birthday party at her favorite place (the gym) with her favorite person (her coach) acting as hostess! She invited some team mates and other friends, and a good time was had by all. After the kids had played in the gym for about 90 minutes, they were ready for some pizza and cupcakes! I had made cupcakes for the event, letting Frances decorate them with a variety of colored sprinkles. The nice thing about this party was that I didn't have to worry about my house - cleaning it up before or after the party! And the weather wasn't a factor, and I was not running the activities. Several parents expressed gratitude that their children were tired out and would certainly sleep well that night!

And kudos to Fran's friends; as we approached the time that the party was supposed to end, we hadn't done gifts yet. Fran's coach told me not to worry, that we could stay on for as long as we liked. She said that this group of kids was great! She hadn't had to act like the policeman during play time in the gym, and no one was rowdy or messy in the party room, so she was happy to let us stay a little longer than our allotted time!

Movie preview?

Tonight I was going through Fran's closet to try and find some school uniform pieces that are not stained (Fran is in the big spelling bee for all the Calvary Chapel schools, this Friday), so I asked Frances to help Abigail get into pajamas. The two of them were having a great time, getting along beautifully, and giggling like crazy. What a blessing! They came to find me, and Frances asked, "Mom, do you want to see Gnomeo?" Apparently, she was having some difficulty getting Abigail's shirt to come up over her head. The shirt was stuck, but Frances was pulling up on it. It made Abigail's almond eyes big and round, her eyebrows raised, and with Ab's goofy grin, she did indeed look like a yard gnome! Sorry- no photo of Gnomeo. Frances decided that she was Juliet, and I was Momeo. I love it when the girls get along so well. It doesn't happen often, so these times are precious!

I couldn't have said it better myself!

"By adopting a child and helping them reach their potential, they help us reach ours. An adopted child is not an unwanted child; to the contrary. They are a child who was searched for, prayed for, cried for, begged for; received by arms that ached, making empty hearts full. Love is meant to be shared." -Author unknown

I totally pirated this quote from the blog of a single mom who adopted her daughter (with a life-threatening heart condition) from China. Whoever penned this was able to put into words what so many of us know in our hearts. I get so frustrated when people tell me how lucky my children are, or what a great thing I did. It's not about me! I'm not any more special than the next average Joe. And I am the one who is lucky (blessed!). Two other women made an incredibly difficult and sacrificial choice, so that I could have my little family. I could not love my girls any more had they come from my womb. I am grateful and thankful for them, and for the women who chose to give them life.

Serious post - gotta have those now and again!

A date with Abigail

Today, Abigail and I went to Knott's Berry Farm, just the two of us. Frances had to return to school on January 3rd, but Abby and I are off until the 10th. This really messes me up at the end of the school year (Fran is off about a week and a half before I am, and we have to do the child-care hokey pokey) but I decided that Abigail should have some fun alone with Mommy, since Frances had that for seven years!

We got to the park when it opened, and went on Abigail's favorite rides: the airplanes, the stage coach, and the balloons (or as she says, "bloons"). I introduced her to a few new rides there in Camp Snoopy, and we even used one of those photo booths that print out a strip of four little pictures. She was fascinated by that.

We had brought our lunch into the park, and had a makeshift picnic on a bench in front of the stagecoach, while waiting for that ride to open. We were glad that we waited; we got to sit on top of the stagecoach, right behind the driver! We only stayed for three hours, because Abigail needed to nap before we picked up Frances and went to piano lessons. But the park was so empty that we had a great time, and never had to wait in line more than about a minute. It was a really fun trip, and I hope that Abby and I can do more things with just the two of us once in a while.

Snow play with the Waites

We had been having lots of rain and cold temperatures during Christmas break, so we loaded up the car and went to Mt. Baldy. The snow was dry and powdery, so it was really hard to make a snowball, forget about a snowman! Abigail and I found a pre-existing lump of snow, and used acorns and twigs to make his face.

The kids all sledded, on a two-person sled or a disc. Because we haven't done this for two years, we were a little rusty... the kids seemed to spend more time off the sleds than on them, but had a great time sliding down the hill. Even Karley and Abigail slid down a gentle slope, once I convinced Abigail that it was safe! She was not sure that she would enjoy going downhill on the plastic sled, but after a few very slow trial runs, she consented to short runs down the hill with Karley in front.



We played in the snow for about 90 minutes, and then it started to get really cold and a little dark, so we packed up and headed down the mountain. We did learn a few things that will help us next time. The moms realized that they need snow boots! Galoshes or sneakers are not enough. I need to put socks over Abby's gloves, to connect them to her jacket sleeves. About every 2 minutes, she was taking off her gloves to get the snow out from around her wrists. We should probably go early in the day, and maybe bring some thermoses of cocoa, to take a break in the car. But all in all, it was a successful snow play day. Hope we get to do it again in the next few weeks!