Sunday fun

It was so gorgeous last weekend in Birmingham that we decided to take a trip up to Horse Pens 40 in North Alabama on Sunday after church.  The kids had been with Ted a handful of times but I had never been.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there and the ids were a little fidgety, but it was worth the drive.  Lots of fun places to climb on rocks, play in the leaves and just enjoy the beauty of creation around us.

Here is the trip in pictures.  (I know, it is lazy, but at least I am posting, right????)

I so wish Maggie's eyes weren't closed here!!!

Ann Park's hair is as ratty as the scarecrows!

Maggie trying to climb out of the backpack!

Sam fell in that little stream trying to cross on the log . . . always something!

Practice makes Perfect

Sam is a little late to the game in becoming interested in his ABCs.  Of course he can sing the song perfectly, but if you ask him what a letter is, the kid was in la la land.  I didn't push it - although I did bring out our set of Leapster Tad and Lily videos.  I knew that he would get there in his own time.  

And we are here.  He is obsessed with writing - especially his name.  And I came home to THIS (below) written on the garage door.  

Kinda reminds me of the time Ward wrote his name on the side of my car door.  Of course I use the word "wrote" loosely, considering he engraved it with a rock.  And, yes, it is still there.

Moving forward

Today marks a big day.  Today is the day that Maggie's time as a part of our family is GREATER than the time that she spent in an orphanage.

Maggie spent 344 days in some sort of hospital or orphanage.  We know that she spent the first few weeks of her life at a hospital in Moscow after her mother gave her up for adoption.  My guess is that they were looking for a place to put her.  She spent the rest of her time in Orphanage Number 7 in Moscow.  

This orphanage will always be a part of the story of her life.  

(on a warm day in September)

(on that cold day in November)

But it was only the beginning.  And I am so thankful that the story of her life didn't end there, like so many others who remain. Instead, the story of her life has just begun.  And her memories are going to be filled with love and hope.  Her future is so bright and I can't wait to sit back and see what all God has in store for her.  

But for now I will leave you with some shots that pretty much sum up what she has experienced in the last 344 days.

THE LOVE OF A FATHER . . .

THE LOVE OF A MOTHER . . .

THE LOVE OF A BROTHER . . .

AND ANOTHER BROTHER . . .

THE LOVE OF A SISTER . . . 

THE LOVE OF GRANDPARENTS . . .

THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF SUMMER . . .

FUN WITH COUSINS . . .

EXPLORATION OF GOD'S CREATION . . .

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

We love you with all our hearts, all our mind and all our souls Maggie.  I cannot imagine our family without you in it.  You bring me joy each and every day with your laughter and your smile.  You are LOVED!!

Siblings

I love watching Maggie play with her siblings.  Last night was like all other usual nights and they were on the floor rolling around giggling.  I happen to have my phone nearby and grabbed a couple of shots.  

Sam in particular likes to love on Maggie, but I think that sometimes he doesn't realize that he is being a bit rough!  Maggie is one tough cookie!

Maggie then climbed into my lap and wanted to see herself on my phone.  I continued to snap away with Ann Park photo-bombing us!


I especially love this one - she was smiling and laughing at Sam doing a silly dance.  Oh the joy of siblings!

Halloween

We had a blast this Halloween - Maggie's first.  Rain was predicted but the weather held out just long enough for the kids to enjoy the parade and trick-or-treating and still be in bed by 7:45.  Not sure how I managed it.  I think that I am still recovering.  I think my favorite part of the afternoon/night was when I found Maggie sitting in the middle of our Halloween candy bowl eating to her heart's content. I am mad at myself for not getting a picture of it!  We really missed Papa this year and hope that he won't go out of town next year.  He is the best at handing out candy to all the kids who come to our neighborhood.  By the way, I bought 875 pieces of candy and ALL of it as gone before 8:00 p.m.  The trick-or-treating started right after the parade at 4:15 and it never stopped until I turned every light off - and even then people were still ringing our doorbell.

Sam and Ann Park's favorite part of the night was singing with Sara Evans.  Sam still talks about it.  He even got to meet her and she gave him a huge hug.  Definitely a highlight for him!

Halloween 2013 - in pictures!

the best group shot I could get

Sam, the black ninja, posing for me!

Ann Park, our Greek goddess

Maggie, our little ballerina!

Zoro - in honor of Papa!  His costume was my absolute favorite!

Sam is just full of personality and fun!

Ann Park and one of her new school friends

Ward and Jax

Campbell and Sam

Fun with our neighbors

Back burner

So I haven't been blogging.  Not that I have a lot of readers.  It is not that I don't enjoy it.  I do, actually.  I love sitting down and writing.  That is one of the reasons why I love my job so much - because I write the entire time that I am there.  But it seems that by adding one more (very active) child into our family, blogging has taken a back burner.

Of course I still have time to blog - be it in the mornings when I don't work (and am not playing tennis!) or any given night once the kids have gone to bed.  But it seems that in those moments I want to be with Ted, or have coffee with a friend.  And lately I have been trying to catch up on my sleep thanks to an active calendar!

So for whatever the reason I have not been sitting down to share all the craziness that has been going on lately.  I would like to get better and try to be a more regular blogger but I am not sure that will ever happen.  So back to my sporadic writing.  But today I have lots to post so enjoy!

Meeting Maggie

As I said in the last post, today marks one year that we met Maggie.  I still can't believe that it has been that long.  She is a shell of herself in this video, but my emotions were so raw and I still remember my heart skipping a beat as they brought her into the visitation room where we played with her on that first visit.

Here is a short video Ted took of the beginning of it all:

Unreal to see this shell of a child.  She is so different now - that timid little girl sometimes creeps back in, but she is a bundle of joy and energy.  Here she is the other day doing her forward rolls!

Big week

So this is a big week in the Holt household.  Wednesday (9/11) will mark one year ago that Ted and I first met our precious Maggie.  I still can't believe it has been a year since I started falling in love with that beautiful face, those playful eyes, and that heart-melting smile.  Here she is on that wonderful morning in September in Moscow:

I still laugh when I think about al the clothes that she had on (at least 3 layers!!) when it was 65 degrees outside.  She was a little curious about these two people hugging on her and playing with her and she was fascinated by the camera.  She now loves the camera and starts saying "cheese" the minute she sees it.  She didn't smile much that first day we met her, but with each visit, we started seeing glimpses of the little girl we now know so well.

When I look at these pictures now I see the shell of the little girl who is our Maggie.  I still think about all those others orphans sitting in the orphanages all over Russia with little chance of ever having a forever family.  And I am SO THANKFUL that God got her to us when He did and before the closure of American adoptions in Russia.  God made her perfectly in His image and I feel so blessed to be called her mama.  She is a bundle of joy and energy and as anyone who knows her can attest to, she keeps us all on our toes!!

The other thing that happens this week is that Ted and I will celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday.  We spent our last anniversary in Moscow.  That was the day we signed the papers officially accepting the referral of "Kristina" and praying that the next steps (court and the 30 day waiting period) would pass quickly.  We went to our favorite little spot [Pizza Express] for dinner and had a great night together, celebrating 10 years.  

This year Ted is taking me to Atlanta for the night.  He made all the arrangements for the kids (Ward to the farm, Sam to his brother's house and the girls here with Grandmom).  We will relax by the pool at the fabulous St. Regis Hotel and cheer on the Tide in their big game against "Johnny Football." HE said that he has a surprise for me for dinner.  I don't care what we do as long as we are together (and I get a little R&R).  I am really looking forward to it.  

This week will be an emotional one for me.  I know that my heart will melt a little more thinking about the past year's journey.  I can feel that lump in my throat right now . . . .   The emotions I feel are completely overwhelming.  God is so good.  We are so blessed.  I am the luckiest woman on the planet!