They Call it "Special" Needs For A Reason

I can Amen all of the things this woman is saying about her girl and thought you might enjoy reading it. I have had the opportunity to speak to a person by phone recently who is adopting a child with limb differences as well as share with a couple of people via e-mails. These kids need a voice and I am thrilled to be able to give that to them in a small way. God has blessed our family beyond our wildest dreams with a girl that is simply amazing and I hope that other families that are considering limb differences and those that may not be will pray hard about their decisions. "Special" is right!

http//www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=693&title=What

Birthdays!

First off, Happy 16th birthday to my handsome son. It's hard to believe that it's been 16 years! I remember your entry into the world with vivid detail and what a life changing event it was. Doesn't he look adorable this morning:)

"Go away Mom!"

Why yes Brady, I will fix everything that you request for your birthday dinner. No problem at all.

Potty training. What more do I need to say. It's not going as well as I would like, but we are getting there SLOWLY. She loves to wear her panties on her head. Who knew?

Oh, and she loves for mom to wear her jeans on my head. Anything to entertain while we sit on the potty for what seems like an eternity. I realize this picture is sad, so sad! What can I say.

Did I mention the dishes that needed to be done?
Emma also had a good birthday, although we celebrated it a little late due to ballgames on Saturday. By the way, my boy got to play and scored 5 points. They ended up winning the game at the buzzer and came in third in the tournament.

She loves her new Birthday Cake puzzle from Melissa and Doug. I loves those puzzles.

It took her a while to catch on to blowing out the candles, but once she did she really loved it.

Isn't that the sweetest little expression on her face?

I promise that I will play catch up the next go around. I am just really behind on blogging, mainly because I'm still doing the dishes!

Friday

Okay, so I'm pretty sure that this girl is going to be a photographer when she grows up.

Our last day with Miss Jennifer. She has been such a great help for Emma and we are going to miss her so much. Emma ages out of the TEIS program tomorrow when she turns THREE.

Emma is getting in on the photography action.

Ashton hurt his ankle at a ballgame (actually in warm ups) Wednesday night. He ended up playing and scoring 4 points. The one time we are NOT at the game he gets to play. We didn't go because he sent me a text saying he wasn't playing because he had hurt his ankle. I could have killed the child!

Okay, so he's milking this "injury" for everything it's worth. He forgets that his mom has been an ER nurse for many years and I don't believe in being a baby! He actually thought he was going to miss school the next day. Lest you thing I'm heartless, his ankle didn't look bad at all and he was able to walk on it. He just thought he might get away with staying home.

No big plans for the weekend. Emma will not be having a big party because Ashton has another game tomorrow afternoon. She has no clue it's her birthday so it's not a problem.

I have been thinking about her birth parents so much today, especially her mother. I hope that somehow she knows her little girl is so loved. It's a bittersweet celebration for me.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes!

If you are in need of some cute little girls clothes, check ours out. Please leave me a comment if you have questions or are interested. Go to photobucket and the password is clothes. Thanks.

Emma's Many Faces

Applesauce. It's whats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. You get the picture.

Just another one of her many hats.

Birdwatching in the kitchen.

She is also wearing Ashton's old basketball jersey from elementary school.

Can you guess that this girl has discovered she really likes chocolate.

My very mean mommy is making me, a gunslinger, sit at the table to eat cereal for breakfast. Doesn't she know that I have to be out on the range and don't have time for this nonsense.

This girl has a lot of moods!

Chinese New Year and Look What A Mess

Okay, so it's been a few days since I last blogged. It's just hard to find enough time to get it done some days:)


We had a nice weekend and celebrated CNY with other families in our area. Emma had fun after she warmed up. She is not used to being around kids and it took her a while to join in the fun. I had an opportunity to talk with a fellow AP and she was so sweet. She has a friend who has just accepted a referral for a child with limb differences and I was so excited to get a chance to talk with her. I remember all of those fears and was so glad to be able to share with her.

Emi and Emma.

Oh yes, she is SO styling in her Chinese dress and sunglasses.

So while we were getting ready to go Saturday afternoon Emma was in the bathroom with me waiting to get in the shower. She loves the shower and says it so cute:) I noticed that she was quiet and that's very unusual for her. I took a peek out of the shower and look what I found. Sorry these pics are out of order:) Look at how completely innocent she looks.

Just hamming it up at home in a princess dress.

So I really don't have a lot of fun blogging things to discuss. We are still attempting to potty train and that train is going NOWHERE.

Emma will be 3 on Saturday and I can't believe it. She is getting some major attitude and looked at me over the weekend and crossed her arms in complete defiance. Oh the terrible 3's.

We are waiting to see a pediatric Endocrinologist about the diabetes insipidus. She has not been officially diagnosed with it but they are really leaning toward that.

Brady is counting down the days until his birthday this month. He will be 16 and I can't even go there. I just refuse to talk about it yet!

Gotta get a tired little girl down for her nap and get some work done. I will try to do better with my blogging habits.....