Saturday, December 20, 2008

3 months with Ellie

Shortly after Ellie was given to me on Gotcha Day in Kunming on September 16, 2008.


The following pictures were taken over the last 6 weeks or so. . .








It is really hard to believe that Ellie has been with us now for 3 months (and 4 days). I wanted to do this post on Dec. 16 which was our 3 month Gotcha anniversary, but I just couldn't find the time. In some ways it seems like she just got here, but in other ways, it seems as though she has been here with us for much longer. Hard to put into words, I suppose. Ellie Jean as I sometimes call her after my late grandfather who departed this life one year ago on Dec. 5, is doing remarkably well. She is a quiet and easy going child- most of the time. She can, on the other hand, be quite loud when she starts talking. She will just babble and babble in the car and the other kids get frustrated as they are trying to hear their favorite Christian song playing on the radio. Ellie Jean loves books, music, swinging outside, playing with the play kitchen set and cooking and serving everyone. She also gets mad occassionally and crosses her arms and pouts those lips. She did that from the get go (after the "honeymoon" phase) so she learned that in China- if that is even learned. It is quite cute although we try not to let her know that because it won't be so cute when she is older. I could go on and on, but 2 little girls are waiting outside with big sister Katie for Mama to come swing them. We are all delighted (except for Lilly who might disagree depending on the day :) ) to have Ellie with us as our daughter and sister, and we thank God for bringing us together as a family! How good our God is. Praising Him for all of our many blessings! Merry Christmas!






Saturday, December 13, 2008

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged twice now, but the first one I have never done. (Sorry, Becky) I have been so busy lately with our 6 children, homeschooling, and Christmas preparations that I seldom even check e-mail. This explains the almost month that has lapsed since my last blog update. Monday is our last day of school and then we have almost 3 weeks off- YEAH! I hope to do an Ellie update soon so check back!
Back to being tagged- The second one was quite a bit simpler and involved less time so here goes:

Trina, who I met during my wait for Ellie as her son is also from Yunnan(ouradoptionblessings.blogspot.com) tagged me and here are the rules:

1. Grab the nearest book

2. Turn to page 56

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the text of the sentence on your blog along with these instructions

5. Don't search for your favorite book or the "coolest" book- just grab the closest

Ok, I'll admit, our computer is in David's office and I grabbed a book he is reading and the sentence made no sense out of context. The next closest was the Bible, but the particular sentence was " 'Jacob,' " he answered." Well, what can I say about that so I cheated a little and grabbed the closest book that I have been reading. The title is Your Girl - Raising a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World- by Vicki Courtney. It is a great book about protecting our girls and raising them to be Godly in this most ungodly world that we find ourselves living in. It speaks alot about very pertinent topics like modesty, limiting exposure to wordly TV programs (that would include almost every program), movies (again the majority to say the least), and magazines, as well as the dangers of what the world calls "dating".

The 5th sentence on the 56th page is:
When I told her no, she responded with, "Mom, it's not like I'm going to start cussing and doing bad stuff if I see one little movie."

Vicki continues discussing the fact that as we allow ourselves and our children to be exposed to ungodly influences, we quickly do become desensitized to the evils of this world.

Again, this is a wonderful book and a must read for every mother. There is also a companion to this book for mothers who have sons. Check out Vicki's web sites for other info: vickicourtney.com and virtuousreality.com

Now for the tagging:
Kim @ Catecomeshome.blogspot.com
Sharon @ Ourfamilyourstory.blogspot.com
Rebecca @ Journeytosolomon.blogspot.com

I doubt that I'll accept another tag as this took longer than I expected, but I hope and pray that someone out there will read this book and be encouraged to be more purposeful and intentional in raising their daughters to be Godly.