Bella- the movie

Just a quick shout out for the movie,"Bella"(tried to do a link...didn't seem to work, but it is www.bellathemovie.com). It is fantastic! As a direct result of seeing this movie I am going to start keeping a journal for both my youngest girls' birth families, just in case they are ever reunited. I had never really thought about it before, but I would really like for them to have a record of our daughters lives and to be able to witness to them about the wonder and blessing of adoption in our family. Go see this film! You will love it (and I must say that the leading guy is BEAUTIFIL which doesn't hurt either). Much love, Jackie Sue

Half Birthdays and Finally Fall in Florida

Yesterday Ellie had her half birthday. That is a photo of Ellie wearing Davie's slippers and sliding on the wood floors like ice. She laughed and laughed. The next photo is of three precious little girls, two of which I am thrilled to claim and one I am blessed to know and celebrate. It is so surreal to me that my baby is already 18 months old. Sure is a fun age. She is starting to try to say everything we ask her to. It feels like she just decided to talk and then did it. I do love me a toddler!

Today we spent time outside for the first time in months without sweating. Fall is here, for the moment, and we love it. Davie found her rhythm on the swing. She can now pump her legs with the best of them. She tried to ride a two wheeler for the first time. Not too successfully, but she did try. She'll be 5 in February and I'm betting she will be riding the Barbie bike by then. Where did the time go? My dream baby is waaaay a little girl these days. I love fall in Florida even though we don't have a change in the leaves. The breezes are lovely and the weather is so mild. Soon my little northern birds will be here for the winter. I love that, too! Well, not too much to share, just capturing a couple of moments here at our house. Hope your house is full of fun moments and growing moments and celebratory times. Gotta have it all to become more like the King. Much love, Jackie Sue
P.S. Here's a couple more moments :)This is Ellie's new "cheese" face. Cute, huh?

Randomonium

Not that anyone was wondering, but I looked up the "Mama" spelling and now I know why all you guys spell it that way. According to dictionary.com "momma" is just a variation of the word "mama". The word "mama" actually has a definition and it means "a sexually attractive mature woman". So there you have it...I guess like in "hot mama" :) Oh well, just thought I'd share.
So, this weekend my husband did a labor of love for me and I thought I would brag on him. We needed new flowers by the front door for winter and we bought some pansies last week to plant. I had to get three different colors because that is all that Lowe's had. I prefer to do all one color, but like I said, it was all they had so I decided to make a floral design using my three colors. I presented my idea to my sweet hubby and he labored to accomplish it. He measured and staked flags for every single pansy. There were 49 flags and then the man dug 49 little holes for my little pansies. Then he stayed with me and helped me plant them. I want to document this so that when I am frustrated with him I can remember all the times he has worked his tail off to accomplish one of my little projects. Some of us married "fun" guys. Well, I married a "worker" guy. When I have a job that I need done there is no one I'd rather do it than my perfectionist husband. He is not especially demonstrative in a romantic way, but he will certainly break his back to do what we need done as a family and so I honor my husband with this post and say that I am a blessed woman to have him in my life. Anybody have anything they want to brag on their husband about? Feel free to share. Love, Jackie Sue
Update: After the flowers on Sunday and Monday night my man did Catherine's History project with her...the whole thing! Now THAT is speaking my love language.What a wonderful husband!!!

Very Random Question

This has really been bugging me. Why do I spell Momma M-O-M-M-A and lots of other folks spell it M-A-M-A? Anybody have any idea? Which is correct? Is it the pronunciation that makes me spell it that way? My mom always spelled it Momma so I'm sure that's why I do, but I'm just wondering where the differences came from and why...I know this is random, but help me out here. How do you spell that word and why? love, Jackie Sue

What 6 months with a Momma will do...

I love the way our adopted children blossom. They really do. Just like little flowers they open a little more everyday. Just wanted to show what love from a family will do for a little one who previously had no hope...if your heart is open to loving a child not born from your womb then please pray for the opportunity to add to your family through the wonder of adoption. You will never be the same.

6 Months Today!

Well, today we celebrate 6 months of Ellie! And yes, I mean 6 months "of" her. What a little pistol. A delightful pistol! I have discovered new things about Ellie recently. Have I mentioned that she is busy....B U S Y! She is happiest when out and about now that she is walking. She LOVES slides. Even really big ones. We went to an indoor playground type place the other day and she will try anything. Her favorite game is for us to hide and then jump out at her. Sarah's beau, Chris, came over for dinner last night and at first she was standoffish, which is her typical attitude, but then she realized who he was and they were fast friends again. She was all over him and played the "hide from me, jump out at me" game for a long time. Davie did not enjoy sharing Chris with Ellie at all. She kept trying to get his attention by bossing him around...doesn't work so well...gotta teach the girl that "sweet" works much better than bossy. (some sort of saying of drawing bees with honey or some such thing,comes to mind) Anyway, all in all we are all adjusting, yes, we continue to adjust. I realized the other day as I was absolutely stumped over how to have a schedule with a toddler around, that it has been 17 years since I've had two small children in my home at the same time. 17 years! Catherine was all alone in her toddlerhood and was certainly the reigning princess during that time. Then Davie was all alone for 4 years so that was a breeze. It goes all the way back to Sarah and Matt for me and they were the exact same age difference as Davie and Ellie. All that to say that I am still adjusting and trying to figure out how to do this with two. You'd think I'd remember, but not so much. So I was literally laying in bed trying to figure out how to do this again. Don't feel sorry for me though, I will persevere :). Oh, I had an out of body experience the other night at a karaoke bar....and that's all I have to say about that. Except that before your imagination wanders, no I did not get up in front of total strangers and sing a song from the 80's. Nope, didn't do that! As life moves on the Lord continues to reveal Himself and my absolute need for Him. He is good and gracious and gentle and sweet. I'd be nowhere without Him. May you all sense His presence and recognize Him in a new way in your lives today. Blessings and peace. love, jackie sue