You hem me in, behind and before (Psalm 139:5a)

She takes my breath away. That IS A GIFT. I thank God everyday for those feelings.

Avery draws a lot of attention when we are out in public. Perhaps it's simply because she is a cute, LITTLE girl. Perhaps it's the CRAZY faces she makes at people. Or her LOUD screams when she is mad or sad or just feels like screaming. But, I am also still not used to being a multicultural family.

I don't naturally enjoy the attention of complete strangers, so that probably doesn't help. I DO hope that people think about adoption when they see our family, even if it's just briefly or to offer up a prayer for children without families.

I am thankful that overall the comments are kind and well-intentioned. Thankfully the attention does not seem to bother the boys or Avery (yet).

Avery will either grow to love the attention or hate it. Regardless, I know this will always be a part of her story, even if she is confident in our love and God's plan for her. Psalm 139 as always been one of my favorites. Now it holds new meaning to me. As soon as we decided to adopt from China, I started praying these verses for our daughter.

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

V 13- I love that Avery's birth mother has a place in this scripture. It reminds me to pray for her and for the day when Avery begins wondering who gave birth to her.

V13-5- Not only does Avery look very different from the rest of our family, she was born with a congenital defect. Neither were a surprise for her Father in Heaven. 

V16- What an amazing Father we have that would write these scriptures about EACH of us to bring us confidence in who we are in HIS eyes. I pray that Avery will never doubt His plan and love for her.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

This last one is for me ;) 

V17-If only God's thoughts and not those around me, were my only concern.

1st Minor League Baseball Game

Mason received a free ticket for a reading program at school. He has amazed us with his reading development especially in the last 4 months. We were delighted to celebrate him and his hard work and progress (recent testing showed an improvement of 4 reading levels since this fall!!!) .

Tonight we introduced Avery to an upgraded version of what she witnesses in our yard and during Mason's games ;) She handled the crowds and cheering and occasional canon blasts very well. I know she was overwhelmed and nervous. She really allowed me to comfort her, hold her and snuggle her close when she got extra nervous. She is usually too busy to do any of that on a normal day. I am thankful for the opportunity to hold her so much and I am thrilled she "knows" where to turn!

EJ just happened to be taking the picture when the crowds went crazy. She copied the fans and threw her arms up, what perfect timing! This was towards the end of the game, at the beginning she would have buried her face. Amazing how quickly she adapts!

My MudHen, #10

I have no idea what mudhen is, but mine is super cute in a uniform. Mason is playing machine pitch this season and having a lot of fun. It's definitely more exciting than t-ball for him and us :)

It's strange only have one playing baseball this spring. I truly do miss watching Owen play. He isn't claiming to miss it. That's him leaning on the fence next to Mason. He always watches Mason hit from behind home plate. Just in case Mason needs critiquing. I wish I could say it was always kind and constructive, but it's not. We are working on that. Thankfully Mason enjoys having Owen right there despite the post game comments.

 

Mason's taking the game a little more serious this season. But usually with a smile on his face ;)

I LOVE being outdoors in the evenings during this time of year. I found myself looking forward to Mason's game all day. It's not very relaxing (yet) with Avery trying to figure out what to do with herself, but she'll start relaxing once we get in a rhythm, I just need to be patient.

Happy Heart

This makes my heart all kinds of happy! 

A beautiful day, lunch outside and an ever growing friendship.

While we waited for Avery to come home, SO many people asked, do you worry about the affect the adoption with have on your other kids?
Yesterday on the playground, Ryan informed me he was taking the "train" to China to get a girl. Then he came running back to say they didn't have any. Oh, how I wish that was true. So, I asked him what he'd do. He said he'd go back and try again.
Yes, I worried. That's what mom's do best. But in faith, I trusted that God knew exactly what he was doing to my other kids. Thankfully He can use faith as small as a mustard seed. "He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
I am astounded by HIS faithfulness and thankful that they are forever changed. God redeems the good stuff and the bad stuff.
I don't think it's our job to make life "easy" for our kids. If things were always easy we would never need/seek God. God is more concerned with our hearts than our comfort. Certainly in my life, God has used the hard stuff for big changes. It's not always easy or fun, but it's always worth it.

My Mornings

My mornings and afternoons are as different as night and day. I tend to gear myself up for 3 pm as if it's the start of a new day. Thankfully most days I have at least 30 minutes with the bigs before the littles wake up from naps. That helps a lot!

I love my mornings with Ryan and Avery. They really are a lot of fun, especially when I don't have my own agenda ;)

For the past few weeks, Ryan has been taking swim lessons. He didn't learn a whole lot, but he will be more comfortable in the pool at the start of summer. Avery and I sat and watched the 30 min lesson. Some days she was more patient than others.

 

Afterwards if the weather cooperated we stayed to play on the playground for a bit.

On the morning of his last lesson we went to the pool early and we all got IN the pool. It's a good thing I waited until the last day b/c Avery LOVED it so much. I am pretty sure she would not have been content to watch from then on.
Lessons ended last week, but today we went back to swim. They don't last long b/c of teeth chattering and it's quite an ordeal getting them showered and redressed, but they love it and it's the perfect outing for an overcast or rainy morning. Avery is hysterical in the pool. Her little body is so buoyant and she doesn't really mind getting her face wet.
I am looking forward to the pool this summer. They will be a handful for sure, but oh so fun!