Carrie Underwood w/ Vince Gill How Great thou Art - Standing Ovation!

This is amazing and just proves to me again why I absolutely love Carrie Underwood....both as a singer and a person. Love her!

Two things

First...
Yesterday was Livi's first dr. appointment for her cleft lip/palate.   She saw the orthodontist and the surgeon who will do all lip and palate operations. 
It was really just a consult and info appointment to see where we needed to get started with her care. 
The ortho first thought, upon seeing her, that the gap in her gums is rather large and may need to have a procedure done before we could go forward with her lip repair.  It would involve having a device surgically implanted into her gums with pins going up into her palate.  It would then be tightened over 3 weeks to bring that gum line together a bit. 
When we saw the other surgeon, he agreed that it may be normally something that she would need....but because of her age (it has a better result on babies) and it being 2 additional surgeries, he felt we could go without it.  Good.
So, as of now, I'm waiting to hear from the surgical scheduler to find out when her lip repair will be.  They said they would like to get her in within the month. 
After that, we wait 6-8 weeks for that to heal and then do the palate. 
That means that by the time summer is over, she will look like a very different little girl.
I'm nervous for her and the discomfort she is certainly in for......
but I'm so excited for her too.  It will be a whole new life for her.

The second thing is that Tyler was nominated for and accepted into the National Junior Honor's Society.  YAY Tyler!  He had to write an essay about why he should be accepted.  He also had to ask an adult (non-family member......he asked his best friend's mom) to write a recommendation for him. It is also based on his grades and conduct. 
He found out today that he was among the kids chosen.  We are soooo proud of him.  He's such a nice boy and just a really good kid. 
He graduates from 8th grade this year and I can't believe he's starting high school this fall. 
Am I old enough for this? 
Way to go, Tyler! 
You make us very happy.

Bonded

My little nephew Bennett was adopted last summer so we wanted to get a picture of our sweet kiddos together. 

Adoption has touched our family in a big way this past year!

Benny is Hispanic and Miss Livi is, of course, Chinese so this creates even more of a reason for them to be special cousins. 

They have so many things in common.

They were given up in love with the hope for a better life.

They were so very much wanted by us.

They will always know their stories and how God created them

just for our family. 

They will always have that special connection....

unlike any of the other cousins....

a bond.

Baptized

Today was a very special day for Miss Livi. 

She was baptized today. 

I had bought a dress for her while we in China and was so excited for her to wear it and show everyone how darn cute she was. 

We took pictures beforehand

Some with Mike and Lindsey, her Godparents...

And some of our family....boys and all...

When it was time for her to be Baptized, she just looked around, wondering what was going on. 

Prayers were said over the moms and dads.

We try and take these opportunities of all the cousins together and dressed nice to get a group picture.  Besides, it was the first one that Olivia got to be in.

Miss Livi posed for some pics in her pretty dress.  She knew she was the guest of honor today.

We headed home where we ate some lunch and opened presents...

Then it was time for cake.....I had made it the night before.  It was the first one I got to make for her.

What a great day!  She was soaking in all the attention.  I think she's growing quite used to it.
God Bless Olivia.

First Haircut

On Saturday, Jason brought Olivia to the salon so I could give her a haircut.....okay, a trim.  Okay, a dusting. 
It's not like it's long and getting shaggy...but it just needed the edges cleaned up a bit.  The buzz cut she was sporting was starting to show some stragglers and those just had to go.  I figured it would be good to get her all cleaned up before having her Baptism the next day.  She sat so still, she just laughed and watched.  I'm thinkin' you get used to haircuts when you get one as often as she probably did. 

Tim's China Project

In 6th grade the kids have a huge state report and project that they have to do.  It started back in November when the kids pick what country they want to do and they start the research.  Timmy picked, of course, China. 

Every few weeks a  new part of the report was due and different worksheets were completed as part of the assignment.  It's quite a large project. 

It ends with the kids doing a display board and setting them all up in the gym during the Festival of Nations night.

They get extra credit for many things.....

like if they have food from that country ~ Tim had a bowl of Chinese candy for people to try

....or if they wore clothes from that country ~ Tim borrowed some shirts from a friend who has 2 children from China

.....also having artifacts from the country ~ Tim had plenty of those

I'm thinking he did pretty well on his project.  

I asked his teacher if he would get extra credit for having a sister from the country. 

It turns out there was a local newspaper writer there to see the kids' projects and she showed quite an interest in Timmy's.  Not just his work, but his story.  She noticed the pictures were not just from the computer and that they had his family in them.  Then she saw Jay and Olivia.  She ended up asking them a bunch of questions and taking his picture for the city paper. 

He was pretty excited about that and can't wait for it to be in the paper next week.

Big girl

I had to go to the mall to get some new tennis shoes for Tyler the other day and on the way out we passed a Claire's Boutique.  I went in looking for any new headbands...of course...and suddenly got the urge to get Olivia's ear's pierced.  I knew Jay wouldn't mind so I did it.  I actually ended up going somewhere else because I thought they were too expensive....I think I might just be cheap....but I just didn't want to spend $50 for her to get them done.   Tyler and Timmy were with me and they were making me feel so guilty for wanting to do that.  They just thought she was going to cry and it would hurt too much. 

I know, probably not the best way to bond with her....holding her head while they punch holes in her ears....but honestly, she cried for less than a minute and that was it.  We got a mirror and she was smiling at them. 

Now, she points to her ears and shows everyone. 

Sooo cute.

We got home and I wanted to see how long it would take Jay to notice.  He picked her up and saw them right away.  He really liked them.  I think he was glad he wasn't with to see her get upset like that. 

So, I would have pictures, but I got there and took about 2 pictures before the battery died.  I knew it was really low, but I hadn't charged it since I hadn't planned on needing it for anything that night. 

Oh well, I have a before picture.......

                                       .....and an after.  Pretty girl. 

Sunday Snapshot: Piano, Ice Cream, and Playtime

 I just continued to be so amazed at how Olivia is doing since we've been home.  She is just thriving better and quicker than we could have imagined. 

She is doing so many new things every day and she is experiencing new things on a regular basis.

These have been some of her favorites.....

We have a piano in the living room that she loves to pound on.  Tyler has fun showing her some songs to play.

 We went to a friend's house the other night and Livi was amazed by the fish they had.  I'm sure she's never seen a real fish.  She loved it and she even got to help feed them a bit. 

 That same night, we were celebrating a birthday so we got to have some birthday cake and ice cream.  She was diggin' in for a bit, but only had a little.  That's pretty good for her, she's eating different things every day.

 Today, we went to McD's after church with Jay's mom.  She had so much fun!  There she was....all decked out in her Sunday dress and tights.....having a blast. 

 I even managed to get a few pics of the boys......though getting all 6 of them to look and smile at the same time proved to be nearly impossible. 

Hey, as long as they were having fun!