And she's only two and a half!

Lily doing Dance Dance Revolution!

Shoveling the Snow

First Sled (trash bag) ride

First Snowman

Yesterday Lily was mad...and I mean real mad...she was so angry she stomped angrily to her door and slammed the door...Olav and I laughed to ourselves....thinking she is only 2.5. God help us when she hits her pre-teen/teen years!

I have also included some fun pics of Lily doing Dance Dance Revolution and our recent snow...only about an inch or two...but enough for Lily to have a true 1st snow experience

Our feminist daughter:)

Lily loves the song Santa Claus is coming to town. Ever since she saw the movie Elf at Christmas, she has sung it daily. However, she has her own version which cracks me up.

She sings...

SHE knows when you are sleeping...SHE knows when you're awake...SHE knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! Hey...

Even if you try to sing it correctly, she will correct you! Gotta love it! Go girl power!

God's faithfulness continually revealed in our lives

Today I had God mind-blowing experience. It continues to bring me to my knees in awe and worship!

You may remember when we lived in Guatemala, we considered hooking up with a lawyer who knew people, with the idea of fast-tracking our case. It seemed a little sketchy, but we were desperate. He asked for 6K, for his services. Having been burnt so many times we were super skeptical. I felt as if I was unable to make a good decision. I prayed to God to open and close doors, because I did not feel like I was capable of making the "ethical" decision. Miraculously God protected us from him. This lawyer claimed that he had the signature of the head honcho of PGN on our file and was expecting his money. Of course, he was lying. That same day the head honcho of PGN was "fired" and our file was exactly where our ASG lawyer had told us it was...with the 1st reviewer. Thankfully we never paid him any money. And we never had contact with him again.

Fast forward almost a year later...today I emailed an acquaintance who recommended this lawyer...asking how his case was proceeding. The news I received was very sad...this lawyer was kidnapped by the Guatemalan Mafia. He recently was freed and hospitalized. This acquaintance's case has been stuck in PGN and with no lawyer, they remain stuck until further notice.

I thought to myself...Thank you Jesus for sparing us this...I can't imagine what would have happened had we paid this guy his 6K, got stuck with him, and then after all the ordeal we had been through before... had to then deal with this. Thank you, God, that you saved us from this!!!! I continue to bow down in awe and gratitude.

Also, sometimes when I am thinking of how to raise Lily to be a god-fearing woman I get overwhelmed. I think, "How is it possible?" and "How will I protect her?". Knowing full well she and I will make plenty of wrong choices on the road.

A dear friend came over the other day and reminded me, that the same faith you relied on in Guatemala to bring Lily home, will be the same faith that you rely on to raise her. It doesn't change. So Lord, help me to continue to lean on you, trusting that your ways are greater than mine (as evidenced by today's earlier posted situation).

With love, respect, and awe,
Kim

That's my girl!

Nature vs. nurture is a funny thing. Sometimes I watch Lily and I feel like I have a little mini-me running around. I know she is simply modeling behaviors that she has seen or heard, but it is endearing nonetheless.

For example, I have this terrible habit of eating my hair. I have had it since childhood and can be found eating my hair in all kinds of situations, including social so many times I have to pull it back just to prevent an embarrassing situation (i.e. eating my hair in a job interview?) We'll Lily pad has picked up on my little habit and has begun to make it her own! I hope that is the worst of the bad habits she picks up from me.

Another habit she recently has picked up is my hair twirling while I am on the phone. It is adorable to watch her talk on the phone either for real or pretend, twirling her hair!

Now if we could just get her in the habit of going to bed early and sleeping at least til 8 a.m.!

A couple other random thoughts...

Favorite Movie: Peter Rabbit

I had a proud mommy moment today. I went to pick Lily up from Mrs. Helen's and all the kids were outside. Lily and all the boys were running back and forth and back and forth racing each other...while the other little girl T. was sitting in the swing watching. I was so proud of my little Lily pad...running her little heart out among the boys!!!! That's my girl!!!!

A poem I think is really special:

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone
But miraculously my own.
Never forget, even for a minute
You weren't born under my heart,
But in it.

Lastly, I know it is random placement, but I have never included this in a blog before and I wanted to publish it so that it doesn't get lost. This was written by my dad Jay in Oct. of 2006. He went to Guatemala with me (my 2nd time, his first) and we spent a glorious week in Antigua, Guatemala with our beautiful 6-month-old Lily Pad.

I have just finished spending the most incredible week of my life and found that I am in love again. It is hard to describe exactly how I feel, for at the moment I am recovering from extreme sadness and pain after being on such a high. It does not help that around me are babies going home and the one that I love remains with a foster family in Guatemala.

I can only imagine the pain of giving birth to a child. However, I believe I have seen and will be seeing for the next few months (hopefully not too long) a pain that may be more devastating than anything experienced in childbirth. It is a pain to leave a child with intermediaries for the foster family/adoption agency after having spent such a few glorious days with the dearest baby in the world and knowing that one will have to go through those same feelings several times again – leaving with the ache for the sight of that beautiful child looking back at me in such a trusting, loving way until I can arrange another visit. It could be months until the baby can come home. How will I live with these feelings? This is not the excruciating pain involved in hours of delivery, but the pain of emotional and physical separation that lasts for weeks and months until the adoption is final and she can come home. Others have done it and so can I! International adoption is another equally rewarding but painful means of giving birth.

All these feelings and I am just the grandpa

Are you sure she is from Guatemala?

Some days I wonder if Lily is really from Guatemala or some other arctic country? Maybe Norway? Anyway, our child loves to be naked all the time even in the frigid winter, and on top of that loves to go outside half-dressed in the cold! Crazy Chick!