So thankful God made me a Mama to these two sweet little girls.
Children are a gift from the Lord.
This is what we call 'The Kiss Sandwich'.
The girls are usually on the receiving end of this one!
The best feeling in the world, is to love and be loved.
Today Lilah had a show and tell at school.
She's in French Immersion this year, which basically means, she's being immersed in the French language, her whole day is taught in French and she is bringing French books home to read every night. To be honest, I'm having more trouble than she is! What was life like before Google and all this online help? Phew!
Anyway, I'm so proud of how well she has done this year. She really enjoys school, her class friends and her teacher.
This month her show and tell was the letter Y. The object name had to start with Y, in both the English and French version of the word. Well, we decided on 'yoyo'.. because in all honesty, there weren't a whole lot of other options! We dropped by the dollar store, bought a yoyo and I set to work, showing her how to handle a yoyo. It didn't take my determined little girly too long to get the hang of the yoyo! She even told me it was the most favourite thing I'd ever bought her!
And it sounded like the show and tell went great too!
"Mom, before I could ride my bike without stabilizers, I had a dream I was riding my bike without stabilizers and that dream came true! Last night I dreamt that you, me and Phebe were jumping off tall buildings to find the right building. I don't think that dream is going to come true, do you?"
One of our friends (Amy) looked after Lilah last Thursday as we had our pre-assesment appointment at the Children's Hospital with Phebe. Later that evening, Lilah said to me, "Mom I had SO much fun today with Amy... sometimes I just need a break from you!"
On my birthday, my husband gave Lilah $10 to take me out. I didn't know anything about it! Lilah asked me all morning if we could go out for a walk... so I figured something was up! There are at least five different coffee shops in our area, it was a secret which one she was going to bring me to, so she walked in front to show me the way! It ended up being Tim Hortons! So I asked her what she was going to order me, and she said: "Mama, it's your special day, I don't want to disappoint you, so you just make that decision yourself!" I got a tea and breakfast sandwich while my two monkeys feasted on Cold Stone Creamery Cotton Candy ice-cream at 11am!
Baba regularly has this saying, "God helps those that help themselves", in other words... God won't let you sit back on your oars when you want something, you need to be proactive. After Baba said it one evening, Lilah looked at me and asked: "Is that a real Bible verse?"
lilah: "Mama, wasn't it supposed to rain today?"
me: "Yep, your right... but sometimes the weatherman gets it wrong!"
*5 minutes silence*
lilah: "Mama, does the weatherman make a deal with God?"
As she bikes her heart out every single day she gets the opportunity, including to school and home... she is growing lots and lots of confidence.
At the start she had a hard time biking on the footpath. I think the width of it kinda threw her off, because she either thought she was going to fall off the kerb or bike into someones garden! So we started her out on our pretty quiet little street... biking up and down the street.
But with all the practice, she can now bike of the footpath (Canadian = Sidewalk!). In fact, she can even bike past me on the footpath now, without mowing me down! Next thing you know, she'll be doing wheelies! Haha - I jest! If you knew my (cautious) girl, you would be like "Yeah, right!".
Welcome to the "Rainbow Flower Shop" - name courtesy of Lilah!
Yesterday we went out on a mission to the dollar store in the hopes of finding a bunch of beautiful tacky plastic flowers! The girls were so excited with the idea of a shop and Lilah helped me wrap the cardboard boxes, write out and decorate the signs and set up the shop. It turned out so bright and colourful, just as we envisioned it.
But then we realized we didn't have a cash register and tell me, what shop does not have a cash register?
Actually, with this flower shop, one of my hopes was to work on a little math! Yikes, totally not my strong suit, but thankfully at this age it's all pretty basic! So today we went for a walk to a store not too far from our place and found a sweet little cash register. What child does not love a cash register? I specifically remember daydreaming about a cash register as a child. So, now we have the perfect little cash register. And with the elimination of the Canadian penny, it now means we have plenty of those kicking around our house, so I figured it would be the perfect way to work on some simple addition and subtraction, just by using the pennies! So much fun!
Oh, and I just love listening to the girls imaginations running wild as they role play in their new flower shop venture!
I am such a proud Mama this evening.
My Lilah girl, a couple of weeks ago, told us that she wanted us to take the training wheel off her bike. So I found a wrench in the shed, and I did just that. Phebe was rather perturbed about the whole situation, asking me over and over again: "Why break it, Mama?"
Unfortunately we only got out once, to practice without the training wheels. Lilah is a very cautious child, but she is also very determined. When she puts her mind to something, she won't let anything get in her way! I love that about her.
So anyway, a friend mentioned that his girls scooted a lot and it really helped with their balance which is so necessary for bike riding. So I pulled out the scooter on Monday, and every day this week she has scooted to and from school on her scooter. By Friday, her scooting skills were impeccable, where she could even scoot with both her feet on the scooter and use the back break (over the wheel) with the heel of her foot!
She was soooooo proud of herself.
This afternoon, Baba got her bike out again and took her to the park and guess what? Yes...she just took off biking down the little path to the park, all on her own. You can imagine the glow on her face. And ours. She literally hasn't stopped riding (and glowing) since.
So so so proud of you Lilah Grace. You can do ANYTHING you want, when you put your mind to it! Well done!
"What’s that thing called that holds your pee in your body?"
"When I grow up I want to be a parent. It's going to be hard, but I think I can do it!"
"Mom, that watermelon toothpaste tastes delicious. I was supposing it might be red, but it's green!"
Looking up at the moon one night, Lilah asked: "Mom, do the astronauts take a slice off the moon every single night?"
"Mama, you know what? Phebe has a sharing heart AND a heart condition!"
"Mom, what's a pep talk?"
me: "It's a beautiful day today."
lilah: "How do you know?"
me: "Well the sky is blue and the sun is shining."
lilah: "What, you made up your own forecast?"
"Phebe was really cute in China, I miss those days!"
me: "Lilah isn't that stuffy the same as yours?"
lilah: "Yes, it's the copy of it!"
"Mom, white is not even a colour, it's blank!"
lilah: "Mom, I'm glad you let me wear a pink shirt today, because today is no bulldozing day."
me: "Huh? I think you mean bullying?"
lilah: "Oh yes, that's it!"
lilah: "Mom, how does a woman get pregnant?"
me: "Well Lilah, a man and a woman really love each other a lot and the baby grows in her belly."
lilah: "Well then, how come you couldn't have a baby in your belly? ...because you love Baba a lot."
me: *pause* (did she just seriously ask me that?!) "Well Lilah, God had a very special plan for me. He told me 'No' to a baby in my belly and he told me 'Yes', to a little baby girl in China. He knew your birth Mama wouldn't be able to keep you and look after you, so He chose me to be your Mama. Lilah, you weren't in my belly, God put you in my heart instead."
lilah: "I really want to be a Mom when I grow up."
It's finally Spring again!
I love the change in seasons... imagine there was just one season, how boring would that be? There is just something wonderful about the Spring season and the new life it produces. It makes me so glad and thankful.
This morning we took a little stroll through the Arboretum. Ahh, we didn't even need our coats and the girls had so much fun - climbing trees, hanging from trees, sitting on branches of trees, making camp fires... there is something so wonderful about a child's imagination. It made us all smile with glee.
My girls, dressed in their Sunday best, all ready to head out to Church this morning!
I've been meaning to take a few pictures of the girls in their Apron Dresses - by Handmaiden Canada for quite a while now. And also their Pixie Hats, that were handknit by my Mum, to match the dresses. I found the knitting pattern for the hats on Etsy and my Mum, who loves all things crafty, bought the pattern and did an amazing job on not only knitting them, but also choosing the yarn colour to match the dresses, especially considering she'd only seen the dresses in a photo.
These hats were part of the girls Christmas gift and I'm only getting around to taking pictures now. Yikes!
Seriously though - these two little pixies are so sweet!
I adore my Lilah girl. She's a deep thinker and I have to be on my toes when she comes out with her deep questions. Most of the deep questions are related to God, Eternity and Adoption.
Since Phebe's arrival, we've been getting a lot more questions (from strangers) while out and about on our daily travels. Obviously our racial differences beg people to ask about either the girls father's race or if the girls are adopted. So I recently asked Lilah what she'd like me to tell people when they ask us about her and Phebe. She's at an age where I want to include her and I want her opinion on either, a) if she wants me to talk about it and b) if so, what I should say. So we had a discussion on the subject and the reason why people ask these questions. She told me she's okay with me telling them she's from China and she joined our family through adoption. I also get asked a fair bit, if the girls are sisters and I usually just say "They are now" - it seems to satisfy their curiosity.
Just a few days ago Lilah quizzed me on the function of her belly button and we got into a deep discussion about babies in their Mama's belly and all the ins and outs of that. When we'd finished our discussion and how she was in her birth Mama's belly and being fed by her, she said to me: "I wish I was in your belly. I wish I was being fed by you." Sometimes I just feel so unprepared for my deep thinker. I pray for help and wisdom. And there is not a day goes by that I don't thank God for this beautiful girl of mine.
Today, while singing 'The Lord is my Rock', in the car, she asked me: "Is God really our rock?" So I explained to her that a rock is solid, it doesn't move, it's strong and you can depend on it - so it's like the Lord, He's our rock and we can trust and depend on Him. She seemed satisfied with the answer and added... "Yes, and we love the Lord, because He died to take our sins away."
Every time I blink, time just seems to disappear.
Wow. It's been five years since the day we got the call. FIVE YEARS! How on earth did that happen? In another month I will have a 6 year old. SIX YEARS OLD! How on earth did that happen?
It is scary how life just seems to pass by all too quickly. Our little girl is turning out to be the most inquisitive and intelligent big girl. I'm so proud of her in so many ways.
You are one of the greatest gifts God ever gave me, Lilah Grace. But then again you know that. Just a couple of nights ago, in your bedtime prayer, you thanked God for Mama's greatest joys and blessings in life. You even told God them in the exact order I'd told you...
1) For saving Mama when she was 15 years old.
2) The day she married Baba.
3) For giving her precious Lilah.
4) For giving her precious Phebe.
For 5 years Lilah, I've thanked God for you every single day.
a slow snowy day around our house
It's been a couple of weeks since she got her new glasses. Can you believe she chose pink? I know, me neither! (I'm so thrilled!)
It's funny, because she has always been so proud of the fact that she doesn't liked pink or princesses!
She told me recently she likes pink now. Actually, one of the main reasons she likes pink now, is because, in her own words: "When you wear a pink shirt, it means 'No Bullying!'. I was very impressed that she would choose to like pink because of the 'no bullying' message.
So sweet and sensitive, that's my Lilah girl.
Lilah loves to 'Mini Mommy' Phebe a lot of the time. And for the most case, Phebe is quite happy being babied.
Yesterday morning Lilah asked me if she could help Phebe with the morning (after breakfast) bathtime routine... which meant I got to photograph it! Actually, I told Lilah I would take pictures so we could show Phebe them, when she is older, just so she realizes what a loving helpful big sister she had!
I also adore this quote from Lilah - she told me this last week: "When I grow up I want to be a parent. It's going to be hard, but I think I can do it!"
I'm just glad she realizes a parents job is not always an easy one!
