st patrick's day

May joy and peace surround you,
Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now,
And bless you evermore.
[ an irish blessing ]

To top the day off, Lilah learned how to skip (without holding my hand!)

an irish blessing

You’ve blessed me with friends and laughter and fun
With rain that’s as soft as the light from the sun
You’ve blessed me with the stars to brighten each night
You’ve given me help to know wrong from right
You’ve given me so much, please, Lord give me too
A heart that is always grateful to you.

- History Lesson Fail -
Me: Lilah, why is St. Patrick special?
Lilah: "Because he blows kisses!"
Me: Oh. Okay.

[ the flickr set is here ]

black & white wednesday, { irish }

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open"
~ John Barrymore ~

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{ see more black & white pictures at 'The Long Road to China' }

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yes indeed, it's a wee leprechaun!

Yesterday Lilah and I made some St Paddy's Day cupcakes.

Colin and I are originally from the North of Ireland, we're not Irish, but we're pretty close, a few miles north of the border close.

Either way, we'll celebrate this holiday, even if we're a few days early and even if it's just for the cupcakes! Because we're ALL about the cupcakes in this house! And it's been far too long since we made cupcakes together, which I think is the real reason we broke down and made them a few days early. That and we needed a project!

Here's our wee leprechaun, with frosting on her lips, proving she's indulged herself already! When she said "Not tell Baba" to me, (regarding eating a cupcake), I thought to myself 'good luck girly - like he won't notice the bright green frosting on your lips'! Heh!

[ more pictures here ]

our wee irish princess

Happy St Patrick's Day! How could you not kiss that precious face?! We munch on those lips and cheeks all day every day! More pictures of our Irish princess here.

Today Lilah has an appointment at the adoption clinic in the children's hospital. I'm sure Lilah won't be so happy, but we are looking forward to finally get her checked out. There are always little worries in the back of our minds, not only about her kidneys (because of the tainted formula scare in China), but also to know she's been immunized correctly and she has no pesty little bugs hanging around. She will also get her eyes checked which will hopefully put our minds a little more at ease. When we received Lilah's referral it indicated that she had esotropia (a form of strabismus), but when the children's hospital checked her medical documents they thought she might have puesdoesotropia. We hope to find out more today; your prayers are very much appreciated.