Cutest Kid Contest

Go to Ashleigh Dees Photography and read about who just won a Cutest Kid Contest with a whopping 402 votes!!! Here's a hint....

Thanks to all who voted!!

When Did This Happen?

I walked into my laundry room over the weekend and saw this....



I recently washed both of the little outfits that my boys wore home from the hospital when they were born because I am about to have them framed in shadow boxes. I had hung them to dry. Then I washed Jon Milledge's baseball pants from the tournament the weekend before and hung them to dry. I didn't realize at the time that I had hung them side by side. When I opened the door the other day and saw them hanging there together, it literally brought me to tears. Where did the time go and when did my little baby, that could wear that sweet little blue outfit, grow up and become a teenager? I am so proud of him and the young man that he is becoming but there are days when I wish I could still pull him up in my lap and rock him. When I had two toddlers and was frazzled most days, my mother would tell me to enjoy every minute because it would be over so fast. I did enjoy it but never believed her about how fast time would move. I literally feel like he was in kindergarten last year but instead he will be in high school in about 6 months. WOW! Yes, enjoy every minute for this season is fleeting and will be over before we know it. As hard as it might seem some days, I choose to cherish every moment I have with all three of my children!

Here is my young man with those same men's baseball pants on! Isn't he handsome?

Happy Valentine's Day.....

....to you, from me and my sweet Valentine!!!

Little Sister

We now have a little sister whom we completely adore.

She has brought more joy to our lives than we could've ever imagined. A joy that we didn't even realize was missing.

She is spoiled, happy, delightful, charming, so smart and loved beyond measure.

Thank you God for our sweet little sister that we now can't imagine living without!

“A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.” ~Isadora James

The Great Snow Week of 2011

We are in our fifth day of being iced in here in Georgia. This is so bizarre for us and very abnormal! Even though we freak out a little...ok a lot....when the news of winter weather is headed our way, I have never experienced anything like this in my lifetime. My children have missed the whole week of school which has never happened that I can recall. The problem is not the snow it is LOTS of ice and also the fact that the temperatures have not risen above freezing until today, not to mention it has been in the teens every night this week so anything that might've thawed during the day has refrozen at night.
We are going a bit stir crazy here but have done lots to remain sane. We have ridden behind the neighbors Gator in a plastic pool, been sledding on our beach boogie boards, spent time with fun neighbors, had friends over for spend the night parties, been over to friends houses for spend the night parties, go cart fun with friends, fires in the fireplace, and big pots of chili! We have had a great week and I will be sorry to see my children go back to school next week!
Miss Ruthie took to the snow like she has everything else in the last six months, like it wasn't the first time she had seen it and didn't understand why we were making such a big deal about it! She got a book at Christmas about a snowman so all she could say the first day...over and over...was "Snowman,Snowman,Snowman"! She loved it all!

Fun high school neighbors that love my children!

Gator fun!

My three snow bunnies!

My boys LOVE their American Eagle mohawk hats...can you tell? :)

Our home!

Happy Six Months!

What a difference 6 months can make...for both of us!

Today marks 6 months that Ruthie has been part of our family. In some ways, it seems like that is impossible and in others it feels as if she has always been with us. So much has changed in these past few months, Ruthie has grown physically and in many other ways, I have grown and our family is still adapting and evolving daily.
I look at this precious child, who repeats everything we say and I mean EVERYTHING, and wish that I knew what was going through her little head. Does she miss someone when she is sad? Does she remember the orphanage, her nannies and her friends? What does the song she sometimes sings to herself mean, if anything? What causes her to wake screaming in the night on occasion? Does she truly feel safe with us? Can she feel our love?
There are times when I still feel so inadequate to be her mother, one reason is because there are so many unknowns in her past but then I have to remind myself that God called me to be her mother and He will guide me. I also think that I didn't truly know how to be a mother when Jon Milledge was born, that parenting is a work in progress. It is no different in this case, I'm still learning daily with not just Ruthie but all three of my children.
Ruthie is really doing great considering how she could be doing. She does get a sad, distant look sometimes which rips my heart out but we just hold her, love her, talk to her, cuddle her and pray that she understands that we adore everything about her. Her vocabulary is very high for any two year old but considering she has only heard the English language for six months, she is doing exceptionally well! She can let us know now what she wants or needs using her words. She loves to read and sing songs all day. Her brothers think that everything she does is amazing and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. She has a very outgoing personality and hasn't met a stranger yet. She has a way of charming everyone she comes in contact with daily.
We had a great Christmas and I'm pretty sure Santa had fun bringing girl toys to our house this year. I don't know who is enjoying the toy kitchen more, me or Ruthie! Ruthie enjoyed all the festivities even though she really didn't understand why we were doing all these crazy things...like putting a tree in the middle of our house! We talked about and read books about Baby Jesus and she was so cute singing Happy Birthday to Him!
The past six months have been amazing, scary, wonderful,terrifying but also so precious. We waited so long to meet our daughter and she has exceeded any expectation, hope or prayer that we ever had for her. We can't hardly remember what life was like without her and we can't wait to watch this sweet child blossom even more over the next six months! Thank you God for an amazing first six months and an amazing, beautiful daughter!

Classic!

Needless to say, Ruthie is not a fan of the big man in the red suit. She doesn't seem to care that she might need to sit in his lap and recite her list or that he has a naughty and nice list! In fact, if we ask her now if she wants to go see him or does she want him to bring her some toys, she very adamantly says, "NOOOO!". I have pictures of both of my boys doing the same thing so I couldn't resist! No, I have not forgotten that I have two other children as well, they just refused to sit in Santa's lap and I don't understand why?? :)

Christmas Card...Take One

Obviously due to the fact that Ruthie is screaming because there is a dog nearby and Jon Milledge isn't looking at the camera, this will not be our Christmas card picture this year. However, I still love it! I think my babies are precious no matter what!

Update Post

I am supposed to be doing an update post once a month on our adoption site, Adoption Voyages. I have been a tiny bit slack in that area because I put everything on Facebook and here on this blog. Anyway, I finally did an update....four months after returning home. Instead of doing the same post on this blog, I'm just going to give you the link to it. If you would like to read it, click here!

But just because I think she's so darn cute and I can't imagine doing a post without a pic of her, here is a picture of my favorite little ladybug on Halloween!!

What would God have you to do?

November is designated as National Adoption Month in hopes of raising awareness for the orphan crisis here and around the globe. We feel like once you are aware of something, you are responsible to act. We would ask that you think about how God would use you to help an orphan today, which doesn't always mean adoption. Here are some reputable agencies and organizations that would love not only your financial support but also your prayers.

Adoption Agencies:

The Open Door
Small World
Lifeline Adoption

Organizations:

Caring for China(sponsors Ruthie's orphanage)
Half the Sky
Show Hope
Brighton Their World
Love Without Boundaries

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'~Matthew 25:40

Adopting a child won't change the world, but for that child, the world will change.

"...Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act..."~Proverbs 24:12

What can you do to help the least of these?

Huge Giveaway!!

Over at Ni Hao Y'all, Stefanie is hosting a 30 Days of Giveaways during this holiday season. Follow the link to see how you can enter to win too! Oh how fun...I love me some giveaways!!

Oh Happy Day!

We are celebrating today because our friends were handed a special little bundle in Harbin, China earlier this morning. Miss Chloe is Ruthie's age and they live here in our town, so we are thrilled that these two precious girls will get to grow up together! Congratulations Patrick, Deann, MaCayla and Hannah!!! If you would like to follow their journey, click here.

Chloe Grace

Chloe Grace with her Mommy, Daddy, and sisters MaCayla and Hannah

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.~John 14:18

One Less

This is an amazing song about adoption that gives me chills everytime I hear it. This is the story behind Matthew West writing the song. Once you've heard the story you should head on over to itunes or youtube and listen to the whole song. Very powerful about the call that God places on us to care for the widows and orphans. As I listen to this song, I rejoice in the fact that our Ruthie is One Less...

One Less by Matthew West (The Story Behind The Song) from emicmg on Vimeo.

Lyrics to One Less by Matthew West

There's a child
Been abandoned out on the street
Now she's waiting for someone to be her miracle

There's a wife
Somewhere halfway around the world
Begging God for a litte girl she can call her own

Well worlds collide
And colors fade
And a man and wife
Brought their little girl home today

And there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Yeah there's one less
One less
There's one less broken heart in the world tonight

We are called
To the widows and the orphans
But it's easy to ignore their silent crys
Oh but every single time
Somebody reaches into the darkness
Makes a choice to help the helpless
They let mercy save a life

And there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Yeah there's one less
One less
Yeah there's one less broken heart in the world tonight

Well the truth is we are all the orphans
But love has left the 99 just to find the one

So let worlds collide
Colors fade
Let your life
Be the miracle today

One less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Tonight I know there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight

One less child without a home
One less birthday gone forgotten
One more soul rising from the bottom

One less night alone
One less child without a home
One less birthday gone forgotten
One more soul rising from the bottom

One less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight

Happy 11th Birthday Anderson!

I can't believe my baby boy is 11 today! Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Anderson! We love you and wish you the best, always!

Ruthie's Party

A Two-year-old child is so many things --
A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings,
A hugger of Teddies,
A sweet sleepyhead,
And someone to dream for in bright years ahead...

The beautiful Birthday Girl

The amazing cake made by Mrs. Mary Loyd(it was as yummy as it was gorgeous!)

Ruthie's "smash" cake!
Ruthie, Elizabeth and Julie
Ryan and Ruthie
My niece, Caroline, and Ruthie
Ruthie and Julie
Coloring...ladybugs of course!
Sidewalk chalk
Ruthie and her cake
She LOVED the slide!
I love how excited she gets about every new thing! I want to look at life like she does.

She clapped for herself after blowing the first candle out..so cute!


Most of our local China friends. Aren't they beautiful?!
Ruthie with my mother
Opening gifts later at home

The Birthday Girl was pooped!


May all your wishes and dreams come true, sweet girl! We love you!