Summer Fun

Several times I have sat down to blog, but then gotten distracted with other things to do. First of all I want to say that both Selah and Maxx are doing well. Maxx had his stitches out and lost a pound (which he needed to do) and Selah is no longer needing fluids subcutaneously and gained ½ pound. Truly both situations were an answer to prayer and I especially want to thank Hannah who was praying so faithfully for my cats. God is good!!
As I have said in the past, we have had a busy summer. After we came back from vacation we had a play date with my friend Christy and her son Evan. Christy took this great picture of Natalie and Evan.
In so many situations Natalie has been the younger child that others have lead around, but here it was so sweet to see her in the role of “big girl.” Every day she tells me how she is a big girl and the things she can do. She is becoming more independent and I am giving her more responsibilities. On one hand it is hard to let her grow up (because she is doing it too fast for me) and yet on the other hand I want her to be challenged. Her personality continues to shine through. Unlike her mother, she is a very outgoing child and makes friends so easily.
This was evidenced in the next week when we went on a camping trip with the church. She not only made friends with the other little girls in the camp, but won the hearts of many of the other people. She also won first place for the biggest leaf on the scavenger hunt with her partner Austin.
The next week was Natalie’s birthday and she was so excited about the children singing Happy Birthday to her at school. That weekend we continued the celebration of her birthday by going to the Museum of Life and Science. We saw butterflies and bugs, how the wind works, a variety of “wild” animals and lots of fun things related to NASA. For this trip we took Bashka along and had a great time.
The next weekend, Natalie headed to VA and spent the weekend with her cousin. They had a great time, but when it was time to come home, she told me that she was glad to come home. Such a difference from last year when she cried and cried and did not seem happy to see me. I continue to see how much we have and are bonding.
Weekly Natalie has been taking swimming lessons and I have seen such an improvement in her skills. She is also swimming 2 days at week at day care and at home in her little pool.

Natalie is growing up in so many ways and I am always amazed at the changes in her and her language abilities. But the area that I have seen a lot of growth is in her spiritual life. We have always prayed together before bed each night, but now her prayers have so much for depth. She prays for family, for my friends that she has met, for the soldiers, for people to be healthy and now in her prayers she not only thanks the Lord, she also tells Him how much she loves Him and wants to praise Him.
This weekend was very restful and we just spent the time around the house and playing. Next weekend we are off to the beach. We are having a great summer!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Today Natalie celebrated her 5th birthday. She has a small party at school and we went out to McDonald's for her birthday dinner. She has been home for 15 months now and today was her second birthday celebrated at home. Life has been a whirlwind lately. Between all of our activities and 2 very sick cats (who are doing okay as of tonight) there has been no time to write or share about what we have been doing. I hope to do that in the coming days. Meanwhile here are some birthday pictures!

The Missing Tooth

Seasons

Lately, I have felt overwhelmed by so many things going on in my life. There have been some challenges at my job, returning home after vacation and settling back in, Natalie adjusting to a new summer class at the day care and most recently the decline of my sweet cat Selah.
It has been hard on me. I am up a lot of nights with Selah and that in turn causes me to be tired and my level of patience decreased. But God is faithful and it is his grace that is sustaining me through this difficult time. She has good days and bad days and this week seems to have a lot of bad days. I suspect the end is drawing near and as much as I don't want her to suffer, I already feel the loss. She has been a sweet, sweet cat and has lived in 10 different places with me. Two of those years she lived with my mom while I was in Romania. Those of you who have pets know just how much a family they become to you.
It is hard for Natalie to understand why her mommy seems sad and the whole concept of death is far beyond her ability to grasp. We have talked about my father (especially Sunday on Father's Day) and how he died and is now with Jesus.
In her child like way, Natalie tries to comfort me and often tells me how much she loves me. Because after all love does cover every thing and makes everything better and she is a child who has a lot of love to give.

On June 1, she bumped her bottom tooth with a marker and knocked it loose. That tooth had been loose the week before vacation, the week of vacation, the week after vacation and this week we started on the 4th week of being loose. She ate corn on the cob the other night and still that tooth hung on. Today I had a dentist appointment and got some instructions from the hygienist and tonight that tooth is sitting in a special tooth "cup." We have talked about the "tooth fairy" and she understands that it is "pretend" but we still put the tooth under the pillow. I so want her to understand the difference between pretend and real. Her love for Jesus is real and I want her faith to grow. Because she was "older" when she came home, I feel it is important to be careful in how I present what is real and what is pretend. I can dress up as a princess but that doesn't make me a princess. On the same hand, it doesn't make me one, but it sure is fun to pretend (when I am playing with Natalie) that I am one. So we can have fun pretending about the tooth fairy, Santa Clause and other things that will come up. But when the difficult times come, I am so grateful that I don't have to pretend that there is a God who cares about me and the ache that is in my heart for Selah. He is real and he is able to give comfort and peace.

As I go through these seasons of changes including Natalie loosing teeth and starting school, I am reminded of the scripture found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-
A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

What comfort there is in knowing the God who created a time for each event in our lives and the seasons that we pass through and grow through.

Boston Pictures

A True Red Sox Fan
Chilling out at the Cape with Tess and Tina

Make Up applied by Natalie on the way to the Cape

On the famous Swan Boats with our friends Lynda and Tess

Hanging out with Mrs. Mallard!

Vacation

Don't you love those vacations where you feel like you have been away from work for a very long time? That was how I felt. It was fine to go back to work though it would have been nice to have one more day at home to get everything caught up. Our time in Boston was great. It was a good combination of getting together with old friends, seeing some of the major sights in Boston and just having some true relaxation time. I must confess driving in Boston was a bit of a challenge. I had forgotten what traffic at rush hour is like!!!
Towards the end of the week, Natalie began to talk about going home and missing Bashka. It was neat to see how much she was missing her grandmother. My friends were all wonderful and spoiled her!!
I was also able to meet up with my friend and former neighbor Todd who was the "push" behind me in the adoption process. It was also great to meet his son who I have not met yet.
It was also neat to see people at church I had not seen in 4-7 years and it was as though no time had passed. I didn't recognize many of the children as they had grown so much and I had to ask my friends who they belonged too!
Natalie graduated from her school program right before we went on vacation. Yesterday she started in her new class for the summer and seems to be doing well. They will be swimming during the summer and she will also begin swimming lessons.
I will post some pictures over the next week of our trip.