I have started to work on Ella’s adoption video and it has brought me right back to those first days in Viet Nam; meeting our daughter, getting to know her in the hotel, exploring Hanoi. Although it wasn’t all that long ago, our time there seems like ages ago and I am so grateful to have those videos to bring me back, and to one day let Ella see our first weeks together.

Today’s Love Thursday post is inspired by Ella’s reaction to watching some video clips of our time in Viet Nam. A few days ago... more

Watch out all you pool owners! Ella's coming for you and she won't stop until she has explored every swimming option available to her! Ella's aunt and uncle have a beautiful swimming pool at their home that provided her with her first big pool swimming experience this past weekend. Now that she’s enjoyed the vastness of their pool, our dinky little blow up baby pool in the backyard may not be good enough for her.

She really did great swimming, and even more importantly, she did great socializing with the other children... more

Love is independence. Actually, love is a child feeling safe enough to explore their independence. Ella is developing a bit of an independent streak and it is fascinating to watch her figure out her little world that she’s a part of. She has started “asking” if it’s okay to do certain things. She asks by looking intently at or pointing to the object or activity in question, looking at me with eyebrows raised and vigorously nodding her head up and down. When I respond with my own nod and tell her yes, you should see the... more

For today’s Love Thursday post, cupcakes represent the amazing support system that my family is lucky enough to have. Those cupcakes mark the culmination of the many exhausting hours of hard work that led up to Miss Ella’s first birthday party that we threw for her this past weekend. There is no way I would have been able to pull it all off if it wasn’t for the family members and friends that pitched in.

The day before the party my house was full of Ella’s female relatives. Both grandmas, a great grandma and an... more

I love this picture of Ella with her Uncle Adam and Aunt Kellie at our Tet party. Of course we adore them, but I’m always touched and sometimes have to catch my breath when I see just how much they adore her. I have three younger brothers and Adam is the middle one. I feel that he and I have gotten so much closer since Cole died and I’m really grateful for that. It’s really nice to have a grown up relationship with my little brother. Kellie’s not technically my sister in law (yet), but I consider her one anyway :) She is such a... more

Love is the simple, everyday things. This picture shows my husband working on our kitchen re-do and Ella "helping" him. What it doesn't show is that he has had to work almost constantly for the past three weeks and was putting in cabinets in his precious time off. He's a high school special education teacher and puts on the school's musical. The show opens this weekend, and I know he (and I) can't wait. I can't wait for him to be done with the grueling rehearsal schedule and all that comes along with it.

We're getting ready to put our... more

Love is knowing there is another person clear on the other side of the country who is so much a part of my daughter’s life that it doesn’t even matter that they don’t get to see each other as often as they would like. Ella’s Aunt Lora has been the truest friend to me for years, and even though she now lives in California, she is so involved in our everyday life. She is always interested and supportive and always goes out of her way to give me a little confidence boost in the mothering department.

Sometimes I just... more

Love is watching your husband and daughter make “cheese” faces across the table at each other. Ella is so in love with her daddy, it just melts my heart. He comes home from work and she gets all giggly and excited, it really is the cutest thing. Sometime we look out the window and wave to him as he pulls into the driveway and as soon as he emerges from his truck she stands up and nods her head ferociously and bangs on the window as if to say “Daddy! I’m here! Come play with me!”

My husband has assumed the... more