Prayer request and update on Mari-Grace

Ok ... my friends Stuart and Cindy are in Seoul, South Korea right now getting their 13 month old son Brady.



They have waited a very long time for this little guy...and now it's their turn to experience the miracle of adoption.

Pray for safe travel, quick attachment, and a life full of blessings.



NOW ...on to my little blessing.



Mari-Grace is doing great. Everyday, more and more of her personality shines thru.

I started back to work on July 26. That was hard. And yes, I cried when I left her the first time.



Luckily, she spends her days with Omaw and Poppy. I couldn't bear to put her in daycare, and I am blessed that I didn't have to put her in daycare.



We are progressing well with our attachment. She cries very little when I leave her with Mom and Dad, but she does tear up a bit. The nice thing is that when I come home at the end of the day, she runs to me with out-streched arms, squealing with excitement, and wanting me to hold her and give her kisses.



She has started leaning in to me, lips puckered, and ready to give me kisses.

When I pick her up, she now puts her arms around my neck and gives me a hug.

When I'm in the floor playing with her, she comes to me and climbs in my lap.



She is no longer a member of the "Clean Plate Club". She has learned that food is always available to her, so now when she's done, she spits the last bite out and pushes her plate away.



Mari-Grace has learned to wave goodbye. She'll point to me, and pat the floor when she wants me to get in the floor and play with her. She also pats the bottom of the recliner when she wants me to put up the foot stool so she can climb up in the chair with me (... to independent to let me pick her up all of the time).



She can say a few words now ...simple things like milk, mama, up, hold, uh-oh, hannah, out, and eat. Now .. does she say them a lot ... no. Most of the time we get "ah ya ya ya ya".

But that's okay. She is learning English, and with the palate issue, she is having to learn to make sounds. After surger, she'll have speech therapy to help her speech develop.



She UNDERSTANDS everything I say. I can tell her to put her dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket ... and she does. I tell her to put something in the trash ... and she does. I can tell her to get a specific toy, and she does. She can pick herself, and me, and Hannah out of pictures. She can recognize a dog ... and knows a dog says "arf arf."



She plays pattycake and pee-pie. She loves to laugh. Her laugh is infectious.



She is sleeping in a full size bed. The crib was too narrow, and the port-a-crib too short.

She'd sleep in my bed ... but she travels in her sleep, so MaMa didn't sleep. I spent my nights trying to keep her from falling off the bed.



SO, a week ago, Poppy dis-assembled the crib and reassembled the full size bed. I'm sure glad that I bought a crib that would convert. It has a nice height headboard and footboard. I scooted it up to the wall, and borrowed a bed rail from some friends. I put pillows all around to keep her from falling between the bed and the wall, or the mattress and footboard.

I put the crib mattress in the floor next to the bed in case she falls out somehow.

SHE'S SLEEPING ALL NIGHT !!!! The last 3 nights, she hasn't gotten me up at all. Mari-Grace wakes up smiling and laughing.

Before I leave for work, I make it a point to get her bath and feed her myself. Since I work 8-10 hour days, I try to make every minute count. When I come home at night, she and I play. We rock in the rocking chair, look at pictures or books. If I get off at 5, I high-tail it home to feed her supper. I HATE working 10 hr days, but unfortunately, they are not always an option. When we are together, she is my sole focus. I do dishes, laundry, and pickup when she is asleep. I actually hired a cleaning lady to dust and vaccuum and clean the bathrooms for me on a regular basis.

I LOVE BEING A MOM !!!!!!