With a Thankful Heart

\Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

On this day (and every day) I give thanks for:

* a relationship with a loving God who brings me hope, forgiveness, mercy, comfort and blessed joy

* my loving husband who continues to make our family a priority, who is the most amazing and devoted father and who seems to find new ways of loving me – even when I make that difficult
* the surprise gift of Gianna Elyse – who brings joy, love and meaning to my every moment – and challenges me to always do/be better
* our special birthmom who not only chose life, but an adoption plan for her sweet baby girl
* nights filled with sleep (for ALL of us) – and for a baby who wakes with chatter and laughter
* my Max – the wonder dog – who is truly the most faithful friend and my biggest fan
* our families – who are constant and generous in their love for us
* our time with Maddie & Collin – which tilled the soil of our hearts – and challenging us to love bigger and more than we ever knew we could
* Iain’s job – that challenges him and provides well for our family
* the opportunity and privilege to be a work-at-home mom
* wonderful neighbors who have become caring friends
* a house that has become and warm/welcoming home filled with love
* the gift of creativity and the opportunities to use it

And those things not so important but oh-so-appreciated:

* Healthy Choice box dinners – for those nights when cooking ain’t gonna happen
* Tivo – Ooooh the Tivo! I should BE so grateful for the truer blessings in my life. J
* Our new mini-van – for the room, the ride, and the reliability
* All the new baby conveniences that have made our lives just a little more easy
* The internet, email, websites and blogs that make child-rearing, Christmas shopping and keeping in touch with old and new friends so much easier

From our family to yours, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving.

Thinking outside the bottle...

Oh what fun!!! We ventured beyond the bottle this month and began trying the adventures of spoon feeding. So far, only rice cereal......and every single time is more than entertaining. Vegetables and fruits ought to be a hoot!!!

A New Find

Gianna and I ventured out to Mistletoe & Moss (a holiday shopping event sponsored by the Junior League hosting all sorts of local and not-so-local specialty shops). I didn’t do much shopping, because Gianna seemed to generate as much (or more) attention as many of the vendors. (I’m tellin’ you….we could’ve just had our own booth for a public viewing of this child.) After years being in public carrying other people’s children and fielding the question…….. “Is he/she YOURS?” I was finally able to say with joy and pride, “YES!!!!!!!" You better believe it!

Anyway, I didn’t buy anything except for one tiny little thing that happened to catch my eye. It’s a toddler product called “My Spoon” and it was invented by a Lake Charles resident who was having difficulty when her left-handed toddler began had difficulty self-feeding. You know how kids always seem to miss their mouths until they learn to maneuver their wrist? Well, this addesses that issue. So clever. She has two patents pending and has investors interested in getting the spoons in Target.

I thought it was the greatest idea and I just wanted to support her new endeavor. She has a website where you can order them (only $5.99 per spoon, and there is a left and right handed version.) http://my-spoon.com For Lake Charles residents, she’s got them for sale at Terra Cottta’s.

My Jelly Book

Recently one of my long-time friends came into town for a friend's baby shower and she asked me if I had started a "jelly book" yet. I couldn't even fathom what that could be, so I asked. She told me that you just get an empty book/journal that you keep in your kitchen - where most of life seems to happen - and when your kids say things and do things that you want to remember, you just jot it in the book. Often it'll be stained by jelly or coffee or whatever piece of life is happening at the moment....but you'll have it written down and eventually have a treasured collection of amazing moments you may accidentally forget otherwise.


I just loved that concept. (Thank you Mary!) I found an old journal of quotes I began keeping years ago, and designated that as my Jelly Book. My first entries will be sure to include:

1) Four year old Hunter's first meeting with Gianna. He sat down with Gianna on his lap, unwrapped her blanket, looked at her feet, looked up with wide eyes and exclaimed, "Hers got hand feet!"

2) Ten year old Annabeth's announcement that, "Gianna is so sweet, that if I had a cup of coffee right now, I'd just have to dunk her right in it."

3) When Gianna was a week old and my friend, Rose, came to visit for the first time she was overcome with emotion and just kept thanking God for His goodness. Holding this little five pound answer to prayer, Rose said through her tears..."Oh my gosh! I haven't even finished thanking God for IAIN yet!!!" - Me neither, Rose.

I look forward to pages and pages of Jelly Book entries.

P.S. Oh, by the way, the grunting has returned. Aaaagh.

Sam Houston State Park

We are so fortunate to have a beautiful State Park not even five minutes from our home. We took Gianna there for the first time this weekend for a long walk, which she happened to sleep through.

The park was full of people enjoying the spring-like weather. It was a lovely afternoon. Gianna will have many memories there as she grows up.

Grunting Update: Almost completely gone! Hallelujah! Still gently grunts herself to sleep which is complelely tolerable and mildly amusing. More later.

Bring it on!

This morning, after sleeping for almost 12 straight hours, praise the Lord, Gianna created a new game for her Mommy & Daddy. Since she can't talk yet, we've named it "Bring it on!"

Here's how it went down:

I was holding her and doing all my little songs and noises that mommy's do and Gianna would squeal and giggle and laugh. And then she would immediately stop, whip her little head around to look at Iain, almost demanding a "performance" that would compare.

Then, Iain would do his daddy thing (which is hysterical because everyone who knows him will know that he is typically not that animated) and she would giggle and squeal, stop abruptly, stair at him, as if to say, "Is that all you got?" Then, she'd whip her little head around to me with a look as if to say, "Can you beat that?" "Bring it on!" We were even more tickled than she was.

Grunting Update: First, let me clarify for those who said, "Oh, I guess she's found her voice." or "Well, they do tend to babble at that age" that we are NOT talking about babbling here....or cute little baby sounds. This child sounds like an 18 wheeler with no muffler, a bull-dozer trying to move a granite pile or a pitt bull who's being taunted. It's gutteral, loud and grating. Aaaagh!
(Now granted, if this is the worst we have to complain about at this stage - and it is - we are extremely fortunate and we know that. :)

All that said, the grunting still occurs, but is thankfully subsiding. She mostly uses it now to grunt herself to sleep. I'm sure she's just saving her energy for her next trick. :) Can't wait. More later

Grunt-a-thon Day 5

Lawdy, Lawdy! We've made it through five days of 12 hours a day of grunting. Nothing's wrong.........she just happens to like the sound. I can tolerate a lot - but I had to put myself in time out a few times yesterday - just to keep my sanity.

We went to the doctor today for a well-baby check-up and immunizations. All is well. Gianna performed beautifully for the doctor and she even gave her a little taste of her new method of communication. "Oh, looks like we have a grunter." she said. I begged her to tell me that this was a phase and will pass very quickly. Hmm....no luck.

Oh, and the sweet potato weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz. A long way from the 5 lb 3 oz that she weighed at birth. We get to start rice cereal now. Wooo Hooo!

Grunt-a-holic

Okay, for 4 days now....Little Miss Sunshine has discovered she can grunt and has chosen to do so for her main method of communication for 12 hours a day. Oh my goodness! I thought I was going to lose my marbles yesterday.

The good news is that her grunting motivated her dad to clean out the garage - I'm sure partly because it was pitifully disorganized and partly because he'd rather be anywhere than near the grunting.

Heaven help us all. :)