I have a lot of catching up to do...

I have a lot of catching up to do...

My in box has over 10,000 emails. About 80% are spam. Which means about 2,000 that are worth reading. As I was sorting through them today an email came through that was sent the day we were in court in Tbilisi. It was to inform me about Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter's tragic death. I couldn't believe that he lost little Maria. Such a sweet little girl. Such a heartbreaking accident.

For those who aren't familiar with his work put your sound on. Mr. Chapman has written several songs which have inspired countless parents to adopt both internationally as well as domestically. We were introduced to his music when we attended our first agency's international orientation meeting some 3 years ago. The majority of adoption blogs feature at least one of his songs as they really do hit come.

"When Love Takes You In" is a personal favorite.

Please turn your sound on.. say a little prayer for the Chapman family .. if your not the religious type send happy thoughts their way. ;o) ok?

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Below is a comment I left on Mr. Chapman's personal blog... yes I do leave comments on others blogs. Although he hasn't posted since the tragedy (understandably) I'm sure at some point he will return and see my comment. Perhaps it will put a smile on his face for a moment to know he indirectly has helped us find Tamara.

"I have over 10,000 emails in my inbox that I'm sorting through and I just found out about your daughter's tragic accident. When it happen we were in The Republic of Georgia adopting our 3 year old baby girl and I'm still trying to catch up. We actually met our daughter the day Maria passed. Kind of strange? Even stranger Maria and I share a Birthday 5/13. Anyway.. I just had to chime in and tell you that our thoughts and prayers are with your family. And Thank You for the work you do to help the orphans around the world. Even though your primary focus seems to be China.. you helped to bring our baby home as well. Through your inspirational adoption / child related music you gave me strength to see our 3 year journey through. Can not Thank You enough!!!Wishing you and yours only the best always,

Lee "

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This is the attachment I received. An article worth reading as it will remind us all of how fragile our lives truly are.

Little Maria is sitting in Steven's lap. One of 3 little girls the Chapman's adopted from China.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.


The girl, Maria Sue, was hit in the driveway of the family's home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The brother, whose name and exact age weren't available, apparently did not see the girl, McPherson said. No charges are expected.
"It looks like a tragic accident," she said.
Several family members witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.
In a statement, Velvet Kelm, a publicist for Chapman, said Maria was the Chapmans' youngest daughter.

Chapman, who is originally from Paducah, Ky., and his wife have promoted international adoption and have three daughters from China, including Maria. They also have three biological children.
The singer's Web site says the couple was persuaded by their oldest daughter to adopt a girl from China. The experience led the family to adopt two more children and create Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation and ministry to financially assist thousands of couples in adoption.
The Chapmans did missionary work at Chinese orphanages in 2006 and 2007, according to the Web site.
"After our first trip to China, my wife and I knew our lives were changing -- our eyes and hearts were opening to how big God really is, and we have wanted to experience more of that," Chapman says on the Web site.
"We've really wondered whether or not we should just go to China and stay there. But I don't think so. I believe God is saying, 'I want you to go, get your heart broken, your eyes opened, and then take this story back to the church in America and around the world."'
The 45-year-old singer also has released a book about being a father titled "Cinderella: The Love of Daddy and his Princess." He has won five Grammy awards and 54 Dove awards from the Gospel Music Association, according to Kelm.

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10,000 emails to sort through.. no kidding. As I struggle to get through them in my spare time.. which usually means late night or early morning with an occasional nap time thrown in. She's only 3... you wouldn't think she would demand so much attention. lol. But she does and we're happy to oblige. Tamara is doing very well. And these are the days to cherish... so we are. Every moment, hour , day is very special and unique.

But...I have a lot of catching up to do... ;o)

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Did you put your sound on?

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Up..up and away..

Up..up and away...

Today we headed out to the Balloon Fest in Readington, NJ.

Below is a picture of the ascension. They had over 125 balloons that were supposed to take off together. However due to high winds about a 100 never made it off the ground. :o(

A real shame as tomorrow their last day at the Fest is supposed to be pretty rainy.

Oh well maybe next year?

Tamara watching the balloons take off.
The twin bees. At least that's what I called them. I'm sure they have a name.
Held at the Solberg Airport in Readington... it was packed. Just a sea of people and cars.
Tamara eating her first ever funnel cake. She loved it.

I learned something today.

Mommies shouldn't order funnel cakes (which come smothered in powered sugar) especially when wearing black on a windy day. Eeek!!!

Tamara snacking in her stroller. We brought a blanket with us but Tamara wanted to be strapped into her seat? OK?

All in all a fun day. Tamara loves to watch people.

Hum??? Maybe she's become a shrink someday?

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OK I hear thunder... see ya or as Tamara would say Nite! Nite!

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Oh Ducky.. she says BLUE!

Oh Ducky

Tamara loves her Rubber Duckies so much.

She especially loves her bath robe and slippers.
Cute no?

This week she's been getting more independent. She's trying to do more herself. Now she sits on this wicker bench / toy chest while dressing. Honestly she is capable of doing 90% of it although she does still like Mommy to help her. My baby is already growing up... sniff, sniff :o(

It's a delicate balance between giving her the toddler Independence she craves and the mothering she never had before. Although many "experts" will say do everything for them for the sake of bonding. I'm pretty confident Tamara is happy here and is bonded pretty well. Each day holds a surprise.. each day she has another first moment.

Today's word was blue. Blue crayon... Blue berries (which she loves)

Can't wait until tomorrow.

~~~

My Pet Zucchini

My Pet Zucchini ...

Today we went to check on my parents gardens and fish pond. It's hard to believe 2 weeks have already flown by since my family left for Croatia. Wow.. time does fly when you're having fun. They'll be back before we know it. I am a little disappointed though.. you'd think that one of them would have set up a blog so I know what's going on? LOL

Oh well...

This weekend is my cousin Martina's wedding so I'm sure they're all having fun.

Congratulations Martina & Steve. We'll have to celebrate when you get back home. Yes they live in New York but their wedding is in Croatia. Talk about a destination wedding. And you all thought I was crazy when we got married in Wisconsin. ;o)

OK.. I'll get serious.. here are today's pictures.

Daddy and Tamara walk down to feed the fishies...

Hi Mom
The fish are jumping ...
We're going to do what?
I fell on my butt in the Zucchini patch... now Mommy says I have to stay here and watch. She said Karen needed to see this picture. Something about my hair?
Mommy is looking for cu-comebles. She keeps saying ouch! She says they have thorns but I think they bite her.

Daddy found some huge Zucchini in the garden. This one I keep.

It's a little heavy but I think it will make a good pet.

No you can't have it Daddy.. it's mine now.

I like Zucchini Mommy... Can we keep him?

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Oops...

Oops..

Almost forgot these photos. They were taken 4th of July week.

Between my bruised knees and I guess I forgot to mention the hand pain. I was unable to kneel very well so Tamara and Daddy potted some planters for me.

The hand pain actually started before I fell. I was warned several moths ago to be careful lifting Tamara as while most biological parents start with a 7 pound baby and work their way up. When you adopt a 25+ pound toddler you don't have the strength / muscle tone built up in your hands. And a adopted toddler does insist on being picked up and carried alot. Especially in the first few months. So for the past few weeks I start my day popping 3 Tylenol which seems to do the trick for the rest of the day. Just though I'd mention it as I know there are other soon to be adoptive parents out there. Perhaps passing on the warning will help someone else?

~

Below Tamara & Daddy start potting some Geraniums for the back deck.

At first Tamara thought Daddy was crazy when he told her what they were going to do for fun. She doesn't like getting dirty so playing in the dirt seemed insane to her. I dressed her in a comfy washable outfit and gave her.. her gardening gloves, knee pad and gardening tools and she seemed more interested.

All her gardening equipment is designed for small children. I bought the smallest size and as you can see the gloves were still way too big.

After about 15 minutes she was really into it. Filling up the pots with potting soil, adding plants, filling in, patting down the soil and then watering. She's a natural.
Below.. Tamara gets upset as her brand new gloves were getting "dirt" on them. lol. It took a while but she finally accepted that it was "ok" to get a little "dirty" gardening.

"Mommy my gloves got dirt on them."
Too cute.

She takes gardening very seriously.
Tamara hates getting her picture taken.

I think I was getting on her nerves with the camera.

Tamara fills in around the Petunias for the front porch.

"Would you stop with the pictures?"

Daddy and Tamara place the planters on the rail.

OK.. Daddy lets get more...

Wait for me...

Since I didn't get a chance to do much planting before we left and certainly not since our return it was nice to at least have the planters done.

Thank You Bruce and Tamara ;o)

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Below Tamara plays with her Vintage doll pram in the upstairs hallway. There's a 64 ft stretch for her to stroll her Dolly.

Road Trip. Tamara loves her Britax Boulevard car seat.

It's actually pretty amazing she doesn't have a problem with harnesses. Considering she had never been in one in Tbilisi it's amazing. Loves the car seat, stroller and swing. No problem with seat beats in shopping cart or high chairs.

Here she's eating Mac and cheese crackers. Something new... she loves them.

"We're back"

Tamara returns with Daddy after one of their walks.

" Mommy.. you sure all the girls wear their hair like this?"
"Who's Pebbles?"
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I can do it...101

I can do it...

Tamara is doing wonderfully. Every day she continues to amaze us. Yesterday she said "blue" when we were coloring. She of course still has issues staying within the lines but Mommy is happy she's coloring on the page and not on the furniture or walls ;o)

Now that we're pretty confident she feels at home and secure we're allowing her to do more on her own. Encouraging her to feed herself. Usually works best with Mac and cheese & ice cream. She will eat by herself if I'm not in the room as soon as I appear she wants me to feed her. I was told before we went to Georgia that Tamara really "wanted a Mommy" so I guess this is part of it. She still craves the closeness / attention that only a Mommy can give. Truthfully I welcome the opportunity to baby her a bit as I too have craved a baby daughter.

When we first picked up Tamara she brushed her own teeth.. then about 2 weeks ago she wanted me to do it.. which I did. This week I decided to take advantage of the double vanity double sinks in her bathroom. I started Brushing my teeth next to her. She watches me intently and brushes hers the same way. Yay.. as soon as I think her little fingers can handle it we start flossing 101. ;o) In the mean time I end up brushing my teeth 5-6 times a day.

Ah... sweet breath...lol

Tamara is also capable of dressing herself but she again prefers that Mommy do it. All part of the bonding process. For me it will be a bitter sweet day when she doesn't need my help.

She's getting stronger. When we first got her she couldn't walk across the room more then twice without resting. Couldn't do stairs at all. This last week she can climb 13 steps on her own. She also has a tremendous amount of energy now. ;o) Now we just have to teach her how to do steps going down safely.

Tamara loves the pool. Slowly teaching her moves she'll need to swim we have her kicking now. The pool is also a wonderful way for her to gain muscle tone. My biggest challenge is having to keep her out of the direct sun. Tamara hasn't really been exposed to direct sunlight before. Between the sensitive skin and her soft spot we really make an effort to make sure she doesn't get over exposed or over heated. So swimming is after 4 pm when the sun leaves the pool. As a result so far no tan lines for Mom either this year. :o(

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I thought I'd share a few photos from the garden.

Below a patch of Daisies. Tamara often picks one for Mommy on her walks with Daddy.

Too cute!

Day Lillies .. they're going a little crazy this year. We had to pull hundreds just to give the roses some breathing space.

Tamara and Daddy dancing to a large wind chime in the yard. Tamara loves music and will often bop around in a shopping cart or car seat. Very cute .. she has rhythm.

Loves to spin ...
OK.. break time... time to come in.
Tamara also loves to help around the house. She helps with laundry, she can dust and has been eyeing my Dyson. So when we went shopping at Toys R Us and we found the baby Dyson it was a no brain er. Here you can see how serious Tamara is about her vacuuming. She was concentrating so hard I couldn't get her to look up for a picture.


I vacuum first and then she does her thing. She has me move all the rugs, chairs and anything else that moves so she can clean. It's unfortunate that baby Dyson doesn't pick anything up as she would do the entire house if I let her.
Here she's calling me to move an area rug.

FYI: Although cute for her to play... with Baby Dyson does not do what they claim.
Mommy ... I can do it
Tamara enjoying the Hammock she gave Daddy for Father's Day.

Tamara has mastered closing the buckle on her life vest. Luckily it will be a few more years before she can unbuckle it.
Daddy pushes Tamara on the swing at the local park.

Tamara loves the swings and did very well on the slide. Although she does still need help to stay safe.

She's such a peanut... tiny cute little thing. She has a fantastic sense of humor.

~

We're still waiting for test results... hopefully we'll have them this week.

So far she's gained about 2-1/2 lbs and it looks like she's about to out grow her size 6 shoe.

It hard to believe we've been home 6 weeks today.. Wow that went fast!

It's also hard to believe I've written a hundred posts. This being #101? WOW. I count 90 something but Blogger insists it's over 100.

I can do it ...101

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