We Three Queens?

Oh! And the magnificent gifts that they bring to us!

Here is a joyful photo of three of life's greatest joys - Cowgirl with her dear friends, Aila and Amy! We all enjoyed the most splendid Thanksgiving with our very dear friends up in Norfolk this past weekend. It was a 'thanksgiving' in the truest sense of the word --- a time of love, friendship, community, support - contentment.

And Belonging! Oh, how our hearts open when we are in the company of true soul friends! Our girls are forming deep friendships, just as we are forming deep friendships with their parents.

In the photo below, just soak up the awesome beauty of these three spirits having yet another 'time of their lives'!


Forming our families through adoption is miracle enough on its own. But the presence of our daughter in our lives keeps 'GIFTing' us with eternal blessings. Through her, we have connected with such lovely friendships with other adoptive families. And we are amazingly blessed to have widened our 'extended family' - soul friends meant to be in our lives in deep and loving ways.

Our girls are all the same age (4), and it is deeply moving to witness the bond they are forming - a bond that will carry them through their lives. And our 'grown up' lives are also enriched with these connections that keep growing, keep giving, keep deepening -- it is as if we, the parents, also have the privilege to form the same deep bonds and the same deep joyful friendships that glow in the lives of our precious girls. And there isn't much in life that is better than that!

If I could sit at the feet of God right now, there are SO many things for which I'd want to humbly say 'thank you' - and the greatest of my gratitude shows up in the spirit of this gorgeous little face, below!

And here is Cowgirl with her friend, Amy, in one of many moments of joy, contentment, friendship.

Three Beauties. Three Joys. Three Soul-Friends. Three Queens. Bearing three 'GIFTS' given to us by God. The gifts of LOVE, HOPE and JOY. Nowhere on the face of this universe would we find greater, precious gems.

These 'three queens' - are ONE of many miracles of this magnificent Season!

God Bless! E xxx

Star of My Thankful Heart!

Cowgirl was chosen to be 'Star of the Day' for her Reception class yesterday! Her teacher told her she was a 'sensible girl'!

She was SO, SO excited. She was given a special Teddy Bear named 'Alfred' to take home overnight, and she had to show Alfred how to eat healthy foods, and do plenty of healthy exercise. It's a really lovely influence on the children.

So ... Alfred and Cowgirl shared a snack of carrots (one of Cowgirl's favourites ... she absolutely loves raw vegetables). And they played frisbee (how, exactly, I'm not sure - Daddy was in charge of that activity!). Then after tea, Cowgirl and Alfred did starjumps (jumping jacks) before they got ready to snuggle up for bed.

(Hah! Hah! You can still see one of our Halloween pumpkins peering into the house from the outside table in the above photo! He's about to be turned into a delicious steaming pot of winter harvest pumpkin soup!)

Cowgirl was so patient and clever while I helped her to write in the special notebook about Alfred's time with us - she's only just learning to write her letters so it was a BIG effort for her. Bless her for persevering and letting me help her, it took ages but I think it was good practice!

It is so extraordinary to watch how this barely 4-year old already has such potential, and immense desire, for writing. Sheets of paper absolutely fill our home with letters and numbers that she writes, constantly, every waking moment it seems, on every bit of paper she can find! It looks like someone is trying decipher a code with all the notes that we find everywhere! It is really fascinating to see such enthusiasm and I adore her joy and eagerness - consistent traits in the life of my lovely, happy little girl!

So, in this season of thankfulness, it's pretty obvious what I am most grateful for! We are blessed beyond words to be Cowgirl's parents!

E xxx

It's Never Too Late To Have a Happy Childhood!

Cowgirl came home from school last week with this 'masterpiece' that she made during her arts & crafts morning!

Apparently ... this 'work of art' is ... ME!

When I asked her about it, she said she chose this particular box because it had a big 'smile' (the bowl). Warmed my heart! The red milk bottle tops are my 'eyes'. The blue milk bottle tops on the sides are my 'ears'. And the string is my 'hair'.




... And all of this really got me thinking.

About being a child.

About being still so 'new' on this earth that absolutely everything can so easily be translated with the most economical amount of imagination.

About being so excited by life itself, that everything you see explodes with imagination and creative perspective.

About being so 'wise' that upsets are quickly forgotten and in their place ... only joy.

About how you are not yet jaded by disappointments, frustrations, resentments - and how the most meaningful influences in your life are love, joy, adventure and soaking up new knowledge like a sponge.

And then today ... I came across this statement:

It's Never Too Late To Have A Happy Childhood!

KerPOW! That's the sound of a concept ... 'sinking in'.

One of the very obvious aspects of parenthood - for me - is the way in which I get to 'redo' my own childhood. To 'right the wrongs', if you will. To feel automatic 'permission' to see the world through joyful eyes. To make mistakes and not be worried by (or even better, to not even consider) the implications. To know - really, really, know - that even when I'm cross, Cowgirl feels, without question, that I still love her deeply, completely, with unlimited potential.

We spend a LOT of time as adults holding onto experiences from our past. And many of those experiences no longer have a useful place in our life, but we somehow still manage to give them enough power so that they still shape our thinking, our actions, our moods, and create some of our 'limitations'.

Cowgirl will likely never know just how 'healing' her presence in my life really is ... how truly successful she is at bringing a 'happy childhood' to my life even at my quite seasoned age. It's like living with my own pint-sized Guru!

The secret to life?

Knowing what it is to be a child.

E xxx

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday was a splendid Autumn day here, bright sunshine, warm breezes ... so after two weeks of cabin fever being isolated at home with flu, we all went on a short excursion to the pumpkin patch.

For over 30 years, this local pumpkin patch has been growing and selling an impressive range of pumpkins, gourds and squashes. It's not just a pumpkin choosing experience ... it's a visual treat because every year they create a new artistic display of their produce. This lovely spot was introduced to me years ago by a dear friend, Sandra (who has since passed away this summer), so it felt a bit strange coming here without her this year. But she left us with this lovely Autumn tradition, so for years I have been getting my pumpkins and squash and gourds here for my Autumn pies, roasts, muffins, etc. --- and for years I shall continue.

And then Cowgirl joined our family three years ago, and we began the tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch every Autumn, and taking a photo of her piled high on big, plump, traditional pumpkins.

So, here are some of our memories from this year's addition to our tradition. Enjoy!

NO Scary Pumpkins Here! Just the Sweet Variety!

While we are all waiting to get well again ... here's a little stroll down memory lane!

When Cowgirl came 'home' in 2006, one of the (many) traditions we began so we could capture fond memories for her of her childhood, is to visit our favourite pumpkin patch! These photos below reflect our visits in 2006, 2007 and 2008. We are hoping that later this week we'll all be well enough to have a little outing to our favourite pumpkin patch so that we can add our 2009 memories!

Enjoy! xxx

Well ... I Suppose Sooner Rather Than Later ... is Better?

Sorry we haven't had any photos recently ... makes checking our blog a bit less interesting, I imagine!

So ... what's happening here, then? Not much except the H1N1 flu! We've all been hit quite hard the past week so it's been rather quiet and boring around here. Cowgirl came home from school complaining of a really bad headache on the 15th, and that was the start of it for her. She had 5 days of fever, on and off, and all the usual accompanying stuff, though her symptoms didn't seem quite the same as ours, so at first we weren't sure what she had. It wasn't until I came down with it on the 19th that my suspicions elevated. By Wednesday, it was diagnosed! Then daddy came down with it on Thursday ... so we are playing tag team parenting at the moment!

We've been living like one of those isolated communities here in our 'nest'! No visitors! No leaving the compound! hah! hah! Partly because we want to be super responsible and not do anything to have a role in spreading this to anyone else. That's the problem with things like flu, especially this one. And parents are sending children back to school way too soon. People are going back to work way too soon. So no one stands a chance, really. Evidently this particular virus has a longer recovery time than once thought. And a longer contagious period than once assumed. So one can't be too careful.

In a quiet sort of way, I am content that we have this now, sooner rather than later. Hoping we are building a natural immunity to it, which in the long run, I think is better. There has been so much speculation and opinion and argument about this virus. So now, I no longer have to passionately discuss my case for not getting the vaccine!! hah! hah! (And hopefully this won't be a case of 'famous last words'...)

Evidently there are scores of children and staff out at Cowgirl's school, so ... H1N1 has well and truly arrived. It's half term this coming week, so we do have another week to recover and not do much of anything. Though I hope that we feel well enough to at least get some fresh air next week sometime. That could do us a world of good. We opened up all the windows upstairs this morning and the fresh air felt like bliss! Cleaned as much as we could (with our very limited combined energy) with antibacterial cleaner. Sprayed all around the house with tea tree oil in a water bottle (the cat wasn't all too pleased - the dog just thought it was another cool smell to investigate).

And now I just want to sleep.

So the next time I write, I intend to do so in a more chipper mood, with the photos to match!

E xxx