The holidays

It's hard to believe the holidays are here already! It feels like just yesterday it was summer-time. It's amazing to me just how quickly time flies. Emelia was thrilled to have Owen, Mary Helen, Caroline & Aunt Amy here for Thanksgiving. It was so good to have the family together...the only thing missing was Uncle Jim. Emelia's decided that when we head down for a week at Christmas she would like Uncle Jim to take her hunting. I tried explaining exactly what hunting was & when I told her you try to kill an animal she said "Ok" and still wants to go! What she really wants is the camoflage clothes...and she really doesn't want pink camo unless it's the only thing I can find!

With it being Christmas time Emelia and I have been talking alot about what this holiday really means & why we celebrate Christmas. I'm trying to teach her that it's not about the presents or Santa but that it's about the birth of Christ and all that follows. Without the birth there could be no death or resurrection. Yes, we still get presents and yes Santa does bring one or two...but the reason for this season is Christ.

In closing, here's a little clip from the children's performance at church last Sunday, and yep...that's my daughter!

Dancin'

Well, today started out like any other day...Emelia & I got up, ate breakfast & played for a little bit. Them we had to hurry & run to the store because my cousin was gotting married today & luckily I was thinking ahead & was picking Emelia's clothes out last night & realized all she had to wear were sundresses! So, off to Peeble's (the only clothing store in Madison) we went in hopes of finding a dress. Mind you, I knew it was going to be an issue since she doesn't like dresses...because they're girly, but I was prepared for battle, I WAS GOING TO WIN! So, into Peeble's we go only to run in to Grammy & Abbey...great! They can help with the dress! Well, 3 and a 1/2 women all trying to decide on a dress does not work out well. So, off Emelia & I go to try a few options on her. She did pretty good & after all were tried on I asked her which one she liked best. Luckily I was sitting down because she picked the PINK ONE! I said, ok & RAN to the register and paid for it before she could change her mind! YEAH....my daughter liked the pink dress and never once asked if she could get Spiderman or Lightening McQueen! So, fast forward a bit to the wedding/reception & let me just say that I tried as hard as I could but I think Emelia stole a little of the spot light from Miranda. Well, maybe not the important areas but we did get a lot of comments! At one point I was talking to my uncle & looked around to find my 5 year old daughter in the Conga Line!

She was ALL smiles and loving what she does best, dancing! She was out there doing the twist & partying like a rock star! I'm glad she enjoyed her first wedding!
I had to post this picture...Emelia went up to Pops & asked him if he would dance with her. This was the best picture of the night!

Boys vs. Girls

Lately, we've been having an ongoing conversation about boys vs. girls & how she wants to "be" a boy. This whole conversation started of all things, over panties/underware! Since Emelia is not a "girly" girl and tends to like most things "boy" (ie: Lightning McQueen, Spiderman, Thomas the Train, bugs, etc.) she's decided that when it's time to get dressed she doesn't want to wear anything pink - because it's for a girl and she doesn't like any of her panties because they don't have Lightning McQueen or Spiderman on them! Also, I'm constantly corrected if I call them "panties" she now has to call them "underware." So...last night we were at Kohl's getting a few new pieces of clothes for her & I told her she could pick out some new panties. So...over we went to browse and let me tell you, the woman who was standing there looking at the Toddler clothes hasn't laughed that hard probably in years! Emelia went STRAIGHT to the boys side of the display and declared "SPIDERMAN....I want these ones Mama!" Of course I tried to explain that those were for little boys & her "style" were on THIS side of the display. 10 minutes later I gave up & asked her if she wanted to go look at the blue coats, I lied (I know!) and said they didn't have her size in panties! The poor woman who had to listen to me explain underware wandered off laughing & saying "Good Luck! At least she knows what she wants!" So, we left Kohl's with a Christmas dress & a new coat but no new underware!

Rocking Song - Acapella

I ran across this song the other day & just fell in love with it. Here are the words to the song that's playing here.

Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song

Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her tight
Gonna hold my baby till the morning light
Though I may be tired and I may be weak
I will love this child so small and meek
Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her tight
Gonna hold my baby till the morning light
Gonna let her know that nothing's wrong
Gonna hold my baby and sing this rocking song

Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (this child)

Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her near
Gonna hold my baby, wipe away her tears
I will keep on rocking till she feels all right
Gonna sing her songs about Jesus Christ (Jesus)
Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her near
Gonna hold my baby, wipe away her tears
I will cradle my child until the pain is gone
Gonna hold my baby and sing this rocking song

Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (sing this rocking song)
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song

Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her near
Gonna hold my baby through the tender years
As she starts to learn, as she starts to grow
I will show her things she needs to know
Gonna hold this child, gonna hold her near
Gonna hold my baby through the tender years
As she moves away and the days grow long
I will pray for my baby and sing this rocking song

Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (and sing this rocking song)
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song

Gonna hold this child though she's far away
Gonna hold my baby like it's yesterday
Though I may not see and I may not know
Gonna keep on praying rocking to and fro (to and fro)
Gonna hold this child though she's far away
Gonna hold my baby like it's yesterday
Gonna let her know my love's lifelong
While she hold her baby and sings her rocking song

Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (and sing this rocking song)
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (sings her rocking song)
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song (sings her rocking song)
Sing this rocking, sing this rocking, sing this rocking song

3 years!

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago Saturday (September 27) I arrived home with my daughter! To think back on these 3 years is nothing short than amazing. To see how much she's grown & learned just astounds me! God is so good!

We're at a point now where she's learning about expressing her feelings, and I have to admit I just LOVE this time! You have no idea how many times a day I hear the 4 best words..."Mama, I love you!" How great is that?! I remember back at the orphanage when I first met Emelia...I had been in Ukraine for close to 4 weeks & was an emotion wreck (to say the least). I was sitting in the directors office listening to the director, the doctor & the translator all talking in Russian faster than I could think! Suddenly Luda, my translator, started rattling off the medical "issues" they said Emelia had and I had NO idea what any of them were! Suddenly the door to the office opened and this tiny little girl toddled into the room in a little green & white checked skirt and top and walked right over to me. I scooped her up and just held onto her. She planted her nose right on mine & her arms went around my shoulders and patted my back with her tiny hands. She wouldn't move her face away from mine so I really had no idea what she looked like! :-) I just kept feeling her pat my shoulders. After about 3 minutes the director had the care giver take Emelia out of the room & back to her group and they all looked at me and said "Yes?! You mama?!" I shook my head and said "YES!"

It amazes me how the Lord's hand was on the entire situation, through all the ups and all the many downs. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Lord created Emelia to be my daughter and for that I'm eternally grateful. I know there are times when I fall short at being the mother Emelia deserves, but I also know that grace flows freely & I'm still a work in prgress. I want her to alway know that there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. I love you peanut!

Playing Air Guitar!

Today I was finally able to get Emelia's little guitar playing dance on video. The other day we were at Wal-mart (of course...our most favorite store) and Emelia saw a guitar in the toy department. She's been wanting one since forever, and all of a sudden I just burst out laughing...here she is in the middle of the aisle doing this "move." As I'm laughing I say "Honey, what in the world are you doing?" To which she replied "I'm playin' the guitar mommy!" (Like..what in the world do you THINK I'm doing?!") Plus, she's really been missing Abbey lately so we thought we'd post this for her benefit!

Home again & back to the routine of life

Well I can't believe we're home & already back into the routine of life. Emelia's loving this summer weather. Getting to play outside all day & swim in her little pool. Actually this evening I was tempted to jump in too! But decided it would probably be best if I didn't! :-)

Yesterday I let Emelia climb the tree in the back yard. She wasn't allowed last year after she & Nathan (the neighbor boy) broke a few of the branches. Actually it was Nathan because she wasn't quite heavy enough but I decided it would be best for the tree. This year however the tree kinda "took off" in a growth spurt & it's really a good climbing tree for my 5 year old!

I guess I should end for now. Oh, one last picture...this is when I told her we were all done climbing the tree & that it was time to hit the tub! (As you can see she wasn't too happy!)

Last day in London

Today we were planing to take a train to Brighton (down by the coast) but the weather didn't cooperate. Plus, Emelia decided to start her day at 4am again. I MADE her stay in bed & she finally fell back to sleep around 6:30am. The 3 of us didn't wake up until close to 10am! With the weather being cloudy & trying to rain Ab & I decided it would be best to just to a little window shopping. We headed out to Chelsea and I must say that's my favorite area we've seen so far. The quaint shops & just the feel of it. If I had to live in London (and money was no object) I'd choose Chelsea. Emelia was a little of her game today being how she was so tired. We grabbed lunch at a little cafe. Ab & I had a yogert parfait while Emelia had porridge with bananas & honey. Needless to say she gobbled it up! After that we hit a few more shops then took the bus back to Ab's. Emelia & I got off while Ab continued on to the grocery store for dinner this evening. Emelia's lying down for her nap & I'm done packing! I can't believe we leave tomorrow already...7 days sure do go by quickly. I think tonight since it's raining we'll just stay in & get a good nights sleep. Our car is taking us to the airport around 7:30am so we'll have to get an early start. The next time you'll hear from us will be when we're back in the States.

A picnic

Yet again last night Emelia didn't fall asleep until 11:30pm! I think she's just sooo excited she doesn't want to miss anything. Luckily today wasn't a really big deal. We got going around 10:30am & headed over to Harrod's for some shopping. They were having their annual sale & the prices were OUTRAGEOUS! Needless to say the only thing I purchased was a scooter for Emelia. All the kids over here use them rather than walking. After the scooter was bought we headed over to Whole Foods to get lunch for our picnic at Hyde Park. Today the temp was around 74 again & there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Perfect day for a picnic. After we got done eating we walked around the gardens at Kensington Palace. Emelia tried to master the scooter but kept getting a wee bit frustrated when it kept going to the left. I kept trying to tell her to scoot with the other foot but to no avail. Tonight Ab has a meeting so Emelia & I are going to walk over to a local pizza place & have dinner. Then I think I'll take her over to a little park right close to Ab's flat. I'm going to make sure we're home by 7pm so she can get a bath &get in bed by 8pm. Tomorrow we're going to take a train to Brighton (Ab describes it as a modern day Coney Island). All for now.

On our own

Well, today we had a WONDERFUL time! Got up this morning bright & early at 8:30am and headed out to the Tower of London. Abbey had to meet a friend of hers at 11am so she took us half way on the tube then Emelia & I went the rest of the way by ourselves. Ok, actually it was only one stop away from where Abbey got off, but still...we did it by ourselves! Once we got off the tube Emelia & I made or way over to the Tower & waited in line for approx. 45 minutes to get tickets. Once we got our tickets we headed into the Tower & did our own personal tour. I decided not to do one of the guided tours since I'm sure Emelia wouldn't have enjoyed it too much &the other people on the tour would have probably kicked us off b/c they were tired of hearing "Emelia! Stop! Get back here! Slow Down...no running!" I'm sure everyone here in London knows Emelia by name now. We met up with Abbey around 2:00pm or so, grabbed a quick lunch then went on a boat tour to Greenwich. Emelia LOVED the ride & was a bit tired. (Not just because she had a full day at the Tower...but because last night she wouldn't go to sleep until after 11pm!) All in all, she had a good time. I got her picture right at the sundial where the worlds time is centered, the Greenwich time. We headed back to the city center & are now back at Ab's flat...7:20pm! We're going to heat up some dinner, Emelia's soaking off the grit & grime from the city & probably crash this evening. Oh, by the way, on the tube ride home I asked Emelia if she still loved riding the tube or not so much & her reply was "Not so much but I love the bus!" So one thing had fallen from it's former glory! Also, for those of you who are wondering, the weather is beautiful this week. Today it was 74 & sunny! I completely got a sunburn!

A quiet day at home

Well, yesterday we attended a showing of the Lion King here in London. Our seats were great & Emelia LOVED it. Her eyes were as big a saucers watching all the "animals" move across the stage. If this child of mine doesn't end up in some sort of entertainment career I'll be shocked! Afterwards we walked to this outdoor bazaar that was filled with tons of people. There were people cooking food, performing & selling things. I loved it. It was hard to take pictures since Emelia kept wanting to run & there were too many people to let her. Afterwards we worked our way back to Abbey's. Speaking of Abbey, she's been laughing at Emelia quite a bit...Emelia's showing just how much of a "suburbanite" she is! Every time she sees the bus or rides the tube she gets THRILLED & jumps up and down! Everyone must be looking at us thinking "tourists!" But, my daughter is having the time of her life & that's all I'm really concerned about.

Today we decided to have a quiet day at home. We got up & attended church with Ab. I really enjoyed it & Emelia decided she wanted to attend Sunday School with all the other kids rather than sitting through the service. Sometimes she amazes me, I really thought since we were in a new place with new people she'd decide to stay close...but I'm happy to say I was wrong! After church we went to Whole Foods to get some stuff for Ab then back to the flat for lunch and for Emelia & Ab to take a nap. I think this evening we'll got for a walk to get some "Snog," it's just th best frozen yogurt I've ever tasted! I'm trying to get Ab to open one in the US! I'd totally be a shareholder since I'd be eating so much of it! Well, it's time to get dinner ready!

Will write more tomorrow. XXOO

Loving London

Well, here we are! I can't believe we're actually visiting with Abbey here at her flat in London!
Emelia's had the best day of her life so far I think...she's seen about 100 red double-decker buses! Everytime we se one (which is literally about every 10 steps) she sucks in her breath & loudly declares "There's another one Mommy! I TOLD you it was coming!" Like I haven't see one before! Yesterday was her first experience riding one & here into her second day the joy still hasn't worn off. She's done AMAZINGLY well adjusting to the time difference. Today we went on a bus tour of London & she was THRILLED to ride on the top of the bus that didn't have a roof. Then as a surprise Abbey took us to a to store that is 5 stories high! (Enough said!) We did however see the second most wonderful thing in her life....one of her great loves in life are pirates. Well, after lunch we had to walk past the toy store again & lo & be hold there was an HONEST TO GOODNESS PIRATE standing right there on the sidewalk! Her eyes got as big as saucers & she stopped dead in the midst of everyone! As a little side note: Mommy said I'd buy her a special treat from the toy store thinking we'd get something nice....nope, we walked out with a plastic whale & a shark. Anyways, back to the pirate, as she's standing there with her mouth open she holds up the shark & the whale and the pirate starts talking to her! You would have thought you'd have given her gold! As we started walking away, I luckily remembered I needed to get a picture of her & the pirate. He's saying "ARRRR" while she has a HUGE smile on her face. A pure kids moment! Well, the rest of the day she was telling me " told you pirates are nice!"

Well, enough for now. Will write more tomorrow.

Prayers of the faithful & keeping mommy humble!

So lately, well actually since about Oct/Nov 2007 Emelia has taken it upon herself to pray for a daddy. Yes, you've heard me right! One afternoon when I went to Grammy & Pops house to pick her up after work, she met me at the door & announced "I need a Daddy & a baby sister!" No "hello mommy" or "I missed you" and not even a single request...NOPE... a double WHAMMY! A Daddy AND a baby sister! (I guess if you're going to dream you may as well dream big!) So you may be wondering "What in the world did you say to that?!" Well, the first thing out of my mouth was "Well, I guess you need to start praying!" And her response was "OK!" So...for the past 8 months at least 4 times a day she prays for a daddy. AND if we're at dinner, no matter who's there whether we know them or not, if the one who's praying for the meal ends the prayer...Emelia will promply say "You forgot to pray for my Daddy!" and we all have to bow our heads again & pray. Talk about a humbling experience as a mom!

The other day, Emelia was with a sitter while Grammy & Pops visited Owen & Mary Helen and Olivia (the sitter) was talking about her brothers & sisters. Emelia asked how many sisters she had & Olivia said 6! Emelia then asked "Do you have a mommy?" "Yes" Olivia replied. "Do you have a Daddy?" Again "Yes." To that Emelia threw her hands up in the air and declared "I been prayin' a long time & I STILL don't have a daddy!" Poor Olivia tried not to laugh out loud & said "Well sweetie, sometime when we pray God takes a little while to answer us" Emelia was none too happy with that & replied "Well, I still need a daddy & I guess I'll keep prayin!"

A story from storytime

Monday was Emelia's first day at storytime this summer. She had a wonderful time! The kids get to hear a story then do a little craft & have a snack. Well, I get home at lunch to see her & find out how her first day (actually it's only an hour, but you know...) went & she had a blast! They read a story about camping & made a picture of a camp out scene. Well, fast forward to Wednesday evening & we're at her last soccer practice this season & her coach says to me "Did you hear about the little story from story time?" I said "Oh no, what happened?!" (To give you a little back ground, for some reason Emelia & Elizabeth, the coaches daughter, think it's really fun to stand on the field and "ROOAAAARRRR" at eachother rather than play soccer with the rest of the kids.) So being who they are, Elizabeth saw Emelia at story time & propmtly went up to her, tapped her on the shoulder & "roared" at her! My daughter followed suit & "roared" right back! Right in the middle of the library! It took a few minutes to get them to calm down after falling into giggles but they were finlly able get ahold of themselves & were told they couldn't roar in storytime! So then, the coach says, "Elizabeth, did you tell Emelia's mom what you said at dinner tonight about Emelia?" "No, I don't remember" "Remember you said, I really like Emelia & she's my friend because...." Then Elizabeth says "OH I remember!!! I like Emelia & she's my friend because she can put 2 marshmallows in her mouth at the same time!" What a proud moment for any parent!

10 months worth of catch-up: just the highlights!

Well, I can't believe how much time has passed! I guess I'm one of those "terrible" parents who says they're going todo something & then doesn't always follow thru like I intend.

Let's see...what's been going onin the Hytree household these past 10 months:

1) Emelia started Pre-K in Sept 2007 & loved it. She's still a little shy when it comes initating play with the other kids but ready to jump in as soon as someone invites her to play. She's still having a tough time with her letters & numbers but it's something that we'll keep working on & eventually it will come. She's able to identify all the letters & say them (plus we're working on what sound each letter makes) but her hard-time comes in writing them.

2) We had a very nice Thanksgiving & Christmas. Thanksgiving was spent in VA with Amy, Jimmy & the kids, while Christmas was spent here in OH with Amy, Jimmy & kids coming here.

3) Emelia celebrated her 5th birthday on Easter Sunday this year...March 23! This birthday was a big milestone for us. From that day forward Emelia has been a part of her family longer than she was without one. God is good isn't He?! For her party my little girl wanted a Lightning McQueen party! I tried every way I could think of to make it "girly" but ultimaly there's just nothing "girly" about cars. Which by the way worked out well since all of her friends that came were boys! And my girl isn't "girly" she likes some girl things but she informed me the other day that she wants to be a boy because boys get to wear Lightning McQueen "panties".

4) School is now out for the year & summer break has set in! We're signed up for storytime at the Library, she's going to Safety Town in the morning for 2 weeks, and has swimming lessons June-Aug. Plus on June 25 Emelia & I will be heading to London to visit Abbey for a nice vacation. In Aug we'll head down to VA to visit a new little addition to the family!

5) Emelia is beginning to show a little more of her independent streak as time goes bye. I just can't believe sometimes how stubborn she is! During those times I remind myself that she's exactly what I prayed for (and more!)

I'll try to do better with the updates! If not...email me & tell me I need to get it in gear!