Mute Monday

Well, if people can have Wordless Wednesday, why not today? You know I will probably ramble on anyway.....

Victoria is just so proud of herself! She is a rock star!

Since I can't seem to get it together to have a real professional portrait done of the kids, I attempted  some of my own. I just wish that some of them didn't look like they had seen a ghost.

They're just so filled with joy in this one, but hey, at least they're wearing cute dresses.

Sigh......I give up.

A little nail polish therapy......

Summertime Fun

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days. The kids and I have been soaking up what's left of summer. Elliot starts back to school in two weeks! Even though they drive me crazy sometimes, I really like having everyone home together. Plus, I don't wanna have to wake up early, though I think Elliot is ready to go.

A rare pensive moment for Catherine,who always is so creative with her outfits. Santa should still be remembered in July!
I didn't have to wonder for long to find out what she was thinking about.
"If I am more polite for the next five minutes, do I still have to take a nap?

Who knew there would be so many benefits of getting Victoria's hips re-located! Now she can have piggy back rides!

I love seeing Victoria standing and playing like everyone else.

We got to have a really fun visit with my friend, Melanie, and her five kids. We pretty much filled up the swimming pool with all ten of our kids.

We had a real treat today. A visit from Great! Victoria greeted her with a big, "hiiiiiiiyaaaa". Great has moved into an assisted living community recently, so we had a wonderful time hanging out at home together!

Francesca always closes her eyes when I get out my camera.

Othello decided to take a seat right on the couch and join in the pizza party.

Hope everyone has had a good week! 

She's in the Eyes

A few days ago, I was talking on the phone to my friend, Tracey. She had just done a great post about the adoption of her son, Kullen, who is from the same orphanage as Francesca and Victoria. I had read her post the night before. We were talking about all the kids we had seen at the orphanage. Then, she told me something that kind of rocked my world. She said that someone had recognized Victoria in one of the pictures on her blog.

Well, that was impossible, I thought. I had already looked at all the pictures. Victoria wasn't there. Tracey said she never saw Victoria at all when they went to adopt Kullen in November 2011.

I decided to just zip on back to her blog to see which child looked similar to my Victoria.

Then, I saw. The eyes on the child in the photo took my breath away. They were the eyes that I look into everyday. The eyes that were so haunted when I met her.

Victoria, my baby. Her picture was right there in front of me, but I hadn't even recognized her.

How could I not recognize my own child's photo, taken just 6 months before I met her. How? Because six months before I met Victoria, she wasn't a starving, haunted child. She knew how to smile then.

Someone had taken the time to get her out of her crib and put her in the big playpen. They even put her on her tummy, which she couldn't have done on her own. Just six months before I met Victoria, she had the strength to hold herself up.  Her head wasn't sunken in from being starved.

What happened in that six months? I am so angry. I want to know who made the decision that Victoria didn't deserve to live. Who decided she had no spirit? Who? Why? Now I understand why they were so negative about her. They didn't know I was coming for her. They probably didn't want anyone to know that Victoria's fate had already been decided. 

Please pray for all the children waiting in orphanages. Please pray they will all have someone who believes in them and values them.

Splish Splash

The day started with this sad face. We all had a case of the doldrums, so we decided to make our annual visit to the Olympic fountain in downtown Atlanta today.

The kids have grown so much since last year's visit!

Last year, Francesca wouldn't go near the water. This year didn't start out much better. I am kind of going with the desensitization method. Get in there and get wet and get used to it!

Of course, Victoria loved it. I wish she could use her legs more. Hopefully, in time.

Lo and behold, Francesca is taking the plunge!

We have made contact with the offending liquid and we are smiling about it!

Elliot was bored 5 seconds after we got there.

Catherine immediately slipped and cut her knee. She reached some pretty high decibels for a while.

She got over it though.

We all got soaked, but I am the only one who forgot to bring clothes. Sigh.

There are thousands and thousands of bricks at the park, but we always have to search for ours. For $50, I think the brick was a real bargain.

Tell me all about your weekend! 

Random Points of Interest

Here we have Francesca, happily sitting on the potty. Yea Francesca! For the longest time she wouldn't even get near the potty. 

Now we have Francesca off the potty and promptly peeing in her underwear and all over the floor. She is happy about it though! Me, not so much.

Here we have Victoria sorting her pegs. I love how she has her hands on her hips.

Here we have Victoria sorting the dogfood. That didn't go as well.

Of course, Catherine, was not about to be left out!

Victoria is learning to pitch a fit. She used to be so complacent. Now, if I go out of the room, she screams like a banshee.

Catherine had to get two cavities filled this week. She got this doll because she was so darn "good". (Catherine likes all her dolls to only wear their birthday suits) We spent an hour and a half just trying to get her to sit in the  chair. They tried to show her all their equipment, but she kept her hands over her mouth and mumbled, "No, I do not want Mr. Thirsty near me. No way".

My favorite part was when Catherine got up on all fours and started growling at the dental hygienist.  Oh my! Finally I had to hold her down and hold the laughing gas mask on her nose. Once the nitrous oxide kicked in, she was a happy camper. Amazingly, she let them take x-rays and she opened her mouth. When we left, she tried to take the mask with her. I know how she feels. I really want some "happy gas" for my own personal use! We are going to start brushing 10 times a day.

Francesca is working on puzzles, kind of.  Puzzles are not her thing. She really likes dressing herself though, especially in my bathing suit.

Very fashionable!

Meanwhile, the girls were keeping themselves busy. See the little green shoes peeking out?

My sisters can even make a blanket fun! I'm so glad we have hardwood floors! Zoom! Plus, look how clean the floors are!

Francesca loves that baby doll!

Isabella is so strong! She's dragging about 90 pounds!

Look who can get herself on the sit-n-spin!

Anastasia was in so happy when our friend brought by a puppy for a visit. All the animals like her the best!

Happy Friday everyone!