Our Little Miracle

This poem is very important to me as Olivia's birth mother is always on my mind. I can not even begin to imagine what she went through. I want so badly to send her letters or pictures to let her know how Olivia is and I can't. She has given Jason and I a gift that no one else could ever give us and I love her for that. LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD Once there were two women who never knew each other One you do not remember, the other you call Mother Two different lives shaped to make you one One became your guiding star, the other became your sun The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do The other prayed for a child, and God led...

Ok, so tonight I was in the bathroom washing my face and I hear Miss Olivia saying "Mommy, Mommy, my baby!!" So, I turned and looked and "Baby" was floating in the toilet. She said "Baby had to go potty". It was so funny! This is so much better than I ever thought it was going to be. I love her so much. Unfortunately, we had to throw baby away. That was a sad moment.

I thought I would continue to post some of my favorite pictures since I didn't start this blog until recently and there are so many that I would like to share from the past year. I will try to label them with what was going on at the time. This is one of Olivia's referral photos. This picture is meaningful because it was the first time we ever saw her sweet little face. I can still remember the moment they handed the pictures to us. This is one of the first pictures sent home to friends and family while we were in China. It is one of my favorites. Jason actually had a big painting of this picture done for me at Christmas last year. She kept her little hands crossed like this for the first two or three weeks we had her. She was so very nervous at first. This is just moments after we got Olivia. She rode in her daddy's lap on the way back to the hotel. It was just a picture perfect moment. Notice the hands!!! She was a daddy's girl from day one. And here is a more recent ...

Friday night Jason and I took Olivia to a birthday party. It was her cousin Brooke's birthday and the party was at the pool in Manchester. (Happy Birthday Brooke!!) Anyway, for those of you who do not know, up until Friday, Olivia has been petrified of the water. The day we got her she was 10 months old and had never had a bath, so we have always had water issues. Well, we got to the pool on Friday and Olivia's cousins came and got her and took her to the water.. We stood in amazement!! She was having a blast and wasn't scared in the least bit. It was like we had never had any problems. She would say "Look mommy, I'm wimming!! We are so happy for her!! It was wonderful to see her having so much fun in the water. I, of course, ran along the edges of the pool in panic mode for an hour and a half worrying that she would go under and freak out... She didn't though. She swallowed some water every now and then, but she did so good. We are so very proud of her!!!!

Here is another pageant picture someone gave us that I love. Thank you Jennie!!!

One of our favorite times of the year is the first full week of September when the fair arrives in town. Our family loves the fair. I am not really sure why, we just do. It was particularly special this year because Olivia was in the baby show and she won first place in her category, which was the 24-30 month babies. She got up on the stage and just waved and blew kisses to everyone!! We are especially thankful to all friends & family who came to watch Olivia because I am not sure how well she would have done had she not had so many people up in the stands cheering and waving at her. She was so happy to see you all there . Thank you. It is amazing to watch the video and see all the confidence Olivia has gotten since we first held her in our arms. We are truly blessed. What a fun week!!