Special Friends

Remember these cuties from this post last year?

Last week, Bethany had a second playdate with her two friends N and E. They may not know it yet, but these girls have a very special bond that I hope will develop into very special and meaningful friendships in the future.

Contrary to what many outside of the adoption community may think, adoption is not a one time event where you bring your child home, they become part of your family, and that's the end of it. Adoption is something that will follow these little ones for the rest of their lives, and one day these little girls will come face to face with their adoption stories. As their parents, we will by all means do everything we can to be a source of love, comfort and encouragement to them, but nothing will quite compare to having someone who knows what it's like to be in your shoes.

I am so very thankful for the special bond these little ones share and for the friendships I have with their Mommies!

*thanks for sharing all your pictures with us judy!*

Bethany turns 2 - Part Two (& Friends)

Before I get to the festivities, let me tell you about a very special group of friends that have become like family to us. There are six families all together and five out of six live within an hour's distance of each other. One of the families moved out to the East Coast several years ago, but they visit often enough that we never have to miss them for too long. :) Most of us first met when we were in college, and now many years later, we have a total of sixteen children between us. We have shared in many of life's milestones together, with much laughter and even some tears. Through these times, God has forged a bond between us that I hold very dear and precious.

Our East Coast friends happened to be coming to L.A. for a visit this month, so the timing was perfect for a combined birthday for Bethany and our friends' son Hudson. We decided to have it at an indoor playground, and it turned out to be one big renunion/play date/birthday party. It was a team effort between Hudson's Mommy and myself (although i think she probably did more than i did), but the Daddy's had the most important job of all - paying the bills. :)

We all had a great time celebrating Bethany and Hudson's birthdays, as well as the special friendships God has blessed us with over the years.

The birthday boy and girl.

 

Funny Kid Photo Contest

At the encouragement of a friend, we entered Bethany's Hello Kitty photo in a contest.

You can vote every day until 9pm on May 15th.

Please go to this link to vote.
http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/110928/voteable_entries/20394641

Thank you!

Bethany turns 2 - Part One

To my ittle girl who I first came to know through pictures and updates,

to this cutey patootie who I now can't imagine life without....

Happy birthday to my sweet girl Bethany!

We love you so much.

This afternoon we had our monthly play date with Bethany's little pals at our house. Since it was only a day after her birthday, I thought we could have a mini celebration as well.  

 I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take a group picture of all the little ones except for this shot, which is not only out of focus, but missing one of the girls. Sorry Naomi! :(

Hello Kitty

Here's something you may not know about me. I am a thirty-something who is still a huge fan of all things Hello Kitty (Sanrio). I usually satisfy my HK fix at Target's dollar section, or every so often I'll buy something small from the Sanrio store. As much as I adore everything in there, I can never justify spending more than a few dollars on my childhood fantasy. I say childhood fantasy, because growing up, I was one of the few girls I knew that was cruelly deprived of things from Sanrio (why, oh why?!).

Hm....that most likely explains why I've grown up to become an even bigger fan. Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

With the hope of saving my own daughter from the same cruel fate I suffered (yes, i'm being dramatic), I started collecting HK items for myself my daughter years ago before I even know she existed.

Now years later, I have quite an assortment of things to pass onto Bethany. Most of them are neatly stored away, but she has already gotten quite familiar with dear old HK.

Clearly my goal is to pass on this love of HK to her.... but this afternoon we had a minor setback while hanging out in Little Tokyo.

Here's a close up.
(sorry for the bad quality. it was taken on my iphone.)

Is it mean that I'm totally laughing, and that I love this picture?
And that as she was freaking out, I urged Austin to go ahead and take the shot instead of quickly stepping away to spare her from those seconds of sheer terror?

You be the judge. :)