Wordless Wednesday

I ♥ faces Week # 29 At The Beach

This week's theme over at the I heart Faces photography blog is 'At the Beach.' I thought, how timely that is...since we just were there. My entry is the above portrait of Grace taken one of the last nights we were in Mexico, she had been running and playing in the waves and I captured this moment. Besides her expression I loved the sand and drops of water on the right side of her face. If you click on the I heart Faces button it will link you the blog and you can check out more entries...enjoy!

just because...

Today is a smooth white seashell, hold it close and listen to the beauty of the hours. ~unknown

My life is like a stroll upon the beach, as near the ocean's edge I can go. ~ Thoreau

Listen to what you know instead of what you fear. ~ Richard Bach

More pics and our week...

Our resort.

My little swimmer.

Here are more images from Mexico, it's hard to believe in a way we were just there a week ago. I'm definitely back to real life with mountains of laundry, transporting kids to Summer school, dentist appointments and swimming lessons and Grace and I coming down with a little viral thing.(we are better now). Sometimes I think you need a vacation after the vacation. We have a pretty calm weekend ahead...hope you all have a great one! :)

Wordless Wednesday

{and yes the ocean there is really that lapis blue changing to turquoise, I couldn't take my eyes off it.}

Their first look...

We arrived at our resort on the Mexican Riviera a week ago Sunday and these 2 couldn't wait to get to the beach....these were taken about 30 minutes before sundown.

This was Will's first time coming to the ocean with us...you can tell by the image below he was pretty happy to be there! The picture really sums up his larger than life personality. :)

He was testing the water here...

A thoughtful Grace taking it all in...



And my sandy girl with the ocean breeze in her hair...



Fortunately my kids love the beach as much as I do, my Summers were spent growing up literally on and in the water most of the time. Either at my Grandmother's cottage in Wisconsin or many Summers spent on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. To me there's nothing better than swimming, listening to the sound of the waves, and taking in the colors of the water and sand. We all had an amazing time in Mexico...Grace swam like a fish and William can now hold his breath under water, kick and swim a little to us. What was great about this trip was there was very little structure to the day, we pretty much went to the beach, swam a lot, the kids played in the sand, we had great Mexican food and drinks and went to the local town for some shopping. One day we did take the ferry over to Cozumel, rented a jeep(Will loved that jeep as you can imagine!), drove around the island and had dinner there. It was a relaxing week and the Mexican people are so gracious and kind....Grace and William made many friends. I've got more pics to post in the next week, so I hope you don't get tired of them. :)

1 year!

A little bit of our first year with William... many of these have never been posted on my blog.

We first met William Michael exactly 1 year ago in a meeting room in the Lakeside Hotel in Fuzhou City, Fujian province. To be perfectly honest I don't think anything I had read or learned prior about adopting a toddler could have possibly prepared me for the last year. It's been quite a roller coaster and sometimes a difficult road. I've sometimes wondered...why us? Why were we chosen to be his parents? I don't ask myself that now, for I believe we were always supposed to be his Mommy and Daddy. We have always kept in mind the events that have made William who he is...his short life has been traumatic at times: abandonment, surgeries and different sets of parents. Our son's strong 'will' is a part of his personality and has helped him to survive the changes and will someday help to make him a determined young man. William has grown to trust and love us and we love him dearly. I can say assuredly that he's now an integral part of our family. His beautiful smile, engaging and sweet personality and infectious laugh light up a room instantly. He gives enormous hugs that come from his heart. The secret to our marriage (ours will hit 20 years soon) has been a dogged determination to never give up, to make it work even when it's hard, love unconditionally, to compromise and sacrifice as needed, and have a deep faith in God. We use these same principles with all 3 of our children. We don't really know what the future holds for us....whether we'll be called to adopt again or not. What I do know is that we're forever changed by our children, and the events and country that brought them to us...we hope to continue to give back by being mentors to adoptive parents or assisting in some financial way to those who would like to adopt. My very favorite quote is Gandhi's, " You must be the change you wish to see in the world." There are millions of orphans in our world that need families and each of us can make a difference, one child at a time. We feel very blessed to be a part of our children's lives and for that we are forever grateful!

2 years ago I started this blog as a way to help with the long wait to adopt our second child from China. I could have never imagined the impact it has made on me as support and making friends, quite a few of them lifelong ones. I've recently considered shutting down my blog now that our little son has been home a year, but just don't have that in my heart to do. I'm not going anywhere, for you have given me so much....there are so many waiting for their children and I'll be right alongside watching and supporting you when your children arrive.

With much love and heartfelt thanks for all your support, prayers and good wishes this past year,

Gail

a bit of sunshine :)

A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition. ~ William Arthur Ward

Those who wish to sing, always find a song. ~ proverb

These sunshiny( is that a word?) pics were taken this week of my happy girl. Lots going on here with Summer school, swimming, playing with friends and I had my first photo shoot with a dear friend's daughter...Lydia. Let me just say that it's very different taking pics of someone else's child, but it went well. Lydia's parents were happy with the final images and I was too. I now have 2 more families scheduled for pics...don't know where this will go but I sure love taking pictures of children. This weekend we have a family reunion in Illinois and Sunday the 4 of us leave for some R & R in Mexico on the western Caribbean! It'll be the first time at the beach for little William. Won't be posting while we're gone but will be checking in...hoping we have internet access. Have a great weekend and week my friends!

Wordless Wednesday

A glorious weekend...

Star-spangled happiness and banner waves of pride. ~ Cherishe Archer

He looks like he's leading the parade!

Yankee doodle dandy...



They had so much fun at a parade in a little town that's not far from where we live.


And of course sparklers at night. (Will was closely supervised)

Happy 4th of July!

Busy week here with Summer school for both of these 2 and VBS for Grace(which she loved!). A 3 day weekend is now upon us as we celebrate Will's first Independence day here.

Tomorrow we'll be going to a local parade that has been a big fav for Grace in the past, have a cookout and of course fireworks...the weather is supposed to be gorgeous. Have a fun and safe 4th!

and the Winner is....

We put the 30 names in the tote and my assistant drew...

Angie, of A Mother's Place!

Congrats to Angie, I know her from us both being in the same Nov 06 LID yahoo group. Thank you everyone for putting your name in and...I'll do another giveaway later on this Summer. We have lots of fun doing them!

BTW that's yellow marker on Grace's left hand. :)

Wordless Wednesday