Rihanna had a date with Daddy yesterday.
Troy tries to take each of the kids out on a "date" once every month or two, and Saturday morning was his first time to initiate Rihanna into this family tradition. She was not so sure that she wanted to go at first; we have seen her warm up much more quickly to me than to him and I think that she is just having to learn that men can be trusted. Anyways, when he gave her the option of taking her clothes-shopping during their date, her eyes lit up and she gave in. (Hmm...now why hasn't he ever given ME that option for our dates?) Off to Gymboree!
According to Troy, Rihanna was a quick and decisive shopper. She walked in the doors, made a few swooping circles through the merchandise and laid out her 5 choices. Troy said, "Pick one." And she immediately pointed to a darling little peach dress. (As an aside, his comment was, "That was the best shopping experience that I ever had with a woman!" I tried not to be offended.)
Then they headed to Waffle House, and Ri got to taste the yummiest waffle on earth, at least in our opinion. Troy ordered all these other items so that she could sample them, but she was satisfied with her waffle, so he came home sporting an extra pound or two.
Ah, the smile on her face when she walked through the door.
I swear, one date with that man changed that girl. (This I can identify with.)
She bounced off the walls for the next hour. (Literally. It drove me crazy.) She seemed more secure. I really don't think I am just reading into this. He gave her the gift of two hours of love, attention, and affection, and I think he might have won her heart.
In the mini-van later that day, she busted out with a story from her past about "Mama D". This is no small thing, as I can count on one hand the number of times that she has initiated talking about Mama D since we got her on May 11th. And then a couple of hours later, ANOTHER story about Mama D. Again, amazing. Rihanna is so lucky (oops...Christians are supposed to say "blessed"!) to be adopted into the Bird-a-well home (This is how Ri says her last name, even after 6 months of trying to teach her otherwise!) where the Greatest Dad on Earth just happens to live! What are the odds?! I think that the Lord might just love that little girl. :)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
As Hillary said...
It really does take a village. No, I haven't gone liberal, but I do keep hearing the words of Hillary Clinton in the back of my mind as I try to parent this brood of children, and realize every day that I could not do it alone! "Village" may not be the best word. "Church" might be more accurate, since so much of the help we have received have been from our awesome friends at Perimeter Church. Especially since we don't have any family in town, they are our Atlanta family, and I don't know what this transition would have been like without them.
Just for fun, I will mention a few things that the "village" has given us...
*$13,000 towards our adoption and legal fees.
*At least 20 home-cooked dee-lish meals. (I just had to start cooking again this week...isn't that amazing, 2 months of food?!)
*2 months of formula for Alana
*Hundreds of diapers! We may run out of kids before we run out of diapers.
*Lots of cutie baby outfits
*A closet full of size 5 clothes for Cate and her new "twin" sister Rihanna who happens to wear the same size. Including...
*Beautiful holiday dresses and red wool coats for the girls from my fave kid store, Gymboree
*Babysitting...including 2 date nights...ah, glorious
*yard work
*Hand-me-down toys to keep my preschool class (Cate, Will, and Ri) busy
*Childcare for Alana so that me and the kids can go to the gym (Alana can't go until she is 3 mo old, which is 20 days from now, not that I am keeping track or anything!)
Such a big, huge thank you to y'all for loving us and helping us out. We still need it and probably will for a while. When you give to us, it is like God is giving to us, and we feel so loved by you AND by Him. No doubt He adores these little girls, and He has rescued them (by bringing them to us) AND He has rescued us (by letting us parent them)...because He knew that we needed them just as much as they needed us.
Just for fun, I will mention a few things that the "village" has given us...
*$13,000 towards our adoption and legal fees.
*At least 20 home-cooked dee-lish meals. (I just had to start cooking again this week...isn't that amazing, 2 months of food?!)
*2 months of formula for Alana
*Hundreds of diapers! We may run out of kids before we run out of diapers.
*Lots of cutie baby outfits
*A closet full of size 5 clothes for Cate and her new "twin" sister Rihanna who happens to wear the same size. Including...
*Beautiful holiday dresses and red wool coats for the girls from my fave kid store, Gymboree
*Babysitting...including 2 date nights...ah, glorious
*yard work
*Hand-me-down toys to keep my preschool class (Cate, Will, and Ri) busy
*Childcare for Alana so that me and the kids can go to the gym (Alana can't go until she is 3 mo old, which is 20 days from now, not that I am keeping track or anything!)
Such a big, huge thank you to y'all for loving us and helping us out. We still need it and probably will for a while. When you give to us, it is like God is giving to us, and we feel so loved by you AND by Him. No doubt He adores these little girls, and He has rescued them (by bringing them to us) AND He has rescued us (by letting us parent them)...because He knew that we needed them just as much as they needed us.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Full Van, Full House, Full Hearts
Yesterday we left Johns Creek, Georgia, as a family of 5...and came home a family of 6. Full van, full house, full hearts! Emphasis on the FULL.
In fact, the only thing that is empty is our bank account! (A little adoption humor)
The end of our "ten days of waiting" was at midnight on Tuesday. At about 10pm I took a benadryl so that I could actually sleep and not stare at the ceiling for the next 2 hours. Then I woke up around 1am (small bladder!); I got up and realized that we had passed the midnight mark without a phone call, and did a little dance in my pajamas...she is OURS!!
Before everyone woke up Wednesday morning...you know, the ONLY quiet hour of the day...I spent some time praying and reading and I was struck by this most amazing thought...Even though, when Alana's birth parents conceived her, they were not trying to do so...that was not their plan in any way, and probably was not even on their minds...God was making baby Alana for Himself and for us, knowing that she would be a Burwell in about 9 months, knowing that HE had plans for her and for her big sister Rihanna...how awesome that He can take things that look like mistakes and say, "This child is no mistake at all...I have made her for My glory and for the good of the Burwell family and all those who will know and love her." I was just amazed at Him as I sat and thought over that one for a while.
Yesterday felt so peaceful, as if we had just walked right into the center of God's will and were experiencing His blessing. We traveled to Macon...us, the kids, and our dear friend Gail Hatcher. Miss Fran, who fostered Ri and Alana, was there to put Alana in our arms and to celebrate with us. The Covenant Care staff gathered around us with hugs and prayers and a virtual photo-shoot...I felt a little famous. Our big lunch plans were at that 5 star restaurant Chickfila!...because you know, when you have 3 preschoolers and a 12-day-old baby, going to a real restaurant in the middle of the day is not exactly a good option. So we rejoiced with nuggets and ice dream cones!
Alana is just a doll...beautiful little lips and cheeks, mild-mannered (so far), and that sweet little newborn cry gets me every time! I watched Troy fall in love with her before my eyes...pretty cool. Kind of like the way he fell in love with me the first time WE met. :)
We are so excited to share this with y'all! Thanks for your support, love, meals (thank you Amy James for organizing that!), prayers, well wishes...keep those prayers coming. And please come see us...believe me, you would not be a disruption...my word, you are a lot quieter than 3 pre-schoolers and a hungry newborn.
In fact, the only thing that is empty is our bank account! (A little adoption humor)
The end of our "ten days of waiting" was at midnight on Tuesday. At about 10pm I took a benadryl so that I could actually sleep and not stare at the ceiling for the next 2 hours. Then I woke up around 1am (small bladder!); I got up and realized that we had passed the midnight mark without a phone call, and did a little dance in my pajamas...she is OURS!!
Before everyone woke up Wednesday morning...you know, the ONLY quiet hour of the day...I spent some time praying and reading and I was struck by this most amazing thought...Even though, when Alana's birth parents conceived her, they were not trying to do so...that was not their plan in any way, and probably was not even on their minds...God was making baby Alana for Himself and for us, knowing that she would be a Burwell in about 9 months, knowing that HE had plans for her and for her big sister Rihanna...how awesome that He can take things that look like mistakes and say, "This child is no mistake at all...I have made her for My glory and for the good of the Burwell family and all those who will know and love her." I was just amazed at Him as I sat and thought over that one for a while.
Yesterday felt so peaceful, as if we had just walked right into the center of God's will and were experiencing His blessing. We traveled to Macon...us, the kids, and our dear friend Gail Hatcher. Miss Fran, who fostered Ri and Alana, was there to put Alana in our arms and to celebrate with us. The Covenant Care staff gathered around us with hugs and prayers and a virtual photo-shoot...I felt a little famous. Our big lunch plans were at that 5 star restaurant Chickfila!...because you know, when you have 3 preschoolers and a 12-day-old baby, going to a real restaurant in the middle of the day is not exactly a good option. So we rejoiced with nuggets and ice dream cones!
Alana is just a doll...beautiful little lips and cheeks, mild-mannered (so far), and that sweet little newborn cry gets me every time! I watched Troy fall in love with her before my eyes...pretty cool. Kind of like the way he fell in love with me the first time WE met. :)
We are so excited to share this with y'all! Thanks for your support, love, meals (thank you Amy James for organizing that!), prayers, well wishes...keep those prayers coming. And please come see us...believe me, you would not be a disruption...my word, you are a lot quieter than 3 pre-schoolers and a hungry newborn.
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