Her little piggies

Havi recently discovered the stash of nail polish I keep in my bathroom and has been asking me to paint her piggy toes.  So one morning, I indulged her a bit.  Since it was the first time I was painting them for her, I thought I would capture the moment.  So I pulled out my handy dandy mini tripod and remote shutter release.  I picked a spot in the house far away from rugs and with enough space to place my camera/tripod on the floor nearby.  We ended up in a walkway between the living room and kids playroom.

As soon as her nails were dry, she insisted on changing out her top for one of her sister's twirly dresses.  I guess her painted toes made her feel a bit glamorous.  I can't blame her.

Overdue blog post is finally here

*chirp chirp chirp* 

Is that crickets I hear?

Well, I wasn't meaning to go missing here on the blog.  Sure we've been busy with the usual suspects- school, dance, tennis, life.  But I guess my real reason for not posting is that I hadn't picked up my camera in a few weeks. So I had no photos to share.  So... the other day, I rectified the problem.

No, I didn't get all crazy and do some fancy photo shoot.  You know me better than that.  I simply snapped a few photos of the girls during one of Caleb's tennis practices.

 I was trying to take a photo of Madeline in the shot above...but I got a shot of a photo bomber instead.

As you can see the girls kept busy by eating and coloring.  Usually, they also have racquets in hand or are on their bike (Havi) or scooter (Madeline).  Havi has taken to using a chair in Madeline's bedroom to access Madeline's dance clothes in her closet.  I finally relented and let her wear an old leotard that doesn't fit Madeline anymore.  Yes, she wore it for two days straight, took it off to bathe and slept in it too.  I think she needs her own dance clothes. She is an absolute riot hitting tennis balls in a leotard.

Well, this past weekend Caleb played in a very competitive tennis tournament and did well.  He won one match and lost another, both going to third set tiebreakers.  Patrick and I are so, so proud of him.  He had lost the first match, and boy, was it tough.  But he handled himself like a champ and kept his composure.  Then he came back and won in a third set tiebreaker in his second match.  He played so tough and so well.  It's exciting to watch him develop as a player, but it's also equally exciting to see him grow as a person.  Tennis requires so much mental toughness, and he definitely showed that this past weekend.  As his parents, we are really trying our best to focus on these two things more so than outcomes, which is far easier said than done.  But having the right perspective really does have its benefits.

Caleb's tennis coach has asked him to play in the middle school league that takes place in the spring.  So he will be playing on a team from the courts where he trains against middle school teams from other courts and the private schools in the area.  When he plays in his tournaments, he plays using a green dot ball, which has less compression than a regular ball and, therefore, moves a little slower.  For the middle school league, however, they will be using a regular yellow ball because the kids are older.  It's what he trains with and uses in one of his clinics.  However, this will be his first time playing with a yellow ball in a competitive environment.  To say that he's excited to have Friday night matches back would be an understatement.  He also has another green dot ball tournament this Saturday that he's looking forward to as well.  Let's just hope this weekend's weather cooperate.  I'm not so sure.

Anyway, I promise to snap more photos these next few weeks and not be such a stranger.  

Hope you all have a great weekend, and thanks for continuing to pop over and say hello.

What a girl wants...and what she doesn't

Part 1: what a girl doesn't want- paperwork!

I have been dreading it since we decided to move forward with our third adoption.  And now we are knee deep in it.  On Monday, we submitted our I-800A to immigration. (Any personal info in these images that wasn't already blurred from a shallow depth of field was blurred by me.)

We've also sent off our state issued documents (birth certificates and marriage license) for state seals (in three different states.)  Actually, during my attempt to do the above, I discovered that my birth certificate has been misplaced.  Yes, you read that right.  Oh I have several photocopies, one of which was sent to immigration.  But the originals are MIA- missing in action. So I had to get on the phone with the Alabama department of health to get one expedited and sealed.  It should arrive today.  Hopefully.  That paperwork headache is enough for now. Thank.you.very.much!

Part 2: What a girl wants- glittery nail polish

This would be Madeline.

For the last few weeks, she has been begging me for some glittery nail polish, so much so that it was the first thing that left her lips in the morning.  Seriously.  So one day, I finally decided I had enough of the pleading and followed through with my promise.

We headed to the local drugstore. And since I knew that this adventure was a long time coming, I thought I would bring my big girl camera. Naturally, Caleb was inclined to bring his also.  I actually snapped this photo of Caleb photographing Madeline while I was still sitting in the driver seat.  I just aimed in his general direction and hoped to get him in focus.  Good enough!

He was totally impressed by the big wheeler delivering some soda and wanted to take the driver's photo. I couldn't resist photographing him doing so...only as soon as I pressed the shutter, he turned around and snapped me!  We got a bunch of laughs at this!

So, into the store we went, complete with chapstick on and purse in tow.

Since I have been purchasing Essie lately, I found a glittery nail polish that I wouldn't mind wearing also- Set in stones.  

It was love at first sight!

She also insisted she needed  a new nail file.  Funny girl.

She just couldn't get enough of looking at the polish and kept asking me to buy a few more bottles.  I stuck to my word and got just one.

Later on, I gave her a pedicure.  Well, not really a pedicure.  I just painted her piggies.  Nothing fancy.  That's Essie's Meet me at sunset with Set in stones on top.  She was in heaven!

And I have some great news about Gina. When she learned that she was moving to the palliative care unit at MD Anderson, and that's where she'd stay, she said it was not an option.  She wanted to come back to Florida. The only problem was the level of oxygen she was requiring was forcing her to remain in Houston.  Well, by the grace of God, her levels got to a point that she could be flown back "home."  She is now back in Orlando at a hospice center.  I can't wait to go visit!  I want to thank all of you who have continued to pray for Gina and her family.  I can't tell you how much that means to them and to me!