Babies, Friends and Blessings

mia's friend zachary (son of our friends scott & shelly) reading with the dads...
mia's aunt sarah and i right before luke came into the world...
introducing luke winston (looks like he's studying his momma's face!)
mia's uncle chuck with chuck's dad and luke (now it looks like he's studying his daddy's face)...

what a wonderful weekend! we started out thursday night by having dinner with our friends scott & shelly and their son zachary. we had a great time and it was fun to watch the kiddos interact!

early friday morning we received a call that our best friends, chuck and sarah, were having their baby...one month early! luke winston came at around 3:30 friday afternoon and he's perfect! what a blessing he is already! great pregnancy, great labor...wonderful kiddo! he's just the cutest thing ever!

we are so thankful for our friends and their kids. God just continues to bring such miraculous blessings into our lives.

weekend pics...

helping grampa feed the horses... just being cute...
p.s. I'VE ADDED OUR SON'S BLOG SITE TO THE LIST ON THE RIGHT. ----->
right now it's called our prince of india, but that could change at any moment so don't save it!

Just a few pics from a fun weekend...

dustin and some of our church members at the martin luther king, jr. parade (yep, it's a little late - it had to be rescheduled several times due to our great oklahoma weather)... mia and i sitting by the campfire...

mia and her grampa...
all of us around the fire...bright moon in the background...

Faithfullness

mia in grandpa leapy's (leprevost's) old hat... mia with her aunt sarah & uncle chuck at their baby shower...

mia with gramma at the baby shower...

what a wonderful weekend this has been - such a weekend of celebration! yesterday we celebrated the soon-to-be birth of mia's long awaited cousin...baby mosley! sarah and chuck are expecting their first baby in april and we couldn't possibly be more excited! yesterday's celebration was not only a celebration for little baby mosley, but a celebration and recognition of God's love and faithfulness to those who love Him...and for that we are forever grateful. come on baby mosley...we're ready for you!

i also want to mention a few more celebrations going on around the states. four precious little babies were brought home this weekend from india. their parents, families and friends are finally seeing the object of so many prayers materialize into real life! the wait and the struggle to bring these little ones home was harder than anyone should have to endure. amanda and grace - our prayers are with you as you continue to bond with your precious little girls!

God bless all of the families celebrating this weekend! each are true examples of faithfulness to God and to the children He chose for them.

happy heart day!

mia with her friends, hailey and maggie...

i want to mention what a special day this is for some of the dillon families that have waited a painfully long time to be united with their children. one family that i know of left yesterday and two are leaving today. for those that read this blog, please say a quick prayer for those families as they travel, and pray for a smooth transition for the little ones.

thank you and Happy Valentine's Day!

oh, i almost forgot...mia got her first valentine in the mail several days ago - a sweet little card from her buddy ian! oh so sweet!

play dates, puppies and pics

mia and maggie snacking...

mia chatting away with spencer...

papa & nana's new puppy...



and i think we're done with the picture thing for now...

Mother India

this picture was taken at the orphanage/facility where we first met mia. it's of an ayah changing an infant's diaper. i tried to quickly take this picture without her noticing (the ayahs are shy and don't like to be photographed i'm told). moments after this picture was taken we met our precious mia. this picture is my favorite. if i took no other picture of india, the country or it's people, this picture would have been enough.

And So It Begins...

this is the blanket i'm making for our little boy...YES, we are starting the adoption process again! we sent in our application (part 1) last friday to adopt a baby boy from india! i just wanted to share the great news! we are more excited than words can express!

What they didn't tell me...

She's fascinated by all phones...wait until she's a teenager!

Pigtails make her look WAY TOO grown up...where's my 1 1/2 year old?

Here are just a few things that have crossed my mind lately...

They said being a parent was great. Of course they were right, but here’s what they didn’t tell me…

They didn’t tell me that on a regular basis I would laugh so hard I’d cry.
They didn’t tell me that hearing Mia laugh and play with her dad in the other room would bring such a smile to my face.
They didn’t tell me that I would see everything fresh and new…I’d discover the world all over again with her.
They didn’t tell me that voluntary, random kisses would be worth more than silver or gold.
They didn’t tell me that I’d instantly become the biggest goof-ball just to make her giggle – no matter who is watching!
They didn’t tell me that I’d need a part-time job just to pay for all of those cute girl clothes!
They didn’t tell me that the sweetest sound in the world would be when she calls my name.
They didn’t tell me that she would bring such joy to not only Dustin and I, but my family, his family, and our extended family and friends.
They didn’t tell me that to our family and friends Dustin and I would cease to exist…we are now the people who bring Mia or take her away. We’re okay with it by now!

They said being a parent was hard, but this is what they didn’t tell me…

They didn’t tell me that taking my baby to the doctor and hearing her cry out in pain would make me cry with her.
They didn’t tell me that I’d be so angry at the world for it not being the kind of place I want her to grow up in.
They didn’t tell me that there’s no way to capture the look in her eyes when she is proudly showing me something or is calling out to me. They didn’t tell me that there’s no picture or video that can capture her smile when she sees her daddy come home from work. And they didn’t tell me that there’s no way to capture the feeling my heart has when she grabs my hand and leads me somewhere, anywhere…I don’t care where we go.

They didn’t tell me time would fly so fast.

They couldn’t have told me how much I would love her.

Christmas Moments

the big reveal...








guess she likes it...
she's learned how to strike a pose already...












making cookies for santa...








mia's creation...








frustration (can't open them fast enough)...






exhausted from unwrapping so many gifts!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Christmas Cutie!

looking too much like a teenager... next to our tree...
kissing her bear...

recently we had our friend shawn take some pics of mia. she did really well and we got a lot of great pics out of the shoot. many of you have been asking for his information so here it is...
www.shawnbrandtphoto.com

INTRODUCING...

america's newest citizen! that's right...as of 3:10 p.m. today mia is now an official u.s. citizen! we went to court today to finalize her adoption and everything went really well. it was a very quick process. the judge walked into the courtroom and dustin and mia and i approached the bench. our lawyer said a few things and the judge signed off. it was as easy as that!

what a great christmas present!

'tis the season...to be thankful

mia "praying" before dinner...
first time in the snow!!!our little snow angel...


okay, this is a really late thanksgiving update, but better late than never, right?! i guess i’ve put it off because there’s so much to be thankful for and i just don’t know where to start. this has been an amazing year for us. i don’t think it’s possible to put it into words.

i keep making the mistake of saying that we are so lucky to have mia in our lives, but it's really not LUCK is it? God has been in every part of this process for us and He has BLESSED us with our precious daughter. there couldn't have been a more perfect child for our family. God knows exactly what He's doing and for that we are eternally grateful.

we are also grateful for the family and friends that shared in our sorrow and joy during the past couple of years. they were essential during our wait for mia and we couldn't have survived without their prayers. i'm so excited to see mia grow up surrounded by such wonderful and loving people. thank you, to those who prayed for us...people we might have seen everyday, those we only saw once a week, some we only saw once a year and others we had and still have never met. thank you.

the entertainer

what did we ever do for entertainment before mia came along? can i just tell you how smart my daughter is?

things that mia can do...
when you ask her where she was born, she says "india".
she knows her eyes, ears, nose, hair, tongue, teeth, knees, toes, chin, fingers, tummy and belly button.
on command she can, cry, laugh, be sad, be shy, and get angry - watch out hollywood!
she knows everything around the house and even tries to help me clean.
she also knows her animal sounds - a lion, cow, owl, doggie, cat, horse, turkey and baby chicks.
she knows who loves her: she says momma, dada, gramma, grampa, boo (uncle), hiley (aunt), nanna, pappa, danna (aunt), eddie (uncle), jason (cousin), sarah, chuck, aunt mimi (great aunt), g.g. (great gramma), paw (great grampa), she trying to say davie (great uncle) - we'll get there. she tries to say just about everything else.
she says thank you, please, waves and yells "HI" to every passing stranger in the stores & restaurants...and best of all...she says "i love you".
she does so much more and i'm sure i'll think of more later, but needless to say, we think she's a genius!

here are a few pics from the past few weeks...warning...beware of the vicious lion...

mia and i riding uncle dave's horse at the hall family hayride '06...

mia standing with her uncle boo and aunt hiley on the hayride...

mia loves her aunt hiley...
aaarrrhhh.....
mia and i with sarah and our friend lily from croatia...we hope to see her again very soon!

a diva is born...notice the boa, sparkling high heels, necklace and the cell phone...