Life has been really busy lately...so much happening! This past Friday night (Feb. 20th) Jason & I attended a dinner where we were able to THANK Congressman McHenry in person! It was a great feeling to say "THANK YOU" face to face and let him know how much we appreciate his representation. His response, "it's my job"! He made our adoption process (RFE and all) a "personal" issue and that is WHY we are forever grateful! David McCrary his constituent director in the Hickory, NC office was WONDERFUL! I told the Congressman that David started taking my phone calls (DAILY...I am being very serious) on April 16, 2008 and I talked to him daily until we left for VN in late August 2008. NOW THAT IS REPRESENTATION! We shared photos of Halle-Grace, he thought she was a beauty and is excited to meet her in person!
Another great perk about the dinner that we attended with our good friends Stan & Penny Shaw (while Jelly was baby sitting Little Miss Magic at our home) was meeting the Gov. of Utah, Jon Huntsman! WOW!!! I am pretty sure I cried at least 3 times during his talk! VERY IMPACTFUL speaker!! He and his wife (Mary Kay, who has NC roots) have 7 children...two of their children...they adopted internationally (well, you know my EARS perked up...thinking he could help with a new MOU between VN and America?!) He spoke about the beauty of life and his admiration for his children's "biological mother" especially on mother's day! It was so neat to feel that connection...I remembered my feelings especially on Halle-Grace's 1st birthday. I thought about how Halle-Grace's birth mom gave us the MOST AMAZING gift when she made the decision to give Halle-Grace LIFE! I admire her for her courage and thank her EVERY SINGLE DAY even though I have NO idea who she is, where she is and if she is even alive, I pray for her daily! I pray God gives her a glimpse of Halle-Grace's life and how she GAVE the most amazing GIFT and we love Halle-Grace more than I thought ANYONE COULD EVEN LOVE ANYBODY!!! Her decision was a decision of unconditional love! She gave her the opportunity to have a DEVINE life! OH, the thought of it being any different makes me shutter! SO, as Gov. & Mrs. Huntsman were leaving the country club dinner to make their way to the National Gov. meeting, Jason takes his BRAG book and darts after them! I saw him as he chased them to the door and of course they were stopped in their tracks when they saw the beautiful images of our Halle-Grace! It was a great NIGHT!!! Watch for Gov. Huntsman in 2012?? Who knows but how cool would it be to tell Halle-Grace, "when he was the Gov. of Utah we shared your story and photos...he said you were BEAUTIFUL...and now he is _____? Who knows, he could be the next President?? His message was powerful. He said that America has three values that sets us apart *LIFE, LIBERTY, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS and added "Economic Freedom"! When we arrived back home, Halle-Grace was sacked out in Jelly's arms sleeping but woke up in time to ride her pink poodle. If you remember from a previous post, Stan, Penny & Jelly gave the rocking pink poodle to Miss Magic!
On Saturday, Granny brought Lizzy & Zoey to play and to get a photo of her blessings...here is the beautiful pic
The picture displays their cute faces AND personalities! They played so hard! Lizzy had the MOST fun playing Guitar Hero with Jason on the Wii *and I must add, she is really good*
So, now it is Tuesday evening and I am posting this from Las Vegas! I am working the AAOS this week. Jason left on Monday for Dallas, TX for a two day meeting with AZ and THANK THE LORD for Granny! She has been a saving grace! She is staying at our house with Halle-Grace. She takes her to Maa Maa's house during the days and then picks her back up and they have PLAY MARATHONS till bedtime...I think I can smell the rotten from Vegas! I was told Halle-Grace CRIED for Granny when she left Maa Maa's house this morning (HELLO, she doesn't cry for me???) Little monkey--she is so darn cute and I miss her so much! I cried when I left her, so she should CRY FOR ME TOO!
MORE......She is up to SO much these days...she says "be back", "good girl", calls the cat "mal", loves her refrig. leap frog phonic alphabet and has the "i" down pat! She draws it out (our southern belle)! She also says BAA BAA for Bye Bye...and she says "I...as she points near her eye (see pic)
crosses her arms to say love then points at herself normally for you (I guess because we point at her when we say it...she is a copy cat)! She loves southern cooking *thanks to Maa Maa* and plays NON-STOP! When she is UP, she is UP! She is constantly on the move, talking, singing...loves the jogger stroller (she & Jason jog daily)BUT just wait till the summer and I teach her water babies in our pool! Then she will be a little fish! DON'T worry, we are getting a pool alarm (safety is MOST important)!!!I know you have heard, "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it"...so, I rest knowing HE is the one who ultimately watches over us all! And finally, WE are finished with all post-adoption sessions! YEAH!!!
Please pray for Jason to have safe travels home tomorrow (Wed) I know he is ready to see his baby girl (who is 100% DADDY'S PRINCESS). Also, say a special prayer for Nanny's neck. She has been in a lot of pain but the doc is going to fix her up...hopefully SOON! We gotta have our "SHOPPER" back...I am sure Wal-mart and Coach stock are falling (now that is a combination...LOL)!
Halle-Grace says, "Nanny, I will be the surgeons assistant and take good care of you just like I did for mama's surgery"I hope this catches us up *well at least a summary* I need to prepare for my long days ahead at AAOS. I am thankful that when I have to be away, I have a career that I love (that makes the world of difference)! STILL, my most important and rewarding job is being MAMA to Halle-Grace and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLy LOVE this career and I will NEVER retire!!!
PS. Miss my hens and think of you ladies DAILY! Can't wait to see you ALL in June!
