Happy Birthday Papa Gene!

Happy Birthday Papa Gene!!! This month is an exciting one for Papa Gene...he is OLDER and he is retiring after many years of keeping automobiles on the road! For those of you who know Gene...you know he stresses over NOTHING! Seriously, if the world could adopt his attitude...it would be a happier place to dwell! He told me one time, "there were cars broke down before I came along, and they'll be cars broke down when I'm gone" SO TRUE! We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday/retirement soon!!!
AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE APP STATE MOUNTAINEERS!!!! WOO HOO!!!! One more game and they'll be playing in the National Championship game! If that happens, you know where we will be!!!

PLEASE continue to pray for Uncle Danny! He is still in pain and has a long recovery ahead!

Here's a link to some of the photos LUCY PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY captured at HG's 2nd birthday party! ENJOY!!!
http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Miss%20Magic%20is%20TWO/Party%20at%20the%20BIG%20TOP/Its%20beginning%20to%20look%20a%20lot%20like/2nd%20Birthday%20WINK%20PHOTOGRAPHY/
Her new website is up and running, check it out http://www.lucyparkerphotography.com/
and Miss Magic is on her business cards!!!

Praying for Uncle Danny

Uncle Danny needs your prayers! He is in horrific pain! He's in the ICU trauma unit at CMC. He  fell off of his house while cleaning/leaf blowing! Thankfully, the next door neighbor saw him and called 9-1-1. He broke almost every bone, GOD bless him....femur, hip, ribs....what they didn't see right away was the extent of internal injuries! There are so many people praying for you Danny! We love you!

Hey Uncle Danny! I'm praying for you every night when I say my prayers...I say your last name really well! I love you and I hope Nanny can show you this from her blackberry in the ICU. Tell all the sick people in the Trauma ICU that I am MISS MAGIC and I am praying!

Magic dust everywhere you go...

Little Miss Magic...the 2 year old DRAMA QUEEN!

I feel so behind when it comes to blogging...so much has been happening in Little Miss Magic's life! She is growing up (well she's acting like a very advanced 2 year old and she is getting taller...but still a little peanut...20 pounds with clothes, shoes and coat on)! HAHA! She is into everything these days and is a BUSY body!

Loves her new art station Nanny!She had her Thanksgiving program at MMO and she was the cutest Turkey ever! She really showed OUT when she saw Jason & I! It was so funny!!! She's a complete show-off!!! She still loves anything to do with music, she loves art and LOVES books...I could listen to her sweet voice "read" for hours.

... and STICKERS are a part of life...period!

She is SO independent that sometimes I wish she would chill a bit (I have no idea where she gets it?!) YEA RIGHT!  Her FAVORITE song for the Christmas season is Jingle Bells and each time it plays on her beautiful Carrousel that Scott & Krista gave her

she really gets into it!

Thanksgiving night, her high fever returned....the doctor confirmed the pneumonia was not completely clear....she was put back on meds and she is feeling GREAT now....so great, that she decided to stay up ALL night LONG last night to sing, dance, ask for MILK (and she doesn't LIKE MILK)...I think Granny did it (they had a good time playing HAIR salon)??!!! Nice look on both of you dolls!

HG loves ANYTHING girlie....hair, nails, SHOES, bows....all that girlie stuff! And speaking of shoes, Lulu...she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her pink cowgirl boots!!! She wanted to take these photos just for you!

Check out my boots Lulu...yep, I'm still the wild HALLE-GRACE you know so wellOK, this one shows MY BOOTS and I'm serious about my fashion!

AND, below is my favorite photo from the "Christmas pics" I took of the three H's ...you will find many more in the link below

ENJOY all the photos.....

http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Miss%20Magic%20is%20TWO/Party%20at%20the%20BIG%20TOP/Its%20beginning%20to%20look%20a%20lot%20like/

Life with Miss Magic is MAGICAL for sure!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So many blessings to be thankful for...family, friends, health, employment, food, freedom....the list goes on and on!!! We are incredibly blessed and so THANKFUL for HG especially!!!! She completes our family! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

PARTY TIME....Under the BIG TOP!

Miss Magic had a fabulous 2nd Birthday Party!!!

Miss Magic is 2!!!

We are blessed to have an amazing park in our home town that has the most beautiful Carrousel...

so, we took advantage and partied UNDER THE BIG TOP....Carnival Style! Miss Magic is so loved by so many (it's so hard not to be sprinkled by her magic "dust"...) there were over 70 in attendance.

Miss Magic came away with more gifts....toys, clothes, books, puzzles, money....stickers (you name it) than you can imagine!

We had a GREAT time and she LOVED her party! We are TIRED...well, I know I am! Lucy with WINK photography took photos and as soon as I have them, I will post them....in the mean time, here's the link to the album of the ones I captured, they are tooooo cute!!! http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Miss%20Magic%20is%20TWO/Party%20at%20the%20BIG%20TOP/
Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated Miss Magic turning 2!!!

And Lulu...we LOVE the pink cowgirl boots! Your gift is in the mail sweetie!

Happy Birthday Miss Magic!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LITTLE MISS MAGIC.....my MOST amazing, favorite girl!!! I love you so much and you make life worth living GIRL!!! You're my world and will always be mama's little girl! And of course, Daddy's too...he's crazy over you and you are pretty smitten over him as well!

SO, what did Miss Magic do on her 2nd BIRTHDAY....first, she got all dolled up in her birthday wear..her TUTU (of course and LOVED every minute of it)....the first phone call she received was from Aunt Suzie and Hannah. Hannah sang to her but by the time Suzie got on the phone, HG sang Happy Birthday to herself for Suzie! She's FUNNY!

Jason, Nanny and I celebrated her birthday with her friends and wonderful teachers at MMO. 

Doing the Chicken Dance with Daddy!

LOVED her Balloons

As you can see, Ms. A changed her into her "Cinderella" dress that Aunt Ollie made for her!

She looked like a princess for sure! She was so excited and led the class (all boys today who I know LOVED the Princess theme! HAHA) in "HAPPY BIRHDAY to HG".Nanny & HG having fun at the Cinderella/Princess PartyMISS MAGIC knows how to party! Click this link to see more photos  http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Miss%20Magic%20is%20TWO/

Festivities continue....Party under the BIG TOP this Saturday! Stay tuned for more pics

Miss Magic turns 2 tomorrow!!!

Such a big party week if OFF to a start!!! You're looking at her FAVORITE birthday present so far! She loves her new shoes...she loves shoes period!!! LOTS MORE TO COME....stay tuned!

Birthday Week!!!

Miss Magic will be 2 on Thursday...and it's going to be a BUSY, fun-filled week!!! She has a fitting for the commercial shoot, then the National Commercial shoot, a little party at school and her BIG TOP party on Saturday! WOW, I want to be Miss Magic when I grow up! She's an amazing little girl who continues to steal every piece of my heart away! I promise lots of photos and details coming up! I thank God for blessing my life with HG! She's the baby I dreamed of for SO many years and she calls me MAMA!!! God is SOOOOO good!

November is National Adoption Month...and Miss Magic is turning 2!!!!

November is a very special month!!! Thanksgiving, Miss Magic's Birthday and it's the month to raise awareness about the miracle of adoption! WOW, what would our life be like without the most amazing gift....God allowing us to adopt HG! He must think we are pretty special because we have the most amazing little girl EVER...and she's gonna be 2 years old next week!!! I can't believe it! She's getting excited and singing Happy Birthday every night at bedtime. The routine....read 2 books (ALWAYS Cinderella and lately Bear Hugs) then we say our prayers, then we sing. The last two nights Jason has asked her what she wants to sing and she starts "Jesus" and we sing "Jesus loves me..." then she likes to sing itsy bitsy spider or you are my sunshine but since last Sunday (Lizzy's birthday party) she has ended the night with HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! So, she's ready!!!
We are planning a BIG TOP party for friends and family and it is going to be a lot of fun!!! I get really excited about planning her birthday parties (I don't know why...it's just fun)! On her actual birthday, we are having a celebration at her Morning Out Program. As I stated earlier, it's a Cinderella Party!!! Her aunt Ollie made her the most adorable Cinderella dress to wear (pic coming) and when I called around to see who makes Cinderella cupcakes...well, let's just say I received some pretty funny responses...."We don't have Cinderella but we have fairies"....."No, we don't have Cinderella or any of those other princesses with all those hair colors"....."NO (with a lot of excitement) we don't have Cinderella BUT we have Barbie and they look JUST ALIKE"!!!! hahaha

Soooooo, thanks to Mer and my etsy craze...I found the PERFECT cupcake toppers for her party at school. I think she is going to LOVE every bite!!

Wishing Mrs. America GOOD LUCK in Vietnam

Xin Chao!!! Mrs. America is currently in VN competing for the title of Mrs. World! I sent Andrea a "GOOD LUCK" message wishing her well in Miss Magic's birth country...she replied with a message to HG.
"Wow the children here are precious. We spent time at an orphanage yesterday, it wasn't anything but a joyous experience for them! They were adorable. Tell Miss Magic that the people of her country are incredible."
Good Luck Andrea! I love looking at your photos and so does Miss Magic!

The beautiful Mrs. America

In Vietnam for the Mrs. World Pageant

One of the celebrations the delegates attended.

Everywhere she goes....she leaves behind "magic" dust!

HG had so much fun with N and Ms. A! The smile tells the story...she has the ENTIRE King family SNOWED!!! LOL! Thanks Ms. A for going with us to the audition! It was toooooo much fun!

Fever Free Finally! God is GOOD!

WOW!!! What a week!!! Poor little Miss Magic...she has had a LONG week! Saturday she started feeling yucky and running a fever... barking like a seal. Sunday, Jason took her to the Children's Clinic while I was home sick with a "virus??"...she was diagnosed with "croup" prescribed a steriod and cough medicine and was back home....Monday, she continued to run a fever! We spent Monday night in the ER! HG was so funny. She couldn't figure out why everyone had on a mask...AND she called every "mature-aged" person "mamaw" or "papaw". Needless to say, even with a high fever she was still making friends and bringing smiles to peoples faces! At the ER, she was diagnosed with croup + viral bronchitis/bad viral upper respiratory infection! Poor Jason had to take care of two sick girls all Sunday night....and Monday night....then Tuesday night Ms. Alicia came to visit Miss Magic! She is the sweetest!!! She brought HG a get well balloon and a teddy bear that talks to her about getting better! SO SWEET! We love Ms. Alicia!!!
During her visit, HG literally turned GREEN and had a bad tummy disaster spell! Thank goodness for Dr. G two doors down! She was so sweet and made a "house visit" it was sorta like watching "Little House on the Prairie"!!! She said probably H1N1? enterovirus? but her major concern was the viral turning bacterial and into pneumonia. She told us the next 24 hours would be the "tell sign"....SO, after another high fever, another house call last night from Dr. G...I drove to the pharmacy for some high powered antibiotics....Miss Magic is finally FEVER free tonight and fighting double pneumonia like a CHAMP!!! She is SO loved and blessed! I don't think my inbox can hold another email and my phone has been text happy! THANKS to everyone who cares so much about the most precious little girl on earth!!! Continue to pray that her little body will continue to respond to the medication and get well SOON!!! Tonight she felt like playing "10" that's what she calls "hide and go seek" SHE LOVES that game! She loves for me or J to hide and when she finds us....well, you would think she had just spotted a million dollars! TOO CUTE!
With all the excitement, I haven't had a chance to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LULU!!! She was 2 on the 3rd! We love you Lulu!!! And congrats to T for winning the election!!!

Bring back the MAGIC....

APP State Cutie

She loves her BIG Tacky Gold earrings (these clip on suckers are HEAVY)!!!

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!!! Little Miss Magic was feeling GREAT last week and had so much fun...she had events at MMO daily...trick or treat "pj style",

HG and Ms. Alicia who she ADORES!!!

pumpkin carving, her Halloween Party at Dance

 and SO much more. Sadly, on Saturday afternoon she started feeling a little under the weather and my bumble bee quickly turned into a SEAL! She was coughing and making noises like a baby seal! CROUP! Sure enough, after a visit to the Children's Clinic today (thank goodness they are open on weekends) we have medication and she is already on her way to "spreading magic" around! Thanks to the multitude who have called, emailed, sent text messages, etc. checking on miss magic! She is quite contagious to say the least! The link below will take you to her Halloween album. I am SO thankful that I took her bumblebee costume photos early this year! AND, I absolutely LOVE her ASU Cheerleading outfit and she LOVED the tacky clip on earrings that she insisted wearing while she danced and cheered! She's a HAM people!!! Click here to view Miss Magic's Halloween 09 Album http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Halloween09/

Praying for Miss Magic to be back to 100% SOON and  praying for her buddy Trey who also has the croup! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! I would LOVE to see photos!
Good report....Hunter & Hannah are feeling MUCH better and Nanny did great on Friday with her surgery and she is ready to go shopping again...OH MY! For most the prescription for wellness is REST and Therapy??...OH no, Nanny says it's RETAIL therapy!
Have a great week!

Pretty in Pink...the Princess tree!

The Princess Stocking

Ella Kate Designs has officially created the most adorable Princess tree ever...AND, it belongs to Miss Magic! Julie, we cannot thank you enough! Most probably think we're CRAZY...it's the day before Halloween and our house is completely decorated for Christmas! I call it being proactive and not wanting "Ella Kate Designs" getting totally booked and missing out on Julie's creations! Halle-Grace LOVES her tree and it is just PERFECT!

Ella Kate makes Christmas...OH so Devine!!!

YES, our home is officially decorated for the holiday season! You may think I'm a little nutty...but I couldn't let this designer get away! http://www.ellakatedesign.wordpress.com/ Contact her today, she is amazing to work with and has the most amazing eye for exactly what YOU want!

Julie (or GOOlee as HG calls her) is AMAZING!!! She came into our home on Monday and has made it a WONDERLAND!!! Words can't express the level of talent and the "eye" she has for decor! WOW!!! We now have three Christmas trees...one in our kitchen area that I call my FUN TREE...it's yummy enough to eat! (photo above). The tree in our living area is Asian inspired and is SO appropriate for HG's heritage...I LOVE IT! Trust me, I couldn't get my camera to do these masterpieces JUSTICE!

She made our banisters look AMAZING!!!

To talk with Julie about your decorating needs...act fast! She's GREAT as you can see...

My Dining Room...Chair tie-backs and centerpiece OH SO DEVINE!!!!!

LOVE my centerpiece...I love everything from Ella Kate Designs!

Happy Family Day to many TQ families we know and adore! AND......HANNAH'S A JUNIOR TOP CAT

Today marks one year for many other TQ beauties and their families. Last year at this time, we were already home from VN and having lots of visitors (who brought good food along with them....where did you all go??) HAHA! By the time Christmas rolled around, all of the TQ 44 were home nestled in their beds while visions of VICTORY danced in parents heads!!! It was a LONG, HARD road...but we MADE IT!!! Not only did we make it home with our little ones, we defeated a system that tried very hard to fail us, deceit us and keep us from our children! HATS off to all families! HG was the first of the 44 adopted on Sept. 1st (the day the MOU between VN and the US expired)...so many have asked "is that why you call her Little Miss Magic?" even though that would be most appropriate...I must say that most of you reading this are the REASON Miss Magic and all the babies came home!!! THANK YOU! You pushed, you PRAYED, you wrote letters, you made phone calls *the DOS office probably still remembers many of you by name*, you fought the fight with us and I, along with many other HAPPY FAMILIES *who are now complete* THANK YOU! So, where did "Little Miss Magic" come from? Her daddy calls her that. Search and listen to the song, "Little Miss Magic" by Jimmy Buffet.  It fits!

HANNAH'S JUNIOR TOP CAT DEBUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am wishing Hannah & Hunter a Big GET WELL today! Hannah has H1N1 and Hunter went home from school sick earlier today! Praying they are feeling better soon. We had so much fun at the Panthers game on Sunday! Hannah was a STAR!!!! She was the most beautiful Jr. Top Cat EVER!!!! I am SO proud of her!!!

Click on this link to view more FABULOUS photos!

http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu8/hallegrace/Halloween09/JRTOPCAT/

One more month...Miss Magic will be 2!

HG & Kaitlyn at Miranda's baby shower. The twins will be here soon! HG will be 2 and Kaitlyn just turned 3!

HG, Kaitlyn and Olivia...so CUTE!

It is hard to believe HG will be 2 in a month!!! WOW! Time flies! We are busy planning a Carnival party...just in time for her to fall in love with "Rella" (Cinderella)! SO, we are going to have a Cinderella party at her pre-school on her birthday (since it falls on a Thursday..and the Carnival on Saturday). That way I'm covered! Cinderella is her favorite book and she always says Daddy is the Prince (go figure)...well even though Cinderella has blonde hair...mama is NEVER "Rella" at the ball all dolled up...instead when Cinderella is in rags...THAT'S when she says "mama"! LOL! Kids are hilarious and will humble you! (even though Rella in Rags AIN'T too bad)! HAHAHA!

So, what is our 23 month old doing....I should say what is she NOT doing! Tonight, we went out to eat and then to Home Depot. Everyone kept telling her how cute she was and how they loved her dress, etc. One gentleman said to her, "you are just too cute, wow so pretty" and HG's response...."thank you, I know" I thought I would die! She is a MESS!!!! Jason laughed and it is his fault, not mine! She called every man with grey hair or who appeared older "papaw" outloud! GEEZ! She sings, dances, talks in complete phrases, knows the "Rella" book by heart, and she absolutely loves Ms. Alicia at pre-school and 4 hours is not enough time for the two of them...they are attached at the hip! (just what I needed someone else to spoil this child ROTTEN)!!!

What's happening at this month at preschool: the color is orange, the shape, triangle, they are making everything pumpkin to include ice cream, pie, cookies....they have carved a pumpkin, today was teddy bear day and next week they will "trunk or treat"....she also has a Halloween party at dance next week. She is just too busy!

AND, this Sunday, she will be attending her first NFL football game at the Panthers Stadium. Hannah is a Jr. Top Cat and will be dancing at half time! We are SO excited to watch Hannah and I will have LOTS of pics to post early next week!