Our Brand-New Ride

We have been searching and researching for our brand-new car after our crash last week.  God certainly blessed us through these recent circumstances.  First, Lily didn't even have a scratch on her.  Second, I only have a banged up knee, but my soreness is completely gone.  Then, finally- we got a super nice car! God does want to give you way more than you could ever ask for!  We never imagined we would have a car like this.  Lily loves it, and actually helped to pick it out.  She also picked out the new Christian fish for the back.  She picked the little one because it had Jesus's name in it.

Thank you, God- for this blessing!  We love our new Nissan Juke!

Cinderella & The Slipper

Lily wanted to retell a story, and she wanted me to write it down for her.  This is her story- exactly how she said it:

Cinderella  had sisters and a mama. Her Mama was mean. They ripped her dress.  She went to the garden.  She cried.  The fairy godmother came and made her a carriage and horses.  The fairy godmother gave Cinderella a beautiful dress.  She was ready to go to the ball.  She was dancing with the prince.  The clock ringed.  She runned down the stairs.  She lost her slipper.  The next morning they were looking whose slipper it was.  It was Cinderella’s!  Cinderella made her way down the stairs.  She tried on the slipper.  It fit!  She lived happily ever after.

    *** I love listening to her stories!

God's Angels

On Friday morning, I was driving to school...the same way I have driven for 15 years.  About 8 minutes into our drive, Lily requested the song "God's Not Dead" by the Newsboys.  (One of her favorites.)  So, we were singing together while I was thankful it was Friday...excited about the weekend with my wonderful husband and my beautiful daughter.  I was full of praise for God just like normal when I listen to my music that praises Him with every note.  All of a sudden, my attention was focused ahead on a silver car right ahead of me getting ready to turn into the median lane to head into the direction of the interstate.  Every morning I see cars turning into that lane, speeding up then slowing to a complete stop before they cross in front of me or yield to the oncoming traffic...me.  Friday morning, I saw the silver car quickly turn into the lane...and in my mind, I thought, "Is that car going to stop?  Of course, I am right here...it will stop."  But, the car didn't stop...it continued right out into the lanes right in front of me.

In that second or seconds that followed, I knew what I had to do...I had to stop.  I slammed on the brakes, quickly trying to decide which way to swerve to try to miss that car...and I hollered to Lily- "Hold on- I am going to hit this car."  I don't remember the actual hit (probably because I closed my eyes, I guess) or where my arms hit the steering wheel (but there are bruises to show that they did) or the moment my knees hit the dash in front of me (but I knew they were in pain about ten minutes later when the shock began to fade).  But, I do remember the sound...the sound of the metal hitting metal...the sound of Lily screaming and crying in the backseat...and the look on her face when my head spun around to make sure she was okay.  I remember my first question, "Are you okay, Lily?  Lily- are you okay?"  I remember the look on the young boy's face through the window- the one who pulled out in front of us...who didn't see us.

I remember....the physician who pulled to side of the road and timidly came to my car asking to help...looking at Lily for me and telling her she was okay which calmed her down.

I remember...the kind men who pulled off to the other side of the road asking if there was something that they could do seeing a woman and child in an accident.

I remember...the ambulance drivers who were there in an instant who comforted us...telling me there was nothing more I could have done....bringing out a warm blanket to wrap around my shoulders and Lily...allowing to sit in the back of the ambulance for fun...taking care of us while we waited on the police to show up.

I remember...my dear husband who showed up quickly to the accident and took care of everything with calmness and caring...with kind words to the family of the young boy who was on his way to work that morning.

I remember the kind policeman who talked to me with a caring voice...

I remember my friend, Malita...who stopped to take care of us...after seeing our car on her way to work...who stayed with me until the officer allowed us to leave the scene...who hugged me and talked to Lily...who displayed to my daughter the definition of a true friend...

Most of all,  I remember...my God- who never left our sides...who held us through the whole crash making sure we were not hurt in any way other than some scrapes and bruises for me...but not one scratch for Lily...

In the end, I am so blessed to still be alive today...so blessed to be able to share God's love with others every day...and so blessed that my daughter now has more faith than she had on Thursday.  When someone asks Lily about the wreck...her response is that "God took care of us because He takes care of everything.  You know He is always with us...no matter what."

I am so thankful that the three of us involved in that accident all walked away with another day to praise God.  I pray that I spend every day remembering all of those wonderful people that God sent our way that day to help us...all of His angels...protecting us on earth the way that He protects us every minute of every day.

Lily's Giraffe

Lily has always loved making Art!  She enjoys the colors, the excitement of what her picture will look like, and just the whole imaginative process.  She has never liked coloring books...she would color with me simply to make me happy.  But, she has always loved coloring on "her plain paper" the best. She gave in to the conformity of coloring pages in school...just because she wants to do what is "right" in her teacher's eyes.  But, the pure glee that comes from making her own creation is simply magic to her!  So, this is her latest creation....her giraffe "for Nana Claire because it was her favorite zoo animal".  I am not sure if you can see the details of the scratch art, but we were impressed.  Of course, everything she does impresses us!  (By the way, she said he also played a quick game of tic-tac-toe with her which is located in the upper right corner!)

Happy Gotchaversary #4

Lily got to plan our whole Gotchaversary Day on March 17th!  We did everything she wanted to do.  So, we went to ToysRUs to "look" around.  Then, we went to Macaroni Grill- her favorite place to eat for her noodles in lemon butter sauce and the delicious bread.  She also tried some calamari, and she loved it!  Then, we went to the mall to "look" around.  She wanted to go back to ToysRUs to buy some Strawberry Shortcake toys.  Then, she wanted to go back to the mall to buy some Bath & Body lotions, clip-on earrings at Claire's, and Princess Markers from The Disney Store.  So, can you tell she wanted to go SHOPPING!  Finally, we had to stop by to get some HOT donuts from Krispy Kreme.  That is how she wanted to spend her day!  We had the best day together!  There is nothing better than spending the day with my best friend named Baba and my beautiful daughter, Lily!

Can you believe it has been 4 years since we went to China to bring back home our Asian Princess!

Cheer Clinic

Lily was in her very first Cheer Clinic this week at school.  She absolutely loves Cheering!  When she got home each day, we would have to be her students as she led us in the different group activities.  Jamie and I were even bases.  Don't you wish you were there to see that?!  At one point during our "class", she had us to make V's with our arms in the air.  She turned around, glanced at mine, and commented, "Mama- now that is good, but it needs to be a little wider."  Seriously Serious about this cheerleading business!   For those of you who know how shy Miss Lily can be at times- this was a HUGE deal.  She actually got out in front of lots of people to perform yesterday.  I was shocked and proud in the same moment!

Happy 4th Referral-versary!

 Four years ago, Suzette took the day off with me while we waited FOREVER for the FedEx guy to deliver our first picture of our beautiful baby girl!  Once we got it, we had to WAIT a little longer for Jamie to drive home from work so we could open the package and see Lily's face for the first time!  Wow!  What a blessing! Thank you God for making Lily just for us!  Happy Referral-versary to everyone in our China family!