okay, okay, okay..

I know the majority of my last blogs have all been pretty boring and all about Jade. Not that she's boring. You know what I mean. I miss actually writing about things. I think picture blogs are not me at all. I have all sorts of things to blog about, and yet instead I just post pictures. Granted, they're basically the cutest things ever, but nonetheless, boring. I think I just feel like I finally have some freedom to post about Jade. For several months I was so unsure of whether or not we would get to keep her. I didn't want to seem presumptuous, nor did I want to offend those of you who were hoping we wouldn't get to keep her. I couldn't blame you. But now that it seems more for sure, I just have to share with the world how amazing she is.

I'll write about something interesting soon. Well, it will be interesting to me anyway. You might not find it worth your time. But at least it will be words on a the page. Maybe I'll tell all about another giant lie I told. Those are always funny.

cuteness

poor little thing was trying to find the deer after they ran off into the woods. she tried to follow them and actually got a little frustrated that i didn't let her. instead she stood there asking,"deer go? Where is it?"

her favorite thing

she loves reading books with him more than anyone else in the world. as soon as he comes home from work, that's what she wants to do. over and over and over. book after book after book. it's the sweetest thing ever and ever and ever.

foo-ta ball

or 'football' if you're not pronouncing it with three syllables like Jade does. Jade loves playing football with her daddy. When he and her uncle John were out playing catch, she wanted to join. "Foo-ta ball please." she would say. She can actually catch and throw pretty well for a one year old. Maybe it's all the USC games she watches. They actually hold her attention for a while. It's so fun to see her excited about something she can hardly do. she's so funny.

completely edible

oh, deer.

what can i say?

I can't help that she's so stinking cute. Every Friday she goes and plays at Jake Begines' house. And for two days she kept saying, "Dancing Jakey's house." Turns out, she didn't want to dance at Jake's. She wanted to wear her tutu over there. She calls it her 'dancing'. She really dresses to impress the boys.
This picture was ust too precious... We had been gone all weekend visiting Haley, Lala and Papa. It was such an amazing weekend! The entire trip home Jade was pretty grumpy, but as soon as she recognized that we were home, she was all smiles. Completely exhausted, she went to her room, grabbed Moose and climbed up in the chair with her passie waiting for bed time. I'm not sure if she was so much excited about being home as she was to see Moose. To each his own I guess.

redness

You've been asking for pictures of my kitchen since I painted it, so here they are! You've got a before picture, and an after picture. The paint wasn't dry yet so you'll see the tape is still up in the second picture. I need to do my window treatments next. I looked for material that I want to use, but I didn't find anything too amazing. I'll just have to keep looking.

The wood in the kitchen is pretty beat up and ugly, and I had originally thought about painting it because that was the only way it would look decent. But after painting the red, I feel like they look better. Perhaps I'll just condition them a bit and see how it goes from there.

If you have any suggestions, let me know. :) I'm all ears.

Enjoy.

the before shot. the kitchen was so drab and boring

it's getting there. i really like the red. thanks John and Alex!!

it was love

I want these for my living room. But they're out of stock in the size that I need. Well, no, they have one set left, and I need two. The closest thing I could find is ridiculously expensive... So now I don't know what I'm going to do. I saw them, fell in love, and now everything else would be settling. This sucks.

my little weirdo

Ever notice how when asked about marriage, women commonly complain about having to pick up their husband's dirty socks? It's like some sort of universal word association or something. Marriage - dirty socks. I remember hearing that all the time when I was getting ready to get married. And then even after the vows were said, I heard it more. Many of my married friends of mine would talk (complain) about it.

I never knew if 'picking up dirty socks' was literal, or just a metaphor for saying the whole marriage idea sucks as a whole. Regardless of how many quizzical glances I gave them, I was never clued in. However it was intended, I knew for sure it wasn't a good thing. So as not to rub in their face that I couldn't empathize with them, I remained quiet. You see, I married someone who picks up his own dirty socks.. both literally and metaphorically speaking.

After 4 1/2 years of marriage things have changed. I constantly find myself gathering up Husband's socks from the floor and putting them where they belong. I find them in the kitchen, the guest bathroom, the living room. Everywhere. Everyday.

You'd think I would be mad at Husband, but I can't be. He's no more to blame for this than the homeless guy on the corner of Blackstone and Shaw. Instead, all blame is rightfully placed on the little person. She has figured out where Husband keeps his socks and she frequently gets into them. Her socks are too small to get on by herself, mine are kept too high for her to reach, but Husband's are just right.

Here is a visual example of what I mean. Also note, she was fully clothed with hair done just moments before this was taken. She has a style all her own. Her favorite beanie, pink bloomer things from a skirt, and socks. The little weirdo.

She was showing her muscles for the camera.

well, that's new

Despite my last post, Jade has suddenly become enthralled with the camera. She knows how to pose. I swear I didn't teach her. I was putting on my make-up the other morning and Jade goes, "mommy, look. look." And I turn around to see that she had taken off her pants and put on Christopher's socks. .. and hat. I laugh and tell her she's silly and she says, "cheese please!" pointing to my camera sitting on my dresser. So of course I took pictures!!

I told her to make a silly face, and this is what she came up with...

look down... look down.. look down....

Getting Jade to look at the camera has been a challenge. This is the best I could get. I think she watches too much FRIENDS. Chandler has rubed off on her.

september 3rd

Happy Birthday, Christopher!

i love you.

and they're off!

Today we are sending in our first batch of paper work to adopt Jade. The process is going to be really long, but at least this is a good first step. Once the adoption worker receives them, he's going to set up our phone interviews. I would be a little nervous, but he really likes us. It's been so rad to see God provide people on Jade's case that really are excited about her bring with us. The social workers hold so much power in cases like this. The fact that they are on our side and fully supportive is awesome.

Please be praying that the paper work gets there quickly, and that it all makes sense. Explaining MY family in a series of multiple choice questions is a ridiculously impossible task. haha

Thanks for your prayers!