What a difference a year makes.

This is us. One year ago to the day. Sitting in our very last IMPACT Class. Completely unaware of the life change that would happen in just 48 short hours.

Our little girl was sitting in someonelse's home. Completely unaware of the life change that she would have in just 48 short hours.

Two worlds that didn't know the other existed. Both longing for something permanent, special, real.

I find it hard to believe that a year has passed since the day Josie entered our lives. I look at this picture and laugh. I remember sitting in class that day. I remember asking the foster parent panel questions and wondering if any of their foster kids would be up for adoption soon. I remember being so excited to be done with the class and so sad that the waiting would now have to begin. Little did I know, our wait would not be long!

I sometimes wonder where Josie would be if Tanya hadn't called us that day. I wonder what she'd be doing today if her birth mother had kept her. I wonder if she will ever know how lucky we all were to find each other. I know I will never be the same after holding her.

This child who was abandoned, moved around, and unclaimed has now traveled to 4 different states, taken a plane ride 8 times, seen the ocean, sled in the Minnesota snow, been spoiled by 3 sets of Grandparents, celebrated a toy filled Christmas, and most importantly, been loved by countless people.

Anniversaries are always a time of reflection for me. On our wedding anniversary we always talk and laugh about where we started, where we've been, the things we've done, and where we hope to go in the next year. Josie's Welcome Home Day Anniversary will be spent the same way.

On October 2nd we will wake our baby up with sweet kisses. We'll hug her a little longer. We'll listen to her a little closer. And we will thank God a little more then we usually do for this beautiful Josie Kathryn. And then, we will take her out for ice cream (without one worry about the sugar!)

Having Josie everyday results in the wonder of her story wearing off. The miracle of how unlikely but perfect our coming together was gets lost in the day to day. So for the next few days, I will remember all the details. I will share them with others who need a story of hope. And I will cherish my sweet ladybug for all that she has brought me.

As much as I love to look at the above picture and remember what the last 2 days of being childless were like for us, this picture brings me so much joy that it is indescribable.

Welcome home again Josie Pope. I hope we always remember the miricle you are.

Moving the Benefields!

This past Saturday we helped move Scott, Amy, and Luke to their new house! Well, Josie and I pretty much just watched, but we were there!

She looks like a present with that big bow on her little head!
I am so in love with her little feet!
Josie entertained herself for well over an hour with a penny, a foam dart, an alligator shaped soap dish, and a bath mat. My child is so creative!
Oh, and she talked to the hampster a little too.
This has nothing to do with helping the Benefield's move, but it is pretty funny. I asked Josie for a kiss and it looks like she is screaming in my face! Now that's love

Here Comes Little Ean!

Sunday was Tiffany's baby shower! I had so much fun planning the shower and was very pleased that the actual event ended up being as fun as I wanted it to be. We didn't play any hokie shower games, we just hung out, ate, talked, opened presents, and then ate some more! I love planning parties! Give me a theme and I'm off and running. Ean's shower's theme was just simple blue and brown. I tried to add lots of unexpected details to add some fun too.
Above is my mantle. I took out all our family pictures and put Tiffany's ultrasound pictures in the frames. Of course I had to put his sweet name up there too.
Kathy made us a diaper cake for our centerpiece and it turned out SO cute! It brought all the colors together and everyone loved it!
I peeled the labels off the water bottles and tied blue and brown ribbon on them. This turned out way cuter then I thought it was going to and was a huge hit!
Ummm, Mom? You forgot to mention that the sherbet would cause the 7-Up to foam up uncontrollably! Don't worry, it went down before any guest arrived.
Our pretty table of food! Many thanks to Amy and Sheena for helping with the food. It was all super yummy!

There was a lot of story telling and laughing!
Our favorite part!
Tiffany got a lot of great stuff! Doesn't she look amazing?!?
More of the girls!
Abby, Tiffany, Me, and Amy

All the women (minus Sheena who left before we could get a picture!).
Andrew was supposed to keep Josie out until the shower was over, but they ran out of stuff to do so he was planning on keeping her outside, but once she saw all the women she had to be a part of the action! (she was a big hit too!)
Everyone's hands on the belly!

I love these girls!Tiffany still has Amy beat. Not for long though!

Mrs. Tiffany,

I hope you had an amazing time at your shower. You are such an amazing mommy and Ean is so lucky to be born into so much love. I can't wait to squeeze his little cheeks and give him lots of kisses! I love you girl.

***After the shower, I promptly put on my PJ's and fell asleep on the couch. Having fun is hard work!

Emotions Emotions

When Josie first came home a year ago, she was very solemn. She seemed very unsure of herself (with good reason) and didn't have very many expressions.

Over the past year however, Josie has become quite sure of herself and feels free to express a wide array of emotion. For example...

She questions what we tell her. She pouts when she doesn't get her way (which usually results in Andrew giving her her way!)
She observes her surroundings with great focus.
And she pouts some more (hey, she is a toddler). And our FAVORITE emotion that she freely displays...

JOY!!! Which is what she makes us express everyday.
All these emotions at 19 months?!? Makes me worry a little about the teenage years!

Josie Cuts A Rug

This little girl knows how to boogie!

School Bus!!

So this morning I was driving to work when I spotted a school bus (Josie's favorite I-Spy) so I shouted out "SCHOOL BUS" and pointed enthusiastically. When I glanced in the backseat I realized; opps, I already dropped Josie off at daycare!

Goodnight

Days in the Pope family are busy ones. We wake up early, make breakfasts, brush hair and teeth, go to work and daycare, cook, read stories, do artwork, and play. All while trying to take every opportunity to love on each other and teach new life lessons. Two parents working full time jobs while trying to do the very best job we can raising a curious toddler, by the end of the day, we are exhausted.

Bedtime for Josie is a sweet time of day for us. Andrew and I give Josie her bath together and we all lay on the bed while I brush her teeth. Then, after hugs and kisses from Daddy, I take her up to her room to read her the same books that we have read every night for the past 2 months, her favorites. We talk about the pictures and say the names of the ones we know. Then we whisper, "I love you Ladybug" and I lay her in her crib. Then she drifts off to sleep with a sweet, "Night-night Mama" as I close the door.

Finally, some alone time. Some time to do the things I've been meaning to do all day or time to just sit and veg out. Time alone with Andrew. It's so nice and relaxing.

But every night, about 15 minutes after I lay my baby girl down for a long night of peaceful dreams, a funny thing happens.

I begin to miss her.

I start to wonder what she's dreaming about, if she had a good day. I long to touch her, to hold her, to feel her breathing against my skin. I miss her silly little laugh and the way she says, "ummm, No." to every request. I wonder if I was a good mother to her that day and if she knows what she means to me.

And even though the day was long and hard, I can't wait for tomorrow to get here so I can hear her call my name and we will do it all over again.

Let It Be Said Of Us

I came across these lyrics on another blog that I read and I fell in love with them. It is so simply stated and so true. I have never heard the song, but I pray that the words of it would be true for me and my family. At the end of the day, all the small things I fret over really don't matter. I hope that I am the example that Josie needs and the wife that Andrew needs so that these words will be said of us...

Let it be said of us
That the Lord was our passion,
That with gladness we bore
Ev'ry cross we were given;

That we fought the good fight,
That we finished the course.
Knowing within us
the pow'r of the risen Lord.

Let the Cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song.
By mercy made holy
By the Spirit made strong.

Let the Cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song.
'Till the likeness of Jesus
Be thru us made known.

Let it be said of us:
We were marked by forgiveness.
We were known by our love,
And delighted in meekness.

We were ruled by His peace,
Heeding unity's call;
Joined as one body
that Christ would be seen by all.

- Steve Fry

A Year Ago Today...

Blog Entry From September 25th, 2007...

My First Mommy Task
I did my first official mommy errand last night, I went to check out the daycare we are planning to use. I felt like a complete impostor, but it was still really fun. I wasn't sure what questions to ask or how much of our situation I needed to tell them, but I worked my way through it and feel like I got the information I needed. I really like the director and the rooms looked neat. I had this strange feeling that I had been there before. I think I just looks exactly like one that I worked at in high school.They have good security, which was our main concern. My only gripe is that they don't let your child bring their own food. I understand this, allergies of other kids and all, but we don't eat much processed food or sugars. I don't want to pick my child up on a sugar high! I guess we can work around that though! So we will be using this center. I wish I was staying home with the munchkin, but this is the next best thing.Today's mommy task... CONSIGNMENT SALE!!!

And now, a year later, I just dropped my precious baby girl off at daycare (not the same one we originally used) and she has an entire closet of consignment clothes! I can't believe she has been home for almost a year now!
Tonight we are going to be on the panel for the current IMPACT class. The people in the class will get to ask us questions about what our experience has been like and we'll get to show off the most beautiful baby to exist! She's a great marketing tool for DFCS!

Day In The Life...

Technically, this day in the life should have started around 12:30 AM when Josie's stupid bug bites woke her up and she continued to cry for the next 3 hours. But I was way too tired to grab the camera so we'll just start at 9 AM when we actually started our day.
Josie ended up sleeping in our bed so I got to wake up to this sweet little thing saying my name and kissing my check. Now that's a good way to start your day!

After consoling Josie from midnight until 3:30 AM, I knew it was going to be a double espresso kind of day. God bless this machine.Josie played with her toys while I made some amazing whole wheat french toast with apple sauce for breakfast. She hadn't really eaten in the past 3 days because of her ear infection, but she finally has her appetite back and she ate a whole piece! This was the first cool weekend we've had in a long time so we opened all the windows to air out the house. I love the south in the fall.Next I did the dreaded dishes. Not too bad considering we had the Benefeilds over the night before.Then Josie "helped" me unload the dishwasher.Since she was up all night, we decided to go down for an early nap.But first we need to put some cream on her little bug bites so she can sleep.All tucked in.I can't stand an unmade bed!!!Much better!I finally get a chance to sit down and enjoy my coffee. Even if it is totally cold from sitting out, it was still yummy!I finished my list for Tiffany's baby shower while watching Oprah talk about a woman with a 140 lb tumor and dry drowning.Unfortunately, Josie thought a 20 minute nap was sufficient. Bummer.I'm such a mean mom, I made her stay in her crib while I got ready. I thought she'd fall back to sleep. I was wrong.I felt pretty bad when I opened her door and saw her. She makes a good sad face.Time to get the baby ready. She looks so cute in jeans! When did she get so tall?!?

I whipped up some grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches for lunch (which we ate in the car).
Then we loaded in to the car to get our errands done.She fell asleep before we even got to the end of our driveway. Little stinker.We stopped by Andrew's store to say hello. We try to go up there every weekend that he works, but since Josie was sleeping we didn't go in this time.I threw her on my back and off we went. I love my Mei Tai and so does Josie!! (http://www.meitaicarrier.com/) We went to the dollar store to get a couple things. We found some cute fairy wings for Josie's Halloween costume. I was going to make them, but they were only a dollar.Last stop, Walmart. I can waste some serious time at this place. Luckily, I was exhausted so I didn't do too much browsing.Josie passed out in the car on the way home. She took a great nap!I unpacked the groceries and kicked myself for forgetting our reusable bags from Whole Foods. I hate how many stupid plastic bags they give you. What a waste.Then I finished up one of the crafts I needed to do for Tiffany's baby shower while I waited for Andrew to get home.YEA! I love when he gets home!!We snuggled on the couch and watched the rest of We Are Marshall until Josie woke up.Hungry again. She wanted to snuggle her Daddy. The weather was so awesome we decided to go for a little walk.Josie got all her bug bites up at Maw Maw's last week so we stayed away from the trees while Andrew played with Boomer.We love our big ol BooBoo's. For a while we thought we were going to have to give him to another family since we weren't playing with him very much, but we have an awesome guy living at Maw Maw's now and he is great with Boomer which makes us very happy. He is landscaping our yard and completely fixing all the issues with Maw Maw's house too. We got really lucky with this guy!Time to say hello to the horses!When we got back to the house I started dinner. Whole Wheat Turkey Lasagna Skillet! Yum!Daddy and Josie shared a Popsicle while they waited. Quite the appetizer!It's usually hit or miss when I cook dinner. Luckily this one was a hit. It had a little too much turkey in it though.Andrew and I finished up the dishes while our slow poke finished her dinner.Then it was upstairs to the playroom for some Little People fun.And some tower building.And then some tower knocking down (her favorite).This is why I quit buying Josie toys. She has more fun with the containers then she does the actual toys! Goof ball!
By now it was getting close to bedtime so Andrew stripped Josie down for a bath. I tried to warn him not to take her diaper off, but he insisted...
Yup. She peed on the floor!!! Too funny!!Andrew put her in the bath and somehow I ended up with pee clean up duty.Gotta love the smell of a fresh baby! This picture reminds me of the first morning she was home. Sweet girl.She wasn't ready to get out.Time to dry off and put on our jammies.

Then we went downstairs to brush her teeth.This used to be a battle. I finally figured out a method that works great; I get to brush her teeth for a couple seconds then...She gets to brush mine! It works like a charm every time!Then we went to the couch to look at her "Who Loves Baby" book. We try to look at this every night. I want to be sure she knows my family even though she doesn't get to see them nearly as much as we wish she could. She knows all of their names and loves to give them all kisses.One last game of catch me if you can!
I put Josie down at about 8 PM and she was out like a light (and finally slept through the night!)Andrew and I ate cookies with milk and watched some mindless TV before heading to bed.

That was our day!