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These photos are from Nadia and Mike playing this morning! She was laughing like crazy and having a great time! She has gained half a pound in the last month, but stayed the same height. She is still trending up on the weight which is great, but she is just going to be our petite little girl. In Carter’s brand she is still wearing 9 month clothes, same for the Miniwear brand from Babies R Us. In Target, Children’s Place and Old Navy she is wearing 12 month stuff, but most of it is baggy around her middle

She continues to amaze us with how much she can understand and the tons of words she is trying to mimic now. Her favorite foods are still mac and cheese and yogurt. She also loves to snack on Cheerios, GoldFish and Honey Graham Sticks. She will eat veggies most any time they are offered and is still not a fan of the sweet stuff which is good. She climbed up on the ottoman last night and has tried several times this morning to get up on the couch. It’s a matter of time before she will be climbing on everything.

 Here are a couple of cute stories. The other day we were at the mall and this kid went by us crying with their parent and Nadia was watching as always and she looked at him and went, “Ohhhhhh.” Like, ‘That’s too bad he’s crying.’ The other day she was on my lap and getting very wiggly so I said, “Can you play momma a song on the piano?” She got off the couch, walked over to her xylophone/piano, picked it up and put it on the ottoman and started to play away. She looked up to make sure I was watching and I clapped and danced along with her. When her concert was over, she put it back where she picked it up.

She loves to “clean” like us. When she sees me getting out a Clorox wipe now she points and makes noise to get one herself. I give her a paper towel instead and she will proceed to clean my legs, the floor, the carpet, her toys…..you get the idea. It’s so funny that she thinks she needs to be doing the same thing as me all the time. When I am folding clothes, she will go through the basket to get the dryer sheet out so that she can “clean” with it. Too cute!

The photos below are of Nadia will a couple of “hats” on. She won’t wear regular hats and one of my November buddies suggested it was because I wasn’t getting her the “right” kind of hat! So pillows and colanders are in, real hats still out!

 

 

  

Coming off of the World Vision conference I could type for days about the things I am thankful for. I cried a lot this time as I have in the past at the heartache faced by those around the world, but also tears of joy about the love and compassion poured out by people working together to make a difference.

• For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to wonder where food is going to come from for Nadia.
• For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that there won’t be doctors and medicine available should she get sick.
• For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to wonder if my child will live another day because the only water available to me is miles away and the color of mud.
• For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that civil unrest is going to bring rape, pillaging and death to my doorstep.
• For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that some fanatical anti government group is going to come and kidnap my child to turn her into a child soldier or a sex slave.
• For the World Vision workers around the world that have given their lives to try and make the world a better place for children. I pray for their families’ comfort.
• For the World Vision staff in Seattle that do SO MUCH good with the money they are entrusted with.  To see them in action made me feel even better about giving money to WV (and I wouldn’t have thought that possible).
• For all the corporations in America that make in kind donations to WV. Those donations are used to help the poorest of the poor here in America and around the world.
• For Miyon, Tiffany and Lori (and Marla while she was with the team) for all their support they offer to the Child Ambassadors.
• For all the Child Ambassadors. These are people from every walk of life who believe so strongly in the difference that can be made by those who care that they volunteer their time to tell others about child sponsorship.
• For all the people who have ever sponsored children through me. Trust me that you are making a difference in the lives of these children and their community. You are being a shining example to them.
• For the children that Mike and I sponsor and the sweet, sweet letters and photos that are sent to us.
• For the children whose picture folders I have that expire tomorrow and go back into the system. I pray that they will get sponsored soon since they are going to the top of the pile. Especially for the orphans who have lost their parents to the global AIDS pandemic…and just don’t have access to the meds that we do in America.

 

What can I say? She’s awesome! Six months ago today Nadia was placed in our arms. Our life has changed in so many ways, but we just love being parents! That God chose this wonderful girl to be a part of our life is a privilege and a blessing. I don’t have words to express how full my heart is - it’s like I don’t have enough room in my chest for my heart!

It’s too fun to see all the new things she is learning to do and say. She has been mimicking our words a lot in the last two weeks and I would say that she has about 10 words that she says that she knows the meaning of. She can understand many more words and that amazes us. She hardly ever gets fussy unless she is tired. She sleeps through the night except for one bottle between 4-6 am. She is also taking 2 naps a day still that are very good length (yeah for Me!).

Her latest antics are to run in place like she is getting ready for the riverdance. To spin around in circles. To “drive” her little zoo keeper car around on the furniture or on Mom and Dad - while making little baby engine sounds. She is learning the sounds that animals make which is beyond cute.

 

 

Hello. I missed the TT last week because we were in Seattle for the World Vision Child Ambassador Retreat. This was my 3rd time to attend and Mike and Nadia came along because I couldn’t bear to leave her for that long. I would have been totally distracted if they had stayed in Texas.

The retreat was a great blessing once again and I am oh so THANKFUL that I get to be a part of this program for World Vision. If you are new to our blog, I am a Child Ambassador for World Vision. Child Ambassadors are all sponsors who volunteer their time to share sponsorship with the people in their circle of influence. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to do this and to bring life and opportunities to the forgotten children of the world. If you are interested in finding out more or sponsoring a child, please visit my World Vision page.

Or you can call/email me anytime. I will be blogging more about the trip as I decompress all the information, but here are a few statistics:

•  In 2000 approximately 33,000 children were dying EVERY DAY because of preventable causes like diarrhea and malaria. The 2007 statistics have gone down to 26,000 children. Still a horrific number of children dying every day, but organizations like WV are MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!!
• 80% of the world (or 5 billion people) have one meal a day or one meal every other day. That was shocking number to me. I so often take it for granted that I eat multiple times every day and have a choice of foods at every meal. Even the poorest of the poor in America are eating more than the vast majority of the world.

My online friend Christina (aka Tassie) gave me this blogger award today. Here is what she said on her blog, “Louanne’s blog is a great read, she is witty and insightful, and she is a real humanitarian. Keep up the good work Louanne!” Such kind words and I appreciate it. Now I have to choose 5 bloggers to give the award to. Here are the rules:

Rules:

1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.

2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.

3. In their post about the award they need to link back to the blog/post where they were given the award.

4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to bloggingwithapurpose.com.

Now here is the tricky part. I have to nominate 5 people who have not been given this award. I went to some sites that I really like and they have already been given the award this week. So I am going to have to think about who I will pass this on too. What I find interesting is that the person who started this award is a teenage boy who is a blogger and home-school proponent. I read through his site tonight and I really enjoyed it, he is a good writer and very thorough in the things that he posts about. I also liked the links on his site to other teens who are blogging with a purpose - teens that are thinking about the world around them rather than just “reacting”. Teens who are being brought up to serve God, but also to be adults. What a concept, I know! I could do a whole separate post about how many teens today are not prepared to be adults and go off to college or into the work force because they haven’t been raised up with a good foundation. But I will leave it at this - I am very happy to see that the founder of this award was a home-schooled kid and a dude! What a switch