Lots of Emma. . .

OUR AIR FREIGHT ARRIVED TODAY!!! YAY! Praise God everything arrived on time and in perfect condition. In case you're wondering, here are a few things I'm excited about: Kevin's guitar and mandolins, tons of diapers and wipes (I love LUVS), Dark Chocolate M&Ms and Extra Polar Ice gum, Emma's travel high chair, the majority of my scrapbooking supplies, my bathrobe, a few photo albums, more books, more clothes, more shoes, Emma's baby dolls (can't you see her excitement?), more kid books for Emma, play-doh, coloring books, Emma's birthday gifts (just in time for the 17th), Kashi granola bars (more like fig newtons), a craft box for Emma and office supplies for us (like sticky notes and envelopes!!) Yay! It's amazing how much fun I had opening the boxes today! 14 boxes were delivered to our room this morning and Emma kept saying, "Oh my doodness, mommy!" She was really excited to see her baby girls and immediately began playing pretend games with them. She was really proud of herself when she got all 3 baby girls in the high chair! She even buckled the belt for them! We spent about 2 hours unpacking boxes and reorganizing our room. It was like Christmas all over again!!

It was so hot the other night that I decided to put some lighter PJs on Emma. I forgot that I had picked up these PJs as a birthday gift and just put them on her. She was ecstatic! She has no idea who the girls on front are, but she knows they are princesses. It was really fun to watch her act dainty and well, like a little princess. I love telling her stories and calling her Princess Emma. One night I didn't have a book handy, so I started telling her a story, beginning with, "Once upon a time, there was a beeee-youu-tiful Princess named Emma Jae." I'm not sure where I went with the story, but the next day she said, "Can Mama tell Emma a story?" Really?? Was it that good? Of course, Princess Emma! I'd love to tell you another story! So I started it the same, "Once upon a time. . ." We've been doing it every night for over a week. Now I just say, "Once..." and she says, "der was a beeee-youuuuu-tiful Pincess named Emma Jae." It's definitely one of the cutest things I've ever heard out of a child's mouth. Another amazing thing is that she's singing all the songs I've been singing to her over the last 2 years. . . and she's singing all the words! She loves the ABCs, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me and Twinkle, Twinkle, but my favorite is "There Just Something About That Name". She sings, "Master, Say-vor, Jesus. . . Tings an Tingdoms (with the minor notes on pitch), shall all pass away, but there's sum-ing bout dat name." It's awesome. It's also a good reminder of who Jesus is.

Last Sunday (Mother's Day) we went to Hamilton and Sonia's home for lunch. Their daughter, Janet, was leaving to go back to the city where she lives and we were invited to say goodbye. Janet speaks great English and we had a really good time together. She's 27 and a vet. Her father works with Kevin so we see them often. Their backyard was amazing. I only took a picture of the pool, but that itself was very pretty. Emma really enjoyed getting to swim, even though the water was ice cold. She never did get in past her waist, but she had tons of fun splashing and playing in the water. We had an incredible lunch of barbequed chicken, rice, homemade potato salad, a fresh fruit platter, and pineapple tea. We also learned more of the language and really enjoyed our time with the family!

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. I love being a mom to this beautiful blue-eyed girl! She's absolutely amazing and I have been blessed beyond what I could have asked or imagined. Emma is incredible and I love that I get to be with her every day! Maybe losing Mom has taught me to cherish the time I have with Emma. Lots of things in life have taught me to cherish my time with her. I love her so much. I love being a mom!

Emma is practicing her nurturing skills already! Her kitty is the closest thing we've had to a baby doll until today. She's been holding kitty gently, kissing her, loving her, disciplining her, and putting her down for naps, complete with a pillow and blanket! Last week, we swaddled kitty. It's really pretty amazing to watch her natural ability show. Wow. Oh, the picture on the right is what I see every morning. This girl has some crazy hair! She's awesome!