Mother's Day 2013

In the dark, I could see my child's face -- illuminated dimly by the Light-Up Pillow she got at Christmas.  As the coloring of her face turned shades of red, amber, white and blue -- I just stared at every feature of our angel.  The fact that she had her hands clasped below her chin as she lie on her side, it looked as if she was praying but the occasional twitching of her body signaled she was fast asleep.

I love these quiet moments.  Some nights when she crawls in with us, I just watch her sleep even tho' I should be fast asleep myself.  Sometimes I shed tears wondering how in the world I ever won the parent lottery.

Years ago, Mother's Day was a tough holiday.  A really tough one.  In church, they would always ask the mom's to stand up and the applause would dig that dagger into my heart a little bit deeper.  I kept the faith that one day I, too, would proudly stand up while clinging onto my child's hand and feel that applause was meant for me.

In 2009, we spent Mother's Day in Russia -- still in the middle of the "10-day wait" -- so we didn't have Kristina 24/7.  It was weird that the court had declared me Kristina's mother (on April 29, 2009) but at the end of the day, I was still leaving her in the care of other ladies.

But today, I *am* the Mama!  I'm cherishing every moment...even the ones when my patience runs low because our strong-willed, independent girl will primarily walk to the beat of her own drum.  She may not always act like an angel, but she is by far the greatest blessing Jon and I have received in our lives.

I will continue to hold this child in my lap for as long as I possibly can!!

Mother's Day at Nana's house
(and no, Nana and I did not coordinate our outfits...)



Celebrating Mother's Day 2013

Other Proud Mama-Moments....

Student of the Month

Two weeks ago, our daughter was Student of the Month at school.  Jon learned of this when I was out of town for 6 days down in San Diego for the yearly Occupational Therapy Conference.  The Student of the Month Awards are always handed out on Thursdays around noon so I was bummed that I would be out of town.  BUT for some reason, for the first time, the school scheduled the Awards Ceremony on a Monday --- our day off!

Kristina was buzzing with excitement in anticipation of getting her award!

The first student called up to receive her award!  Here she is with Mrs. Bae.

We brought some balloons to show how proud we were!

And here's her certificate (she also recieved coupons for roller skating and a local restaurant!).

Patience

We're getting things in order before our Disney Cruise in July (the one we're going on with 41 other families who have adopted children from Russia) and one of the things we've put off for too long was getting Kristina a USA passport.  The weekend we planned to get photos done, Kristina ran into the monkey bars at school and bruised her left cheek/eye --- which took over 3 weeks to heal.  Finally, we stood in line at the United States Postal Service for more than 2 1/4 hours and the application is officially being processed.  I give this girl the award for patience standing in line for so long.  Thank goodness I had my iPhone and iPad!!!



Mission Accomplished!

T-Ball Spring 2013

We've been trying a variety of activities to see where Kristina's interest lie...and T-ball was right up her alley.  She really enjoyed the season (especially playing in the dirt, socializing with a runner on the base she was covering, etc.) and when the season concluded today, I asked Kristina "What was the very best part of T-ball?"  Her response:  "Getting my very first trophy!!!"

Our T-ball player covering 2nd base

So, really -- what do 2 6-year olds discuss while hanging out on 2nd base??

First up for the Dodgers and getting last minute advice

Working it on 3rd base

The obligatory "smile for the camera for mom" shot...

And it's a hit!!!

The end-of-game-tradition:  "Good Game!"

So happy that Nana and Grampa were able to stop by to see the game!

The Kristina Deary cheering squad

We had 90 minutes to kill between end-game time and Awards Ceremony that our daredevil found much enjoyment on the Monkey Bars and play structure.

  Kristina is so independent that she doesn't mind playing by herself (or joining in with kids she doesn't know)...but it's times like this I wish she had a sibling...

Receiving congratulatory remarks from Coach Alex.

Kristina ran so fast to get her trophy I didn't have time to snap a shot of her receiving it.

"Wow - my very first trophy!"

The 2013 Mason Rec Dodgers!



With her Dodger-Blue nails, Kristina was thrilled that her trophy has her name on it!

Just hanging out!

My Little Multi-Tasker

Here she is calling daddy on the phone with her iPad under her arm walking to the car to go to church.
And yes, our fashionista chose/designed her outfit...

The fountain where Kristina makes wishes...such as "May all the children in the world have a mommy and daddy" and "Wishing our family to be happy."  One is covered and we continue to wish for the other....

Hmmm, maybe *not* so proud??

I know Kristina has various talents, like all children do, but I truly feel that Kristina thinks she's 26 in a 6 year old body!  One day, Kristina decided to cut her hair because she got Play-doh in her hair.  (??)  When asked why she cut it, she replied "Because daddy always says not to put anything down the bath drain and I didn't want the play-doh to go down the drain."  Sigh....

This took my breath away when I saw a chunk of her beautiful blonde hair missing.

At the salon deciding what to do...with orders from daddy: "Don't cut it short whatever you do!!"

If Kristina had her way, she would want it shorter than her shoulders ~ like Rapunzel at the end of Tangled!

We didn't even go as short as we should have...

Kristina helping to clean up her locks of blondness.

I could go on and on and on about "proud moments" but that's about enough for one blog post.   In closing, I'd like to copy the post I wrote on my Facebook wall on Mother's Day because it comes from my heart and I want Kristina to read this someday when I eventually make this blog into a book for her:

 

Happy Mother's Day to my mom: the woman who has supported me in every aspect of my life ~ from a little girl up until the present! Your daily calls as I commute to work are priceless and when I hang up, I thank God for you. I wish there weren't 3000 miles between us; I don't think we could be closer in heart, though! You have set the example of the mom I truly aspire to be.

Happy Mother's Day to Jon's Mom, Tracey: Over the last 30 years, you have been there in so many ways, but the night you spoke to Jon encouraging him to adopt so I could fulfill my dream to be a mom, was life changing to all our families. Kristina will always have memories of being your Saturday girl! There are not enough words to thank you for everything.

"Mother Russia": I am thankful beyond imagine that the opportunity was given to us to travel across the world to Russia so that one of their children could have a chance of love and life. I pray for every child left behind that they, too, have a chance to live, love and make their imprint on this world and know the comfort and warmth of a mother's embrace and words of love.

 

Thank you, Kristina, for making everyday Mother's Day!!!