Cece Had a Little Lamb

Mother's Day 2013 ended with a quick visit to our friends house.  They have a virtual petting zoo that the kids enjoyed immensely.  It kind of made me wish we lived somewhere other than on a little small town lot.  

Cece is my biggest animal lover.  She has never met an animal that she didn't believe was her new best friend.

Even dogs much bigger than she is. 

Roman gathered some eggs to bring home.  

Elijah tried his very hardest to be brave.   He is the opposite of Cece, he has never met an animal that he isn't convinced will eat him.   After watching him shriek in terror over a chihuahua not that long ago, I'd say he has come a long way with his fear of dogs. 

It kind of looks like Cece is leading around a tiger in this picture.  I'm sure, even if it was, she'd still be convinced it was her friend. 

Sunday began in a special way.   We took part in a child dedication service at our church. 

This was my first mothers day that my two grafted in babies could officially call me mommy.   

Now that is something to celebrate!  Last Mothers Day we were still in the middle of mucking through both adoptions, and feeling the endless paperwork, meetings, and waiting would never come to an end.  

I decided to get some use out of the silks we brought home from China.  He looks so dashing in them. I don't know if that's a word anyone uses anymore...but it seemed to fit.

Our little church had 10 children take part in the dedication service.   We may be a small group

 (I would guess around 100 people on any given Sunday) but apparently we're prolific! 

It was simple and short but we celebrated new life....the many new additions through birth and adoption.

The kids and parents were prayed for, we were reminded that we are not in this battle to raise our kids alone but are supported by our community, each of the kids were gifted their own children's Bible (which my two were thrilled about), and they each received a letter from our pastor.

Our two little Lovies.  Kisses for Mommy and squishes for Daddy.

As we stood up there, listening to our friends pray over our children, the magnitude of the blessings we were given really hit me.  For a year I ached to get this boy home and into my arms.  Our church played a huge role in bringing him home, and here I was feeling the snuggling weight of him in my arms while our church and family joined us in thanking God for him.   For three years we hoped and prayed that we would be Cece's forever family, and now here we are.   Almost surreal.  

After the service we joined most of my siblings and their families for a Mother's Day/ my Dad's birthday buffet dinner.  Then we met up at my sisters house for cake and coffee.  

{My Dad with all his grandkids}

Mothers Day was busy.  It didn't include lazing around, being pampered, or breakfast served on a platter (5 kids out of the house for church by 8am doesn't leave much time for that)...but in the end it was perfect.  It celebrated the Motherhood as it is.  That mix of amazed gratitude and sense of privilege to be entrusted with these little lives, combined with sticky hands, searching for lost shoes, combing out tangled hair, and cleaning up cake off of the floor.   For a day that's supposed to be (according to marketing) all about me, I'm glad it wasn't, because there's no shorter route to discontent than to fix my gaze on myself.  Instead it was a great day spent  enjoying the company of other Mom's in our lives, with extended family, my parents, and our church family.