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Thursday, August 13, 2009 What another wonderful month! We made so many great memories this month…some fun, some silly, and some sad. The first amazing memory was the weekend of July 10th when Abree was reunited with her friend Kiana from Ghana/Beacon House. Kiana is Maddy’s little sister (Bria’s crib-mate from China ), so the girls all share a very special bond. They had a great weekend together playing and giggling and playing some more. On Saturday, July 11th, we celebrated Bria’s 4th birthday at Sweet and Sassy, a local salon/spa/party place. Kiana and Abree had a great time with the “big” girls getting their nails painted and dancing on stage…it was precious! The next weekend we had lots of fun playing with our friends Sam, Maggie, Tyler, Alex, and Aubree. We do not have the opportunity to get together with them too often so we cherished every moment! Abree was able to meet her Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Clay that weekend, too! We all had so much fun! On Sunday, July 18th, we took a road trip to Nanny and Papa’s house. Abree got to meet her cousins Heather, Jared and Riley and her Great-Uncle Lonnie. She had a great time with big sister Bria riding the wooden horses Papa made. She was able to pet a sweet, seven day old calf…it scared her a little at first, but she warmed up after a few minutes. She has had so many exciting experiences in the short time she has been home…it is wonderful! The next weekend we went to the Red River Ranch at the border of Oklahoma and Texas to celebrate Abree’s cousin Heather’s wedding. We stayed in a cabin for the weekend and made more family memories. Abree had such a great time at the wedding. Right after the ceremony, she was able to ride a huge horse-drawn wagon with the other kids at the wedding. It was lots of fun! After dinner, she danced and danced and danced some more. She danced with Mommy, Daddy, Bria, Kaden, Uncle Mark, Uncle Kenney, Aunt Debbie, and lots of other precious family members who all think she “hung the moon.” She attracts and enjoys so much attention!!! On our way back home from the wedding, we went to the Arbuckle Wilderness Drive-thru Safari. It was amazing!!! We drove through the most amazing zoo and were able to pet and feed so many animals. We fed camels, zebras, giraffes, ostriches, turtles, donkeys, deer, llamas, and many, many more animals. The animals see your car coming and rush over for a bite to eat and some attention. They would stick their entire head in our van, which scared Abree a little at first but by the end of the safari she was having a great time! On August 1st, Abree went to the movie theater for the first time. We watched G-Force in 3-D. She loved the pop and popcorn and she enjoyed the first five minutes of the movie. After those five minutes, she was fast asleep and did not wake up until the credits at the end. Overall, it was a successful first trip to the movies! On August 6th, we took Abree back to Frontier City and she was much more adventurous this visit. She rode lots of rides including the big pirate ship that goes way up in the air…brave girl!! She also rode the farris wheel and the antique cars and she really enjoyed them both. Last weekend on August 7th, we went to Nanny and Papa’s house again this time to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, which was on August 8th. The entire family was meeting at their house for a big celebration. We arrived the evening of August 7th and were able to visit with Nanny and Papa a while before going to bed. That night after Papa went to bed he had some complications from his three-week battle with acute leukemia and at 5:30am on his 50th wedding anniversary, Papa went to heaven. Papa held his sweet Abree the night before he passed away and said to her several times “I love you, I love you, I love you.” When we were leaving that night Abree gave Papa a kiss and said “Bye Papa” just as clear as can be. He was so proud of her progress with her speech. Those are such precious memories I will never forget and will be able to share with Abree as she grows up. Her Papa LOVED her and she LOVED her Papa! I am so happy that she was able to get to know him. Last weekend and this week have been so busy with memorial services, but Abree was able to spend some time getting to know a few family members that she had not met before. She met her Great-Uncle Arnie, Great-Aunt Darlene, Great-Uncle Paul, Great-Aunt Caroline, Great-Aunt Phyllis, and Cousin Kathy. She loved them all and they LOVED her too! She went right to Uncle Arnie and she wanted him to hold her every waking moment. It was precious! Well, as I mentioned we had a month of happy and sad memories, but we are so grateful that God allowed Abree’s Papa to live long enough for her to get to know him. Other than James and myself, he was the first person to hold Abree on American soil. When we walked around the corner at the airport, he came right to me and took her out of my arms. He could not wait to meet his newest grandbaby! They developed a special bond in the few short months they knew each other. What a blessing! Abree’s speech is blossoming so quickly! She says SO many new words…Sissy (Diddee), Night Night (nigh nigh), Outside (ouw-sigh), Shoes (doos), Papa, Nanny, Uncle Bud (unnle but), Julie (doolie), Cristi (ki ki), Thirsty (tearsy), Open, Close, Down, Up, On, Off, and SO many more. She had a complete developmental test on July 13th and she scored at or above age on all areas except expressive speech (talking). She did great on social skills, motor skills and receptive speech (understanding what we say to her). She begins one hour per week of speech therapy next week, so I can only imagine how quickly her vocabulary is going to expand. She had a follow-up visit with the pediatrician this month and she has already grown 1 inch since she has been home making her 31.5 inches and she has gained 1.5 pounds making her 21.5 pounds. Her pediatrician is amazed at how well she is doing! She is still just as happy as can be! She loves, loves, loves to dance! As soon as she hears music, she gets a huge smile on her face and begins to dance around the room. It is precious!! She loves all kinds of foods and is a great eater. She loves meat—specifically beef. She has started the wonderful task of potty training and so far has gone #1 and #2 in the potty several times…she is a very smart girl! She has adjusted extremely well in the church nursery and has been quite a helper a few times while in the nursery. One Sunday morning, when I was in the baby room, I had several crying babies so I asked for them to send Abree over to my side. She came over and helped me calm the babies down. She loves to feed the babies their bottles, help them eat snacks and play with them. I know her time in the baby room at Beacon House has helped make her so motherly. One of the most precious moments of our day is when we are about to eat or go to bed and the kids take turns praying. She has now decided that she wants a turn and she will close her eyes, move her head side to side, and ramble on and on with such emotion words that none of us understand. When she is done talking to God, she will say “Amen” and open her big brown eyes and smile. Thank goodness God knows what she is saying! It is so, so precious!!! As I end each post, I never know how to fully portray what a tremendous blessing God has given to us. Words cannot explain how much we love this amazing girl and how much happiness she brings to our home. She is a true bundle of joy!!

Kiana and Abree...reunited in America! Their new babies...so sweet! Dancing at Sweet and Sassy Getting pampered at Bria's birthday party...so fun!! A great day with Sam, Maggie, Tyler, Alex & Aubree Precious girl!!! Fun riding horses at Nanny and Papa's house! Petting a 7 day old calf at Nanny and Papa's house--sweet! Having fun with my Papa! Dancing with Big Brother Kaden at Cousin Heather's wedding...precious!

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