My Girl is One

She had a blast yesterday, eating cake, opening presents (and playing with boxes), and generally being the center of attention.  It was great.

I just can't believe that I have a toddler!

My Children

Because they're so darn cute! Also, it's snowing here! It's dark, so I hope that there's still enough around for pictures in the morning!

In My Head Today

No day in my life has past
That hasn't proved me guilty;
Prayers are uttered too fast
From a heart that's cold and empty.

Oh blessed Jesus,
May we find a covert in Thy wounds;
Though our sins, they rise to meet us,
How they fall next to the merits of you.

Oh, all in me calls for this,
It calls for my rejection;
This heavy unrighteousness,
Oh, is there no protection?

My best services are rags;
My best deeds are filthy.

Grant me hear Thy shoring voice,
That in Thy wounds is pardon;
Grant me see Thy willing choice
To make my hard heart softened.

Keep the broken-hearted sure,
Clinging to Thy cross, our cure.

Oh blessed Jesus,
May we find a covert in Thy wounds;
Though our sins, they rise to meet us,
How they fall next to the merits of you.

-"A Prayer for the Broken Hearted"

New Favorites

It's been a while since I've done a "favorites" post, so here goes. Flavors of the month include:

*Lost-It's back. I can hardly contain my excitement, even if I'm more than a little confused at this point. Locke is such a good villain, I kind of wish that he had been a bad guy earlier.

*Saltine crackers-I had really forgotten how much I liked these until I got sick a couple of weeks ago and B brought some of these babies home to me. Els likes them too!
*Patty Griffin's Downtown Church-Amen, sister! I've been waiting a while for this one.
*The silver hoops that B and Els gave me for Christmas. Sorry, no pictures yet. I'm always behind the camera these days. But, they're from Aurum, so you can rest assured that they're awesome.

*Els' toy box-I have no idea what we did with all of this stuff before.

I'm sure that there's more, but that's a little sampling of life in these parts right now. While all of my friends north of here are experiencing cold and snow like never before, it's balmy and rainy here in Beaufort. Meanwhile, we're getting ready for someone special's first birthday. Can't believe it, but it will be here soon!

Molars

This girl is getting them this week. All the better to eat corn with!

Home at Last

On December 4, 2003, we finally met Grace. It was a really cold day in Georgia, one of the first we had that season. I remember this because Sarah and I had made "I'm a big sister" T-shirts to wear that day and I had to totally re-think my outfit the day of. (We also made Andy a "I'm a big brother" shirt. It was his first time being so.) Anyway, since it was Sarah and my job to coordinate, we had everyone (grandparents, aunts, siblings, future brother in laws, etc.) at the airport to meet Mom, Dad, and Grace a whopping 2 hours early. We stood at the top of the escalators at the Atlanta airport and watched people meet up after their travels. We ate Wendy's Frostys. We cried. If you've ever been at the top of said stairs at the ATL, you know what I mean.

Every time a new group of passengers started appearing, my stomach would drop a little and my heart rate would increase. Would they be in this group? We waited the full two hours and their plane was on time. Finally, we recognized Dad's face as he slowly appeared. And there she was. Grace was facing Mom, who was riding behind them, so the first thing we saw was the back of her glossy black haired head. She was wearing a beautiful red coat and black pants. I don't really remember the rest clearly. We all rushed forward and hugged and cried and took pictures. Grace was timid at first, but soon warmed up to us. (Andy had hidden a cookie in his pocket in order to bribe her in to coming to him-ha!) We got their luggage and headed home.

What a joyous and tiring night that was. I remember friends stopping by and Grace eating in her high chair (that Els eats in now at their house) in the kitchen. We were so happy to be at home together. Grace's forever family!