What did YOU do today?

Me? A school year……planned in one afternoon.



(Don’t let all that hard work fool you.

Most afternoons around here are much more lazy, thank goodness!)

Announcements......:-)

1. My other blog is up & running again!

2. Ana & I are starting 2nd Grade tomorrow!

Please pray for me today as I get everything prepared!

Ooops!!! What was that tooth fairy thinking?!?!?

Big happenings in the Dillon household!

FINALLY, a year & a half after loosing her first two teeth, Ana lost her third tooth.

(For those who don’t know-she cried tears of joy with the first two she lost.

Oh, my…..what lies ahead in those teenage years, I ask you????)

Just as a little history lesson, she lost her first tooth in the pew at church.

Second tooth on our pick-up trip with Ruthie.

Anyway…..the top two have been loose for several weeks, & we thought she might loose one of them on this trip we just got back from. We were teasing her about whether or not the tooth fairy would know where to find her!

(Just as an aside……I don’t think she REALLY believes there is a tooth fairy, because she has always known the truth about Santa. She was scared of Santa, until she was , I think about 4. So, we just had to tell her the truth. A strange man would never come down her chimney. NEVER. That was the only thing that worked.)

So finally, yesterday afternoon, I felt a tapping on my leg-while I was supposed to be sleeping, & opened my eyes, to the delighted smile of my oldest, clutching her latest accomplishment-her pulled tooth!

(Oh, as another aside-thank the Lord-I

mean that literally-I have never had to pull a tooth.

Ugg….shudder! You go, girl!!!!)

A few hours later, she was asleep, tooth under her pillows.

And the tooth fairy forgot about it!!!! Guilt!

Her crushed face this morning. & her statement,

“Mom, the tooth is gone, but there was no money under my pillow!!!!

I’m going to the bathroom!”

My response, “Well, why don’t I run down there

& check a bit better for the money while you’re in the bathroom.”

Quick!

Grab wallet!

Run downstairs!

Put two quarters in the pillowslip.

Find missing tooth-under the bed.

Then , rescue Ruthie from her bed.

Casually, state, “Ana, I found it! It was all the way down in the bottom of your pillowslip!”

Ah, the look of delight!!! “You did?!?” Digging in the pillowslip came up with 50 cents!!

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Now, I ask you, has your tooth fairy ever forgotten? What a naughty tooth fairy!!!

Grief is Weird......

When it’s fresh……it comes in waves of anguish, crashing again & again upon your soul.

I have been there. I know I will be there again. It's part of life.

Saying goodby’s (for this life) can be so hard.

Well, at least when it’s someone who should NOT have died yet, know what I mean?

(When my Grandpa passed away 3 years ago, it was hard…..but we knew he would open his eyes in heaven, & glimpse his Savior for the first time. He was old & tired & it was time. Sad, but the right time).

When you loose a child, or a baby (or in our case, an unborn child we had longed & prayed for-for a couple of years), the grief of what “should have been” crushes you at first…..laying you flat on the floor in anguish.

But, as time passes & the Lord begins to put back the pieces of your broken heart, the grief no longer crashes on you. But sometimes it still comes tapping on your door, usually when you least expect it, desiring another conversation.

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Yesterday, Ana & I took a tour of Aunt Shannon’s new hospital. We call it Aunt Shannon’s hospital, because she’s a nurse in the Birth Center there. They opened the new hospital on 08-08-08, & they hosted an open house yesterday for anyone who wanted to see the new facility.

Anticipation built, as Ana & I followed the crowd through surgery,

heart center, ICU……& two floors of patient rooms.

FINALLY, third floor!!!

The Birth Center!

We took a look at the new labor & delivery, recovery rooms,

the nursery, & wandered the rabbit warren of halls.

Then, out of nowhere…..the grief knocked on the door of my heart again.

We entered the new Neo-Natal ICU.

There, at the entrance…..was a table with info on pre-mature births.

& a frame with a tiny, inch & a half footprint in it.

The lady began to tell me all about pre-mature births…..& how I could donate to some cause to help prevent them…..& I could barely talk to her.

My throat began to fill up.

My eyes could not leave the frame….& the memory of my little box at home, with beautiful, half inch foot prints, impressed in plaster…..forever still, never to stand, walk or run.

Now, the tears threaten again….

We moved on-me feeling a bit guilty…..but I couldn’t take much more of that conversation.

Next, we saw the NICU Isolation Rooms.

There, my God stepped in-right into my heart…to remind me

(not more than 30 seconds later) that He is sovereign.

Laying in the table, swaddled in blankets, was a doll,

representing a 3 pound baby. Tubes running in every part of it’s body.

Natty was a 3 pound baby.

Who needed no resuscitation, tube feedings, or oxygen.

& now, is home in the US, a healthy, thriving, 16 pound, one year old.

Does sorrow sometimes revisit me over what “might have been?”

Sure.

But, God is faithful to Himself.

He reminded me yesterday that we can’t ever look back.

If we hadn’t lost Jesse……

We wouldn’t have the two children that now complete our family.

All along……He knew.

Ruthie was the best little sister for Ana.

And Natty was the surprise baby we needed.

Now, I can choose to question why……why us, why sorrow, why death?
Or I can choose to focus on God’s Perfect plan for our lives.

Can I imagine life differently?
No.

Am I changed since being touched by this?
Yes.

And I know one thing for sure.

Only my Savior can take such terrible circumstances…….
& use them for good.

"Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,

They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.

For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man.
And are at their wits’ end.

Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.

Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven."

Psalm 107: 23-30

He calmed my “stormy, staggering, melting soul,”
right there in that hospital hallway.
Has He done the same for you?

Wow! What Fun!

We had the biggest treat on our vacation!

We had a short visit with our friends we met on our Pick-Up trip for Ruthie’s adoption. Greg, Tina & Toby gave us some of our best times in Guatemala that time around. We spent a lot of time just hanging out together, watching our kids play, eating out etc. They had a washing machine & dryer in their little apartment that was such a blessing for us!

Now, they have also adopted Lili from Guatemala,

& we just missed each other by a week on this Pick-Up trip.

We just had to see each other’s new babies!

And, we had the delight of meeting Tina's mom & cousin, too!

Greg, we missed seeing you, but hopefully we will see you at some point!

Lovely Mama with her little girl!
Ana & Toby sweating it out!
It was at least 95 degrees in the shade (& the humididity-ugg!!!!)

Two beautiful girls & I!

Two mamas, one daddy, one big sister & 4 Guat Tots!!!

Great to see all those babies at home!

It was so fun! Hope to see you guys again soon!!!

Maybe we can spend more than 1 hour together!

Kansas, the myth de-bunked

Tell me, truely......this is what you think of when I say "Kansas,"

right????

But, actually, the eastern 1/4 of the state
(where I grew up), is more like this.......with plenty of trees!!!

The green is so vivid for us Coloradans!

(now, did I de-bunk any myths for you???)

The Promised Pics.......(the first installment)

Here I sit on the bed late at night, a lightly snoring child beside me…..

Two babies fast asleep in their cribs, & an exhausted hubby on my other side.

We have just finished the second of our LONG days in Bowling Green, KY. (long, I say, because any day with out naps for babies is a LONG day for ANYONE around them! Don’t you agree?)

Long also, because in two days we have:

~Met up with friends we first met in

Guatemala when we adopted Ruthie
~Driven 7 hours
~Celebrated a one year old b-day.
~Visited a dairy
~Swum to exhaustion
~Eaten out 4 times with two babies,

8 adults & one 7 year old
~Gone on two cave tours
~Spent a couple of hours at a small amusement park


Whew! No wonder they are all sleeping!!!!

We have had a BALL on our vacation……

& tomorrow morning early,

we begin our LONG trek back west to the great state of Colorado.

Stay tuned over the next few days as I play catch-up on pics!

This first round is from our week at camp.

Do you know what this first one is?

Click on the picture & see if you can guess.

I’ll give you a hint.

Two of our days……

My cousin Petrina......holding a willing partner.

Ruthie & her friend "M," whose mommy "T" &
I are great friends & we go WAY back.
Fun to see our little girls together!

OK, I ask you WHY, when we finally get everyone dressed up &

looking at the camera.......Does the lense HAVE to fog up?!?!?
And you wonder why I never post family pics!

In the Dining Hall!
Unlike most camps,
this one has a reputation for YUMMY food!

Summer longin'!

My mom, with two of her favorite kids.
My dad was there, too,
but he never stood still long enough for me to get his picture!!!

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Sorry it took so long for me to post pics.

I feel better now that I have filled you all in!

Thanks for checking in on our little family!