Really Rachel!

I vow, I vow, I vow to blog now! I mean my mind can only remember so much as these kiddos grow! First things first...where we last left off was Thanksgiving. Rachel had her first Thanksgiving ever on Papatoe and Nana's farm with her family! It rained a lot this year and there was a big pipeline going in, too which made for some fun viewing by a toddler. Rachel tried everything from cranberries to ham to pumpkin pie. Let's just say she liked the turkey and Nana's sugar cookies. They are the best those cookies.

November is officially National Adoption Awareness month. Often asked why we decided to adopt and why China. Every time our response is simple. God. I recently heard "a whisper to the soul"...for me, that's a great way to say it. Most people get that, but some don't. That's OK. I was reminded of the childhood song "This Little Light of Mine". One verse goes "hide it under a bushel, no, I'm gonna let it shine". It reminded me to freely share our story. We don't have to tuck it away now that Rachel is here. We would be remiss not to share. So we'll be shiny. I see it in the faces of Elizabeth, Simon, Noah, and Rachel every day.

Rachel clings to her new pajamas. Bought some warm fuzzy jam-jams for her with duckies. When she's not wearing them, she's cuddling them like her blankie, or rather, her "mi-mi". So her latest new word is "duck!" Rachel likes a lot of things. She loves shoes. Hers, ours, yours. She loves socks. Hers, ours, yours. She will leap at the chance to try on a sock or a shoe...but not at the same time. Oh no, they must be enjoyed separately. Rachel also likes her voice. In fact as we go around the dinner table each evening asking Noah, Simon, Elizabeth how their day was, Rachel babbles non-stop until we ask in the same tone and form, "Rachel, how was your day". She smiles a big cheesy smile and says 'goo!"

Rachel adores Elmo. Back in August during a visit to Barnes & Noble, we passed a Sesame Street kiosk. With outstretched arms, Rachel squealed "eh-mow!". What? "eh-mow!" Turning I see the source of her exclamation. ELMO. Oh no, never had an Elmo fan; now we do. Had to travel around the globe to find one. Thanks to the Matthews family, we now have lots of Elmo episodes and a GIANT Elmo doll. We're learning lots about Dorothy, Mr. Noodle, Mr. Noodle's brother, etc. ha ha

Well what an event...bringing little Rachel home to a historic presidential election year! While the kiddos were in school, Rachel and I took advantage of early voting. The lines had slowed down, and electronic voting is mommy-friendly thankfully! That is, little one on the hip while Mom uses one hand to work the mouse-wheel. The election has now passed, and we respect, pray for President-Elect Barack Obama, his family, and developing Cabinet. In this photo of Rachel she is actually saying "Vote"!

We managed to get to the pumpkin patch just in time to get a few photos. It's been so busy this October! So Rachel, Elizabeth, and I got to spend an hour at our local favorite patch to get these cutie pics. The next day we enjoyed our yearly fall festival at church and Grammy's house! The pictures speak for themselves: fun, smiles, and "don't we look so cute!"

Yes, it's true. My mommy has fallen into the trap of "I want to write something down really well. Not just something half-way." That means, she keeps waiting for the right time and wham-o, 2 months fly by! So I'll take my nap a little longer today and let mommy write... Oh, little Rachel is doing great. She is a crowd pleaser and keeps us all moving. Most noticeably her hair is growing. Having her little noggin shaved for her first year of life, we are, together, finding out how it grows in! I found myself at night- time brushing the back of her neck with my fingers as I sang her to sleep (as her hair has grown that long). Shortly thereafter she began reaching for my hair to do the same. So there she is...snoozing on my shoulder, listening to sweet hymns of Jesus, and brushing my own hair with her tiny fingers. Her vocabulary is jumping like crazy. She is putting two words together and is quite proud of herself. Most notably are "More snack", a...