Faithful God...

Goodbye August! Bring on the Fall weather!

It's blazing hot here in West Texas. So hot that on some days you truly wish you could stand in a freezer all day. I suppose, it's hot all over Texas and many other States. As I know God is in control, I sure wish He would bring us some RAIN!

I didn't want the month to pass without blogging so here I sit on the 31st with one hour and 4 minutes left to update all of you. I'm amazed that you are still interested. I re-read some of my posts from a year ago this time. Oh, how our lives have changed! I'm thrilled to have the first year with Abi under my belt. I'm thrilled with her love and progress. God is so absolutely faithful!

About Abigail Valeria...what a darling doll! My favorite news to report is that she is SPEAKING! Sentences! Hallelujah! I know, I know. I've been a bit impatient. She did after all only hear Spanish for the first 13 months of her life and was then thrown into an English speaking family in another country. Sweet girl isn't plainly speaking English in full sentences BUT she's made such great progress! She tries to sing songs with me...ABC...Itsy Bitsy Spider...Jesus Loves Me and her favorite, "Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down!" She loves to dance, laugh and be a ham. She loves her puzzles and books and when she sees any of us sitting with a book on the couch, she runs to get one of her own. If we are at the table on the computer...here she comes with her computer in hand...ready to sit nearby and also be "working." She knows she's beautiful. Okay, so we are a bit overboard in telling her. Anytime after a bath, she runs to Daddy and says, "pitty?" (pretty?) When she's been dressed for school she races for her lunch box and then to Daddy and say's "Mon Daddy!" She a fiesty girl at school (her 2 day parents day out class). She and her best friend, Camila, are like sisters. On the second day of school I entered the room without Abi knowing it and she was in the middle of snatching a toy right out of Cami's hand. She was abrupt and rude. Of course, I stepped in and said, "We don't grab toys from our friends. That's not sweet Abi. Please tell Cami you're sorry." She hung her head as if I was crazy and said, "Sowwy, Mimi." She can't say Cami so she calls her Mimi. The teacher saw me intervene and said, "yeah, that's been going on alot today." I asked if Abi was the one to start the trouble...sure enough she was. She's got a strong personality, like her Momma and needs to be taught how to be a leader in the right direction. She'll be a great leader some day...she's opinionated and passionate about her thoughts and actions. Again, the perfect little creature to be in our family!

I don't know exactly what Abi weighs but I'd guess about 28 lbs. She graduated to a size 24 months and is still short in stature. Her hair is still long and the ends curl up beautifully. She loves bows and earrings and if they aren't in place before leaving, she tells me about it. She also loves shoes and has far too many pairs. :) Lately, Abi's noticed that I call Josh, "Joshua" alot so she's decided she wants to call him that as well. The problem is that it comes out "Sasha" and he's not at all pleased with this new name. (Please don't tease Josh about this. It's so not funny to him.) I think it's so cute. Bella is still "Bedda" and she adores her big sister.

Abi has recently learned to climb up the ladder to the trampoline. She can't zip the protected netting around the trampoline but she knows to stay away from the "door." She would jump for hours if we let her. She smiles. She dances. She jumps. She lays on her back. She sits and fiddles with her shoes or just takes them off and watches them bounce when she jumps. She cries when we bring her in and she's covered in sweat. She loves the outdoors. Everyday she says, "Side?" (outside?) I had to teach her how to turn onto her tummy and push herself out of the door and get down the ladder. Second try. She had it down. And she doesn't need help. Oh dear! Yesterday, she hit her chin while coming down. Josh was there to spot her but she still bumped her chin. She came in and whined a bit. I kissed it and off she went...back out to jump.

Abi runs into things alot. She's constantly bumping her head on the table, a chair, the wall. She's very rough and tough. I think she will be a great athlete or gymnast someday. This girl is wild. This is where we differ. I don't care for sweat or anything that might lead in this direction. She on the other hand, thrives on it! She's precious and she's ours!!! God is so faithful!

Speaking of being athletic...our swimmer has turned into a football player! Josh made the B team and is the starting wide receiver for his middle school! We were surprised and even a bit disappointed when he chose football/basketball instead of swimming because he's such a GREAT swimmer. His coach was surprised too. She said he was one of her best (beginner) swimmers last year. But hey, he is in middle school...why not try something new? He absolutely loves it!!! I've got a different son in the house. I'm not even kidding. He has football for last period and then they stay an extra hour after school to practice. That's 2 hours in this heat. Plain awful, if you ask me. He LOVES it!!! He's challenged. He meets the challenge and he's thriving! We are so proud of him. As a side note, Bruce worked him over the Summer months. He had him doing push ups, sit ups, running...working out to prepare for the awful football practices. It paid off! Bruce is such a great Dad. He wouldn't want me bragging on him but he truly has a beautiful heart for his children. Josh is in all Pre-AP classes except math. He does not like math! I can't blame him. He's also in band again this year as a percussionist. His band teacher said to him today that she believes he can make First Chair again at Regionals. He's a very gifted musician...thanks again to Bruce and God! I love my Josh. He's become a different guy over the Summer. His voice changed overnight. I swear it did. He's grown to 5'7" and his foot size went up 2 sizes. He's a young man and beautiful to me. I'm especially thankful that he comes to me and still talks to me. Some teenagers don't talk much to their Mom's. He loves me and I'm thankful that the prayers prayed while he was in womb are coming to pass today. Here's to Josh's last year in middle school! God, you are faithful!

Our sweet Bella Grace will start dance again soon after a 2 year time-off. She's excited and gifted in this area. When I walked into the Dance Gallery, the owner said, "I knew you would be back! Isabella is a born dancer!" She's right. She has a beautiful heart and especially loves to dance for Jesus. Bella is enjoying 2nd grade. Her teacher is one that Josh had in 2nd grade. She is an absolute jewel and has loved Bella for years. We know she will succeed this year in many areas. Bella had her hair cut for 2nd grade. She felt she needed a new look so we had 6 inches cut and off she went with a cute, swing bob. Adorable.

We went on a cruise at the first of this month. We decided not to take Abi on this trip because a cruise (in my opinion) doesn't fit a baby who still needs naps, etc. To be perfectly honest, Bruce wanted to take her but after he realized the work it would have been for me, it wouldn't have been much of a vacation. Believe me, she had her OWN vacation. Oh my goodness! This little diva got to spend time with my Mom and some dear friends. Abi spent overnight time with 4 different people/families and not once did she cry for any of us! I knew she wouldn't. She is so easy going and can adjust to any schedule. She felt great love all week long. She spent her days swimming, shopping, eating, stories were told with animal sounds that made her giggle, gifts were given and lots of love!!! They made us a book called "Abi's Journal" and so that we could see what she did daily and they included pictures. I'll cherish it forever.

Our cruise was a dream come true. The kids were beyond happy. I wish I could tell you of their grateful hearts and the looks on their faces when we boarded the ship. I'll never forget the memories we made together. This was our first and last vacation without Abi. I can't believe she will be 3 this time next year and speaking in full English sentences. Happiness.

We had the great privilege and honor to be among other alumni from Infant Paradise a couple of weeks ago. This was the name of the orphanage that I was adopted from, as well as my sister, Risa. I had anticipated this day for quite a while. I wondered who I might see. The connections I might make. The look on Ms. Nancy's face when she saw our Abi a year after her adoption. It was a perfect day for me. Bruce was so patient with me while I was getting ready and getting the girls ready. I was asked to speak at our reunion and share my testimony. Bruce was calm and a rock for me. He encouraged me and loved me on our way to the church where we all met. I felt good. I felt confident. I felt overwhelmingly grateful. I'd look back at the kids in the van and sigh with love as I fought tears. I am so blessed.

Just as I expected, there were brown-eyed, beautiful Colombians all around me. Since we've adopted Abi my heart has been taken to new places. I suppose it's because while we were in Bogota, swirling through the city in taxis, with my family and our newly adopted daughter, I realized I had blood related relatives nearby that I'd never know or see (until heaven, of course). I've had things pop up in my mind that weren't previously there and God continues to meet me in those distant areas of my heart. Back to the story...we walked in and you could see joy on every face. We met at a church in Ft. Worth and there were so many to greet us...my favorite being Ms. Nancy Tappan, the woman who cared for all of us at the orphanage. If you are new to the blog, you don't know that she went to Colombia in her mid 20's as a nurse on a mission trip and knew God had called her to stay in Colombia. She saw the need to care for abandoned and abused children and Infant Paradise was birthed. There she was! Right in front of me! Tall and slender. No make up. Grey hair that was beautiful. Wearing her blue shirt and matching blue pants. She has a smile like no other person in the world. We actually saw Ms. Nancy a year ago after we adopted Abi. She happened to be in Ft. Worth while we were there one weekend so it had only been a year since our last meeting. However, it always seems that years and years have passed between our visits. I know it's because I truly cannot get enough of her. I want to sit at her feet and learn from her. I want to follow her around and have her kindness and generosity seep over on me. We all sat on pews at this nice small church and had a "service" that was prepared by Ms. JoAnn Slay. She too has been a large part of my adoption. She's prayed for me and loved me for years and years. What a jewel she is to me! The day lasted a good 5+ hours but it seemed just a few minutes. I loved looking into the eyes of other Colombians. I loved hearing their testimonies. I also loved the fact that I was not the only one speaking...praise Jesus! I was so happy about that! I was asked to speak last so when all were done...about 15 of the alumni shared....Mother, my sister, Risa, her daughter, Calista and my family walked to the front of the church. I made Risa go first. She is after all the oldest and I needed to catch my breath before breaking into a million tears. Risa spoke of her thankfulness to God and to Mom for her rescue. She did a great job sharing her heart. I'm so thankful for her in my life. There were times in my early years that I would have felt absolutely lost if it hadn't been for her, my sweet and giving sister. I talked for far too long, I'm sure. I felt great comfort with Bruce and our kids by my side. I felt the presence of my Dad and how proud he must be of me...this brings tears to my eyes while even typing. He used to call me a rascal...his "rascal" turned out to be okay. Mother shared too when I was finished and the completion of our time was perfect. This was one of the happiest days of my life. I cried on our way back to Lubbock. The kids sat in the back while watching a movie. Bruce listened to music with earphones and I sat watching the sun set in awe of what Jesus has done for me. (Now, I'm really crying.) Our hope is to take another trip to Colombia next year (2012) with many of the alumni from Infant Paradise. Many have not returned to Colombia and after having listened to each other's stories, we are ready to revisit our homeland. I actually loved sharing my story of God's redemption at my place of rescue (no longer abandonment). We are ready to see God move so I've volunteered to look into a trip back to Colombia for all of us!

Again, God has and is always faithful. Always.

Our Summer was crazy busy and perfectly wonderful. Now we anticipate Fall. Leaves falling. A change in temperature (please God!). Pulling out our sweaters and boots. Going to the pumpkin patch. Painting pumpkins. Spending Thanksgiving with family and then Christmas with family a month later. I love this time of year. Thankfulness fills my heart and I begin to reflect all over again what He has done in my life. He is ever so faithful.

Much love from me to you ~ Ruth

PS. It's midnight! Happy September!