Yeah. I know. Why would you bother coming back?

I just looked up my "old" blog.  You know, the one I've neglected for forever?

Yep. That one.

And I realized - this is such a great way to chronicle our family's journey through life.  There are so many things that I had forgotten.  Until I re-read them here tonight.

Folks, I don't want to forget.   This is a wild and precious life that I lead, and I don't want a second to go by without me being intentional about noticing it.

I'd love to catch you up on all the things that have happened since I last happened by here.  Let me see if I can try:

New house.  

Adorable kids.

Ummm...  A fabulous new house that holds lots of adorable kids?

Check.  Got it.  

And more adorable kids?

Stay tuned.  

We might just have that too.

Ok. 

KID.

Singular.

But you should probably stay tuned for that too....

See? They DO love each other!!

Some days, that seems debatable.  These two LOVE to argue.  About everything.  Some days, I want earplugs by 8am.  It makes me so very happy to see that they do enjoy each other, and that the sibling bond has definitely grown sooooo much this last year!

Aaaah.  Does a mama's heart good. 

This boy...

is something else.

This photo shows the mix of sweetness and attitude I get to deal with every day.  He's a lover and a fighter!! And he's nearly SIX.  Yep.  He's into counting on both hands.  I can't believe it!  Our little "I can't believe you're having another baby ALREADY" little man is almost six.  God certainly knew what he was doing when he blessed us with Benjamin.  What a joy he is!

This boy has to wait patiently for his baby brother to turn three, then he can rock his six-ness.  And rock it he will, folks.  Make no mistake about that. 

I don't get it.

There are days when I just don't get it.  I have these fleeting moments - when we are having wild and crazy fun or sweet snuggles - when I look at her face, and I can't begin to understand why certain things have happened to her in the first years of her life. 

This face:

She's undeniably my daughter.  After almost a year together, we have a history. We have inside jokes, we have our little routines.  I know how she likes to be held.  How she likes to sleep.  What bow she will pick for her hair.  Every time.  I know that every time I put her in her carseat, she's going to ask me to put the music on.  I know that she likes to grab my face and blow raspberries on my cheeks with a silly little grin on her face. We have rainbow moments, she and I.

Then there are days when she drives me absolutely insane with her two-ness.  (Is that a word?  Because if it isn't, it should be.)  There are days when she is lucky to survive until bedtime... :)  We have thunderstorm moments too.  Even in those moments, I sometimes look at her and see.

The shadows of her other mother. 

The one who gave her life.  The one who gave her chunky sweet feet.  The one who gave her gorgeous pouty lips and a love for music and dance. The one who most likely gave her the stubbornness that is unequalled.  The one who should be holding her and kissing those insanely sweet cheeks and making boo-boos all better.  The one who would speak Korean to her and make sure she knows all the fun Korean kid songs. 

I see HER holding this girl.  Twirling her around to the music.  Laughing with her and kissing her face.  I see HER tucking her in at night and imagine the things she would be saying to her daughter.

I see the woman who I am forever indebted to for the life of my daughter.  The woman who I sometimes wish hadn't given her daughter up.  Because look at what she's missing.  It's huge.  This sweet girl is an amazing little person. 

Absolutely amazing. 

One day, I hope her first mother can experience the wonder of who she is.  Because this kid?  After almost one year of having her in my life, I can say with absolute certianty that she's not one to be missed. 

Sprinklers. They're not just for watering the lawn.

This is what summertime is all about. 

This year, Benjamin decided he is brave enough to run right through the sprinkler.  Sweet.  He's not going to need a bath tonight.

Monkey see, monkey do.  The little guy can do it with a little help from his big bro. 

They won't need showers either. 

This goober?  Yeah.  No words. I think he's taking the "shower" concept a little too seriously.   This show came with a song as well.  For free.  The neighbors are just that lucky today.

Time to warm up in the sun.  Summer fun is tiring business if you do it right!

Now I'm off to pick up the drippy wads of clothing that are scattered everwhere.  They might not need showers, but now I need to do laundry.  Ah well.  It's so very worth it.

No Grace pics today - she was enjoying being clothing free, and we try to keep it G-Rated around here...  She will get her own post soon.  We are creeping up on a pretty important anniversary in a couple of weeks!

Finally they meet!

As we waited for Grace to come home, we were blessed to "meet" (online) another wonderful family waiting to bring their sweet girl home.  Our daughters were born just one week apart, and came home one month apart.  We have been talking about getting together for quite some time, and it finally happened!!

I wish I could say Grace just loved having another little Korean sweetie come to visit, but she wasn't that keen about having to share her toys.  She warmed up eventually, though!

It has been so wonderful getting to know another family that is in the same place in their journey as us.  We have experienced many of the same things, but have also had very different bonding experiences with our daughters.  It has been a blessing to get to know this family, and I hope we will be able to have many more chances to get together as our girls grow up. 

Aren't they cute together?

 Sweet girls!!!

Why are they looking at us?  Are we cute or something???

Diggin' in the Dirt

The work has begun at the future home of the Circus...and it is dirty! 

(Disclaimer: the views and photos presented in this post are the views and photos of Ethan (a.k.a. Dad) and do not express the views or photographic excellence of the regular blog author (a.k.a. Shannon).  Any damage that has been done to the reputation of said blog is unintended and apologized for in advance...)
 

The holes are done and now it's time to go up!!

Sometimes you use the little toys...

...and sometimes you gotta use the big toys!

Sometimes you just gotta get some rest (this kid can sleep anywhere!!)

At the end of the day it's all about having fun!