Pillow Fun

Madeline has so much fun with her daddy. He is always making her laugh & she just loves him so much. Friday night they decided it would be great to pile EVERY pillow in our house up on the floor and play in them. They were right-it was great fun! Madeline would run & jump into the pillows & laugh. Now she still goes up to pillows & tries to start dragging them into the living room.

Car Washing

Last weekend Andrew, Madeline, & I spent the day playing outside. Madeline LOVES being outside, or "side" as she likes to say. Our sweet next door neighbor has a pool which she loves to share so we swim a lot & Madeline has tons of fun. We washed cars last Sunday & Madeline was a great helper. She helped mostly by making sure the sponge & rags stayed wet in the bucket but also used a scrubber to clean the grill! So fun.

Goings Ons

Recently there have been many goings ons in the Brill family. Vacation with the Brills, Becca & Matt's wedding, attempting to buy a house, being on the wait list for our Simeon, enjoying summer sun, and watching our little peanut grow & learn every day. We are enjoying life & super thankful for our blessings. We've been reading a book that is challenging my day to day life-which I really like but tends to make things "harder" for me. It is challenging by notion of busyness, stress, worry, to do lists, and daily recognition (or lack of) God's hand at work in the life He has called me to. I'd love to say I'm growing and changing but it is a slow process. I am thankful that God continues to teach me & trying to follow. The other big challenge Andrew & I have been convicted of lately is complaining. WOW! We do it a lot! And sadly & scarily we don't even realize we are doing it. So we are trying to stop. And so far failing. But still going. Anyway, that is a crazy summary of us for the moment. Enjoy some photos!

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mama,

Happy Mother's Day! I love you so much. Thank you so much for all the things you do to take care of me. That's why last night I called your name in the middle of the night. I just really needed to see you and have you hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. That makes me feel so much better.

Thanks for not getting mad at me when I make wrong choices like reaching for the hot stove or pulling off my diaper. And you always forgive me so quickly. Thanks.

Thanks for teaching me so much, like where my cheeks are and where to put my dirty clothes and to listen to Daddy. Thanks for singing songs with me, silly songs like "Skinnamarinkydink" (am I spelling that right, Mama?) and songs about Jesus. Thanks for teaching me how to follow Jesus.

There's a good reason why I grin so big when you come get me in the morning. And there's a good reason why I say "Mama. Mama" over and over again when you're not home and rush to the door when I hear you jingle your keys. It's because no one makes me happy like you do. There's no one else I can count on like I can count on you. No one who willingly sacrifices so much simply out of love. No one else who I really want to be like when I grow up.

I love you so much,

Madeline

PS Simeon agrees with all this. He just doesn't know it yet.

Yea!!

Today I got home & found out we finally got our Citizenship & Immigration approval for our adoption! Yea God! That basically means we are almost on the wait list! It is our last document to collect so we are close to the next phase (more waiting but still closer to Simeon). These pics aren't from today but they do show our happiness.

Playing with Fam

These last 2 weeks while Andrew was gone Madeline & I spent some time at my parents. It is a blessing to have such great family & friends around-especially while Andrew is away! Madeline is growing so much...she is talking a lot, playing more all by herself, trying to jump, eating different foods, and more. With the weather getting warmer, we are outside almost daily. She gets her shoes (su's), goes to the door, and says, bye bye. Many of you have asked what is going on with our adoption...well, it is a slow process. We have almost finished our paperwork and hope to get on the wait list within the next few months. There is still some "officializing" of documents that needs to be done & is in the process. Other than that...we just wait. Thanks for asking...we love talking about Simeon even when it seems like nothing new is going on.

We are still here...

I make no excuses for my long absence. We are still here and doing well. Madeline has learned to smile when asked-super cute. She is growing & loving life. She explores everything, loves avocado & pasta, and likes to sit on the floor reading books in her lap. She makes us incredibly happy. We are close to finishing our paperwork for our adoption which means we will be on the wait list in a few months. We are enjoying a few spring days & and looking forward to my sister getting married in May.