Happy 4th Gotcha anniversary, Dariya!

Four years ago today we were able to whisk this sweet girl out of her orphanage forever.   Our lives continue to be blessed by her sweet spirit.

It is so amazing to look back on her life.

From the girl who didn't know how to open a book at 3 1/2 to the girl who is reading and loving books on grade level.

From the girl who didn't know what a family was to the girl who gets up every.single.morning and hugs each family member and says,  "Good morning, insert person's name."

From the girl who preferred to sit and play alone to the girl who is talking about and playing with friends independently.

From the girl who had never heard of Jesus to the girl who asks to pray every day and is excited for church, JAM and VBS.

From the girl who never attended school to the girl who LOVES going to school and loves her teachers and friends.

From the girl who wouldn't accept comfort and love to the girl who willingly asks for hugs, snuggles and comfort when hurting.

It is fun to continue to watch her soar.  She is like that caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly. Each day she opens her wings just a tad bit more in order to fly higher.

We celebrate everyday we have together but today, we will enjoy a little extra celebration.


We love you Dariya and are so glad God brought you into our family.

For those of us who have followed her journey, we still have contact with Dariya's birth dad, Sasha. He is now remarried and enjoys all the pictures and videos that we share with him.

End of the year

We made it!

The girls completed kindergarten successfully and Aidan rocked 6th grade.  We are so proud of all three of them and their accomplishments.

Last night Aidan's piano teacher, Nancy held their annual piano party (think recital).  Here is a little excerpt from our piano man.

Here's to a great summer ahead!

Happy birthday, Aidan

Amazingly loving and caring

Intelligent beyond belief

Daring to stand up for what is right and good

A fabulous musician

Notably hilarious

Aidan, you fill our lives with so much joy.  We are blessed to call you our son.  

Happy 12th birthday!  

Keep reaching for the stars and keep following God's path for your life.

Happy 7th birthday, Dariya!!!!

Dariya,

I can't imagine life before you came along,

You are the music to my dance and my song.

I am meant for you, and you are meant for me,

the one I love forevermore.

Undeniably.

I love you so...

Marianne Richmond

These words are in a book that my brother and sister in law had made for Dariya this Christmas.  We read in nightly and the final page with these words couldn't be more true.

I can't remember life without Dariya.  She has been with us now longer that she was at the orphanage.   Our lives have been so blessed with the addition of her in our family.  Celebrating her today is just the icing on the cake.

I still get tears in my eyes every Sunday afternoon when I watch her dance her heart out.  She has come so far and continues to soar daily.  

Dariya, we are so proud of you, we pray that your life always is blessed and that God's path is clearly laid before you.

Happiest birthday Dariya.  

You wear 7 well!

xoxo,

Mom, Dad, Aidan & Alayna

We did it!

If you have been following us since Dariya came home you know what a traumatic thing the dentist visits have been for her.

Three years ago at her first visit they seriously didn't touch her and she was screaming the place down.  But, slowly, slowly, slowly she has come around.

I made a book of what we do at the dentist a couple years ago (pictures were of Aidan at one of his appointments).  The girls still love reading that book and get it out often.  About two weeks prior to a scheduled checkup I let the girls know we are going and we begin practicing.  The girls LOVE to play dentist and let us clean their teeth so I was hopeful that this time they would both do great.

I also took Grandma along to sit with one girl while I was with the other!  PRICELESS~

I have to report that BOTH girls did fabulous!  They let the hygienists clean their teeth and put a fluoride treatment on.  The attempted xrays but the film was just too big for the girl's mouths yet so we opted to skip it this time.  Poor Dariya was gagging on the film touching the back of her throat.

Alayna's adult teeth are popping in on the bottom where she has lost her baby teeth, but no molars coming in yet.

Dariya has an adult tooth coming in on the bottom behind her baby teeth which aren't budging yet. Shark teeth!  Looks just like Aidan's did at this age hmm, anyone see orthodontics coming up? She STILL hasn't lost a tooth and will be 7 in a couple weeks.  She however, has 3 of her 4 six year molars already.

Thankful the appointment went without a hitch.  Thank you Grandma for the back up.

See you in 6 months Dr. David!

Recovering well

Surgery went well for both girls.

Alayna just had tubes placed and Dariya had tubes and an adenoidectomy.  Alayna came out of surgery second and was quick to wake up and ask about Dariya.  Dariya was still sleeping in the bed next to Alayna and was very groggy after anesthesia.

Late Monday night Dariya had a rash on her face and was breathing like she was Darth Vadar.  Not sure what she was allergic to but, thankfully after rest, benedryl and an advil she was back to her normal self.

Overall they have had an easy recovery and are definitely hearing better.  They both rang in the New Year at 6pm  (English time Zone) and were too tired to party any longer.

Today Alayna decided their doll's had birthdays so we had to have a tea party to celebrate.

Hoping they get rested and back to 100% before school starts again on Tuesday.