Vacation Bible School

Here's Miss Jodi during our vacation Bible school celebration this morning. At first she was shy about getting up there. Once Baba went up, she joined him and actually did a little dancing. It was very cute! You can see that her shirt says "Fear Not" which was the main theme of their week. I don't know how much she understood but I loved that Jodi heard that all week. Our prayer is that Jodi will one day know beyond any doubt that God loves her and there is nothing to fear with Him by her side. It is truly an honor to be her parents. She definitely has her moments but overall has a precious spirit.

Lately Jodi has wanted me or Baba to lay down with her for "5 minutes" when it's "sleepytime." At first I resisted but one night I went with it and was I glad I did!! Talk about a special time. She snuggles up and gives kisses and repeatedly says, "I love you." I closed my eyes for a minute and when I opened them, she was just staring at my face. I would love to know what's going through her head!! In the orphanage, the children had their own beds lined up next to each other. I've read that some children would hold hands with their neighbor. I got teary just picturing Jodi lying in her bed with noone to call her own and noone to give her hugs or dry her tears. It breaks my heart for her but I thank and praise God that we get to be there for her now.

Jodi has her followup appointment with her neurosurgeon this week and we anticipate a good report. She appears to be doing very well and we are so grateful that God led us to the right surgeon. Wishing you a blessed week and love to you and your family.

Losing Her First Tooth

Here's our cutiepie showing off her "bling"! We definitely have a girly girl on our hands!! She got some beautiful clothes from her cousins Ann, Kat, and Emily and she is loving it. Her new favorite is this gorgeous pink dress (of course). Baba was gone on a youth retreat for a week so she was excited to put on her pretty new dress to greet him. When he got off the van, she went flying over to him with her dress flowing. It was so so sweet. She then showed him and everyone else who would look that she had a very loose tooth! When we got home, Jodi and Baba went to work and pulled it right out. I assured her that a new tooth would take it's place!

Nye Nye Johnson was a huge help, taking care of Jodi while Baba was out of town and Mama worked. Jodi decided that Mama and Baba could go to work and she would just stay home with Nye Nye instead. If only!! One day Nye Nye observed Jodi playing the piano and saw her looking the part of a concert pianist even playing with her eyes closed and giving a big finale at the end. I have no idea where she got that from or when she may have observed someone performing like that. Certainly not from me!

Jodi also got to swim with her friend Keri and watched as Keri went down the water slide. After playing for a while, she decided she wanted to try that slide! She did it a couple of times with Mama waiting at the bottom. She has alot more courage than I ever had!! Jodi continues to bless us every day and we love her more than we can say. Love to all of you!!

Happy 4th of July

Here we are at our first Fourth of July celebration at the mountainhouse. Jodi loved the lake, being out in the canoe and feeding the geese. We couldn't have asked for better weather! It was not too hot and just beautiful. She especially loved the fireworks that we set off and was dancing and prancing all over that dock! She also loved her new princess tiara, ring, and earrings that her friends Taylor and Ryan gave her. I think she was feeling quite the princess since she didn't mind posing for pictures! In case you're wondering, Jodi is actually licking chocolate off of Baba's face because Nye Nye made chocolate fondu and some of it ended up on his cheek. She was so happy and silly all weekend and brought so much joy to us! It's so much fun to see things through her eyes and feel her excitement over new discoveries.

One night when we were going to sleep for the night, Baba told her how proud we are of her. We could hear her sweet little voice in the dark say, "Mama and Baba are proud of Jodi Lang." It was such a special moment, one that we will always treasure. She continues to heal very well and we thank God for that! Love to you all.