SO THANKFUL!

Tonight I was on the yahoo group for the adoption agency that we used for our first adoption to bring Molly home.  I knew things had slowed down drastically in the world of China adoption but I was surprised by just how much.  The two year wait for Molly was so hard but now there are families waiting 5 or more years and I can't imagine how hard that has been.  Molly was our first miracle and then Grace, it's hard to believe that our little Grace was part of a special needs program.  Had we not found the special needs program we too would still be waiting.  Can't imagine life without either of our girls, we are so lucky to be their Mom and Dad and they are so lucky to have each other.  They are two peas in a pod and sisters through and through.

 Grace is so beautiful in this photo, so mature.
This is one of my favorite photos that Eric has ever taken of the girls.

What a happy girl!  

Molly looks like such a big sister in these photos!

You can see the love they have for each other.

There's always the occasional fight over a toy but generally it's the sound of playing and laughter.

The days of Molly pretending to play with Grace on the playground while we were waiting to bring Grace home are long gone and now they each have a constant playmate and buddy.

Gracie starts preschool!!!

I can't believe it's time for Gracie to start school!

She started last Monday and goes 3 days a week.

She is at school the same days as Molly and it is so nice that she has Molly there to help her feel comfortable.

We thought she would be fine and she is and loves it as much as Molly does.

I came early to pick her up her first day and ended up staying another 45 minutes because she didn't want to leave.  This is a full day program from 9-5 and I can't get my kids to leave!!!

I am so grateful that we found such a wonderful school where our girls feel safe and can thrive.

The girls wanting to stay in school is a good problem to have;0)

 Molly is so excited to have Gracie at school with her!

Goodbye hugs and kisses on Gracie's first day.

Harder for Mom than Grace.

Grace never looked back.

By Friday I stopped going to school early to pick up the girls and accepted that Grace is ready.

A few photos from Christmas 2010 at the Beetner House

Putting up the Christmas Tree

 The girls did a great job and believe it or not neither of them fell into the tree.

 Molly got the honor of placing the star on the tree top.

The Gingerbread House

 I am amazed there were enough candies left over to cover the house after the girls were done sampling everything.

 The girls did a great job being patient and waiting for the house to dry before decorating.  

I think they learned a valuable lesson when our Halloween Haunted House collapsed because we started decorating too soon.

Molly and I go to the Nutcracker together for the first time

  She gets to visit with Santa during intermission

Once again I was amazed by Molly!  

She was so quiet and still through the performance and absolutely loved it and so did I, 

we had a great night.

Over our sushi dinner after the ballet she told me  "The snow flake fairy costumes were my favorite.  I would like to be that for Halloween next year.  

Could you make me that outfit tomorrow?"

She then told me she would like to switch from Hip Hop dance class back to ballet.

The Elf on the Shelf joined our family for Christmas for the first time and he was a big hit.
The girls named him Billy and they were very sad when we told them on Christmas Eve that he wouldn't be back until next Christmas.

Here is a drawing Molly did of Billy where she found him sitting on the shelf in our living room his first morning with us.  We didn't take any photos of Billy that morning but this drawing is exactly how he sat on the self that day( next to our family photos and a vase of red berries) and I will always remember thanks to Molly.

Molly and Gracie with Santa

 Santa was quite surprised when Gracie jumped right up and was not at all nervous.

Decorating Gingerbread Men with Nana G and Poppy on Christmas Eve

Molly wanted to eat the Gingerbread house that had been sitting on our table for weeks.  I saw these kits at Trader Joe's and thought this would be a good compromise and so did the girls.
More torture for Molly when I told her she had to wait until after dinner to dig in.

Christmas Morning

The girls put on a concert with Molly's new Karaoke machine.

  

Yes, morning lollipops.  It's Christmas!

My Christmas morning surprise from Molly.  This drawing was hidden behind the tree and I was not allowed to look until Christmas morning.

Molly's interpretation of Christmas at the Beetner's  with Santa flying over our house.