Goodbye, Summer!

 I know, I know, I know. I am fully aware that I haven't written in such a long time. And I know that you all want to hear more from us now that we're all home! Haha, I am aware.
 Now that everyone is starting school and settling back down from a crazy summer, I hope to blog more and share more pictures with the blog world. Please forgive me.

 Sophia has been home for a month and a half now, she's in our arms for two months. We have seen GREAT changes in her! We look back at pictures from our "Gotcha Day" and see such a changed little girl - we believe that she's changed so much on the inside that she looks different on the outside. She's a very happy little girl now and I think that is just a precious gift and miracle from God. How far He's brought her in two months gives me hope for her beautiful future.


 On another note, today is MY last day of summer! Boooo. But, surprisingly, I'm very excited to start a new school year. Starting tomorrow, I will begin my Junior year of High school.
 This summer has had so many adventures, so-happy-you-cry moments along with the very difficult, so-frustrated-you-cry moments. As any adoptive family could relate, the transitions and settling in hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies... We've come very far, though, and still, we have a long road ahead of us, we will get through with time, patience, love, and mostly our faithful Father.
 Last week was Isaac's first week of Preschool, Samuel's first week of Kindergarten, and Caleb's first week of college in KY. So, you can imagine the crazy week we had!

 But, anyway. I had a very nice last day of summer. We had church, I taught my 1st-3rd graders, had lunch at Mamaw and Papaw's, had some friends over and played ping-pong, had piano time, a short nap time, Sophie and I came home to help Caleb pack more stuff as he left for KY, made a snack for the road, blew goodbye kisses to Caleb, cleaned the backyard, played on the swing set, painted our toenails, and had messy indoor s'mores!
 This evening, it was a Sophie and Emily time, and we made the best of it. I don't know if I've ever smiled and laughed that much with someone I can't actually have a conversation with! Kisses, laughter, bare feet, slides, tickles, wagons, Sunday dresses, cool weather, swings, piggy back rides, joyful screaming, pretty hair bows, m&ms, and such a big smile from that princess that I couldn't even see her eyes!



 Sophia's new thing is climbing up the slide and sliding down all by herself. She loves it...she's definitely a climber! As we were playing on the slide, I was climbing right behind her to catch her if she fell. She was doing really well, but almost to the top, she stumbled and fell into my arms, I paused to see if she was scared or hurt but she just giggled and smiled and got right back up again. And once we she made it to the top, she shot me a giant grin and clapped her hands as loud as she could! It was the sweetest thing in the world.
 From a girl that can speak about 4 or 5 words, I can sure learn a lot from her. Many times when I am trying something new or something hard, I get really mad if I fail..and I'm not very quick to start again. I am a perfectionist and I always have been. But, I learned something awesome from Sophia tonight: I don't have to be a perfectionist. I don't have to try to be perfect because I am human and I make mistakes. It's sometimes hard for me to accept that I'm allowed to make mistakes, I'm sure everyone reading this can relate.
 But, we took our sandals off, got dirty even in my favorite white skirt, painted toenails even though she was right behind me, touching them...we ate s'mores and and it WAS messy!
 I had a wonderful time this evening and I think Sophia did as well.

 It's okay to get dirty and make a complete mess. It's okay! It's alright to make a few mistakes and to laugh along the way, as long as you try again. It's actually very fun. So? Go and get dirty. Go and have fun and make a mess. Just do it. Have a good time. Make memories.

Happy week, bloggers!

-Emily