Grace and Lily's Portraits

Here are some of Grace and Lily -as you can see the bows didn't last long for either of them.

Grace is about on the move

Up she goes

We did manage to get a beautiful one of the two girls, a double exposure of each of them with the flowers - gorgeous!

Grace Gets Portraits Taken

Kelly and I took the girls to get portraits done. Here are some of my favorites. This was a challenge, more interested in stuff in the room then sitting pretty for a picture. They still managed to get some good shots.

Bling, A Baby and Brownies

Is there something wrong? What are you looking at?

Oh yeah, this is good stuff

Why has no one ever told me about this before?

Grace and Abigail (her baby!)

Baby, stroller, bling, purse - she is set!

Well this week Christian went to the orthopedic doctor and got the release to start using his arm - no lifting though and doing anything to cause a fall on it. He was released to begin baseball - he was ready to celebrate. No pitching and no third base, but gradual throwing and batting so today he hits his first practice since the injury and is very excited.

Logan also had his first football scrimmmage this weekend and loved it. Guy took him, I was not able to make it because was a nap time but sure to have pictures from the first official game.

Grace is loving some "bling" especially braclets. She loves her baby doll, one in particular (thanks Aunt Jackie and Uncle Drew) she strolls her around and even tucks her in bed and tries to feed her.

We had a cookout with a bunch of families from my accountability group and Grace loved baby Abigail. She got a little angry though when time to give her back to her mommy because she was inistent that baby Abigail was her baby.

We made brownies for the cookout and my girl loved the batter!

More Birthday Photos

The end to an evening at Chuck-E-Cheese fully loaded up with bling and a sucker! Great birthday!

Grace meets Chucke

Oh yeah this is kinda fun

Giddi up

Her favorite ride with Stewart the mouse

So the birthday continues - after Lazy 5 and the birthday present was given when daddy and the big brothers got home we hit Chuck-e-Cheese! Another great time!

Grace's Birthday Celebration!

Grace's birthday gift - a pink Harley!

Oh yeah, it's mine!

Grace and Lily celebrate Grace's 2nd birthday at Lazy 5 Ranch

A wagon ride and a peanut butter cracker - oh yeah! Let's start this ride.

Goats!

First day of school this week and Grace's birthday. Boys first week went great! First day of school was also Grace's birthday so Kelly and I took her and Lily and Mom joined us for a morning at Lazy 5 Ranch. A walk through the petting zoo was a blast for her and she had no fear, she chased the peacocks and talked to the birds and petted the goats. Then we took a wagon ride through the ranch and fed the ostritches, and deer and buffalo and girafee and many more animals. I did most the feeding while she watched on, but she warmed up and was helping me before the end of the ride.

Last of the Birthday Photos

Grace's cousin, Violet swings

Violet and Grace swinging Grace takes a trip down the slide, her bow in hand

Jonathon has both Caiya and Grace, she is sharing but not too sure about it.

One of my favorites.....Caiya, Grace and Lily lok over the bench at the balls..

Enjoy some snapshots of playtime at the park during the party

More Birthday Photos

Big brother Brandon gives Grace a kiss before he leaves. She is all puckered up as well but with cupcake face.

Caiya demonstrates another way to eat a cupcake if you don't want to get messy, lick it - no hands!

Taylor wipes the sweat from her brow...wow eating that cupcake was a workout ..but no problem for Taylor.

Now Lily on the other hand has no problem getting dirty. She says just dive in!

PawPaw kissing on Grace.

Grace Celebrates Her 2nd Birthday

Grace insists on wiping her hands and mouth while she eats her cupcake. She does not like being messy.

Grace decides an easier way to stay clean might be to dip her finger in the cupcake and then lick he fingers.

Let me try this cupcake it - it looks great...first cupcake!

Oh my it is delicious!

Grace's Birthday Cakes

This was a busy week just keeping up with life as usual, but also my oldest, Jonathon came home Tuesday from a Christian retreat called Spiritus at the beach and had a great time! We also started gearing up for start of school with all the school supply purchases. I had a great time with my accountability group Friday night who are truly such dear friends and sisters in Christ and God showed up in a powerful way, made for a great start to our weekend. Then Saturday we got to celebrate Grace's 2nd birthday with family and friends. It was a great time and I am truly blessed each and every day to call her my daughter. She brings so much life and joy to our lives. We celebrated at Frank Liske Park with a cookout. It was a great time...I will let the pictures tell the story.

Play Date With Caiya

Lots of Summer Fun

Well we have been having a lot of fun! We are home now and settling in before boys head back to school. We have had some trips to the park. Grace has been introduced to the hot tub (heat was not out so was like a pool before we drained it). Nana and PawPaw have introduced her to candy - smarties and big suckers! She is being loved and spoiled. She even had her first play date with friend who has a little girl, Caiya, who is 10 months older than Grace. I will say this was interrupted by my son Christian coming in from a game of football in the neighborhood with his brothers and friends in shoulder pain after a tackle. So play date came to an end as we headed to the hospital. He separated his shoulder and tore his ac. So he is in a sling, orthopedic doctor for him this Friday and well ....no baseball or any other physical activity for at least 6 weeks...pray for him...hard to be still, pain has eased and really hating losing baseball for a season, it's his heart. All in the life of the Fishers in a short little ole week.

Update on More Doctor's Appointments

Well yesterday consisted of more doctor appointments, opthomolgist in the morning and audiology in the afternoon. Our pediatricain likes all children adopted internationally to do this. I will say that audiology was a breeze. Grace thought it was fun hearing the different sounds come through the speakers at different pitches and laughed when they rewarded her acknowledgemnt of the sounds with surprise pig oinking or sheep baaing (or how ever you spell that) behind what starts out as a dark box but lights up. Her hearing is normal.

The vision appointment was torture! It took a couple times to dilate her eyes (hard to do on Asians). Then the exam was torture as I held her bound and she screamed. She even would flip her eyelids inside out so she could not see her pupils (like how do you do that?).

All that saying. Most days I do not think of her special need. I do not think about surgeries. I just love her and think of her as a normal, beautiful little girl. Then I go to these appointments, or I get a strange look or questions and I am reminded of what others see and the reality of what could possibly lie ahead. It breaks my heart. This precious little girl has fought her whole life and I don’t want her to have to fight any more battles (okay here come the tears). So I could tell the look of this doctor and she asked about her condition and she gave me a strange look when I gave the diagnosis and when she looked at her scares. She thought she had some other disease ( I forget the name) and said she was going to talk to Dr. Douglass before I left and also thought I should have an MRI done before I went to Wake Forest. All that to say after talking to Dr. Douglass who confirmed Wake Forest doctor would do all the scans and would not limit to her throat, mouth, face but also get behind her eyes and the brain – the whole head, she was okay. I told her this little girl has been to enough doctors I would rather do that once. From what Dr. Douglass said they have to put her to sleep for that anyway to keep them this age still for an hour and half – we’ll see. She said sometimes these cysts can wrap around vital organs like her eyes or brain - okay now I can feel the panic strike me, all my worst fears! I thought I was going to puke! I thought NO! NO NO NO ! I will not claim that for her, I will not speak that for her, I will not bury my child one day, I will not even entertain this! She did change her mind by end of appointment and tell me that she didn’t think was that disease because she did not have any of the other signs. Like then shut your mouth and you are an opthomoligist! I guess good she cared and pushed but my nerves were undone.

As for her eyes, normal front and middle. She said the back of the eye has a nerve that is pink normally, her’s is a little dull or something like that. Which she said could have been from birth, going without oxygen for some amount of time. One was a little worse than the other side, but didn’t seem to be concerned either were bad. She wants to see her again in 6 months so we go back in February. I think just to see if looks the same and can confirm not getting worse and is just a birth issue. But if the MRI shows something different that she gets from Wake Forest, like a cyst back there putting pressure on it causing it then I will be called to come in earlier.

So there you have it…


Please just pray for her when she comes to mind…I know God is holding her, this stuff is just hard and I know will get harder,and I will need you all!

Last of Beach Picture Photos

Grace's First Ice Cream - loved it!

The whole gang at sea

Grace and Lily

Where did the water go?

Baywatch babe!