Super Mom's

I thought I (Shane) would make a post as Amber has taken a short break. Grace, Carter, Morgan and Jenson-your Mom loves you so much!!! I'm amazed at the sacrifices she makes for the family each and every day. The love she has for each one of you seems to be endless..... The washing and folding of clothes, the countless hours of picking up, the shuttle bussing to the various destinations around town, the balancing act of buying the right amount of food to keep everyone's belly's happy and the constant worry about the well being of the family. It's a labour of love that I wanted to recognize.

To all the Mom's out there in the Mommy world, thank you so much for the sacrifices you make! I'm not a part of that world so there is no way that I can relate, but from my point of view, I see glimpses of how difficult the job is and the miracle of a Moms work here on earth. My Mom is an incredible blessing in my life and I credit her for the happiness and success that I have had in this life. She has been unconditional with her love and very giving in so many ways. I know our children will some day feel and say similar things about their Mom.

Thanks Mom's for the work you do and I wish you peace and sanity as you continue doing the great work you do.

So many firsts

Wow I can hardly believe Grace has been home for almost four months. Truly it feels like she has always been a part of this family and I am amazed at how beautifully she has adjusted. I think one of the best things about being the Mom of a baby again (at my age) is truly enjoying all of the "firsts" with her. I know I appreciated them with my other three as well but for some reason being the "seasoned" Mommy that I am :) I am savoring all of the joys and experiences on a d

eeper level with Gracie. Here are some of the firsts that she has enjoyed in her short 4 months in the McMillan Family:

first airplane ride

first family vacation (Mexico 2010)

first time swimming and walking on the beach (well crawling)

first popcicle (did not like very much)

first trip to the park - playing on the grass, swing, slide, etc...

first time at the public pool (thinks she is a fish)

first trip to the zoo (waved at every animal and waited for a wave back)

first Easter egg hunt (cold, cold, cold)

first boating trip (the water was still freezing and she insisted on getting in)

first peanut butter and jelly sandwich (loves it)

first ice cream cone (rejected - we will work on it)

first time at Mc Donalds (loves french fries - definately a McMillan)

first photo shoot! (more of these pics to come)

And so many more I can't begin to list them all. We are having a blast and Grace is such a joy!

What a "BLESSING"

Last Sunday was Grace Demot's blessing day. She looked so adorable in her white dress and we had such a great time with family and friends afterward. Her Father gave her the most beautiful blessing, Morgan played a beautiful rendition of "I am a child of God" and there was not a dry eye in the room. Every day I am more and more amazed at how blessed we are to have her in this family. Every day I am more and more grateful for the gift we have been given and every day I am more and more in love with this little child. She is such a sweet soul and brings so much joy to this home. I am amazed at how well she has adjusted and each day she teaches me and reminds me of the pure gifts that love can bring.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you God for this amazing child!

Muy Bonita'!

My Spanish is a bit shaky but Very Beautiful was our annual trip to Mexico this year. I was a little scared taking Grace so soon after bringing her home (customs, first vacation, water, water and more water, strange bed etc...). When am I going to learn to stop being afraid and live in the moment? We had such an amazing trip. Grace was an absolute gem and had such a fun time. She was wonderful on the airplane and entertained people with her new laugh, smile and famous parade wave. My wonderful husband stayed at home to work/play/golf and we went with my Mother. Everything about the trip was a blast. We had so much fun running with Grace on the beach in her new fancy, smancy stroller. We took fun adventures everyday and played in the water all day too. Grace took her naps under the shade umbrellas everyday (just like my other 3 kids have done in years past), that's when I would kick back, put on the sunscreen and relax! My other three hoodlems ran amuk entertaining themselves and playing hard. We spent 7 days 6 nights with the culmination being Mother's Day. My kids shopped with my Mom and bought me a darling heart necklace and made me the greatest card ever. My Mom and I totally enjoyed the day of NO COOKING or entertaining anyone except ourselves. We ate breakfast on the porch and lunch at the beach and dinner on the beach. What a wonderful trip. I have posted a few pics of the trip and can't wait to go back! This post would not be complete without me telling a quick tidbit about Grace - She was a movie star in Mexico. Seriously people (strangers) would stop me on the street, in the stores at restaurants to hold her, kiss her and take her picture. I felt like.... Madonna.... well sort-of, you know what I mean. My 8 year old son got so sick of it he would walk away and say "not again". I thought about charging people to take a look but that has got to be illegal - RIGHT? Hmmmm

Walk This Way!

Grace has liftoff! She started standing up about 2 weeks ago and today

she took about 10 or more steps on her own... As you can tell it has been

a family milestone. Please note that I do call her "Jaba". Carter and I were playing

Star Wars with Grace prior to her walking to him and he decided she

was Jaba the Hut??? I know, I know, she should be Princess Lea but Carter

wanted her to be Jaba. Go figure...

Short but Sweet

I have not been a good blogger lately and I am ok with that because life is just to busy but I do want to give a quick short but sweet update on Grace. She is amazing and fabulous and such a sweet heart. I honestly can't believe she is so absolutely perfect. Sometimes she is so good that I forget she is there. She smiles and waves and laughs and brings so much joy to so many people I honestly can't remember what life was like before her! I worried so much about bonding and my life being disrupted and my children being ignored or bent out of shape and none of that has come to pass. I am truly grateful for her, she is a gift. Today Shane passed by her room while we were playing and he stopped and said "Oh my goodness, I honestly can't believe how much I love her". He is smitten... She has grown a lot, her hair is growing and her wrists are getting a little chubby - I love that! She is a super crawler and soon to walk. She has learned very quickly how to scream to get her own way - and she gets it! She sings and dances, especially to Ethiopian music. She loves her bath, except when she is tired. She knows how to say "mama, dada, baba, hi". She know the dog says "ruff" and the cat says "meow". It is adorable to watch her share her dinner with the dog - one for me one for you! She is so dang cute, people stop me wherever we go to tell me that. Here are some pictures of her and of coarse my other amazing children....

Most Embarrassing Moment!

I had to share this moment so it will be written and saved for future reference at family parties and with Grace when she is a Mommy of a little one and has something similar happen to her. I will be right there with her to say - "Oh the joys of Motherhood" and then retell this story to her. Here it is a new most embarrassing moment: I am bottle feeding her and today at church we had just settled down in the pew, she was drinking her bottle with her new dress, bow, shoes and my sassy new short as a boy haircut (yes we were in the middle and close to the front) when during the silence of the prayer I could tell she was sucking REALLY hard and was not getting anything. So, I carefully pried the bottle from her cute little mouth (before the Amen) to let the nipple fill back up and let the huge amount of sucking pressure out of the bottle. I found it strange when the nipple and bottle made a loud popping noise but put the bottle back in her mouth and closed my eyes for the Amen. Then I felt a warm, wet sensation on my legs, looked up and a huge hole had exploded in her bottle and 8oz of formula was running down her neck and onto a very embarrassing place on my skirt. Panicking I took the bottle out said "Oh my gosh" people looked, Grace started crying and I could not move because it looked like I had peed my pants (or worse!) My legs were completely wet, I could feel the back of my skirt getting wet and my husband could not find the car keys in our enormous diaper bag. The whole time he is looking for the keys my oldest daughter is saying "Mom get her out of here" and my youngest is crying because he wants to come home with me and to add to the stress my sweet husband, worried about my salvation :) is saying come right back! Remember it has been 8 years since we did the baby thing and I was NOT going back to church in a different outfit after that big ol scene...I had to run out of the chapel with milk running down my legs and I am sure the back of my skirt looking like I had had a major explosion of some kind. Oh the joys of Motherhood.

Wedding Announcement Picture!

I honestly don't know why arranged marriages went out of style in this country, I think it is a fantastic idea. Who better to choose a partner for my kids than yours truly. Now they might not like the choice but who cares! With that being said here is my choice for Grace Demot. This is Simon and he is a true blue angel. He is also from Ethiopia and in fact Sele Enat where Grace spent time. The most important thing is I really like his Mom and Dad (in laws are very important). So here is a picture of them together right before Grace hit him in the face :(. He took it like a man... By the way we will be serving Mac and Cheese at the wedding lunch, it is clearly her favorite.

Cute video of Grace Demot

Grace is doing remarkably well. I am finally into some sort of routine and we are loving every minute with her. I am so surprised at how well my youngest is doing with Grace. Carter has been such a big help and so kind. She loves him and smiles so big whenever he comes near her. I am surprised at how happy and smart she is. This video is only a sampling of her "tricks". She is picking up on so many things and loves the attention she gets from everyone we know. She is awake now so I must go, naptime is precious...

Favorite Foto Friday (or whatever you call it)

I have come to grips with the fact that Photos are going to be all I post until I get a hang of this babyhood lifestyle again! Anyway the photos are darling, favorite and fabulous. Grace is fitting right in, she's got lots of McMillan "spunk".

For your viewing pleasure...

I don't have time to post a lot, mommyhood of a baby is harder than I remember! Grace Demot is doing wonderfully and I am recovering from jetlag and lots of loving visitors very slowly... I am posting some cute pictures for now and will post more later.