Sweet Gifts

During the last week we have received such kind gifts from our friends who care for us and are excited about Ellie's impending arrival. I wanted to share the photos I've taken of them.

These are from our friends Stu, Allison who are picking up their Hotdog a week before we go to pick up Ellie. They have become such good friends and have shared so much with us during this process. We are so fortunate to have met them and to have gotten to take this journey with them.

So, check out this Elephant towel, embroidered with her name. Every time I look at it, I laugh. There is a purple fuzzy tuft on top of his head and a tail! Fun!! They also sent two "Ellie-phant" bibs, PRINCESS shoes (can you believe it???) and a cool UK shirt for Josh. Since Josh got it out, wore it and got it dirty, I didn't include it in this photo. Thank you so much for including Josh. It meant a lot to him!

And my dear friend from church, Makayla, who was in my AWANA class, and who is just the prettiest girl I know, sent a gift home with Kevin on Sunday. Inside was the most beautiful blanket with Ellie's name embroidered on it. It is just exquisite.

Joshua's 4th grade teacher (and hubby), Kathy and Steve, go to our church. She has been such a blessing in our lives in so many ways. She has been so excited about Ellie, asking about her all the time and then getting a gift for her!! The bib is really cool with a crumb catcher; I know that's definitely going to come in handy. She also gave Ms. Ellie a Baby Einstein DVD and an Elmo tub faucet cover. All very much appreciated and, from past history, things we know we are going to use and love.

Penny and Dwayne also go to our church. Penny was the director for AWANA when I was teaching so we've spent countless Sunday nights together. She got Ms. Ellie a very soft stuffed lamb with a picture frame that says, "You are Loved". Is anything any more true?? I'm going to add the lamb to her cradle with her other dolls and stuffed animals. I know she is going to love it!!

The Fed-Ex, UPS and USPS have been busy around our house as of late as we've gotten packages almost every day for the past few days. I've gotten a few of my last needed items on Ebay the last few days. I purchased a Maya Wrap and it came yesterday. Today I tried it out and used the above photographed Elephant towel as my "pretend" baby. Allison called while I was doing this and we had a great laugh about it. I didn't want to use the cat for more than the obvious reason that they would have had a nervous breakdown, but also because I didn't want cat hair all over it. Here's a stock photo of the one I got.

We also were fortunate that Kevin got an Amazon gift card and we have used it get the Boppy Bouncer. It came this week as well.

And, today, Joshua got a package (that was even addressed to him!!) from my former Secret Santa pal, J. We were both attempting to adopt from Vietnam and now she has adopted her daughter domestically and we are about to come home with Ellie from Kryg, so, even though neither of us got what we planned, I'd venture to guess that we are both thrilled to have the daughters that we have. I truly hope Ellie is as happy as her daughter E, appears to be!! Anyway, here I am off track again. J. is always so kind to send Josh Minnesota Vikings items. He LOVES it. Today he got a really cool Vikings shirt and knit cap. He put the cap on in the car as soon as I picked him up. I explained it was 90* out and he should wait, but he loved it SO much, he couldn't wait. I don't have photos of it yet, but will post soon.

And, finally, we got a check in the mail from a friend who lives in our neighborhood. She has been a strong supporter of our adoption for so long and gave us lots of things for our yard sale. She said she just wanted to help. It never ceases to amaze me when I stop and think of all the many people who have been so kind and so generous to us during this process. When I want to get depressed about any aspect of this process, I have to stop and think of all the support and all the friends and family who made this happen. There is no way we could have done this alone. We are blessed beyond measure.