Black and White Wednesday

This picture shows an expression we sometimes see when Hope is a little scared. She still to this day does not like standing on uneven ground. I wonder how many times she looked scared before she came home to be with her family. It just makes me want to hold her and tell her she is safe.

Gotcha Day (2 years later)

January 14 2008 was a wonderful day. Hope was very scared and upset for a while, she learned quickly that we loved her and had us wrapped around her little finger before we knew what was happening. I will never forget the moment I first got a glimpse of her.

Ronnie's expression tells it all. I could not take my eyes off of her. We actually saw her across the room toddling around before they walked her over to us...we have a video I'll post someday where you can hear me crying at the sight of her. Happy tears!!

Hope wearing her "Gotcha Day" clothes (well one layer of them). The outfit was quite big as you can see in the photos, both the top and bottom were rolled up quite a bit. The photos here were some that we took for our Christmas card this year. We were afraid she would not put the clothes back on but she did for the first time wear them again...I think we may go have some photos taken if I can get her back into it.

One happy little girl...Our precious Hope Marie...almost 2 years later!

" Thank you Lord for bringing her into our lives"

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

Click Here to read about Hopie's very special Christmas Eve with her family.

We had to wake her up Christmas morning..

When Ronnie carried her into the living room on Christmas morning this is what she saw. A lot of STUFF!!

When we would ask Hope what she really wanted for Christmas she would say, "you know that flippin' race car!!" Or as we found out it is really called the "Tonka Bounce Back Racer". See that smile? If anyone wonders whether the commercials on Dora, Kai Lan, and Max and Ruby reach their target audience....yes they do!

Black and White Wednesday

Hope and I went for a walk yesterday. This is one of my favorite photos of the day.

My Daughter the Anarchist

One afternoon before Christmas I dropped Becky off at a shop and Hope and I waited in the car in a no parking zone. Becky came back out to tell me that the shop owner said that the police often gave tickets to people parking there, even while waiting in the car. I agreed to drive around the block a few times until Becky was finished. This turn of events raised a lot of questions for Hope and here is kind of how it went:

Hope: “Dad, What is a ticket”?

Me: “It’s a piece of paper saying that you have violated the law.”

Hope: “Dad, what does violate mean”?

Me: “It means that you did something wrong, something that was against the rules”.

Hope: “Dad, what happens if you get ticket”?

Me: “Well, you have to go to the city hall and pay a fine, or mail the money for the fine to city hall.”

Hope: “Dad, if the policeman gives us a ticket I will just tear it up and stomp on it, and say we don’t want any tickets”! (She is making fierce faces and motions when she says this.)

Me: “Well Hope, that wouldn’t be a wise thing because the policeman would then probably take me to jail”.

Hope: “Do they take daughters to jail too”? (With some concern)

Me: “No, only dads or moms.”

Hope: “Who would take care of me”? (With real concern)

Me: “First of all Hope, it’s not going to happen, but if it did they would wait until Mom came out to stay with you. They don’t leave little children alone”.

Hope: “Would you have any food in jail, how you eat”? (Always concerned about food)

Me: “Yes, they feed people that are in jail, there is plenty of food”.

Hope: “Dad, if they put you in jail, I get Mama and my sisters and we go bust in the jail and say turn my Daddy loose”! (Again with the fierce faces and swinging her arms and fists)

Me: “Hope, you don’t have to worry, I am not going to jail because I plan on obeying the law. I am not going to tear up a ticket if the policeman gave me one and you are not either).

Hope: “I might.” ( Followed by low key muttering and vague threats)



I swear I don't know why she comes up with stuff like this. It may be that orphanage life made her feel helpless and now she wants to exert strength. A few weeks ago she answered the phone and told a telemarketer to stop calling us and to take us off their calling list. She had heard Becky do that once and repeated it almost verbatim with a little more firmness. She continually amazes and amuses us.

Ronnie