My big 3 year old

Sidney turned 3 Thursday, and Wednesday was two years since receiving her referral. On Wednesday, I was thinking back on the special day, and on my FaceBook page wrote, "the rollercoaster left the gate, and we were in for the ride of our lives!" We are honored each day God chose us to be her parents.

I am done with the sappy stuff. My livingroom is a mass of balloons. I love taking the kids to the florist for balloons on their birthday. OK, I will admit it. I like foil balloons just as much as my kids. We ran into a woman from our congregation. Our church is just large enough, we don't recognize everyone, but everyone recognizes our family. After choosing Hello Kitty, the woman in back began filling an additional balloon "to keep the arrangement nice.....so she has something to bat around."

I laugh at people's perceptions of Sidney. They see Sidney as this adorable, sweet little girl. And I don't deny, she is adorable and sweet, however they don't know the spunkiness of this little chili pepper. She is downright tough. Tom and I have zero worries about her being bullied.

Sidney has definitely softened over the last almost two years. This might sound like a terrible thing to say, but if you read my blog, you know I am completely honest and open. The first day we met Sidney, I was totally taken aback at her tough appearance. She looked like she wasn't to be messed with. It is not the stoic stare we all know. It is a worldliness and a weariness which should never be on the face of a child. What a joy and inspiration to watch this change.



 OK off to finish preparing for continued birthday festivities tomorrow. One Hello Kitty cake totalling three hours work is prepared. Yes, I make my own. Each year, as I am elbow deep in food coloring and frosting, I vow it is the last, muttering under my breath the next year we are buying a cake. The next year roles around but I continue. I am too stubborn to stop attepting to inprove my technique. Of course technique is a word one might use if they had a skill. The frosting is masking a multitude of errors.