2 year Gotchadanniversary

Yesterday marked 2 years since we met little M for the 1st time. We celebrated that and K's 9th birthday, which was Tuesday, with a visit to Pizza Street, a local pizza buffet. K and S loaded up on pizza and M begrudgingly ate 3 bites of pizza so she could have breadsticks, a cinnamon roll and some vanilla ice cream. I can't believe how quickly all my babies are growing up.

Potty training - Part III

Well, after months of seemingly no interest on the part of M, we are finally in the middle of potty training. She's doing pretty well. She's down to about 1-2 accidents a day. This morning we tried putting a pull-up on her and she ripped it off and told her dad she wanted to wear "big girl pants" (ie. training pants with rubber pants over them). She's doing a lot better about telling us when she has to go and she tells you yes, she has to go potty, if she does when you ask her.

The only thing is, when you ask her if she has to go potty and she doesn't, she gets exasperated with you. She says "already did" complete with hands on her hips, pouty lips and "can't you people give it a rest already" tone to her voice.

I am hopeful that by this summer, diapers may be a memory.

Two years ago today...

We boarded a plane bound for China to pick up M. I remember hardly being able to sleep the night before. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. Everything was ready. Everything was packed. Would she like us? Would we recognize her? How big would she be? What would it be like?

The funny thing is, just like when I gave birth to K and S. It was like time stood still for our trip to China. I feel as though I can close my eyes now, two years later, and be right there.

I was worried about bonding too. Would she feel like ours?

And she did. It was more instant than with my first two. They handed her to me. She cried for 20 seconds or so. I snuggled her close and hummed a low monotone sound and she stopped and laid her head on my shoulder, grasped me with her little hands and snuggled into me. I knew right then that she was our daughter. She was home.

I Don't Want to Write This Post...

I have been dreading writing this post since yesterday. I think writing it down makes it seem real, like it wasn't a dream. Sunday morning, my boss/mentor from my last job in Georgia died, along with her husband and another friend, in a tragic plane crash just outside of Atlanta. Christa was extremely talented, dedicated and loyal. She always encouraged me while pushing me to do my best and try even harder. She was an avid NASCAR fan and Jeff Gordon was her favorite driver. She took frequent mission trips to Russia and gave countless hours of her time to her home church.



When we were adopting M, Christa sent me the most supportive, awesome email and followed along on our blog. She and her husband did not have any children of their own, but she was a dedicated aunt and friend.

It doesn't seem fair and we are struggling to understand, but it has reminded us once again of how fragile and uncontainable life is. You never know when you will spend your last day on earth and you realize how important the important things are and how unimportant the unimportant things are.

I will miss you Christa and I hope to see you again someday:)

AJC - March 9, 2009

Carroll County authorities found the body of the pilot of a small airplane that crashed Sunday, killing three people on board. The body of Brian Kearney was recovered from a lake about 12:41 p.m. Monday, said Carroll County’s fire chief. Parts of the plane’s cockpit and its engine were also pulled from the lake early Monday afternoon. Earlier Monday, Carroll County authorities identified the three people killed when their NASCAR race-bound plane crashed near Carrollton.
They are Timothy Dean Miller, 40, of Woodstock; and Kearney, 51, and his wife Christa Kearney, 45, of Marietta. The bodies of Miller and Christa Kearney were recovered Sunday.

Christa Kearney, a real estate attorney, was a partner with Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco in Buckhead. Officials with the firm had no immediate comment on her death.
According to a bio posted on the firm’s Web site, Christa Kearney was “an avid sports fan, especially NASCAR.”
The bio also states that Mrs. Kearney had “made several trips to the former Soviet Union leading church projects that deal with land acquisition and rehabilitation.”


“They were very giving people,” said Williams of Miller and the Kearneys. “They were phenomenal, very active in our church. All had strong hearts for missions.”