#Miller6Pack

First time decorating Christmas cookies since coming home with her forever family in August.

We decided to cut our own Christmas tree this year. Here we are at the Rusty Gate Tree Farm...about 45 minutes from home. The cousins "ride" on the tree. The girls "help" dad carry the tree to the car. We visited the "North Pole" (in Coeur d'Alene) and saw this beautiful display of lights. Gemma's first time decorating a Christmas tree! She's putting on her own ornament. Gracie gets to place the angel on the top! Gracie and her BFF at her school's Christmas concert. A little nervous just moments before showtime. Owen and Gemma anxiously await the music. Gracie in action! Sisters after the show. Next it's Gemma's turn...in front of the tree at her school's Christmas concert. Gemma had quite a bit of stage fright and didn't sing much. But we're proud of her for hanging in there and standing with her class through all of the songs!! I think she was relieved when it was all over. Gracie loves to frost cookies! She's sho...

Gotcha Day was 4 months ago today. It was a rough day. Not gonna lie. Simon and I both expressed recently that we had some grave doubts about Gemma's transition into our family because of how hard that day was. We were in it for the long haul no matter what--we just had fears that her attachment would be HARD. But I underestimated God's power and the prayers of His people. He was at work in Gemma--and in us--the second we met. Even before. And slowly, but surely... Gemma started to warm up to us; come out of her shell; trust us. If I had known how WELL she would be doing just 4 short months in our family, I could have lived through A HUNDRED Gotcha Days. Thank you, Jesus! This smiling, funny, precious little girl is just a beautiful flower--opening more and more each day. God is so good. All.the.time.

I copied this idea from a couple of other blogs I read. But I thought it was a cute idea, so I decided to do my own version of "Favorite Things." Maybe it will give you some Christmas ideas for the women in your life. This is my ABSOLUTE GO TO hoodie. It's cute, soft and comfy, and it spreads the Word of God to whomever reads it. You can find it--and lots of other CUTE tees--at wildolivetees.com . This is my favorite makeup/foundation from Bare Escentuals. Yes, it's pricey. BUT...I only have to order it once every 6 months, so the price averages out to be similar to some other foundations I've tried in the past. It's a powder/cream that sits lightly on the skin and blends very well. Love it! My favorite eye shadow is Physician's Formula "Canyon Classics." It has 4 shades in the brown family that have a little sparkle to them. I love to use the darkest shade to line my eyes, and then fill the rest of my eyelid in with the lightest--highlight--shad...