Just a little Ava love for ya

Lots to share...

There has been so much going on with us and so many changes I'm not sure where to start.  We'll start with Ava news...
Ava is doing soooo well.  She really really is.  She's growing into such a mature little girl so fast which is so fun but, like every parent, I want her to stay little forever. 
- Ava is learning how to use a communication device.  We haven't gotten one for home yet but she uses it daily at school to communicate.  Her teacher tells me that she is using it to answer questions and to express how she is feeling.  The happy button is used most frequently we are told :-)  Yesterday when I dropped her off her communication device was sitting at the table.  At the door I stopped to say bye bye and I love you.  I couldn't believe my ears when I heard "bye bye. I love you." coming from her machine.  This little one shows me every day how much she loves me and she tries very hard to tell me in her sweet sweet little voice (which is one of her clearer phrases by the way).  But hearing it so clearly and seeing the smile on her face when she realized that she had just communicated to me what was in her heart to say...that was awesome!  I am so looking forward to seeing her become more proficient on this device and giving her the voice that she longs for.    
- When we got home from Kaz, Ava was starved for attention and absoultely craved time with us alone.  When we intorduced her to other chidren at first, she had no interest.  At the beginning of the school year her teacher told me that she keeps to herself and isn't really intersted in playing with others even when they try to play with her.  Well, that has all changed.  She still loves her Mommy and Daddy time but the girl has quite a busy social life and she just cannot get enough of her sweet little friends.  It's so much fun to see her with friends!!!  What a gift.  She is so well liked by other children b/c of her warm personality and now she is finally ready to accept their friendship as well.  She has one little best friend named Sophie in particular who is wonderful.  Sophie is a typical 5 year old and her mother is trained in Special Education.  She actually aids in Ava's class twice a week.  Sophie is such a blessing b/c her mother has educated her so well about how to treat those with special needs  The first time Sophie came to our house to play she said, "My mom told me not to talk to Ava like she's a baby...she's not a baby!  She also told me that she can do everything I can do but it just takes her a little longer.  Don't do things for her!"  Ha!  I was laughing and smiling big inside!  What a God send to have a parent and child who really get it!   

She is also a part time model for her mother who is still busy crafting and filling orders.

In family news...we are moving.  God provided us with a wonderful place to live.  It was totally a God thing...no doubt!  Our new house is located in our same town. so Ava can stay at her school and with her same therapists.  It is affordable for us and even has a loft that we can turn into the baby's room.  We are so thankful.  We move in about 1 week! 

We are greatly enjoying our Disneyland passes.  Still not getting old in the least! 

In pregnancy news...I am feeling like a human again!  I can eat, I can sleep, it's wonderful.  We find out the baby's gender in about 3 weeks.  We are very curious :-)

Look huge in this picture.  I'm really not that big yet...yikes

So, that's the latest in the Letterneau home.  Lots of good and exciting things going on. 

Big Driver

Watch out Disneyland guests...Ava's on the loose with her official Autopia license!

Burden

Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.
~David Platt, Radical
MMMM...so good...love that quote.  Could not be more true.  Everytime I see a picture of a child who is orphaned, or hear a story, I see Ava's face.  I cannot ignore the orphans of the world any longer because I have been forever changed by my daughter.  These are real children.  These children are as real as _________ (insert your sweet child's name here) 

Today I carry an extra burden for those left behind.  More than I do most days.  But let me say, I think of them every day.  I cry for them. I pray for them. 

This month is very special to our family for a few reasons.  In March 2009, we left for Kaz and met Ava for the first time.  In March, a full year later, we were finally given a positive desicion in court and became the official parents of Ava Darina Letterneau.  So, our adoption has been on my mind a lot lately because of these important dates.   

Sometimes I think of all the most important people in my life.  My family is at the top of that list without question.  I was so blessed a fortunate to be born to paretns who wanted me and could care for me.  That was not because of anything I did.  I think of those children who had no choice who they were born to or what situation their birth parents were in.  They didn't ask to be abandoned.  I wonder if those orphans who grow into adults ever wonder if there was someone out there who had room in their heart and home for a child, but never took that step.  I know I would wonder.  What is more important than having parents to love you and raise you?   How different would life be for these idividuals if they had that. 

I never ever ever want my words to come of as "patting myself on the back" for being such a good person who adopted a child.  That's not what I think and this is NOT about me...it's about them.  Really, with the purest heart and deepest love for God's children I say these things. 

I just had one of those great days with my family today was very much focused on my life and how blessed we are.  We got home and Ava went to her book shelf and pulled out the scrapbook of our time in Kaz.

Then I see those faces...Then I remember...and my heart sinks just a little.