5 Months Home

They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words"...so I will let them do the talking...

Enjoy lil' Miss Vika Grace

 

 

He loves you, he loves you not...

He loves you!!

 

This is my baby girl (2.5 weeks ago), after being home nearly 5 months (tomorrow will mark 5 months, in the states).  Isn't she the most precious lil' girl?!?!?!  I am so blessed to call her my daughter.  She brings me great joy...her smile in contagious and can light up a room.  She is a remarkable lil' girl and I thank God that He chose me to be her mama. 

Cows are Purple...the Cause for a Educational Trip to the Farm

Today, was Vika's first trip to the farm.  Yes, she's been to the zoo, but my lil' girl was needing a trip to the farm for a lil' education on cows.  Miss Vika believed cows were purple...yes, you read that correctly...PURPLE!  Now, let me backup...Vika was given a very special purple cow, which she loves dearly.  And with this cow came the belief that cows are really purple, simply because SHE HAS A PURPLE COW!  Vika is a lil' "hard headed" like her mama and wanted nothing to do with the comment, "Vika cows are not purple...they are black, white and brown."  O no..."they are purple, mama and I have a purple cow to prove it!!!"

So...this evening, we took a lil' trip out to the Nana's farm where Vika saw loshit (horses) and cows.

Staying close to Nana...a lil' unsure of things

Looking at the horse

Okay, ready to pet it ;)

It's a nice horse!

This is my fav!!!!  Vika with her Nana in the barn!

petting Tino in the barn

filling up the water buckets

helping Nana fill the horses' water bucket

Nana giving Vika her first lesson on drinking from a hose

Vika giving it a try!  She was successful!

Sitting on her first tractor

Where's the music at??

O well, no music, but I still like it up here

Petting the colt...only six weeks old, and getting so big!

Rex holding the baby colt for Vika to pet

And now...in the back of the truck we go, to find us some cows!!!!

and we're off...

There they are!!  But not a purple cow in sight.

 

 

 

Rex carrying her to get a closer look...those cows are not purple

At the end of the evening...if you ask Vika what color cows are...she'd tell you  BLACK...and...PURPLE with a GREAT BIG GRIN on her beautiful face!!!!!  This is why I love my baby girl!!!

My First Mother's Day as a Mama

I didn't give you the gift of life,

But in my heart I know,

The love I feel is deep and real, 

As if it had been so. 

For us to have each other 

Is like a dream come true! 

No, I didn't give you 

The gift of life, 

Life gave me the gift of you.

Four years ago, a 23 year old gave birth to a baby girl. Although, I'm sure she wanted more then anything to raise this child, she couldn't. She loved her enough to give her up, with the hope she would find a family who could love her baby girl unconditionally and provide for her in ways she couldn't.  After waiting three and a half years, this precious child met her mama and four months later (a month after her fourth birthday), she left the orphanage with her mama.  That child is my daughter Vika.

Driving away from the orphanage 12/13/2011

Today, I am so thankful she chose to give Vika life and has allowed me to be her mama.  When I became a mama, I expected I would love her.  I wasn't prepared to experience love in a whole new way, a way I never knew existed.  When I became a mama, I expected to care about her well-being, but have found that caring for her has become the most important thing in my life.  Teaching and preparing her eternal soul, is the greatest responsibility with the most promising reward attached.  When I became a mama, I thought I knew about life, but she has taught me about a whole new world--one where hopes and dreams are new, where sacrifices of mamahood have called me to be more than I ever imagined I could be, and where I finally began to understand the purpose of life.

Today, I was surrounded by some of the most precious people in my life.  Justin, his parents, and sister all drove 2.5 hours to be with us, this morning.  Today, Vika was dedicated at Grace, and I committed before the Lord and my church family to raise Vika in accordance to God's Word and His ways.  

After church, we had a nice lunch, followed by a trip to Dillion Nature Center, and Braums for ice cream.  It was a perfect first Mother's Day.  The only thing missing was having my mom here with me. 

God is abundantly gracious!

Daddy?!?!

It’s Wednesday…I race out the door, keys and cell phone in one hand, purse and computer bag swung over my shoulder, and Vika’s lil’ hand grasping my other hand.  As I lock the door behind us, we quickly pile into the car, and pull outta the driveway.  Typical morning thus far…no problems…just rushing to get Baby Cakes to daycare and myself to work, in a timely fashion.  It seems like I’m always rushing these days. 

Back up, throughout my ten-month journey to bring home my daughter, I was repeatedly asked if I had truly thought through what I was doing…not so much the adoption, but choosing to become a single-mother.  “What kind of father figure was this lil’ girl going to have?  Every child deserves a father, Rachel, and you’re taking that opportunity away from her.  How selfish can you really be?  You are making the biggest mistake of your life!  You will pay for this, until the day you die!”  Yup, those were SOME of the hateful, unsupportive, naïve comments people insisted I NEEDED to hear.  Obviously, I didn’t listen…and thankfully I had more people standing alongside me, supporting me throughout my journey to mamahood, than those trying to “save” me from making a mistake.

Back to the hurried drive to Vika’s daycare…all 1.4 miles of it…Vika is sitting in her booster seat, bouncing her purple cow on her lap, as we go through the rules at daycare.  And then…It just broke my heart to hear that little voice ask from the back seat of the car, speak words I will never forget - "Momma, where’s my daddy?  LJ has a daddy.  Where is Vike’s daddy?" 

Yes, my four-year-old baby girl has realized that she is “missing” something the other kids at daycare have.  I knew the question would eventually happen, but I didn’t expect it this early, and honestly, I was hoping she would have a daddy before she realized he was “missing”.  No such luck with my smart, lil’, observant daughter. 

I sat…stunned…unsure of how to respond.  I wasn't prepared for this moment at all.  I had no response ready and simply said, “huh?”  Vika repeated her question, as though I hadn’t heard her the first time.  I responded with a simple response, “it’s just you and me Vike.  But your mama loves you o so much! And so does your dedushka and papa.”  Bless her heart, she gave her cow a hug and said, “I love you too, mama.”  *tears*

All day, I couldn’t get Vika’s sweet innocent voice outta my mind:  “Momma, where’s my daddy?”  And apparently, God decided to give me another opportunity to “properly” respond to her question, because the next morning as we were getting ready for the day, Vika walked into the bathroom, looked right into my eyes and said, “mama, me no daddy?  Me only a mama.”  After a few seconds of feeling helpless, I remembered I had a response!  I put the toilet seat down, picked Vika up, and holding her sweet lil’ face in my hands, I shared the truth with her…as abstract as it is…I told her that she indeed DOES HAVE a DADDY and that His name is Jesus.  I could see the lil’ wheels turning, as she tried to comprehend what I had just told her.  Seconds later, she responds, “Jesus?  Thank you Jesus for my food, Jesus?  Mama, Jesus is my daddy?”  “Yes, that Jesus.  He is your daddy.  And He is always here with you.”  So now (well the last 5 nights), when she prays before bed, she talks to her daddy.  It is the most precious thing ever! 

I’m sure she doesn’t fully comprehend what I said, but I planted a seed to be harvested later.  But for those who thought I was doing her a “disservice” by not providing her with a family consisting of a mama and daddy…she has something even better than an earthly daddy…she is building a relationship with her Heavenly Daddy, and in His timing, He will provide her with an earthly daddy as well. 

I can't conclude this post without sharing a resent picture of her sweet lil' face.  My BIG blessing from my Heavenly Daddy!  Home for four and a half months and is full of love for life!