Professional Pictures, Part 1...

Unfortunately, it was sweltering on Sunday, so we had to cut our photo session short, but the photographer was excellent and was able to get a few potential keepers, like the one above.

Yes, I know, they are gorgeous.

First Haircuts 05/22/2012

Since I was growing weary of the bedraggled state of the girls' hairdos, I decided it was time to give them a little style.  Poppi's sideburns would have made Elvis swoon and the Zohawk was getting a little too high and could take your eye out if one wasn't careful, so off we went for a little clip clip here and a clip clip there.  As is the case with most of our outings, they took it all in stride.  They were so patient and there were no tears and no squirming; I am so grateful for such mild-mannered little girls.

Three hour tour...5/20/2012

We left our house at around 8:30 (the early bird gets the best parking spot), did our usual drive by

observations (we even had to rush past the giant tortoises, and since they move verry slooow, we didn't get to observe them doing much, so the girls probably were wondering why we were making them stare at giant rocks :).

Then it was on to the elephants, well, elephant in this case.

 Gazing at an elephant from afar (not really sure if they even knew what they were looking for)

Smelly, hot and full of sleepy orangutans :)

A shady spot perfect for a mid-morning snack.

The girls did so well on their sojourn to the zoo.  They were patient and easy-going (except when we went into the Panda observatory, it was a little too chaotic and dark for their tastes.  

Three minutes was enough for them, so we followed their lead and went on our way to the lions, and tigers and bears, oh my.)  What a wonderful day.

We're Off to the Zoo...

We've been preparing for a week, reading zoo books, singing zoo songs, and doing zoo puzzles, 'cuz "we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo."  Stay tuned...will be back with pictures and commentary.

Full Circle...

I began my journey to motherhood in March of 2006, two years and four months after having lost my own mother.  When I lost my mother, my heart felt as though it had been punctured and its essence was seeping from my soul.  From 2003 until I met my daughters, it was as if I was listing constantly to one side, deflated and barely breathing.

During those years of waiting for our adoption to culminate, I could not seem to catch my breath; each time I tried to breath deeply and remind myself that the wait would one day end, the wait lengthened and sucked the life right back out of me.  But, alas, I am my mother's daughter and she did not raise a quitter.  I persevered and made good on the commitment I made in my heart to a child known only to God.  (And, as it turned out, God saw my unwavering will to carry on and shined his especial favour upon me in the form of two resplendent twin girls.)

While I can breathe a little easier having made it to my very first Mother's Day, that breath would be so much sweeter if my mother were here to see the radiance of my daughters' smiles.  However, my soul is revivified when I look at these tiny little beings and see so much of her in them, despite their having no degree of consanguinity to her.  Zoë has my mother's lips and quiet resolve.  Poppi has her easy, exuberant laughter and an abiding love of music.  They both have her gentle spirit.  They also share one other very important quality with her, she too was a twin.  There are so many other similarities that I can only believe that they are the proverbial bread crumbs being left for me by my mother to ensure that I know that she walks with me as I endeavor to find my way along the pathway of motherhood, which as we all know is not always clearly marked.

As I reflect on the short time during which I have been a mother, I conclude that I am grateful that my daughters have taken my perforated heart and patched it with their sweetness and lilting laughter.  I am grateful also to a mother who loved me unconditionally and left with me with a legacy of well taught life lessons, each of which I will teach to my daughters under my mother's watchful celestial eye.

First Taste of Ice Cream - 4/29/12

Happy Birthday to my Truly Scrumptious.  She is the champion of my causes, the soother of my tattered soul and the gate keeper to all things sacred.  She loves me just as I am and loves my girls even more.

A Beautiful Day for Picture Taking...

Sunday, April 29, 2012 - The weather - gorgeous;  the setting - an old Georgian mansion on a plantation with manicured gardens; and the subjects - cooperative and tolerant.  I couldn't bear to edit out any of them, I love them all, even if they aren't perfectly lit,  framed, etc.

 Love the  ones with Daddy.