Turn And Face The ...

Once again ... you have to click the link to hear what's playing in my head while I'm writing this. Here is it ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSTfaQytLEU

Today is Zo Zo's birthday ... her first birthday on U.S. soil. We are planning a "Moe Moe" party ... That's "Elmo" for those of you who don't "speak toddler."

I'm just sitting here on the computer, wasting a few minutes ... downloading pics and looking at old ones from a year ago. Also, I'm thinking how much Zoe's changed already (thus, the song from Shrek about Changes ... remember it plays when Shrek and Donkey make their big change become handsome?). Just a little bit ago, she was a baby who didn't know what was happening to her. Now, she's changed into a little toddler girl with ideas of her own and a family that she loves very much.

I'm attending a Bible study for moms this fall and one of my favorite lessons was on instilling the idea in your child that your child's birth was no accident. Quite a task for the abandoned baby. At first, I thought that this idea was impossible for Zoe. In fact, I thought that the idea might make her feel worse about her beginnings ... but then, I've been thinking about the idea of God's hand in everything ... how long I first wished for her ... then prayed for her ... and then planned for her ... and then waited for her ... how many people have embraced her ... what she may accomplish in her life. Wow! In that light, Zoe's birth was certainly no accident in my life.

I'm saying a prayer today (as I always will each year) for her birth mom and dad ... but especially her birth mom. I am sure that Zoe's birth mom thinks about her every day and, even more so, on her birthday ... how tough it must have been to place her in a basket and give her up to an orphanage knowing that you'd never have any chance to see her again or even to know what happened to her. I pray that God provides the birth parents with comfort today even if they don't know God ... that He will place His Spirit upon them and let them know in their hearts that Zoe is loved.

Okay, enough depressing/mushy stuff ... Enjoy the pictures and music! :)

Zoe got a new Elmo backpack but she didn't want me to photograph her with it ... so, she spent quite a bit of time running from me and closing her eyes when I tried to snap a picture ... all in fun, of course ... she was laughing at me the whole time! When we got ready to take Jackson to school, I snapped a picture of her ... to leave home, she has to take her favorite doggie rattle, favorite blankets, favorite pillow, a toy or two and, today, her new backpack! :)

The picture of Jackson is from Toys R Us. We made a stop there for the Ratatouille movie ... We loved that movie at the theatre ... so I'm hoping that it will make for some fun entertainment tonight.