Play Date With Mia and Jadyn

Today we finally got together with the Tucker's and the McMahan's. It was SOOOOO good to see everyone. It's hard to believe how much our kiddos have grown. I haven't seen Jadyn since the night they arrived home from India. She is such a cutie and is developing so well. She has a sweet little personality. She was very quite when she first got to our house. Partly because she had just woken up and our crazy dog Molly was barking incessantly. She finally warmed up (or woke up)...and she's PRECIOUS. She's tiny, but can certainly hold her own with Ian and Mia.

Miss Mia...wow...what a doll. This little one has a very, very special place in our heart. As everyone knows, she and Ian were side by side in the orphanage until Ian came home. God is so good. Who would have thought that these two orphanage pals would be a mere 100 miles apart in Oklahoma. It's a God thing. She came in blowing kisses and saying hi. She shook Ian's hand a little later and said "how you?" They gave each other lots of hugs and kisses throughout the day (with a little prompting from us).

Ian...well today he was a bit cranky. He learned a new word today....NO....and he used it a lot. He loved seeing everyone at our house. He had to show off for everyone when they first arrived. Then he just wanted to play. He's loves to have fun and he's such a happy little guy....most of the time.

We played at the house for a little while and then loaded up our cars and headed for the Zoo. It was a bit overcast today, but the breeze was great. We didn't get to the Zoo until about 3:30 and there were not very many people there....which made it nice. Ian wanted to constantly be moving. Not much stopping for anything. We tried several times to get great pictures of the three of them...but usually Mr. Ian started throwing one of his lovely little fits and screaming "walk" (he wanted us to walk...not him). We got the kids out of the strollers to let them play on the playground for a little while. The slide was the favorite for all three of them. Mia can climb the steps on the big slide all by herself.

Most of the animals were inside their habitats...so we didn't get to see a lot of things. But....by this time (it was almost 6:00pm) the Zoo was closing. Plus....we (the adults) were starving. We left the Zoo and headed to India Palace for dinner. Ian was tired and fell asleep in the car on the way. He was wide awake when we stopped the car and got him out.

It went well at first...then Ian decided he'd had enough. He ate a little...mostly "rios". He wanted to get up and walk around. He did for a little while and then we got a different chair (a regular one). That seemed to help for a few minutes. Bottom line...all 3 kiddos were tired. We had done a lot in a short amount of time. Plus Jadyn and Mia traveled quite a ways to Tulsa. We finally finished dinner. The momma's were all outside with the kids while the daddy's paid our checks. The food was great...but it just takes too long to get it. By the time we get our food, the kids have had it and are ready to go.

Overall, it was a great day. We all experienced a melt down or two with our kids today, but that's to be expected. Mia and Jadyn and just beautiful and so, so sweet.

We are so blessed to have these great people in our lives. We all waited a long time for our wonderful kiddos and through that wait God led us to one another. We all laughed and cried with one another through the agonizing wait to travel to India. We prayed for one another and praised God for the amazing blessings he gave us. We might not be able to get together every day...or every week...but we're all close enough that our kids can grow up near one another. How great is that?