Finally!

I am sorry for not updating our blog. Life has been busy and seems to continue on that course! God has blessed our family with a beautiful daughter, Ruth Naomi Dailey. She is 2 ish..at this point we are not sure of her exact age. I think we will have a bone scan done to make sure of her age.

She is such a Dailey! As each of our children have come into our lives, either through birth or adoption, God has so obviously placed them with us for a reason. As I find time, I hope to be able to share more examples of how God has been with us throughout each addition to our family.

Ruth is settling in with her new brothers and sisters. She is strong willed, funny, gentle, and a child of God. She has come from another land to live with her new family and I believe she will teach us all.

I know several families in the process of adopting or pregnant with their son or daughter. Our family prays for each of you as you wait for your children to be in your arms. I cannot express to you how it makes me feel when I hear my 6 year old thank God that Moses is home and prays specifically for the families waiting for their children.

I will try to upload photos when my technical support person has more time!..my eldest daughter ;)

Blessings
Monica

Visiting South Carolina

We all had an amazing time visiting our family in South Carolina. My parents and brother own quite a bit of property, where they raise cows, one horse and chickens :) My sister and 3 of her children stayed with my parents as well. It was a crowd but we all seemed to find a place to sleep.

We took a day to visit my grandmother who is 95. She was a blessing to me growing up. I could run up the hill to stay with my grandmother any time I wanted. I miss that for my children.

My sister and I celebrated our birthday as well.
We were born 2 years apart on the same day!
Pic. 1

My grandmother and Maria hit it off.
Pic 2

We actually got everyone to look at the camera.
Pic 3

My brother put a few of the gang to work washing
his truck
Pic 4

Joshua was able to help band a steer!
Pic 5

The Lord continues to bless our family especially through some difficult times. We are thankful for every gift and lesson learned.

Summer Fun!

This summer is filled with travel for some, lots of pool time, and many family and friends visiting our home. Lydia, our newest daughter, met her grandparents and cousins for the first time. After a few days of "observation" by Lydia , she has jumped right in to being spoiled by the grandparents and having a great time with her cousins, Sarah and Emma (both 11) and her cousin Alex (13).

Since my writing ability lacks creativity I will post some photos instead:)

This photo is a group of talented actors and
writers after a stunning performance.


SWIMMING!

Checkers with Opa is challenging.. Jakob LOVES to try to win.


Aunt Bunny took a few of the gang on a "field trip".


Jeremiah enjoyed his snuggle times with Aunt Bunny.


Maria and Joseph enjoy their watermelon by the pool.



We were blessed with a visit from Romana, the
director of Beacon House in Ghana, and her 3 beautiful children. I cannot express what it meant to our family to have Romana spend some time with us. God is using Romana to accomplish amazing tasks and she has been a huge part of our adoptions of Jeremiah, Maria, and Lydia


Lydia gave a few of us, including her grandmother some dancing instruction!


Joshua and his cousin Alex share their songs with us.

Lydia

Our wonderful daughter Lydia has been home for over 2 months now. She turned 10 years old just four days after coming home. We have all been blessed with her kind heart and joyful spirit!

Here are our two 10 year old daughters having a good time playing princess!

SNOW!!!

Today we had a beautiful snow... It was a first snow for Jeremiah and Maria. I so enjoyed watching them all work together to make a snow fort. They spent a total of 3 hours outside in the snow, finishing the day off with hot cocoa and scones YUM!

1. 

Adoption

Our first adopted child, was our son Jakob. He was a little over 2 years old when he came home from Vietnam. He was born with a cleft lip and palate. For the entire 2 years he was in Vietnam he suffered from malnutrition and skin disease. Jakob has a beautiful and strong spirit given to him by our Father. Jakob graduated from speech therapy when he was 5 and is a typical 1st grader. He has been and is an amazing gift to our family.

George , our second adopted son, came home from Vietnam at 6 months old. He is a sweet little boy, who loves baseball. He has had to eliminate all dairy and wheat from his diet. Surprisingly this has helped our entire family to eat a healthier and more varied diet :) George's favorite sport is baseball and he LOVES to play with his sister Maria.


Joseph, our third adopted son, came home from China. He was also a little over 2 when he came home. He was born with a cleft lip and palate. Joseph came home an introverted little boy who would not make eye contact. He has now blossomed into quite the comedian and enjoys playing with his siblings. Music, especially singing is his favorite pass time. Joseph continues to improve his speech and is making great progress.



Jeremiah and Maria came home from Ghana. They were both 5 years old when they came home. Jeremiah is quiet and loving. He is a gentle boy who enjoys pretending with his brothers--mostly playing cars and trains. Jeremiah has been an amazing addition to our family. He has fit right in with all of his siblings.

Maria is a VERY happy child. She is always laughing and loves to play dress up. That being said, she will also give her brothers quite a competition in soccer and baseball. Maria gets to share a room with her sister, Margaret Rose and loves it. Margaret Rose reads to her every night--Maria is usually asleep before the end of the story though.

If we are blessed to adopt another little one, he or she will be loved and cherished as a gift from our Father. We enjoy watching each child blossom and see where God has blessed them. Our goal is to provide them with the opportunites to use their gifts and talents to glorify God.

More Fun With Friends

A great game of baseball--Jeremiah up to bat!
George running for 2nd with our good friend waiting to tag him out:)
Rachel and her friend have some warm up practice (silly teenagers)
After the game photo OP...
Annelilese on the right and her best friend of 16 years....well it will be 16 years in about 2 weeks.
Where ever we have lived (we have moved often while James was in the Navy), we have been blessed with wonderful friends. Just recently we were able to visit with a family who we met for the first time over 16 years ago. Every time we are able to get together, it seems like we were never apart.

Our Home

Here are a few photos of our home.. it is a warm, and open place to live.

Education and Music

Our family is very focused on our children's education and love of music. Our oldest, Anneliese has been playing piano since she was 4 years old. Being homeschooled, she and our other children have been able to focus on different instruments, perform for competitions and at local nursing homes. Our daughter Rachel has been playing piano since she was 6 years old and also plays the classical harp. Joshua, who is 12, plays piano, but his love is the guitar. Margaret Rose, 9, plays piano and has just picked up the violin this year. Jakob, who is 7, has been learning the piano and seems to be a natural. Jeremiah, George, and Maria just began piano this year. They all enjoy singing and dancing.

James played piano as a child and through college. He enjoys jazz and playing gospel hymns , and many songs from different musicals. I, mom, cannot play or sing or dance,.. my job is to listen and I LOVE to do that:)

Time with Friends and Family

We enjoy every opportunity to spend time with friends and family. My sister and her family spend almost every summer with us. James brother and sister visit us on a regular basis. Since our recent move, we have been able to drive to South Carolina and spend time with grandparents and a Great Grandparent! not to mention our many other relatives and friends who also live in the are. Family and our wonderful friends are very important to us and our children. The memories they make spending time with will always be a huge part of their childhood memories.