814 Days

814 days. 

I have an album they gave us that day, in that hotel conference room in the northern most part of China. The one containing a handful of photos, accompanied by descriptions, written in Mandarin Chinese, of various activities she experienced during the first 26 months of her life. A handful of photos. Taken over the first two years of her life. Do you know how many photos I have of my first child during the first two years of his life? Thousands. And a few photos is all I have of hers. 

814 days. 

My daughter was an orphan. One orphan among HUNDREDS of other orphans, in her orphanage alone. Have you ever seen photos of an infant room in a Chinese orphanage? Think metal-crib-to-metal-crib-to-metal-crib-to-metal-crib, attached side-by-side, all lined up in rows, in one big room. And yet, those who have visited these rooms, full of so many infant Chinese orphans, lying alone in these cribs, come away surprised: despite the many, many babies lying in these cribs, the room is silent. Even as these sweet babies' tears fall, they remain silent. They have learned there is no one who will rush to them to comfort them. There are just too many of them and not enough caregivers to go around; so, they cry, but they do so silently, alone, in their metal crib, one of hundreds. 

814 days. 

There were two birthdays she experienced as an orphan: her 1st and 2nd. I don't know if her caretakers knew it was her birthday on May 8th (I also don't know if May 8th is the actual day she was born - it was their best guess). I don't know if she received a gift. I don't know if there were candles to blow out. I don't know if she was made to feel special, if she was celebrated, if each year was commemorated. There is no photo evidence to suggest she was. I don't fault her caretakers. She was one of hundreds. Her caretakers did they best they could, I'm sure. But there were hundreds of children to feed and bathe and dress, day after day. Maybe they celebrated her. But my hunch is that those birthdays were the same as every other day that passed. 

814 days. 

Eight hundred and fourteen days is 814 days too many: too many to be an orphan; too many to be one amongst hundreds; too many to be without a momma; too many to be without a family; too many to be alone. 

Do you know what today is? 

815. 

Today is the 815th day since the day we met our daughter. Today, our Bella has been a Luton for longer than she was an orphan. She was an orphan for 814 days. Today, she has been a Luton for 815 days.

We can't get back those 814 days. So, I treasure the handful of photos I have from the first 814 days of her life. I cherish the Mandarin Chinese descriptions of what she did on a few occasions, some of those 814 days. I look at the thousands of photos I have taken of her since the day I met her. I reminisce over the hundreds of videos I have captured of her over the last 815 days. I thank God for protecting her for 814 days until we could get to her, and I thank Him for protecting her during the 815 days since we first met our girl on the other side of the world. 

For 814 days our daughter was an orphan. 

But for 815 days now, she has no longer been an orphan. She has been a Luton. 

Praise be to God for our Bella Elizabeth and the 815 days we have been so very blessed to know her and adore her. 

Cheers to the Week, Long Weekend Edition

Helloooooo, internet friends! ;) We are coming off a nice, long 3-day weekend (that was *supposed* to be a 4-day weekend but the recent water main break changed that), and we truly enjoyed our extra time together. <3  Some things we're saying CHEERS to after an EPIC weekend for 1/3 of the Lu Crew:

Banks' 10th Birthday Trip. My hub and I decided that, in lieu of one of the big ol' bday bashes I love to throw my kiddos, the 10th birthday would = no official party; no official gifts. Instead? A weekend trip to anywhere of their choosing within the domestic US of A. Banks' choice? Washington, D.C. And that trip happened this weekend. And my big guys had an absolute, non-stop, memory-making BLAST!!! Banks, that lucky duck, got to skip school on Friday (which was originally supposed to be a district holiday), as he and his daddy boarded their flight just after 9:00 am. They landed in D.C., checked into their centrally-located hotel, and off they went! There was a 2:30 pm tour of the White House my hub had secured (which is a process in and of itself, requiring permission through our state legislature), but before that, they visited as many memorials and monuments as possible. 

Then, came the White House tour. 

And closing out Day 1? An evening, guided, bike tour throughout the city. Banks told me that, of everything they did, this was his very favorite. <3

Day 2 included all of Banks requests for the day: a trip to the zoo, lunch and catching some of the Clemson game, and then a trip to the Spy Museum to close out the day. 

It was an incredible weekend for both of them, and I am so happy for the time they got to share, together. <3

Weekend with Momma. Meanwhile, back at home...well, it was no trip to our nation's capital, but we still had fun! I managed to sneak out for a girls dinner on Friday evening before spending the rest of the weekend with 3/4 of my s{quad}. We arose bright and early and hit up my sanity-saver (aka Barre3) to ensure I was cool, calm and collected for the weekend - ha! We had big plans to go to our sweet town's Fall Frolic over the weekend, but the weather had other plans. So, we basically hung out, watched football, gorged ourselves on Button Macarons, made a haunted village, attended an awesome service at our church, and enjoyed each other's company while awaiting our two biggest guys' return (and when they did, Banks couldn't wait to show his little brother all the photos and videos from the weekend). :) 

Kindergarten Field Trip. Before the weekend fun, though, I got to enjoy a (chilly!) morning chaperoning my sweet kinder buddy at his first official elementary school field trip. And I LOVED my time with his and his sweet classmates. They are all just so adorable!

Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Cookies. Have you guys heard of Anders Ruff Workshop? It is an AMAZING business with locations all over the U.S. A momma in my neighborhood is the Anders of Anders Ruff (aka co-creator), and a dear friend of mine is their PR person. So, when I was asked to create some breast-cancer-awareness-themed cookies for their first annual event supporting an amazing cause, I didn't hesitate. And here, my friends, are how they turned out. They started as hearts but became some different entirely: 

And now, we are thrilled to have a shorter, 4-day week before welcoming in a busy weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with a special post. For now, have a great Tuesday, friends! 

Cheers to the Week, Busy Bees Edition

CHEERS to a new week, friends! This week will include the first meeting of my new Life Group, the start of teacher conferences for my s{quad}, a field trip for my kindergartener, three weeknight football games for the Luton brothers, a monthly gathering my mentor hosts, gymnastics, dance, golf, tennis, therapies, etc., and that's just over the next four days. Whew! It'll be a busy one before a nice, 3-day weekend awaits. A few things we're saying CHEERS to amid the week's shenanigans:

Surprise day off from school. Last Thursday, we had a last minute, random day off from school after a water main break in our county. It was so nice to have a random Thursday off to regroup and recharge before a weekend during which my hub was away on a guys' trip. Luckily, school was back on for Friday and just in time for Harrison's kindergarten community helper day! Also lucky? That he was able to get an extra wear out of his Halloween costume choice for this year: the cutest lil' police officer I ever did see. ;) (and please check out that adorable second pic his teacher snapped at school - swoon!). 

New carpet. Does it make me old that I am saying CHEERS to new carpet?! Ha! Well, so be it. ;) We have some updates coming to our home and we started with new carpets to replace the 11-year-old ones that were installed when our house was built back in 2008. I am loving the stain-free, soft new carpets and am crossing my fingers they stay that way for years to come. We also decided to pull the carpet off our stairs, and I am liking the look so much better! 

Bring-a-friend to dance week. Bella is still loving dance and last week was Bring-A-Friend to Dance Week. Our sweet friend, Parker, joined us for the day, and the little cuties were so adorable I could hardly stand it! 

Momma Weekend. As I mentioned, my hub was away on a guys' trip last weekend which meant flying solo with my s{quad}. We had a busy but fun weekend that included our traditional Friday family movie night, where we continue to watch movies from when I was growing up. On the docket for last Friday? We finished up the Back to the Future trilogy by watching Part III, and the kids loved it! The next morning, I was able to sneak away for coffee with my mentor before taking Banks to his homecoming game later that afternoon. I was so proud of him: he was a nervous wreck all day, as his team would be playing the team that smoked them during their first game of the season. Nonetheless, he took the field and remained calm and composed as the QB and his team played their best game of the season, winning 8-6. Go Blue Dragons! 

A little church volunteering and a birthday party for one of Bella's buddies closed out the relaxing Fall weekend as we happily welcomed Dad back home! 

Sweater weather. 'Nuff said.

Alright, friends. Y'all have a wonderful week! Be back soon with that post I keep talking about, as soon as I can find the time to get 'er done. ;) Have a good one!