Happy Fourth Birthday Melanie!

Coming Home

 Naturally, I'm behind on the blogging, but finally, we have a blog post for Miss Melanie's birthday.

This year was characterized by lots of growth and fun and general wellness. Oh how thankful we are for that! 

The photo above was taken the day Melanie came home to stay. We were all so green and untried in so many ways. Even though we still have much to learn, we have grown a lot in the last couple years. We have become more aware in this process that "hidden happenings" are underway all around us. Faith is hard to come by, but stepping out in trust is well worth it.

After church last Sunday afternoon, we were sitting at a winery in Middleburg with old friends, sipping a really wonderful blueberry-apple concoction and watching the kids run up and down a hill next to the vines. It occurred to us that we had missed celebrating Melanie's "gotcha" by a day. The activity over the last few months has been non-stop to say the least. It was nice to have old friends to help toast the event, and also nice to realize that Melanie is so much a part of us that we have difficulty remembering a time when she wasn't with us.

Surveying the vines

A little word about the photo quality... we had our phones for picture snapping.  Our cameras were packed and we've been A LOT more laid-back about unloading and settling in this time. We've had to be. So, please excuse the poor quality... and my fat finger in the photo above.

Since Melanie's surgery last May, she has grown a great deal and become very vibrant and talkative. We were hesitant, but we even enrolled her in two-day preschool this year. Being more exposed, she was ill and out of class quite a bit, but we feel she gained a lot by being in a classroom setting this year. She had a wonderful, understanding teacher who was very patient with all of us.

We have been able to back her off almost all her prescription meds just in the last few months. When Melanie is ill, we start her back on and then back her off again. Much to my chagrin, there is no set formula for this. The docs can only tell us to use our best judgement. She did so well on the trip out here and is reacting so well to her Virginia environment, we are considering just taking her to a pediatrician and putting off the hunt for specialists. We are also trying some holistic/ integrative health methods with success.

Moving really made birthdays fun this year. We've had multiple celebrations with both kiddos. One day, in the last week of preschool, Mama brought cupcakes and juice to both classes so Jonathan and Melanie could celebrate with their school friends.

Blowing out the sparkler with Mrs. Belden's Buckaroos

Purple Icing!

 We celebrated with Grammy and Papa Jack a few weeks before the movers came and on our road trip to our new home in Virginia, we stopped off in Tupelo, MS for a few days. Melanie got to celebrate her actual birthday with Giggie and Bop.

Birthday play at the park

Posing for the camera

Celebration!

Sweet Siblings

Wishes

We are so thankful for Melanie. She brings such a spark to our family and to our lives. Each season brings more confirmation that Melanie was chosen for us and we were chosen for her.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! We love you!