Random Summer

This album is just some fun, random pictures from early in the summer.....Halle's first corn on the cob, our refinished hardwood floors, Halle's "chariot" (her bike trailer), and more. I hope you enjoy them!

Random Summer

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Dear Friends,

I'm sure you think I've entirely forgotten about blogging.  I haven't!  My lack of blogging has been a combination of busyness and frustration.  Our summer (and now fall!) has been incredibly exciting and busy!  My frustration was with trying to load pictures onto the blog.  It was taking FOREVER, and then I would just think I'd have it, and the pictures would move!  Or disappear!  Or be in the wrong order!  Anyways, I have been trying to learn how to blog more efficiently, and am hoping I have it figured out.

I think most of you know that we have a new addition to our family!  Evan Michael Lott arrived on July 24, weighing 4 lbs., 10 oz, and 18 inches long.  He is sooooo precious, and you will be hearing and seeing much more about him.  Because of his arrival, we are planning to change the name of our blog.  I'm still trying to decide on the name, but will let you know soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to get caught up on our summer pictures, and "practice" with my new techniques.  Hopefully, they will work!  I'm looking forward to staying in touch with all of you through the blog, and hope to do a much better job of it in the coming weeks and months.

Feel free to leave me feedback.  I love ideas!

My first summer update is going to be of Halle's Adoption Day!  What an exciting and long-awaited event!!!  We were blessed to have all of our local family and friends there with us at the adoption hearing.  Afterwards, we all went out for a special lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.  It was an incredibly joyous and emotional day for us.  Our little Halle Simone Lott is a miracle to us, and a testimony of God's working in our lives and the lives of those around us.  We are so thankful to the Lord for giving her to us!

This is an album of pictures from that special day!

adoption day

I know this is a rather lengthy post, but I want to include this brief essay I wrote of my thoughts after Halle's adoption hearing. Some of you may have seen this on Facebook, but I wanted to include it anyways.

I have been wanting to sit and write my thoughts ever since Halle's adoption was finalized. What a precious day that was! June 11 will always be a momentous day in our family history. There is really not time to write all the details of Halle's story....the way the Lord brought her to us, the way He provided each need we had along the way, the seeming roadblocks in the process to finalization, and finally the fulfillment of the legal aspect of our adoption journey 19 months after we began.


We chose Halle's name because one of the meanings is "unexpected gift." Her coming to us happened so quickly, at least we only knew about her for a few weeks before her arrival. But the wait before that seemed very long....11 years of waiting, praying, wondering, questioning. The roller coaster of hope and disappointment is hard to describe to those who have never been there. But God was so faithful to us and so patient with us through each day. God had a plan all along. I often think of the verse, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."


Halle's adoption hearing was such a special time. Brian's family was able to come - his mom and dad, four aunts, an uncle, and his cousin and his family. It was so sweet of them to take off work and make the trip to Pittsburgh to share in our special day. My family all lives too far away, but we know that they were with us in heart.


Our attorney was a Christian, and what a blessing that was. He had told us that each of us (Brian and I) would be asked to take the stand and testify. He said that he would ask us questions regarding the permanence of the adoption and our understanding of that, and of our responsibilities as Halle's parents.


Brian went first. I sat there, holding Halle, looking at Brian, then at our family sitting behind us, then at Halle, and was just amazed at the goodness of God in placing such a precious gift in our family. Then it was my turn to take the stand. The attorney began to ask his questions, and as I answered, I began to feel overwhelmed, not just by the emotion of finalizing Halle's place in our family, but at the beautiful picture of how God placed me in His family. I do not have the attorney's questions word for word, but I am going to try to remember them the best I can and share them with you. If you know the Lord, I hope that you will be just as moved as I was as you are reminded of what God has done for you.


The attorney asked,


"Do you realize that by consenting to this adoption, you are acknowledging that you have chosen this child to be your own?"


"Do you realize that according to law, that means she is your child permanently, and that this decree is irrevocable?"


"Do you understand that irrevocable means that this cannot be changed?"


"Do you understand that Halle is being removed from the bloodline of her natural family, and is being placed into the bloodline of your family?"


"Do you understand that this means that she is your legal heir, and is entitled to all the rights of that position?"


"Do you understand that you are responsible for her care and keeping?"


I know that there were more questions, but these particular questions and my answers kept resounding in my mind. I learned that, legally, the bond with an adopted child is stronger even than that of a biological child because you have deliberately chosen this child. You cannot just "change your mind."


What a joy it is to us to have Halle! She is my daughter, born of and in my heart. The certainty and joy I felt in answering each of these questions "yes" cannot be described.


How much more is it a wondrous thing that God has chosen me to be His child! I have been removed from my "natural" bloodline, and have placed into the family of God by the blood of His Son. I am an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ. He is responsible for my care, and He will never leave me nor forsake me. His commitment to me is not based on my love for Him, or obedience to Him, but on His choice to obligate Himself to me. My placement into His family is irrevocable. How beautiful! How precious! How humbling! I praise Him for His love for me in placing me in His family, and I thank and praise Him for placing Halle in our family.


I am so grateful to every person who has prayed us so faithfully. You have a huge part in our rejoicing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. It seems that God may add to our family again by adoption. We have been contacted by a birth mother who is due in August. Please pray for the Lord's will regarding this, and that He will work out the details for His glory.

I'll add more soon!

~Niki

Family Pictures

Dear Family & Friends,

We've had such a busy spring.....it has been wonderful! We went to Tennessee the last week of April. Brian preached a conference for my Dad, and we were able to spend several days with them there. While we were there, we asked my friend Angela is she would meet us and do family pictures for us. She is such a wonderful photographer! We went to the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and spent about an hour doing pictures. Halle was being so ornery....she was much more interested in playing in the grass than in posing for pictures. I was afraid that she didn't give any good shots, but I was totally wrong. Angela captured her smiling, serious, silly....I just love it! Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy these pictures as much as we have!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! It started with a picnic at our house after church Sunday night. We had 28 here, with loads of food. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, which finished up with singing around the campfire until late. I hope our neighbors enjoyed being serenaded! Bro. Dave Foster talked me into trying out the upright bass (you can see the picture in the slideshow). It was really fun, and not very hard at all!

Monday morning, we headed for Butler, and went to the parade. Halle like most of it, but was a little afraid of the noise. Then, we went to Hannahstown Road Baptist Church for their church picnic. We had a great time, and Halle had lots of fun running around playing. She liked the other kids, but Grampee was her favorite playmate! We headed home that evening and put together the bicycle trailer her Daddy bought for her. He rode her around in it for a little while...she loved it! I told her it was her princess chariot. I didn't get pictures of that yet, but hopefully will soon.

I hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday as well!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Walking and Talking

I am finally getting caught up to date on Halle's pictures. January and February were busy, but enjoyable, months. We had lots of snow, lots of family visits, and lots of new changes in our little girl. My parents and my youngest three siblings were here off and on for several weeks in January and February while my mom was undergoing testing at Cleveland Clinic. We really enjoyed having them here, and it was great for Halle to get to know all of them better.

While they were here in January, with lots of encouragement and help from my brother, John, and sister, Cierra, Halle learned to walk. She really had not had a lot of interest in walking until right before Christmas, and she was a quite a chicken. She would take one or two steps away from the couch or Brian or me, and then she would promptly sit and crawl. She could stand up in the middle of the floor without help, but then she didn't know what to do! It was so funny! Thanks to John and Cierra for giving her a little extra incentive in the walking department. Now, she's on the go all the time!!!

Halle is quite the little communicator. She loves to talk and sing. She says lots of words. If you ask her what her name is, she says, "Halle" (It sounds more like Ha-yee). Then if you ask her how old she is, she holds up her finger (see picture below). She has been doing that since right after her birthday. Now she also can say, "Un", for one. She is starting to put a lot of phrases together, "pick up", "help you", "thank you", and more. She also can identify almost all of her body parts....head, hair, eyes, nose, ears, chin, mouth, tongue, arms, hands, legs, knees, belly, and can say most of them. She also says "dress" and "tights". She likes shoes and boots. She repeats almost everything you say. She like yogurt for breakfast and says "Oh-gurt". She also says hot, cup, coffee, milk, juice, and more. She also knows the sign language for "more", thanks to Sarah at church.

Halle learned to roll her eyes. It was so hilarious!

Halle loves her tea set. This was one of her silly games, carrying the cup around in her teeth.

This was right after Christmas, and she was having a "tea party" with my mom and several of her stuffed animals.

As you can tell in a lot of these pictures, Halle also loves her little rocking chair (which was her Daddy's when he was little). She says "Otty, otty", and rocks her baby and her animals.

Her big, blue eyes get comments everywhere we go.

She is very ornery, and has quickly learned the word "no". She can also say "yes", but somehow, it doesn't seem to come as easily!

I'm not sure what this face was about!

Rocking her baby. She is very attached to this baby doll, and it goes everywhere with her. She sleeps with it, plays with it, and it sits in the high chair with her when she eats. It's so cute!

Now rocking both babies. The big baby doll is almost bigger than she carry, but she tries. She calls it Abby, as she does every baby she sees in public. We have a baby at church named "Abby", and she absolutely loves her. So, every baby is Abby!

Cheese!

Halle loves my brother, John. She says his name all the time, and enjoyed playing with him when he was here.

Halle and my sister, Cierra

Halle and Grandma Tami had lots of fun!

In the closet, where Halle is looking, is "Mrs. B". Halle is very afraid of the vacuum cleaner, so my mom drew a face, taped it on the vacuum cleaner, and called it Mrs. B. Now, Halle loves Mrs. B. She goes into the kitchen every day calling, "Bee, Bee." She isn't happy until we open the broom closet, and let her say hello to Mrs. B. She likes to tell her good night too. It's so funny, and has really helped Halle not to be so afraid. Thanks, Mom!

Halle and my brother, Asher. She loves Asher, and can also say his name. She points to his picture on the wall, and says "Azher".

This is the face she makes when she wants to give you a kiss. She is a very affectionate baby, and loves kisses. Of course, I love that!

Halle and Grandpa Gary playing in the living room

"Hello?!" Halle loves to play with the phone, and walks around with it up to her ear saying, "Ello, ello, ello". She doesn't like to talk on the phone when someone is actually talking to her....she just wants to look at it. However, she is starting to say "hello", and "love you" to her daddy and her grandma on the phone.

Lovin' Daddy's Steeler toboggan

She thinks she's soooo big!

Halle loves glasses of any kind, especially Daddy's sunglasses.

Here, she is playing with my computer. One night I came in, and she had Internet Explorer opened 38 times. It almost crashed my computer!

Blowing kisses

So sleepy

One

Trying Grampee's glasses on (she says "gaases")

This is Halle's "silly face", and here it's a very messy face, because she and Daddy had been licking the beater from my mixer. I was making peanut butter pies.

"Mmmmm....good"

She has grown very attached to her blankies. She likes anything silky, but especially loves these two blankies, and sleeps with them.

Two of her favorite toys

Halle is so expressive. She keeps us laughing.

I love this face! Is she critiquing her own art here, or what?

My curly girly!

Halle got these new, sparkly pink shoes last week. She loves them sooooo much! She brought them to me the other day, one under each arm, and wanted me to put them on her. Of course, I did....even though I had to change her whole church outfit because it was red!

Mommy & her silly baby at Panera

Having fun

Halle & Grampee at Panera

Halle was "touring" Panera, trying to make friends with everyone. She was quite pleased with herself.

Halle & Gramee

In the tub....one of Halle's favorite places!

"What did you say?"

My blue-eyed baby

Running from Mommy

Such a beautiful smile...and all those teeth! She has 16 teeth now, I guess for being 16 months old. She has pretty much been on track since she was four months old, that every four months she has the same number of teeth as her age. Thankfully, her mouth will soon be full, and we can stop teething!

Heading "up", as Halle says, with Mommy close behind.

Surprise!

We are so thankful for our precious baby girl.