Clare Quotes - 6 year old edition

Another year has passed, so it's time to document some of my favorite Clare quotes.  She never disappoints!

Me:  Eating green olives is like eating salt out of jar.
Clare:  Mmmm, I might actually like that.

"First things first, and second things second." True

"I miss Buddy Holly." (He is a Lubbock native singer who died in 1959.  That's a a whole 49 years before she was even born, but still she misses him)

"You know the best kind of throw up? It's when just a little bit goes in your mouth and you can just swallow it back." (Blech...)

"I pretended I was an angel getting married and I was God's daughter and a Saint. I rode a unicorn with silver shiny fur, flowers in her hair, and golden hooves."

Clare: We're writing our own stories in school. Mine has Mary, Dan, and Fart-o. 
Me: Fart-o?
Clare: Yeah, Fart-o is a hippo that farts a lot.
(In the story, the three of them go to the beach to swim, but all the other people leave because Farto farted too much.  The solution was to ask Farto to stop farting, and all the people came back to the beach!  And they all lived happily ever after)

"Daddy have you never seen the little mermaid before, because you are asking me a lot of questions."

Asked while people were washing dishes in the sink.  "Could I have some drinking temperature water?"

And my absolute favorite of the year:

"It's not fair that Olivia gets to stick her tongue out all the time and we can't."

Life is tough, sweetheart.....

Introducing Olivia Rose Morris

Olivia Rose Morris

Born: 6/15/15

Weight at Birth: 5lbs. 9oz.

Length at Birth: 18 in.

Hair Color: Blonde with hints of red

Eye Color: Maybe blue

     We would love to introduce y'all to our newest daughter, Olivia!  We started seriously considering adoption 19 months ago. We completed our lengthy applications 14 months ago.  We became a "waiting family" 11 months ago. Then on Monday, June 15th, we got a call in the afternoon that our birth-mother was going into to labor and to get there quick.  It took us 7 hours to get from Lubbock to the little town in south Texas!  

     Our drive was filled with excited conversations, debates on names, and beautiful signs from God. At one point we switched on the radio and happened to catch a praying of the 3rd Joyful Mystery of the rosary, the Birth of Jesus. We saw some amazing, towering outdoor crosses in different towns we drove through.  As we passed San Antonio, a beautiful firework show decorated the night sky.   We were called at around 5 pm to find out that we had a healthy baby girl waiting for us.  We had no idea what the sex of the baby would be before that point.  It wasn't until just before midnight that we drove into town and made our way to the hospital.  

     We quietly entered the nursery and got to see Olivia for the very first time.  She was so tiny and in an incubator.  The nurses couldn't really tell us any details due to legal constraints, but it was such a relief just to hold her little hand for the first time.  She ended up being fine and had no real complications.  

    Our birth-mother (I'll refer to her as "Eve" for privacy sake) originally wanted a closed adoption.  This means she did not want to meet us, know who we are, or have any contact with Olivia. This was kind of a shock to us because the agency showed us how beneficial to everyone an open adoption can be.  As we left the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, our social worker called us to say Eve wanted to meet us and could we come to the hospital right away.  

    It was very nerve racking to walk into that little hospital room.  As much as we wanted to meet her, I was terrified about making a good impression.  Eve is wonderful.  She's strong, brave, selfless, and gracious.  She told us that she had been to three different abortion clinics, but couldn't go through with it.  Eve knew that despite her cruel and painful life circumstances, it wasn't this baby's fault.  As Eve and I made our way to the incubator for her to see Olivia for the first time, the fierce love she had for Olivia filled the entire nursery.  The tears that streamed down her face will forever be etched into my memory and on my heart.  It brings to mind this quote:

      The next few days were a blur of nurses, beeping machines, night feedings, meeting Eve's youngest son and mother, rocking Olivia, Skype calls to our parents and Clare, and talking with our social worker.  After a long and intense 48 hours, Eve and her husband signed the papers to offer Olivia up for adoption.  Every emotion possible was pulsing through those hospital halls.  Eve still wished for this to be a closed adoption even though we assured her that she could change her mind.  Praise God though that in the weeks since, Eve has asked for more pictures of Olivia.  We hope we are on the path towards a real relationship with her.  

      We are back home and have been overwhelmed with love, support, and gifts from so many loved ones.  We can never thank all of you enough.  We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group of people.  Clare is over the moon in love with Olivia.  She is so happy to be an older sister and can't get enough of her.  Life is great. God is good. Our hearts are full.

Clare Quote's - 5 year old Edition

This last year, Clare had some real great quotes that I want to remember forever.  So I give you Clare's 5 year old quotes:

"Someday I want to build a machine that will get daddy home from work early"

After Kevin ate a "poisened apple",  She gave him a kiss, looked at me and said, "Bleh, you try."

Said while looking at my feet, "You have fur on your toes?"

When talking to her about Lent.  "Oh I like this, because after lent is pom pom day" also known as Palm Sunday

"Mommy I love you more than I thought I would when I was in heaven before I was born,"

"Sometime I taste a creamy taste.  And I really like that."  Said while eating ice cream.

Me: "After this we can watch a movie." 
Clare: "Brilliant!"

"Can someone hold my beer?"  Said very loudly in a crowded parking lot while she had a cup full of root beer.

"I don't want to make you sad by talking about it, but why do they never ask you if you want a lollipop at the bank?"

"I'm dancing the cha-cha with Batman."