Hey love.

It's been over a year since I've written to you.  I'm sorry.  It's been quite a year!

Since April of 2011, you have turned 3, moved into 10 different places and gotten 2 more stamps in your passport!  Last summer, we spent a lot of time loving on family, hanging out at JJ's pool, and a LOT of time moving.  

To recap:

2011
July - we moved from our first family home to our first mission house in Taylors.  
Aug - Taylors to Lyman
Sep - Appointment in FL
Oct - School in VA
Nov - Back to SC for Uncle Andrew and Aunt Katie's wedding!
Dec - VA to Lyman, Vacation with Nina and Poppy

2012
Feb - To Charleston for a conference, Daddy went overseas for his visa, we stayed with JJ and PawPaw!
Mar - Moved overseas!
July - Moved to our new place in NA!

It's been quite a year.  

In July of last year, we said goodbye to Snoopy, our home, our neighbors... and moved to our first M house in Taylors.  Daddy was overseas on a M-trip and we had to pack up without him!  He got back about 2 days before we moved.  We also had a tornado about a mile from our house while he was gone!  I'll never forget driving away from our house that day... we had to leave Snoopy there because pets weren't allowed in the M house.  He was sitting on the driveway in front of the completely empty garage with his ears tucked back and his tail between his legs.  I was glad you guys were in the backseat and couldn't see me sobbing the whole way...

Thankfully, we got the house rented super quickly and JJ and PawPaw took Snoopy to live with them.  You guys got adjusted to the next 2 Mhouses pretty well... it was really an adventure for you guys, I think! For your birthday in September, we threw you a princess ball!  We kind of doubled it as a "going away" party and had a lot of friends and family come.  It was a ton of fun and you loved every second of it!  It was the first year I didn't make your cake.  We had been to a local bakery to eat one day and you went over to the display case, pointed your precious little finger and announced that the mound of chocolately gooeyness would be your birthday cake.  I couldn't say no! I paid that day and when we went to get it the day of your birthday.... surprise! They forgot!! Hahaha! We got a half-eaten chocolately gooeyness and something else too, plus some cupcakes. I think they felt really bad... especially because you were SO cute, asking where your special birthday cake was!

Virginia was a really hard time for our family.  We had already been in 2 other houses after our "home", but it was still very different.  Daddy and I had classes almost all day every day and you and G went to "school".  Really, it was more like daycare but you learned a lot of things!  Some of your favorite friends were Maddy, Malachi and Sadie.  It was a very special time for us to be with other people who were going overseas like us.  We even put up a Christmas tree and made ornaments in our quad!  Our quadrates were Brandy, Hans, Alexis, Ashley, David and Uncle Skip!  We still keep up with them some, but it's hard now that we live so far apart.  They'll always be very special to us though.  

December was a really hard time because we had to leave VA.  You cried a lot saying goodbye.  Thinking back on it now, that was really the first time you had to say goodbye for real to people you loved.  We all really grieved together.  But at the same time, it was really exciting to get to go back to SC and celebrate Christmas with our blood family!  We were still waiting on our visas to come through, so we just used up all our time visiting and enjoying family as much as possible.  We went back to Lyman MH for Christmas, but since it was so close, we couldn't get a tree.  Instead, we made one out of construction paper!  It was really fun, too!  We hung our stockings and celebrated together that morning before we went to JJ and PawPaw's.  It was a really special time.  We got to celebrate with Nina and Poppy when we went to the beach with them, too!

February, we were invited to Charleston for a conference.  Daddy flew out in the middle of it to apply for residency overseas without us.  It was so hard to be left behind, but it was really fun to get to vacation with Mr. Andy and Mrs. Sue and their puppies!  You guys really miss Snoopy..  I think you and G really knew big changes were coming, too.  You guys were crying a lot and really missing him.  He was only gone for a week or so though and we were SO glad to have him home again.  You didn't want to go to the airport, so you stayed with JJ and PawPaw at Mimi's house while I took G with me to get him in CLT.  

About a week after Daddy got back, our visas came through! I flew down to FL to get them and we got our tickets for our overseas move on G's 2nd birthday: Mar 19.  We flew out the 23rd.  It was craziness.  We didn't want to have a bunch of hard goodbyes the day we left, so we said "see you later" to friends and family on the 22nd.  On the morning of the 23rd, we packed up our car with our 7 suitcases plus carry-ons and went to Chuck E Cheese to use our leftover tokens!  We ate greasy pizza, played and headed to the airport.  You guys were totally oblivious to the turmoil inside me... you were running around, laughing... and I felt like throwing up the whole time.  Daddy and I left our keys and phones in the car and tried to close that chapter of our lives.  

The trip over was HARD. You and G were so tired because you didn't get naps that day.  The flight overseas was only about 7 hours and the lights didn't go off until almost 4 hours in!  You finally fell asleep when it was dark... but then the lights came back on about an hour later!  Ugh!  So, Daddy and I made makeshift tents for you guys using the airline blankets and tray tables.  You slept until we were on the ground... at 7am local time- 1am our time.  Boy, you were in BAD moods.  We were too.  I was SO dizzy and both of you wanted me to hold you!  We got checked into our next flight and finally made it to our new city and went to bed about 24 hours after we left the States.  After an almost 4 hour nap, I tried to wake you up... took your paci, blanket, opened the window.... you rolled over and said, "Please go away, mommy. I'm still very tired."  HAHA!  Rotten, sweet girl.

We spent 3 months in that apartment.  We just moved last week, hopefully this will be the last place for a very long time!  Daddy just put your new big-girl bed together and we're getting settled in.  Lately, your favorite thing to do has been to draw.  You're really good at it!  You can draw flowers, clouds and people.  Your people even have pupils and eyelashes, too!  Also, we have special time just for us when I help you write your letters. You have learned how to write your name and several other letters too!  I'm so proud of you, precious girl. Another funny thing- almost every night when we put you to bed, you sneak into our room and climb into our bed.  A lot of times we don't even know you do it... we just come back here and find you snoring and drooling, sprawled out across both our pillows.  We really love you, baby girl.

We have new games we play now too.  One we call, "I have a very serious question for you..."  followed by a random assortment of questions. The last is always, "Whose girl/mommy are you" (depending on who is talking) and when you/I answer "Mommy's girl/Aidyn's mommy" you get tickled almost to death! It's your "very favorite game". You also tell me multiple times a day (on your own) that you're going to be my girl forever and I can keep you for always.  Makes my heart smile.

You're struggling a LOT right now with obedience.  I know your life has changed so much, and I am asking God to give me patience with you, but sometimes it's just so hard.  I feel so helpless sometimes... I want to teach you the right things, to teach you to WANT to do the right things... but I don't know how sometimes.  So, I just pray a lot.  I love you more than you will ever know.

I will try to write you again before long..

But know that I'm loving you always, even when I'm not writing.

-mommy