What keeps us young and young at heart is our Grace. I want to tell you about our Grace. She is an amazing kid. This is not the statement of a bias mother but the truth. God blessing us with the gift of Grace Caroline Ji from Guangdong Province, China saves us everyday. She is our beautiful willow tree. Tall, so tall for a 5 year old with long beautiful fingers and boy
, feet that never seem to stop growing. My sweet girl now wears a size 1 ladies shoe at 5. If she ever catches up with her feet she will be looking me in the eye one day and I am 6 feet tall. She loves to run.....runs like the wind. Honestly, she is fast. Her Poppa is training to run the 26 mile Music City Marathon this April and Grace just chomps at the bit to go out running with him. I know if Tony's knee's can survive to see it, one day she will be running those 16 mile runs with him without any problem. She enjoys it. God bless anyone who enjoys just running. I personally had to have a basketball in my hand to have any parts of running. We have signed her up for soccer for a third season this spring and she is so excited. She loves soccer.......(too much running for my taste(LOL)). This is a new team with the county and I am looking forward to seeing how she does. She really excelled with the YMCA league the last 2 seasons. We got her cleats this last weekend--size 2 1/2....yes, 2 1/2 with shin guards & soccer socks. Whew, she is ALL feet!
Grace has beautiful penmanship for a 5 year old. She loves to write & is starting to really enjoy reading. Grace is a perfectionist and does not like to struggle with anything. So sounding out words patiently has been fun to watch. Grace is the youngest of 84 kindergarten students at her school. Her birthday Sept. 30, was the cut off. She has held her own very well. To have so many kids already 6 in her class I was concerned but that goal oriented perfectionism makes her strive to excel. She has the kindest heart. Grace is not that huggy-kissy sort of a child. Do not get me wrong, she is a loving child but to a point. She is not mushy. When Grace comes over and just hugs & kisses you.....you know you just received a beautiful present. She is a child who does not tolerate meanness. She does not handle it well at all. She feels everyone should be loved equally without favorites and no one is entitled to pick on or bully anyone else. She is a great defender of the underdog. Those qualities are God given and I cherish every moment I have witnessed her express those feelings when she watches one friend hurt another. She has also been the target of those moments this year and I have watched her handle them with unselfish love as her response. Honestly, she has handled it better than me(since the Momma bear has just wanted to attack w/out taking names,ha,ha). 
Grace loves her Creator. She has experienced the last 6 months of pain right along with us and has voiced over and over her complete understanding and acceptance of God's plan. She mentions how Anna is her sister for forever but also her guardian angel. She looked up at me just last night as we were getting ready for bed, "Momma I miss my baby sister." These are the times I just feel like screaming. God help me! Grace is just starting to really question the meaning of being baptized and told me one Sunday that she knew she wanted the world to know how Christ was her King. She then said very quietly...."I will let you know Momma when I want Pastor Sam to dunk me." Oh, that sweet little voice. Her Poppa & I hope it never changes. I am attaching several pictures of our Grace so that you can see from the outside just how
beautiful she is. Honestly, it is nothing in comparison to the inside. Strong willed enough to keep us on our toes(always) but loving and compassionate enough to pull every heart string God gave us. The heart of a true tomboy(no fluff for her!) with just enough soft warm & fuzzy that makes her hold on to 6 stuffed animals every night. We call them her posse. She calls them her friends....each one holds a special meaning...1)Winsty-a stuffed white dog who looks just like our Bichon Frise- Winston who Nana gave her-the oldest of the group. 2)Kitty-a white/gray tomcat who was given to her as a baby by her cousin. 3)Brown Bear-A soft Kodiak laying on his stomach which was given to her when Anna came home to us by a special friend from VA(she gave Anna t
he Panda that arrived at the same time). 4)Simba-From the Lion King--given to her by her dear friend Miyah when Anna passed away(what is so special is this was Miyah's special animal first-the meaning was not lost on Grace). 5)Little Lamb I Love Him-Yes, this is his name.....I have to tell you the story of this sweet white lamb beenie baby. He was placed on Anna's bed by the nurses of the PCCU at Vanderbilt. I had placed him in a basket I had to carry things home that last day at the hospital. I had absent minded placed the basket & him on our counter in the kitchen. The morning of Anna's funeral Grace was walking by & backed up and stopped in front of the basket. She said, "Momma, what is this?" I explained to her that the lamb had been Anna's at the hospital. Without hesitation she picked him up and said "He is mine now. I am going to name him Lucifer." I remember as much commotion that was going on that morning everyone stopped. I exchanged glances with my Momma & my sister-in-law. I wondered if I was reading too much into a name? We all chuckled and I realized no, I had to say something. Naming our "friends" is very important to Grace. So I proceeded to explain that Lucifer-was a good name but sometimes the devil was called that. She looked down & said, "Well, I do not want to call him that.....He is "Little Lamb I Love Him" is that a good name?" So, to this day he has a long five word name. Number 6) our final friend is a new friend that she just received this last Valentines Day....He is a chocolate bear with a red velvet bow(I won him the day before Valentines in a silent auction for the United Way). His name is Valentine. She loves her friends and holds on to them amazingly all through the night with her "chew rag". This is her name too. It is a burp cloth I used from the time we got her in China. It is old, tattered & faded. She has 2 of them(which we change out weekly). They are her "security blankets". In China she held on to a wash cloth at night so I replaced the cloth for something softer-I tried blankets but she never liked them--she is way too hot natured. When she was a little baby she would chew on them as she cut her teeth. Now she cradles them next to her check with all her "posse".
beautiful she is. Honestly, it is nothing in comparison to the inside. Strong willed enough to keep us on our toes(always) but loving and compassionate enough to pull every heart string God gave us. The heart of a true tomboy(no fluff for her!) with just enough soft warm & fuzzy that makes her hold on to 6 stuffed animals every night. We call them her posse. She calls them her friends....each one holds a special meaning...1)Winsty-a stuffed white dog who looks just like our Bichon Frise- Winston who Nana gave her-the oldest of the group. 2)Kitty-a white/gray tomcat who was given to her as a baby by her cousin. 3)Brown Bear-A soft Kodiak laying on his stomach which was given to her when Anna came home to us by a special friend from VA(she gave Anna t
he Panda that arrived at the same time). 4)Simba-From the Lion King--given to her by her dear friend Miyah when Anna passed away(what is so special is this was Miyah's special animal first-the meaning was not lost on Grace). 5)Little Lamb I Love Him-Yes, this is his name.....I have to tell you the story of this sweet white lamb beenie baby. He was placed on Anna's bed by the nurses of the PCCU at Vanderbilt. I had placed him in a basket I had to carry things home that last day at the hospital. I had absent minded placed the basket & him on our counter in the kitchen. The morning of Anna's funeral Grace was walking by & backed up and stopped in front of the basket. She said, "Momma, what is this?" I explained to her that the lamb had been Anna's at the hospital. Without hesitation she picked him up and said "He is mine now. I am going to name him Lucifer." I remember as much commotion that was going on that morning everyone stopped. I exchanged glances with my Momma & my sister-in-law. I wondered if I was reading too much into a name? We all chuckled and I realized no, I had to say something. Naming our "friends" is very important to Grace. So I proceeded to explain that Lucifer-was a good name but sometimes the devil was called that. She looked down & said, "Well, I do not want to call him that.....He is "Little Lamb I Love Him" is that a good name?" So, to this day he has a long five word name. Number 6) our final friend is a new friend that she just received this last Valentines Day....He is a chocolate bear with a red velvet bow(I won him the day before Valentines in a silent auction for the United Way). His name is Valentine. She loves her friends and holds on to them amazingly all through the night with her "chew rag". This is her name too. It is a burp cloth I used from the time we got her in China. It is old, tattered & faded. She has 2 of them(which we change out weekly). They are her "security blankets". In China she held on to a wash cloth at night so I replaced the cloth for something softer-I tried blankets but she never liked them--she is way too hot natured. When she was a little baby she would chew on them as she cut her teeth. Now she cradles them next to her check with all her "posse".
My beautiful Grace, I can not wait to see how she grows in every way. There is something special planned for our Grace. I just know it. I have such faith & trust in His plan for her. Our Saving Grace........thank you God once again for giving us such an amazing gift-our daughter. We see the reflection of Your Love in her face every day. 6 months-- we are strong---growing stronger every day. We miss our Anna so much.....sometimes the pain is so unbearable but the Promise of seeing her again keeps us going strong! Thank you for your prayers!
Hugs to you all,Jo
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