Grace's birthday  was a joyous day that we were able to share with my Mom and Dad in Ocean City, New Jersey just after our Thanksgiving festivities.  During our 4 year wait we told people that our little girl would be "about a year old" and we secretly hoped and prayed that she'd be younger than a year. We didn't want to miss any more firsts in her life and we were eager for a baby and not just a toddler to join our family.  So it was with great joy that we were able to get Grace at 9 months and celebrate her first birthday with her!  She enjoyed her first piece of cake with a speed I haven't seen matched by my sons!  Her first taste of the icing was with a pucker but then she literally dove her hands in and shoveled it in as fast as she could.  She enjoyed the tactile sensation of squishing it between her fingers and I was absolutely amazed that at the end of it she wasn't nearly as messy as any of my sons had been either!  We strung some balloons and her Mom Mom taught her to vocalize onto the balloon to feel the vibrations - a trick she mastered and now does whenever you hand her a balloon. Meanwhile, her brothers taught her to hold up her first finger when they say, "How old is Grace?".  Happy Birthday Grace. May your life be filled with joys and the blessings of your caring Heavenly Father!

We were counting our blessings this year in New Jersey with my mother and father. Grace finally got to meet her Pop Pop and begin to warm up to him while bonding a bit more with her Mom Mom.  The first few days my mother only got to smile and play with her while in the perceived safety of my arms. But soon enough Grace was smiling at her and allowing my mom to hold her and shower her with all of the affection of a grandmother hopelessly in love with her newest little grandchild.  She also got to add her little handprints to the table cloth we traditionally all write on each year.  And I was thrilled to write onto that tablecloth that FINALLY Grace was with us.  Her name was mentioned many times on the little slips of paper that we put into a special Thanksgiving bowl.  One of the little notes simply said, "Grace" by one of the boys and yet another son wrote, "Grace, duh."  Duh indeed -- I'll bet all of you knew what we were thanking God for this year and what we will be thanking him for as we gather round the tree in a few weeks as well! 

Every Thanksgiving for the past 3 years we had a stab of pain in our hearts because we had expected Grace to be there with us.  We have a fun tradition where we all get to write with a washable marker onto a special linen tablecloth at  our place setting. We have unsteady signatures from boys learning to write, to cartoon drawings as they grew older, to the more elaborate art work from Pat.  Mine have been more simple, but those of latter years have had "Hoping for Grace" or something similar penned next to my name.  This year, finally, Grace will be around our table and she too will partake in our family tradition with a precious little hand print.

It isn't hard to guess what all of us gathered around the table on Thanksgiving Day will say we are thankful for this year! But those of you who also know us more intimately, know that it has also been a difficult year in many respects. So we will not only be thanking our Heavenly Father for what is seen but for also what is unseen. The Bible says, "For now we know in part and see through a glass dimly" and that is true for us right now.  One day, we will be able to see it all clearly and at that time the rejoicings will flow without sacrifice. But for this year, we have some thanksgivings that will come with sacrifice -- the Bible calls them "Sacrifices of Praise" because you praise despite not seeing. God made the rough patches smooth with our adoption of our Grace and we are confident He will do this in the other rough patches of our lives.  Until then we hold tightly to His hand and praise Him with total trust.  Blessings to you and to yours this Thanksgiving season.  Praise Him for He is good!

Yes, Grace is starting to stand on her own. Mostly she likes to stand for about 3 seconds and then fling herself forward into our arms. She smiles this wonderful "I did it!" smile while standing and then a gleefull "Here I come!" smile when she's done.  Even within the few days that she began this trick, we're seeing how she's discovering how neat the standing trick can be and how versatile it is too! Now she can hold onto the ottoman and then stand just long enough to reach the other ottoman. I also see the wheels going in her head with "Now, how do I sit down without falling -- oh bother, just. ..  (boom) fall down!"  It's fun to see not only the motor skill, but equally fun to see her confidence in us. She knows we'll catch her.  On the most fundamental level, she knows we can be trusted.  Isn't that wonderful? 

In the middle of a family card game we noticed that Grace was bobbing to the music - a perfect time to grab the video camera.  This video also features Grace's first attempts to stand unassisted.  She's so close to really getting it!

CLICK HERE to see the video.

I threw this video together last night at Sharon's request.  This shows Grace's first laughs, her first attempts at crawling, her first waves, and yes, a lot of love.  We hope you all enjoy this glimpse into life at the Fitzpatrick's home these past few weeks.

CLICK HERE to see video.

Grace is waving now with double fisted squeezes that make us laugh every time.  She hasn't yet figured out that that little trick does double duty for waving good-bye as well but that'll come soon, I'm sure.  Seeing her put so much effort and joy into that little motion reminded me of those of you who wrote recently that you check our site frequently to see if we've posted here. On one hand that makes us feel so loved and special, and on the other, I hate the thought of disappointing you day in and day out!  So those of you to whom this applies, this little post is just a little wave "hello".  It's a way to say, we're thinking of you, and so thankful for you!  Just a few pics from today!

And by the way, Pat did not get to working on more of our China videos this weekend.  I did, however, get Grace's wave caught on camera along with her first rudimentary attempts at crawling.  Perhaps I can entice Pat to download these and give you one more little wave hello!  And finally, if you'd like me to inform you whenever we post something on this site, just make a note of it in the comments here and I'll be happy to do so. It would make me feel better not to disappoint you every day, that's for sure!

 At eleven months old,  Grace is sleeping in our bed, waving, likes being on her belly, rolls around, can pull herself to standing, LOVES to stand in her crib and bounce around, and is sleeping longer and with only a few wakeful interruptions during the night. Yeah!  They said in China she is "restless" and that describes our Grace - she wants to MOVE! She loves having brothers who toss her around, that's for sure! But look out boys, I see she's into your Gamecube below!