Abby's First Christmas

This Christmas we have had more to be thankful for than ever before. How many years have we celebrated Christmas and thought, "Well, another year has gone by and still no baby." Nothing can leave you feeling more empty or lifeless than a home without new life. My, how things have changed for us this year! Now we have constant commotion and chaos, and even more constant laughter and joy than our home has ever known. We want to share a few of our favorite Christmas pictures with everyone. Hope you all enjoy!



My First Christmas (December 24, 2008)



After almost 18 years of marriage......




We finally have this precious addition to our family!





A beautiful new Christmas dress sent to Abby by Peggy Shoemake and daughter, Kelli, from Hattiesburg, MS. Isn't it just perfect for such a special occasion?!



Jawanna with our long-awaited gift:0)



"Can I pweeeeease touch the ornaments?"



Can you see the "moment of truth" in this picture? Oh, well, maybe next year she'll appreciate the presents a little more!



You've got to be kidding! There's more?



Will Smitty bite me if I pull this?



Striking a beautiful pose so I can get what I really want!




Playing the piano, just like mommy!



Bring on the eggnog, Mama!



My first taste of eggnog. This is an O'Quin tradition that Mama doesn't really care for. Now Daddy has an eggnog buddy!



Merry Christmas from the O'Quin Family to all of you!


"Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift."

A Christmas Doll

Our sweet little neighbor, Summer, came over Christmas Eve and gave Abby a beautiful Lee Middleton Christmas Doll complete with baby bed, car seat, clothes, etc.





Abby just loves it when Summer comes over to play with her. Those two have hit it off in a big way!





Thank you, Summer, for the beautiful doll!

Physical Therapy at Home

Several times we have mentioned on the blog that we do some physical therapy at home. A lot of that includes massaging Abby's left leg, then pushing her knee down to stretch the ligaments and turning her foot into an upright position. We try to make it fun and count to 10 and then cheer and clap for her. She thinks it's a game, so that works out great for all involved.

Recently Mrs. Cheryl gave us some new equipment to add to our regimen at home. We now have a leg brace that holds Abby's leg straight and makes it weight-bearing so she can stand up in her "jumparoo" while she watches a DVD.




And here is Abby standing on her little stepstool. We do this for just 20 minutes a day because it is so physically strenuous for her. Mrs. Cheryl has to continually remind us that this is equivalent to an out-of-shape person doing an advanced aerobic workout, as Abby has never used her hip and leg muscles until after her surgeries.




Yeaaaaah! We're still smiling!



Mama cheering Abby on while she works out those new muscles she's acquiring!




We love you, our brave, sweet little girl!

Making Music

Saturday night our good friends Gary and Peppi Garrett and their sons Kenny and Dalton invited us over for homemade tacos and a fun time of making music. Gary made the cords on his guitar while Abby did the strumming, and they didn't sound too bad either!






Thank you guys for a great night of food, fun and fellowship.

The Gift of Friends

On 12/21/08 we were visited by Rebecca Neighbors and her daughter, Mattelyn. We met Rebecca via the internet while we were in China. She left many encouraging comments on our blog during our China trip and during our Birmingham hospital stay with Abby as well. We have all been anxious to meet this person who befriended us during one of the most trying times of our lives. Abby and Mattelyn had a grand time together and played like they were old friends. Abby enjoyed tickling Mattelyn. And Mattelyn pretended to play "chase" with Abby and made her laugh until she almost lost her breath.




Mattelyn and Abby meet for the first time.





Abby unwrapping gifts from Mattelyn (with a little help from her friend). Abby loves her new books, Mattelyn! Thank you soooo much.











Playing "tickle" with Mattelyn





Mattelyn performing Christmas Carols on her violin. Wow! were we impressed with Mattelyn's talent! She even played "Carol of the Bells" for us...and that is a really hard piece!

Thank you for a very fun visit Rebecca and Mattelyn!

A Week in the Life of Abby

This last week has been kinda crazy, so here is my very belated post! Tuesday and Thursday Abby had physical therapy. Saturday was the Estis Family Christmas. And we also were visited by Uncle Jason, Paw-Paw Freddy, Maw-Maw Sonja, and the Summerville family (all on different days). We have more pictures coming to add on this post, but this will do for now:0)

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A visit from the Summervilles! Amy Summerville was our social worker who did the home study for Abby's adoption. She has been the sweetest friend to us and has continued to keep up with Abby's adoption even though they moved to Florida this past summer. Amy and her husband Demetrius and their children Jayden and Journey came for a visit Tuesday.



Jayden and Abby playing together. Jayden was the perfect little gentleman and Abby enjoyed his company.




Here is Amy and her precious little doll, Journey. We were both expecting our babies at the same time!




A proud Daddy, Demetrius, with Journey. Don't they look just alike!




And here is a closeup of a handsome Jayden. He even let Abby have part of the cookie he dropped without any complaint....what a sweetie!





Amy and Jawanna. Thank you, Amy, for all of the support, prayers, and your friendship. We love you!


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Thursday Abby had some emotional difficulties at physical therapy, so Mrs. Cheryl decided to just have some fun with her. She hooked up a really cool swing and took Abby for a ride...can you tell it worked?! Way to go, Mrs. Cheryl!




Here's a cute picture from Friday....Michael tried to change Abby's diaper but Smitty was in the way and wouldn't move from the blanket. So Michael just laid Abby's legs over him. Ha! No way was he giving up his spot! He finally did jump down, but with much resentment.

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Saturday night was the Estis Family Christmas hosted by Aunt Linda and Uncle Terry. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together and lots of good fellowship. The house was quite full as the Estis Great Grandparents had 8 children, about 35 grandchildren, and we've lost count of how many great-grandchildren! This year we were blessed to add another baby to the mix.




Abby and Great-Grandma Estis, who is 90 years old and still as beautiful as ever.




Abby's mommy stealing a moment with her....she was passed around quite a bit!




Singing Christmas Carols around the piano.

Bubble Bath

Miss Abby taking her bath last night...this is one of her very favorite things in the whole world to do!




We have learned the hard way not to mention the B-A-T-H word until the water is drawn, the towel and washcloth are handy, and her jammies are laid out.




How happy is this?!

Putting up Abby's Christmas Ornament

Here is Abby putting her special Christmas ornament on the tree tonight. Abby's "A" ornament was given to us several Christmases ago by our dear friends Marc & Tammy Wascomb and their daughters Sarah and Laura, while we were in the midst of our looooong wait for Abby! Well, guys, the day has finally come and we will get to celebrate our first Christmas as a family this year! What an awesome blessing!

Our Christmas Angel

Abby's Aunt Carla took these Christmas pictures of her yesterday. Aren't they adorable?

HAPPY FIRST THANKSGIVING ABBY!

Dancing with Daddy.




Our first Thanksgiving with Abby.




Paw-Paw Freddy loved Abby's pink AND camoufloge outfit!

Bungee Physical Therapy

Here is Little Miss Photogenic posing for the camera!



Standing tall with my bungee cords helping to steady me. (This session was pretty cool for Abby because she was able to stand without anyone helping to hold her up. A harness was put around her waist and bungee cords were hooked from the harness to the wire cage. At first she fussed a little since this was such a new feeling and completely independent of human assistance. But soon she was playing and enjoying it like nobody's business.)





What are you doing back there, Mrs. Cheryl?




Getting my leg muscles stretched out.




High Five for Mr. Kevin.




This is so much fun I've forgotten it was supposed to be therapy.