Shameless, I know

I just think the girls are so sweet and I want to share them with ya'll. I know that my blog hasn't been much of a place for deep thoughts or profound insights, but right now, my life is full of my family. It is amazing to me to have 2 girls in my house this Christmas. Especially being last Christmas without any. I do have to quickly share that Joy had a visit with her birth grandma last week and during the first part of the visit, her grandma was naming various family members who were interested in adopting Joy. I have to tell you that my heart was beginning to do little twists and turns. Eventually the grandma said something along the lines of, "Because I heard that you don't want her anymore now that you have your baby." Wow! I quickly tried to let her know that nothing could be further from the truth. I told her that we "love this little girl" and that "we think it would be a special gift from the Lord to raise two girls so close together in age since my sister and I are so close together in age." I didn't tell her that when we found out about the possibility of Elle, I called to ensure that adopting Elle wouldn't jeapordize our possibility of adopting Joy. I was so thankful that I was told it wouldn't...I don't know what I would have done if they had said it would. Anyway, by the end of the visit, Joy's grandma said that she thought it would be best if Joy stayed with us. She said it about 3 times. I have to tell you that it certainly filled my heart with hope that we might actually get to be Joy's parents for always. I do realize that the grandma doesn't get to choose where Joy goes, but it is nice to know that she is for us and thinks that Joy is in a good place. In the meantime, we keep trusting God. He knows what is best. His will be done. Okay...now for the pictures.

Joy likes holding Elle and asks to do so often. She was trying to hug Elle, Elle wasn't too happy.
I was baking some brownies with nuts in them and Joy needed something to do, so I gave her a cup of flour to play with. This is the end result.
I thought Elle looked quite cute in this little outfit. It is short sleeved, but I tried the layering approach and think it worked.This isn't THE Christmas picture, but it is a preview of what the picture will be like.
Again, I just thought Elle looked too cute not to take a picture.
This picture shows my first attempt at putting a little pony tail in Joy's hair. She doesn't sit still for long so I don't have time to experiment. But, isn't she cute?!