My Annie

Annie at 6 months

Annie at 1 year

11 month old Annie

9 month old Annie

11 month old Annie

1 year old and on the boat with Big Sister, Gloria. 

Boat Baby

Cuddling with Daddy

So peaceful and content.

Our little peaceful girl

Her "bear bed"

Cuddly

Princess

Annie and Maxton

This morning I received some mail from the state with the name "Annie Jean Kendall" and my heart was just overfilled with gratitude.  Everything with Annie has been so easy, and I think it has been so easy to take everything for granted. I don't think I have been as thankful as I should have been because I have felt like it was so easy. Don't get me wrong, there were times when I stressed because of little things, but really, mostly I was confident the entire time that she would be ours forever. I don't know that I ever fully took the time to appreciate the little miracle that she is. I love this little angel so much and couldn't, for a second, imaging my life without her. I wouldn't want to imagine life without her, it would be so much less. This little girl has filled up the spaces in my heart.  But I have always- from the moment she was placed in my arms-  had the feeling that she was ours and knew that Heavenly Father would help us keep her in our family forever. I never really felt the stress of wondering if someone would come and take her away from us. I knew that someone COULD come and take her away, but I never really believed anyone would. I have taken it for granted that she would eventually be our daughter, forever. But this morning, I feel so much gratitude for how easy everything was and that she is ours. I know that things could have (and should have) been a lot more difficult than they were with her (I still find it hard to believe that the social workers in a city 8 hours away let me walk out of the hospital with just a piece of paper telling me to come back in a week- it was a miracle- as any social worker who knows our story will attest to). I know that I had a loving Heavenly Father who watched over us and helped the judges, attorney's and social workers every step of the way. He helped them find all the right laws that pertain to us and our case. Heavenly Father knew that my stress was at the limit, adjusting to 6 kids and a live-in nanny and trying to coordinate our life. He knew what I could handle, and he made this easy baby easily a part of our family. I am so thankful that we didn't have to go through ANY of the stress that we went through with our little Maxton. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is aware of my limits. I am so thankful that we were able to adopt our daughter, virtually stress free. It took a lot of time and a lot of work, a lot of patience, but never the stress of "what if's, and maybe's".  This adoption and her sealing took place only 10 months after we adopted Max. So, we were able to use a lot of the same paperwork and doctors notes and a few other things to make this a little less stressful. I would have gone through the stress and and the craziness for Annie, but I am so thankful that we didn't have to. I am so in love with this precious little girl. She's my baby.