I'm Slacking and Little "D"

So yes, I totally slacked on my Thanksgiving blogs. Oh well another failure to add to the bucket! I can't be perfect all the time. Right?
On a successful note... we have a date set to go infront of Judge for our adoptions! January 11th is the big day! We will add three more to our family of four. Wow I just realized; we will almost double the size of our family. Although it's not a big change; they have been in family for a year and a half. This just makes it official.
So now I need to introduce you to my baby girl. We did the boys a while back so it's her turn. Back when I did the boys I revealed their middle names and said her middle name was a secret. Well the cat's out of the bag. So.....
Here is ______ Doris Gilmore!
Doris gets her middle name from my great grandma on my maternal grandma's side. You see Great Grandma Doris died shortly after giving birth to my mom's Aunt Carol. Grandma Doris had a total of three girls. Shannon, Linda (my grandma) and Carol. The girls never got to know their mother. My grandma was shipped from relative to relative all her childhood and never truly had a "mom." She had no memories of her mother; she was only two when her mom passed. No family talked about Grandma Doris so the girls had NO idea of her or who she was. Grandma Linda lived her entire life wondering about Momma; what did she like, did she have hobbies, what kind of mom would she have been had she been given the chance to watch her girls grow up. This was/is a great deal of heartache for Grandma Linda.
Well, last Thanksgiving we were hearing talks of Peytan becoming available for adoption. At the same time we traveled to Iowa to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma Linda. When we were there Grandma shared a letter with us that her cousin had recently written to her about her mother. This was a beautiful letter that described nothing other than a perfect, loving, proud mother to three beautiful girls. Her greatest joy was dressing up the girls in handmade dresses and new shoes to take them to town and show them off. She took great pride in her children and loved and nurtured them to no avail. The short time they did get to spend with their mother was the best time of their mother's life.
This letter was everything Grandma Linda had ever needed. A confirmation that her mom loved her and wanted nothing short of the best for her. While she read this letter we all cried; tears of joy for the woman she was, tears of disappointment for not getting to know her and tears of sorrow for missing a lady we had never even met. But most of all; tears of relief for my grandma who finally had some closure to a chapter of her life she had lived for 67 years.
It was that night I decided if we get to keep this foster child her new middle name will be nothing other than Doris. But it was a secret from Grandma Linda!
So, Grandma Linda came to IN for Thanksgiving this year. We got to spend a wonderful afternoon with her baking and doing prep work for our big dinner. Grandma Linda got to spend quality time with her mother's name sake all the while not knowing the plan! I asked Grandma to sing her "You Are My Sunshine" the song Grandma sang to my mom and in turn she sang to us kids. And baby girl sang it back to her! Talk about tears!!! And then I asked her, "Remember when you read us that letter about your mom?" She got a real funny look on her face. "Well, yes..." she replied. And I told her, "After that I decided when we get to rename the baby her middle name will be DORIS."
The look on her face was priceless! It was suspence, joy, excitement.... everything all builit up into one face. Then it happened; the waterworks! She didn't know what to do. She cried to Little Doris, she hugged me, she clapped her hands in excitement! The look on her face told me, "If I die tomorrow, I will die a happy a fulfilled lady b/c I have met my very mother's namesake. And that was exactly what I was going for!
So know that we got her name out of the way... Doris is a silly, sassy, spunky little girl. She turned two in November and also had her first haircut that month. She is very smart and talks up a storm. Usually telling her big brother (by three months) what to do! She's not afraid to point her finger at you. She loves to play babies and is very possibly the best doll mommy I have ever seen. OK She IS the best doll mommy. She nurtures the older kids; it's so sweet! And has just started to fight back and protect herself from Hunter, her brother that is three months older than she is. She likes phones, laptops or puters as she calls them and purses and shoes. Someone get a runway b/c this girl likes fashion! She constantly changes clothes (it doesn't matter whos it is; she is currently wearing a red and black size 8 boys sweater and yelled at me b/c I had my feet on a laundry basket!) She likes Dora toys (not so much the show) and Mickey Mouse Club House and Dinosaur Train cartoons. She is into all things pretty and sparkley. Very petite body but BIG opinions!
Doris is the girl every mother wants. I was just blessed enough to get two of them!
And for those wondering; yes we are done after this. No more fostering either. It's been a hard decision but our kids need us... all of us. They have been thru enough tug and pull in their short lives already. There is no need for me to bring on more uncertainity. We are just looking forward to concentrating on OUR kids and getting to enjoy them as a normal family.
I will post more as the adoptions go thu, YAY!