Avary's Post and Jessica's Challenge.

This is Avary on my dad's blog.

I am all about reading. I love to read and write. I write short stories about my day and things I read.

My story I wrote today was about a fary who live to help make different candle smells.

The fary loved all smells even bad smells. The smell of steamed




I just found this. I would love to see how she finishes it. I may let her finish it for now I want her mom to finish the story. So Jessica this is now your blog challenge. +Jessica Upton

Avary's November Boodle Box

 

I was awake early today because apparently my cousin who Avary lives with has just now check her mailbox from Saturday. Avary came screeching up to me holding her box so we could open it up together. She loves everything in the box.

EcoTools Mini Essentials Makeup Brush Set: Avary doesn't wear a full face of make up yet. But like my other cousin's wife said this is a great way for her to learn about it. She said it was important for girls to feel confident with a make up brush instead of scared.

Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner: Avary loved that it has a coconut smell. She wants to save them for her trips she has coming up. I like that idea. Avary loves travel size things which made this even better for her.

Knit Boot Cuffs : Sparks and wonder was going off in Avary's eyes when she seen these. There was something like this on Shark Tank once too. She is super excited about these and right now is wearing them as ankle warmers around the house.

Chocolate Covered Sunny Seeds: I didn’t even know that chocolate covered sunflower seeds actually existed.  I don't think Avary would have been overly excited about sunflower seeds, but chocolate covered ones?  She was pretty excited.

Leather Wrap Bracele: Avary has loved all of the "arm candy," as she calls it, in the boxes. She likes this one a lot.

Fall Paper Straws: Avary loves paper straws. She came home the other day telling me about George's house having paper straws. Now she has her own.

Physicians Formula Natural Bronzer: Avary didn't see the purpose of this so she gave it to my cousin's wife. Avary likes eye make up.

Avary's Boodle Box

Avary received her October 2014 The Boodle Box theme was “SPOOKtacular” and included the following BOO-tiful treats:

White Bling Chevron Watch - Avary loves this. She didn't even want to take it off for me to put in the picture for the review. It's the silicone kind and so it's very durable and flexible.

Rhinestone Ghost Necklace - The Girl Ghost Necklace is a huge hit with Avary. She wants to wear orange (a color she normally hates) all the time so she can wear the necklace too. My cousin informed her it would be fine with other colors as well especially black.

Fantasy Maker RIP Nail Polish by Wet n Wild - The fact I recognized this bottle as soon as Avary showed it to me was a sign. Ridge and her best friend have had several bottles of this for MANY years (think when we were in middle school). It does work really well.

Hard Candy Foiled Again Shadow Sticks - I love that they include age appropriate items like this. These eye shadow sticks are not only perfect for tweens and teens, they are fun for everyone and the colors are great. It's great for slowly introducing make up to Avary.

Silver Snake Ear Cuff - I thought this was a ring at first. It’s an ear cuff. It’s a cool Halloween accessory and like the information card says, perfect for girls who don’t have pierced ears. Avary really like it.

Sunny Side Up Silicone Egg Mold by Fred - Avary hates sunny side up eggs. So instead I am going to add food coloring mix to the batters and use the mold that way.

Black and White Chevron Infinity Scarf - Avary was all excited about this! She is already a little fashionista. She had several outfits planned out to wear with this.

Avary's Box #2

 

Avary came running to me with her new box this morning. She loved this month's theme. She loves neon and animal print. She was all over this box this time and I thought the last time was bad. 

Salon Effects Twin Pack in Wild Child / Kitty, Kitty by Sally Hansen - She loves these. I know she is dying to put them on her little finger nails.

Leopard Print Purse Ring Organizer by Jewelry Nanny - She only has two rings. But she is growing up and that is going to change quickly I'm afraid.

Bow Midi Ring - Speak of rings... She loves this bow ring. It fits her like a regular ring for now. She loves it because it has so many "diamonds in it."

No Crease Hair Ties in Glitter and Animal Prints by Sisterly Ties - She was squealing about these the moment she opened the box. Pink, glitter and animal print? Did they make this box just for her?

Pink Leopard Shoelaces by EpicSports - She was pulling the shoestrings out of her Keds faster than than Snape runs from shampoo.

Pop Beauty Lip Balm - She was very excited about this too. It went on bright hot pink but she seemed to love it so why not?

Zebra Print Nail Polish Remover Pads by NPW Gifts - According to my cousin nail polish pads are better than the regular stuff. "I mean you can get the polish off much cheaper with a cotton ball and a big bottle of nail polish remover right? Well you can, but it takes half the bottle to get glitter off your nails. Nail polish remover pads work much better for those tough jobs."

Avary's First Sub Box

My daughter received her first sub box thanks to my cousin, Erica. Erica did not tell me or Avary about it. It was a total surprise to both of us. And let's just say Avary approves times 1000 and so do I.

Naughty but Nice Cupcake Hand Cream - Before Avary told me what this was I swore it was a jewelry box. It actually smells like strawberry cream. Avary is very proud of it.

Hard Candy Kaleyedescope Eye Shadow Duo in ‘Daydream’ - Avary lapsed into a speech of how this can be applied wet for a more dramatic look or dry for a lighter, more shimmery look. As long as it's just eye shadow I am okay with it.




Strawberry Sponge Curlers - When I first glanced at these I figured they were bath bombs or something. But foam curlers for Avary? Even better. I think it's kind of funny. Perfect for her too.



Cupcake Wipes by Good Earth Beauty - There are only ten of these and Avary has big plans for them in Disney World. Maybe I will tuck these away for her to actually use at Disney.

Lily Fabric Keychain by Marinas Closet - I don't think Avary has ever owned her own keychain. I think 5 years old is a good time to change that too.

Cupcake Key Cover by Gama Go - Avary and I made a pack that this would cover our Huntsville House key when we get up there in the next month

Neon Beaded Bracelets with Rhinestones - Avary about knocked me over showing me her bracelets. Neon beads with one rhinestone bead. She loves them.

Most Magical Thing In the World

Now that you have a family where are you off to? To Walt Disney World with my Family!

I have been, my daughter and my future wife have not. Where are we going Disney World! I have been as a kid and I went the last two times that my cousin has went. So my excitement is building more and more each day.

I like many other fellow Disney goers know just long how it takes to prepare for a Disney trip. I am preparing for my little family's first Disney trip. I have two very excited girls. They squeal randomly. Avary will do a wiggle dance when she thinks about packing even.

We have a Disney Queen in our present and she is awesome at Disney trips. This girl has went to Disney about 50 times as a vacation and is just 23. Right now she is working there "helping" the characters. She has about 6 or 7 Disney binders with different kinds of information. She is trying to get certification as a Disney travel agent. This girl is going to be amazing at it too.

It's because of this girl that my family gets to go to Disney World. She is insisting to take us for free. She said that she loves getting to see people's reaction to their first Disney trip. And since my future wife and my daughter are going on their first trip Hunter is going to have double the fun. Disney should pay this girl. She takes them to Disney then makes them hooked and they go back and back.

I am learning a lot from her and I have started planning. I am purchasing a lot of supplies to make planner. I going to Office Depot tomorrow to start our planner. I know my future wife will be proud.

My world land for this project can be found HERE.

One Little Heartbeat At A Time

Did I have doubts? Of course. But I knew that God was doing this for a reason. Things like this didn't just come up back to back for nothing. God knew what he was doing in my life and I will be forever grateful for him giving me the blessings He has this year.

First I knew that I may have a situation where I would have to step in and adopt my sister. I was her Godfather. So I had been prepared to take over if I needed to do so but I was never expecting to actually have to put that into action.

After countless hours of social worker meetings, talking to lawyers, child services and going over finances, Avary is my daughter completely.

I was very nervous about the home study, but I just prayed and God was looking out for me. Having to write my autobiography was nerve wrecking enough, but the other things such as having to get a physical (to see if you have a normal life expectancy and normal mental health. Any prior mental issues could cause problems. Apparently being confused a lot isn't a big deal. ), personal interviews (the view to see if you live in a stable environment and how you handle situations) these were also the longest process because it's not just one interview and they are not always announced, then the criminal background check, financial Statements (financial records are reviewed by the social worker conducting the home study and they include annual income, savings, liabilities or debt, and overall net worth) and they went over my insurance and what insurance I plan on getting for Avary.

It was a long a tedious process but knowing that I go to sleep at night knowing that Avary completely safe the rest of her life makes it worth the process.

People have asked what the costs of the process was and I won't lie it was very costly. The home studies range themselves from $500 to $3000. Mine was in between those. And there will be post studies as well. Erica helped me get the best lawyer though so there are no loop holes.

As for a mother for Avary? Jessica will do just fine. Those two are so much like each other it's a wonder that Avary didn't come out of her. It is priceless. With those two my world is complete and I feel like I am sitting on a million dollars.

Yes in the future we plan to adopt more and hopefully have our own. As long as God is the center of what we do then who can be against us and win?

Not Anytime Soon

She had my heart the moment I seen her little black and somewhat white-gray picture.

I was upset yet but it was time to get over that and move on. My mom wouldn't want me to harbor hate and living in a hole.

Then the day came and it was over for me...

The tiny bundle was place in my arms. She did her crinkle coo at me and drifted off to sleep. I stared at the wrinkle little old man looking tiny baby girl in my arms that I had tried so hard to hate. She wouldn't be taking the place my deceased sister; she found her own space in my heart.

Avary Tilly McLachlan was placed into my arms placed into my arms six years ago this year.

She was the main reason for me to keep returning home while I was away at college, because it honestly hurt to return home and see places where I had grew up.

Avary changed so much of that for me. She let me see that it was okay to move on. She helped me to see the sparkle of Christmas even more. She was a baby on her back and we would lay her on her back under the tree and she would wildly kick and squeal especially with the lights were "dancing" and twinkling.

I feel privilege to look back and realize to see the impact I have had on her life already. She would run to me every single time I would come home. She knew I was going to protect her. I watched her grow from being two years old to twenty-two years old.

And now she is becoming legally mine. She loves the idea but knows that I am stricter than her biological mom and my dad. She gets away with a lot now that I wouldn't let her. However, this will be amazing thing for she and I both.

Avary knows over 200 mainstream and country songs. She loves zebra print and glittery. She already loves to shop and wears over sized sunglasses like a celebrity. She can get an attitude despite her being shy at times.

I was taking this three foot, five year old (who thinks she is twenty-five) out for lunch yesterday. She came down the stairs all dressed up. We get frowned at all the time for what we let her dress in but her mom let's her dress in whatever. But yesterday's outfit was not terrible. The thing that matter was that she had on little red wedges for little girls.

Avary grinned at me. "Look I have on red shoes! I'm like Kellie pickler! I'm about to show you how good leaving feels in my red high heels." I grabbed her up and spun her around. "You aren't leaving me anytime soon." She is my favorite little human.

In the future she will leave me and I may just have to watch her ... in her red high heels.

Dirty Dancing

I carried a watermelon.

So this post is going to be about my day with my daughter/sister. I am adopting my sister and she will be my daughter. She is my pride and joy right now (besides my gorgeous girlfriend.)

Today was Nathaniel and Avary Day. She is starting to take and like dance more and more. She will soon be taking private lessons. But I decided to take upon myself to teach her some of the basics, because I started taking dance at the age of three. I do not regret it at all. I have more leg strength than most athletes. So go ahead and call me gay. Most girls dream of a guy who can twirl them like a princess.

So I was teaching her today. She likes learning the cha cha more and more even though that's not the basics. I definitively have a ball room dancer on my hands. She loves learning more complicated moves than basics. Which is frustrating for me and her but we are working through it.

Plus, crazy as it she loves the movie Dirty Dancing.We love watching dancing movies. I like the older ones and not the hip hop bull from today.

Well we had finished practicing today and I decided to treat her since she had really worked hard on her tap and ballet. She was still in her leotard and shoes and I went out in mine leotard and my dancing pants. We were eating our ice dream from Chick fil a in the park. She was playing my iTunes and doing different little dances. I was cracking up at her doing some of those crazy dances.

She was so entertaining she started developing a little audience of parents as their kids played on the playground. And then fate stepped in and "Time of My Life" and I scooped her up and tried my hardest to mimic the dance moves with her from the movie. She was loving it all the way. And then came the moment for her to run into my arms.

We nailed it. She squealed. We both loved that moment. She loved it because I made her dreams come true of doing that dance and I loved it because I realized that I can do this dad thing. Not every day will be like this, no. But the memories of days like today will get me through the hard days. That's what parenting and marriage is all about making sure there are memories that are amazing to get you through the hard times.

Needless to say we got applause and went home very happy.