Who is this child?

I don't know what happened while I was at work today, but something changed.

Annabel has continued to keep me at arm's length. She doesn't mind hugging others, holding hands, being touched. But if I come close, she immediately withdraws and sometimes even gives me an "EWWWW!" to ensure that I understood my touch was not acceptable.

But tonight I commented on a picture that she had colored and how well she had done. She really has improved dramatically in her artistic ability. The first drawings she did had people with very stunted arms with hands protruding from the side of the body. It looked more like a 3-4 year old's drawing.

This was her Hello Kitty poster that she bought with her money from the games. It was done with a bright selection of colors, done within the lines, and completed.

She decided it was for me! Wow! That was a huge change!!!! Grace suggested she give it to Gillian and Darcey since they were leaving tomorrow, but she insisted that it was for me.

Then we were going to play Clue. It is difficult for Annabel to play games like this since a considerable amount of reading is involved.

She decided she and I would be partners! I was so surprised! We didn't win. Actually no one did. It was a very strange game of Clue! I'm not sure if they have really read the instructions or not!!

It has become a game at bedtime for her to hide under her covers to avoid a good night kiss. The only time she allowed me to kiss her was when she had her surgery. I think at this point she would be very disappointed if I didn't try!

Today was such a change from yesterday when she seemed grumpy and hard to please.

Last night she had called me into the bathroom when they were getting ready for their shower. "Mom! What's this?" was the question as she showed me her underwear. Oh NO, am I going to have "THE TALK" on 1/1/09???? I wasn't quite prepared for that. With a little more questioning it was determined that she needed more fiber in her diet. Whew!

We went to Golden Corral for lunch/dinner(?) tonight.

One thing for sure, those four girls get their money's worth! They really work well together - when one wanted to go back to the buffet, there was always a "partner" that wanted to go with them.

I am still trying to find a car to buy. I've leased so long and have decided it is time to actually buy something and have some collateral, like Dad suggested. I had seen some good buys at a dealership close to downtown.

As we went through downtown we saw the protesters outside the federal courthouse. The girls were very interested, as we all were. When I tried to explain, I realized I didn't know how to. How to explain the Israel/Palestinian conflicts? Mom jumped in and did a beautiful job explaining the conflict and the girls seemed to understand.

I didn't buy the car and dread shopping for one!

On our way home we took a side trip to drive Gillian and Darcey by Neiman's. They had seen a program on TV about the window displays and were anxious to see it in real life.

The girls are going home tomorrow. It doesn't seem like a week has passed. Gillian continues to amaze us at her creativity, hard work, and caring personality. She was very sensitive to Annabel when she felt left out, she found ways to include her in "special" ways. Darcey continues her sweetness. She can ask more questions than anyone I know, but her vulnerability is so endearing, you just want to hold her close so no harm can come to her.

We haven't decided who gets to drive the girls to Waco tomorrow. More on that later!