After Gotcha

I'm behind in a BIG way....like a month behind but I'll attempt to catch up.   Here are the pictures of when we brought S back to the Victory Hotel.  November 5th--Guanzhou China. I also included her most recent updated pics to show how she has changed.

Gotcha Day!

Here are the Gotcha Day pictures from November 2nd.    I know all of you have been waiting to see them.  Since I'm struggling with JETLAG I skipped editing the pictures. 

On Monday, November 2nd at 2 pm we were anxiously awaiting our taxi to the CAB office when they called and said the orphanage car had broken down on the way to meet us.   Just to finish off the 18 month wait, we waited some more :) We arrived before Ji and there were several families finishing up at that time.  Then Ji arrived with her nanny and the assistant orphanage director.  She was so tiny.  Even with everything I already knew about her, I was still shocked at her size.  Her hair was sparse, she had a large bump on her forehead from rubbing it on the crib bars, and she was covered in sores caused by scabies.  14 pounds and 3 years old.  She literally looks like a 3 month old.  SHOCKING! She didn't cry when they gave her to me and immediatly it felt like she was my daughter.   We held her, took some pictures and then returned to our hotel.  EVEN THOUGH.....I know what I know......it was horrifying to see her this way.  Honestly, I wanted to punch someone until God quietly reminded me not to judge.  He reminded me that orphans aren't a priority in some places and that this is why he called us to come for our daughter.  This is why I will never give up fighting for the orphan because there are 147 million more waiting.....sick and starving. 

More of our China adventure to come soon.....



Halloween 2012

Last Day of School

I've been taking a break from everything including blogging.  Here are a few pictures of the last day school.  Better late than never.

Girl's Night

In January Molls and I started a Thursday night tradition.  A few things for her and something for me as well.  We call it girls night and we haven't missed one since setting the date in January. We start our afternoon at dance.  On this particular day they were having recital pictures.  Here is Molly with her sweet teacher Miss Jordan.   Here is what Miss Jordan wrote on Molly's end of year dance report.    Molly is such a little star!  She has so much natural talent and always greets me with a smile!  She is truly one of a kind.  Can't wait to see what her future holds.  Proud Momma moment, sigh....

Then we head to Weight Watchers for a meeting.  I've lost 18.4 pounds since January by following the plan.  It's been super helpful for weight loss and even more so for a girl with food issues (that's me).   I'm so tired of secrets and the only way to get help is for people to start being honest.   Since I was 14 years old I've had terrible eating habits.  I won't go into the why but WW has helped me move past so much of that.  I haven't skipped a meal since January.  I can't tell you how huge this is!  I love the meetings and the leader Lori is amazing.  Molly has even made friends at WW which isn't surprising :) She understands that we go there to learn how to eat healthy.  This is just the beginning of undoing 20+ years of unhealthy eating habits.

 Next we walk to Target.  On the way we must stop to look at the new dresses at Gema's elegant dress shop.  Then we pick our favorite dress from the window.  Molly always picks the one with the fullest skirt.

Then to Target.   Am I raising a girlie girl or what?   I was such a tomboy and this is all new to me.  I always thought the princess stuff would make me want to gag.  What she loves I love. So be it!

We finish our Thursdays off by eating out.   She picks one week and I pick the next.  Here we are at Braum's.  Her choice :)

I'm so thankful that I've been able to have quality time alone with my girlie.  We always look forward to Thursdays and you can see why!  I asked her last week what would happen when Ji comes.  She said, it will be 3 girls against 2 boys.  Ji will come with us Mom.

Sunday Snapshot-Baby Angel Ji

I recently received this picture of Ji from Faith International.  It was taken when she was 9-10 months old.  This Mommy is loving seeing her baby with some hair, even though it's shaved now.  25 days into the LOA wait.....



3 Years Old

Timmy turned 3 yesterday.  His dinner request was beans and rice.  His favorite presents were a big wheel from us, a bubble mower from Mimi, a cross necklace from Aunt Susie, and a big green digging truck from Grammie and Gramps. Meghan brought him gum and that was a hit as well.  He kept telling me not to eat it.  :) Our celebration was pretty low key.  Dinner and cupcakes with Molly and Sarah from next door.  Happy 3rd Birthday Timmy!  We love you tons!

May 13-Sunday

I'm not gonna lie. This Mother's Day did not start out in a great way.  We did end up going to my happy place, Fossil Rim.  Molly, Bob, and I enjoyed the scenery and feeding the animals.  Timmy sat in the back exploring the different seat belts.  LOL!  After Fossil Rim Timmy was dedicated at church and we had people over for pizza and cake.  There are no pictures of this because there was just too much going on (in a good way).  After the party Molly tucked Timmy into bed a read him some stories.  She is such a wonderful big sister.   Happy late Mother's Day everyone!

May 12-Saturday

Within a span of four days we celebrate our anniversary, Timmy's Birthday, Bob's Birthday, Mother's Day and Timmy's dedication at church.  Joyful celebrations but also exhausting and expensive by the end of it all.  Next year we must have a better plan!  On Saturday (our anniversary) Bob worked and I played with the kids.  We went to see the Three Stooges because Molly was dying for it.  We ended up leaving in the middle because she was so scared that Larry, Curly and Mo were going to be eaten by a lion.  She was literally screaming out loud. Not to mention that there was a lot of very inappropriate adoption talk.  WARNING for readers with adopted kiddos.   Later we went to our favorite park and as you can tell Molly climbed (she is such the climber) and Timmy tested out the equipment.  He still prefers to stand on the sidelines for awhile before going for it.   On this particular day he had fun swinging on his tummy and teaching his duck to ride the bouncy horse!  Bob and I actually celebrated our 5 year anniversary the weekend before and just exchanged cards on the actual day.  I'll be posting soon about Sunday!

For more fun pictures click the Nihaoyall link below.  It's one of my very favorite blogs!