We took some beach pictures. The white dress is a dress that I found in a local antique store. It was made around 1865. I think it was beautiful on SJ.

Happy 4th

What a celebration. We got with more of the Xiushan sisters families. We hadn't seen Bethany since we parted ways in Hong Kong. She is the youngest of the girls, but was the same size as SJ. We took special pictures on the beach and tried to get all five girls together. Unfortunately, as usual, they didn't want to cooperate. So some are facing forward and some were too busy playing and had their backs to the camera. Oh well, it's the only one of all five girls.

What a Difference One Year Makes - July 1, 2008

Happy Sarah Day. Today is filled with emotion as one year ago we got our beautiful spicy girl. I can't image what this past year would have been like without her. We wake up to a sweet voice in the morning - Hi momma, Hi daddy. Lay with momma. Lay with daddy. I love you. The giggles and laughter. Of course it's not all smiles and giggles. There is also the strong will and battles and tears. There is the questions and learning - What's this, Who's that?

We started out going to the beach with Nana, Pop Pop, Aunt L and Uncle M. We played in the sand and K took to the water to catch some waves.






Our surfer girl.

Later in the afternoon we met up with two of SJ's Xiushan sisters and their families.

Sarah sharing goldfish with AG.

One Year Ago - July 2, 2008 - Happy Family Day

CQ China - We left Beijing that morning - all 10 families. Nine of us were all going to Chongqing to receive our daughters in just a few hours. We all were a bundle of nerves. What did our daughters look like? Will they cry when first meeting their new families? Will we cry when those precious girls are placed in our arms? We all could not wait to meet them. It was about a 2 hours flight from Beijing to CQ. We arrived around noon and ate lunch. That was interesting to say the least but then onto the hotel. Once at the hotel we had to meet right away in the conference room to get our paperwork ready as we were to leave shortly to travel to the government office to officially receive our new daughters.

July 29, 2008 - One Year Ago - Part I

One year ago we were leaving for China to get our CQ girl. Today, we are leaving for the beach to visit with several of the families that we traveled with as well as my in-laws. Throughout the course of the week we will be meeting up with four other families for the Xiushan Sisters reunion. I can't wait to see the girls and how much they have changed since leaving China. This will be SJ's 2nd visit to the beach. She wasn't too thrilled with the first visit back in January when we went to the Bahamas. But Nana can't wait to play in the sand with Fu Huan and Grace can't wait to hit the beach and water.

27 months

Today, SJ is 27 months old. Wow. And one year ago tomorrow we and 9 other families were boarding the plan to China. It doesn't seem real that we have already had one year of being together as a family of four. We will be celebrating with several of the other families that we traveled with at the beach this week. Once again I am frantically packing, cleaning and trying to get ready to travel. I will try to get some pictures posted of the girls and family during the week. SJ can't wait to see her nana & pop pop. She woke up this morning asking for nana & pop pop. We said - Tomorrow you will see them. She is also getting good at saying Uncle Mark and Aunt Laura. We'll see what happens when she sees them.

K did a wonderful job at music camp this past week. The HS band was absolutely awesome. The music was difficult and the group played it to perfection. They did that only seeing the music for four days.

Just a Few More Days

In a few more days we will be celebrating one year as a family. We are getting together with several of the families (Xiushan sisters) to celebrate together. I can't wait to see the girls. K is now at a music camp this week. She is enjoying herself and is learning a lot. She was placed in 6th chair in the high school band for this week. That's pretty awesome. We will get to hear her play on Friday afternoon.