Summer reunion

Our family had the opportunity to go to Hilton Head South Carolina for a reunion with a couple of the families that were on our adoption journey with us. It was so fun to see everyone again and for Sarah to reconnect with two of the other children who were adopted. How wonderful it was to see their sweet smiling faces and to hear the laughter as they played. You just can't keep from smiling when you hear the laughter of children. Our lives have been so enriched and I am so grateful we were able to bring Sarah home and for the opportunity we had to meet such wonderful people on our journey. It was so fun to spend a week together with the other families catching up on the past year. Hilton Head was beautiful and we enjoyed going to the beach, going on a dolphin cruise where we saw several dolphins, shopping, eating at fun places and making memories. We look forward to another reunion next year.

One Year Home

March 2, 2010 was our one year celebration of "gotcha day", Sarah has now been with our family for a year. The year flew by, so much faster then the time we spent waiting for her to be with our family. It has been a wonderful year, she is such a blessing to our family and I thank God every day for the blessings we have been given.
Sarah has grown and changed so much during this past year. She feels secure with her family and knows she is safe and so loved. She continues to be such a tease, the other day Todd was working on something and had taken his glasses off and set them on the table, Sarah carefully picked them up and gently placed them in his back pocket without him feeling it. Then when he was finished with what he was doing and he went to get his glasses, they weren't there. He asked where his glasses were and Sarah started to giggle and put her hand over her mouth, she then showed him where they were. She teases her sisters too and it is so much fun! I love to see her personality just shine.
Sarah loves to look at books and have us read to her, she loves to sing songs and she continues to love to help others. She loves to play dress up and has a great imagination. She hates being dirty or sticky and likes her surroundings to be clean too.
I love to hear her laugh, it just brings so much joy to my heart! I think about the time we spent waiting for Sarah, sometimes it was so hard, not knowing so many things but moving forward in faith and hope. And now, my heart is just filled with so much gratitude.
We took her to Disneyland in March and we were standing in line to get a picture taken with Goofy, she was eating some fruit snacks when all of a sudden she put the package in my hand and said, "Goofy no snacks, need get own." I love to hear her talk, she is starting to say more words and sometimes it is just so funny with what she comes up with. Sometimes it is still a little difficult to understand what she is trying to say and I know that is frustrating to her but I think she is doing really well and she understands everything we say to her or so it seems. She is an amazing little girl and my life is so much better because she is a part of it. I so look forward to watching her grow and learn and to see what she will come up with next.

Chinese New Year

February 15, 2010 we held our first Chinese New Year's celebration. We had so much fun! Several families came over and helped us celebrate. This is the year of the tiger! We decorated our house and with help made some traditional Chinese dishes to eat. There were crafts for the kids and we all learned about some of the Chinese New Year customs. Sarah especially loved the food, she wasn't quite sure about all the people or about exactly what was going on, but she seemed to have a good time. We are all looking forward to many more celebrations!

Playing Catch Up

It has been hard to keep up on the blog, seems there is always something going on. Sarah is continuing to grow and blossom and is such a joy and blessing.
Fall brought the excitement of her first Halloween, we were surprised she got down on the floor and helped carve pumpkins, she doesn't like to get dirty or messy but she was very interested in the pumpkins and helping her sisters get all the seeds out. She enjoyed dressing up but wasn't overly impressed with going trick or treating. We took her to the mall and she was a little frightened of people dressed in their costumes, she thought the candy was fun but was ready to go home fairly quickly. It was fun to see her dressed up.

Thanksgiving was spent with family and it was so nice to be together and give thanks for the many blessings we have been given.

The first snow came and Sarah watched out the window as it fell softly to the ground and she squealed in delight, "bubbles" that image sounded so much nicer then what really was to come.

December brought much excitement as Christmas decorations were put up and presents placed under the tree. Sarah was really good about not disturbing the gifts, she did point to them each day and knew which ones were for her. We all awaited eagerly on Christmas morning for her to wake up but finally at 8:30 am, I went and woke her and asked her if she wanted to open presents. She shouted Yay! She didn't know quite what to think of the tricycle and table and chairs that awaited her, but soon she was on her "bike" and with a little help was riding it through the house. And Todd had to sit at her new table and eat breakfast with her. It was a wonderful day and I am so grateful for such a wonderful family and the opportunity to be together and remember our Savior and His birth and life. So grateful for our many, many blessings!
Sarah continues to amaze me. She still loves to tease and we spend alot of time laughing at the funny things she does. There isn't anything better then to hear her laugh and see her smile. She has almost been home with us for a year, it doesn't seem possible that the time could have gone so fast. And yet it seems like she has been with us always. She is 2 1/2 years old now but oh so wise for her age. Her insight of things boggles my mind at times. The other day Sarah and I were looking at a book that was photographs of a Chinese orphanage. We looked at the childrens pictures and I pointed to a little girl and said she looked sad. Sarah pointed to her and shook her head back and forth and said mama, dada. Then she pointed to herself and smiled and nodded her head up and down and said mama, dada and pointed to me. She continued this with the other girls in the book. I asked her if she thought they were sad because they didn't have a mama and dada and she nodded her head and said yes. I held her close and said yes you have a mama and dada who love you so much. My heart aches for those who do not know a mothers love and fathers embrace. I pray for those who feel so alone in this big world of ours, so many who are afraid, and hungry, who have had to learn to be a survivor while still so very young.
I will be forever grateful that we were prompted so strongly to adopt and that we were able to do so, we need each other.

Fall