The Last Week

The last week has been another busy week as I prepare for the school year to end. We have had a lot of parties and get togethers and have just been busy. I am working a ton but it is almost over and June 10 is not too far away-- so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been nice and warm so we have spent a ton of time in the pool. Here are some pictures of Mia in another one of her new Kate Mack bathing suits. This one is called "Hula Girl". I love yellow on her!!!

Playing with the boys friend Kas

Big smile!

And Another

Playing on the step

Kicking water at the boys

Kasy and Kas are always so nice to Mia and always include her in their play. They are the boys close friends and we love when they come over to play. They are sweet boys from a wonderful family.

Kickin it...

We have a view out our big kitchen window and this is what we get to see right now.

It is a humming bird nest that is built on top of this little hanger thing we have on one of our patio cover posts. We have a humming bird feeder one post over so I think the bird just thought this was a good place to make a nest-- right next to food. There are 2 eggs in the nest-- tiny little eggs.

Here is a shot to give you perspective.

This weekend we were lounging around and Mia climbed up on the stool and started playing on my little lap top. She was so funny because she unconsciously put her hand on my coffee mug. It was such a funny site-- totally a picture of me in the morning-- I just had to take a picture.

Working hard!!

And a smile for mommy-- love the bed head!

May 21~ 2 Year GOTCHA Anniversary!

Two years ago today, in Changsha Hunan China, we were united with our baby girl for the first time.

The day started with all the butterflies you would expect. We were told that we were part of a group that would receive their babies in the afternoon at 3pm. We traveled alone so we were very disappointed when we heard we had to wait all day to get Mia but thought there was a group of us having to wait. We spent the morning preparing and went to an elementary school with another family to check things out. It was so cool to see all the kids and the kids thought we were stars. They were totally tripped out by Kevin because he is so tall (6 foot 2 inches)and they actually clapped when they heard I was a psychologist. Totally a cool way to spend our morning!!

After visiting the school we went back to the hotel and were inundated with babies everywhere. All the families that we had met in the hotel had all received their babies that morning and they were all busy getting to know their new addition. We were so anxious and kept looking around for other waiting families but it seemed everyone had their babies. We had some lunch and went up stairs to prepare the diaper bag. About 2:30pm our guide picked us up and we headed to the Civil Affairs Office for Hunan. As soon as we got there I realized I left my camera battery charging back in our room so all we had was our video camera. I was totally upset but got over it as we got on the elevator to head upstairs to the office we would be united with our daughter. I was confused as I did not see any other families around as we walked up to the building but thought maybe they were already upstairs. I also did not know if Mia was there yet but knew I would soon find out. I wasn't not sure how they would do the whole process. Were the parents going to line up and the babies come in one by one or would it be a more official process. I was totally nervous and my stomach was full of butterflies as the elevator stopped at the 2nd floor. The door to the second floor opened and we gave our video camera to our guide Susan. We stepped out of the elevator and the hallways were empty and the door at the far end of the hallway was closed. There was a lady standing down by the door that was holding a baby in her arms. We walked towards the lady and almost immediately recognized the baby she was holding was obviously Mia. I lost it for about one second and then quickly composed myself so that I didn't scare her. We walked towards the lady and our guide asked where everyone was and we quickly realized we were there alone-- so alone that the official lady who oversees the baby hand off had already left. Apparently she did not realize there was 1-- count it-- 1- family left for the afternoon session. We were it and it was just us and Mia. What a phenomenal blessing that we were able to spend time getting to know Mia before she was placed in our scary white arms. Here is the first moment we saw Mia as we stepped off the elevator.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Finally the official lady arrived and we were escorted into the room. We showed her our official paperwork and then they handed Mia to Kevin. It was just us-- alone-- by ourselves in a room with Mia. It was quiet and calm and she just thrived. Absolutely, without question, the perfect GOTCHA moment!! Here is that moment.







Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing






Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

That day was perfect in every way. You can totally see how God had planned it our perfectly for us. From our 20 minute "get to know you" session in the hallway to being the only family in the room-- God provided the perfect situation for us to meet our daughter for the first time.

After the receiving Mia we went to buy some supplies and then to the hotel to get to know her better. We played on the bed and looked at her little hands and feet and wondered how we could be so lucky. We changed her clothes and got ready for dinner.

The day was sheer perfection and I remember it as if it were yesterday. Last night while putting Mia to bed I showed her the GOTCHA videos. She was very interested but kept saying she wanted to hold the baby. I kept saying that the baby is you Mia. She is only 2 years 6 months now so I think she does not get it yet. She knows she is from China and that daddy and mommy went on a plane to get Mia from China but she really does not get much more than that. I think one more year will give her a lot better understanding of many things regarding the adoption.

Two years with our beautiful little girl has been everything we ever dreamed of. She is a smart, loving, kind, spunky little girl who is one of the three lights of our lives. We thank God so much for bringing her into our lives and allowing us to be her mommy and daddy. We love you so much Mia JunFei !!! Happy 2 years!!!

China Town with The Lucky Mammas!

Last week our Lucky Mamma's club went to China Town in LA to do some cultural fun. We ate at the Empress Pavilion which clearly the kids enjoyed-- so did us mamma's.

Gracie loving the noodles!

Becky and Gracie eating up!

Michelle and Ryan

Susan and Georgie

After we finished eating we tried to take the groups picture on some chairs but I don't think we ever got all the kids together in one picture.

Now we add Ryan

After the lunch we went to a little vendor part of China Town and let the kids play on the toys and we also did a little bit of shopping.

Gracie and Mia having fun on the carousel

Gracie about to take off

Mia in her froggy

Riding the horse was way too much fun

More carousel time

Adding Becky

Doubling up

All our China babies in China Town

You can imagine all the interested looks we got from onlookers. It was a lot of fun and I hope to go back sometime soon.

Two Years Ago Today-- First Day In Beijing!

Two years ago today (well in about 20 minutes since it is 11:40 at night on 5/17 and I am referring to 5/18 two years ago) we had our first full day in Beijing. It was a full day but I remember being exceptionally distracted and everything felt dull because we did not have Mia yet. All I wanted was time to pass quickly so that we could get to Hunan and get our little baby. While in Beijing we did do all the touristy type things like the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square and all the other things. It was amazing to be in a place that had so much history -- but again, I was distracted!

This is our guide and me at the Jade Factory in Beijing. This is me holding up the bracelet I purchased for myself and the peaceful button we bought for Mia. The bracelet was something I wanted from years ago when we first decided to adopt. I was shocked at how expensive the bracelet was but it is great quality and I still wear it today. The peaceful button is a necklace that many Chinese parents give to their daughters-- we wanted to do the same.

Eating dinner at an amazing restaurant in Beijing. There is a funny story behind this. We had dinner up on the top level of the restaurant. There was an elevator to go to the ground level to leave. Kev and I ate dinner and were leaving in the elevator and we saw some nice Canadians who had just adopted and I struck up a conversation with them. They were super nice and when I mentioned that we had been skipped last month she totally immediately knew who I was-- she was like-- are you Christy? It was totally strange but totally cool!! Anyway, she mentioned one lady in her group and I thought I may have known her from our October DTC (group of people that we went through the whole process with for years) and she asked if I wanted to come down to the basement to say hi to everyone. Sure enough, I did and sure enough, I knew many of the families in their group from our DTC group. It was amazingly wonderful to get to see all of them and to see them with their babies. We did not have Mia yet so it was totally cool to be able to see their little babies faces-- it made Mia more real to us.

This is a picture of the whole Canadian group with us. It was a totally cool experience!!

Two Years Ago Today...

Two years ago today we dropped the boys and the dogs off at my parents, said our goodbyes, headed to LAX and then boarded a plane to pick up our baby girl. This day 2 years ago was the beginning of a journey that changed our lives-- that brought us across a sea to finally meet the our baby girl that God had planned for us since before time began. I remember being so nervous but so excited. Lots of nerves- do I have everything- what if she cries constantly- will she shut down? Lots of nerves but totally overshadowed by the excitement of meeting our baby girl for the first time.

Saying our goodbyes to the boys. It was so hard leaving them but they got to watch us on our blog and every night we skyped and got to picture chat. It was fun for them to see us while in China and great for us to get to see them.

The final goodbye picture

At LAX waiving by to my sister Cass who was nice enough to drive us into LA (only actually 45 min drive with no traffic).

Remember Kevin had broke his hip in February so he was still on crutches while in China. He actually climbed the great wall on crutches.

The Most Adorable Dress EVER!!!

Yes I think it is!!! It is the most adorable dress that could ever be made. And who do you think gave this amazing dress to my beautiful little girl??? That would be my blogger pal Kim at Journey to Isablella. When we met up with Kim and her family last week at Disneyland, Kim lavished Mia with wonderful gifts including this adorable dress her friend Cora made for Mia. I just cant tell you how much I love this dress. Not only are the colors amazingly vibrant and beautiful but it is also very well constructed. It is just a perfect summer dress. Also check out the clippy in her hair as well as the adorable sandals. Both are compliments Kim as well. Kim, you are just awesome and Mia and I both soooooo appreciate your generosity!!

I took the pictures on Sunday when we were on our way to church. Mia was not totally in the picture taking mood but I got a few.

The back is soooo cute as well. It is a knot dress so you can criss cross it or do it normal. I decided to criss cross this day.

And check out the sandals. They are totally beaded. They could not be more my taste--love them!!!!


The "I don't want to take pictures" pouty face.

Spinning with her piece of cheese in her hand.

faster and faster

This dress has soooo much material and spins so beautifully. All Mia wanted to do all day was to spin. It was so cute!!

Thanks again Kim for your generosity! We love everything!! Blanket pictures coming soon!