How could it be.....

                                Our first glimpse

                                 His fear is so painful

                                Home just one month. April 30

                                     Loving the outside.  May 30th

                                                Our little red raider. June 30

                                The best summer gift.  July

                                Having a sweet snack.  August 30

                                       One happy healthy boy.

That this sweet spirit came to live with us 6 months ago?

That he continues to amaze us with his love and bravery?

That he is so happy EVERYDAY? Just not all day.

That he was so wonderfully made for THIS family?

That he is so sympathtic when you cry?

That he could have such a sense of humor?

That he could love baby doll like a pro?

That he can take new challenges on with a smile?

That he can let us love him so openly?

This girl....

She came into our arms 3 yrs ago. We have never been the same. She is full of love and wonder. She is so gracious and compasssionate. She loves her family and KNOWS how much she is loved. She is so smart and FUNNY, who would've thought a child with this history would have a sense of humor. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives. How wonderful is our God to let us have her? She has taken to the role of big sister with grace and patience.....most of the time. She had a hard time stepping out of the limelight, but now shares it with him readily. She still adores her big sister and all things having to do with the princesses.

She has 9 other Anhui sisters that share our joy in this day. We will always be connected to them, as they helped each other through those early yrs. We often look at our travel pictures and she will say, "I miss my China friends". She was our first taste of the wonderful world of adoption. We will always be grateful to China for letting us have this precious gift. We will treasure her and assist her in being anything she wants to be.

Happy Family Day sweet Claire. We are so proud to be called your family.

Our new favorite version of a classic.

Once she loses concentration.....it is on to another tune. Sorry about the moving so much....she is a passionate singer. Too dark too, it was really spur of the moment.

Are you kidding me??

If these kids continue to get cuter everyday, I don't know what I am going to do. I could truly eat them with a spoon. Oh how I wish Hannah would let me take a picture of her...she has dyed her hair a dark brown and it is wonderful. She is growing into such a wonderful young woman, how did we get so blessed??

The sibling rivalry is getting better. We seem to have a couple of good days followed by several bad days, I am willing to take what I can get at this point. We have learned a few tricks that seem to work for OUR children. As much as they fight, they CAN NOT stand to be away from each other.....get the jist??

Enjoy the pics.

What is going on at our house.

Playing with playdoh

sleeping anyway we want to in our bed

Enjoying bananas with Wonder Pets

Wearing pull-ups on our heads

****************Wondering***********************

Have you heard this in your home before......."Did he ASK for spagetti on his moon cake!?" Play doh has become our new friend, but Claire wants Kevin to WANT the same things she does. It always ends in a fight

Sweet boy

How he loves to be outside. Our weather is perfect for a boy who won't stay in.

Now has texting......

This is the only view of Hannah we see nowdays.

Quick snip and back home

He is now ready to go home

Daddy makes him feel better

During recovery....not his best side

Before surg.....child life specialist brought in blocks.

Getting checked out by the nurse.

He did quite well. He completely captivated the staff with his size and smartness. They were really quick to get us into recovery....he was mad he awakened and mom and dad weren't there. They asked us to come back so that they may even get a set of vitals. Once he was in dad's arms all was OK with the world. We quickly recovered and returned to outpt surg for jello and Popsicles.

What a weekend.

First family picture with all of us.

He wasn't sure about all the dead cows on the walls.....

At our wonderful steak house

They were performing on the fireplace

Ready for church

We had very special visitors this past weekend. One reason I was so glad to see them was because my house has never been so clean as when we were preparing for them....ok I digress. We have such a wonderfully special relationship with these people. How funny that God places people in your path......1/2 around the world and we both parented our son. He lived in their home for 6 months. They loved him as their own. He loved THEM as his own. They have both opened their hearts to us and we have come to love them both very much. They have given us a glimpse into our sons' life that we would not have seen otherwise. They taught my son how to love and receive love. They taught him how to share and take pride in his things. They truly helped with potty training. They taught him how to embrace life and let people love him.

I think he was overwhelmed when we went to the airport to pick them up, but soon warmed up to them and I believe, remembered that they were special to him. I know how my child reacts to new people, he did not act like these people were new to him. It made my heart feel very happy...(Ni Hao Kai Lin) Claire tried to become obsessed with the husband, she enjoyed the fact he had short hair. He was his wonderful patient self and let her feel his head often.

I won't use names as I still feel somewhat protective of our relationship. Adopters from Wuxi might recognize them. They are so precious to us. We thank the Lord everyday that they were a huge part of our sons' life.

Random cuteness

Her true love of the crown began with our trip to DisneyWorld with her Anhui sisters.

They LOVE Kung Fu Panda. They watch it all the time. This is Claire being "tigress" and Kevin getting in the spirit.