So much to be thankful for

Dear God, I wanna take a minute, not to ask for anything from you. 

But simply to say THANK YOU. 

for all that you gave me.

This is truly my heart… So thankful for so many things…This has been a year of ups and downs for our family. One that has tested our family and our marriage. As I look back on those events that took place I am truly thankful for what I have learned and taken from each one of them. God is good ALL the time! Celebrating each day as a true gift from God. My perspective and the lens which I view the world has changed. The gift of health, the gift of family and the gift of life long friends  are what I am most thankful for this year!

We have had a busy November!!!

Rylan's football season came to end with his team making it to the semi-finals. We were so proud of all the boys and all their handwork! As the season came to an end, I was reminded how we were in China the very first game and we had not gotten Brooklyn yet. Wow!! What can happen in a short season!

We took a very short trip to meet our new niece and cousin in Houston.. It was my first road trip with Brooklyn and she did AMAZING!!! No snacks, no toys and no movie. She was completely content with looking out the window and catching a nap. I think my boys could take some lessons from her.. haha

We survived family picture session! I was so excited for this years pictures. I can finally put some pictures up with our sweet girl!

Dan, Brooklyn and I enjoyed watching Colton and Rylan's thanksgiving programs at school. They did such a great job and we are so thankful they are loving their schools and teachers!

We love to participate in the Operation Christmas Child. We took the three little ones to Target and had them fill their own boxes up. Brooklyn and Colton delivered them to be shipped.

This year was the first year all of Dan's side of the family got together for a weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was awesome to see all the cousins play together and pair up in little groups. There are 17 grandchildren ranging from 4 weeks to 17 years old. You can imagine there is allot of noise and fun going on! Beautiful lake house in Crockett, TX.

 This was Brooklyn's first time to be around all her cousins, Aunts and Uncles. I am so thankful she has so many people that love her and built in friends for life!

On to.. Christmas!!!

Love,

6 weeks home

It really blows my mind to think we have already been home 6 whole weeks… It seems all so normal with her but still very surreal at the same time. Not even sure if that makes sense.. It truly feels like she has always been apart of our family.. There are definitely moments where she is sad and we aren't really sure why but those are very few and far between. My love for her grows more and more every day. She is such a loving girl who gives us so much love. I was reminded of this moment that happen last week when I came home from boot camp at 6am (yes it starts at 5am) and she greeted me at the door with a big smile and a hi.. Dan said she woke about 5:45am, of course I already had in my head what I was going to do before the kids woke up and that was all scratched. I grumbled past with a quiet hi and grabbed my coffee. I went to sit on the recliner to drink my coffee. She squeezed next to me with a blanket and covered part of my leg with a big smile. This sweet girl who weeks ago wanted nothing to do with me has open her heart to me in the biggest way. It almost brought me to tears and made my day!! She teaches me so many things daily and such a tangible reminder how God's plans are so much bigger and better than our own! Thank you Lord for calling us to adopt, thank you for placing this sweet precious girl in our family!

One month recap

Its hard to believe a month ago we got this sweet girl we call our daughter, the boys call her sister and friends call her baby B ;-)

Just a little two weeks home and I can tell you the comfort of my own home and the convenience of my own town I am so incredibly thankful for. The voice of a friend or family member calling to check on us has been comforting! Here are a few pictures from the airport when we arrived home…

 Sweet friends adopted from China waiting on their new friend!

 I seriously love each and everyone of these kids and their families!! When you haven't slept in over 20 hours how could you not smile (and cry) at these faces!!!

Isn't' this picture precious!!! 

Life at home these past two weeks have been been an adjustment to say the least… The first few days was a battle of sleep deprivation, mom guilt with my other kids and trying to bond with our new girl. A roller coaster of emotions…Since I would be up at 4:30am I would play my worship music, spend time with the Lord and pray specific prayers over our family and me! This has been the single thing that has gotten me through most of those days it certainly wasn't my own strength… I will say once we figured out her sleep schedule and moved her crib to her room. She has slept all night!! Can I get a Hallelujah!!!!! Its amazing what sleeps does for you! We are settling into a routine nicely… This week I am attempting to lay her down for a nap as I notice she gets extremely cranky around 5pm and is too early for bed so we will see how this goes! She has been transitioning so well, we have been able to take her out a little bit here and there. She is so friendly to everyone she meets!

We haven't wasted any time getting her checked out by medical professionals either. She had her pediatrician appointment the first week and needed 6 shots, blood drawn a physical. She was a trooper!! Our pediatrician called in our application to Scottish Rite to have her club foot consulation. They were able to get us in the next week.. They did X-rays on her legs and examination. Huge Praise.. She needs no additional treatment or therapy at this time unless she regresses. We are thankful to have that behind us. Onto the fun things like Fall and Christmas!!! Here are a few pictures!

 Already trying to race her big brother!

 Enjoying evening rides on the golf cart. 

 My friend took this picture at my 7 year olds football game. It literally made me laugh out loud. Can you read Colton's body language loud and clear in this pictures.. HAHA!!

 First time on the swing and she loved it and was giddy!!

Picking out pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch.. So fun!! These moments experiencing the first of things with her is such a joy! Thank you for all the prayers!

Love,

Video dedication to our sweet girl!

Happy Friday!!!

Here is a video that Nathan put together of our trip including our Gotcha Video. I am planning to update our first week home  and update the missing pics this weekend! Enjoy!

Last day in Guangzhou

Our last day in Guangzhou..

We had breakfast and met a family to head to Shaiman Island with again to get more shopping in. We were on the hunt for some great souvenirs! We enjoyed watching the boats on Pearl River! Beautiful area where people are singing, fishing, Tai Chi and other outdoor activities. We had lunch at Lucy's again and did more shopping! Brooklyn was wiped out after all that shopping and slept in the taxi back to the hotel. Its one of those moments I cherish as she still prefers Dan over me. I know my time is coming and I have had time with 4 boys at the beginning. Dan is loving his time with her and I love that he gets time with his girl. We came back and decided to take her swimming for the first time in the hotel pool. The water was little cold but she LOVED it! Dan not so much, if it was warmer he would have enjoyed it alittle more. He was a good sport and let Brooklyn splash him, he twirled her in the water and I loved hearing her laugh!!

We came back, had bath time and mani/pedi session with my girl. We got dressed up and headed back to the same place we went the night before. We all ate too much! When we got back to our hotel we all took turns making her laugh! She is super ticklish and LOVES to be thrown in the air... We  The boys get her all wired up and we figure what comes up will come down. Daniel and Brooklyn play the cutest game of hide-n-seek. She hides in the kitchen and then I call her name, Daniel hides behind the wall by the front door and it gets her EVERY time! She runs back to the kitchen to do it again, over and over again. I have it on video and will post it once we get back. Nightime the past few nights have been rough. I think she is starting to let her emotions out, which is great! Dan tried putting her to bed tonight. Last night she had a really hard time. I think she isn't totally ready to be a mamas girl and it makes me sad when she has a hard time calming down. It went much smoother tonight with him doing it and so he will probably take that on especially when we get home since he won't see her as much. I know the little ones will need me when I get back so it works this way.

We leave tomorrow morning for a 3 hour van ride to Hong Kong. I am really excited to be spending a day there. I hear its amazing and beautiful. We are planning to dress up and have a nice dinner to celebrate before heading back! We are definitely home sick and thank goodness for social media! I love getting all our messages and comments! Makes me miss you even more but when I see you all it will be so sweet!

Love you!

US Consulate Appt

This morning we dressed little nicer, ate breakfast downstairs earlier and met our guide Grace in the lobby at 8:50am. We had our US Consulate Appointment. We joined several other families that had appointments the same morning. We were told we couldn't take any snacks, toys, backpacks, electronics or drinks. This should be fun with a 2 year old that ALWAYS has a snack in her hand and toys available ;-) God always has an amazing way of putting things in perspective for you! Doesn't he.. We went upstairs 2nd floor 7th window got a ticket and waited. They had a cute kids area and Brooklyn LOVED it! As I started to make conversation with another mother I noticed she was on the verge of tears. She adopted previously a little girl and she was adopting a little boy that was 8 years old. Her husband couldn't come this time but she had her older two girls with her helping. She told me her little boy was having a really hard time. She said it was the opposite of how it was with her daughter. I could only tell her words of encouragement that others had given me. Our number was called our documents were checked and we went to another window and did our oath. We then were called up one by one for an interview. Approved and she said congratulations! I was beaming as we walked out of the building. Our sweet tour guide Grace took our picture in front of the building. It was the final process here to make her legally ours!

Dan's back has been hurting off and on, he came to the hotel and took a nap with Brooklyn. Nathan, Daniel and I went to the grocery store, shopping and coffee. I am starting to realize my days are coming to end here with the two older boys.I have really enjoyed the time I have spent with them! They are funny, confident, respectful and basically a complete joy to be around! I love watching them interact with their new sister and how they are so gentle and sweet to her! It makes my heart explode!
I sure have been missing my two little ones. We have been face timing at night (morning here) and it makes my day so much brighter! I can't wait to have them all under one roof!!!

We joined our sweet new friends for dinner since they were leaving the next morning to head back to Michigan. We have really enjoyed getting to know them and hope we can stay connected and let the kids see each other as they get older! We had the best dinner since we have been here, at a place called Noodle House it was Vietnamese. It was so good! I may have to learn how to make some of this food because little Brooklyn can't put aways some serious noodles and rice!

Love,

Safari Park

Today is a short post, its Monday. We met the other families and headed to the Safari Park, we had heard so many great things about it we were looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the weather was NOT on our side. We had the umbrellas and raincoats ready. Hoping it would lighten up once we got there. I was thankful for the cooler temps and no lines. We went to the Safari on Wheels part first. It was a train that took us on a tour to see some really cool animals, if you had a car you could drive through it too. Some of the animals were lose running around. We saw approximately 150 white tigers and 60 was from the same mother.. Bless that mama! We took a brief break for lunch and then broke down to buy some ponchos. Dan in a blue poncho with a tiger on it pushing a pink stroller was a sight! We made our way to the monkey exhibit and that was by far the coolest exhibit. We got to feed them and watch them spin on wheels, swim and care for their babies. All in all it was a great time.
We headed to the play area in our hotel  again for Brooklyn to play before dinner.We ate dinner in the hotel and early bed time. We have our big appointment tomorrow at the US Consulate office. Last final process before she is an American citizen and OURS!

Good night! Lots of love!