"Thankful Thursday"

Good evening everyone. I wanted to thank everyone for such wonderful comments and sincere condolences over the loss of Ron's Grandpa. We loved him very much and had a special family weekend celebrating and remembering his life. It takes quite a lot of words to sum up 101 very full years of life.

There has been some talk about the emotional year we've had. We have lost 5 special people during this past 14 months or so. We've experienced some deep sadness, but we've also shared some of the most amazing joy we could have ever imagined. This year has been incredible in so many ways. Only God knows how we find the strength to keep going through tough times we confront. I think that is the point. Only God knows how to guide us through challenges and how to balance those challenges with sweet, precious, tender, happy, joyful, moments that sustain us as time goes by.

I feel like most of my recent posts have been about sadness and asking for prayers, etc. Tonight I just have to "balance" all of that with some of the blessings in my life.

We passed a milestone on Tuesday. Hope was placed in our arms 9 months ago (June 4th)! Can you believe it was that long ago already? It feels like just a couple of weeks ago we were climbing the Great Wall, standing in the Civil Affairs Office in Nanning, and shopping in Guangzhou. Time FLIES! Hope is our little girl. She was absolutely meant for our family and we are in LOVE! I was just reliving our 'gotcha' moment today with a friend and it is so fresh. I was in tears as we were eating lunch. Tears? Yeah, imagine that. :) So - To our baby girl: We love you very much and feel so blessed to have you home. Now, as we watch you grow so quickly from baby, to toddler, to adorable little girl, please know that you are home. We prayed for so long to have you join our family and sometimes I still have to pinch myself to see if it is true that you're really here. God has orchestrated an amazing journey for us and I am excited to see what He has in store for our family next. This I know for sure, we'll travel His road together.

Guangzhou, China - Hope's 1st birthday, day 10 with us, and some of our first smiles ~

Home in WI after 9 months and FULL of smiles and laughter ~

Hope had a fortune cookie this week after lunch one day and I'd like to share her message here. I've said it before here, and Hope's grandpa says it all the time..."She just makes people smile." Check this out:

This post will be continued. I have been saving up for a while I guess. It just seems like I have a lot to catch up on here. For now I just want to leave you with this:
More Shapes ~

Puzzle w/Farm Animals, Signs, Sounds, etc. ~

That's our smart girl! We're so proud. :)

I also can't sign off tonight without saying one more "thank you." I saw a good friend of mine today and was reminded in so many ways about what it means to be a Christian. When faith, values, and life's priorities are in order, happiness exudes. I am so proud of my friend for being strong, for growing so much this year, and for being open and excited about what lies ahead. Thank you for helping me to remember to think before I speak/act and to not take anything for granted.

Good night - Beth