Birthday Beauty

Two years ago at Hope's birthday party Auntie Tu planned some fun things for all the Group 91 girls. In Chinese tradition, she placed a number of objects on the table, explained to each of the girls the significance of each item in Chinese. Maybe other group 91 members can help me out if I miss anything:

egg = will always be fed
lipstick = beauty
book = academic prowess
money = wealth
crayons = artistic ability

Each girl's choice is said to show a future characteristic of her life. When Hope chose the lipstick that day, we already knew she was a beautiful little girl. Her resilient spirit has inspired us so much over these past two years. We've grown to know a precious, kind, polite, and happy little lady whose beauty is much much deeper than skin deep.

6/13/07 Beauty

6/13/09 Beauty


Happy 3rd Birthday Hope!

3 Yr. Old Angel

Are my friends here?

Well...it's official. As of tomorrow we will be parents of a 3 yr. old. She is incredible and we are blessed beyond measure to be her Mommy and Daddy. We celebrated last weekend. Thanks to 50 degree weather and all day rain, our party was relocated from the neighborhood park to our garage. We had a very fun day inspite of the cold and confinement.

Getting Ready - Last Minute Table Wiping/Garage Decorating




Gifts






Cake





Friends and Family










Hope ~ It is hard to articulate how much love a heart can hold. We look in your beautiful eyes, see your smile, admire your laughter, watch in awe as you play, imagine, and entertain, listen as you tell stories about your "babies," say your bedtime prayers, and sing your favorite songs, and we can't believe the blessings of the orchestrated plan that brought you into our lives. You carry a special light with you, and wherever you go, people can't help but return your smile. We love you. God bless you in your 3rd year sweet daughter.

Gotcha 2009

Then - June 4, 2007

Now - June 4, 2009


Due to a last minute schedule change this afternoon, I was able to stop on the way home, pick up some flowers for our girl, and spend some quality family time tonight celebrating this special day. It is hard to believe that two years have flown by since we first had a very scared little Lin Ke Xuan placed into our arms. We are so blessed to have experienced the joy of that day, the journey of adoption, and the eye-opening surrender to God's plan for our family. If you'd like to read more in detail about our Gotcha moment visit this post I put together last year. After the formalities of that afternoon, we struggled to work through the fear and grief Hope was facing and the absolute overwhelming flood of joy in our hearts. It is amazing to see the miracles that have unfolded in just two years. We are in awe daily of the beautiful happy girl who is our daughter, our Hope. Family. *sigh* So wonderful!

Flowers "for me?" :)


Time to Stop and Smell the Flowers Outside


Fun trip to the Park Tonight



Tonight before dinner we were out on the deck talking about what this day means for our family. I asked Hope who Mommy and Daddy met two years ago and she answered, "Hope. But you were not my mommy and daddy? Were you there to pick me up? Were you married? I was scared for a little bit." She understands and feels so deeply. What a remarkable daughter we have. Happy Gotcha Day Sweet Hope.

Mother's Day Love

On our way home from a busy day, we stopped in Hudson at Birkmose Park overlooking the St. Croix river.

I don't know about photo composition, shadows across our faces, and catching the right light.

But smiles? Now there is something I love.

And when we're lucky, we can even catch some of those beautiful giggly, face-scrunching, eye-squinting moments with the camera.

The smile on this little girl's face brightens my days.

And, this man...husband, father, and best friend, who reminds me of the need for laughter, builds me up...not just on Mother's Day, but every day.

I am blessed.

Cute at the Park

Here are some favorites from a visit to the park a couple of weeks ago.

She is a climber! HOLY COW! The first time I saw her do that when we hit the park this spring I couldn't believe it. Nothing like giving your mother a heart attack. YIKES!

The swing is a definite favorite.



We don't go anywhere slowly any more.

Guess who...

...I got to meet on Monday! Nicole! Chandler's mama! You know those moments that you think will only happen in your dreams? Well, this was a dream come true. I "met" Nicole the day she received Chandler's referral. I happened to visit her site because her little girl is from the same SWI as our daughter. Anyway, a comment I left on her blog started a series of email messages about Yulin SWI, what to expect with travel, bonding, ...and all things adoption. Now, I'm blessed to call this special lady my friend. She was in town this week for work and found time for dinner with me! To say I was excited is an understatement. Thanks again for a fantastic evening. I can't wait for the next chance we can get together, next time with girls in tow. :)

Big Marine Park Reserve

Look at our girl! She's going to be three in a month!


Last Sunday (5/3/09) afternoon our wonderful group of MN Red Thread families converged on Big Marine Park Reserve. What a beautiful park! You'll see some of the playground in these pictures. Hope was in heaven! We had such an awesome afternoon. The weather was perfect and the company was fantastic! The children all played well together and the parents (well some, right Chris?) had a chance to catch up a bit. The photos below are some of my highlights. If you'd like to see more, please visit the MN RedThread group page for a link to our Flickr photos.

Our family stole a few geocaching minutes before meeting the group on the playground. Hope was torn. She loves geocaching, but once she caught sight of that playground that was all she wanted.





Play time!



Contemplating her next conquest...YES! She went down the slide behind her without ANY hesitation! 'Bout gave her mother a heart attack the first time.


This tunnel was a big hit with the girls!


A Few Really Great Dads!

Special Daughter