I can't believe Christian is 26!

Just to be fair.....Christian, my wonderful first born, turned 26 on July 9th. Here he is with Elijah, who I can't believe is almost 2. I love you, Christian and I'm very proud of you!

The Scrapbooking Factory

Robyn always points me in the right direction and just introduced me to the Scrapbooking Factory. Jane has an on-line store and is here in San Antonio. She is having a give away of some new Bo Bunny papers if you leave a comment on her site. Take a gander over there....she has lots of pretties!

Shhhhh....we are going back to Disney World....

AND HANNAH DOESN'T KNOW!!! We don't plan on telling her until she figures it out herself on the day we leave. One: because there are too few real surprises left in life. Two: because she has asked every day since we came home from our trip in March if we could go back to Disney World, so she would be unbearable this time counting the days. Last time, I made a countdown sheet with my Cricut Mickey cartridges, but she really didn't grasp what "going to Disney World" meant. But this time that's not the case.

Today she asked again if we could go to Disney World. I said sorry we can't. She asked if we could go today. No, Hannah. For my birthday. No, Hannah. Then she asked again and I told her that it was expensive and that is why Daddy works so hard so we could save money to go to Disney World again. She then told me that she had a GREAT IDEA! Since it was expensive we could ask Uncle Toby to buy us tickets. "Isn't that a great idea, Mom?" I could barely contain the laughter. You gotta love the way a 4 year old mind works!

I can't believe Hannah is 4!!!

Seriously...how did that happen? It seems like it was just yesterday that we met a nearly helpless little baby in China and now she's a girl. All grown up and ready to start pre-K in a month. It's happening much to fast for me.

I'm a bit emotional today. This is the time of year, more than other times of the year, when I recognize dates that brings memories and feelings to the forefront. Things that Hannah will eventually think are important ...or not... that tug at my mother heartstrings.

• When I was looking at the stars in the crystal clear night sky in Kerrville on Saturday I wondered if Hannah's birthmother was looking at the same summer sky. Why did she have to give her up? Does her heart ache? Does she have some sense of peace thinking that Hannah is in a good home in the US?
• I don't know what time Hannah was born. I don't even really know what day she was born. The orphanage doctor estimated her age at 1 week old when she was found at the orphanage gate on July 30th, but there was no note so we don't know for sure. The time (or day) is not really that important, but I always tease the boys that I will call them at the time of their birth (both in the middle of the night) like Billy Crystal's mom in "City Slickers." So it's just another difference between Hannah and her brothers, birth children and their adopted sibling.
• Will I know when it's the right time to talk to Hannah about these things? Will I be able to answer her questions? Will I have loved her enough that she can handle the answers? I hope so....I pray so.

Hannah is her own little person and will most definitely decide for herself what is and is not important to her, so I don't spend time worrying about such things. But today on her birthday and next week on the date she was found I spend some time reflecting. The one thing I know for sure is that I thank God every day for the call He placed in my heart for a daughter in China; for the faithfulness of a godly husband who also accepted God's call; and for the privilege I have to mother Hannah, my "spicy girl." Happy birthday, Hannah! I love you!

Three years ago today

On Monday, May 15, 2006 we met our precious Hannah for the first time. It was a very quiet ride from the hotel to the Civil Affairs office for the ten families in our travel group. That was unusual for us. We walked into the room and our babies were already there, each sitting in the lap of a different travel nanny. They had about a 4 hour ride to get to Changsha that morning. We all stood on one side of the room trying to pick out our daughters. They were wearing new outfits, heavy quilted tops and matching split pants, which seemed inappropriate to us for the heat, and matching bright pink shoes.

You would think you would know your own daughter after staring at her picture for 2 months, but the photos we were given had been taken at the beginning of December and it was now the middle of May. Babies change a lot in 6 months! I thought I knew which baby was our Hannah, but guarded my heart until one of the grandfathers with us, who speaks Chinese, went up to the nannies and started asking names. When I knew for sure she had my whole heart and the tears started flowing.

The day before had been Mother's Day in the US and with the 13 hour time change (China is 13 hours ahead of Texas) it was still "technically" Mother's Day when we met Hannah at 10am in the morning. Hannah cried (read screamed) and was very scared. The head nanny said she was afraid of strangers. She kept looking for her nanny. My heart broke for her, but I knew she would be okay. Stacy called her "Hurricane Hannah" because she was crying so hard.

Hannah grieved for a few days with terrible night terrors, which continued some for the first couple years home. On the fourth day we went on a tour of the countryside. Hannah had not been interacting with us at all or eating very much. She took a long nap while we were walking around and then woke up on the bus a changed girl: eating, playing, laughing. That night for dinner she was sitting in Stacy's lap and reached across for me. After that day, Hannah would not have anything to do with a Chinese person and would get upset if they came too close. We were her family now.

God has given me an awesome privilege by allowing me to be Hannah's mother. It's not always easy, but it's (almost) always fun. She is such a smart, funny, sweet, loving little girl. And just to remind me of this precious day three years ago, "Hurricane Hannah" just had a 45 minute temper tantrum because it wasn't her turn to push the elevator button. Some things never change, and I thank God for that!

Happy Adoption Day, Hannah!

My Girl Cave

My girl cave is a very special gift from my sweet husband Stacy. After Mark moved out to attend seminary, Stacy offered to paint my room any way I wanted. Well, being the purple girl I picked, of course, the darkest, richest purple paint. I used the paint picking program on Lowe's website to find a trim and ceiling color that coordinated. Stacy also painted the dresser/shelves, filing cabinet and desk (now in the playroom) for me. I found curtains that match the paint exactly. Two triple bulb floor lamps light the room (I use daylight compact fluorescence and no...it's not too dark to work with that lighting.) Besides, purple is supposed to stimulate creativity. The walk in closet holds additional bins for my cross stitch, gift wrapping, books, decor, and other craft items. The tables and large shelving unit slide into the closet when guests are here so that this room can function as a guest room when needed. I love having a place where I can leave my projects and not have to spend so much time getting things out and putting them away. I had just cleaned up after finishing Hannah's life book....it isn't always this neat. I love my girl cave!

Hannah's Lifebook

This Friday is the 3rd anniversary of Hannah's adoption. I made it a goal to complete a pre-school level lifebook to give her as a gift for her adoption day. She absolutely loves to look at the scrapbook I made of our trip to China, especially the pages of the day we met, so I'm sure she'll like her lifebook.

In case you don't know what a lifebook is, it is a book that tells the story about an adopted child's life before they joined their forever family. Because she is so young, and because I made an "alphabet" book, it this book also includes things about China and Hannah's first day's with her family. Some pages also include pictures of Hannah not related to the topic that are some of my favorite photos of her just because she does love to look at pictures of herself and, in the end, this lifebook is meant to help her be proud of who she is. I also used as much appropriate scripture as possible (faithbooking) so that Hannah knows how much God loves her and will learn to see His hand in making us a forever family.

Eventually, I will make a book that deals with the really tough issues like China's "one child" policy and abandonment, etc., but for now this book is just to familiarize Hannah with adoption language and to be a jumping off point for questions she may have as she gets older. It's tough as a mother to know that she will have more questions than I have answers, but the best I can do is to be open and prepared to answer her questions the best that I can. I'm hoping this lifebook will help.

Daughters of the King Banquet

My sweet friend Shirley invited a group of us to the Daughters of the King Banquet at her church. Kristy and Kyle were the speakers and did a wonderful job with their presentation and music. Their love for the Lord is evident and obvious. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship with my sisters in Christ.

Irma and Alicia

Robyn and Me

Kyle, Kristy, Robyn and Shirley
Great presentation!!