THREE Friends are Heading to China! Follow Along!

Such an exciting week!  I have THREE friends heading to China this week to bring home their children!  Follow along on their journeys and please be praying for safe travels, wisdom as they meet and get to know their new children, and especially for these little ones' hearts as they leave all they know and learn to love and trust their forever families.  These stories are going to be amazing!

Johanna will be bringing home two-year-old Gianna.
Stop and Smell the Flowers

Amy is bringing home eight-year-old Gia.
Two Vandalgrads and Two "Gs"

And Kelley is bringing home seven-year-old Brighton Mae.
My Life Song

God is doing amazing things, friends!

One Year Ago Today

On May 19, 2013, in the back lobby of a hotel in Nanchang, China, this cute little face came into our lives.  We were and are so very blessed.  God is growing all of us for His glory. 

I wrote about that day in THIS POST.  

Swimming Pool Fun

We had some free passes to the pool, so Brittany, Justin, Caylie and I put on swimsuits and headed over there this afternoon when Justin had finished his school work.  Justin's been taking lessons for the past 9 months, and is always wanting to practice (and have fun!) on his own time.  And Caylie is a bit fearful of the deep water (any pool is over her head!), so we need to take her every once in awhile so that it becomes more normal for her.  She's come a long way from the first day we had her in a pool in Nanchang, China!  (There was much screaming!)

Sisters

Not quite sure she wants to jump in.

Justin isn't fearful at all of the water, but heights are NOT his thing!  Here he is practicing jumping off the low board.

Water slide.

Water fun!

Mother's Day

This is my first Mother's Day as a mother of FIVE! 

 Keelan - 15, Caylie - 5, Me, Brittany - 24 (baby - 25 weeks!), Justin - 11, Taylor - 21

Birth-Mother's Day

The day before Mother's Day is known as Birth-Mother's Day.  Today I honor Caylie JiuChang's birth mother.  We will probably never know the reasons that she did not or could not choose to parent her baby.  But we know that she chose LIFE for her, and for that, we are so very grateful.

I wish that I could tell this woman how happy and funny and smart and absolutely beautiful Caylie is.  I wish I could let her know that she is loved and safe and well.  But since I cannot do that, I will continue to ask God to whisper it to her heart.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

On Saturday, Jim and I took Caylie to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs for an outing with our adoption agency, AAC.  It was fun seeing friends and meeting new ones!  Caylie had a great time looking at the animals, running around with new friends, and riding the merry-go-round.

This is the merry-go-round.  She was excited to get on it.  All the other kids were getting on it.  This photo was taken before it started moving and we were waving at Daddy.  

And then . . . it started moving!  Uh oh.  As you can see, she has a death grip on the pole.

Trying to convince her that it was OK to stay on the horsie, and not OK to let go and grab Mama.

Yeah, it didn't get any better.  

 Now she's happy.  This little girl is from the same orphanage as Caylie, and may end up being in the same kindergarten class.  (More on that later!)

Timon.

The sky.  And the ground.  Justin's been learning about clouds.  He should know what kind these are.

A heffalump.

A baby Kanga.  Or Roo.  I'm not sure.

 Justin's nickname is "JussyMoo."  This is a Juss Emu.  

Big Fake Bear.

Caylie in a cave.

I wish this guy had been awake and standing up.  He was amazing.

I had no idea that a porcupine looks like this.

Caylie petting goats.

She reeeally liked the goats.

Hippo noses and eyes.

This one preferred the sunshine.

Big Fake Giraffe.

And now there will be lots of pictures of giraffes.  Just because they were the coolest things at the zoo and they are my favorites.  :)

Their faces were right up to our faces.  You can feed and pet them.  So awesome.

Caylie kept dropping the lettuce, but finally the poor giraffe got it!

Baby giraffe.

It was a fun day!

24-Week Baby!

Brittany is 24 weeks!  Isn't she cute?  We are so excited for this baby to come!

Follow Along on a Journey to China!

My friend Tera and her husband are on their way to China to bring their sweet daughter home!  After a stop in Beijing, they will be in the same cities that we were last year, Nanchang and Guangzhou.  This is their second adoption; their daughter Brielle is from the same orphanage as Caylie.   Follow along on their awesome adventures!  Tera will be blogging here:  September Sweeties.