4 Months Since Gotcha

Four months ago today a scared little girl was brought to us in a back lobby of the Galactic Peace Hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.  Since that day we have been amazed at how God has worked in her heart and in ours.  He is faithful and His heart is for the orphan.  Adoption is redemption.

* * * 

We have been having so much fun.  Here are a few pics.

Really Big Cup.  I ordered a small drink.  After I filled the small cup, I realized they did haven't any small lids.  When I asked if they had any more small lids, they gave me a large cup and lid instead.  Here is the result.

Mac 'n cheese with chopsticks.

Grandma Nai Nai (Jim's mom) came to visit.  This was her first time meeting Caylie.

While she was here we all took up pipe smoking.  Haha!  (Keelan has a fun app on his phone.)

Combing Jie Jie Brittany's hair while waiting for swimming lessons.

This was the day the rains started in Colorado.  There wasn't any lightning, so Keelan, Caylie and Justin went out to play in the puddles.

This isn't my photo.  It was passed all around Facebook, but I thought it was so cool.   Shot taken from an airplane of the rain on parts of Colorado.

Girlfriend loves her Rockies and her ponytails.

Chatting with friends at church.  I think they all have water, but the cup-holding cracks me up.  

Fork in one hand; chopsticks in the other.

Best car sleeper ever.

Shopping at Walmart.  
She has a way better time than I do.

I hope she never loses these glasses. 
 They make me smile.

Big News!

Yep, that's right.  Caylie is going to be an auntie, which means there will also be some uncles and grandparents around here!  :)

We came home from church one Sunday, and Brittany snuck Caylie into the bedroom and put this shirt on her.  We were so surprised and happy!  A sweet new baby is coming in April.  Praising God from Whom all good things come.

More Rockies Fun!

A friend of ours has front row seats at Coors field, and we usually buy a few games from him each season.  This year we've only gone to one front row game, and took Caylie with us.  She had a grand time entertaining the people behind us with her cheering and dancing!  (If I can ever get my videos to load here, I will post the dancing!)

Here she is doing a fake smile and eating her hot dog bun.  Usually the hot dog is eaten first, but not always.  ;)

I took her up to meet Dinger the mascot in the third inning.  She was very excited to see him and gave him a big hug.  He signed her hat, too.  I did not take these pictures, as I forgot to take my phone with me.  Another mom in front of us took these shots.  

A fun night!  :)

Happy Birthday, Justin!

My "baby" boy is 11 today.  Happy Birthday, Justin!  You make me smile every day.  :)

Yep. Still Summer. :)

Keelan's been in school for over three weeks now.  Justin and I have been doing home school for two and a half.  But we still have summer fun! 

Swimming Lessons! (Soo-mee leshah!)

 Justin and Caylie started swimming lessons this week.  I was worried about how Caylie would do, but she is doing GREAT!  She marches right up to her class and gets right in, and does whatever she is asked to do.  It would help if she could communicate a bit better with her teacher, but for this level it's OK.

All ready to go!

And a cheesy grin, just because.  :)

She is the tiniest by far!

Justin is doing well with his lessons, too! 

3 Months

Yesterday marked three months since Caylie JiuChang came to be with us.  In many ways it seems much, much longer than that!  We are getting to know her better every day and can't imagine life without her.  We finally got her Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS that day, as well.  Now we can go stand in line at the Social Security office and also complete her Colorado re-adoption.  

Last Saturday, Daddy officiated a football scrimmage at a local high school, so Caylie and I went to watch and meet some of Daddy's friends.  

We've been practicing riding a teeny tiny little bike.  She can pedal, but she can't steer!   

She's always happy to do anything with big sister Brittany.

On Sunday we said goodbye to our friend Nathan.  (See this post.)

 She likes to tuck all her babies into bed.  And then the rest of us must "Ssshhhh!"  It's very sweet.  (And yes, the Buzz and Woody pillow case is now her favorite.)

And just for a smile, here is Keelan, learning how to buzz his own head with clippers, aided by experts Nathan and Brad.  Haha!

Next post:  Swimming lessons!  Stay tuned.  :)