Naomi CaiHeng is Three Years Old!!

Our sweet baby is growing into a wonderful little girl. Naomi brings so much joy and laughter to our home. It's hard to believe at times that two years ago we were looking at her referral picture and could only imagine what lay ahead for our family.

Naomi enjoyed her third birthday on December 1. With her birthday following so closely behind the Thanksgiving family gatherings, we opted for an intimate family birthday celebration at home. It was a special time with excitement building during the day as we waited for Daddy to come home.

Naomi was thrilled to watch as I decorated her birthday cake and made the table ready. Anticipating her birthday cake was a high point for Naomi, as she remembered her Daddy's birthday cake a couple of months ago and was eagerly excited about having her own birthday cake.

Presents are nice, but for this three-year-old the presents paled in comparision to the birthday cake and balloons. I love that Naomi is enamored with the beauty of the simple things in life.

Myrtle Beach Travel Group Reunion

Father's Day was spent in South Carolina with the families from our Bethany Travel Group. It was our first reunion and a time for the sweet making of new memories. Our girls have grown so much and are all so precious. As we suspected, Naomi is indeed a "tall" girl among her peers. Though she enjoyed seeing and playing with her China sisters again -- especially at the beach--, she missed home. A phrase we heard repeated from Naomi all through the trip was "Momma's truck, Momma's truck." It seemed to represent her sense of security and home. And she was a good little traveler (as long as she was in Momma's truck!). She even endured the "horse to the barn trip home" of 15 hours! Quite the little trooper!

The First MNM Playdate

Take a GOOD look at these girls! The parents and families of these girls have gone through so much to get to this very special day. They are the MNM Girls - Mallory, Naomi, and Mia Grace. They belong to the SAS Moms - Samantha, Adele, and Sandra - who have thought about and dreamed about the day these precious children would all three play together. And now, with God's grace, it is a reality! We are all linked by a "red thread" that only the Weaver of Heaven could have designed. How awesome and wonderful are His works!

This darling baby girl has been home from China just over a month. Her family is "over the moon" in love with her. Mia Grace's contagious little smile just has a way of pulling you into her world. I just LOVE seeing her face break out into a sweet grin!! The wonder and awe of the transformation that happens to these little children is nothing but God at His best!

Mallory is the oldest of the three and is expecting her Mei Mei (a little sister). From what we witnessed Monday, she is practicing her Big Sister skills and will be such an asset to her Mom and Dad when little Lucy arrives! Please join our little group in prayer that China will begin to process adoptions in a "much" more timely manner and that the children will join their families much sooner than anticipated.

May this be the first of many, many MNM girls and SAS moms playdates!!!

Easter 2008 - In Daddy's Steps

I'm having issues with uploading pics, but it looks like the video clip just might work. This clip was taken Easter Sunday after church in Nai Nai and Papa's back yard.

It was a beautiful sunny day, yet the clouds of grief were still with us. There are a multitude of emotions and memories to work through in Shasta's absence. How thankful I am to have dear little Naomi to fill my arms! She is such good medicine in the healing process.

Easter pictures can be found on the Shutterfly link.

A Year Later...

It has been a year now since "January 29 - Gotcha Day" when Naomi was first placed in our arms. Her adoption became official the following day. Her Daddy and I have been reminiscing and telling Naomi "her story." To bring back the specifics of this wonderful occasion, I've been reading aloud my journal entries each morning from the days we were in China.

Another milestone we experienced this past week was our final adoption post-placement home visit. It was so good to see our adoption social worker again, but I really think Naomi enjoyed the visit most. They played in the floor together for much of the time!

Our granddaughters, Olivia and Amanda, were visiting when we had the "snow weekend." Naomi loves them so, and they all had such fun playing in the snow together.

NOTE: Pictures from Naomi's 2nd Birthday can be found by clicking the link to the left under "More Naomi Pics."