Princess Tea Party

This weekend we helped Miss Gracie celebrate her 5th birthday. Her mom, Kellie, and I have been friends Forever. We met in high school when we worked at Bilo. We have seen each other through good times and bad. We have been in each other's weddings and witnessed the birth and adoption of our children together. It is hard to believe that we have known each other so long.

Gracie had a Princess Tea Party and it was so much fun. We transformed a hair salon into a beautiful castle and the girls loved it. Ashton did a fabulous job on all of the girl's hair and they loved the make up and jewelry. Anna Grace had a ball. She refused to wear her costume but she thought she was as big as the other girls. She LOVED Cinderella. It is not often that you get to dance with a real princess at a party.

We had so much fun. Jodi did an awesome job with the almost 300 pictures she took. It is like being at the party all over when you get to flip through the photos and see the party from her perspective. Thanks friend-I know it isn't as much fun when you spend the party behind a camera. You capture moments that last a lifetime and it makes me love you that much more.

We had a wonderful time-Enjoy the photos.

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and Anna Grace needs glasses. This is a picture I took of her (with my phone) getting fitted for glasses! My little Princess is going to have pink Disney Princess glasses!! She will get her glasses some time next week- They are going to call me when they come in- Please be Praying she adjust to them well- Thank you for all of your prayers- I will post pictures of her when she gets her NEW glasses!!

Angel

Prayers, Please

Anna Grace has an appointment with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist (had to look up that spelling) tomorrow. Please pray that we get good news. I have often worried about her left eye and it has gotten much worse over the last few weeks. Please pray that there is no damage and I am just an over concerned mom.

Thanks Sissy

I love getting surprised by all of the pictures that Ashton takes of Anna Grace each week. Go check out her blog.

Home for One Year

It is official-We have been home with Anna Grace for one year. Last year we arrived at the airport to the biggest party ever. Nana and Jodi worked hard to plan a big bash. There were over 50 people waiting to meet Miss Anna Grace. They all had on matching tshirts and were holding up big signs. Gidget even brought a huge banner that we put on our porch to let everyone know that our little princess was home. Our local news channel was there to record the entire event. Anna Grace was on TV within 24 hours of landing in the US. For weeks the video was online for everyone to see. We still meet people who ask if we are the family that was on TV-HA HA! It was such a fun time. We were so exhausted and sick. We didn't get to bed until 2am and Anna Grace decided to party ALL night. I never knew there was such a level of pure exhaustion. It took us a couple of weeks to recover. We would wake at 3 am and by 7 at night, we were walking zombies. We have been so blessed with all of the love and support our family has received. We are so grateful to everyone who waited for us and welcomed us home with such an outpouring of love.

CWA Picnic

We went to the CWA picnic this weekend. It was so much fun. We went to the picnic two years ago when we were waiting for Anna Grace. It was so different to be there and be able to introduce our daughter to everyone. Mei(our caseworker during the LONG wait) and Jane were there also and it was neat to see them. Sarah, Lana and Anna Grace Perry were there also. We had not seen Anna Grace since we left China. We were so happy to get to see Lillie and Maddie(and of course, Jake and Bobbi). Lillie is changing everyday. She is a beautiful little girl. It is hard to believe that she has been home for 3 months now. Anna Grace loved seeing her and Maddie. It was a super hot day and we felt like we were in China again. It was a fun day and we are looking forward to seeing all of these families grow throughout the year.

Families

Beach Photos

Love and Hugs

The girls were so happy to see each other. They looked so sweet in their "Forever Daddy's Girl" outfits. They kept hugging each other. Such a special time.

Bubbles & Pretty Hair

We had so much fun with the girls. We attempted to take our own version of The Red Couch photo but did not have much success. Once we pulled out the bubbles there was lots of fun. The girls enjoyed trying to catch the bubbles. Ella enjoyed actually blowing the bubbles. They were so funny. Jodi took lots of pictures(we were so glad that she did). She then pulled out the little rubber bands and started doing hair. Anna Grace, Bethany and Meighan got quite the "do" They looked so cute. Thanks Jodi for taking care of our girls.

Xiushan Sisters Reunion

What a week we have had. It was so neat to have 5 of the girls together. They were so sweet. When Sarah came, the girls just hugged and loved on each other. Such precious moments. Then Miss Bethany rolled in and it was giggles and smiles all around. Ella arrived on Thursday night and it was time for lots of bubble fun. They warmed up to each other and it was non stop fun for 2 days. We were all so excited to be together. It was so strange to think of all that had happened in the last year. We sure missed the other girls and hope that maybe we can get together with everyone after Christmas. It was so hard to say goodbye on Saturday.

It is hard to explain the connection that we have with these families. We experienced such joy together in China as we became Forever Families. It is our hope that we will always be able to stay in touch and keep our girls together. What started as a journey to our daughters, changed each of our lives. We not only were blessed with beautiful, precious daughters but we also were blessed with friends that are now a part of our family.
Thank you for making the trip to the beach. Thank you for hanging out and just enjoying being together. I sure hope that we can ALL be together next year!

Happy 1 Year Gotcha Day!

I am SOO thankful for the Red Thread that lead us to our Precious Anna Grace! Today we celebrate 1 year as a forever family- WE ARE SOOOO BLESSED!!

*Ashton made the collage*