XIN NIAN KUAI LE~Happy Chinese New Year!

The restaurant that we like to go to to celebrate Chinese New Year did their festivities on Saturday night. We went with our friends The Brown's, who just brought their sweet Girl Faith home one month ago, and my parents and niece Makenna Riley. We had a great time!

Our Little China Girl

My friend Dawn and a sleepy little Faith

Faith

We had a very cool experience at dinner....our waitress asked where the Girls were from, and we shared they are both Hunan girls. When I told her Lucy was from Changde, her face lit up and she said she knew how to speak the Changde dialect. She began talking to Lucy, and by the look on Lucy's face I knew she understood what this woman was asking her. Lucy began to nod her head and smile, she would not speak Chinese, but I was overcome to realize she still remembered it. So, as we were leaving I slipped this woman my name and phone number, and pretty much begged her to tutor Lucy in Mandarin. I am hoping she calls! I know there are other sources available, however right now Lucy does not need lessons she needs conversation, and this could be perfect!

Makenna got to pet the dragon!

What a gorgeous group of children!! (If I do say so myself :)

(Kylee, Powell, Blake and Jensen)

Bennett and Dallin are good friends!

I just love this picture of Lucy and Kylee...Lucy is doing what she does best...TEXT!

Happy Year of the Tiger!

Changsha China - One Year Ago

Our next couple of days were spent flying to Changsha, Hunan...Lucy's province...and sightseeing.  We visited the Embroidery Factory and the Provincial Museum.   These two darling children were in line in front of us at the museum and wanted their picture taken with us...Americans and blonde hair are not very common there I suppose :)

a very hot and humid day...hence the foggy picture!...hard to imagine we still had to wait TWO more days to get Lucy!

Guangzhou China - One Year Ago

We booked our own travel to China, so we flew directly into Guangzhou and spent the first day sightseeing and soaking in the culture.  I remember seeing a few families with their babies, but it was relatively quiet...nothing like when we returned a week later with Lucy.  We were not approached by shopkeepers because we did not have a Chinese baby with us...a couple of them finally did ask if we were on our way to pick up our baby.

We loved Guangzhou...it reminded us so much of Savannah GA...one of my favorite cities!

We loved every minute in China and cannot wait to return one day with all of our children...I have been having a Shaken Black Tea Lemonade in remembrance of the ones I had in China...YUM!

It was 4 days before we would see our girl!

One Year Ago~

We have been blessed beyond belief by a little Girl who is so full of life, who is as smart and funny as she is BEAUTIFUL.  This truly has been one of the fastest years of our lives...and we cannot imagine a day without our Lucy Joy in it.

In Celebration of our upcoming "Gotcha" day, July 28th (we wanted to change it to Lucy Day, but Lucy insists she LOVES "Gotcha Day", so that it is!)...I will be posting some of my favorite photos from each day of our trip to China.

One year ago I posted this on our travel blog, We Love Lucy!  

To our sweet Lucy Joy JingXuan~

I cannot believe the time is finally here. Tomorrow Daddy and I will board a plane and fly to the only place you have ever called home. As you spend your last few days in an orphanage...I wonder if you have any idea of what is to come. Your world as you have known it will change forever.

We are so excited to hold you in our arms and tell you that we will never let you go. We have prayed for you and prepared for you , and we cannot wait to "officially" make you part of our family.

We are looking forward to spending time with you in your birth country, and getting to know the people and places that you have called home for 3 1/2 years. We are also looking forward to bringing you to your new home and introducing you to so many family and friends who are so anxious to meet you.

We love you so much,

Mommy

Lucy Swings!

Lucy LOVES to swing!  I truly believe she had never sat in a swing until 10 months ago....she would swing forever (if you would push her that long:)...We have a great tree in our front yard that we have always thought was perfect for an old fashioned tree swing...so until Lucy is ready for that kind, we got her one she is more comfortable in...and she LOVES it!

Sweet Delaney lives up the street and ADORES Lucy...she always seems to appear on my doorstep right when Lucy is getting a little bored or her brothers aren't home...her timing is PERFECT!

Reflection~

Knowing how important it is to document every portion of this journey to Lucy, I felt I need to put into writing for her to read someday, the way I am feeling.

It has been 3 weeks waiting for our dossier to be finished. My goal had been to be DTC by the end of February, and here we are through the first week of March, with no word. I know that in the scheme of things this is such a short time, compared to all the waiting still to do. The most frustrating of all...is not being able to do anything to hurry it along...my part is done.

Our sweet girl will be 3 1/2 on Monday, and when we first saw her face she had only turned 3 one month prior... Now it seems by the time she's home she will quickly turn 4...we have already missed out on so much of her life, and everyday we wait seems like we are missing that much more. I can't seem to focus on much of anything...her room sits empty waiting for paint...I have waited my whole life to decorate a little girl's room, but never allowed myself to imagine how it would look...so I struggle with trying to decide bedding, paint, etc~ I know all that matters is the love I put into it.

In light of these things...here are my reflections~

~"My goal" is not what's important, I have trusted the Lord in every step of this journey, and I will trust that his timing is always perfect

~I am grateful that we will get to celebrate Lucy's 4th birthday with her!

~I need to start focusing on all the things that I would like to have done before Lucy comes home...because once she is home, she will be my focus

~Knowing that we will not bring Lucy home until summer...I can focus all my attention on the boys and their activities as school winds down for the year

~Our next few months are full of birthdays, Easter, a wedding, and showers...so many wonderful things to celebrate

~I will wait to be inspired by something "I love" for Lucy's bedroom

Thank You Leslie & Myah~

I received a very sweet package in the mail today for Lucy. Leslie knows of my love for pink and brown~

Leslie & Myah~Thank you so much for thinking of our Lucy. Everything is just adorable, and a bright spot in my day!
XOXO
Dawn

Lucy received her package!!

I hope she feels all the love we put into that little box.

~Thank You Mom~

My Mom bought these sweet Chinese dolls for Lucy. They are made of cloth and their faces are embroidered. They are just precious, and will look so cute displayed in Lucy's bedroom.

~Thank You Pop & Frankie~

Pop & Frankie bought this antique Madame Alexander doll for Lucy. She is so darling, and I cannot wait to find a special place in Lucy's bedroom for her.

A Package for Lucy

Yesterday I mailed a care package to Lucy. A friend is sending a box to the orphanage, so she let me include my box. Inside we put a photo album of our family, a baby doll (that I kissed many times), a small blanket from Grandma, 3 packages of "hair pretties" for all the girls, DumDum suckers to share with her friends, chocolates for the nannies, and a disposable camera. Maybe it will get to her in time for Chinese New Year!

(I bought 2 baby dolls from ChinaSprout, I sent one to Lucy, and I will bring the other to China, and have it when she is brought to us. Also, in her photo album, there is a picture of me holding her baby so maybe on Gotcha Day I will seem a little more familiar)

~ We love you Lucy Joy JingXuan~

Thank You Grammy & Papa!

My Mom sent these sweet flowers and Panda Bear as a Congratulations on our PA!

Thank you so much Grammy & Papa

~Ladybug Sighting~

Today in the mail I received these ladybug accessories. My mom loves the Chinese legend about the ladybug and couldn't resist these cute things for her future granddaughter~

My First Dress & Pretty Boxes

I have not really let myself buy many things for our daughter since we are not even DTC yet, but sometimes you just can't pass up something you love!

~A Sweet Gift~

Today a sweet friend gave this Piggy Bank to me as a gift for our future daughter. I love pink and brown!! She has 2 daughters from China and their family is returning this fall to adopt a 10 year old boy. She is such a special friend and my biggest encourager on this journey. We are not even DTC yet, but have been working tirelessly on our online classes so we can get our final homestudy visit done, so this gift was her way of celebrating what we have accomplished so far. Thank you so much "T".