Very Happy Thanksgiving!!

We hope that your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! As you can imagine, ours was very special. Seeing things through Jodi's eyes adds so much as she brings such joy. Here are some highlights: Jodi asking me to "please take a shower" after everyone else had their showers and I was still in my grimy morning clothes, Jodi and YeYe playing Cinderella cards on the floor, Nye Nye and Jodi playing in her room and on her bicycle, watching "Polar Express" for the first time and seeing the look of amazement on Jodi's face, Jodi helping Mama cook and then thanking me for making lunch after it was all over, Jodi and Baba acting out a scene from "Beauty and the Beast." As you can see, there are far too many to name and the blessings continue. We had quite a laugh over Jodi's list of things that she is grateful for. Truth be told, she said she was thankful for Tinkerbell and Cinderella. We decided her teachers added "Daddy" and "Mommy" to the placemat when it was sent home so we wouldn't feel too neglected.... Someone at church told us that I was probably Cinderella and that Baba was Tinkerbell! That fits!!

Fun at the Chinese buffet! The Chinese waitress was fascinated with Jodi and asked so many questions about her. She said that her friends in China will sometimes ask if the Americans are nice and take good care of the Chinese children that they adopt. She said that she tells them we are very nice and love the children very much. The waitress teared up when we told her that Jodi had some physical problems and we assured her that Jodi was doing well. Very sweet!

Jodi trying a karate kick!!!

Thanksgiving lunch with family friend Matt,

Nye Nye, YeYe, Baba, and Jodi

Jodi loves her Nye Nye and YeYe who are so good to her!! She loves that she has a family that cares so much for her. What an amazing time! One other thing... Baba and I decided to tackle the huge yard of leaves on Saturday. Jodi wants to help so much that Baba had to go and buy her a rake her size so she could participate. She loves to help in whatever we are doing and is so proud of her accomplishments, squealing, "I did it!!" when she finishes something. (Sorry but she is not available to lend out at this time. We have plenty to tackle at our house right now.) Love and blessings to you all!!!

The Dancing Queen

Hi all! We are doing well on this end and hope you are!! We went to a wedding on Saturday for one of the
beautiful Thore girls. It was quite a celebration and Jodi just loves the dresses and flowers. She assures us that she is not ready to get married until later. She was the dancing queen at the reception! We could not get her off the dance floor until she got tired. As you can see, she often prefers the snuggly approach to dancing and thankfully her wonderful friends Riley and Tyler didn't mind too much. Of course, she also doesn't mind jumping around the floor from time to time! She absolutely loves music and would rather listen to music than watch TV any day.

I love the one of Jodi dancing with her Baba and told him we would show this picture at her wedding. As they were showing pictures of the newlyweds when they were little, I know the parents had to be wondering where the time went. We already feel like Jodi's growing up too quickly and can't believe how incredibly fast these past 7 months have gone by. She has grown 3 inches already and put on 8 pounds!! WOW! We covet your continued prayers for her health. During these growth spurts, she is at higher risk for spinal cord issues and we thank God daily that she is doing so well right now. May God bless you wherever you are right now.

Happy First Halloween

It was definitely a Happy First Halloween for Jodi AKA Cinderella. We were fortunate enough to join another princess (Keri), Hannah Montana (Madison), and their great parents for a night out. Jodi was very unsure and quiet at first. Her first house happened to be the Allens, some wonderful friends from church so they helped her ease into it. As you can see by the other pictures, it didn't take too long before she was quite comfortable and on a mission! I felt a little badly for Jodi because it was hard for her to keep up with her friends at times but they were good to come back and get her. Also Baba saved the day and became her royal carriage which every true princess should have. It was a balmy night strangely enough so we all came dressed for the cold and instead sweated! One other blessing for the evening.... we went by the Murphys house who unexpectedly had a present for Jodi. One of the treasures was a beautiful pale blue headband with little jewels in it that just happened to match her Cinderella dress. Pretty cool!!!! I worked a deal with Jodi to get half of her candy for my services in escorting her to the doors. We'll see if that actually works and I am NOT holding my breath! Love to you!!!