Together Again

What an incredible opportunity we had this week! Our friends that we made in China were staying nearby and we had the chance to get together which was such a privilege. It meant so much to have the time with them. You probably remember Jodi's "boyfriend" Keith who is an absolute doll. They were quiet around each other at first even though they said they remembered each other. By the end of the day, they were interacting quite a bit though they needed coaching on what to say to each other! It was amazing to see how far they both have come in this past year. We feel very blessed to have maintained contact with Keith's family and we still hold onto the hope of an arranged marriage.....! As we were saying our goodbyes, Keith gave Jodi a kiss and then shyly told his father, "Daddy, I gave her a kiss and she liked it!!!" Pretty cute! God bless.

Long Overdue

Where to start??? What an incredible few weeks we have had. We first celebrated Jodi's baptism which didn't quite go as smoothly as we had hoped. I retrospect we realize that we should have prepared her a little better! She literally cried throughout the whole thing and was fine after it was over. At least she wasn't sobbing, just a soft cry!!

Next, we had the privilege of Jodi getting to meet her Uncle Don and Aunt Linda. She loved every minute of it and also got to spend some fun time with her cousins. It meant so much to us for my father's brother to meet our daughter. Uncle Don favors my father quite a bit so it was quite a special time. We are grateful for their efforts in coming through Asheboro!

Finally we got to celebrate Fred's parents 50th anniversary at Mom's lakehouse. What an incredible celebration it was!! It was wonderful to again spend time with family and for Jodi to get to be with her aunts, uncles, and cousins. One of these pictures are of Fred's mom and her sister Lynn. Can you imagine that these two don't see the resemblance in themselves??

As you can see, it has been a special last few weeks with more great times ahead. We are so grateful for all of the love and kindness showered on Jodi and believe me, she is thriving in knowing how loved she is. God bless!

Gotcha Day

Monday was our official one year for Gotcha Day!! We knew we wanted to do something special and Baba had a great idea. Our first meal with our daughter in China was at McDonalds so what better way to celebrate than to recreate that in our own hometown. We told Jodi we were going somewhere special and she was very excited that our choice was good ole McDonalds!! We had a little time to look through some of our video in China and could not believe how little Jodi was. It was also funny to hear her speaking in Chinese to her friend Keith. We asked her what she said and I'm not sure she remembers Mandarin too well. Maybe one day she'll want to get back to it but for now, we respect her need to distance from it some. Jodi got her cast off and is using her hand like a pro. She's very excited to have 5 fingers "like everybody else." We weren't sure how aware she was of the thumb but evidently she did recognize that she was different. Glad it's over with and we pray for no more surgeries for a very very long time!!! Our love and gratitude to everyone for your incredible support and encouragement. You have blessed us so much.

Happy One Year

Here's to our sweet baby girl Jodi and one beautiful year! It was one year ago that you came into our lives and we now cannot imagine life without you. We have learned so much from you especially trust and unconditional love. You got on a plane with total strangers, trusted us to care for you, and moved to a country where noone spoke your language, yet you opened your heart to us! You have gifted us with your joy, your infectious laugh, and your beauty both inside and out.

New York New York

This a quick tribute to my sister Laura and brother in law Latham for an incredible weekend in New York! Latham has been involved in an off Broadway production directed by actor Ethan Hawke. He has taken every day objects like a table and broom and made them into instruments. He and his brother then played original music throughout this amazing production. Laura and Latham are such creative forces and it's inspiring to be around them. We are sending them off to New Zealand next week after the play wraps up and wish them safety and a quick return to the good ole U.S. I did have a few celebrity sightings at the play which for those of you who know me well was pretty fun!! Latham has had great support and wonderful reviews for his work and audiences have included Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and David Duchovny. Not too shabby!! Much much love and gratitude to Aunt Laura and Uncle Bobo!!

Jodi and Her First Youth Retreat

Last weekend Jodi and I had the privilege of joining Fred on one of the youth winter retreats. The snow was incredible, more than Jodi had ever seen. I had to hold on tight to her when she walked through the snow (which of course she wanted to do) to make sure she didn't disappear into it! She had an absolute blast, playing with her buddy Emma and getting all kinds of attention from the youth. They were incredibly sweet to her and I joked with my mom that she's going to think she's a rock star. Everywhere we went, someone was calling out Jodi's name! Let's just hope she doesn't become impossible to live with..... Actually we think she's making up for 4 years of missing out on lots of individual love and attention. We sure wish we could have had those years with her but we are so grateful for what we have. Now if she'd only grow up a little more slowly!

The Big Purple Cast

Here are a few more snow pictures which is sadly now gone. We really had a ball in the snow!! Fred rigged up a way for us to pull Jodi down the driveway which she loved. It was a great workout for Mama and Baba! In the one with Mama and Jodi, there is a tiny little snowman at the bottom left. The snow was not sticking that day and that was the best we could do. Sadly he was plowed over by a road crew.... Poor Frosty (which was the name of every snowman we made.) I love the one of Baba and Jodi walking in the snow together, definitely a precious moment. Finally, I thought you'd like to see the "big purple cast." Jodi now refers to her big purple cast anytime she doesn't want to do something, saying, "Mama and Baba, I can't do it because of my big purple cast!" We remind her that she has other fingers in that cast that are working and she'll sigh and say, "OK." She is healing well and we are grateful. Much much love!!