A Week With Special Friends

There are friends that walk into your life for a short time and leave footprints and then there are friends that walk into your life and you know that they are friends you will continue to walk through life with.  When we met Kurt and Lauren in China we totally hit it off.  We were together shortly before we each departed and went our separate ways to get our children. When we arrived in Guangzhou for our final leg of our journey we say the Holt guide and she showed us to our van to get to the hotel.  It was so fun to open the door and see Kurt and Lauren and sweet little Lulu.  As we shared our "Gotcha Day" stories and all that happened in province it was one more thing that bonded us together.  It was like we instantly had a bond and clicked.  We spent most our week in Guangzhou with them whether sight seeing, shopping, eating, walking around, going to appointments, filling out paperwork or just hanging out.  We felt like we were on vacation with friends that we had known forever.  We laughed at how much Eric and Kurt were alike and the two of them together kept life pretty entertaining.  We felt so blessed to have met such amazing, fun friends but also friends who shared the love of our Savior.  They were friends we could laugh, cry and pray with.  When you walk through a journey like this with someone there is a bond that is undescribeable.  We have said numerous times that having our paths cross on this journey was and is such a gift! 

We were more than excited when they decided to come to visit and hang with us at the lake for a week.  We couldn't wait to see them, to see Max and Lulu together again and to meet their sweet boys. 

Our week was so full of good things.  It was so much fun to see Max and Lulu together again. It was amazing to see how they have bloomed and blossomed since being home.  We spent so much time with each other in China we each had a true picture what each other's kids were like and how they were interacting and attaching those first days in our arms.  So to see each other's kids now and their little personalities emerge was nothing short of amazing.  

My kids were totally smitten with sweet Lulu. We often had to tell Shane to back away and not to smother her.

All the kids loved playing together in the playhouse ....

and hanging, climbing, sliding and swinging on the swing set!

Max loves the water and wasted no time in showing Lulu the fastest way to get in water and not get in trouble for getting his clothes wet.

Yes, that is right ... just take them off and ....

go for it! 

Alexa and Emma are so great with little ones.  I am so thankful for the way they love on Max and other littles ones that are in their life. 

Kurt found time to throw his line out a few times but often had the littles following behind with lines they wanted to be thrown out too! 

The kids spent hours playing in the yard!

They also spent quite a bit of time warming up in the hot tub after getting chilly in the lake. I wonder what Lulu was saying to Max here!

The kids had fun helping Kurt try hunt for some fish!

Everyone loved going out for a boat ride!

The rides were even better when there were snacks involved! 

The kids had fun playing in the water ....

drinking some lake water .....

and diving off the raft!

The waver runner was a hit with all the boys both little and big! 

The kids spent hours playing in the water and sand.

They little ones even have tons of fun with a bucket on the deck!

We had beautiful weather and ate most our meals out on the deck.

We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and evenings of game playing, eating, laughing and good fellowship after the kids went to bed.

Lauren and Lulu loved their time in the hammock. 

Lauren was especially intrigued with the trees above her.  There have been many pictures take at the lake over the years but I am not sure anyone has taken a picture of this amazing work of our Creator from under the tree! 

Boat rides at sun down were the best!

Love these boys aren't they so cute!

This is the GorDonald Crew! What a bunch of sweetness! Oh and a bit of energy too!

 We have said numerous times that having our paths cross on this journey was and is such a gift! We are so thankful for our new life long friends.  We look forward to building more memories with them!

Not Just Another Day At The Zoo

We love spending time at the zoo.  We have a fairly small zoo but the kids still love it. It is nice because we can buzz over there for an hour or two and see the animals and then we usually hit the park next to it for a picnic.  The kids love seeing how the baby monkeys and rhino have grown.  

We met Eric there one day after work.  I was expecting it to just be another day at the zoo but it was far from that for me.  It has been the first time we were at the zoo since bringing Max home from China.  All  the emotions and feelings came flooding back of the day we spent at the zoo with Max in China.  

As I watched Max at the zoo there were so many different emotions that surfaced.  First it was hard to believe that just six months ago we were in China meeting our son for the first time.  Six Months ago Max was so little and helpless.  I still remember our day at the zoo in China as Max slept through most of our visit on the pack on his daddy.  He had no ability to interact with the world around him.  It was like he was in his little bubble.  He would interact with us and people around us but beyond that he couldn't process or follow anything more than that.  As we fed giraffes up close and personal Max had not comprehension of what was going on around him.  But everything has changed, Max has changed. It was so fun watching his reaction to the animals.  He would squeal and giggle. He would watch the animals every move intently.  I watched Max with tears in my eyes and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratefulness for the gift of a son God has given us and we continue to stand in awe of the way that he has blossomed since being home. 

Max loved these little guys! As they would swing around on the ropes he would giggle and giggle! 

He would often stand in amazement and just watch! 

Max joined right in on milking the cow! 

The kids had fun helping him feed the animals at the petting zoo! He wasn't sure what to think about the animals slobbering all over his hand!

The kids loved seeing the baby rhino and the new area that was just built for him!

It is always fun to get a closer look!

Max wasn't sure what to think of sister with rhino ears on! 

Of course our little love bug is always willing to hand out kisses!

What a great day at the zoo, not just another day at the zoo but a day full of new memories with our new little addition. 

A Day To Celebrate

We were so excited when we realized we were going to be with Gordon's, our dear friends we met in China,  on Max's referral anniversary.  What made it super special was that it was also their referral anniversary for Lulu.  We knew we had to celebrate! 

We planned a fun Chinese meal to celebrate the occasion.  

It was actually more like a Chinese feast!  We had orange chicken, shrimp bok choy and ginger garlic vegetables with chow mien noodles. It was so much fun to be together and to be able to celebrate this special day together.

We each took our referral pictures along to take pictures of the kids holding them.

 Lulu sat so sweetly holding her picture and smiling.  

Max on the other hand thought this was a fun game! 

This was about as good as it gets before his picture ended up in the sand! 

We then attempted some pictures of the two of them together.  This was their "cheese" picture. 

Love this one with Max's arm around sweet Lulu!

Just 7 months ago this was the 2 of them looking at each other ....

just look at these cuties now! 

We both feel so blessed for God's gift of a son and daughter.

Just plain sweetness! 

We also took their Chinese formal outfits that we bought for them in China.  It was fun to reminisce about what our referral calls felt like and how we reacted. It also was fun to reminisce about our time in China together and how much they have changed since they wore these outfits for the first time!

They each have a new twinkle in their eyes!

I love this picture of both of them looking at Lulu's referral picture! 

We are blessed! What a special day full of celebration and thankfulness for our little Asian blessings in our families! 

Happy 1 year referral Max and Lulu! You two will always be part of each others story.  I am so thankful that God worked it out for us to be together on this very special day! We celebrate the two of you today! To top it off it is also 7 months today that we held each of you in our arms for the first time! We have a lot to celebrate and that we did! You are loved and have changed our families in such a special way! We can't wait to see what else God has in store for your sweet little lives! 

One Year Ago Today

It is hard to believe that one year ago today we saw Max's face for the first time.  I remember the moment  so vividly.  I remember seeing our social worker's number come up and hearing her voice and her telling us they have a file of a little boy for us from Shandong China. Tears streamed down my face as I called Eric who happened to be minutes away from home.  As he pulled in Max's file was coming in on my computer.  As we opened this picture the tears flowed harder.  This was the face of our son, the little boy that God chose for us to love, to be part of our family.  

Instantly God had given me a love for this little boy that was an ocean away, that I only knew from information and pictures on paper yet a love that was so real and overwhelming.  It is a helpless feeling knowing you have a son and yet you are months away from holding him.  Daily I had to surrender my anxious mommy heart trusting that God was holding our little boy until we could. 

We are so thankful that God has a plan for Max's life and feel so blessed to be part of it! 

Happy 1 year referral sweet boy!