1 year ago today....

we were laying eyes on Laney for the first time. Jin YuRao was so tiny and quiet, but so trusting. We had no idea what a sparkling, loud, funny, mischevious and joyful bundle we were receiving. But we knew she was our girl -- no doubt about it!

Today is known, in the adoption community, as our Gotcha Day annivesary. It is the day we finally, after so many weeks and months of paperwork, nerves, and excitement were able to meet and hold our new baby!

The first time I held Laney in my arms my heart melted. She just felt so right! And now, one year later, I can honestly say the attachment has grown stronger than I could have ever imagined.

Tonight we will be celebrating with a family dinner -- using placemats and settings we bought while we were in China just for this purpose!

My heart is full ~ overwhelmed and thankful. God is good.

The local library in Ludington is one of our favorite spots in town. It truly is a library of libraries. Not only do they have a fabulous collection of books (clearly, a critical component of any such institution), but the librarians are awesome and they always prioritize children first! The activities and things the staff thinks up are so much fun.

The next large project at the library is a new children's expansion! We are very excited, as are many folks in town. As the funds are raised and plans are made, the library has marked out the new building area with a little picket fence. They've encouraged children in the community to come by and paint the pickets -- making the spot their own. What fun! We called some friends nearby and we met up at the library today to join in the artistic endeavor. My kids had a ball! Here are some shots from the morning.

P.S. You'll notice Laney is sporting a fancy new haircut. She went into the Looking Glass yesterday and her stylist Katie did a fabulous job. We think she looks adorable (as always) and the new bob keeps the hair out of her eyes (something she was very annoyed by).

Colorful, beautiful fence!

Sweet Lily --- I love that girl!

Colby being silly and enjoying the day.

Landry decided she wanted her picket to be solid fire-engine red. A bold choice for a bold girl!

Purely random pictures....

The pink goggles (and two huge bicycle helmets) make it inside for some silly sister fun.

Today we went to visit a local cherry farm that also has a beautiful herb garden. The center of the garden (where mom & Lily are walking) features scores of different plants. The outer rows of the garden (coming out like spokes from a wheel) were just luscious, dense rows of lavender. It was really magnificent.

Laney liked the garden and she enjoyed wandering around by herself...sniffing the plants and making "mmmm" sounds. :)

A few more photos to share...

My children can spend hours playing in the dunes. They love to go on hikes and make up stories. The dune grass makes them feel quite alone and brave as they venture far from our spot on the beach. 

Laney -- catching up on some reading. 

No trip to our home in Ludington is complete without at least one run to House of Flavors for some delicious ice cream. This was Laney's first time to enjoy it with us!

She was quite happy. :)

These are the days of the endless summer...

Landry -- wearing the favorite pink goggles. She and Laney share them back and forth...and neither of them actually use them in the water. Just for looking "Cool." :)

Lily -- looking cute and working on her moat.

Landry -- teaching her self to surf -- sort of.

Colby working on his upteenth teepee frame.

Flashing her cutest grin....in hopes for a 2nd bag of fruit snacks

Colby and Landry enjoying some food at the fair...(I need to take more photos of Lily...she's always running about)

Laney ready for her close up...and a dive into the lake

Laney sees her first seagull. "What's that?"

Laney is a beach baby...

Another great day at the beach....

More pictures from our first day...

Lily & Laney enjoying some sand time...and building driftwood forts

Colby getting a little help from his big sister...

This is all Landry wants to do. I don't blame her. Is there anything better than digging in the sand?

Mom mom took this shot of me. (From the back! Not nice mom! LOL!) But I share it because it shows much of the driftwood and debris from the recent floods here in MI. It also illustrates how much I miss my husband right now. I'm on my cell talking to him and wishing he was here.

We've arrived at our summer house...

Okay, so no excuses. I've been terrible at updating the blog lately. I'm hoping on this vacation to spend some time journaling and uploading more photos of the kids. Here is one I snapped this morning of Laney. We arrivived in Michigan last night and this was Laney's first glimpse of the beach. She was thrilled! She hopped out of the car, wriggled out of my arms and yelled "Oh, WOW!" I"m off to fix my crew some lunch and I will add more photos this afternoon. Promise.

T-Ball season is over...

Colby loved t-ball! His skills and basic understanding of the game improved so much over the course of the season and he had a lot of fun. He took some of his savings and purchased his own bat, ball and t-ball stand so he has enjoyed playing more even at home. We are proud of you Colby! 

It seems I can only handle one...

new update per month lately. Life is just so full! Here is a quick update for everybody in my family:

• Lily is really enjoying her piano lessons. She started about 3 months ago and she is progressing nicely. I love hearing her practice and seeing her start to enjoy playing little songs...and not just practice drills.
• Colby started t-ball last week. He thinks he is VERY cool -- and of course, he is! He has been saving his allowance for several weeks, and he finally asked to spend some of it. He invested in his very own baseball glove, t-ball bat, baseball and a pair of cool sunglasses. :)
• Landry is loving life right now, but last week she was a little slow-moving. She had her tonsils out on 5/13. We had about 2-3 days of "My throat HURTS!!" but now she is racing about as though she has never heard of a hospital. And the best part? NO more snoring! Sleeping through the night!

• Laney is growing like a tiny weed! She is doing so well with her speech therapy, talking more and more every day. And her occupational therapy is really helping as well. I can see such an improvement in her fine motor skills, her core strength, etc. I'm off to buy her a small fitness ball tomorrow so I can do some of her new balance exercises with her throughout the week.
• Troy took some time off for Landry's surgery week and it was great to have him around for help and support. He works 2 days this week, and then he starts a 10 day vacation. We're probably going to stay close to the house and work on some projects here. I received lots of hand-me-downs (awesome!) for the 2 little girls and I need to go through all of their clothes now and declutter for summer. Troy wants to clean out one side of the garage and set up a workout area...carpet, treadmill, weight bench, etc. That should EASILY keep us busy for his vacation time.
• I've been so busy lately, but I'm we've finished our school year and the pool opens next week so I'm DETERMINED to slow down a bit. :) I started running again about 2 months ago. I was running pretty frequently a year or two ago, but I took many months off. I decided I need to do it again. It's so good for my stress and it's just plain fun. I'm running in two 5ks this summer, and I'm hoping to train for a 10k in October. We shall see.

Today I took the two older sweet kids to see "Prince Caspian." What a fabulous movie! We had a great time. My sweet friend Katie offered to take care of Landry & Laney (what a woman! she has two girls of her own -- adorable Carolyn & Julia) so we could go without the wee-ones. Thank you Katie! The girls had a wonderful time and Katie captured a few moments with her camera. Here you go...

Landry Sue is 3!

Landry Sue is 3 years old today.

She is such a sweet and silly girl. I just love her! We went to the store this morning to pick up her princess cakes. :yum: She couldn't decide on which princess she wanted last week when we went to place the order. I told her if we ordered the smaller princess cakes, she could pick her favorite 2. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Then the lady at the bakery counter says, "But doesn't the little girl need 3 mini princess cakes since she is turning 3?" Gotta love the sales pitch...NOT!


Anyway, Landry didn't hear her so we she is thrilled with her two cakes and her mint-chocolate chip ice cream. She also requested a birthday BRUNCH this year...since breakfast is her favorite meal. So her party started at 11:00 a.m. and we enjoyed the menu of her choice: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and cherry stuffed crepes with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

We had a wonderful party. We are thankful for you Landry!!