Chinese New Year Celebration

We attended a Chinese New Year celebration Saturday evening at Frazer. We had so much fun. We really want Sam to be proud of his heritage. We also have great appreciation for the Chinese culture because of Sam. Sam really enjoyed playing with the other children from our Panda Pals group... and you should have seen his expression when the traditional "Lion Dance" was performed! One tradition is for the children to receive a "money" envelope. He got two silver dollars. The actual New Year is this Thursday, Feb. 7th. In two weeks we will go to Fairhope and participate in our adoption agency's Chinese New Year parade. We will decorate Sam's wagon for that event!! Have I mentioned lately how blessed we are???? This evening as I was holding Sam in my arms before he went to bed, I could not help but think of his birth mother and father. They must have both been very handsome because Sam is so darn cute. I said a prayer for both of them, especially his birth mom. She gave us the most precious gift.... one that we truly love and cherish. My prayer for her this New Year is for God to grant her peace and happiness. I wish she could know how happy and content Sam is in his new home and how much he is loved by so many!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Nick is celebrating a wonderful birthday today! We helped him celebrate by cooking cupcakes, giving him some great gifts (including tickets to see Ronnie Milsap in the new Alabama Performing Arts Center). Sam's favorite part was the cupcakes and the party favors!! He would clap everytime we would give his daddy a gift or sing happy birthday. We are getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year which is February 7th. For those of you keeping score.. this is the year of the Rat! Tomorrow we are going to attend the Chinese American Association's Chinese New Year festivities at our church. Sam is going to wear his traditional Chinese clothing.. I will be sure and post lots of pictures. Now, here is a message to my dear sweet husband on his 47th birthday: To my Honey, I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for you. He blessed me with such a kind, strong, and tender hearted husband. I love you with all my soul and I am so happy to be sharing my life with you. Sam loves his "Da-Da". I love to see how his eyes light up when you enter a room. We both love you very much and we love celebrating this day that you were born... a day which changed our lives forever. All my love, your Honey!!

Recognizing God's Many Blessings

Sam and his Aunt Sherry

It seems the Holy Spirit is in Sam!

Getting ready to be baptized

Precious gift from God

Pastors Barry Carpenter and John Ed Mathison perform the Baptism

Sam and Mary Grace (how cute is this??)

Sam and his Pop-Pop

Sam with his Nai-Nai and Pop Pop

World's smallest snowman!

Boy, this snow is COLD!!

Hey look at me.. I can climb!!

Big boy sitting still for his first hair cut

We have so much to update about Sam. We had a very busy week.. a week full of firsts! Sam had his first hair cut Thursday. He was a big boy and decided that he would sit in the chair all by himself! Michelle did a great job and Sam just looks so cute! We also received Sam's citizenship certificate in the mail!! We celebrated the haircut and the certificate by eating Mexican. Sam loves cheese qasadillas!! Saturday we had a beautiful and very rare snowfall. We all enjoyed playing in the snow and building a very small snowman. Sunday was a very special day because Sam was baptized!! It was emotionally overwhelming for us because it seemed like this was what we had waited on for so long.... to have our son with us and dedicate his life and our raising him to our Heavenly Father. We had several friends and family attend and our Sunday School class was all there supporting us and witnessing this very special moment. Sam did very well (he really liked the water and wanted to play in it after he was baptized)! On our videotape we can hear Sam's friend Mary Grace say "Hey, Sam"! Mary Grace was adopted from China last March and she and Sam are so cute together. The sermon during today's service partly focused on giving God thanks and recognizing Him for our blessings and success. We will forever give all the Glory to God for Sam. It seems we fall more in love with him each day and we know the Lord will continue to guide us in raising this precious gift. Enjoy the pictures!

Sam's First Day at Daycare

I'm going where???

Looking good!!

Today I started back to work (Nick started last week) and Sam started Mother's Day Out. He looked very cute in his safari overalls. He did very well and we are so very proud of him. He has done great in our church nursery so we had a feeling he would have fun with the other children. He loves to make people laugh and seems to have a great sense of humor. Sam seems to be right on target with children his age. He is very active and is learning to climb (heaven help us!). He also knows where his ears, nose, and bellybutton are located!! He seems to be attaching to both of us. He is a very loving child and freely gives kisses and hugs. He is getting baptized Jan. 20th. We thank the Lord for Sam everyday!

Our first Christmas with Sam

We had a wonderful Christmas with Sam. He was such a trooper! Sunday we were invited to Aunt Sherry's and Uncle Pat's. Monday we traveled to Clanton to visit with family and then ended the day at Aunt Becky's and Uncle Richard's. Christmas morning we traveled to DeFuniak Springs to visit with Nick's family. Sam's favorite part was the food. He loved the peas, butterbeans, and sweet potatoe casserole!! He got to meet lots of friends and family and was very busy playing with his new toys. We are learning more about Sam each day. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he is a very strong willed individual which we feel will help him be successful later in life. He enjoys laughing and he continues to be very loving and compassionate. Glory goes to God for bringing this child into our lives!

First Week at Home

Sam and his MiMi

This is the way we brush our teeth

Peek-a-boo

Mama and Sam are very glad to be home after 30 hours of traveling

Meeting Nai-Nai and Pop Pop for the first time!

So glad to see these loving and friendly faces at the airport!

We have had severa firsts this week and lots of doctor's appointments. Sam brushed his teeth for the first time, he attended his first Christmas party, and he went to church where he stayed in the nursery. They said he got upset one time, but they walked him around and looked at the fish aquarium and he calmed down. He was asleep when we picked him up. He opened his arms wide and came running to us as soon as he opened his eyes. Sam does not like visiting the doctor's office (who does??) but so far he has gotten good medical reports. We are learning that Sam is very strong willed and impatient!! He is a happy baby... laughing and smiling very frequently. He loves music and he also loves to eat. He is learning new things everyday and we are amazed how quick he picks up on things. He is saying DaDa, Mama, Cat, Bite (to eat), and he waves bye-bye. He also loves to play peek-a-boo. Sam is a true blessing. All glory to God for this child.

We're Home and Update on Sam's Heart

We apologize for not posting sooner! The jet lag has been pretty rough and we have been resting and letting Sam adjust to his new home. We were thrilled when we arrived and about 30 dear friends and family were at the airport to greet us. It really meant the world to us to see so many lovely and friendly faces!!

Sam has been doing wonderful considering everything he has been through. He was having trouble sleeping at first, but we adjusted our sleeping arrangements and he is now doing very well. We also visited the Pediatric Cardiologist this morning and he says that the Chinese doctors did a very good job patching the hole in Sam's heart. He says everything looks great and he does not need to see Sam for another year. Praise the Lord!! Another answered prayer!!

We will post again very soon. This is Sam's story and we will post every week to update everyone on his progress.

Thank you all for following our journey.. and we are especially thankful for all of your prayers!