Local Chinese New Year Celebration

Week in pictures

Mommy Moment

I prayed recently for God to open my eyes to my many blessings and to let me really appreciate all that He has given me. Last night after Sam went to sleep I looked at him and my heart skipped a beat because I realized Sam is really my child! I know that sounds strange because he has been with us over a year... but for the first time it really sank in that Sam is mine. WOW... what a gift! I prayed to the Lord and he answered my prayer... more abundantly than I ever imagined. In all honesty I can say that Sam is the sweetest, smartest, and most compassionate child I have ever known! Nick and I are so thankful that God gave us this opportunity to be Sam's parents. Now for an update on Sam. He is completely potty trained (he has been since November), he has started calling me Mommy instead of Mama, his favorite new book is Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See.. He is learning the alphabet and his numbers and can get most of them correct when asking him to point to them... he is speaking in full sentences and we can actually carry on a conversation... he has graduated to the older two's class right on schedule.. he is drinking out of a big boy cup. I will post updated photos soon.

Christmas 2008

Sorry it has taken us a while to post our Christmas photos! Like everyone else we have been busy with family and friends. We had a wonderful Christmas. Sam really enjoyed everything.. from seeing everyone, to shopping, to eating, and of course Santa. Sam was so grateful for each gift he received... even clothes! He is such a sweet boy. Christmas morning he woke up and said "Happy Birthday Jesus".. then he saw the lights of the tree were on. He got excited and screamed.. "Santa come to see me"! He loved his Thomas the Train Choo Choo set and played with it for a long time before he realized he had other presents! Enjoy the videos and photos. The first picture above shows Sam wearing my reading glasses! The last video is him singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus" before he reaches for my camera because he loves watching and looking at his picture!!

Sam's Christmas Celebration at School

Sam's daycare put on a Christmas program today. We were so excited and couldn't wait to see Sam perform. His class was to sing three songs: "Happy Birthday Jesus", "Jingle Bells", and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". We had tried to prepare Sam by telling him that we would watch him sing his Christmas songs. When they walked into the fellowship hall Sam spotted us right away and yelled out loud "Mama.. Daddy"! Everyone laughed.. it was so funny. After he spotted us he would have no part in singing.. he wanted to come to us. It didn't take long before he started crying "mama... daddy" and reaching for us. The teacher had to pick him up and try and comfort him. After they sang the songs, he came and sat with us and was very happy!! It was a priceless memory and we cannot wait to share it with him when he is older... we have it all on video tape! He is a mama's boy!!

Ringing the Bell

We rang the bell for the Salvation Army at Sam's Warehouse Friday evening. We had a good time and enjoyed helping others. We want to teach Sam early about the importance of serving others.

Polar Express

Saturday evening we went to ride the Polar Express. It is a real train ride at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. We had arranged it so several families who had adopted children from China would be on the same train. It was so great to meet other families and to visit with our friends. We arrived at the train about 4:15 and we departed for the North Pole at 5pm. Sam was so excited! Aunt Marcy, Isabell, and Grand Mary came up from Mobile to join us and to spend the night. Sam and Isabell wore matching "twas the night before Christmas" pajamas. They looked so cute and everyone thought they were twins. When the train started they read the Polar Express to all of us. Then we sang Christmas songs and looked out the window until we arrived at Santa's warehouse. Santa and Mrs. Claus was waiting for us to arrive. Some elves came on the train first and gave jingle bells to everyone. We rang our bells and continued singing songs until Santa and Mrs. Claus came aboard and visited with all the children. Sam saw Santa and was yelling at the top of his lungs "SANTA"! We had so much fun. Below is video of Sam ringing his bells.