4 months ago today.....

Our daughter joined our family! It's hard to believe it's already been 4 months since that eventful day in Nanchang. We are so blessed & honored to have been chosen to parent this child of ours. Every night as I pray for her, I am so thankful. We have had some people tell us how 'lucky' she is to have us (which makes us uncomfortable), but we really are the ones who are lucky. I prefer to call it blessed, but anyway you slice it- we are so glad to have Maddy as part of our life.

Madison on 10/28/07:


Madison on 02/28/08:

Learning to rejoice in the little things

As winter rolls on into what seems like an endless cycle of cold days & long nights we are trying to rejoice in the little things. Watching Maddy walk more & more, getting hugs after naptime & seeing her giggle as she holds her dolly over the side of the changing table have become highlights in our daily routines. She is getting more & more aware of things that get a reaction from us & will do just about anything to get us to laugh.

This weekend it was nice to have a day or so of warmer (by Minnesota standards) weather. We were able to get out for walk & finally let out dog enjoy sometime outside of the 4 walls of our yard's fence. There's just something about being so close to spring that gives you hope that the winter will not drag on much longer.


The weekend before last, we were also able to go on our first date since before China (Thanks Aunt Janita!) It was nice to steal away for a few hours to watch a movie & just have some time alone together.

Learning to walk & Chinese New Year

Maddy took her first step on her own January 22, but this week especially she has really been starting to practice a lot. She takes about 5-6 steps and then either looks for the nearest object to grab and she falls into a crawl. She walks from mom to dad and back. She walks from the couch to the barricade around the TV and then to the dog. We put her squeaky shoes on her and she really gets a kick out of hearing the squeak with each step.

Over the weekend we celebrated Chinese New Year with some of the adoptive & pre-adoptive families from the MN Red Thread group. On Sat we went to Albertville to a party in a home. Maddy was 1 of 4 girls there & it was so fun to see how the girls are growing, talking & walking. On Sunday we went to the local FCC (Families with Children from China) celebration held at a school in Crystal. This celebration had hundreds of participants & included cultural dances, crafts and vendors with various wares. The adoptees at this event were a wide range of ages (Maddy being to one of the youngest to teenagers). It's fun to be able to integrate some of the Chinese culture into our family's life and look forward to celebrating this event for years to come.


A few CNY pictures:

I've been tagged...I'm it, 7 little known facts about me

I've been tagged by Sindy from http://forallisonwithlove.blogspot.com to list 7 things you may not know about me.

The rules are to link the person who sent this to you and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours. Post the rules on your blog. Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I graduated with a degree in French. I never really did anything with it, but have been to France a few times. The last time I went was in 2000 for our 5 year wedding anniversary.

2. We own 2 cars of the same make & model (different years though), what can we say, we love our VW Passat station wagons!

3. My current Net Flix list consists of all the seasons of Little House on the Prairie. I loved watching this when I was a kid & wanted to start at the beginning & see all of the episodes. I am currently 1/2 way thru season 2. I can't waint until Maddy is old enough to watch these with me.

4. Matt, Maddy & I were all born in the year of the Dog.

5. I lived in India for 3 months when I was 22 years old. Long story, involves an ex-boyfriend, let's just leave it at that!

6. I've always had a dream to open either a tea house or a coffee shop. The tea house would be fun to offer high tea parties & other fun events around Chinese culture.

7. I have visited 5 of the 7 continents. Hopefully I can hit at least Africa (maybe Antartica too, but that's not as strong of a desire).

Now I get to tag 7 people:
www.youbelong.net/thehermans
http://nicostratton.googlepages.com
http://mnbadgerfamily.blogspot.com
http://thesheltonfamily.blogspot.com
http://blmathson.blogspot.com
http://growingupfine.blogspot.com
http://heut-n-holler.blogspot.com/

Happy First Birthday Maddy!

Today we celebrate Maddy's first birthday. We are so happy that one year ago today this precious gift was allowed to enter this world. Today we think of her birthparents and are so thankful that they made the choice of life rather than the alternative. We are forever grateful to them for such a beautiful daughter.

In only the 3 1/2 months that we've had Maddy as part of our family, she has become such a big part of our lives. It's hard to imagine our lives without her now. Though the wait was long, we know that God timed everything perfectly so that our chosen child came to us at the right time.

She has brought us so much joy & we plan to celebrate many more birthdays to come. Below are a few pictures from the party we had for Maddy this past Saturday.

Dedication Day

On Sunday, January 20th we had Maddy dedicated at our church. Dedication is similar to christening that is done at other churches. This was important to us to show that we promise to do everything we can to raise a child that loves God.

We had a small gathering afterwards to celebrate the big day. This included fare from a local Chinese restaurant and a few Asian flair appetizers from Costco. The Chicken Chow Fun was a big hit, as my brother-in-law (who shall remain nameless) went back for his 3rd plate of it. He said, "I am really not hungry anymore, but this just tastes so good."

Yesterday marked our 3rd month together as a family of 3. It is amazing how fast time as flown by since that day in Nanchang. Maddy took her first step last week and has been getting a little bolder in her walking adventures each day. Her favorite new trick (much to her parents dismay) it to stick her finger up her nose & make a raspberry noise at the dinner table. The first time she did this she was having lunch with daddy & he had to hide his face because he was laughing so hard. We don't want to encourage her in that!

This weekend we will celebrate Maddy's birthday with some of her travel mates & other friends from China and locally. It should be a lot of fun to see everyone!

Back at work- week #2

Hanging out with Izzy

Sooo big!

Ready to roll

Well, it was week #2 of being back at work today. It's been difficult to leave the house every morning but knowing that she's home with daddy makes it a little easier. They've had fun far & Matt thinks he can really get used to the stay at home dad gig.

Please keep my family in your prayers, my Uncle Bernie passed away this weekend. I am going with my mom to California for the memorial & burial. This will be Matt's first stint on his own day & night with Maddy.

A few new pictures of Maddy, we can't believe how big she is getting! It's almost as if she's growing over night some days.