The First Song I sang Over Sarah.......

I don't sing as well as Chris Tomlin, but this was the song that most touched me during the adoption process of Sarah. I committed that it would be the first song I sang over her! How great is our God!

Just an ordinary day...well, is there really such a thing?

Ty took this photo of the girls. We were cracking up that Sarah had to get as close to Lily as possible!

Another "staying close to Lily" picture!

What would they do without each other?!

YES! Sarah like football!

Serious Sarah.

Sarah sitting on the swing with mom.

Classic Lily with a bit of a 'tude!

Lily doing karate on bubbles.

I know, Kathi G., I should put her hair back!

Dane loves his sisters!

Dane trying to teach Sarah to eat bubbles.

I love this guy!

The girls just runnin' around.

I love this photo of Lily! I'm bummed that it came out blurry, but I still really love it!

Just like this photo....

We knew each other first as row mates! Now we are forever friends!

The photo above was taken in 2004 just before we travelled to China to pick up Lily. This is the bedroom that that housed nine of the little girls that were placed in their forever families on the same day...November 1, 2004. We travelled with these families and will be forever connected by the birthplace of our daughters! I don't think this photo has any of our girls in it, but it shows how the cribs are line up together. I got to visit the orphanage after we got Lily and was able to see the crib that was her bed for the first months of her life. There were about six cribs directly connected in "Lily's Row." Two of her row mates were Hannah and Ashley.

This photo is of Lily and her two row mates...Hannah and Ashley.

Oh, how far they have come!

The rowmates catching up and reminiscing of the old days in those crappy beds!

"Hey, rowmates...remember how we used to eat that thick concoction of rice cereal and formula and how they cut those big holes in the nipples so we'd suck it down quick so they could move on to feeding the other roommates of ours?! Well, I think we like french fries, hot dogs, chicken nuggets more!"

Forever friends!

Fake sleepers!

Yes, the little women had their own table and the older women had their own!

Hannah and Lily were not only rowmates, they were next door neighbors!

Silly Lily!

Hannah.....just a few days difference in age from Lily!

Ashley being silly! Ashley sat next to Lily on the return flight from China! It was great to land together. Although Theresa wasn't happy about it, I was happy that Ashley was outscreaming Lily on that landing!

Also in our little reunion was Sarah and Dane. Sarah made the trip to China with us in 2004 and shares in a lot of great memories. She's such a sweet little girl! Dane did a great job and helping out with the crew. In fact, he took most of these photos!

I was scheduled to work and Adoption Fair in Mason, Ohio yesterday and decided to make a fun day of it! Dane and Lily came along for the experience. Dane stayed and helped me at the conference while Lily went with the Horne family for the day. Hannah Horne and Lily were roommates in China and we had the special blessing of travelling with Dale and Rachel to pick up our girls on the same day. Lily had a great time and started to panic when I arrived at 3:30...she did not want to leave. We were planning on spending a few more hours together. It wasn't long after I arrived that Theresa arrived with Ashley. Theresa was also in our travel group with her husband John. Ashley was a roommate to Lily as well.

It was a great time as we visited. The older girls (myself, Rachel and Theresa) enjoyed our visit while the younger girls played and got to know each other. What a great day!

We are looking forward to joining more of our travel group in July as we get together for a renion in Ownesboro, Kentucky. It is getting to be a lot of fun now that the girls are getting older and able to actually play together!

Tyler's Piano Recital from last Saturday

Tyler spent all last week on the school trip to Washington, D.C. He got back really late on Friday night. His recital was the next morning. He had one moment in the recital that he paused to figure what to do. He did a great job...especially for not getting to practice all week. Way to go, Ty!

Tyler's Piano Recital from last Saturday

Tyler spent all last week on the school trip to Washington, D.C. He got back really late on Friday night. His recital was the next morning. He had one moment in the recital that he paused to figure what to do. He did a great job...especially for not getting to practice all week. Way to go, Ty!

My Thoughts on Mothers and My Mothers Day

Sarah and Lily on Sunday morning, Mother's Day '07

Sarah wearing the same dress she wore one year ago today when we first met her! Yes, this was what her foster mother put on her for Gotcha Day!

Mom and her girls today!

My girls lovin' on me!

Sarah in the little house.

Lily peakin' out her window.

Oops, Lily fell out the window.

Do you think I need to pull their hair back?!

We had a great day today. Besides being Mother's Day, this is the day we celebrate our anniversary of getting Sarah! Yes, we were in China one year ago today waiting to meet our little girl! In fact, in honor of this day, I allowed her to wear the dress her foster mother had on her the day we met. With most adoptions, that first outfit is usually something of great value. I still have Lily's outfit although she could not fit in hers anymore. As for my boys...they all basically came to me naked so I don't have any outfits like I have for the girls!

Mother's Day is a great day, isn't it? I celebrated my first Mother's Day sixteen years ago! I couldn't wait to be a mom! We lived in Louisville, Kentucky at the time. We went through a lot of medical issues at the time. We had one failed adoption. Then along came TJ! What a day that was! I'd like to comment on the "Mom's" in my life:

Flo Johnson. My mom had eight children! I was the fifth child...thus the reasoning behind my committment to having at least five children....I'm so glad she did! How would I describe my mom? I don't think there is anyone on the face of the earth that dislikes me mom. We drove her absolutely nuts growing up...but she survived. She has patience beyond what anyone could imagine! She has a sense of humor like no one I know! If you want a good laugh, hang out with my mom! My mom loves peace. She loves it when everyone gets along. She'll do anything to keep peace...to the point of sacrificing things for herself. I was blessed to have the mother that I had. She is wonderful. Mom is a Grandma to 21 kids! Go Mom!

Carolyn Alexander. This is my mother-in-law. I can say with complete honesty that I really like my MIL! In fact, I call her "mom." To be quite honest, I don't think I know a better servant (I say this in terms of how she gives of her life) in this world! She often thinks of others long before she thinks of herself. She did a darn good job raising her only son! I reap the benefits of the job she did! She's probably one of the hardest working people I know. She loves her family very much, too. She had three kids, Tom and his two sisters. She keeps busy with 19 grandkids! I love my mother-in-law.

Birth Moms. There are three birthmoms in my life. I'd first like to mention TJ's birthmom. Her name is Shannon. Shannon chose life for her little boy and chose me to be his mom! Whew! I don't know any act that is more self-less than this! I have a great deal of respect for Shannon! She is somewhere in the US, but I'm not certain where. I pray a lot for her on Mother's Day and on TJ's birthday....the two days I think she may be struggling. I pray a peace over her that surpasses all understanding! My prayer is that she is doing well and living a life that is good. She has blessed us in such a phenominal way! I doubt that they celebrate Mother's Day in China, but regardless, there are two women in China that blessed us, too! I'm not certain of their circumstances. I don't know if they even played a role in placing their daughters in a place where they'd be found. Lily's birthmom is in Guangdong Province and Sarah's is in Guangxi. I pray they have peace in their lives for what has happened to their girls. I choose to believe that they loved thier daughters deeply. I will never be able to thank them for blessing our lives. I am certainly blessed. May they have peace.

Foster Mother. The other mother in my life that I've grown to really appreciate is the foster mother that did a wonderful job of taking care of Sarah for 22 months until we could get to her! She has fostered five other children along the way. She did a great job taking care of Sarah. I'll never forget the day we met nearly a year ago! We embraced, both of us with tears streaming down our faces. She managed to speak the only English she knew, "I love you." It is wild to think that we only spent 20 minutes together. We couldn't speak the same language and yet we understood so much about the other because of a common love for a little girl names Min XiaoNing who became our Sarah! Thank you Miss. Mo!

That's my thoughts on Mother's Day.

Kathy

A Group, A Queen and a President and his wife

Ty got to see George and Barbara Bush.

He also got a few looks at the Queen of England!

Here is a few pictures of the entire group.

A Helicopter and a Violin

This photo above is of Tyler on Sunday on his first helicopter ride.

This is Dane getting belted in on his first ride that took place on Saturday.

This photo is of the boys prior to the Sunday ride. Tom took Dane on Saturday and enjoyed the lesson he got from the pilot, a member of our church. He was invited back the next day for a long 45-minute ride with the boys. They had a blast seeing their town from above! Ty had a rough time in the beginning and had to use the handy bag near his seat, but he doesn't have any regrets. This helicopter was built in 1968 and was flown in Vietnam. It was a great time for Tom and the boys.

Below is Dane's recital from Sunday afternoon. More pictures tomorrow of Ty's adventures in Washington D.C.

Tom Sawyer, Ty and DC

Tyler seems happy to be away in DC with the rest of the eighth grade class...or could it be he's just happy to be hanging with a bunch of girls?!

Ty in DC

Ty was in the school play TOM SAWYER this year.

Tyler as Joe Harper in Tom Sawyer

Tomorrow I'll post some more photos of TY in DC and a video of Dane's violin recital.