Dec 26th was the day!

Our Christmas Hoilday

This Christmas was wonderful. Every night the week of Christmas we had somewhere to be. Because of the way we do things with my side, Sophie got to see Levi quit often. She gets so excited the first time she lays eyes on him. It's really fun to watch those two interact with each other. One night Levi's Mommy was slipping him into his pajamas and he was not a happy camper ( he doesn't like to change) Sophie just didn't understand what Aunt Christy was doing and had to crawl over to investigate, but not too close. Then she starts fake crying. It was too funny.


We started a couple of our own traditions this year. This is the first year William and I have stayed home on Christmas Day. Growing up, every Christmas morning daddy would cook a huge breakfast complete with fried taters. I always look forward to that every year. This year William cooked the big ol' breakfast and we read about The Birth of Jesus from Luke. Sophie didn't know what the day was about, but she did know that she had new toys in the floor. The ball popper by Fisher Price was a huge hit.

Tagged! Crazy Eights!

So, we've been tagged by Alyson and Ford over at Imagine Alyzabeth An.... to do this Crazy Eights List. Our list will also be a bit me and a bit DH, as I really don't have eight favorite TV shows or, well you'll see..........

Eight Favorite TV Shows:

House
Little House on the Prairie
Reba
Rita Rocks

Eight Things I Look Forward To:

Each and Everyday With My Daughter
Sophie's First Christmas
Seeing Family and Friends
Sophie's First Steps
DH to get over his cold
No one else to catch that nasty virus
Opening the Pool
Finishing the boat

Eight Favorite Restaurants

Jolly Roger's
Logan's Road House
Red Lobster
Apple Bee's

Sorry that's about it.....

Eight Things On My Wish List

A White Christmas (forecast 70 and raining)
New Tile in the kitchen
DH to finish that boat
A Healthy Family
Returning to China
To Stop hearing the gloom and doom on the News
Revival in America
World Peace (this is a Wish List)


Eight Things I did Yesterday

Cooked French Toast and Eggs
Cleaned Rooms at Motel (housekeeper quit)
Feed Sophie
Folded Clothes
Washed Dishes
Cooked Cookies
Watched Miracle on 34th Street and The Santa Clause III
Night Night

Eight Friends to Tag

So now I have to tag eight Blogger friends and I really don't think I can come up with that many, but here's a few......

Allisyn over at Life is Great...., another Carolina girl
Kim at What Wuz I Saying (mother to three adorable boys)
Amy, one of our travel mates, over at the rubber ducky chronicles

That about does it.....Merry Christmas!!!!!

Her First Birthday

What a weekend. I am sure Sophie has seen enough flashes to last a lifetime! Friday mommy and daddy let her open her present from us, since that was her day. She loved her little lion and off she went. It did not take her long at all to figure out how to go forward, reverse, and even turn so she could get where she wanted to go!

Saturday was her party! The house was full to say the least. We started with the cake. The candle that was purchased in Chongqing was a huge hit. It took Sophie a little while to figure out that she could just dive right in to her cake, but eventually got the hang of it.

She was really into it. I was a little surprised at how much she really seemed to enjoy all of it. From the cake to the presents, she was all smiles. It was a perfect evening. I was so into her, that I'm not sure I got to thank everyone, But I am very thankful. Thankful for that perfect day and for the wonderful support and love that we receive each and everyday from our family and friends. Love you guys!

Sunday there was a Christmas Party in the Nursery and that afternoon Christy came over with Levi and we took more pictures!! It was our own private photo shoot.


This weekend was a blast!! And Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Renaming of the Blog

So, as you can see, life as a mother keeps me pretty busy. I wanted to post at least once a week, but it's looking like twice a month right now is the norm. I've been thinking about the title of this blog. It was originally started to help inform family and friends of the adoption process and to keep them up to date on where we stood in that process. Since then it has turned into a way to document Sophie's milestones and the little things about her growing up. A way to share with our family, friends, and travel buddies that we aren't able to visit. With that said, I think "Sophie's Stories" is just perfect. Just like our little girl!

Simplicity

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, ate too much yummy food. The pies seem to get better and better each year. We started decorating Friday and watched the Charlie Brown specials while we pigged out on left over cheesecake. I love the old Christmas shows. White Christmas was on last night. It's just not Christmas without a little bit of Bing! I'm really enjoying the holidays this year. Sophie helped me wrap presents today. So if the paper looks a little worn, Sophie helped with that one! She loves tearing the paper. It's so cool watching her get excited over paper and bows. Just wait til Daddy gets his lights up!

Amazing Love

There are nights I just watch her in amazement. This is my child. So many nights I dreamed of being a mother. I wondered what our daughter would be like. She is so much more than I could have ever imagined. Her smile, those beautiful brown eyes, I just melt. Tonight she was so sleepy. While she waited for her bottle, she cuddled with me sucking on those three little fingers and looking at me with those adorable eyes. Words cannot begin to describe how much I love this child. She is truly amazing.

Our Little DragonFly

I finally down loaded the pictures from Hallelujah night. We went to the local festival at the church down the street. Sophie soaked up all the attention. She lasted longer than I expected that evening. We didn't get to see Levi in his puppy dog outfit but I did run out to see him while daddy stayed in with our sleepy beauty. When she's ready for bed, well , let's just say EVERYONE is happier when you put her there! Levi is just starting to crawl. He is such a little ham. I love watching both of them with their very different personalities. This past Sunday we cooked for my dad and had both of them there together, sipping out of their sippy cups, zipping around in the walkers, playing with the train. I really enjoyed spending the day like that.

It was nice not to rush and just enjoy everyone's company.

October Pictures

Sorry, We've been a little under the weather. It's that time of the year. As you can see we did get to the pumpkin patch a little late, but better late than never. Alot of differnt little things have transpired over the past several days therefore I believe a bullet post is in order!

. Sophie is now crawling on all fours!

. First word ......"no."

. First Hallelujah night

. She was a adorable dragonfly

. Loves Hershey Kisses

. Now has 6 teeth

. Favorite Toy...Choo-choo Train

. Eats all the time

. Likes to be tickled

. Loves to be chased (ya know, gonna getcha!)

. Tolerates her car seat

. Women from our church gave us a shower

. Sophie loves the paper you put in the gift bags

. She pulls up on everything

. And will let go in a heartbeat

. Finally found the stairs

. Waves bye-bye

Ryan's Old Jumper & A Pair Of Sqeaky Shoes

More Pictures

A Whole Bunch of First!!

Where does the time go? We've been home for two weeks already. It's now time to go back to normal everyday living........NOT! I am now back at the Motel, but it's nothing like it was before. There is routine, every minute is completely used.

When we arrive it's the first bottle of the day. She'll take that in the playpen while I get housekeeping's stuff together, then it's floor time, followed by breakfast, then maybe a little walker time before our morning nap. That's when mommy gets her work done! And it's hurry up, get it all in before Lunch! But really Sophie is very good. Even when teething, she's a little cranky, but come on, we're not using anything other than tethers to chew on for the pain. She's a real trooper!

This week we had a lot of firsts. Her first visit to the Park and Zoo. And she could have cared less about the animals, but really enjoyed watching the kids play at the first birthday party she's been invited to in the States. At the same time this was her first time in the stroller without screaming. I think the kids and cheerios helped out on that one.
Sophie also received her first invite to dinner. Elaine fixed a kind of Thanksgiving type dinner. And we have sooo much to be thankful for! She of course loves mash potatoes, but she was really into the stuffing too! As you can see, she was the guest of honor and was loving it!
Sunday was our first day back to Church. Sophie LOVED worship service. She was very vocal that morning. After worship we went back to the nursery. She's still taking those morning naps and well some of you know that she does not like to be rocked to sleep, by noon she was not a happy baby. She wanted her nap. It felt really good to be back in the Lord's House.

After church she slept for a couple of hours , then we got outside a little. The dogs really enjoyed that. They are doing fairly well adjusting to Sophie. The are not getting the same attention as before, but when Sophie and I go in the back for bath time, daddy lets them in and they get some one on one. And after Sophie goes down, moma gets to spend a little time with them before they go upstairs to their new room. They don't really seem to be interested in Sophie one way or the other, but they're not really around her much either. Chloe and Sampson stay home during the week and Razz goes with Sophie and me.
Everyday seems to go by too fast. We are both really loving being parents. I can't imagine life without our little Sophie.

Nana giving her her first taste of Chocolate Cake!
Her first pony ride! Her first swing. (which she loves)

Empty Promises

As I am enjoying this new found motherhood, I am very concerned in the direction this country is going. What will my daughter grow up around? What kind of unnecessary topics will we have to discuss when she is way too young to even think about such things. Alot of people comment on how lucky she is to now be in the United States. Is she? Really? In ten years from now how much freedom will she have? As a Christian will she be able to pray in a restaurant? Wear a Jesus Rocks t-shirt in the mall? It seems our rights are slowly being taking away as we might offend someone. And I am so tired of all these empty promises these candidates make every time elections come around. Do I look like I was born yesterday? Smooth talk doesn't work on me. Your voting record, however, does! I am not impressed by either of our choices this election, but most of you know me and that I would never vote for anyone who is pro choice, that is my biggest conviction with candidates. And I will not waiver for the sake of the economy, health care or any other issue. If both candidates were pro life, well maybe we'd have a debate, but this year with the other issue on the table, well I just can not bring myself to vote for someone who seems to have so many ties to the word Terrorist. His Muslim outreach point man sought support from terrorist supporters, his friendship with Bill Ayers, even Israel is very concerned about this election! If anyone is undecided, or concerned check out www.onenewsnow.com for Christian News and articles reporting the things that mainstream media doesn't seem to pickup!

And let me add that I am proud to be an American. So please don't flame me. These are my convictions, my thoughts that as of now, I still have the right to express. I am grateful to our Military who leave their families, miss holidays and birthdays to fight for this country and our freedoms, my prayers are with them.

Pinch Me!!

It's amazing to just watch her sleep. She's like a doll baby, but real. She's adjusting more each day. Last Wednesday we finally got her nights and days straighted out. She didn't sleep all night, but most of it. Well this weekend she started sleeping all night, she'll wake up around 6:oo am and play in the crib for another hour!! I think she's starting to realize that this is home. Yesterday she finally got in her walker and played while I got some cleaning done. She's starting to explore some too. She'll take off behind the recliner and she loves to crawl under the end tables, she thinks that's so cool. She's still belly crawling. But now that she's getting a little more floor time and she's not scared to leave my sight maybe she'll get up on all fours soon. She's such a little stinker and loves food! I have no problem finding something she likes. So far since home the only thing she has made a face at is rice!!! Kinda ironic, huh. That ready smile she has just wins everyone over. Here's some pics of the last couple of days.

Sweet Home Carolina

Sorry it took so long.....we got home and no Internet. I just found the time and energy to fix it today!

What a homecoming! We arrived home at 2:00am Sunday morning. Even though we were exhausted, the adrenaline from just seeing home kept us going another 12 plus hours, in addition to the fact that we were still on China time! I can't put in words how wonderful it was to come home to a clean house, food in the frig, this crowd thought of everything. They shampooed the carpets, washed the dogs, my truck was cleaned out, I'm leaving soooo much out. It was amazing. Thank you guys sooo much!!!!

Sophie is adjusting well. She slept through the night last night and needless to say, moma felt like a brand new person this morning. She's eating good and had her first mash potatoes this evening. This is an unbelievable feeling. She doesn't want me out of her sight and it can be very tiring and at the same time, I love being the one that she wants. The one that can stop the crying and can tell by her tone and body language what she wants. It's awesome!

All Packed!!

Bye bye Guangzhou. This has been an awesome experience, but I'm ready for some real fried chicken and banana pudding!! We just finished packing and our first flight is at 11:55 from Guangzhou to Beijing. This is gonna be the longest Saturday I've ever seen!! See ya'll soon!

Home Stretch

We are very much enjoying our stay at the White Swan. We are very busy though. We skipped the tour today so we could have some free time on the island. The Consulate Appointment went well this morning. And we took the infamous red couch photos this afternoon. See, every American adopting from China must come to Guangzhou because that is where the US consulate is and most families stay at the White Swan Hotel. This is where the photos take place. Most of the babies did very well.

Tomorrow morning I'm going with some of the others shopping off the island. I think William and Sophie are going to hang back. It's so hot and she gets cranky fast out there. In the afternoon we all go to the Consulate to take the oath. It's a little ride, so it will probably take most of the afternoon. Then it's time to pack!!! We may have to buy another suit case. Just depends on me keeping William in check!!!:)

Btw, this place has an awesome play room. Wish we had been here a little longer to take advantage of it!!

Oh Happy Day, We're in Guangzhou!!

Oh, yeah, we are doing well. Sophie's first plane ride was good. She was a real trooper! Thank you Lord. We were very blessed to have an empty seat next to us. We landed right before Guangzhou started getting any major winds or rain from the Typhoon. I could hear it howling outside in the middle of the night.

When we got in last night, we half way unpacked, gave Sophie her bottle and went to Lucy's for supper. French Fries!!!!! William had the grill pork chops and they were delicious. After that we did a little shopping. We went to Jordan's place and he is such a great guy! We got more shoes and some trinkets.

This morning we were off to get the visa photo and medical exam done. The photo and exam went well. The walk there though, was a little out of the ordinary. That was an experience not to be forgotten. I'll let the pictures do the talking. But let me say, come rain, snow, or flood......we're bringing Sophie home!!

We Are Here!!! More Later.......

The Chongqing Families

A Few More Pictures

Another Free Day

Sophie's doing little better each day. Today was Daddy/Daughter Day! William and Sophie stayed in while Mommy did a little shopping. I bought the most adorable little shoes:) Anyway, Sophie broke daddy in right. While I was out getting dinner, she did one of those, well ya know, yucky ones. You guys know how William's stomach is, BUT Daddy to the rescue!!When I got in they were kicked back in the bed and she was sucking down a bottle.

This evening, Sophie was invited to her first social gathering. It was Alyzabeth's birthday party. She turned two yesterday. She's in the white shirt wondering why all these babies are crawling on her mommy. It was a blast! Sophie loved the cake. She's trying to get to Alyzabeth! Just one more day here and then we are off to Guangzhou!

To Tonyia, William & Sophie, From All Of Us At Home

A little video from us to you, William & Sophie!! We love you all and miss you. Sorry some of the pictures are a little bit blurry but that's all we had to work with. Hope you can see and hear the video. You might have to turn the sound up some. Can't wait till you get home!! You are in our prayers!

A Few More Days

Hey guys. We miss you and HOME a whole bunch too! Wish I could see that video. Maybe in Guangzhou we'll be able to view it.

Sophie's a little better today......baby steps. This is so hard on her emotionally and she has a few teeth coming through. One has already. She's not eating the local food very well, so she's getting Gerber Puffs and Chicken Nuggets. Whatever works. I'll worry about nutritional value when we are home and I can READ what I'm buying. Some thing do have English on them and I saw some Oreo's in the downstairs grocery. And Ruth turn us on to these corn puffs that melt in her mouth and she loves them. Just a few more days here and we'll be off to Guangzhou. We're both very ready for that.

We are relaxing today. Here are some pictures of the park outside our Hotel. We spent a little time there this morning.