Chinese for Easter!

Sarah's Poppa took us out to dinner for Chinese food on the day before Easter. Sarah wanted to pose with the Lions at the front door before we went in.

Don't you just love the outfit? So cute!

Coloring Easter Eggs!

We were coloring Easter Eggs the weekend of Easter, Sarah LOVED it! She didn't really remember coloring them before and we had a lot of fun. She drew on some of them and got to choose the colors herself. Here she is putting them in the carton.

She wanted to add the daffodil she picked outside to the photo! Then the next day, she decided to give her daffodil to her Poppa (my Dad)...she's such a sweetie.

A pretty girl with pretty eggs!

New Ariel Pajamas

Sarah is sporting her new Ariel jammies that Lao Lao sent. Of course, they're her favorite PJs!

In this one she's showing us that not only does she have Ariel jammies, but an Ariel hairbrush, too! What else does a girl need?

Liberty wanted to play and give kisses!

A Beautiful Day

A few weeks ago after church we were playing outside. Looking at these photos reminded me of 2 things...One-Sarah's hair is FINALLY getting long! (After her own lovely haircut about 16 months ago, it's an accomplishment!) And Two-she's getting SOO tall! She TOWERS over the other 4 yr olds and some 5 yr olds in her preschool class! So far apparently, she's not fitting the asian stereotype as far as height goes!

In this photo, she's making the Chinese character, DA (which means BIG!) Last summer, she took a Chinese class for toddlers and she learned this. Cute.

Sarah's newest pose

This is Sarah's newest pose. If you look at the post from when we went to Disney on Ice, this is how the lady had her pose with Sebastian and Flounder. Now, every time I tell her I want to take her photo, she gets on the stairs and poses like this. So Cute!

Lovin' on Waldo

Best Friends

Sarah's best friend is a stuffed pink & white (mostly turned grey, now) doggie that we named Waldo when she was 18 months old. That dog goes everywhere I allow her to take him, and is her constant companion. I love watching and listening to her imaginative play with him, it's hilarious! This day, Waldo just HAD to be involved in our little photo shoot!

The smile that lights my days

That's it-that's the smile that lights my days and fills them with laughter and joy. There isn't a day that goes by that Sarah doesn't crack me up with something she does or says. Often people say things like, 'You're such good people," or "How wonderful of you," when they ask if Sarah's adopted and I tell them yes. But I feel like they're missing the point...or missing the boat. I couldn't love this girl any more if I birthed her from my body and she gives me so much more than I provide for her. I don't feel like adopting Sarah makes me a good person or special by any means.

I am so blessed to be her Mom and it brings joy to my life to hear her call me "Mommy," "Mama," "Mom," and all variations she chooses depending on her mood. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe that I'm her Mom, that God put it on our hearts to fill out mounds of paperwork, save (and fundraise) LOTS of money, travel all the way across the world, and fill out more paperwork to become parents to the most amazing little 4 1/2 year old girl. To me the way she became my daughter is insignificant-the fact that she IS my daughter-that is what matters. I think SHE'S the special one. I'm just the one that God chose to be her Mom.

Who doesn't love a twirly dress?

Sporting her new sunglasses, Sarah couldn't resist twirling all over the driveway after church a few weeks ago. She LOVES this dress, it's so cute and has so many ruffles to twirl!

Cute new outfit

A couple of weekends ago, we had 72 degree weather so Sarah got to wear a new outfit that Lao Lao sent! She LOVED it and we found the perfect shoes in her closet to match!

My Little Fish!

I can't believe how well my 4 yr. old can swim! She's such a little fish! She already knows the backstroke, freestyle, and the butterfly! She loves the water! I took my camera the other day to capture her progress!

She is doing Monkey, Airplane, Soldier...a stroke on her back...I'm not sure what it's really called.
the butterfly...

It's so cute how her lil' bum bounces in and out of the water as she does her butterfly kick!

Her backstroke...

more of the butterfly

Freestyle...she calls it her big arms.

I realize these may all look the same to you guys...but, what can I say, I'm her Mom and they're all different parts of her strokes to me! :)

Learning to SCOOT!

Sarah got to try Tati's scooter and she loved it! She thought it was the BEST! So what if she's in her Sunday dress!

Look, Mama! I can do it all alone!!

Posing with Waldo and Tick Tock

The day after going to Disney on Ice, Sarah had to tote her new crocodile, named, "Tick Tock" everywhere she went along with the beloved Waldo. She was having fun dancing around the driveway, too. I was having fun watching her!

More Disney on Ice

We couldn't help ourselves when we saw this backdrop for a photo! Sarah wanted her photo with Sebastian and Flounder! Her smile is a little forced, but this actually started a new way for her to pose, as you'll see in posts to follow!