Our Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun weekend with the family. We spent Saturday at our Church's Memorial Day Retreat. Eliza saw and patted a horse for the first time. She even wore her pink boots! Unfortunately I did not remember my camera. We did bring it on Monday when we went to see the Nina replica in Portland. It was pretty cool! It was smaller than I expected. It's hard to believe that all the crew were able to sleep on the deck of the boat. It really puts the journey Columbus and his crew made to the Americas in perspective. What a rough journey they must have had!

The Cuteness Continues

I am happy to write that we are settling in nicely. The other day I put Eliza on the floor with Faith and a calculator. It was pretty cute. She was able to push buttons and looked very intent on making calculations. Although it looks suspicious, she did not help Faith cheat on her homework. We have a feeling she is a genius!

Faith and Katie had a play date and were nice enough to include all of us. The girls had a great time playing in the sprinkler during our unseasonably warm weather. It's such a blessing to see Emily and Eliza together. They are both growing fast. They have to be two of the cutest babies to come home from China.

On another note please keep singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his family in your prayers. He has adopted three girls from China and is an advocate for adoption. Earlier today the youngest of his girls died in an accident. Evidently her teenage brother ran over her with a car while backing up.

Also don't forget to pray for China as they recover from the quake. Our friends are alright, thankfully. Please join us in praying that people will come to know Jesus as their Savior. May God's love shine on the people of China and may they respond to it.

Please Pray for Han Lin and Family

****UPDATE****We just got an email from Han Lin-thankfully he and his family are well. Their city was not as hard hit. Please continue to pray for China and the people who are suffering.


Please pray for Han Lin and his family. We have not heard from him as of yet. He lives in Chengdu which is about 58 miles south of the earthquake's epicenter. We will post if we hear from him.

Eliza Skipped Baby Food

I just have to share these photos of Eliza. She is eating well. She has skipped baby food and gone right for lasagna, chocolate, cookies, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, rice, chicken, and anything else that Mommy is eating. She continues to amaze us. Although she is not crawling yet she has a very cute way of getting around that involves rolling back and forth. We have no shortage of laughs and joy in our house.

Eliza Goes to Church

This last week has been another good one. Eliza went to church for the first time last Sunday. She did pretty well. She did a lot of babbling when others were talking and was irresistibly cute. We also were able to have dinner with our friends the Fortlanders. Emily is sure a cutie. Faith and Katie (Emily's big sister) hit it off and are planning more fun together.

We are finding so much joy in all four of our children. Eliza is getting more comfortable every day. Tonight we went to a silent auction for the kid's school. It was very busy and loud. Eliza did alright. The best part was seeing her react to Daddy. She was in the snuggly on me with a lot of people around but when she saw Daddy she would get excited and wave her arms. It's great to see her recognize her family especially in the midst of a crowd. Ethan, Emma,& Faith are so loving with her. She gets excited when she sees them too. We are blessed with an amazing family!

Snapshots of Our Week

These past few days we have been busy. Emma was in a play at school and made one very cute Pterodactyl. We took Eliza on her first visit to the neighborhood park, went to a "Daughters of the King" tea at church, and visited a Medieval Fair. Eliza is doing wonderful. She has been sleeping much better at night and today she tried some new foods. She is catching up quickly. It amazes us how much she has changed in the short time she has been part of our family. We are so blessed to have her!

Getting to Know Each Other

We have been home for almost a week and are getting to know each other. Eliza gets more active every day. Today was her first American Dr. appointment. She is on the North American growth charts! This girl is in the 80% for height. She is not sleeping well at night though. This jet lag is rough on babies and their parents. She is also still not open to baby food. Every day she makes some strides and gets stronger.

She is loving her siblings. Big brother is such a sucker for her and she loves it! She gets so excited when they come home from school. We are all very excited when she does anything new or old. We are now grabbing toys, dropping toys, sitting up better, enjoying our bath (big praise there!), and even putting the occasional toy or parent's finger in our mouth. She is also understanding the words for milk, juice, and the all important kisses! Can you tell we are still in the honeymoon stage (good thing or the sleepless nights would be even harder).