Christmas Day 2013

Christmas with mommy and daddy this morning…

…and with daddy's family this afternoon.

 

 

What a great day!!

Christmas Eve

After our services tonight we surprised Annaliese by coming home, putting on our pajamas, and opening up our stockings : )

Silly Girl!

 

Hair Salon

This afternoon I took Annaliese to get her hair straightened. She was not thrilled about it at first and still wasn’t too sure about it once it was done.

It was quite the process:

 I cannot get over how different she looks!

Christmas Program

This morning Annaliese took to the stage and sang two Christmas songs with her Sunday School class. She (of course) looked beautiful, sang, and participated so well. So proud of how far she has come!

Christmas Time!

We decorated our house for Christmas today…

Meeting Santa

This was Annaliese’s first year to have any contact with Santa. She wasn’t so sure what to think about him : )

School Concert

Annaliese participated in her first school concert tonight. When we got to the school and she saw all of the cars, she was a little nervous, but she did a great job. We are so proud of her!

Orphan Sunday

We consider ourselves so fortunate to belong to a church that understands and teaches the command to care for orphans and widows!

Today we recognized “Orphan Sunday” with a visit from “His Little Feet” choir. They are a children’s choir comprised of actual orphaned children who travel throughout the U.S. to be a “voice for those without a voice” to increase awareness of the needs of vulnerable children around the world.

 

We had the honor of hosting one of the little girls and her sponsor for the weekend. What a blessing it was to have them in our home!

Pictures with GG

We found out recently that my Grandma has bone cancer, so we made an unexpected trip to Missouri to be with her this weekend. She is in good spirits overall and we were able to get a great picture of her with Annaliese. The smile on these two faces is more of a blessing than can ever be told.

Cookie Dough Fundraiser - Yum!!

Today we are starting a new (ongoing) fundraiser. Please consider participating to help us bring home a brother and/or sister for Annaliese! It is not a bad deal – you get cookie dough to have at your disposal and we get funds to put towards our adoption fees.

We feel very confident that God is calling our family to this and we need your help to make it happen! Thank you, ahead of time, for your support.

Also, local friends and family, please share with others : )

Click here for the Cookie Dough Order Form

Home For One Year!

One year ago, I got the privilege to hold my daughter again, this time in America. It was a long two weeks at home waiting for all of the paperwork to clear so that Sarah and Annaliese could come home, but finally I got to have my “Daddy’s Gotcha Day.”

I had spoken to Sarah earlier in the day and was waiting for their flight from D.C. to arrive in Chicago. Of course, I left earlier than needed, so that meant more waiting once I arrived at O’Hare Airport. Once, I knew their flight had landed, I waited in anticipation as Sarah and Annaliese made their way through customs. And then finally, I saw them come up the escalator. It took Annaliese a minute to see me, but when she finally did she headed straight towards me and I got a big hug.

 

 

 

At last, our forever family was together again.

 

 

 

I cannot believe how fast our first year has gone, yes, we have had struggles along the way, but Annaliese has brought much laughter and love into our home and I look forward to what the years ahead will bring.