First time ever I saw your face....

A year ago today, about this time of day, our phone rang & our adoption agency congratulated us on our new daughter! We were excited, nervous, shaking! This was finally happening! Within a couple of hours, our agency had emailed us with pictures of our little girl! She looked sad & empty, but with a hint of attitude! Well, today she is mostly happy (unless she can't have chocolate!) & full of love & laughter; and yes, there was a hint of attitude & it's still there! And I wouldn't change one thing about this amazing little girl! I would be lying if I said it was an easy transition or that it's complete. It's an ongoing thing & we've had alot of tears, but it has truly been worth every second! I can't wait to see how much more Micalee changes over the years (but not too soon; she's growing up way too fast!). I love you so much, Micalee!!! You can always make me smile & I hope I do the same for you! I'm so glad YOU are my daughter! I am amazed at how perfectly matched to this family you are. It is truly the magic of CCAA & the wonderful work of God. He knew where you belonged (maybe that's why we all had to wait a little longer than expected!). Here is Micalee holding her referral picture; what a difference a year makes!

Random Pictures...

Here are a few updated pictures of Micalee (all in the past month or so). She's growing way too fast & is such a sweet little girl. We're working on potty training right now & she's doing pretty good! She's getting to be such a big girl!!! I was so happy to finally have a real Mother's Day! Micalee (with the help of her Daddy) got me pretty flowers & a sweet card. We spent the day at the circus & had a great time! So, on with the pictures......

My pretty girl & her beautiful smile:
Lookin' all too cool in her purple sunglasses!
Ok, my little girl is FEARLESS!!! We took her to Holiday in Dixie & she wanted to ride everything! And she did ride everything she was tall enough to ride! Here she is in front of the ferris wheel we rode!

Micalee was "Dorothy" for her Aunt Jeanie's wedding in April. She did SO good & sprinkled her flower petals on the yellow brick road just like we had practiced over & over. She did hold my hand the whole time & got a little nervous when she saw all the people, but she did great!

This has got to be the BIGGEST smile we've ever caught on camera from our little sweetie! She was helping with laundry! I guess she loves doing laundry! When she's older, that's a job she can have!!!

We had our annual camping/fishing trip at Aunt Tracy's last weekend & I've been waiting four years to have our little girl join the fun. I was nervous about how she's handle all the excitement, but she did great being out of her routine. I was so proud of her! Here she is in the boat. This is her first time & she loved it, but then again, she is fearless!

Micalee at her favorite place in town, the Boardwalk. She loves the merry-g0-round!

We've started riding the trolley every time we go & she loves the "choo choo"! And it's free! You just don't get better entertainment than that!

This was just a shot I took of her lying on our backyard swing! She loves to play with the leaves! I just thought it was pretty.

Micalee "graduated" from her first Kindermusik class the end of April! She loved the classes so much, we've already enrolled her for Summer classes!

Another shot from the camping/fishing trip. Micalee was a pretty good fisherman, although not patient enough to leave the bait in the water long enough to catch anything, but she knows how to use the reel!

Lately, Micalee wants to sit in the driver's seat of everything! She heads for the driver's seat as soon as you let her out of her car seat! Daddy better keep an eye on his truck! I think she likes it!

Fearless little girl holding on to a fish on a line! She wasn't the slightest bit squeamish! That's my girl!!!

Once again, trying to drive! She loves the boat & has been sitting in it anytime Daddy had it out in the yard! This was the first time in the water!

Breaker, breaker! Maybe she's calling the Coast Guard! Good thing Daddy is a Coast Guard veteran!