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A year ago today....

Exactly one year ago today, a complete stranger placed a beautiful, confused & terrified little girl into my arms. At that moment, she lost everything she had ever known. Through days, weeks & months of being with her new family, she finally learned to trust us & let us into her heart. It wasn't always easy, but it was worth every moment. It's a hard day to "celebrate" because of the pain that was caused to Micalee that day, but I can't go without acknowledging it, because it was the happiest (and yes, the saddest) day of my life. It was the day our family was completed. That confused & terrified little girl is now happy & knows who her family is, and that she is loved beyond measure!

Birthday Pictures...

The first group of pictures is from Micalee's actual birthday (on July4th). We took her to Build-a-Bear Workshop at the Boardwalk for the first time. She had so much fun picking out which animal to build (a monkey!) & pick out an outfit for her. We had a small birthday cake for her before going to 4th of July festivities. She got to watch her cousin, Jacob, sing in his first concert (go Jacob!), ride in a tethered hot air balloon, see a rodeo & pet one of the horses, then watch a great fireworks show! She even got to use her first port-a-potty (you go Micalee!)! We had such a wonderful day! The second group is from her party this past Saturday. I'm only posting a few pictures here (blogger is super slow today!), but there are a few more on our Facebook page (if you're not already my "friend" on facebook, send me an email & I'll add you).

*All smiles at the Boardwalk*

*At Build-a-Bear Workshop* *Giving her Monkey an airbath*

*The hot air balloon Little Miss Fearless & I rode*

*Micalee's Fairy Birthday cake*

*Just a sample of all of her gifts (cool guitar, Papaw!)*

*What a pretty little ballerina she makes*

*Not sure if this gift was really for Micalee or more for Daddy*

Happy Birthday, Micalee!!!!

Wow! My little girl is 3 today!!! And how much she has changed over the past year!!! She "officially" came into our family just 3 weeks after her 2nd birthday, and she has been leaving her mark ever since! She's a beautiful (inside & out) funny, sweet, spunky little girl with just enough rough & tumble TomBoyish nature to fit absolutely perfectly in this family! As I do most everyday, I will be thinking about her birthmother in China today. I can't imagine what this day does to her! I wish I could let her know that the little baby she couldn't care for, for whatever reason, is happy, healthy & loved more than she could ever imagine!
We're having Micalee's birthday party next Saturday, so I'll try to post more pictures then!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICALEE! WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!

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!

Updates & Pictures...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been a little stressful in last few weeks. For those who don't already know, David was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer last month & had his right kidney removed a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, it was caught in the earliest stage & hopefully having his kidney removed will be the only treatment he will need (other than frequent follow-ups). He had to spend a few days in the hospital & that was tough on all of us. I was able to spend the first night with him, but needed to be home with Micalee as much as possible. She didn't quite understand why Daddy couldn't come home & still doesn't quite understand why he can't pick her up. She did regress a bit, but seems to be back to her regular self now (almost!). She is doing much better with the whole thing now & will say "Daddy belly hurts" over & over again. David is feeling better, although still very sore. It should be about a 6 to 8 week recovery period. I'm just glad to have him back home where I can look over both him & Micalee at the same time. Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts & prayers & to those of you that called, visited, sat with me at the hospital & helped take care of Micalee. We couldn't have done it without you!

And now.......a few pictures of Micalee over the last couple of months! I am amazed how much she's changed since the day she was placed in our arms a little over 8 months ago. She's really blossoming even more & becoming even more goofy & fun to be around. She's a sweet, compassionate, beautiful little girl & everyday I thank God for bringing her into our lives. I couldn't imagine my life without her. I love her more than I could have ever imagined. It's been a crazy, emotional ride, but SO worth every tear!

Micalee hunting Easter eggs at home. Millie helped sniff them all out for her!
Micalee's Easter basket (the Easter Bunny went a little overboard!). That morning, she woke up yelling "Mama" as usual, but when I walked in her room, she pointed to her basket & said, "mama, bunny!". She was SO excited!

Micalee at the Easter Egg hunt at Blanchard First Baptist. There were alot of kids, so Micalee didn't find an aweful lot, but had fun. And her sweet cousin, Jacob, gave her some his eggs! Thank you Jacob!
Micalee playing in the backyard. This is favorite thing to do & now that the weather is so nice, we spend ALOT of time here! Look at that beautiful smile! I love that we get to see that so much now! I think over the last few months, she finally really feels like she's at home!
Goofy girl trying to sit on her Mickey Mouse ball! She fell off a few times, but didn't care! She would just lie down where ever she fell and pick flowers.
I was trying to get her pose for me. This was supposed to be her "cute" look, but she sorta combined it with a pout! I thought it was cute anyway! One day, I'll get her to pose for the camera!
This is at one of the parks. She had so much fun playing the Xylophone! I couldn't get her off of it to try another one, but when I did, she liked all of them just the same. She was pretty good, too! I think she may be musically inclined!
She was supposed to be in time-out, but she always tries to charm us with a goofy smile. I admit, it sometime works! It's hard to be serious with her sometimes! She is very smart & knows just how to work us!
Playing on her slide....I guess she decided she needed a little rest!
My pretty little girl playing at the park at a Birthday party. Thank you, Sydney, for the invitation. We had so much fun!
This was taken at the Tyler Zoo. We were feeding birds & some would sit on our fingers. Micalee was fascinated by them.

Micalee's First Snow

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Pics of Micalee...

Here are a few random pictures of Micalee over the last month or so. I'm gonna try to post a couple of Smilebox Slideshows on here from our amazing (because we never get any!) snowfall & from Chinese New Year. But until then, here you are...


This is Micalee trying to give her first snowman a kiss (or she may be trying to eat the carrot; it was close to lunchtime!)!

Here a picture of my beautiful little snow baby! She looks so pretty in red! She watching the snow fall.

Okay, we have been letting Micalee ride on our backs like we're her horse; well, now she thinks Millie should ride her around, too! My sweet little Millie just sits there & takes it! Poor, baby! She's getting too old for this!

Just a glimpse of Micalee playing dress up with her necklaces and collection of sunglasses! She is truly a little Diva!

Here's my pretty little girl in her traditional Chinese dress at her first Chinese New Year's celebration since being home.

Six months ago today....

I can't believe it has been six months since Micalee was placed in our arms! And what a time we've had since! It is so cool to look back on pictures of Micalee while we were in China and see how much she has changed! That afternoon six months ago had to be the scariest day of her life! To be handed over to complete strangers who didn't look like anyone she'd ever seen before, who smelled different and spoke some strange language she'd never heard! No wonder she was so scared! I would've screamed & kicked & bit, too, and probably alot longer than she did! It's amazing that we ever saw her not crying (which wasn't too often in China!)! What an amazing little girl to be able to adjust to such a major change in everything she ever knew! She didn't ask for us & I'm sure she pretty much held it all against us for a while, but that has all changed now. She still has the occasional "bad day" (or more like a moment of sorrow & grief), but they are so few and far between now! Back then, I never thought I'd see the day when she would see me from a distance & run to me smiling & laughing, with her arms stretched out, waiting for me to pick her up! It just makes me melt inside! Her smiles and laughter are so genuine now! She gives the prettiest smiles just with those beautiful eyes of hers! I only wish I could capture it on camera! She sees the camera & forces herself not to smile (little stinker!). I just have to steal a shot when she doesn't notice I have the camera. And she was come such a long way physically! She could hardly take a couple of steps by herself in China! Now she's running and shimmying up the stairs (with me right behind!). She is so loving and caring! I love watching her play with her babies; she gives them kisses & hugs and talks softly to them & feeds them. She has such a sweet, caring soul. And she is so smart & has picked up so many new words! She's just wonderful!!! We love you, Micalee! I am so very glad that YOU are my little girl! I know it was traumatic for you, but I will always hold the 26th of July in a very special place in my heart, because that is when I first held you!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year, Everybody!!! Wow, what a year it has been for us! I can't believe what a change over last year! No more moping around, wishing I had my little girl here; she IS here!!! And I'm having so much fun getting to stay home with her and watch her grow & blossom more and more every day! I now feel so lucky to have waited so long, so that we were matched with THIS beautiful little girl! I love you, Micalee! You have brought such joy to us! I hope this year brings even more joy! Here are a few updated pictures of little Miss Micalee Mei!!!
Micalee with her New Year's Eve tiara!

Here is Santa leaving Micalee way too many toys! We ate at a Chinese Buffet on Christmas Eve & Micalee's fortune cookie said "a visitor will soon delight you"! Wow cool was that!?

Here is Micalee opening one of her MANY gifts from our family! I guess they thought they had some catching up to do, although they have been buying gifts for her for years now!

I love this picture of Micalee in her hat & scarf her Aunt Jeanie had made for her! (Thanks for sending me the picture, too!)

And this is just a collage of some of the many faces of Micalee over the last few months!