3 yrs ago....a free day in Beijing

This is fun for me to look back and think we will be doing this again, although this time we will be wiser as it will be the second journey! Well 3 years ago, we were spending our final days as a family of 2 and trying to learn more about China, the culture, and seeing some of the most amazing sites. This day we had the day to ourselves as we flew in 1 day early and we had no guide. It was interesting since we did not speak chinese and most of the people we encountered did not speak english! But we managed and enjoyed the day!

view from our room....

they were preparing for the olympics!

money that we had no idea on this first day how to use! we learned quickly!

snacks

the room service menu.....i was not that hungry! LOL!

The journey began, 3 yrs ago...

At 9:59 am we left Orlando International headed around the world to our princess. It was a LONG  but uneventful flight! We landed 24 hours later at 9:36pm in Beijing....we chased the sun the entire day! We barely slept! And guess what? We took no pictures!!!

Who would have thought that 3 years later we would be dreaming of making that LONG flight again!!!

Atlantis.....

What a beautiful final launch! The only bad thing was it is so cloudy that we could not see anything from our house. We tried though. Oh well the princess wanted a pic so we used the TV!!!

Looking back to 2008....

Well like I said yesterday, today I will take you back to where it all started 3 years ago. On this date 3 years ago we were packing, repacking, dropping the dogs off, cleaning the house, checking the lists again....and again, to make sure when we fly around the world to our dream come true that we did not forget anything that we needed. Oh the butterflies that I was feeling. First off I do not enjoy flying, so the thought of flying for a whole day made me nervous but I knew what was waiting at the end of the flights and she was totally worth it!!!

our last weekend as a family of 2

did I have it all?

I think so....

Why Adopt?

Lately I have heard the question, why would you want to adopt again? Well we always thought we would be finished with one, but the princess has her own plans! She wants a baby sister so badly! You know how they say the faith of a child is so strong? Well she prays every day for her baby sister! Tonight I asked her who her best friend was and her response was my baby sister.....so tonight when we prayed for that baby sister, I truly got to thinking, if we can get the funds together by Christmas, which is the goal, her baby sister and our baby girl could be preparing to be born. You see, when you receive a referral the child is normally 9-12 months old. So 5 months till Christmas and then the wait for a referral.....she could be about to be born. WOW! When you think like that, there is a lot of praying to do, prayers that wherever she is, she will receive all that she will need till she becomes ours. Hard to grasp sometimes! I wanted to share a video I made last year looking back on our first 2 years together......how could we not want another little princess to love to complete our family??? Over the next 2 weeks I am going to share pics of the journey we took 3 years ago......what a blessed journey it has been!
2 years together

Wordless Wednesday....

She loves to take pics....even her own!

Freedom Rings....

Happy 4th of July! We had a great 2 days! We attended 2 cookouts, lots of swimming, good food and time with friends! Lets not forget what the day is all about though, thank you to all the men and women who have fought an served this country for the freedom that we sometimes take for granted! Let us never forget the sacrifices they have made for all of us! God bless you all!

our little firework!!!

she adds sparkles to our world!

best seat in the house...daddy's shoulders!