To Sophia's tummy Mommy

The lovely girl, that I hold in my arms, is now 2. She is such a gift. She is beautiful both inside and out and I am blessed. You gave me a gift and you have been left with an empty hole in your heart. I looked up tonight and prayed that God would give you a sign, one you would be able to understand, to let you know that your precious baby girl is safe, loved and cherished. My heart breaks for you. To loose a child and be forced by your circumstances to abandon that which is most valuable to you is beyond heartbreaking. Sophia has these most wonderful characteristics that are likely passed from you. She has big and beautiful eyes that shine bright. She is witty, ever so curious and inquisitive. She is lovely and has the sweetest smile. She is happy and knows she is loved. Every night, she hugs me tight, she gives me slobbery wet kisses and I am reminded at how my joy is your loss. You made the greatest sacrifice when you gave Sophie to us. You will always be in my heart and prayers. I will always uphold you with honor and let Sophie know of the love you have for her. She grew in your tummy, and continues to grow within my heart. I promise to love and care for this precious gift, to let her know about China and the beauty of her homeland. I will give her opportunities to know what it means to be Chinese and American at the same time. I will never meet you and you will never meet me, but we share this common child. Without even knowing you, I love you. You gave my daughter life. You are her tummy mommy and we will never forget you. Lisa

Sophie Turns 2!

Opening the gift of 3 multicultural babies from papa and grandma!

Look at all of my friends who came to my party!

These are my pals Camie and Quincey from Kunming!

If this is what birthdays are like - I LOVE HAVING A BIRTHDAY!

Our little girl is two! Where has the time gone? We celebrated her birthday on the 22nd of September because her palate surgery was on the 28th and we were not sure how quickly she would recover. Sophie LOVED opening her gifts and playing with her friends - she just had a BALL! She thought that everyone singing to her was pretty cool too! We had a full house, and it was such a special time!

Has it really been 3 months?

I am sure that I have disappointed many of you because we have stopped blogging and many of you live out of state, so I am going to try to post and put pics on when I can. Life is crazy, busy, hectic and WONDERFUL! Sophia is a miracle and her presence in our family is just what we needed to be complete. She is goofy and witty and she makes us laugh constantly. The kids adore her and she likewise, adores them. It seems like forever since we have had the precious gift. We get comments from people, telling us how "lucky" Sophia is, but we know the truth, that we are the lucky ones to be able to have the gift of raising her.

There is so much catching up to do, but to shorten things up, Sophia had her palate repaired at Children's Hospital on September 28th! All went well and she is healing nicely. She was a trooper - loads of pain and was needing extra love and hugs, but she totally needed us and we think it was a positive scenerio for her to know WE ARE HERE FOR HER no matter what! She has seemed to become even more attached since, which is wonderful! She loves to get hugs and kisses and she is beginning to talk up a storm which is really fun! We have an assessment for her speech in early November so it will be nice to get her on board for therapy. Sophia is also in a little Coop preschool with her pal Megan, who was also adopted from China. These girls ADORE one another and it is fun to see them become lifelong buddies. Attached are some fun pictures that are more recent!