One year

Since tomorrow is a big day for us, I thought I would take a moment to share a few things.

For those of you wondering about my sister's dear friend with breast cancer, she gave birth this past Tuesday to her precious baby boy. He weighed 5 lb and 8 oz and is 19" long. He's doing well so far. Everybody is so happy that he has finally arrived.

Tomorrow we are headed to Dis*ney's not-so-scary Hallo*ween. We've never been to it, but friends of ours say it's really fun and not scary for the little ones. So we'll see how it goes. It will be Madeline's first trip to see the Mouse. Since I've had no time to breathe sew, Madeline will simply be an adorable, little ballerina, and Caleb will be a fireman (like last year, his idea.) I will be dressing up as well, wearing an Early American costume given to me by an old roommate of mine. Patrick says he's going to dress up as a cowboy. But I can't imagine him waltzing around the Ma*gic Kingdom wearing his boots. So we'll see.

But now on to the real reason for wanting to blog today....it's really hard to believe it's been one year since we first saw our precious daughter's face. Tomorrow marks the day! One year! Wowie. It's hard to believe because most of that time was spent separated from her, as we waited forever to get our dossier transfered to our new agency and then the Ha*gue hassles. We were so fortunate during that long wait to be in touch with a young lady who used to live in Madeline's orphanage. She was able to give us updates and photos that blessed our hearts, just when we needed them. But it's still hard to believe it all began so long ago.

This week also marks 3 months home with Madeline Bei. It's mind boggling to think that this really is the same little girl who grieved so much in Wu*han. Oh, her fiesty personality is still here in all its glory. LOL. But she isn't quiet or shy anymore, that's for sure! And Melissa, you are so right....Madeline and Iris are NOT the same little girls drowning in their winter coats anymore. It's amazing to watch these girls blossom right before us. Mommy and Daddy "Ya you" Madeline Bei!