5 years ago~

in a stuffy Xian civil affairs room, Kerry, Hannah and I waited impatiently for Hope to arrive~

It was surreal and awesome and I am so blessed to have her as a daughter.

   Hope's referral picture. It was love at first site...her paper work was a little sparse and we were not sure about her special need but we took a leap of faith because we knew that she was our daughter.

  It was a long process, the home study we thought was being finished up was literally being eaten by the dog...no joke, that is what our social worker said when I called and asked her. I guess we will have a great story to share with Hope later, right??

Gotcha day, so scared and tiny. She wanted nothing to do with us at all.

But she was a strong child and made it through OK, with a little help from Hannah.

 and then she became my "Velcro" baby. For those of you in adoption world you know what that means. I was now her security blanket....and loving every minute.

Once we hit Guangzhou she felt a little better about us and this whole"family" thing and showed us her first smile. Hannah and Hope share a beautiful bond.

 We had Hope's 2nd birthday party soon after she came home~

 Followed by Music Together classes. She loved these and her teacher very much!!

And we brought Gracie home, followed by Rachel and now Joshua will soon follow~

And she has been wonderful, a true blessing to Kerry and I. Hannah and Hope still share a bond that is incredible, something I wish my sister's and I shared.

And Hope and Gracie, they are inseparable. Kind of like twins reunited or something.....They are always coming up with schemes...and I wouldn't have it any other way~

Happy forever family day Hopey!! We love you and can't imagine our lives without you!!