Christmas & Angela's Birthday

Angela's birthday is December 26th...she turned 13 this year! One of our family traditions is to let the birthday person pick the restaurant that they wish to have their birthday dinner. This year Angela chose Bahama Breeze in Alpharetta. Mark always enjoys BBQ Ribs, Angela-a good medium-rare Filet Mignon, Eric had the Mahi-Mahi, and I had Ahi tuna. And, who could forget the Mojitos!?!

For Christmas this year we wanted to focus on Mark & Angela's rooms. They really have needed some new "teen" furniture. So what do smart parents like ourselves do??...well, they go to downtown Atlanta to IKEA...of course. During this Christmas/New Year break we painted Angela's & Lily's room, and took Lily's toys out of the packages to set up for her to see when she gets home. We had to return Lily's bed because of a cracked board and now it's backordered. Do you think Angela is anxious for her sister to come home??...she was sitting on Lily's floor playing with Lily's blocks a couple of nights ago and then tonight she asked me for Lily's orphanage address so she could see it on google-earth...Come on travel approval!!

Merry Christmas!

Today Sarah and her team went to the orphanage to pass out Christmas gifts and tell the Christmas story to the children. It is amazing, incredible, and a true blessing to be able to see pictures of Lily taken the very same day. There were a few pictures of Shan Shan too.

Younger pictures of Lily...

I still can't believe that we have been blessed with the opportunity to be in contact with so many people connected with Siping SWI--allowing us to have upwards of 50 pictures or more of Lily before we have even had the chance to meet... it's a long red thread...but connects none the less...

Dave, Krista, and Emma!

Isn't she beautiful??

Her eyes speak to me......we can't wait to see the look on her face when we show her the beach and the ocean, disney world, chocolate cake, Benjamin, Christmas and birthday presents, swimming pools, her own playground in her back yard with a sand box, her pink and white bedroom with toys and stuffed animals, play-dates with friends, travel to see more family......we want to show her the world...our unconditional love and support.....Please pray for a quick travel approval with us.

Heather

Family...the holidays...it's 70 degrees!

The weather has been beautiful here...it's actually--open up the windows--warm. Each day is a bright blue sky without a cloud in sight. Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving holiday. We took our first family picture with Lily--we held a picture of her so she could be included.

Today we received an email from Sarah, an American teaching in a university in China. Sarah and another American took Lily and 2 other babies to have surgery. Sarah's parents paid for Lily's surgery and we are very grateful for their kindness. She also told us that she was able to get her students involved in raising the funds to pay for the other 2 children's costs for surgery. We now have video of Lily--Sarah posted the video on November 20th (last Monday) and stated in her post that she visited the babies at the orphanage that weekend! I just keep having the same thought in my mind..."it just keeps getting more amazing".

More pictures of Lily

Chinese night

We have family in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Krista (Eric's sister) and Emma (our niece) are here, and Dave (our brother 'n law) will be here tomorrow night. We were all craving Chinese the other night--it hit the spot. Doug and Bev (Eric's parents) moved to Atlanta this last August from New York. They are enjoying the break from the northeast snow, but not nearly as much as we enjoy having family around. (always have to include a picture of Benjamin)

Sweet dreams sweet Lily...

When I look at Lily’s serious face I see her heritage. I see the many men and women that preceded her. I see the beauty in their souls...I imagine their sacrifice....I feel the self-discipline. This is Lillian Han Xue Smith...we will be granted the privilege to be her parents very soon...I can only dream that we will live up to her expectations. .....sleep tight sweet princess...we love you...mommy loves you....we're on our way to bring you home.

More new pictures of Lily!

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Fun photos while we wait for travel approval...

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

New, updated pictures of Lily!!

We just received these new, updated pictures of Lily today! She's adorable...COME ON TA!

IT'S OFFICIAL...WE'RE DTC!!!!!!!!!

Today's the day! We're PAPER PREGNANT! Our letter of intent to adopt Lily & our dossier are on the way to China via Fed-Ex. We have the tracking number too! I'll be checking the tracking more times than you'll ever get me to admit. In 3-4 months we'll be traveling to Siping, Jilin Province, China to bring home our precious Lily! We are going to start putting together a care package to send--a baby blanket, stuffed animal, a toy or 2, etc... We are so excited!!

When we drive by our subdivisions pool I see the slide & think that the next time we go to the pool we'll be taking Lily! I look at the swing set in the backyard & see in my mind Lily in a baby swing. And, when I swing on the porch swing I think of holding her on my lap singing Lily a song.

OH MY GOSH....I've gots lots to do...! :)