Pull out the brooms!?!

Lindy has pulled out the broom in hopes that tonight

her Spurs will sweep the Cavs!

She hopes her man Ginobili scores

a bit more than three points tonight.

Go SPURS go!!!

Weekend at the beach

Hi,

This weekend Daddy & Mommy took me to the beach--well, actually they say the coast in Texas. I had forgotten what it is like to walk on the beach, so it took me a little bit to get used to it. Once I remembered how the sand feels between my toes, I didn't mind it too much. There was a lot of seaweed but Daddy cleared a path for us to walk from our beach chairs to the water. I had fun playing in the ocean and this time I didn't mind being in the swimming pool, either, because the water was warmer.

I had lots of fun this weekend, made sure not to get a sunburn because I wore lots of sunscreen, saw lots of doggies at the beach, and rode on my first ferry ride. Here are some pictures from our quick weekend away to Port A.

Go SPURS go!!!

I have to take a nap today so I won't be able to watch the Spurs as they take on Utah this afternoon. I am very excited to be a Spurs fan and would like to talk a little smack to my family in Denver and Phoenix and remind them who is the #1 team in the West!

Go SPURS go!!!!

To my daughter on Mother's Day

Darling Lindy,

On my second Mother's Day I want you to know how much I love you and what a special gift from God you are. Thank you for opening up my eyes, teaching me so many things, and showing me a brand new world as I look into your eyes and see things for the first time through your eyes.

I will always love you,

Mommy

In My Daughter's Eyes-by Martina McBride

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero

I am strong and wise and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be

In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light

and the world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me gives me

strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand

around my finger

Oh it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart

has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the light

It's in my daugter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy

she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eyes

We are now the proud owners of a two year old

On Tuesday, May 8th, Lindy celebrated her second birthday. It seems like we were just celebrating her first birthday (see below). Yikes! Where does time go?

She had her two year checkup and a Hep B to start the day. Am I a mean Mommy or what?! She wasn't too happy about that arrangement but it went fast and was virtually painless. She weighed in at 21 pounds/15 oz and was 33 inches tall. She's a petite little thing but not at all scrawny. The doc says she looks great!

We had a nice lowkey day and birthday evening. She had several calls, emails, cards, presents, and her friends Jordan and Ellen even came over for a few minutes. For dessert we had birthday cupcakes which she was much more excited about than last year. She even pursed her lips to blow out the candles. She loves singing the birthday song and I've even "caught" her singing it in her crib over the baby monitor.

Lindy continues to amaze us each and every day. She is so full of life and personality. It has been a year filled with many milestones and accomplishments. She is chattering up a storm and her vocabulary is growing daily. She is stringing words together to form sentences. She counts to 10 pretty easily and is making her way to 15. She spells her name. She can identify several colors: Green, blue, pink, red, black, white, yellow, orange, brown, and purple. She loves to sing and dance and doing the splits. I know I'm gushing...Sorry...Kind of...It is just that when I see her smile, I can't help but smile--even when I'm in a foul mood.
Each day I wonder if this is the day that she's going to be a two year old in every stretch of the imagination. I fear it...I dread it...but I know somehow we'll all get through it! She can be sassy and headstrong and the tantrums may be coming but so far they've been manageable.

We look forward to another special year with our sweet girl and celebrate our two year old.

Kansas birthday

Hello (which sounds like Hewwo when Lindy says it),

Last week we had a great trip to Kansas to visit Papa and Mammaw as Lindy calls them. Lindy did pretty well for the most part on all the plane rides, despite her restless behavior and disdain for being restrained. She doesn't make too much of a fuss as long as you keep her fed and engaged with books and colors. I was glad to have Daddy on this trip to be chief Lindy wrangler.

Lindy immediately recognized her Grandma and Grandpa and it didn't take very long at all for her to warm up to them. She loves to play with them and tease them with her spunky personality.

We did some shopping, went to a phenomenal petting zoo, and ate lots of good food. Lindy really loved the fish that Papa grilled and Mammaw's mashed potatoes. Being the big baseball fan that he is, Papa had wanted to take his girl to a Royals game. However, we vetoed the idea because we're not sure Lindy is much of a baseball fan yet and thought it'd be a challenge to sit through nine innings. Maybe in a couple years, Papa. Right now she's more of a basketball fan.

Not long after we got there, Lindy fell down some of the steps flat on her face onto the hardwood floor. I won't mention who was supposed to be in charge. Anyway, she got quite the goose egg immediately which made me nauseous to look at. Fortunately, it wasn't worse. She was a bit more apprehensive around the stairs after the incident and loved recounting what had happened by saying, "Stairs...Fall down...BOOM...Owwey."

While we were in Kansas, there was LOTS and LOTS of rain. Luckily, there weren't any tornadoes in our vicinity but the thunder did keep Lindy up for a few hours one night--which means I was up, too. Lindy kept saying, "Thunder...NOISY." We were glad that we remained safe but watching the devastation in other parts of the state was awful.

We celebrated Lindy's second birthday a couple days early. All Lindy wanted for her birthday was cake and then ice cream. When asked whether she wanted white or chocolate frosting she chose chocolate (that's my girl) and Mammaw delivered!

We had a super time. It is so fun watching them interact with Lindy and her with them. Thanks for everything!

Have you heard the news?

I am going to be a jie jie which means big sister. Mommy and Daddy keep asking me if I want a little sister and I say, "no." But I think since I am almost two, they know that "no" is my answer to pretty much everything they ask; therefore, they don't take much stock in my answer.

I can't imagine sharing Mommy and Daddy with anyone else and I really can't imagine sharing my toys. I have lots of time to get used to the idea, though. My friends Beck and Scarlett are about to have babies in their house, so I'll have to watch how they do and ask them for advice when the time comes.

In all fairness, Mommy and Daddy are going to do a blog for my sister. There's not much there yet but there will be in the future. Here's the link: Make room for mei mei.

C-ya!

Lindy Li

Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

Mommy and I traveled to California last week to visit Uncle Jeff, Aunt Dani, and Bryce and Brendan. It was ironic that I was in CA on April 13, 2007 a year after becoming a US Citizen in San Francisco on April 13, 2006.

Mommy was really nervous about traveling with me on a plane because I am such a busy girl. She loaded up her bag with books, crayons, coloring books, and some new markers that only show on special paper and off we went. Mommy was thrilled to learn there were only 4 other people on the flight and we had the back row to ourself. I got to sit in the window seat and still can't believe we were flying in the clouds. A nice flight attendant named Sophie brought me food and these funny looking things that had music coming out of them. I even fell asleep for 30 minutes much to Mommy's surprise. Uncle Jeff picked us up at the airport and the fun began.

My cousins Bryce and Brendan have A LOT of toys!!! I had so much fun playing with them. I really DROVE Brendan crazy and Bryce got a bit mad at me when I played with his special Blue's Clues notebook and crayon. All in all, we had lots of giggles together! Brendan let me sleep in his crib while he slept in a big boy bed in Bryce's room. Thanks Bren!!! I was kind of bossy and Mommy got mad at me when she heard me saying, "no" and "mine." I sat in a naughty spot more than once!!! Aunt Dani and Uncle Jeff were very nice to me and took perfect care of me and Mommy.

Mommy took me to the church where she and Daddy got married and I got to meet some of her old friends. We also got to go visit Mommy's friend, Ms. Pamela. She was Mommy's maid of honor in Mommy and Daddy's wedding a LONG time ago. Ms. Pamela made me a beautiful ladybug outfit and some new bows. I had popcorn for the first time, too. Ms. Pamela was very excited to meet me because she is going to have a Chinese daughter like me one day. Mommy and Ms. Pamela had lots to talk about!!!

Mommy said I did a great job on the trip home and she even shared some cookies with me. I had lots of fun in California but was very happy to see Daddy again. Thanks for everything Uncle Jeff, Aunt Dani, Bryce, and Brendan. I love you!!!

Bluebonnet beauty

For you non-Texans, the Texas state flower is the bluebonnet. This year we've been blessed with some much-needed rain which gave way to one of the prettiest years I've seen of bluebonnets. Bluebonnets don't last long but when they're here it sure is a treat for the eye.

A couple of weeks ago, in a very impromptu move we took some pictures of Lindy among the bluebonnets. Unfortunately, there were too many distratctions and not enough time so we didn't get the best pictures but thought we'd share them anyway.

Easter 2007

Our first Easter with Lindy was a blur last year since we had just gotten home from China. This year we had the privilege of spending the day with the Brown family. Ever since we've lived in Texas, we've spent many Easter Sundays with the Browns. Don and I have sweet memories of hiding eggs for Erin and Emily to hunt in the back yard. Now Erin is 18 and about to graduate high school and Emily is 14 and will begin high school in the fall. So, it was eggstra (sorry couldn't resist) special for us to see the girls hide eggs for Lindy to hunt.

The weather was cold and drizzly so Lindy didn't get to wear the dress we had picked out for her but that's okay we resorted to a plan C for warmth. We also resorted to hiding eggs inside. We hadn't prepped Lindy at all about the Easter bunny or looking for eggs but boy did she ever catch on quickly. We handed her the basket and she just started picking them up instantly and putting them in her basket. She even pointed to the hard to reach ones and found just about every one of them.

As you can see, the poor child doesn't get any attention! It was a fun day for us and we feel so grateful to have special friends who have "adopted" us and treat us like family.

A day we will never forget

It is so hard to believe that one year ago today in a far away land our lives were forever changed when a beautiful Chinese baby named Fan Xiao Jia (translation "Joyful Dawn") was placed in our arms for the first time. Suddenly, after eight years of wanting a child and a long adoption journey, we were parents. We FINALLY had our sweet baby girl for whom we had prayed and cried many tears. It is fitting that in Psalm 30:5 it says, "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." We received Lindy at about 10:00 in the morning and oh the joy she has brought to us and those her know her.

God is such a faithful and loving God! He heard our desperate cries to become parents, he heard our pleas for a happy and healthy baby (okay, and cute one, too), and he answered them so perfectly when he CHOSE Fan Xiao Jia for us. He knows what we don't--the circumstances of her birth, her birth parents, her foster parents, and so many other things. We know that just about the time she was conceived, we decided to take the plunge and begin our adoption journey.

In many ways, it seems like this special "Gotcha Day" moment was yesterday. We can't believe it has been a year. In other ways, it seems like it was a lifetime ago because it feels like Lindy has always been a part of us. With each passing day, she has spent more of her life with us than in China. Even though we may have missed some of Lindy's firsts, we have had the joy of experiencing all of her firsts with us and so many of her special baby milestones. We saw her crawl and walk for the first time and now we watch her run. We have heard her as her baby babble (which to some sounded like Chinese) has turned to distinguishable English words and an ever-growing vocabulary. Best of all, we have the special privilege of being called, "Mommy & Daddy."

When we met Lindy there were tears--hers and ours. As can only be expected, from time to time there are STILL tears--hers and ours. When we first met Lindy there were smiles and laughter--only ours. Now, everyday there are smiles and laughter--hers and ours.

We love our darling daughter so very much and happily celebrate this first anniversary of when we met Lindy and finally became a family. Although April 4, 2006 is the day it all became OFFICIAL and LEGAL, April 3rd will ALWAYS be "Gotcha Day" and an extra special day to us.

Below is a slideshow of some highlights of our first year with Lindy. Click View All Images and it should start it for you. Enjoy!

Much love,
Don, Lisa, & Lindy Li-Xiao