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

Meeting another friend

Several days ago Don and I had the privilege of meeting the Oyler family visiting San Antonio all the way from Kansas City, MO. Kim is another one of my special prayer call friends and I always knew I'd get to meet her but figured it would be on her hometurf in conjunction with a visit to my parents. So, what a great surprise it was to find out they were coming to SA for spring break.

We got to meet up for dinner and had a super time getting to know Kim, Brad, and their two boys. Kim and Brad are waiting to bring home Emme. They, unfortunately, have a pretty long road still but know that God will reveal Emme to them in His perfect timing. We had fun telling them about our adventures in China, showing them our travel pictures, and sharing Lindy with them. The boys had lots of fun with Lindy and she loved them and kept calling them, "the boys."

I've said it before, but I'll say it again...while Lindy is our best gift from our adoption journey, the new friends we have made a long the way were unexpected and special gifts and we are grateful for them.

Bye bye mullet

When we were waiting for Lindy's referral we (probably more I) were concerned about getting a baby with crazy hair that stood up all over the place. For those of you who think Chinese girls all come with sleek, silky bobs--they don't. Well, she didn't have the crazy stick up hair but instead she has super fine, slow growing hair and we (probably more I) have been concerned it won't EVER fill in. Sure, her hair has grown--but more in the back than in the front. In fact, you could say it had developed into a very fine mullet.

So, we finally decided it was time to do something about it. We rushed to Toon Klips this morning to be the first in line so Lindy could have her first haircut and get rid of her outdated hairdo.

As usual, it was hard to document the event because she was so wiggly. She did okay and only cried a little bit, mainly because she was being restrained against her will.

Here are some pictures...

I'm sleepy...

...but not as sleepy as I was one year ago today when our friend, Bryan, came over at 4:00'ish in the morning to take us to the airport so we could begin our journey to China.

Yes, it has been a year! Stay tuned for posts commemorating our one year anniversary of our special journey to Lindy.

Conversations with Lindy

Here are a couple conversations I had with Lindy yesterday...

Scene 1: In the car passing the park...

Lindy: "Mommy, mommy, mommy, what's that?"

Mommy: "That's a little girl riding her bike--bicycle."

Lindy: "Bicycle?"

Mommy: "That's right, baby, bicycle. Good job!"

Lindy: "Bicycle?"

Lindy: "Bicycle?"

Mommy: "When you get bigger you'll have a bicycle you can ride."

Lindy (In the tone of a teenage girl): "I knoooowww."

Mommy: "Oh, I'm sorry, did I already tell you that before?"

Lindy: "No."

Mommy: "Ha!"

Lindy: "Bicycle?"

Lindy: "Bicycle?"

Scene 2: Chester's Hamburgers

Lindy pointing to one big-screen TV: "Mommy, mommy, mommy, Spurs!!!"

Mommy: "No baby, that's not the Spurs playing it's Syracuse--the Orangemen of Syracuse."

Lindy: "Baketball."

Mommy: "BaSketball."

Lindy pointing to the other big-screen TV: "Spurs! Spurs! Spurs!"

Mommy: "No, honey, that's not the Spurs. It's Syracuse--they're in the NIT. They didn't make the Big Dance."

Lindy: "Play baketball."

Mommy: "Yes, they're playing baSketball."

Lindy on the way out of the restaurant: "Spurs!"

Mommy and daddy in amazement as Lindy points to a picture of Tim Duncan: "Yes! Good girl! That's Tim Duncan and he plays basketball for the Spurs."

This kid frightens me!!!

Our girl is 22 months old today

Okay, okay, like it or not, when people ask how old Lindy is, we still answer in months. It is probably pretty obvious she is at least one, so we kind of figure if we answered, "one" it would sound kind of disrespectful to someone taking the time to ask. We really can't believe in two months we will be the parents of a two year old. Where has the time gone?



Here are a few things about Miss Lindy...

• She likes to help with the laundry and does a pretty good job getting the clothes from the hamper to the washer


• She uses just about anything as a phone and loves to pretend to talk on the phone


• She loves Elmo aka "Melmo"


• She takes her socks off during her nap and often puts them in the hamper


• She dramatically places her hand over her mouth when she gets in trouble or has her feelings hurt and forces herself to cry


• She yells "airplane" out everytime she sees or hears one


• She is a huge fan of preacher Mark


• She kindly says, "no thank you" when she doesn't want something even when it isn't an option


• She is highly impatient


• She loves to pour tea from her teapot and always warns me it is hot


• She is learning her ABCs and likes to sing the ABC song


• She is getting a lot better with her colors


• She loves to walk around in our shoes which is amazing to watch in Don's size 13s and my pumps

We marvel at how one little being can have so much personality and bring us so much happiness. So for now, we celebrate our 22 month old!!! For soon we will have a two year old and that will be our answer all year long!

Referral joy

On Monday, March 5th, we learned the stork had landed with referrals for two special families--the Rouses and Oswalds. We had been waiting with great anticipation for these referrals and have been praying for these precious girls long before their birth. We are so thrilled for this wonderful news from afar!

Baby Rouse was born on July 31, 2006 and is in the Jiangxi province. Her Chinese name is Yue Meng Ru.

Baby Oswald was born on August 29, 2006 and is the Guangdong province. Her Chinese name is Yang Xi Zi Yuan, to be known as Kylee Hope.

We're so excited for these babies to meet their forever families and pray for a swift travel date.

In loving memory

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our faithful feline friend and family member

H.I. "Hi" Osborn

July 29, 1990 - February 27, 2007

We will miss you terribly. Thank you for all the special memories.

Love,

Your family

Don, Lisa, & Lindy

Plaid is my favorite color

Some of you may remember when I (Lisa) used to have A LOT of plaid in my wardrobe and jokingly say that plaid was my favorite color. These days, I don't have many plaid things hanging out in my closet or drawers. However, it seems someone else in the house does and she's been sporting a tartan schoolgirl look quite frequently this winter.

Sick Day

Late yesterday and today we encountered a first with Lindy--a sick day. Our sweet girl has had a few colds but overall has remained relatively healthy.

Unfortunately, there has been a nasty stomach bug going around and she got a touch of it. Luckily, it was not nearly as severe as the version I had earlier in the week!!!

Today she fell asleep on me three times and just sat propped on the couch with her robe and blanket. It was so sweet to have her just wanting to be held because anyone who has seen Lindy knows she is on the move constantly.

Hopefully, she'll be back to her spunky self in no time!

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Sunday February 18th kicked off the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Pig. In China, they celebrate the lunar new year for 15 days and it is a time of family, friends, and lots of food.

As a wonderful new year's treat, we were blessed to finally meet Diana & Jeff Rouse in person in town from Minnesota. Diana and I have been friends for over a year through my wonderful Monday night prayer group. She is a great listener and has been a constant source of encouragement and insight. She has provided me confidence when I felt like I wasn't doing so great of a job in my new role as a mother. I knew from the moment I "met" her via our call, she was going to be a special friend.

Diana and Jeff have now been logged into China waiting of news of their daughter for 16 months. The wait has been long and agonizing but they have remained faithful and positive the entire time. Our prayer is that it is just a matter of days until they receive the referral of this precious child. We ask you to pray for them, too.

We went and had Chinese food, they looked at about 400 pictures of our trip to China, and we just had fun visiting like good friends do. They had so much fun watching

Lindy (who refused to wear her native Chinese dress) and seeing her made it seem very real to them. Unfortunately, our time together was short but we were thankful for this great opportunity to be together.

Our funny valentine

Happy Valentine's Day from the Osborns!

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some pictures of Lindy wearing her finest pink and red duds to celebrate the season.

Also, since today is a day about love, here are 14 things I love about Lindy (in no particular order):

1. Her big, dark beautiful eyes
2. The freckle on the bottom of her right foot
3. Her great big belly laugh
4. She usually wakes up happy and likes to hang out in her crib for a while after she wakes up
5. The way she dances
6. Watching her prance around on her tippy toes
7. Hearing her pray
8. Her big toothy smile (which I can NEVER seem to catch on camera)
9. The way she loves to have the wind blow through her hair
10. Her expressions
11. Her delight for animals
12. Her attention to detail
13. Her chubby little thighs
14. Hearing her say, "Mommy." ---okay, that may be my favorite

Have a day filled with love!

A visit with Grandma & Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa ("Mama and Papa" as Lindy says) came to visit recently and we had a fun time! Here are some pictures of our weekend together.

They were amazed at how Lindy had changed in the 2.5 months since they'd last seen her. Although her looks were pretty much the same, they definitely noticed she is talking more, her comprehension has gone way up, and she is in constant motion.

We went to the San Antonio Stockshow and did a little shopping around town. It went by too fast but Grandma and Grandpa had to get home to go back to work. :o(

Come back again soon!!!

Daddy's little girl

Once upon a time, there was a young man so in love with a young lady that he decided to ask for her hand in marriage. Tragically, shortly after their engagement, they were separated and could only communicate via mail or telephone. During one phone call, the young lady was talking about their future children and dreaming about their life together as young ladies often do. The young man told the young lady he wasn't sure if he wanted children for he couldn't imagine sharing his love with anyone else but the young lady and he certainly couldn't imagine having to share the young lady's love with anyone else. The young lady explained how the heart is an amazing muscle which can expand and allow room to love new people as they come into our lives.

I think this young man's heart muscle expanded pretty easily, don't you???

And, oh yes, they lived happily ever after...

I love my Auntie Pauline

My sweet Auntie Pauline made this pretty sweater for me long before I was ever home. I am finally big enough to wear it.

Thanks Auntie Pauline!!!

I love you,
Lindy

One year ago today...

... at 11:06 a.m., I (Lisa) received the most exciting phone call of my life. It was "THE" call Don and I had longed to receive for months--the call letting us know we finally had a daughter. The anticipation was so absolutely excruciating that I still get weak in the knees and stomach when I think about it. I also get super teary-eyed.

Don and I fell in love that day with three little photos sent to us via email. We memorized the little tidbits of information about this little baby named "Fan Xiao Jia" and analyzed every detail of the pictures. Don said from the very beginning, "Look at that face! She's got an attitude." He wasn't too far off about that! We carried pictures of her around in a manila folder and showed her off with the pride of any new parent. We celebrated our special news by eating Chinese food at a restaurant appropriately named "Full House." Don't ask me what I had--I don't remember a bite.

Tonight we celebrated the year anniversary of our referral day by returning to Full House and having Chinese food. This time we didn't have to linger over tiny photos in a manila folder because we had the real deal live and in person cheerfully greeting the customers and walking around in her squeaky shoes.

Receiving our referral a year ago was just the beginning of some very exciting and special times. God blessed us so richly and answered so many prayers when He chose Lindy for us.

One...two...three...fries???

Hi there,

Lindy seems to have an obsession. In her world, one particular word takes on several meanings.
For example, when we are counting together it goes something like this:

Mommy: One
Lindy: Two
Mommy: What comes after two?
Lindy: Three
Mommy: What comes after thr (cut off by Lindy)
Lindy: Fries
Mommy: No, sweetie, four comes after three.
Mommy: What comes after four?
Lindy: Fries
Mommy: Fries??? No, sweetie, FIVE (extra emphasis) comes after four.
Mommy: What comes after FIVE (extra emphasis)?

Another example:
Mommy, Daddy, and Lindy at a favorite Chinese or Mexican restaurant. Dinner is served...All of a sudden Lindy emphatically exclaims, "Fries. Need fries. Fries. Need fries." Mommy and Daddy look at each other puzzled and think, "sorry, sister--no fries here." Then we tempt her with some chicken, broccoli (usually shot down), beans, and some rice--which we have learned ALSO translates to fries.

Well, despite the fact that fries=five and fries=rice, she does enjoy some good old yummy French Fries like most American girls...just hold the ketchup, please!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2007!!!

I hope you are off to an outstanding new year!

I am a bit behind on blogging but am happy to say, ALL the Christmas decorations are down and put away. I think putting away the decorations is one of the most mundane tasks--ever. Lindy was a bit bewildered as we took apart the tree and packed away the snowmen adorning the mantle. She would sweetly say, "bye bye" over and over. It all must seem a bit crazy and confusing!

I am not one to make New Year's Resolutions because, admittedly, I am not super disciplined at keeping them. However, I have thought of some goals I want to try to meet as I parent Lindy in 2007 (in no particular order).

Here's the top 10:
1. Start and end each day with a big kiss, hug, and "I love you."
2. Maintain patience.
3. Keep working on her potty training.
4. Help her learn important concepts such as sharing, apologizing, obedience, and respect.
5. Have her eat more veggies.
6. Get her more involved with putting away her belongings.
7. Diligently work on colors, letters, and numbers. She "kind of" counts to five right now.
8. Make and take the time to keep singing, dancing, reading, and playing with her on her level.
9. Be consistent in my discipline and expectations.
10. Pray about her and for her EVERYDAY.

I am sure there are hundreds of others I need to consider, as well, so hopefully I'll be able to hit a bunch more, too.

If you're a resolution maker or goal setter, I hope you'll achieve whatever you set out to do in 2007.

Cheers,

Lisa