Happy ONE YEAR Anniversary!

It's hard to believe it was one year ago today that Leila Grace joined our family. I've never posted most of these pictures because they are still hard for me to look at, but I think they are such an amazing part of Leila's history, and it's awesome to see what God has done since that time. Gotcha Day was a turning point in our lives. Not only did we now have four kids including a toddler that didn't speak a lick of English, we had a new family. God knew exactly where to place Leila Grace, and for that we are thankful. It has been a roller coaster of a year in many ways, challenging and thrilling all at once. I've questioned, "Can I really do this?" many times and although I question my own abilities, I will never question the faithfulness of my God---the one I have a personal, intimate relationship with. Because without His sovereignty, the ride would seem confusing or scary. Instead, I know it's just the way He intended---nothing short of a thrill ride!

Taking a look back, one year ago today:

This is immediately after Leila was handed to us at Chengdu Children's Welfare Institute, right outside the orphanage doors:


March 17, 2008

This is on the bus ride home:


Heartbreaking, I know.

This is about an hour later in our hotel room:

This is the next day at lunch...



This is two days later at our night on the town with my sweet sister...

And this is today, March 17, 2009!

We are lucky enough this year to celebrate our "Gotchaversary" with our friends, the Harrell's, who live in San Antonio. We met Elissa and Kyle in China, when they adopted their daughter Lily from the same orphanage as Leila. We loved them from the start, and feel blessed to get to celebrate this big day with them. We spent the day today at SeaWorld, which the kids loved. Lily loved Shamu...

and EVERYONE loved seeing the dolphins, whales, and the walrus! The kids were so excited to get to feed the dolphins...what fun!All in all, an awesome day to celebrate Gotcha Day, Spring Break, time with family, and time with friends. We love you, Leila Grace!