December 11, 2007: One Year Gotcha!

December 11, 2006: Gotcha Day!

December 11, 2007: One Year Gotcha!

December 11, 2006: Gotcha Day!

Today is our ONE YEAR with Sarah Evangeline LuHua!
And what an amazing year it has been!! This year has been filled with learning how to be a big sister, new adventures together, and lots of love! I cannot even imagine life without Sarah Lu!
HERE is what I wrote on Gotcha Day in China.
HERE are the photos of Gotcha Day.

It is amazing how much in one year you can change! When we got Sarah, she was 29 lbs, 35 inches tall and wore a size 24 months or 2T. Now, she is 35 lbs and 40 inches tall and wears sizes 3T and 4T. In the past year she has gained 6 lbs and grown 5 inches! Above are photos comparing December 11, 2007 with December 11, 2006... What a change!
HERE are the photos of Sarah and I from the 11th of each month this past year.

We had a little celebration of one year tonight. Chrissy and I made her cake with a panda (she adores pandas right now!) She loved her cake, and especially blowing out all the candles. It was a very fun celebration of one year!


Earlier this year I wrote about our Gotcha Day:
"Remembering Gotcha Day..."

Also, in February, we completed Sarah's adoption movie, "Sarah's Story"

I love you my Sarah LuLu! Thank you for this year of you!! I am so thankful that you are my little sister, forever! Happy 1 year together mei mei!!

I just wanted to let everyone know, my Mom is home from the hospital. She came home at 2 am this morning. After the CAT scan, they couldn't find anything. She was still feeling awful, so they thought about doing a spinal tap. However, they finally released her saying that it was sinuses or migraines. They gave her some medication and although she still feels sick, she is doing much better than before. Thank you all for your prayers and please continue praying.

Just wanted to let everyone know to please pray for my Mom. We went to our FCC (Families with Children from China) Gingerbread house making party yesterday afternoon (more on that later) and ever since then Mom has been feeling really sick. She has been dizzy and stayed in bed the rest of the day yesterday and all of today. This evening nothing was getting better, maybe even getting worse, so we took her to the ER. Dad and I went with her. Dad is still there with her, he dropped me back off at home just a little while ago. Sarah, who has been sleeping, does not know that Mommy is at the hospital and had stayed at home with Jie Jie Chrissy. As for Mom, we don't know what it is. Last I knew, when I left the hospital, she was going in for a CAT scan on her head, as the suspected cause is migraines. Please pray for her. Also, this evening we are expecting an ice storm, which could potentially knock out the power. Tomorrow, December 11th, is our 1 year Gotcha Anniversary with Sarah! I guess our celebration might have to be a bit late. Please keep my Mom in your prayers!

THIS is what we were doing one year ago today. One year ago today, we were in Beijing. We walked through Tienanmen Square and through the Forbidden City, and then climbed on the Great Wall. We were so close to Sarah, and yet, not quite. Just a few days later and Sarah was placed into our arms forever. I love my Mei Mei so much!

"Dear Jesus Lord, Help this food. Help this food to make us big and strong."

"Jesus Lord, Help Chrissy."

"I'm not eating that!"

"Now one dog has to 'peat after me." (repeat)

"Excuse me! Yashi, you talked to Mommy for a little bit, now you shut up."
Update: Please note that Sarah DOESN'T say "shut up", that is why it struck us all with shock (ok, and maybe I thought it was a little funny, but I definitely didn't let Sarah know that!). "Shut up" is one of those words my mom does not like. I'm probably to blame for what she said. Sarah was told not to say that and she understands that it is not a nice thing to say. I have not heard her say it since. I have to watch myself though, because a little one will always hear and repeat what she hears her big sister say! (yikes)

"Pray! Pray, Yashi!"

Sarah: "Rachael, are we going to do something today? Something fun?"
Rachael: "Well, I need to go to the bank..."
Sarah: (sighs, and dramatically sinks to the floor) "But why? The bank is SOOOOO BOOORRING, Rachael!!!!" (rolls eyes, more sighing, slight disappointed, "are-you-kidding-me" look on her face).

Later, when she heard us talking about it...
Sarah: "Well, I helped you. It was boring. I said boring. But you shouldn't go to the bank without a helper!" (said in a tone of voice that would make you think she was a martyr.)

Dad: "Should we go to Staples?"
Sarah: "No Dad. That's BORING!"
Dad: "Well... Maybe Farm and Fleet or Menard's?"
Sarah: "Dad, us two (referring to herself and Rachael) We don't like those stores."
Sarah looks to Rachael and says, "Rachael, are they boring?"
Rachael: "Yep. Yep, Sarah. They're pretty boring."
Sarah looks at Dad and says, "Yeah Dad, They is boring!"

I was throwing a ball for our dog, Lilly, and Sarah comes along and wants to do it. I usually don't let Sarah throw the ball and play tug with Lilly because she is still a puppy (1 year old) and is 3/4 Lab, 1/4 Border Collie, so needless to say, she is very excitable and hyper. Anyway, I threw the ball for Lilly, and Sarah ran up and grabbed it. Sarah knows that usually I don't like her doing that, so she says to me: "Don't worry, I know I can handle this. Please trust me."

The above photo was taken at the Zoo, the globe is to show where the monkeys were originally from. I love this one because she has her hand near China!

One year ago today, Mom, Dad, and I were off to China! We took off from Chicago at around noon on December 5, 2006... Next stop, Beijing! I will never forget that day. It was my first time ever flying, and everything was just so exciting! Knowing that we would have Sarah forever in our arms on December 11th was just the most amazing feeling. It is so hard to believe that our day of hopes and finally taking off for China was already 1 year ago! I love my mei mei so much, I can't imagine life without her!!

As some of you may remember, Sarah used to have a pink room. I loved Sarah's pink room and was quite sad to leave it when we moved in June. Once Sarah was settled into her new bedroom, we knew that we just had to paint it again. So, we asked Sarah what color she would like. She makes it known to all that her favorite colors are pink and green. Pink, because every princess-y thing is pink, and Green, because she has always just loved it. Sarah's decision for the color of her room was green! I think it's adorable and she loves it!