One month together!!

One month ago today, a solumn faced baby girl was placed in our arms, today we celebrate one month together as a family of four with Chloe Madison Xian, the solumn baby girl who is now thriving and happy as can be, what a month it has been. She is such a joy and is the apple of our eyes, I can't imagine life without her and thank God everyday for her, the miracle he placed in our family just one month ago...we are so blessed.

Our happy girl in the chair i made her last year wearing her traditional Chinese dress this morning

12.18.2006-just one month ago today..wow! you've came a long way baby =)

Mobility and Milestones

Chloe is finally feeling somewhat comfortable when we put her down..she really likes to just crawl around and explore things, especially in her room, it's so much fun to watch her learn new things everyday, she's definetly thriving. Tomorrow marks the ONE MONTH milestone since Chloe joined our family, so stay tuned for a special post from me tomorrow reflecting on this amazing month!

reaching for her "cell phone"..hmm wonder where she learned that from...lol
"the camera loves me =)"
"Ok, um sissy i like having my picture made but i need privacy..can't a kid drink her bottle in peace?!"

Love

First off have I mentioned how lucky I am, because I honestly don't think I can say that enough..I am the luckest girl ever! Chloe is an amazing child and I love her more than life itself, I honestly don't know how I lived without her, she brings so much joy into my life. She loves me, the kind of love i've never experienced before, which makes think about things in a whole new light. Life is so much richer now with Chloe in my life, she makes me want to do whatever it takes to make her proud.period.

As we approach the one month anniversary of a family of four, i feel like this is a great time to talk a little about our journey to Chloe, part of the testamonial i made at church sunday night, which went very well..its a little long but here it is...enjoy!

For the past 7 years I have longed for a sibling so bad that some nights when i would go up to my room I would get so depressed because I was so alone and every night it was like i was constantly reminded of how alone i really was, and it about did me in. So after many months and years after i felt this longing i started to feel this tugging at my heart that just wouldn't go away, it was like God was telling that it was time i talked to my parents about my feelings and how i wanted a sister. Ok, easier said than done, so I prayed and prayed to God for him to help me understand what He wanted me to do, hoping that he would give me a sign somehow so i would know that this is or is not meant to be. When my parents, me and my Aunt went on a cruise to the Bahamas with some friends, i remember the morning before we got off the ship, seeing this adorable asian girl around the age of 4 with two caucasian parents, i remember thinking how cute she was but at the moment i did not recognise the sign that God had placed right in front of me. Anyways after many nights of pondering i finally decided to sit my parents down and ask them if they would consider adoption, because I knew friends of ours had just adopted a adorable baby girl, Ally from China and i thought that maybe, just maybe they would consider it. I knew it was a longshot but the worst thing they could say was no and i was ok with that.

So i decided to confront my mom first, so one late night when we were both up and talking about our cousin who had just found out she was pregnant with her first child (the boy is now 2) so i figured since we were talking about babies I would just mention it..so i did, that conversation is such a blur, but i remember mom had this look on her face like "are you crazy" and i was so certain that i had made a mistake by asking. The next day, my mom told me that she had been thinking about what i asked her, about me wanting a sister, and she said that i needed to talk to my dad...ok??! I was petrified, i didn't know what or how to say it to him, so i just thought about how sad and alone i had felt and i said "dad, im tired of being alone", little did i know that about 2 years after i spoke them words i would be boarding a plane with my parents to China to pick up my new baby sister.

Between the time i had that talk with my dad, until the day that Chloe was placed in our arms, i have struggled personally with obsticles that i didn't think i could overcome, my best friend being diagnosed with Leukemia at 15 years old, myself struggling with depression and health problems and losing my great aunt to melanomia..an endless list of doubts and fears without adding in the extra stress of the 14 month wait was almost enough to begin to question myself wondering if it was meant to be. If it hadnt have been for the extra wait, we wouldnt have gotten matched with the child we have, and i couldnt imagine life without this certain little girl who makes everything better!

The point im getting at is the power that a person has and the things they can do if they want it bad enough. I wanted a sister more than anything in this world, and after its all said and done, because of me i changed a life, my family changed the life of a tiny baby girl who needed a family as badly as we needed her.

**12/18/2006 a dream come true**

Weekends..

The weekends are just so much fun now that we have Chloe with us, i have always lived for the weekend but now it just means so much more to me. Today Chloe had a great day, ate like a champ, was happy when we had friends come over to see her and was just a great kid overall! Tomorrow night as our pastor's request, my parents and I will be giving our Testamonial about Chloe's adoption in front of the congregation during the evening service....very cool! Enjoy the pics!

Ready to go for a afternoon stroll in the neighborhood
im going to get you!!

Beautiful baby girl

PERFECT

Blossoming!

This week has just been a great week here at our house! Chloe is starting to come out of her shell a little bit and each day she seems to be more and more happier. I think she is finally beginning to understand that we are her family and will always be here for her. She is trusting us a lot more and trusting others besides us three (me, mom, dad). People that saw Chloe last week and then again this week kept on telling me that Chloe is like a whole different child this week and seems to them to be more happy...yay!! She is even sleeping in her own crib in her room..amazing! We are starting to develop a routine for bedtime, which is helping all of us get back to our somewhat normal schedule..lol..and as of Friday night we will have been home from China for THREE WEEKS..wow!!Ok so before i roll the credits (pictures) here is a few things that our sweet girl likes to do!

Chloe loves to....

Clap for herself

suck her index and middle fingers when going to bed

hold her washcloth when she is sleepy

she loves rice cereal with apples!

Sweet potatoes, soup, eggs are just a few of her favorite things to eat

play peekaboo

being spun around in the air

cell phones!

being in the car and on the go

strolling

play in her room( as long as one of us are watching)

music

her new family =)

And now for what you guys are really here for...pictures of Chloe Madison Xian!

"lets get this show on the road!"

"Cant forget to bring a toy with me!!"

" My cousin Mason is sooo smart & is going to teach me fun stuff and he loves to hug me"

"Early morning giggles for sissy!"

"Look im a lion...RAWWRRR" The cutest lion ive ever met =)

I DONT think so!

As me and miss chloe (aka snook as i like to call her) were fixing to leave wal-mart the other day, i wanted to take her picture cuz she looked so darn cute. So as i went to take the picture i said "Chloe" to get her attention to look at the camera. Well apparently this little girl is sick and tired of having her picture made, because she looked at me like "uggg im SO not smiling for another pic!" Man this kid has such a temper..lol

THE LOOK!

So back in November when we first got Chloe's referral package and saw her "mugshot" picture we all just totally fell IN LOVE with this childs lips and look on her face, but Chloe had changed SO much from the time when that picture was taken (probably this past spring/summer) up until the day we got her that she just looked like a totally different baby..maybe it was the hair?! Neways the other day i got to looking at some pictures we took in China and came across this picture I took of Chloe and realized that she has the exact same look in that picture as she did in the mugshot picture...she has grown a lot and has HAIR now but still her lips, eyes, face look totally the same..check it out...

then....

..and now...

Alive and kicking...

Yes everyone, I am alive and home with the sweetest most precious sister ever! We arrived home Dec. 29 to family and friends greeting us and welcoming the newest member of my family. Since our arrival back home, Chloe has been doing incredibly well, better with each passing day. The time change has been hard for all four of us though, resulting in owl-like behavior from my parents, me and chloe, who have all be finding ourselves disoriented and sometimes a little kuku from the lack of sleep at night, but each day brings improvement and im pretty sure we are almost back to our normal schedule. Ok back to blogging, right after we arrived at home, my computer decided to give me a nice little post China surprise, it got a virus from China and i lost everything that was on it, pictures, essays, the works...so this computer spent a few days in the dr's office and is now brand spanking new! Anywho yesterday marked the 3rd week since Chloe was placed in our arms...as a old journey finally came to a close, and a new one began. This blog has been a lifeline for the past two years of my life, as i struggled through each day trying to strive on the day when i would finally meet my MeiMei, and that day was by far the best day of my entire life. Since this is no longer a journey to my mei mei, i feel like it is time to start a new website documenting life with Chloe, so in the next few days be on the lookout for a new link to my new blog, which might just be password protected to protect Chloe, just be sure to watch for the link and how you can get in touch with me if u want the password, i would LOVE to have my faithful bloggy friends join me in this new amazing life. With that said, here are just a few pictures of life at home with Chloe...enjoy =)

above you see bonding time with sissy and of course the sparkle in Chloes eye when she grabs my cell phone ;)

Chloe loves her crib and sucking her fingers..lol a sure sign that she is sleepy!

The adventures of miss bobble-head =)

Oatmeal face =)

Here you see Chloe mstering the fine art of surviving Wal-Mart..sleeping of course!

Chloe's baby shower!

I know i know im a slacker blogger..lol..but this week has been crazy busy getting ready to go to China and dealing with finals in school..so finally here are a few pics of the wonderful baby shower we had on sat. given by people at our Church for miss Chloe!!

we got a lot of cool stuff for our sweet baby girl

Im going to miss these girls when im in China...

Some of "THE LOOT"!!

We had an awesome shower and are so blessed to have such loving family and friends to support us during this special time in our lives...thanks again, Chloe will look stunning in the adorable outfits and we cannot wait for her to meet you all!!

Birthday Blessings

Hi all! As promised here are some pictures of the little family event we had to honor Chloe's 1st birthday...it was a great day but our (mine and Chloes) dad was gone to a business meeting..but here are a couple of snapshots taken at our nana and pop's house (my moms family)..enjoy...

*Chloe's cake which i designed..hehe*

*Me and mom holding Chloe's cake!!*

*our aunt is a police officer so dont think we got the police called to arrest us..lol *

*cake and card time....chyeah i know im cool...lol*

*A couple of b-day gifts for Chloe.Anne Gettes ladybug from nana, pop, aunt deb and a leap frog lion 4rom the big sis!!**

Overall it was an awesome little party..and come saturday our Church is giving us a baby shower so look forward to plenty of pics..hehe (**btw blogger is not letting me leave comments to those of you that do not have blogger beta for some odd reason but i have tried its just won't let me..grr**)

~~~ON ANOTHER NOTE: I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS THE OTHER DAY..GOD ANSWERED THEM AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO WORK OUT..WE ARE GOING TO CHINA ON DEC. 15!! (DETAILS LATER) PRAISE GOD!!~~

One...

HAPPY 1ST BiRTHDAY CHLOE MADiSON XiAN!!

WE CANNOT WAiT TO HOLD YOU & FiNALLY BRiNG YOU HOME!

LOViN YOU MORE AND MORE EACH DAY,

YOUR FOREVER FAMiLY!!

~~We are having a small family get to-gether to celebrate Chloe's first birthday, with cake and of course a couple of presents for the birthday girl..i will post pictures of it later:-]

Looks like we will be shopping here a lot..

You can always tell that the holiday season is approaching when you look in magazines and on websites at the advertisements for stores that have a holiday look to them. Well The Children$ Place has the cutest Christmas advertisement.....

Looking at this from the perspective of the fact that my parents adopting from China, it makes me feel like society is finally warming up to the joy of creating a family through international adoption.

My Guardian Angel

This is one of my new favorite songs...its by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus called My Guardian Angel

When I see your smile

Tears run down my face I can't replace

And now that I'm stronger I've figured out

How this world turns cold and breaks through my soul

And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

I will never let you fall I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

It's ok. It's ok. It's ok.

Seasons are changing

And waves are crashing

And stars are falling all for us

Days grow longer and nights grow shorter

I can show you I'll be the one

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

Cuz you're my, you're my, my true love, my whole heart

Please don't throw that away

Cuz I'm here for you

Please don't walk away,

Please tell me you'll stay, stay

Use me as you will

Pull my strings just for a thrill

And I know I'll be ok

Though my skies are turning gray

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven
The lyrics in this song make me think of the bond that I will have with Chloe and

how I already want to protect her even though she is not here with us yet.