Worth It All!

This time last year we were adjusting to a new little

member of the family. We had been home with Aiden

for about 10 days and oh were we adjusting!!! I

remember many times I felt like I was going to

pull my hair out! Shaelyn and Sophie (the dog) were

insanely jealous of Aiden. Shaelyn wasn't too sure

she wanted to share her turf with a brother after all!

I began to wonder when and if our house would ever

me "normal" again:) Well, I am happy to report that

a year later we are FINE! Shaelyn has finally adjusted

to having a brother and Sophie is now Aiden's best buddy!

Shaelyn adores her little brother and is thankful for him.

They have their moments, but most of the time they are

enjoying each other as I so hoped they would! What a

difference a year makes!

My "Creative" Little Guy

Today I purchased a sucker for Aiden while we were in town.

I gave him specific instructions that he could not eat it until

after supper. He did very well with these instructions and

did not open it. After supper I gave it to him and then I

proceeded to go outside to unload the yard sale items from

the truck. Aiden followed me out there and wanted to help

me carry things from the truck to the shed. Just moments

later I noticed that the sucker he had come outside with was

nowhere to be found. I asked Aiden where his sucker was

and he pointed to the muffler pipe on my car. He had put

that sucker (stick end first) into the pipe. It was perfect fit!

We tried and tried to get it out but just kept pushing the

sucker further and further into the pipe. Finally I decided

that I would just turn on the engine .....that sucker blew

out with such force that it sailed across the driveway and landed

in the middle of the road! We had to laugh!! These little guy

is so creative and curious about everything. He never ceases

to amaze us!

Aiden's First Gotcha Day!

We celebrated Aiden's 1st Gotcha Day today! It is hard
to believe that last year this time we were just
getting to know this precious little guy! He is a joy
and we are so thankful for him! We always have a little
cake to celebrate Shaelyn's Gotcha Days so Aiden was
no exception. He was too cute trying to blow out his
one (1) candle! He actually spit all over his cake :)

Last year

Last year at this very day and time, we were sitting
aboard a Boeing 777 Korean Air Jumbo Jet in route
to Beijing China. We were so excited, nervous and a
little bit of every emotion mixed together. We were
not only going to get our new son, but we were also
taking Shaelyn back to China to see the land of her birth.
Wow, what a journey we were about to experience! As
I sat there in my seat on that enormous plane, I had
all the time in the world to reflect back over the past
16 months. The calling God placed on our hearts to
adopt again took us a bit by surprise. We had more
questions than answers for so many months. We ran into
so many road blocks and detours along the adoption
journey and there were times we nearly said "forget
it"! But sitting there in that huge plane I felt a
peace. I knew without a doubt that we were right
where God wanted us to be! Now a year later, I
can say that God sure knew what He was doing! This
little boy he gave us was exactly what we needed and
didn't even know it! Aiden has brought us so much joy
and I simply can't imagine life without him. The
adoption path was not easy, but the reward for walking
it was beyond our wildest dreams!