6 month anniversary

Today is the 6 month anniversary of the day we met our youngest daughter, in China. She has done so amazingly well, she is smart and funny and makes our family complete. I am so proud of all three of our girls. Sara and Chuck are happy in Goochland..today Sara cooked a pot roast with vegetables and made homemade rolls ...she definitely didn't get her cooking skills from me! Emilee just passed behind-the-wheel training last week - she'll be bugging us to drive by herself soon (I've got my ears plugged LOL). She is enjoying being a mommy to a 4 lb. minuature dachshund named Slinky who keeps us laughing (when he's not going to the bathroom on today's paper...that's not why that paper was on the floor!!) Taylor is enjoying being a kid, something every child deserves...she is a princess, a diva, a pretend kitty, she can't decide whether to be a doctor when she grows up, or a professional playground goer (this is a job where she says you go to the playground each day to slide and swing). Whatever she decides to be, she'll give it her all.

Our three girls

Just had to share this picture...they had this taken during Chinese New Year

Taylor it is...

The Taylor saga continues...this morning Taylor Ke yi strongly insisted that I talk to her preschool teacher about using the name Taylor at school. Her teacher was great about it, I explained that Ke yi is her Chinese name, but now our youngest wants an American name, and we've all agreed to use Taylor. I kind of freaked out about it at first, the legalities, etc. but a good friend pointed out when we finalize the adoption in Virginia and get her birth certificate we can finalize her name then. We actually see this as a pretty big milestone in Taylor's settling into our family, wanting an American name and using it publicly, so although it's going to be hard to get used to it, Taylor it is!

What's in a name?

Ke yi has decided she loves the name Taylor. She wants us to call her Taylor. I like the name Taylor so I'm ok with it, if Ke yi decides she would like Taylor for her name. It's funny to know someone for almost 6 months and then have to remember to call them by a different name, though! We'll see if it sticks or if she moves on to something else. Meanwhile, Taylor Ke yi is learning her alphabet and the sounds that go with each letter, the days of the week, the months of the year, she drinks in knowledge like a sponge. Her new thing is to ask me about what each song on the radio is about - sometimes it's kind of hard to explain some of the themes of some of those country songs - I may need to switch my tastes in music LOL. Ke yi is already talking about kindergarten and learning to read, this girl is going to keep us busy :)

Getting started, again...

OK, my friends are blogging and I so enjoy following along with them and seeing their kids grow through their pictures, that I want to be able to share pictures and life's happenings with them too. So, today I'm starting a new blog for our family. The title "Jumping out of the Boat" is from a talk Tom and I heard about 5 years ago that had a major impact on our lives. Our pastor at the time was talking about going through life and deciding how those lives should be lived. Should we always play it safe, or take chances and maybe make some sort of impact? There is a story in the Bible where Jesus is walking on water toward a boat carrying his disciples and these friends see him and one of the disciples wants to follow Him so badly that he steps out of the boat and his faith allows him to walk on the water too, to get to Jesus. Tom and I want to try to live our lives with enough faith to be able to step out of the boat (knowing we'll never walk on water but willing to get our feet wet) to live our lives to the fullest, make a positive impact on those we come in contact with...not an easy task but something we strive to accomplish one day at a time.

Our family is SO very important to us, our kids all keep us hopping! This blog is about recording the triumphs and family fun times, and probably some goof ups and falls along the way too.