It has been interesting to see how each day passes. Some days we are very busy and others are a little lazy. I have found that I don't do so well keeping up with the date. This is something I used to know when I was working outside the home. I have had to give myself things to do each day so I won't feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I have had several folks say Hope looks like me. I have attached a recent photo and I think it is just the hair! Tomorrow Hope will be 15 months old. We are amazed at how fast she is growing. We are realizing that we have to take in each moment and enjoy Hope all the time.

Hope and Daddy playing

Scott had Hope laughing so hard while they were playing with her stacking cups. He would put them on her head and also juggle them. They had the best time.

Bad Hair Day

1/18/08

I mentioned that Hope is crawling. She also loves being in the walker. I took some pictures of her this morning in her walker. She has discovered a bag of clothes that I have put together. As you can see, she loves un-doing what Mommy has already done. The funny thing is that she tries to put them back in the bag after she takes them out. She is a total joy. It is so good to see her doing more each day.

Hope is crawling

We were so excited because Hope crawled for the first time on Tuesday. We have a walker and she goes all around the house in it. She gets in places I didn't know she could get into. She got quiet and I went to find her in the garbage can and she had pulled out the coffee grounds from breakfast. She is quick! Hope takes steps when we hold her, but it will not be long before she gets her balance. She has been to church the past couple of weeks and sometimes is overwhelmed with so many people around. She has probably not been around that many people much in her life. Please pray that she will adjust and love going to church. I've attached a picture from this past Sunday. Yes, she is laying on the floor - whatever keeps the peace! Tomorrow we go to the ENT to check her ears. Hopefully we will get more info on her hearing.

College Acres shower

Last Saturday our church family gave us a shower and I opened gifts for 2 hours. It was an overwhelming outpouring of love. We are grateful for both of the showers we had because everything has been such a tremendous help.

Tonight Hope crawled for the first time. We are so excited to see her progress. She is such a great kid. We are so blessed to be her parents.

Time with the Family

We were very fortunate to spend time with our families when we returned home from China. Scott's family gave us a baby shower and here are some pictures from it.

First night at home

We made it back to Wilmington yesterday. We were so glad to get home. Hope went to sleep at 9:30 pm and woke up at 9:45. She went down again a little after 10 but woke up at 11:30. I thought I was in for a long night. After a drink of water and playing a little in the floor, she went off to sleep before midnight and slept until 8:30 am! Praise the Lord! I was so excited when I woke up this morning. I heard her in her crib and went to look in and she looked up at me and smiled. How wonderful a good night's sleep is. All three of us have had colds and we are trying to get well. Scott has had it the worst and he is pretty drained. Today is Saturday and we have been at home all day. How nice it has been. Hope seems happy with her new home. I have been busy doing laundry and trying to unpack. I think it is more than a day project.

Running on little sleep!

Hope still has her days and nights confused because China is 13 hours ahead of us. Last night she slept from 9 pm until 12:30 am and did not go back to sleep until 5 am. That is tough on Mom and Dad. Scott and I are fighting sore throats, so we are trying to hang in there. We have heard from some of the families that traveled with us and they are dealing with most of the same issues. We had our first doctor's visit today and Hope did really well. We are going to get her ears checked by an ENT doctor but everything else seems to be good. She has some spots that we are treating with a cream, but other than that she is raring to go. She is such a good kid. We are blessed and love her very much.

I have added some pictures for you to see. There are some of Hope and her cousins. She has done really well adjusting to everyone. We will be back in Wilmington on Friday.