Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a healthy, Happy Thanksgiving. Here a few things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for spending 13 years married, as of Nov. 25th, to my best friend and soul mate.

I am thankful Nathan is out of the hospital and doing well, his strength and determination continues to humble and amaze me.

I am thankful for Addison coming into our lives and enriching it in so many ways.

I am thankful that my sister and my three day old niece, Isabella Rae, are both doing well and are healthy.

I am thankful for my supportive family and all our friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been meaning to update for the past few days, but things have been pretty hectic the past few weeks. Nathan has been sick with a respiratory virus. We had managed to keep him out of the hospital the whole time BUT then he started having some serious side effects from the antibiotics and we ended up having to take him to the ER for deydration. We have been here one night but we are hoping that we will be going home later today. We can usually keep up on his fluids, but they were coming out as fast as we were putting them in. So he had some IV fluids plus every test imaginable and he is doing much better.

We HATE the hospital and try so hard to keep Nathan out. Most of our Drs. understand that we can take care of Nathan much better at home, so we usually work together to do everything possible to keep Nathan out. He is so complicated that most Drs. and nurses are a little "freaked" out by the adorable little guy that there is a tendancy to either overreact or having no clue what needs to be done for him.

The great news is that one of our favorite Drs.'collegue and one of his nurses were working the floor this weekend and they made sure we got our own room!!! Being in the hospital is bad enough, but having to share a room makes it so much worse. They have both been working hard to make sure all of our needs are being met. We are just now hoping, praying and waiting to be let home.

Gotcha Day

One year ago, half way around the world, Addison was placed in my arms. It was a moment that Bob and I had waited for, for a very long time. While we were and are still so happy and proud to be Nathan's parents there was a part of us that still grieved for a typical child. We longed to be parents again and to experience parenthood differently - or more normally. For years we weren't sure if that was going to be a possibility. So many times people have said, "That is great that you saved a child," but in reality Addison saved us. She has filled a void that was in our hearts. She has brought all of us so much happiness, laughter and love. She is so full of life and we take such joy in watching her experience new things. One really important thing that being Nathan's parents has taught us is to appreciate and cherish every little moment and that is what we try to do with Addie. She is an amazing little sister who adores her big brother - she loves to help with his care and is always giving him kisses and hugs. She loves to laugh, dance and just live. It has been a true blessing to see her blossom and thrive this past year.

Adoption is truly a miraculous experience. God brought together a family that was separated by time and distance. Addie was always meant to be our daughter and we were always meant to be her family. There is no question that God knew what he was doing. We traveled with several different families last year and everyone of them have the child that was meant for them. It was a long journey filled with heartache and frustration but this past year has truly shown us that it was all worth it. We are so thankful and so blessed to have Addison in our lives.

I hope you enjoy the video - it is a little long but I couldn't pick between my favorite pictures.

Now if I could only talk Bob into signing the paperwork for our next child.......

One Year Video

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One year ago today my mom, SIL and I landed in Hong Kong. It is so hard to believe that one year ago we were still waiting to hold Addison in our arms. It really seems like she has been with us forever.









Bob was raking up some leaves today and Addie wanted to help.