Happy 1st Birthday Princess

Today is our baby girl's 1st birthday. How unbelievable is that? She's one and we got to celebrate her first birthday with her. She's amazing and doing incredibly well. Things we got to witness in the last three months:

• Rolling over
• Sitting up on her own
• Finding her asleep on her belly (she hated being on her belly when we first got her in China)
• Going from a laying position to a sitting position
• Rocking on all fours
• Crawling
• Pulling herself up on furniture
• Finding her standing in her crib
• Cruising around furniture
• Her first true word "baby" which sounds like "bebee!" (she says this whenever she sees a baby)
• Getting to see four of her seven teeth grow in
• Pinching (and it hurts too!)
• Drinking out of a sippy cup
• Finger grasping finger foods
• Eating table food
• Falling down and hitting her head
• Her first boo boo (happened at mommom's house!)
• Hugging us and saying "aww awwwwwh"
• Giving us kisses
• Standing on her own without holding onto anything
• Getting walking shoes this past weekend
• Celebrating her first birthday!
• Watching her bald head getting hair (LOL!)

We are so thrilled that we get to see so many of her firsts. I'm sure there are many more that I can't seem to think about right now. She amazes each day with something new.

We celebrated her first birthday on Saturday at a local park and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The weather was cooperative and the pavilion we were located at shaded us perfectly from the sun. The wind was a little bit of a challenge, but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Family and friends joined in on the celebration. We had pizza, veggies, fruit, chips and of course a huge cake from The Dutch Oven Bakery! The cake was beautiful with flowers and ladybugs and it was delicious too. I need to get rid of it or I will keep eating it till it's gone!

I left Rachel at our house with Mommom so she could nap while Dave took Jake to get football pictures done and Andrea and I went and picked up balloons and headed to the park to decorate the pavilion. Rachel made her grand appearance around 3:00 as guests were arriving. Rachel had on the cutest little pink and brown polka dot party dress with little white with pink trim ruffled socks and her new black maryjane shoes (I know, they should have been brown!). Mommom bought her a princess party hat which she sported adorably! After about 15 minutes, she had enough of the hat though! Rachel got to meet some of our family and friends for the first time on Saturday.

When we all sang Happy Birthday to Rachel she looked at us like we were crazy white people! LOL. I don't think she knew what to make of it all. She actually looked a little frightened, but that didn't stop her from digging her hands into her cake. When Rachel dug her hands into the cake she decided to put her hands on her head. There was cake all over her! That's okay, the cake went well with her outfit!

Afterwards we opened lots of gifts. Jake did a great job helping his sister open all her presents. Rachel got so many adorable outfits and fun toys. Some of Rachel's favorites were the ladybug that was educational and played music, a toy cellphone, a stuffed ladybug that opens it mouth where you put a stuffed cupcake into it, a fisher price pink bus that plays music and has little people, a pink telephone, an educational storybook, a toy pelican with balls that go in its mouth, and a baby doll. Some of my favorites that Rachel can't quite appreciate yet are a ceramic panda bear bank, a beautiful gold bracelet (which hasn't come off of her since we put it on her. It looks beautiful on her wrist), all the adorable outfits including a really pretty red ladybug dress, a baby album, and her own bowls, plate, spoon and fork set. We truly appreciate all the wonderful gifts and we thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity. It was a great day for her birthday celebration. Unfortunately we were competing with vacations and other parties which took up half our our guest list, but it was a great celebration.

Today is Rachel's actual birthday. Dave, Jake and I couldn't wait till she woke up so we could rush into her room with lots of kisses and hugs. We finally heard her around 6:45 where she yelled "uh ohhhhh"! It was so cute. The three of us went into her room singing Happy Birthday, and again, she looked at us like we were crazy! I think the weekend tapped her out because she was so tired and acted very subdued this morning. Mom ended up putting her back to bed around 8:45 AM and she didn't protest at all. Normally she will cry for a minute or so, but not this morning.

I feel so joyous today to be able to celebrate Rachel's first birthday but I also have sadness in my heart. I know that somewhere in China, there is a birth mother and maybe a birth father, grieving over the loss of their little girl. I cried for them this morning on my way into work. I wish there was some way for them to know that their little girl is okay and that she is being loved beyond words. I want to thank them for placing Rachel in a place where she could be found. I want to thank them for giving birth to the most amazing and beautiful little girl. I want to thank them for choosing life! I wish they could know how happy, well loved, well cared for, our little girl is. I prayed this morning to God and asked him to give them peace and comfort in their hearts. I prayed that God would give them a sign of some kind to let them know that she is with a family who loves her so very much. This day will always be a memory for Rachel's birth family and I pray that it won't always make them sad. I pray that they find God so they can have peace in their heart and soul. If you pray or even if you don't pray, please pray today, for Rachel's birth parent's.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL! You have no idea how happy you make us! Your mommy, daddy and big brother love you so very much! I hope you always will remember that.

This and that...

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Baby girl isn't feeling well today. She just isn't quite herself. Her nose has been running for a little over a week now which I think is due to her teething. But today she just kind of laid around off and on and she wasn't her vocal self. We called the doctor, but he said to give it another day or so and see how she is. If she isn't better, we should bring her in. Teething can cause some ear pain and a runny nose. I gave her some tylenol before putting her to bed tonight. I hope it doesn't turn into anything more serious.

Rachel is definitely a stubborn little thing. She has gotten into this habit of pinching me on my chest right below my neck. She seems to know how to grab that little piece of skin with her thumb and forefinger. OMG, does it hurt! I ended up tapping her fingers today after telling her no four times and removing her hands! Her feelings were hurt, but didn't that little bugger try and pinch me again! She is truly testing me! Any suggestions on how to stop this little habit?

Jake had his second football practice tonight and he seemed to really enjoy it. The coaches were impressed with his kicking capability. He has a lot to learn since he's never played football before, but he seems to be up for the challenge.

We had quite a fun day yesterday. We had brunch with friends of ours from church who had a baby in December. They have the same family dynamics as us with a 10 year old son and a 8 month old little boy. Jake and their 10 year old, Clay, went to kindergarten together at Chesterbrook Academy. We really enjoyed our visit with them. Their little guy, Reed, is a big boy! HOLY MOLY! He's so chunky and I love his cheeks. He looks just like his older brother too.

Last night we were invited to dinner at another friend's house. Jake and their son, Jake (all Jake's friends are named Jake - LOL!), go to school together. It was so nice hanging out with them, especially since we haven't done so in quite some time. Funny thing, Dave and I were both stung by bees at their house! It really hurt too! I haven't been stung in years. My finger, hand, and wrist are still throbbing and itching like crazy. Dave got stung on the inner part of his forearm. Other than that, it was great catching up with our friends.

I had my balance test done today at the Ears, Nose and Throat doctor. It was quite uncomfortable for an hour and half. The first part of the test they hooked me up to electrodes and put ear phones in my ears and played different sounds which were loud and obnoxious. She then put saline in my ears and repeated the same sounds. That was a weird feeling. The second part of the test she had me sit in front of this bar thing where I had to follow a red ball with my eyes. The third part of the test which made me extremely dizzy and nauseous is she blew cold and warm air into my ears for about a minute each. I thought I was going to pass out right there or vomit all over the place. It was awful. I was so glad when it was all over. I have a follow up appointment on Friday to go over all the tests I had done since seeing them. Hopefully they can tell me why I do have dizzy spells and why I still have these weird pains and sensations in my head.

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

We spent the day at Mommom's yesterday to get Rachel used to being there since I'm going back to work next week. Rachel did very well. I put her down for a nap at 2:00 PM and she fell asleep within 20 minutes. I think she would have fallen asleep sooner if she Jake hadn't come into the room. Anyway, she slept for 2 hours. I was thrilled with that. I stayed in the room until she fell asleep. Today, I will try and sneak out a little sooner so she doesn't get used to me being in the room.

Rachel seems to be feeling better. Thank God. She still has a little cough which sounds a little congested. If it worsens, we will go to the doctor. Hopefully it's just the teething.

Rachel realized that she can now push her spit out of her mouth. I truly believe this little girl is testing me. She looks right at me and will let her spit come out of her mouth. She even did this with her cereal this morning. I put a spoon full of cereal in her mouth and she spit it right out. I think I'm in big trouble! LOL!

I went to Babies R Us last night with Rachel and my mother in-law while Jake and Dave were at football practice. I can't tell you how excited I am because we found the cutest ladybug princess costume. I just love it! We tried it on Rachel in the store because they only had a 36 month and I was afraid it might be too big. Rachel was meant to be a ladybug princess because it fit with a little room to spare. By Halloween it will fit her perfectly with some black tights and black patten leather shoes. OMG, I can't wait to post pictures at Halloween. LOL!

While I was at Babies R Us, I asked about returning a stroller that my dear friend, Andrea, bought for Rachel. When we purchased the stroller, we must have spent an hour or more in the stroller isle testing strollers. Anyway, we decided on this stroller and I absolutely can't stand using it now. There is no walking room in the back of the stroller. When I push the stroller, my feet hit the wheels and the handle bars are actually too high. I thought I would like this, but they really are too high. Well, Babies R Us said that I could return it even without the packaging, as long as we have the receipt. Thank God Andrea held onto the receipt. I feel bad returning it after we spent so much time, but it really is not comfortable to push. We're going to go Thursday and look for a new one.

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

I decided to take Rachel to the doctor today because her cough is becoming more persistent. We got a 10:00 AM appointment with Dr. Solomon. Our pediatrician office is great for getting us in quickly when we have a sick child. Anyway, as soon as the nurse stuck the thermometer in her ear to take her temp, she screamed bloody murder and didn't stop until we left the doctor's office. I'm not kidding, you would have thought someone was torturing the poor thing the way she was screaming. I think the nurse was a little harsh when putting the thermometer in her ear, but she even screamed the entire time the doctor tried to listen to her chest and she was in my arms. And she was just getting started, because when the doctor asked me to lay her down so he could continue examining her, a whole other scream came out of her. I'm sure she associates the doctors office with with needles and pain. We have never gone where she wasn't having blood drawn or shots. Dr. Solomon said that her age does have some memory at this point. Great, just what I needed to hear! Well, everything was clear and no infections. Basically nasal passages are congested and her one nostril is swollen. They want me to give her benadryl at night to help her breathe a little better which will help alleviate her cough. Our big girl weighed 23 lbs and 4 oz! Growing is not an issue for sure. LOL!

I found Rachel standing in her crib this morning. She was so proud of herself. I ran and grabbed my camera and she totally posed for me! Gosh, this girl is so cute. She really makes me laugh.

We went and visited Living Hope Adoption Agency today. I just love the people there. They are so genuinely happy for us and they love seeing the children and family's they help build. The girl's work so hard to get us through the adoption process, so it must be so gratifying to them to see the end result of their hard work when the children visit them in the office. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have our little blessing in our lives. We thank God for all of them!

Rachel did very well at mommom's today. Mommom fed her a bottle and put her down for her nap. She even left her while she was still awake and she only fussed for a little bit. Rachel did start to cry after a bit, so mommom checked on her and thought she was probably cold and needed to be recovered. That must of been it, because we didn't hear another peep out of her for two hours. Tomorrow I'm going to leave her for most of the day. I hate to do that since I only have 3 more days before going back to work! Oh how I'm dreading it!

Sunday, August 10th, 2oo8

Tomorrow is going to be a sad day for me! Can you hear the sorrow in my words? I am so dreading going back to work. I'm going to miss Rachel and Jake terribly. It has been wonderful being home most of the summer with them. I'll tell you though, it flew by! It is comforting knowing that Rachel will be at my mother in-law's and not in a daycare right away. We had a very good week at mommom's house. I left her on Friday to see how she would do and I don't think she missed me much at all. Having all the kids there really keeps her busy and preoccupied. I do think my mother in-law will have her hands full. Mom even watched Jake and Rachel so that Dave and I could go to dinner and a movie Friday night. It was nice to get out and focus on us.

Rachel is still suffering from her cough. She wakes up between 3:00 and 5:00 AM with a coughing attack which lasts about 5 minutes or so. But then she's awake for a little while before falling back to asleep. We all are awake at that point because she can be pretty loud when she's talking to herself. LOL!

I found a new fruit that Rachel loves! Blueberries. OMG, she could not get enough of them yesterday when I fed them to her for lunch with some vanilla yogurt. This morning I made blueberry pancakes and they were delicious! Jake and Dave don't know what they are missing. I usually am not a fan of blueberries, but the ones I bought from Trader Joe's are sweet and delicious. Apparently, it's blueberry season. Hmm, I guess that explains it.

Oh well, keep me in your prayers this week as I head back to work. I know each day will get easier. I really enjoyed my time off and now we are heading back to reality.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Total Bliss...

I'm trying not to let the fact that I'm going back to work in one week get me down or let it spoil the time I have left to be home with my children. I've really enjoyed the 12 weeks off with my children. I could get use to this! I do understand that just because you are a stay home mom, doesn't mean your house is clean all the time. LOL!

So much to report about Rachel in just a couple of weeks time. She is cruising now! Yes, our little girl is full blown crawling now. She is so funny too. She reminds me of that baby doll that crawls and wiggles her butt as it's crawling. She went from belly flopping every few crawls, to crawling across the room without a hitch. She is also pulling herself up on things. She started off pulling herself to her knees, but while we were at the beach this past week, she has mastered pulling herself up completely. Dave finally had to put the gate at the top of our stairs and Rachel loves to pull herself up to her knees and shaking it. She likes the rattling noise it makes.

Rachel has hit so many milestones lately. She is even eating table food now. Her first meal was macaroni and cheese and she devoured it. I couldn't shovel it in fast enough. She would yell at me in between each bite. She loves fruit too, especially mandarin oranges. She sucks on them before chewing them up and swallowing. Rachel got her sixth tooth in last week. It's a top one on the right next to her top front teeth. She is drooling constantly and she is always chewing on her fingers. She loves when I get in her mouth and massage her gums. She has had some rough days where nothing makes her feel good. I think it is the teething. I ended giving her tylenol one night to help her sleep.

Last Sunday I had a visit from my friend, Tina, and her two girl's. I can't even tell you how wonderful it was to see them. Tina moved a little over two hours from me shortly after her first daughter was born to be closer to her parents which was over 3 years ago. I think we saw each other twice within the first year, but I hadn't seen her since. Her girl's are beautiful! My other friend, Mikell, stopped by too and it was just like old times. The three years between visits just melted away. We picked up right where we left off 3+ years ago. Friendships seem to work that way. I want to make a better effort to stay in touch. Hopefully we will get together in October. Tina invited me to scrapbook for the day in October, so we are going to try and make a weekend out of it. Hopefully the plans fall in place. The little town she moved to is adorable and I would love to see if for myself.

We just got back from the beach yesterday. It was a good week for the most part. A vacation to me is where you don't have to cook and clean. But unfortunately, finances didn't allow us that luxury. It was funny to see Rachel in the sand and Jake playing in the waves. I remember when I wasn't afraid to play in the ocean. I don't like that I can't see to the bottom. I'm petrified of jellyfish, although we didn't see any at all. The water was absolutely freezing, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Rachel loves the water and she was splashing away. Jake dug a moat and Rachel was playing in it, and the next thing I knew, she fell in head first. It was a comical scene and surprisingly she didn't cry. The first day on the beach, we only had a little pink bucket and shovel. It was so funny seeing Jake with this tiny little pink bucket. We made a note to buy Jake a bigger bucket and shovel when we went out the next day. 10 year olds don't want to play with little pink buckets!

I don't remember the sea gulls beings so aggressive. You can't eat anything that is out in the open or they will practically attack you! There were times where I thought the things were going to take my head off. You also had to watch for flying poop. It was quite scary! Rachel was extremely intrigued by these flying nuisances.

Rachel grabbed quite a bit of attention from board walkers. I'm not sure if it's because she is so darn cute or it's because she is with a white family and obviously adopted. She did put on quite a show with the way she danced when she heard music or when she would do a double-hand wave to those that walked by us. She looked so cute in her over-sized hat too. All the comments that were made were very nice and everyone loved her fat cheeks. We saw lots of white families with Asian children, so it's very common these days. So I'm not sure why we get so many stares. Our last day there, Jake and I went to the beach while Rachel napped and we sat right next to another family with an older Asian daughter who looked to be about 5 years old. I saw the little girl go towards the ocean, so I walked over to talk to the family and guess what? They were another Living Hope family and we met at the Living Hope Reunion in June. We really do live in a small world. The family actually stayed right across the street from us. There daughter was 5 years old and she was beautiful. We met another family who had a 13 year old daughter adopted from China. I love connecting with other adoptive families.

Rachel's personality is really blooming. She has quite a temper on her when things don't go her way. We really got to see it while we were at the beach this week. Since she is really crawling and pulling herself up on things, we really have to keep an extra eye on her. The shore house we stayed at was not child-proof. We would remove her from an unsafe situation and she would thrash her body and scream bloody murder! I would take her and lay her in the middle of the floor and let her have her little tantrum. I was not feeding into that behavior. The other thing she is doing is pinching and boy does it hurt. I would firmly say no no and move her hand and she would go right back to doing it again! OMG, she is stubborn one. I finally had to take her and firmly sit her in her stroller telling her no no! The lip would come out and she would wail! After a minute or two, I picked her up and she did it again to me! Can you believe this little stinker! LOL. I'm hoping this is not a sign of what the future holds! LOL. I'm also seeing her funny side too. She likes to tease! If she's sitting in her highchair eating cheerios or anything for that matter, she would hold her hand over the side pretending that she was going to drop whatever it is on the floor and look at me devilishly. I would say, "don't you drop it" and she would put it in her mouth and laugh. She also likes to feed me but then pulls the cheerio away shaking her head no and quickly puts it in her mouth. She cracks herself up! I crack up at her too! She is our little comedian!

We came back from the beach somewhat early yesterday because Jake had his first football practice from 6:00 PM until 8:30 PM last night. The coaches worked them hard. It will probably get worse when they have to wear their equipment which he picked up this morning. Think Jake is a sweater now! We have to work on Jake loosing a few pounds since the team he's on is a 120 lbs. He can only weigh 128 lbs with pads and he weighs a little more than that. I'm sure with practices 4 nights a week, he will loose a few pounds.

Not sure if the kid's ate bad chicken yesterday when we stopped for lunch on the way home, but they both got sick last night. Rachel got sick as soon as I finished bathing her and Jake got sick in his bed around 11:30 last night. Other than a few trips to the bathroom for Jake, they seem to be okay today. I was told that there is a stomach bug going around. Hopefully it doesn't go any further than it has.

The other day I got some bad news. My mom had a mole removed from her arm and it came back as stage 3 melanoma skin cancer. She will be meeting with a surgeon to find out what is next. Please pray that she will be healed and that she won't have to go through chemotherapy or radiation. Apparently she's had this mole for quite some time and finally after my dad hounded her, she got it checked. It's a shame she didn't have it checked sooner. I just ask that you please keep my mom in your prayers.

Well, that's pretty much what's going on our household. I need to savor the next week, because I go back to work! I'm really going to miss staying home. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Daddy's Little Girl!!

Hello all, Rachel and Jake's dad here again. Long time since my last post. And if you know me it will be a long time for another one too. Anyway I know in my heart that Rachel is meant for this family because she likes PEPSI!! lol. Have some pics of her in China with a can of Pepsi too. I think these are great pics.

As for the kids. They are doing great. No complaints here. Jake starts football August 1st. We are going down the shore next week, Monday to Friday. We were going to stay down there and leave after dinner on Friday, but practice starts Friday. So we are going to cut it short. Football is a dedicated sport. And both Sherry and I hope Jake likes it. I think he will do great if he puts his mind AND body into it. Oh well my finger is hurting, from typing. See ya.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Another Milestone

I feel so blessed that we are able to witness some of Rachel's milestones. She has totally mastered sitting up from a laying position. The funny thing is, she is so proud of herself because she will laugh out loud once she is sitting. Hopefully you will see her excitement in the photos above. I posted a series of photos to show how she gets up to a sitting position. LOL. She is so proud of herself which you can see from her photo. I'm pretty sure she will be crawling in no time. She gets on all fours and rocks. She can take a step with one leg and one arm, but then she belly flops! LOL. Jake keeps telling me that she stood up all by herself, but I haven't witnessed this milestone yet. I'm really not ready for her to walk yet. I'm enjoying her being a baby right now. Dave does need to get going on putting the gate at the top of our steps into the living room. I don't need any accidents!

Did I tell you how much I'm dreading going back to work and leaving Rachel? I get choked up every time I think about it. We are very fortunate that my mother in-law will be caring for her while we work, but it's still so hard. It was tough leaving Jake at 2 1/2 months old, but I think it's going to be more difficult leaving Rachel at 11 1/2 months old. Rachel is older and she is very attached to me. We were down visiting mom last week and I tried putting Rachel down for a morning nap at her house and she absolutely flipped out. I haven't heard her cry like that in a really long time. I just don't know how I'm going to do this. Mom and Dad are on vacation this week and then we will be on vacation when they return. So, we will have a week to get her adjusted to mom and dad's house before I go back to work. Should be interesting. I'm truly going to miss being with her during the day. She is so much fun and boy is she funny. I don't think I've ever met a baby with so much personality at her age. Please pray for an easy transition.

Now that little miss can sit up on her own, she think she doesn't need a nap in the morning. She wants to play. I walked into her room after 35 minutes of off and on complaining and she was sitting up in the crib playing. Ha! Guess what, after eating lunch, I gave her some cheerios while I cleaned up the kitchen and I turn around and the little bugger is sound asleep in her highchair. I couldn't even wake her up to give her a bottle. She is a piece of work. LOL.

Hope you enjoy the photos. Wow, you all got two updates from me in less than 3 days! I just had to share Rachel's new milestone. I'm just in awe over our little girl. With the changes Rachel has endured, she is just thriving.

I also included some photos of Jake jumping off the diving board at my friend, Heather's pool. Jake is such a dare devil. You know, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking about the young man my son is turning into. He really is such an awesome big brother. I'm not just saying that either. He is so incredibly good with his baby sister. Maybe we are still in the "honeymoon" phase, be he hasn't shown any jealousy at all. I figure with him being an only child for over 10 years, he would have a real hard time sharing us with a sibling. Boy, he proved me wrong. He shows nothing but love and pride for his sister. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful kids. Jake was meant to be a big brother in every sense! I think the feelings are mutual for Rachel too. She just lightens up when Jake walks into the room. He is so good watching her for me too. I'm so proud of Jake!

Monday, July 14, 2008

We got our 5th Tooth!

While visiting my sister on Saturday to welcome my nephew, John, home from six months of army training, she found Rachel's fifth tooth! Rachel has been drooling a lot and gnawing on her fingers like crazy. I've been feeling around in her mouth the last few days and found nothing! It literally must have finally broke through Saturday morning. Rachel is still gnawing, so there may be another one or two that will break through sometime soon.

We were excited to see my nephew after six months. It didn't feel like he was gone that long, but I'm sure it did to him and my sister. LOL. John looks great and has lost a ton of weight. My sister thinks he got taller too, but I think being so thin now makes him look taller. Jake was thrilled to see his oldest cousin. Jake really looks up to John. John will continue in the army reserves once a month and will have to attend 2 weeks every year. He is even considering going active in another year or so and making army life a career. I just wish we weren't at war right now. It's scary to think about it. We are very proud of him for completing boot camp and serving our country.

We are all doing really well. I'm sorry that it's over two weeks since my last post. I'm sure you all must be getting bored with our family life. Rachel is thriving in every way and is right on target for a 10 1/2 month old baby girl. We are waiting for her to crawl any day now. She is getting up on all fours, but then flops on her belly. She absolutely loves to stand and hold onto things. I won't be surprised if she goes right to walking.

Rachel started her vaccinations last week with four shots. It's very difficult for a parent to watch her child getting stuck like that and screaming with tears running down her face and reaching her arms out to you for you to rescue her. I just can't stand it! Rachel ended up with a 101.5 fever the next day with some vomiting in the morning. Thank God it only lasted a day or so. She seemed to be back to normal the following day. She will have her 12 month well visit at the end of August where she will most likely get four more vaccinations. She is quite behind on her shots, so most of her visits will include shots for awhile. I just hope she doesn't get to a point where she screams every time we enter the doctors office. Rachel currently weighs 22.5 lbs. She gained 2 1/2 pounds from her first well visit in early June. Believe me, my back, arms and legs are feeling it!

We are in the process of planning Rachel's first birthday! Hard to believe that it's next month already! We are having it at a local park under a pavilion. We checked it out yesterday while we were out and I think it's a great location. The kids should have a blast with the awesome playground that's there.

We are really starting to see Rachel's true personality. When something doesn't go her way, she will let you know with her little temper tantrums. She is truly our "spicy girl!" LOL. She gets so mad at times and she will scream her head off. Jake thinks this is funny and will tease her at times, then I have to yell at him for teasing her. She loves to scream while we are in the car. I guess because we can't pay full attention to her, she screams to remind us that she is there in the backseat!

Rachel attended her first girlfriend birthday party on Friday. We were invited to Annie's 2nd birthday party at Romp & Roll. Annie is the sister of one of Jake's classmates, Claire. Even though the party was geared for 2 years and older, Rachel still had a blast! She really loved the bubble machine at the end. She let everyone know she wasn't happy when they stopped making bubbles! Rachel loves to dance to music too. As soon as she hears any type of music, she will start bobbing her head up and down. It's so cute. We love to dance in the car with the radio on.

I finally went to the ENT last week. Mostly because I started with the pain in my head again. All the tests that were performed that day were normal. I go back on August 4th for a 2 1/2 hour balance test. I don't want them to find anything for sure, but I do wish I could get an explanation of the dizziness and head pain that I've been experiencing off and on for 2 months. It's quite unnerving to not know what is wrong.

My brother Paul came home from the hospital last week. He has moved in with my sister, Sandy, who has been a tremendous help to him these last few weeks. The infection has improved in his leg, but he's still not out of the woods. He needs to loose weight and get his breathing under control so that they can operate and remove the pins out of his ankle. My brother broke his ankle quite a few years ago now and the pins are what is causing the infection. My sister has been working on him with his calorie intake, so hopefully he will keep up the will power to loose weight. Moving is very difficult for him, not only from the infection in his leg, but his weight his another huge barrier. Please pray for him.

We are planning a short vacation to the beach the last week in July. I'm looking forward to getting away for a few days before heading back to work on August 11th. Today reality was truly setting in about going back to work. I'm truly not looking forward to it. I found out a week or so ago about a co-worker who is leaving. Our office staff will be down to 9 employees. I didn't mention this before, but a week and half after returning from China my company informed me that they have cut everyone's salary, including mine. It was pretty drastic too. It put quite a damper on our summer. When you get used to living a certain way and you have your salary cut without much notice, it really makes life quite difficult. I'm glad I still have a job to return to, we just have to re-adjust our lives. We think twice before eating out or stopping and getting ice cream. It's hard saying no to your child when he wants to stop for ice cream on the way home from the playground. I even have to second guess Jake's activities now. We wouldn't even be going to the beach if we weren't my friend's brother. We gave him our used family room furniture last summer in exchange for 5 days in their beach house this summer. We will be taking all our food with us so we won't have to spend money eating out! I just have to have faith that we will be all right. Like I said, at least we still have jobs!

On a more positive note, we received Rachel's U.S. Citizenship Certificate last week. She is officially a U.S. Citizen. The certificate was accompanied by a letter from the White House welcoming Rachel. There was even a stamped George W. Bush signature! LOL! On Friday I went and applied for Rachel's social security number and I went to the courthouse to register her adoption with the Orphan's Court. I learned that we do not need to re-adopt Rachel in our state. I have to fill out some forms and make copies of some of the adoption documents and we will get an English birth certificate. I was thrilled that I didn't need to relinquish any of the originals which are very precious to us. Not having to re-adopt Rachel in our state saved us about $500 or more. They recently made this change and I couldn't be happier.

I can't believe we are more than half way through the summer. Hopefully you all are enjoying the summer. I'm going to try and enjoy the few weeks I have left with Rachel & Jake before heading back to reality!

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Our Family of Four

Rachel Lorraine Ning

Rachel Lorraine Ning Chinese Name: Xiao Ning Jiang Date of Birth: August 25, 2007 Name of Welfare Institute: Pingjiang County Province: Hunan Followers

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