A few more pictures of cuteness!

Happy 2009!

Well as anyone still checking this blog knows, I have been a terrible blogger since Kai came home. What a difference it makes with two children at home!! I am so behind on everyday tasks, it's a wonder anything is getting done. I've made it my intention to focus on spending time with my family and not worrying so much about "stuff". I recall seeing one of those e-mails not long ago about how your children won't remember whether the dishes were done or the beds were made, but they will remember the hugs, the playing together, and the laughs - - - so we've been trying to have lots of those!!

The holiday season has been especially merry and bright as a family of four - - - Kai and Austin are developing a really sweet and special relationship. My heart just melts when I see them laughing together!! He can get her going like no one else can - -- SOOO cute!!

I hope to post again real soon (really!) about all the wonderful things about Kai, but I'm sure you are all much more interested in just seeing some new pictures - - -and over a month of "Sweet, Sweet Baby" has hopefully not run EVERYONE off! :) Hope you all have a wonderful year in 2009!!

Happy Turkey Day!

Oh, how much we have to be thankful for - - - EVERY day!! Good health, lots of love, freedoms, family and friends. Thanks, God!!

We normally do Thanksgiving dinner here at our house for my family and Shawn's, but thanks to the generosity of my sweet sister Shelly and my mom and dad, we celebrated at Shelly's this year. I don't know how I could have pulled it off, and they did it beautifully!!

Kai was a great joy; very friendly and fun with everyone! We all had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.

On a sad note, Shawn's grandfather passed away on Wednesday morning. He had just turned 90, and had lived a full life, but it's always hard to accept, especially at the holiday season. Our prayers are for his family and their peace tonight.

Adjusting to life at home....

Kai is doing remarkably well adjusting to her new home and surroundings - - - the rest of us are working on it! She is a happy girl - - - and just seems as if she's been here forever. She finally slept through the night last night, so that was a good thing. I've had to feed her two bottles overnight prior to that, and getting a good night's sleep was hard. But my mom came and stayed two nights this week to help out while Shawn had to be out of town. I took Austin out on Wednesday for some one-on-one time. He isn't relishing his role as a big brother yet, but I'm hoping that will come in time.

Here are some pictures from our travels back home and once we got here.....Enjoy...and don't ever forget: There IS no place like home!!!!

...And now there are four!

We are happily home, getting over the jetlag, and adjusting to life with our energetic one-year old and her big brother. The flight home went much better than we had anticipated; Kai is a really good traveler!!

And although it was a busy weekend, it was great to get back. My parents and some of our friends did a covert mission to welcome us home with pink bows, balloons and ribbons everywhere along with gifts for Kai and Austin and food supplies galore! Thanks to all our sweet friends and family for making us feel so special and for the love you have for Kai!! She is a lucky girl to be so embraced so quickly.

Kai has been pure joy since getting home, especially considering all the changes she has been through in the last two weeks. She is laughing and is just generally a happy girl! And she LOVES her big brother like crazy - - - it is SO cute to see her face light up when she sees him or even hears his voice. He is getting used to the idea of sharing mom and dad....

I will have more pictures to upload in the next day or so - - - - MANY thanks to you all!!

Meet Kai??

We leave in a few minutes for the airport, but I wanted to let everyone know that we would like to invite whoever would like to meet Kai (and who can) to drop by this weekend! Family is invited to come on Saturday afternoon from 3:00 - 6:00, and friends can come on Sunday afternoon also from 3:00 - 6:00. I wasn't able to send out an e-mail, so hopefully enough people will see this post and can spread the word. Very informal; don't even know how Kai's schedule will be once we get home, but this has been a long time coming, and we want her to meet all the important people in her life!

A fix!

Okay, okay!! I can hardly wait to post pictures just as soon as we take them....there's a lot of sweetness to share in this little girl! She has the cutest dimples you have ever seen...on her knees! We are madly in love with our spunky little Kai and have enjoyed every minute of this special time with her. What precious moments have been condensed into a short couple of weeks - learning so much about her and relishing the discovery of it all!

We leave in the morning and look forward to getting home to see Austin, family and friends. I will try to post one last time in the morning. I think it would be a cool thing for anyone and everyone who is following Kai's blog to write even a short comment following this post so that we'll know who's still with us. Just click on the " __ comments" that shows by the time stamp at the end of the post. Add your comment and submit!

Our hearts are with you all for the wonderful love, patience, kindness and support you have all shown throughout this crazy Journey to Kai (J2K!)- - even from strangers, some of who are still waiting for their own joyful reunions with their Vietnamese babies. I pray every day for the waiting families and for the children; for their peace and happy endings. And I know that God will unite them all in His due time!! Keep the faith!! Of course, this is far from the ending for any of us....it is a new beginning, a new chapter in our lives, and I give God all the glory for allowing us to take this next step.

So...here are the last day's pictures of our little angel....the bathing suit and hat was only worn once in the room (too cold to swim, but does she look ready for the catwalk, or what?!?), and the bow in the hair (look closely) was in there for approximately 2.5 seconds before she pulled it out (sorry, Nicole! I'll keep trying!!). The Vietnamese lady in the picture is the agency's facilitator. She was a tremendous help to us through everything! She is expecting her first baby, but she's had lots of practice with babies, we could tell, and will make a wonderful mother. It was a joy getting to know her as well.

Hope to see everyone very soon!!