We have been super busy the last few weeks. It seems as if everything has happened in a blur since Thanksgiving. I never even got those pictures posted from Thanksgiving. We are going from celebration to another. We ended Thanksgiving with the attack of the stomach bug. It was horrible and went through everyone but Carson and only touched Leia lightly. All I can say is it is GONE. And it needs to stay away forever. We had barely recuperated from the stomach bug and begin preparations for Leia's first birthday party.
She had a wonderful birthDAY from morning til night. As you will see.
Leia's birthday breakfast started with
homemade donuts. "Yum Yum," she said.
Logan trying to sneak one.
Carson cleaning his plate.
She seemed pretty satisfied with the
choice we made for her birthday breakfast.
That smile says her tummy was super content.
Her cake!
And macthing cupcakes.
She had a Red Velvet Cake with
matching cupcakes.
With a Little Asian flare and some
chopsticks to match.
Wouldn't be a complete Asian Princess birthday
without Fortune Cookies.
We also had Chinese Rice Cookies
and Chocolate Coffee Chinese Cookies.
DELICIOUS!!
ONE candle for the
PRINCESS.
A money tree to help
Caysen's brother or sister home.
(click on image to enlarge and read)
Everyone had a fortune or two.
Leia with her birthmother before we
left Taiwan.
Nana and Leia
Pappaw and Leia
Mammaw and Leia
Our Chinese Princess
About to Release our Orphan Balloons
We had 115 balloons to release.
You can read the card that we attached to her balloon
on this post.
The wind was blowing like crazy.
Right before releasing these balloons David
led a prayer for all the orphans in the world
and that these balloons might reach someone
that would be touched by God to hear the
cry of the ORPHANS.
There they go.
We saved Leia's balloon for last.
And we watched it go up the sky all alone like
the little orphan that is all alone in the world
with anyone to call their own.
Papa and Leia
Getting ready for some cake.
Ready...Set...Go.....
There she goes!
Mmmmmmm!
Not quite sure what to do next...
Leia loves her new car.
Opening her new backpack and checking
out the goodies Mammaw stuffed in it.
Yes...she HAD to have a bath at the church before
we could go home.
So cute!!!!
She finally got the hang of it.
She had an amazing party. We had a beautiful balloon release that I pray touched someone somewhere. it was so windy. Who knows where those balloons could have reached. As I watched Leia's balloon that we released last, all I could think about was that there was a single balloon flying all alone in the sky, getting farther and father away, til it was a small speck that you weren't even sure you could see. And then it was gone. That is so similar to that of an Orphan. There are all alone in the world. They don't have a Dad or Mom flying with them. They are that balloon flying up in the sky alone. They are far away and out of reality to most people. They are forgotten and their cry is not heard.
I thank God that mine and David's hearts heard the cry. And we are so blessed to have the children we do, all 4 of them. Leia is our 4th beautiful blessing. The day before her birthday (as so many other days), I thought of Xio Chi all day. I wondered what she was doing and what she was feeling. Xio Chi is Leia's birthmother. Taiwan is 14 hours ahead of us right now, so Leia's birthday happened almost a day earlier there. I prayed that she felt peace on that day and that her heart knew that Leia was a happy little girl loved by so many.
I have been telling everyone that Leia is not one, she is 12 months. I am having a hard time that my baby is already a year old. The time has flown by since she has been home. It seems like just yesterday I was counting the days and packing like crazy to fly to the other side of the world. And, no here we are her birthday come and gone. She is such an amazing little girl. From the moment I held her in my arms she conformed to my body. She snuggled right it and it never changed. She always acted as if she had been with me from the start. She is a Momma's girl, and I will have to say I LOVE IT!!!! That is an understatement.
At 12months Leia can do all these things and so much more:
1. crawl all over the house as fast as your siblings run
2. smile, laugh, jabber
3. say Momma, Dadda, Nana, Bye, Love You, Night Night, Mammaw
4. wave Bye Bye
5. drink from a sippie cup with no problem
6. eat table food, well you never ate baby food
7. pull up on everything
8. splash like a grown child in the tub
9. scream as loud as the other children when you are happy and when you are not
10. sleeps 12-14hrs at night
11. takes 1-2 naps a day
13.snuggle right up in mine and Daddy's neck
14. love on your brothers and sister
15. Turn everyone's heart into a big PUDDLE
As Olivia would say, "Happy Birthday to our Chinese Princess Doll!"
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