Look who's TWO!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

She was a pro at unwrapping her gifts!

Showing Evan her new doll with easy to dress up clothes.

Putting the shoes on my doll...

and then trying them on my feet!

Finally... a child who likes getting clothes for her birthday! ;)

(Thank you Grandma and Grandad P!)

Jason and Sarah playing with her new toy!

Looking at the little photo album that Grandpa and Grandma W gave Sarah.

Grandpa helps Sarah put on the doll's sunglasses.

A rare picture of all of us! (Usually mom or dad is taking pictures!)

Jason says, "Bring on the cake! Enough pictures already!!"

Furry Friends

I don't think I've formally introduced our pets on the blog... so here they are!

Meet Roscoe, the Basset Hound. This is both his happy and sad face!!

Actually, I think he looks rather dignified here, which is a pretty hard pose for a Basset to pull off. :)

Roscoe is a very typical basset. He enjoys sleeping in the sun and occasionally engages in short bursts of physical activity when the kids are outside. Then he's back to finding a new sleeping spot. This picture (above) was taken last summer, hence the green grass!

Believe it or not, sometimes Roscoe falls asleep in this position.

Meet Lucky, Basset Hound #2. Lucky is a lot older than Roscoe, but she has tons more energy! She spends her days patroling the fence perimeter, moving her bones to various locations in the yard, and taking short naps.

Sarah is pointing to Babs, the bunny. Babs has a hutch, but on warm days we let her play in the yard. The dogs do NOT chase her and Babs likes to play in the bushes and catch some rays.
Apparently our Bassets have lost their hunting/tracking genes...or maybe they're just too tired. :) We're just glad they let the rabbit enjoy the yard, too.

Sarah likes to feed the dogs and watch them eat.

The gang's almost all here (pre Sarah). Even the dogs are smiling!

Even though the boys moan and groan about taking care of the animals and cleaning up after them, I'm glad they've had the experience!

Daddy's Little Girl

While we waited (...and waited) to be approved for travel, I read a lot of books about adoption and attachment. I also spoke with many other adoptive families to see what their experiences were like when they first brought their little ones home.
One thing I learned is that some adoptive children initially "reject" one parent and only want to be held by mama (usually mama, but not always). So I was prepared for this, although I had a feeling that Sarah might not be this way, as she had lived with a loving foster grandma and grandpa.
But we really didn't know quite what to expect.
So we were overjoyed that while in China, Sarah would let both Dave and me hold her and comfort her, from Day One. She preferred mama, but would let Daddy play with her and hold her, too.
From the beginning, this daughter/daddy love has continued to grow and blossom... and it has been a very sweet experience for me to watch this love grow.
When we started the adoption process, we felt very blessed to be the parents of four wonderful sons. But we also longed for a daughter to complete our family.

I guess during the long wait I focused on how long I had waited for a daughter, and then, during those first days together as I watched Dave look at Sarah, I realized that he had been waiting for this sweet "daughter love" in his life, too...

One of my very favorite pictures of Daddy and Sarah in China (in Guangzhou). I also can't believe how much Sarah has grown... this purple shirt is short on her now!! (The Chinese laundry also helped shrink it a little, I think. :)

Daddy lending a hand at the park in Guangzhou. Have we mentioned that Sarah is fearless, especially when it comes to climbing??

Helping Daddy on the computer

Sarah loves piggy back rides!

Sigh...

Howdy, Pardner!

I've got my boots...

Here's my hat...

Giddy up, horsie!

This last picture is a little blurry, but I had to share how excited she gets when she rides the horse!

This post is for Grandma and Grandad P, who got Sarah this western dress. Grandma and Grandad know a few things about horses. When you grow up on Wyoming cattle ranches, you tend to learn a few things about horses...and cows.

We looked through several different western stores to find these cute pink cowgirl boots.

Sarah loves all shoes, especially boots!

Spring Fever!!

Here in the tundra (ha ha), we are really ready for spring! Whenever there's a break in the weather, we all head outside. The older boys are finishing up basketball season, and spent some time today shooting hoops in the snow-free driveway.

This basketball hoop represents a lot of happy memories for us, and also reminds me of how quickly the boys are growing up! We got this hoop when Justin and Evan were about 8 and 6. Back then, they had to work really hard to make their shots, even on the lowest setting. And now... look what they can do!

This is Sarah and Jason's favorite game. They run to the edge of our sidewalk, and I shout, "Ready, set, go!" and off they run. Sarah always gives Jason a head start... which seems to make both of them happy. :)

This may look like trouble about to happen, but actually, Jason is giving Sarah the trike to ride! So glad I caught this moment!

And here is big brother, giving Sarah some trike ridin' tips.

These are the moments that make my mama heart sing! :)