I am in LOVE with this precious smile on our preious girl!!

We have almost been home a week and I am finally posting photos of our last days at Disney World.  We really had a great time..  The girls did so well!!!  It was a busy few days as we navigated the crowds and the parks.  We spent two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Hollywood Studios.  We loved them both!  "The Rocking Rollercoaster" has our vote for best ride!!  I think the "Toy Story" ride  might be right up there too.  Even for Mr. Handsome!!

Here is a look at our last three days at Disney World!

Sometimes the best rides are on Daddy's shoulder!!

From the Bibbidy Bobbiti salon we headed over to Epcot for lunch with the Disney Princesses.

There were so many precious moments when the girls each saw their favorite Princesses.  They met Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella.  One of our favorite memories will be when  Princess Emme lept 5 feet into the arms of a surprised yet poised and gracious Cinderella!!!  I will never forget it..  She had been waiting to meet, "Giga-rella!"  And, her enthusiasm was contagious...  She even got a lipstick mark on her cheek from her favorite Princess!  

I don't think you are ever to old to experience the magic!!  Feeling very blessed to have a front row seat this week!

It's true...  Three magical words at Disney World can transform your little girls in to magical princesses!  With the wave of their very own Fairy Godmother's wands, and a spin in their chairs with the words, "Bibbity Bobbiti Boo" Princess Sienna, Princess Ruby, and Princess Emme arrived!  

Princess Ainsely chose to hang with the King and Queen while her little sisters were busy being sprinkled with pixie dust from head to toe.  It was a great way to kick off our family vacation at Disney World!  

Once the princesses were ready we left for Epcot to have lunch with the other princesses!  It was a magical afternoon!!!  *Pictures from lunch coming soon!!!!

We ended our night at the Magic Kingdom with a front row seat for fireworks.  We packed it in for our first day...  So much, that three of our four princesses did not arise until 10:00 today!!!!  A great start to our vacation!!

This is a very overdue post for our big girl!!  Ainsley is on a new travel volley ball team this year.  She is having so much fun making new friends, and working hard.  I have been so impressed with how these girls have come together this season.  Each time they play we are seeing them improve as a team!  Last week they proved that hard work pays off with a 9-0 record!!!

Tomorrow morning Ainsley and her team hit the court at 8:30 for the first of four matches.  We are hopeful that they make it into the finals!  They have a great chance...  She and Mr. Handsome headed to Southern Minnesota after school.  She was so excited for this overnight with her Dad and her team!  This super fan does not like missing out on the action.. So, if they make it to the finals tomorrow, I will be there!!  I love this picture..  Can you believe Anna, #13, is 12 years old!!

Ainsley is the libero (back row defensive specialist).  She wears a different color jersey than the rest of her teammates.

At the beginning of each game the girls have a huddle cheer!
And every weekend one girl brings the team matching ribbons for their hair!

Game on!!!!  Praying they have a great day tomorrow!!!!
GO STORM!!
(P.S:  I absolutely love this sport!!)

It's not often a Minnesota child can say their school was closed because of snow.   But today was the golden ticket for many kids in our area..  Very early this morning school delays and cancellations were being reported throughout the state.   Like most children, our kids were thrilled with this news.  Especially Ainsley who dodged a math test for one more day!!

But the real reason that this day is special for our family is because six years ago, Jeff and I received the news that would change our lives in such an incredible way..  We found out that we had a beautiful daughter waiting for us in the Jiangxi Province of China.  Her name was Yue Meng Ru, she was in foster care, and she was only 7 months old.  Our social worker started our call by telling us our little girl was worth the wait!!!!  Amy had no idea how true that prophetic statement would prove to be! March 5th, 2007 will forever be one of the happiest days in our life as a couple.  We remember every detail of that day...  It's a story we hold dear to our hearts, and a story that we love to share with one precious little 6 year old.  At the time, we had no idea how God would use adoption in our lives.  It has been a journey full of blessings!  Ruby Mei fits her name perfectly..  She is precious and beautiful!  And, we are so thankful she was chosen to be ours!

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him."

1Samuel 1:27

Three years ago in Changsha, Hunan we met this little firecracker!

She Xia Chang (Tung Tung) was four months shy of five years old that day.  It was an emotional and hard day for all of us.  But, especially for a little girl desperate to go back to the foster mother she loved.  She lost all she knew that afternoon, and it was heartbreaking.  

I went back to see what I wrote last year on this anniversary.  So much of what I said that day is still true now.  Sienna will always be our spicy girl from Hunan.  God has wired her so differently than me.   God has taught me so much in my three years being her Mama.    Some too hard to eloquently describe.  Has this been easy?  Honestly, no..  Has it been rewarding..  Absolutely!  Three years later we still have our battles, she and I.  She is strong willed, and so am I..  She wants to control me..  I don't like being controlled..  If I am totally honest, I think God gave me Sienna to refine and sift me, not her!   Through her I see my strengths and my weaknesses as a mother, as a teacher, as a role model.  Through her I see how much work I personally have to do.  Through her I have seen the miracles of God's grace.  I have seen His miracles in physical and spiritual healing in her life..  She is a portrait of  "beauty from the ashes".  I guess I could summarize her with one word, amazing!  Sienna has been forced to make a lot of choices in three years.  Ultimately she has chosen to trust.  Possibly the hardest thing anyone will ever ask her to do.   Remember that Mulan line..  "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all!"  That is our Sienna Grace!

 Hands down this child LOVES me big!    I am the one she trusts enough to fall apart on.  The one that she whispers, "I missed you today", the one who waits up for me in her bed when I am away.  On the days when I feel like I have failed with her, God always takes me back to the beginning..  To the Journey of Sienna Grace that is a reminder that He called us to her!  He practically gave us a road map to her front door.  It is this adoption that has stretched me, and allowed me to see clearly that when you obey you are blessed.  On the hardest of days, she brings me closer to God.  She reminds me that I can not do it alone..  And, when I think I can, something happens to bring me back to my knees.  It is this child that has strengthened my relationship with Jeff too..  Mr. Handsome is the strong Daddy that Sienna needs.  She respects him like no other...  She is at her best when he is near.  I am so thankful for the stability we have been able to give her.

Two days ago I took her out for a little photo shoot...  I think these pictures tell their own story.  They show the depth and layers of Sienna Grace.  The happy, the sad, the silly, the crazy, the funny, and the beautiful.  She is my deep thinker.  My diary writing girl.  She has a journey like no other in our family.  While she shares China with Ruby and Emme Jade, she does not share where she came from.  She had a family.  A foster mother who loved her.  I believe her memories are fading now of those days.  I know that is hard.  Hopefully, my trip back to Hengshan will bless Sienna in an amazing way.  She's not ready to go back.. but this Mama is. 

Sienna Grace is more confident today than she was then..  She has come so far!  Thanks to her family and a sister and roommate that loves her so unconditionally she has grown.  To this day I marvel at how God chose Ruby to be Sienna's virtual twin.  That in itself is a beautiful story of God's plan for each one of us.  Two little girls, opposite in many ways, who were born to be sisters and best friends!   Their truly is a red thread woven around the story of Sienna Grace.

Sienna's eyes have a depth to them.. When we met Sienna in Changsha she was so sick from her Thalassemia..  Her eyes and skin were yellow.  Today she has been transfusion free since September, 2010.  We celebrate what God has done in her body.

Today I celebrate the milestones we have met since March 1, 2010.  We celebrate who Sienna is, and who God is calling her to be.  I can't help but to reflect on my role in all of it.  I admire the tough and the tender, the sweet and the sassy girl that was chosen to be ours!  Happy Forever Sienna Grace.  You are SO LOVED!!

"The Flower that blooms in adversity, is the most rare and Beautiful of all!"  ~Mulan