1 year "Gotcha Day" Anniversary!!!

One year ago today, December 11, 2005, Todd and I stepped off the plane in the city of Nanning in Guangxi province. This was the day we were going to get Libby!!! We met with the 5 other families who also had little girls from Guangxi province and we boared our bus to the hotel. We were in our hotel room for about half an hour, when we heard someone yell from the hallway, "the babies are here!!!" We were a little surprised as we were not supposed to meet Libby for a few more hours! So, we rushed into the hall and Todd started the videocamera. Then at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 11, 2005, at the hotel in Nanning, Guangxi, China, I became a mommy forever. Jing Li Hua was placed in my arms and she became Libby Sofia LiHua Jones forever. Our lives have forever been changed. That little 10 month old baby was now our daughter.

Hard to believe that a year has passed. Instead of a scared 10 month old baby, who was not so sure about her mommy and daddy is now a beautiful, blossoming 22 month old who is excited for Christmas!!! We can't believe how much has changed in a year. Libby is the light of our lives and we could not have a more pefect daughter to fit into our family. Now we are also on the wait for Libby's baby sister, Ella! I can't wait till our journey to Ella as well but I will also remember Libby's "gotcha day."

We are celebrating tonight with 3 of the families that we traveled with in China. So excited to see how their girls have grown! We are hosting the party at our house and are very excited. Here are some pictures from our "gotcha day" a year ago. Can you believe how much she has grown?!?!

Family of THREE!!! - 12/11/05

mommy & daughter! - 12/11/05

First kiss - 12/11/05

One year ago....

Well one year ago today we left the LA International airport for Beijing, China. I can't believe that it has been a year already! So much has changed since then. We flew for 16 hours from LA to Beijing. Todd and I were very excited to be on this flight but also scared to death at the same time. We have almost had Miss Libby for a year..... my how the time flies.....

So much to be thankful for...

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all!!! I apologize for not updating this. I feel like I'm apologizing in every post that I write! I just don't have time to update the blog anymore since having an almost 2 year old who is constantly keeping me busy.

I pray that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We definately did. We have so much to be thankful for this year. 2 years ago at Thanksgiving (2004), we were working on our paperchase and had no idea where our daughter was. We didn't know who she was or where she was or if she was even born yet (which she wasn't!). Then last Thanksgiving (2005), we had received our referral and TA and were just a few weeks away from getting our sweet Libby. We knew who she was and where she was, and I had that picture constantly with me. However, we still did not have her in our arms. Now, this Thanksgiving (2006) we have had Libby Sofia LiHua for almost a year now and she is 22 months old!!! She is just the joy and light of our lives. I know I say that every time, but she is! We are also thankful because we are also on the journey to bring Libby's baby sister, Ella Paige, home! We were DTC the day before Thanksgiving (11/22/06) and we are so excited about it! It is going to be a long journey as the wait for referal is now about 15 months. For Libby, we waited 6 1/2 months. We can't wait to bring Ella home, but we are going to enjoy spending time with Libby for now, since we can't change the wait time for Ella.

Now we are into December. We got the tree up and have started the shopping. This Christmas will be a little different from last year. Last year we got home just 3 days before Christmas and were trying to get over jet lag and enjoy the holidays at the same time. As much as I loved spending December in China last year, I am very excited to be home this year. Last December was just hectic with pack to go, 2 weeks in China and then getting home and bam! CHRISTMAS! It is also going to be a very fun time with Libby. She loves all the Christmas lights and tree! However, she takes all of the ornaments off, so we're working on that.

We have been DTC for Ella for about two weeks now and we don't expect to learn our LID til sometime in January. Please pray for us! Below are some pictures from the past few weeks.

Todd, Kellie & Libby

"I got the remote, Daddy!!!" - 12/3/06

"I love Thanksgiving!!!" - 11/23/06

"Ready to play in the snow, but I'm not so sure..." - 11/26/06

Helping Mommy make the salad - 11/23/06

"Papa sure does like his pumpkin pie!" - 11/23/06