Happy Gotcha Day, Karsynn!!!!

One year ago today, we were handed the most wonderful blessing in our lives...Miss Karsynn. As I reflect on this past year with her, I'm reminded of God's goodness. It is through His grace that we are a happy family. She has blossomed into the most amazing child in just one short year. She amazes us daily with the new things she's doing, saying, and how cute her personality is. We are the luckiest people in the whole world. "Thank you God for putting this special girl in our lives. We are eternally thankful for Your goodness." Karsynn, thank you for making our lives complete. We love you more than you will ever be able to imagine. You are Mama and Daddy's special love!!!! Enjoy the Gotcha Day pictures from one year ago today!


Our 1st glimpse of our daughter!

The moment they handed her to me, my heart melted!!!

FINALLY...a family!

At that moment, she had her Daddy's heart forever!

The most amazing feeling in my whole life!

By that evening, it was as if she'd been with us her whole life.

Mama's first time diapering her bottom...so cute!

She sleeps...

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

We're Home from FL

We got home yesterday from FL and we had a SUPER time. Karsynn and Kailee had so much fun. They were such good girls on the long trip. They would fight a little and love a litte...just like sisters would do. We enjoyed time on the beach and in the pool, we did lots of shopping, and went to visit Shamu at Sea World in Orlando. The look on Karsynn's face when she first saw the sand and ocean was priceless. She learned so many new words while on vacation, all of which related to the beach, of course. She's such an amazing girl. We are so blessed to call her our own. I love every single minute I share with her. I love being Karsynn's mommy. Enjoy the pics!

Ready for some FUN in the SUN!!

We are leaving for Daytona Beach at 2:00 A.M. and I can't wait. We will be gone until Sunday, so you won't hear from me until after that date. I'll be sure to post LOTS of pictures of Karsynn and Kailee having some FUN IN THE SUN! Please pray that the trip is uneventful and all goes well. Troy is very excited, too. We are stopping in Atlanta for lunch at the world famous restaurant, The Varsity. They serve over 5,000 hotdogs per day and over a ton of onion rings. He found out about it by watching a special on the Travel Channel. I'll let you know how it is! Until next time...

Our New Family Photos

The day we took these pictures, Karsynn fell first thing and would not stop crying. Overall, they turned out OK for it being such a tough day for the girl.




Mommy and The Girl

Daddy and Karsynn

Just some thoughts...

My newest set of wheels!

My Daddy and I have so much fun!

She loves cows and horses!

In just 29 shorts days we will have had Karsynn for one full year. Where does the time go? Can someone please tell me? I simply cannot believe that it has been a year. On the other hand, it seems like she has been a part of our lives FOREVER. She has grown into the most beautiful little girl with the best personality and is so intelligent. God has truly blessed us. It seems that she changes everyday. Her newest word is "bird house." She and her daddy put one up on the fence and that's all she says when she sees it. It's so cute.

~Thank you God for blessing me with the perfect daughter. She is "just right" for our family.

We've been CAMPING!

UPDATE: Here are the pics I promised:







I don't have time to post pictures right now, because we just got home and mommy needs a SHOWER. We've been camping at Cave Run Lake and had a GREAT time, except for mommy's "bug fear." Karsynn had a wonderful time. As of an hour ago, she looked like a dirty little Rug Rat. So cute. She played in the dirt, went fishing, swam in the lake, and slept in her very first tent. It was just Daddy, Karsynn and I taking a much needed break from reality. I'll post pictures later, so be sure to peek back in. We got some really cu.te shots of Karsynn

AHH Picnic...The Gang was all there!!!!!

God is so Good!!! We had our annual AHH picnic this Saturday and all of our travel group families were able to attend. It is rare that you can place 8 families from different parts of the U.S. together and such a unique bond can be formed. That's exactly what happened in our travel group. We are so blessed to call them all friends. I only hope and pray that our connection formed during our long wait and long journey to China to get our girls will last a lifetime. We had such a good time sharing old memories and making new ones with our friends. What a great day!

Message for Rachel: Thank you so much for playing with Karsynn and taking such good care of her. She really had a GREAT time!


Me with 2 of my China Sisters

Hanging out with Friends

Daddy;s and their Girls

The Mama's and The "Spicy" Girls

Jump Rachel, Jump!!!

My new friend, Rachel, and I

My "Sister" and I

Tid Bits and Tales of Karsynn

Her favorite new words: moon, Mamaw, Papaw, Nope (hillbilly for no!), alligator, ellie, sketti (spaghetti), Kailee, pool, water, bubbles, night night, dog

Her favorite new foods: ANYTHING (she's a great eater), broccoli, pickles, lemons

Her favorite new toys: Any type of animal, especially whatnots. She pretends to feed them and put them to sleep. She's going to be an animal lover like her momma :)


She's my little dancing queen. She loves music and loves to dance.

Karsynn and Daddy playing in the new Elmo sprinkler!

Here she is putting her panda bear, duck and dog whatnots to night night. So cute!

1st Referral Day Anniversary!

We can't blog without showing a little of her Chongqing "Spicy Girl" side!

My, how you've grown into such a big girl!

The Gang's all here!!!!

A proud mommy and daddy at the adoption agency

Our first glimpse of her on the computer screen.

One year ago today, we saw the face we'd been dreaming of for years. One year ago today, we became a mommy and daddy for real. One year ago today was one of the very best days of my life. God is so good. We've come a long way baby!

Louisville Zoo with Friends

We had an absolute BLAST this weekend spending time with our friends. Kailee and Karsynn played so hard and are so good together. They truly are China Sisters. We are so blessed that God placed such precious people in our lives. We are lifelong friends. We're counting down the days until the AHH Picnic and our vacation together to Daytona Beach. I'm sure the girls will have so much fun together.

Payton's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Payton!!!!!!