"MY TWO GIGGLE DREAMZ"

3 MONTHS HOME & SOOOOOO Many FIRSTS!!!

2011-03-01T20:08:00.018-05:00

AMAZING is all I can say!!!! Hard to believe the scared little girl we first met is now BLOOMING!!! She is loving America & is fitting right & truly becoming an All American Girl!!!

She has experienced so much in her short time here & has also had to go through a lot! Between Dr. appointments, dentist & even had to have dental surgery where they pulled 7 teeth & she had chronic infection, which the dentist said she was in so much pain younger because her nerves were dead! Luckily her permanent teeth that are coming in are GREAT, YEAH!!! Here is a picture right after they wheeled her back into us! As you see she was not very happy with us!

She would not be happy that I posted that photo! Her next first is the eye Dr. looks like someone may need glasses!!!

She got to go to her FIRST Ice show!!! We took her to see "Toy Story 3 on Ice"!! She loved it & did not move once & her eyes were glued! Of course it brought tears to mama's eyes to get to experience all this with her & to think she would NEVER of had these opportunity's if God did not place this child in our lives!

Jesse was her favorite!!!

She went to her FIRST High School basketball game to watch Brooke cheer! She was not sure about the band at first but like anything else she got use to it after awhile & she never complained about it being loud! She decided she does not want to play basketball but wants to cheer/dance like Brooke!!! After years of coaching cheerleaders, Mama always said her girls would NOT be cheerleader!!! HUM, guess I might be eating my words!!!

Another FIRST, which Mama is happy about is...... She is taking gymnastics & is a natural!!! She is already working on her round off back handspring & almost has it by herself after 3 weeks of taking classes!!! YEAH, maybe she will stick with gymnastics instead of cheering??????

Another HUGE FIRST, she started school today!!! We are so excited & never dreamed she would be this far in her English to start school! She has been working with her tutor from IU once a week & I have been trying to home school a little bit each day (I know what you all are thinking that know me, I have coached gymnastics/cheerleading & been a hairdresser for years NOT a teacher) but she is picking up so fast that she really needed more structure in her life each day & her mind needed to be tested a little more. After the first day she already was starting to read books & did subtraction problems with NO troubles!!! She had FUN packing her backpack & getting ready for her first day & the kids made her feel so welcome!

We have only enrolled her part time for now & she will go a few hours each day until she feels comfortable staying all day!

Last but not least another FIRST for her is she has a sister, brother & a FAMILY forever!!!

There is sooooo much more to share but hopefully I won't wait as long to post & will share more!!!!

HOME UPDATE!!!

2011-01-12T21:22:00.015-05:00

WOW, I can not believe we have been home over a month!!! It is all still a blur!!! Hard to believe this child that has touched our hearts has been in our arms now almost 2 months & we are still in awwww of how far she has come!!! I will admit it has not been easy but I think the timing of arriving home around the Holidays made it even harder. The kids were home from school for another 2weeks for Christmas break so I will say we have ALL had a lot of time for bonding, maybe toooo much!!! It is really hard to explain when people ask "How are things going"????? Not sure how to answer when I want to keep it in a positive way but not sound like it has been perfect!!! I am living the song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus right now, just listen & it will explain how I am feeling, it is all about the climb & keeping my faith!!!

There is soooo much to tell about our first month home so I will keep it short!!! She has truly amazed us on how well she is picking up on English, she is trying so hard to fit into this American world that she wants to know how to communicate with others! She loves watching Annalei at gymnastics & she is a natural herself, once she sees something or if you teach her she will do it!! The gym is so excited for her to start classes but once we get there she crawls back in her shell & will not participate, mama even bought her a new leo hoping that would help (but she is VERY modest & a leo does not cover the whole body so that is an issue).

She has had LOTS of first & that is so amazing to us & we realize how much we take for granite. Popping popcorn has been the funniest, walking in snow for the first time, seeing drums played at church, shopping at a mall, Christmas with a Santa that brings gifts, decorating cookies & I can go on & on but that is when I stop & put my exhausted selfishness aside & start to realize how we have changed this child's world & how she is having to adapt to a new life & we have expected so much out of her, even though it all may sound like it is heaven to a child, she still had a life that she lived 9 years before coming to America that is totally different than here!!!! I had to stop & think the other day that she even had a name for 9 years in China (Long Fu Mei) & in 1 day it was changed & she has had to learn it & adapt to it over night & live with it(thank goodness she likes it)!!!

She is going to start tutoring soon with a friend of mine at school & we have found a grad student at IU that is Chinese to help out as well, YAY!!! We are so excited, she needs more structure in her life & a daily routine, like she had in China!! She seems very bored when we are home so I am doing some school projects at home & many crafts to keep her occupied!

We have many new pic's & I will try my best to update more often!!!! Here a some from Christmas, we introduced her to the COLTS, decorating Christmas cookies & then a picture that my niece captured of her looking out at the snow & then typical siblings playing around!!!

2010-12-08T04:45:00.000-05:00

OUR PRECIOUS MEILYNN IS COMING HOME!!!!

2010-11-04T21:02:00.003-04:00

11 months ago we fell in LOVE with your Precious Face, with not much information about you we just felt led that you were are daughter. I have had many scared emotions during this journey & have asked my self a million times have we made the right decision. I know there are friends, family & acquaintance that we have met along the way that totally don't get what we are doing & why an older child or they don't understand how you can love a child that is not your own!!!! Adoption is not for everyone & I get that BUT doesn't every child deserve a home or a MOM & DAD to call their own or just someone to LOVE them, so WHY judge the one's that are willing to bring these orphans in & give them the LOVE they deserve????? PLUS, God already had a plan for Annalei & Meilynn once they were born, to be born from one mother but be placed in another mother's arms forever!!! Thank you God for choosing me to be that forever MOTHER!!!

So our journey that we took the leap of faith that God chose us for 11 months ago is about to start in exactly 13 days!!!! YEP, you heard me right we leave Indianapolis on Nov. 17th & will be flying half way around the world to be united with our daughter!!!

WE would love for you all to follow along on this amazing journey with us, you may see the good, bad & the ugly but I know in my heart it will be an adventure that will change all of our hearts forever & in the end be so rewarding for her!!! Here is our website address that we will be posting each day with pictures http://www.thestoryofyou.net/Meilynn.html Our travel dates will be added & you will be able to click on each day to read.

Here is a really neat story that I took from another blogger but how true it is. We were all orphans before & thank goodness he didn't turn his back on us!!!!

My Adoption Story

I don't know if I have ever shared my adoption story with you all so I thought today maybe I should.

I was adopted at the age of 30 years old into the most amazing family ever.

Statistics show that I was the least likely to be adopted.

I was the child who had waited- far too long- to hear the good news.

I was the child who waited because I had one too many labels, made one too many mistakes, and was viewed as unlikely to succeed.

I was the child who most believed was not worthy of the risk...

not worthy of the effort...

and not worthy of the price.

I was the the child who most people would have never considered.

The child with scars, the child who was dirty, the child who didn't appear to have much potential.

But then one day they told me about The One who was able to see past all of that.

The One who loved me regardless of the mistakes I had made.

The One who saw what I could be- instead of what I was.

The One who thought I was worth it all- so much so that He was willing to die for me.

The One who saw my worth.

The One who saw my potential.

The One who saw what I could be- if I was given a chance.

The One who never gave up on me.

I am so thankful for The One who paid the price for my adoption.

I know it was expensive.

I know it cost more than anyone could ever imagine.

I know it wasn't easy.

I know that it was painful, that it was hard and it was heart wrenching.

And I know I didn't deserve any of it.

But He came for me anyway...

Regardless of what others would say or think.

Regardless of all of the work that had to be done.

Regardless that there was no guarantee I would love Him back.

Regardless of the cost.

And today I am forever changed.

I am no longer alone, scared, scarred, overlooked and viewed as no one.

Today I am a child to the king~ precious, loved, forgiven, healed, whole.

All because of my adoption.

Adoption is the perfect picture of God's amazing grace and love.

It changes lives and saves souls.

Adoption is...

the heart of God.

HALLOWEEN 2010!!!!

2010-11-03T21:52:00.009-04:00

ONCE AGAIN THE KIDS HAD A BLAST CARVING THEIR PUMPKINS, DRESSING UP & EATING A TON OF CANDY!!!!

This year Dalen requested before he is was to old to Trick or Treat he wanted to dress up either gory or scary, so we went shopping to see what he had in mind... Well he didn't pick anything that I disapproved of so he went as the Unknown Phantom with glowing eyes (but when he went to turn his glasses on that lights up the switch broke so he had NO glowing eyes, bummer because it was pretty cool) So in the pictures he is the one totally dressed in Black!!!

Then I decided to let Annalei decide what she wanted to be this years as well.... First she wanted to be a pretty witch but every time we would look she kept going back to the Princess section & she wanted to be Snow White, YAY mommy was soooo excited!! I have always wanted her to be Snow White but she never showed any interest so of course she made the cutest Snow White!!!

Here is a cute picture of Annalei with her "Best Buds" Bre & Madison!!!
Then of course Annalei with Brooke!!!

For all you of you wondering "Where is the pictures of Dalen????" He is not much for getting his pic taken, so NO I don't leave him out he is just not willing!!!

ALSO, STAYED TUNED THIS WEEK BECAUSE THE "THE DOW FAMILY" RECEIVED FABULOUS NEWS ON MONDAY!!!!!! YEP, YOU GUESSED IT "TRAVEL APPROVAL"!!!!! OH YEAH BABY WE ARE GOING TO CHINA TO GET OUR GIRL!!! POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS NOV. 18TH!!!! STILL NOTHING SET IN STONE BECAUSE WE ARE NOW WAITING ON THE CONSULANT TO GIVE US OUR APPOINTMENT BUT WE SHOULD KNOW FOR SURE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS!!!! Dalen was actually thrilled because his only request was we not travel over his Birthday which was Oct. 8th, then he said not over Halloween because he wanted to Trick or Treat & then he said not during Football season because he did not want to miss any games, well the season came to an end last Sunday & then he did not want to be gone over Christmas, well God must of heard ALL his prayers because if we leave in the next couple of weeks Dalen will be home by Christmas!!!! SO I HOPE TO POST TOMORROW OUR WEBSITE & DATES OF TRAVEL!!!!! YIKES I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!!!!

FOOTBALL SEASON & RANDOM THINGS!

2010-10-25T22:54:00.009-04:00

This time of year there is A LOT of football going on... Either practicing, playing watching, wearing & of course supporting our COLTS!!!! Dalen was able to wear his favorite sports gear to school so of course it was a toss up of either his Purdue jersey or Colts but he went ahead & wore his Colts & we even colored his hair BLUE!!

I know it is really hard to see the Blue hair but he looked so cute!!!

Then last weekend we went up to Lucas Oil stadium (for all the out of towners that may be reading this blog that is where our Indianapolis Colts play) & our High School football team got to play on their field , HOW COOL & Dalen's Little League team got to go down on the field as well!!! Dalen is DOW 88!

This is also Brooke's Senior year & her last year of cheering! We will miss you!

This weekend Dalen starts tournament gameS for football on Sunday!!! If they win both games on Sunday they move on to the Championship game for next weekend!!! As much as I am ready for the season to be over it is always sad when it is over!!! We have made such wonderful relationships with all the families & hopefully these boys will continue to play as they grow older! They think a lot of their coaches & they are so good with the boys & have taught them a lot. Here is a pic from New Years eve with the boys & their coach Jayson!!!

Now just for some random things that are going on besides FOOTBALL!! Still NO news yet about our Travel Approval, I am sitting by the computer daily waiting for that email to come through that says "TA" has arrived & the with the dates that I will be loading the family on the plane!!! I will say my mind has started racing of all the challenges we will all go through & pretty much just planning on the worst & praying HARD for the best. Her poor little world is all going to change & I just cannot fathom her thoughts & how she will feel. She will have so much grieving before she can even break down the wall to let us start connecting & I hope my emotions & the kids will be able to handle the rejection. SO for all you that are reading this we would appreciate all the prayers during this upcoming journey & pray for this child's new beginning of life that God will touch her heart & help her with the transition into her new & forever family!!!!

Then with everything else that is going on my dad is going in for heart surgery tomorrow Oct. 28th. It should be a simple procedure & actually my niece at 21 had the same surgery done to her. His heart seems to have extra little spinners that make his heart race & makes his electricity not work correctly so they are going to try to go up through his veins & burn off all the extra spinners. Hope I explained that correctly & we are praying everything go smoothly! So, I decided to be creative & make him his own candy bouquet! He is always munching on snaky foods & candy so I thought this would be more appropriate then flowers or balloons. Here is my little creation.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL WEEKEND & DON'T EAT TO MUCH CANDY!!!

PLEASE SEND HER HOME SOON........

2010-10-18T21:38:00.003-04:00

Hurry Home You Have A Jersey Waiting For You & I Can't Wait to See You Wearing it!!!!

It is another week & NO news from China:( I am trying to keep my spirits up but it is really getting tough. My nerves are shot, I am eating everything that is in front of me, I am crying on my clients, I am doing a TON of retail therapy & I am not sure how any of my friends & family are tolerating me right now. So, if anyone from China is reading this, PLEASE LET ME COME & GET MY DAUGHTER before I gain another 20lbs, lose my clients, have NO money to travel to China or lose all my friends & family!!!!

So on a positive note we did receive our visa's, her new clothes are all washed & folded & ready to go & we had her website set-up to journal our journey while we are in China (which once we have travel dates I will post the address)!!!

Even though our timeline is not looking like I had planned I am not giving up HOPE that we will be eating Turkey with Chopsticks!!!

SPEAKING OF PRINCESS'S

2010-10-11T22:16:00.003-04:00

Check out who won "Little Miss" for Lazy Days.......

Yes, it was a TOTAL surprise to us all that she even wanted to do it & then she even got up there in front of all the judges & answered all their questions with personality & without mommy!!! WOW, a year ago she would of NEVER done that. She really has come so far & we are so proud of our blossoming Ms. Independent!!! She thought she was pretty hot stuff & wore her tiara all day & showed everyone her trophy!!! She even has the wave of a professional "Princess", OH & yes she rode the whole parade without mommy to!!!! My baby is growing up!

This is right before she went before the judges!

A DELAYED 5th BIRTHDAY POST!

2010-10-05T22:27:00.003-04:00

This free picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

I know Annalei's Birthday was back in June but I am trying to get caught up on all our summer FUN before we start posting from China & the new journey & memories our family will soon start!

Annalei likes to wrestle, play football & do anything that her brother likes to do but she still likes being a "PRINCESS" at times!!! SO, when I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted I wasn't sure if she would pick a "Boy" or a "Girl" theme???? Mama was soooo excited when her little girl said a "PRINCESS PARTY", YEAH!!! As you will see the girls had an "Enchanted" time at the "Ball" with a Sundae bar, manicure station a visit from "Cinderella" & they ended the day lounging by the pool! A perfect day for any "Princess"!!!

There is still NO news on the adoption front just still in the waiting game!! China is celebrating some Holiday this week & that means no one is working!! So, hopefully next week we will receive our next step of paper work which is an "Article 5" then PRAYING hard that a couple weeks after that we will FINALLY get our "TRAVEL APPROVAL"!!! Then we will know when we can travel to finally be united with our daughter!! There is a light at the end of this VERY LONG tunnel!

ADOPTION UPDATE & WEDDING PIC'S!!!

2010-09-16T20:04:00.017-04:00

I have really been struggling with this post & have put it off for over a week. I didn't want to sound like I was whining or having a pity party for myself but we are at the end of this adoption process & it is NEVER easy & becomes weary. I was really having a tough time last week & it is so hard to try to be in control of a situation that is totally out of our control!!! God truly teaches us PATIENCE & I was not being very obedient in trusting in his time frame for my daughter to come home!!! There is soooo much paperwork & red tape to adopting & it all has to be completed before China will allow us to travel. WELL, there was a certain document that we have been waiting on & of course it was not delivered on time & it was delaying us another week!!! So our agency at this point was trying to give us a rough timeline that they felt IF things stay on course & NO other delays then we could travel anywhere from the end on Nov. or as late as the first of Jan.!!! The next couple of months are very busy for China with Holidays, Trade fairs & Asian games & that is holding a lot of families up from traveling. So at this point I am trying not to completely loose it but feeling so lost!! It is so hard to know I have a daughter half way around the world that has waited 8 years of her life to HOPE for a "Forever Family" & now God's plan is unfolding for her & I have to ask WHY is it taking soooo long for her to come home. She is just sitting there waiting & wondering who these strange people are that love me & WHY are they not coming for me. So, I am asking for every one's prayers that our timeline will be on the short end & we can still travel the end of Nov. & NO later than December. She deserves to celebrate her first Christmas!!!!

Ok, now on to the the fun part of the post & I am done being so sappy!!

We had such a wonderful Labor Weekend (I know late post) celebrating my niece's wedding!!! We stayed down in Brown County & it was such a beautiful weekend for an outside wedding. They actually got married on Sunday because so many of their attendants lived either out of state or out of the country & wanted to give them plenty of time to fly in. Anesa & Joe met at Ohio State where Anesa was diving & Joe was swimming & many of their friends were athletes as well. It really showed how close of a friendship they all shared during their time at school!
Anesa made such a beautiful bride & she is so ecstatic to be "MRS. DOYLE"

WERE ARE IN AWWWW ONCE AGAIN....

2010-09-03T18:51:00.006-04:00

We got ANOTHER surprise today!!! MORE new pictures of Meilynn!! We requested photos with her friends so we could have one framed for her to have once she is home & once again the orphanage came through & sent us 5 new pic's!!! They have even requested that we send photos of her new family to start preparing her for her upcoming adoption!!! WOW, we are so amazed & feel so blessed that she is so loved. Our agency said they are really impressed with the orphanage because they have never had an orphanage request pictures or express wanting to prepare her for her new family! Is it me or is she just so stickin adorable & looks so sweet!!!

Anyone that is wondering Meilynn is the little one wearing the stripped dress.
WHAT A WAY TO START OFF THE WEEKEND!!!!!

We are off for another CRAZY weekend but it will be so much FUN spending it with my family. My niece is finally marrying her "Prince Charming" after 6 years of dating & it is an all weekend event. So I will make sure to post pictures after the weekend!!! Thank goodness are life keeps us VERY busy because it is helping the wait go by fast but of course to a waiting mom it is not going as fast as I want it to go!!!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Weekend!

RANDOM POST, WEEKEND RECAP & OUR EVERYDAY LIFE...

2010-08-30T13:04:00.010-04:00

I have decided that I am going to have more structure & more of a routine in our lives since school has started that one of my goals is to keep up with the blog!!! I am hoping to eventually have our family blog made into a scrapbook for the kids someday!! Life can be so busy & we can forget what we may of done last week so this way I will always have our memories that we cherish with our kids. Plus I am wanting to keep everyone updated on our timeline for travel & any adoption updates but unfortunately no news to post so far this week!!! Still waiting for our government to give their approval once again, more paperwork & this time there has been so much more & it is actually our government NOT China!!! Imagine that!!! Anyway still praying & crossing every finger & every toe that we will receive our Travel Approval in Oct. & can travel early Nov but you never know with China you just go whenever they give you permission! One thing I have learned with the process of adoption is alot of "PATIENCE" & everything is out of our hands & we are on God's time not our time!!! And for all those people that say "OH ADOPTION IS EASIER THAN PREGNANCY".....WHATEVER!!!!

So on to our busy lives that is helping the time go faster to bring our daughter home!! Dalen has started football again & had his first real game this past Sat. He is playing on the 5th & 6th grade red OV team & they won!!! They were so excited because Dalen was a little scared going into this game because we were playing Bloomington & they have some really big boys on their team. On the way to the game I was trying to give him the pep talk & reminded him of his favorite movie "Facing the Giants", you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it & then I told him to pray HARD before going out on the field!!! Funny thing is mom is giving him the pep talk & I was the one praying in the stands that none of those really BIG boys would hurt my son!!! SO let FOOTBALL season began & keep praying none of the boys will be rushed to the ER!!! I forgot my camera so I added a photo of him with his buddies from last year! He has the same number, same color, same coaches & a lot of the same boys on his team!!! GO OV RED!!!

Ok, then after the game my husband & I had "DATE NIGHT"!!! I know how exciting!!! We never get much time just him & I. I have such an amazing, hard working, soooo understanding, loving & I think VERY handsome husband & I feel like we get lost into our everyday life that we don't have much time for just him & I to be together. And once we get home from China there will not be much time for "DATE NIGHT's" so right now we are trying to do as much together & fun family nights before our family goes through maybe one of the hardest transitions of our lives!!! SO, onto the night!! We actually met some of his customers for dinner & then we went & stayed at the "Canterbury Hotel" downtown Indy!!! Got up Sunday morning & went out for breakfast!!! We LOVE our kids don't get me wrong but how often do you have a nice quiet dinner & breakfast without kids wanting something or complaining about not eating at McDonalds!!! Then it was back to REALITY but so nice why it lasted!!!

OK, Monday again now the CRAZY schedules start!! Annalei has been taking gymnastics for a couple of years but for anyone that knows our daughter she has not been the most "Independent Girl" of the bunch!!! Mommy has actually had to coach at the gym just for her to stay in her class, we saw so much potential in her but her fears have gotten the best of her. BUT with a lot of patience & encouragement she has started facing her fears & has been going into her own class for the past 3 months and really has started trusting the other coaches!!! YEAH, & now she has been moved up to "BLAST OFF", which is a Pre-Team, who would of ever thought!!! I am still a little hesitant when it comes to meets if she will even go out there in front of all those people but we will face that when the time comes!!! Hopefully her little outgoing friend Lucy will help her!!! Tonight will be her first time in this class so we shall see how it goes!!!

So, now with school, pre-school, homework, football, gymnastics & trying to wait patiently to travel to China & preparing to bring our daughter home, I feel like all the other crazy families in the world that I NEVER understood how they juggle every day life without loosing their minds!!! I am learning it can be done & we always get through each day!!!! Hoping Meilynn adapts to a CRAZY family!!!

I am leaving you with a really cool Steven Curtis Chapman song!!! He really has the LOVE for all the orphans around the world & he keeps trying to help each one find their "Forever Family"!!! You will need to go down & turn off the music that is playing on the blog.

CHECK IT OUT.....

2010-08-24T14:55:00.013-04:00

WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! WE GOT NEW PICTURES & UPDATES & SHE ANSWERED OUR QUESTIONS WE ASKED HER!!!!! YEAH!!!!
Ok, let's back up... After we received our LOA our agency said that they were going to request an update on her & mentioned if we want to ask her any questions we can send them & hope the orphanage will ask her. WELL, I sent our questions to them last Wed. right before we flew out to Maryland to visit one of the families we traveled with to China the first time for a nice relaxing get away. But that is whole other post with pictures for another day!!! So, I sent them & then they had to send them to China to be translated & then send them off to the orphanage. WELL after laying by the pool on Friday I come in & check my phone & there it is an email from our agency that said "Meilynn Update"!!! I was so excited & screaming & then tears just started to flow. This is just another reassurance from the man above that things are going to be OK & she seems to fit perfectly into our family!!!

It does make it harder to sit here & try to wait patiently the next 2 months before we travel. There are so many things going through my head I have to stop myself from being so selfish & stop & think about her & what is REALLY going through her little mind. We are about to take her from everything she has always known & she has already been moved back to the orphanage after living with the same foster family for 3 or 4 years & a place she may have loved & become so attached to & now another move & another care taker all because of us. I know everyone is thinking but why wouldn't she want to come here & live a better life???? She knows no different & material things mean nothing to her, hopefully clean clothes on her back & a warm bed will warm her heart & then she might not think we are that bad of people!!! We will have HUGE adjustments but I know it will be worth it for her in the end!!!

Here are the new pic's & the answered questions!!! AND yes, to everyone that has asked or are wondering, we are going to let her hair grow!!!

3.The Dow family is adopting Long Fu Mei, DOB 7/25/2001, Welfare Institute of Xinluo District of Longyan City in Fujian Province. Can we ask the following?
a. What is her current height, weight & foot size?
Height: 49.25 inches
Weight: 59.4 pounds
Head circumference: 20.49 inches
Chest circumference: 22.46 inches
Foot length: 7.09 inches
b. Has she been living with the same foster family since leaving the orphanage?
Yes. Now she is living in the orphanage.
c. Does she have any foster brothers or sister & what age?
She has a foster sister, 4 years old.
d. Does she speak Mandarin or Cantonese?
Mandarin
e. Can she speak any English?
No, she can’t.
f. Is she still attending school if so what grade is she in?
In Grade Two.
g. Will she be happy to have an English name?
She will be very happy to have an English name.
h. What is her favorite food?
Shrimp, MCD hamburger
i. What is her favorite color?
Pink
j. What is her favorite toy?
Controller airplane, bike
k. Does she like to play with dolls?
Yes.
l. What things upset her & make her sad?
She is afraid of alone in the night.
m. What things make her happy?
Swimming and play games with others.
n. Is she scared of anything?
Snake
o. Does she prefer to wear pants or dresses?
Dresses
p. Does she like animals?
She loves rabbit.
q. What is her daily schedule?
7:00 get up; 7:30 breakfast; 12:00 lunch; 17:00 supper; 19:00 bath; 21:30 go to bed
r. Who are her best friends & are they being adopted to?
Long Fu Dong and Long Fu Jun are her best friends. They want to have family and be adopted too.
s. What is 1 question she would like to ask us?
How many people in the family? Are there any small animals there?
t. Does she know she is being adopted by a foreign family?
Yes.
u. Does she want to be adopted?
Very happy.

Tears are still flowing just by hearing she knows she is being adopted & she is very happy!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

INTRODUCING......

2010-08-18T15:43:00.006-04:00

Our Precious daughter "Meilynn Emery Dow"!!!!

It all began back in January when we saw her precious face & after months of paperwork & patiently waiting, China has now given us permission for "Long Fu Mei" to become a "Dow"!!! We got the call last Wednesday Aug. 11th & received our Letter of Acceptance on Friday Aug. 13th. We feel so blessed that God chose her as our daughter & we look so forward to see what plan he has in store for her new life here in America!

We did send her a birthday cake & a stuffed panda bear for her 9th birthday on July 25th but we had to send it anonymously since we had not yet received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance. With much surprise WE received a HUGE gift the orphanage director sent us 6 new pictures of her celebrating her Birthday!!! As you can see she looks a little confused & not real sure what is going on. Who knows if she has ever had a birthday party or even celebrated birthdays before this one. Soon enough she will be celebrating many new first here with her "Forever Family"!!!

Now we try to sit patiently waiting for our Travel Approval which should come in a couple months!! Hopefully will be traveling by the first of November but still a chance the end of October (crossing fingers & praying hard that will be God's will)!!! We will keep everyone updated & we also will be posting while we are in China (website address coming soon)!!

SO sit back, relax & watch as you see our amazing journey unfold!!

Gao Shao Reunion Part II

2010-07-13T12:56:00.004-04:00

I have finally finished the slide show & it was so hard not to fight back the tears. We had such a wonderful time & no words can express the time spent together & watching these precious girls play together. Your heart takes over while watching them & you have got to wonder what their little lives would of been like if God had not touched each family through the journey of adoption.

Let me rewind & explain why it ended up in Indiana instead of Michigan. OK, 2 years ago Chad & I said we would plan the next reunion & we had all thought we would skip every other year since every one's schedules are so busy!! We had plenty of time to search for enough rooms in Michigan & we found the perfect spot in Saugatuck. Close to the beach, big pool, quaint little shops, food was planned & payment was made!!! We were all suppose to arrive on July 8 & leaving on July 11! WELL we got a call on June 28th from the resort stating that the resort has gone under & they are trying to find a place big enough to place 20 of us. I started to PANIC & decided not to contact the other families until we found somewhere for them to lay their heads at night. WELL that was not working out as easy as I hoped. I called Deb in a complete PANIC & she was on the search with me. Nothing was working out so as of Wed. night June 30th getting ready to head out to see "Eclipse" we decided to host the reunion here at our house, YIKES I went into complete craziness & my mind was rushing (honestly cannot tell you much about the movie except how GOOD Jacob looked)!!! We had a week to get our place looking like a resort & planning some FUN activities here for the kids. LOTS of friends & family pulled together & worked A LOT of long hours to get projects done, make the place look nice, helped make food & find space for everyone to lay their head after a long day!!! Thanks so much to all of you, can not thank you enough!!! SO, everyone arrived on Thursday July 8th & once you see the slide show you will be able to tell that this is what God had planned all along!!! All my anxiety & fears went out the door & it looks like we may have started a tradition with families hosting at their house or close by!!!

We made SOOOO many memories & my dear friend Kindra took some pictures of the girls in matching dresses that Carla so graciously bought for the girls . My sister brought the horses for the kids to ride & when you have always been raised around horses you take it for granted that they are such a novelty to others that aren't as fortunate to be around them or ride them. All the girls said that was their favorite thing all weekend was to ride the horses. We had spa day with manicures & pedicures, Thanks Nancy & Khrista! My other sister made beautiful beach towels with the kids name on it & then the little girls had "Gao Shao Sister" 2010 on them (which no one got a picture of that so if someone can take a pic & send it to me. I would appreciate it)! We had lots of FUN ranger rides in the woods & we ate a TON of fattening food!!!

OK, now I hope you enjoy the pictures of our special weekend. Such memories we all made & looking forward to next year in Maryland @ "The Malamis's" Thanks Carla & Dan can't wait!

You may want to push the arrow to make the slide show go faster if not you may be sitting at your computer all day because there are so many pictures! ENJOY!

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GAO SHAO REUNION 2010!!!!

2010-07-11T21:07:00.010-04:00

WOW, what an amazing, memorable & emotional weekend!!! It just gets better each time!!! This is only going to be part 1 of the post but I could not wait to post pictures of these precious angels for the other families that unfortunately could not make the trip. So stay tuned for MANY more adorable pictures to come. We had a major, stressful last minute change of plans for our reunion but the Lord had a different plan & it could not of turned out any better!!! Whole story later when I am not so exhausted, so enough of me rambling here are a few pic's of our FABULOUS weekend !!!

5th BIRTHDAY & DTC!!!!!

2010-06-15T22:28:00.008-04:00

My baby turned 5 this past weekend & it doesn't seem possible! I feel like it was just yesterday we returned home with this precious 9 month old, where did the past 4 years go? She really has come so far & really we have noticed the most in the past 4 months. Something just clicked over night & WOW "Ms. Independent" came out of her shell!!! We are so proud of her!!! She may be a little to sassy for her pants sometimes but I see her enjoying life & not as fearful. I can't tell you how much a mother enjoys seeing her daughter just loving life to the fullest!!! Can't wait to see what God has planned for this precious one!!!

Here are a few pictures from the past weekend celebrating her birthday. Her "Princess" birthday is this weekend with her friends but I wanted to still make her day special. We went swimming ate ice cream cake & then we went to see the movie "Karate Kid" & went out to eat @ the Chinese restaurant!! Big weekend for the Birthday girl!!!

Stay tuned for the NO BOY "Princess Birthday" this Sat.!!!

Then after such a FUN weekend we got the email that we were DTC as of Monday June 14th, YEAH!!!! Ok, now to explain what that means. We have been working for almost 4months gathering A LOT of paperwork, working with a social worker for our homestudy, Dr. appointments, fingerprints from the FBI & many documents that China recommends we have to be eligible to bring home another daughter. Well it is all complete & it is called a "Dossier" or as we say a VERY important 10 page document that is priceless!!! Without that precious document nothing can get started with the process in China, so as of Monday June 14th that Dossier headed to China(DTC)!!!! One step closer to bringing her home!!! Now we wait for China to match her to our family, please keep praying that will happen FAST!!! The normal time is at least 2 months, sooner would be GREAT but let's hope no longer!!!

MEXICAN NIGHT!!!

2010-06-02T19:00:00.010-04:00

It is funny once you adopt or others found out that you are adopting you add a whole another world of friends & what a blessing they are!!! They are one's that understand all the paperwork, the adoption lingo, the stress, the important mail, the stress, the important phone calls that you are on pins & needles waiting for, the USCIS, the stress, the sleepless nights, the packing, the money situation, the travel & did I mention the STRESS!!!!!

Well we have met a group of families that live about 30 min. from us that all get together on Friday nights & go to a Mexican restaurant (I know you all are all thinking why not Chinese) but anyway here are some pic's of our last time we all met!!! I can't thank these families enough for helping us through this adoption, they have been so helpful & an answered prayer from up above!

3 of the families are getting ready to travel back SOON!!!! Can't wait to have more blessings sitting at the tables with all the kids!

4 YEARS AGO!!!!

2010-03-20T12:35:00.007-04:00

March 19, 2006 this precious angel was placed in my arms & it will be a day that is never forgotten!!!

4 years later I still hold on to each precious day that I can hold her tight!!!!

What a difference 4 years has been since she arrived home. She really is starting to blossom & coming out of her shell. It has taken awhile but we have finally made some progress this past year!!! We had a wonderful celebration of a day that is so emotional & meaning full & we look forward to many more!!! She kept saying "This is MY special day"!!! Also this week on March 14th Annalei got her wish that she has asked so many times before!!! She is finally getting a sister from China!!!! We have been Pre-Approved by China to move forward to adopt her older sister, Long Fu Mei!!! We can not post any pictures yet but she is so precious & we can not wait to add her to the "Dow" family!!! She has NO idea what her new world will be like but we look forward to seeing what God has planned for her life as a Dow!!!

OUR LITTLE CELEBRITY!!!!

2010-02-25T09:21:00.004-05:00

My niece is a photographer for Picture People & we were at the studio playing around taking pictures for Annalei's birthday invite for last year. It is so nice to have a photographer in the family!!! Anyway back to the story, Amy (my niece) wanted to try a silhouette with the umbrella & it turned out beautifully. Well then one day she was looking through a magazine at the studio & low & behold check out who make the magazine!!!!!

YEP, we have a celebrity on our hands, please NO autographs she is to young!!! My niece got a lot of calls from the big dogs of the studio about this photo & she was nominated for top photographer of the year, YEAH Amy!!!! Here was the original she took!!!!
Anyway I do hope the year is going well for everyone!!! We are very tired of winter & I am soooo ready for spring. The winter is always nice to stay home & relax because Dalen does not play basketball so we have a break before baseball starts.

We are planning our Gao Shao reunion that we are having in Michigan, can't wait to see all the girls again & visit with the families!!! The girls will all be 5, can't believe it, where has the past 4 years went!!!

Also, stay tuned our family has exciting news & we are going on an amazing adventure this year & a wonderful journey to tell all!!!

COLTS MANIA!!!!

2010-02-06T13:16:00.004-05:00

We did it again & we are ready to celebrate another Superbowl WIN!!! As you can see our little Colts Fan is ready & looking adorable in her BLUE & WHITE!!!

We are looking forward to a good game & I understand it is the Saints first time to make it to the Superbowl but sorry we want our second win!!!!

GO COLTS!!!!!

2010-01-16T11:03:00.003-05:00

Playoff begins tonight for the COLTS!!!! Can they do it again!!!! We are ready for the game & food is prepared stay tuned for pictures & hoping for a BIG celebration on Feb. 7th!!!

RECAP of our CRAZY LIFE in 2009!!!!

2010-01-08T14:24:00.002-05:00

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WOW, I am so far behind!!! I had so much to post back in 2009 that obviously I was to busy to do it. So here you go!!! I have put together a slide show starting back last Feb. & ending with New Years of this year. Trust me I hope you have plenty of time because it is LONG, I advice you to push the forward button because it will go a lot faster. We did have an eventful year & I would not change it for anything!!! Each day I feel so blessed to have so many memories with my family!!

Looking forward to seeing what 2010 will bring for us all!!!

THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW YOUR FACE!!!!

2010-01-05T15:07:00.008-05:00

Was today 4 years ago!!!! A day that I will never forget & I had prayed for 13 long months from the time we signed our first document. We kept wondering what God had in store for our family & what our daughter would look like. We left this whole process in Gods hands because who would of ever dreamed we would have taken this journey all the way across the world for someone to tell us that is where our daughter is from. I will never underestimate what the BIG GUY up stairs has planned. I am sure glad we didn't fight him on this one because she has fit in perfectly to our family.

Here she was at 6 months old & our first picture of her!

Here she is now 4 years later!!!

SOMEONE MUST HAVE BEEN GOOD THIS YEAR!!!

2010-01-04T15:50:00.005-05:00

The only thing Annalei asked for this year from Santa was a "Pinkalicious Car"!!! I wasn't sure if Santa had any clue what that was but he must have figured it out & thought she was pretty good this year. Check her out in her new ride!!!! Bubby has even enjoyed it except he says she is a pretty scary driver!!!

HALLOWEEN 2009!!!

2009-11-05T20:20:00.013-05:00

We had a wonderful time this year for Halloween. The kids were so sweet this year they decided to wear their same costumes as last year since we missed "Trick or Treating" last year due to our flight being delayed coming home from Hawaii. As mommy was crying the whole way home because she missed her little girl being a "Princess" for the first time.

We started out the evening at our little towns Halloween Costume Contest. Dalen won in his age group & Annalei won the overall Prettiest. See it was worth wearing them again!!!! Then off filling up their trick or treat bags with tons of sugar that we have been eating all week. Yes, mommy to & she has not been on the tread mill once. Guess I know what I am doing next week!!! Then our dear friends had their annual Costume Party & Haunted Trail Ride. Long night but tons of FUN!!!

I actually got Daddy to dress up this year & he was the most handsome "ZORRO"!!! Antonio you have been replaced!!!!

EVERY LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A PLAYHOUSE!!!

2009-09-16T07:49:00.015-04:00

Hello to everyone!!! Once again I am sorry for the delay in posting. It seems like I make time to check in on every ones blogs but never make the time to catch up on my own. I do have a lot to share so now that school is back in session I am really getting my life organized & hopefully will be blogging more!!!!

Yes, back to the title of this post!!! As a child I think all of us have imagined, hoped or had a tree house or a playhouse. I know I had always wanted one to spend hours in playing with my dolls. Well I wanted to make sure that Annalei didn't go through life always wishing & let's face it we LOVE to spoil our kids every now & then!!! So after many hours of hard work Daddy made all of our dreams come true!!! Check out what Annalei got for her birthday!!!!

All the little girls are having so much fun pretending & having tea parties, isn't that what being a kid is all about.

I have a feeling there will be many hours of FUN in this playhouse!!!

TYPICAL SIBLINGS!!!!!

2009-07-06T17:37:00.005-04:00

All I wanted was some cute pictures of my two precious, sweet, adorable, loving & caring children looking very patriotic. As you can see Dalen only cooperated for ONE. Please, tell me this is normal & there is nothing to worry about????? I am just waiting for the day when she turns around & pops him back!!!!

ADORABLE FLIP FLOPS!!!!

2009-07-01T10:37:00.006-04:00

Ok, if anyone read my last post & are still waiting to see the adorable flip flops well here they are!!!! Of course the first picture is Little Ms. sportin her Memorial Day outfit by the pool with her stylin flip flops!!! We have now about 10 pairs of these flip flops & she wears them all the time & so many people will stop us & asked if I made them. I so have to laugh because I have not one crafty talented bone in my body. Thank goodness my sister is the crafty one because my daughter always looks so cute.

Please stay tuned because we have had so much going o this summer & I have so much to post before we leave for Florida for a very much need family vacation!!! We started a project this summer (of course it was for Annalei's birthday gift) & of course like everything else it turned in to a HUGE project & a VERY expensive one. I always have these GREAT ideas & think they are going to be easy but it never turns out that way. My poor loving & devoted husband always says anything to make you happy honey!!! Do you really think he means that at the time?????

MY VERY TALENTED SISTER!!!!

2009-05-28T16:23:00.003-04:00

I have to do a little bragging on my sister. She is so very talented & she never gets enough credit & I never do very well promoting her things that are for sale. So, this way I am going to get her name out there & advertise for her!!!! She makes really cool T-Shirt/Jersey quilts & now she puts photos on them as well. She also makes photo purses & she adds character to the purse & photos. She has made MANY, MANY bows for Annalei of all colors & styles & now she is making flip flops w/matching bows for the shoes, they are absolutely adorable!!!!! She just can do it all & if I come up with an idea she is making it while we are on the phone discussing it. Here are some of the photos of the different things she has made. The quilts that are shown are so amazing in person & they will make a wonderful keepsake. One is before my nephew went to Afghanistan & his son was going to be born while he was gone so she made "Baby Leo" a baby blanket of his daddy, another is of Dalen's baseball jersey/t-shirts, football, his Elementary school & Colts. The last is a quilt she made for my parents it is of all my family & old photos of us young & my parents when they were young. It turned out beautiful!!!

I have not had a chance to upload the flip-flops w/matching bows but I will do that soon to show how ADORABLE they are. Every time Annalei wears them people are going nuts over her & the shoes. My sis makes my daughter look so CUTE!!!! If you would to see more photos of her work or would like to contact her let me know & I will send you her email & phone number!!!

PIC's from SPRING BREAK!!!!

2009-05-18T13:29:00.002-04:00

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Check it out I am finally getting around to posting our pic's from Spring Break. I am only 2 months behind!!! As you will see it was NEVER a dull moment & there was FUN to be had every second of the day. We went on LOTS of rides through the mountains & the red lands so you can imagine what the kids looked like with red dirt all over them. I think there bodies are still stained. We played with all their exotic animals which you will notice it is not the ordinary animals in someones back yard!!! Also you will notice the black & white crow which his name is "Houdini" & that is the brother to all the "Windex" commercial crows. They had also sold 15 black crows to the producers of "Pirates of the Caribbean" & they were used in the second movie. Their baboon is named "Kenya" & her & I are best buddies, she loves when I bring her special treats. She loves to pick through my hair to make sure I don't have any bugs & luckily she has never found any.

Out of all our vacations we go on this is Dalen favorite place to go & like I have said many times before it is never a dull moment in Alabama!!!!

CELEBRATING IN ALABAMA!!!!

2009-03-31T11:38:00.007-04:00

We left for Spring Break on Annalei's 3rd "Forever Family Day/Gotcha Day" & we headed to the mountains of Alabama were our dear friends Brian & Anita live. Once we arrived (which was 10:00 pm their time) she had a beautiful cake & the place was decorated. She made our day so special for our precious Annalei. What a difference 3 years makes. From a tiny little scared girl that had NO idea who these strange people were holding her & taking her away from all she had known for 9 months of her life. To the little girl today that is becoming independent, so caring & LOVES for her mommy & daddy to hold her at all times!!!! As Papaw Chip always says "And to think you were afraid you would not bond with this child, I think you have bonded to well"!!!! Thank you God for the child you have made her today!!!! Thank you Brian & Anita for such a wonderful celebration!!!!

Stay tuned for Spring Break pictures!!!!

3 PRECIOUS YEARS!!!!

2009-03-19T08:40:00.012-04:00

Today 3 years ago I held you for the first time & it is a moment I will cherish forever. My precious baby girl you change our lives & we could not thank God enough for the blessings he has given us.

Before I Knew Your Name

Author: Bob Carlisle (Song Lyrics)

Before I saw your chin and your nose,

Before I counted your fingers and toes,

I asked heaven for someone as wonderful as you,

And every prayer and wish came true.

I dreamed of you...Before I knew your name.

We had no idea what was in store when God lead us down the road to adopt & WOW what an amazing path that the Lord has opened our eyes & hearts to a whole new world. This day is a day we will celebrate a new beginning of life for our family. Many families that have adopted celebrate their child's "Gotcha Day" also known as Family Day. For us it is a day to not only express how blessed we are to be mommy and daddy but to also celebrate the union of our family through adoption.

Chinese folklore says there are invisible red threads that connect a newborn child's spirit to all who will be important in her life. The threads may stretch and might even tangle, but they will never break. As the child grows, the threads will shorten, drawing closer to those people who are destined to be together!!!!!

We will be celebrating this memorable day with our dear friends in Alabama. She has a cake ready for when we get there so I will post pictures of our "Forever Family Day" once we return from spring break.

Our thoughts are with all the other families that shared this memorable day with us 3 years ago. We were all patiently waiting in this tiny filled room with so many emotions waiting to see & hold our precious baby girls for the very first time. We love you all, you are our extended family forever!!!!

"DISNEY TRIP 2008"!!!!

2009-03-09T14:06:00.006-04:00

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Ok, I know once again I have been slacking in the blogging department but I will try to do better. We do have an exciting life with the kids & so much to post but it seems like I never have time to post because they do keep me so busy!!! So, now that I am still back tracking in posts since 2008 I am posting our trip we took for Dalen's birthday last November. I know his birthday is in October but we had to move our Disney trip to November because Mommy & Daddy HAD to go to Hawaii in October for a business trip!!!! But we did make it up to him & he was fine with that. We had such a wonderful time & did many things in a short period of time. It has taken me almost 6 years to get daddy to do this trip so I thought I would do it all in case we can never get him to go back!!! So, as you will see in the slide show they met most of the characters & Annalei got to go to the castle & eat luch, we went to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party (since we had to cancel the "Mickey's not so scary Halloween party because mommy & daddy were laying on the beach in Hawaii with NO kids)" & then Dalen's favorite thing the whole week was the "Spirit of Aloha, Luau"!!!

It truly was a magical vacation just to see it through a child's eyes!!! Dreams really do come true at Disney World!!!

A LITTLE BIT OF HAT CUTENESS!!!!

2009-01-08T13:19:00.009-05:00

I never seem to be able to get Annalei to wear a hat out of the house (besides Disney but the Mickey ears never stayed on real long either) but she sure seems to wear a lot of them when we are at home!!!!

3 YEARS AGO TODAY!!!!

2009-01-05T13:21:00.007-05:00

Our first look at our precious daughter that changed our lives forever!!!

And then here is our Asian Princess 3 years later!!!

WOW, where has the time gone. 3 years ago today we saw your precious face for the very first time. I still am teary eyed thinking about that day. We actually got the call of all your information on Jan. 4th but had to wait to drive up to the agency on Jan. 5th to recieve your picture. How you have changed & how you have touched so many hearts the short time you have been here. We feel so blessed that God chose you for us & you are a perfect fit for our family. We look forward to many more memories & blessed days with you!!!

We love you our Gao Shao Ying!!!!

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!

2009-01-04T19:55:00.011-05:00

OK, since I have to rewind back to Oct. I have a lot of catching up to do. Dalen's football team made it to the championships which the kids got to play at IU's football stadium. You can imagine how excited a bunch of 3rd & 4th grade boys were for that except our son because he is the only Purdue fan on the team!!! We did end up losing but we were playing an undefeated team & our boys gave it their all & did a GREAT job!!!! It truly was a memorable night for those young boys that always have a dream of being a college or pro football player!!!

HAPPY NEWS YEAR 2009!!!!!

2009-01-03T12:34:00.002-05:00

We want to wish everyone a blessed New Year!!!! We are looking forward to seeing what 2009 has in store for everyone!!!! I have so much catching up to do on the blog since I was out of commission for so long. I need to make my New Year's resolution being a better blogger!!!! So I promise once Dalen is back in school next week I will rewind to Halloween & catch up until now.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holidays!!!!

NO ACCESS TO MY COMPUTER!!!!!!!

2008-11-20T22:44:00.003-05:00

I am so sorry for the delay of photos & updates but I have had NO access to my computer for 2 weeks now!!! Hopefully it will be fixed soon but I can not retrieve any emails nor have I been able to update the blog with pictures. I am using my husbands business computer to post but will not be able to add any pictures yet, so you are on hold again!!! I have so much to update because in this time of NO computer we went to Disney for a week also, so I have those pictures now to show. Let's keep our fingers crossed that soon I will have access to the cyberworld again ( I feel so lost with out my computer, what in the world did we do before Internet & email????) & can update before the holidays start.

Hope all is well that I have not been able to talk to & I miss you all!!!!

HAWAII BOUND!!!

2008-10-23T17:01:00.003-04:00

OK, you have to go check out the resort my husband & I are staying at for next 7 days!!!! http://www.grandhyattkauai.com/. For some reason it won't let me copy & paste but once you go to their website click on photos. This place is absolutely heavenly!!! My husband won this trip with his company & we are flying first class & everything is free that sounds even better!!! The only down fall is NO CHILDREN!!!! I have never left Annalei for even a night so you can imagine how this week may go for Grandma. Please pray that things will go smoothly so we can ALL enjoy it!!! I will try to post pictures from Hawaii but if I am having TO much FUN you will have to wait until I return.

Thanks again MOM you are the best to take on this challenge with our 2 kids!!!!

MY SALSA QUEEN!!!!

2008-10-07T16:38:00.009-04:00

Annalei helped me make some homemade salsa the other day. She has always been a good helper & always wants to help me in the kitchen. Even though my 1 hour job turned into a 2 hour task it will be a day I cherish & remember forever. She was so cute everything had to be just perfectly straight & placed in the middle of the chopper before she would chop it up. I know just a little OCD!!!! After she worked hard making it she had to sit down & enjoy some of it!!!

Dalen's Pool Party!!!!

2008-10-03T10:49:00.009-04:00

OK, I know this is a late post but I have so much to catch up from the summer so bare with me while I work backwards. Since our whole summer consisted of being at the baseball diamonds we decided to have some fun with the boys. No hitting or catching balls or running bases just a lot of POOL TIME!!!! We invited the boys & their families to come relax, sit, eat & let the boys be boys!!! Even the coaches participated in the biggest splash contest. Our boys did have a great year & thanks to their coaches they really learned a lot & had FUN!!!! They ended up placing 2nd in the tournament!! Great job boys!!!!

2008-09-24T10:03:00.002-04:00

I went ahead & had the kids pictures taken since my attempt in Florida was not a success!!! Thank goodness for my friend Kindra because she came to my rescue. Her pic's turned out 100 times better than mine. For once the kids cooperated better than normal, so it was quick & easy, at least it was for mom that was behind the scenes but Kindra may have a different outlook on the day!!!!

You will notice there are a few more of Annalei & that is because we went ahead & took her 3 year photos on the same day!!!

Hope you enjoy!!!

DALEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM!!!!

2008-09-17T13:55:00.010-04:00

I figured it was about time I finally do a post & I decided I needed to brag about my son for a little bit!!! This is his first year to play football with full gear & tackle!!! Yes, mom is sitting in the stands biting her fingers & worried to death that her little guy is going to get hurt & then mom will have to jump over the railing & run out to the middle of the field to see if he is OK!!! Well, luckily that has not happened & this time I was jumping up & down because he made his first "TOUCHDOWN"!!!! It was a little comical & all mothers will understand where I was coming from but the football coach did not. One of Dalen's coach's could not be there for the last game so his wife was there to tape it & she was sitting one row behind me, well her son threw the ball to Dalen & we still are not sure how he caught this ball but he did & ran it in for a touchdown, WELL what do most mom's do, I started jumping up & down & yelling but let's not forget the camera is behind me & she was yelling at me to sit down so she could tape it. Well during the time I was jumping up & down the camera fell off the tripod & she did not get it all on tape. So, when his coach started watching the tape all he saw was my blue shirt & then the bleachers!!! So much for him getting to see my son make his first touchdown!!! Oh, well it will be a day we will never forget in Dalen's football career!!!

Oh, if you noticed the picture of the cheerleaders, yes I got suckered into coaching the Little League Cheerleaders!!!! I had to lower my expectations ALOT, but it has been actually fun to just work with girls that are there to learn & have fun with the sport. They do try to get Annalei to come out & join them but they have not yet succeeded. I told you all she was not born to be a cheerleader!!!

It's That Time of Year Again!!!!!

2008-08-29T21:38:00.007-04:00

Don't ya just LOVE football season!!! Especially when the COLTS are playing!!!! We are hoping for a better year then how they are starting out but we will still support our "Blue & White"!!!! They made a tour to different towns and luckily for us they stopped in our little town of Spencer!!! The kids got their picture taken & got autographs with 2 of the football players & Annalei got her picture taken with one of the cheerleaders!!!! Let's cheer on our Colt's & hope for another Superbowl Championship!!!!

DALEN'S FIRST DAY @ SCHOOL!!!

2008-08-26T11:00:00.009-04:00

My little guy is now a BIG 3rd grader & he thinks he knows everything now. They say it gets worse as they grow up, GREAT, look at what I have to look forward to. He was excited about starting school & so far we have had NO troubles getting him out of bed & on to the bus. YES, mommy is still letting him ride the bus & that is only because he is the last picked up & the first dropped off & we only live 2 min. from the school.

The school always has a parade through town once they have been in school a week. They all get matching T-Shirts & make signs to walk with. We really like the small little school & the principle is so good to the kids (that is her on the golf cart). Hope you have a GREAT 3rd grade year, Dalen!!!

MY ASIAN BLESSING!!!

2008-08-14T11:07:00.007-04:00

I thank the Lord each day for the glorious gift he has given us. She is so precious & full of life that I can't imagine our lives without her.

Love you, our sweet Annalei!!!!

GAO SHAO SISTER REUNION 08'!!!!

2008-08-05T12:31:00.004-04:00

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It has been a couple of weeks since we have been home but have not had time to put together a slide show. Sorry for the delay but here are our Asian beauties!!! We all had a wonderful time & it is always hard to say goodbye. We will always be family & we share a bond that will never be broken. Our reunion this year was in Chicago at a water park. On Saturday we went to Chinatown & then on Sunday went to the zoo. The girls all enjoyed each other just like it was old times except our Miss Annalei. She was on mommy's hip most of the time until late Sat. night after I bribed her with a ring pop for pictures!!!

We have now decided to skip every other year so the girls will not be together again until 2010!!! WOW, sounds so far away & the girls will all be 5 then!!! We our planning our 2010 reunion at Lake Michigan on the beach!!! I am already looking forward to it.

Thanks again for a wonderful weekend & we miss you all!!!

VACATION PHOTOS!!!

2008-07-16T23:10:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I have finally put together a slide show of our week in Florida. It may seem a little long but I couldn't resist all the cute pictures of the kids!!! Each day was filled with the beach, pool, good eatin & bedtime fun!!! So, there are to many photos not to share & have as memories. This was Annalei's first trip to the beach so I have many pictures of Annalei playing in the sand. And once again Dalen never wanted to pose for the camera very often, I had to bribe him most of the time.

The highlight of the week, especially Dalen & Matti was watching the Blue Angels practice over the beach. They practiced on Thursday & Friday & their show was on Sat. which that was the day we were leaving so we will do things different next year. They were so amazing to watch & Miss Matti now wants to be a pilot when she grows up!!!

Another adventure of the week was going to the dog races. I had never been & it was a lot of fun. I never did any good at picking the right dog but my sisters strategy always seemed to work for her. Which ever dog had the best name she liked she would pick & it always seemed to win!!! The kids really enjoyed it & as soon as the dogs would take off they would be right up to the fence to cheer them on. I have no pictures from dog races because they would not allow cameras.

We already look forward to going back next year (of course the weekend the Blue Angels will be there) & hopefully more of our family will want to join us!!!

WE ARE BACK!!!

2008-07-14T09:50:00.011-04:00

But not wanting to be!!! We had a wonderful time & it went to fast. This was Annalei's first time to really play on the beach & she had a ball. Each day we played on the beach & then went back to swim in the pool & then of course get ready to go eat some seafood!!! I will try to put a slide show together of all the FUN pictures of the kids but here are a few that I tried to take on the beach for Christmas cards. Little note to everyone you will not be getting a Christmas card of the kids on the beach!!! I see why you pay a photographer to do them!!! I waited to late in the week when they were exhausted & it was time to go eat so they were hungry & Momma needs lessons on how to take a good picture & it look clear. So, thanks to my bloggy friends & their help with photoshop I was able to make them look decent.

Stay tuned for more updates & pictures from vacation!!!

OFF TO PARADISE!!!!

2008-07-02T22:45:00.003-04:00

Even though I am not good about posting each day I wanted to let anyone & everyone that reads this blog that we are off to vacation & stay put because I will have LOTS of FUN post's once we get back. We are heading off to our friends in AL to play with a few monkeys (besides my husband & kids) & then we are meeting my sister, her husband my 2 great niece's my nephew & his fiance in FL!!! For a full week on the beach & complete relaxation!!!! I can say that because we are taking our babysitter with us this trip. Thank you so much Khrista for taking on this task!!!!

I wanted to give a big YELL out to Joe (my niece's boyfriend) to wish him luck this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska for the Olympic trials in swimming. He has been swimming for Ohio State & has taken this year off to train for the Olympics we are praying that all his hard work will pay off & we will be watching him in Beijing!!! This weekend we promise we will be glued in front of a TV watching a cheering for you. It may be at Pooter's (for anyone that is wondering it is really Hooter's but my niece Matti calls it Pooter's) but we will be right there with ya!!! Good Luck!!!!

Hope everyone has a great week & I will post pictures as soon as we get back!!!!

DALEN'S FIRST BASEBALL TOURNAMENT!!!

2008-06-30T09:30:00.019-04:00

Annalei & Abigail enjoying their popsicle's before the game!!!

Annalei has decided she had enough baseball for 1 day!!!

Dalen didn't think it was to bad to sit in the dugout every now & then since the coaches daughters where in there!!!

Had to enjoy some ice cream after a LONG day!!!

This is Dalen's first year at playing on All Stars (the traveling team) & WOW, is all I can say!!! Besides still playing for the regular league & then all the extra practices for All Stars we are living at the ball diamonds!!! This past weekend was the first tournament the boys have ever played. The first team they played was the #1 in the state, I felt so bad for the boys coming back in the dugout with their heads down & NO smiles, they were feeling defeated. So after are the big loss we played the next morning & that team was #2 in the state. The boys came out playing better but still lost. We had to come back & play the same team again & our coaches gave them all a pep talk told them to go out & have fun & not to feel defeated. Those boys stepped it up & played so good & we were tied with them the whole game. It was good to see the smiles coming in the dugout & their attitudes of winning instead of defeat. They still lost by 1 point but we were so proud of them & Dalen was so cute after the game he said "That was like Facing the Giants movie"!!!!

MY BABY TURNS 3!!!!

2008-06-25T22:22:00.002-04:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our precious angel decided it was time to have a birthday again & turn a year older. How dare she do that to her Mommy. It brought tears to my eyes but she thought she was BIG stuff this year. She understood more of what a birthday was all about. She still thinks it is her birthday since we celebrated it a whole week. Daddy was gone on her actual birthday so bubby & I decided to have a cake & open some of the gifts from us. Then we had the "Mickey/Castle" birthday party with the whole family & friends that weekend on Father's day. We actually combined her party with my niece that graduated from Ohio State, so thank goodness Mickey & Ohio State are the same colors, it blended together very well.

If anyone is wondering why Mickey is on the castle cake instead of a Princess, WELL Annalei believes that Mickey lives in the castle at Disney World not Cinderella!!! Ever since we spent 1 day back in February at Disney she has talked non stop about the Castle & Mickey!!!

We had a wonderful day by the pool lots of food & she received such wonderful gifts. Thanks to you all!!! Daddy especially liked the Purdue cheerleading outfit from Aunt Shanan. He has high hopes for both of his kids to turn out like him & become a Purdue alumni!!!

MID SUMMER RECAP!!!!

2008-06-24T11:11:00.004-04:00

Wow, where is the summer going???? I know I have not been in blogger world for some time now but there is just not much time to sit at the computer when there is FUN to be had!!! We are leaving soon (not soon enough) for vacation to Alabama then on to Pensacola Florida then when we get back we head out to Chicago for the "Gao Shao Sister" reunion, so I thought I better get caught up before I have lots more to post about.

As many of you know that Indiana was hit pretty hard with the terrible floods. We are lucky to say that our house was not hit but my heart aches for all the other families that lost their homes & all their belongings. Chad was able to get out to take some pictures before our road got flooded on both sides of us. Needless to say we had a lot of family bonding due to be stranded in since we were suppose to go to 2 weddings, 2 graduation parties, baseball practice & a birthday party.

We have had a break from baseball since our ball diamonds had about 21 feet of water covering them so we have had ALOT of swim days with the kids!!!! Ms. Annalei has learned how to swim on her own with floaties on so she thinks she is big stuff now.

We want to send out a BIG "Congrats" to my sister, she married the most wonderful man in the world. They had a beautiful wedding & fantastic reception at the park with the horses.

So as you will see by the slide show we have had a full summer so far & it has just begun for us. Stay tuned for Ms. Annalei's 3rd birthday that will be the next post!!!!

Hope everyone is having a FANTASTIC summer!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

INDY 500 WEEKEND!!!

2008-05-28T08:18:00.009-04:00

We always have our first annual swim party on "Indy 500 Race Day". We NEVER know what the weather is going to be here in Indiana but this year there was NO rain & it was a pleasant day & it sure did not stop the kids from swimming. There is a little thing called a "heater" that really helped the water be 85 degrees & the kids did not get out of the pool until dark when the parents were pulling them out one by one!!!!

So, now it is officially summer here at the Dow house. Today is Dalen's last day of school & we can start enjoying the pool every day. Many pool party's are already planned & I am afraid the summer is going to go by to fast with our busy schedules. So, for now we are hoping the weather will warm up & I am looking forward to having Dalen home as is Annalei & we are going to enjoy each & every crazy day here at the Dow's!!!!!

Steven Curtis Chapman ::

2008-05-22T10:05:00.001-04:00

URGENT PRAYERS REQUEST

2008-05-22T07:43:00.004-04:00

Please pray for the entire Steven Curtis Chapman family as their youngest daughter Maria (their 3rd precious angel from China) was tragically killed in a car accident last night. Here is a link:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/TUNEIN/80521174/1073/ENTERTAINMENT07

BUBBY YOUR THE BEST!!!!!

2008-05-14T12:38:00.007-04:00

I have to do a little bragging on my 8 year son. That does not come very often since he has learned at a very early age to push every button on my body & I am not sure if I will have any hair left by the time he graduates but there are times he has a heart of GOLD. Daddy was taking him to get a new bike after baseball tryouts & after he had picked the most expensive one he asked his daddy "If I pick a cheaper bike can I buy a bike for Annalei" WOW what a SHOCKER!!!! Of course Daddy was not going to tell him NO since it is not very often an 8 year old will give up the best of the best for his little sister. Maybe he is not going to turn out to bad after all!!!

Such a proud moment for Mommy!!!

MS. FASHION QUEEN!!!!

2008-05-02T13:52:00.003-04:00

It has always amazed me how our little one's can develop a mind of their own without their parents input!!! Annalei has decided to start dressing herself & decided that these cowboy boots from her friend Emma is now her favorite pair of shoes. Not sure how comfortable they are to play in but she does not care as long as she looks good wearing them!!! Sounds like a typical girl huh??????

CAMY'S 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

2008-04-16T09:23:00.008-04:00

Our precious Camy turned 2!!! What a blessing it was to see her running around playing with the kids & eating birthday cake. A couple of months ago we did not have any idea what God had in store for her but thank goodness she is a little fighter & with every one's prayers she was able to celebrate here ELMO Birthday Party!!!

Annalei REALLY enjoyed Camy's new Barbie car, thank goodness Camy did not care about it because Annalei the Princess that she thinks she is did not want to share!!!

Also, is that not the cutest little dress Camy is wearing & the hat that Camy's mommy is modeling??? My sister made both of them, I think they are adorable!!! She is starting her own business if anyone is interested!!!!!

HOW PRECIOUS!!!

2008-04-03T14:31:00.004-04:00

This is the most precious thing you have ever seen or heard!!! You have got to check it out, you will be glad that you took the time for this little blessing!!! It will definitely bring a smile to your face!!!!

Florida trip to see Mamaw & Papaw!!!

2008-03-25T08:02:00.004-04:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

I am going to try to catch everyone up on all the FUN things we have done since February!!! My siste Pam, Annalei & I flew down to Florida to see mom & dad in February & it was Annalei's first flight since we had brought her home from China. She was not so sure of this big airplane & thought she wanted to sit in her own seat until it started going, she got a little scared & so I put her on my lap and before we were up in the air she was asleep & stayed asleep until we landed. Rough trip for Annalei!!!

We had so much fun, she went to the beach for her first time (no pictures because it was to windy & the sand was flying everywhere)we went to visit my Aunt & Uncle & of course her favorite part besides seeing ma-maw & papaw was seeing Mickey Mouse & the Castle!! We went for a day trip to Disney & she was so quiet all day we were not sure of what she thought, but OH MY GOODNESS that is all she talks about & keeps asking to go see the Castle & Mickey again. She really did not care about the rides but she loved to watch the parade & the shows.

If you are all wondering where Dalen is he decided to stay home so he would not miss any school. He was working on perfect attendance & would receive a trophy at the end of the year. Things changed though because after we got home from Florida Annalei got sick & gave it to her bubby. So much for the trophy & to think he missed out on a trip to Florida & Disney World!!!

2nd GOTCHA DAY!!!!

2008-03-20T14:01:00.003-04:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Ok, I know I am really slacking in the blogging department but wow this past month has been a complete world wind and anything you can think has happened it probably has. I have so much to post but I will just try to do a day at a time if I can find the time to sit down instead of clean the house or do laundry since all of that was put on hold this past month as well.

Yesterday was the big day our "2nd Gotcha Day" with Annalei. WOW, it is so hard to believe that 2 years ago this precious little baby was placed in my arms that at the time was a complete stranger to us & we were to her but in our hearts she was our daughter & I was her mother. She did not know at that certain moment that I was her mother for life but 2 years later to hear her call me mom now still brings tears to my eyes. I feel as if I had to earn that privilege to be this child's mother!!! I thank God each day because when this little miracle of a baby was born half way across the world God knew she was ours for life but we had no idea that was the path that was chosen for our family. So many people don't understand the bond you will have with a child that may not be biological but it is a feeling like no other & we would do it over & over again if that was God's plan.

That moment 2 years ago with 9 other famlies is a moment that will never be forgotten & a feeling that no words can explain expcept absolutely AMAZING!!!!

We Love you Baby Girl you are so Precious!!!

PRAYER REQUEST for CAMY!!!

2008-02-26T19:42:00.009-05:00

******HOME UPDATE
I want to thank everyone that has emailed or called regarding Camy. It really has meant so much to our family all the concerns, thoughts & prayers. It has been three weeks since the surgery & Camy seems to being GREAT, for the most part. She is still in a lot of pain but that is to be expected after such a major surgery. They did have a set back once she got home, her older sister had strep and little Ms. Camy got it also. They were very concerned because she was not drinking but once her antibiotic kicked in she felt a lot better & started drinking & eating.

They have felt encouraged since the surgery and has been able to see some progress in her due to speech & physical abilities. She has started her therapy again & hopefully they will be able to see some progress in her as well.

As we have seen what the Power of Prayer can do we would appreciate if you would still keep her in your thoughts because the doctors have said since they were not able to remove the mass completely that it will grow back as she grows. This could be a procedure she will have to continue getting as her little body grows & I am not sure if that means in to her adult life (forgot to ask that one). We are just hoping at this point that the doctors could be wrong & it will not grow back. I know they are hoping not to go through this heartbreaking procedure with her again.

We thank you again & I want to apologize for the delay in this update. As we all know life can cause complete chaos & we have no time for the things we should be doing but have you running & doing things that was not planned.

******SUNDAY & MONDAY UPDATE
This has definitely been a roller coaster ride but what do you expect from such a major surgery. Yesterday I was finally going to go visit Camy (with me being sick I could not go earlier), my sister called & said they were not allowing Camy to have any visitors because they were concerned again with her stats. They wanted to run another sleep study & were going to take her off her pain medicine to see if that could be causing the oxygen problem. I can't imagine if she is still in so much pain with the medicine how she was going to be without medicine. Sometime though during the day they realized she was needing her pain medicine and they went ahead and gave her another dose. They are also having trouble getting her to drink any fluids. She continues to throw up, so that was another concern as well.

I waited until this morning to see what the results were showing today. They seem to fluctuate so much on a daily basis. They decided she has sleep apnea & when she does fall asleep it keeps showing her respiratory machine go down to 0, but she does not actually quit breathing. They said she starts crying when it starts becoming critical & then it seems to wake her up. They were not as worried about the oxygen/sleep apnea but said she could not go home until she started keeping fluids down.

Well tonight I received a call & my sister said they have come home!!! Wow, what a shock & a little confusing, but they said she may recover better in her own atmosphere. As long as they can keep liquids down her she should be fine but, if not, they live close enough to a hospital that they could get her there fast enough.

At this point, everyone is glad to be home but they are a little nervous & will have some sleepless night just monitoring her & making sure she keeps breathing. Once again we thank you all so much, you all have been so kind & we are hoping her progress will continue!!!

******SATURDAY UPDATE
Hallelujah, there is a new baby today at Riley Hospital!!! Last night they did the sleep study & 10 minutes into it they found what they needed, not sure exactly what it was that they found but it seemed to help. She has been a whole different baby today however they will still need to monitor her oxygen level while she sleeps. The doctor is very encouraged that her stats are normal .

There was a whole new atmosphere in her hospital room today & when I spoke to my sister their spirits were up!!!! Camy was actually alert & was starting to become mobile until she found out she was hooked up to a bunch of wires. Our little Camy has been touched by all of your prayers.

Our family cannot thank you enough for all of your thoughts and concerns. Each day we are looking for positive progress and one step closer to bringing her home.

******FRIDAY UPDATE
Do you ever wonder when you are put into a situation how much you could handle or how much strength you have to stay strong? I truthfully believe that God will only give us what we can handle and he must give mothers a whole lot of strength to pull us through when it comes to our children. It is bringing tears to their eyes each moment they keep looking at Camy. I wish I could update today with better news but unfortunately things have become worse. The doctor is now concerned with her stats. Her oxygen level has dropped immensely and that is even after they put her on oxygen. They thought the morphine was causing her oxygen to drop but without the morphine her blood pressure is extremely high due to the pain she is in. They are wanting to do a sleep study because they fear she will stop breathing while she is asleep. They are monitoring her closely.

It breaks my heart each time I talk to them, their voices seems more discouraged, but I know they are keeping strong for Camy.

Thanks again for the concerns & most definitely for the prayers

******THURSDAY UPDATE
Well, when they said today was going to be rough I am not sure if they expected to be so heart breaking. I just spoke to my sister & Camy is in a lot of pain. They tried to switch her to codeine but that was not working as well as the morphine, so they switched her back. She is running a high fever & is throwing up but the doctor said this is all part of it. She lost a lot of spinal fluid and her body has gone into shock. They are watching for fluid on her brain because she is very swollen. They have not let her come to completely yet, but she is crying & keeps saying "it hurts". Their hearts are aching because they can not do anything for her but just hold her.

Please keep praying because they said it looks like a few rough days are ahead, but they keep saying the surgery was still a success!!!

Thank you & we appreciate all the emails & your thoughts

******UPDATE AFTER SURGERY
WOW, Judy Publow you are so right the Power of Prayer is Amazing!!! First of all I want to thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts concerns & the emails. They are very much appreciated. The surgery did not get started until about 1:30pm and was told it would be a minimum of 4 hours. The nurse kept coming out with updates and letting them know how things were going, but the last one at 5:30 brought tears to everyone's eyes. They said everything went beautifully which was a huge relief for everyone and that the doctor wanted to talk to Matt & Amy (parents) alone after they stitched her up. Once Amy talked to the doctor she said that the mass was so large that is was growing down through her spinal cord and there was so much pressure that it even broke off 2 of the little bones at the bottom of her brain stem. (For all my friends that are nurses I am sure I am not saying everything medically correct but bear with me). The doctor said she has been in a lot of pain but they feel like the surgery was a success!!! They even let her come to a little and she was able to move her arms & legs, what a MIRACLE!!! They said tomorrow would be a rough day and things should start looking up from there.

I wanted to let everyone know that I may not be able to respond to all your emails, but I woke up with this nasty flu/cold that everyone seems to have & it has really got me down today. So, I was not able to go to the hospital, which was very disappointing but I knew they did not need my nasty germs there!!!

I will keep you updated as the week goes on because she will be at the hospital for 7 days. We still appreciate the thoughts & prayers for our little miracle baby for a speedy and pain free recovery!!!

******NIGHT BEFORE SURGERY
We are sending this post to all of our loved ones to ask you to please keep our great niece Camryn (Camy) Quiggins (Amy's daughter) in your thoughts and prayers. She will be having very risky brain surgery tomorrow, Wed. Feb. 27, at Riley Hospital at 12:00pm. She has had a mass growing on the rear of her brain and it has wrapped around her brain stem and spinal cord. The growth has started growing very rapidly and, if not removed, will cause her to suffocate. The presssure from the growth causes her to choke when she eats and prevents her from sleeping due to her airwave closing off when she lies down.

As you look at this precious little girl, who will turn 2 next month, it does not appear that there are any problems but the growth has affected her sight, speech & hearing. They are hoping after the surgery all of her functions will return. The neurologist did not want to do this procedure because she is so young but they have no choice now. They will be removing some of her brain, brain stem and a part of her spinal cord. Camy and her family will have a rough and long recovery after the surgery. They are estimating the recovery time to be 4 months to a year - involving intense therapy and possibly paralysis.

We really need your prayers for Camy and her family. My sister and Amy just keep saying they hope the neurologist gets a good night sleep and has a steady hand!!! As you can imagine, they are tremendously concerned with this delicate procedure.

Thank you so much for keeping Amy and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will send an update tomorrow night once I get home from the hospital.
Chad, Terri, Dalen & Annalei

2008-02-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Well, I decided to take the kids up to get their pictures taken this week at "Picture People" where my niece works. Have you ever left and wondered why you even try to attempt a photo shoot of your kids????? Thank goodness for my niece, she knows when to take the picture at the right time!!! Annalei only knows 1 smile and that is "Cheese" with no eyes showing, you have Dalen that was giving fake smiles that did not look natural & did not want in the "Black & Pink" pictures ONLY "Colts". I am still not sure why I decided to attempt to have a clothes change, expecting a 2 1/2 year old and an 8 year old to cooperate for 1 sitting is hard enough, let alone 2!!! Well, after we took the photos "Picture People" was packed with people waiting to get their pictures taken, it was a Monday night who would of thought!!! So, we decided to go get something to eat and shop a little, we come back and had to wait, wait, & wait a little longer. WHY, because I was family, we still had homework, I had a restless little one that was ready to go home & go to bed and we still had not seen our photos yet. Finally, it was our turn, by that point, Dalen was constantly asking for everything in the mall, we were all out of pretzel sticks that Annalei could eat and to top it off they gave all the kids there balloons and Dalen and some other little boy kept hitting each other. My nerves were shot!!! So, when we left (3 hours later)I had NO idea what I bought and if I even liked them!!! I just kept saying that is great give me that one. After an hour trip home we did home work and I put them both to bed, I woke up and looked at the pictures once again, and LOVED them!!! Thank you Amy for putting up with your "CRAZY, STRESSED OUT" Aunt, you did an AWESOME job!!!

By the way all of this was for my cute little purse that I got for Christmas that has a photo panel on the front and you can change them out with different pictures!!! I needed a horizontal picture of my 2 kids!!!

MAYBE NEXT YEAR!!!!

2008-01-14T13:51:00.000-05:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Well we couldn't do it 2 years in a row, but we are not giving up. We will pack up the jersey's until next year & hope to bring home another Super Bowl win. We may have to let the other "Manning" have it this year.

Even though it was a SAD loss we all still had a good time together, ate lots of GREAT food and enjoyed watching the kids play. Hope you enjoy the slideshow, and you will see everyone was supporting their "Blue & White"!!!

OUR MAGICAL CHRISTMAS 2007!!!

2008-01-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

Make a photobook - it's easy!

How magical it is to watch Christmas morning through a childs eyes!!! I anticipate it as much as the kids do. This year was more exciting for Annalei. She was starting to understand who Santa is and she knew to tell him that she wanted a "Kitchen"!! And was it ever obvious on Christmas morning!

Dalen was a bit excited too, to say the least. He awoke us at 1:30 am the first time and repeatedly for the next 2:30 hours. Finally I convinced him to lay on the couch until about 6:30. I had to wake Annalei. She was a bit drousy at first, but then when she realized Santa had brought her kitchen, she was full of life. Dalen was completely through opening all of his gifts and busy playing with them before Annalei came out of her new kitchen. She had little interest in opening her other gifts. Santa had delivered her kitchen and she was in heaven. She would even yell out and say "Thank You, Santa!! We have enjoyed many meals since! What a fine chef she is!

2 YEARS AGO TODAY!!!

2008-01-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

We received the long awaited call at exactly 2 years ago today at 1:25pm!!! I had not learned the patience of God's timing until that call came in, since then I knew what ever God had in store it was worth waiting for!!!! Our social worker called and I really was not thinking it was "THE CALL", until she said we have a "DAUGHTER"!!!!! Her name is Gao Shao Ying, born on June 12, 2005, that call changed our lives and our hearts FOREVER!!!

MY PRETTY PRINCESS DRESS!!!

2007-12-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

My sister made the most beautiful Christmas dress for Annalei this year. Annalei thinks she is a Princess and twirls every time she puts it on. Mommy won't let her keep it on very long because it has to make it for Church tomorrow and for Christmas day. So here is just a rough draft of what she will look like, we are minus the tights, shoes, pearls and our hair was bed head!!!

Thank you Aunt Pam, I feel like a "PRINCESS"!!!!

DECORATING COOKIES!!!!

2007-12-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

PICTURES with SANTA!!!

2007-12-22T11:26:00.000-05:00

This was the year for Santa photos!!! Annalei has decided he is a really cool guy!!! We were very shocked when she jumped right up on is lap and NEVER wanted to get off. She won't go to hardly anyone and we have a rough time leaving her with someone when we need a babysitter so I may have found the perfect sitter from now on!!!!

4 LITTLE DANCING ELF'S!!!

2007-12-03T21:03:00.001-05:00

Click on the link below and check out the adorable dancing elf's!!! Be prepared to laugh!!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1155283276

KIDS CHRISTMAS PHOTO'S!!!

2007-11-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

A few weeks ago while we still had some beautiful November weather, my friend Kindra took some GREAT pictures of the kids around our little town of "Gosport"!!! Believe it or not there were some really nostalgic places for them to be taken. There were to many good photo's not to show them all, so I put together a slide show to show them off!!!

Thanks again Kindra you did an awesome job!!!!

HALLOWEEN 2007!!!

2007-11-29T18:24:00.001-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

OK, I know I am a couple of months behind and it is the wrong Holiday to be celebrating but since my computer crashed at Halloween I never got to post my cuties all dressed up!!! I put a slide show together of all the fun we had during the month of October, between carving pumpkins, the fabulous Halloween party that Kindra and Kelby put on and then of course "Trick or Treating" where we are still eating the candy they got.

Hope you enjoy watching because we sure enjoyed all the FUN we had doing it all!!!

WE ARE BACK AND READY TO UPDATE!!!

2007-11-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

The computer has made it home from the hospital and everything was saved!!! I am so excited to be able to post pictures for the holidays!!! There is so much to update and I am going to start with Dalen's 8th Birthday party at Caribbean Cove. It's an indoor water park and we went over "Fall Break". The kids had a ball and the parents were exhausted afterwards. Thank you so much Debi, Scott and the Smith's for taking off work and coming and joining us in all the FUN!!!!

Aunt Molly thanks again for the wonderful cake. We all enjoyed, like always!!!

PLEASE STAY TUNED!!!!

2007-11-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

My computer has crashed and is making a fast dash to the emergency room!!!! There is so much to post and so many fun pictures to see from Dalen's 8th birthday party at "Caribbean Cove (indoor water park), Halloween party where the kids and adults had to dress up, to trick or treating and then this weekend the kids are getting their pictures taken for Christmas cards.

So, please pray that the computer doctor can get things fixed in a flash and keeping fingers crossed that no pictures have been lost!!!! Hope to return real soon!!!

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!!

2007-10-23T10:41:00.001-04:00

WOOO HOOO!!!! We are on a roll again 29-7 against the Jaguars!!!! Can the Colts do it 2 years in a row???? Are family was ready for the big game last night, we even let Dalen stay up until 10:00 (I know shame on me) to watch the game!!!! He is so obsessed with football right now and as you will see he is posing with one of his new birthday gifts, a trash can!!!! What kid asks for a trashcan for his birthday???? Everything he asked for his birthday and now Christmas is about football or the Colts!!!

GO COLTS GO!!!!!

WEEKEND with MY GAO SHAO SISTER!!!

2007-10-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago one of the famlies that we traveled with to China came to stay for the weekend. We had a wonderful time and the girls had a lot of fun playing. They arrived on Friday and we had dinner and celebrated Dalen's birthday with Red Velvet cake!!! Then on Saturday the dad's took the girls for a ride on the 4-wheelers. Gigi even decided to drive all by herself!!! After the day of fun riding and we got ready and the mommy and daddy's went out for the evening to the Purdue vs Ohio State game!!! Let me just remind everyone that my husband graduated from Purdue and Matt & Gigi are HUGE Ohio State fans!!!! Guess which side we sat on?????? OHIO STATE, Chad stood out in his Purdue attire with all the Red and White Buckeye fans, but Chad had NO smiles at the end of the game when OS beat us 23-0!!!!

I am so glad we live fairly close to each other because it will give us the chance to keep the girls in contact with each other. It still amazes me after just spending 2 weeks in China and sharing such a magical moment on "March 19, 2005, Our Gotcha Day" with other 8 other families that we will all share a forever bond for a lifetime!!!!

OWEN VALLEY PLAYS @ RCA DOME!!!

2007-10-01T15:31:00.000-04:00

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Our High School team every year gets a chance to play at the RCA Dome where the Indianapolis Colts play at!!! You can imagine it is a big deal for the football team and of course the cheerleaders. Since I use to coach the OV cheerleaders it is always fun to still go and watch them, and now my other adopted daughter (as we call her) Brooke is on the JV squad. It doesn't look like I will ever get away from all that "Rah, Rah" stuff!!!! Mommy even decided that Annalei needed to look like Brooke, so she now has a "Patriot" uniform to wear to the games. What has Mommy created??? My friend Gina has a son Mikey that plays for the OV team his # is 21, I had a hard time getting a good picture of him being so far away.

Unfortunately we lost but it is still a great experience for them all!!! Dalen loved it and hopes the school will continue to do this so he will get a chance to play at the new "Lucas Oil" stadium someday!!!

ANNALEI'S GYMNASTICS!!!!

2007-09-25T12:02:00.000-04:00

Annalei started gymnastics 3 weeks ago and she LOVES it!!! She is already doing her front somersault and backwards somersault, she has started working on a cartwheel she walks on the beam and swings on the rings and the bars. But most of all she has learned to end every trick with a pretty finish!!!

We are hoping this will help with the clingyness when we are out in public and she will start trusting others to help her. She will go in her own class when she is 3 so luckily we have 9 months to work on that because as of right now she would not go with out mommy. She seems to be doing better at every class, so there is hope that I won't always have a Velcro child.

If she never makes it to the Olympics at least she will look cute trying. She loves to wear her new little "Gymnastics Suit" as she call it.

SURVIVOR CHINA!!!!

2007-09-25T11:43:00.000-04:00

OK, so how many people are Survivor fans????? Well, as you all know we are glued to it every year. Chad swears he could do it but since he downloaded the application like 4 years ago he has done nothing with it. I truly think he would be voted off real soon once they see how nasty he can get without FOOD!!!

With Survivor being in China this year we decided to have a little Survivor party and serve Chinese food. My two nieces needed haircuts so I said you can come but we have to be done by 8:00 and if the haircut is not finished "THEY WERE OUT OF LUCK" because I was sitting down watching my show no matter what. Luckily we finished right when it was starting so they are not running around with an unfinished haircut. My sister and her new "Fiance" came with my nieces so we all watched the first episode together.

So, far I am liking "GRAVEDIGGER" what about those muscles!!!! Looking forward to this Thursday at 8:00, nobody better call because I WON'T answer!!!!

ANNALEI"S NEW HAIRCUT!!!!

2007-09-20T11:37:00.000-04:00

Well as we all know that Annalei's mommy is a hairdresser and she has decided that Annalei's hair is a little to stringy!!! So, what is a hairdresser to do, CUT IT OFF!!!! Daddy is still not to sure if he likes it because he likes her ponytails but with mommy being a hairdresser that I am we can still do ponytails!!!! She has a long time that she can have long hair but for now while we have new hair growing in to make it thicker we have decided it looks a lot better short and of course she still looks adorable short or long!!!

P.S. Don't you just love the cheesy smile? That is the only smile we get now when we take pictures.

FOOTBALL TIME!!!!

2007-09-20T11:24:00.000-04:00

Dalen has decided to take a football clinic before next year when he will be playing full tackle and wearing all the gear. It was not really a sport that mommy thought he would like or that mommy really wanted him to do. But as we all know you have to let your kids try and let them make that chose. Well, he really is doing pretty well until they started playing a true game. What ever position he may be playing, which lately has been tackle and full back, he wants to run after the person that has the ball and not guard who he should be. So, we have some more learning to do but he really does seem to LOVE the sport. I constantly have a football flying through the living room while he dives for it and I am waiting for everything to be broken real soon!!!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

2007-08-23T09:32:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that my little guy is already in 2nd grade this year. He was up and ready early that morning waiting on the bus. Mommy use to not let him ride the bus but "Grandma Chip" thinks mommy needs to unloosen the Velcro strap just a little. Annalei was up that morning to see "D" (that is now what Annalei calls him) off on the "Big Yellow Bus". She does not understand that he is off to school, she just thinks "D" is on the bus all day long.

Where does the time go? I just wish I could keep my kids little "FOREVER"!!!!

SUMMER RECAP!!!

2007-08-21T11:45:00.000-04:00

Well now that I finally have the time to update again I am going to rewind from the reunion. After we returned home from Pennsylvania we went back to baseball. Dalen's team did really well all season they only lost 2 games. Tournaments started and they ended up 4th place. GREAT JOB, you boys had a great season!!!

After baseball we went to the Morgan County fair. Dalen is in mini 4-H, he did 20 projects, he showed Daisy (the dog) in the pet parade, he showed his goat named Daisy 2, and he showed a sheep named Chevy!!! Then he rode his bike in the bike rodeo on Thursday. As you can see we spent a lot of time at the FAIR!!! Can't imagine what it will be like once he is out of mini 4-H and showing more animals!!!

After the fair, we went camping for the weekend with the horses and Gina, Scott, Khrista, Brooke and Madison came with us. We had a great time and we even got Brooke and Madison to finally ride a horse. It was their first time ever riding and Chad told them if they would ride he would ride also. Chad is not real fond of horses, but he did follow through with his promise!!!

After our camping weekend we had our "Lazy Day's" festival here in Gosport. It starts on Thursday and goes through the weekend. They always have live entertainment, good food and a parade that Dalen and Daddy always ride in on the fire truck. We also entered Annalei in the baby contest, which of course she was the cutest baby there but did not win!!! Daddy even wanted to show her off and was the one that took her in front of the judges!!!!

So, now that summer is over we had to get ready and get back in the groove for school!!! All mommy can say is "I NEED A RELAXING VACATION ON THE BEACH"!!!!!

GAO SHAO SISTERS REUNION!!!!

2007-08-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

I know I have been slacking on my blogging but we have had a long and busy summer. Our kids have kept us on the go. Are most exciting adventure this summer was our reunion with our China famlies. We had such a wonderful time and it is so amazing the bond we will all have for a lifetime. Five out of the nine families met at Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, (so you can imagine all the chocolate that was ate), we enjoyed the amusemant park, Hershy gardens and Chocoalte World!!! My favorite time was when we all came back to take the girls swimming at the pool and just watching all of them play it is so amazing how they have all grown . They are all so adorable and what a blessing they have been to each and every family. We look forward to our reunion next year in Chicago!!!!

"DADDY'S BROWN EYED GIRL"!!!!

2007-06-25T19:02:00.000-04:00

Annalei just LOVES her daddy, so we surprised him on Father's Day with this adorable T-shirt for her to wear. Thanks to Angela Bride from my Gaozhou yahoo group for coming across this website. This company has very cute items and different shirts to choose from.

Here is the link if you are interested. http://www.my-little-pretty.com/.

ANNALEI'S 2nd BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!

2007-06-21T22:13:00.000-04:00

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

We celebrated Annalei's 2nd birthday party with Minnie Mouse this year!!!! It was a full day of family fun by eating, swimming, riding horses and pony cart rides. What more could a 2 year want!!!

It really is hard to believe how this precious little blessing is now 2!!! She has been in our arms for 15 months now and we can not imagine our lives without her!!! We thank God each and every day for the gift of life that he gave to us. Best gift I could of ever asked for!!!!

Happy Birthday our sweet Annalei!!!

ANNALEI'S 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!

2007-06-21T16:14:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe my baby is now 2. She does not even look like a baby anymore nor is she acting like it either. Daddy was gone on her birthday so we went down to Mama & Pa Paw Chip's house and had Aunt Pam and Uncle Walt, Aunt Sandy,Uncle Bret, Cousin Stephanie, Cousin Matti and Cousin Cami over to celebrate with us. We had a cook-out and rode horses. Mama made every one's favorite cake "Red Velvet"!!!!

After Daddy got home we had her "Minnie Mouse" party that Saturday with the rest of the family. Stay tuned for more party pictures!!!!

SUMMER FUN FOR BROTHER & SISTER!!!!

2007-06-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Well the summer has already been busy but one thing for sure the kids are having fun together!!! Dalen so far has only lost 1 baseball game and he has 3 games left. He started 4-H camp this week and has baseball camp next week. He is showing a goat and sheep this year at the fair and in his spare time him and Annalei are doing a lot of swimming in the pool and playing outside. Annalei went to her 1st drive-in movie to see "Shrek 3" but she fell asleep 5 mintues into the movie. We have already did so much and so much more is to come!!!!

****Just "Click to Play" and it will down load the slide show.

THANKS TIFFANY!!!!

2007-06-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

I wanted to give out a big "THANKS" to Tiffany for our adorable "Vera Bradley" pet carrier. It has come in so handy and I really think Daisy & I would fit right in, in Hollywood!!!!

WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO!!!!!

2007-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

You know how all of us SAHM's are always accused of sitting around on the couch all day watching soap operas and eating "Bon Bon's"!!! I guess it just comes natural, this was Annalei watching her favorite show the "Doodlebops" and she needed a chocolate fix!!!!

IT"S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!

2007-05-22T14:03:00.000-04:00

Well baseball has started for Dalen. He is keeping us pretty busy right now with practices and games. Opening day was May 5th they had a parade that morning through town and then "The Games Begin"!!!! Annalei's little friend Lucy was there to watch her big brother play to. Dalen so far has had 3 games and they have WON every game, hopefully they will play the rest of the season that good!!!!

NEW FAMILY ADDITION!!!!

2007-05-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Well we have added a new member to the family!!! Dalen has named her Daisy Dow!!! She really is such a sweet puppy and so far has been pretty easy to train, THANK GOODNESS!!! Dalen has been wanting a dog for a long time and with his allergies to dog's we held off to see if he would grow out of it. So far he has been OK with her, he has had no reactions!!! She is a toy Yorkie and was born on Feb. 25th and at her last week vet appointment she weighed 2.4 lbs. I am hoping she gets a little bigger or she won't be able to live through Annalei carrying her around by the neck!!! We have to watch those 2, poor Daisy is all I have to say about that!!! She found out what the big water bowl outside is all about, she has taken a few falls in the pool and luckily she knows how to swim!!!

Thank goodness Chad got over being mad at me for bringing it home because I do think we have a perfect family pet!!! We could not have asked for a better dog!!!

COLORING EASTER EGGS!!!!

2007-04-16T14:35:00.000-04:00

Coloring Easter eggs are always so eventful and such a mess, but always FUN!!!! We ended up having to do it twice because the first time seemed to scare Annalei. After we put the first egg in and it came out blue she got so scared and started crying and wanted AWAY from the egg. So, the next night we did it again and she was just fine with it, who knows it must of been one of those drama queen moods!!!!

So we ended up with LOTS of eggs once she found out it was fun to have BLUE fingers!!!!

SPRING BREAK in ALABAMA!!!!

2007-04-06T12:13:00.000-04:00

Last year for Dalen's spring break we stayed home for him to bond with his little sister and did not do anything but try to get adjusted to another little one in the house and try to get back on Indiana time. So, this year we went to one of our favorite vacation areas Heflin, Alabama!!!! I know you guys are probably sitting there wondering where in the world is that, but where else can you go to ride 4-wheelers up in the mountains, play with baboons, alligators, snakes, lemurs, porcupines, feed baby beavers, hear crows talk in your back yard and gain 20lbs by eating the best food ever!!! Sounds like heaven doesn't it. Well there is always a good time to be had when we visit Uncle Brian and Aunt Anita's house!!! I am still digging the red dirt out of my kids ears!!! Brian and Anita are also in the process of adopting a 3 1/2 year old little boy, his name is Anthony and he is so precious and just hilarious like his daddy. Anita has already pre-arranged for Annalei and Anthony to marry some day so you will see pictures of the two of them in their Mickey and Minnie costumes from Halloween and she said these are pictures for their wedding day!!! Annalei was never called by her name from Anthony it was always "Anthony's baby" daddy is afraid it was LOVE at first sight!!!

Every time we come home we are always talking about how fun it is down there so our friends Scott and Gina decided they had to see what in the world we were talking about so they took the girls (Brooke and Madison) and went with us.

Thanks again Brian, Anita and Anthony we had a great time and we love you!!!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!!!!

2007-03-19T13:55:00.000-04:00

Make your own Click to play

A year ago on March 19, 2006 our hearts were changed forever!!! This precious little blessing from God has brought us so much joy. It is so hard to believe she has been a part of our family for a whole year now. Time flies when you are having FUN!!!!

Just click play above and you can see how much she has changed.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!

2007-02-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year started on Feb. 18th and it goes for 15 days. This year is the year of the pig. We decided to have a little celebration of our own and planned a luncheon for the families that live around our area. We had such a good time and I think there was roughly 25 kids there.

Pine Wood Derby Race!!!!

2007-02-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday Dalen had is Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts. Him and Daddy had been working hard on his truck. Maybe Daddy more than Dalen, daddy is a little competitive!!! He ended up placing 3rd and was chosen for having the best looking car also!!! Daddy has already started thinking what they can do different to have the fastest car for next year. GREAT JOB, DALEN & DADDY!!!!

"Wedding and Sledding Weekend"!!!

2007-02-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

The Dow's were very busy this past weekend. My niece got married and she asked Dalen to be the "Ring Bearer". He did so good and looked very handsome. This was his 3rd wedding to be a ring bearer, so he is a pro by now. Even though he was not overly excited about doing it, especially the wedding party dance that he had to dance with Addison the flower girl. The wedding was very beautiful. Congrats, Stacey and Chris!!!!

After the long weekend we decided to have a sledding party on Sunday to just have FUN!!! The Smith's came over that have 3 little girls from China, my sister in-law with her daughter and a friend and then Brooke and Madison Gates. We all had fun until Cheryl decided to become Ms. Fancy Pants on the snow board and she got hurt and is now on crutches. The doctors asked if she was to "OLD" to be doing that!!! That is what she gets for showing us all up. Hope you get better soon Cheryl.