So much to be thankful for...

I have had so much going on and I did not plan to post until tomorrow for Thankful Thurday. However, I am overwhelmed at the kindeness of people who have e-mailed me inquiring about how Elissa is doing and if she had her baby. I had no idea people would be checking so much. Sorry that I did not get to post it right away. Thank you for praying for my friend and checking in on her. My heart is so touched. So, I decided to be thankful a day early:)

This has been an incredible week. I have so much to be thankful for:

• Thank you for the prayers and inquiries for my friend Elissa. She had a beautiful and healthy baby boy on Monday. Jack Mason was 7 lbs. 7 oz. I have visited them twice and they are doing GREAT! Elissa is so in love with him that when I hold him, she looks longingly like she wants him back:) He is mellow and sweet and does not fuss or cry at all (yet)! She has two gorgeous daughters and is thrilled to finally have a son!


• My friend, Denise received her LOA for Maggie Mae. This is great news as now Denise will just be waiting for her consulate appointment and they will be bringing home Maggie very soon. We will be celebrating Chinese New Year with them this weekend so now we have even more to celebrate! I will definitely post pictures of our celebration!


• My neighbor recieved her referral on Monday for her beautiful daughter, Lily. Lily will live right around the corner and she is just a few months younger than Kate. We are so excited for her to come home.


• Kate Emerson has been home with us for just as long as she lived with her foster family in China (10 months). As people who have adopted internationally know, this is a turning point of sorts. She has now known us for as long as she knew her first family. Hopefully, she now feels secure in the love of her forever family.


• Kate got her ears pierced this weekend and she did GREAT! She barely cried for a few seconds after it was done. I immediately gave her a lollipop and the crying was over. They look adorable and she likes to look at them in the mirror. I am thankful that it went so easily (Dad held her) and that she doesn't touch, fuss or play with them. Thanks Debbie, Kim and Leslie for answering all of my questions and giving me guidance about how to do this.


• I am thankful that I have been able to watch the moving journey of a blog buddy in China this week. Lynn from Somewhere in the Sun has been writing about bringing home Olivia. Grab a cup of tea and a box of tissues and go read about this heartwarming adventure of pure love. They are on their way home and I am so thankful for the prayers support she received these past few weeks. Olivia made changes everyday right before our eyes. Go read it!

I made a short slideshow of some things from this week. I have not been able to get a really good picture of Kate this week to show of her new earrings. Got one in the tub but I shot in it RAW mode on my camera and it will not upload properly..need advice on that.