This is the day

It was exactly 8 years ago today that we saw Kate's face for the first time.  I really cannot believe it was that long ago. I remember it like it was yesterday.  I even remember choosing my clothes that day thinking I would be seeing her face for the first time (so silly!)  Our agency emailed us the photo in the early evening and we all gathered around my laptop to see what she looked like. I remember seeing her sweet face.  She looked very serious (and she is not serious at all). Her nose was so tiny and her cheeks were so full. My friend, Amie was there as we saw Kate's photos for the first time and she captured it on video.  Will just kept saying how beautiful she was. You can read the whole story here.

I had no idea on that day how perfectly and seamlessly she would fit into our family but she does.  God blessed all of us so much with Kate.  She brings JOY to so many people.

Each year, I take a few photos of Kate with her referral photo.  I was not sure she would still oblige this year as she is 8 and 1/2 and she is too busy doing other things to give me a few minutes for a photo shoot.  But she did it for me.  They're not the best photos as she was in a hurry to get back to her knitting and her TV show.  She is obsessed with knitting these days.

This morning after Mass, Kate wanted to go to our favorite place for breakfast. No one else really wanted to go (but me) so Kate and I went and had a lovely Mommy/Daughter date.
It was really nice as we ran into some old friends and some new friends who are about to travel to China to meet their daughter.  I am continually amazed at the ways that God brings people together. Lately our paths have crossed with some other families considering adoption or in the process and it is has been honor to be a part of that journey.

We always get a chuckle out of Kate's referral photo as it certainly is a unique one.

Thank you God for brining Kate into our lives.  We will never really know why her birth parents could not raise her but we are so blessed and honored that we get to be her family. I really cannot imagine our lives without her. We love you Kate.

You can see our referral day photos over the years by clicking here and scrolling through them.

Chinese new year, referral and cotillion

Normally, I would spread these out over 3 posts but I know my habits and time constraints lately and so I need to just get it done.  This was a busy weekend for our family. Friday was the start of Chinese New year and we always celebrate as a family.  I'll start there.

As luck would have it Friday was a"free dress" day at Kate's school.  She chose to wear her Chinese silks.  In the past, she has always worn them to school at the start of Chinese New Year but I can predict a time in the near future where she will stop so I am glad she did.  I got one quick snapshot before she left for school.

Then, on Friday night, we went to a local restaurant to eat and see the lion dance.  Harry had a lacrosse game which he was going to skip to be with Kate.  But at the last minute one of Kate's best friends was available to join us (we only had a reservation for 5) so Harry happily went to his lax game.  It was all good.  It was very, very dark in the restaurant.  I should have brought my external flash.

I love the expressions on Kate and her friend's faces here.

In past years, Kate has been very afraid of the lion dance.  One year, she even made her own at home to avoid the restaurant.  So, it was extra special to see how excited she got this year.  She loved it.






She even gave the lion red envelopes for the first time.

Kate's face lit up the second she heard the drums and then her smile got bigger with each lion.  But she really got excited at the end for the dragon!







excuse Will's squint....he hates the flash.



You can see from Kate's smile just how much fun she had.
  She LOVES Chinese New Year and I love her enthusiasm!!!


Saturday was the 7 year anniversary of the very first time we ever saw sweet Katie Ru's face.  Although her name then was Lu Dan Ru:)

Each year, I take a few photos of Kate and her referral photo.  My plan this year was to take Kate to a park and do them outside in her Chinese Silks since her referral anniversary falls on Chinese New Year this year.  But our weekend was crazy busy for other reasons too and we never made it to the park. The weather was very overcast so the light indoors was terrible too.  But the fact is I am trying hard just to be more in the moment of real life and less worried about the pictures of life.  So, I want to capture the memory but I am less willing to jump through hoops to get it. Make sense?

I love her kissy faces.  She did the ALL the time as a baby.



Then Kate began asking the questions she asks every year about being in the middle of the street and about the walker....


But this year she asked how we knew she was a girl because she thinks her hair line in the referral photo looks JUST like Daddy's!


So Dave jumped in the pictures and the interaction between them was adorable...

Then Saturday night was the cotillion for the girls school.  Will was invited over Christmas break when this sweet young lady showed up at ur door with cookies that spelled out "Cotillion?"  It was a milestone for Will as well because we bought him his first tuxedo.  We had rented before but since he gets invited to a lot of these dances, we decided to buy one.  It just seems so grown up to own a tuxedo. I simply cannot believe how grown up he is now.

Will's date, Nicole had the pre-party at her house.  So, her parents graciously invited us all for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and photos before the dinner dance.  I love how parents here do this.  These years are so fleeting and I really enjoy these special nights.  It is fun to see the kids all dressed up and on their best behavior.

We really should have done all the photos outside before it got dark, but it was humid and the girls did not want to mess up their hair by going outside.  I LOVE this shot because Will's date was the only girl who actually came out right away.





 Luckily, the rest followed for this shot...

Harry had another lacrosse game on Saturday so we did not see much of him.  It is the season so I am sure I will be posting about lacrosse here soon too.  Hope you all enjoy your Superbowl festivities.  I'll be back this week with another catch up post.

Six precious years ago...

we saw the cutest chubby cheeks looking at us from a computer screen...

We waited a long, long three years to see who God had planned for our family and I will never forget the moment we saw this sweet face.  I loved that button nose right away and I could not believe how long her fingers were. But really, I could not get over how big she was! I had seen a lot of skinny, little babies being referred from China. So to see this plump, little dumpling who was this big at just 6 months old blew me away.

As I have said before, I spent weeks carrying this photo around showing store clerks and anyone else who would look or listen that THIS was my daughter.  I was so proud of her and I did not even know her yet.  I also spent those weeks wondering what she would be like.  I wondered what traits God gave her.

I never really imagined that six years later I would be blogging about what a talented gymnast and graceful dancer she is.  I never could have imagined she would win two art contests at school this year.  Kate could barely pick up a cheerio at 10 months old!! I am not kidding. Kate came home to us a VERY happy, funny, sweet and JOYFUL little girl but she was also very, very clumsy.  I only tell you this to say that we just never know what plans God has for us.  You never know what talents lie deep within you. These talents MUST have been in her all along but we sure did not see any signs of them early on.  She was far from graceful or coordinated early on and my friends who knew her then would whole heartedly agree with that.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Our life changed that day six years ago when we got this photo.  Even though we did not even begin to know the beautiful person Kate would bloom to be...we all started to fall in love with her.  From the moment we all saw this photo...she was our family!  And I cannot imagine our family without her.

She is loving and generous and funny.  She is gracious and tough.  She is SO strong (she almost beat me in arm wrestling and she can climb to the top of the rope and ring the bell at the gym!))  She has a huge sweet tooth and does not like her veggies.  She tries really hard at things and that determination will get her far.  She loves her brothers so much and is a great friend.  She is the greatest blessing and we are so grateful that God brought her to our family.

As you might know, I take a photo of Kate every year with her referral photo. Here are the photos from today

She always laughs about that fact that they have her in the street!!

But today she was also laughing about her hair.

She said, "It looked like Daddy's hair!  How did you know I was a girl?!"

To read the story of how I made the call to find out who Kate was, you can read here.  And here is how we announced her on the blog (I truly could not even think straight to post that day!) And to scroll through the past referral day photos (it is fun to see how she has changed)....click here and scroll back.

We love you SO much Katie Ru!!!!

Five years ago today

Dearest Kate Emerson Ru,

It was exactly 5 years ago today that we saw your sweet face for the very first time (in her referral photo; not in person).  Five years ago today my heart began to grow in ways I never could have imagined.  On that special day, God revealed to us who had been chosen for our family. What a blessing that day and every single day since has been.

You have brought such laughter and joy to our household.  You make us laugh so hard at the dinner table (and you always have).  You have softened the boys and you have taught us all things about ourselves that we needed to learn.  We all love you fiercely.

As I have blogged about before, when I saw your referral photo standing in the streets of China, I had so many questions. I wanted to know everything about you. I could not wait to get to know that little (BIG) personality inside of you.  Today, we are such buddies.  I know you better than anyone in the world.  I am your biggest cheerleader.  You are my snuggle bunny.  You are my sunshine.

For our mini shoot today...Kate started out kinda serious.  But in true Kate style, she got fun and silly.  She thought it would be fun to turn the photo sideways:)

{For those of you new to 3 peanuts, you can read about the first time we ever saw Kate's referral photos here (it is a good story) and here.  Every year on February 1st, I take a photo of Kate holding her referral photo.  You can see all of the years here . }

My sweet dumpling just said, "Mama, I was wondering if you'd like to watch Miss Spider's sunny patch kids with me?"  And guess what---- I cannot think of one thing I'd rather do right now.  So, I am off to cuddle and watch with her:)  I am so blessed.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11.