I have moved!!

My blog has moved to HERE. Please continue to follow our family an my journey through college!! Sorry for not posting this sooner.

Taylor

Family update One year Home and Jacob's Birthday!

Since I have been so slack about keeping this blog up-to-date, I have finally found time to sit down and up date. Jacob has been home a year Feb 5th and what a year it has been! We have learned so much from this little boy and he is simply amazing!! Tomorrow this little guy turns 9 ad its sad because we missed out so much on the firsts of his life. His adoption and adjustments been much different then the Princesses but I wouldnt trade him for the world and yes that includes those mornings when we first got home and the lights at 4 am when I had to go to school! He i my little brother and I love him and I am wishing him the best birthday ever tomorrow! And I will try my best to update this blog better in the months to come!

The Toy Story Cake

The Birthday Boy with his cake

With his new movies that have since been watched a few times

Notice the Princess checking to make sure the bag is empty

2 Years Ago Today!!

Two years ago today we had one upset baby girl handed to us. It is hard to believe that we have had Miss Lily for 2 years it feels like forever ago we were in that hot hotel room in Nanchang, China. Happy Gotcha day Lily. I love you so much! You are a blessing to us all and I love being your Jie Jie!!!!

Gotcha Day 2008

and...

Lily Today

Two Years Ago Today!

Jeff, Taylor, Madison, and I were landing in Beijing China to get Lily. Exhausted and delirious, we made it to our hotel for a sleepless night. We still could not image what lay ahead of us in 2 days when we would meet the little girl that changed all our lives for the better. Lily became the link that connected our family together. These 2 years have gone by so fast and the Starnes' have loved ever minute with our girl! I will post Family Day pictures on the 10th as that was the official day!

2 Years Ago Today

Two years ago today we had landed in Beijing China and were headed to the Wangfuijing Hotel to check in and get a good nights sleep. We were one step closer to our little princess! It is hard to believe that Lily has been with us almost two years!!!

James HAS a Family!!!

I got the best news ever tonight. The boy who stole my heart has a family and he is coming to the USA to be exact. I am beyond happy for him and his family. He won my heart this summer and I am so glad that he has won the heart of his new parents already. The email that D sent me tonight was an answer to my prayers. When I left Starfish this summer I bawled having to leave this little boy because I knew the odds were against me of ever seeing him again. So happy that I know who his forever family is and that they have opened their heart to this wonderful little boy and are willing to share their journey with me. Thank you so much H Family! To end here are a few of my favorite pics of James!

Swim Party he loved the water! (this was the hands up pose)
James after his Palate Surgery

Me and the Boys on one of our play dates

My favorite pic of these two James and Sadie

Who doesn't love this face!

Pictures of Our Newest Addition

She is a Shih Tzu puppy that is now Tibby's little sister. No name yet, but we are in love with her!!

We are Growing once again

Our family will soon be growing once again details to follow soon!!!! :)

2 Years and a Year Ago Today

Two years ago today we got a call that forever changed our lives. You have a little girl waiting in China and she is BEAUTIFUL. We had waited 3 years for that call and it finally came 2 years ago today. Two years ago I saw my little sister's face and was in love with a little girl half way around the world I had never met.

Also this time last year we were logged into the CCAA once again this time to bring a little boy home from China that we fell in love with in May 2009 on our agency list. That little boy was to be Jacob's adoption.

Starfish has new and is expecting new arrivals

Starfish received 5 new arrivals this past week and I cannot tell you more then that. These children are in need of some prayers as a few are not in good shape. Amanda is also hoping to get some new babies from the city orphanage this weekend too. Please pray for all the new babies at Starfish that they will gain strength and weight.

JAMES HAS A FAMILY!!!!

JAMES IS ON THE SHEARED LIST AND HE NEEDS A FAMILY!! I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOY AND GREAT WALL HAS THEM ON THERE LIST HE HAS A REPAIRED CL/CP AND I WOULD LOVE FOR HIM TO FIND A FAMILY ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN HIM PLEASE EMAIL ME tsw1203@aol.com

Mission Monday/ Jack Has A Family

Jack is an absolute precious 2.5 year old little boy who needs a family. He is so sweet and really wants a mom and dad and a GeGe (older brother). Jack was born with Spina Bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down from surgery but this doesn't stop him from getting around or getting into everything. He army crawls everywhere or he uses his charm and gets someone to carry him there. He got his wheel chair while I was at starfish and I have never seen a little boys eyes get so big when he found out he could get around easier. He is very protective over his wheel chair and loves it dearly. I can only imagine how protective he will be over his new family and how much love he has to offer. He has every reason to hate life but he loves it so much and is truly the one who lights up any room and no matter how bad your day has been he can brighten it. Jack also has hydrocephalus which does not affect him in anyway really. As far as intelligence he is very smart and as quick as a whip. Other then the size of his head you would never know anything was wrong. His favorite song is Happy Birthday which he sings all the time to anyone who will listen. He loves to be sang to and fell asleep in my arms while I sang to him one day. He is a such a sweet boy and any family would be blessed to have him as their son. If anyone is interested in him please contact me at TSW1203@aol.com we know where his file is at and could help you get it. I can honestly say that if I met China guidelines he would be my son regardless of his special need.

Mission Photo Monday

Jasmine looking at her photo ablum with

her nanny

Jack playing the piano with Nick

Josie and Nadia playing

Carmen in the hospital 10 days aft surgery

Xiao Liu and Virginia

Pictures as Promised

Here is a collage of photos from our last few days in China while the SD card reader was broken. I hope you enjoy and many thanks to all of those who followed our Journey to China to volunteer at Starfish we met some amazing people through this journey and are thankful for you all. Please pray for Xiao Liu she is a nanny at Starfish whose heart is breaking as two of the children she cares for are leaving Justin left yesterday and Virginia leaves next Sunday. Pray she will have comfort and healing during this difficult time for her and that the babies will have the same the children she cares for are very attached to her and she loves them with all her heart!

We Are Home

We are finally home after hours of traveling it feels good to be back! Coming home was much easier then going other then the kid beside us that screamed half the flight. We started our morning before we left visiting Tiananmen Square. It was nice to go back and see it. It has changed a lot since I was there in 2008 you now have to go through a security check before ever stepping foot on it. We looked at the Forbidden City from afar. Then we went back to the hotel to finish packing and to check. The hotel was nice enough not to make us check out until 2 and we left at 3 for the airport. Hannah and Jeff went to the Catholic store right down from the hotel so Hannah could get a few last things before we left. Our new guide met us at about 3 to take us to the airport. Checking in at he United counter was nothing and very easy. Me and Jeff flew through security. Hannah on the other hand had hr bag searched and gone through. And to think what through the alert was ANIMAL CRACKERS. Upon boarding our flight per USA regulations all bags must be searched and they put you in line. I must have looked suspicious because I was wanded and patted down. Our flight out of Beijing was delayed a little and we arrived late to Dulles and had to wait in a never ending line to get through immigration. Thankfully it moved fast and we were not pulled when going through customs. We made it to our gate with 15 minutes to spare. When time came to board we met someone we never thought we would. Kate Gosselin was not only at our gate but on our flight to Charlotte. She was very nice and surprised that we had just returned from China after working in a special needs foster home. She even took a picture with us and then when we got off the escalator she took one with Lily. We were greeted by family and friends at the airport and Hannah's dad brought us BoJangles which was wonderful. We got home at about 12:30 and I was in bed by 1:30 and up by 5 am this morning. Jet lag is not as bad as I thought it would be. I have to say I have had enough Chinese food for a couple months, and I am glad to be home. I promise to get pictures up I might have to do them through my mom's computer as my SD card reader is not working.

Great Wall

Yesterday we went to the great wall sorry for the delay in posting. We got in late last night and went straight to bed. The wall was amazing the section we went to was very easy to climb no mountain hiking with steep stairs. There were few stairs most of it was the flat flowing sections where you didn't have to put much effort into climbing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has little kids. Very easy to climb with short legs. It about and hour and 15 minutes from downtown so it is not very touristy and it is very peaceful and quiet. The only complaint we had about the day was that it rained and we couldn't ride the slide down the mountain. We had to ride the gondola both ways which wasn't horrible we were just really looking forward to the slide. I am unable to post pictures as my computer wont read the memory card but I will try to get them up before we leave tomorrow morning but no promises. We leave Beijing at 6:25 pm China time tomorrow please pray we do not have a delayed flight from Beijing into Dulles and that we can clear customs and immigration easily and get to our connector in a timely manner.

In Beijing

We have offically arrived in Beijing I promise I will post pictures of our last days with the babies soon. We still have some problems with internet and attaching pictures to the post so if I do not post them while in China I will do so as soon as I get home and have a good night sleep. Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall. We are going to a different section then we have gone to the last two times. It is an hour and a half from the center city. I will try to post pictures of it tomorrow night if we have a good connection and the proxy is working. I am looking foward to tomorrows breakfast it will be nice to eat food food and not peanut butter crackers or cheese its.

Swim Party!

Yesterday we had a swim party for the babies. Most seemed to enjoy it very much. Some however did not seem to enjoy it. A few even screamed. I have enjoyed my time here so much and I do not want to leave. I cannot believe tomorrow is my last day here. I am going to miss these babies so much. Please continue to pray for Starfish as they will be relocating soon and also for the now 3 little ones who meet their forever families Sunday that all will go well. Today we also took pictures of the babies that will be on one of the next lists soon. I will add more about our day later and post a collage of the last two days. Oh I almost forgot we stayed up late last night and watched the world cup and saw Holland win.

Internet back Yay!

Internet is back for now who knows how long though. These last few days have been great. Yesterday we went to the hospital to visit Carmen and Caroline. They are so sweet Carmen just had her heart sergery and Caroline's I believe was too complicated for them to do so she has to go to a bigger hospital. Helen took us to Japanese and that was great me and Hannah tried sushi. It was ok not the best. Amanda got back today and was talking about how they have to move soon. Please pray they find some where quickly they would love a kindergarden type place. That is baby friendly with a play ground. They love it where they currently are because it is a gated aera and very safe and kid friendly with all the play areas. We have enjoyed are stay here and are sad to leave. Amanda currently has 15 babies matched waiting on families and two of them leave sunday. Pray for smooth transitions for there two little ones as they meet their forever families. Well we are off for lunch and I will update more tonight of our day. I am posting a collage instead of individual pictures. Click on the collages to make the pictures larger and visable

Internet Down

Taylor's internet access is down in Xian. The only thing she can access is Skype but we can only be on it a short time and she looses connection. They are doing great and enjoying their last days at Starfish. She will post when internet comes back.

James' Day

This is Taylor's Mom updating for her. Her internet connection to her blog is down, so she will update more later . Today was spent with James. She loves this boy so much that she wants to bring him home with her. He also has become attached to her and reaches for her when she comes into the room. He is so sweet and loves to be held and hugged. The pictures are some that I took while on Skype with her last night. Helen took them to a local Japanese Restaurant for dinner that was very good. She is loving her time in Xian and is not ready to come home. She has already said next year she will stay longer.

Lazy day!!!

Aaron

Josie

Joshua on the phone

Joseph

Libby kissing Sophia

Noa

James and Sadie so sweet

Wild Sadie

Hannah tickling Clara

James and his Oh My Gosh they are

driving me crazy face

Sweet Libby

Noa

James

Joseph

Sadie

Today we took a day off just to rest some. We hung around the house until about 1 then we left to do some shopping at the Muslim market and we discover that it is much bigger then we though you turn one corner and there are a hundred more shops. We had lunch at Starfish and it was wonderful Shou lee can really cook to satisfy our taste. We got back to the foster home t about 5:40 pm we went to see the babies for about an hour until they started to go to bed. We played and all the little ones tried to push m over so they could lay and jump on me. Even Libby joined in on it today and tried to knock me to the ground. Sadie I cannot get over how rough she is to be so tiny. She is one of the boys. Joshua gave me a kiss today it was quite sweet. He is so cute and sweet when he wants to be. Well we are off to find some supper here in a bit no idea what we will have but I will blog about it if it is anything unusual.