I love weekends!

Weekends mean more time to snuggle in the mornings before

we go down for cereal and watching Sophia the First.

Weekends mean doing cool things like going to Ocean's of Fun!

Weekends mean more time at the park!

Weekends mean hanging out with Daddy......

and swinging with Momma!

Weekends mean having fun coloring with my friends from

Families Blessed by the World's Children

and bounce houses and having a picnic!

Weekends mean time for lots of popsicles!

Weekends mean time to eat outside

and time for fun in the pool!

I can't wait until next weekend!

One Year Together

One year ago today, we first met our precious little girl.  I am always reminded of the first time we saw her when I hear the song  A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.  While we were waiting for Harper’s paperwork to be processed by the Chinese government– it felt like a thousand year wait.  The song begins:

The day we met

Frozen, I held my breath

Right from the start,

I knew that I’d found a home for my heart  

   

 Watching you stand alone (Harper was standing all by herself watching us from across the room)

All of my doubt (I had a lot of doubts if we were doing the right thing by adopting)

Suddenly goes away somehow (I knew as soon as I saw her that everything would be fine and we were meant to be together)

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don’t be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I’ll love you for a thousand more

We are so thankful that Harper came into our lives.  Our home is now filled with constant giggles and the pitter-patter of little feet RUNNING through it!  Many people comment that Harper is lucky to have been adopted.  They are so wrong!  We are the lucky ones and are blessed to have her in our lives.  This child is so spectacular!  

 Opening Gotcha Day presents from Grandpa and Grandma Braley

Celebrating with Sissy!

We celebrated our Forever Family Day by going to Build A Bear to adopt a bear.  We recorded a message in the bear and hope to make a tradition of this every year for our Gotcha Day celebration. 

Harper knew exactly which bear she wanted!

We gave Harper a Pandora Charm bracelet with a Forever Together charm and will buy her a new charm each year to celebrate the day we met.  I hope she will treasure this keepsake for many years, and I hope it will always remind her how much we love and cherish her.   

We ate lunch at North Dragon Chinese restaurant.

 Finally, we went to play at Penguin Park.

 What a wonderful day we had together!  And what a fantastic year it has been!

Kirby Park and Pocono Mountains

On our last night in Pennsylvania, we picnicked at Kirby Park.

After eating, Harper and I went to the playground

while Shawn and Ashley watched a softball game.

We spent our final day in the Pocono Mountains at Dingmans Falls.

The waterfalls were gorgeous!  It had been raining heavily so

the falls were moving at a brisk pace.

There was a ton of spray from the water, so we got soaked

trying to take our picture with the waterfall behind us.

We had a great vacation, but are glad to be on our way home!

More fun in Pennsylvania!

Shawn, Ashley, and Harper have been keeping busy while I am working.

They went to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Harper loves playing in the hotel.

She found the perfect hiding spot!

She loves building a tower with her stacking cups....

then KICKING it over!

Today, they found a place to play.

Looks like Daddy is having fun too!

Pennsylvania

This week, I've been working in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Shawn, Ashley and Harper have had some free time to explore the area.

They found a couple of fun parks so Harper could play.

They went to Williamsport, PA to see where the Little League World Series is played

and to visit the Little League Hall of Fame.

New York City

We spent the weekend in New Jersey and New York.

Harper has now been to 10 of the 50 states!

First, we took a ferry to see The Statue of Liberty.

Next, we saw Carlo's Bakery which became famous on TLC's Cake Boss.

The line was VERY long so we didn't go inside to buy treats.

We checked out the view from the Top of the Rock.

We could see all over New York City!

We pretended like we helped build this famous landmark.

We went to the Central Park Zoo.

Harper's favorite spot was the Children's Petting Zoo.

We had so much fun at the zoo!

We spent some time in Times Square and checked out the Hard Rock Cafe.

After a busy weekend, Harper was ready to relax in the hotel pool.