Gymnastic class!

Tonight was Harper's first gymnastic class!

We enrolled in a Mommy & Me Tumble Tot class at Shoot for the Stars in Smithville.

We are hoping she will learn some fundamentals like

listen to the teacher, stand in line, and wait your turn.

She did pretty well for the first class.

She walked on the beam.

She played catch with a balloon.

Her favorite part was the trampoline!

Labor Day Weekend

A four day weekend gave us lots of time to play.

We went swimming.

We built a tent by the pool.

We played some golf.

We swam some more.

We played with bubbles.

We ate dinner outside!

We even got to go to the park!

Fritz's and Wonderscope Children's Museum

Yesterday morning was rainy, so Harper and I decided to go to

Shawnee and check out Fritz's and the Wonderscope Children's Museum.

Fritz's is a restaurant with lots of trains and a train even delivers the food.

Harper wasn't sure about wearing the conductor's hat.

She was very excited each time one of the trains would go by.

She kept waving and waving at the trains!

There were lots of things to do at the Children's Museum.

Harper loved playing in the ball room.

There was an art room.

Harper played in a submarine made from Legos

and pretended to be a veterinarian.

The water room kept her entertained for quite some time!

We had a great time at the Children's Museum!

Golfing!

I found a set of golf clubs at Wal-Mart on clearance for $1.50.

Harper loves them!

Daddy got her lined up and showed her what to do.

I wasn't paying attention when I bought the clubs, and 

didn't remember we would need a left handed set.

She seemed to enjoy them anyway.

Golfing is hard work, so we had to take a break for some popsicles.

Golfing is sooooo much fun!

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!