Happy Birthday sweet Kate!

Happy birthday to my precious princess, Kate! I love you with all of my heart and am so blessed to be your big sister. I hope your 4th birthday was just as special as you are!

 The birthday started a day early when Kate got to spend the entire afternoon with Sissy! We had lunch, went to this Disney store (where Kate picked out a Cinderella doll and a princess nightgown!), and had ice cream! We had so much fun together!

 While we were gone, Mom was hard at work baking Kate's dream cake... She outdid herself :)

 After Church, it was off to Chuck*ee Chee*se (Kate's pick!)

 We enjoyed pizza...

 and rides...

 and more rides!

 Grace was a huge fan of Chuck*ee Chee*se!! I'm sure she'll be asking to go there for her birthday...

 Kate's favorite is the horse ride. She gets so into it and it is precious!

 Kate loves Chuckee, too. :)

 It was the perfect way to spend her 4th birthday!

 Here we all are in front. They all had so much fun. As for me, I'm not a huge fan!

 After naps, Kate declared that it was present time!

 She had quite a few to open and was so excited about each one!

 Her Ariel wedding doll was a hit! Mia and Emily gave it to her and Kate was in amazement that Ariel had a wedding dress!

 Here she is in her new sleeping beauty dress! This child absolutely adores costumes. She has one on whenever we are home. She was so excited to add to her collection!

 Did I mention that she is SUCH a little princess?

 She slowly opened each gift and just took them all in... she is the most appreciative little thing ever!

 Grandma gave her the Ivy doll (who Kate named Mei Ling!) and Kate is so excited to have a doll just like Lucy's!

 Here she is with her cake! Truly fit for a princess...

 She just smiled and smiled at her cake. When she asked for a barbie cake, I don't think she was expecting this :)

Make a wish, precious girl!

A visit from some friends

AnnaClaire's best friend, Lucy, and her Mom came to visit for the weekend and we had the best time! AnnaClaire and Lucy were at Chenzhou SWI at the same time and for the 4+ years that the girls have been home, we've tried to get together at least every year. The girls have the most precious bond and they are absolutely adorable to watch together. When Mom dropped Lucy and her mom off at the airport, AnnaClaire cried the whole way home. She is already counting down the days until she gets to see Lucy again!

But anyway, we had a wonderful weekend! On Friday, Mia (who is also from Chenzhou), Emily, and their parents came over and there was lots of food and fun for everyone! It was sweet to have all the kiddos running around our house! They had a blast together! On Saturday, we woke up and headed to the zoo (and Sissy even joined along!) Gracie had a basketball tournament, so she stayed home and had a special day with Daddy, and the rest of us had a great time at the zoo. The kids all had a blast riding the tram, looking at the animals, climbing the statues, and having a picnic lunch! The elephants, zebras, and giraffes were the biggest hit! The NC weather was beautiful for the zoo and we all had so much fun! That night, the girls were so excited to all 3 bathe together! They had to show Lucy all the things that sisters do, since Lucy is basically their sister :)

We were sad to say goodbye on Sunday, but of course had a fun morning together before doing so. And we are already looking forward to the next time we get to be together! Thanks for visiting us Lucy and Laura! We had a BLAST!

Dancing and basketball

Here's some pictures of what we've been up to! Various sports for the kiddos and then over the weekend, we saw a beautiful group of Chinese orphans perform dances for us. Our four all had a blast and even met some friends :) I hope you are all had a great presidents day weekend! I promise I'll post an actual update/something longer soon!!! I know the blog is becoming completely neglected! If there's anything you want an update on, feel free to comment and I'll get to it! :) 

Mom's Birthday and Valentines Cookies!

As Mom says, we are making the most of every "first" holiday here! The other day, the kids all made and decorated valentines cookies and made valentines! Everything turned out so precious! Mom's birthday was last week, too! She ended up with lots of cards made by her loving children :) Gracie was especially so excited to give Mom all of the cards she made! So I know it's a week late, but happy birthday, Mom! We love you!!