Leanne's 1st Christmas

Leanne on Chistmas Eve

Santa brought Sam a tent that both have enjoyed.

Christmas is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of Christ, spend time with family & friends, and open presents. Sam was ready for Christmas. He worked hard up to the last night to be good, so Santa would visit. He loved spending time with our families and opening presents. Leanne on the other hand enjoyed trying to eat the wrapping paper and playing with the boxes. She could have cared less about gifts, but loved the boxes. If it was only that simple when she's sixteen. She enjoyed her new family, which of course passed her around and fell in love with her. The Lord has truely blessed our family with two beautiful children. We love watching our children play together or watching Sam drag her around. God is good, all the time! Well here's some of our favorite pictures from Christmas.

Grandmother and Granddad got a kick out if the Chinese farmer hat.

A precious picture of Nana & Leanne

Leanne and brother, Sam. She can touch her nose with that tongue (that's talent).

Leanne, Mom, and Sam playing on Christmas Eve.

Dad, Leanne, and Sam acting crazy.

Dad and Sam play Rockem Sockem Robots with Leanne joining in

Opening presents

Leanne enjoying Christmas!

Sam & Leanne wishing Mom a Happy 36th Birthday on Christmas morning!

Pictures with Santa!

Sam had a nice talk with Santa today and informed him that he had been a good boy this year. Then he began telling him that he wanted lots of Transformers. Leanne on the other hand was not very happy. She screamed and cried the entire time.

Sunday we took our first trip to church. Leanne was great! She was like a superstar because so many watched the blog and wanted to meet her. We wish you blessings during the holiday season! God bless!

Leanne's 11 Months Old

Leanne turned 11 months on Dec. 15th. Sam and I dressed her up last night and took pictures of her. I couldn't resist posting this one. Praise the Lord, she finally slept through the night again.

Welcome home Leanne!

When we arrived home to Ted and I surprise, our home was decorated with balloons and posters. Sam drew pictures of our new family and helped Grandmother and Granddad place balloons on the mailbox and hanging from the light fixtures in the house. Sam was proud. Plus, we had a darling poster welcoming Leanne home, which I hear Laura had something to do with. Thanks! It was a nice surprise and greatly appreciated.

Today Sam has enjoyed playing with his sister. He has been a tremendous help already. He helps with every diaper change, preparing the bottles, getting towels for her bath, and constantly playing with her. He's waited as long as we have and he's enjoying every minute. He tells every one that he's not able to do things because he needs to help with Leanne. He's one PROUD big brother.

Leanne is starting to warm up to her cousin, Rachel. She cried the first time, but this time she did okay. Also, we are happy to report that she is sleeping through the night, which is a blessing to us all.

Home Sweet Home!

Sam holds Leanne for the first time.

God bless America! We are so happy to be home. Our experience has been amazing and life changing, but we were ready to be home. We traveled around 17 hours, but due to the time change we lived through two Dec. 12ths. It was a weird feeling, but we were blessed that Leanne traveled well. When we finally arrived at the Nashville Airport Sam, family and friends were waiting to welcome Leanne home (as you can see in the pictures below). It was a joyous occasion.

Sam ran to and embraced Dad.

Mom and Sam reuniting.

Grandmother, Granddad, and their newest granddaughter, Leanne

Nana holding Leanne.

Jerad, Uncle Gary holding Leanne, Aaron, and Aunt Nancy

Leanne, Aaron, and Sam

Leanne favored Jerad and would smile when he held her.

Our friends Jenny, Brooke, Stacy & Leanne, and Courtney. Jenny made them get to the airport 2 hours early because she didn't want to be late. Thanks Court for the cute sign!

Day 14: Red Couch Picture

The Red Couch Picture


Today is our last day in China. It is a tradition for the children to have a group picture on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel. Well it was a challenge to get all these babies on the couch, but we did it. Leanne is the one on the back row on the left. She was one of the crying babies, but you can see why in the below picture.

Leanne and Ally on the red couch.

The adoptive families with Families Thru International Adoption.

We fly out in about 10 hours for home. We should arrive at the Nashville airport around 5:30 PM on Wed. night. Thanks for following our blog, for all the comments and for your well wishes. We will continue to keep you updated as we return home. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. We can't wait to be home and see Sam!

Day 13: Leanne's Big Bro & the gardens

Sunday night Sam played a wiseman in our Children's Christmas program at church. We can't wait to watch the video, but this photo brought us so much joy from the other side of the world. Sarah, thanks for sending the picture.

Today we went to Yuatai Gardens, which was beautiful. Here's some pictures we took. You will notice that everywhere we go there seems to be the Olympic theme.

Dad and Leanne smelling the roses.

Leanne loves walking with her squeeky shoes.

Day 12: Shopping

Today we went to a pearl and jade market. It was neat. I bought Leanne something special for when she grows up. Then it was back to the hotel for some more Christmas shopping. We are definitely tired of living out of a suitcase and ready to be home. We spoke with Sam and wished him luck as he is a wiseman in the children's Christmas program at church. We are sad to miss it, but look forward to watching the video. We are defintely counting the days down.

Here we are eating at Lucy's.

Day 11: Leanne's Medical Exam

Last night we arrived at our hotel, White Swan in Guangzhou, around 11:30PM. We were beat. Today we started with a doctor visit. Notice the sign states examination room for adopted children. One of the requirements of the adoption is to have a medical exam once arriving in Guangzhou. The place was packed with families, so we had to wait. However the lines went fast. Praise the Lord, Leanne is healthy!

Waiting for the medical examine with Marisa & Allyson(Leanne's roomie)

Leanne weighs 14.8 lbs. She's a petite little girl.

Day 10: Friends for Life

While on this journey we've become good friends with a couple from Chicago, Bob & Marisa. On Gotcha Day, our babies were the criers. Come to find out our girls were rommies at the orphanage, which has increased our bonds as families. Pictured above is Allyson & Leanne. The below picture shows their true colors.

Today we are working on paperwork, packing, and heading to Guanghou. This will be a long day, so I thought I'd update this morning. We've been reading all the comments and they have been a blessing. God has blessed us with wonderful family, friends, coworkers, and church family. We miss you all, but especially Sam. We can't wait to see, hug, and kiss him. Plus, Leanne can't wait to meet her big brother. Lots of love!

Day 9: Embroidery Factory & Yuelu Academy

Dad and Leanne ready to sight see!

We toured the city of Changsha and discussed the history of the Hunan Province. This province is known for their silk embroidery, so we visited an embroidery factory. It was quite amazing. The picture above shows how they hand embroider all their silk. The picture below shows framed embroidery that are two sided with different pictures on each side. The workers have the ability to stitch the two pictures on the same silk cloth not showing any ties. It was an art.

Then we took a bus to the Yuelu Academy which has a rich tradition of higher education. Confucius himself was a philosopher there. The first picture is the majority of our group(we are to the right) and the second picture is us in front of Confucius' statue.