Life is a Whirlwind!

In the last 74 days...

We have moved from our house of 15 years to the beautiful Anaheim Hills

We went to Children's Hospital and we scheduled Sophie's next fistula surgery for March 24th. Please Pray for our little one!

Sophie gives the best hugs now

She became our personal "Diet Hansen's Spokesperson"

We have taken Sophie to Disneyland 2 times and she loves it! Her favorite rides are the carousel, Dumbo, The Casey Jr. Train, and The Teacups

Sophie has mastered the art of walking in her sister's high heels

Josh and Courtney have been working together decorating the bonus room named, "The Lighthouse", complete with a multitude of various lights

Sophie learned how to drive...

We joined Auntie Rosie and Uncle Rocky in celebrating their 60th anniversary

We celebrated Chinese New Year at the local library

The Kids started Iron Chef Night! They pick a secret ingredient and make a top quality meal based off the ingredient

I enjoy the views from my backyard as well as from the hills I hike behind our house

In the past 2 months we have also...

• Packed and unpacked a hundred plus boxes



• Rented our house in Thousand Oaks to a cute little family



• Frank only lives 15 minutes (no freeways!) away from his new job with Boeing in Anaheim



• Found lots of little problems in our house but were reminded not to complain in our luxuries



• Josh started classes at Canyon High



• Courtney attends the beautiful Fullerton College and loves her forensics class
  
  
• Visted over 5 different churches in hopes of finding a new church
  
  
• We got the blessing of Direct Tv with DVR!
  
  
• Courtney and I got lost inside the South Coast Plaza Mall



• Courtney's favorite frozen yogurt store, Yogurtland was discovered just 2 miles from our house!
• Visited many high class garage sales for fun new bargains
  
  
• Courtney got to see Nick Jonas in concert 2 times!

It has been a hectic last couple months with the move, but it has brought our family closer together. It has been hard not having any social activities but we have been able to have family game nights and spend more time together. We like driving around and discovering new places to go, but we do NOT like the Orange County traffic. We miss all of our friends but we know that God has plans for us here in The O.C. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and I will continue to post how God shows his grace to us everyday!

Love you all,

P

(with the help of my almost 20 year old, Courtney)

25 Years of Wedded Bliss

Glamour Shots of a Two Year Chinese Princess

Christmas from the Eyes of a Toddler

Christmas is a time of remembering the birth of one very special little baby...Jesus Christ...sent down from heaven to be Savior of the world. Happy birthday, Jesus!

Here's a synopsis of what Christmas was like through the eyes of one very special little toddler...Sophie Rose...sent to us from God to help us know Him better.

I love all the ornaments on the tree and I'm happy my mama lets me rearrange them daily.

Santa is kinda scary. I want to take a peek at him at the mall but from really far away.

Cookies, candy, or anything sweet is a constant source of temptation as I can't get enough. I ask for cookies at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More please!

Presents, what can I say. I figured out the whole gift thing on my birthday a month ago and it never seems to end. I love ripping open packages and I believe every gift is for me! Clothes don't excite me much. I want to play with every present I open right away and don't really care to open the next one. I just want to play with one!

I have my very own nativity and I like to play especially with the baby Jesus and the Wisemen's treasure boxes pretending to eat the food contained in them.

I love Christmas carols and on occasion, you can hear me trying to sing along with them. I like the one that says, "Gloooooooooooooooooooooooooo-ria!"

Out of all the food I tried this holiday, I must say that I like ham the best. Forget the mashed potatoes, just give me ham and apple juice and I'm set.

Now that I'm big enough to have my carseat turned around to facing the front, I love driving down the street looking at all the pretty houses lit up with bright colorful lights. I really like the "no-men", "ah-no-mos",and "ho, ho, ho" (snowmen, animals, and santa).

I adore all the excitement of parties, getting all dressed up in my party dress, dancing with my family, fun kids to play with, yummy cookies to devour, and stairs to climb. I could party all night and never get tired.

But the best part of Christmas is singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and blowing out the candle for Him...over and over. I pray to Him every night and thank Him for the wonderful blessings He gives me daily. I love my Jesus and I know He loves me too.

Forever Family/Gotcha Day One Year Anniversary

Sophie's sooooo excited to dig into her Forever Family Day Celebration cake

Boy Scout Troop 719's littlest mascot

One blessed little girl to have such a loving brother and sister

Our family and the judge who helped us readopt Sophie through the California Juvenile Courts.

Sophie and her Papa celebrating being a forever family at the local Chinese restaurant.

One candle on her ladybug cake that signifies one year of being in the Light, being with the family that God wanted her to be in so she could know Him and grow to love Him with all her heart.

It was on December 8, 2008 when our family united with our sweet baby girl, Sophia Rose. This is known as Forever Family Day, or Gotcha Day in some circles. As we look back on that first day, we all agree it was a day that changed all our lives forever. Adopting a child has got to be one of the most incredible experiences a family can have. We are soooooo thankful that we didn't miss the opportunity. God led us down this amazing path full of the richest blessings anyone on earth can have.

The year flew by so quickly and Sophie has changed a bunch. She has grown 5 1/2 inches and gained 7 pounds! When we first got her she couldn't crawl, walk, sit up without toppling over, or even stand up alone as most 1 year olds can master. But she quickly learned with a little practice and exposure to the floor. Our special princess has learned so much over the last year with her favorite activities being reading books, helping around the house, doing puzzles, and watching Wiggles DVDs.

Although she has had a year full of firsts, i.e. birthday party, holidays, trips to the aquarium, ocean, desert, and museums, the one that will be the most special is the day she was first placed in her mama's arms forever.

Happy Forever Family Day, dear Sophie! Your family loves you with all their hearts!

The Latest

Well, it's about once a month that I get to updating my blog. My days are filled to the brim with toddler activites, such as drawing, painting, playdough, tea parties, cooking, puzzles, and speech therapy. My kids are the joy of my days and I love being so busy as a mom.

Here's the latest: Frank and I are planning a big party celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary, complete with a cute little apple green flowergirl dress for Sophie. The picture is one of the pictures that inspired my party theme. I love the colors and design of this table. I'll post pictures after the event on Dec. 6th.

Sophie just turned two on Nov. 24, a Thanksgiving baby! She had a Hello Kitty themed party and loved all the attention. The best part was that she enjoyed all the presents with such glee.

Courtney is doing well in school, almost finishing up her 3 semester next week. She still pursues a child development focus with a TV/film media bent. Who knows where that will lead. All I know is that she wants to stay close to home so she can be close to her Mei Mei. She adores her little sister with an amazing passion.

Josh is also doing well in school because, as he puts it, he wants to get into a good 4-year university so he can move away from home as soon as possible. They are so different! Don't get me wrong, Josh simply adores his little sister too as she is crazy for him, but he likes peace and quiet. I think this is all show because it is him who wants to play with her all the time, trying to steal her attention by annoying her like big brothers are supposed to do.

Frank is actively looking for another job within the Boeing Company as his current one is fading away with this new administration and economy. Please pray that the right job comes along. We are not worried as we know God will continue to provide everything we need.

And me, well, I've taken the year off from teaching school, and God-willing, I will not return. I'm enjoying being a stay-at-home mom and as long as we can afford it, I will not work as a teacher. We are eating better because I have time to cook. But along with that, our midsections are getting a little fuller. We are spending more time exercising. That is a good thing.

Well, I promise to upload more pictures later.

Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!