A Wink And A Smile

Do you ever have one of those moments you feel like God just winked at you and slapped you a high five??? Well, I just had one! For Christmas this year Kaiya pretty much requested "Stuff that's Chinese." Our little girl has a deep, natural passion for her birth country- more than any of our other children We wanted to honor her heart and find gifts that would fulfill that desire. I easily found everything we wanted to get her on line that I thought would make her feel connected to China.... Except one thing. I had in my head this certain dress I wanted her to have but just shrugged and let it go because I couldn't find it unless it cost an arm and a leg! :-) Then today I was sorting through a bunch of things I've needed to sort for months and found this dress I bought in China. My mom and I bought it when I picked Kaiya up in China. She was only 2 but we bought it 4 sizes larger because I thought maybe she might want one later and then totally forgot about it. I think it's her EXACT size now and it's EXACTLY what I was wishing for her. I think God gave us a nudge in that Guangzhou shop knowing that 3 1/2 years later a little girl would ONLY want "Stuff that's Chinese" for Christmas. I love that our Father cares. For her this is more than a present. For her this is CHINA. I'm thinking we will give it to her Christmas Eve to wear to church. I can hardly wait to see her precious little Chinese face. Shhhhhh DON'T TELL HER!!! Thanks for the high five God. You're very cool.

WELCOME to Kaiya's Cooking Show! The show is starring Kaiya Rain Zhen and is produced by Daddy. The poor stage direction by Mommy. Can you tell we have orphanage eye contact issues?? :-) Hope you enjoy it. I just ADORE this little girl and giggled watching it. Angel

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Future Theology Major??? :-)

Kaiya Rain Zhen amazes me CONSTANTLY!!!!!! This is her giving her Polka Dot a bit of a Old Testament survey. What a SMARTY PANTS! The girl is remarkable and precious and full of love and trouble. ;-) Angel

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Kaiya's 1st Reading Lesson!

Kaiya Rain Zhen is getting SOOOOO big. Tonight we had her first official reading lesson and she's doing GREAT! It's a BIT tough to know sometimes if she is actually saying the correct sounds because of her speech delay. That's cool though.. we are managing. :0)

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My Little Kaiya Rain Zhen

My little Kaiya Rain Zhen is almost always in trouble of one kind or another. She's usually spilling something, dropping glass, tripping over her own feet or smacking into a counter.

When she's not hurting herself she has been known to attack others.... out of overly ambitious affection or plain out frustration.

She almost always filthy and just doesn't care. She still has potty accidents cause she doesn't have time for things like going to the bathroom.

No matter how hard I work with her it's like pulling teeth to get her to look at the camera!! I mean I'm like the paparazzi and still this is what I get.

She is silly, rambunctious, mischievous, stubborn, loud, dirty and.....

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

Our God is so amazing to give me this child. Would I have listed out those things as things I WISHED for in my child?? Not so much.... Would I change my Kaiya Rain Zhen??? NOT FOR THE WORLD!! God knew so much better than I did what we needed and we needed HER!

Kaiya is braver than anyone I know. She takes on the world with fearless abandon and is always ready to have an adventure. She embraces EVERY MOMENT in a way that teaches me to LIVE! She is FUNNY and ADORABLE! She makes me LAUGH from deep down inside for her incurable sweetness.

She loves FIERCELY and passionately. She sees the world through such innocent eyes and treasures everyone around her. She never quits- never gives up. No matter how hard something is for her she just KEEPS GOING till she gets it right. She knows how to think for herself and make decisions. She is STRONG... strong, kind and wonderful...

No... I would never want to change this precious gift. Tears threaten to spill as I think of how blessed I am that God would bring me such joy from LITERALLY the other side of the Earth. She is amazing, breath taking. She is a package deal and she is CRAZY wonderful. Love, Angel

Mommy Date Haircut With Kaiya Rain

Kaiya earned a "Special Mommy Date" with her myjobchart.com points! She was so excited cause she wanted to go get her haircut. I agreed she needed it trimmed but was surprised when she declared, "NO! I want it really short!" Funny girl. She always has a mind of her own. So off we went to get it done. I think she chose well. It's adorable and brings out her "China doll" side. :-) Angel

Kaiya beats up the bad guys!

Kaiya Rain Zhen makes me smile and giggle every single day. She is fun, cuddly, smart, mischievous and just plain cute. Here is Kaiya "beating up bad guys."

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Kaiya's 4 Year Old Portraits

2 Years Ago Today In a Room Across The World They Handed Me a Princess and Said She Was Mine.....

2 years ago today I was in Hangzhou, China. I paced the room. My heart was fluttery. My momma had the camera and video camera poised for action. This was the day they would hand me my little girl. After all the paperwork, the dreaming, the waiting, the flights.... just like that they would put her in my arms. I could hardly stand myself and my excitement. All I had were a few little pictures and a short video. They brought her in and as I looked at her I realized this was a stranger I loved more than life itself. It was truly one of the most amazing moments of my life. My entire universe shifted that day in the most amazing way...

She is beyond wonderful! I am in love with this delicate little lady bug. I have so many words but I will save those for later. I don't want to make you wait. Without further ado Kaiya Rain Zhen...