Two Years Ago Today, I Met My Daughter

Two short years ago, I met my daughter in a Civil Affairs office in Fuzhou, China.

My daughter.

On this day, I celebrate her and her loving, generous, sweet, sweet spirit. There are so many reasons to love this girl -- here are just a few.

• She sings ALL the time -- everything from Jesus Loves Me to The Killers' Indie Rock & Roll (seriously, word-for-word)
  
  
• When I pick her up from school and ask about her day, I get a detailed account - every friend she played with, every snack consumed, every song sung and every art project completed
  
  
• I get LOTS of artwork - a new work each and every day. And she always puts her name, my name, and Mom on it, lest I get confused for whom she created her masterpiece
  
  
• She was relentless in learning how to snap her fingers and now snaps better than any of her brothers
  
  
• She still tells me daily that she missed me when she was in China
  
  
• She completed a Mother's Day questionnaire at school and told her teacher and all her classmates that I'm 22:)!
  
  
• She asks me every night to carry her like a baby when it's time for bed
  
  
• She loves to have her toenails painted, preferably with a pink flower on her big toe
  
  
• She often completes my sentences for me
  
  
• She's mine

Happy Gotcha Day, Oakley!!


I love you to the moon and back my sweet girl.

Mother's Day and Mayfest

Yesterday I awoke to the sound of sweet voices wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. I ventured downstairs to find a BEAUTIFUL hand-rubbed teak bench in our foyer (thank you Michael - I LOVE IT). It was a complete surprise, although he knows I've wanted one since we moved in. I've been searching for one for a while, but hadn't found the perfect fit. He did.

On the bench was a display of some very special handmade cards. Sullivan's actually brought me to tears as he declared me "The Best Mom Ever" for the following reasons:

• You make the best chocolate chip cookies
• You take me to the zoo
• You take me to the pool
• You stay home with me when I'm sick
• You love Easter and Christmas
• You love and care for me

How sweet is that?!?

In the afternoon, while Michael worked in the yard and the boys played outside, Oakley and I attended Mayfest -- a local arts festival in a historic park and on the campus of one of our universities. It's a beautiful setting and the weather was perfect.

She got her face painted, and together we danced the Maypole and snacked on kettle corn amidst artists, fountains, flowers, strolling performers and gypsy dancers.

They even had a small petting zoo this year and Oakley loved feeding the sheep, although she was more than ready to wash the slobber off when she was finished.

She kept saying, "This is so much fun, Mommy. Just me and you and you and me."

It was a perfect day in every way. Happy Mother's Day to you all!!