July 23,2007 More Guangzhou

Its hard to believe but Gracie has now been with us for 1 week. It seems like she has always been a member of our family. I can honestly say we fell in love with her the minute she came to us but we now love her so much it is amazing. She has the best personality. She is a little jokester. She loves to play and laugh. She talks so sweet in her little chinese voice. She has been interacting with Hannah more and loves to imitate her. They are really sweet together and Hannah is very proud to say she is Gracie's big sister.

We decided to take a lazy day. We went to breakfast and then went out shopping. We decided not to go to the temples with the rest of the group. We played in the playroom for almost 2 hours todaya. The girls love to go in there. It's neat because we meet more families in there and really get to talk and hear their stories while the kids play. Later Tim and Hannah took a nap and Gracie and I went walking around the island. We just walked and took in the scenery of China. We ate at Lucy's again today. I took the girls out this afternoon and shopped again and then Tim and I and the girls all went swimming. They had a great time. Gracie really loves the water. She would even go under the waterfall and just laugh and laugh.

I was holding one of the other babies today and Gracie was jealous, she crawled up on my lap and hugged me. It was so sweet.

We ordered Danny's bagels tonight and the girls are now both sleeping soundly. Its hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here but also we can't wait to get home. It will be nice to be home and develop a routine again.

Tomorrow is the red couch photos in the morning and our Consulate appointment in the afternoon. We plan on a little walk in the morning to the park and some final shopping and swimming later in the day.

I look at these sweet girls and think about my sweet boy at home and feel so blessed to have been chosen to be their mother. We have 3 wonderful biological children and that was such a blessing in itself. We are now the proud parents of 6 amazing children. We only hope we can raise them to be loving, God fearing children. Those who love our Lord with all their hearts. I pray I can instill that love in their hearts and encourage them to seek out a relationship with the Lord. I pray for the wisdom to know how to do this.

Thank you for this amazing journey we are on.