Belated Happy Gotcha Day LiYang!!

With the holidays, and sickness in the house, I am late in posting this one. December 19 was 2 years since meeting our oldest daughter in China. The time is passing so quickly, and she is such an amazing young lady. I can't believe that in less than a month, she will be 16 years old!! She is so smart, funny, so talented, and is a blessing to our family. Her younger sisters love and look up to her too. She has made some great friends, both at school, and at church, and is even working a couple hours a week at a local Chinese restaurant. She likes to have her own money. She is beautiful, smart, so talented in her artwork, and, is also the maker of the best Chinese dumplings you've ever had!! Definitely, adopting an older child is a difficult thing, and her adjustment has been a long process, but she is so amazing! Everything she had known for almost 14 years changed - the people she had known and loved, the school where she was at the top of her class, the traditions, language, and everything else you can think of. She had taken some English, and just talking conversationally was not so hard, but comprehension with school and around a group was difficult. She used a translator, dictionary, and worked with an ESL teacher at school, and is such a bright young lady that she's not had to take one single exam since she's been home - she is a straight A student, but does have to work diligently to do it. If she's got a lower grade than an A, she asks for extra credit - she is very motivated to do well. We are very blessed to be parents to this young lady. It is still difficult for her at times, and she misses China and the people in her past. We have let her call her "grandmother" the lady who raised her for 13 years, and she emails friends once in a while; but it is tough. I know it's harder for her than she sometimes lets on, and we are so proud of her for the effort she makes every single day. We love you, LiYang, and pray that God will work in your heart in the days, weeks, months and years to come, so you will know that this was the right decision for your future. WE are so proud of you and your accomplishments, and can't wait to see what God has in store for you! Here she is in a few pics - first one, in the clothes she was wearing the day we met...some from the holidays, one she has on make-up, a picture of the yummy dumplngs she makes - better than any you get at a Chinese restaurant! She's such a talented young lady!! The last one is with our cat, Lizzy, that she loves.