I think she is a Chinese factory supervisor?

Ever since YiLi has come home, she has played by herself quite well. Many times she has gone off onto her "Chairman Mao monologue" as we call it.

She speaks with firmness and authority, as if she is addressing a very large crowd.

Today, she made a telephone from giant legos. She answers it over and over again, half English and half Chinese, as if someone is reporting to her and she is problem solving and giving direction to others. In between, you hear "Yes.", "Okay", various numbers, animals, giant sigh, then in a very low and firm voice she says "Goodbye." and hangs up the phone with a slam. Don't you wonder what she is imitating? But if I ask, she can't tell me and it breaks the momentum.

She came home from school on Friday with a "Heart" award for good attitude.  She was so proud!

Tomorrow we are all taking a drive up to Erie for YiLi's check-up appointment at the pediatric ophthalmologist's office. He will see if the pressure in her eyes has dropped and will probably adjust her eye drops. Then we are going to Edinboro College to see Brittany. YiLi can finally visualize where Brittany goes when she is not home! Then we'll go back to Erie for dinner, Mom and Dad and two girls. I can't wait !

YiLi loves to do housework. She folds towels perfectly, and yesterday she helped me change all the beds. Cool, I have a helper!

On Valentine's Day YiLi asked about Christmas!

Praise God for a special blessing! Our prayers are being answered, although I know this is a lifelong process. We have a 12 inch magnet on our frig given to us by the owner of a Christian restaurant I waitressed at to make money for the adoption. It is the manger scene, and it says "Keep Christ in Christmas."

Yili brought it to me and asked who it is this morning. I told her that it was Jesus. She asked where, and I said he was the tiny little baby in the manger. There was a cloth trumpet next to this magnet. She placed it beside the magnet and made a trumpet sound. Add Google translate (can't wait until we don't need it anyore) that Christmas was Jesus' birthday, and that the angels really DID play trumpets on that day! I told her that Jesus lived on the earth for 33 years because he loved each one of us so much!

She has been very curious about Jesus, as she can see that He is very important to us. Keep on planting seeds, because you never can tell what little action will make a big impact on a person. From the 4x6 picture of the Shepherd we placed in her photo album and sent to China, to the pictures on our wall and the books and movies about Him, as well as the church we worship in, you can never tell, but God knows our little girl's heart!

I don't write in a captivating style, but this message is captivating! Jesus is the biggest Valentine of all!

Fully accepted - the feeling's mutual!

We are so thankful to God for how things are going in our home! I wish we could climb inside YiLi's mind and heart and receive detailed answers to everything we wonder about . . . but since that cannot happen we just look at clues like this:

The dogs like YiLi a lot, but they also obey her! So I think that she has taken the role she is supposed to have. Holly (little dog) assists in putting YiLi to bed every night . . .I think that is so sweet! She is the first one up the stairs and leads the way into YiLi's bedroom!

Next is her name badge! Before we travelled to China, my husband Rick interviewed for a promotion at his job. After we returned (God's perfect timing) he was offered the position which meant he moved to a different facility within the state hospital system and needed a new name badge.

YiLi asked for his old badge, wanted her picture and name placed over his, and actually wears this badge every day whenever she is in the house! It really makes her feel good! I don't know if it makes her feel a member of the family more, or if it makes her feel professional, but she really really likes it!

OK, I am being called to play the game of monopoly - gotta go!

Daddy and his Chinese lesson in Guangzhou

This video is Little Miss Teacher YiLi trying her best to teach Daddy his Chinese tones . . . I was laughing so hard that I could barely hold the camera! And lest you think that I am totally incompetent, I was trying to hide the camera from YiLi at the beginning so that she would be "natural". Here goes!

Even the dogs are smiling!

The Smedley family

On a recent sunny Saturday afternoon, our friend Cheri Carbaugh came over and tried to get all of us smiling at the same time! She tried to make us look beautiful too, which wasn't hard for the girls, but a bit more of a challenge for us parents! We are just so grateful to have some shots of our whole family together in one spot!

YiLi started the photo shoot by singing a Chinese song for Cheri . . .

And I really like the ones of us outside frolicking in the snow!

The girls prevailed (three against one), let me just say that!

The moment a mommy waits for!

Tonight we were up at Faith and Bill Thompson's house for dinner and to meet their two daughters who came home from China just two weeks ago. The Thompsons live in the big old house of my childhood, and I always feel warm and fuzzy being there, especially in the company of good friends!

We met Piper Joy and Jadyn Pearl.  Jadyn will join our daughter YiLi in her first grade class with Mrs. Funk next week, and now there will be three little Chinese girls there: YiLi, Jadyn and Cindy!

We got to talking (mostly about China!) and before we knew it, it was 8:30 - already 30 minutes past bedtime and we weren't even home! I guess it doesn't hurt once in a great while, but our routine is good and we don't want to "monkey" with it!

So home we went and straight to bed. I asked my usual "How many, YiLi?" and YiLi replied "29". Yikes, what will happen when she can count to 1000?! So I kissed her head 29 times, taking more and more liberties, and as I walked out of her room, I said "Love you . ." and continued down the hall. Then, all at once, I heard in a loud and excited voice "YOU TOO!" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's it - the end of my story tonight and the beginning of a lifetime of dreams come true!
                                                       signed . . . one happy Mommy

Loyal puppies and skating parties!

To think, we were concerned that YiLi would be terrified of our dogs! Now it is true that she doesn't want them to get TOO close, but she is definitely warming up to both of them. She talks about them all the time, and she includes them in her drawings at school!  In this one from this morning, Holly "Ha Ha" was doing what she does every morning - she works her little front paws up in the air as if she is begging YiLi to come and play with her downstairs. It's so cute, and this morning YiLi played along more than she ever has!

Here's a few pictures from the first day of school, which was January 3, 2012! YiLi has really enjoyed school from the very beginning! Shw thinks it is too funny that her teacher is Mrs. Funk and her principal is Mr. Funk! Last night when we saw them at the Chinese restaurant she just kept saying "Two Funks! Two Funks!"

All of the children are being so loving and kind to YiLi! They say that she is learning English really quickly. She has a classmate from China named Cindy - her mother owns the local Chinese restaurant. Cindy has been here for over one year. I have noticed that both Cindy and YiLi are very shy to talk to other children. I wonder if that is a cultural thing. But she wants to go to school every single day, and for that, we are very thankful!

YiLi got invited (along with her whole class) to a birthday party at the roller rink! Boy was that a blast from the past for Rick and me! We think we found a very enjoyable hobby for YiLi. She had a great time, never wanted to leave the skating floor. We'll definitely be taking her back soon! She took to it like a natural, well as soon as Mommy and Daddy backed away and let her skate by herself!

I'll close on this note: Whoever plays JENGA with YiLi is bound to lose, because she's a master at building the tower high!

One last bit of advice though . . . keep this yellow dog's tail far away from your project! She might look innocent, but she's not!

We've known YiLi for two months less two days, and we can hardly even remember what it was like without her blessing our family. We thank God every day for both of our daughters!