Happy 5th birthday Ava-Yin!

Today is Ava-Yin's fifth birthday-her second one with us. Some of you have asked for an update on her progress and I can't tell you how encouraging that is to me-that you are still thinking of her and us. It's incredibly hard to believe she's only been with us for just over a year. It hasn't always been perfect, in fact, sometimes it looked really ugly, but the six of us are truly a family. The bond that we've prayed so hard for is there and only gets stronger with time. I am so thankful.

Ava-Yin today-

She loves movies and tv shows, 'Just Dance', and riding her bike.

She loves to eat junk food, paint her nails, and bake cookies.

She has the greatest imaginative play and tells the wildest, (loooongest) stories I've ever heard.

Her laughter fills the house when daddy tickles and plays with her and she loves to snuggle and cuddle just about anyone.

She speaks English fluently, can identify her upper and lower case letters and is learning their sounds.

Her health is fine, her development is as it should be, and she does well socially.

Her days are filled with Legos, dolls, tea parties, blankets, dress-ups and books.

Ava-Yin has transitioned beautifully into our family and we are so very thankful to call her our own.

Some random happenings over the last year...

There was the time she and Zoe sneaked downstairs and took a box of a dozen doughnuts into their room before anyone else was awake. When I finally figured out where the missing doughnuts were, there were 3 left. My guess is Zoe ate one and Ava-Yin polished off the other 7...& hid one more...which I found her eating later that day. She was completely bewildered when I told her she couldn't have anymore.

Another time, I walked into the girls' room to find the closet door and the light socket painted in fingernail polish because they 'didn't want it white anymore.' Thankfully, it was washable...but you can still see a blue tint around the socket. The girls are definite partners in crime and keep me on my toes!

The holidays were tons of fun. After trick or treating in our neighborhood, she asked, 'where do we go to pay for the candy?' And I loved her version of the Christmas story...at some point God and Rapunzel looked down at the baby Moses.

Speaking of Moses, she and Zoe take a Bible class with me and we are all studying God's relationship with Moses. Her quick understanding of God amazes me. Just last night she thanked God for being everywhere and taking care of all our needs. Could I ask for anymore?

She's a beautiful girl, and every night I tell her I love her and am so proud of her.