Gotcha Day Celebration 2010

So the day has come and went. Gotcha Day that is. The day that we became parents to Zhang ChunXue. In some ways it seems so much longer ago than 3 years. Yet in others it seems just yesterday. In part, that is because of the awesome group of people who have come into our lives as a result of our adoption travel to China. Our family has grown. Our hearts have grown to encompass these four families in a way that is truly unique. It is impossible to share those moments of becoming parents together and not be bound together in a way that is deeply moving and lifelong. I liken it to being in the delivery room together ( all right that may be a bit of a stretch but not much really). After all two of the four were first time parents. What a privilege to share these precious moments together. They are permanently etched on my heart, irreplacable. What's even more awesome is that our group has stuck together. All equally committed to seeing that our daughters walk through life together. These once a year visits are truly treasures in my Mom's heart. And I know in a short few years, the girls will all feel the same way. Right now, it's just playtime, vacation time. But soon they will realize that they are part of an intimate, exclusive group who in time can lean on each other, learn and grow in understanding of their roots together, and likely share in the mystery of how they came to be US citizens.

Our short four days together came and went all too quickly. But what a whirlwind of fun it was! On Thursday we ate dinner together, played and laughed together and eagerly anticipated the arrival of the rest of our group.

On Friday morning the excitement grew as the rest of our group was due to arrive.

Uh-hum, this might be a good place to add, that most of the time it was excitement. Our Miss Grace had what my father would call a "character building moment" or two as she had to turn her house over to five friends and share all of her toys exclusively. Sometimes it was lovely, sometimes it was ugly. But in the end she's better for it, at least that's what I think :)

Oh the joy when all six girls and all five families were reunited! We ate lunch together, went to the playground together and after dinner we went to the classic Hoffman's Playland together. If I were to place a dollar figure on every smile, squeal or giggle that night I'd say we got a 10-fold return on our modest investment. It was an awesome night.

Six Smiling Girls, Priceless!

The Zamboni Man was a hero to these southern gals...snow in August?! Never mind the playground!

Miss Grace's photo of the Mom's and Dad's playing Catch Up at the Commons (hurry back Ed!)

Now that's alot of Pinkness for one train, good thing we had Sam in the back to keep those girls in line!

Can't you just hear the giggles? What a great day!

On Saturday we took the girls on a special outing to Yaddo Gardens. I must admit, this is the part I was looking forward to the most. Mama Darling from over at Desheng Darling and Doodlebug made these absolutely angelic dresses for all the girls. In like one day. She's amazing.She provided the lovely daisies for their hair too, it's was perfect! We arrived at 10:00 am all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for the camera with lots of smiles. Don't ask me how things were at 11:00 just as we were leaving, lol! The girls really turned on the charm for our awesome photographers Kyle and Debbie. These photos are a few ours of course. If you'd like to see their work over at Unforgettable Photo email me and I'll send you the event code and password.

Such joy, such beauty, I was overwhelmed to tears. What a wonderful moment to behold all my days...

After Yaddo we all went to the Saratoga Race Course for the afternoon. I think it's safe to say that Sharon was the big winner. We all had a great day, even if we left a little money behind. For me, it's all about people watching and those beautiful horses.

Thank you Debbie for the "back stretch" fun! Notice their matching Anhui Girls shirts? Too dang cute fur words!

After a little rest time, we all had dinner together for one last time and some yummy S'more for dessert. Thank you Mr. Skip! Oh, and this would be a great time to insert another genunine "Thank You". This one is for the brothers who have given the limelight over to their sisters for three days straight. You guys are AWESOME brothers!

What a tasty way to wrap up a super fun day!

Sadly Sunday had to come. We all met for breakfast at their hotel so we could have one last bit of time together. Did I mention that we snuck in the back door and crashed the breakfast buffet? The girls romped and played one last time before we gave lots of hugs good-bye for one more year.

Footnote to Sunday...

After the largest part of our group left we decided to show the Darling Family a little bit of the Adirondack Park. Since it was a rainy day, what better thing to do than take a ride? The girls were great in the car while the grown-ups chatted a little more. We did as much as possible considering the soggy day. Then we wrapped up the fun with a little Mexican food for our Texas friends with hearts truly a big as Texas. We miss having you as "neighbors". Can't wait until we all meet again.

Still Smiling ~ Kate-Lyn