One Year Ago Today

One year ago today we met our precious daughter, Sophia Elizabeth, for the very first time.  After three years of working on her adoption and waiting for God's timing, it was like a dream come true.  I've been reminiscing and rejoicing in how God has continued to work in Sophia's life and our lives over the past year.  If you care to reminisce, here are my posts from that day...

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Praising God for His faithfulness...

Taiwanese Sisters

Last weekend Sophia and I had the exciting privilege of traveling to Pittsburgh to meet up with a long-time online friend and her daughter.  Mandi and her family have been a part of our lives since we connected over two years ago when we first committed to bringing Sophia home from Taiwan.  Mandi and her husband and two sons had recently committed to another Taiwanese princess, whom they named, Teagan.  Teagan and Sophia are about six months apart in age and both have cerebral palsy.  What I remember most about our first connection was that Mandi told me that she had seen Sophia's profile, and while they felt led to adopt Teagan, she had been praying for Sophia to find a family.  Mandi was such an encouragement to me while we were in Taiwan, as she had just been through similar circumstances six months prior, and, when we came home and I was struggling with the adjustments, she was there to cheer me on.

Fast forward over two years, and we finally had the chance to meet in person.  Teagan had an appointment with a medical specialist in Pittsburgh, so Mandi, her mom, and Teagan were making the drive from Indiana for the weekend.  We met up and had a wonderful time getting to interact in person and meeting the girls for the first time.  As Mandi said, it was great to actually get to hug in person!!  Our hope and prayer is that we can maintain our relationship over the distance and allow Sophia and Teagan to grow up together as Taiwanese sisters.  It was so neat to see how God clearly put each little girl in the family where she fit best...just another reminder of God's faithfulness in our adoption journeys!

Thanks, Mandi, for a great weekend...until next time!!

Bathing Beach Beauty

In January we had the privilege of spending a week in Florida with Dave's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Fisher.  We had awesome weather that week, and really enjoyed just relaxing and playing together.  One day we decided to visit the beach to give Sophia her first beach experience.  Here are some of the photos from that day...I love seeing her investigating sand and waves for the very first time!  She really enjoyed it!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Wow!  It's been several months since I updated this blog.  Part of the reason is that I can't find my camera cord since our vacation in Florida in January, so I can't upload any new photos.  I have SO many cute photos of Sophia from her first family vacation, so when I find or buy my camera cord, I will have a bunch of fun photos to share!  Also, we have been through some interesting times as a family since January, and blogging just went by the wayside.  I will try to do better!

Sophia is doing really well overall.  She has adapted well to preschool three afternoons a week, and loves her speech pathologist whom she sees two mornings a week.  She had botox injections in her right arm a couple of weeks ago, and responded really well to that treatment.  I need to set her up with some additional occupational therapy for that arm as recommended by her doctor.  I also have been asked to consider an audiology appointment, just to get a baseline on her hearing.  That is one specialist we have not seen since June!  Sophia loves to look at herself in the mirror and is very content to play in her room with a variety of objects from her room or from around the house...pretty much if you can't find something that was laying around, you check Sophia's room!

I was looking back at some photos from the fall and am just amazed at the differences I see in Sophia in such a short period of time.  She has really lost her toddler look and is very much a little girl.  I will have to post some "then and now" photos...when I recover that lost camera cord!!

Thanks for checking in!!

Our First Christmas with Sophia

What a difference a year makes!  Last year, I posted this...and looked forward to 2011 as the year that we would hopefully bring our daughter home to her forever family.  This Christmas, we are looking back at six months home together, and celebrating our first Christmas together with Sophia.  It was a joyous time, having all five of our children together, but it was also a time to reflect on Christmases gone by, wondering how Sophia celebrated, what she remembered.  If her interest in wrapped presents was any indication, she didn't do much gift opening in Taiwan...she could really care less, and all of her presents were opened by others, eager to get the actual gift into her hands, which was much more interesting to her!  Here are some of my favorite photos of our first Christmas with Sophia!

The annual Christmas pajamas in front of the tree photo...Sophia's not too thrilled with this tradition!

Enthralled by something on the tree...

A filled stocking, front and center, this year!

This one's for Miss Carol Anne, her Kindermusik teacher!  She loves her rhythm sticks!

She stared and stared at her new baby doll when she first got her...does she recognize the Asian features?

Her favorite gift by far...a grocery cart from MomMom and PopPop...great therapy, too!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Four years ago today, our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher, was born in the city of Taichung, Taiwan.  We will be forever grateful to her birthmother for choosing life in a country known for their declining population due to abortion on demand.  While the circumstances surrounding and following her birth will probably never be fully known or understood, we thank God for taking care of our little girl for us.  Today we celebrate her first birthday with her forever family.  We look forward to seeing her blossom and grow in the years that lie ahead.  We love you, Sophia!

First Professional Photos

Thanks to Naomi Atkins, one of the fabulous duo of photographers at Inspired and Enchanted Photography, I now have my first professional photos of Sophia.  It was a quick photo shoot, but the shots are great and really show her blossoming personality.  If you live in the Susquehanna Valley and need a photographer for an event or a family, senior, baby, child(ren), etc. photo shoot, please check out Inspired and Enchanted Photography!  Enjoy!  (Please note...I have copyright permission for personal use of these photos...please do not copy from the blog...if you would like a copy of one of the photos, just ask...thanks!)