Josh has Graduated!!

Here are a few pictures of Josh at his Graduation last Thursday night. We are so proud of him and the young man he has become. He looked so handsome and so ready to take on the world. I also spent the night with his class at their "All Night Long" party after graduation and I must say they were the most polite respectable young people around. I heard many compliments from them and they all had a wonderful time. Their class will truly be missed as role models for Comstock Park High School.

Its a NEW JOSH!!

BEFORE



AFTER

Video of Lia's Adoption Trip

I have put together this 6 1/2 minute video of our journey to China to adopt Lia. I think it came out pretty good - hope you enjoy it! Be sure to shut the Blog music off first!

Colleen

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Play date with friends

Here are a couple pictures of our play date with Janell and Abigail. We took the girls to a local mall and let them play in the play area for a while, then we shopped a little, and then went out for lunch. The girls had a great time together and Janell and I enjoyed talking and catching up. It is so nice having a travel mate live so close to us that we get to see often.

Prom 2009...and SURPRISE PROM KING!!

Here are a few pictures from Prom last night. Josh went with his girlfriend Taylor and 4 other couples. One of the girls' father owns a limo company and he drove them around in his limo - the kids really enjoyed it and the parents were grateful that they were safe on the roads! They said they had a great time and to our surprise Josh was crowned Prom King! We are so proud of him and the young man he has become. He only has 3 more weeks of High School :-( This will be a busy month for all of us.

Pictures of our new construction

Here are a few pictures of the construction taking place at our house. The new addition is now framed and they will be working on the roof starting tomorrow. We have to replace the entire roof of our house because we discovered mold in our attic and on much of the plywood under the roofing. All the moldy plywood has to be replaced so we have to tear the whole roof off and then all the roofing will match with the new construction. The weather has not been very cooperative for the guys working so when we do get a nice day they work like crazy. I have my fingers crossed that it will be at least 80% complete by Josh's graduation party, which is May 30th. It is a very exciting process but at the same time it is a little hectic.

Ooohhh...on a side note...Lia is finally potty trained!!! We are so excited and she is doing so well - hardly ever an accident anymore!

Funny Shirt

Josh just arrived home from snowboarding in Colorado and brought us each a gift. Lia's gift was perfect for her! Just in case you can't read it - it says "Are you SURE these are MY relatives?

Jumping Waves

Where we going?

Lia started this little "cheer" on our way to Disney World. The girls did it back and forth for about 5 minutes! Shut my blog music off before you view it so you can hear it.

Florida Pictures

Having fun on a boat we rented


Lia and her cousin Delaney (She came home in Sept. 2007)


Photos with Mickey and Minnie


Hollywood Studios


Walking with Grandpa after the Tigers game


We had a great time in Florida. Did a lot of visiting, swimming, sunning and relaxing. Unfortunately, Charlie also did a lot of working. He spent a lot of time on the phone and talking with my dad about "Business". I guess that's what happens when you are the President of a company. I am still getting used to it, but the kids and I had a great time anyway. We are glad to be home - we missed Josh. He is still getting used to us being in HIS house but I sense he is also glad that we are home. I just wish the warm weather would have followed us home! Enjoy the pictures.

Leaving for Florida

I'm busy packing and getting ready to go to Florida. We are leaving Saturday afternoon and staying in Lakeland at my parents house until Thursday. While we are at their house we plan to see a Tiger pre-season game, one day at Disney, visit my cousins, and maybe a round of golf. Then on Thursday we will go down to Fort Myers/Sanibel for a conference that Charlie has to attend. We will stay there until Sunday and then return to my parents house until Monday morning when we fly back home. Everyone is going with us except Josh. He is going to Colorado snowboarding for Spring Break in 2 weeks with some friends so we told him he needed to choose which vacation he wanted to go on and wouldn't you know it - the friends won! I am a little sad that he will be all alone in the house for a week and I'm praying the house is still intact when we return. He is a good kid and I'm not worried there will be any wild parties or anything but I have the neighbors watching just in case. I'm sure I'll be posting some cute pictures when we return.

Have a great week everyone!

Colleen

WISCONSIN DELLS

We had a wonderful weekend of laughter, swimming, games, food and fun with the Freeby's. Our condo was the perfect size for both our families to share, plus Alyssa even brought her friend, Brianna. It was 3 bedrooms, a full size kitchen, 3 bathrooms, and a large living room. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and since our condo was ready we all moved in. The girls were so cute. At first they were a little shy but within a few minutes they were giggling, screaming and running all over the place. The rest of the weekend we spent just hanging out and catching up. The older kids had fun as well and really do all get along great, it is great to see their friendship grow. We stayed until late Monday morning and then, sadly, we had to say goodbye. It is getting easier to say "goodbye" because we KNOW we will see each other again soon. We have so much in common with them and have found it so easy to get to know them, we really feel truly blessed that they are our friends.

Our countertops are IN!!

Here are a few before and after pictures of our new countertops. We still have to install the garage door and the faucet, but I am so happy with them.

Countdown to the Dells!

Lia and Zoe in September when we went to Minnesota


We are getting excited for our upcoming trip to the Wilderness Resort in the Dells with the Freeby's. Steve and Liz Freeby adopted their daughter Zoe from Shanghai CWI at the same time we adopted Lia. They also have 2 sons who have become friends with our kids and we are all sharing a condo at the Wilderness. We have become very good friends with the Freeby's and feel like we have known them our whole lives. Our families are very similar and we truly enjoy each others company. We are all looking forward to spending 3 days together to catch up. It is amazing how God has connected us with this wonderful family from Minnesota, I just wish we lived closer! Lia says she wants to "Splash in the water with Zoe!", only 10 more days Lia!

It's a Pigtail Day

Lia's hair has finally grown enough that I can put real pigtails in them. I used to put pigtails in but had to hold the hair up in the back with a clip, but now I don't have to, YAY! Her hair seems to grow at an alarmingly slow rate so this is really big news at our house right now. Some other big news is that Josh has been accepted into the YWAM mission in Switzerland. He will have to be there by Nov. 1st and his mission will go through April 18th, 2010. I know he is very excited about this opportunity and we are very proud of him. It will be tough to see him go but we will be in contact with him most days. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Love, Colleen

Video of Lia "Making Bubbles"

Grand Rapids Childrens Museum

Today I took Lia to the Childrens Museum. We received a year long membership as a gift when we brought Lia home and our year is up on March 1st. I have taken her a few times during this year but decided I would take her today and at least once more before the end of the month. It was just a fun Mommy and Lia day today. On the way there she asked if we were going to see Zoe at the museum :-( I had to tell her "not today, but I will tell Zoe's mommy that they need to move to Michigan so we can see them more often!" HINT HINT, Liz and Steve! Lia had a great time with the bubbles and funny mirrors, they were her favorites. She also had fun just running from station to station and playing with all the hands on toys.

Time to Brag.....

Okay, so I know I spend too much time talking about Lia on this blog so today I am going to take time to brag about the rest of my family - Sorry Lia, Mommy still loves you!

Josh: What can I say about Josh - he is really growing up and I have come to the realization that my days of him living under our roof are quickly fading away. He has been working very hard trying to earn as much money as he can because he is signing up to do a 6 month mission in Switzerland/Thailand. Yes, he will be leaving us in November for 6 months. I cry every time I think of him leaving but I knew a few years ago that Josh wants to see the world and experience many different cultures, so I am not surprised he is actually going to do this. He is going to delay his college for a year to do this. We are very proud of him but also, as parents, we are worried about his safety and him being so far away from us. HE IS STILL OUR LITTLE BOY!!!

Alyssa: Well, Alyssa is at the point in her life where her friends are more important than anything else. I know it is just a phase, but we hardly ever see her! She has been in Competitive Cheer for about 6 weeks now. They are doing extremely well and have taken 1st place in every competition they have been in. I really enjoy going to the competitions and sometimes I think I get just as nervous as the girls do just before they perform. Her team puts in many hours practicing and it really shows. She is kind of a leader of the group and really tries to get the girls charged up and keep them in line - it is a wonderful side of her to watch.

Aaron: My little boy, Aaron. He has been busy practicing and playing basketball. He is a complete sports fan and player. In the morning the first thing he does is tune into ESPN and find out who won the games the night before and who will be playing that night. His ultimate goal at this point is to play basketball for Notre Dame, and I will be the proudest mom in the stands when that happens. This summer he is going to a basketball camp at Notre Dame for a week. He is really excited about it and I am sure he will learn many new skills and improve his game even more. Did I mention he is almost always the high scorer of his team! I am really proud of him and love it when other parents walk up to me and tell me how great of a player Aaron is. He is also a very good team player - passing the ball around to others who haven't gotten a shot, and always high fiving those who scored.

Charlie: My sweet and caring hubby. He works so hard and is such a dedicated father and husband. My own father has been the President of the company that Charlie and I work for. This January my father has decided to hang up his hat and retire after 21 years. The board of directors has made the decision to appoint Charlie as the new President. I know he is very excited about his new position, but it is also quite demanding at times. He does a great job balancing his work load and spending time with his family and I am so proud of his dedication to both. He has many wonderful employees who have been very supportive of the change in leadership, and I know that has helped him make the transition much smoother.

Thank you for letting me brag a bit about the "rest" of my family. We have all been very busy lately so I haven't had as much time to post. Our family is also working on buying a new home. The home is in foreclosure and we are waiting on the sellers bank to approve us to purchase the home. We have given them 2 weeks to process the sale and accept our offer. If it happens we are looking at making the move in about 2 months. The house is only about 5 minutes away from our current home. We are in the "wait and see" mode right now.

So, that is what has been going on at the Halls lately - lots of excitement!

Lia in her "Gotcha Day" Outfit

Gotcha Day 2008



Home One Year Later 2009


Home One Year Later 2009

Friday night we took a few pictures of Lia in the outfit that she wore when we first met her. She also had on some long underwear tops and bottoms and a sweater the day we met her. The sweater was tight on Gotcha Day so it definitely would not fit her today and the underwear bottoms may have fit her but the top would not. Sooo, she is just wearing the hat and outerwear she had on. When I put it on her and hugged her it brought back memories of how she felt to me the first time I held her in my arms. I have to admit, I cried. We also watched our video of that day and Lia tried to reenact the way she was - crying and flailing her head back, only this time she did it with a little laugh and a twinkle in her eye! We got tons of hugs and kisses from her that night, I think she is very happy and does know that we are here for her no matter what. I will also post a picture of Gotcha Day in the same outfit.

One Year Ago....

One year ago tonight (at about 2:00am our time) we were handed our daughter, Lia Elaine Xingzhi Hall. It still seems amazing that we were in the country of China and that we now have Lia. This has been a wonderful year filled with "Firsts" and it has been wonderful watching her grow from a tiny little 2 year old to an almost average 3 year old who is now actually wearing 3T clothes. When we were in China she was wearing 12 mos. pants and 18 mos. shirts, simply amazing. The physical changes are apparent as are the personality changes. She was so meek and mild when we first brought her home - even a walk by of the cats made her cry in terror. Now, she rules the house and I am constantly telling her to walk and use inside voices. I thank God every day for this "gift" he has given our family and I know this has only been possible because of Him. God has entrusted us to be her parents and we do not take that lightly. Our children are all special to us and we love them all equally. Here is a picture of Lia and I on "Gotcha Day" or as Charlie likes to call it "Family Day". The sadness in her eyes is very real as we had walked out of her room in the orphanage about 10 minutes before that picture was taken. The other picture was taken about 3 weeks ago with Baba (she still calls Charlie the Chinese word for Daddy) in the kitchen.