BIG NEWS AT BELOVED!

Hey guys! Just in case you haven't checked it out...
I AM NOW AT

beloved
andrewandannagrace.blogspot.com

BIG THINGS are going on there...LIKE OUR THIRD ADOPTION...
Hop on over and check it out!

New Things...

Just wanted to send a reminder that I have moved blogs...
Now we are at 


beloved


Come see us!! and change your settings and blog feeds (:

New Home

After four amazing years at ashtonsmeimei.blogspot.com it is time for a change...a very unwilling change. I am not fond of no picture uploads and etc. This was not my original plan...at all. But, now that it is set up and going I love it. I fought the facts of followers, everyone knowing where I was, being out of space but purchasing more, and in the end decided that a new blog and a new start would be perfect. I worked this week on perfecting the new blog and making sure everything was in order and ready to go...Now that it is all set and up I am thrilled to reveal my new blog...

beloved.

I can't wait to start posting regularly on there and hope you all follow me on the newest journey..I can't wait to see what God does in our family through the next years to come like he did with ashtonsmeimei! It has been so awesome to look back through this blog through the last few days seeing how much we all changed through the years. So, hop on over to beloved.
and check it out. (: Can't wait to see you there!

for the last time on ashtonsmeimei. xoxo,

Sunday Snapshot : Princesses on Ice and help, please!

Well yesterday my Dad took Anna Grace, Andrew, and I to see Princesses on Ice! Oh my gosh it was amazing! Andrew even loved it. (: Anna Grace was smitten.

They each picked out a prize. True to her Princess self, Anna Grace chose a beautiful wand and well true to his Boy-ness, Andrew chose the Beast (: They are both smitten with their choices.
I was planning on uploading all of the pictures but something has happened with blogger and I have run out of space?  If any of you know about this, please let me know. I cannot seem to figure out how to fix whatever problem has occurred. Here are a few of the pictures from yesterday.

Jasmine and Aladdin

 Hopefully I will get it fixed soon. I would be forever grateful for any advice you can offer as to what is wrong.
Thanks,

500 Posts!

Wow, I have posted 500 times on this blog. Wow. That is a lot of talking for me. You have followed me through an adoption, changing from middle school to high school, the Princess adjusting, Andrew adjusting, the ups, the downs, and SO many more things! TIMES 500! I am still in shock! I can't believe that I have wrote 500 posts. So many. Most of you have read them all.
In honor of my special post I am going to do something fun. But I need ideas. Comment on this post telling your favorite "Bottles and Baby Talk/Pull-Ups and Princesses/Trucks and Tiaras" post (: As a little happy-making day here are some precious "It's almost Christmas" shots of Anna Grace. xoxo

Sunday Snapshot : Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.

We ate. We smiled. We rejoiced. We traveled. We shopped. We did not take many pictures.
But it was lovely.

We all had a wonderful time and enjoyed the fun that came with the festivities. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Read a story, Prayed, said what we were thankful for, and then headed to the relatives. We have so very much to be thankful for this year. Our health, Andrew, Family, our growth, that we lived, loved, breathed another year. So very much to be thankful for.
I truly adore the holiday season. Thanksgiving is in a close race with Christmas. I love just relaxing, being thankful, and not worrying about all the gift giving. {even though that is fun!}
This year was Andrew's first Thanksgiving. Last year we so desperately wanted him Home. We were so anxious to finally have that precious blessing in our arms and this year we were able to! So sweet.
I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and you were able to step back and see how much you have to be thankful for.
Oh and I also hope for those who go black-friday shopping you have recovered. My Mom and I are still working on that! {We didn't go to bed on Thanksgiving night! Yes, we are one of those "crazy" people. But it was so fun!!}
;)

Hugs,

So very thankful this year, have a blessed Thanksgiving. So thankful that Andrew is here with us this year! God is good!

There in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

-Deuteronomy 12:7

Sunday Snapshot : 10 months of Crazy Lovin'

10 months ago a little boy was placed in our arms.
 

A sad, scared, little boy with a long journey ahead of him.

We were scared. He was scared.

We didn't know him. He didn't know us.

We loved him more than anything. He didn't know what love was.

Here we are, 10 months later.

He is a happy, joyful, beautiful little boy who is going through his journey strong headed and ready to take on the world.

We are no longer scared. He isn't either.

We know him and every little thing about him. He knows all of us and can lovingly call us all by name.

We still love him to the end of the world. He now knows love and loves back.

God is so good. SO. so. so good.

Keep on with your crazy lovin' little self baby.
We love you and are so proud of where you are now.
xoxo

Beauty Will Rise

A woman in China is pregnant. She is scared and does not know what to do. For nine months she watches her stomach grow and grow. The day finally arrives for her to give birth to the baby that has been growing in her belly for the past nine months. The woman did the only thing she knew to do. The thing that was best for her child. She left her.
On a busy bridge in Chongqing a little girl was left. She was wrapped in a sleeping bag and placed in an open bamboo bookbag. Within a few hours the baby was found. She was taken to a police station and put in the Xiushan Social Welfare Institute. She would spend the next nine months there....

On July 1, 2007 this little girl along with many other babies boarded a train to come all the way across Chongqing. After a long {12 hour} train ride this little girl would be carried off the train, into the civil affairs office and placed in the arms of her Family. The family that God had planned for her all along. The family that was taking this little girl to be their daughter was the plan before any of us were created. God knew that this would be her story. God knew that her birth mother was just the beginning. God knew that the family that walked out of that building with little Lai Lai was the family that God had intended for her from before she was conceived. The family that was praying and waiting for her before she was even born. The family who loved her more than the world and could not wait to spend the rest of their lives with this little girl. That Family was us. We were so very blessed with Anna Grace and cannot praise God enough for her.

This little girl had an amazing beginning. A beginning many people will never, ever be able to relate to. A beginning that is tearful, hard, ugly, bad, precious, important, and through it all beautiful. This little girls story would inspire many others to add a child to their family. This little girl would come all the way to America to live and be loved. This little girl is my beautiful sister.  This little girl will have a long road ahead of her. But from the ashes and things from the past I am certain that through it all Beauty will Rise.

Lydia Faith comes HOME!!

After God has moved so many mountains for this precious family to bring their beautiful 14 year old daughter home! Last night Lydia Faith came HOME and we were all there to welcome her! I absolutely LOVE going to welcome homes. Last night started out super sweet too. We got to go meet up with another one of our Travel Buddies and some family and friends for dinner. We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant, ate, talked, took pictures, and then headed for the airport! We waited for a good 40 minutes for their plane to land and then the best part of homecomings arrived! Watching Lydia touch her sweet American soil!! They Last night was for sure amazing! Lydia is absolutely breath taking and is so very sweet! She became my best friend pretty quickly and was hooked to my side. I LOVED every minute of it! Taylor and I ended up chasing her around tickling her! We do not speak the same language but Love knows no boundaries! It was the most fun I have had in a long time.
Welcome Home Lydia, Kathleen, Steve, AnnaGrace, and MonkeyClaire MollyClaire! ;)
We love you guys!!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures and a video of them all! Videos are always more fun...right?!