Shower

Yesterday my sister and a good friend of mine threw a shower for Hannah. I knew they were going to do an Asian theme, but I had no idea how much they would do! My sister, the dessert queen, made a beautiful chocolate cake shaped like a moon cake and a gelatin dessert with intricate Asian designs on top. She also made rice balls and fried up some spring rolls. My friend brought fried rice and wontons with duck sauce. She also supplied all the decorations, including orchids for the tables, decorative rocks, gold and white table cloths, and some really pretty Chinese napkins. They both brought various teas, which we drank out of my friend's China that her grandmother had given her. I thought they really outdid themselves and was so touched by all the work they put into it.

The amazing hostesses (my friend, left, and my sister, right):

My friend brought an origami kit, and we were all struggling to understand the instructions! I did manage to make two sailboats and a pelican though! My friend had the awesome idea of using the objects we created to make a mobile to hang from the ceiling of the kids' room. Miles already has several things hanging up now, and we need to add some girl stuff, so this will be perfect!

My sister's cake:

Me about to eat a wonton:

One of the adorable outfits we received for Hannah:

My sister and I. My sister had discovered an Asian market in Fort Worth and was so excited sharing with me all the cool stuff she saw. She brought me a little bamboo bowl filled with Chinese soap she found there. I have the best sister, who is also one of my best friends!

Left to right: My brother's fiance, me, my sister and my mother:

Another good friend of mine. Miles and her daughter have been in a playgroup together since they were two years old.

One of the best, sweetest friends, in this world:

Getting the new pictures of Hannah on Monday, and then this shower, just makes it seem so much more real that our daughter will actually be home with us soon! Feeling more real also makes it a little harder to wait!

Yesterday I was feeling how blessed I am to have the best family and friends there are, and how blessed Hannah will be to come home to that. This was a shower preparing for the homecoming of a little girl, and while she received lots of wonderful "things," more than anything else, this was truly a shower of love.

Chip and Miles had been out all day while we ladies had the shower. They came home in the afternoon and we ended the day by meeting with our local FCC group (Families with Children from China). They have dinner every month at a Chinese restaurant, and it had been a few months since we'd seen everyone. We brought a photo album with Hannah's pictures to show everyone, and they were all so excited for us. We talked for a long time with a few of them, and they had such wonderful advice and encouragement for us. I told Chip on the way home that I just love the emotional connections we're making through this adoption process. Strangers become instant friends because of the common love we have for our children. Adoption from China has turned out to be even more wonderful that I had expected!