GOTCHA DAY!!

Three years ago today our lives were forever changed........after a long, two year, roller coaster of a wait, we finally met our little Cali Liu!!  Today is what they refer to in the adoption world as "Gotcha Day".  It is amazing to think that three whole years have passed by since that remarkable day.  We remember the day like it was yesterday.  This entire week we have been looking back at our old blog site (http://www.crazyaboutcali.blog.com/) reliving those precious memories.  If you would like to go back and look at those same memories, go to that site and on the right hand side of the blog, click on January 2007.  Here are some pictures of the day that we finally met our Cali Liu:

    

 

We have always said that we want to make Gotcha Day a very special day for our entire family.  When you think about it, Gotcha Day is more like her birthday to us.  This is the day that we first held our little bundle of joy!  Today she wore a special Gotcha Day dress to Tammy's.  She also took some pink Gotcha Day cookies to share with her buddies.  We allowed her to pick out a special dinner and cake.  She chose spaghetti and angel food cake with pink icing!  She has great taste!  We also allowed her to pick a movie to watch......she chose "Paul Blart, Mall Cop"!  Once again, she has great taste!  We watched our movie, and then sang "Happy Gotcha Day" to her and she blew out a #3 candle (for her 3rd Gotcha Day).  After the cake, Cade took her upstairs to find the outfit that she had on when they handed her to us back in China.  Believe it or not, she can still fit into the outfit (it is a bit snug)!  It was so cute.  She has had it on now for over 2 hours....even the socks!  We broke out the picture albums from the China Journey and she was infatuated....she looked through the albums over and over, soaking it all in and asking question after question.

 

As you can tell, we had a great Gotcha Day celebration!  As I finish this up, Cali is down here still wearing her original Gotcha Day outift!  She loves it.  We always talk about how God had a plan for our family and had a plan for Cali Liu.  He definitely knew what he was doing!  Think about all that had to happen in order for Cali to join our family.  It is truly a miracle.  We cannot imagine our lives with out Miss Liu.  She is full of orneryness and we love every bit of it!  We have truly been blessed with both Cali Liu and Cade Michael.  We give thanks every day for the both of them.  Our big Gotcha Day celebration is coming to an end.........Cali's 4th birthday will be here before we know it (April 5th).  Another celebration will take place for that big day!  Check back soon for more updates from the McGinness crew.  Good night.   

Three years ago today...........

Three years ago today Kim and I were on a plane to China to meet our Jiang Cheng Liu (Cali's given name).  It is amazing to think that three years ago our wonderful journey to China had just began!  We have been looking back at our old blog (http://www.crazyaboutcali.blog.com/) and reliving all of the wonderful memories.  We have shed many happy tears the past 48 hours! 

Cali's referral picture

This weekend was kind of a wild one.......especially Friday night and Saturday.  Friday night Kim had a lia sophia party so I was in charge of the kiddos (and Cade's buddy Parker).  Saturday morning Cade attended a paintball birthday party for his buddy Devin and I worked at the bank.  Cade has numerous bruises on his body from the paintball experience!  Saturday afternoon Cade had a baseball hitting league game.  The boys won again (they are now 3-0) and Cade had his best outing yet!  We rushed home and then rushed right back out the door.  That evening Kim and I attended the Northland Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet with our friends Brad and Kim.  The dinner was at Harrah's Casino.  It was a very nice event and we really enjoyed ourselves.

   

Today we actually had NOTHING on our schedule.  The day still ended up flying right by just like every other day does.  The NFL playoffs have been on today so we have tried to keep our eyes on the games.  Cade and I were cheering for the Jets and they lost.  We are also cheering for the Vikings and they are in a battle with the Saints as I create this blog.  Here are a few more pics from the weekend..............

 

Kim recieved this plate for her birthday....Cade used it tonight.  It is a Fred Head plate.  You can put your food all over his face/head to make him look funny.  The kids love it!

The week ahead is going to be a busy one. The weekend will be here again before we know it!  I hope all of you have a great week ahead! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!

Today we celebrated mommy's birthday.  The morning began with the opening of her cards and gifts before we took off to school and Tammy's.

Naturally with today being a regular day during the work week, it was a bit hectic.  Kim ran Cali to gymnastics early in the evening and then we all met up at home for some tasty Casey's pizza.  After the pizza was devoured, the kids made mommy some chewy fudge brownies!!  We sang to her and she (plus two helpers) blew out the candles.

The night has flown right by.  They are all upstairs right now messing with one of her birthday gifts.  I hope that Kim had a wonderful birthday.  It is always crazy having it on a weekday like this.  Here are two more pics from the evening.........Mommy reading a birthday message with Cali Liu and Cali performing to the American Idol Wii game.  Have a great night!

   

A Weekend Getaway..........

Another three day weekend is over...........where does the time go?  Kim and I took a weekend trip to the bank's condo down at the Lake of the Ozarks.  We left Friday afternoon and came back on Sunday afternoon.  It was so nice for just the two of us to get away and relax for a couple of days.  We did a  lot of this:

Kim enjoys some quiet time!

We also did a whole lot of this:

Adam relaxes while taking in movie

Honestly, we did not do a whole lot.........which was the beauty of it!  We did read, watch a few movies, went out to eat, did some shopping at the outlet malls, sipped on some hot coffee, and the best part of all......just hung out and talked.  It was kind of dreary out for most of the weekend, which made it even easier to just stay inside the condo.  Here is what we woke up to Saturday morning (cold and foggy):

The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while we were gone.  They stayed nice and busy.  Cade had baseball practice on Saturday then a hitting league game after that.  On Sunday morning Cade had an early morning (7:45am) indoor soccer game and then he attended church with his buddy Parker.  Cali stayed busy reading books and going from one thing to another the entire time. 

Thanks to this man:

Martin Luther King Jr.

we all had the day off today.  There was not a whole lot of relaxing around here today.  We all ran some early errands and then stayed busy cleaning up the house, doing some much needed projects, etc.  It is back to the real world tomorrow.  The week ahead is a busy one.  We have baseball practice, Kim's birthday (Wednesday), gymnastics, I have a meeting to attend, as well as other odds and ends.  The week will fly right by.  Check back in later in the week.  I will definitely be doing a birthday post in honor of Kim's big day on Wednesday.  Good night.   

Sunday Wrap Up

Our Sunday began with an early morning indoor soccer game.  The first game of 2010 ended in a victory for our Pirates!  Cade played goalie for most of the game and did very well.  Cali was perfect throughout the entire game.  We were very proud of her.  Here is Cade practicing his goalie skills prior to the game! 

We ran home and had about an hour before we headed to Boca and Pop's for a birthday celebration.  My birthday was yesterday, my sister Marcie's b-day is Tuesday the 12th, and Kim/Mommy's birthday is on January 20th.  We had a nice lunch and then ate a tasty ice cream blizzard cake from DQ!  Cali said that eating that cake was the best part of her whole day!

After the big birthday bash we headed home for about an hour before heading to baseball.  Tonight we had our first pitching practice and continued to work on hitting (we had a parent's meeting too).  It is nice that we are starting so early......the boys will be ready to roll by the first game in April.  Cade is really enjoying these practices.  We have a new head coach so the boys are already learning so much.  Here is a pic of Cali and Cade after we returned home from practice:

The kiddos are brushing their teeth right now.  I am going to head up and kiss them good night.  See you all soon.  Thank you for checking in!

A Great Day For A Birthday!

Today we celebrated my birthday.  It was nice having my big day on a Saturday!  The day consisted of a hitting league game for Cade, opening my gifts, the MU vs. K-State game (the Tigers won!), scooping the drive, Cali attending her friend's b-day party (Lyla), a dinner out at Stix with Boca and Pop, and wrapped up the day with a tasty angel food cake and ice cream.  What a great day it was!  Here are some pics from my big day and Cali at Lyla's party:

   

                                             

                           

 

I would highly recommend Stix to anyone who enjoys asian cuisine.  We sat at a "grill table" where they prepare the food right in front of you.  The chef flipped shrimp into our mouths and entertained us with his tricks and other actions.  The food was amazingly good!  Cali was not real thrilled with the "fires" when they first started the preparation, but she finally settled in and soaked it all up.  We dined on the best fried rice that we have ever had, as well as shrimp and teriyaki chicken.  We were all stuffed!  We have been talking about the food all night long.  I'm read to go back ASAP!

                                                                     

Tomorrow Cade has an indoor soccer game at 9:15am.  We are then going to Boca and Pop's for a birthday lunch (for Marcie, Kim, and me).  At 5:00 we have a pitching and hitting practice for baseball.  It will be a wild day but a good day.  Check back soon for more updates and more pics!  Good night.