Sunday, June 13, 2010

LL's One Year Gotcha Day Grill Out Reunion....

Ok, so I'm alive and ready to post a few posts here in a row for the next few days...so here goes:
We only have a few days left until LL's ONE YEAR HOME GOTCHA DAY ANNIVERSARY..so...we had a little grill out Saturday night so she could be reunited with some of her HH (Hannah's Hope) travel buddies!! Here she is calling her PEEPS making sure they were going to be on time and were coming to hang with her for the night.............

She says, "Yep, Mom, they say they're comin!!!!!"


And, they start to arrive............Yay...it is Little Will (with his Momma Andi and LL and Daddy). They drove in from Knoxville to grill out with us.



And, we have Silas on the left, LL in the middle and Will on the right...I had a "Happy 1 Year Home" cake for them...we lit a "1" candle and let them blow it out together...so cute!!


Silas, LL and Will all got picked up on the same day in Ethiopia, Africa (almost) 1 year ago exactly...and now today, here they are in TN together blowing out a cake to celebrate...so cool!

LL enjoyed her cake.


2 more HH buddies came to celebrate with LL too.....These two cutie brothers came home in the last year too!! We had 5 HH kids running around my back yard...too cute!!


We attempted a few more pics of the travel buddies...but someone wasn't cooperating. My little drama queen DIDN'T want me to put her down, so when I DID try to sit her next to her best buddies...well, she threw herself back...Sorry Silas...she's a little dramatic sometimes!! :)


So, we attempted holding them for the pic...and well...Will was having more fun running around playing....Oh, well...we tried!!! :)


Well, wait...they all seemed to like the car...but no one would still look at me!! :)


**Well, it was a GREAT night...and there were tons of other local AGCI families that joined us too...All the families were either in the paper chase, on the wait list, OR getting ready for court and travel! It was so fun chatting with so many families that "GET IT" and UNDERSTAND what a "1 Year Gotcha Day Celebration" even is!! :) Thanks everybody for coming...We really appreciate you all celebrating LL's special day with us!! :)


And, tomorrow night's post: "How I Do It/Handle 5 Young Kids" I promised this post about a week ago and I now that I'm saying I'll do it tomorrow night...I'll make myself do it!! :) That has to be my #1 TOP ASKED QUESTION!!! Then Tuesday is our actual Gotcha Day Anniversary..so hopefully, I'll have a video to share with ya :) (no pressure or anything Karen :) LOL

***Happy Sunday to you all, kj

(just got this pic from my friend Andrea who came in from Atlanta for the festivities...Thanks Andrea..I just had to add it :)

22 comments:

  1. oh kristi..great pics and happy one year being home Lucy! looks like she REALLY enjoyed that cake...heeehee!

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  2. How fun is that?! I love it! Precious pictures...precious children! Oh, how I pray we will one day celebrate Caroline's 1 year gotcha day anniversary with lots of other adoptive families! That would be awesome! What a blessing! Can't wait for the upcoming post and the 1 year video!!

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  3. I enjoy your blog so much and your sweet girl is adorable! Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary! =)

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  4. It is such an encouragement to see other REAL families following God's call to care for orphans! Amen!!!

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  5. Looks like a great time! VERY cute photos!! :)

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  6. That looks great and the pics are so cute! I wish we had more adopted kids around this area just to have a party.

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  7. Kristi,
    Thanks again for inviting us. We all had such a wonderful time!

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  8. Too cute! Wish we could of been there, but we hope to see you all soon.
    Happy (Almost) One Year LL!
    Love ya,
    Amy

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  9. Way too cool that you can all get together to celebrate one year home! I LOVE it!! Absolutely beautiful!
    ~Gini :)

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  10. We're having a giveaway on our blog...I thought you might be interested because one of the prizes is our adoption t-shirt! :) Head on over and check it out if you get a chance!
    Lindsay

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  11. That's such a blessing that so many of the AGCI families live pretty close!! We're in TX and there are a few of us down here. Happy Gotcha day!!

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  12. Cannot believe your LL has been home for a year already (or that we've been home for over 5 months)!

    What a great party--wish we lived closer so we could join in the fun!

    Looking forward to your one year home video--your friend Karen does such awesome work! Will plan to have tissues on-hand when I check your blog. Hoping to finally debut our gotcha video this week, too!

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  13. Oh what fun! You are still the hostess with the mostess.
    Can hardly wait for this new video!
    Counting down the days til our summer trip home.
    Keep me posted on your schedule and when we can get together!
    Love & Blessings from Hong Kong,
    Kim

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  14. Looked like such a fun time! I wish we lived closer to all you mommas whose heart is completely sold out to adoption! I guess I'm gonna have to start something up here:) So encouraged by your journey....you are a blessing....love your heart for the orphan!

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  15. LL is so darn cute. The pic with Silas and the car is one of my favorite.

    Here is a stupid question. Is Gotcha day the day you are legally theirs or the first day you meet the children? Just asking. :-)

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  16. Great Photos!
    I can't wait for my turn.
    PAP

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  17. Thanks for putting this on Kristi! Sorry Silas wouldn't smile for you..he's still our serious boy at times! Hope Lucy Lane has a wonderful day tomorrow!!

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  18. Happy Gotcha Day sweet LL!!!! We love you!!

    Love, The Bonners

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  19. Had a blast. Thanks for including us. We love our adoption circle. God is good to all of us.

    cris

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  20. Hey Kristi! It was so good to be with you all on Saturday night! It seems like just yesterday that we were in ET...such great memories! Can't believe it has been one whole year! Thanks so much for hosting such a great party! The cake was so cute and it was just a blessing to be with your family, the Luchts and so many families who have adopted or are in the process! Thanks again for your hospitality and for a fun, memorable evening!
    Andi :)

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  21. troy told me about this...so sad to miss this moment. we miss andi and all of you guys.

    love your drama mama ..haha

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  22. How exciting!! Can only imagine how wonderful it is to have her home for a whole year and to have a group of people (that get it) so close to share it all with! CONGRATS!!!!

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Thank you for your kind words!!