Gotcha Day

Years ago when I had just started teaching I was chatting with my friend Katie after school. We were talking about our weekend and she told me they were going to her in-laws to celebrate her husband, Mike's, Gotcha Day. I had never heard the term "Gotcha Day" before. She explained that Mike had been adopted as a baby and his family celebrates the day they placed him in their arms every year. I was so touched by her story and especially touched by how much he loved his parents and looked forward to celebrating with them every year the day they became a family.

Mike's story really affected me and the concept of Gotcha Day rolled around in my head for weeks to come. I developed a mental image of a Daddy chasing a toddler around the house saying "I'm gonna getcha!". I picture those little legs going as fast as they could while he's laughing all the way, thrilled to be playing this game with his Dad. Finally the Dad overtakes the little guy and they fall to the floor in a fit of giggles. The mental image captured my heart. In retrospect I think the Lord was preparing me for our future adoptions even then when we weren't at a point where we were thinking of children yet.

Years later we were beginning the process of adoption. As we waited and wondered what life would be like with more than two of us in our family my mental Gotcha Day image of the Daddy was replaced with Bryan. I could see him chasing our little one around. I could see the delight on his face and the love for his son. Knowing how much we went through in our journey to have children and how he longed to be a Daddy made the image even sweeter! I couldn't wait to see him chase our little guy around the house and finally wrap his arms around him and fall to the floor giggling "I gotcha!"

In October 2004 our dreams became a reality when our son was born. Jaden's birthmom allowed us to be in the delivery room when he was born. To experience being a mom from the moment of Jaden's first breath was such a gift! (We will forever be grateful, Danielle! Thank you!) The concept of Gotcha Day was something we had fallen in love with, however since the day he was placed in our arms was the same as his birthday, we decided to make Jaden's Gotcha Day May 2nd, the day his adoption was finalized in the courts. Once Jaden started crawling Bryan would get down on all fours and crawl after him saying "I'm gonna getcha!" and my mental picture became a reality. Jaden giggled and laughed and tried to crawl away with all his might and at the same time wanting to be captured. The joy I saw in Bryan's face was even more intense than in my mental picture and Jaden's love for his Dad was overwhelming. My heart was so full!

And here we are again, adding another Gotcha Day into the family. Yesterday was Lucy's first Gotcha Day! The fun thing about Lu was that she started crawling shortly after we brought her home. We didn't have to wait months and months to play our little chase game. Bryan and I both play it with her often and she just melts into giggles, loving every minute of it! It took a long time, Lucy, but we finally gotcha and we are never letting go! My heart is more full than I ever could have imagined with two beautiful children so full of energy and so full of love!

Our little Lulabelle has knit into all three of our hearts this past year - we are smitten! Lu skipped walking and went straight to running and 12 months. She is a quick little one and loves being on the move constantly! She's starting to talk now, which has been really fun. She typically just pronounces part of the word, but we understand her perfectly and she is elated when she realizes we understand her. She melts our hearts by blowing us kisses and clapping her hands when the Broncos are on and raising her hands during worship at church. At 18 months she climbed out of her crib and the pack-n-plays at both of the grandparents houses! That made for a rough few weeks, but I think we are finally all on the same page that once she's in the crib she is meant to stay in the crib! We are fortunate enough to live within 10 minutes of both sides of our family. Lu will have spend the nights often at both grandparents houses - she adores them all along with her aunts and uncles and cousins. Her favorite thing to do is play at the park. Her little legs kick and kick whenever we pass her favorites! What a climber this girl is - and no fear whatsoever! She will litterally climb a ladder that is as tall as me and whiz down the slide before we can get to the end. She also loves the water - we have another avid swimmer on our hands! Lu is a little peanut with a very big, bold personality. She is definitely the firecracker we were told Fuzhou girls can be! She is such a happy, happy little girl. Her smile is infectious. She brings us so much joy! 

In honor of Lucy's first Gotcha Day I'm posting some of my favorite pictures from the last year. God has been kind to us in so many ways. We love you LuLu and we're so happy we Gotcha!

We had portraits taken a couple weeks after we got home. This is an oldy, but one of my favorite pictures of Lu!

Lucy's 1st Birthday!

Sweet Lu and Jaden. Love.

Easter 2012

Ballerina Lu!

Having lunch with Great Grandma.

Jaden's 7th Gotcha Day! He chose sushi. That's our boy!

We went on a Colorado tour with my parents. Here we are at the Sand Dunes. 

We loved the Hot Springs in Pagosa Springs, CO! Absolutely gorgeous!

I love this picture! We were at a chuckwagon dinner in Pagosa.

We stopped at the Alligator Farm, a must see.

Cuddles in the morning!

Playing at the park.

My Chinese Italian American daughter's first 4th of July!

Lucy loves to read all the time!

We took a trip to Yellowstone with Bryan's family. A first for us all  and so much fun!

One of my favorites with cousin Mekenzey!

Huckleberry licorice was a favorite in Yellowstone.

There is Old Faithful in the background!

My sweet kids! 

Stanley Lake right by our house. Love that face!

I had a great time with Lucy at Water World!

Playing at the park!

Love Lucy in her silks!

See, I told you she was Italian! Lu loves her some pasta!

First bubble bath - she went nuts!

Sweet, sweet boy!

First time roller skating. Darling!

Hello Fall!

Home Sweet Home!

Two continents, five cities, six flights, one train ride, 14,074 miles and we are finally HOME! I can't tell you what a relief it was for our flight to land and know that the four Hills are home for good. As we rode the escalator up to the lobby we saw a mob of family and friends waiting to meet Lucy. Poor Lu wasn't herself after the long travel day - she still had the stomach bug all the way home. But she did great as she met grandmas and papas and great grandmas and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends! She even started sharing - she shared her stomach bug with Papa and Jenna and Auntie Shell!

Four Hills home at last!

Meet the newest American citizen! Lu became a citizen when we landed in Detroit and they steamped her visa.

Grandma Sharon couldn't wait to hold little Lucy!

Neither could Grandma Berni!

Papa Rich with Lucy.

Great Grandma Monteith with Lucy.

Papa Robert finally got his turn.

We've spent the last week adjusting to the new time zone. Whew! That's a lot harder than I realized! Just when Bryan and I were feeling less exhausted and a little more normal the kids would be up all hours of the night. Jaden was waking up for the day at 3am for the first 3 or 4 days - yikes! Lucy, who was the best sleeper ever in China was waking up 3-4 times a night. We were exhausted. But I think things are getting ironed out and our bodies are almost nearly back on track.

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year! Bryan's Mom hosted for both our families so we were all together for Lucy's first Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for always, but this year more than ever. The Lord has been kind to our family and all of us were feeling a unique awareness of his goodness in the gift of Lucy. We are thankful beyond words for this blessing and are honored that he chose us to parent this sweet little girl. As we looked around at how much we are loved and supported by both of our families we felt even more thankful. Not only do we live close to both of our parents, but both of our brothers and their families as well. We all get along and all love one another and enjoy spending time together. Who could ask for more? God has blessed us beyond measure and we are truly grateful!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the holidays will be extra special for you this year as they will for us! We hope to get to introduce each of you to our little Lucy in the upcoming weeks and months! She is a delight! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your prayers, support and words of encouragement while we were away! We can never fully express our gratitude. The Lord was incredibly kind to us through the wait, through the trip and as we begin this new life together.

I'll leave you with some photos from Hong Kong Disney - what a fantastic day and a great way to end the trip of a lifetime! Jaden was completely surprised and thrilled that we weren't going shopping but were spending the entire day at Disneyland!

No way! You mean we're not shopping today?!

"Hill family, now that you've finally traveled to China to get Lucy what are you going to do?"
"We're going to Disneyland!"

Once you're inside everything is nearly exactly the same as Magic Kingdom in Disneyland and Disneyworld. HK Disney is smaller - there was no Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and some of our favorite rides, but there was enough to keep us busy for a day!

We loved that everything was decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately there was only 1 ornament to buy in the entire park! And it didn't say Hong Kong Disney. Bummer.

An Asian take on Cinderella's Castle.

Jaden LOVED Space Mountain! We rode it quite a few times!

Lu's hairbands are fashionable and functional. She kept pulling them over her eyes to block out the sun while she slept. I told you she was a smarty!

In Toy Story Land Jaden was able to pose with one of the toy solders. This is a real person in the outfit - totally cool!

Jaden in front of Toy Story Land - it was decked out with all the toys from the movie. So fun!

What would Disney be without the "It's a Small World" ride?! The babies could even go on this one!

Daddy and Lucy inside "It's a Small World".

Minnie Lucy!

Look how gorgeous it is with the mountains in the background!

HK Disney even had the big music and fireworks display at the end of the night - fabulous!

And a good time was had by all. A fabulous way to end the journey of a lifetime.