Today, my baby turned five years old! We sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she just grinned. Besides being Mia's 5th birthday, today is also the day that I am officially her Mom, according to the Chinese government...God has truely blessed me!! She has really come around more today - she definitely is bonding with me, as you can see in the pics of me and her. In the adoption world, you long for the day that your baby wraps her arms around your neck, as this is a good sign of attachment, and as you can see, my baby is defintely attaching to her Momma. She is beginning to understand more and more commands and short phrases. I actually got a glimpse of the "true Mia' this evening in the play room at the hotel, as she was running, giggling, and being a very NOT shy five year old - it was hillarious! So, tomorrow we are off to the police station to apply for the childres' passports, then on to their medical exams. Please pray that all the babies here remain healthy throughout the stay here.

Also, I would like to add that my child is a GENIUS!!! Mom was coloring with her last night, and wrote Mia's name and she traced over it - well, I gave her a magnadoodle today, and without any prompting at all, she wrote Mia - spelled correctly...OMG!! Then I wrote Momma and went over it with her twice, and she wrote the home thing from memory...GENIUS I tell you!!

Please continue to pray that all will continue to go smoothly, and that we have a safe journey home. Also, please remember the other children in our group, as some of these children are grieving and having a hard time, as is their parents. We miss our family and friends and can't wait until we are back home in the great state of Tennessee.