If you're wondering what a "Guiping Girl" is ... well, that would be our very own Miss Carly Jade. She's from Guiping City in the Guangxi province of China, and this weekend we hosted the 4th annual gathering of all 10 families from our China travel group. Our daughters were all adopted on the same day, are from the same orphanage, and have birthdays within 1 month of each other. You can see for yourself how much they've changed in the last 3 1/2 years by the photos -- the first one is our "red couch" (a China adoption tradition) photo at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou (when the girls were 13 1/2 months old) and the second one is from this weekend's reunion (they are all 4 1/2 now). Carly is 3rd from the right sitting on the couch in the top photo and 5th from the right in the bottom photo. The bond these girls have is truly amazing (not to mention the bond that all 10 families have). It is absolutely heartwarming to see the girls interact and get to know one another more and more with each passing year. Our festivities this year included an evening of fun at State Farm Park on Saturday and a day of excitement at Miller Park today. We enjoyed delicious food, great company, and wonderful memories. I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all! I played hostess this year along with my good friends Jen Schmidt and Christie Wright ... and let's just say that I think we're all due for a 'spa' day very soon. :o) Seriously, it was alot of fun to plan, albeit a bit stressful at times. Everything came together beautifully in the end and we had a very special, memorable weekend, which is what is most important. I'm sure I'll be posting a slide show of pics from the weekend very soon -- I didn't take too many myself, so need to see what some of the other families will share. Check back soon!
