Mia's 5th birthday

Well, my little "baby" turned 5 yesterday and I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from Vietnam when she was 2 1/2...where does the time go?

Mia woke us all up at about 7am, running around singing "it's my birthday! It's my birthday!!!!", all giddy and happy. I truly have never seen anyone so excited about their birthday before, it was precious!

So, we all got up and of course, she wanted her presents first...so, she opened a baby doll from "Sissy" (Helayna), a pretty shirt from Sally, money (which she was very excited about!) from the Vosburgs and a few cards from friends and family. She also opened up some clothes from us...

Then, we all had donuts for breakfast, which was Mia's request. After breakfast, we gave her our big gift which was a princess bike! She was so excited and wanted to ride it right away. So, we went outside and played for a while, since the weather was so nice.

Helayna had fun riding the 12" bike too:)

Mia and Helayna played with her new doll for a while and then, after lunch was her party at the Little Gym.

About 15 of her friends came and they all had SO much fun. The person who ran the party was AWESOME and engaged the kids so well and had everyone laughing, running around and playing the entire time. I was so impressed, as we've had many parties but never had someone so great with the kids.

Little Gym is like a gymnasium for little kids where they can run, swing, balance, play with balls, bells, and just have lots of fun.

After they played for a long time, we went and had cake (which I ordered online and it came out beautifully) and opened gifts. They set up mats to look like a throne for Mia to sit on, so she was about 4 feet off the floor. It was so cute!

She got lots of great stuff that we've been playing with every since and lots of cute clothes too.

I looked around and felt very blessed to have so many friends and family to share her special day with. I just wish the rest of our family was there with us:(

We went to dinner at Olive Garden (also Mia's request...to have pasta) with Marla, Tom and the kids and when we got home, Mia was exhausted...I think she had her quota of fun for the day...and had a little meltdown before falling asleep for the night. 

She had such a great day and I feel so thankful for this beautiful, sweet child that God has brought into my life. This is the 3rd birthday we have spent together and each year, I love her even more. 

She is so silly, loving, sweet,smart, beautiful, and says the funniest thing sometimes...and I just can't imagine my life without her. I think about all the time I spent praying for her to come home and like I've said many times before, now it was all worth it. But looking at her now, just proves to me that God is good. He knew that she belonged in our family and brought her to us in His time. I truly thank him every single day for this precious child and feel so much love for her, it almost hurts. 

When we sang "happy birthday" to her, it took so much for me not to cry. Just looking at her sweet face, I felt more blessed than I can even explain. To spend another birthday with her and see her smiling face means everything to me. To know that she is happy and has love surrounding her makes up for the 2 years she spent without a family. Well, it may not make up for it completely, but I know in my heart that she is where she is meant to be and that makes all the difference. I hope and pray that she always feels completely loved and knows how special she is to me.

Happy Birthday, sweet Mia Kim!

I love you so very much.....