Raina's 5th Birthday!

 

My baby girl is 5!

 

Some days I feel like I've missed so much of her life, but I realize we have so much more to be grateful for!  We missed out on welcoming Raina's arrival back in 2009, but somehow November, 2009 will forever be etched in my heart! 

 

 I distinctly remember that in November of 2009, I felt this intense urgency that we had a child waiting for us in China.  It was a crazy thought.  Honestly, how could I really know that?  Not only that; Malia had only joined our family less than 4 months earlier.  There was no possible way to adopt again or even have a proposal for a child before the one year anniversary of bringing Malia home. 

 

 However, I knew!  I just knew that my baby was out there!

 

And God, in all His wonderful love for me, knew that for me to feel this in my heart, would be the sweetest possible gift He could give me!

 

Imagine our surprise when we got our proposal and this sweethearts birthday was in November!

 

 

 Raina's arrival in our family was bittersweet as we watched the only mama she had ever known grieve intensely. 

 

We grieved for her and promised to love this precious baby girl with all of our hearts! 

 

Our first moments with our Raina! :)

 

 

 

As the months passed, Raina learned to trust us and to love us in return.

 



Today, she is honestly the sweetest child I know.  She often tells me how pretty I am.  Tells me that I make the best meals.  She loves to tell her siblings that she loves them and makes them feel very special.  She loves to cuddle with her Daddy and loves to tell him he's handsome.

 

Raina loves horses!  She can hardly wait to have one of her own.  She is drawn to the horses at a carousel or even the horse statues at a museum.

 

She loves to color and do puzzles.  She loves all things princess and spends hours dressing up.

 

She loves to play with Jackson and keeps him entertained while I teach the older kids.  She loves to play with Malia and cook up a storm in their kitchen.

 

Raina is rarely grumpy. However, she is very insistent and begs and begs for things she wants.  It can be rather annoying, but for the most part she is a ray of sunshine!

 This year, Raina's birthday was a simple affair, with breakfast in bed...

 

...her favorite meal for supper...noodles with cream!  Yup!  That's all she wanted!  We added sausage and got her to pick a veggie, which was cooked peas!  She loves cooked peas!

 

Then her favorite part...the cake!  And the scariest part for her...the candle bought while I was in China last year!  It begins as this massive flame and then opens up with all the individual candles lit, turning like a carousel and playing "Happy Birthday!"

 

 

 

And last, but not least...presents!
 

 

Raina weighs approximately 45lbs and measures 42 1/2 inches.  She continues to wear glasses, although her eye sight is slowly getting better.

We love you Raina!