Happy Gotcha Day Olivia!

On October 30, 2006 we left our hotel room in Hunan, China took a bus to the Social Service Office and waited for what seemed like hours but was only about 20 minutes for Lin our guide to tell us that our girls were in the building and on their way upstairs. Olivia was the second baby who was brought into the room. She was wearing the tiger outfit and had a big spider bite on her head. She had tears in her eyes. I was so nervous, and excited at the same time. Eric and I walked up to hold our daughter for the first time. A moment I will never forget. It seems like that moment was just yesterday. That moment will be etched in my mind and heart forever. I remember what she looked like, how she smelled and how it felt to hold my daughter in my arms for the first time. I remember handing her to Eric, she cried and within a few minutes she was fast asleep in her daddy's arms. Those first few minutes began a new chapter in our lives. I never knew I could feel love like that. Olivia and Owen have changed our lives in a way I can't even describe in words.
It's so starnge to me that Olivia has only been apart of our lives for 2 years. I can't imagine what life was like without her. She truly is a wonderful daughter, sister and little girl. She has grown so much in the past few months that Eric and I both catch ourselves doing a double take. She is now potty trained (knock on wood), she isn't as shy as she was in the past and she loves to talk. Eric and I are so proud of her and so honored to be her parents.

On October 31st Luo, Wei became Olivia Jane-Wei Schmick. After 24 hours of being with us as a "foster child" we officially adopted her.

We still think about her "Chinese mommy and daddy" and hope and pray that they know how greatful we are to them for the gift of Olivia. We hope and pray they know that Olivia is loved.

We love you Olivia!!

Pictures from Olivia's birthday and Eric's homecoming

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA....WELCOME HOME DADDY!

Yes, you read that right. Olivia's birthday wish came true and her daddy came home on her special day. Yesterday was a day of excitement for our family. Olivia turned 3 and we got the call that Eric would be coming home that very night! We were all excited to see him. The minute Olivia saw Eric she ran to him with open arms yelling "daddy, daddy, my daddy is home!" It was definitley an emotional moment for all of us! She hugged him and wouldn't let go!

Owen wasn't sure what to make of everything at first. However, after we returned home he ran up to Eric and gave him a big hug and kiss. It was heart warming to know that he remembered his daddy after being gone so long!

Olivia had an amazing birthday. Thank you to everyone who called and sent wonderful gifts!

I'll post pictures later today

Dress up!

Today, I went shopping to get a few things and Sara babysat the kids. While babysitting she decided to get the kids all dressed up and take pictures. The thing I love about Sara is that she has an incredible imagination and always does the most un things with the kids. I love these pictures!

I miss my daddy

It's getting towards the end of the patrol and we are all ready for Eric to come home. Today was a really difficult day for Olivia. She hasn't been feeling well so just like her mom she gets emotional when she's sick. So, tonight she was watching the Little Mermaid and I looked over at her and she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said "I'm sad" "why are you sad Olivia?" I ask "I sad because I miss my daddy, I want Prince Eric to come home" I've been telling Olivia for a while whenever we see the Little Mermaid that daddy is my Prince Eric. After her movie time it was time for bed. I put her to bed and a few minutes later I heard her moving around upstairs. I went upstairs and Olivia was out of bed and had been crying. I asked her again why she was crying and she said "I was looking in the mirror and I missed daddy. I cry because I want my daddy to come home!" It was so sad and so hard to explain. She has been such a brave little girl and this is really the first time she has broken down. She has said several times that she misses her dad or asked questions about him but she has never cried before tonight. I know how she feels. I think we are all ready for him to come home. This feels like the never ending patrol. HURRY HOME ERIC...WE MISS YOU!!!

100 GOOD WISHES QUILT IS FINISHED!

It's only taken a few years but the quilt is finished and as Olivia said "it's beautiful". I love it so much and am so incredibly grateful to my friends Teresa and Catherine for working on the quilt and finishing. I have never even sewn a button on a shirt let alone worked on a quilt so my two friends did all of the work. I really had no idea how long it would take and how hard it would be do to a quilt this size. Thank you so much for helping me Teresa and Catherine!!! You guys are the best:)

A Hot Summers Day

On Friday, Olivia, Owen and I met our friends Julie and Leila at the Bremerton Harbor Side water park. This is a fairly new park and the kids love going there. Every few minutes the fountains erupt and slash everyone around. Whenver this happened Owen would run really quickly out of the water to where Julie and I were. It was so funny. This was his third time we went and everytime the fountains erupted he would run.

Haircuts and bike rides

This has been a fun and exciting week here in Washington. First, on Thursday I decided it was time for Owen to get his first haircut. His hair has grown so fast. Since Owen is our first son and Eric is at sea it was up to me to figure out where to take him and how I wanted to get his haircut. I picked Owen and Olivia up from daycare and then went home quickly to grab the camera so I can get pictures of this exciting event. I was only going inside the house for a few minutes so I didn't want to get both kids out of the car. I locked the kids in the car and I ran inside quickly to get the camera. I got the camera and went to the car and realized that I left the keys to both the house and the car inside the house. I suddenly started to freak out. Luckily, my friend Teresa has keys to our house and was home when I called her in a panic. She stopped by, and saved the day in more ways then one. She decided that she was going to come with me to get Owen's haircut. We went to the local beauty salon, a cheap chain type salon. So, since we were the only people in the salon at the time we were helped right away. The lady who was cutting his hair kept telling me over and over and over again that we wanted to make the experience positive for Owen and that we didn't' want to freak him out or overwhelm him. She stared to cut his hair and he did great for the first two or three minutes then he started to cry. The women who was cutting his hair decided he had enough and we should just be done. I left with a big dazed look on my face and a son who had half of a haircut literally. It was horrible. Thank goodness Teresa was there to save the day once more. She said she would be able to fix Owen's haircut and she did. His hair looks really cute now!!!

Eric and I told Olivia if she started going to the bathroom on the toilet and could go without wearing diapers anymore then we would buy her a big girl bike. So, she officially has gone 3 weeks wearing underwear and a few days ago she even stopped wearing diapers at night! So, I took her to the store on Thursday and we bought her a big girl princess bike. She still has trouble with the bike but she loves riding on it. Owen likes it too!

Bye Honey! Have a safe trip

On Monday bright and early, I had to say good bye to Eric. Even though we were blessed to be able to spend more time with him that we thought it was still difficult. We were lucky enough to be able to drive to a local park later that day and watch the submarine as it passed through the Hood Canal Bridge. There were several guys who were standing on top of the sub and one of those was Eric. Even though we couldn't see his face we knew he was there. There were also tons of other wives and kids there to send off their husbands, fathers and dads. It was incredible to see the sub and to be surrounded by family and friends but was very sad and difficult to watch as Eric left.

We hope you have a safe and healthy deployment. Hurry home soon honey!!

PS If you double click on the top picutre you can see the submarine much better.