Meeting a New Friend plus 'Strollers and Stars'

Today Hannah and I went to some wonderful friends' home for lunch. Hugh and Donna were my Sunday School teachers when I first started attending Calvary back in 1995 and some of the very first people I got to know at the church. They will always hold a special place in my heart as they reached out to me and got to know me in my very first days there.

When I first began Hannah's adoption I was excited to share the news with them and they have prayed faithfully for both of us over the past almost 5 years. Today their were tears of joy in their eyes and mine as they met Hannah XiaoFen for the very first time!

You can imagine my delight and surprise when they shared with me about a year ago that they had a new granddaughter coming home from China early in 2009! It turns out that their daughter Diane (whom I had met on a number of occasions) and her husband were also adopting from China and had been matched with a wonderful little girl whom we now know and love as Gracie! The friendship Diane and I had quickly grew after that as we shared this wonderful bond!

This morning Hannah and I drove to Hugh and Donna's for a delicious lunch and visit together! What fun it was to share with another friend who has also been in China this year and you can imagine the goosebumps I got when I realized that Diane and her family were in China meeting Gracie when Hannah was born!!!

It was fun to see Grace and Hannah together! Hannah was entertained by her new little friend and Grace was adorable when we arrived and she said, 'Hi Hannah!' Heh....Grace has been 'following' the blog on mommy's knee and recognized Hannah when they met! Not bad for a little love who has just turned 2!

The girls took time to pose for a few pics for us before we ate lunch. It's so sweet the way their hands and linked! We're looking forward to more play dates in the future!

After lunch Hannah and I headed out to try something new. We met my parents at a local theatre to take in a 'Strollers and Stars' performance which is where the movie theatres open in the afternoon for moms and dads to attend popular movies with their babies. Great idea! The sound is quieter, the lights are dimmed rather than completely off and there are even change tables with diapers and wipes provided. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well attended the movie was! I'm guessing there were 30 - 40 babies with moms, dad, grandmas and grandpas. We went to see the new Sandr* Bu11ock movie, 'Blind Side' and it was excellent!! Highly recommended to all! I'm guessing after Christmas Hannah and I may take in more of these afternoon movies.

What fun Hannah and I are having enjoying this time of getting to know one another and introducing her to those who have been praying for her for years. SO thankful for the time I have off work to spend with my sweetie!

PS - Happy Thanksgiving to my friends to the south!!