Welcome Home, Sofia!

Praise the Lord! The family is back together again!

Our friends sneaked into the house while we were all away and totally decorated the house for Sofia's arrival! There was a chocolate cake, candy, a present for Sofia, and a sign welcoming Sofia to her forever home. We are so thankful for the love and support that they are showing us through this adoption journey.

Sofia was so excited to explore the new house and meet Alison, her Ecuadorian sister! She was especially excited for all the balloons just for her :)

Sofia was terrified of the dogs and of the dove. She is slowly starting to touch the dogs, but quickly runs away after she does! She still tries not to look at the dove at all... she's so funny! 

Even though it was very late at night, we let her explore some of the rooms. She loved her Cinderella bed :)

Sofia woke up at 4:30 the following morning, which means she got approximately 5 hours of sleep in 48 hours. I'm not sure how she can keep running! 

Jenna helped Sofia find a princess dress that would fit her. She looked so gorgeous in it! But it was covered in chocolate as soon as she finished eating some chocolate cake :) 

More dresses! 

We also had movies in the backseat!

The next morning, I stayed home from school for a couple hours to take care of Sofia while my mom went to a meeting and my dad was at work. Sofia and I had a great time together! We danced to music together for a long time, which helps to calm Sofia down. Part of the time she just sat on my lap as we rocked back and forth to the music. I'm in love with this precious little monkey :)

She wanted to take a bath, so I told her that she could as long as she didn't splash. She absolutely LOVES the bath and sometimes she carried away . She agreed to no splashing, and surprisingly she kept her promise! I kept praising her for not splashing and she was so proud! 

As we were heading home from school, Jenna admitted, "I want to try and rebuild our relationship", referring to Sofia. They kind of got off to a shaky start; Jenna realized this and was disappointed. 

Alison and Jenna showed Sofia around our farm.

They blew bubbles with her.

They cleaned out an old play car together just for Sofia! 

Sofia discovered the tire swing.

                                               

Sofia keeps talking about the snow. She thinks that there is so much! But in reality, we have very little snow for this time of year. 

We went on a walk down to the barn. Well, most of us walked...

If this didn't make her feel like a princess, I don't know what will!

She had a blast!

After our walk, Alison introduced Sofia to "Just Dance for Kids" on the wii. Sofia was thrilled! She danced and danced. 

I took this precious video of the two of them dancing. Alison picked the song "I Am A Gummy Bear" in Spanish! Sofia loved it. Soon after, Jenna and I joined in on the fun!

Tonight Jamie came home for the weekend. We really did have the whole family together! Sofia was excited to meet yet another sister! 

Today was a very, very good day. Sofia is learning house rules like only eating at the table, putting her shoes by the door, putting dress-up clothes back in the bin, and putting her dishes in the sink. She is picking up some English words here and there. The progress that she is making is incredible. We could still use your prayers as we learn to adjust to our new life as a family of seven! Thank you!