Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Photo shoot
Teresa and Emily had fun doing a photo shoot with Hannah! Hannah is not an easy one to get pictures of.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Splash Mtn
Splash Mountain is one of our favorite rides at Disneyland. You have to ride atyour own risk though. Sometimes when you ride you don't get wet, but other times you get SOAKED. Well lets just say today was a day for SOAKING!!!! 
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Jeff & Teresa
Jeff & David "Best Friends" 
Emily very excited seeing "Auntie T"
Hannah went right to Teresa!
Waiting to eat! Jeff wanted Hannah to be still so he could hold her!
One AWESOME place! Great food!!!!Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Gotcha Day
It has been one year since our little one has been placed in our arms. We thought it would be fun to let her celebrate her day with sparklers. Hannah had so much fun waving them around. Her real celebration will start on Friday when her Uncle Jeff and Aunt Teresa come from Texas. Even though they are not her biological uncle and auntie. This couple is very special to our family. 
Tripp
The girls thought Tripp's cone of shame needed a little color!!
Tripp's battle wound
Tripp and the cone of shame! He is whining to David.One year ago!
One year ago today Hannah was placed in our arms forever!! Happy Family Day Pumpkin!! We love you very much! Mama, Daddy, Jake and Emily
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fourth of July!
This is Hannah's first 4th of July!! Welcome to America sweetie!!! You will have many more! God Bless America!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Emily's Random Pics
Emily got a new camera for graduation so she has been snapping lots of pictures. 
Butterfly that landed on Jacob's hand
BIG spider
Candles
Butterfly that landed on Jacob's hand
BIG spider
Candles
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
China (From My View)
Wow, it's been a year since we left for China. I can't believe that a year ago, at this time (of the posting, currently 9:50pm pacific standard time), we were sitting in the terminal, mom was updating the blog for the last time in the U.S., checking her e-mail, I was reading a movie magazine, dad was talking to Aunt Marcy, and Emily was talking to me. We soon met up with Ron and Karen Uchimaya, and in about two hours, we were off to China! With a strange form of adrenaline that really can only be felt once in a situation like this, felt something like mild nausea, mixed with the excitement of not only visiting the Far East, but knowing that you're getting something amazing (Personally, I felt like a little kid at the claw candy arcade game, knowing that everytime you play, you're getting a peice of candy. Wierd, I know...). Once the plane leveled out, Aunt Marcy broke out the travel Scrabble set, and the games began! Who needs sleep? We were stuck 30,000 feet up, in a rather nicely furnished metal can!
Once we landed, it was as if reality hit. We were here! After all this waiting, and patience, we were here. First, the humidity hit us like a wave, second, the smell....somewhat like a late night cleaner that was supposed to go unnoticed. We soon walked through immigration. With nothing more than a glance from the lady behind the grey granite counter top, we passed through, soon to be met by one of our guides, Phoebe. This chick was rather small...to say the least. Maaaaaybe 4'11 at the most. She made the bus driver come out and load everyone's luggage onto the bus, and soon, we drove off into the brown-grey air. Passing apartment complexes the size of skyscrapers alongside the freeway, and occasionally seeing a fast food restaurant, I stared out the window with childlike curiosity. After an hour ride in the bus, we arrived at the White Swan, our home for the NEXT THREE WEEKS.
My first impression of the Swan was, jaw dropping. From the pagoda and waterfall in the main lobby, to the glass wall overlooking the Yellow River(Note: River is not actually yellow. Is more of light brown, with randomly floating objects. Whoever thought of this name for the river CLEARLY was on opium.), it was mystical. After a very nice breakfast of american food at one of the hotel restaurant, we got all our stuff to the room. When we got up to the rooms (Me, dad and mom, and soon to be Hannah in one, and Aunt Marcy and Emily in the other), we all just looked at each other and almost all at the same time said "THIS IS TINY!". They were rather small...
(Now, I'm going off of memory, so soooome stuff may be out of order for the first two or three days, so, for reference, just click back to the July '08 threads and check lol.) A favorite spot of mine was Deli Mart right outside the hotel. They had fresh bread, sparkling water, and ICE CREAM!!!! Little Haagen Daaz lined the freezer just staring at me everytime I went in there....it was hard not to buy one everytime I went in there. We all visited here in the first few days, sitting under the yellow umbrellas eating chocolate ice cream and hanging out (this was before we discovered the Starbucks ;-) ).
Ok, now onto....GOTCHA DAY!!!!!
The day we got Hannah, was really indescribable. We all woke up knowing what the day was bringing, and what it all meant. We walked down the the american buffet breakfast. Having this for 3 weeks was VERY tiring! To this day, my mom has not had an omelete due to having an omelet for 3 weeks straight! We all walked back up to the rooms, grabbed our cameras and NEW baby supplies, and headed to the VIP lobby on the backside of the hotel. We all met up with the other families within our group, and boarded the bus. A short ride to the Civil Affairs build was verrrrrry quiet. Nerves were at an all time high with EVERYONE. Once we arrived, we took a cramped elevator to the 4th or 5th level, and as soon as we walked in, instantly, we all started to sweat. There were soooo many people inside this open room, covered in what looked like outdated hospital wallpaper, and white pillars around the room for people to lean against. After awhile, one by one, the babies started to arrive, and the tears began to flow. One more arrived, someone else's....yet another....where's Hannah? Me and Emily decide to sit by the elevator to see if she's ever going to show. A few minutes later the doors open, and there she is. MY little sister. Nan Qi Huan. Hannah Mei Joy Williams. She is right in front of me, with a bewildered look of fear, confusion, and a sense of something is not really right, all mixed into those dark, peircing, deep chocolate brown eyes. I follow her nanny with my video camera, recording as much as possible, while trying to take snapshots as well. Catherine (another tour guide, and assistant to all the adopting family) walks up to my mom, and tells her to grab Hannah. The nanny knows what she needs to do, and as hard as it is for her, she lets one of her babies go. Who knows how many times she has to do this, after getting attached to them all, and caring for them. My mom looks at Catherine with confusion, but does what she says, and the nanny slowly releases her grip on Hannah, watching her slip away to a better life in America, knowing it's best for her. My mom tries to comfort Hannah, but little do we know, she's sick with strep throat. Hannah soon transfers over to my dad, and he starts to talk to her, giving her cheerios, and oh boy with this, does she quiet. It was so awesome to see all of this take place.
I'm tired, I'll write more possibly tomorrow, but overall, I am so glad I got to go on that trip. Seeing China, and adopting Hannah, it was such a life changing trip. Not only did it open my eyes to new things, but it gave me a better appreciation of life. Now, a year later, with Hannah running around the house, her vocabulary growing by the day, and seeing nothing but pure joy in her, man.....it really hits home for me. Watching her run towards me, wanting me to toss her up in the air, despite the constant warnings from my mom....we still do it, safely, and giving us both joy in having some fun, or climbing up to the top of my loft bed, waking me up....it's just so awesome to get that....
Sometime I wonder what life would be like without adopting Hannah, and now a year later, it's already hard to contemplate what it would be like.....
>>Jake
Once we landed, it was as if reality hit. We were here! After all this waiting, and patience, we were here. First, the humidity hit us like a wave, second, the smell....somewhat like a late night cleaner that was supposed to go unnoticed. We soon walked through immigration. With nothing more than a glance from the lady behind the grey granite counter top, we passed through, soon to be met by one of our guides, Phoebe. This chick was rather small...to say the least. Maaaaaybe 4'11 at the most. She made the bus driver come out and load everyone's luggage onto the bus, and soon, we drove off into the brown-grey air. Passing apartment complexes the size of skyscrapers alongside the freeway, and occasionally seeing a fast food restaurant, I stared out the window with childlike curiosity. After an hour ride in the bus, we arrived at the White Swan, our home for the NEXT THREE WEEKS.
My first impression of the Swan was, jaw dropping. From the pagoda and waterfall in the main lobby, to the glass wall overlooking the Yellow River(Note: River is not actually yellow. Is more of light brown, with randomly floating objects. Whoever thought of this name for the river CLEARLY was on opium.), it was mystical. After a very nice breakfast of american food at one of the hotel restaurant, we got all our stuff to the room. When we got up to the rooms (Me, dad and mom, and soon to be Hannah in one, and Aunt Marcy and Emily in the other), we all just looked at each other and almost all at the same time said "THIS IS TINY!". They were rather small...
(Now, I'm going off of memory, so soooome stuff may be out of order for the first two or three days, so, for reference, just click back to the July '08 threads and check lol.) A favorite spot of mine was Deli Mart right outside the hotel. They had fresh bread, sparkling water, and ICE CREAM!!!! Little Haagen Daaz lined the freezer just staring at me everytime I went in there....it was hard not to buy one everytime I went in there. We all visited here in the first few days, sitting under the yellow umbrellas eating chocolate ice cream and hanging out (this was before we discovered the Starbucks ;-) ).
Ok, now onto....GOTCHA DAY!!!!!
The day we got Hannah, was really indescribable. We all woke up knowing what the day was bringing, and what it all meant. We walked down the the american buffet breakfast. Having this for 3 weeks was VERY tiring! To this day, my mom has not had an omelete due to having an omelet for 3 weeks straight! We all walked back up to the rooms, grabbed our cameras and NEW baby supplies, and headed to the VIP lobby on the backside of the hotel. We all met up with the other families within our group, and boarded the bus. A short ride to the Civil Affairs build was verrrrrry quiet. Nerves were at an all time high with EVERYONE. Once we arrived, we took a cramped elevator to the 4th or 5th level, and as soon as we walked in, instantly, we all started to sweat. There were soooo many people inside this open room, covered in what looked like outdated hospital wallpaper, and white pillars around the room for people to lean against. After awhile, one by one, the babies started to arrive, and the tears began to flow. One more arrived, someone else's....yet another....where's Hannah? Me and Emily decide to sit by the elevator to see if she's ever going to show. A few minutes later the doors open, and there she is. MY little sister. Nan Qi Huan. Hannah Mei Joy Williams. She is right in front of me, with a bewildered look of fear, confusion, and a sense of something is not really right, all mixed into those dark, peircing, deep chocolate brown eyes. I follow her nanny with my video camera, recording as much as possible, while trying to take snapshots as well. Catherine (another tour guide, and assistant to all the adopting family) walks up to my mom, and tells her to grab Hannah. The nanny knows what she needs to do, and as hard as it is for her, she lets one of her babies go. Who knows how many times she has to do this, after getting attached to them all, and caring for them. My mom looks at Catherine with confusion, but does what she says, and the nanny slowly releases her grip on Hannah, watching her slip away to a better life in America, knowing it's best for her. My mom tries to comfort Hannah, but little do we know, she's sick with strep throat. Hannah soon transfers over to my dad, and he starts to talk to her, giving her cheerios, and oh boy with this, does she quiet. It was so awesome to see all of this take place.
I'm tired, I'll write more possibly tomorrow, but overall, I am so glad I got to go on that trip. Seeing China, and adopting Hannah, it was such a life changing trip. Not only did it open my eyes to new things, but it gave me a better appreciation of life. Now, a year later, with Hannah running around the house, her vocabulary growing by the day, and seeing nothing but pure joy in her, man.....it really hits home for me. Watching her run towards me, wanting me to toss her up in the air, despite the constant warnings from my mom....we still do it, safely, and giving us both joy in having some fun, or climbing up to the top of my loft bed, waking me up....it's just so awesome to get that....
Sometime I wonder what life would be like without adopting Hannah, and now a year later, it's already hard to contemplate what it would be like.....
>>Jake
Airplane
One year ago today we boarded a plane to China to get our baby girl! It was an amazing journey. We are so blessed to have Hannah in our lives. She is a blessing from God.
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