Our daughter, Ashley Ming Xao, has been with us for six months now; she has really come a long way from the scared little waif that we met at the airport.  She is still a little shy, particularly around strangers, but she is getting used to her new life here in America, and we can't be any happier than we are right now.

Ashley joins her big brother Creig Mathew, and her two older sisters Reign Patrice and Wyatt Joselyn, and of course, my husband Terrell and myself.  I'm Eileen.  We live in Sonora, California.  We also have two big Rhodesian Ridgebacks who think they're lapdogs.  LOL  So that is our family.

Ashley is, as we have discovered, one who loves to be hugged.  It doesn't matter what time of day or what we are doing:  if she wants a hug, she will demand a hug.  We have to drop what we are doing just so her request for a hug can be fufilled; if not, she will whine until we meet her obligations.  LOL

Her English is still pretty limited.  We have had to learn some basic Chinese, just so we can halfway communicate, but we are hoperful that the longer she is here in America, her English skills will improve.  At least, we are hoping it does.  I guess our (mis)pronunciation of some of the Chinese words drive her crazy because she'll look at us as if to say:  You dumbbell; that's not how you say that!!  LOL

We are hoping that the neighborhood kids will learn to accept our new family member and look past her "Chinese-ness" and see her as a typical "American" child who just happens to be Chinese by birth.  We are also hoping that she will become a naturalized citizen by this time next year or the following year.

Ashley is perfectly healthy:  no sign of defect or disability.  We took her to our pediatrician; doctor pronounced her with sound health.  The only "delays" she might have is due to her limited knowledge of English; because of this, she is behind her older brother and sisters in terms of reading or writing.

We had always wanted a child from China, so this is why we adopted Ashley.  A friend of ours who lives in the next town adopted two little girls from China, and we thought that if they could do it, then why couldn't we?  So we did, although, for a while, we wondered if we would ever get our daughter or hear from the adoption agency.  When we finally got the news that we getting a little girl from China, it was wonderful, but nothing compared to the day when little Ming Xao (renamed Ashley Hope) came to America.

Every day is a new and exciting adventure.  Life is suddenly filled with promise and busyness that having a new child can only bring.  I hope nothing but the best for our new daughter, and I pray that her life here in America will be full of joy, untold blessings, and unlimited potential.