Back To School - August 12th - First Day!

MaryAlyce (age 7) headed back to school to enter 2nd grade. She was SO excited to see all of her friends again and to figure out what second grade is all about. MaryAlyce loves reading, writing and drawing. She also enjoys talking on the phone with her friends....Mary V., Emily and Ashley.


Joshua (age 11) is almost done with elementary school....it's 5th grade this year for him. He headed back to school as a "buddy" to a new student, an "ambassador" to the kindergarten kids, and is on "safety patrol" again this year. He's looking forward to picking the "clubs"he wants to be in during the year and also going to camp with the other fifth graders for a few days in November.


Our big three-year-old, Esther Marie, entered preschool again in a local public school. It's a special program and she'll get speech therapy and other services in a small classroom setting. Since it's only three hours each day, she has plenty of time to enjoy her favorite things....horses, dress-up, books, and her toys.


Hannah caught the bus early this morning to head back to middle school for her last year....8th grade! It's hard to believe she is 13 and will be in high school next year! She chose Spanish as her elective this year, so I guess we'll be hearing her practice all year long. I am hoping to learn some along with her!

Gotcha Day......One Year Later!

Esther Marie......One Year Ago!

Esther Marie....Today!

My how she has changed!!

Happy "Gotcha Day" First Anniversary to our little Esther Marie HaiMei! It is hard to believe it has been a year, but with each passing day, I can see the growth and the changes occurring in our newest little ladybug. At this point, she is well bonded with me and our family. She is "loving on" and "fussing with" her three siblings as if she has always been with us. And, she is very attached to both "mommy" and "daddy."

We have seen changes in Esther Marie in all areas, especially her weight...she has gained at least 10 lbs. this year! She had a wonderful little personality from day one, but it has blossomed in so many ways. She has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. Her giggle is infectious! Everyone loves to tickle her just so we can hear it. Her eating has improved (she is enjoying a larger variety of foods and textures) and so has her speech. She had her first surgery in August of 2008 to repair her open palate and her mouth has healed nicely. At a recent check-up, her surgeon said it looked great. Emmie still needs a lot of speech therapy, but she should be able to catch up with her language at some point. She has become very creative with her communication skills and does not hesitate to tell us or show us what she wants! She is still her same little imitative self...and that quality is quite endearing.

Esther Marie, you are a beautiful princess and we love you more than words can express. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet one. We look forward to celebrating many, many more with you!

Joshua......A New Look

BEFORE.....

AND AFTER!

Haircut Day...Yippie! Someone was certainly in need of a haircut!! What do you think of Joshua's "new look"??? The girls in the family loved it long and tried to get him to put it in a ponytail like the guy in Mulan. Umm....that idea did NOT fly! Okay, so after a week at Scout Camp and Vacation Bible school...sweating...and dripping...that hair just HAD to go! You get the idea! Joshua's happy and so are we. We'll keep him, no matter which way he wears his hair! hehe

Happy 13th Birthday, Hannah!!

Happy 13th Birthday, Sweet Hannah!

We love you very much, our precious daughter.
You have filled our lives with joy and blessed us in so many ways.

Love,
Mom and Dad

Last Day of School and the Beginning of Summer Break

It's hard to believe but today is the last day of school. The kids are all out the door but they get off early today...11:00. Some people are not sending their kids today....it is optional. But we are sending ours because they are going to have a fun time with their friends without the responsibility of school work to hinder their friendships. Jasper and I also are going to use this time for a day-date! The weather has been gorgeous and cooler after weeks of the rainy season here, so we are headed out to ride bikes together...sans kids! The morning is beckoning, so I'll sign off for now. I have not kept up my blog because life has been busy and stressful lately, but I see light at the end of the tunnel and I feel like writing again. God is good and He is always faithful...praise Him! More later...it's nice to be back!

Happy 7th Birthday, Sweet MaryAlyce!!

(Sharing a Birthday "cupcake cake" at school today.)

Happy 7th Birthday, MaryAlyce Rebecca Grace!!

Born in China in May of 2002,
Adopted into our family and our hearts in August of 2003,

Such a tiny girl you were, but such a little lady you are now!

We love you, our precious one!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Hannah, Joshua and Esther Marie

Photo Session Success with 4 Kids!

For some reason, I always dread "portrait" photo day and the day we took ALL FOUR kids in to a studio was no exception. I am always fretting over their hair and their clothes and about whether they all will "act right"...whatever that means??

Anyway, for this occasion, I tried to plan things out the best that I could. Since we were not planning to travel during spring break, this was the "perfect" time. I made hair appointments for them so they would look their best. Hannah ended up getting about SIX inches of her beautiful locks cut off. I was standing there covering my eyes as the first snip was made...and of course, Hannah was just glowing, a beautiful smile spread across her face. I have to admit though that she looked much better and a little older with the new cut. If she was happy, so was I. What a contrast on the floor of the salon with Hannah's long blond hair and Joshua's dark black hair mingling together!

We already had the clothes that had been waiting for this moment since last spring. The only thing we had to get new was Hannah's pink shirt. Yes, the children have grown, but I always buy nicer clothes a little too big...so it worked out that they were a perfect fit for the photos this spring. (I had wanted to do this photo session last summer, but just couldn't squeeze it in with all the transitions and the surgery for Esther Marie.)

So photo day morning, we were up early so we would be there on time. Hurry hurry everyone! The girls were fixing their hair and I was fixing Joshua's. We decided for a more natural look and went without bows this time, although I did carry them to the studio...just in case. The photographer agreed it would be nice without them. I also pressed the clothes just one last time. We took two outfits for them to the studio...one more casual (as seen above) and one dressier outfit. Two outfits with four children are MORE than enough! We left the house in a hurry with clothes on hangers and shoes and accessories in bags and made it in time...only to find that the studio was CRAMMED with people. I had thought we would just breeze in and have the photos taken right away. Oh no! How would the kids act if they had to wait and wait and wait...especially MaryAlyce and Esther Marie? Luckily, there were some toys and I had brought some snacks! (Patting myself on the back for remembering those snacks!) We had to wait about 30 minutes for our turn because it seemed that plenty of others had our same idea to do this during the break. We ended up meeting another couple at the studio who had two adopted children from China. They were actually visiting Birmingham and decided to do this during their vacation. I was amazed because I wouldn't do that if you paid me!

We ended up having the studio manager take the photos and she was very good with the kids. She put up with me fixing the kid's hair during the whole session too! Esther Marie wanted to "do her own thing" so it was hard to get a good photo of all of the kids together, but the photographer managed to make it work. She took so many that it worked out fine and we ended up very pleased. One of the nice things about this studio is that we got a CD with all of the shots on it, along with the prints that we ordered...even the funny ones, so we have some great memories and great expressions! They are "read only" files so I can't edit or crop them, but I am allowed to share them on my blog, which I will be doing in the coming days.

In spite of my stress, this photo session worked out great, so we'll be doing it again sometime. Hope you enjoy seeing the pictures.

Just taking a few minutes out of a busy day to wish you Happy Easter. I know the weekend will be even busier, so I might not have a chance to write anything. This will be Esther Marie's first Easter and I am excited about that. I hope it doesn't rain so the kids can hide and find some Easter eggs. Some years we have hidden them inside the house because of bad weather. That can be fun also..if you confine it to a room or two! I am busy planning Easter lunch and getting clothes ready. I do have some more shopping to do so have to finish that up this afternoon. The weather reports right now are predicting some serious thunder storms and possible tornadoes so I have been keeping an eye on that. We can't get our cars in our garage right now, so Jasper says if it gets really bad with hail, we will head to the mall parking deck. Sounds like a plan! I hope you are having a wonderful Good Friday and your holiday preparations are going as planned. I will post some pics from Easter Sunday early next week. Have a very blessed Easter!

Happy 3rd Birthday Esther Marie and Happy Birthday, Jasper!!

The birthday "dad" with the best presents of all...his kids!

The birthday girl....Esther Marie...turns 3!

It's April 7th and ESTHER MARIE IS THREE!! We are SO excited to celebrate her first birthday since she has joined our family. The "party" started on Sunday night with our church home group. I made some cupcakes and Emmie blew out the little happy face candles. It's very sweet to me because she goes right along with it even though she doesn't really have a clue what is going on. We have been trying to teach her to say she is "three" but I know she doesn't understand.

Today, we have a relaxed day planned because "dad" is in an all-day meeting and the other kids are at school. Tonight, we are going out to dinner with an old friend from California who is in town...and I have some more cupcakes to bring along. The weather has turned chilly, so our petting-farm/picnic trip that was supposed to be this morning with our early intervention group has been rescheduled to a warmer day. Oh well...we are flexible! I have always thought flexibility is a MUST when you have children!

This weekend we will be celebrating Easter and two birthdays...for Esther Marie and Jasper. Yes....Jasper's birthday is today also and he turns 51. When I ask him how it feels to be 51 with a three-year old, he makes a face at me...but I know he LOVES it...and he loves the kids. Oh...and me! Jasper likes to down-play his birthday and told me not to make him a cake. I ignored him and made one anyway....chocolate, cream cheese frosting (homemade), cherries and toasted almonds. It was SO good. We shared it with our "home gropu family."

We have birthday celebrations planned all week long....not just one day! That makes it more fun! I love my family...Happy Birthday sweet Esther Marie and my precious husband, Jasper!!

And You Thought It Was ONLY April Fool's Day!

It's April 1st....the traditional day for jokes and pranks. In our house, we have another silly "family tradition" but it's on the 1st day of every month. More about that later....

Miss Hannah is probably our biggest prankster, but she usually brainstorms stuff at the last minute. This morning, she was eating breakfast about 6:45 and she was trying to think of a way to trick her friends at school. "Can I run out to the car and get....." She trailed off. "Do you have a bandage so I can wrap up my arm?" We told her it was too late, because the bus comes at 7:00 and she should have thought of something last night. But she doesn't give up! We hear the bus coming and she runs into the laundry room and 30 seconds later she exits with a sling on her arm. "Can I borrow this, mom?" I laugh. Yes, Hannah! So she races toward the front door, grinning broadly, to catch the bus. I already know she is going to have a fun time today telling some story she has concocted in her writer's brain...but I am looking forward to hearing all about it when she gets home today! I can hear her now, shouting...April Fools...to her friends. I am grinning here thinking of it.

Now more about the other "tradition" that somehow got started in our family on the 1st of every month. We have been doing this for years and I can't for the life of me remember how it got started. I am sure it must have been passed on by one of our friends or another family member. And this morning, I just thought to search it on the net to see if any other crazy people do the same thing. Yes, they do!! So what is it, you ask???? When we wake on the 1st day of each month, each family member tries to be the first person to shout out "White Rabbit" to everyone else...before they say it to you! What???? Yes, that's it...and we have been doing it for years and years. MaryAlyce expanded it a bit when she was younger by trying to "best" everyone by adding "Pink Rabbit" to the expression...."White Rabbit, Pink Rabbit!" It's the silliest thing, but fun, and we always end up laughing about it. In a family this size, you can imagine we have a lot of shouting going on each morning on the 1st!

Family traditions are a good thing!! Hope you have a great April 1st!

Don't Forget...Today is RED ENVELOPE DAY!!

Just a brief reminder that today is RED ENVELOPE DAY! Don't forget to mail your red envelopes to President Obama!! For more information or to send envelopes online, visit the official web site at www.redenvelopeday.com .

Preschool Here I Come!!

Esther Marie is ready to go..go..go! She loves going places and loves flowers. Today, she was headed to a meeting with mommy and daddy.

Emmie meets her new teacher.

School is a fun place with lots of toys!

Daddy shows me the "preschoolers only" playground.

Today, we received wonderful news and an answer to prayer....Esther Marie was accepted into the preschool program at one of the public schools in our county!! In fact, it is the ONLY preschool program in the county and is highly recommended.

Esther Marie will be turning three soon, so about a month ago she had some testing done to see what areas she needed help in. This afternoon, we went to the IEP meeting where we found out the results of the tests and which services she qualified for. We had hoped she would qualify for the preschool program but thought more realistically that she would just qualify for speech therapy. I tried not to get my hopes up and prayed for God to put Esther Marie where he wants her to be. Now she will be attending this program 4 days/week for three hours each day. Another answer to prayer was that she can start on her birthday if she wants to...instead of having to wait until school starts again at the end of summer. Well, her birthday is next week...Tuesday, April 7th. She will start soon after that date. She seems very excited about it, although we will have to wait to see how it goes. Today, we met her teacher, her speech therapist and got to see her classroom and the playground. They even have a carpool line for the preschoolers, but I am definitely walking her in the first week!

Stayed tuned and I'll let you know how her first day of school goes (and how mommy reacts to her baby girl starting school). In the meantime, we have some shopping to do....school supplies and a backpack!!

A Very Enjoyable Spring Break Week!

Well, we are in Spring Break week here...actually, the week is almost over. It's hard to believe how fast it has flown by. The kids have been great and it's been wonderful having more time with all of them. I am looking forward to summer so much so we can do more fun things. They have enjoyed reading and playing games this week. Our new passion is Yahtzee because we can all play and enjoy it! Even Esther Marie gets excited and hollers out "Yahtzee" and carries the game over to us wanting to "play." She has her own dice, chips and score pad and loves to pretend she is playing. The kids have also enjoyed watching movies, playing outdoors, and having fun family time.

We went to a Home and Garden Show last Saturday and we had a blast. The new blog photo is one taken there at the show. (I will post more about our fun later.) We had some rain for a few days at the beginning of the week, but computer time, game boys, and the Wii always seem to cure those bad-weather-blues really fast!

We FINALLY got a chance to visit the new Bass Pro Shop in our area. We stayed forever and had a great time! What an awesome store! The kids all enjoyed a Moon Pie (click for history of the Moon Pie) at the end of the visit. After devouring a double-decker, they were begging for more.

Today, we had some photos of the kids taken, and I will hopefully get some of those posted on the blog soon. They turned out really sweet. This was the first time we have taken Esther Marie to have formal photos made and she was a total "ham". Our photographer was laughing quite a bit, and so were we.

This afternoon, we headed for the airport and were blessed to be able to welcome our friends back from Colombia with their two new adopted children.....Angi Camilla (age 11) and Leandro (age 5). The addition of these lovely children means that their family now has FOUR...just like ours. We are overjoyed for them! After the airport gathering, we headed to this family's house for a pizza party to welcome them home. The kids enjoyed outdoor play and plenty of pizza.

Tomorrow, we plan to head south to spend the day with my cousin Amy and her husband, Tim. We are going to ride bikes, have a picnic and play some games. The bikes are loaded on (and in) the car and we are ready to go! Jasper got a new bike seat attached for Emmie on his bike so this will be her first ride in it. On Sunday, we will end the week with church, scouts and home group. I will be sad when the week is over.

I took bunches of pictures of all the events we have done lately and hope to get some of them posted on the blog...soon! I used to stay up late posting and pouring over photos, and now the kids wear me out so much, I can't keep up with all of it. Watch for more posts coming soon (to "catch up"). Hope you have had a blessed week!

Peek-A-Boo...I See You!

Hannah Beth is the budding photographer in our family who caught this sweet "Peek-A-Boo" pose of our precious Esther Marie!

MaryAlyce's Teacher and Class are Pro-Active!! (President Obama...I hope you watched this video they sent you!!)

Barbie and Me...Both 50 This Year!

BARBIE AT 50.....IF SHE REALLY AGED???

My mom called me this morning to inquire about my birth year......1959, she asked???? (Did she REALLY not remember??) Yes, mom...that's it (sigh). I can't believe you are turning 50 this year! Neither can I, mom...join the club. She reminded me that Barbie (the doll) is turning 50 too...yesterday, in fact, was her birthday. I, on the other hand, am a few days younger than Barbie since my birthday is not until the end of April...so I can still claim to be 49 for a little while longer!

Well, mom had seen the computer generated image of Barbie (shown above) showing how she would "probably" look if Barbie truly did age. Mom said to me....I just wanted to tell you....you look MUCH better! (I laughed.) Thank you, mom!!!

ME......ALMOST 50!!!

Esther Marie is 35 Months Old Today!

Brushing...

Hugging...

Waiting...

Reading...

Laughing and Loving....It's ALL good!!!

Well, today Esther Marie is 35 months old! When I type that, it sounds like a lot to me..."35", but then I think.....hey, that is barely three! (She joined our family when she was 26 months old.) In another month, we will be celebrating her first birthday here in the states...and her daddy shares the same birthday....so it will be a big day! Not sure what we will be doing, at this point, to celebrate. I have to think about that some....will it be more low-key and close-to-home or will we try to make a giant party out of it???? I need to pray about what is best for her since she won't understand what it is all about yet. We have been trying to get her to hold up two of her little fingers and say that she is "two" but she hasn't caught on yet...so I don't think "three" will be any different...not at first. We'll see.....

She certainly is a smart little thing....and knows how to tell you or show you what she wants. The other night it was getting late and she came up to me chattering in her soft, sweet little voice. She had just had a bath with MaryAlyce and smelled so good. I hugged her and kissed her and said "uh huh, that's nice" because I didn't understand what she was saying. I was busy with something also, so she soon toddled away. I thought that was the end of it and something else had captured her attention. The next thing I knew, she was bringing me a big Dr. Seuss book that she wanted to read. I told her we would read it together in just a few minutes. Then she disappeared once again and came back into the kitchen a third time. This time she had my soft, fuzzy robe in her arms and she was indicating to me that I needed to put it on....NOW! She had gone up the stairs on her own to the bedroom and found my robe on the end of the bed...and had brought it back to me....all the way down the stairs...ALL BY HERSELF!! This certainly is one little girl who KNOWS what she wants and she will tell you or find a way to SHOW YOU exactly what she wants!!!! What she lacks in speech, she makes up for with brain power and determination. It really is an endearing quality!!!

At that point, I could no longer resist such an "offer" (not that I was really trying to "resist")...so I dropped what I was doing, got into that robe, and we headed for the den and our fuzzy orange (Go VOLS!) blanket for story time....Emmie, Mei Mei and me. It was another one of those moments that I will always treasure!!

Snow in the DEEP South!

Well, "they" said we would get snow....and we did! It started snowing after midnight and we got what I would call a "light covering." It is 9:30 on Sunday morning, March 1st (!!) and it is snowing again...little flakes...and it is COLD....32 degrees F. The kids are running around all excited and of course, they want to bundle up and get out there so they can get soggy wet. (grin) We have not had measurable snow in our area (again "they" say) in 9 years! We had temps recently in the 70s and so this is amazing to us. You know when the weather man is on television continuously in our area, something is going on! The roads don't have snow on them, but they have closed portions of the interstate because of ice and accidents. We are supposed to have temps in the 20s tonight, so things should freeze up again. Tomorrow, you probably won't be able to tell that we had snow at all, so today we will enjoy our "winter wonderland."

We got dressed quickly and headed outside to the sounds of children's laughter as other neighborhood kids were running all around playing in the snow. After a few pictures, our kids dove right in and started hurling snowballs at each other...and us! Gloves got wet quickly and so did feet, since we are not that prepared for snow with boots and the proper kind of gloves. No matter...play anyway!! Squealing and full of mischief, the kids had a blast! Jasper and I loved watching them, taking pics and shooting some video. They tried to make a snowman and got some big balls of snow stacked up, but the poor guy was dirty with pine needles poking out everywhere. He never got eyes or a nose, but oh well...the rolling was the fun part. I would say we got about an inch total maybe a little more where it had blown. Now the sun has come out and most of the snow has melted away. We had fun while it lasted and the hot chocolate and eggnog scones we consumed when we went inside were the perfect tasty treats to warm us up...and a great ending to our snowy adventure!!

Both a SAD and HAPPY Day!

Today was one of those days for me when I was feeling extreme opposite emotions....very sad...and then later in the day, very happy! This morning, I attended the funeral for a precious three-year-old girl from China. She was adopted 11 months ago by a family in the town where I live. I had met the mother for lunch one day before we both got our referrals for our precious daughters. Our girls were on the same special needs list with our agency. This couple traveled to get their daughter in March of last year and we went to China in June. We had not had a chance to get our girls together and now little Emme is in heaven with Jesus' arms wrapped around her. I feel SO very sad over their loss! I have been holding my little Emmie this week and cannot imagine the loss they are feeling. Please pray for this family. After the funeral in the morning, which was quite special but very sad, I had to switch emotional gears. I loaded up some of our China souvenirs and headed to meet up with some friends so I could loan the items to them. The "happy" emotions kicked in because I am overjoyed for this couple (our friends) who will be traveling to China soon to adopt a precious daughter who is less than a year old. This couple has been waiting for their referral for about three years and finally received it on Valentine's Day! On Sunday night, they will be having a fund-raiser to help raise money to cover the cost of the adoption. Please pray for this family also....they don't have the funds that are needed...yet! God is SO good and I know He will provide....in His perfect timing. Thank you for joining me in prayer for these two special adoptive families who are at opposite ends of the spectrum of life right now. Bless you!

Red Envelope Day...March 31st

I saw a group on Facebook about this event and joined, but I also wanted to let anyone reading my blog know about it. Because I am an adoption advocate, I am definitely also a "life" advocate....thus, I am against abortion!

What is Red Envelope Day? You send a RED ENVELOPE to President Obama, mailed on March 31st. Write these words on the back of the envelope....."This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world." If you are PRO-LIFE, I challenge you to visit the website and mail one or more red envelopes on March 31st.

For more information, click on the words "Red Envelope Day" above for a link to the website.

Strange Weather!

Only the 17th of February....and we had sleet today for awhile!! Nothing really stuck, but it surely was strange.......especially since we had weather highs last week of at least 70 degrees, maybe higher. The kids wore shorts and t-shirts to school, and I fretted that they were not going to be able to wear their winter clothes any more. They ALWAYS outgrow them before they get enough wear out of them. (sigh) Jasper says "don't sweat it" (no pun intended), but I think it's a shame. Anyway, back to the weather. Tomorrow, we will have higher temps again and it is supposed to rain most of the day, with possible tornadoes. Now it's time to bring out those umbrellas and boots! Whew...I can't keep up with it!

What's the weather like where you are? Getting snow or do you feel like you live in the Bahamas where you are? Curious here, so leave a comment if you would like to.

Winter Jam Fun!

Girls just wanna have fun!!! And we did...at Winter Jam last Saturday night! It was Hannah's first youth concert event and I was a chaperone. There were thousands of kids (and accompanying adults) jamming into the civic center for a night of loud Christian music, expensive concessions, and loads of fun. We rocked with New Song, Pure NRG and Toby Mac to name a few. We had a pretty good-sized group (around 35 or so) and ended up in what I call the "nosebleed section" so we could get seating together. If we do this again another year, we definitely need to line up earlier! Anyway, we had a blast and here are a few pics.

Being silly while waiting in line!

Hannah with her small group friends.

Wooo Hoooo....this is awesome!

Rockin' with Toby Mac...on stage.

Early Valentine's Celebration

Jasper treated me to an early Valentine's Celebration Friday night a week ago, and we took the kids to a "parent's night out" at a local church near us. We had three blissful hours to ourselves! We went to this fun Mexican restaurant that has awesome decor and great food. The music was a little loud, but it just helped you get into the spirit of the place. It had a party-like atmosphere and great lighting. We had a fajita special for two and dessert afterwards. It was interesting to try grilled cactus, but I don't think I'll make it a regular part of my diet. I enjoyed having that special time with Jasper, and really enjoyed getting to eat my food while it was hot...and not being kicked by Esther Marie the whole time!! (She likes to keep her feet on me in some way while she is eating.) I wish we had more chances for "date nights," but I'll take what I can get!

Don't Wait Too Long To Spend Time With Friends!

Last weekend was a great one...particularly because we got to visit with out-of-town friends we had not seen in a year. (advice: Don't wait that long to see friends, if you can help it!) They invited us to their oldest daughter's dance competition...this is our third year to attend, so I guess you could say it is becoming a "January tradition"! We met them Friday night at a Cracker Barrel and the kids had a blast getting reacquainted. It's amazing how much the kids have grown in a year. We were also happy that our friends could finally meet Esther Marie. We adults reminisced about our trip together to China when we adopted MaryAlyce and Ellie....and talked about their upcoming trip to adopt their next daughter. We are becoming quite a large group when we meet so people take notice and ask about the children. When Jasper and I go out with our whole family, it is almost inevitable that we will get into a conversation with someone about the children and adoption. That's never a problem for me though because I am such an adoption advocate at this point. I probably should wear a t-shirt that says...."Hey, if you ask me about them, make SURE you have time to talk!" (haha) Anyway, it was good to see our friends, the "H family," and we had a blast at the dance competition on Saturday!

If you haven't seen some good friends in awhile, pick up the phone and call to find out how they are doing and make plans to see them soon!

Happy Chinese New Year! (Year of the Ox)

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the Ox (Ji Chou) or Chinese year 4707 which began on January 26th. The celebration goes on for two weeks and preparations are quite extensive. (You can click on "Chinese New Year" for a link with more information.)

Each year, we like to join in the celebration in a small way to celebrate the Chinese heritage of three of our children. This past Saturday, we attended a Chinese Festival and enjoyed Chinese music, entertainment, games, dancing and artwork. I was excited to learn there is a group who wants to build a traditional Chinese garden in our area. They are raising support for it now, so I signed the petition.

After attending the festival for a couple of hours, we went to a dance competition and were able to spend time with our friends who traveled to China with us when we adopted MaryAlyce. They are waiting for travel approval to go back to China to adopt another precious little one. Then they will have three beautiful daughters...Emily, Ellie and Elissa. Congratulations to Lewis and Pam....we still wish we could have traveled again with you!

It's been way too long since my last blog post, and I look forward to writing more soon! I hope you all have been blessed and staying well.

Well, I will sign out for now and wish you.....

Gung Hei Faat Choih

"bless happiness, and prosperity"	恭喜發財
This is a greeting of prosperity reserved for Chinese New Years. It is also the phrase required before gifts/lucky money is given by the host during New Years.

Obama's Inauguration.....A New Beginning....REALLY????

This morning, the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama, was televised and it was blaring on two televisions in the house....maybe three. No, we didn't vote for him. Yes, we were interested, as much of the world was, in watching this historic occasion. I have to be honest and say that I couldn't join in with the news commentators in the "ecstatic joy" they kept claiming that EVERYONE has for this new President, the "savior" of America. I felt a sadness for him that he has to lead our country in this very difficult time. I am praying for his safety and for strength....for his faith to be strong. I am hoping that he doesn't get disillusioned too quickly and become discouraged like so many of the people in this country are now. It is a very tough road ahead for him and you couldn't pay me to do his job.

I also felt sad for President Bush because I think people tend to blame one man for too much of the woes and failures in life....that is unfair and unjust. I hope he will have some time to rest and reflect but he won't beat up on himself.

I heard one newscaster say that Obama will need 50 billion dollars to get this economy jump-started and I had to ask myself what "new beginning" everyone was thinking we would have as a nation as we sink deeper and deeper into financial ruin??? Ummm...WHERE is this money coming from? Sounds like more of the same old stuff to me....entitlement and programs for all!

I think our nation needs a reality check! We "the people" need to force our "leaders" to trim the budget, tighten their belts, stop the perks and earmarks, and get out of debt! How will that happen if everyone thinks they deserve what they are "entitled" to??? Okay, I am not a politician (obviously) so I will shut up now. But I will keep praying for this nation to "see the light" of Jesus and come to their senses....so there will be a better world for my precious children when they are grown.

(Inauguration button shown above available for purchase...click here.)

Barack Obama's Half Brother Performs in China to Benefit Orphans

Here's a news article that caught my eye and I decided to share it on the blog. I like reading about people who want to help Chinese orphans. This person happens to be Barack Obama's half brother who lives in China and is married to a Chinese woman. Here's an excerpt from the article....

SHENZHEN, China - The news release didn't say who Mark Ndesandjo was. Nor did the posters and emails promoting the concert Friday in this southern Chinese boomtown where he played piano to raise money for orphans. On Friday, he said he had visited a Shenzhen orphanage shortly after arriving in China and saw rows and rows of sleeping babies while a harried staff of two nurses tried to care for them. "One child with big black eyes seized my finger and would not let it go," he told the crowd.

If you would like to read the entire article about Mark Ndesandjo, click here. I find it interesting that he has chosen a life in China.

A Song for Moms......Motherhood is Exhausting but Learn to Laugh Often!

This has been one of those weeks where I truly feel like a "broken record." It is extremely obvious how many times I repeat things to my kids in a day...only to wake up the next morning saying the very same things all over again...and wondering how many times I will have to say these same things during their life-times before they will FINALLY get it! (whew..run-on sentence, but you get the idea)

I was whining to a friend of mine who sent me this link to a video by Anita Renfroe. It had me, Jasper....and the kids...in stitches...........with us pointing and nodding at each other throughout the lyrics.

Anita says she has figured out what a mother says to her children in a 24-hour period and she has condensed it into 2 minutes and 55 seconds. The lyrics are set to the "William Tell Overture" (Lone Ranger Theme music). Motherhood can be exhausting (and so can listening to the William Tell Overture music...haha). But as my friend Tracy reminded me on Sunday, if you are exhausted at the end of the day after taking care of your family, you MUST be doing something RIGHT!

Take a look and hopefully you can relate, smile, and perhaps laugh at yourself. Laughter is a good medicine...for sure! And in my opinion, every mother needs to laugh OFTEN!

A VERY BIG THANK YOU FOR A VERY SPECIAL SCHOOL !

(Hannah, Joshua, MaryAlyce and Esther Marie made this poster to give to OSMS as a thank you for their help.)

Blessings abound from all sorts of places, sometimes so unexpected....

Such was the case with a very special school and the student body at OSMS. One of my brothers (Patrick) teaches at this school and he shared with people there about Esther Marie and our family. The Science Club at the school decided they wanted to help us by having a fund raiser. They sold paper Panda Bears and because of the generous hearts of the students, parents and faculty at this school, they raised $1,526.17 !!! We were just "blown away" to put it mildly! The money will be used this month to pay down a credit card which houses the debt for Esther Marie's adoption expenses and medical expenses.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say....

THANK YOU OSMS SCIENCE CLUB,
STUDENT BODY,
PARENTS AND FACULTY!

You truly have a very special place in our hearts and we hope you get to meet little Esther Marie soon so you can see how your generous support has helped her...and us.

Emmie's Speech Progress

It's been a great weekend and we ended it with fellowship at our church Home Group this evening. The kids (except Emmie) are tucked into bed and she is on the way. We have been snapping some photos of Emmie and enjoying some one-on-one time with her. She is fascinated with eyes and often wants to look into your eyes and examine them. Tonight she was practically sticking her finger onto my eyeball, touching my lashes and giggling. It felt very strange but I patiently let her explore.

It also brought to mind all the cute things she says now....so I thought I would share some of them with you....

I see...or I see it (especially when looking at photos that have just been taken...she is demanding to see)
Come-on (when she wants you to follow her)
Be right back (with her finger pointed out at you)
Just a minute (again with the finger pointed..she can be a bossy little thang)
I love you (that one just melts our hearts)
I help you (she is a great little helper)
Help me please or help me do it (she has good manners)
Clean up (she learned that quickly and actually does clean up well and with a great attitude)
bye, see ya (while waving at you)
Like that (Emmie tacks it onto things she tells you constantly)
Ready..Set..Go (this is one of the first strung-together statements she used and is SO cute)

Other words used frequently are: sorry, hungry, milk, eat, clean-up, thank you, me, mama, daddy, all of our other kids' names, uh-oh, night night, NO, wait, hi, hello, bye bye, etc. It is great to hear her using more short sentences too.

When we were having her speech evaluated this past week, Judy (the speech therapist, asked if she knew at least 50 words. We are SURE that she does. She babbles quite a bit, getting the number of syllables for words correct, even if we are not understanding her. SHE knows what she is saying!

There are some sounds she is still unable to make at this point, even with her palate repaired and closed up. She just hasn't learned yet. We are praying that God will totally heal her palate and more surgery will be unnecessary in order for her to have better speech. She has come a LONG way from not knowing any English (and from having a big hole in the roof of her mouth)...and we are SO proud of her. She is almost always willing to repeat words and sounds and a good attitude like that goes a long way toward better speech. Great job, little Emmie!!

Two Silver and One Bronze

A MaryAlyce story...brief but funny....

The kids were playing games on the Wii tonight and MaryAlyce was telling how she had "won some medals" when she was playing on her cousins' Wii...while visiting in Texas.

She then told us she had won "two silver and one bras medal." (pronounced like the undergarment women wear!)

It was so dang cute and spoken in that sweet little MaryAlyce voice, that we just HAD to ask her to repeat it a couple of times. Daddy then gave her a big ole hug and Mommy gently explained how to say the word correctly.

Kids can be SO innocent in those kinds of mistakes, you can't help but smile!

IT'S GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME!!!!

It's girl scout cookie time and sales start today!

(double click the cookie image to enlarge so you can see the cookies better and read the descriptions)

Hannah and MaryAlyce will both be selling this year and they are pretty excited about it. Selling these cookies helps bring in much needed funds for the troops and the girl scout council. If you are interested in purchasing any from the girls and are in our area so we can deliver to you, please email your order to the girls at 4everinourhearts@gmail.com . The cookies have gone up slightly this year and are now $3.50/box but are still a bargain for those tasty treats we all know and love! New this year are Dolce De Leche (caramel) and sugar free chocolate chip. A returning cookie is the lemon sandwich. These freeze great so you can enjoy them for months to come...so stock up now!

Girl Scout cookies can be used to dress up other recipes in a variety of unique and resourceful ways. Here are a few suggestions from the folks who bake the cookies for the Girl Scouts.

The first one is from one of the two bakers of Girl Scout cookies, the ABC Bakery:

Fudgie Peanut Butter Balls (Makes 28)

1½ boxes (24 cookies) Girl Scout Do-Si-dos (Peanut Butter Patties)
3 tablespoons butter or marga rine, melted
cup salted peanuts, finely chopped

Place cookies in food processor or blender; process until fine crumbs.

Combine crumbs and butter; mix well until blended. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls.

Place peanuts in a small, narrow bowl. Roll each ball in peanuts, gently pressing peanuts into balls. Store covered container in refrigerator until ready to serve.

This recipe is also from the ABC Bakery:

Chocolate Thin Mint Pizza Supreme (8-10 servings)

1 8-ounce package refrigerated chocolate chunk cookie dough
½ package (19 cookies) Girl Scout Thin Mints
½ cup white chocolate morsels
Vanilla ice cream, optional

Press cookie dough evenly in the bottom of an ungreased 12-inch pizza pan or a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. (Dough will barely cover the pan.)

Break Thin Mints into halves or thirds; press cookie pieces into dough, covering evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Place white chocolate morsels into a small self-closing bag. Microwave the bag of morsels on medium/high (70 percent) power for 40-50 seconds or until melted.

Snip one corner of the bag. Hold bag tightly and drizzle white chocolate stripes over top of pizza. When cool, cut pizza into 8-10 wedges.

If desired, top each serving with a scoop of ice cream.

This rather unusual twist on a favorite Girl Scout cookie comes from the other bakery, the Little Brownie Bakers:

Samoas Sweet Potatoes (4 servings)

1 box Samoas Girl Scout Cookies
3 pounds sweet potatoes
cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
pound butter
cup heavy cream
1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Cool and peel.

Mash potatoes and ad rest of ingredients. Season to taste.

Place mixture in casserole dish, layer with Samoas and bake in 350-degree oven until cookies melt. Add mini marshmallows as a topping.

Let's Sell Cookies!

MaryAlyce and friends met tonight in their Daisy Girl Scout group to learn about the different kinds of cookies and how to sell them. They worked this cookie puzzle together and were proud to show it off. This is the first year these girls will sell cookies.

Great Clinic Visit for Esther Marie!

Dr. G checking out my cleft repair.

Drawing intently for awhile while we wait.

Dancing and silly faces while we wait.

If you ever want to have a marathon doctor visit, just go to a specialty clinic...whew!

Our appointment was at 9:30 this morning and we didn't leave until 1:45. I'll admit we saw several people at the clinic, but much of the time was spent waiting...and waiting...and waiting. In the end, Esther Marie just couldn't hold out any longer and laid her little head on daddy's shoulder while we were talking to her surgeon, Dr. G. Within minutes...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Today, Emmie saw the audiologist and had her hearing checked again...it is totally normal. She saw the speech therapist and had some evaluations done (and got to play with some cool toys as a bonus). The ENT doctor came by to check her tubes to make sure those are okay...everything checked out. Then we finally saw Dr. G and he checked out her palate repair. He thought it looked great and she had healed nicely. We spoke about future surgeries, but it is too soon to decide about more palate repairs. We also discussed the plastic surgery that she will need after age four and he explained it in more detail and even said we might choose to wait a little longer to have it done...perhaps age 6. There are several factors to consider after Emmie turns 4. It was a great visit and gave us a lot of information we were wanting. We also met some very nice families in the waiting area. Our next visit will be in May to check Emmie's speech progress.

Just to let you know, Esther Marie is growing like a weed...she now weighs 30 lbs (dressed) and is 35.5" tall (with shoes on). She is a great eater and we are happy with her progress.