Welcome Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring! And the temps are a bit warmer outside! Yeah! And this little flower popped up to say "hello!" It's the first one in the front flower bed. Soon, we'll have tulips and daffodils. I'm so excited!

Adventures In Eating An Orange

Do I like this orange?
I think I do.
Orangey grin.
Oops. I got some in my teeth.
Gotta get it out!

Thought For The Day

A wise woman builds her home,

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 14:1

Lord, teach me to be wise!

Abby the Acrobat

Abby is taking some classes at the local Rec Center. It's a beginning gymnastics class. She enjoys it, but when it's not her turn, she gets distracted. But since this is her first active class, I think she's doing well. The teachers are very patient with all the wiggly girls who aren't really paying attention. Who knows? There could be the next Mary Lou Retton in the group.

Next up? Beginning Ballet. But not til she's four.

Spring Cleaning Update

Last week, I declared March as Spring Cleaning Month. And since I promised to let you know how it's going, here it is.

Last week was the kitchen. I took down all the plates hanging on the walls and washed and dried them. The plate hangers were dusty as well. They got a thorough washing, too. I vacuumed the ceiling and the walls and then wiped down the walls. I washed the tops of the cabinet doors and the top of the frig. That was on Tuesday.

Friday, I washed the counter tops and back splash, including moving the microwave, etc. to wash down behind. The stove got a good wipe-down, too including that place down under where the stuff all drips. My oven is a wall unit and it's self-cleaning, so I didn't have to do that! Yeah!

The floor also got swept and mopped. You can't tell that now, cause everything is thawing outside and I have 8 little paws to track in all sorts of mud and grass.

This week is Bathroom week. So far, I've washed the towels (but I do that every week) and wiped out the cabinet where we keep the toothbrushes and face cleansers.

Yes, that's it.

Oh yeah, and the mirror. I cleaned the mirror.

But it's been a busy week! I have done other house chores. I'm taking baby steps here, people!

Tomorrow, I will definitely have to get down to business in that bathroom, though. It's more of a mental challenge for me than a physical one. I'm not sure why.

Next week is the Office. Now that will be a task that will need to be broken into many small parts. Because...

While I don't have a lot of junk sitting around the house, papers, mail, stuff, etc. it all ends up in the office. On the desks, filing cabinet, boxes on the floor, in the closet. You get the idea. So it's time to start throwing stuff away. I might even have to have a bonfire over at my sister's to get rid of it all. The shredder would not be able to keep up.

Sorry, no pictures of beautiful Abby this time. And thankfully, no pictures of all my junk!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Artwork

While Billy and I were in China, we bought some artwork for Abby. I just recently got it professionally framed. I am so happy with the results.

This first one was done by an artist in Guangzhou. If you can see up close the two "B"s, one is two fishes and the other one is a dragon. And the rest is flowers. It's so pretty. And it goes great with her room.

This one is four panda bears done in watercolor. They represent the four seasons. I had a black "bamboo" frame put around it. We hung it in the nursery. It really looks good in there.

I had to take the picture (of the picture) at an angle cause the flash was glaring off the glass.

Meet Me In St. Louis

I have a collection of old musicals, and one of Abby's favorite movies to watch is "Meet Me In St. Louis" with Judy Garland. At first she called it "Two Girls In Thier House." What a clever title. Except there are four girls and a brother, as well as Mom, Dad, Grandpa, etc.

Anyway, she really likes the movie and quotes lines from it (is she our daughter, or what?) and sings some of the songs.

Here is Abby singing the title song. Enjoy!

Frosty's Little Sister

The snow we got this year was not good for packing, but as it melted, the extra moisture held it together better. I "built" this little snowman for Abby yesterday out of the remaining snow behind our garage. Abby was quite happy with it.

Today, all that remains is the hat, eyes, nose, and arms. She just asked if she could go outside and play with her snowman. :(

Good thing I got this picture!

Adoption Update

In case you were wondering... the CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs) just sent out referrals that matched through the LID (Log in Date) of October 24, 2005. That last number is a FIVE.

Our LID is October 9, 2006. Last number is a SIX.

This means that they have to get through 350 more LIDs before they get to our file. And they've been doing anywhere from 9 days to 18 (log in) days per month. At their current pace, we'll get our referral in the fall of 2008.

Unless there is an acceleration of some kind, I'll have PLENTY of time to complete this quilt. And possibly 5 more!

We're resting in God's timing.

For Auntie

This and That

There's been lots going on here at Shagga's house! Let's see if I can sort it all out for you.

I've started a practice quilt for Abby. I figured I better get my feet wet before the big project starts for the baby.

Side note: we still haven't decided on a name for the daughter to come and I haven't really wrapped my brain around a nick-name for her either. I'm trying to use Mei Mei, which is "little sister" in Chinese but it really hasn't stuck yet. Any suggestions?

Back to the quilt... over a month ago, I bought some remnant purple material to make a lap quilt for Abby. I pieced it together and it's about 2x3. Last week, my mom and I picked up some flannel for the back and the poly-fil and basted it together. My sister mentioned that it soothes her to quilt, so I drew out the designs I wanted and let her start on it for me. I might do some myself, but little stiching doesn't really excite me. When I finally piece together the baby quilt, I think I want to have it machine quilted. We'll see.

I made some more bows this weekend. Now that's a craft I can really get into! I like to see results fast. And anything that involves a glue gun has to be FUN! I'll have to post pictures later.

On Saturday, there was a big birthday bash for my niece and nephew. They turned 16 and 17. I can't believe how much they're growing up! It goes by so fast. You can read all about the celebration here.

I've decided to make March my Spring Cleaning Month. I've planned to make each week a different room of the house. Yes, I know I have more than 4 rooms in my house. But, I'm going with the four that need it the most. This week is the kitchen which includes taking down all the plates on the wall to wash them and cleaning out the frig, etc. If I know I have the whole week and not just one day, maybe I'll be able to get it done without feeling too overwhelmed. I'll let you know how it goes.

And last, but certainly not least, I got lots of squishes in the mail today and posted pictures on the baby quilt blog. Go check them out!

Happy Day to you!!

Fun Stuff

I love finding cool stuff on the internet. My sister sent me this cute button she made of Abby. She made it at BlessThisChick.

So I went to their site and made one for me. It was so fun to click on all the accessories - like shopping without the guilt! Of course, I added Shagga Bear to the picture! Didn't want him to feel left out. And the best part is -- all that clicking is free! Yeah!

So if you want to join the fun, click here and start accessorizing! Let me know if you put one on your blog so I can come check it out.