Shagga Bear

A few snapshots of coming home

2012-01-26T23:28:00.001-05:00

The trip home – it wasn’t pretty. 24 hours of pure adrenaline and nervousness and now I’m paying for it. Just thankful that it’s over!

A happy reunion at Baggage Claim in which no baggage actually showed up.

A tired Daddy who can’t hold his eyes open.

Meeting the Doggie – no problems there.

Fun gifts from Mommy and Daddy when the baggage finally does show up.

Meeting a cousin who will one day be your very best buddy.

Learning how to share toys with siblings – a hard lesson for anybody.

He’s only been home a few days and already has broken a window (cracked it, really) and one of the doll chairs. He is all BOY!

Finding his “happy place” – the furnace vent.

And his favorite toy – an empty Huggies box. He pushes that thing all over the place. And yes, he likes to step out of his pants at every opportunity.

Bed time is fun, too. As long as it’s the sister’s bedtime and not his!

All in all, it’s been going good. He’s eating good and sleeping good and likes his toys. Everyday we become more and more of a family to him and that’s what it’s all about.

Last Day

2012-01-19T09:13:00.001-05:00

After breakfast, I started packing. I should have taken a “before” picture of all our stuff around the room. It was a mess. Sarah saw it on Skype and said, “Mama, you need to clean your room!” This is after one suitcase was already packed and another one partially done.

Tommy had elevensies.

Then tried to amuse himself.

There, all done but what we have on and the bathroom stuff.

After another walk around the island, picking up to-go at Lucy’s and a good nap, we had dinner with the group at the hotel restaurant. Zhou ordered for us.

Then it was bath time.

Now Tommy is sleeping and we’ll be getting up in a few hours to load the van for Hong Kong. I know everyone has been praying for us because this trip has gone very smooth for us. Only one more hurdle to go – the airport and 15 hour plane ride. Then we get to hug our girlies!!!

Signing off from China.

It’s almost over!

2012-01-18T12:39:00.001-05:00

Today was the all important Consulate visit. Our appointment was at 10am. We got there a little early with all our paperwork handed to us by Zhou as we went through the door. We all took an oath that all our paperwork was correct to the best of our knowledge. Then we went individually to the window to have our paperwork looked over. Billy had to sign one thing and then we were done. We were out of there by 10:30 and the rest of the group was not far behind. Zhou will pick up the brown envelope and Tommy’s passport with the US visa tomorrow and then Friday morning… we fly home!

After the appointment, we went to Lucy’s for lunch. Tommy loves lunch!

And then we did our photo shoot “take 2” from the other day. This one turned out pretty good.

The group met up again and we went to the Guangzhou Zoo. Tommy was fascinated with this playful tiger.

The stroller brigade minus one little girl.

Checking things out.

They had a wide variety of animals at this zoo, but of course the most popular is China’s own Panda Bear.

After the zoo, we had junk-food dinner from the 7-11 around the corner. Of course, Tommy had his chicken congee. He doesn’t seem to be as desperate to get food as he was when we first got him. He has slowed down some and doesn’t always eat a ton at each meal. I guess he knows now that he will be getting food again… and again…. and again.

Tomorrow is packing and a final group dinner.

Sunday and Monday in Guangzhou

2012-01-17T12:15:00.001-05:00

So, while we’re waiting for Wednesday and our US Consulate appointment, we did a little site-seeing around town. And although Tommy shows much *enthusiasm* for our outings, we know he does like to get out of the room for a while.

On Sunday, we went to a local museum – the same one we’ve been to two other times here in this city. This time, we did a tea party and I did some shopping.

Later that day, Billy went to an electronic market and bought some stuff for his iPod. Then that evening, we had dinner and a foot massage – kinda like dinner and a show, only better.

On Monday, the outing was in the afternoon after nap time.

We went to a local market where they sell all sorts of creepy looking things and also pets.

The market led out to a mall area with lots of stores. There is also one building that has only jade stores and one building with only pearl stores. Oh, yeah and there were lots of people shopping.

Today, Tuesday, we went to Tommy’s orphanage, but that will have to have it’s own post. Maybe even after I get home. There is a lot to process on that one.

Tomorrow is our all-important appointment at the Consulate! Only two more days, and we’re coming home!

Papa-razzi

2012-01-15T08:28:00.001-05:00

This is what it’s like trying to get a good picture of Tommy outside of our hotel room. We were trying to get a good picture of him in the same place we got a really good shot of the girls in 2009. I guess we needed our excellent camera woman with us.

Hey, at least he’s looking at the camera in this one.

Day 5 with Tommy

2012-01-13T19:38:00.001-05:00

We are finished with our official appointments until Wednesday, so today we went site-seeing. It wasn’t real exciting. It was a bunch of ancient Chinese history – a 2000 year old tomb that was discovered in the 1980s. All the artifacts were interesting but Tommy somehow didn’t really see the significance of it all and wanted out of there. After that we went to a park that was pretty.

While I was finishing up getting ready this morning before breakfast, I asked Billy to get Tommy dressed. He asked me what I wanted, and I said pick anything. So he did and after he was through, he said, “Hey! We match!” Too funny! I guess it’s his turn.

At the pretty park

We ordered Papa Johns for dinner. They deliver! and they serve gluten free! They put the pizza sauce and toppings over rice and then bake it. Yummy!

Some of Tommy’s super cuteness. He is certainly an active boy. He loves to bang things against the wall over and over. And he will roll the trashcan over the floor. And open and shut the cabinet doors for a long time. It is so fun to watch him discover everything. I’m sure he did not have this much freedom at the orphanage.

The rest of the group arrived tonight from the different areas of China. They will do the medical tomorrow and then I think Zhou will have some more exciting trips planned for us in the next couple of days. Tommy does like to ride in the car/van… just not being strolled around a dark museum.

Here’s hoping next week goes a little faster!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS. Thanks for everyone commenting on the blog. It does help to know you all are thinking of us and praying for us. We love you ALL!

Typical Day–Thursday

2012-01-12T22:04:00.001-05:00

from Karen: Linda sends me the posts and then I post it on blogger. She cannot see these posts or her facebook messages until they return in another week. She CAN however read comments since they are sent to her email. She would LOVE to hear from all of you if you read these. Thanks

Sorry this is late today. We laid down with Tommy so he would go to sleep and we did too. Guess we needed it. It’s almost time for him to get up so this will be short on descriptions.

This is what he looks like in the mornings. So adorable.

We got the medical exam out of the way. Most of the Americans will show up this evening (Friday) and then all converge on this place Saturday morning – including the rest of the group from our agency. So glad it’s over.

Then we went to Starbucks and sipped real coffee while feeding him some baby food and rice cereal. No, they don’t sell that stuff there, we brought it in.

I bought a silly hat and he’s back at the door opening and closing…

After nap time, we walked around and ended up at Lucy’s where he put away a bowl of congee, a bowl of scrambled eggs and some broccoli off my plate. This is what he looks like when he’s full.

Then back to the hotel room to play some before bed.

We think he’s a keeper!

He ate some more rice cereal before bed while we were skyping with the girls.

Today we’re going site-seeing (AT LAST!).

Still trying to figure this thing out.

2012-01-11T08:53:00.001-05:00

Today was a day of epic meltdowns. I guess it was time.

Breakfast did not come soon enough – lots of tears.

Frustration with being in the hotel room too much – major tears and wailing.

Time for a nap – screaming and tears.

Time for bed – yep, again.

But there were good times too. Tommy is so chatty after he has his belly full. He will shake his head and laugh and have a good time.

We were able to distract him with a stroller ride around the island after the first meltdown and he eventually fell asleep for his nap and bedtime.

He is content to go riding in the van to our different appointments. I remember Sarah would cry every time we got in a vehicle. And today at the passport appointment, Tommy let me hold him and walk him around without throwing a fit. He even did well in a grocery store.

We had a good time at dinner, as well, and he tried cake and liked it and also ketchup – as long as it was delivered with a spoon or fork.

But his world has changed and he’s still trying to figure everything out. We want him to know that we’re here for him through the good and the bad.

Adoption Day

2012-01-10T09:29:00.001-05:00

Tommy slept well last night and didn’t wake up til after 7 am. He wasn’t too sure about us this morning but after feeding him congee he was ready to laugh and play again.

We had to go to the Adoption Registry office to make everything final this morning. They had already taken his footprint so there was no taking pictures of that. While we were there,Tommy was fussy and didn’t want to be in the room with all the people and babies, so I walked him around the hallways and eventually he fell asleep.

We were asked a few questions by the notary – like why do we want to adopt and will we take care of him, etc. When we told him that this was our third child from China he was a little surprised. I don’t think he could understand that we would want more children. He asked if I was tired. Too funny. I didn’t tell him that my sister has 8 children. That might have put him into a state of shock.

After all the paperwork was done, we left and came back to the hotel. Then we went for lunch at Lucy’s. Tommy ate another 2 bowls of congee. After the first one was done, he started crying when they took the bowl away. The little dude likes to eat!

Then it was naptime for me and baby while Billy worked on his post. When Tommy woke up he was fussy again and didn’t really want to play or interact. We took him to the hotel playroom but he wasn’t interested. So we ordered room service congee and guess what? He perked right up after that.

Room service also delivered a birthday cake to Billy!

Tonight was his first bath and we were not sure how it was going to go. Sarah screamed when we tried to give her a bath in China and Abby didn’t appreciate it at first either. Well the only time he cried was when we took him out of the bath. He really liked playing in the water. I think it helped that he was already in a good mood.

We have been able to use Skype to talk to Sarah and Abby and they love their little brother already. We can’t wait until we’re all together again as one big family!

Tomorrow: Tommy’s passport at the Civil Affairs Office.

P.S. After the first night, Billy and I changed rooms because we were on a smoking floor and the room was really smelly! We couldn’t get away from it. So we asked for a new room and now we only have 1 bathroom. What a loss. But we still have a sitting room and two huge windows. The other room only had one little window. Oh yeah, this bed is not on the floor.

We have a son!

2012-01-09T09:18:00.001-05:00

We met with our local guide at 1pm today to go over paperwork and make sure we had everything in order. Then we left the hotel at 2pm to go to the Adoption Registry Center.

There were a lot of excited families waiting in the room. As the babies/children were brought out to their new families, the tears started flowing! On both sides! Some of the children were wailing.

When they brought Tommy out, he started crying when the nanny handed him to us. He was not happy at all! He was fighting to be away from us. It was sad. I tried to console him the best I could but it was not working.

The guide needed us to fill out some MORE paperwork and since I was holding Tommy, Billy got the honor. He said it was in triplicate. The orphanage people explained Tommy’s schedule and eating habits (lots of rice cereal).

Tommy wore himself out and fell asleep for a little while. Then he would wake up and start wailing again. There was quite a cacophony of crying going on in that room.

At last it was time to leave and as we were going outside, Tommy quieted down. I think he was distracted by the new sights and sounds. He didn’t cry loud tears on the way home, just big sighs and catch breaths. Once back at the hotel, I continued to hold him and comfort him. He didn’t cry but I could tell he was still so sad. He didn’t want any toys and would push them away. He did, however, like to walk around holding my fingers.

Then it was time for dinner and when we finally got the waiter to understand what kind of food Tommy would eat (congee or rice cereal), Tommy ate and ate – almost a full bowl.

Back at the room again, he started playing with the toys we brought and actually laughed and smiled at us. What a turn-around! He played for a couple of hours on the floor with us and is definitely an active little boy! He didn’t really stop moving at all. He even figured out how to open the mini-bar.

He’s sleeping now so we’ll see how the night goes. Hopefully he’ll sleep all night and we’ll get another big bowl of congee in him for breakfast. We’ll have to start introducing some new foods before we go home.

Hong Kong Day 2/Shamian Island

2012-01-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

Our hotel in HK was right beside the Zoological and Botanical Garden. We spent some time there on Sunday morning before we had to check out and go to the train station.

This is our hotel for two nights in HK. Very small rooms but it was clean and very accommodating (they let us borrow an electric cord adapter).

I'm bowing before "His Most Gracious Majesty" King George

This is such a pretty zoo. The weather was a little nicer this day with the sun coming out a little.

This bird was showing off for me - he wasn't even a permanent resident. He showed me several poses and so I picked the best one to show you.

Then we walked back to the hotel and checked out and took a taxi to the train station. The train ride was smooth and uneventful with not a lot to look at other than lots of hi-rise apartment buildings one after another. There really are a lot of people in China.

The hotel people picked us up at the train station and took us to familiar territory - Shamian Island and the Victory Hotel. Our room is quite spacious with a sitting room, a bedroom, and TWO bathrooms!

There is also a baby crib and a baby stroller which is why we're here! We are so excited to meet Tommy in a few hours! The next post will definitely include pictures of our new son.

The bedroom

Looking toward the sitting room

Hong Kong

2012-01-07T06:49:00.001-05:00

After a 24 hour (total) journey that included one 15 hour flight, we made it to Hong Kong. Billy and I originally did not have seats together on the long flight, but a nice lady sitting by Billy gave up her isle seat so we could be together. So much nicer to lean on someone you know while sleeping than someone you don’t.

We crashed at our hotel(I’m pretty sure this is the world’s smallest hotel room) and got an early start the next morning. First we went to The Peak. There were no lines which I thought was unusual for a big Chinese city. But apparently the early bird gets the proverbial worm. Later in the day we passed by it again and the lines were so LONG. Actually beyond long. Crazy!

The city of Hong Kong is on an island and the land just goes straight up from the water. The Peak tram takes you up the mountain side to an observation area from which you can see the whole island. It is so weird to be going up the mountain at such a steep angle. The buildings look like they’re leaning over. We took some pictures from the top, but unfortunately it was an overcast day and the visibility was limited.

When we came back down the mountain, there were people selling tickets for The Big Bus Tour. Since we didn’t know where we were going and wanted to see most of the city, we decided to go for it. The double-decker bus takes you around the city and you can hop on and off wherever you want – to go shopping or eat or just look around.

We stopped at Stanley Road Market and looked around at the shops but didn’t buy anything. We decided to get lunch at a little hamburger place (yes, I know we’re in China but I don’t like squid and weird stuff like that). When we sat down, a man and his son – Americans – sat at the table beside us. We could tell from their conversation they lived in HK and that they were Christians. He asked us where we were from and what we were doing in HK, etc. They were from Michigan but were living in HK for a while. We chatted for a couple minutes. They left after they finished their meal. A little bit later, we finished and went to go pay. The owner came out and told us that the guy sitting next to us had paid for our lunch. The owner thought we were together. We told him we had never met each other before today. That was such an amazing thing! We have never had that happen to us before.

After that, we toured more of the city (including a Sampan boat ride) and then came back to the hotel, exhausted. The jet lag and walking caught up with us. We are now eating room service and watching Chinese television. (And trying to type a somewhat coherent post.)

Tomorrow, we’ll take a train to Guangzhou. On Monday, we meet Tommy!!!!!

Here are some pictures from our day.

Family Time

2011-12-30T07:34:00.000-05:00

We had dinner at my mom’s house on what my brother likes to call “Christmas Adam – it comes before Eve.”

We played a game called How-many-marshmallows-can-you-get-through-the-Christmas-wreath-in-a-minute. Not as much fun as the marshmallow wars of Christmas Eve 2003, but entertaining none-the-less.

Here are some hi-lights of the evening. I am quite sure you don’t want to see all 314 shots we took that evening. Can you say, “playing with the new camera?”

One week from today…

2011-12-29T20:31:00.001-05:00

…we’re leaving for China!

We have waited for this day for well over a year. Our initial inquiry to the adoption agency was in May of 2010, but I really didn’t start the paperwork in earnest until that fall. The process of paperwork has gotten longer – waiting for others (state agencies) to do their part can take up to 3 months in some cases. Also, the new laws and regulations required more training and extra time with a social worker.

Last Christmas, we were sure that we would have a new family member to celebrate with us for Christmas 2011. We were still trying to finish up the international dossier and get every thing signed and notarized, etc. We finally received our referral at the end of May 2011. Little Dong Baozhen was available for adoption and we accepted. He was 13 months old at the time of the referral.

At that time, the agency said that “if all goes well” we would travel in 4 to 6 months. We were hoping to be closer to four. Alas, it has stretched to the seven month mark. As many in the adoption community knows, it’s hard to answer the many questions of , “have you heard anything yet?” We waited for our Letter of Acceptance and then the Travel Approval. By November, we knew that Tommy would not be home for Christmas and it was very sad for us. But we knew the ultimate goal of bringing home our son was the most important thing. By the time we did receive our TA on December 16, it was almost anti-climactic. But we were still very excited!

With Christmas only days away, and programs and church events on the calendar, my mind was very much torn between thoughts of China and being present for my girls to make Christmas special for them.

Now that Christmas is over, I am in high-gear getting things checked off my list! My mom and dad helped us take our tree down after we put the girls to bed on Christmas night. Everything else was packed and cleaned up the next day. Now I’m making lists for my Aunt who will be staying with the girls while we’re gone. This is going to be a harder trip being away from my girls for so long. Good thing we have Skype.

We are flying out on January 5 and coming back on January 20. Some people have asked us, “why does it take so long in China?” Well, it doesn’t take as long as some other countries (Russia & Guatemala with their multiple trips back and forth) but on the other hand, it wouldn’t be international adoption if there wasn’t some paperwork to do every. step. of. the. way.

For those who are interested, here’s what we’ll be doing during those two weeks:

Jan 5 – leave our house at 6 am to go to the airport, spend 16+ hours flight time (15 consecutive) and 5 hours waiting in airports. Lose one day of our lives.

Jan 6 – arrive in Hong Kong in the evening and go to hotel and crash – but wake up way too early in the morning cause our bodies are still on Eastern time. (China is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time)

Jan 7 – spend time in Hong Kong seeing the sights while we can still walk upright and hold our eyes open.

Jan 8 – see some more of HK and then go by train to mainland China – Guangzhou.

Jan 9 – MEET TOMMY FOR THE FIRST TIME @ 2:30 IN THE AFTERNOON

Jan 10 – Do adoption registration paper work. Tommy is officially ours on his Daddy’s 40th birthday!!

Jan 11 – more paperwork at the local police station (I believe)

Jan 12 – site-seeing/shopping

Jan 13 – get Tommy’s Chinese passport – do medical exam required by US Embassy

Jan 14 – US visa paperwork (I thought we did this already)

Jan 15 – Museum (Sometime this week, I think we might go to Tommy’s orphanage and meet his care-taker. We’ve never done this before so it will be a new experience for us.)

Jan 16 – Jade and Pearl market (any requests?)

Jan 17 – Zoo

Jan 18 – FINALLY our US visa appointment @ 10:00 am. (we had to wait a couple extra days because they were closed for MLK Jr. day)

Jan 19 – Packing to go home – Zhou to pick up the visas.

Jan 20 – leave for airport at 5:30am and arrive in Ohio at 3:30pm the same day – only that day will be 36 or 37 hours long!

So, only 6 more days to pack and organize and re-pack and clean and organize some more! This is the third time we’ve done this, but it doesn’t get any easier.

Abby’s school program

2011-12-29T10:29:00.001-05:00

Abby’s school had their Christmas program on December 20. Each class sang songs and some of the children recited Christmas poems.

Before the program officially began, some of the children who take private music lessons shared a Christmas song on the piano or violin.

Abby played Joy to the World accompanied by her cousin Timmy on the piano.

Abby’s class sang “Over the River and Through the Woods” and “I’m Gettin' Nuttin’ For Christmas.”

Abby also sang a little poem about a candle.

All the classes took part in reciting Luke 2. The First and Second Grade class did great! They were very enthusiastic.

Abby and her teacher, Mrs. A. Sorry the flash was too bright. Ugh.

This is the last event that I took pictures with our old, scratched up Kodak Easy Share camera. We got a new camera with some Christmas money and are now taking a crash course in learning to use it.

Sarah’s First Christmas Program

2011-12-14T23:02:00.001-05:00

Tonight was Sarah’s first official stage production. Her preschool class sang eight songs for a packed café-torium. It was so cute.

Hover over the pictures to see the captions.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

Or… the Party that never ends.

Wednesday, after Abby’s birthday party, we travelled to Marietta to attend a 50th Wedding Anniversary party for some of my parents dearest friends. Mike and Mollie Haught are like second parents to me and my siblings and so we were honored to be there to celebrate with them.

My sister’s family was traveling from North Carolina. My brother’s family was traveling from Maryland and my Aunt was traveling from West Virginia so we all met up in Marietta for the first party of the weekend. Hannah made everyone a spaghetti dinner in her apartment. That is a total of 25 people and one dog (not mine) in her apartment/dorm room. Fun times! Hannah did a great job.

Karen and I made those turkey shirts (and hair accessories) for the girls and Judah a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

Thursday morning, we had brunch at my mom’s house and I didn’t take my camera to that event. But I took a lot of pictures with Rachel’s camera – maybe she’ll share them on her blog.

Then that afternoon, we had a Girls-Only Tea Party at my house that my Aunt Linda organized and made everything for. She had cut out the special bread and fillings and we put them together.

On Friday, we had our family Thanksgiving dinner. Karen fit a total of 17 people at her table. We each contributed to the meal with our favorite dishes. That was some GOOD food!!!

The other end of the table…

The kids table was set up in the hall way.

On Saturday, everyone came over to our house for Birthday Party #2 that included Uncle Rob. His birthday is the same day as Abby. We had chili and taco soup and cheesecake for dessert.

Later that evening, the adults had our Christmas Gift Exchange. More food and presents!! Not all presents are pictured here. Let’s just say the younger members got a little initiation into the group.

Sunday morning, my brother preached at our church and talked about how the Kingdom of God is like a bottle of beer. You can hear the message here by clicking on the Nov 27 date.

After everyone left to travel home, Billy and I took a nap… mine was much longer than his. It was such a fun weekend – so good to reconnect with family.

As always, click on any picture to view larger.

Birthday Party

2011-11-28T19:16:00.001-05:00

Today is Abby’s eighth birthday. She is growing up too fast!

Abby was out of school for the Thanksgiving break, so we had her girl friends over for a party last Wednesday morning. She had requested that everyone wear a costume. Abby wanted to be an Egyptian princess. I looked online for some ideas and then raided my sister’s fabric closet. We came up with some ideas and Karen sewed them together. I love having a creative seamstress for a sister who can execute my costume ideas!

She even does makeup!

Look at those eyelashes! They are not fake. How I wish my eyelashes were that long!

All but the crown. Billy mentioned that he’ll be perfecting his aim with the rifle when he saw her all made up like this.

All the girls… Sarah declined to put a costume on for the party, even though there was much pleading from Abby.

We played a few games and they also ran around and enjoyed playing with Abby’s toys.

Abby helped Nana make this big cookie for her birthday “cake.” Abby doesn’t really like cake but she loves her Nana’s cookies so we came up with the idea to make a big one to share with everyone.

Cookies and ice cream!

Presents!

Abby enjoyed her birthday party and I was glad we have not reached the stage for a sleep-over!

My favorite picture from the first day of school

2011-08-24T14:57:00.001-04:00

Goofy Golf with the Family

2011-08-06T00:59:00.001-04:00

Tonight, we took a little family outing to play some mini-golf. This was Sarah’s first time, and Abby didn’t remember the last time she played.

Abby concentrated hard on the task at hand.

Under Daddy’s watchful eye, Sarah shows some promising grip techniques.

Daddy having fun.

Mommy shows some concentration as well.

Lots of help!

Remember the old ABC Wide World of Sports??

The Thrill of Victory!!!

The Agony of Defeat!!

She only had one melt down. This hole was particularly challenging. But for the most part, Sarah cheered every. single. time. she “scooted” the ball in the hole. Too much fun!

Mini-Golf JOY!

Opposites

2011-08-01T00:08:00.001-04:00

Everyone who knows my girls, know that they are opposite in several areas.

One is cautious, the other is a dare-devil.

One loves rollercoasters, one does not.

One is an introvert, the other is extrovert.

One is flight, the other is fight.

One loves chocolate, candy, ice cream, the other loves vegetables and fruit.

One loves spending hours reading a good book, the other is non-stop energy from wake-up to sleep.

One is poise, the other is personality!

But they love each other and, for the most part, get along really well together. I love them BOTH and enjoy what they each bring to the family.

I wonder what Tommy will be like.

People say I look like my Dad…

2011-07-29T08:59:00.001-04:00

what do you think?

She has a style all her own!

2011-07-18T23:15:00.001-04:00

Most days, I pick out her clothes but she decides on the accessories. And her motto is “Go big or go home!”

I love those big brown eyes!!

I did a little painting today

2011-07-16T21:01:00.001-04:00

I had a couple flat canvases in the closet just begging to be used.

So… I made something for the children’s bedroom doors.

We decided to go with blue and green for the baby’s room. My sister and I picked out some material that has frogs and turtles that we’ll use to make a window treatment and bed decorations. We’re going to paint blue and green stripes on the walls. It will be fun!

Yes, his name will be Thomas Baozhen, but we’ll call him Tommy.

She will read anywhere!

2011-07-13T07:03:00.000-04:00

Abby has really taken off with her love of reading! She reads all the time. Last month, she read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She is reading through all nine in that series. She takes a break from that to read other easy readers like the Magic Tree House books or the Junie B. Jones series. She is also reading a biography about Ben Franklin. Recently, she read a book about September 11 after we had visited New York City.

I love that she has taken such an early interest in reading.

Pictures from Independence Day 2011

2011-07-11T10:24:00.001-04:00

Dressed for church on July 3.

A family self-portrait.

Abby took this pic of us.

Ready to march in the parade with some friends.

Dessert!! Awesome berry goodness.

Ready for the fireworks to start.

Fun on the Fourth

2011-07-10T15:59:00.001-04:00

It seems as if I am all about the videos right now. But this one only took a couple of hours to do.

The family and some friends came over for a picnic on the fourth of July, and so we decided to have a little obstacle course for them to do.

I have other pictures I took of the parade, etc., but I’ll post those another day.

Trip to New York

2011-07-07T16:36:00.001-04:00

I worked several hours on making two videos of our time in New York. So rather than put the individual pictures here, I’m linking to the videos!

We had a great time leading some of our youth group and a couple of adults as a team to minister with Street LIFE Ministries in New York. We were stretched in our faith and in our ability to talk to strangers.

I was concerned, at first, at how the girls would do, but they fit right in and had a great time, too.

Our day off was scheduled for Thursday. Thursday dawned with thick fog and threatening rain. We trudged on, though, and took in as much as we could.

Click here if you want to know more about Street LIFE Ministries.

Fun at the Pool

2011-06-04T23:41:00.001-04:00

Here’s my first attempt at video editing. Not perfect, but fun.

Easter

2011-05-12T09:50:00.000-04:00

Of course we have to dress up for Easter Sunday church service! Sarah’s dress came in a give-away bag!! and I found Abby’s at TJ Maxx for $23. Score! Billy and I wore stuff we already had (mostly). Cousins!

Derby Festival miniMarathon

2011-05-01T16:36:00.001-04:00

After tackling a 10k twice last year, I decided that I wanted to try a half-marathon. My niece Hannah wanted to do a marathon, so we picked one we could do “together.” My cousin Kacy lives in Louisville and she suggested we come there to do our run.

We have been training since January. We did a couple training runs together but I run much slower than Hannah. And my long runs were short runs for her. So most of my miles were solo miles.

Also, a lot of my miles were in snow, ice, sleet, wind, and rain. (think northern Ohio in January, February, March, and April) Occasionally, there was a nice day and some days I just could not brave the elements and so I ran inside at our local rec where one mile is ten laps. So, after 230 training miles, I was ready to go.

I was a little nervous about doing it alone and keeping myself motivated to keep running. Plus, the race had 15,000 participants and that’s A LOT of people. But happy news for me… Hannah had decided not to run the marathon and instead run the half with me.

I was a beautiful day for a race. The sun was shining with a few clouds and a nice cool breeze blowing with temps in the 60s. Perfect.

Here’s the crew waiting for the start. I don’t think we were all awake quite yet, and some of us had not had their morning coffee.

My number one cheerleader and fan! Love you, Billy.

My running partner (and she probably could have carried the little one and still kept up with me).

My running pants had a handy-dandy little zipper pocket in the back and so I took my phone for pictures and to text Billy during the race. I took this toward the start line.

Handing off the long sleeves in the first mile.

While Hannah and I are running, everyone else was trying not to get bored waiting for us.

We saw our fans again between miles 4 and 5.

The first six miles went by pretty fast. It was fun to have people cheering along the way, bands playing, and people giving out water. We certainly never had any of that during training! And Louisville is a pretty city.

Around mile 8, the race took us through the famous Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is run every year. It was so cool to be inside the track. Hannah took my picture and I was getting ready to take hers when a lady ran by and offered to take the picture of both of us. She said she takes a picture there every year for someone. Nice to know we could keep up her tradition.

We didn’t see our family again until right near the end so they had lots of time to entertain themselves.

While the first few miles were “easy,” the last few were a bit more grueling for me. I did take some walk breaks but tried to make them short. I also grabbed a few PowerAde drinks hoping to get some more fuel for the end. That may not have been such a good idea.

Around mile 11 or 12 I decided that walking was just as painful as running so I’d rather get this over with, thankyouverymuch. I ran the rest of the way even kicking it in at the end.

Coming down the home stretch. Are we there yet?

At the end. So glad to be done and get the medal. I hit my goal of under 2:30. I finished it in 2:21:41.

I tried to eat some of the post-race snacks knowing I needed to re-fuel but I just wasn’t feeling that great. On our drive home, I told Billy I thought I was gonna lose it and so he pulled over, just in time. Thankfully we weren’t far from Kacy’s house and I was able to lie down.

All in all, it was a great race experience and I would definitely do it again. But I don’t think I’ll be training for a marathon any time soon. I’m only half crazy.

Violin Recital

2011-04-07T16:09:00.001-04:00

Abby had her first violin recital on Sunday. Despite being nervous, she did a very nice job. So proud of her. She has been taking lessons since the beginning of November. She did three songs: O Come, Little Children, Allegro, and May Song. All these are from the first Suzuki book.

You Never Know What You Might Find When You Clean Out The Cabinets

2011-03-24T10:13:00.001-04:00

Look What I Found In The Trashcan!

2011-03-01T21:20:00.001-05:00

You KNOW who did this, right? I don’t even need to name any suspects.

Thankfully it is not right at the scalp and can still be disguised in a hair bow.

A Little Snow

2011-02-25T15:29:00.001-05:00

Sleet and ice on Sunday night turned into snow all day Monday.

This is nothing compared to what we got last night and this morning: 10 or more inches plus serious wind to make it drift up to 4 feet. FUN!

Happy Valentine’s Day

2011-02-14T13:01:00.001-05:00

We celebrated the Day Of Love yesterday.

This is the garland that replaced the Christmas card garland I had in the kitchen. It is just a piece of twine with little clothes pins holding the hearts on. I kinda like having it there and will probably change it out seasonally (until I get tired of it).

Our valentine dinner – stew – for a cold day.

And little heart-shaped cupcakes for dessert.

Our little Valentines (Sarah had already changed out of her church jumper – a cute one with little hearts all over it. Thanks, Aria!)

A gift for the day. I have been waiting and waiting for this to come out on DVD. So happy to add it to the collection!

A happy day, indeed.

How My Daughter Amused Herself Today

2011-02-05T18:18:00.001-05:00

Sarah hauled all this stuff up from the playroom to the landing on the stairs. And then she dragged her pillow and blanket from her bed down there. And she had it all organized. Love it!

And yes, that is a ballet leotard she’s wearing.

Rec Olympics

2011-02-02T20:35:00.001-05:00

Our local Rec Center has a Rec Olympics for kids once a year. I have heard about it before, but this was the first year we participated. It was fun, but we probably won’t do it next year. Abby was in the 7 & 8 year old girls group and she was the smallest one. I was with Abby in her group and Daddy took Sarah around to her activities in the 3-yr-old group. Sarah was a little grumpy right after church and did not enjoy all the standing around waiting for her turn. When they were playing, it was fun. Maybe we’ll just take them to the rec for some fun on an off day.

Shooting hoops – love that hang time.

Getting ready to swim her lap. Abby said this was her favorite part of the day.

Waiting in line. She doesn’t even come to the shoulder of the girl behind her. Wow!

Coming through the tube in the obstacle course.

No First, Second or Third place ribbons but they did get the Participation ribbons.

The next morning, Abby had a fever and a bad cough so I took her to the Dr. She has the flu… yuck! So we spent the next few days on the couch. She didn’t have to miss school, though, because it was cancelled for snow. She’s feeling much better now and if they don’t cancel tomorrow, she’ll probably be back in school. Sarah, THANKFULLY, has not gotten sick. She’s just been bouncing off the walls cause she hasn’t been out of the house in several days.

Hantie Love

2011-01-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

(taken in December)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-01-28T07:01:00.000-05:00

My Mommy is far away on her birthday this year. I wish we could celebrate together, but I know she’s having a marvelous time where she is… a dream come true.

Taken right before they left town

Love and miss you, Mom!

the many faces of Sarah-Bear

2011-01-27T08:01:00.000-05:00

Celebrating Diversity on MLKJr Day

2011-01-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

Yippee! A planned day off from school. We got together with some friends to go sledding. Not just any friends… our international adoption play group.

Disclaimer: my camera REALLY had a hard time with the bright sun and uber white snow and sky.

When we first got there, Sarah tried out the red sled by herself and went FLYING down the hill. She almost made it to the trees at the bottom. (no real danger) She had gone sledding with her Daddy a few days prior and was comfortable doing it alone. Well, now the snow was packed and FAST. She was not ready for that. She didn’t fall or crash, she just didn’t want to go solo again. For the rest of the morning, she went down on her belly without a sled or with someone else.

Ready for some down-hill action(Lauren, Angela, Sarah and Abby).

Maya

Mia

The bobsled team

“White Mamas”

Sarah needs help getting back up the hill. At one point she was at the bottom of the hill and none of the mamas were down there. She convinced a teenaged boy to carry her back up. She had never met him in her life. Too funny.

Lauren

The cushy ride (the one I took down the hill most often!)

More help coming back up the hill

Gena and her daughter Angela

The girls all had a blast and were not ready to quit, but we coaxed them with hot chocolate and play-time at our house. Fun times.

Time for Bed

2011-01-25T20:09:00.001-05:00

Survey of the damage of Sarah’s independent play time. Not too bad.

Reading before bed

Don’t take my picture, Mamma!

All tucked in with her favorite “may-may” – that’s how she pronounces “baby.”

Ready for a long winter nap.

Random Phone Pics

2011-01-01T20:34:00.001-05:00

I got a new phone on my birthday and they did not transfer all my pics to my new phone. Bummer! But I found a way to download them to my computer. The quality is not that great but they are fun anyway. Here are a few random shots from the past year (in no particular order). Hover over each picture for my caption.

All I Want For Christmas…

2010-12-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy

2010-09-15T20:50:00.001-04:00

The lack of activity on this blog does not in any way reflect the level of activity in our household. The start of school means the lazy days of summer are behind us.

Our weekly activities outside of school include: Soccer games, long with practices once a week, Sarah is in tumbling class, Abby has started her third year of ballet, Sarah and I go to the Library’s story time, and I’m going to a Ladies Bible study.

In between all that is the regular stuff that needs to be done. Add to that, the slew of paperwork to begin another adoption.

So that’s why it’s been a little quiet here.

Some random soccer shots

Sharing a ride on the tricycle.

Going to Papa’s house. Pretending to be Daddy. Her favorite dress-up outfit.

Sarah’s First Day of Pre-School

2010-08-27T21:28:00.001-04:00

Sarah started pre-school last spring when she turned three. We wanted to get her started with speech therapy as soon as possible. She went two days a week for two hours each day. Her cousin Joey was in the same class. The first couple of weeks, she cried, but after that, she did just fine.

This school year, she is again going two days a week but for three hours each of those days. Her school is down the street from Abby’s school so it is very convenient to drop Sarah off right after I drop Abby. It’s just one extra trip to pick her up at 11:30.

So Wednesday was Sarah’s official first day of school. And she was ready with her new back pack, too.

Those are capris… not just short jeans.

I’m not sure if she didn’t want me to take any more pictures or if she wasn’t too sure about going into the school.

Her teacher is the same teacher that three of Karen’s kids had in pre-school. She is so sweet.

She did great on Wednesday and her teacher said it was like she never left. We’re hoping she makes lots of progress in her speech this year.

First Grade!

2010-08-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Abby had her first day of school on Tuesday. She is growing up so much, I can hardly stand it.

Sarah was ready for the day as well. We had her pre-school orientation after we dropped Abby off.

Such a big girl with a big back pack stuffed with school supplies for the first day.

At her desk.

With her new teacher.

This is the first year for Abby to go every day of the week. I know she’s up to the challenge before her and I can’t wait to see how she shines!

Surprise!!! (but not entirely)

2010-08-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, my sister told me she had decided to have an “end of summer pot luck dinner.” At the time she told me, I thought it was a little odd, but not too much. We get together as friends and family often enough to have bonfires and such so I just thought she wanted more togetherness before school started again.

The day of the “pot-luck” was RAINY! We haven’t had a good rain like that in a while. It was nice. But it kinda put a damper on the “pot-luck.” So Karen and Timmy (and the rest of their family) spent the day cleaning out the garage so we could still have it outside. I would have been there helping too, but we had some chores that needed done around our house as well. And some shopping.

While we were at the store, I had it on my list to buy toilet paper. Billy thought that we didn’t need any and I thought it was odd that he should care if we had a few extra rolls. And earlier, he reminded me that we were going to Karen’s for the pot-luck. Usually, he says, “are we doing anything tonight?” I thought it was odd that he should know. There were a couple of other “odd” things including a missing check that happened that day as well.

As we were getting ready to go, Abby says to me, “Did you know… oh never mind.” I could not let that one go, but she said it was a secret so I didn’t press her. Then as I was coming down the stairs, she was busy making something at her work table and quickly hid it from my view.

As we were arriving at Karen’s house, I thought it was odd that there were SO many cars parked on the street AND everyone was already at her house. People in our acquaintance are usually 15 minutes late or so. I turned to Billy and said, “Am I going to be embarrassed?”

Then as we walked up to the garage, they all shouted, “SURPRISE!” There were big “40” signs and a “Happy Birthday” sign. It was NOT the casual, end of summer pot-luck AT ALL!! It was an early (four months and 10 days to be exact) birthday party for me. Wow! Billy had actually pulled it off.

He had been thinking of my impending fortieth birthday for a few years and wondering how to do it. He knew I always wanted a summer birthday because my birthday is actually 6 days after Christmas. So he asked Karen when they should plan it, and the rest is history.

Karen and Timmy did an excellent job of decorating their garage.

He even added twinkle lights.

Cheesecake – YUM!

See, I was bringing food to the POT-LUCK.

Here are some friends they invited to join the fun.

Church families

Kids from the youth group

Karen gave me the glasses I bought for her 40th birthday.

Billy and Karen had told everyone to “40” me - that is, give me 40 of something. I got a wide variety of gifts including 40 pictures of my brother – all the same picture in two photo albums. My brother-in-law also gave me 40 pictures of himself.

I also received 40 rolls of toilet paper from our dear friends that now live in Minnesota. Long history there, and I laughed and laughed when I saw the card and knew who it was from.

Forty Sharpies from two different friends.

Forty pencils, pens, paperclips, pennies, quarters, packs of peanut M&Ms, all occasion cards, prunes (and a bottle of Geritol), coffee beans, and more. My friends just love me!

Billy got me a bouquet of forty daisies. They are still beautiful today.

I told him now that the party was over, he would be able to relax and enjoy the holiday season without stressing about giving me a party, too. Well done, dearie! I love you!

Canning Day

2010-08-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

We planted a garden this year. That means that I put in a lot of tomato plants. Too many, really. I do it every year. You would think I would learn.

We gave a lot away. And still have some growing if anyone within driving distance wants some. You can have as many as you can pick.

My mom suggested canning some of the tomatoes and so I reluctantly agreed. My nephew Timmy helped us pick them and then showed up to can the next day as well. All help is appreciated!

We cut up all the Roma tomatoes and then juiced the big ones. It’s more fun to juice than to dice!

Thanks Mom for facilitating and providing the inspiration for the canning! I’m done for this year.

Friends

2010-08-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

It was a mighty fair day for Fair Day!

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

This summer has been HOT! So when a day rolls around that sees temps in the seventies and low eighties, it’s so nice. Such was the day when our county hosted Kids Day at the fair with free admission!!

We always like to go and see the animals, produce, and art work, sample the food and ride the scary rides. This year, we didn’t do the rides since we had just been to an amusement park. But the fair offered plenty to see and do without them.

First stop, the animal barns. The goats are so obliging.

Sarah is not too sure.

Why does that look on her face scare me so? It’s like she’s saying, “just wait till I can reach the pedals, Mama!!”

The one-room school house on the fair property

Our fine player piano player

Produce, art, and more (click to enlarge)

CORN DOGS!!!

Sarah and Joey posing with dressed up vegetables.

Abby and her friend Megan

My first *real* post back in 2006 was of Abby and the county fair. She was not quite three. Take a look!

Carrousel Rides

2010-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

To cap off our “Week ‘O Fun,” the four of us went down to Mansfield to ride the carrousel. We have driven through town several, yea MANY, times on our way south and always said, “we should stop here sometime and ride the carrousel.” So when we were planning our week of adventures, Mansfield was on the list.

This carrousel runs almost every day of the year and rides cost only 75 cents (less if you buy several at a time).

Billy and I rode the first time with the girls and then they rode the rest by themselves.

They have lots of horses, but also other animals, like rabbits, bears, ostriches, and cats.

The girls chose to ride horses EVERY time.

Sorry about the photo quality of this one. I couldn’t believe it when we got home and we had no good pictures of Abby. She had chosen to ride on the inside horse most every time so it was difficult to catch a good shot. In every one, she was either turned the wrong way or in motion. Boo, hoo.

Click on the picture to enlarge the collage.

Video watching tip: keep your eyes on the girls as they go around or else you’ll get dizzy!

After riding, we had lunch in downtown Mansfield and then browsed through some of the antique stores. I have been looking for an “Ohio” plate, but I still haven’t found one.

Then we went over to shopping mall area of town and found the dollar theater. We saw Marmaduke and the girls enjoyed it.

It was a relaxing day to be all together and a nice ending to Billy’s vacation week.

Row, row, row your boat

2010-08-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, the whole family went down to the Mohican River to go canoeing. It’s been several years since Billy and I have gone and this was the girls’ first river adventure. We took the 7-mile course that is supposed to take 2 hours and stretched it to 3 or more by stopping several times to swim or swing on a rope.

Mom and Dad

Rob, Joey and Karen

Abby rode with Jordan and Hannah

Timmy, Micah and Marianna

Abby borrowed Joey’s little oar for a while.

Uh, oh. We lost a passenger.

I let her do most of the work.

There goes Abby off the tire swing.

And Sarah tries it too!

Our whole group (minus Karen who was taking the picture)

Cute little fence post toppers.

After working up an appetite, we went to a state park for our picnic supper and then a hike through the woods. Hannah was the Troop Leader for the Littles and she had them running on ahead and posing for pictures by the time we got there.

This was a fallen tree over the path and they were actually quite high up there. No fear here!

Trekking back to the car required some assistance.

For some different pictures, click on my Sister’s blog.

A Day With Grandmother

2010-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

After the fun at Idlewild, we drove to Grandmother’s (my Aunt Linda) house in West Virginia. We were able to spend a hot, but relaxing day (Tuesday) with her before we drove home on Wednesday. I went shopping at one of the original Gabriel Brothers stores that morning and got some shoes and clothes for the girls and something I won’t mention for me.

The girls are checking out Grandmother’s make-up and jewelry drawers.

After lunch we drove to a mini golf place but it was so BLAZING HOT with no shade in sight, we decided to go to a park. The park was nice and shady with really old play ground equipment. I spent nine (or more) growing up years in this town, but you must believe me when I say I have no recollection of ever being at this park. It’s like it didn’t exist. I know my girls know almost every single park in our town without a doubt! I guess I spent my growing up years in the library instead of the park. I definitely know where all the libraries are!

Anyway, true to form, Abby fell asleep on the way to the park and could not be roused, even after several tries. So she slept in the car (with doors and windows open, parked in the SHADE!) while Grandmother, Billy, Sarah and I played on the ancient equipment.

Sarah even got her WV initiation by going potty in the woods!

The rest of the day was spent in air conditioning: in the book store, at the ice cream store, and watching a movie at the house. It was so good to spend time with my Aunt Linda, even if it was too short.

Idlewild!

2010-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed Idlewild so much last year, we decided to do it again. This time with friends!

Our friends, Joe and Gena have two daughters about a year younger than Abby. We met them at our adoption play group and the girls always have a lot of fun when they get together.

So, on Monday, we got up at dark-thirty and met up with our friends for the four hour drive to Pennsylvania. When we finally arrived, we were all ready to have some fun!

Waiting in line for the Ferris wheel.

Going up! Sarah had fun on this ride while everyone was loading, but as soon as it started going, she was scared and wanted to jump off. Several times around, I shielded her eyes with my hands and tried to help her not to look. It seemed to help. And everyone thought she was my little daredevil.

Next, we tried the Jumpin’ Jungle area. It has a big slide.

Sarah went down with Daddy.

Climbing up the big net ladder.

On the rope bridge.

The Daddies forge ahead!

Sarah on the zip line.

I tried it out, too. Wheeeee!

Story Book Forest – so happy to be here.

In a school house, getting a taste of what is to come in a few weeks.

Raggedy Abby and Raggedy Lauren

Cutie pie Raggedy Sarah

Family picture (I think Abby has found a new way of coping with the all the picture taking – acting silly!)

Joe and Gena – the paparazzi

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin eater.

Little Red Riding Hood.

Face painting as such a hit last year, we did it again this year. I picked out this bird design for Sarah.

So it would match the colors in the the Tiger face Abby had picked out.

It took a while for all these faces to be painted.

Funny story: while Abby was getting her face painted (the last one), Sarah was outside playing with a little girl who was waiting to get hers done. I was inside the little booth watching Abby when I heard the loud wails of the little girl and a lady say, “She tackled my daughter!” I ran outside to see the mom hovering over her crying daughter and Sarah just staring at them both. I apologized profusely and thankfully the mom was gracious. I think what happened is that the girl ran away a few steps and Sarah went to get her. Oops!

I found out later that Billy had seen the whole thing but Joe said, “Let the Mom’s handle this one!” and so he stayed put.

Waiting to ride the Rollo Coaster – FUN! Even Sarah was tall enough to ride with an adult. But once was enough for her. Abby wanted to ride again and again!

Another area of the part of the park had rides just for the kids to ride by themselves.

We went to one show – a circus with several different acts: clown, quick-change artist, trained dogs, and acrobats. We didn’t stop riding rides long enough to see any others.

We stayed until the park was closing. It was a fun day made even more special to share with friends.

Camping Cousins

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

The North Carolina Cousins came into town the first weekend in August. The kids all had fun playing together and comparing growth spurts.

Friday night was the traditional bonfire night and then Hannah decided to put up a tent in the backyard and invite all the littles to stay overnight. Abby was a bit apprehensive but I encouraged her to try to stay and see what happened. We did not allow Sarah to stay. I’m sure she would have been okay but we didn’t want her wandering off in the middle of the night.

All ready to “sleep.” Girls on one side.

Boys on the other.

Waking up early.

I talked to Karen in the morning to see how it went and she said they all did good. Billy, Sarah and I walked down with some bagels to feed the crew.

Cooking eggs on the fire (there were still glowing embers from the fire the night before, so they put on some more wood and voila, a cooking fire!)

Eating breakfast in the tent

The morning growl

Sarah climbing in the tree

Fun with Joey

2010-08-09T07:05:00.000-04:00

Joey came over one day to play with the girls and ended up spending the whole day and night with us. I love living close enough for cousins to do that.

When the girls go over to their boy cousins house, they end up playing cars, or sword fights or other boy games. When the boys come to our house, they play dress-up. Thankfully we have one boy costume for them to wear. They played everything in those outfits, even going outside to swing and jump on the trampoline.

They are a silly bunch!

Later, it was hot so I turned on the hose for them. Then they were cold, so they sat in the sun to warm up.

As for the “hanging” picture in the previous post, they were playing in the tree and Joey’s shirt got hung on a cut-off branch. He yelled for help and Billy came to free him. So he did it again, and Billy got the camera out. Joey freed himself right after the picture was snapped by taking his shirt off.

This is what you call “hanging by a thread.”

2010-08-08T07:03:00.002-04:00

Details to follow.

New Haircuts

2010-08-05T11:20:00.001-04:00

As I was brushing out Abby’s hair last week, trying to get through the tangles, she asked once again if she could get a hair cut. I made the phone call that morning.

This past Monday, she got the full treatment: shampoo, conditioner, cut and blow dry. I let Abby tell the stylist how short she wanted it. So she got it cut to her chin.

Then Sarah decided that she wanted a haircut, too. Since Halley had the time, we went ahead and did it. I love the way they turned out.

Of course, these pictures were taken later in the day after being hot and sweaty, but you get the idea.

Birthday Party

2010-08-04T07:09:00.000-04:00

Abby has been waiting for her BFF Megan’s birthday for a long time (since Abby’s party last November)! Megan is the only other girl in her class at school, so they definitely stick together.

Sarah was included in the invitation. The girls are ready to go to the party.

I am learning that as Abby gets older, the parties are more of a “drop your kid and go” kinds of events. We were the first ones there, but then the other moms came and went. But because Sarah was invited to this party, I had not even considered leaving her there in the midst of potty training. Megan’s mom was glad I stayed and I was able to help her out with other tasks.

Megan had invited six people to her birthday because she is turning SIX! Sarah had just started crying right before the picture, so she chose not to be in the group shot.

After lunch and some games, the girls played on a slip n slide. Abby got a hold of the hose.

Hosing down her friend Maya.

Then she turned it on me. Oh no!

Both girls had fun at the party and were sad when it was time to go. Good thing school starts in a few weeks.

Signing Time with Abby and Sarah

2010-08-03T15:22:00.001-04:00

The girls love watching the Signing Time videos. It has really helped communication with Sarah. Her words are getting better but we still have a way to go.

Please do NOT take these pictures as a tutorial in ASL! I asked the girls to sign some words and this is how the picture came out. Sarah moves fast so it’s hard to catch her at just the right moment.

Unfortunately she gets a lot of practice with this one: bug (we have an ant problem in our kitchen).

Grumpy

Juice

Grapes

I really don’t remember what she was doing here but she looks so cute!

Cheese

Watermelon

Spoon (or just “H”)

Knife

Train

Oops! How’d this one get in here? Cow

Dress Up

2010-08-02T08:43:00.001-04:00

A typical day in our house includes dress-up time.

Wearing high heels makes climbing trees just that little bit more exciting. Sarah loves wearing the wings. Let’s just hope she doesn’t think she can fly!

Another Way to Beat the Heat

2010-07-28T17:24:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, it’s just too much work to get to the pool. On those days, I just pull out the hose and turn it on. It cools them off just as well. And I can get dinner made in the mean time.

Trying to catch some sprinkles on her tongue, perhaps?

I wish I were that flexible.

A few observations from the video:

1. When did Abby’s legs get so long?

2. I love Sarah’s little song and dance there at the beginning.

3. It cracks me up that Abby dumps the water on her head but Sarah didn’t see that part and so she just dumps hers on the ground. Usually, she does EXACTLY what Sister does.

4. Don’t you love our ghetto set-up: the hose nozzle wedged in between the bricks I found in the garage? Oh, well. It worked.

5. When Sarah points down the driveway, she’s pointing at her Daddy who just drove back from the store. Then she’s telling him “water” (quite emphatically) and signing it, too.

Red Day at VBS

2010-07-24T06:16:00.000-04:00

Abby went to VBS a couple weeks ago. On Monday, she came home and said that Tuesday would be Red Day. She doesn’t have a lot of red clothing, so Hantie said she would make her a bandana skirt.

She also wore her Daddy’s hat and her shoes from China. The ladybug necklace and earrings completed the outfit.

Sarah

2010-07-23T13:11:00.001-04:00

One night, when Billy and I were in the office late, we turned around to find this in the doorway:

I guess the train woke her up and she wandered into where we were, but then got so tired, she went back to sleep. I’m really not sure how long she was there. Probably a half an hour or more.

And here’s her new hobby while we’re working in the office:

She’s been busy!!

Benjamin Bunny

2010-07-20T15:33:00.001-04:00

Cousin Timmy got a new bunny and I took some pictures of the girls meeting him for the first time.

Timmy took the bunny outside to hop around.

Sarah looks like she’s trying to hold onto him.

The bunny is trying to escape! Go, Benjamin. Go!

Friends

2010-07-19T14:16:00.001-04:00

For our last trip to China, our adoption group was 12 or 13 families. We traveled with one other family to a separate province than the rest of the group. We went to Guangxi where it was 80 degrees and everything was in bloom. The rest of the group went to a province where it was still winter. The family we traveled with adopted Callie who was six and we adopted Sarah.

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I went to see a them. We met up with Callie and her mom at a park and played for a while. Then we went to McDonald’s to play some more and cool off in the air conditioning.

We had not seen Callie’s family since we traveled with them in February 2009. She sure has grown! And her English is amazing.

Hopefully it won’t be another year and a half before we see them again.

Blueberries

2010-07-18T06:38:00.000-04:00

I love all kinds of berries and to me, nothing says summer like fresh picked blueberries.

Abby and Joey hard at work filling their buckets.

Lots of berries!

Sarah is helping Hantie.

Abby shined her best blueberry

Sarah peeking around the bush

Mommy and Minnie Me

Sarah gets the ones close to the ground.

Mmmmmm: Blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, blueberry smoothies, blueberry yogurt, and blueberry crisp!

Dad of the Year

2010-07-17T14:16:00.001-04:00

Back in March or April, Abby brought a paper home from school saying if she read 20 books by the end of the month, she would get two tickets to a Lake Erie Crushers ball game. She read her allotted books and we got the tickets several weeks later.

The designated game was on June 29.

So, after driving for 8 hours home from Kentucky, Billy had a couple of hours to relax and then they went to the ballgame. Several of her classmates also got tickets so Billy hooked up with some of them and ended up not having to drive. Whew!

Abby was excited about going but also worn out from the trip.

It actually got cold when the sun went down and they didn’t take sweatshirts. Good thing they had this blanket to cuddle up with.

They left after the ninth inning. The game was still scoreless. The Crushers eventually won in the eleventh.

Way to go Daddy for going the extra mile for your girlie! He was so proud of Abby for reading all those books, he could not let her miss the prize.

Big Day

2010-07-14T06:20:00.000-04:00

With only one day to spend on the farm in Kentucky, you have to pack a lot into it.

So, we took a walk through the fields (that’s Sarah and Joey).

Abby found a wooly worm.

Abby lost her second tooth – actually she allowed my cousin Heather to pull it for her. She knew Mama was getting no where close to pulling it. I actually went to the other room while the deed was done. And amazingly enough, the tooth fairy left her a gold dollar under her pillow. (thanks Uncle Chris!)

The kids took a gator ride around the farm.

All this was before lunch! Uncle Chris suggested a trip to his dad’s house to swim in the pool, but then it started raining. We ate lunch and then it cleared a little so we got ready and headed out.

While en route, the storm clouds moved in and it really started pouring. Plan B: wait out the storm while watching Toy Story 3 at the theater! Awesome! The movie was starting in 20 minutes. Perfect timing. Sarah did great – it was her first time in a theater. I was concerned about the scary parts because she has gotten upset at times while watching DVDs at home. But, she was fine.

By the time the movie was over, the storm clouds were almost gone. So we headed to the pool. It was still sprinkling when we got there but no lightening so it was ok to swim.

(Can you stand a few more pool pictures? It feels like that’s all I’m posting these days. I promise not to take my camera next time we go to the pool.)

Hey… the noodle is different. Sarah liked using that as a flotation device to swim across the pool and back.

Abby and a noodle. Those goggles are a permanent fixture on her face while in the pool. She even has the tan lines to prove it!

Sarah flying through the air.

Daddy has one end of the noodle on the water jet inside the pool and so the water squirts out the end. Sarah had great fun with that!

After the pool, we had pizza and baths and went to bed! What a big day. The next day, we got up early and drove back to Ohio.

Great Smoky Mountains

2010-07-13T06:32:00.000-04:00

The day after the wedding, we decided to drive up into the mountains since we were so close. Personally, it was not my best day ever: a bit hot, a bit tired, a bit grumpy, combined with a bit of monthly struggles. Nuff said.

But I persevered. And then, we get to the mountains (Cades Cove) and drive along a scenic trail and see a deer grazing right by the road. I pull my camera out to take a picture, and the battery is DEAD!!! AARRGGG.

So I ran back to Karen’s car and grabbed her camera and took pictures with hers for both of us. The deer had run off by then. Just imagine a little deer grazing right there. :)

We stopped to look at an old church and took a little walk to see a bear up in a tree. He was really high up so we didn’t get a good look at him. I was hoping not to run into the mama. Also hoping not to step in poison ivy. Notice the inappropriate footwear. hmmm.

Later, we stopped to hike a trail and the park ranger had an otter pelt.

Some of the group on the bridge

Sarah likes to blaze the trail herself!

It was a pretty (and thankfully SHADY) mile trail up to an old homestead.

The kids in the barn

Our new house (I guess it comes with random kids)

They have running water!

The cuties posing on the stump. I am sparing you the next picture I took of Abby. Let’s just say she doesn’t deal well with the heat.

Back down by the creek

The water was COLD and refreshing!

After cooling off in the water in which some of us got more than just our feet wet, we got back in the car and drove to my Granny’s farm in Kentucky.

The Shortest Wedding Ever

2010-07-12T06:32:00.000-04:00

At least the shortest one I’ve ever been to. :) The wedding was at a little country church in the hills of Tennessee. It was beautiful (and hot).

My cousin, Christopher escorting his Mama (Aunt Kathy)

During the five minute ceremony – one song, the vows, a candle and the kiss. All done!

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chris

Cousin Kacy

The reception was held outside. It was beautifully decorated with candles and daisies.

Mama dancing with her newly married son

Andrew and Abby

Sarah – say “cheese!”

The Bridal Cake

The Groom’s Cake – A true UK basketball fan – born and bred!

My Daddy and his Mama (Granny)

Cousin Heather and her husband Tim and son TJ

My cousin Jim(my) and my brother Michael

Kacy and Aunt Kathy

Me and my honey

Me and Granny

Michael and Melissa

My Mom and Dad dancing together

Trip to Tennessee

2010-07-11T06:45:00.000-04:00

My cousin Christopher got married on June 26. We traveled with my sister and family to Tennessee to attend the wedding.

The hotel they reserved had a great pool and the kids were all excited to check it out. They swam there Friday night and twice on Saturday. My other sister drove up from North Carolina and all the cousins had fun swimming together.

Nice hot tub!

Jordan’s big splash.

Cousin Andrew

Ready

Set

Swim! If she did this once, she did it a hundred times. Jump in, swim, climb out. Repeat!

Sarah loved the hot tub.

Jordan and Hannah

The pool was definitely worth the trip!

Swim Lessons

2010-07-10T06:15:00.000-04:00

Abby had swim lessons again this year. Four mornings a week for two weeks we went to the pool for an hour-long lesson. The first couple of days, I had Sarah with me and became a human jungle-gym. Not fun. So, the other days, Sarah went to Tot-watch while I sat and read a book by the pool.

Abby got pretty good at her back floats and her back strokes. She improved her front glide and learned new leg movements.

The last day, her Daddy took her and the camera and got some pictures. That was the day they learned about water safety and life jackets.

Abby’s personality is naturally cautious of new things, so it’s good for her to take a refresher course each summer to be comfortable in the water.

Sarah doesn’t seem to need lessons yet. She just does what Abby does and swims right after her.

Natural Play Structure

2010-07-09T13:59:00.000-04:00

Backing up a little…

There are a few things that happened toward the end of June that I didn’t get a chance to share pictures yet. So the next few posts will be “pre-fourth-of-July.”

The swing set we have in our yard came with the house. It is an old metal one that is rusting and one by one, the swings are being broken. It is still standing and the regular swings work as well as the slide, but that’s about it. We’ve thought about replacing it with a new wooden structure, but so far it hasn’t fit in the budget.

What we do have, however, is a tree we planted the first summer we lived here. It was a sapling we pulled out of the garden before we tilled it up and Daniel planted it in the yard closer to the house. It has grown quickly and the branches are now sturdy enough to hold the weight of a little person. The girls and their cousins love to play on the tree and swing from the branches.

Parade and Beach

2010-07-08T22:27:00.001-04:00

The fifth of July was a scorcher. The sun blazed down with hardly a cloud in the sky. Billy and the girls went a little early to find a good spot to watch the parade. By the time I got there, the girls were melting in the hot sun! I brought an umbrella for Abby and then we got them snow cones from a street vendor.

The parade finally started and the girls forgot to be upset by all the HOT when the candy started coming. Abby had been anticipating this for weeks before the parade and the girls each came with a bucket to heap up their treasures. The parade did not disappoint. Sarah was like a little vacuum cleaner with the candy. She made sure it was ALL picked up! And there were no other little kids near us so they got it all. Plus the cute factor worked in their favor.

One lonely cloud floated by to give us shade for approximately 3 minutes.

We had already planned a trip to the beach for the remainder of the day. Billy was unsure about going to sit in the hot sun some more, but the girls were already pumped so we couldn’t back out. So we packed our cooler with lots of ice and we set out. Karen and Krew came too.

It turned out ok, cause Billy spent lots of time floating in the water cooling off. He was wishing for a bigger float but had to make due with what we had. Uh oh. Here comes trouble!

Turned out to be a very enjoyable day!

The Fourth: Pool, Picnic and Pyrotechnics

2010-07-07T22:00:00.001-04:00

Since the fourth landed on a Sunday this year, our little town decided that the Independence Day festivities would be divided into two days: fireworks the night of the fourth and the parade on the morning of the fifth. A little backwards, but fun anyway! Two days of celebrating!!

We decided to go to the pool for a couple of hours in the early afternoon.

Then we had family over for a picnic for the late afternoon.

Finally, we headed over to the high school yard to watch the fireworks. Sarah was safeguarding the bag of popcorn and would only give out handfuls at a time.

Incidentally, the only picture of me from the entire day. That’s what happens when Mama holds the camera.

Abby’s glow bracelets.

I was messing with the “fireworks” setting on my camera. Too bad I didn’t have a tripod. It’s pretty hard to get a good picture when little ones are shaking you saying, “Look, Mama!!” at the pretty fireworks.

Next up, the parade and an afternoon at the beach.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

June Flowers!

2010-06-25T06:14:00.000-04:00

We’re getting used to the IDEA of using the potty

2010-06-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

How we fill our days

2010-06-23T12:26:00.001-04:00

Summer showed up in Ohio so we are spending lots of time in the pool. Abby has also been taking swim lessons in the mornings. She is becoming quite the little fish.

Sarah loves to go swimming and gets upset when it is time for Abby’s lesson and she can’t go too.

Sarah loves to play with her best pal Joey. I finally caught her with her head out of the water! Micah

Lydia

All that swimming wears them out!

Strawberries!

2010-06-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

We picked strawberries again this year. I just love how they taste so much sweeter when you pick them yourself!

We went to a new patch with some of Abby’s friends from school. We picked eight quarts all together.

We (mostly I) ate several that day. Then I froze several quarts for smoothies. Then we tried our hand at freezer jam. The girls helped with the first batch and it was so easy. I ended up with 14 jelly jars full. Now our freezer is stocked for a while. Yum, yum!!

Father’s Day

2010-06-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Daddy’s Day to my husband. He is a wonderful father to our daughters and they love him so!

We started the day with gifts for Daddy. Abby picked chocolate truffles for him. I I bought him some oreos and jelly belly candy. Sarah helped him unpack the bag and then gave Daddy a big kiss.

Later, the girls and I got dressed up to take Daddy out to lunch. Then we went shopping and bought him some new shorts and a polo to match. We got some ice cream at Sonic and then headed to the pool. We were all worn out from such a big day!

A Bargain For Frances

2010-06-20T07:14:00.000-04:00

Abby was assigned a First Grade reading list for the summer. We checked out several from the library and she began reading through them.

One is A Bargain For Frances. I remembered reading this when I was a little girl. It was published in 1970. The book is about two friends and their desire for a “real china blue tea set.”

As Abby was reading the book to me one morning, she asked what a saucer was. So I showed her one of my teacups and saucers. Then I remembered my play tea set that is blue. As she read the description from the book, I realized it was the exact same pattern as my set given to me by my mother long ago.

So we decided to have a little tea party of our own. Here is the description from the book: "I want a real china tea set with pictures on it in blue. The tea set I want has trees and birds and a Chinese house and a fence and a boat and people walking on a bridge." Do you see them all in the saucer? I was amazed!

Abby reads the page from the book.

EAC Reunion at the Cleveland Zoo

2010-06-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Time for the annual trip to the zoo to see the animals and our China travel buddies.

Here is our family picture on the wolf. We do this every year.

Here we are in 2007. Abby was three and a half.

Checking out the wildlife. These are our friends from our most recent trip to China: Mary, Maisie and Scott. This is Abby and Faith. They are from the same province in China and are about one month apart in age. We traveled with Faith's parents in 2004. They adopted Hope in the fall of 2008 from the same province as Sarah. Hope and Sarah are both the same age. How cool is that? Uncle Zhou - we love our Uncle Zhou. He keeps us sane in China! The girls got to go on a camel ride. It was Sarah's first. I think she liked it, but it was much too short. Here is one of the cool painted dinosaurs they had throughout the zoo. In the petting zoo.

Wish we could have visited longer with our friends. Once a year is not enough! At least there is Facebook!