Trawick Family Antics And Such

st mary performance lunar new year

2012-01-29T07:47:00.004-05:00

abigail getting ready for the ribbon dance. she is so worried about the flowers

Genevieve and all her BIG smiles as usual

My girls

Mom and the girls. They sure are beautiful.

2012-01-28T07:57:00.001-05:00

Their daughter is fromt he same SWi our C is from. Lets help them out * For years, my husband and I have wanted to take our kids on homeland journeysback to China and Vietnam. I won a contest that discount airfare to and fromHong Kong. However, we need to get from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City + localtransport and translator to Can Tho, from Can Tho to beijing + local transportto Great Wall, Beijing to Shanghai or Nanjing + local transport and translatorfor Maanshan, and back to Hong Kong. Time and money permitting, we would like tosqueeze in a side trip to Chengdu to see pandas!I have written and recorded a song about the proposed trip, and it is an entryin a contest that would fund the trip if I win. (It was sung by another adoptivemom (China and Korea) that I have known since college.) Part of the requirementfor winning is getting views, likes, and positive comments on YouTube.Please help me get there by liking/commenting on my video * .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMmHWl5YD9A * Thank you!Jill, mom to Zia (Ma Zi Dan) and Quinn (Nguyen Khanh Nguyen)

Hey

2012-01-17T04:51:00.008-05:00

Wanted to share a few pics before I share something I ran across. G is not to fond of the whole Santa thing

C on the other hand is loving life.

Yes its been a while, sorry. But I ran across this great article had to share it with everyone I knew. Will it cause controversy, yes. Do I agree with it, yes. Is everyone going to agree, No. Do I feel it may help change stereo types, yes. I have a wide range of adoptive families I have met over the years, many are now part of our "family". I couldn't be more blessed by them. Enjoy the great article.

http://news.yahoo.com/why-gay-parents-may-best-parents-131902676.html

Gotcha day 1 Year - Wow

2011-11-02T08:52:00.005-04:00

Its been 1 year since our daughter found her forever family. Its been a year of getting to know each other, but I can easily say we have all figured it out. She is a typical teenage girl, nothing more nothing less. She loves her siblings, but as all siblings do the fuss at times, but in the next minute they are laying together studying spelling words, sharing headphones, or drawing pictures. I just smile becasue I never in my widlest dreams thought we would have 3 daughters in our home let alone a teenager, so soon. :>) I wouldnt have it any other way though.

She stays busy with school, dance and cheerleading. Our high schools are magnet programs so you go to high school where your field of interest lies. She attends a fine arts program high school. Her major is dance and drama. There is constant music in our home between dance music, cheer chants, and of course pop music.

We spent the weekend in Chicago for her Gotcha Day. It always proves to be a great time. China town and Navy Pier provides a full weekend. it was nice because I got the best compliment for our "C". Momma you make better Zao (congee) than they make here. Wow Im good. :>).

With our oldest daughter I have had to really fine tune my Chinese cooking skills. The one thing I really wanted her to know is its OK to be Chinese. She watches Chinese tv shows on the computer, she listens to Chinese music and helps her sisters with their Chinese. She also takes Mandarin class at school. By doing this, she also has improved her English skills. Her grades are GREAT. She receives minimal services in school and her grades are all hers, she has earned every one of them. She is really quite brilliant when it comes to math.

Can you tell I think shes pretty amazing?

She also just celebrated her 16th birthday. She received many cards in the mail. Thank You. We spent the day with her siblings, nieces and nephews, cousin and Aunt, and a host of friends. That in itself made a full house.

One of the things I did for the other girls while in China was to buy them a good set of pearls for their 16th birthday. Well considering circumstances this didnt happen with our "C". When I had a friend travel this year to bring her 5 yr old daughter home I asked her to get a set for us, so I was able to present them to our daughter. I know pearls are an "old lady" item, but when she is an "old lady" and wears her pearls, she will look back at her 16th birthday and remember her youth and know they are from her homeland. She loves them. Not quite as much as her ipod touch, but she loves them. I really think the best part was to see all the people who love her and are glad she is part of our family.

Autumn Moon Festival

2011-10-21T09:16:00.006-04:00

Autumn Moon Festival last month was allot of fun. Every year we make lanterns, light them and set them afloat down the river. As we turn them loose we say a prayer and a thank you to the birth families still in China. The girls really enjoy this. Especially afterwords when we go get ice-cream. This year we had 2 new additions to our little group. Of course our beautiful "C", and then newest addition just came home from China 2 months ago. She is 5 yrs old and belongs to a dear friend of ours. My niece joined in the fun this year.

Look who was Baptised

2011-10-20T23:54:00.004-04:00

One of many of the things "C" struggled with was Christianity. I guess maybe it wasn't a struggle so much as what it was knowing what the real definition of a Christian was. She had previously been taught one thing and it had left a sour taste in her mouth. She had decided that she did not want to be a Christian. After being with us 11 months she decided that she really did like being a Christian if it was the way she was now living her life. This meant giving unto others in the community and family. Not the giving of $$$$ so much as the giving of your time and compassion for people. Volunteering to help others who may need it. Letting go and giving your troubles to God. He can handle it so much better than we can. Loving people for who they are and not who we want them to be is also a big factor. Anyway she decided she wanted to be Baptized and accept Jesus Christ into her life. What a beautiful smile she has

The last time I was in China I bought an extra Jade cross. it was unknown why then but I felt the need to buy an extra one. i say an extra one because I bought one for "G" the first time i traveled so she would have it at the time of her baptism. I then bought one for "A". As I was buying it I felt the need to buy one more. It sat in my dresser since 2005. I ran across it 3 months ago. Wow talk about God Bumps. I knew then why I bought it.

This is the life -

2011-10-20T09:50:00.005-04:00

Our newest Grandson is now 5 months old I love snuggling down and taking a snooze with him. It's funny how life stops for a baby. The dishes set, the laundry sets, the world goes by and we just snuggle.

2011-09-23T21:00:00.004-04:00

What an amazing summer we had. It has taken a better part of the year for all of us to get settled in and find our places in the family unit. The addition of our beautiful teenager shifted our entire life a full 360.

Has it been easy? No. Have we struggled? Yes. Have we questioned our selves and whether we did the right thing or not? Many times. Have there been battles between sisters? Yes. Have there been battles between adults and kids? Yes.

Its been almost a year now and the battles have lessened by 99%. The struggles are null and void. We no longer question our decision. We know it was one of eight of the best things we have ever done. The sisters still battle, but NO wear near the amount as before.

The girls sit together and read stories. The girls practice their dance routines together. The girls cook together. The girls make crafty items together. The girls look out for each other like best friends would. C looks out for them and when they get in trouble she comes to their defense and tries to rationalize what they did and tell me how harsh I am on them. She is the big sister I think they always thought she would be.

C has made so many personal strides it would take forever to list them. She has turned into a typical teenager. She still has baggage we deal with but all in all a typical teenager. She is trying out for cheer leading next week. She has joined into many clubs at school as I said earlier. Along with all of that she is a caring responsible young lady. She has already started Christmas shopping for her sisters. She loves to do things for others.

G is settling into school and growing up so fast. She joined choir at school this year. She still struggles with social settings and controlling her emotions, but we are working on it every day. She is such an amazing little girl. She has the faith of a mustard seed and tells me often "it's OK God will take care of it".

A, what can you say about her. I still believe she is a teenager caught in a child's body. Her soul is so old. Her reading skills are 3 years ahead of her grade level. Her math skills are 2 years ahead. Although she is a brilliant child she has no sense of child play. Everything is so serious with her. I do hope she finds a balance one day.

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-11T08:30:00.005-04:00

Mothers Day was amazing. The girls made me breakfast and agreed to not fuss and carry on at all that day. What a sweet gesture for 3 girls who love each other more than anything but also feel the need to be in charge. They did well at keeping their promise. It gave me the chance to reflect on the past 6 1/2 months since "C" joined our family. We are all settling and finding our place in the family unit. It was important to figure out where each person fits in. After all we went form a family of 9 to a family of 10. Not only did the size change but the birth order as well. "G" was the oldest girl at home for the past 5 yrs, she now had to turn that title over. We also have a hormonal teenager in the home. Although chronologically "C" is a teenager there was so much she missed out on being in an orphanage and then where she did not feel the love, that she can behave like an 8 yr old sometimes. She needs to sit on my lap. She wants me to brush her hair. She feels the need to hold my hand in public, as if needing the security. It's also easy to see the little green monster in her when the girls are loving on me. This is so minor considering where we started. I know in my heart I loved her when she came to us, but now I LOVE HER. I look at her and think how did we lead our lives without her, she is such a part of our everyday. On to the rest of the Clan........ My boys and DH all bowl on Sunday nights and this Sunday was their bowling banquet. So I went along and had dinner with all the kids. The girls enjoy going because they can play the video games at the bowling alley. I got a few gifts as well. The girls all made me beautiful cards. Very touching was "C"'s card thanking me for being her forever family and how she knows God had a plan all along for her to be here. Ahhhhh. When I was sitting in my sewing room the girls brought in a gift from them and Daddy. A new camera. Wooooo Hoooo I have been using my Kodak I bought to take to China in 2005, and it's seen better days. I did break down a few years ago and bought a nice Cyberhsot but within 4 months at a friends house bubbles were spilled all over it. Oh Well back to the old faithful Kodak. But now I have a Canon SX130 IS. Yeah Loving this new camera. I'm still playing with it trying to see everything it can do. I'm VERY impressed with how clear the zoom is. This is going to be fun this summer

This is our baby Queenie, She is our Gassy Girl as we call her. She settles in on your lap and passes gas. It's so bad she will leave until the smell is gone. But we love her anyway

2 of my beauties after handing me the camera. Gosh I love them so much.

Easter

2011-05-04T09:05:00.012-04:00

Darling A hunting eggs. G runs so fast I need to get a new camera with high speed to keep up with her.

Easter was great. we had most of the kids over and the grandkids as well. Our oldest girl was not here because Grandchild #10 was born a few days before. We also were missing a son, he was in Chicago. As you can tell in the picture 2 more grandchildren are due any moment. We also were missing a few grandkids. They had so much fun hunting eggs and eating stuffed cabbage. I can't say enough how blessed our lives are. C was definatley a missing link that we didn't know was missing. She is absolutely in love with "FatFat" as she calls her niece Riley, and Riley loves her. The boys loved playing basketball like they did when they were young'uns again. They didn't feel like young'uns the next day though. :>)

Teaching her Fat Fat to walk. They went up and down the drive way. Look at those smiles

Isn't that smile the prettiest thing ever. Its hard to believe she was a preemie weighing in it just 4 lbs.

So excited about finding eggs. She looks just like her daddy did at that age. Sometimes I have to wonder what part her mommy played in her besides just carrying her in her belly :>)

What Nana I'm not going down the steps to look for eggs.

Life can be so serious sometimes. I'm OK right here in Nana's arms.

Friend on a Mission Trip

2011-03-23T08:21:00.004-04:00

I have a dear friend leaving for Kenya on a mission trip. Please say a prayer for a safe journey and a blessed outcome. You can follow her along at www.JamboInTheNameOfJesus.blogspot.com Bishop Lawrence, from Kenya, spent time at our church, www.monsonchurch.com , and touched many lives. He really showed us and unconditional love for God and his work. The faith he has is that of a mustard seed.

Gods Grace and Glory

2011-03-16T08:56:00.004-04:00

Monday "C" had a report due in her class. She has never done an oral report with the props and all. She did it on China. :>) Her teacher told her if she felt more comfortable I could come in and help her out, because during the report the children are allowed to ask questions and she may not understand what they are asking. It also was a chance for the class to talk about adoption. This has been a great deal of talking in her grade since her dad and I have been seen with her. As a proud momma I will say she did wonderful. She came out of her shell and the class was so patient with her talking they really listened to what she had to say. Two questions that came up hit hard. 1) Is it safer in China than here? She answered "YES" and then began to explain that the children did not disrespect the teachers for they would be severely punished. There was not allot of killings and robbings because the court system was swift and punished harshly. 2) Are we rich? (because we have 8 kids) She said "YES" and then told them that we have love and the food is always there and the lights are on and we are warm. She also told them God helps us when we need at and ask him too. Gosh I love that girl. Way smarted than a 15 yr old needs to be in the ways of life.. Someone sent this to me and I can't help but pass it on. AMAZINGLY ACCURATE Have a Blessed Day

Great Day

2011-03-12T06:31:00.004-05:00

Wow, I think I may have caught up on my sleep by now. After a rough ride to Albion, MI, 4 hrs from us, we made it to the hospital for Abigail's surgery. She did well and looks like Princess Leigha from Star Wars. Dr. Kim had to cut on both ears. She had to harvest cartilage and skin form the left ear for the right ear. Of course "A" woke up nastier and meaner than ever. pretty typical with the steroids for her breathing and the pain medicine. We were finally able to leave and realized we were missing 2 hubcaps and had a HUGE flat tire. The rim was destroyed. GRRRRRRRR. But as with all things God steps in. There was a Firestone shop across the street and one block down. The man tells us they do not carry my rim and it will take 6 hours to get one in. GRRRRRRRRRRR. Again God stepped in. It turns out I do not have a donut for a spare but a full size beautiful tire. It cost 15 dollars to switch it over. The best 15 dollars I have spent in a long time. We get five minutes from home and "A" projectile vomits all over the car. Oh Well we're home. We had to get another Rx for the tummy. The pain meds make her sick. But all in all she is fine.

The reason we had to be home that night was just as critical as the surgery itself. We had court the next day to finalize our "C"'s adoption. What a great day. It was such a blessing to see all the support at the court house. She is an amazing young lady.

Please Pray for Our Family

2011-03-08T12:04:00.002-05:00

Please Pray for our Family over the next few days. We have a very busy schedule with many life changing events. 1) "A" will be having her final surgery, hopefully, on the microtia portion of her ear on Thursday morning. We have decided that the atrasia portion will not begin until the fall. We want her to have a carefree summer this year and just be a kid. She has only had one of those since being adopted because of surgeries and illness'. 2) We go to court Friday afternoon to finalize "C"'s adoption. We are hoping this will give her some closure in what she has been through. She can move in. We have been working very hard at teaching her that the past is the past and it can not be changed, we can only move on. God is so good, and I know things are at his will and he has total control over all that happens, but I will admit somedays are easier than others to remember this, especially when it comes to our children.

Happy Birthday Darling "G"

2011-02-28T09:00:00.011-05:00

"G" Lady turns 8 yrs old today. Wow where did the time go. Every day she gets more and more beautiful inside and out. When we adopted her at 9 months old it was so hard to picture her each year growing older and older.

They are in the news

2011-02-23T10:34:00.001-05:00

Our 3 darlings were in the local paper for their Lunar New Year performance. The pics and articles are great. http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20110220/News01/102200310/1130 http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110220/News01/102200310/1130&template=ARTGALLERY

MiFan & LoMein

2011-02-18T07:53:00.005-05:00

These are our 11 day old babies. They are doing amazing considering the rough start they had. LoMien's leg is healing well. We weren't sure if it would have to be amputated or not after the cord was removed. It took 7 days for the swelling to go down and he could get good use from it. Now we just have the wound and it looks wonderful.

Our "C" is quite the little mommy. She does so good with them. I guess it's easy when you can relate your life to theirs. BTW If I haven't said it lately, she is so amazing. The word survivor should be her name.

Bamboo ance

2011-02-10T09:53:00.002-05:00

Bamboo ance

2011-02-10T09:53:00.001-05:00

popcorn song (abm Hi Qui)

2011-02-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

our latest additions

2011-02-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

As usual with our life never a dull moment. Sunday afternoon we had babies born. The mommy cat was rescued from a hoarder the day before so she was still unknown to us, as to her attitude demeeaner and behavior. Well, the babies were born with umbilicail cords wrapped around the neck of the grey one, and one of the white ones had it wrapped around his leg. The leg had swollen to be the size of his head. I never knew how strong mommy instincts are and in some cases aren't. I say that beacuse mine kicked in and I knew what to do to handle it and cut umbilical cords and get the kitties cleaned up. I say arent present because this all was suppose to be done by the mommy kitty. She really wanted nothing to do with them. when I tried loving on her and setting her up with the babies she layed her claws into my face. I am on Cipro and doing well.

We had to take her back to the shelter and the babies are bottle feeders. We have lost 2. :>( The runt and the grey one who had the cord around his neck. The other 2 are thriving and doing well. The have been named Mi Fan and Lo Mein. They were born in the Lunar New Year and are going to be Siamese in color, what other names would work but Chinese Food. Our "C" has been amazing with them. She helped me remove the cords, massage them to life and take care of their needs. She helps with the bottles and stimulation to assist them in going to the bathroom. Except the 2 am and 4 am, those are mine. ;.)

2011-02-04T13:05:00.002-05:00

I have had several requests and questions about disrupted adoptions. Here is a link to a website I found to be very useful. www.karensadoptionlinks.com. There was info and groups on there from people who have disrupted to people who are looking to disrupt and people who want to place a child.

Lunar New Year ND 2011 039

2011-02-04T09:15:00.001-05:00

Lunar New Year ND 2011 045

2011-02-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

Lunar New Year ND 2011 044

2011-02-04T09:14:00.001-05:00

granger dance company

2011-02-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

Lunar New Year 2011

2011-02-02T10:48:00.008-05:00

Genevieve says they look like jungle girls in these outfits. I just laugh, until I see the dance and then I kinda agreee.

The 3 girls posing for Mom.

What a real Beauty. This dance was one of my favorites.

Decorating for the Lunar New Year is one of our favorite things to do. What a blast. Each year we find things we forgot we had.

The entrance way promises good luck and fortune. Boy we could use some of that fortune :>)

This was one of the craft projects the girls did this year. Each year we do a new one.

The placemats were done a few years ago. I had no idea then why I made one, but I guess I know now. I had to have one for our 3rd daughter that would join us.

I will post some videos later from the performance. The crew has to approve which ones I post. :>)

What to do on a snowy cold Day

2011-01-20T06:41:00.006-05:00

What to do, What to do. Living in the Midwest there is never a lack of snow or cold days. Then the dilemma begins on what to do. When we had a house full of boys it was very different. the boys would bust out the legos or cars and you wouldn't hear from them for hours. Girls on the other hand need to be entertained. That can prove to be a bit difficult. I'm glad they found the DS to be so entertaining. I think our oldest is turning out to be quite the photographer. Very Unique eye

These 2 photos made me smile. What great girls

She is learning to sew. Her first project of course a pillow is first. She did wonderful.

Then of course there is the picture mom needs of kids in snow. They really did not want to go out.

Sarah Update

2011-01-13T07:47:00.002-05:00

Wow God is so amazing it blows my mind. Sarah is asking to eat right now and wanting to go pee.. She was taken into surgery on the 12th for clots. They took care of that. Now we have been praying for no excess swelling and infection. So Far , So Good. It looks as if it will be a full recovery. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell your kids, grand kids, neighbors and anyone else you know to wear helmets when they sled and stay away from the street. This is the 2nd person this year I know who has had an accident while sledding. Both have been very serious. Thank You to all how prayed and sent well wishes for our darling Sarah.

PLEASE PRAY

2011-01-11T08:05:00.003-05:00

Our dear dear friends in North Carolina have had a major accident. Sarah, Genevieve's orphanage sister, was hit by a car yesterday as they were enjoying a snow day. She is in ICU with bleeding in the brain right now. We are waiting to hear more today. Please take just a few moments and ask God to reach down and touch little Sarah's body and heal her fractures and the stop the bleeding in her brain. She is an am zing Little girl with the biggest zeal for life you've ever seen. I will post more as I hear it and also what we did on our snow days.

The holidays are over

2011-01-03T08:37:00.009-05:00

Here is the ear after surgery # 2 God has gifted our surgeons hands. She is an amazing person. Next surgery is scheduled for March.

The girls made dog biscuits for for Christmas presents this year. They had friends over to help out.

What a real beauty

Each of the girls have their own tree in there room. G's is purple A's is Pink and now Aurora's is blue. They each have their favorite color.

Aurora decided to wrap daddy's wallet in "multiple" boxes. She saw it on TV and thought it was hysterical. She used up 9 boxes each one individually wrapped. This is box #2 being opened.

For Christmas she got a gift card for make up. She also was enrolled in Teen Glam Camp. It taught her how to properly put on makeup and take it off. She had such a great time. She is so beautiful without it, but WOW, look at the beauty come through

That's it for now. Onward and upward to life and all it has to offer. God Bless and have a great day.

2010-12-27T09:07:00.012-05:00

Chicago for the Autumn Moon Festival

Halloween 2010

Abigail's ear after surgery # 2. It's amazing how once there was nothing there and now an ear.

I love this picture of the girls

My girl Riley. She hears Nana's voice and her head goes on a swivel trying to find me. She is so cool.

Dumpling Making. This is always so much fun in our house.

OK I guess it's time to blog again, considering the many mnay changes in our lives over the past 12 months.

1) Our grandchild count is now up to 12 kiddos.

2) We have 3 more coming in may and June. Owen, Keith and Timika are all due around the same time.

3) Abigail has had surgery #2 and doing amazing. #3 is scheduled for March 11th, 2011.

4) We have adopted again. This brings our total children to 8. In China 8 is the luckiest of all numbers. Who would have thought.

Our newest member of the Trawick fmaily came to us via disruption. Her name is Aurora and just turned 15 in November. She is bright, beautiful, a jokester, wonderful dancer, has amazing memory, great sister, snuggly, and just a great person.

She is desiring alot of hugs and snuggles right now so at times we are adjoined at the hip. :>) But I wouldn't have it any other way. I am going to be better at blogging so please follow along as the family grows some more. so for now enjoy the pictures.

Our Little Miss Abigail

2010-02-06T16:06:00.003-05:00

www.microtia.us.com is an amizing website that walks a person through the whole process of all of her surgeries. It is Way Cool. We have taken the first steps to beginning Abigail's many surgeries. But before we can begin in April the plastic surgeon said we need to get her lungs as clear as possible for 8 weeks straight. Yea Right. This from a Reactive Airway Disease Patient. She has now come in with pneumonia. We have changed all of her medications around and are taking a VERY VERY VERY aggressive approach to keep her healthy. This includes no outside play under 50 degrees, a face mask when she goes from the house to the car or store or school, hooking to her breathing machine 2Xs a day instead of PRN, and active steroids to keep the lungs clear. Besides trying to do all this we need to prepare her for surgery the 23rd of this month. He wanted to do it earlier, but I begged him to let her perform, she has rehearsed so hard. Her last performance is the 21st. This surgery is for what we thought was the good ear. She is losing hearing in it now. They want to go in clean up what ever is wrong and repair what ever is necessary.

oooops

2010-02-06T16:04:00.001-05:00

I was given the wrong information the baby weighs 4.2 lbs and is 17" long. She should be home in a few weeks. Kaila came home today.

introducing the newest member of the family

2010-02-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

Owen and his wife had their baby yesterday. She weighs 2.4 lbs so she will be in the hospital for a couple months until she can learn to suckle. I have not gotten to see her yet. I do have a picture though via cell phone.

They named her Riley Elizabeth

2010-02-05T13:21:00.003-05:00

www.GrangerDanceCompany.Blogspot.Com has the updated times and dates for all of their performances. We are very lucky Abigail will be performing this year. She has had hearing loss to the left ear and they need to operate. As most of you know she has right ear atresia/microtia so there is no hearing there. We found out about her left ear when we met with the surgeon to begin the process of correcting her right ear. That has all been put on hold for now until we get the left ear in shape and we get her reactive airway disease under control. Her lungs must remain clear for 8 weeks straight to able to handle the anesthetic for the first reconstructive surgery because she will be on the operating table for a great length of time. This is going to be a job considering she was at the hospital Sunday with pneumonia. If you can make the performances we'd love to have you.

2010-01-23T17:10:00.007-05:00

Run Run Run - - - Getting ready for the Chinese New Year. Performances begin the 13th and go both Sat and Sun for the next couple weekends. http://www.grangerdancecompany.blogspot.com/ is sho they dance with.

Missing Ma

2009-12-16T12:30:00.002-05:00

It's been 12 years ago today since you left our earthly family to be with our Blessed Father. As you walk with the angels and watch over us please know I miss you more then ever.

Yes we all make a difference

2009-12-11T09:53:00.004-05:00

I recently wrote about the presentation I give in the girls school on acceptance, cultural diversity, adoption and fostering. Well, God is so good. The girls had their performance Tuesday night for Christmas. The family that sat behind us has a little girl in Genvieve's class. This is the 2nd year they have been together. She also is in foster care and has been for about 3 yrs now. There is her and 3 sisters. They have been very blessed to be with the same family and not have to be bounced around. I have know about this since last year. After my presentation in her class a couple of weeks ago, she came up to me and said, " Mrs. ... I am in foster care." I told her I knew. She said it doesn't matter does it? I told her no and gave my usual hug to her. I've always a had a soft spot for her anyway. Back to Tuesday. Her mother told me at the concert that A.... came up to her and told her all about the presentation and how good it made her feel. I smiled and told her how glad I was that it made her smile. The mom then went on to tell me that her and the dad have been going back and forth about whether they were capable financially to adopt all 4 girls. They decided to put it in God's hands and started the process. It should be complete by the end of January. The tears started to flow. I don't think I could have been any happier for that family if they told me I had won the lottery. What a great God we serve if we just follow his lead. So, yes everything we do makes a difference. Just pray every day it's a positive difference you make.

2009-12-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

On Dec 6th, 2005 this scared little girl was given to us. What a difference 4 yrs can make. She is AMAZING, AWESOME, STRONG, ENERGETIC, FULL OF LIFE AND DRAMA, and All in All a Blessing in our life.

2009-12-07T13:05:00.000-05:00

This is abslutley one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

2009-12-07T13:02:00.000-05:00

What a princess

2009-12-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

Wow she keeps getting more and more beautiful

2009-12-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

I love the pictures in front of the Tree every year. - - - - Happy 4 yr Family Day Pretty Girl

What's so Special about Today?????

2009-12-02T21:30:00.007-05:00

On this date 6 yrs ago this precious little girl was born. I was in Beijing waiting for my life to be changed forever. I was adopting Genevieve at the time. 6 yrs ago a mommy made a really really tough decision. A decision that would not only change her life but ours as well. Because form the moment I first saw her face I knew she was my daughter and I would stop at nothing to get our paper work handled to make it legal. After all she was born in my heart on October 16th, 2005 when I first saw her. Her bestest GeGe in the whole world. At one point in her life he was her whole world and nothing or no-one mattered, but him.

I have been doing presentations at the girls school on diversity, acceptance and the differences in families. This all came about when a little boy insisted to Genevieve that her dad could not be her dad because he was brown and she was not. Then another child insisted that she couldn't do fireworks because that was an American holiday and she was not an American but a Chinese. Well after a few of the teachers got wind of my presentation I did they wanted the same for their classrooms. What a great way to educate our young'uns.

When I do it, I read "The Family Book" by Todd Parr. I also bring in our foster kitties we have that week. I talk to the kids about how they all came from a different mommy and daddy but they are all still family. The play together, snuggle together and take care of each other. I also tell the kids about a "four letter word". LOVE The most important thing to make up a family. If you have that, it's all good. So we talk further about adoption and fostering.

The kids really relate well to the kitties and seem to understand a little better that way. Every class I have been in so far has either a foster child in it or an adopted kid in it or both.

I also read "A Mother for Choco" by Keiko Kazka. Then after that we make our very own Choco. They all look different just like our families. It really is an awesome presentation.

A Wondeful Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T19:23:00.004-05:00

Our Thanksgiving tradition is to eat and serve at our church, Monson Community Methodist Church. We open the doors and serve whom ever comes in. We not only serve but sit down and eat with them. It's amazing. We have people from every walk of life come in. There is one lady, a regular each year who comes in gets 2 to go dishes and leave 20-30 dollars in the "Free will Donation" jar. She takes it home to her DH. We had a gentleman who's family is all on the east coast and he didn't want to eat alone. Their is also the truckdriver who saw our reader board on his way to his hotel while he was layed over in town. We have our truly needy folks as well, but mostly just people who don't want to be by themselves. What an amazing time we have every year we do this. The best part for me is getting a piece of pie, sitting down with someone and chit chatting about nothing or what ever they may need to talk about. God is so Good to allow me to be able to do this. The girls also have a great time as well. It's like having a BIG HUGE family over for the holidays. They jump right in and help cook and clean.

There is never a shortage of teenagers to hang out with and learn how to play games with.

After our day at church we go by our son, Anthony's, house and visit. Doing Thanksgiving like this is nice because it gives the boys all a chance to go to the inlaws house for a holiday and not feel torn about what to do.

Christmas is at home, no ifs ands or butts about it.

2009-11-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

Of course Da Ping goes everywhere, including China Town

Happy Brithday Kiddo

2009-11-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

My niece turned 15 a week ago. She wanted to go to Chicago to eat Lunch for her birthday. It was really really nice just having a day with the girls and my niece in China town. She was born in the year of the dog.

2009-11-28T20:13:00.001-05:00

This is the favorite thing to do with orange wedges for some reason

2009-11-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

Genevieve and her bestest cousin - Felicia. My girl turned 15 this month

Wow God is Good

2009-11-11T07:27:00.003-05:00

OK, I went on one of the most Amazing experiences I have ever been on in all my life. It was the Walk to Emmaus. I found the deepest understanding of my faith I have ever know as well as the answer to so many questions that had been deep in my thoughts. I also met people whom God placed in my life at that exact moment they were suppose to be there. One of the people I met was a lady who was adopted from Korea 33 years ago. The ironics of that is her family has been discussing the walk with her for 4 years, it was only at this walk she chose to make the journey. We were suppose to meet. Any way we got a chance to talk. One of the questions I asked her during her life did she ever feel left out or different. Her response was, Wow. She told me NO very clearly NO, because her parents treated her no different than any of the other children. She got spankings with the rest of them. She was treated like "One of the Gang". That answer moved me so much. It made me feel better about how I am raising my girls. I post this for all the other adoptive parents who read my blog. I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE anyone who is asked to say yes when the time is right if you get the chance to go on the walk.

Mom's Leaving

2009-11-04T12:28:00.003-05:00

Wooo Hooo tomorrow I leave for 4 nights and 3 days. I am going on our local Emmaus Walk. It is a Christian Retreat to reflect and build your faith even stronger. I am so excited to be able to mediate and vegitate with my Awesome God. It's not to often I get to do that at home. Kids Kids and more Kids kinda damper that some days. I used to believe the shower was the place, but now that no longer is sacred. The girls have no problem walking in to ask me how to spell a word, answer a question or to just chit chat. But this weekend I can talk to my Father as long as I want without being interrupted. Does it sound like I'm a bit excited. I'll tell you all about it Monday night.

Halloween

2009-11-03T21:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween. Thanks Goodness for Friends. I've lost my camera again so Donna Thanks for the picture. We all went to a local farmers market that afternoon to trick or treat just in case the weather didn't hold out that night. I will say it did hold hold out and the girls went out through the neighborhood. We have enough candy to start a shop with. Wow how'd that happen

2009-10-30T20:31:00.000-04:00

Now things can calm down a bit. Our youngest son, Owen got married this past weekend. This is his bride, Kaila. It was pretty hard on me for several reasons but we'll leave that for another time.

2009-10-30T20:28:00.001-04:00

Daddy and his Girls

2009-10-30T20:28:00.000-04:00

Most of the family made it to the wedding. We are missing our oldest girl, and a son. She has swine flu and he couldn't make it in from Chicago.

2009-10-30T20:26:00.001-04:00

Of course the cat's meow - Aunt Barbie

2009-10-30T20:26:00.000-04:00

2009-10-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

This is Owen's Aunt Ruth and his Grandma.

2009-10-30T20:24:00.001-04:00

I love Huggy pictures

2009-10-30T20:24:00.000-04:00

The girls were the ring bearer and the flower girls for the wedding. They both carried a ring and threw down the flowers.

Oh the conversations in our House somedays

2009-10-19T21:23:00.002-04:00

The new American Girl magazine arrived recently. Genevieve and I were looking through it and the following conversation occurred:

M - Honey we need to order the CNY dress for you and your sister's AG doll.

G - Her doll can't have one

M - Why not?

G - Because she's not Chinese, she's American. (Abigail has Josephina)

M - That doesn't matter, she can still celebrate CNY.

G - No she can't, she's not Chinese, She's American

M - You don't have to be Chinese to celebrate CNY. Mommy is not Chinese and I celebrate CNY.

G - You're suppose to, you're my mom.

M - Honey you're not only Chinese, you're American too

G - No I'm not, I'm Chinese

M - You can be Chinese and American

G - I don't think I want to, I think I want to be Chinese only.

M - Oh, but you we live in America, go to American schools, and have American birth certificates. That makes us Americans, and you're so lucky because you get to be Chinese-American.

G - Well, I think we need to move to China because I just can't handle being both.

WOW, not sure if I'm ready for her to be a teenager.

Happy Birthday Baby

2009-10-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Baby

2009-10-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Keith

2009-10-17T17:46:00.003-04:00

Wow My Baby is 28 today. It's funny how fast time flies. What a time I've had watching him grow up from my baby boy to a man. Some days were easier than others but I wouldn't have changed a thing. He owns his own business, has a family (BTW, I love his wife) and a new life, but he'll always be my baby. Happy Birthday Darling

I got tagged with H1N1

2009-10-10T23:13:00.002-04:00

OK that has to be the worst illness I have ever had. I posted Tuesday and by Wed noon I was flat down with swine flu. It hit so hard I was left crawling to the bathroom. This only until I dehydrated myself from sleeping for 12 - 14 hours straight then waking up long enough to take a sip and go back to sleep for another 12 - 14 hours. The only good thing that came about it for me was the 3 pounds I lost. Please keep praying for our family. Owen as now contracted it and Abigail is still fighting to breath most of the time with it.

Swine Flu

2009-10-06T19:38:00.002-04:00

Wow what a week so far and I'm seeing no end in sight anytime soon. Genevieve has pulled through pretty good so far. Abigail is on suppositories for the fever and nausea. I've heard so much about H1N1 but never thought it would hit our house. I honestly thought we would get the immunizations before it hit us. Now I just pray the girls get through it and Daddy and i do not get it. Please keep us in your prayers

2009-10-05T22:33:00.019-04:00

Making Homemade Mooncakes. They really turned out not half bad

Making Lanterns and other Crafts

Making Homemade Moon cakes. Go Corrie and Genevieve

Owen and his Asian Choir as he told Kelly. They called North Carolina to sing Happy Birthday to our very special friend Kelly Look at that special little face. How sweet is that. Miss Aubrey, so Big Look at this awesome bunch of gals,. What a great group.

I love these girls so much

Look at those sweet faces. That's Aubrey with Genevieve. She is amazing. She has been home from China for just one year. She was 3 at the time of her adoption and wore a 12M clothes. Very tiny little bird. She also spoke only Mandarin and had minimal gross motor skills. Her Mom has done AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME with her. She is now put on weight and her speech is amazing. I mean amazing. She talks and you can clearly understand what she says. No baby talk. Mom also makes her walk everywhere, no carrying her. This has developed her gross motor by leaps and bounds. She has her enrolled in a 3 day a week preschool and her social skills are awesome. She sits in a restaurant with out needing to climb all over. Can you tell I'm impressed in her progress?

What a great dinner at Grand empire. We love that restaurant.

Lucky Buddha. Look at that Belly

Look at that beautiful crew ready to set the lanterns afloat

What a great Daddy helping us light our precious lanterns to send to China.

As we all let our lanterns go down the river, we say a prayer for their families still in China and all the babies waiting for their forever family

After all that excitement the night would night be right without the best ice cream in the whole world - Bonnie Doons

And this is how they looked on Monday. Both girls in bed sick as all get out. We went to Urgent Care with Abigail about 6 pm. Once she gets a little anything her RAD kicks in and she can't breath. This in turn makes her vomit and she dehydrates at the drop of a hat. Genevieve is on the down slope of being ill. The low grade fever started with her on Sat morning. Anyway back to urgent care.

The girls have both been diagnosed with H1N1. Wow Now we are under quarantine in that end of the house. it's kicking Abigail's butt right now so please say a prayer for us

What a Great Saturday

2009-09-29T20:39:00.012-04:00

Our local Library had different characters, authors, musicians, and puppeteers there on Saturday. The girls were on cloud nine with all their favorite characters. But the icing on the cake came at the end of the afternoon. Read On The girls LOVE Martha. With their bags of goodies and their best bud Corrie the day is great.

Who doesn't love Curious George. All time classic favorite

Miss Maisy and 3 wonderful kiddos.

Clifford was definitely a hit. Abigail's preschool teacher last year, loves Clifford so Abigail developed a great love for him.

Where the Wild Things Are - They have not seen it yet nor have we read the story. I know bad mommy, that's a classic.

Here the girls are making Choco. You'll see why.

They did a great job with the craft project.

Here they is the best part of the whole visit to the library. Keiko Kazka reading A Mother for Choco. This book can be recited from memory by Genevieve and myself. This book is so loved in our home, we had to buy a second copy. The first one is being held together with clear duct tape. This book is so loved I created felt characters to go along with the story for her. I have read this book to each one of the girls classrooms every time they get a new teacher. It is the most amazing story of a mother's love for all of her adopted children. It was written in 1989.

Here it is in Japanese

Here it is in Arabic . It is translated into 16 different languages.

Mrs. Kazka autographed both of our copies. She also took a picture of Genevieve and her very loved copy fer HER scrap book. She said it makes her heart sing to see such a loved book by a child.

They are both so beautiful

A day in the Life

2009-09-23T22:21:00.003-04:00

I know everything happens for a reason. I also know God placed Genevieve in our family because we ARE her family. These facts alone are what makes it easier for me to get through the days when Genevieve is having one of her "Not Good" days. I will say, they're not as frequent as before but they are still often. I know one day she will learn how to maintain her emotions and behaviors, but for now it's day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. I now get hugs in the morning, and I Love You's. This is a big step for us. Our next step is to get her to the point where she does not EXPLODE when she is being corrected, not disciplined, just corrected. When I say explode, that could be an understatement on most days. Our other goal is to get her to the point where she can focus a little better and sleep through the night. Miss Princess Genevieve is still walking around at night because she can not sleep and getting up to watch TV. This of course creates a VERY grumpy little girl in the morning because of lack of sleep. All these factors create who she is and how she behaves. I know I'm rambling, but today was not one of our better days. She did not sleep well last night and in turn had a rough day. Especially when she came home. It's as if it takes all she has to get through the day and appear OK so by the time she gets home she needs to just let it all hang out. Everyone around her catches her frustration at the slightest things.

Helping Aunt Barbie

2009-09-21T12:49:00.001-04:00

Every Niece should have an Aunt Barbie who has managed the best ice cream parlor in the world for 20 years. Life doesn't get much better than this.

2009-09-21T12:45:00.001-04:00

2009-09-21T12:45:00.000-04:00

2009-09-21T12:43:00.000-04:00

I love this Smile

Labor Day

2009-09-20T23:09:00.006-04:00

It's a little late but here are photos from Labor day. Our family and a couple other families got together and went to China Town in Chicago for the day. We had an awesome time. There is a cute park the girls had a blast in. The best time they had was their friend from Ohio. 3 Dressed up Beauties

Can you see the mischief in those 2 faces. Genevieve and her friend Corrie can finish each other's sentences. Wow that can be pretty scary some days.

Daddy having the best time pushing his girls.

Two tuckered out people. That's daddy's girl

Monkey Baby

These fancy Panda dresses came from a dear friend in Florida. Amy always sends us the best things. Thanks so much for good friends

Princess Geneveive

2009-09-15T08:55:00.006-04:00

One Day i need to teach Princess Geneveive to use the timer on the Camera. :>)

What a bad blogger I am

2009-08-31T13:22:00.002-04:00

Ok,I suddenly realized that I have not blogged in ages. I wasn't sure if that made me a bad person or just a bad blogger. But then it hit me, just a bad blogger. I am so busy being servant, mom, wife, grandma, friend, teacher, leader, volunteer, chauffer, seamstress, and a few other things that blogging is a at the bottom of the list. Here are a few daily my life is consumed with. 1) God's Servant - Serving the Lord when the opportunity arrises with our Community Care Center at Church as well as any other way the call comes in to serve. 2) Thrive Team Leader - This is the position at our church that heads up the education department of our members at our church and finding ways to educate the non members as well. 3) Sunday school teacher - Our group is called the Sunday Exlplorers and range in age 4 - 11 4) PTO Secretary at the girls school 5) Room Mom for Genevieve's class 6) Room Mom for the girls Traditional Chinese Dance Class 7) Costume Designer and sewer for their dance class 8) Mandarin Class on Saturday mornings with the girls 9) Pet Refuge Volunteer - I foster kittens for our local shelter as well as volunteer in the informary on Thursday nights, PETREFUGE.COM. We are a non profit no kill organization. We are also no govt money:>(. 10) Get the girls to all of their extra activities. This sometimes includes getting the grown boys around too. :)) 11) Going to all the Grandkids functions. Football, basketball, soccer and what ever else they have going on. 12) A date with my husband if we can squeeze it in. 13) Making the girls clothes and their American girl doll clothes as well. That also includes all the mending and altering that needs to be done in this house. 14) Taking care of the Inlaws as their health determines. I guess I am kinda of busy. I am going to try harder to keep up with blogging for our friends and family who are not nearby. But if I slack understand I am just doing my job I have been put on this earth to do. BTW say a prayer for me as well somedays I can really use all the prayers I can get when I finally settle in to bed around 11 pm. Thanks for understanding. Julia

wooo hooo I'm up again

2009-04-29T16:42:00.001-04:00

Our hard drive cashed and security went crazy - But I can now post. I need to check all the 750 e-mails. I'll post more in a couple days

American Girls

2009-04-09T08:37:00.010-04:00

Our big todo for Spring Break was to go to the American Girl Store in Chicago so they could buy their first American Girl Doll. They have been saving their allowance since their vacation to Disney to buy them. They saved and saved and saved. They just knew they were big stuff handing over that $100.00 bill to the cashier. Me personally, I would be crying. :>) We caught the train in after friends arrived from Ohio to go with us. What a great time we had. My Granddaughter joined in as well. The Goddess, Aunt Barbie, Genevieve and LeAnna, our Granddaughter.

Nikki and Aubrey - Our friends from Ohio. They adopted Aubrey form Guangzhou in Sept of last year. She is 3 yrs old and just a gem. Her personality is allot like Genevieve's. Look out Nikki. She's at Our China Doll.

Abigail and Aubrey

The Haghiri Family - The boys are the greatest GeGe's to Miss Aubrey

Look at that beautiful girl. She is so sweet

This is their next doll - A just like me Doll

Ivy and Josefina were our chosen this time. The girls are so proud of who they are and how thy look that they wanted dolls to look like them. I'm so happy they are proud of who they are and how they look.

My Camera

2009-04-08T02:54:00.012-04:00

Although both girls got a camera last year for Easter, their favorite one to use is still mine. I never know what I will find upon uploading to the computer. Pics of themselves, each other, their friends, the dog, the cats, the TV. You name it they photograph it. Genevieve is the most notorious of the two. I do believe hers and her sisters favorite to photograph is my Butt. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's the way it fits the screen so nicely. Or maybe the way it shows the glare when I shower. Or may to them it's just plain funny. Regardless I have spared you all of those. So you can enjoy the rest of the comedy team.

This is a month old or so. We no longer have a faccy. The faccy fairy came and took all the faccys to China to little babies who really needed them. The pacifier has been an ongoing debate for our family. Her ENT said let her have it. The sucking drains the fluid from the ear canal that is not opened up to the outside. I can't stand seeing her with it, she's too old. Daddy of course sides with her. I was watching Nanny 911 (I've only seen the show twice and both times learned something) and saw where the binky fairy came. I thought I would give it a try. The faccy fairy left a new Aurora light up Barbie in place of the faccys. Woooooo Hoooo it worked.

I love those beautiful teeth. I'm so glad she takes good care of them.

What a Nice Twisat on The Cost of Raising A Child

2009-03-24T07:47:00.000-04:00

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, * $171.08 a week. * A mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is ; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140.00? * Naming rights. First, middle, and last! * Glimpses of God every day.. * Giggles under the covers every night. * More love than your heart can hold. * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies. * A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate. * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites. * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day. For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies, and * wish on stars. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day. For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for: * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, * taking the training wheels off a bike, * removing a splinter, * filling a wading pool, * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and * coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless. You get a front row seat in history to witness the: * First step, * First word, * First bra, * First date, * First time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!! Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

Our newest Foster

2009-03-13T21:03:00.006-04:00

As most people know we foster kittys for Pet Refuge. They are a local no kill agency that is totally run by volunteers and donations. Any way this is our latest little guy - Gizmo. He is so she and timid. I'm hoping to be able to get him out of his shell so he can be adopted more easily. He weighs about 10 lbs and is solid. He just started walking on my bed at night. This is progress considering he hides his head like an ostrich when ever someone comes around.

Another Room Down

2009-03-12T15:27:00.007-04:00

This is our guest bathroom. It's right next to the kids playroom and the laundry room. Which means it's just inside the back door. So when the kids are outside they can jet in and go to the bathroom. This also means they stay right on the tiles with nasty shoes and not on the first level dragging mud. The pics were given to me by a friend 5 yrs ago when we started paper chasing for Genevieve.

The red plate is from the Target $$$$$ bin a couple of years ago.

The hanging lantern above the commode is from Party Lite and the red box holds our tissue box. It's actually a photo box from Walgreen's a few years ago.

Everyone knows how much I love to sew. The curtains have the same banding as the towels. This is a great Kona Bay Fabric.

I couldn't find a red trash can to save my life under $40.00. Soooo Krylon to the rescue. I love Krylon plastic paint. So for $4.00 I now have a red trash can.

Who turned 6?

2009-03-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday this beautiful little Girl turned 6 years old. Wow 6. It's amazing to look back and wonder where the time went. She is a vivacious, energetic, head strong person. She is definitely a leader and not a follower. She could care lees what you think of her and has no hesitation to tell you as much. She marches to her own drum and many times creates her own music to go with the drum beat. There are days I wonder if we are going to make it with our personalities. She can cut you to ribbons with her eyes, and then melt your heart with those same eyes. While in China she was dubbed with the nickname "Wild Child" by her Stephen, well he could not have pegged her any better if he would have known her for 100 years.. Happy Birthday Beautiful Princess for Far Away Lands

2009-03-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

Gifts from our bestest friend in North Carolina, Sarah. My Yiyang sister is how Geneveive refers to her

2009-03-01T17:41:00.000-05:00

This was very special for Genevieve. Aunt Barbie had surgery the day before and we really did not think she would make it to bowling for her birthday.

The bowling gang

2009-03-01T17:40:00.000-05:00

All her "bestest" Chinese Cousins as she calls them. This little group can be catty nasty and whiny some days. But you can't tell them any different that thier not best friends. As Abigail tells me "sometimes families just fight, but their still families." Kids, how did they get so wise.

2009-03-01T17:38:00.000-05:00

2009-03-01T17:37:00.000-05:00

Who looks happy?

2009-03-01T17:28:00.000-05:00

We went by Keith's so the girls could see Owen. it was Genevieve's birthday and of course she had to see her Owie.

play room with the new curtains

2009-03-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

The Foyer

2009-02-27T15:25:00.005-05:00

Before and after pictures of the foyer. Not allot changed. Mostly fresh paint and elbow grease for a little cleanliness. The brown bench is one of the VERY BEST investments I've ever made. The girls and all of their activities makes for allot of backpacks and bags this holds them all. Mandarin class, Dance Class, School, they all fit.

2009-02-26T13:33:00.009-05:00

As most people know we moved back in October. The move was done during both of my surgeries and the fact we had to live with contractors. So..... The past few months have just been getting the house livable. We are now on the move to fine tune each room. I will try and post as many rooms as I can that we have done with before and after pictures. This is only the inside. The outside and ALLLLL its yard is another story.

These are 2 pictures of their play room before. The wood pieces are an incomplete wet bar.

Now we have the complete job. I just finished the curtains so those pics will go up tomorrow sometime.

Below is the wet bar. Of course because the children own the house and allow us to live here, it is there TV/VCR stand along with all of their movies. The front of it was painted with magnetic paint. The use it for all of the letters to spell with and for their magnetic dress up dolls

This area holds all of their craft supplies/ books and puzzles.

My favorite part of this room is the 6' long by 4 1/2' high window. It faces east and gets all the morning sun. Very cheerful. This summer we will put up the bird feeders outside the window. under the window area is where the pond will go.

Monson Church

2009-02-18T12:19:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure I've mentioned how blessed I am for our Church Home. We have been attending Monson Church for over a year now and have NEVER felt more at home. The girls are welcome, DH is welcome and I am welcome. We have had problems in the past where we all have not felt as welcome as we should have. They are a caring community of people from every walk of life and socio economical background. People step up and help one another without being judgemental. How hard is that to find in today's society. I have attended church since being a child and have felt welcome but only at arms length not with open arms. God is Good.

HSM3

2009-02-17T13:34:00.001-05:00

The girls are totally engrossed in High School Musical 3 right now. They saved their allowance together for the past month to buy it. We were told by a friend the movies wasn't that good, but so far we are loving it. We never made it to the show to see it. But I'm very glad the girls bought it.

Valentines Day

2009-02-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

Daddy the girls and myself spent Valentines Evening at Church for a Spaghetti Dinner. It was a great time for all. They had a dance after the diiner but we took the girls home and let the couples have their time. The youth group sponsered it to raise $$$ for all their activities. They were talking couples pictures and what a better way to remember the night than a family photo.

Daddy's Girl

2009-02-14T10:18:00.001-05:00

Lion Dance

2009-02-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

That is Abigail under my jacket during the Lion Dance

Our beautiful Mei Mei

2009-02-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

The Principle handing out Red Envelopes

2009-02-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

After the performance, the girls got into blue jeans and had a great time. The Principle hands out red envelopes to the kids every year with a gold dollar in them.