12/09/2009 Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am a bit late in my wishes. But as someone who believes in Jesus, everyday should be Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the most wonderful family God created for John and me. Our children are the absolute most wonderful kids. We are so blessed to have them. I am also thankful for extended family and friends who are family. I am thankful for an awesome church and the love my children receive there and the lessons we learn each week. There are so many other things to be thankful for!



There is more coming soon - kids updates, etc. Stay tuned!

11/24/09 Halloween - finally

As of this post - we are technically finished with October updates, except that we did have our family portraits done and I need to share those. Then we move into November - and since Thanksgiving is this week - it is about time, huh? I probably need to post a real family update as well that includes not just pictures but how we are, Lacie's 5 year old checkup, new cute things the kids are saying or doing and their new interests. Please feel free to leave me a comment if I forget anything. Please leave us a comment anyway - just to let us know who our blog readers are - if you dare.

OK - Halloween finally! We went to a Halloween party at the Visually Impaired Preschool with our friends and joined in on their party. Then the next day we went to MawMaw and Don's for a halloween party / dinner and trick-or-treating. We had a blast.

Lacie's costume was very easy and inexpensive. We got her ears and tail from my cousin Ruby. And of course the rest - black leggings, black shirt, eye liner nose and whiskers - and you have an adorable cat.


Paul was many things including spiderman, a choo choo (Thomas) and oh - himself.
Here is Paul as a choo choo - and Lacie the cat.


The cheezy grin - I LOVE it!


Lacie and friend Batman.


Lacie loving on her grandpa Don before trick-or-treating.


And a photo of trick or treating:


Neither of my kids were all that interested in going door to door tricking someone into giving them candy. After about 10 houses they were done. We went back to MawMaw's and sat in the dark and played with flashlights. They had much more fun doing that than begging for candy.

Thanksgiving and Thankfulness: Tonight Paul was thankful for Mater - the tow truck on the movie Cars. Lacie was thankful for the colors yellow and orange. We thanked God for all colors and for the colors of fall and spring.

11/22/09 Lacie's Birthday II

It is so hard to keep up to date. We just celebrated John's birthday on Friday and I have not even finished updating for October. OK . . . to not delay anymore!

Lacie's "friend" birthday party was fun. Trying to figure out how and where to have a party to provide space and fun for kids and parents is difficult. And Lacie - while not a child that wants for much - it is also difficult to figure out what kind of party to have and where. So, since she loves the zoo - I thought it would be a fun place to go for a party. We are so lucky to have any pictures at all of her zoo party. Our camera ran out of battery after a handful of pictures. Then our friends, the Pikes took pictures for us and their camera ran out of battery. So, again we are very lucky! The zoo party was the coldest day of the season to date. We were brrrrrrr - cold. But once we got inside for the party it was warm. I knew we would be on the second level and we would look down on some animals - but I was not prepared and neither was Lacie for what we saw when we walked in the party room. Lacie - first in - ran out screaming. As I said - I knew we would look down at animals but never dreamed they would look down at us:



Here is Lacie being comforted by MawMaw - still trying to get over the shock:


Other shots of our furriest guest:





Then we had cake while the furry one watched and wished he was with us to enjoy cookie cake.



Part of the birthday package was to request two animals of your choice to be shown, petted and taught about by a zoo worker. Lacie chose a ferret and a lizard. Then she got a bonus animal. We loved them all.




Then we rode the Merry-Go-Round.

It was such a fun party. Lacie still talks about it. I hope that future parties are just as fun!

More to come - Halloween, speech therapy updates, John's birthday, of course, Thanksgiving! We have so many things to be thankful for.

Each night before bed I ask the kids what they are thankful for - and then I tell them what I am thankful for. Lately Paul has been thankful for tar (cars), choo choos, Lar (Ms. Laura his speech therapist), turtles, frogs, Ms. Bonnie (his teacher) and a few other things. Lacie is thankful most every day for her brother. She loves him. She has also been thankful for her blankies, and her family.

What a joy they are!

Blessings!

11/14/2009 Lacie's birthday - I

Still trying to catch up. We celebrated Lacie's birthday a month ago. She actually had three celebrations - one with MawMaw and Don, a friend party at the zoo and her family Princess party. Lacie shared her birthday with her cousin, Mary Elizabeth who was born 2 years and two days after Lacie. I had a little prompting to finally update about the birthdays. I bumped into Mary Elizabeth's maternal grandma in the store yesterday evening and she informed me she checks out my blog regularly. It is so very wonderful to know that I have readers and who they are. But now, Mary Elizabeth's grandma has a bigger interest . . . her granddaughter.

So, Lacie and Mary Elizabeth's Grandma Char hosted their birthday party. She did a wonderful job creating the most wonderful princess party. Each girl got to have her nails done, a little make up and dress up in her princess dress. Then they were introduced, walked through a curtain for all to see. I think - how fun to be a little girl these days with all the fru fru stuff out there to dress up in and make believe.

So, here are some pictures from the Princess Birthday party.

Introducing Princess Mary Snow White:


Now, Princess Fairy Bella


And last but not least, shy Princess Lacie Belle:




Birthday cake a princess castle - made by Aunt Janey:


And now with Aunt Janey:


Check out the window behind them:


Present time:



Isn't she cute?


Toddler with an attitude!



Dress up in knight clothes is fun too. Girls can do anything!


This is only volume I - other birthday party pictures to come.

11/07/2009 "October"

October was a very busy month. So busy in fact that I will take much of November to catch up with my updates. So, October was a busy month. Have I said that already? We started with celebrating the Autumn Moon Festival with Families with Children from China. Honestly with the exception of the lantern parade at dusk, it is not very much "China" culture. But, we are with other families who have adopted from China and also from Korea. So we celebrate family. We celebrate adoption. And we celebrate the beginning of Autumn, which much like spring - reminds us of Gods love for us with the changing colors.

So, we go to a farm and enjoy "farm" things. We began our October with choosing a pumpkin - or four. But first, we have to try them out by sitting on them.


Then we pick it up and make sure it is just the right size - that it can be carried by ourselves.



Then we decide as a family - and pull them off the vine and prepare to take them home.


And a trip to a farm would not be complete without playing around in some hay.



Every year - Lacie gets carried to dinner from the hay bales on daddy's shoulders. She remembered this and requested that they continue the tradition.


Paul had to have a turn too:


As I said, we completed our evening by marching in the lantern parade with our other China and Korean and Guatemalan friends.

So, after we celebrated Lacie's birthday (separate post of its own) we prepared for halloween and costume parties and trick or treating for candy. We decorated pumpkins with our friends:







And to complete our fall/halloween preparedness - we decorated two of the pumpkins we picked at the farm.


Look at that cheesy grin! AND, chopsticks are good for more than eating (or starving in our case.)


The pirate is complete.


Now onto the princess.



And the finished products.


So, we had a fantabulous October filled with much more than this. In a separate email to come I will share birthday and trick-or-treating photos. Stay tuned!