Snow much fun!

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Brandon's Concert

Brandon had his Christmas Concert last night. What a hoot! We were in the nosebleed seats waaaayyyyyyy far away. Too hard to get pictures and Anna was pretty wiggly anyway. 250 second and third graders sang and did a wonderful job! Poor Brandon...for the opening 2 songs, the kids had a light to hold. Brandon was in charge of a student that I see in Special Ed and Brandon couldn't not get his own light to work and the other boys broke. The show went on, though. IT was cute. I LOVE hearing children sing together.

ON A SIDE NOTE.....Logan was chosen along with his buddy, Teddy, and another boy to sing the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song on Friday. This will be in front of the ENTIRE school. I don't even think that Logan is nervous. My boys have such a gift of voice to share and they enjoy it. Way to go Logan!

Music Added

My friend Robin asked if I could add music to our yahoo group that we have set up for our China Travel Mates. I don't think I can do that (anyone know???), but I did create a playlist below. If you find it annoying, sorry. I will turn off the automatic play after Christmas. I just thought it was too cute to open up and here Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter reading scripture from the bible. He has 3 daughters that they adopted from China. Also on the playlist is Third Day's Christmas song. A man from that Christian Band also adopted a daughter from China. Geoff Moore is on the list, too. He is also a Christian singer that has adopted 2 daughters into their family from China. How wonderful it is that these Christian music artists have welcomed adoption into their homes.

And don't forget that this is the time of year where we remember that Joseph adopted Jesus willingly into his family, too.

Christmas at Grandma's

Saturday we went to my Grandma's for Christmas. It is only 30 minutes away, but the weather was quite nasty on the way home. TOOOOOO much snow. We all had fun and piled quite a lot of people in my Grandma's house. We got to meet our little cousin Jackson, who is just 9 months old and he is just sooo stinkin cute.

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Glasses going well!

Well, the glasses seem to be going well. NO problems yet and Anna seems to tolerate them. Today when I picked her up from preschool, they were filthy. It looked like glue on them, but since they didn't use glue, it must have been milk. She used to only want them on a couple hours at a time, but now she leaves them on most of the day. Of course, she has found out that she can't cry with them on. Too many tears all over them! And we all know how dramatic crying can get when we are almost 4 years old!

CNY is coming!

Saw this posted on APC about Chinese New Year. It will be here soon! I love preparing my CNY stuff for the boys' schools. Last year I continued the tradition at Brandon's school, but didn't do anything at Logan's. Last month his school was studying Ancient Chinese History and I went in and talked about our China trip...not the adoption stuff....just China in general, showed a slideshow and talked about CNY.

Not sure these will all work still. From the FCC NY CNY resources 2007
CNY coloring pages & info sites

http://www.awesomeclipartforeducators.com/chinesenewyearcoloringpages.cfm
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-new-year.htm
http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/chinese/coloring.htm
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/CNY/
http://www.edhelper.com/ChineseNewYear.htm
http://www.chineseparade.com/history/fun/coloring_book.asp
http://www.abcteach.com/search.php?q=Chinese+new+year
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/chinese_new_year/
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/social_studies/places/asia/china/
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/new_year/intro.html

http://www.familyculture.com/Chinese_new_year.htm
http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Chinese%20Folktales.html

http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Poetry%20Nursery%20Lesson.html
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/new_year/liondance.html
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/new_year/nian.html
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/new_year/couplets.html
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/learn/class_newyear.html
http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/china__dim_sum__spring_fes.html
http://123chinesenewyear.com/

http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html
http://www.isaacnet.com/culture/papercut.htm

http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/china__dim_sum__celebratio.html

http://www.chinasprout.com/shop/staticpages/29?gclid=COvsxpvai4oCFRE9FQodWWjDRA

http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Word%20Search%20Lesson.html
http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Word%20Search%20Lesson.html
http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Chinese%20Inventions.Lesson.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html

Letter To Santa

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Making A List...Checking it Twice!

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Talk about a hip Santa! He knew all about MP3 players, Nintendos, Hannah Montanna...you name it! Logan felt a bit old this year to be on Santa's lap, but gladly did it for his sister's benefit. I think he enjoyed it anyway! Brandon was a little embarrassed when Santa ask if he had been good or naughty. Santa told Brandon he had better shape up if he wants him to bring him anything. It was so funny. Anna was a little shy, but she marched right up there first thing before the boys and told Santa that she wanted a guitar and wanted to be in a rock band. TOO FUNNY!

Anna and her new glasses!

Anna was very excited today when the eye dr. called and said that her glasses were ready to be picked up. She smiled and smiled after putting them on. We went outside and she said "Look at the ground, Mommy! It's going uphill!" Not sure if that is a good thing or bad.

The glasses are Disney Princess ones...Cinderella and are light blue, although you can't see a lot of the color on them most of the time. Then she talked about things in the car, as if she had never seen them before. So, we will see how the day goes today. They gave Anna a cute little pink Disney Princess Purse and she was sooo excited! She looks like a big girl! The woman had her write her name and identify colors, etc. tl see how the astigmatism was. One eye is a 3 and one is a 3.25 for the astigmatism. I think those go in negative numbers and start out at a .25 increment, so Anna's is a pretty good size astigmatism. Her vision, however, wasn't too bad at all. She passed her preschool eye exam, which is a hoot! All this is so new to me since I am 36 and have never had any eye issues.

Anna has the tiniest head,so it was a challenge finding glasses. She was just a step up from the infant ones. She is the 3rd girl in our China travel group out of 10 to get glasses!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

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Happy Holidays!

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How cute is that!

 

 

 

There is a group that I belong to for adoptive mom's. It is kinda like EBAY, but there are no fees or anything. People just sell their items, etc. I got this adorable coat for a great deal and it was new with tags. I just love it and it just seems to fit Anna's personality. We got Justin for a few hours this week and it was fun playing in the sunroom and outside with him. The two of them played so well together and they are so stinkin cute to watch.

National Adoption Month

Well, it is almost over now, but November is Adoption Month. I have been meaning to post the link to two of my favorite videos. One is the Bring Me Hope tearjerker about Chinese Adoptions. A must see! The other is by Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian singer that I love who has adopted 3 daughters from China. His video is inspiring to all who might feel that adoption could be right for them. As I type, I wait for word from a couple from church. They are hoping to adopt a baby that is due ANY MINUTE. I pray that things go well for Sherry and Daniela and that they soon become parents. They have waited a long time for this and felt that adoption was the best way to start their family.

It is neat to look down at the Thanksgiving day photo of Anna and her cousin Faith and think how adoption has touched our families. Faith and Anna appear in a new book that just came out from Love Without Boundries. So many Lifelink kiddos are in the book and Anna is also in the book with all of her friends from our travel group. The book is a great way to raise money for the orphans in China. Their website http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/ states that Love Without Boundaries is a worldwide group of volunteers who have realized that people with a pure love for helping children can truly make a difference. Of course I am an advocate for China adoptions because I received the perfect gift from China and have a love for the people of China, but we need to remember all the orphans throughout the world, no matter where they are. All children deserve the love of a family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving was at Barry's parents house this year. The Scott's were there, so the kids pretty much played all day. Faith and Anna are starting to play together a lot more and Nolan and Brandon always play well, too. Logan played games with us adults all day. It was a fun day and we were stuffed. Brandon started to not feel well, though and today has a 102.5 fever. It will be interesting to see where this leads. Darn...I hate it when the kids are sick! We knew something was up since he went from feeling great to being rather quiet! I just feel bad that everyone was around him...especially Barry's dad, whose immunities need to be guarded more than others.

Logan gets contacts! Anna needs glasses!

 

 

The time had come where Logan kept begging and begging for contacts. So, we are on a trial basis with them for 3 weeks. We will see how it goes. He is having trouble with his left eye. It is awkward to put in since he is right handed.

And yes....due to Anna's astigmatism, she needs glasses. I still find it hard to believe that she is having difficulty seeing at all. She has more fine motor control than any 3.5 year old I have ever seen. She practically came to us undressing herself the first few months. She could do buttons and zippers very early and she can cut any intricate shape out. So what is the deal? I just hope that she doesn't fight the glasses. I just feel like if she was having difficulty seeing, she would not want to sit and color and cut for such long periods of time. So, time will tell. Finding glasses to fit her is not easy. Her head is so tiny and the eye dr. only had one pair that we could test out in her size. So, next week's goal is to hunt down more to try in that size. Luckily we don't need the infant size like her tushie, but she is needing the smallest type after infant. She wants the very modern look and wants red. Mommy is pushing for the age appropriate type in a pale pink or lilac!

15 years!

Has it really been 15 years ago that we got married??? That is sooo hard to believe. I searched the computer for our weddding picture and I know it is somewhere, but I can't find it. It is a hoot. We look like kids! We were 21 and 22 years old back then! We didn't really do anything special on Wednesday for our anniversary since we had recently gone to Cancun in September to celebrate.

WOW...15 years! I was getting ready to do my Student Teaching and Barry was in his first few months in his job. Now, we are a family of 5! It has been a great 15 years!

Family Reading Nite

Anna's Story Time at the Libray performed a couple songs for Family Reading Nite. Four Boys did "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and the girls did "Your Personal Penguin". It was a real hoot. Anna missed the rehearsal where the girls were to learn the ballet moves for the song, but the Librarian wanted Anna to come anyway. It was cute, but she really didn't do a whole lot. They were given a penguin hat, a tu tu and a wand. After they sang, a band performed and THEN Anna decided to show them all her moves. She was spinning and spinning around and attempting to dance. She hadn't had a nap that day, so it was even more interesting. I think that maybe we should stick to tumbling!

Marco 2007

Another wonderful few days away in Florida. Marco Island was as heavenly as last year. The four of us "flip flop" gals had another great time from Wed-Monday. We relaxed, did some damage shopping and ate lots of dips and brownies with frosting, etc. If it had cream cheese in it, we probably ate it! Thanks to Bill and Jo once again for letting us enjoy their slice of paradise. Your hospitality is appreciated!I am amazed at how few people were there at the condo and on the beach. It is such a quiet area with a great big beach. It is so pretty and peaceful there. Last year Michelle and Heidi went parasailing and we all chartered a boat and Capt. Rich, but this year, we relaxed more. We headed into Naples one day, but other than that, we hung out at the condo.

All together, the four of us have 16 kiddos.....and 14 of them were left home with the Dad's! I have 3, Michelle has 3, Robin has 5 (4 at home) and Heidi as 5 (4 at home)! WOW...it is a wonder that we can all get away, but we are already planning next Novemeber's trip for around November 12 so I won't miss LJ's concert again!

Logan's Concert

While I was in Florida, I missed Logan's Honor Choir Concert. They performed at a local theater as guests to the older 2 Show Choirs. I HATED missing it. It was the first big concert for Logan like that and I had gotten my ticket for Marco back in the winter, so..... it was a bummer. Barry did call me before Logan was getting ready to sing his solo. That was so nice of him. Logan sounded great, but I had tears in my eyes for missing it. All the songs were water related or something like that and the solo was in Garth Brook's THE RIVER song. They all wore farmer overalls.
I am so happy to have a bunch of pictures of the concert that one of Barry's co-workers took.

Way to go Logan!

Heading to Florida!

Tomorrow I fly out to Marco Island with 3 other gals. We went there last year to Bill and Jo's (Michelle's parents) condo. We had a wonderful time. I can't wait to see the sunsets again and catch those little blips in the water of the dolphins. Here is a picture from last year.

Playing in leaves

Logan was gone again this weekend. He went on a church retreat from Friday to Sunday, so he missed out on our fun at home and at the Grandparents' houses.

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Trick or Treat

Our Halloween started at 4:15 with picking up Justin. We were glad he could join us for the night. We went to the Grandparents houses and then home for pizza before heading out for more goodies. Brandon wore his costume, but it was hard getting in and out of the car, etc. with a cardboard box! He didn't bother with it at the grandparents houses. Maybe next year he costume will be a little easier to manage. Anna enjoyed having Justin go with us. They got the hang of the whole trick or treat thing quickly. Justin kept saying "Another House? More candy?" It was funny. Anna pretty much just held her bag open and got tired of saying Trick or Treat.

Anna's Antics

Anna has had a pretty odd few days around here. I have caught her doing soooo many things. Things she shouldn't be doing. One was the fact that I went to "find" her and she had found an old cassette tape and took much of the tape part out and attempted to make her own spider web all over the house. It was everywhere. I wanted to take a picture of it, but that would only justify the naughty deed, right?

Lately she thinks she does not need to ride in a cart in ANY store. Well, sometimes I do let her walk, but sometimes it just isn't an option! Mommies are quite busy these days and some days we have such limited time and riding in the cart at lightening speed through Walmart is a MUST. Still, I get the "I AM TOO BIG FOR A CART" cry.

Anna also needs to come with a "I DRESSED MYSELF" button this week. I am to the point where keeping clothes on her is my only requirement. This is actually a quite difficult thing. Anna likes to be naked or in just her little undies. She really comes up with some really interesting combinations this week on what her outfits should look like. I really should have taken pictures.

With all of Anna's antics this week, I still can't help but notice how rapidly she is growing up. She really amazes us sometimes at the things that she knows or the fact that she could actually sit still and cut anything for an hour. She doesn't usually sit still long, but LOVES to cut..anything. She keeps growing taller and leaner at lightening speed and has been eating nonstop this week. This girl can put away food at supper time if she can sit still long enough. My baby is no longer a baby.

Yes, I am still here.

I know...it has been a while since I have posted. We have just been SOOOO busy lately. It has been one thing after another. Science Day, Scout Party, Trivia Nite at our parents' church, our church party.... you name it! Plus add me working a couple of days one week and bammmmm....here it is 2 weeks later.

Here are the costumes this year. I haven't gotten Logan's picture yet. Why is it that the 11 year old is hardly around these days??? He stays so busy with Scouts, Honor Choir and youth group!

In other news.....
Great baby news for 2 of my friends!
A couple at church is trying to adopt a baby that will be born in late November. They have been waiting for about one year and are very anxious to become parents to baby Noah. We pray for a healthy delivery and that the birthmom is at peace with her decision to give the baby a life that he cannot get with her.

The other news is about the Biehl Family. They went to China with us. They have a daughter they adopted from the US and she is 4, Julia is from China and is 3.5 like Anna and their SON is waiting for them in Korea. He is 5.5 months old and we hope that Jill can travel to meet Maxwell in a couple months. I would LOVE to go with Jill to Korea to get Maxwell, but the plane fare is just too much for me. So, if I win the lottery, I will go for one week! HA HA! It would be a wonderful trip and of course it would be hard for me to not come home with another sweet little one, too.
Check out Baby Maxwell on the links section on the side. He is so cute.

Oh...and last but certainly not least.....I leave with Michelle, Robin and Heidi for Marco on Novemeber 7. We all went there last Novemeber to Michelle's parents' condo. So, we decided we needed to go back. Thank you, Mackey's!!!!We will get home pretty late on the 12th. WOO HOOO...Sunshine and warm weather here we come! Can't wait! I am missing Logan's first big concert for Honor Choir, so I am going to try and go watch him before I leave. I hate missing that.