Big Sky Country here we come!

The time is finally here for our long-awaited vacation to Big Sky Country (aka Montana)! We will fly out of New Orleans early tomorrow morning and fly into Spokane. From there we will make the very scenic drive (a few hours) from Eastern Washington, through the mountains of Idaho and into Missoula in the far western section of Montana.

The photo above is beautiful Seeley Lake, where we will have a cabin for our entire family of 10 for 3 nights next week. Another adventure we have planned is biking on the Hiawatha Trail. http://www.skilookout.com/hiaw/index.html We did that 2 years ago and it was amazing!

I'm looking forward to sharing lots of pictures and maybe even some fun stories :-) But for now...it is off to bed for a couple of hours of rest before the adventure begins!

Natalie's Dance Recital

Last weekend Natalie had her first jazz and tap dance recital. She has taken classical ballet classes for several years, but this year she wanted to try something different. She had a great time being able to put more of her personality into her dance routines and I hope she continues with it for the next several years. It is startling to us when I apply a tiny bit of makeup for the theater....a bit of lipstick, a dab of eyeshadow & one flick of mascara.....she changes from s little girl into an amazing beauty giving us a preview of how she might look years from now as a young adult. Wow.

Here are a few pictures from the recital day. We couldn't take pictures in the theater, but I do want to buy the professional video. Also threw in a few other pics just for fun.

We're getting ready for our long-awaited vacation to Montana....it has been too long since we've been there. Hoping it stays cool there so we can get a break from this horrendous heat.

To all the daddys out there - HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Roger has taken his girls to the pool this afternoon. Obviously, he is MUCH more fun at the pool than I am :-)

Cwock-A-Licious!!!

You've never seen anyone be so proud of UGLY shoes as Anna is of new Florida Gator "CWOCKS" Last summer I bought her some greens ones just like her sissy, but she has the tinest feet I have ever seen and although she LOVES Crocs, they are just huge...so since her feet are still the teensy size 6 that they were in October, I finally acquiessed and bought some smaller ones that fit better. I must do a video of her explaining how they are "MY cwocks" with her ever-expressive facial expressions
EVEN SIZE 6 IS TOO BIG FOR THESE DAINTY FEET!!!!!So Proud of these BEAUTIFUL and GLAM shoes :-)

A perfect day at the beach

Last weekend the Layden family came down from Atlanta for a weekend visit and beach trip. (Here's the link to their blog http://ianandlili.blogspot.com/ which has MUCH better photographs than mine, and Debbie L. writes much better prose than I :-) (Just scroll down to "Beach Weekend") Bottom line is we really had a wonderful time and it was nice to take ourselves away from all the work that faces us 24 hours a day. So a BIG thank you to the Laydens for helping us get away from it all for a little while. Hope they can come again SOON!!!

My girls, my heart

Another summer is here. As soon as school is over, it seems the rest of the year will zoom by in a flash. I keep saying I will have my holiday shopping and cards done by the end of July. I've said that for several years now because I know how quickly time slips away. Think I'll be successful this year? One can always hope, but I'm sure I'll be in the usual rush.

We've been spending a little time at the pool....no pool pictures as I keep forgetting my camera. Anna is a fish just like her big sister. But she is scary! She has no fear of the water and seems to think she can swim just like Natalie. She keeps me on my toes for sure. But the good part is that she should learn pretty quickly.

This is typical dinner attire in our household :-)

Anyone seen my other glass slipper??

My very first EBay purchase! Yay! I bought this Dora inflatable sleeping bag for our trip to Montana....and it was just like it was advertised...new! Anna LOVES it & I'm so pleased that I found it for her. Now both girls have these inflatable sleeping bags....I highly recommend them! Natalie slept on hers for 2.5 weeks on our China trip.

What can I say about this photo? These girls are true sisters. And their tigers are too. Natalie bought them last year at Disney and sent one to Anna while she was waiting for us. Happily, the tiger was with her when she came to us in China and now resides here in her bed.

Time? What's that?

Seems I never have time to post anymore. I guess that is just what 2 kids and a full-time job do. I know plenty of other bloggers who manage to post regularly, and that is my desire, but sometimes I'm just too dang worn out....and then time has just slipped away.

These past few months have been busy ones for us all. Natalie finishes 2nd grade this week with all "A"s.....we're so proud of her. And she has been selected to participate in the PACE program next year (that's the advanced class). We couldn't be prouder of her for that accomplishment! And Anna has been doing so well in learning the lingo here in the States.....she's just like any other soon-to-be three year old! Albeit much bossier than most :-) And I'm still trying to find my way thru parenting 2 children. Where is that path? It keeps shape-shifting every day. I'll get there though....

I love hearing from my friends and cyber-friends about their referrals for their new children....I remember so vividly the emotional time for TA and travel! Congratulations to all of you! Can't wait to hear more.

We....oops....just got back from dealing with Natalie and a nosebleed. Hmmmm. I wonder what that is al about. She's never had any until this past month & I think she's had 4.....anyone else deal with that?

What I was going to say before that episode was that we're looking forward to our trip to Montana in a few weeks....we love it there! Looking forward to that much needed break.....and maybe I'll even post some pictures between now and then :-) Cheerio!

Beware Apolo Ohno and Arcade Champs :-)

Some folks are just born to skate. :-)

Some are born to swing...

And then some are just blowing their cares into the wind!

Easter slideshow

Roger's Antiques Roadshow segment

Roger will make his television debut tonight on Antiques Roadshow! We got tickets last summer to the event & took several items to be appraised. Imagine our surprise when they pulled Roger aside as soon as they saw the Gale Sayers football jersey he had brought!! We were so excited & they filmed his segment of the appraisal, which will premiere tonight on PBS. So check your local listings and watch my usually calm and cool husband get a little rattled on the Roadshow :-)

His segment has also been featured this past week on the AR website. Not sure how long it will stay there, but you can click this link and then click on the Gale Sayers jersey video & see him in all his glory!
(Go to Program #1111 & that's where the jersey is)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/highlights/2007/mobile/index.html

Better late than never!

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. I wonder if anyone is still out there?

Last week was pretty bad for us, but it had a happy ending. My mom had a heart attack last Sunday night, (and drove herself to the hospital instead of calling me, but that's another story :-) After a heart cath on Monday, followed by a harrowing 12 hours of TIA attacks, a day in ICU and another couple of days in the hospital, she went home & is recovering fine. We're VERY lucky.

Other than that, life has been chugging along pretty normally (whatever that is!)

So I'm just going to post a few pictures starting with the most recent today and hope to stay more current with my blogging!

It was such a beautiful weekend here. March and April are the best months. Then it will be hot as blazes with 900% humidity, so we hauled out the kiddie pool for some fun for the girls and a few friends. They love to slide right into the water! Anna was constantly yelling "watch this!" as she slid down & splashed into the pool.

Anna loves to help Roger water the plants :-)

Natalie on her razor scooter....usually there is a scooter brigade in the neighborhood.

A little late, but finally managed to post a Chinese New Year photo.

Anna is consistently left-handed (just like her daddy) and loves draw and "write"

Yesterday I bought Anna a LeapFrog Fridge Phonics learning toy (thanks for the idea Debbie L.!) She cannot get enough of it and it is amazing how quickly she is learning to sing the abc song more clearly! Sometimes she takes it off the side of the fridge & puts it on the floor or even on the table. I LOVE to see my girls actually WANT to learn.....it is really a wonderful sight!

And finally, a few more pics from the weekend water adventure.....(and for those of you thinking Anna was sunburned.....NOT! She was just pink-cheeked from the heat.) They are so lucky to just turn the most gorgeous shade of toasty brown....Their pale, freckly mother is so envious of their beautiful complexions.

Oh well.

Mardi Gras Slideshow...

Guiping Sisters Slideshow

Guiping Sisters - Anna and LiLi

(A little revision was in order since I accidently messed up the slide show....now it is corrected & placed above!)

This weekend we were treated to a visit by my dear cyber friend Debbie L. and her family. It was so nice to be able to finally meet them in person, since we have shared a kinship for the past year. Our daughters Anna and LiLi also share a very special connection in that they were both born in Guiping and transferred to Mother's Love in Nanning. We feel certain that they had contact in Nanning, since Mother's Love is quite small and the children would regularly get together for parties and other visits to the orphanage.

Their son, Ian and our Natalie got along so well....I think of them as "peas & carrots" :-) They both share a special connection in that they "have annoying little sisters" (as they would tell you).

We took the kids to the park to burn off energy, and later in the afternoon we went to the Exploreum where the children actually allowed us grown ups to view the "Pompeii" exhibit that was in town. It was very interesting and the kids behaved exceptionally well! I'm very proud of all of them. Then they were treated to a visit to the "hands on hall", as well as the "wharf of wonder" for the littlest ones. Finally, after hours of fun play, we strolled over to a microbrewery and tasted a couple of the local brews (and no, the 4 kids did not partake in the alchohol delights....after dinner, they were treated to scoops of ice cream at Old Dutch!)

I'm so thankful to have made new friends and especially thankful that Anna has a Guiping sister, just like her big sister Natalie has her Jiujiang sister!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!...

... That's "Let the good times roll!!" for those of you who are not familiar with the familiar Mardi Gras refrain! Mobile kicked off the beginning of Mardi Gras season with the first downtown parade tonight.

Here's some great info about it....."Mobile is not only recognized as celebrating the first-known American Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 (yes, even before New Orleans), but also as home to the "America's Family Mardi Gras" delighting both young and old from around town and across the nation. This magnificent celebration lasts for nearly two weeks and culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.

For weeks, the streets of downtown Mobile are filled with the sights and sounds of live marching bands, brilliant-colored floats and of course teeming crowds of parade goers. The floats are glowing spectacles manned by masked riders festooned in satin and sequins, and armed with crowd-pleasing "throws" such as beads, moon pies, doubloons and candy. Mardi Gras must be experienced to be fully understood and Mobile is the perfect place."




Of course we had to go tonight and get Anna initiated with all our rituals, etc. She didn't have any problem getting in the groove and knew just what to do! It did not take her long at all that if she wanted to catch those sparkling bead and stuff, she better get those hands up in the air! She was so smart and watched for the floats to come....as soon as they were within 50 feet, up those arms would go!




She was handsomely rewarded with this jumbo-sized teddy bear! Go Anna!!

Anna also enjoyed her first encounter with a funnel cake. Yum....nice healthy carnival food! It made her lips nice & shiny with grease! At least she didn't need any ChapStik after eating that thing!


I tried to get a pic of one of the floats before it was too close (didn't want to get my camera beaned with a bag of throws!)...but this one was too far away to get a decent picture.....I'll do better next time :-)

The weather was pretty chilly, but we bundled up enough & it wasn't raining, so perfect Mardi Gras weather for us!



Here are the girls, display some of their booty (well.......maybe I should re-phrase that and call it LOOT......I'm sure they'll be displaying enough of their booty during their teenage years :-)

Oh and I ate my one special throw......I was lucky enough to catch a banana moon-pie! Yum! Now....I'm on a quest for the elusive orange flavored moon-pie......the holy-grail of Mardi Gras throws......Wish me luck!

January at the beach!

Well.....here it is....January (the end of January no less!) Christmas has come and gone with nary a picture or comment from me. And now that I have been in the mood to post, Blogger has not been cooperating. So, without further adieu...here are just a couple of pictures. I'll be sure to get lots more pics coming up.....it is Mardi Gras season here, so we have many many parades we plan to attend! It will be Anna's first experience, so that should be fun. She's already been wearing lots of beads (or neckies as she calls them :-) and our flag is flying!
We took a quick day trip to the beach a few weeks ago....it was such a beautiful day and the girls had so much fun just digging in the sand...... Just a pic of a happy hat wearing girl!

Lucky

December has been a very busy month for us, but I'm finally able to post a few pictures.

Anna doesn't seem to have a clue about all this comotion, tree inside the house and all the lovely presents under the tree. Luckily she hasn't been nosy about them & just leaves them alone. And as far as the tree and ornaments, she loves to play with the ornaments on the bottom section that she placed on the tree herself. Her favorite is a tiny furry kitten, curled in a ball (it "sleeps" on the branches.

Natalie DOES have a clue about all the comotion and is, of course, extremely excited about all the gifts and impending visit from Santa. She's out of school now, so we all have some time together. They just sat down to watch Mary Poppins, so I'll join them when I'm finished blogging.

We are so incredibly blessed to have both of our girls home now safe and sound. And we're even more thankful to have them, now that CCAA has instituted more stringent rules for their international adoptions. The wait for those new families will get longer and longer. We are SO lucky. And that's what I need to remind myself on those days when they're both driving me crazy! :-)

I really hope Santa brings Natalie the "real alive" Pegasus pony (and all the accoutrements, including a stable for the backyard)... :-) We would be the talk of the neighborhood! She said if Santa doesn't bring it, she'll ask the Easter bunny.


What can you say about this.....it truly speaks for itself.
This is probably my all time favorite photo of our girls.

You can see the protective love of Natalie, as well as the trust Anna has placed in her big sister's care.
Little trouble-makers!

No miscevious smiles here!!! Yeah, right!
Exuberant.

That's my most oft used adjective for Anna. (Well, that is when I'm not calling her an imp :-)

This picture really shows that side of her. It is so hard to capture her playful side on film.

This was a typical weekend breakfast time...Natalie is a voracious reader and Anna, well, she likes to "read" too. I managed to sneak the camera in to catch this moment!.

This day she was very interested in reading the bird book I keep in the kitchen (to help identify different birds at the feeder). I saw a red-bellied woodpecker that morning!


I really don't know why it is called a red-bellied woodpecker, since it is actually red-headed, but that's what it is! It was quite large & scared off all the other birds when it decided to raid the feeder.

Earlier tonite the girls decided to try their hands at a game of "war" with Daddy.

I just love our family.

Lucky....that's us.

One BaoBao: Priceless

Anna has always been very affectionate and freely gives us lots of kisses. And she warmly welcomes lots of hugs and oodles of kisses from us.....but....maybe I was the only one who noticed that we didn't get a big, ouchy-squeezy hug in return. I would regularly say "QinQin, BaoBao" to her & from day one, we would get a kiss (QinQin, pronounced Chin-Chin).....but no hugs (BaoBao is "hug").

Today at naptime, as she lay in her crib, she gave me a billion-megawatt smile, held up her arms and said so clearly "BaoBao!" She said it with a mischievous look in her eye that said "I've known all along that you wanted a hug....I've been teasing you :-)" And she gave me a kiss and a wisp of a hug.

But tonight....it was something all together different. Maybe it was the hotdog she got for dinner.....who knows, but as I removed her from her highchair, she reached out to me and looked me squarely in the eye and said "BaoBao" and wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a big squeeze. Finally.....

I'll never forget that first real lovey hug Anna gave me.
Just like I have never forgotten the first hug Natalie gave me.

Some things in life are truly.....priceless.

Yes, we are still on the planet.....

I know it has been a long time....so sorry friends! It has just been a teensy bit hectic around our house lately. Nothing is wrong, just trying to get into the rhythm of our foursome. Maybe I'm the only one having more difficulty? But it really isn't bad. I still cannot believe how easily Anna has blended into our family. She's such a happy little tot (but she does know how to try to pitch a fit to get her way....but it doesn't work :-) I just dig in harder (well, usually!) The girls love like sisters, play like sisters and fuss like sisters! I hear the constant "sttooooop" from both of them....that must have been Anna's first english word. Speaking of english, she tends to pick up at least one new word each day. And the past few days she is easily putting 2-3 words together...."I got you", "hold this", etc. I still try to get her to say Chinese words along with her english words too. And she tattled on Natalie in Chinese tonight! It was pretty cute....they were in the bedroom & I could hear a bit of fussing going on....then Anna burst out of the room saying a mouthful of chinese, followed by "Natalie!" and pointing her finger at Natalie :-) The Roger walked in and she repeated the whole offense to him....Meanwhile Natalie was smiling and trying to defend herself. I guess tattling comes in all languages! We can tell that she speaks chinese in sentences, not just baby talk. I looked up some things tonite & she says things in chinese alot such as "take a bath" or "wash hands". It is really quite clear (if you can understand chinese that is :-)

Here are a few more pictures we took recently.....and by the way, thanks for the comments! I always enjoy them (and it is nice to know you're out there!)


Natalie and her cousins were having pictures made at the beach by a professional, and when she was finished, Natalie claimed a wave came up and knocked her down....hhmmmmm.....me thinks she msut have been in the water more than her ankles to get this wet! I was busy trying to coax a smile out of Anna....who was freezing at the time!

Aaaaggghh! A dingo ate my baby!!!!

Natalie hangin' with a few Melbourne buddies

" Yo! " or is that "Peace - Out!" ?? Anna is quite the Florida Gator fan, which makes her daddy SO proud! She can do a mean "Gator Chomp" and anytime she sees a Gator logo she screams "touchdown Gators" and throws her hands up in the air!