Thanksgiving - Party of One :-(

I'm hosting a pity party for Thanksgiving - I'm the only attendee.

Our family of four, plus one grammy was planning on the long trek to Vero Beach this morning for a great visit with the entire family for a few days, plus the fun of a long-overdue visit with friends. Unfortunately my mom (grammy) was hospitalized with pneumonia yesterday morning, so plans were drastically changed & here I am at my pity party. I wanted Roger to still take the girls so they would be able to visit with their other grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who are all visiting from as far away as California and New York.

I had no idea that my heart would break into a million pieces as they drove away this morning. I knew I would miss them, of course. But the grief was and continues to be overwhelming.

I've had so many sweet friends offer to either have me attend Thanskgiving dinner, or even just bring me a plate....I'm so grateful for their thoughts and prayers. But for some reason, I just want this to be my Thanksgiving - party of one. I miss my family.

I am one with the wool...

....I have unexpectedly found my salvation! (And a life saver for my kids and dh as well).

My friend, Lee called last week to ask if I knitted...uh--no way. Too bad she said....she's into it & was hoping we could knit together while we visited in Atlanta. I didn't give it another thought until we got there & she showed me her projects. Wow! She created the most amazing things. We drank wine & conversed while she knitted away on a sweater for one of her daughters. The next morning, I accompanied her to the yarn shop, Knitch in Virginia Highlands...oh my gosh....for those of you in the Atlanta area....this place is heaven! It is NOT your usual yarn or craft type store....it has atmosphere that draws you in and MAKES you want to "be one with the wool". So here I am....completely addicted on just one moment!

Lee set me up with some circular needles & I picked some beautiful wool yarn, hand dyed from Montana...right near my brothers town! It is so vibrant & lovely.....so off I set to knit a hat for Anna...I had zero confidence that I could do it, but Lee was a great teacher and off I went! I was manic...I tuned everything and everyone out (except I could actually converse when I wanted to!).....I found my Zen, I found my Peace, I found my (long-missing) Sanity! I could not believe how relaxed it made me & I knitted until the wee hours of the morning while everyone else was asleep.....I would have finished the hat myself on the last row, but Lee was asleep & I didn't know what to do until I got to the end! But soon after we all got up, I finished Anna's cute hat! Hmmm.....what time does Knitch open today? Lee and I headed to Knitch & I got more yarn....I had to have enough for a matching hat for Natalie....Roger was destined to have a hat lovingly knit by me, and of course, my mom's blue eyes begged for the lovely turqoise....and I just couldn't resist the green for myself :-)

I began Roger's hat Sunday night.....on the drive home, I usually drive (to cut down on arguments :-), but I wanted to get a bit further on his hat, so Roger drove & the kids napped & thank God for the 2 DVD players which occupied them for awhile.....as it got dark, I popped on my reading light and knitted feverishly for hours, never looking up......Roger veered off on an Exit and I did look up & ask what he was doing...."Duh....we're home!" I could not believe it....I rode for hours, happily knitting away, completely oblivious to his driving (usually I can never rest, since I have to be sure he's driving OK, and awake :-) It was the most peaceful drive! Yay! And I was on the last row of his hat! Once we got the kids in bed I picked up the hat and completed it.

The funny thing is that Roger was acting like he'd never really wear a hat that I knitted for him (and after I so carefully selected the hand-spun, hand-dyed Manos from Uruguay!!)...BUT, once he tried it on, he couldn't take it off and actually slept in it for awhile & then wore it to have his coffee the next morning....he likes it! And Anna wore hers all day at the aquarium too & in the car.

So....I guess I have some apptitude for this....I'm anxious for more patterns & more learning. I need Lee. She's the best teacher in the world & so patient. My next project to begin this afternoon while sitting in the car for an hour at dance will be Natalie's hat. I might need to learn how to knit mittens for her.....that's what she wants. Lee?? Help!

Atlanta Trip

We went to Atlanta last weekend to visit friends and had a wonderful time. We started the weekend off playing at the parks, relaxing with wine and visiting with old friends and their children. We visited Fernbank & the kids got to explore the dinosaurs and a very nice frog exhibit (who knew there were so many kinds of frogs!) Sunday brought our first trip to IKEA, which Roger gamely tolerated for awhile until I suggested he and Britt take all 4 kids to a park & we would catch up with them later :-) They were out of there in a flash & I could relax & take in the IKEA experience.....I did enjoy the Swedish meatball lunch and Natalie actually loved the lingonberry juice! Very unusual for her to try something so unknown.

One of the highlights of our visit was riding thru the very tony neighborhood streets of Decatur on our friend's vintage tractor! He has restored it to it's original condition & we took it out for a spin thru the neighborhood. Needless to say, I'm sure the neighbors are aghast and the country bumpkins driving a tractor (!) down their street! Too funny!!

On Monday morning, we hooked up with our friends, the Laydens, at the Georgia Aquarium. This was our first visit and I highly recommend it! It was truly a lovely adventure and the exhibits were first-class as you can see from the slideshow. My favorite was the tropical tank...it is amazing how brightly colored and patterned the fish are. And they knew exactly how to display the fish to bring out their colors. Beautiful.

We loved seeing the Layden's again.....Natalie and Ian have been anxious to see each other...but they were pretty quiet most of the time :-) Anna and Li Li were two peas in a pod having fun and getting along just great. I can't wait to see them again. Debbie and Dan are always fun to be with....like we've known them forever.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

No, Anna is not screaming in terror at her pediatric cardiologist's office....she is happily chowing down on a yummy lollipop. Who has this much fun at their doctor's office? What an amazing job they did decorating the office......it was so cool! Wish I had gotten a picture of the yellow brick road they had created!




Below is our neighborhood "Chinese Contingent" for T or T. They had fun & got too much candy to haul! The only problem was that Anna was frightened within the first 5 minutes by a guy dressed in a "Scream" costume.....I don't think she will EVER forget that (and he wasn't even near her!) Needless to say, she spent the rest of the evening in our arms & would not get down to go up to the doors....and begged to go home alot of the time :-) She managed to pull herself together pretty well at the end with a lollipop, followed by Swedish Fish, Nerds, and anything else she could get her little paws & fangs on!

An answer to our prayers

Anna had her annual cardiologist check-up today to see how her VSD is doing. Very very good news for us! The doctor said that it was difficult to find, but they did see a tiny area that was not quite closed....the gap has closed significantly from one year ago (when the could actually take a pressure reading of the flow). Now it is so small, there is no pressure, just a little bitty leak. We'll go back again next year and most likely the VSD will be completely closed.

In the meantime, still no restrictions on her whatsoever & she will continue to whirl about in her beautiful, energetic spirit.

Also, we actually had a great time at the doctor's office (if you can imagine that!) Anna's pediatric cardiologist blows it all out on Halloween. This year's theme was "Wizard of Oz"! It was truly an amazing sight to see the yellow brick road they had created, as well as the Emerald City and all the other scenes. Each person was decked out in an incredible costume & looked fantastic!! The cowardly lion was Anna's first stop....it was pretty funny when the "lion" realized it was going to be difficult to get the stethescope into her real ears! Next was the doctor....replete in an elf costume.....Anna wasn't too sure what to make of her silly hairdo. And then the wonderful and sweet echocardiogram tech was perfect as Dorothy.....including Toto in a basket!

Anna was SUCH an amazing brave girl.....the first thing she told me this morning when she awoke was "Mommy, I not going to cry at the doctor office....I be brave" She melts my heart. And she was brave and not scared at all. Or at least I didn't think she was until about halfway into the echo, I saw her reach up and wipe a tear from her eye :-( She was bravely holding her emotions in check.....but she was obviously scared when they hooked up the wires to her chest. What a precious gift we have in Anna.

I'll post the pictures from the Oz office as soon as I receive them. Happy Halloween!!

4 days...

....until the whirlwind season of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. The next 10 weeks will come in and out like a blizzard. I wish I could say I'm looking forward to it, but alas, (as usual) I'm not as prepared as I ALWAYS aspire to be. Well, at least I'm consistent!

We do have a few trips planned that I'm SO looking forward to. First one in two weeks will be our way-overdue trip to Hot-lanta to visit old friends and also visit with my bloggy friend Debbie & Dan and perfecto kids Ian and LiLi. You'll remember Ian....he was the too-adorable young man, holding my daughter's hand at the beach :-)

Then we'll be heading to Vero Beach for the Thanksgiving holidays....I'm really looking forward to that too. AND, I'm certain this will be a more pleasant drive than last year, when my DH decided that "Natalie doesn't need a DVD in the car....she can amuse herself by looking out the window like I did when I was her age!".....needless to say, that was the trip from he-double hockey sticks, as Natalie pouted and fumed and was "bored" for 10 straight hours. THIS year, I totally bypassed DH and bought not one, but TWO portable DVD players. One for each kidlet. How smart am I? Now they don't even have to share. So I don't have to hear the squabbles or anything! Ha! I'll teach him :-)

So, in an effort to stay on top of current events, here's my latest photo journal....

We walked to our church "trunk or treat" earlier this week....Anna is enthralled with her candy...she's a sugar freak. :-(



The cutest little black cats in the world! (Or should that be "sassy" black cat?)

I went to Anna's room the other day to see what trouble she was cooking up and was surprised to see she had written these letters all by herself! A smart and sassy cookie.

Natalie particiated in a Stix performance at church recently....she did a great job and this picture does not do her justice. Maybe I'll stick the video on the blog.

This is what Anna came up with the other day as a lovely outfit. I have a similar photo of Natalie wearing this same tutu when she was 2.....over her footie PJs, riding her new tricycle with her helmet on...a favorite of mine, and so is this one.

The end.

Children of the Corn(Maze)

What a difference a year makes...

One year ago today we were introduced to our adorable youngest daughter, Anna, who was known at the time as ChangChang. She came into our family at the perfect time and has been an incredible joy to us.

The picture above shows our Anna after only being with us for an hour. She looks so sad, with her teary eyes and quivering lip.....although she was prepared for her new family, she still was terrified at first.



Fast forward to a couple of hours later and our first dinner.....see that impish smile and sparkle in her eyes? That's the Anna we know. It still amazes us that she was comfortable enough within a few hours to be her naturally goofy self.

I've always loved this picture of Roger giving Anna a smooch a few days later....remember, she would not have anything to do with him for the first several days.....it was so hard for him not to be able to hold her. Now, she adores her daddy & cannot get enough of him.

Before (above)

Same bubbly, sweet smile (and SLIGHTLY more hair has been cultivated :-)

After (below)



HAPPY FIRST GOTCHA DAY, ANNA!!

We love you and we're so happy and fortunate that you are our daughter!

Autumn Moon Festival

Last year we were in China for the Autumn Moon Festival, and here we are in the US this year. I can't believe it has been one year soon since we brought Anna into our family. Today we were getting ready to celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival with the local FCC group. As I was helping Anna get dressed, I pulled out the two pair of shoes that her foster mother gave her (one pair she was wearing when we received her). The outfit I chose for her to wear was very similar to the one she came to us wearing. Apparently this brought a flood of memories of her foster mother because she began asking where her foster mother was. For some reason, Anna was thinking that the party we were going to was in China and her foster family would also be there. :-) She brought it up several times over the course of the evening & on the way home asked if we were going to China. She was always upbeat about it & not asking in a stressed way, just excited to be "going to China". Wow.

Anyway, here are a few pics of Natalie and Anna in their Moon Festival finery.

I decided to make an attempt at creativity......(not my strong suite). So here is my American version on moon cakes (since no one I know actually likes authentic chinese mooncakes!)

In case you can't tell, this is a lantern cake, and the chinese symbols represent the mid-autumn festival. The white one is like the bright, full moon. What do you think?

Anna is always (well almost!) in awe of her jie jie!

Grammy and her girls

A small gathering of our FCC group

Pass the catch-up

Time to catch up on what's been going on for us lately.....


First and foremost, we want to let Natalie know how proud we are of her that she is now officially a sponsor of a "Baby Sister" in China. For Natalie's 8th birthday, she requested donations for Half the Sky Foundation in lieu of gifts. We send in her donation money along with a request that Natalie be able to sponsor a child for one year, with a special request that the child be from Natalie's orphanage in Jiujiang, Jiangxi. We are honored that a baby has been chosen for Natalie. The baby is currently 9 months old and she is in the Baby Sisters Infant Nurture program sponsored by Half the Sky. They have done so many good things in the past 10 years for these children, it is amazing and we're very proud to be associated with them and even more proud of Natalie for wanting to make a direct difference in a baby's life. We'll get quarterly updates and our greatest wish is that we'll hear that she was adopted into a loving family.

Mandarin Class

The girls are now attending Chinese language classes one afternoon each week. There are two age groups.....the bigger girls are learning to write and the little girls are working on numbers, colors, and fruits. These children are SO smart and language is so much easier for them to learn at this age. My brain is like concrete....

Pimped my ride....

In other breaking news......I got a new car.....I dearly LOVE my new Santa Fe!!!!! Woohoo!

The following pictures are just simple sweetness.....

Thanks for checking in.....I'll make my typical pronouncement of "I'll do better".....and I will try!

One Year Ago

It was exactly one year ago that we finally got the long-awaited call that we had received travel approval (TA) to go to China for Anna.

I'll never forget that call and the excitement of rushing to make all the travel arrangements. I felt so "alive" that day. Whew! What an adrenaline rush! It is so hard to believe that we have had Anna in person for 11 months now. And we feel so fortunate that we somehow managed to have her in our arms within 7 months of first "seeing" her. Sadly the wait times have increased so much for China adoptions.....hopefully they will speed up soon and these families can be created much sooner.

I'll have the Pip n Pop song in my head again all day today, just like I did one year ago....

"L-O-V-E....Loooooooove....just can't get enouuuuuuugh." Have a great day!

Natalie's 8th birthday!

My 3rd Grader!

I can't believe my baby had her first day of school today as a 3rd grader! Where does the time go? I could lie & say this picture was taken on the way to school this morning, but truthfully, it was so humid that my camera lens fogged completely!! So I took this one when we got home after Natalie suffered in the 111 degree heat index for 40 minutes waiting for me to get thru the carline to pick her up. Oy...I'll be glad when all the "new moms" figure out how to do the carline! It is always awful the first week until everyone gets the hang of it. Anyway, I think she still looks pretty perky after the long hot day. Too bad you can't see the fab leopard print backpack she has......pure Natalie!

Friends and sisters

I want to be a cowgirl

And I have the perfect pink boots to prove it!

Anna was upset recently when Natalie started wearing her pink boots (lovely with shorts :-) everywhere.....she asked where HER boots were. So off to the store & found this ultra cute pair....she cried giant crocodile tears this morning when meanie daddy told her she couldn't wear them to school. I took pity on her and saved the day by letting her wear them. Could her smile get any bigger? I've never seen anyone so proud of the pink cowgirl boots! Yee-haw!

By popular request...

Here he is.....the short-lived saga of "Joey" the truck-undercarriage-riding kitten... cute, huh?
A little scrawny....I think he needs to eat some of the squirrels in our back yard for sustainance.
He's very playful & loves to get into trouble.
And here is trouble. AKA Simon....who is our one and only cat.

He was NOT too thrilled that I was outside taking pictures

of the scrawny kitten when I could be inside, opening a can of cat food or scratching his back.

Happily, our worry over what to do about the kitten was solved the next morning when our neighbor's wife and son saw him. They called us at work and asked if they could have him. Duh...yep! And I said I'd even throw in a bag of cat food too.

They have named him "Joey". He spends alot of time hanging around our house, but that's OK. I just hope they take good care of him.

He is pretty dang cute!

But then again, so is Simon.