Fireworks and Fireflies

Sunday Snapshot {the year of the dragon}

2012-01-29T23:05:00.000-05:00

Last year, to welcome in the year of the rabbit, we experimented with making jiaozi on Lunar New Year's Eve. Our dumplings weren't quite dim sum quality, but they sure tasted good and we had a great time making them. We vowed to make homemade jiaozi a yearly tradition in our home.

Then the Lunar New Year snuck up on me. I'll blame it on the fact that the date jumps around so...

To ring in the year of the dragon, we didn't do much more than ask the kiddos if they wanted to sport silks to church last Sunday.

Dumplings or not, they did wish most everyone they saw "Gung hay fat choy" (wishing you good fortune and happiness in the new year) and got lots of smiles both at church and at the Asian restaurant where we had lunch.

While my crew was forgiving that I had overlooked blocking off New Year's Eve for dumpling making, my oldest ~ who has the memory of an elephant ~ did want to know when we'd be making our jiaozi for New Year. And since we had so much fun making them a second time with friends last year, we invited our neighbors to join us Friday night for a dumpling making party and feast.

While Abbey and Elijah hadn't made dumpings before, they weren't afraid to jump right in and get their hands a bit dirty.

Caleb quickly seemed to remember the process and cranked out dumplings as fast as Ian could scoop filling

Elijah and Daniel getting a little help moistening the edges by my mom.

DQ watches Abbey's technique. (and what is it with my girls and gymnastics leotards?)

Ky decides moistening BEFORE filling is easiest.

Within 15 minutes, all 75 dumplings were filled. The only thing that happened more quickly was how fast those 75 dumplings were eaten.

Then Saturday we went to the CNY celebration hosted by our metro area's Chinese American Society.

And yes, I did sport my cheongsam. I'm tellin' ya, Kylie has a memory like a steel trap. She may have been only 2 1/2 when we traveled to meet her first sibling, but she remembered that I bought myself a dress on that trip. And each year when she has worn hers, she's asked me if I was going to wear mine. I was pretty self conscious about it, but this year I realized that it won't likely be much longer that my girls would want me to dress like them, so I bought a pair of leggings to wear under it and decided to hold my head high. Ky and DQ's smiles were worth any second glances I got...

While we were there we took time to do a few crafts.

And of course the artists had to proudly display their dragon creations!

This year we carefully studied the performance schedule for the day to guarantee we would catch a dragon dance.

being able to carefully study the dragon while it was not dancing helped all four not to be frightened ~ too bad Ian and I didn't think of that the first year...

We ran into our neighborhood pals while there. Please imagine if you will the spectacle we created in getting this gang to stand together and smile...

yes, we do realize how blessed we are to live in the same neighborhood with two other families that "look like us" ~ one of whom we traveled with on our first trip to China in 2007.

Caleb may have gotten to test his skill at Chinese yo-yo,

he was actually freakishly good considering it was his first try

but his smile would indicate that the highlight of the day was running into "the one with the purse!"

This year's festival had less booths hawking trinkets (a disappointment for the girls) and crazy long lines for the dim sum (a disappointment for Ian and I), but we did get to see lots of dancing, singing, and of course the dragon dance. Overall we had a great time, best modeled by the one who left it all at the festival.

despite the noise around him, wee one did indeed give up the fight with sleep before we headed out

We may have been behind on celebrating, and may have missed a few of the traditions (no haircuts, no new outfits unless buying summer wardrobes at consignment last week count, and the big housecleaning before the holiday didn't quite happen) but our family is looking forward to the year of the dragon. A new year is always exciting.

Gung hay fat choy!

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Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

the sitter

2012-01-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

We've got a pretty adorable crew.

AND they are even pretty well behaved.

But there are four of them. And the oldest is still a bit shy of turning six. And while they all get along amazingly well, the boys may fight just a wee bit from time to time. So finding a teenage sitter ~ that we can afford for four hours ~ willing to take them on, especially in the middle of the week isn't exactly easy.

Last night though, we needed help because Ian's company avoids adding to scheduling chaos in December. And the holiday party is in January. On a Wednesday. And while it is rather exciting to get all dressed up and go attend a fancy cocktail party and dinner with the one who still brings me flowers on a date night,

we do have this adorable crew to consider.

So we called in one of the best sitters we know. And boy howdy did she prove her worth!

One not so fun aspect of date night is getting dinner together for the kiddos before leaving. No problem last night though. Not only did she take care of feeding them, she took them out, by herself, to Pei Wei for dinner.

And they were so well behaved there (after receiving a slew of compliments from other customers) that she decided to treat them to dessert at a nearby yogurt bar.

Yeah, one of those places where you serve your own yogurt and then top it yourself from a crazy amount of candies, fruits and syrups. I don't even take them there by myself. Heck, Ian and I consider it a challenge to go there when the ratio is 1 to 2, but she took on the odds of 1 to 4.

Oh, and did I mention that all four kids had a bath and were sleeping soundly in their beds when we got home.

She just smiled at our wide eyes when she told us about their evening. I guess there is something to a Grandmother's touch after all...

mom with the kids back in september

So those of you back home, don't be surprised when Mom doesn't show up on Saturday as planned. We're hiding her keys. She doesn't know it yet, but she's moving in...

Wordless Wednesdy {who says less is more?}

2012-01-25T06:37:00.002-05:00

10 years

2012-01-24T15:06:00.001-05:00

We spent the day with my college roommate and her girls yesterday.

It was one of those rare days that Beth was off from her job with hospice, both school systems lined up with a common teacher work day and no one was sick.

It may have been nearly a three hour ride each way, but oh was it worth the drive.

So wonderful to catch up on six months of family happenings. A true delight to see her girls loving on my crew. Mind boggling to realize that just 10 years ago, her girls were the age of my two littlest.

Ten years ago they'd come to spend the weekend with Ian and I. And while we provided lots of entertainment, the two things they remember most was me painting their fingernails rainbow colors and using my stainless steel mixing bowls as hats in the bathtub.

**Yes I do have plenty of pictures of those "hats." Sadly that was before my digital camera days AND we have no scanner**

Last night Anah and Sera asked if they could give my crew a bath before we left. How in the world did those ten years slip by so fast?

Donut dreams

2012-01-19T22:09:00.002-05:00

We had a special treat last week. Little E and her mommy came to visit for a few days. In the middle of the week ~ how fun is that?

We didn't have big plans. Entertainment included hitting our big Asian market. My kids got re-acquainted with several treats they haven't seen since July...

Some time was spent riding in the roundy road.

Ample time was spent in the playroom.

For the Mamas? As often happens, a good deal of our time was spent in the kitchen. Coffee, meal preps, and washing dishes consumed several hours.

And then there was the special treat. Our humble kitchen was turned into a bakery to rival Krispy and Dunkin. My sweet friend made us homemade donuts!

(Anyone who knows our family shouldn't be surprised that roughly 2/3s of the pictures I took over the three days were of the donuts).

As good as they smelled, what could possibly make a hot mini-donut better? Why, that would be a shake in powdered sugar of course!

Four out of four M kids agreed...

Ms. L made some really yummy treats!

"Lish-ous!"

So little E and Ms. L, next time we get together, we have one little request.

Let's make more donuts!

**And why wasn't little miss E pictured eating a donut? She was too busy playing in the dollhouse to be photographed...**

Wordless Wednesday {future engineers?}

2012-01-18T06:37:00.003-05:00

Sunday Snapshot {what He meant}

2012-01-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

While reading a blog that I frequent one day this week, I was struck with an image that made the following verse come to life.

And he [Jesus] said:“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 18:3

Despite a culture that screams, "me, Me, ME!" and a world that says, "be more, have more, do more," a six year old gives her own crocs to a child who had only one pair of tattered flip flops to her name.

I know those shoes. They were ones bought for her just last summer to match those of her cousins. They may look old and worn, but it was just the dirt and dust of a few days in Honduras on them ~ those shoes still had a lot of life left in them.

I know those shoes because on the day after Christmas they still belonged to my beautiful niece. Just a few days later she transferred ownership to a little girl she met in Honduras. Not because anyone told her to. Just because she saw the need and acted upon it. The moment was recorded only because my sister stumbled upon it during their time in Honduras working in some orphanages.

I suspect this is what He meant by becoming like little children.

May we all strive to become more childlike every day...

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

The zoo: no agenda style

2012-01-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

It's funny how kids become creatures of habit very quickly. After we got home from being at Mama's for Christmas, the big kids started asking, "So, what day are we going to the zoo?"

(It all started over Christmas/New Year's 2008/2009 when Ian's company closed for the week between the two holidays. We found out he'd have the time off late in the game and decided to celebrate a "stay-cation" at home. The zoo was an easy day trip and the kids have come to expect it every year since).

And so on Monday 2nd (Ian's day off for New Year's), we dressed our kids in two layers, packed a slew of PB & J sandwiches, and hopped in the van for our yearly winter visit to the NC Zoo.

Because we had absolutely no agenda beyond enjoying time together, we obliged requests to stop at each statue we saw.

And spent a while on the playground too.

A long while on the playground.

A whole lot longer than we usually spend. But again. No agenda. No worries.

On this trip we even did something we've never done before. Pay to use the viewfinders. That was compliments of our oldest son. He hit his piggy bank just before we left the house and we heard his pockets jingling. When questioned about it, he answered, "You know those looky things at the zoo? I bringed my own money so that we can use them. I have 'nough for Kylie and Darcy and Daniel too. Please?"

So we did.

We spent a lot of time at the prairie viewing both the real bison (above) and the not-so-real bison (below).

Then just as we left the prairie and headed on to the African plains, our little trooper decided he was finished. It was about that time Ian and I regretted making the decision to leave the stroller at home. Thankfully he'll go to either of us pretty easily and he still weighs in under 30 pounds!

Did I mention that we stopped at every statue?

We did.

We even went searching for herds of elephants in the helicopter.

Oh yeah. And the live animals? We managed to see a few of them too.

we saved the seals for last and they were the highlight of the day!

Winter zoo days. Cold or not, we love 'em. No crowds and lively animals. It's a great way to enjoy sunshine and some of God's creation!

It's a tradition we started in 2009 as a family of four...

our kids January 3, 2009

...and have continued each year since. It's become a highlight of our Christmas vacation.

our kids January 2, 2012

Chances are you'll see us there one day in early January 2013 ~ after all, our membership goes through the end of that month...

Wordless Wednesday {chillin' with a China sister}

2012-01-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

**and yes, our tree is still up. don't judge...**

Was there a time?

2012-01-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

July 8. Six months ago today. It was the day after Daniel Zhenyu M became a US citizen in the Chicago airport.

taking a second to commemorate citizenship

July 8 was the first day that he woke up in his new country, in his new home, with his still "very new to him" family.

By day ~ as long as there was food nearby ~ he was just fine.

ah yes, lest we forget that dermabond spot...

Smiling, gregarious, babbling... The common by-stander would never guess he had been with us less than two weeks at that point.

this one actually snapped on the 10th ~ i was in a blur those first 48 hours and didn't take many photos at all

Unless of course that by-stander was in/near our house at rest/bed time. There was a reason behind letting him sleep where he fell in those few times that he simply "played himself to sleep," and being anywhere near our house would have given a clue why.

I briefly shared how hard it was for our little man to sleep when we first got home. Even today, nearly six months after that was written, it is hard for me to read as that "tip of the iceberg" of what it was like floods painful memories back. My precious baby just couldn't let his guard down to go to sleep peacefully. It was when it was time to sleep that his grief came on full force. It was so, so difficult to try to hold him and offer comfort and realize it wasn't me that could offer that comfort. His little heart was broken and grieving a woman he had known as Mama for so long.

We hugged him, we did all we could to let him know that we were just an arm's reach away when he pushed us back, and most importantly we prayed. And ever so slowly, the sobbing slowed down when it was time to go to sleep. Each week brought shorter and shorter spells through the night.

And then, one day, we became able to put him on the bed for his nap, give him a big hug and kiss, lay one hand on his chest, and just a few minutes later we'd have this...

taken christmas day at mama's

oh how i love those piggies

no tears necessary, just peaceful slumber!

And where he used to push me away? That no longer happens. Now when he cries Mama during the night, it is me that he's looking for. Most nights just laying a hand on his chest and whispering, "It's okay baby, Mama's right here." are all he needs to settle back down and continue sleeping. But if that doesn't work, a quick snuggle does wonders.

we've come a long way, this little guy and i

And the dreaded one hour minimum bedtime show? No longer exists. Now he's quite happy to listen to story with the big kids, hug and kiss them ~ and his daddy of course ~ all goodnight, grab his beloved "blank," and come to my room where I read him one additional story. (Currently it is a pop up version of David and Golliath, but Froggy Plays Soccer has been in the routine along with Green Eggs and Ham). After the story and wadding his blanket up into a ball that he hugs to his chest, he's just recently added giving me a kiss, rubbing noses, and saying, "Mommy, you my bes frien (best friend)," before he closes his eyes.

this picture is off center ~ thanks to one of our under the age of six photographers in the house ~ but i think i like it even more than the one above. when he says "bes frien mommy," he's serious

At this point it feels like I've been a mommy of four for a mighty long time.

And that makes me ask, was there really a time?...

...when there were only three?

taken june 20, 2011 ~ the morning before we hopped a flight overseas...

Hope for them as they wait

2012-01-05T23:29:00.001-05:00

Just over a year ago I decided it was time to put my passion for orphaned children to work and I filled out an application to volunteer for an amazing foster home in southern China.

What do I do for them?

Why blog of course...

One fun thing about blogging for An Orphan's Wish is that I'm getting to know the kiddos as best I can from thousands of miles away. In the process of learning all about them, a few have stolen what's left of my heart.

One heart stealer is playful little Olivia.

Her spunk mixed with sweetness drew me in from across the globe when she was featured in our Who's Who Wednesday posts last winter.

With the top quality care she is receiving at the House of Love, Olivia is doing so well. Yet imagine how she would THRIVE under the undivided love and attention of her very own forever family! Just yesterday I learned that her paperwork is complete. Olivia is now waiting for her family to find her...

Another one of "our kids" from AOW waiting for a family is William.

William received treatment for club feet at An Orphan's Wish and following successful treatment returned back to his home province to go into foster care. This 1 1/2 minute video shows William through the years and highlights his desire to have a family to call his very own.

A grant is being offered by one agency to help defray the costs in bringing William home.

Janie is another AOW club foot graduate.

This outgoing little girl is waiting for her forever family to come and take her home. Her caregivers state that a family would be blessed to count her as one of their own.

Lastly, there is Michael. I don't know a whole lot about him beyond the fact that Lifeline Children's Services currently has his file. (And I can't say enough wonderful things about Lifeline...) There is just a tiny bit of info ~ but perhaps more importantly, a photo ~ about him on their waiting child page (he's listed as Charlie on their site).

Just had to share my excitement about these precious kiddos I have come to know and love from across the globe! Their pictures are being printed and will go right beside the pictures of our the New Day cuties we're praying for. We have hope that 2012 will see families step forward for all eight of these precious children.

hope: The teaching pastor from our church defines hope this way ~ "Hope isn't naivety, it is refusing to believe that the last word has been spoken."

**Please contact advocacy@anorphanswish.org for further information about Olivia, William, Janie and Michael. The advocacy team can point you in the right direction to pursue bringing one of these precious children home!**

Wordless Wednesday {COMING SOON!...to a driveway near you}

2012-01-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

Finn's worst mission

2012-01-03T09:14:00.001-05:00

Poor Finn...

In the movie Cars 2 he was all suave and able to overcome everything the bad guys could throw his way. (Or at least I think that's what I observed when we watched it Christmas night at my mom's ~ with six kids there was a little chaos...and so by watched I mean that I saw about 30 minutes worth of the movie in two to three minute segments)

But I suspect that if Finn had known the mission he'd be sent on at our house he would have chosen not to accept his placement at the home of the M6.

That's because at our house on Thursday night, Finn McMissile got the ultimate "swirly."

Yep, Finn got flushed.

Apparently one of our kids was playing with him in an empty toilet paper roll. A little too close to the toilet.

**Now if your house is full of Barbie, Hello Kitty and all things pink and you are wondering why a car was in an empty toilet paper roll, that actually makes perfect sense. You see, Modified Mater and Dragon Lightning McQueen have a blast swerving through big pipes in the short Tokyo Mater. (It's a fun little clip, but if you don't have six minutes, jump directly to 4:20 to get the correct scene). I'll give the child props for recreating one of his favorite of Mater's Tall Tales.**

And then the child had in impulsive moment and decided to see what happens when water rushes over a toy car in the bottom of the toilet. Maybe expecting Finn to swim against the current? We're not really sure.

What we are sure of is that we heard tears from the bathroom as Finn disappeared from sight...

Of course Finn was the one toy that our son had carried with him 24/7 for the past week. And try as we might, no amount of encouragement about Finn's need to carry on his secret agent work offered any consolation.

Our little guy was crushed ~ not to mention very concerned for Finn's safety ~ and needed a happy ending. So Ian made a pit stop by Target on his way to work the next morning and we devised a little plan.

That night the kids were so excited about our evening entertainment (going to Toys R Us to spend their gift card from Grandpa M) that they all missed this amazing sight...

what a secret agent ~ able to maneuver through the sewer system, crawl out of the storm drain, drive down the road, crawl through our grass and just about make it to our front steps. all in less than 24 hours!

Well, not quite all of them...

The blue paint must have caught his eye as he raced across the front sidewalk to the van.

Funniest quote of the night? Following our explanation that Finn had navigated the sewer system, made his way out of the manhole down the street, driven the road and then crossed our yard, Caleb exclaims, "Mommy and Daddy, I know you are just teasing me. Finn couldn't do that, he's not real. I know that Santa brought him to me..."

Ah the simple joy of a five year old boy being reunited with his $3.48 toy car.

And no, Finn hasn't left his side since.

Sunday Snapshot {waiting their turn}

2011-12-31T20:55:00.001-05:00

It truly has been "the most wonderful time of the year." Our family grew by one in 2011 and here at six months of being "the M6," we've reached a new equilibrium. On top of feeling that we've caught a groove, this season we enjoyed introducing the wee one to our yearly traditions of attending a small town parade, putting up our tree, baking mass amounts of cookies to share, and going caroling. We've so enjoyed celebrating the Christmas season as a family.

And yet, as happy as I am, my heart is also twinged with heaviness.

Why exactly?

Because I have seen and can't forget some of those waiting for their turn to "come home."

This summer at New Day I played with, held, and listened to other children as excitedly called out, "Mommy!" to any female who walked in the room. They may be young, and they may not know much English at this point, but they've watched their friends "go home" to loving, forever families and while they are cared for so well in their foster home, they too long for their own set of parents.

I just know that sweet Noah's parents are out there somewhere.

He seems to know it too!

He is an amazing little guy who has overcome much with the love of his foster mother. I dare you to check the posts tagged Noah on the New Day blog and not fall for him yourself. Even if you aren't his forever family, you can join me in praying that they will find him soon.

Another sweetie that captured my heart was little Lucy.

Every time I pulled out my camera while visiting the preschool she had a wry little grin for me.

She seems to have a zest for life and her future forever mommy will cherish her sweet spirit.

And I certainly can't forget about Eliana.

Anytime my lap was open, she was in it. And she'd happily call out "Mama, mama!" the entire time I'd hold her.

And if she wasn't in my lap, she was doing everything possible to get my attention. She is a giggly little gal and would add lots of life to a family.

There's one other sweetie who needs a family of her very own, Miss Ella.

I didn't get to meet her in person , but I highly respect one who holds her every day and pours much love into that sweet soul.

Because of her condition, Ella does need a very special family, but I have no doubt that they are out there. Would you help spread the word?

These precious four children ~ along with many others ~ are so well cared for right now. New Day has done amazing things for their health and spirits. And yet, as wonderful as their current home is, nothing can quite replace the dedicated love of a forever family.

Will you join in with me in praying that 2012 will see them have their turn to go home? We're putting their pictures on our fridge and will pray over them daily. And oh! How will we celebrate when we see the much longed for "*" beside their name on the Our children page that signifies their family is on the way!

**If you think one of these darlings may fill out your family, email me at fireworksandfireflies@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with a contact from our most recent adoption agency. I'd be willing to bet she can help you get your dossier together "lickety-split" so you can bring your newest family member home.**

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Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

the "big family" Christmas

2011-12-30T14:20:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning was a bit unusual this year. With Uncle Adam being the worship leader at the contemporary service (which starts at 8:30), we realized that gifts were going to have to wait until after church.

But what to do about Santa's stuff ~ which at our house is unwrapped. (We have a deal with Santa, he has a lot to accomplish in one night. Wrapping is not necessary).

No worries. With his milk and cookies we left a note asking him to hide the gifts and leave a note with a secret message for the parents so we'd know where to find them after church. Around 7:40 we heard the first set of little feet head for the living room.

And then we heard the loud gasp as they wondered if the whole lot of them had appeared on Santa's naughty list this year. (the note with milk and cookies may have been left out AFTER the kids finally went to bed and we realized we had overlooked that little detail).

Caleb was most relieved when he saw Santa's response and secret code of gift location. He smiled and asked if the code was Chinese.

When we finally got home, the dads entertained the kiddos while the moms located the loot and put it in front of the tree.

During this time my crew decided to take outfits into their own hands. Ky and Daniel went back to their Christmas pajamas, Caleb put on his well worn Christmas shirt, and DQ opted to stay in her fancy Christmas dress. In my "perfect little Christmas" world they would all have been back in their pjs, but at least they all were wearing Christmas stuff. I decided to try to overcome my OCD tendencies and just roll with their all over the map clothing. I may have twitched a few times, but I'm proud to say that overall it worked.

Santa knew that the grandmas were supplying some big ticket items this year, so he brought another Christ centered Christmas book, added to our family game collection, gave a new set of footed pajamas, and added hats and leggings to our wardrobes.

And the stockings were hung by the chimney...oh wait. The stocking were placed by the chimney in a chair...

too many grandkids, not enough hooks. my mom says it is a WONDERFUL problem to have!

A glimpse of the gifts...

each of the kids got one from grandma s

The morning wouldn't have been complete without a musical interlude from my microphone lovin' big boy.

he so admires the worship leader at our old church ~ none other than his "unca Ad-ham" ~ and the worship pastor at our new church ~ his China brother's daddy, "Mr. Tee-ven."

...and the gifts being put to action!

Hope your Christmas was as much fun as six kids six and under enjoying the magic of the season!

A "little family" Christmas

2011-12-29T13:54:00.011-05:00

We're one of those traveling families for Christmas.

(For the record, Ian and I said when we first married that once kids came along, we'd always be at our house for Christmas morning. And then him having a job forced us across the state... Now we "go home" for Christmas. But that's okay, because in my heart, Christmas memories include heading to the panhandle of Maryland to be with my Mom's family for Christmas. I can still hear the chorus of welcome from my cousins and smell Grandma's cheesy potatoes when I close my eyes...)

But to cut down on the amount of cargo that travels the highway and back with us in the van, we have our "little family" Christmas ~ our kids refer to our nuclear family that way ~ a day or two early. (We make it as authentic as we can by attending one of our church's early Christmas Eve services the night before). The big kids remembered well from last year what was coming the next morning and were waiting downstairs at the tree by the time Ian and I got out of bed.

Wee one though? Well, he had to be coaxed to the tree. The smile was in return for a cookie. (yes for breakfast. Don't judge. All's fair on Christmas for pictures).

and i have no idea where his pajama pants were when this shot was taken ~ nor do i have any idea why they were off

Then the bigs started explaining to Daniel that we were about to let them tear into the presents.

And DQ started turning cartwheels in excitement.

I think that was when the real smiles came...

It was a pretty low-key morning. From us each kiddo got two "bookish" type gifts,

and two things we knew they really wanted. (one for each shown)

the "monster truck mater" he's been asking for since january

a set of party clothes for barbie

mini lmq with sally, flo, ramone, doc, sheriff and several others

she calls tipi her american doll, but she's actually a hearts for hearts doll with part of the proceeds going to world vision

And there were fun surprises from Aunt Rachel

pillow pets, mater operation and two new trains (toby and salty)

and Uncle Josh.

hk backpack, a fairy coloring book, dinos from dinosaur train and a new engine (sidney)

Then when the opening was done, it was play time.

doodling in the hk doodle book and looking for hidden pictures in a princess book

this was what we envisioned last year when caleb was the only boy home to play with the trains ~ the moment was worth waiting for!

great fine motor skill practice, right?

though we may have heard a little buzzing...

sweet sister rest time

It was a pajama kind of day, and we wore them well as we played Operation, built forts, rebuilt the "Island of Sodor," and read books. The 23rd was our first Christmas, but it also happened to be the six month anniversary of when we first met Daniel. Even though we had already opened gifts, a celebration was in order, so we got dressed after I whipped up a quick stir fry and walked to the frozen yogurt bar around the corner. We sang carols as we walked down the sidewalk and admired the pretty Christmas lights in our neighborhood. That little addition may need to become part of our yearly tradition, it was a fun way to end the evening.

Finally it was time to go to bed in preparation for heading to Grandma's house on Christmas Eve. There the kids would be greeted with a chorus of voices by their cousins and we'd smell something yummy coming from the kitchen...

One Word Wednesday {Daniel: 0, Razor scooter handlebars: 1}

2011-12-28T08:58:00.003-05:00

Sigh...

**And no, he doesn't have a Razor. He decided to take his sister's Christmas present (a purple razor scooter) out for a quick spin. There just may be something to the age requirements...**

and then there was peace...

2011-12-27T15:58:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown

So much for the argument they were having just before rest time.

It got quiet in their room rather quickly and when I went to check on them, this is what I found.

Yes, for the record, they do have their own beds.

Sometimes I think God provides such moments to give mothers of two boys hope...

**story on Daniel's eye to come ~ it actually does not involve his brother**

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:38:00.025-05:00

"You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father's face and tell Him you have received His Christmas gift." ~ John R. Rice

May you find delight and blessing in His incomparable gift!

Merry Christmas from the M6!

A sweet day

2011-12-23T01:07:00.001-05:00

Far too often, December becomes a month that makes us groan as our calendars become overloaded with appointments, parties and various commitments. The beginning of this month was like that for us. But thanks to some careful planning ~ back in November we blocked off the 17th as a family day ~ we ended up with one weekend all to ourselves.

December 17 was a pajama kind of day filled with all things sweet. The oven went on early in the morning and was off after midnight with only two brief off interludes. (Once for an afternoon bike ride and once for a trip to a live "drive-thru" nativity).

There was butter to unwrap ~ to the tune of 16, yes sixteen, sticks that got transformed into cookies.

There were eggs to crack ~ with a little help from Daddy of course.

Candy canes were pounded.

And questions were asked.

for the record, most of those questions would have been to see if it were time to taste yet...

All in all, about 30 dozen cookies were mixed and baked that day.

Oh...and the pretzels.

We really can't forget the pretzels!

About 100 pretzel rods were bathed in chocolate,

and then sprinkled,

sprinkled,

and sprinkled some more.

Each was a completed masterpiece.

There were mass amounts of sugar converted into sweet treats that day. Crazy amounts I'm tellin' ya! But by far the sweetest part of the day?

baking day 2010

Four kids HERE this year instead of one "just watching" over our baking day.

baking day 2011

For the first year in a while, it sure is nice to have all our babies home...

more sugary dreams

2011-12-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago at playgroup my three littles (Ky was at that pesky place called kindergarten) got a second shot at decorating sugar cookies. Over the years as we've decorated cookies for each holiday, many of the kids have begun to show restraint in the amount of frosting and sugar they use.

Abbey now seems to recognize that she's sweet enough and doesn't need to bury her cookies.

Lily chose design over quantity.

Even little Elijah showed restraint.

But my gang?

Not so much.

Guess they were taking my relaxed sugar rules out for a joy ride.

I'm not even sure how DQ managed to find her cookies under the inches of frosting and sprinkles on her plate.

But manage she did, messy hands and all!

And then there was wee one who obviously enjoyed freedom with sprinkle bottles. At least he used good manners and impressed all the other moms by using a spoon to consume them...

So what about my big boy you ask? What did his cookies look like?

Actually, he only partially decorated one and didn't even finish eating it. Guess he couldn't see the frosting for the stars in his eyes at being reunited with "the one with the purse."

my boy had missed little miss s as she was in China meeting her new little sister!

oh Christmas tree...

2011-12-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Ian and I have been parents for five Christmas seasons now. Each year we've talked about heading up to a Christmas tree farm in the mountains to pick out "the perfect tree." Two years we've actually made the drive. This year we didn't...

But we did head over to "our" Christmas tree lot to pick out our tree again. And one of the guys seemed to remember us from previous years. (Guess our family does stand out a little...)

It was a drizzly night, but the weather could not put a damper on spirits as our kids excitedly walked up and down the rows of trees, shouting "this one is pretty," or "look at this one!," or "I think THIS is our tree!"

and we choose this one for our house!

After about 20 minutes, we finally settled on "the perfect tree" for our house. It's a bit of a "Charlie Brown" tree on one side, but it had to fit in a corner anyway AND that scraggly side gave a good discount!

Time was quickly getting away from us that evening, so after Ian had some assistance in getting the tree in the stand, we sent some very disappointed kids to bed with the promise that we'd decorate the next night.

This may be Ky's fifth Christmas tree, but she still got lost in the wonder the next morning when she came downstairs and noticed the lights.

That night, after a quick dinner, Ian and I were true to our word. Boxes of ornaments came out

and we spent the evening ooohing and aaahing over each ornament that was placed on the tree. Stories were told about who gave or made many of the decorations.

Amazingly enough, I got lost enough in the moment to pretty much forget to use my camera. During the decorating process I only captured this one shot of the wee one placing his very first ornament on our tree.

Thousands of questions, hundreds of memories and perhaps a few squabbles ~ over whose ornament was whose or who got to put what where ~ later, we were done.

And it was perfect!

Well, maybe except for the branches at the bottom two feet of the tree. They were what you may call a bit heavy laden.

For those who wonder, yes, amazingly enough, I left it alone for about a week. As it ended up, the branches drooped so badly that ornaments fell off and as they did, I'd "redistribute" them to less densely decorated areas. We're much more balanced now.

**We bought the tree on Nov 28 and decorated on the 29th. I'm just that far behind...**

Wordless Wednesdy {our new two wheeler!}

2011-12-21T07:41:00.000-05:00

**December 17, 2011 ~ my boy found new freedom on a bike...**

2011-12-16T14:15:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you take four bottles of red and green sugar and sprinkles...

...and cross them with...

...four...

...adorable...

...sugar lovin'...

...kiddos?

Why piles of sugar and sprinkles and crushed up candy canes, some even with sugar cookies hidden beneath of course!

But they sure were good!

And yes, for the record, all four bottles of garnish were emptied on these 24 unsuspecting cookies. And I never told any of my kids to use restraint, even the one who put nearly as much sugar in his mouth as he did on his cookies. I'm slowly coming around from being the "sugar overload Grinch."

visions of gingerbread

2011-12-15T07:20:00.003-05:00

Gingerbread houses.

Lots of sugary candy stuck to sugary houses with sugary icing. They are sticky, messy, and send the kids into a sugar high that makes trick-or-treating look tame. Then there's the part of me that dreams of the houses looking like the cute little ones shown on the box. And the part of me that has to curb myself from saying, "Stop eating the candy!"

I'm not gonna lie, gingerbread houses are not my favorite part of Christmas.

But. And this is a really important but! But, my kids love it. And my sister had a little village kit for them to decorate while we were back home for Thanksgiving.

So I? I bit my tongue, hid the box so I couldn't see the "perfect" little houses, grabbed my camera and decided to focus on techniques shown by our little decorators.

The big boys: All about teamwork. "I'll use the frosting gun for a while while you stick candy on, then you use the frosting gun while I stick candy on. Then maybe we'll use the frosting together." They happily decorated a little house and couldn't be bothered to pose for an "all finished picture." After all, for them it was about the fun in the moment and then they were off to other things...

The big girls: More concerned about detail. I predict that in a few years they'll be creating works of edible art that are "box worthy." They snuck in a few bites of candy here and there, but they were very focused on the work at hand. They shared their resources well and chatted throughout the process. And "all finished pictures?" You bet! They were quite proud of their work.

The little ones: Both clearly embraced the idea that "more is better." She with the frosting, he with the candy. Some of that candy and frosting may have even made it onto their house... Their sugar cravings even showed in their "all finished" shot.

(Just to totally come clean, despite my best efforts to not, I may have chided one of these two to stop eating the candy and then caught the resulting facial expression that shows disbelief that such a statement would be uttered when the candy was there for the taking...)

Ah gingerbread houses. We'll continue to have a love/hate relationship. I will say though that after this year it's a little more love and a little less hate...

See you again next year in all your sticky, sugary glory...

Wordless Wednesday {sometimes i think the neighbors wonder...}

2011-12-14T16:46:00.003-05:00

the day

2011-12-13T22:35:00.002-05:00

calMy to do list is a mile long tonight.

And yet, before I begin to check things off, I must pause for just a second to make sure that I record.

Exactly what "the twins" looked like...

...today.

The day I registered them for kindergarten.

Be still my heart.

one healthy heart and another in the making

2011-12-11T23:10:00.001-05:00

Within the last month Daniel has developed a new sleepy time ritual. As he begins to get drowsy, he pulls up his shirt, grabs my hand, and places it over his chest. Then he'll press my hand down tight over his little heart, close his eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.

For me these few moments of him winding down for rest have become somewhat of a sacred time, both for the sweetness, but also because they give me two glimpses of his little heart.

In the emotional sense, it seems to give evidence that his broken heart is on the mend. He doesn't have the vocabulary, but his "old soul" seems to communicate with this gesture that we are now connected, that I am a guardian of his heart. His newfound peace and comfort with our relationship gives me great joy!

And in the physical sense, feeling the rhythm of his little heartbeat while my hand rests upon his uneven breast bone reminds me of what a gift his life is.

Nearly three years ago he would have been listed on New Day Foster Home's "Surgeries Needed" page as he waited for his open heart surgery. The blessing our family was given ~ long before we knew of our sweet boy ~ is that his surgery was fully funded by generous donors who believe in the ministry of New Day.

Now as a grateful parent, it is my turn to give back and encourage others to catch the vision and participate in both physical (in the form of surgery) and emotional (in the form of tender loving care) healing for a little girl named Wendy.

**You may remember reading about her in this post. **

Two adoptive NDFH parents have pledged $2,500 each for a matching grant drive. That means that if $5,000 is donated toward the surgery fund at New Day Foster Home, $10,000 will be raised! And that $10,000 will cover sweet Wendy's ~ as well as tiny Asa's ~ surgery.

So jump on over to Scarlet Threads and get more details about the matching funds drive. As of today $960 has been raised. We have until January 4th to see just how generous we can be this holiday season. I'm sure Wendy's future forever family would thank you...

Wordless Wednesday {cruisin' at Grandma's}

2011-12-07T07:05:00.005-05:00

who cares about distance

2011-12-05T22:52:00.000-05:00

135 miles, give or take. That's the physical distance between my kids and my sister's kids.

But don't tell them that.

To them the distance doesn't seem to matter.

They just enjoy each other's company (at least 90% of the time).

They "get" that they belong together.

In one big, loud, slightly crazy family...

(Shoulda made this one Mom's Christmas card).

Sunday Snapshot {Small town parade}

2011-12-04T16:36:00.023-05:00

A small town parade.

That's where we found ourselves two days after Thanksgiving. The kind of small town parade that features every firetruck in the county along with most of the riding lawn mowers.

It wouldn't seem that a procession of mostly rescue vehicles, local town officials, the grinch in a dentist chair, and wooden trailers being pulled by tractors would be blog worthy.

Until you consider that for one member of our family, it was "the very first parade."

at this point wondering what all the fuss was about

Those very same firetrucks that I found loud and somewhat annoying with their blaring sirens totally captivated my littlest one who loves his firetruck 'bank' (blanket).

He was spellbound by it all.

we watched with grandma m, grandma s and a bunch of friends from our hometown. (i taught the sweet girl wearing pink in two and three year old preschool, and her little sister was in ky's class before we moved)

And then, after the rescue vehicles, it got even better. People in cars and on floats started throwing candy at the crowd. Wee one could hardly contain his excitement!

If I were to guess, he was thinking, "forget walking from house to house trick-or-treating, here they throw candy at you! It's there for the taking!" I can still hear his little voice hollering, "Nook Mommy, nook!" with each piece of candy he retrieved.

yes, he racked up on the candy. between the two boys they raked in as much as they got on halloween.

And then the ultimate surprise. Suddenly the candy being pelted at him was being tossed by his daddy, sisters and cousins! If he had been excited before now he was beside himself.

love that we are still loved enough by our old church to be included in the float...

Following the parade we milled around the town square to get some free cookies and participate in a craft or two provided by our church home.

making reindeer dust with ms. katie and aunt ci ci

saving it for the big night!

learning the legend of the candy cane

While there we saw dear friends and were reminded that while much time has passed since we were part of one another's everyday lives, the friendship lives on, both between the parents and kids.

my big girl with her cousin and sweet friend

Oh yes, a small town parade. Not one that gets covered in the New York Times. But it is one that is part of our holiday season year after year.

It's part of our tradition...

we didn't even stay for the tree lighting ~ no nap was catching up ~ but it was a good time anyway!

I look forward to little one remembering it with excitement next year!

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

Reflections on Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T06:54:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend.

Forever I will associate this holiday with going to my dad's parent's home in southwest Ohio (as Christmas brings up memories of Frostburg, MD at my mom's parent's house).

Just the word Thanksgiving conjures up visions of standing in Grandma's sitting room, eyeing the kitchen table ~ with the extra leaf added for more space ~ laden with delicious food. I can still smell Grandma's cream pies finishing in the oven and envision my aunts and my mom spending the day in the kitchen working on our feast. We kids (my sister, six cousins and I) spent much of our time exploring the farm ~ tossing rocks in the pond to watch the ripples, crossing the log bridge over the "crik," and avoiding the bulls in the cowfields. To my recollection, my dad, uncles, and grandpa sat around watching football and discussing the year's corn or soybean crop. In later years as cousins started getting married and having kids, we had to move from the farmhouse over to one of my aunt's homes for our meal. And that was fun too, but in my mind's eye Thanksgiving dinner will always be me sitting on the couch using a TV tray in Grandma's sitting room, wondering when I'd be big enough to join the grown up table. Oh the memories...

As I reflect upon this year's Thanksgiving celebration, I can't help but notice the similarities. While it is my mom's turn to play the role of the grandmother whose house is visited and I'm no longer one of the grandkids, but one of the moms instead, our day was much the same.

Occasionally we got help mixing from some of our mini bakers.

But for the most part, my mom, sister and I spent a good bit of time in the kitchen, talking, laughing, and cooking,

while the kids ~ not quite the eight cousins from my childhood, but there are six between my sister and I ~ spent most of their time playing outside being kids. In addition to exploring part of mom's acreage as highlighted yesterday, they spent time in the main yard as well. There they tried out their skills at tree climbing.

Some higher than others.

look carefully, do you see caleb? scary thing is that maylin is about five feet off the ground at the bottom of the picture

They played on mom's swing set.

And they gave that little John Deere wagon a workout like it hasn't seen in a while.

Ian and Adam may not have been discussing this season's harvest, but they did spend a while chatting about Carolina Cross Connection, a ministry near and dear to our hearts. And they may not have watched any football, but watching our little merry band of six kiddos was enough ~~to keep them busy~~ entertainment.

grandma m was on the scene too!

Like the Thanksgivings I remember from childhood, it was a wonderful day spent with some of the folks we love most. And of course it wrapped up with a delicious meal. Our newcomer to the family gave his hearty approval.

And we may have heard a grumble or two about not enough room at the kids table. There may have been more than one request to join the grown up table from the peanut gallery.

But I know from this side of the fence that even at the kids' table, memories are being made. And it makes me smile that already to them, Grandma's house "is where we go for Thanksgiving."

Wordless Wednesday {Thanksgiving day explorers}

2011-11-30T06:03:00.008-05:00

Wordless Wednesday {Bike ride anyone?}

2011-11-23T06:28:00.002-05:00

**Tutus by 2000 Tutus**

Sunday Snapshot {leader of the pack}

2011-11-20T22:31:00.001-05:00

Ky. The leader of our pack. My introduction to motherhood. Overall, thankfully, she's taken it pretty easy on me.

She's quite a girl. Shy and reserved one minute...

...spunky and confident the next.

Oh, and did I mention that while she loves me, she's a "Daddy's girl" through and through?

From her favored ABC nail polish pattern (usually involving a shade of pink, green and purple) on her toes...

...to her unexplained love of pumpkin guts, she has several quirky things that make her one of a kind.

At 5 1/2, she is the leader of the pack among her siblings. It's clear that they look up to her. They watch her every move and pattern their behavior after hers and her little sister has been known to change clothing in order to coordinate to the funky way she sometimes chooses to dress.

She's such a wonderful big sister. While I have heard complaints in times of frustration concerning the pee wee, she cherishes her relationship with him. More often than not, when we need to divide and conquer and therefore split the kids into pairs, she'll suggest that Ian take "the middles" and that I take "the edges." He may take a lot of our attention right now as he explores his place in the family, but she obviously adores him and relishes in helping watch out for him.

Kindergarten has been difficult in ways for both of us. Even though an entire quarter of school has passed, I still find myself looking for her during the day. It simply feels like part of me is missing as I go about the day. And she finds herself in a bit of a quandary. On the one hand, she is proud of how much she is learning at school, loves exploring the arts (she is in an arts and science magnet school), and is clearly becoming more and more of a social butterfly.

But on the other hand, she realizes that she is missing out on the daily routine. The best part of her school day varies depending on which "special" she attends or if Lottie's class is on the playground rotation with hers. But the worst part has been the same every day so far. "I missed being with you and Caleb and Darcy and Daniel, Mama."

My tough nugget, yet tender hearted girl. We're so alike, this child and I.

She's always watching.

Always contemplating.

She's so complex, and yet she wears her heart on her sleeve.

Not a day goes by without me offering thanks to have been given the blessing to call her my daughter. For this honor I am grateful.

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

family expanded

2011-11-18T16:31:00.001-05:00

With each of our trips to China, our family has expanded.

DQ's "China sister" E

And you're thinking, "Well, duh Kristi. Isn't that the end result of an adoption trip?"

gettin' some love from little miss e

And in that respect, yes. The number of people in our family who live in our house has increased by one on each trip.

e's daddy giving wee one a hand

But the number of folks that we consider family has grown by much more than four as a result of our four journeys to the East.

the daddies assisting most of the crew on a swinging platform

We were blessed last weekend to be paid a visit by one of DQ's "China sisters" and her family.

close to all of 'em

While we've exchanged hundreds of emails, texts, blog comments, FB exchanges and phone calls in the past several months, we hadn't seen them since April when they stopped through overnight on their way from DE to AL.

that's better!

While all that technology to connect is great and all, sometimes there is nothing like getting to give someone a tight squeeze around the neck.

tire swing cuteness

So of course we were thrilled when they volunteered to come to us as we haven't been very adventurous in our traveling since Daniel arrived in the family.

You know how there are people in your life that you feel like you have to entertain so they don't get bored?

ian and e helping ky finish decorating her turkey feather for school

Well, these guys aren't like that. We planned our meals ahead of time, but other than that, our only agenda was "chill time" together as families. We took walks, ate, hung in our yoga pants and sweats, ate, went to the park, ate, watched our kids play, and ate some more.

I think the only one who could have used a bit more of a schedule was their teen son ~ who of course tried to elude the camera again this visit.

caught him though, and his mom too!

But he was a good sport and I think he had fun even if he spent the weekend with five kids age five and under. There may have been two trips to our frozen custard place to help.

a little dora time

In the end, I think wee one may have developed a little crush.

Even with a blank agenda, four days somehow seemed so short and long before we were ready, we were waving goodbye to the second Silver Swagger Wagon in our driveway.

B family, we love you guys! Thanks for comin' to see us.

Wordless Wednesday {I like to eat, eat, eat...}

2011-11-16T07:02:00.002-05:00

a place where healing begins

2011-11-14T21:42:00.003-05:00

Looking for a FREE and EASY way to contribute to bringing healing ~ both physical and emotional ~ to orphaned children in China?

If you are like me and can't bear the thought of dragging your adorable, yet lively, brood through the mall or discount stores for Christmas shopping, an Amazon Christmas sounds pretty good. And while I may have missed some of the early bird shoppers (my sister included ~ Traci, you're making the rest of us look bad) I just found out about the easiest way yet to help fund New Day Foster Home.

Just use the link on this page to go to Amazon when you Christmas shop (or anytime shop) and PRESTO, New Day gets 5% or more.

Yes, it's really that easy.

Need more convincing on why you should avoid the crowds this year?

Okay, fair enough.

Sometimes the emotional scars children bear are just as menacing as the physical ailments they face. One of the newcomers at the foster home, Wendy, is a perfect example. Abandoned on her fourth birthday, she was nearly paralyzed by her recent loss when she first arrived. And yet, in a place that love grows, there was hope...

I'd retell the story, but without the pictures that go along, much would be missing. Instead I invite you to go "meet" Wendy and see for yourself how her emotional healing has begun. It's a quick read, and one that I promise will leave you smiling.

Learning to Trust: A new chapter in Wendy's life

And now that you're back, you simply must get on over to the Amazon link and get shopping! Sweet children like Wendy are learning that they are indeed loved and lovable and you can help ensure the love continues to grow!

Sunday Snapshot {Ladybug spotting at "armslide park"}

2011-11-13T15:36:00.001-05:00

I do officially love fall. The crispness in the air, the colors of the leaves, pumpkin flavored products crowding into the bakeries and stores...

All of it that is, except for the dreaded loss of daylight.

The sun going down so much earlier sure makes that two hours between 4 and 6 (from when Ky gets home from school until Ian gets home from work so we can eat supper) seem like a long time.

A really long time.

Make that an eternity.

After suffering from "early darkness syndrome with two energetic brothers in the house" on Monday, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Tuesday would require a totally different tactic. So during nap time I got as much dinner prep done as I could and only stopped by the house after school to allow Ky to change out of her school clothes. My plan of action was then to hit the kids' beloved "armslide park" and let them play either until it got too dark to see or I got a call from Ian saying he was on his way home.

Now, changing clothes is what my girls seem to do best, so of course DQ wanted to get out of her tunic and leggings when she caught wind of what her big sister was doing. I heard giggles from upstairs ~ as I stood in the doorway to watch the boys riding their bikes on the sidewalk in front of the house ~ and then had to bite my tongue as they came bounding down the stairs in their ladybug getup from last Halloween.

I almost sent them back upstairs to change.

And then I thought about it.

They are five and four. The costumes are in the dress up box and pretty much too small anyway. If they want to put on their little red wings and pretend to fly as they slide down the "armslide," who am I to stop them?

They had a wonderful time as ladybug twins.

Besides, I got a lot of knowing smiles from the ladybug spotting at "armslide park" that day.

And yeah, if you are wondering, Caleb helped pick out the boys' outfits...

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

from his past

2011-11-10T14:43:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago (on Caleb's birthday to be exact) our family got to visit with a special family from Daniel's past.

Like way back when he was still known as "Jamison" past.

As it turns out, Jeremy (the oldest son in that family) spent a lot of time playing with our wee one when he lived at the foster home, before he moved to live with his foster parents and before his name changed to Daniel.

It's hard to say if Daniel really remembered Jeremy or if it was simply his fun loving nature that came out during our rendezvous at a nearby Costco.

All I know is that we were thrilled to have a quick visit with (most of) the S family while they were stateside last month.

Godspeed you guys as you begin your next two years of life at New Day! We pray we'll get to have another reunion with you before too long!

Wordless Wednesday {that's a whole lotta formula!}

2011-11-09T06:58:00.002-05:00

**And despite claiming this is a wordless post, I would be remiss to not offer again a huge thanksgiving to all of you who made purchasing THIRTY-FOUR cases possible in one week's time! God bless you in your generosity! This formula has now been delivered to New Day and is already making a difference for some of their medically fragile kiddos as winter sets in.**

[‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’] Matthew 25:40

the "Caleb holiday"

2011-11-07T14:18:00.012-05:00

October 27 marked three years since I met my oldest son. When we heard the familiar pitter patter of his feet coming to our room that morning, Ian and I greeted him with big hugs and asked if he knew what day it was. He got a huge smile on his face and said, "It's my holiday! (pause ~ even bigger smile) We're going to the hay ride!" (our celebration locale from last year. What can I say, my kids like tradition)

Luckily the C family seems to enjoy tradition too,

my boy and his local "China brother," the ones being celebrated

and while we didn't get to go on Thursday night ~ thanks to a triple combo of school, soccer and gymnastics, we headed out on Saturday afternoon to have some fun.

our kids with caleb's "china brother" and his sister (who happens to be one of ky's "china sisters")

The gourd farm we've visited for the past two years is a quirky little place with something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

There was time for tractor riding,

the boys show they are farm boys at heart

practice for the rodeo,

the dads ~ despite being city boys ~ were surprisingly good with a lasso

and of course the much anticipated hay ride.

six of the cutest kids this side of the pacific

Oh, and did I mention that the hay ride is "spooky?" At first the girls forgot how "silly spooky" it was from last year and decided Daddy was a safe haven.

daddy and his girls

And then they started to remember that the spooky decorations were sorta silly. Case in point, there are motion activated spiders, cute sheet ghosts, Big Bird hiding behind a tree, and my favorite, Mickey Mouse in tree house with his tail caught in a mouse trap.

daniel got a kick out of mickey

Then it became all fun and games again. DQ started really using her clappers to help activate the decorations and the smiles came out.

And Ky moved over to catch up on the latest kindergarten happenings from her sweet friend's school.

super sweet buddies

Eventually, cold temps and growling bellies had us head off to a Chinese buffet for a feast of dumpling soup and spicy chicken. But not before we paused for two quick family pictures. Cause you know, family pictures are sometimes hard to come by.

we love us some c family!

To say we've got some history with this sweet family is an understatement. We met our first children together on February 5, 2007 and traveled together again to meet our boys on October 27, 2008. How blessed we are to live in the same metro area!

Happy three years boys! Thanks for giving us a reason to celebrate.

And hey, C family, what do you say about next year? Same place, same time...

the pumpkin tradition

2011-11-03T13:10:00.001-04:00

Carving pumpkins.

You know, when you really stop to think about it, the entire practice is a bit strange. As are the holiday traditions of bringing a dead tree into the house and decorating it or looking for eggs filled with candy or treats that were left by a rabbit, but I digress...

Strange practice or not, we, the M6, are pumpkin carvers.

It's just that some of us enjoy the entire experience more than others.

Ky loves scooping out the seeds and stuff. DQ and Caleb? Not so much.

Note how carefully they are holding spoons and making sure their hands don't bump the inside of the pumpkin.

And then Caleb talked his big sister into scooping out the rest of his. Or maybe she just volunteered. She can be really sweet like that.

Apparently Daniel wasn't all too thrilled with the slimy insides himself. (Though he would go on to lick his pumpkin lid later).

Two years ago when we carved pumpkins with the kids for the first time, Ian came up with a creative way for Ky and Caleb to be more involved with the entire process. (and perhaps to help calm Caleb down after his reaction to pumpkin slime) Now it is fun to see them excitedly crowd around the computer while Ian searches for "happy pumpkin faces" and watch them carefully select a face.

Kylie's pumpkin was so small that she used her print out as a guide to free hand her pumpkin face.

Caleb's was just the right size to tape on and use his finishing nail to punch little holes as a guide for Ian to use with the knife.

and yes, i totally cracked up at the tattoo and tough guy shirt look here

DQ had hers punched in record time and so hers was the first one to be carved.

One of my favorite parts of the evening was hearing Darcy say, "Hey, this is fun. Remember when we did this last year?" Love hearing her starting to have memories of her history in OUR family.

And look forward to hearing his excitement next year as he realizes that he is building memories too. The kind that give him a place in our family.

caleb, daniel, darcy, kylie

Even if it is just carving pumpkins

Wordless Wednesday {pumpkin licker}

2011-11-02T06:38:00.000-04:00

Neither rain nor cold...

2011-10-31T23:40:00.001-04:00

One thing about living in NC is that you can never be too sure ahead of time what the weather is going to be like on the night you trick-or-treat. I can remember years that that sweat was as bountiful as the candy collected. And then there are years like this one where it felt like Snow White was going to meet snow and Tinkerbell was meeting winter...

please note that Snow White was wearing tights under those leggings and socks and don't miss Tinkerbell's fleecy, purple, snug-a-bye pajamas! we had a cold front on pretty short notice.

Lucky Lightning and Mater. A few extra layers underneath the hood didn't alter the look much.

they ran laps through the downstairs for at least an hour waiting for ian to get home

I wasn't too concerned about the cold. I knew I had my crew pretty layered up. But then the rain started. And that little blip on the weather radar map must have simply stalled out on top of our city. Because it started raining at 3ish. And it was still coming down pretty heavy well after 6. Ky especially was starting to look glum as she worried that trick-or-treating would be cancelled.

To lighten up the mood, Ian decided at the last minute to sport his "middle school dance moves guy" look. To say it surprised the girls is a bit of an understatement.

oh how i hate you can't see his little "alfalfa sprout"

And yet the boys took Ian's costume all in stride. Maybe didn't even notice. Or did Caleb?

I think he was trying to imitate what he perceived to be coolness. Cause you know, when you are a five year old boy, your daddy is the coolest guy on the planet!

Thankfully the yucky weather didn't cause our trick-or-treat dates to stand us up!

after all, we've been pounding the pavement on october 31 with them since we moved here!
(btw, if you know this crowd and are friends with either parent on fb, be sure to check out their daddy's costume!)

Once we got outside, Daniel was a very quick study in how this whole candy thing works. He was like a little machine, forgoing his umbrella and racing down the sidewalk ahead of the rest of us. Little buggar used that cuteness to his advantage.

He'd just keep smiling and reaching.

And folks would just keep piling the candy in his bucket. Seriously. He came home with much more candy than his siblings.

Sadly, I don't have a single picture of the wee one out during his first trick-or-treating escapade. It was all I could do to manage an umbrella, flashlight and crowd control. (No free hands for trying to manipulate a camera with a jammed autofocus).

And you'll just have to take my word for how wet we managed to get during our candy gathering. Soaked top layers were peeled off immediately and, while I'll leave you guessing at who, I couldn't photo document the annual M family candy swap because one of my kiddos sat in their undies to count their loot before running off for a warm bath.

I've not had that much fun in the rain in a long time! Thanks for joining us C family!

But here's hoping that next year is a dry one!

On love

2011-10-28T14:51:00.001-04:00

If you're a regular here at Fireworks and Fireflies, I'm pretty sure you've got the idea that I love my children.

taken June 29 ~ our third night as the M6

But long before I loved the four of them, I loved this guy.

And yet it's been a season of putting "the new kid" first at home instead of focusing on our relationship. I've missed my honey in this time of adjustment.

Last Friday night we had our first date night since before we left to bring Daniel home. It was hard to leave the wee one behind, but keeping our marriage strong is key to me being a good mommy. We lingered over a long dinner, enjoyed each other's company while shopping, and even indulged a bit by heading to a creperie for dessert. It felt good to be able to concentrate on my main squeeze for a few hours and yet still be home in time to tuck in our four blessings.

Thanks Grandma M for holding down the fort while we reconnected.

1095

2011-10-27T09:12:00.020-04:00

Today marks that 1095 days have passed since I met you my oldest son.

That means that nearly one thousand, one hundred times I have quietly tip-toed into the room where you were sleeping to sneak one last kiss for the night

and nearly that many times I've gotten an amazing hug from my pajama clad big boy in the mornings.

I can hardly believe three years have passed since I met you on a cool, foggy morning in Wuhan.

I'm so, so thankful that God decided to use me as part of your story...

I love you!

Wordless Wednesday {for me?}

2011-10-26T06:51:00.002-04:00

thanks grandma s!
oh, and don't judge on the pajamas ~ last week was sick week at our house...

got iPad?

2011-10-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

If you're planning to put an iPad under the tree as a gift to someone this year, I've got a way for you to add $2 to your cost.

Ummm, "Wait!" you say. "That doesn't make sense!"

"Oh, but it does!" I say... "Just give me a few minutes to introduce you to someone ~ then I think it will make perfect sense!"

Meet Jennifer, her husband Bobby, and their amazing children.

I very clearly remember the day I met Jennifer for the first time. We were at a mutual friend's daughter's birthday party at a park near my mom's house. Ian and I had been anxiously awaiting a referral from China for about 14 months at the time and Jennifer was one of the first people I met in person who was also waiting. Our impending referral would mean a first child in our home, hers would mean a fourth. We may have been in different places in our parenting experience, but both of us were first time adoptive parents and so we easily chatted the afternoon away discussing "the wait," how we felt God calling us to take this step, and what we anticipated traveling to China would be like.

It makes me smile now to think back on how neither one of us had any anticipation of how our upcoming first trips to China would change our lives...

While life moved my family away from hers geographically, we have stayed in touch and have offered prayer and support to one another via email as we've slogged through paperwork, waited for those those ever elusive "As," (LOA, TA) and prepared for travel. Now here we are five years later. We've been to China and back four times and Jennifer is eagerly awaiting her third trip, this time to bring home precious little Pearl.

Jennifer's Pearl and my Daniel are very close in age. And beyond that, they share a common history as they were born with the same congenital heart defect. The difference is that Daniel's was repaired when he was an infant and Pearl still needs to have life saving surgery. For that reason, Pearl needs to come home. And so Jennifer and Bobby are raising funds so that when China says come, they are ready to go without delay.

(Is the $2 starting to make sense yet?)

The thing that makes me smile the most about Jennifer is how she and her entire family are bucking the world in "what makes sense" as they obediently follow Him to bring home their youngest daughter.

The world would say five kids is enough. But Jennifer and Bobby aren't listening to the world. They are listening to Him. (read this post to get a glimpse at their hearts)

So yeah. Add $2 (or more) to your iPad cost this Christmas. (Details here).

You just might win the gift you are planning to give. (I did win the macbook I'm typing on just before we traveled to bring Daniel home while supporting another adoptive family).

Of course you may not win. But either way, I think you'll find it two (or more) of the merriest dollars you spend.

Because every bit donated will go toward bringing Pearl home.

And that?

Well, that's what Christmas is all about

Sunday Snapshot {through his eyes}

2011-10-23T16:10:00.002-04:00

I don't know exactly why, but I *heart* the fair. I really, really do. I suspect it is part the smells and tastes of yummy (and unhealthy) food, part the thrill of the rides, part the crowd that reminds me of a land far away, and even part "the carnies" that make the fair what it is.

Yes, I said that I love the carnies. In fact, my cousin Jordan, Ian and I were discussing that a life on the road bringing the fair to people may not be that bad of a life. But I digress...

This year, for the third year in a row, I got to experience it all "for the first time" again though the eyes of my youngest child.

Rides?

the boys picked the ride ~ monster trucks
the girls picked the color of their vehicle ~ sparkly PINK

with this expression i'm slightly fearful of when he turns 16...

"the dragon wagon" rules ~ wee one called it the dinosaur train

swings AND cousin jordan? almost too much excitement for one ride

spinning his balloon as fast as he can with jie jie's help
most rides she volunteered to ride with him to keep him safe and help him not be scared ~ what a great big sis!

the way we finished our evening
dq chose the teacups with cousin jordan

His expression seemed to say "yes please, may I have another?" after each one!

Food?

cotton candy at the fair ROCKS!
apparently DQ still loves it

the aftermath of his highest ranking treat ~ a candy apple

Oh yeah!

Combine that with loads of animals so we could sing Old McDonald at the top of our lungs (who cares if folks stare, they already do anyway) with giant pumpkins & watermelons and he was sold.

That my friends is a good thing. Because there are three other kids in this family that are too.

(And since you asked, yes, of course I do have pictures to prove it!)

they have no idea who the smurfs are, but this photo opp helped distract during the long line for the dragon tea cups

not sure which is funnier, her driving style or his expression

**For the record, yes, Caleb should have been wearing an eye patch. But fair day was just three days into his therapy. With his vision still so poor with just his one eye, I decided to give him a "get out of patching free" card for the afternoon. We'll do penance Dr. M, I promise...**

thrilled to be riding with his biggest hero

roller coaster junkies

sitting with cousin jordan on the ferris wheel

and he may not be my kid, but we think jordan had fun too...
(oh, and jordan, i really hope you weren't counting on this one hitting the cutting room floor)

Yes, it's a good thing that the fair through his eyes looks like a lot of fun. Because it sure would be a shame to drag someone out against their will for state fair 2012...

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

Well hello amblyopia

2011-10-21T15:26:00.002-04:00

For those wondering what's up with Caleb and the eyepatch, let me assure you it is not just a ploy to gather more attention and fourth glances at our family. (We frequently get those already).

Just a few months ago we had no idea, not one inkling, that Caleb had poor vision. At his well visit earlier this year he rocked through the vision chart with his left eye, but when it came time to read with his right, he just shrugged his shoulders and got a funny look on his face. While the nurse thought he was joking around, I could tell that he was serious. And I was totally blindsided with the fact that he couldn't see even at the 20/200 level with his right eye.

Next stop was to have a complete eye exam at the opthomologist. At that first exam I remember hearing the term astigmatism, corrective lenses, and occlusion therapy. Now I knew corrective lenses, and thanks to DQ we know all about occlusion therapy, but having grown up with 20/20 vision myself, I wasn't sure of astigmatism. And I meant to read up on it. I really did. But that was pretty close to adding a new member to the family, and while I did go get Caleb's new glasses, I failed to check "wiki" for astigmatism.

At the time that his glasses arrived, we were told to schedule an appointment for about four weeks out to come back in for a re-check to see if the lenses themselves would improve what was happening in the right eye. I made it for seven weeks out knowing that we'd be in China at the four week mark and wanted to give myself a little time for re-entry on the other side.

But then I missed the appointment. (Or so I thought).

At any rate, last Wednesday we went back again to see if the glasses alone were doing their job of correcting Caleb's vision. No such luck. He was still seeing around 20/200 in his right eye though his left was 20/25. That's when the term amblyopia was tossed at me. (you can check out the link, but in short, amblyopia means that one eye, though formed correctly, for some reason doesn't get processed by the brain).

Now here's the scary part. (And I'm serious, I do mean scary). I must have looked surprised at the term, because I still had astigmatism on the brain (which I had finally read up on a little), and both the opthamologist and his assistant gently reminded me that we had talked about amblyopia at our last visit in late July.

Apparently I had indeed taken Caleb in for that seven week check and totally forgot. (Jet lag must have been more of a beast than I thought this time!)

Anyway, with still no improvement, it was time for occlusion therapy to begin. Our opthamologist was surprised that I wasn't fazed by that prescription, so I reminded him that he had seen DQ (and referred us on to Duke because of the severity of her glaucoma) and that she patches for three hours a day. Caleb even thought that him wearing a patch was cool.

Until we heard the words "all day."

Yeah, like all his waking hours. (Oh, except for when he is playing soccer. We got a "get out of your patch free" card for those 45 minutes a session as his vision is so poor in his right eye that the doctor was afraid that Caleb would run into other kids). As you can imagine, Caleb was none too thrilled about the all day part. So when he and I got home, we searched the net for the coolest eyepatches we could find. Thankfully they arrived on Friday so that we only had to do the "band aid" patch for two days. (Be watching for dinosaurs, pandas and alien spaceships in the coming days and weeks!)

And while there was much crying and gnashing of teeth the first few days, we're slowly getting used to his new "all day" look.

the different frames are just temporary ~ the technician was "tweaking" Caleb's frames when they snapped in half. apparently even titanium has met its match with my boys...

But I'm not gonna lie, I'm sure praying that the hours will be reduced at our five week check-up!

Using our senses

2011-10-20T07:28:00.002-04:00

The entire kindergarten at Ky's school has been studying the five senses in science class. I've been hearing her come home talking about observing different things (leaves, her lunch, her clothing) using touch, hearing, sight, smell, and ~ when appropriate ~ taste. This week as a culminating activity on the five senses, it was time for a field trip.

And I got invited by my big girl!

my three charges for the morning
(oh, and by the way, don't judge...the auto focus is jammed on my camera and i was more concerned with keeping up with all three in a very crowded locale than getting a crisp shot!)

Never-you-mind that all three of the preschoolers in our house have been down with some fever/respiratory bug all week which caused me to cancel my sitting plans for fear of exposing her six month old son. Ian took the morning off work to cover for me at home. NOTHING was going to stop me from attending my big girl's very first field trip.

i *heart* my big girl!

The weather may have been a bit crummy, and I may have had three kiddos down for the count at home, but for about 1 1/2 hours I had my big girl ~ and two of her adorable classmates ~ all to myself. We had fun exploring the local farmer's market and completing our 5 senses scavenger hunt!

There were honey sticks and apples galore to taste as well as peppers in every shape and color to see.

the vendor at this stall was so nice! he explained to the girls why these peppers were called banana peppers and pointed out the many color varieties of bell peppers to them

We listened to hear all the sounds of the morning and dragged our hands across all kinds of produce to find examples of smooth and bumpy fruits and vegetables.

two smooth pumpkins, one bumpy

And of course we stopped to smell the flowers...

these were her declared favorite mums because "they are Hokie colors" of course!

An extra benefit of going to school with one of your best friends? It was an entire kindergarten field trip. That means that Ky and Lottie got to see each other AND Shannon and I car-pooled to the market.

I fully realize that one day she probably won't want me to come along on school trips. So I'm doing my best to savor these days...

Wordless Wednesday {more "twinny" than ever}

2011-10-19T06:56:00.003-04:00

Sunday Snapshot {it's the great pumpkin!}

2011-10-17T23:15:00.001-04:00

For the past three years we've introduced the new kiddo in our family to the NC State Fair.

M kids 2011

I'm still not sure why the prize winning pumpkin has become our choice of photo opportunity shots, but it has.

M kids 2010

Makes me think of Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch.

M kids 2009

At least now we know why the Great Pumpkin never shows up for him ~ the Great Pumpkin is too busy headlining at the State Fair.

2008 ~ missed the fair. Our excuse? We were on a plane to China...

Poor Linus, but lucky us. My kids LOVE going to see the pumpkin, its almost as big of a highlight as the rides. And it sure does provide some fun memories!

okay, not all M kids & not THE prize winning pumpkin, but it was a cute shot of Ky and three of her "China sisters" when we met up at the fair in 2007.

I just hope that they will still humor me when they're all teenagers...

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

Wordless Wednesday {5 year crush}

2011-10-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

Learning to love dangerously

2011-10-11T19:57:00.004-04:00

***Once again, I'm cross posting part of my monthly contribution to No Hands But Ours ~ a website offering support, information, and encouragement for those involved with special needs adoptions. If you or someone you know is considering an adoption, from any country, special needs or healthy, you really need to check out this resource! I spent many a nap-time browsing there back in March of 2009...***

Special needs.

There's a whole lot of weight to those two words.

I've written a few times about how having several children with so called "special needs" doesn't define our family. We have more specialist appointments than some and less than others, but overall the family life of the "M6" is mapped by four active kids that fill our home with hugs, laughter, and the occasional sibling brawl.

For us "special needs" are something easy to forget about. I often am reminded by our calendar (with trips to Duke or Chapel Hill) and not our daily grind that I have kids who came home via the "special needs" adoption program.

But sometimes "special needs" can be much more complex. Life spans can be drastically shorter than normal. Sometimes it hurts to love for fear of loss. But that doesn't mean that those kids are less deserving of the love of a family.

I came across this blog entry last month, written by a young woman wise beyond her years, and haven't been able to put it out of my mind yet. She isn't an adoptive parent herself, but she does have two younger sisters who were born in China and works alongside her family at a foster home outside Beijing. Read on as Hannah shares her thoughts on loving dangerously...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t really have the words to share right here. Paige, the little one whom I called “Pixie," passed away Monday morning.

And I’m struggling to wrap my mind around it. It hurts that I wasn’t there for her last few days, and my heart breaks when I realize that she won’t be there when we get back.

I did write something for her on the ND blog. Paige, you were so worth it. Even though we only got to love on you for three months, they were wonderful months. You brightened up my day every day. I couldn’t believe how strong you were. I remember telling the nannies that your heart must have been healing on it’s own, because you could do so much! But it wasn’t… or maybe it was.

Sometimes what we strive and pursue healing for is the physical heart, but most times we start with the emotional heart. Paige’s heart condition was dire. Surgery would have been long and hard and the prognosis would likely have been quite grim. She may not have made it.

So maybe Paige didn’t come for her physical heart to be healed. Maybe she came because the rest of her needed healing. She certainly was loved, and sometimes love is all the healing that is needed.

My heart is hurting badly right now. Even though I believe everything that I have written, I still ask, “Why her?” Why, God, did you choose to take Paige? But I know that he is good. He’s shown me over and over and over and over that HE IS GOOD. And as long as I remember that, I won’t let the hurt and the pain consume me.

We’re going to be bringing in other tough cases like Paige in the future, I’m sure. Maybe even babies who’s hearts are in worse condition than hers. That’s going to be so incredibly hard. Loving dangerously is something that I thought I learned how to do, but now I realize that I have barely touched the surface of it’s vastness. It’s a painful lesson, but one that I know will be so good for me.

…looks like I did have some words.

And now five...

2011-10-08T22:37:00.002-04:00

Dear Caleb,

The countdown had been going on for quite some time. Bedtime each night brought, "Mommy, how many sleeps till I'm 5?" Oh to have a picture of the smile on your face Friday night when I was finally able to tell you that it was the last sleep. Saturday morning bright and early I heard the familiar pitter-patter of your feet coming in to my room. I knew at once that you were indeed a year older as you showed restraint and whispered (instead of yelled), "Hey, I'm FIVE!" Then of course you had to know what time we were going to the jumphouse...

Your first birthday party was at the perfect venue for you. From your very first slide

to your last bite of cake your face was beaming! The very first time I asked you who you wanted to come to your party you responded, "the one with the purse" (who did of course make it), Santa Claus and Jesus. I was thankful that you understood that Santa starts getting busy around the end of summer and that Jesus would certainly attend in your heart and in the hearts of your friends. Once we had that straight you came up with a list of buddies and they were all there ~ save your cousins who live across the state.

You so loved being the center of attention. Oh and I must point out that you specifically requested that you and Daniel wear your big/little brother shirts today. You two may have your share of scuffles, but it sure made Mommy's heart smile that you wanted to match him on your birthday.

Your smile is contagious. Even on my most "storm cloud days" I can't help but lighten up a bit when I see that grin of yours.

And your giggle? I'm quite certain that it could make even the queen's guards at Windsor Palace crack a smile (and that's not an easy thing to do!)

At "four turning five" you want to spend time helping Daddy with odd jobs around the house, yet you still love all things Lightning McQueen, Thomas the Train, and Super Why. Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention how much you LOVE to play games. Nearly every night after dinner you request to play a round of Zingo, Sequence, or Hi Ho Cherry O.

Your friends knew you well and selected gifts that made you smile. From Lincoln Logs to Legos and Cars Playdoh to a motorized James train, each present brought about that famous Caleb grin.

At our house the birthday person gets their choice of restaurants for a coveted dinner out. You wanted to go where you could have both dumping soup and jello. So off to the Chinese buffet we went, and you put a hurtin' on both of your chosen menu items.

And even though you had a cake earlier in the day, we headed out to our local frozen custard place to end the day. Because what's a birthday without ice cream, right? By the way, yours was vanilla with sprinkles and "emmies," because that is your favorite.

Last year on this day you asked me if you were taller than Darcy yet since you were older. You were so crestfallen when I told you, "not yet." But you've done a lot of growing since then. These days you have an ever so slight edge on her when it comes to height.

And that? Makes you smile.

Oh Caleb. My life has not been the same since you walked into it nearly three years ago. Thank you for teaching me what "snakes and snails and puppy dog tails," AND "Momma's boy" really mean.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mommy

Another label

2011-10-06T22:23:00.001-04:00

This time the label is for me.

Last January I became a 'mini-van mama.'

Tuesday of this week I earned a new feather for my cap ~ soccer mom.

He may not have known much about the sport beforehand, but he was a quick study. He hung on his coach's every word and put forth a lot of effort.

And my little player is fast. Really fast.

Judging from his expression after his first practice and mini game, I'd say he liked it. We may well have found 'his thing.'

Looks like this label is gonna stick for a while.

Wordless Wednesday {Brotherhood: a dance between extremes}

2011-10-05T06:09:00.010-04:00

**for the record, the swords are foam**

Numbers

2011-10-03T15:02:00.000-04:00

Pshew.

Last week was a doozy.

Thankfully we had a special weekend at the end of it.

My incentive to "just keep swimming" through an exhausting (both emotionally with a pile up of minor crises and physically as we still search for that ever elusive full night's sleep) week was about 36 hours at my happy place with our bible study small group.

"the beach with our friends? oh joy!" (though apparently only the five year olds got the memo to jump on three)

As is common with many of our most relaxing and recharging times, there was completely no agenda beyond enjoying the company of our friends. We were 10 adults, two "tweens" (who somehow managed to disappear whenever my camera came out) and 10 kiddos five and under. (And we were even missing a few families!)

It was noisy, but a joyful noisy in the house and on the beach. We watched our kids (and our husbands in a rousing round of touch football) play together, caught some college football, ate well, and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation at the coast.

Through the chatting, at a time that I really needed it, I was sweetly reminded that Ian and I are not in this "thing called Christian parenting" alone. Through this group, other friends, and family, we are surrounded with many like minded parents who are seeking to raise up a new generation of His disciples.

It's not an easy job. Many conversations we have with friends center around what it looks like on a day in, day out, basis to raise Godly children. As a group we certainly do not have all the answers. But there is strength in numbers. And numbers?

Well, we seem to have those on our side...

Some days

2011-09-29T00:28:00.001-04:00

Some days I feel almost like I "have it all together."

And some days I hear the little blue fish from Finding Nemo singing in my ear. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim."

It's been a Dory kind of week.

More soon...

Sunday Snapshot {Grandma was here}

2011-09-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

For the past three years I've lived about 150 miles away from my mom. When we first moved here, my mom was the doting grandmother of one.

That was 35 months and three kids ago...

Now that I have four kids ages five and younger, it feels about 145 miles too many.

This past weekend though, Mama (or Grandma ~ depending on who was talking) was here.

We always love it when she comes to visit and this time was no exception. Games were played, books were read, meals were enjoyed, and hugs were doled out with reckless abandon.

All too soon though, it was time for her to go back to the responsibilities awaiting her at home.

We sure were sad to see her go. We always are.

She did leave her mark though. You know how some people scroll graffiti to make sure others knew they had visited? Mom does too. Just not in pen. Look at my kids faces.

Those smiles say, "Grandma was here..."

Come back soon Grandma ~ we'll leave a light on for you!

********************************************************************

Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

Her eyes ~ the sequel

2011-09-22T14:54:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I got an email from one of my aunts just checking in on Darcy.

It would seem that she remembered reading about the increase in pressure in DQ's eye back in August and wanted to know if we'd had the follow up appointment yet because while she had been on vacation for a few weeks, she went back to check the blog for news and didn't see anything.

Big "bloggy mommy fail."

can you hear the disbelief in her voice that I forgot?

It would appear that all the excitement of the wee one turning three, my big girl starting school, the kick off for the formula fundraiser and then two half birthdays had me distracted. In the midst of the chaos that is life right now, I totally let a follow up report slip. Oh for just a little more time in the day and a bit better memory...

So how did it go?

Well, lets just say that despite not being seen until 2 1/2 hours after our appointment time, we walked out happy campers.

dq jumping for joy!

The new drops are doing their thing!

Lil' missy here is pretty happy to have surgery back off the discussion table for now.

And of course as her mama, I am too!

Wordless Wednesdy {My merry little band}

2011-09-21T06:54:00.002-04:00

The day that was AWOL

2011-09-19T06:11:00.004-04:00

In doing a tiny bit of housework around here, namely adding a button in the sidebar to link to our trip to Xinjiang Province to meet Daniel this summer, (thanks Ashton!) I noticed that a day was missing from our trip log. Apparently I had written the email to my amazing friend who posted for me while we were gone (both on Daniel's trip AND on Darcy's trip last year) and forgot to hit send. Luckily it ~ along with the email containing all the pictures ~ was in my draft folder in my yahoo email account.

So if you want a 2 1/2 month look into our past, check out Guangzhou Shopping Day (a recount of July 3 for our family). Here's a teaser of what to expect...

bathtime shanagians

sibling moments

For me, going back was very therapeutic. We've come a long, long way in bonding and being a family of six. We still have some ground to cover, but it sure helps seeing how far we've come.

Sunday Snapshot {So long summer}

2011-09-17T15:09:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday ended up being one of those days that makes one understand where the term "Carolina blue skies" came from.

warming in the sun

Ian had the chance to go to the Carolina football game with a good friend of ours. Knowing that he loves college football and that it was going to be a beautiful day for a game, I encouraged him to go and cheer for the home team.

(Don't worry fellow Hokies, it was against Rutgers ~ can't blame him for cheering for a fellow ACC team. Now when VT actually plays Carolina? That's another story).

my girls, thick as thieves, sharing a chair during lunch

I considered several entertainment options for the day, but ended up going with one last hurrah at the pool.

the little guys, right now mostly "parallel players" but as neighbors only six months apart in age will soon be best buds

With our abrupt weather change ~ this Saturday we've broken out jackets, leggings and closed toe shoes ~ I think it was the best choice.

just one month apart in age, this pair often spells trouble

The water was a little chilly, but it didn't stop us from having a great time.

silly sisters

After all, what is a little chilly water when you are playing with some of your best friends?

playing rapunzel and flynn

Because as mentioned, there is water...

this may well become one of my all time favorite pictures ~ can you see how much she adores him?

...and for my crew, water = FUN!

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Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.

Amazing

2011-09-16T23:03:00.070-04:00

Two things that I wanted to share today.

First of all, I went to bed ~ exhausted ~ around 9 last night. At that time we were still $189 short of the goal. And by the time I was able to stop to check progress today ~ we still don't have the school morning routine down like clockwork ~ not only had that $189 come in, but actually $25 more.

We made it. $1200+ in one week.

You guys amaze me.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see pictures of all that PediaSmart on the shelves when the staff family gets back to New Day. Even more importantly, I can't wait to see some of the post surgery peanuts gain weight and strength from the nourishment of it!

Thank you for each and every contribution. It makes a difference!

And for those of you who have emailed to let me know that you'd like to participate if raise for formula again, we may well be collecting to send formula with adoptive families. Stay tuned.

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Second, today marks one year since this email unexpectedly popped up in my inbox.

"Hi Kristi, I just got this email from [our China liaison]... Not sure if you are still interested in him, but he is back to the list. Let me know if you have any questions. "

It had been three weeks since his file had been locked and we had figured someone else was working on their paperwork. I still remember how I could feel my pulse racing in my temples and how my fingers were so jittery that I could hardly compose a short note to Ian as I forwarded the news.

That email started a paperwork race followed by a lot of waiting.

And today he is well on his way to being able to sing his ABC's, really enjoys a good hamburger on the grill, and he plays in our living room, wearing his brother's hand-me-down silks.

What a year...

Closing in on our formula goal

2011-09-15T14:38:00.003-04:00

Know what I love about the readers at Fireworks and Fireflies?

You guys make a difference!

In just six days $1001 has been donated to purchase formula for children at New Day. That's a lot of $10 and $25 donations y'all (with a few $100+ to keep things exciting)!

Right now we are just $199 short of our goal of $1200. That represents almost four cases of PediaSmart.

Did you know that with the 30% that Nature's One offers for folks purchasing for New Day (thank you Nature's One!) that $54.56 will cover one case? One to two meals (depending on the size of your family) eaten at home instead of out at a restaurant this month could easily cover that.

Or did you know that $9.09 will cover one can? Two coffees at home instead of at Starbucks or Caribou Coffee could make that difference.

Why am I so passionate about the formula when there are numerous surgeries to cover?

The surgery fund is important, very important to support. I am forever grateful that 2 1/2 years ago others contributed to that fund so that my son could have his open heart surgery.

But we can't forget the "caboose" (in honor of my train crazy little guy) of the healing cycle. PediaSmart formula dovetails in with the surgery. In the words of Nature's One

[PediaSmart® Dairy is a good source of nutrition for children who suffer from chronic illness, growth failure, injuries or during recovery from surgery].

It helps complete the cycle so that these precious kiddos can heal. Two years ago it was my cherub that was healing...

We're close to our 34 cases y'all. Wanna be part of healing one more?

Here's how ~ Fundraising 4 Formula

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday {For these precious children}

2011-09-14T09:51:00.000-04:00

We're almost there! Here's how you can help ~ Fundraising 4 Formula

The wee ones at New Day thank you!