Ladybugs & Lobsters

It's like God is whispering in my ear.. slow down, mummy...

2012-02-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

slow down mummy, there is no need to rush, slow down mummy, what is all the fuss? slow down mummy, make yourself a cup tea. slow down mummy, come spend some time with me.

slow down mummy, let's pull boots on for a walk, let's kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk. slow down mummy, you look ever so tired, come sit and snuggle under the duvet, and rest with me a while.

slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait, slow down mummy, let's have some fun - bake a cake! slow down mummy, I know you work a lot, but sometimes mummy, it's nice when you just stop.

sit with us a minute, and listen to our day, spend a cherished moment, because our childhood won't stay! ~ R. Knight

911!!!

2012-02-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

We have some very sweet friends who are adopting a cutie-patootie named Hailey from China and they are in dire need of some assistance! Their daughter has bilateral club feet and will require some medical procedures once home. If you are able to help them bring their sweet Hailey home, please follow the link and donate $10, $15, $20 or more! If all of our friends would help out, what a difference we could make in a child's life and in the life of this lovely family!! Here is their blog: http://adoptiondreamcomingtrue.blogspot.com/
and their donation site: https://www.wepay.com/donations/42940

Monday, Monday....

2012-01-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

T Rex Girl

2012-01-28T16:24:00.001-08:00

What else needs to be said??

Chinese New Year

2012-01-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

CNY was this past Monday and I got a text from one of the moms in our adoption group that asked if we were interested in meeting for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and we were in! I picked her up from school, we went to gymnastics, then she changed back into her Chinese dress that she had wanted to wear that morning- so glad she wanted to wear it b/c it made it easier knowing I didn't have to drive back home to put it on her before we went to the restaurant. I checked my text messages and the mom had emailed back saying we had 28 people coming! Wow! Sometimes we plan things out so carefully and they don't work out and sometimes the impromptu gatherings turn out to be the best. The restaurant had put out trays of Chinese candies and goodies and treated us to fish ball soup, which was delicious! It was truly a wonderful event and one of our families had just gotten back 2 days earlier with their son, Liam. So cute!!

Chinese New Year Preparations

2012-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

A few things we are doing to celebrate CNY- we went to the Chinese market yesterday and got some dumplings and other foods to celebrate, but Caiya's biggest excitement was the new lion's head I bought for school.. so she HAD to try it out today and had so much fun although she didn't want to be the head, only the tail.. ha!

Referral Picture 3 Years Later!!!

2012-01-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Do You Ever Wonder....

2012-01-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

First, I am reading an amazing book right now written by Mary Beth Chapman (wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, the most amazing Christian musician.. his music speaks to the depths of my soul). She writes about the journey she and her family have taken over the past few years after they lost their little 5 year old daughter, Maria (adopted from China) in a tragic accident; son Will was driving the car that hit Maria while daughter Shaohannah watched in the driveway of their home. She writes about the incredible grief and the journey through the pain and of God's enduring grace, love, and faithfulness. She is painfully honest, heartbreakingly so.. I've never cried so many tears while reading a book- I can barely make it two pages without tears streaming down my face.
Today, in my husband's email came a video that also talks about pain and the process of God "pruning" us for our growth. I don't believe He allowed Maria to die in order to grow the Chapman family, but I do believe He uses all things for good; whether they begin from incredible joy or pain. Do you ever wonder how? Please watch!

Hide and Seek Anyone?

2012-01-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

Quick Post-
We are crackin' up over here- Caiya's favorite game now is hide and seek! She's so funny and always wants one of us to hide with her but she's so noisy and giggles while putting one hand over her mouth- can't stay quiet to save her life! Makes us laugh like crazy!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T17:33:00.000-08:00

It was a low-key Christmas as Caiya hasn't been feeling very well and this afternoon it seems as though it's another upper respiratory ICK.. she's been coughing all day and saying, 'I don't feeoo good Mama!". Poor girl!

Friends Adopting from China

2011-12-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Back in the spring I was in a local bead shop talking to the owner and found out she had a friend who was in process to adopt from China but was getting discouraged. She gave me her friends' email, we got together for dinner and encouraged them to switch to SN. They long with that heartaching longing to be parents. I understand their pain and so was absolutely overjoyed today to get a phone call from her with the news that they have a referral for a SN child and I am so hopeful this works for them.
Please keep N and their family in your prayers!

More Christmas Pictures

2011-12-13T03:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas Pictures Part 1

2011-12-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

I've recently become addicted to pinterest.com and have found some great photography tips and tricks on there. Last year I draped a chair with a sheet and took pictures of Caiya for Christmas. This year I taped the sheet up on a wall with painters tape and that worked GREAT! I also used some lights and a few different props and Caiya and I had a session- she was AWESOME! Here are the first bit that I've put into digital scrapbook pages.

Dr. Caiya

2011-11-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Caiya Turns FOUR!!!!

2011-11-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

Yup, can't quite believe it myself! Yesterday was Caiya's fourth birthday and after dinner and a little celebration last night, we drove up to Nana and Bompie's house and had a sweet celebration. Big Sister Kelli drove down and we had a great time tearing apart paper and munching on yummy food- Nana made all of Caiya's favorites- homemade mac and cheese, bread, baked beans, and hot dogs! Yum!!! My sweet friend, Wendy, made Caiya's cake- a panda dressed up in a dinosaur suit- it was perfect and travelled beautifully for the 2 plus hour drive! Of course, what birthday party would be complete without noisemakers and party hats?

Week in Review

2011-11-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Halloween

Grampie came down from Maine Tuesday night and met up with us for dinner.

Making Stuffed Pumpkin Last Night

Oh What a Day!

2011-10-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Church this morning, great message!
Off to local air show with friends who have children adopted from China and Russia. Fun!
Fun afternoon playing outside!
Out to dinner at favorite Mexican restaurant.. YUM!
Home to carve pumpkin and Caiya GIGGLED hysterically through it.. well.. through most of it.. check it out!

Fall Fun

2011-10-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I LOVE fall.. the leaves changing colors (although not as brilliantly here in the South as where I'm from in New England!!), the cool, crisp quality of the air, and pumpkin! I love making pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, toasted pumpkin seeds, etc. LOVE it! We made pumpkin bread just a few hours ago.. yum! Caiya has gotten so great at cooking.. she does all the measuring now and LOVES to measure out the spices then takes a BIG *SNIFF* into the bowl after the addition of each one. So funny!
I got a new mini donut pan that I love- so cute! We made these last week- mini baked pumpkin donuts.. yum!

A few weeks ago I was in Dollar Tree and they had these oh-so-cute pumpkin face kits and I bought a few- we've had so much fun changing them out but Caiya won't let us change out the pirate pumpkin on the front steps!

Pumpkin' Time!

2011-10-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Caiya's friend, L., was in town this weekend from Atlanta and so we went to a nearby farm to play in the corn, go on a pony ride, cow cart ride, play, play, play, get faces painted, feed animals, play some more, and, oh, yeah, pick pumpkins! Awesome day!!

Apple Picking in the NC Mountains!

2011-10-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

yummy yummy in my tummy.. growl

2011-10-06T18:10:00.001-07:00

Jack O Lantern Jar!

2011-10-03T17:18:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Autumn Moon Picnic

2011-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Several months ago a fellow adoptive mom sent me a web address for a group in our area that was a Chinese Association and asked me if I knew anything about them. I took a look at the site, and saw that they were offering Tai Chi at a local park, were organizing a Chinese School on Saturdays at a local school and were having some gatherings. Curious , I contacted the group organizer who I think was also curious about our adoption group. We have a group of about 10 families who have all adopted children from China in our area. We meet occasionally for playdates, picnics, etc. and have a good time as all of our children are about the same ages. When M. and I finally met face to face, he was so very kind and enthusiastic about getting our groups together. We have a large number of families in our area from China and so we got together yesterday for a picnic and had such a great time together! What a unique opportunity for all of us to expand our understanding and knowledge of our cultures!

mustaches and mooncake making

2011-09-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

2011-09-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Have you seen pinterest.com? Wow.. I LOVE this site- think of a global bulletin board in which anybody can "pin" up a picture (and the blog or site info) and things are organized by category/interest. SO many things I LOVE! I made some awesome pretzel rolls tonight and Caiya and I had some fun making a piece of art together this morning that was exciting to make- she loved it.. can you tell??

I love to sew and make most of Caiya's clothes, hairbows, etc. I found a new kind of twirly skirt that was basically no-sew (only the elastic waistband had to be sewn) and I used a bunch of 2" strips that I pinked on the edges (for those not in the know- pinking shears) and it looks soooo cute over a pair of bike shorts.

...and thank you, God, for nail polish!

2011-09-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

Every night we have prayer together and Caiya ends by saying some things she's thankful for.. typically it sounds like this: "... and thank you, God, for Big Sister, famiwee, my fwends, my school, our home, my bed, thank you for everybody". Tonight she ended with "... and thank you for nailpolish". Cary and I couldn't help it, after the lonnnnnng litany of things/people she's thankful for (complete with voice raising at the end of each thing), she comes up with NAIL POLISH- it was simply too funny and we burst out laughing!
Here's a peek at some things in the past week or so around our house.. dinosaurs, princess shoes, and washing dishes- her new favorite "I DO IT" exclamation point!

New Qi Paos from China!

2011-08-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

At my school we have several students from China. One of them is my tutor, a lovely young lady named Yimo. She was sweet enough to pick out several things for me while home in China and she got two gorgeous new Qi Pao (dresses) for Caiya- when I showed her this afternoon she started tearing (literally!!) off her clothes so she could put on her new dresses.

Just a happy girl with new dresses! Thanks, Yimo!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

2011-08-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Back to School Tomorrow!

2011-08-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

I am an elementary music teacher and go back to school tomorrow, no students yet (not until NEXT Monday), but we have a week full of meetings. I don't mind the meetings as long as it's not just chatter, but meaningful work on educational ideals and values. I am also excited as I will be getting Caiya's application for my school. I teach in an independent school and am starting my 14th year there and can't believe that we are already approaching the application and nail-biting process of academic testing, playdates, observations, etc. to see if she will be accepted. How time flies!
A few pics today of the past couple weeks- still lovin' shoes and Daddy's hats!

EXCITEMENT

2011-08-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am a music teacher and school starts back next week for us teachers, August 15th for students. This morning Caiya started back to her "school" as she calls daycare and she was SO EXCITED.. dancing in the bathroom singing, "I'm going back to school" over and over while simultaneously jumping up and down and wiggling her tushy. It's so gratifying to know she's so happy there!

Silliness!

2011-07-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Beach Trip!

2011-07-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

Caiya's friend Tommi is, according to both of them, "my best friend". They really have such a good time together! Fight like sisters some times.. very funny! We went to the beach together last week for a couple days and really enjoyed Charleston and the beach and, according to Caiya, "swimming in the deep sea!"

At the hotel, they climbed up into the window area and kept opening and closing the curtains saying, "peek a boo" about 100 times! It's funny how kids find the simplest things to amuse themselves!

Nana's Manicurist!

2011-07-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, it's REAL nailpolish and yes, as my husband asked, there IS nail polish on the brush... Nana's toes were a *BIT* (ahem, a LOT) messy, but they both loved every minute of it!!! I'm going to have to hide next time I polish my nails!

It's Easy To Forget...

2011-07-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Went to a friend's husband's birthday party Saturday night and she was smart- she hired a sitter for the kids so we adults wouldn't have to worry about where they were! While we were there, my friend Colleen brought over D. and T., a couple who have endured failed attempts at trying to have a baby (at great expense) and who are interested in adoption. Once you've gone through the adoption roller coaster, it's hard to remember the days when we first asked, "what do we do first?" You forget. Forget the questions you first asked, the committment of time, energy, and money, not to mention the emotional drain of wondering when and how you will have a child. Domestic, international? What country? What age? Special Needs, Non-Special Needs? How long? Etc, etc, etc!
I feel for this couple. They truly desire a child, as we did. They don't know which way to turn and what to commit to. Please keep them in prayer as they wrestle with their true heart-felt longing for a child and pray for discernment and a quick process.

We're Home!

2011-07-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

After two days of travel we are finally home! Caiya is an awesome traveller! We got home late this afternoon and unpacked, did laundry, and headed to our favorite pizza place. Back on my diet tomorrow and working out.. yikes- what is it about vacation that means we can totally give up on healthy food? Oh well! Here are a few pictures from the last few days! We threw a message in a bottle out and are hoping to hear from someone NOT in Maine.. haha! Seriously, though, what a wonderful time with family and friends along the coast!

Maine Today ...

2011-06-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Just a few moments ago we sat outside watching seals from the front of our cottage with a chilled glass of wine in my hand.. beautiful day!

Visits...

2011-06-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

We've had several visits from friends and family and have loved seeing everyone while we're in Maine. Caiya got to see her friend Vivi who was also adopted from China and the girls were so funny to watch together!

My brother brought his kayak over for me to use and oh, I'm in love.. only wish it hadn't been raining today when a seal was swimming RIGHT in front of our cottage- I would have loved to have gone out to play with him in the kayak!

Wednesday we went to the town where I used to live and they had their "Windjammer Festival" going on. It was cold and windy but it was fun to see a couple of the "tall ships" sailing around the peninsula.

Maine!

2011-06-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Visiting family and friends here in Maine right now. We rented a cottage on the ocean and oh, it's LOVELY! Watched the seals playing on a ledge near the cottage this morning. They make me laugh! Haven't had my fill of lobster yet.. crab tonight, hoping for scallops tomorrow.. maybe some clams, too. I really miss the seafood in my home state.

Caiya's been having a blast walking the rocks, picking up sea glass (we've found about 5 lbs. of it so far.. collectively more than we've EVER found here in all our trips!!), and sea shells. Her favorite thing, though, is meeting some cousins she hasn't met yet, and, like last year, she still loves to throw rocks in the water! Yesterday she walked in and out a million times and kept picking up shells and small rocks to throw in and said, "plunk" every time one splashed in!

Camping with Nana and Bompie

2011-06-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Caiya and I went camping with Nana and Bompie in their new camper! We had an awesome time! Swimming, making pancakes, blowing bubbles, making fun camp food, and enjoying a nice campfire complete with S'mores!
Thanks for the fun, Nana and Bompie!

Wild Blueberries

2011-06-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

We love fruit in our house- but especially love wild Maine blueberries. My stepdad got me a HUGE bag of frozen ones from Sam's and Caiya and I made a HUGE batch of sour cream blueberry muffins from a great recipe I found online and they are so yummy! She did ALL the measuring and a lot of the stirring today- can you tell from the oh so proud face?

HEAT!

2011-06-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

The heat is on! It was 96 today and boy, I think we're in trouble to have it be this hot already- July is almost a month away and yikes! It looks like a WARM summer!
We're gearing up for a camping trip early next week with Nana and Bompie and I'm ready to give my new SLR a workout. Finally decided on a Nikon- we bought a Canon and the Nikon and after playing with both for a few days I really like the features on the D5100 so we returned the Canon.. here's a few I took- yup, the Nikon has the same "Color Accent" as I had on my previous Canon- LOVE that feature as I'm not a photoshopper. Can't wait to take it to Maine ina couple weeks to play!

prepping for summer

2011-06-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

So, home with sick girl today- fever of 103, off to Dr.'s in a few minutes.. must've been all the fresh mountain air we enjoyed this past weekend in Brevard and Asheville areas... thought I'd take a minute to revel in the excitement of summer! School's officially done as of today (I'm a teacher and our last meeting was this morning!!!) and I'm so excited because in another week Caiya will be out of school and we'll be home for summer- time to visit family in Maine, go camping with Nana & Bompie, storytime at the library and for blessed unscheduled time of play-dough, playdates, swimming, splashing, baking time, and, of course, singing, playing, and making lots of headache-inducing music!
So glad for this time to gain some balance in our lives.

TWO YEARS HOME!!!

2011-05-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Caiya's 2nd Gotcha Day last week and had a great time! Enjoy the pictures!

Ay Men Men

2011-05-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

When we were first looking into adoption I was a little concerned about how our daughter would bond to us. Needless to say, that was simply NO issue; she is our daughter in every way; I may not have given birth to her physically, but we gave birth to her spiritually. She is an incredibly cuddly, lovey, snuggly (although fidgety) girl who is sweet, sweet, sweet! She is beautiful inside and out, loves "Chinese girls" (Four Golden Princesses videos we got from our Chinese tutor, also available on youtube), books (oh, she could probably look at 50 a day and not get bored!!), dressing up like a princess, dancing, singing (she's her mama's girl.. wahooo!), going to the park, and play-dough! I was looking at a friends blog tonight and she just brought home her second daughter from Taiwan who is EIGHT years old and it's awesome to watch them bond even when they are having issues communicating. I am always in awe at how God matches these children; Caiya is outgoing, cheerful, and a little off-kilter and unique- just like us. It really cracks me up and makes me smile and cry all in the same breath... how beautiful.. how very amazing.
Every night we pray with Caiya before bed we sing a prayer and then speak a prayer of thanks. Caiya ends her prayers by saying, "Ay men men" instead of "Amen". To all who are waiting for their Forever Families... The wait is awful, the process is painful, and the fees are atrocious. My prayer is for you to know God has a plan, and His plan is perfect and His timeliness is perfect and your child will be the RIGHT child for you according to Him! AY MEN MEN!!!

Tea Time Anyone?

2011-05-01T15:35:00.001-07:00

Caiya's been REALLY into tea parties lately.. could it be the influence of the Royal Wedding? Ha! These were taken this past week.

Bowls as shoes???

2011-04-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

At the Easter party at Caiya's school yesterday she came home with a dazzling array of yummy goodies and these fun glasses!

Just had to share this one- so funny how she parades around the house with just her shirt on head!

Tonight- funniest thing ever seen.. Caiya loves to put our shoes on her feet, and usually likes to sit in bowls, but tonight she put these bowls on her feet and walked all around the house with them on!

Tea Party Queen

2011-04-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend at Nana and Bompie's Caiya "discovered" Nana's Wedgewood tea set; a lovely Beatrix Potter set and Nana was so sweet and let Caiya play (gasp.. this is authentic Wedgewood after all) with it. She LOVED it and when we came home she went rummaging through her toybox to find her tea set I got at a consignment sale- tonight she wanted to have another tea party! I love it.. I feel a dress up party coming on- complete with tea!!

Bunny Cake

2011-04-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Caiya's Cookin'!

2011-04-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

It has become tradition (for all of the last TWO years) that Caiya helps me make my birthday cake; I know, weird, that I make my own bday cake, right? Well... it's my favorite cake and Cary doesn't do cake, so it's me and my girl. She LOVES to cook and help Mommy stir and this time I let her do pretty much everything, even put the frosting on.. I of course smoothed all the lumps and 3" high globs of goo but she put all the strawberries in the middle layer and really did a great job!
This past weekend we also made a bunny cake at Nana and Bompie's house in the middle of several tornados that were causing a great deal of devastation to the area!
More pics of the bunny cake later! Enjoy the pics!

Listen to the Giggles!!!

2011-04-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Turn the music that is playiing now off by scrolling down and pressing pause on the mixpod player. You have GOT to hear the giggles!!! She's watching an old version of Mickey Mouse I found on youtube.. SO HYSTERICAL to hear her cackle and giggle!!!

Videos

2011-03-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Caiya loves her tai chi fans and also these pretty little Chinese fans I picked up at Dollar Tree. She loves to dance and so we've been playing around with some Chinese dance moves. Scroll down and hit the pause button on the left side playbox and you can pause the "Cinderella" song playing now.

Caiya and her friend Lilli had a playdate recently and they were "Dancing Queens".. so funny although I think the mom's were a little more vocal than the girls!

Last month while making dinner one night I noticed that when Caiya was snapping green beans she got the FUNNIEST expression on her face.. enjoy!

2011-03-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long Caiya's hair is getting.. every night when we're getting ready for bed she tilts her head back and shakes her head side to side, feeling her hair on her back and she says, "My hair get yong"(she can't say L's yet).She also loves to put my shoes on and says, "Mommy, I have princess shoes on". She also really likes to put ALL her tutus on(at once) and dance around while I sing... who knows where she picked that up.. it's
My Dad is a retired dairy farmer and a soon-to-retire truck driver. He had a load down here today and we met him for an early dinner- Caiya LOVES grampie and she REALLY loves his big truck, too...
the FUNNIEST thing and so lovely to watch her dance without a care in the world...

more beach pics

2011-03-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

BEACH!

2011-03-15T19:25:00.001-07:00

We are at the beach in SC and it's been an interesting trip so far; on the drive down Caiya was a little warm and was sneezing, nose running, and feeling not so wonderful. At the beach Sunday afternoon she was a little cranky and scared of the ocean but not as bad as last year! Sunday night we were up most of the night as she had a fever, yesterday morning she improved enough for us to go to the beach to make her first sandcastle which we both enjoyed and then it went downhill until last night when she had a temp of 104.5 WITH ibuprofen on board.. yikes! I knew it was ANOTHER upper respiratory viral infection which she has about every 2-3 weeks and she was right on target for another so... this AM we went to the local Urgent Care, got antibiotics (AGAIN!) and she is definitely feeling better this afternoon but its been a trying day full of whining, tears, and a sad faced little girl who is clearly not feeling her best.. so sad. BUT, she's on the mend and has officially been wearing big girl panties for a full week now and has done SO well! So proud of our girl.
Enjoy the pics from the beach over the last couple of days...

Saint Baldrick's Fundraiser

2011-03-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Caiya's big sister, Kelli, and her boyfriend, Rich, work at an Irish pub in downtown Raleigh. This pub has a HUGE fundraiser for pediatric cancer every spring though St. Baldrick's foundation; sponsor a person to get their head shaved, all proceeds go towards pediatric cancer research. One middle school girl (!!) raised almost three THOUSAND DOLLARS by herself. I don't know the final figure, but at about 1:00 (just as things were really getting started) they had already reached last years $250,000! I'm guessing it was well over $350,000~ just from shaving heads! As a cancer survivor, I really love this event and of course it is great fun to see people raising money and having fun at the same time while giving something sacrificially. Beautiful thing.. beautiful event.. beautiful day..

Fabulous Day

2011-02-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days that you remember; nothing spectacular, just a wonderful, fun-filled day full of little blessings and tiny moments of joy...

Spending time outside in the gorgeous weather, enjoying a picnic at a park, hastily put together after an amazing church service,

Watching a little girl enjoy the simple yet indescribable pleasure of flying a kite for the first time...

Children from Living Hope Orphange

2011-02-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Living Hope Orphanage is in China and we had the awesome pleasure of hearing and watching them perform last Saturday here in Charlotte.. they sang and danced to traditional Chinese songs and sang a couple songs in English and Chinese. These children are 10 years old and up and are unadoptable as they have a living relative living in China. We are going to sponsor at least 2 children this year and are so excited to help such a worthwhile and caring program bringing Living Hope to these children.

A picture slideshow by Smilebox

For some reason, Caiya is a *little* obsessed with birthday cakes; talks about it all the time, wants to "make" birthday cakes out of books, blocks, anything! So tonight, when we got home from having pizza, she wanted to make a "Pei-Pei" birthday cake; Pei-Pei is her word for Panda. So, Daddy and I put our heads together and here's what we came up with; of course we HAD to put a candle in it and let her blow it out!:

Red and White and Pink

2011-02-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about Valentine's Day colors.. I am talking about the colors around Caiya's eyes right now; she has had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic which on Sunday resulted in about 200 HUGE red raised welts all over her tummy, arms, back, and legs. Yesterday she was doing well but last night she had another one and was itchy and pink and red all around her neck. This morning when she woke up (after very little sleep) her eyes were red and swollen and she looked like a puffy red-eyed panda bear. Her little hands were also extremely red and swollen. Poor gir!
This past weekend we got together with Caiya's friend Lilli and they made Valentine Candy..

then they got their groove on...

and of course we made Valentine's for family and friends...

Earlier this month Caiya has worked on hamming in up in front of the camera...

For Chinese New Year we gave Caiya her Hong Bao (Lucky Money) under her pillow...

Chinese New Year Pictures

2011-02-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

Morning Sugar

2011-02-09T03:48:00.000-08:00

I am in love. In love with Jesus, in love with my husband, in love with my daughter, in love with my life. This morning I was working out (at 5AM) and Caiya woke up just as I was finishing and, as is our habit, Cary went in and got her out of bed and brought her down the hall so she could come in the playroom to watch TV and play while I finished up working out. She opened the door, saw me on the elliptical and came over with her arms lifted up. I got off, lifted her up and tried to hug my sweet sleep-smelling baby but she recoiled at the sweat but relented enough to give me a reluctant kiss (all that sweat.. eeeew!). I finished my workout, got her milk, jumped in the shower and came back to check on her in the playroom and (this is how sweet my lovey bug is) she patted the floor and wanted me to sit down. The minute I'm on the floor she's standing up and positioning her tushy on my lap. "I sit with mama", then she leaned back, inserted her thumb and cuddled. Ah.... heaven! We are so richly, abundantly, incredibly, joyfully, joy-filledly (yes, I know it's not a word!) BLESSED!

January Wrap Up

2011-02-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Caiya's 3 year old "well" check up- but she's a wee bit sick with an upper respiratory virus, AKA sneezing, freezing, sniffling, coughing, and fever! She's otherwise healthy and has gained 10 lbs since coming home and has grown 10 1/2 inches! WOW! Now in the 25th percentile in height and weight (woohoo.. she wasn't even ON the charts when she first came home!).
Here's a few final pictures from January!

Two Years Ago...

2011-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today we got a call that our daughter was waiting for us in China.. a world away, it seemed. We are simply awed at the way God orchestrated this beautiful gift; how perfectly she fits in our lives, how loving and funny and animated she is. We are awed at how much her big sister loves her and how silly they are together and how very sisterly. We are also so very thankful and grateful that she is healthy, but even more awed by His Grace at giving her to us; such a happy girl!

2011-01-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

Both C and I have been a little sick over the past week; both with upper respiratory viruses/colds/coughs, hers came with a fever. We had LOTS of snow which is very unusual for NC this time of year but weren't able to enjoy it in part because we were sick but also b/c the day after it arrived it rained and froze and now we have snow covered with a THICK layer of ice.. ick!
No pictures today, but a funny little *thing* about Caiya that I love; when she does something that we're super proud of and we make a big fuss over it, she gets this cute little closed mouth smile, cocks her head sideways and then comes over to us all cute and smiling and hugs us.. BIG hug. Sometimes if we're sitting sside by side she just puts her head on my shoulder and smiles and kisses my shoulder. How sweet, how loving and how amazing considering the first 18 months of her life. Or, maybe, because we have showered her with love she has learned to be incredibly loving. I love it; she's such a happy girl and we are so abundantly, richly blessed! Thank you, Abba!

Digital Scrappin' Some Memories

2011-01-09T18:11:00.001-08:00

I really love digital scrapbooking and am pretty cuaght up on the last several months but have begun to go back to record some memories. I became inspired by some other layouts I found and did SIX pages today while I was sick and Caiya was sicker. Poor little wee one, she's pretty miserable! Hopefully on the upswing; day 2 of antibiotics today!
Here are a few of the ones I did today:

Last of the Christmas pictures

2011-01-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to post something more than just pictures in a few weeks but I've been spending my time getting digital scrapbook pages done- yup- I'm a wee bit addicted to it! Hee hee! BUT- I'm all done with my Christmas scrapbook pages! HA!
Seriously,though, this morning I spent a good deal of time in prayer thanking God for the incredible blessings of adoption and also praying for all of those who are considering or working on adoptions. One of our friends contacted me Thursday about their interest in adopting from China. I also was thinking of the millions of children still waiting, especially those with special needs, as Caiya was. If you are reading this and you are still waiting for your referral from China, PLEASE consider switching to SN and adopting one of these beautiful children.
Here's to a wonderful New Year with many children comiing home to their Forever Families!At Nana & Bompie's (my mom and stepdad) Thursday and Friday, Caiya found Nana's stash of plastic and empty boxes and she wore out 4 empty oatmeal boxes by wearing them as shoes!!!!
Christmas a couple weeks ago with Caiya's big sister, who we call "Big Sister Kelli" and her boyfriend, known as "Big Rich".

SNOW!

2010-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

Grandpa & Caiya

2010-12-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

First Concert!

2010-12-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

Santa Train

2010-12-18T18:24:00.001-08:00

Caiya has not been crazy about "Ho Ho", as she calls Santa, but today we took her to the train museum and we rode the Santa Train. Santa comes on board, gives every child some time (really time for parents to take pics) and each child gets a candy cane and an orange while riding the train. What fun! I don't know if it was that we were on a train, or if it was that Santa arrived by vintage firetruck but she was SO excited to see Santa! Wahoo!

Holiday Fun

2010-12-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we bought Caiya a new panda outfit; she can't get enough of pandas!!!

Last year at Christmas Caiya wasn't quite ready to help me decorate cookies but this year she was VERY eager; she LOVED it! Friends Kelly and Lilli came over and helped and we had a wonderful time; the girls played and decorated cookies and played some more! A new tradition!

Kid Tree Tradition

2010-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Growing up my brothers and I would climb into the bucket of the tractor and Dad would lift the bucket up and drive us out on the farm to find Christmas trees for each of us kids to put in our rooms. I loved having my own tree and wanted to carry on this tradition with Caiya. While Grammie and Grampie were here from Maine we found the most adorable white tree in a beautiful container and they gifted Caiya with this oh-so-girly tree. It is now glitzed up with hot pink sparkly dragonflies and some Chinese ornaments and hot pink bows. We had to buy a few special ornaments for her including a sparkly angel, a sparkly shoe (for the girl who LOVES shoes.. any shoes.. not just her own!!), ad a sparkly train. She's so into trains lately!!! Enjoy!

New Christmas Pictures Taken Yesterday

2010-12-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Just a sampling from our home photo "shoot" yesterday during a moment when we had nothing else (haha) to do; take one girl, four outfits, lots of hairbows, various tights, 1 pair of sparkly shoes, and add a white sheet draped over 2 dining room chairs, a little bench that belonged to Mommy when she was little, add Christmas ornaments, a hat, and a looooooong string of pearls and grab that camera! CHECK!

Our Thanksgiving Day!

2010-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

This free digital scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

2010-11-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. I am so blessed to have my Mom and Stepdad (who live a couple hours away) and my Dad and Stepmom (who flew down from Maine) all together to celebrate Thanksgiving this year! Still working on pictures of that, but I did get a few digital scrapbook pages together of our new advent calendar (saw this in Family Fun magazine and I loved the idea; we'll put a little "gift" in each tree):

I also got a couple pages completed from Kelli and Rich's visit last Sunday. They gave Caiya a "Hide and Seek Jo-Jo"; a bunny rabbit who comes to find an electronic "carrot" that the child hides with... VERY cute!!! Needless to say, Caiya was SUPER excited to see her sister and to get more presents! She loves to get tissue paper in her gifts and pulls it over her head and lets it fly! OH, BOY, is Christmas going to be fun this year!!!!

Happy THIRD birthday today!

2010-11-18T17:23:00.001-08:00

Today was Caiya's third birthday AND our 18 month anniversary with our girl! Today marks a very special day; today we begin to have Caiya longer than she was in China. Today marks the day she's had a family longer than she didn't. Today marks the day she has been loved longer, more deeply, and more fully than ever in her life. More of her life has been spent with parents than without TODAY! What an amazing, beautiful day and what an everyday miracle is unfolding before our eyes EVERY day!!!!

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Goings On...

2010-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

I have a girly girl. I know, can't quite believe it myself after what a tomboy I was as a child, but it's so much fun to make her tutus and sparkly, shiny things! The other day she was all dressed up in newest tutu and decided to put on Daddy's cowboy boots and walk around in them. She, and all of us, got laughing SO hysterically! She fell over several times but got up giggling and snickering!

I saw a patchwork skirt the other day on a blog and became inspired. Little did I know when I bought these fabrics all those years ago (about 15 years ago!!!) that they would become this beautiful dress! I LOVE how it came out!

At Caiya's school they learned about bears and the color brown and she came home with this adorable hat and has been wearing it ever since!

Sugar and Spice...

2010-11-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween Costume

2010-11-02T16:55:00.001-07:00

First Jack-O-Lantern

2010-10-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

Personalize a slideshow

2010-10-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Grampie's Visit Today and BIG GIRL BED!

2010-10-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't put up pictures yet of Caiya's big girl bed, so here they are.. one week and counting and she's doing great with it!!!

This afternoon my Dad was in town and we went and picked him up and enjoyed a few hours with him!

Pictures!

2010-10-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

I needed to make a scrapbook page from our mountain trip and found this lovely quote about togetherness that I loved.. had to make it using these pictures.

This morning Caiya wanted to wear her "Pei-Pei" (what she calls pandas; pay, pay) outfit and her black and white poka dot squeaky shoes. So stinkin' cute!

When Caiya got up from her nap, we broke out the googly eyes and some glue dots and decorated her pumpkin and also made tissue ghosts with googly eyes. I didn't take any pics of the ghosts yet; going to make them into a wreath to put up this week.

"Boon, Mama, Boon!!!"

2010-10-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

I love balloons and Caiya has caught the balloon fever, too.. she loves to go to Dollar Tree to pick out a "boon". The last one is still floating around in our music room and we've had it for over a month! She wanted a smiley face one yesterday and was playing peek a boo with it this morning! I love how such a *little* thing can make her so ridiculously happy! How incredibly blessed we are to have such a sweet, happy, girl. She's also singing her head off, making up new tunes and making up words to "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "Jingle Bells"... makes us laugh 'till tears come streaming down our faces!

A year ago....

2010-10-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

One year ago I lost a very sweet, loving friend; my first "baby" who I had for almost 15 years.. my sweet kitty Mia. She was soooooo loving; would cuddle with me all the time, loved to lay on my shoulders when I was doing my makeup and loved to lay on my pillow at night. I think about her nearly every day and miss her so very much. Caiya got to know her for only a short time, and Mia was pretty much terrorized by this walking talking tail-puller, but one of my favorite pictures is the one below where I got Caiya to lay on Mia's tummy for a few short moments; Mama's girls!

Weekend in the Mountains

2010-10-17T17:33:00.001-07:00

This photo album customized with Smilebox

Caiya Gets a GOLF CLUB!!!!

2010-10-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Daddy came home today with a little golf club; Caiya size! So, we HAD to go to the driving range and hit some balls! She had a great time and it was really fun to watch her try to hit the balls!

Addictions...

2010-10-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

I am addicted. Yup.. it's true.. an addict to creativity! I see something creative something else is doing and it generates a whole list of possibilities to me. I had seen on another crafty mama's blog an idea using leaves, seed pods, etc. so Caiya and I went outside and gathered intersting tidbits and created a leaf man, some faces, and a few "sculptural pieces". She loved it and we HAD to bring the seed pods and acorn "hats" and acorns inside and into a bowl where they are still sitting on the breakfast room table.

We had so much fun stamping papers to make lanterns for Autumn Moon Festival that I decided to go outside and do some painting and stamping.. oh my goodness!!! Almost TWO HOURS solid; we even skyped with Nana and Bompie outside while she was stamping and she didn't look up at the computer once.. and she loves to skype but she was SO into her painting and stamping! Wow.. a project that holds her attention that long.. amazing!!!

Autumn Moon Festival Gathering

2010-10-05T17:43:00.001-07:00

Saturday we were able to have our Autumn Moon Gathering; a week late due to rain but we had a wonderful day; food, fun, making lanterns and s'mores and great company! We are all so blessed to know each other and have such interesting connections to one another! Some of the families have been home for years and two just got home in July with their children!!!
BEAUTIFUL!
A few pictures from the day:

Caiya at gymnastics on trampoline

2010-10-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Gymnastics, Crafting, and Celebration!!!

2010-10-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Caiya has started gymnastics with her friend, Lilli, and oh.. they have SO much fun! This was last Monday.
We had a little delay celebrating Autumn Moon Festival due to rain so we are celebrating with our small group (about 10 families) this afternoon! We're going to share dinner, mooncakes (I'm almost done.. ONE final batch; chocolate ones!!), make s'mores, and make paper lanterns. This morning Caiya helped me stamp the construction paper with Chinese chops, or stamps my art teacher gave me (thanks, KRISTA!!). We'll make the paper lanterns out of this paper..

If you've never read this blog before, Caiya loves bowls and loves to wear them as a hat. She also loves her tutus, AND wearing them AND the bowls on her head.. this was just a few minutes ago.

Autumn Moon Festival

2010-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to celebrate our Autumn Moon Festival with our small group today but it's raining so we postponed that until next weekend. So.. my mom and step-dad were here so we decided to go to our FCC (Families with Children from China) Charlotte group's Autumn Moon Festival and it was so much fun but so very hot! We met up with our good friends Kelly and Lilli and Caiya and Lilli played and had a wonderful time together.. so fun to see them playing with each other!
We also enjoyed a picnic dinner, mooncakes and a hayride to the pumpkin patch.. fun!!!

Moon Cake Recipe...

2010-09-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

See pictures below.. just cooked them and they were DELICIOUS.. buttery, yummy! I'm going to experiment with the fillings.. definitely crying out for an apple/cinnamon filling and will try the more traditional recipe tomorrow but these were SO YUMMY!!!!
Recipe source below.
These were pretty easy to make.. you will need to buy the molds- I bought mine here.. they ship VERY fast!!
http://shop.ebay.com/stardealwholesale/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340 If it doesn't work in your browser, search on ebay for "stardealwholesale" and plastic moon cake molds. They has SOOOOO many varieties.. I bought 3 and now wish I had just bought his "buy 4 get 1 free" deal...
Recipe I used (refrigerate after molding them for several hours to "firm up".
http://spicesoflife.com/tag/chinese-holidays/ If it doesn't come up, you are looking for the "five treasure moon cakes" recipe. It will not make as many if you use the large molds like I used.

Moon Cake Making!

2010-09-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

So Caiya and I got up early and made our first batch of mooncakes! They are in the fridge now firming up and we'll bake 'em later and make a batch of chocolate ones. These have a coconut/apricot jam/dates/raisins filling! Mmmmmmm!
These are a Chinese tradition for Autumn Moon Festival, which is Wednesday I think; we'll celebrate with our small group on Sunday afternoon!

Sewing Palooza Today!!!

2010-09-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Today while Caiya napped I sewed THREE dresses.. it was a long nap and, to confess, I already had them cut out! She didn't want to try one of them on, tried the other and was wearing it after nap and then I finished THIS one and she was TEARING off her other clothes wanting to put this one on.. sooooo funny how they innate this sense of like/dislike is.. she really likes big, bold patterns and when I saw this fabric I KNEW I was going to have to make her a dress.. I still need some hot pink buttons to trim out around the neckline and around the sleeves, but I love this pattern.. first time I've made it and soooo pretty.. she'll be wearing this one for a couple years. She started posing and playing peek a boo and I grabbed the camera.. how funny!!!

Good News and Bad News...

2010-09-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a few days due to Caiya's being VERY sick.. upper respiratory virus which has now caused a secondary infection so she's on antibiotics and prescription cough medicine. The past several nights have been very hard for her.. temps ranging from 102 to 105! She's not sleeping well, coughing all night and just plain feeling yucky. Thank GOD Cary was able to work from home and watch her Wed., Thurs., and today, otherwise I'd be out half my sick days at school and it's only September!!! Yikes!
The good news is... well.. a little explanation is necessary here... when we adopted Caiya we found out she had a very good friend named Gang (all the girls had this surname which comes first in China; for their orphanage; Maogang Social Welfare Institute) anyway, Gang Xia Wen was her name. Apparently they were very good buddies and it has never stopped being on my mind; I've wondered for almost a year and a half now, "What happened to her.. was she adopted or is she still there???". I couldn't STOP thinking about Xia Wen and couldn't stop praying about what to do with the knowledge that she might still be in the orphanage.. languishing there.. possibly forever. It truly hurt my heart. I had tried several times to contact the Director of the orphanage, in both English and in Chinese (through a teacher friend who is Chinese) to no avail. I decided to take a friends' advice and contacted Ann of Red Thread China (she has a business and also sends packages to children in China and can call the orphanage and get updated info on height/weight, etc. that otherwise cannot be had through "official" channels). She happily called the orphanage and the very next day I had an email that told me what I had so longed to know.. Gang Xia Wen had been adopted and now has a family! How I would love to find that family, but I will settle for the knowledge that she is with her family and she is loved. Happy News!!!

I Know, I Know....

2010-09-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah.. so I just posted yesterday but I had to post these pics I just took a few moments ago. These pictures capture the ESSENCE of our sweet girl.. playful, silly, funny, sweet! Enjoy!

Here Comes the Bride!

2010-09-05T18:46:00.001-07:00

So it was a busy day today.. we skipped church today and went for a walk this AM, came home, showered, played with play dough outside (the weather was truly amazing and lovely)

then came in and painted,

outside again to do some yard work, then swinging in the swing (Mommy pushed and listened to her giggle for almost an hour solid!)

then played dress up, had lunch, nap, then went shopping.

Disappointing dinner out but Caiya got a balloon that she SO loved, then milk and night-night! Whew!