Gameday!

Dada's Birthday!

Annslee had a great time helping dada open his gifts and then playing with the bag.

Little Sister/Mei Mei/Em Gai Nho

When we ask Annslee about a baby sister she always shakes her head yes. Of course, she has no idea what it means but it is really cute. So we wait for her little sister or Mei Mei (Mandarin) or Em Gai Nho (Vietnamese). We can't wait for them to meet. What a special moment that will be! I am sure the fighting will come quickly enough too.


Two Girls, One Moon

A baby sister,
What is that?
Is it like,
A family cat?
She’s not a cat,
She’s just like you,
She laughs and cries,
And giggles, too.
So where’s she at,
This other me?
Is she here?
I want to see.
You came from far,
And so does she.
Just like you,
We’ll cross the sea.
How far is far,
I want to know.
Come on Mommy,
Let’s go, let’s go!
Just like you,
She’s far away,
We’ll have to wait,
‘til travel day.
She’s so far,
For her it’s light,
But for you,
For you, it’s night.
Come on darling,
Step outside,
What do you see,
Up in the sky?
I see the stars,
I see the moon.
What kind of moon?
A mommy moon.
The moon you see,
She sees at night.
When for you,
For you it’s light.
Tell the moon,
How you love her,
Tell the moon,
How you miss her.
Tell the moon
She’s your baby sister.
Tell the moon
We’ll come and get her.
From you to her,
She’ll hear you soon,
Across the world,
Two girls, one moon.
And so one day,
As time has passed,
We sit outside,
Upon the grass.
It is dark,
But it is light,
Our friend the moon,
Lights up the night.
Holding hands,
And side by side,
One moon, two girls,
My sister and I.

-Tom McCrossin

Why Ladybugs & Dragonflies?

As many of you know ladybugs are considered a sign of good luck for those involved in adoptions from China. When families are waiting for a referral any ladybug sighting is something that causes much excitement. Well, for Vietnam adoptions the dragonfly has the same significance. So hence the name change and in case you still haven't heard we are adopting again and this time from Vietnam!!! We are anxious to get Annslee's little sister home and have the chance to venture to such a beautiful country to meet our daughter.



The Huc (Rising Sun) bridge Hanoi, Vietnam

Let Sleeping Pandas Lie

When we visited the Beijing Zoo we saw a lot of Pandas. They are beautiful animals and looked really sweet. I don't know if we saw Gu Gu or not but I have to assume we did since we saw all that were there. When you go to the outdoor part of the exhibit there is a fence there, it is not very tall and anyone could get into the enclosure with the panda if they wanted to. The question is, who would want to?? Apparently a drunken man on a mission to touch one. I just wish this had happened when we were there, now that would have been a great story to tell!




Panda Bites Man, Man Bites Him Back
By Associated Press
Wed Sep 20, 6:42 AM

BEIJING - A drunken Chinese migrant worker jumped into a panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo, was bitten by the bear and retaliated by chomping down on the animal's back, state media said Wednesday.

Zhang Xinyan, from the central province of Henan, drank four jugs of beer at a restaurant near the zoo before visiting Gu Gu the panda on Tuesday, the Beijing Morning Post said.

"He felt a sudden urge to touch the panda with his hand," and jumped into the enclosure, the newspaper said.

The panda, who was asleep, was startled and bit Zhang, 35, on the right leg, it said. Zhang got angry and kicked the panda, who then bit his other leg. A tussle ensued, the paper said.

"I bit the fellow in the back," Zhang was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "Its skin was quite thick."

Other tourists yelled for a zookeeper, who got the panda under control by spraying it with water, reports said. Zhang was hospitalized.

Newspaper photographs showed Zhang lying on a hospital bed with blood-soaked bandages and a seam of stitches running down his leg.

The Beijing Youth Daily quoted Zhang as saying that he had seen pandas on television and "they seemed to get along well with people."

"No one ever said they would bite people," Zhang said. "I just wanted to touch it. I was so dizzy from the beer. I don't remember much."

Ye Mingxia, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Zoo, confirmed the incident happened but would not give any details. She said Gu Gu was "healthy."

"We're not considering punishing him now," Ye said in a telephone interview. "He's suffered quite a bit of shock."

First trip to Neyland

Well Annslee took her first trip to Neyland Stadium this weekend! We got there early so we could spend time with Aunt Linda and Uncle Ropen. They are Florida fans but we won't hold that against them. We walked along the river and then Dada met up with us and we walked over to the tailgate together. She loved hanging out at the various tailgates while being the center of attention. Dada went to the game with everyone and Annslee and I went back to Jason and Leslee's house to watch the game. Neyland at night and a Florida game we thought was way too wild for our 23 month old! She will have plenty of opportunities to go back.


Annslee got to hit the power T as she went under on our way to the tailgate. We didn't see Smokey but we did see an inflatable one and she kept pointing saying "oof" over and over. Good thing our mascot is a dog or she might switch to another team : )

A Football Fan

This past weekend was a busy one for our favorite little fan. On Saturday she was sporting her UT jersey for all to see. Then on Sunday she was there to see the Titans open their season. She spent most of the UT game walking around waving at people or playing a golf game that was there. At the Titans game it was hot and nap time but she was a real trooper. She cheered and generally entertained everyone.

Sad but true..

Our daughter will never grow up in a pre 9/11 world. She will never know what it feels like for that date to be just another beautiful September day to go outside and play. She will always feel that sense of “we are not totally safe anymore” that we all now know. Of course we are not living in the Middle East and feel like we can’t walk down the street without the fear of a bomb but we did all lose a sense of total innocence on that day five years ago. It doesn’t really matter which side of the political fence you are on. We are all Americans and we all love our country. Annslee is now among that population of American citizens and I hope she will be proud of that.
I think we all remember where we were on that September morning. I was driving to work listening to “Rick and Bubba” when they said that one of the World Trade Towers was on fire. They then went on to talk about something else, not knowing the gravity of the situation. I got to work and called Mark to tell him to turn on the news and find out what was going on. For those of you who don’t know, Mark loves skyscrapers and he had been to the WTT so I knew he would be interested. He then watched in horror as the second plane hit. We all crowded around the TV here at work and learned that the Pentagon was hit. It was at that time we felt under attack. I just remember that all I wanted to do was go home! Now that I have a child I cannot imagine what those of you with children were feeling. I know most of you weren’t with them and it must have been an overwhelming feeling to want to rush to hold them in your arms.
On this day of remembering I think of the families who lost loved ones and am grateful for my husband and daughter…I need to hug them extra tight tonight.

Lions & Tigers & Bears..oh MY..

Well, we did see tigers at least. We spent the morning at the Zoo with our friends Tracy and Amelia. It had been way too long since we had gotten the girls together and it was amazing to see how much Amelia had grown. They are of course both beautiful girls and they loved the zoo. The last time I took Annslee she really didn't seem to enjoy it much but today was different. I think it is because we have been looking in books at the animals and so she recognized a few. She and Amelia were so cute running around (Annslee has a scraped knee to show for it) and they really seemed to enjoy having each other around. Can't wait to get them together again soon!
Sitting pretty in some really cool chairs
Making a fish face at the fish!





We had to say goodbye
I fell asleep on the way home dreaming of my fun day at the Zoo

Random shots..

Bathtime is my favorite time especially when I make a mohawk!

High heels go with anything

I can do it all by myself

She is a total basket case : )

Referral Weekend Celebration Continues

We decided to go over to Jenny and Adrian's house just like last year! When we received our referrals this time last year the four of us got together to celebrate. This year there were SIX of us!! Annslee and Mia have spent time together over the past 10 months, starting when Mia met Annslee at the airport when we got home, but they really hadn't "played" together until tonight. The games started with knocking blocks over and continued as the girls went shopping. They held their purses in one hand and held onto each other with the other hand. They literally ran through the house squealing with laughter. Of course they accidently fell once and that became a part of the game. We talked about how loud and fun it will be in a few years when there are four of them running together. At the end of the shopping spree they had to stop for a much needed ice cream break.

The sweetest words..."you have a daughter"

"Having someplace to go is Home,
having someone to love is Family,
having both is a Blessing"


One year ago today I got the call that would change our lives forever. I remember thinking I would probably just go nuts waiting on that call. The day seemed to drag on and on. Below is my journal entry from our referral day and the day that followed. It was such a wonderful two days and made it the best Labor Day weekend ever. We just made copy after copy of her photos and called everyone we knew. There really are no words to describe referral day .... the day you find out about your child and then see their sweet face for the first time.


WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!!
September 01, 2005
I watched the Yahoo boards all morning. I just can’t concentrate at all. Finally, around 10 am the first referral was posted but the date was for February 5 LID (Log In Date) so it really didn’t help me as far as knowing if our LID of February 21 was going to make the cutoff. I was going crazy wondering if I would have to wait another month to see your face.
Mommy’s friend Heather called and wanted to go to lunch and I really needed to get out of the office so I went. Of course I took my list of questions and my map of China with me just in case I got the call at lunch.
Well, as I was just about to go crazy at 1:31 pm the call came!!! I looked at my cell phone and it was Brenda from CHI. I answered and she said, “you have a daughter” but I couldn’t even find a pen so I had to put her on hold. I ran upstairs and told the receptionist to take my picture and I would explain later!! Brenda said that you were in Qichun, Hubei and your birthday was October 21 and that your name was Qi Jai Na (we later found out if was actually Jia not Jai). She gave me all the information she had and said she would fax us your picture and medical information. I hung up, hugged the receptionist and called your Daddy. I said..we have a girl! He wrote down all the information I had about you and then I called my friend Trisha..remind me sometime to let you know why I called her before any other family members.
I can't believe how much just knowing where you are and what your name is and when you were born makes all this so much more REAL. I want to hop on a plane NOW and come get you. I hope you can feel our love and prayers for you. We are getting so close now.
This whole day has been a whirlwind of emotions. I have called or emailed everyone I know and I just want to shout it out "WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!" It is so hard to believe that I am finally a mommy : )
Tomorrow we will get our package from UPS that will contain your pictures and all the information they know about you. I am really anxious to see you for the first time. We had CHI fax us your photo and I will show that to you someday. It is not very flattering to say the least. I feel certain when we see your photos tomorrow we will be able to tell how really beautiful you are.


The first time we saw your face...
September 02, 2005
I have been waiting all day for the STORK (otherwise known as the UPS man) and I just keep staring out the window. Daddy had to go do some work so I told him I would call the minute I saw the brown truck pull up. Well, I did see it but it stopped at our neighbor’s house. I just couldn’t wait so I grabbed the camera and ran down the road!! I went up to him and said, “do you have a package for me?? Go get it!!!” For a minute he really thought I was crazy but then he remembered I had told him he was to be a stork for me someday. So, he went to the truck and there it was..the package I had been waiting on. I knew that inside were the first pictures I would have of my daughter and so I ran home with it. Your daddy wasn’t home yet so I called him and told him to HURRY because I was just sitting there staring at the package knowing what was inside : )
He got home and with shaking hands and anxious hearts we tore it open and there you were!!! We stared at your face because it was absolutely beautiful. In that sweet moment all the paperwork, struggles and months of waiting disappeared. We were getting the first glimpse of our precious baby girl : )
There was also a lot of paperwork in the package with details about you! Most of it was in Mandarin so I knew I would need to take it to our neighbor Jenny to translate. I grabbed the Acceptance document and Daddy and I signed it immediately. There was no question on that one..you were OURS and we were one step closer to bringing you home.

And we did bring her home and she is perfect (insert mommy bias here) We cannot imagine our lives without her as she is such a joy to us. Becoming parents has been the best experience of our lives. Those of you who are still waiting for this precious day to come..it WILL happen. I know the wait for referrals has gotten so much longer than we had to wait and it is frustrating. Just know that your day will come and you will be waiting eagerly by the phone to hear those precious words and then you will go get your child and receive the most precious gift of all!

It seems most people have the tradition of taking a picture each year of their child holding their referral photo. Well, as you can tell from the first picture Annslee wasn't really thrilled with this idea. It took some coaxing but she soon agreed that it had to be done so she may as well enjoy it. Actually she looks most like her referral photo in the first attempt..not a smile in sight! The photo she is holding was taken when she was 6 months old. Wow, she has definitely changed a lot but she is still as beautiful as the first time we saw her.


Who is this cute girl? Oh, it's me!!

Hey, this is kind of fun..I am quite a ham after all


Mama move..I am trying to watch the football game!