Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!! We had a pretty low key weekend..which was nice : ) On Saturday we went to the pool and then I got Daddy's gifts together (with help of course) After they we in the bags Annslee decided she couldn't wait until the next day to hand them out!


We have a panda puppet we got at a little shop in Guangzhou and she has discovered that Daddy is really good with it. He does a little rap song while she dances along. It is really funny to watch and I have the video to prove it!

Here she is giving gifts a day early ... he got a frame with three photos of guess who??

She was really excited to show him his new watch...

She later came around the corner with her "tennis look"

This morning we had no more gifts to give out but I think Daddy was happy just having her in his arms

At brunch I tried to get her to pose for a picture with Daddy but she didn't want to and we all know a 2 year old cannot be made to do much of anything

I did at least catch them both looking my way as she pulled leaves from the trees
It was a great weekend and we are so blessed to have each other. Happy Father's Day to all the daddies who have their children home and those still waiting.

Those bad dogs!

I know you are all surprised..but we went to the Zoo today! We decided to go to the African Wild Dogs first hoping they would be active...they were asleep!! Annslee was not happy about this and only the promise of baby cougars got her back in the stroller.

This picture came out kind of fuzzy b/c I was walking behind her when I took it but I just thought it captured her pure joy about being at the Zoo, being Two and who knows what else : )

The first picture is her reaction to the dogs being asleep...AGAIN!! As you can see, they had fun anyway : )

Before going to the Elephants we stopped at the rain room because we were hot. Earlier in the day I had mentioned to Jenny that I brought a change of clothes but didn't really know why. I was mainly complaining about my stroller being stuffed and probably not needing most of it. Then at lunch I got mustard on Annslee's top and put club soda on it b/c I was afraid it would stain. Well, I shouldn't have bothered with the club soda...I guess I grabbed that dress for a reason....

Here they are before the "incident"

I turned to get something out of the stroller and heard Jenny say "ummmm Mama...." Even before I turned around I knew it couldn't be good... I looked and there she stood, covered in mud. Apparently she was running or dancing..who knows...and slipped. She didn't cry but she was just standing there motionless (sorry, didn't think to take a pic and Jenny felt too sorry for her) We sent them on to the Elephants and we headed to the bathroom to take a "bath " in the sink. She LOVED it!!!! I am just hoping she doesn't do it on purpose next time just so she can play in the sink again

After her bath we changed clothes and headed to the Elephants... good thing I grabbed that dress!

Adoption isn't for everyone

On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about this?For a while God said nothing, then he replied: "I certainly did something....I made you."


I don't remember where I saw the quotation above but I have always loved it. I see children all over the world who need loving families and I so want to help all of them. It has taken me a while to realize that everyone is not meant to adopt a child. I remember when people would talk about infertility and wanting a baby my thinking was always, "then adopt" but I have been told numerous times that adoption may not be the way everyone wants to grow their family. Then there are those who are busy raising all the children they plan to have, are older and their children are out of the house, or those who don't plan to have children.

However, there are children all over the world who need love, care and a family. With that in mind and knowing that everyone is not running out to put a dossier together, I present an opportunity to help. Below I have posted sponsorship programs for orphans that we are involved in.

Bring Hope is a sponsorship program through CHI, who we used for our China adoption. We sponsor a little boy from Guizhou and it is easy and wonderful. We are able with a minimal amount of money and time to give him medical care, supplies for school , etc.. Actually, they have programs for various countries and not just China.

Grace & Hope has started programs in Guangxi and Hubei. Recently they added Qichun, which is Annslee's orphanage, to their Hubei list. I thought it was so wonderful that we could actually sponsor a child from Annslee's birth town. Their main focus is getting all children into foster care and helping their special needs children get the care they need.

Our agency for Vietnam works with Catalyst Foundation and they also have a sponsorship program for children there. They provide medical assistance and educational opportunities for homeless children in Vietnam.


Amy Eldridge, of Love Without Boundaries, posted this prayer to the China Trip group and I saw it on another blog where the author suggest hugging your children a wee bit tighter tonight... and let your heart lead you.

We pray for the children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for the children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find bread to steal,
who don't have rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We Pray for the Children
who spend their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for the children
Who want to be carried, and for those who must,
Who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.

We pray for those children that we smother with kisses,
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

adapted from a prayer by Ina Hughes

Here is the cutie from Guizhou we sponsor. Quankai will be five in August and he loves to dance, sing and draw..sounds like a little girl I know : )

Water Water Everywhere

Today we went to the fountains at Bicentennial Mall and WOW did the girls have fun. Annslee had never been but I felt sure she would love it. Jenny mentioned that she and Nancy were meeting down there so I naturally invited myself along... When we got there the girls hung out for a while so the workers could make sure the fountains were working properly. Of course we thought they could have done it earlier instead of making the kids wait. They didn't seem to mind the wait and just enjoyed each other's company (the girls..not the men working LOL)

Suddenly they were finished working on them and the water works began! It is a really cool area with a map of the state then a spout representing each river in the state. The water shoots up pretty high and so I was hoping it wouldn't scare her....I had no need to worry...

After playing for a while we had lunch then it was time to leave...but not before one last pose : )

Later in the evening I was trying to get dinner cooked and she wanted me to paint her toenails. I told her to sit in my chair and I would do it but that she had to stay perfectly still while they dried. I went back to cooking and realized it was really quiet in the living room so I went to check...this is what I found.

My girl and her love of animals

When asked today, "Zoo or Pool" she picked the Zoo! It was nice because Daddy got to go with us and he rarely is able to.

We decided to go to the elephants and giraffes first today. There is a coin well there and she likes it a lot. Usually I am holding her up to drop the coins but today daddy did so I was able to take these shots.

Suddenly we noticed something was coming closer...




Today the African Wild dogs were out (they had been fighting so were not on display recently) but when we got to them they were asleep. Annslee turned around with a look of "what??..wake up already" Another family came up and they started yelling so Annslee joined in and it did wake him up : )

When I looked at this photo I thought she looked so much like a baby...hubby reminded me that she still is very little

One more...just because I can. I didn't take many photos today because I took the video camera and used it more. Her squeals when we saw the baby cougars was worth it : )

Don't worry...we went to the pool after her nap!

Play Ball

Annslee was able to see two ballgames...Her cousin Jacob had a baseball game on Friday night and she loved it. She ran around, ate popcorn, cheered and took some photos (she took the one in the slide show of Gabe and Aunt Dana). After the game she joined all the boys for their post game huddle and then of course went over to get a snack. They were giving out game balls and she wanted one. Uncle Ray gave her a ball and she was thrilled.
On Saturday we got up early and headed to Shelby's game. It was really sunny and she noticed Gabe was blocking the sun with his hand so she had to try that too. Jacob brought his bag to the game so they got out the glove, ball and helment. No one got hurt so it was a success!

She really loves going to games and sports in general. She now tells everyone she is THREE because she knows that is how old you have to be to start T-ball and soccer : )

Pool, Watermelon and Good Friends

Guess who we saw today?? Yep, Mia! We were invited over to swim in their pool and stay for dinner. When we arrived we realized we had the girls dressed alike...totally unplanned this time. Of course that called for a photo session, not that we wouldn't have done it anyway.

The girls ran for the steps because they like to pose there. It took a minute to get them settled down enough to take a few shots because they were so ready to get to the pool. Looks like they are sharing a good laugh about something!

Jenny snapped this sweet photo and then later sent me the one beneath it taken last Father's Day. I hadn't really planned on a Then/Now post again so soon (although I do LOVE them) but I couldn't resist this time. It is amazing to see how much they have changed in one short year. Annslee is still a chubby toddler but has lost most of that double chin from last year...I kind of miss that chunky monkey baby! They are in reverse order..we will try to line them up better next time ; )

We then headed to the pool so our fish could swim. I was so proud of Annslee as she was jumping off the side to me without holding onto my hands! She did that some last summer but hadn't so far this year. She loves water in her face so going under isn't an issue. They both had a blast washing the sidewalk chalk off the deck with their watering cans : )

Once we got back home we stripped them down and headed to the deck for watermelon. They were terribly messy but had a great time. As you can see, Jenny also found another similar photo from last June of a messy eating experience on her back deck. Believe me, the watermelon was nothing compared to the cupcakes!! So, another Then/Now was in order and yes, we have them in reverse order again. Sorry...we will do better I promise ; )








*In case you noticed..the tatoos on Annslee's arms are from VBS this week ; )
Also, thanks to everyone for their kind words on my last post. I know she will talk and I guess we are just a little anxious for it to happen b/c sometimes I see this glint in her eye and I want to know what she is thinking. She is such a funny child so I just know she could tell me something that would make me laugh even more than I already do!

Warning...random

This is a totally random post so consider yourself warned! We are really busy this week with me teaching VBS and Annslee being in my class. I can tell she misses being around a lot of other kids and I miss being around some other adults....however, I am NOT complaining about staying at home.

I had to go to the church to do some prep last Sunday night and on the way we had to stop as a train went by...I looked in the rear view mirror and this is the face I saw : )

Speaking of the girl in the backseat... the other day I was trying to entertain her as we waited at a very long drive thru so I handed her my camera. She snapped a lot of photos and apparently did this self portrait

I walked into the kitchen yesterday and saw her posing in her new purple hat from the Zoo

One day last week my sister came to babysit and I met up with some girlfriends for a dinner out. It was a baby shower of sorts for my friend Shelley who is expecting in August. We had to smile because three of us are expectant moms! Shelley in August, Jana in November and me...????? It was great having a girls night out!

Finally, when I was looking at the photos from the wedding last June I came across one of Annslee in the pool with Daddy. So I thought I would do a then and now.


June 2006


June 2007





Looking back at these photos made me realize how much she is growing up. She has the Early Intervention lady coming once a week and the only thing she is behind in is speech. They are hoping to have her re-evaluated soon but the "guess" is that she is about a year behind. She scores so high on the receptive part that it made her not qualify for intensive speech therapy the first time even though her expressive is so far behind. On the other tests she is off the charts ahead, particularly on the Social and Adaptive where she is at the 4 year old level. She also is pretty much potty trained, can dress herself , knows all or our Chinese zodiac signs, is a master with chopsticks, and many other great things. I still have to admit the Speech issue is a concern but we are working on it and mainly because it is so frustrating for her. Believe me though..she gets her point across without a lot of words through signs, gestures and facial expressions. When she does start talking..watch out!!
One of the new things she is interested in is hair and eye color. She will tell us all of ours as she points to them. The other day at the store an Asian woman was in front of us in the check out line and Annslee kept stroking her own hair and saying black over and over and pointing to the woman who finally turned around. I told her that Annslee was pointing out that their hair was the same. She was so sweet and bent down so Annslee could touch her hair then said, "isn't our black hair beautiful?" YES..it is and I am so jealous.

I Scream, You Scream

well, you know the rest. We went to our local FCC (Families with Children from China) ice cream social and you know Miss Annslee had a great time. Playing with friends and eating ice cream are two of her favorite things afterall.

There were probably 30 + kids there but Annslee and Mia were together the entire time. When we arrived they grabbed each other's hands and that was that.

After eating ice cream they were happy to go to the playground area.

This pic came out blurry but I still love the joy on their faces as the "big girls" bounced them on the see saw
The event was held at Dragon Park..that isn't the "real" name of the park but is what everyone calls it because of the huge mosaic dragon in it. The girls liked climbing all over it. There was a little boy who was following them around for a while and he finally asked "do you want a boy in your picture?" The girls gave him a "yuck" look...hope that sentiment lasts a few years ; )

Busy Saturday

We have been looking forward to this weekend for a while because our calendar was full! We got up and headed to my nephew's soccer game. Of course Annslee didn't really watch that much but she found a ball and thought she should join in the fun!
After the game we went to a church carnival and she had a great time playing all the games and winning some prizes. Her favorite was an Ariel purse to put her candy in. Mamarazzi left the camera in the car but trust me, she had fun.



I know I am her Mama so I am terribly biased but sometimes when I look at her I am totally amazed that I get to spend every day with this beautiful girl!




We came home and napped (well, she did...for 3 1/2 hours!) and then made our way down to our neighborhood block party. There was a ton of food, a bouncy house, a water slide...and much more. The police department came and did fingerprints for our kids which we know we need but hope to never get them out of the safe now that we have them.

This picture was taken early before most of the crowd arrived...it was great seeing our neighbors and meeting some we hadn't before.

Of course she hung out with AJ and we couldn't help but laugh at the contrast of their "tanning" ability. AJ's dad joked that they might just spray tan him.



She checked out the water slide the minute we arrived but never really wanted to do it. Toward the end of the party she changed her mind. I guess I should have stripped her down before she did it but what the heck. Once she got started she didn't want off! She and Daddy were both soaked by the time we had to leave.

It was a fun and busy day...now on to Sunday and the FCC Ice Cream Social!!!