Oh Christmas Tree

I used to have what I thought was a perfectly decorated tree. I purchased all the ornaments in only white and silver but I put a bit of green and red in too. It was a beautiful tree and I loved it. Last year it started changing a little as handmade things were brought home by Annslee from daycare ~ actually a few were added the year before~ but now, it is full of ornaments that mean something. I got out the boxes of our "other" ornaments from years past and added them along with all of Annslee and Malia's. Is it still beautiful~ absolutely! I love it even more now because it tells a story. This year I gave in to hubby's request to do a skinny tree and I miss my big huge tree but this one does work better in the space : ) I also put a few gifts under the tree because Annslee has a habit of looking under any tree she sees and if there are no gifts she says "uh oh" and I am happy she isn't trying to open them yet!

Growing up we had a tradition of opening an ornament and PJs on Christmas Eve so we do that with Annslee. It took me a while to figure out what PJs to get her this year since she refuses to wear them and I am certain you can guess what her ornament for 2007 will be. Here is our tree and a few of our ornaments.



Christmas 2002~ This is an ornament from the church where we were married : )



Christmas 2003~ we were merely discussing adoption but we clearly were on our way. This was one of a series of Dave Thomas ornaments Hallmark did but sadly only for a few years



Christmas 2004 we were almost DTC for Annslee. We were still waiting on our 171 but the dossier was finished. We got this ornament and put it on the tree.



Christmas 2005 she was HOME!! I got this ornament for her because it had a one on it. I know it was technically her second Christmas but it was her first one with us.



Here is another in the Dave Thomas series



We also got her this one : )



Christmas 2006 I bought her one that was actually symbolic of what she LOVED that year : )



We also got this one last year as we just received our 171 for Malia and were anxious to have her home



I love this one that Annslee made in daycare last year and it has a prominent place on our tree




This year I had to buy another "waiting for" ornament for Malia. It never occurred to me that she wouldn't be home to open her own ornament this year ~ but she isn't. Annslee did hang it for her sister : )



I of course got the new "Joy to the World" China one from Hallmark



This is one of Annslee's favorite ones that we bought in China



Yeah, my obsession over every ornament being monochromatic and in its proper place is over! Annslee helped decorate the tree this year and continually moves ornaments so each day is a surprise. She also squeals each morning when I turn on the lights. If there is anything better than the wonder in the eyes of a child at Christmas, please let me know...but I probably won't believe you!

Here is a sampling of her decorating style...10 purple (of course) candy canes and the two ornaments she made at the FCC party all on 4 branches!



Ok, I showed you mine...now show me yours

FCC Party

As promised...here are the pics from our FCC Christmas party. For the record, there were other kids there besides Annslee and Mia but since they were always together they are the only ones in my pictures : ) *as always, click on any collage to enlarge*

In the first picture she is asking Mia's daddy where she is?? He is breaking the news to her that Mia and her Mama are on their way ; ) I think everyone at the church knew how happy she was when Mia arrived...she squealed, ran and grabbed her then announced to everyone that Mia was there!

We brought some fancy mouse ears back from Dis*ney for Mia and apparently it cracked Annslee up seeing her in them!

There were ornaments to be made and that was fun and lots of yummy food

The BIG event of course was seeing Santa. I love this picture of the girls waiting their turn with the big man

For a few days Annslee had been letting us know that she wanted to sit in his lap with Mia. Of course after their individual shots we obliged. Just so you know, Daddy is behind me making faces and cracking the girls up!

It was time for Santa to go so a goodbye hug was given. She also took this opportunity to let him know about Abu again lol

Once Santa was out of the chair Annslee and Mia thought they should get in it.

Go here for pictures from last year's party

We interupt this holiday season

to bring you a record breaking high that makes for a fun time outdoors but can really kill your holiday spirit : ) The record high for this day was set in 1873 at 72 degrees...well, it is 77 out there now so we have a new winner! What do you do when the weather is so beautiful ~ play outside of course. We were both overdressed and she was actually sweating but that didn't stop her fun!





*question for my photography buds....I did use a fill flash on the swing pics but still have bad shadows....any suggestions? I also promise the FCC Christmas pics are coming and they are sooo cute : )

Yearly tradition

This morning we went to Opryland Hotel with our playgroup. This has been going on for years and it is a really fun tradition. We didn't go last year so it was nice to go back. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves....
















As you can imagine all the attempts at group photos were pretty funny but all the kids had a blast. Today we had 10 girls and 2 boys....in a few years we will have to keep an eye on those sweet boys : )

Mama and Annslee (2007)

Mama and Annslee (2005)

Tonight was the FCC/Waiting Parents party so those pics are to come!

Date Night, Big Girl and a Princess

So what have we been up to this weekend? Well, on Friday night hubby had his company Christmas party. I am embarrassed to say we have been out without Annslee maybe 4 times in the last two years. We asked GiGi if she would come stay with Annslee at the hotel while we went to the party and believe me, it was great for all of us! They had great girl time watching movies, eating out, looking at her Dis*ney autograph books and playing with the babies. Daddy and I had a great time eating our own meals, having some adult beverages and conversation and generally getting back in touch with each other. Yeah, date nights are good : )

Here she is telling Daddy goodbye...such sweetness

Today we hit a milestone....we did not hear a buzz on our beeper during the church service. Yep, that's right, she stayed in children's church the entire time! She hasn't been in daycare in almost a year and we usually just take her into service with us so we knew this was huge for her. We did point to the sanctuary on the way in and let her know we were still in the same building and I think that helped.

Tonight she was watching Cinder*ella and had on her dress of course and we got to the part where they waltz so as usual Daddy needed to be Prince Charming. I love how she holds up her dress ~ in the last pic the clock is chiming so she has to go!

She ran for the stairs and lost a shoe!! I got her these silver glitter shoes that she thinks look like glass : )

What a difference a year makes!!

Most of us do it so I don't feel guilty at all. However, hubby said that this year he would NOT be a part of it....throwing a screaming child into Santa's lap...well, he didn't need to worry because she jumps in his lap every chance she gets this year. : )

We did this pic at Dis*ney on our last day and she was exhausted but I still think it is sweet

Here is last year's picture. We had to snap it fast because she was fighting so hard that Santa requested we get her off his lap. She was so upset that we felt compelled to go next door to Build a Be*ar and spend $75 for a dog on skates that she has barely looked at since (sigh)

*this is the same Santa who is hugging her in this post from this year*

In 2005 I was a really bad Mama and tossed my daughter in his lap after only being home with us for a few weeks but at least she is attached to us ~she is reaching for us right? Or maybe for just anyone who will save her from this scary man! I can only imagine what she must have been thinking! Likely it was, "man, I drew the short straw in the matching room didn't I?"


I love that she is happy in the pics now but I do still adore the crying ones. Hey, she is ahead of me... I cried until I was four!

The big question is

in the new photo on the header...what is she asking for?? Well, I can tell you...she is asking for Abu! Yep, that is what she asked Santa for and all she is currently talking about. I love that she is at an age where just Abu will make her happy : ) Ok, so easy enough request, right? Wrong...they last sold Abu in 1992 so now what?? I did what any good helper of Santa would do. I went to E*bay and paid $24 for a used Abu for Santa to bring her. The big guy better thank me for not forcing his Elves to find it : )

And just because I can't post without a pic....here is one for you! Seriously, look at that face...wouldn't you have searched high and low for Abu too?

A Visit to China

Well, sort of... We finished our dinner with the Princesses in Norway and headed next door to China. My princess is looking out over the water before venturing in....



Here she is in front of the Temple of Heaven in Epcot..


Here are the two of us in front of the Temple of Heaven (in Beijing) two years ago...hmmmmm, it looks a little more run down LOL This was taken a couple of days before we met our daughter : )


Inside she decided to model in front of the terra cotta soldiers



then sit on one of their laps



The ceiling is absolutely beautiful with the intricate tile work



Obviously the floor underneath that ceiling was made for spinning. A funny thing started happening while we were at DW.... when she had on her princess dress and spotted a circle on the ground she immediately ran to it to spin. Hey, a princess is allowed to show off, right?



We can't wait to take her to the 'real' Temple of Heaven someday.

Tink visits D-World

On one of our days at Dis*ney we were lucky enough to have our travelmate Mikayla join us! The girls have grown so much and I wish we could see them more often. We had such a great time catching up with them and watching the girls laugh



As you all know, Annslee is a big hugger and I am not sure Mikayla was ready for it LOL



She has a new habit of covering her mouth when she laughs and it is so funny to watch. This time the Genie was cracking her up

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Mulan. We of course told her that the girls are from Hubei province just like her! Annslee loved her jade necklace : )

New Friends

One great thing about going during a "slow" week at Dis*ney is you get to meet a lot of your friends. We didn't think she would care about having an autograph book but got her one anyway...oh, she cared! We actually had to buy a second one because she got so many (31 to be exact) We knew she would be great with the Princesses but weren't sure how she would react to the big headed characters....she LOVED them : ) The minute we arrived she started asking about Abu (the monkey from Aladdin)and we weren't sure we would see him. Everytime she saw someone she would ask about Abu?? We looked for him and yes, we found him on our last night there! She literally jumped at him and was thrilled to finally find him.



Another favorite of hers is the Fairy Godmother and the mouse friends. She asked Cinder*ella about them and we found them both. It was so sweet when we met the FGM as she lifted our little Princess' chin to talk sweetly to her.



She loved meeting everyone and really had a great time with them. You may notice in the pics below how she had her hands on her hips with the stepsisters, cut up with Chip and loved on Eeyore. Yeah, she is ready to go back! *use the right arrow button to speed the slide show up*

BubbleShare: Share photos - Delicious Christmas Recipes.

Princess Annslee is back in her castle

We had a wonderful trip and you know I have a ton of pictures to share! All I can say about a 3 year old and Dis*ney is WOW!! We thought she might be too young for this trip but I now think it is the perfect age for a first time to the happiest place on earth. She soon realized that wearing a Princess dress (or her Tink) got her a ton of attention and she loved it. She twirled a thousand times : )

Oh, and Miss Connie...I see you played with my blog while I was away! I love it!!!!