Family Day with NaNa (aka Annslee)

I wrote this on our first family day anniversary but it still sums up how I feel~

We walked into a room with ten other families and our lives were changed forever. I remember waiting for Jia Na to be called out and then we stepped forward and the orphanage director handed us a precious gift..our daughter. I held her and at that moment I thanked God for every moment in my life that had led to this. I had dreamed of being a mommy and it was finally a reality. There really are no words to adequately describe holding your child for the first time while ten other families are doing the same thing. It was a crazy, loud, chaotic and wonderful delivery room experience. Our lives are forever tied to the other families we shared this with.

You could ask me years from now about the room and I think I could describe every inch of it. I could recall the rain outside and the nervous excitement in the air. I would be able to see the words "Thank you for all of your love pouring on the children" written in English and Mandarin on the wall behind us. I would remember she was holding tightly to a green veggie stick and wearing Spider Man shoes. I would still see the sweet smile she flashed at Mr. Chen (the orphanage director) right before he handed her to me and then the look of confusion as she turned to us. I would still be able to feel the weight of her in my arms for the first time and the ultimate unconditional love we felt for her at that moment.

Here we are on that first day together in 2005. Annslee will look at this picture and ask "why am I crying??" It doesn't seem possible that this was four years ago!



2006



2007



2008



2009~ with one important addition (he was asleep about 2 min later )

Missing my Lens~

As you all know I have two broken lenses on my camera so I am relegated to a point and click right now. It is a nice one but I forgot how much I dislike that "digital delay" and having that with a 22 month old is IMPOSSIBLE. So here are some more blurry bad pics of my really cute kids! I just couldn't resist after I walked in on him wearing Annslee's Tin*kerbell hat and sporting a huge smile about it!







This one is particularly blurry b/c I tried to rush the camera when it wasn't really ready to take another pic..but look at that grin : )



Annslee took the hat off him and gave him Daddy's hat..then she took the camera from me and snapped this one of her brother

Update on our patient

Well, here we are on day 3 of the piggy flu and Annslee is hanging in there. Kids amaze me at how resilient they are. She can run wild with a fever of 102 but of course we are making her rest anyway. Seriously, who looks this beautiful when they are this sick?? : )




Honestly the hardest part has been keeping our lovey girl from hugging and kissing on all of us...especially Coby. They love each other sooooo much and after keeping them apart most of the day when they do spot each other it is so sweet as Coby yells "NaNa!!" and Annslee says sweetly "hey Coby" They have hugged some but we are watching for the big kisses they usually share : ) I did allow them to do some cleaning together though LOL



Here is today's outfit of choice~ well, for now anyway



Watching a movie in a "burrito" is the only way to go : )



As you can see the outfit of choice has already changed since I started this post earlier today



After this shot she said "I want more pink alligator please" For those who need a translation..that would be pink gatorade : )



Daddy and Coby are at church while we hang out here. It was so sweet this morning when she asked about going to church and I told her she couldn't but that Daddy would make sure our SS class prayed for her and she said "Pray for me really? that is sooo nice" : )

Keep praying that she continues to improve and we all don't get it! Thanks for checking in on us and we appreciate all the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf.

Oink Oink~

Well, sweet girl has H1*N1 and so please keep all of us in your prayers that it passes quickly and no one else gets sick especially Coby. The worst part of the appointment was irrigating her ears (which she actually thought was fun) and still having to dig for wax. She has the typical Asian earwax and it is so painful for her. I had to hold her and she screamed! She did like wearing the mask out of the office and pretending to be a real doctor : )

Here she is after we got home from the doctor's office



The nurse let her keep the syringe she used for irrigation and Annslee loves it!



Trying to keep them away from each other will continue to be a HUGE challenge! Hopefully he won't get it but they literally are always in each other's faces.




*She did get vaccinated but got the first part only a week ago so apparently that isn't enough to do anything really. Starting them both on Tami*flu..hope it works without major side effects!

Finally a WIN!!

Well, the home team finally got a win and the kids had a GREAT time! Annslee was thrilled b/c when I pulled her hair back she thought she looked like a REAL cheerleader : )

While Daddy parked we enjoyed the sounds of the T*S*U band. They are so awesome and everyone was dancing along!



A photographer with the Assoc*iated Press came by and asked if he could take her picture and of course I snapped a shot of him doing it. Later I checked and his pic of her was on the A*P wire : )



It was so great watching them play. At one point Daddy said "this is what I dreamed of back when I bought 4 seats" : )



We literally chased down the cheerleaders and it was clear they did NOT have time to stop for a pic but one girl did come running back and got her pic with Annslee (turns out she is the squad captain) Annslee has asked me over and over since "do you think she thought I was a REAL cheerleader??" LOL



Inside the stadium~ Coby's first time : )



The best view in the house!



Ok..Annslee is smiling



and now Coby is



I have no idea what she saw but apparently she didn't like it LOL



She did love seeing TRac on the screen and finding him on the field



During the National An*them members of the 101 st Air*borne parachutted in : )



This hat didn't last long~ apparently he didn't like it~ just check out the look I am getting



He did think the gloves were funny



My beautiful REAL cheerleader!

Happy Halloween!

We had a GREAT night Saturday night and Annslee and Coby really loved Trick or Treating : ) We were the first out on our street and Annslee and I were the last to come home!

Here are my sweeties ready to start the night



Coby really wanted to touch the Jack O'lanterns but big sister was quick to pull him back before he got burned



My attempt at a shot of them together



He kept his mask on all night and was so intrigued with everything. As we stopped and Annslee hopped out of the wagon he was trying to do the same before we could help him : )



We saw Wendi and she was scared to get next to Annslee but after she raised her mask to prove it was just her she eased over LOL



It totally cracked me up b/c Coby would jump each time something made a noise at him...poor baby : ) Annslee didn't care she just went for the candy



Coby would say "tri tree" and "tan ooo" at each door. Annslee would also yell "Happy Halloween!"



After a little over an hour we thought Coby should probably call it a night. We took him home and they trick or treated Daddy. Well, when Annslee and I got ready to go back out he grabbed his spider bag and started crying and pointing to the door saying "outside"



So he headed back out for a while~ aren't they so super cute together!



*We took Coby home again and Annslee and I went back out. We got home around 8:45 (almost 3 hours of trick or treating for her!!)

*Just a disclaimer..the lens on my Nikon is broken so I am using a point and shoot and I am NOT happy with my pics..but they are better than nothing : )

Guess what we now own...

Yep, we were there bright and early for the release : )She has watched it and gives it two thumbs up but did say it was scary in some parts. I am sure we will watch it again when Daddy gets home!

The Actual Birthday!

This is very photo heavy and very late posting! : )

When she woke up we sang Happy Birthday and she made sure we knew she was FIVE today. She had literally been awake about 5 minutes in this pic : )



She waited patiently for Coby and Gigi to come to the living room and then the gift opening began



Apparently the camera was a hit!



A huge hug for Gigi for the sweet cross necklace



After gifts it was time for breakfast~ a cookie and ice cream of course



She licked frosting off the candle and of course Coby wanted to do the same and his sweet sister obliged



Apparently he bit into the wax instead LOL



Later in the day we took her to the nail salon as promised and she picked her polish (purple and turquoise)





The girl painting her nails was a beautiful Vietnamese girl who happened to have turquoise streaks in her hair (one of A's new fav colors) and Annslee was mesmerized by it.



With her newly painted nails we headed to Toy*sRUs and she loved being the center of attention



Coby wanted to document the occassion but I am not sure this pic will turn out well



Gigi helped her pick out a new jewelry box with the $3 gift card TRU sent her (of course Gigi picked up the rest and A couldn't really make sense of it and kept asking how that happened LOL)



When we got home she had packages in the mail waiting...this dress from her cousins (it is a "twin" dress...Taylor (aka Lexie..her twin from the beach) has the same one



Aunt Beth sent her "dangly" earrings which she LOVED and proclaimed as her best gift ever!



Finally Daddy got home and she dressed for dinner : )



I think we are all going to love FIVE~~