Raising Sunflowers

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2012-02-14T22:29:00.003-06:00

I had to work today, so I stayed up late last night making sure that my sweethearts were surprised on Valentine's Day.

I don't have a photo of their faces, but they really enjoyed what they found hanging on our mantel this morning!!

Happy Valentine's Day!
XOXO!!

Life is a Highway......

2012-02-02T22:28:00.006-06:00

And I wanna ride it all night long!! If your going my way, I wanna drive it all night long!!

Momma's got a new set of wheels!

Going to break it in on a road trip to Branson in March!

The girls are excited...it has a bigger screen TV. Mom and Dad are excited...it holds more, has less miles and is two years younger than our last Mommy cruiser.

Mini cheerleaders

2012-01-27T23:37:00.008-06:00

Each year the high school cheerleaders hold a "mini cheer" camp during basketball season. Then the little girls get to do a cheer during the half time of the boys basketball game. Our girls have enjoyed doing this the past few years.

This year only the three youngest wanted to do the camp. The older girls are just too "cool" to participate. I had to work every night that they had practice and much to their dismay...I had to work the night of their performance. Thanks to
some of my great co-workers I was able to get off a little early so I could run home,
change clothes and get to the game on time!! And a big thanks to Amy C. for doing the girls hair for them!

We had to sit through the first half of the game and it was exciting. The Chargers are winning! Then it was time to find a good place to take photos of the girls. Last year the girls faced north so most of us excited parents were searching for a place to sit on the north side of the gym. Well, they pulled a fast one on us...the girls were facing south!! All the parents were scurrying around to the other side of the gym which was full of the opposing team! They were good natured and let us squeeze in for photos.

I had only seen the girls for a minute after I arrived home from work. They were getting in Daddy's car to go to the school. Then they were practicing their cheers when I arrived to the game. I quickly noticed Kendalan holding her tummy with a pained look on her face. I mouthed the words to her, "Are you okay?" She nodded her head, but kept holding her stomach. The cheers were very brief and my camera has not been working well. It was all over too soon.

RaeAnne and I started following the girls and crowd out of the gym. We were almost to the door out when I heard someone say, "Someone threw up over there!" I instantly knew it was Kendalan!! One of our neighbors was standing close to the exit and she confirmed to me that it was Kendalan. She said that Daddy had her and had taken her to the bathroom. It was a long way to the bathroom and we ran into several other spots of puke before we arrived. At the bathroom we met Dad standing outside...puke all over his shirt! A lady came out of the bathroom and asked where the Mom was? I walked in and Kendalan was in the far stall with her shirt off...vomit all over her pants, shirt and even down in her shoes. She was crying...I gave her a quick hug and asked her if she was alright. RaeAnne had a sweatshirt on over another shirt and I had her take the sweatshirt off, put it on Kendalan and we all headed for the car.

Once home and bathed, Kendalan was still not feeling very good. She crawled in our bed and fell asleep while I stayed up and washed clothes! Last year Dad fell on the bleachers and bruised himself pretty bad. This year puke....what could this be telling us???

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-23T11:44:00.003-06:00

It's the Year of the Dragon!! Here's to a great year that is full of luck and surprises!!

I received some advice......

2012-01-19T07:54:00.003-06:00

I created this blog for family and friends to be able to keep up on the happenings at our house.
I am finding out that our lives are......very much......

BORING!!

Why? Cause no matter what I post......I receive few to one (thank you Amy!!) comments!!

Listen folks!! Ya gotta talk to me here! I am home with a husband, two cats, one dog, a 20 year old stepson, and 5....count them FIVE girls. I NEED adult contact!! Leave me a comment....................P-L-U-E-A-S-E!!!!

It's getting so bad that I had to go to an advice columnist for help. Thank you so much Lori (and Polly)...BTW....my Doc gave me something to fix Polly's lil' red wagon. Let me know if you would like to know what it is ;-) You can read Lori's advice to me here. She should be published, she cracks me up!!

So stay tuned....or if you decide that you are going to read and not comment....find other blogs to peruse. I need feedback here people!!!!

FBWC

2012-01-15T00:07:00.005-06:00

That stands for: "Families Blessed with the World's Children." Any family that has adopted a child would fit into that title. We have definitely been blessed, five times...okay SIX times over!! (I always need to add Big Bro in there as he was also adopted!)

We joined the Kansas City area FBWC group this evening to celebrate Chinese New Year. They sure know how to party over in the KC area!! The girls were in craft heaven! Jordis wanted her face painted so she skipped the crafts and headed straight there. Nick went with us and was the first to hit the buffet line.

I was honored to meet up with Pam who I have exchanged email with for many years now and had never had the chance to meet her in person! Her kids are so cute! We also met up with our friends, Sophie, Gary, Zia, Trish, Dave, JoLee, Alayna, Trisha and LiLi. It is so sad that we only get to see these folks for special occasions only :( We need to see them more often!!

Meanwhile, Jordis was very patient and finally had a panda painted on her face. By that time she also had her photo taken with a Chinese Princess. Then our tummies were rumbling so we headed for the food. Which was very good! After we ate the programs started. The kids were cute when they sang kids songs in Chinese. Then they had a RAD teen who put on a spectacular performance with the Chinese Yo-Yo!! It gave me shivers watching him!! Then it was time for the dragon dance and we topped it off by popping bubble wrap for the fireworks.

All too soon it was time to head home. The girls just all headed to bed...now it's time for Mom to catch up on the Tivo'd Bachelor :) Oh....this is what Tessa's hair looks like after being up in buns. She really liked it!!

Guess where we went....

2012-01-12T19:46:00.009-06:00

If you guessed Build-*-Bear you would be right!!!

And we saw this beautiful sunset on the way home!

Going Bonkers

2011-12-28T23:15:00.008-06:00

Yepper...that what we did alright! Actually there is a new business in town called "Going Bonkers" it is an indoor amusment park/arcade for kids of all ages. RaeAnne's BFF Hollie has been at our house for a sleepover since Monday afternoon. Several times a year Rae and Hollie get together to spend time with each other. They have been fast friends since Kindergarten. It has been cold enough that the girls have been spending the majority of their time indoors. So we decided that they needed a place to burn off some extra energy. Well they did that, but they also burned through the cash too!!

They started out in the playground and they were running around so much in there that their little cheeks were bright red and their hair was sticking to their faces!! I was prepared for them with a pitcher of pop. They guzzled that down in no time and went back to the playground. I got a jump on them and bought a refill on the pitcher. By then they were getting tired of the playground and wanted to play the arcade games. Of course that was an extra charge. Most of the games were between $.25 and $.85 for one game and then they were given tickets that could be cashed in at the end for all sorts of toys or candy. I tried to convince them that I could take them to Dollar General the next day...give them $5.00 and they would be able to buy more things, but they just wouldn't believe me!

Once we thought they were tired...we left and headed to McD's for supper. First thing they wanted to do after eating was go back!! Fortunately, it was closed for the night! It is amazing that these two have continued to be BFF's even though they only get to see each other about once every 6 months!

It was a fun place for them to play for a few hours, but the $$'s sure winged their way out of my purse pretty quickly. Fun with beautiful girls!! What more could a person want!!

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's all good!

2011-12-25T23:24:00.004-06:00

Santa heard through the grapevine that Mom was going to have to work on Christmas Day. That jolly man was super sweet to bring our gifts a few days early. The girls started shouting for glee when they found our gifts waiting for them the morning of Christmas Eve. Five girls came bouncing into our bedroom early yelling, "Santa was here!" "Can we open our presents?"

Mom and Dad drug themselves from their warm bed and into the living room. The girls were already conquering and dividing the presents! Mom tried to regain some semblance of order and gradually they understood that they were to open their own presents and leave their sisters for that sister to open. Presents were sorted into piles for each girl and the disaster began!

Notice how nice and neat the floor was in the photos. Then how it became very
trashed in a hurry.

I'd say that Jolly St. Nicholas did himself proud. Lot's of oohs and aahs were heard. Almost as soon as it started the presents were unwrapped and the fun began.

Mom received a very special email that made her day. She also received a Blackberry Torch which will take her forever to learn how to use!! And the whole family received a new 32" flat screen TV for our bedroom! The girls love to spend time in Mom and Dad's bedroom watching TV, so it is for everyone!

Happy Birthday RaeAnne

2011-12-22T01:00:00.006-06:00

My baby turned 12 years old today!! It seems like just a few years ago they handed me the little peanut. She weighed all of 13 pounds soaking wet at 9 months old. And she scared us to death that she would not eat solid foods! She even had our facilitator worried and she kept calling the orphanage to get them to admit she was a picky eater. Never did get that out of them, but we definitely had a finicky eater on our hands. Today she has made a 360 degree turn. She eats lots of things, but is still pretty picky about what she eats!

She has been bugging us for over a year for a phone. Today she finally got it!! And was she ever excited! This was the last day of school before Christmas break and she begged to take her phone to school so she could show her friends.

Per our family tradition she picked the place she wanted to go to celebrate her birthday. Red Robin it was and we had good food and great times. The wait staff came and sang Happy Birthday to RaeAnne after they had her put her birthday "hat" on. I think she was a little embarrased!!

Happy Birthday baby girl! You will always be my baby, no matter how big you get so just get over it!!! LOL! We love you to the moon and back!! XOXO!!!

Dasher's shenigans

2011-12-19T00:17:00.007-06:00

That tricky little elf has kept the girls working hard to figure out where he is each day. It also keeps Mom and Dad racking our brains for places to put him! Occasionally he needs a little tacky glue or tape to keep him secure. If he falls over, then Mom or Dad has to touch him to help him. That goes against the rules in the book that no human is to touch him. However, I have told the girls that sometimes the parents can "help" Dasher when he is in need. They seem to accept that. Here are a couple more places he has been this week.

This week was Kendalan's Christmas music program. First graders are so cute to watch. Some of them really get into their singing and dancing. Kendalan was
trying to scare us away with the vicious smile and the rolling eyes. The move that had her Daddy ready to go get her was putting rabbit ears above the kids in the row ahead of her. Daddy had to give her the good old stink eye to stop that.

She was still cuter than the dickens!! And she was so excited to wear her pretty dress and shoes.

Tooth Fairy and Dasher

2011-12-13T22:42:00.006-06:00

She finally did it!! Tessa pulled her other front tooth out! Yeah! Ignore the dirty face, she had a snack before I snapped the pictures! I am not sure where she is going to put those huge front teeth that are coming in. I see many ortho payments in our future! It had been loose for over a week and she pulled it out at school. At least the Tooth Fairy won't be running into Santa.

Speaking of Santa...Dasher has been landing in different and odd spots. We never know where we might find him each morning. The girls have been so excited to look for him each day and then keep asking Mom and Dad how did he get there?

And this is the sun rising on another day in the Land of Oz!

Decorating fun!

2011-12-08T21:33:00.007-06:00

The girls decorated the tree last night with some help from Daddy. Mom helped after everyone was tucked in bed by moving the ornaments around to fill in the holes! This was the first year Tessa decorated a tree and Boy did she have fun! (Our former tree had artifical pinecones all over it and it was a bear to try and decorate!) Mom was unboxing and handing out ornaments as fast as she could...which wasn't fast enough! RaeAnne snapped a few photos while the elves were busy.

Dasher arrived the night before and it was a race to see where he landed the next morning! Nice thing about that is the girls are more anxious to get up each morning!

It's beginning to look a lot like

2011-12-04T22:26:00.004-06:00

Christmas! We retired our old Christmas tree last year and I purchased a new one on line. I really had forgotten what the new tree looked like so it was a surprise for all of us tonight when we put it up! It took a long time to fluff it up, so we will decorate it another night this week.

We will also have to add another hook (or two?) on the mantel to get all the stockings hung on it! Zora had to hang one of her ornaments with her stocking!

Yikes!!

2011-11-27T09:29:00.003-06:00

My blog designer notified me this morning that all her images have been LOST!! The company that she uses, which I will not name at this time, seems to have deleted all her things! She does blogs for many folks and it has messed all her blogs up!! She is hoping that the company will be able to find her images soon and they will all be restored.

In the mean time...our blog will look just a little bit different :( Please send a prayer up for Alexis. She has put a lot of time into designing these blogs and this will definitely put a kink in her holiday season.

BTW my signature line is also an image that is lost!!!

There goes the neighborhood....

2011-11-22T22:00:00.003-06:00

well almost!! UPS made a delivery to our house yesterday morning. As I looked out the front door I noticed smoke. Upon further investigation I saw that the vacant lot north of our house was on fire! I grabbed some shoes and stepped out. Our neighbor to the northeast was burning trash in the barrel behind their house. Apparently the fire had blown out of the barrel and caught the dry grass on fire. We didn't have much wind, but every so often the fire would get a light breeze and would flare up and really take off towards the west and our other neighbors house.

Just about the time we thought the fire had stopped I looked out again and it was making fast progress across the vacant lot. We finally decided to call the fire department. We tried to contact our neighbor who's house was in the path of the fire, but no one was home and their phones were unanswered. Mark walked over and knocked on their door thinking that maybe someone was home and didn't hear the phone, but again no one answered the door. By the time he walked back home the fire department arrived and they wasted no time driving up on the lot and spraying water on the flames. We watched as they inspected the fire barrel and stomped out a few hot spots. They came over to our house and thanked us for calling. We thanked them for coming out...who knows what would have happened if we had not seen it!! Emergency responders....great to have when you need them!!!

And life happens....

2011-11-22T07:06:00.006-06:00

We received sad news this past week. Mark's paternal Grandma passed away. The girls called her Grandma Great. Actually, when the girls were much smaller they called her Grandma Grape because of a misunderstanding! And a great Grandmother she was! We were planning a family reunion in Tulsa next June when she would be 100 years young. Instead we had a reunion here in Kansas for her funeral. It was more a celebration of her life. She enjoyed all her kids...old and young. She also enjoyed good health until the last year which was a blessing. We attended her 90th birthday when RaeAnne was just a toddler.

All of Mark's siblings were here for the funeral. We were also able to celebrate a couple of birthdays while everyone was here. My birthday was the 19th and Mark's sister, Kris was on the 20th. Everyone arrived in town Friday evening. We decided on Mexican that evening and had a great time at La Fuentes. Then Saturday night we tried out Boss Hawg's. Sunday found almost the whole family at our house for chili, taco soup, and other snacks and a football game bonanza!

While we were at the restaurants someone pointed out that a couple of us were celebrating birthdays! At Boss Hawg's they delivered this scrumptious cake. Good thing they also brought lots of spoons to share as it was very rich! The girls loved having their Aunts and Uncle here. And since they had just seen all of them in Wisconsin this summer now they will remember who's who!

Sad times, good times and times to remember!!

Needing suggestions for stock?

2011-11-17T21:24:00.004-06:00

I'd say buy in the Tooth Fairy stock!! The Tooth Fairy has two stops to make tonight. Jordis has been working on her tooth for several days and it finally fell out tonight.

And Kendalan lost her first tooth tonight! She is so excited that the Tooth Fairy will come visit her tonight! Good thing for the Tooth Fairy that they sleep in the same room!!

Silly girls and fish

2011-11-12T21:51:00.008-06:00

We have been talking about getting an aquarium for some time. Daddy had aquariums before many years ago and Mommy has always wanted one. We decided a few weeks ago it was time! We decided that we wanted a salt water tank. So first we had to get our living rock and sand...add the salt water and make sure the pH was okay. Check.

Then it is time to slowly add fish and "ground crew" as Daddy calls them. Our first two fish were clown fish. We named them Bozo and Ronald. We also have a Sally Lightfoot crab. She is known as Sally and she is an eating machine!! Jordis is our child "eating machine" and we always wonder where does she put all that food?? Same way with Sally, she moves her claws to her mouth so quickly it is fun to watch her!

Daddy has been checking the pH of the water regularly and since we were still looking good, we decided to add more ground crew to eat the algae that is growing on the rock. We now have two Peppermint Shrimp, 5 hermit crabs and 1 Emerald Green crab. The Peppermint shrimp are named Pep and Patty even though we can't tell them apart, the hermit crabs unfortunately all look alike so they are nameless. The Emerald Green is known as Oz.

We decided to add a couple more fish today and beef up our ground crew. So today a coral banded shrimp joined the group who we named "Whiskers" because of his long white antenna. Tessa picked our her fish which is a fire fish we named "Sparkle" and ZoraLin picked out her fish. It is a Blue Green Chromis whom we named "Shimmer".

Sally the crab gave us quite the scare the second day we had her. We couldn't see her in the tank. Then Tessa said that she saw two of them. The girls headed off to school on the bus and we continued to look for Sally. We found her shell!! She had molted her shell!! She stayed hidden in the rock for a couple of days while her new shell hardened.

Tonight after we added our new crew, Tessa decided to pose for me. She is so goofy! I keep trying to convince her that we should get rid of the other front tooth soon so Santa has something to bring her for Christmas!

New furniture!!

2011-11-02T12:29:00.003-05:00

Right after I graduated from college..a few moons ago...I purchased new living room furniture. When Mark and I were married we combined households. Our house in Wichita was very large...oh how we miss that house! We bought a couch and love seat for our family room then. A few years ago for Father's Day Daddy received a new rocker/recliner. After breaking a couple of times we decided that we had purchased from the wrong store! We finally found a chair that will hold up under "Big" Daddy. He has had the chair for almost a year now and (fingers crossed) it has held up well. So it was time for Mama to get her new chair to match!! Okay the material matches, the style of chair is more Mama sized! And since the store was having a BOGO sale...it was time to retire the love seat that I purchased in 1994!!

Daddy always thinks that Mom's taste in color is questionable. You think he would learn after all these years! When I chose the material for the love seat it took a LOT of persuasion to convince the man of the house that it really was going to be a great looking match.

Well, he has said that it looks pretty good and I have only been able to get on it a couple of times. Seems one cat and a few girls also like it!! RaeAnne wants to sleep on it!!

Oh the places we will go.......

2011-10-31T10:47:00.010-05:00

We have been on the go lately. We drove to Hays for a wedding a few weeks ago. I used to spend lots of time with the groom and his family. His Mom and I started 1st grade together and graduated from high school together. She married her sweetheart very soon after we graduated and they settled down to farm and raise a family. I was the single one, footloose and fancy free. However, I realize now that deep down inside, I wanted to be the one with a family and I made them my surrogate family of sorts. It was a beautiful wedding and a chance to see people I grew up with. The girls had a great time...what little girl doesn't love to see a bride walk down the aisle to get married. A fairy tale come true! Of course, blowing bubbles to help welcome the new couple to their reception is fun too!

This past weekend we were invited to a birthday party. Not just any birthday party, it was my stepdaughter's son's 2nd birthday. I guess that makes me the step grandmother. I should be excited..right? Well, my stepchildren have not had much to do with their Dad since we started adopting. Why? I really have no idea...I have multiple guesses. My stepdaughter went to China with us in 2000 when we adopted her baby sister. My stepdaughter was living with us when we traveled to China in 2003 to adopt her second little sister. Then she started dating a man who we were told "doesn't really like kids." So the relationship between us and the daughter became strained to say the least. We moved and distance didn't help. We moved back and adopted again. She married the boyfriend and asked her stepdad to walk her down the aisle. More distance grew. Her little sisters asked lots of questions, "Why don't we see her anymore?" "Why weren't we in her wedding?" "Why doesn't she come to see us?" Questions I didn't and still don't have the answers to. I see how this hurts my girls and I go into Mama Bear mode. Don't hurt my girls!!

Anyhow we went to the party. The girls had a great time. Maybe an olive branch has been extended? Don't know...guess time will tell.

The afternoon before the party we received a phone call that most parents never want to hear. My almost 20 year old stepson was being arrested for driving on a suspended license!! My husband had asked him if he had paid his ticket many times in the last few weeks. Evidently he didn't! He was on his way to Salina to watch his high school team, the Great Bend Panthers, play when he cruised around a cop on I-70 going 82 miles an hour in a 75 mile/hour zone. She pulls him over and during a routine check of his license and registration it pops up that they have been suspended! We hope that this has been a learning experience for him. Since it was a Friday evening his vehicle was impounded until Monday when we could clear up the fact that the state had suspended "his" tag in error. The Jeep is registered to us!! He will still probably have to go to court to get his license reinstated and in the mean time his Dad has to drive him to and from classes!

Photos from the county court house. The jail is on the fourth floor and only Dad was allowed in the building. We kind of wanted photos of him behind bars...to blow up and remind him that unpaid tickets can come back to bite you!!

Never a dull moment around here! Calgon...take me away!!

The fun things were the girls deciding what to be for Halloween. They dressed up differently for school than they did to actually go treat or treating.

Then on Halloween night there were sudden changes in costumes.

During all this running around...Jordis came home with a sore throat and sure enough..it is strep!! Now I have a wonderful sinus infection/bronchitis that I am dealing with!! Things have got to start getting better around here soon?! I hope!! What's a Mom to do???

Pumpkin patch!

2011-10-21T21:17:00.006-05:00

With gorgeous fall weather here today...we HAD to go the pumpkin patch!! It is very hard to find THE perfect pumpkin. The girls spent at least an hour wandering around the pumpkin patch looking for the very best one. Daddy did a great job of directing the girls to each possible perfect pumpkin. However, sometimes even if you think you have THE pumpkin...it can be a false alarm!! And sometimes if the pumpkin is too heavy to carry, you have to find a smaller one!

RaeAnne found her pumpkin first, then she helped the other girls examine each of their pumpkins....of course, she told them "If this one is better than mine, I get to keep it and you can have mine." What a great big sister!! We started at one side of the patch and worked our way across the field. It was decided that we should have stayed on the one side because, of course, all the best pumpkins were where we first started! There was some back tracking to search, but eventually we walked back to the barn with our choices.

Now the great debate is on. Paint the pumpkins or carve them?!? I am thinking that we may have to carve the big one and paint the smaller ones.

It's coming along.....

2011-10-15T06:08:00.003-05:00

Our ceiling and walls are DONE! It looks like a new room and we love the new color! The bad thing about painting walls...then the walls that aren't painted look awful! We are just so glad that now our ceiling will not fall down on our heads!

Now I am trying to shampoo the carpet in sections to keep little feet off it. Can't wait for our new furniture to arrive! Any volunteers to help me figure out where to hang all my photos? The girls have suggestions but.......

Oh Tooth Fairy will you please.....

2011-10-08T21:24:00.003-05:00

come to our house tonight to make a little girl very happy?! Tessa has been wiggling this loose tooth for a couple of weeks. She told me one day that she was going to the school nurse so she could pull it. Well that night she came in the house and said that the school nurse couldn't get it to come out.

So this morning she was playing in Zora's bedroom. Tessa grabbed the tooth and out it come! Then she lost the tooth for a little while. Mom had to come down and find it for her. It was all wrapped up in bloody kleenex, so we put it safely away in a snack pack ziplock baggy so she can put it under her pillow at bedtime.

Under repair.....

2011-10-08T20:24:00.006-05:00

We have been having some long needed repairs done to our house. After we decided to buy our house and move in we found out that the person who built our house was a "wanna-be" house constructor. Seems he bought this parcel of land and started "building" houses. He knew just enough to make them look good, but unfortunately he was not a master house builder. As our house is outside of town, there were a lot of things in the house that was not inspected like in most homes. In other words, somethings are not up to code...so to speak. Of course, we did not find these things out until we were already in the house. Because our house in Lindsborg had not sold, we could not get financing to buy this house. My Dad stepped up to the plate and put this house in his name until we could get our other house sold and refinance this one. My Dad chose not to have this house inspected...after all the house was only a few years old...it looked good and to "borrow" the money he did not have to have the house inspected. We were saving money not to have it inspected. WRONG!

The latest project we are having done is getting the sheet rock in our living room re-taped, but most importantly, we are getting it securely attached to the ceiling. Here we have been relaxing in our living room, thinking that life was grand, when the sheet rock at anytime could have come plunging down upon our heads!!

Thankfully we found someone through our friends, Sophie and Gary, who is dependable and willing to come out and fix our mess. And mess it has been. He had to firmly attach the sheet rock to the ceiling, then re-mud all the cracks, then sand all the mud down, and finally paint the ceiling. We really love our cathedral ceilings in our living room. That was one of the things about the house that we were first drawn to. It will be so nice once all the scaffolding, plastic and mud is gone and we can enjoy our living room again!

This is what our living room has looked like for the past week. Hopefully he will be done by Tuesday this week. Then I can shampoo the carpet and enjoy our living room!!

Bubbles & smores!

2011-09-25T22:08:00.008-05:00

Daddy was gone this weekend. I felt I had to come up with something fun that the girls and I could do over the weekend to have fun and create memories. Something that Daddy really wouldn't give a hoot to do, but something that the girls and I would enjoy. So while working on cleaning the garage last week I came across a bag of charcoal. It's the kind that is presoaked and all you are supposed to do is light it and walla you have a fire. I bought all the items to make smores and I had the bright idea that we would drive to the lake, find a place to light our fire and make smores. I mean it sounds easy...right?

Things started out differently than planned as my stepson and his girlfriend broke up Friday. We suddenly gained one more person at our house. We are playing musical beds right now to get everyone a good night sleep. So Saturday afternoon we headed toward Pomona Lake and a area that I thought would be the perfect place to make smores and bubbles. Well, that place was reserved already. We drove around the lake to few other places and each of those were either busy or was marked as a no burn area. By that time I had realized that I had forgotten a few major items needed for our treats. So it turned out that we just drove around to a few different places at the lake. As the day became shorter, I had already decided that we would be checking out other areas tomorrow. This evening found us heading to McDonald's and we picked up the movie "Hoodwinked Two" to watch at home.

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. After lunch we gathered up the rest of the items needed and off to Shawnee Lake we went! The charcoal turned out to be a little harder to get started than I expected, but we did get enough flames going to "roast" our marshmallows! And the sun warmed up the candy bars so we could squeeze the chocolate on the graham crackers. It was a fun, sticky day!

Sunday was bright and clear. Today we would definitely find the right place for our smores fest! We headed to Shawnee County Lake. I also made sure that we had the missing ingredients this trip! It was pretty easy to find the right place to have our smores party.

And the birthday girl is......

2011-09-14T21:20:00.006-05:00

Jordis Li Meng!! She is NINE years old! And boy did we surprise her at school today! Dad and I arrived at her school while she was still eating lunch. When her class entered the room they were all happy to find a cupcake and drink waiting on their desks. Her teacher called her up to the head of the class and we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Her choice for supper tonight was Chinese food! Zora and Rae kept asking if we were going to have cake at home later on and a party. We were teasing and told them that we had already taken cupcakes to school so we were going to probably skip cake at home. So after arriving home, everyone had to get busy on their homework. I was having trouble trying to get all the girls out of the kitchen after they finished their homework. I then brought her cake and present into the house and surprised her yet again!! Jordis is so fun to surprise!!

I can tell you that she went to bed tonight one very happy girl. Happy Birthday Jordis Li....we love you sweetie!! XOXO!!!

First full week of school

2011-09-04T21:22:00.004-05:00

I am not quite sure why, but our school district started school on Friday, August 26th. Maybe it was like a trial run?! So this week was the girls first week, five WHOLE days in a row, of school. Good thing we had a three day weekend to recover!! By Tuesday night we had several cranky girls!! You know when the whine is over the top that bedtimes need to be readjusted!

Daddy had a busy day Friday while Mom was at work. ZoraLin had a major meltdown before school and wouldn't get on the bus for Dad. She had a change of heart after Dad told her how bad she was going to be grounded. Five minutes after the bus left, she was dressed and asked if he would give her a ride to school. He had barely made it home when he received a phone call from RaeAnne's school that she had broken her new glasses. When he arrived at school with the old pair he also was told about her black eye. Seems she and another classmate crashed into each other at P.E. Fortunately, Mom purchased the insurance plan on our glasses and they just happened to have an extra frame in stock. When I came home from work I was shocked and surprised that she also had some bad scratches on her face very close to her eye.

Today our social worker and her hubby arrived to do Tessa's 12 month post placement report. I have all the photos ready to send to our adoption agency.

The 2011-2012 school year has started!

2011-08-26T19:56:00.004-05:00

I think you could hear my husband say "Hallelujah!" loud and clear this morning as the bus pulled up to our driveway. It has been a wonderful summer and we have kept very busy doing different things, but these girls need their learning! And Mom and Dad need some quiet time!

The girls were super excited this morning to be up getting ready for school. All the new school supplies were in their backpacks and they were wearing some of their new school clothes. Waiting for the bus was a new treat too as their special friend Paige from across the street is also going to their school this year and she is riding the bus with them!! Double score!!

School, a wonderful fall break for the parents and fun learning time for the kids! A win-win situation for all! And when the bus arrived home tonight I had to pay attention to all the news that I was being told. Sounds like a successful day. Now we have the weekend to recover!! Go Chargers!!

Tessa Day

2011-08-23T21:09:00.009-05:00

One year ago today, a small, very frightened little girl joined our family. She was content to hold her sister's hands, but she really wanted nothing to do with her forever Mommy. Even though it hurt, I could understand that her whole world had just been turned upside down and adults were not to be trusted. Less than two weeks later when we arrived in Hong Kong, it was as if she realized that China was behind her and she finally could call me, "Mom". Just like her sisters! I don't think that she really knew the impact of what that term meant at the time. Today when I told her "Happy Tessa Day!" She gave me a big hug and said, "I love you Mom!"

Tessa is doing great! She will start 2nd grade this coming Friday. The last appointment she had with her pediatric cardiologist was not quite what we wanted to hear. Her doctor consulted with one of the top pediatric cardiologists in the USA about Tessa's aortic aneurysm. They do not feel that she needs surgery. They think that we should monitor her with an echocardiogram every 6 months and MRI's every couple of years. However, IF she would get hit hard in the chest or on the back the aneurysm could burst and in the doctor's words, "It would be catastrophic." So while we would like to wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her protected, we are opting to let her be a child and do just about everything she wants with the exception of things that are "ballistic".

Gone is the shy quiet little girl and in her place is a loud, funny girl who loves to tease everyone! She still misses her Chinese siblings and fondly talks about them, but she has come to love her home here and does not want to go to China anymore...except to visit. She is not afraid of anything. She loves trying new foods and has never been a picky eater. She is very appreciative of anything she receives and very happily will tell me "Thanks Mom for supper or thanks for doing my clothes!"

She gets along with her sisters....most of the time! They are like any other kids and get along one minute and are tattling on each other in the next breathe. Tessa likes playing on the computer, jumping on the trampoline, riding her scooter, swimming and stuffed animals.

We love her very much and can not imagine our lives without her! Happy Forever Family Day Tessa (Lou) JiXing!! We love you to the moon and back!!

Blogger glitch

2011-08-16T23:42:00.002-05:00

I am not really a great blogger. I read others blogs and they always seem to say something really moving, magnificent, touching...you get the picture. I just kind of blunder on about things going on in our world and what the girls have been doing. I have a hard enough time trying not to make my sentences sound like something a hill-billy from Kansas would say....but I confess....I do struggle to say anything really elegant.

Now I went and done something really stupid. And the worst thing is....I don't have a clue how I done it!! I was busy typing right along and the next thing I look up at the screen and my words had gone astray. Never did find where that word took off too, but when I finished my post and went to look at the blog after I had posted....my sidebar seems to have slipped down to the bottom of the blog?? I must confess to those who don't know....the beautiful blog that I have was designed by Alexis who is a WIZZ when it comes to purting up blogs! I have emailed her ask....more like beggging for her help to get my blog looking put together right again. I hope she will get back to me soon. Right now...it looks like I was drinking heavily and became a little out of focus. Maybe I need to drink something to help me get it straightened out again!! Oy!!

The families that we traveled with to get our first daughters back in 2000 are all a very special group of people. We bonded and we bonded hard! I can't imagine our lives without these other families in it. We try to get together every other year for a reunion. Even then the time goes by too fast! There were 6 families in our group....we all adopted a baby from the same orphanage. Four of our families got together this year and each family has added at least one more child since our first adoption. Here are the beautiful girls.

Overbrook Fair time!

2011-08-11T23:46:00.012-05:00

Tonight was the perfect weather and it was arm band night at the fair! The girls were so excited! We arrived at 7pm and immediately bought arm bands for the girls. First they all wanted to ride the "Orient Express" roller coaster.

The next thing the girls wanted to ride was the Tilt-A-Whirl. Well, they stood in line and found out Tessa and Kendalan were not tall enough to ride without an adult. So the littles had to find something else to do.

After that the girls kind of split up. Tessa, Kendalan and Jordis wanted to ride the roller coaster again and RaeAnne and ZoraLin wanted to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Sizzler. The fair was set up just perfect so I could see all the rides. Dad chilled out on a bench by the merry-go-round.

Time flew by and before we knew it the sun was gone and replaced by a beautiful moon! The girls were starting to tell me how hungry they were. Of course, the smell of kettle corn, cotton candy and other tempting foods didn't help! We decided that it would be better to have something a little more filling and we munched on french fries, nachos and burgers. Then it was a couple more rides before we it was time to head home.

Mom stopped on the way out and picked up cotton candy and kettle corn for the bedtime snack!!

Winding down

2011-08-10T22:49:00.007-05:00

The girls will start school August 26th. Some days it seems like the summer has flown by, other days.....not so much!

The girls were messing around with my old stethoscope last week. I am glad that RaeAnne was able to hear Kendalan's heartbeat. Rae gave the thumbs up when she could hear it. Kendalan had a little harder time finding the penguins heart!!

RaeAnne's BFF from Kindergarten came down to spend a few days. Hollie and RaeAnne were friends from the start and each year they still like to get together for a few days. RaeAnne went to Lindsborg to Hollie's for three days and then we met them in Junction City and Hollie came down here. I always try to find a craft for them to work on together while they are here. This time it was a very easy project. They decorated the first initial of their name to have to hang on their bedroon doors.

I hope that RaeAnne and Hollie will be able to maintain their friendship through their school years. Sometimes there is an extra girl in the photo!!

Lost in translation?

2011-08-07T22:25:00.003-05:00

I emailed Tessa's orphanage a photo of Tessa and her sisters. I simply said, "Here is Long Ji Xing and her sisters." "We love them very much!" And the reply I received was "Thank you for providing pictures from the photo we see the dragon had a very happy Kyrgyzstan Fortunately, we are very pleased"

????????????? I was hoping for more photos of her....guess I will have to be more to the point next time! Can't believe that it is almost one year since Tessa joined our family. She is such a hoot!!

Back to normal?

2011-07-31T22:23:00.004-05:00

Vacation is over, we are back to the same old, same old.....or are we?

Saturday morning three of the girls got all dolled up and did a cheer for us. Zora and Tessa even applied their own makeup!

Then tonight after work I found these kids hanging out on the bathroom floor. Seems that is where their "Mom's" left them after giving them bottles.

Yep, that's our kind of normal.

Reunion of LongGang kiddos

2011-07-27T10:56:00.012-05:00

I know....behind as usual! Recovering from travel lag!

One of the girls asked me how long it was going to take to get back home from Wisconsin. Since I just happened to be sitting at the computer I showed her the route home on Map Quest. While looking at the map...I realized that we could actually take a different route home AND meet one of Tessa's "sisters"! I replied to a comment that Amy had left me on our blog. She then sent me a message on FB and the trip home was planned! Amy then let me know that there are two other LongGang kids who live in her area. How wonderful!! I showed Tessa Shaling's photo and asked her, "Do you want to see your sister?" She got a big smile on her face, giggled and said, "Yes!"

We arrived in Springfield and while checking into our hotel one of the most scariest things happened. Our rooms were on the 5th floor. We were getting things out of our vehicle and there were a few more items to get. I told the girls to stay in the room while Dad and I went back for the stuff. It all seems like a blur now, but three of the girls did NOT listen and came downstairs. Somehow Tessa was separated from her sisters and us. We arrived up to the rooms and Tessa was not there!!! My heart dropped!! I immediately picked up the hotel phone in the hallway to call the front desk while Dad went downstairs to look for her. The front desk clerk said to continue to look for her. And I told him..."You have security cameras in the hallway...GET ON THEM NOW AND FIND HER!!" I had just hung up the phone when Dad and Tessa stepped off the elevator. She had went back outside to our car and was standing out there when Dad found her. The other scary part...there was a guy in a car that had just pulled up to her when Dad walked outside!! Amy, Preston and Shaling arrived just a few minutes later. I don't think I was myself for a while...I was still shaking inside thinking of Tessa missing!!

Of course, at first Tessa and Shaling were shy around each other, but in no time at all they were visiting like old friends! They both spent time in the whirlpool together.

Lynne and her two boys soon arrived and the kids all enjoyed swimming while the adults quickly became acquainted. It was great to see the kids playing together! Amazingly the kids tired out very soon. Amy and her husband, Brock, suggested that we all go out to eat and they recommended that we try a "horseshoe" which is a local dish. Amy found a great little place not far from our hotel and we filled our tummies with good food. Mark tried the horseshoe and found it was far too much food for him to handle!! But he gave it a two thumbs up! The kids had a great time in the game room and Kendalan won herself a bear out of the crane machine.

All the kids minus Preston who was checking out the broken escalator!!
For some reason my photos inside the Top Cat were very dark :(

All the girls!

All too soon it was time for us to hit the hay. We are so excited to have found new friends and it is really not too far for us to drive for a long weekend so the kids can spend more time together. Thanks Amy, Brock and Lynne for the fantasic time! Hope to see you all again soon!!

Last day in cheese country

2011-07-24T19:51:00.006-05:00

I am NOT ready for our vacation to be over!! We have had such fun filled, but hectic days! It has been so much fun seeing the Fabulous Foursome back together again! Of course, it has reminded us that our girls are growing up WAY too fast!!

Here they are as babies

And here they are today

Even though we meet up with these families only every other year, we always seem to start back up where we left off. Our families bonded from the start. Our girls were together for less than one year, but our families will be bonded for life.

One of the families had to leave today after the photo session. Every time we say goodbye it brings me to tears. It seems like we just don't have the time to catch up in a few days and the girls just start to remember each other and it is time to go.

The remaining Mom's took the girls to Bay Beach after the photo shoot. What a fun place to go....just wish it had been cooler and/or more of a breeze! As usual, I roasted like a beet!

All too soon it was time to go. We are already planning a reunion in two years. It can't be soon enough.

Busy!!

2011-07-23T23:29:00.001-05:00

Snow cones, bubbles, water balloons oh my!

2011-07-22T20:30:00.008-05:00

Started the morning off with more swimming....again!! This time Mom actually put her swim suit on and showed the girls that she really does know how to swim!!

In the afternoon the last family arrived from Michigan!! The Fab Four is finally back together again!! And WOW have these girls grown up!!

Then the fun began! Water balloons and popsicles for the kids and conversation by the adults.

ZoraLin and Brenna enjoy popsicles!

Christen and RaeAnne enjoy snow cones!

Then the water balloon blast began!

Things became more wet as the girls got the hang of filling the balloons with water. And the parents were kept busy tying the balloons for the kiddos. When the water hose started to be sprayed on everyone...we decided it was time to eat!

The kids went through the wonderful spread of food first. Jean and her family out did themselves with food!

Then it was time to come back to the hotel...this mom was exhausted! Four of the girls swam for another hour or so with their friends...but no photos as I went to bed!!

Swimming anyone?

2011-07-21T22:39:00.004-05:00

I woke up at 8 am this morning and told the girls we better get a move on or we would miss breakfast. Three heads popped up out of bed and said "I'm hungry Mommy!" We met up with our friends and decided that we would make a trip to a grocery store to get snacks. After that we spent almost 4 hours at the Splash park. The girls had a wonderful time! Just watching them run around exhausted me in no time!

The girls had the most fun going down the slide. The girls were not very good at reading the signs. One said that you were not supposed to form chains to come down the slide...but the girls had such a great time doing just that!!

After swimming so long...of course, the girls were hungry. So we went to Jimmy John's. Then it was time for us to go to Mark's sisters house for a BBQ. On the way there all three girls in the far back seat were out like a light!!

Tonight we met up with another of our families. Now can't wait until tomorrow because the last family will be here!! Let the Reunion begin!!!

Home away from home

2011-07-20T22:07:00.007-05:00

Traveling with 5 girls has increased not only the noise, but hotel accommodations. Most hotels will not allow over 5 people per room. Yes, we could fudge a little and sneak in a couple of girls, but then that makes for 7 people in one room with one bathroom. Not my idea of a vacation! I am also not the camping out kind of girl...not that I can't or won't do it....I would just rather have more comforts of home and more stretch room!

We have decided that when we travel it would be easier for all of us to get two rooms. Yes, it does cost more, but Mom and Dad get their rest that way and less grouchy parents=happy girls! This is our home sweet home for the next 5 days. And it is divided up...Dad with ZoraLin and Tessa in one room, Mom with Rae, Jordis and Kendalan in the other. Not saying that is how it will be the whole trip, but for the first couple of nights it has worked.

We arrived in Green Bay mid-afternoon after a stop over in Oshkosh to visit with Daddy's family. The girls were chanting "Can we go swim?" "Can we go see the water park?" So after a very quick job of unpacking things and getting reorganized...it was off to Splash!

I was thinking that because I don't tan...just burn, peel and repeat...that an indoor water park right at the hotel would be a great idea. Unfortunately I was not thinking how hot and humid an indoor pool/water park would be! If I don't sweat off a few pounds on this trip something is seriously wrong! But the girls had a blast for an hour at Splash and since it is just a short walk from our room there, I am sure that they will be spending quite a bit of time there! Guess Mom will have to break out the swimsuit that I have a hate/hate relationship with!!

We are anxiously waiting for the rest of our travel group to arrive! There were five other families who traveled with us in 2000 to China when we met RaeAnne. This was our first trip to China and first baby for each family and we have bonded so well with these families. We have had a reunion every other year since we arrived home with our beautiful girls, but life happens and this will be our first reunion in four years. We are so HAPPY to meet up with them this year again....FINALLY!!! Bring on the reminiscing!!

Tonight we were impressed that "Jimmy Johns" delivered our supper in 20 minutes and it was WONDERFUL!!!

Now bring on the sleep!!!

Betcha can't figure out where we are....

2011-07-19T21:19:00.004-05:00

Yepper....we are in Wisconsin! Left home about 7:30AM and drove to Sun Prairie. Staying at a very nice Quality Inn. The girls swam for over one hour and they are now supposed to be sleeping!! Only two are doing that....Jordis Li

And Kendalan....I think she may be faking it!!

RaeAnne is still getting in game time on her Nintendo DSi....Mom is ready to drop!

They had all sorts of things to do in the Suburban today to keep them busy...

.
Tomorrow we will arrive early in Green Bay. Can't WAIT to see our travel buddies again!! It has been four very LONG years!! Let the reunion begin!

Road trip

2011-07-16T21:21:00.007-05:00

It is almost time for us to hit the road. The girls have been ready for weeks and we have heard "How much longer before we leave?" over and over again! The calendar had to be repaired with tape as it was being looked at so much that the page was ripped! Even though I have told the girls that I don't want to pack until the day before we leave, they have their suitcases ready to roll!!

Maybe our cats will get some rest while we are gone. The girls have been driving them bananas. I think that the cats are getting used to the things they have to put up with from the girls. But they have stooped to a new low with Eegan the other day. He was being such a good sport about it all.

Yes...those are stuffed mice on poor Eegan's head. I could tell from the look on Eegan's face that he was quickly loosing his patience Poor cat, I really can't blame him...at least they haven't thought of dressing him up in doll clothes....like I did when I was the girl's age!!

And our girls look like such angels at times!!

Candy anyone???

2011-07-14T23:13:00.002-05:00

Guess you can tell what kind of chocolate I like!! More photos coming soon!

Swimming lessons

2011-07-09T23:27:00.007-05:00

The girls had swimming lessons last summer at Kay's Aquatics and we were impressed at how much they had learned in the short period of time they were there. All the girls are pretty good swimmers now and we had already decided last summer that we would sign them up again this year to reinforce what they had learned last year and to learn more.

We also wanted Tessa to learn to swim. It was apparent to me while we were in China that she had been swimming, but it was hard to tell just how much she really knew. She didn't have much fear of the water.

The second day of swimming lessons the instructors were really impressed with how well Tessa was doing. All the girls wanted to jump off the diving board and Tessa was right there wanting to do it too. That was Tessa's last day of swimming lessons. Her instructors didn't get her back up out of the water fast enough and she swallowed some water. Her faith in them was lost. We tried to convince her to give them another try, but it was a no go. I can't say that I don't blame her. She has suffered some pretty severe losses throughout her short life. We will let her wait until next summer and then see how she does. She is not afraid to put her head under water and swim around, but she just doesn't trust the instructors to be there for her. I am super glad that she still likes to spend time in the water!!

So Friday was graduation at swim class. The day that the parents can come into the pool area and watch in awe of the progress they have made in a short two weeks. The instructor says that Jordis has a very fast stroke and would be excellent in competetion IF she had a bigger lung capacity. Hmmm....the couch potato side of her is showing!! They all did great and can swim the length of the pool twice which puts Rae, Zora and Jordis ready to start level 4 and Kendalan ready for level 3 next time. They also LOVE to jump in off the diving board.

They start the lesson by doing 15 "bobs". Kendalan has this down pat!!

We have a family pass to the Carbondale Pool this summer and in less than two weeks we will be going to Wisconsin where we are staying has an indoor water park! Bet the girls will love that!!

Independence Day

2011-07-07T23:42:00.012-05:00

I had to work July 4th. Daddy bought the fireworks and invited Bubby out to help shoot them off. We found out that our friends and their kids were going to be in the area...what a great chance to see them again! Charlotte and Maggie are from China and Caleb was adopted at birth in Kansas...just like Nick!

I was home from work before Dan, Julie and the kids arrived. The girls couldn't contain themselves and kept asking "When are they going to get here?" "Are they here yet?"

Once they arrived the kids couldn't wait to start the fireworks! I was a little tired...just worked three-12 hour days in a row! I was a little concerned that all the kids had a lit punk. But being the good wife I am, I kept my mouth shut and let the husband be in charge. This was Tessa's first July 4th at home. She said that she had seen fireworks in China, but had never gotten to do them herself! She jumped right in! The smoke balls were a big hit and of course the smoke blew right towards where the adults were sitting!

The kids were running wild, they couldn't get the smoke balls and other fireworks lit fast enough. It was almost like a race to see who could do the most! I kept reminding all of them that their punk was "hot" and to be careful where you were holding it! The big kids always have to have their toys too and my husband and son are no stranger to wanting to make things boom loud! Daddy has a "thunder mug" which you put black powder in it, light it and get the heck away from it before it blows! Bubby was in charge of it. The kids had done most of the fireworks that you need to have partial light to see....parachutes, smoke balls, poppers, etc. It was just starting to get dark enough to do the real fireworks. Bubby and his Dad decided to set the Thunder mug off one more time. The kids were scattering to get away from the area that it was in....because it is a big BANG! Just about that time...the accident occurred. Zora and Maggie ran into each other. I saw Maggie laying in the grass and I asked Julie if she was okay. Julie thought she was lying there laughing. Then we realized she was crying. When Maggie and Zora crashed into each other, Maggie hit the driveway with her right arm. She said she couldn't move it!!

That was the end of the visit and the fireworks! We could move it, but it was swelling even with ice on it. They decided to take her to the ER to have xrays. It was decided that it was a bad sprain and not broken, but still not a good ending to the festivities.

Even our cat, Oreo, had sympathy pains for Maggie!! She curled up on the floor holding her legs!

We did enjoy the neighbors display. We had a couple of good arial bombs that we saved for the end. Poof...there went another 4th...up in smoke. God Bless those who help us remain free!!

Happy Birthday Tessa!

2011-07-05T12:39:00.010-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been a busy blur at our house! Throw in work days and that puts me seriously behind on our blog!

June 30th a friend of mine took the girls' pictures at a park. When I set up the date for the photo shoot the temperature was in the 80's. The day of the shoot it was almost 100! It was late in the afternoon so it will be interesting to see how the photos turn out. The girls were sweating...I mean glistening....and the smiles were pretty forced.

We then headed out to eat at Tessa's choice for supper as it was her 7th BIRTHDAY!!! No photos from supper as we were all a little grouchy from the heat. This is Tessa's first birthday home with her forever family and we can't imagine life without her!! Daddy even admitted tonight that he would have never guessed how much life this girl has brought to our home. They weren't kidding that she loves to play jokes! And she is so ticklish that you can just look at her and she starts giggling!

Somehow I had managed to sneak home a cake for Tessa. Once we arrived home we sang Happy Birthday to her and she opened her presents. My cousin, John, who was here visiting from San Diego surprised her with a Barbie that she really likes! She also now has her own "Tessa" suitcase and a scooter!

Happy Birthday Tessa!! We love you! XOXO!!

Dragon Boat Festival

2011-06-25T19:18:00.007-05:00

It was raining cats and dogs at our house this morning. The girls were really upset as we were supposed to go to Kansas City to the Dragon Boat Races today. The rain finally let up and even though it was still cloudy at our house, we decided to take a chance on the races anyway. We were so glad that we did!! The sun was high in the sky by the time we arrived in KC and our timing was perfect. We watched a couple of boats on the river and then we headed over to the stage just in time to watch the dancing!

The dancers were fantastic! The costumes beautiful! Our girls were glued to the performances!

After watching the dances we wandered around looking at the booths that were set up. By this time the girls were already complaining that they were "starving!" So we walked to the Cheese Cake Factory. The food was yummy and very filling...so much so that we really did leave without having dessert! Next time we will go just for the dessert!!

Then we waddled back to our car and headed home. Okay...this is NOT our ride home, but the girls really wanted take it home.

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T22:13:00.010-05:00

After our long road trip yesterday we all slept in late this morning! Daddy woke up to find his Father's Day presents in the living room along with all the cards and pictures that the girls had made him. He can't wait to use his new chairs the next time he goes to a car show. Ammo the bear will get to sleep with Daddy most of the time, but I am sure that he will get to spend time in the girls rooms making them feel safe too!

We wanted to take a photo of the girls standing in our field. However, our land is planted to milo and it really doesn't have a very good start at this time....so we borrowed our neighbors wheat field!! The girls claim that the wheat poked their legs "too hard!"

And then we had to have the close up and the "funny" photos of the girls!!

Maybe someday we will make farmers out of them!!

Road trip loaded with memories

2011-06-19T11:48:00.023-05:00

Yesterday we were up before the crack of dawn, pulled out of the driveway at 5:26AM and headed to northwestern Kansas. May 13th, 1976 I graduated from Lenora High School along with 25 others. Yesterday was our reunion (you can figure out the math to know which one!) Personally, I am not sure when all the others in my class started getting older...I refuse to do so! It was also a great chance for the girls to see where Mom went to school.

After we arrived in Lenora we watched the Jubilee parade. The girls really loved this as they threw candy from the various floats, tractors and other vehicles that were in the parade. We really would have liked to go to the critter races, bounce house, kiddie tractor pull, etc. that they were having in the park later on....BUT they decided to start charging a fee to get in the park. $20/adult and $10/child is TOO steep!! Especially for a city park!!

The ambulance and fire trucks turned on their sirens which resulted in the girls plugging their ears!

We then headed up the hill to the Grade School for the reunion.

This was also reunion time for the Class of "75" so not only did we get to catch up with some of my classmates, but some of the upper class too (so to speak!) The girls were most excited by the fact that there was sandwiches, chips and POP! We visited and caught up on "old" times for a couple of hours.

Here is the Class of 1975!!

And the Class of 1976!!

We then took a nostalgic tour of our old high school. Both schools are closed now, the kids from this area are bused to the county seat 20 miles away. We are fortunate that both buildings have been purchased and kept up. There are many small towns around this area that have had their schools close and the buildings sit empty and eventually fall down. Our old gymnasium is huge compared to the schools that our girls now attend. Our mascot was the Wildcats!

I spent a lot of time in the gym under this sign!

Our girls team were very good basketball players back in the day.... NO I was not on the team!! BTW...this is not a photo of THE team of 76...but one that is still in the display case...I recognize many of these girls who are much...okay maybe several years younger.

The girls had a fun time running around, looking at our "old time" lockers, playing baskeball and checking out what the new tenants of the school have inside.

All too soon it was time to head back home. I am fortunate that my class was so small and I keep in contact with many of the others. As with most class reunions, there are some who frequently attend and then there are always the ones who don't come. This was a bitter sweet trip...a chance to look back. I remember going through these doors after school many times...this time was probably the last time I will get the chance.....

New PJ's and swimming beauties

2011-06-17T14:22:00.006-05:00

On a shopping expedition recently, the girls all picked out new pajamas. Actually Mom was tired of them putting on their warm winter pj's and then changing them later on when they were "too hot". So we picked up some summer ones. I think they look pretty cute!

The girls are taking swimming lessons again this year. The older girls are doing great and are fairly good swimmers. Kendalan thinks that she is just as good as her older sisters, but after a minor mishap at the swimming pool this summer, we have explained to her that she needs to practice before she jumps off the diving board again!! They posed for me before lessons this morning.

Ahhh summer......

2011-06-08T22:31:00.005-05:00

swimming and sunbathing. I remember when I was a kid. I would slather on the baby oil and head out to the backyard to work on my tan. I would give my mom instructions to holler at me in 30 minutes so I could flip over and work on my other side. My how time just crawls along as you are sitting there....baking in the sun. After about 10 minutes I was just sure that my mother had forgotten to watch the time for me. So into the house I would go and then find out that it hadn't even been 15 minutes yet! I still had 15 more minutes for that side!!

So then I would get a cold drink and the transistor radio. That had to make time go faster and make the process easier....didn't it? In another 10 minutes I would be in the house yelling for Mom....what time is it?? 20 minutes was an eternity! 30 minutes was sheer torcher!

So after 45 minutes I would give up and put everything away. Then spend the next 10 minutes in front of the mirror trying to see just how dark I had gotten. Problem was...I am this very fair complexion girl. I burn...I don't tan! I get red as a lobster and 3 days later I am peeling skin off. Then I am back to pale face again.

Our girls have been blessed. They get dark, dark, very dark after only a few hours in the sun. I put SPF UVB 50 on them...that makes me pretty much stay white....oh not the girls. It just gives them more of a golden malibu tan. They don't even lay out to tan like I use to do. They go to the pool for a few hours and while they are having a wonderful time...they get darker and darker...and this pale face Mom finds the shade to hang out in.

At least we won't have to buy any Baby Oil or Coconut Butter to use. But Mom may have to go fake bake so she looks like she fits in just a little!!

Sleeping Beauty does exist!!

2011-06-08T21:56:00.003-05:00

And she lives at our house!! Kendalan went into our bedroom the other night to watch TV. I went to check on her a while later and this is what I found.

Oh yea, Sleeping Beauty wears flowered panties!! Shhhh!! Don't tell her that I posted her photo on our blog!!

Okay..............

2011-06-04T15:32:00.003-05:00

I confess, I love to read blogs. Especially those of other families who have adopted. I know that my blog has some readers and honestly I didn't expect my blog to go viral...but it does hurt that I rarely get any comments. I know I am not that entertaining. But sometimes I think I am talking to myself here. Actually MOST of the time!! So I am going to throw a question out there for my loyal readers, and maybe those who just pop in and out sometimes, to leave me a comment on.

I really, really, really want to adopt one more. I know...I have said that a few times before!! But really just one more so we have an even number would be fantastic. RaeAnne would really like a sister her age...she would like to be the older one, but very close in age. There are so many older girls needing homes, I am thinking that this is a GREAT idea. However, a little part of me would like to add a little boy to our house too. We don't want to do diapers again...okay I would love to have another baby, but I know our limits....so a boy that is in the age range of Kendalan and Tessa would be neat too.

Now for the comments....am I totally crazy?? Or just partially? Of course, my husband thinks I am certifiably nuts!

Just a shout out hey would be nice. Just so I know I am really not alone here ya know!!

Thanks!

Dance Recital

2011-05-23T21:52:00.011-05:00

The girls have worked hard all year going to weekly dance classes. It all paid off May 21st at their recital. Since our dance instructor teaches classes at two different towns each week, the team has to get together a couple of times to practice in the gym where the recital is held. Then both groups learn to perform in unison and become one. RaeAnne and ZoraLin have been on this dance team for three years now. It is more fun for them than work! We had the final practice Saturday morning. Many times I am working on Tuesday nights when they have dance class. This year they named their dance group the CIA's for Chicks In Action and they are that!

Kendalan and Tessa are on the tumbling team. Jordis was until December and she decided she didn't want to go anymore. They are like little pretzels and so cute! It was interesting to watch these two during the tumbling section. They couldn't keep their hands off each other and at one point Tessa had Kendalan pinned on the mat!! I am not sure that wrestling was part of the performance.

The first dance Rae and Zora was in was ballet. While watching the girls practice this routine this morning I was thinking that maybe they needed a few more hours of practice. However, tonight they were right on!! It was so beautiful I had tears in my eyes as I came out of the bleachers to help them change clothes. I noticed many of the other Mom's were also crying!!

The girls had three costume changes throughout the program. Mom's job was to help them get the right outfit on while Dad held down the bench and taped the performances. After the first couple of songs I was in the girls locker room helping Rae and Zora change into their next costume when the dance instructor came in and said "I hope you all are dressed, the tornado sirens are going off and this is the tornado shelter!" It became very crowded in the locker room! Thankfully the weather cooperated and very soon the girls were back out for their second dance of the night.

They did Pom for their second dance. It was also very good and they were all in sync. I am going to have to figure out how to upload some of the video from the dance.

Rae and Zora's last team dance was so unique! The girls were dressed in "bags" and the first part of their dance it was hard to tell who was where! Then the team was out of their bag and they finished looking GOOD!! We are so proud of our girls!! They have the team spirit and maybe I am just a little biased, but they are just so beautiful as they dance and tumble!! You ROCK IT girls!!

Happy Birthday ZoraLin

2011-05-23T21:13:00.005-05:00

On May 17th we celebrated Zora's 9th birthday!! I can't believe that this bundle of joy is already nine years old!! We had dance practice that night and we decided to surprise her with cake. Knowing that her sisters can't keep a secret, no one knew about the cake except for Dad and Mom! We let Zora open her gift after lunch. I think she was pretty excited...the smile on her face said it all!

Wednesday night we went out to eat. Our waitress suggest "celebration" cake for dessert and we all enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday ZoraLin!! We love you jelly bean!!

Fun Birthday Party

2011-05-16T22:55:00.007-05:00

We were invited to a birthday party for a little girl who's parents traveled with us to China in August. They had it at Monkey Buziness which is a place I had been told that the girls would really like to go. I did not tell the girls where we were going to have the party and they naturally assumed that we would be going to JoJo's house. So imagine their surprise when we arrived at a mall and I had them keep their eyes open for "Monkey Buziness". As we walked in, their eyes were pretty wide open with wonder. (Daddy and Tessa had to stay home as Tessa was running a high fever the night before.)

They were like Thoroughbred horses out of the chute when we arrived in the private room where the party was. Once they figured out that they could play on anything and everything there they were OFF! It was fun to watch them and I also saw something I never thought I would. They were running and playing so hard that they actually had to sit down and take a couple of breaks! Their little cheeks were so rosy!!

Then we had a snack, sang Happy Birthday and the kids were pushing smaller kids out of the way to get their sacks full when the pinata broke open. Well, maybe they weren't actually pushing them out of the way, but they were working as fast as they could to get LOTS of candy. RaeAnne was a sweetie after I suggested that she share some of her candy with the younger kids. Way to go Rae!

Now all we are hearing is that ZoraLin would like to celebrate her birthday at Monkey Bizness. Sorry honey, we have dance practice tomorrow night...but we have a surprise for you!! I am sure a trip back to MB is in our near future.

Trampoline back up!! Prayers appreciated!

2011-05-16T22:29:00.006-05:00

When RaeAnne, ZoraLin and I were in China last August getting Tessa, there was a strong wind storm come through our area. Dad woke up on day and found out trampoline leaning up against our house and a few of the rings bend. We tried to put it back up with the broken parts, but there is nothing more frustrating than getting it all put together, springs on and then have it fold up on you! Thus bending the already bent poles some more. Winter was coming and along bringing more wind to our area. We admitted defeat and left the trampoline put away for the rest of the winter.

Daddy had promised his girls that he would have the trampoline up before school got out. Well, May 13th was their last day and no trampoline! So maybe it will stay up longer this time. The first official day of summer we are back in bouncing business! And this time we did put up the safety net. I thought it might add some weight to the trampoline and make it harder for the wind to blow around. Prayers please that we do not get some gusts before I can find sacks of sand to put on the legs in an attempt to keep it stable.

The girls had a wonderful time while Daddy and his two good friends worked on the trampoline. Gary brought Zia Joy over and to keep the girls busy we played "Dump". That is where I take the toy buckets and "dump" them in the middle of the room. They then try to sort out the toys in different bins and while they are at it, they sort out all the trash and broken toys. All the girls found toys that they hadn't seen in sometime and Zia Joy just found all kinds of wonderful toys to play with.

Field day

2011-05-16T22:17:00.003-05:00

The second to last week of school was very busy with field trips and fun things to do. Field Day is a fun day that the classes get to be outside and compete in games. There were different things for different levels of kids. The classes were divided up with their teachers and would rotate through the different games. Dad and I went to watch. However, keeping up with five kids in their different classes and games became more of an obsticle course for Dad and I. About the time we would arrive at one end of the football field to watch our oldest, the class would move onto something else.

So we did get so see each child during their games and tried to watch, but the wind won after a hour or so and we decided to mosy on home. The girls came home exhausted!!

3rd grade field trip

2011-05-16T21:49:00.006-05:00

I am w-a-y behind on my posts. ZoraLin's class had a field trip the week before school was over. We started out at CiCi's Pizza so the kids could make their own. I was really surprised how well organized these three men were. I guess they do this frequently. One pizza on the table in between two kids. First you start with the dough. Then of course, you have to spread the sauce on. Then the cheese. The next option was pepperoni. ZoraLin and her partner decided that they did not want pepperoni. The pizza guys then came around and picked up the finished pizza to bake them. In the mean time, the kids filled their drinks and in no time the pizza's were being delivered to the tables! It was amazing to me that they actually picked up and delivered the same pizza back to each two kids!! Confusing to me, but they knew the drill. Parents had the option to make our own or eat off the buffet.

Very loud, very busy but surprisingly well organized! Controlled chaos!

Then we were off to Washburn University to see the Planetarium. Very interesting to see the different constellations in the sky. I think I learned more about the stars in this one trip than I had throughout my school years! Our next stop was to be another tour, but somehow it was not arranged as it should have been. It was a beautiful day and we spent time out on the campus soaking up sun. It was a lot of fun and very educational!!

Tessa lost her first tooth!!

2011-05-06T21:38:00.005-05:00

Tessa mentioned a few weeks ago that she had a loose tooth. Like any good parent, I offered to pull it for her. Her sisters highly suggested that she not take me up on my offer. ZoraLin told her the story about how Mom had tied dental floss around one of her loose teeth and then Daddy yanked it out...I mean gently tugged!!

The tooth finally came out at school this week.

We are ready for a road trip!!

2011-05-01T10:25:00.002-05:00

In our new family "truckster" as Daddy calls it! The girls are excited as they have more room than in our old van. Can't wait to travel to Wisconsin this summer!!

It's all about the ears!!

2011-04-26T20:25:00.007-05:00

Kendalan wanted her ears pierced when she was about three years old. I thought that was too young, but she was relentless about asking. So I finally caved. All went well for several years, then she got an infection in the left lobe. We had to take out the earring and keep antibiotic ointment on it. After a week or so, it healed up and life went on. Now several months ago, Kendalan wanted me to put her earrings back in. Well, the left ear lobe has grown shut! So after trying to get an earring in and not being successful I finally told her that she would have to have that lobe pierced again.

Today as we were getting ready to run into town to test drive a new family "truckster". I asked Tessa if she wanted to get her ears pierced? She said "Yes!" So off we went to the Mall where Tessa jumped into the chair and in no time she has pretty rainbow earrings in!! Kendalan was apprehensive about just how bad it was going to hurt. There was more talking and explaining that had to go into the process, but she has new pink earrings now too. RaeAnne is still our hold out...no earrings for her!!

Then we ran over to the HuHot Grill...kids eat for free on Monday nights! The rain was coming down, but the grill was nice and warm and the food delish!!

Then we drove home in our new test drive. The court is still out on if this is going to be the Mommy taxi or not. We had five loud votes from the backseat to "Keep it!" "We like it!" So we will see....

Beautiful day part two...Happy Birthday Kendalan!!

2011-04-25T22:26:00.008-05:00

Not only was it Easter sunday...it was Kendalan's 6th birthday!! She did take cupcakes to school Friday to share with her class. Mom had to work and thus no photos of the party at school. She has been planning her birthday for many months now. Several lists of birthday presents have been written and the restaurant of choice has been very hard to make.

We started out the day doing Easter eggs. Then since it was so beautiful, we decided to give Kendalan one of her presents early so she could enjoy it as the weatherman is predicting a change of weather again! So we brought out the Barbie scooter for her to enjoy. She tried it out in the house around the table a few times and then it was outside!

Then it was time to take the new 6 year old out to eat. She chose Panda Express at the Mall for our date! We took Paige our neighbor along!

The waitresses at the Panda Express are always nice to the girls. Daddy mentioned to the waitress that we were celebrating Kendalan's birthday and they surprised her with a plate of goodies and helped us sing Happy Birthday to her! She of course became very shy and quiet at that time! The waitress had cut the orange peels to look like little Easter bunnies! Kendalan loved that!! And the candles were precious! Kendalan was just a little embarrassed!

Funny thing...Kendalan asked me after they had brought her cake at the restaurant if we could go buy a cake and have it at home too? Little does she know...we have a cake waiting at home for her!! So after we ate, we headed back home.

The girls played outside for a few brief moments and caught Mom bringing the cake in from the garage fridge. So we promptly added the candle and sang to Kendalan again! We also gave her the rest of her presents!

She also brought home a crown from school Friday that her teacher had made for her. I just had to take a picture of her in the crown!!

Happy 6th Birthday Sweetheart! We love you to the Universe and back!!

It's a beautiful day!!

2011-04-25T21:28:00.006-05:00

Easter Morning dawned bright and clear. What a wonderful day! We don't get to use our deck very much because it is so cold in the winter and usually too hot during the summer. Days like these are few and far between so we use them to our advantage when they come along! I bet this was the kind of beautiful day that welcomed Jesus back too!

This morning was perfect to have brunch out. The girls enjoyed the fresh air and I even gave them a beautiful centerpiece to enjoy! Actually, our one and only house plant needed some R&R and a good soaking, so it went out to catch a few rays too!

Then we had work to do!! It was time to color Easter eggs! My bad!! I only hard boiled two dozen eggs...what was I thinking?!? Well, we made do with what we had and used two different kinds of dyeing kits. It was thumbs down for the "Bright and Shiny" kit. First you dye the eggs then wait for them to dry and then after smearing around glue until it was "tacky" then you were supposed to be able to stick a color leaf/shiny stuff to the egg. We were pretty disappointed that all we accomplished was sticky fingers! The other kit was easy and fun, but I obviously didn't have enough eggs to do! So you live and learn and Mom will make a mental note to do many more eggs next year! There were only two casualties of the process. Kendalan dropped two eggs splat on the floor!

Then it was time to eat the eggs! The Easter Bunny had left baskets for the girls and they found them first thing in the morning. We didn't do a "hunt" at our house..we worked hard on the eggs and then even harder peeling and eating them! It was the first time to peel eggs for a couple of the girls and very interesting to watch them try!

Alexis did an updo on our blog!

2011-04-12T22:06:00.003-05:00

This is what the header did look like. I am amazed at how much they have grown!!

It has been quite a while since the photos on the header have been updated. I contacted Alexis at Blog designs by Alexis and sent her our updated photos and she did a great job! Now all seven of us are in the family photo and the girls have their pretty new updated photos on the Header. Alexis does a wonderful job and it just down right amazes me...she is in high school and does this to help raise money to donate to organizations in China to help those left behind. I would highly recommend Alexis if you want any changes done to your blog!!

A view out our door.

2011-04-11T21:41:00.005-05:00

The last couple of days our windows and doors have been open. Not so much because we like fresh air, cuz we do, but because our air conditioner decided that it was just not going to make it through the summer. I guess it is a good thing that it broke down before our summer has officially started. We have had a couple of windy, warm days and one long hot night since the AC passed. After our long, cold winter it has been kind of like saying, "out with the old air and in with the new!"

As the doors have been open I have had more time to stand in front of them and gaze out. We are very blessed to have a nice view. Neighbors far enough away that they can't hear us breathing! A nice mix of critters...far enough away to enjoy and not close enough to smell!

Since it was the weekend...that means the girls have been home from school. Sunday afternoon I hear the familiar sound of the Ice Cream man coming down our street. A couple of the girls were watching TV and the others were downstairs playing Wii. It didn't take long for them to come running when I yelled "The ice cream truck is here!" He had already pulled into the neighbors driveway, so the girls waited patiently in our driveway for him.

Tonight we had a break from the warm weather teaser we have been having. It wasn't enough of one to stop the girls from going out to play after supper. But it did chase them back in to get jackets and put socks and shoes on! It was also cold enough that our windows and doors will be closed tonight.

Play hard, sleep hard

2011-03-24T19:51:00.003-05:00

Our last full day in Branson found us doing a little more shopping. Since the pool was closed, we had five unhappy campers on our hands. After scoring cotton candy at WalM@rt we headed down to the Landing where the critters were properly outfitted!! Then we ended the day at the Crab Shack!!

I guess all the fresh air and exercise walking on the Landing did them in. But then it could have been sugar induced?? It was probably just all the fun we had while on spring break that did them in.

New Shanghai Circus

2011-03-23T19:09:00.005-05:00

After doing a little shopping at the Tanger Outlet Shops in the morning, Monday afternoon we attended the 3pm Acrobats show. Our family went to this two years ago for the Chinese Children's Reunion. They told us that the show is brand new this year. It does have some of the same things that we have seen before. I was disappointed that they have taken the drummers out of the show, but the show was still great!

It was over way too soon and it was time for L. and her family to head back home. We decided that it was time for some home cooking. After a quick stop at the grocery store, we were back at our home away from home and I cooked supper. The girls wanted to go swimming after we ate and were very unhappy that the pool was closed!! What?!?! And it doesn't reopen until we leave Wednesday!! I bet the management could feel the wrath of my angry girls!!

Spring break

2011-03-20T22:16:00.007-05:00

We have been waiting for this since Christmas time. Spring break!! Time for a change of scenery! We packed early Saturday morning, dropped the dog off at the kennel and drove to Branson!

We are not only getting a break, we are getting a chance to see L. and her family! L. was adopted the same day, from the same place Tessa was. We spent a lot of our time in China with L. and her family and we are so excited to get to spend time with them now!

Everyone came over to our digs last night. While the kids became reacquainted, we adults caught up.

Bright and early this morning we headed to Silver Dollar City! (Or as we now fondly think of it "Steal your Dollar City" ouch...it is expensive!!) Our first time there. The kids had a total blast riding the rides. You can tell from the smiles on their faces that the kids were excited!! It was hard to get them to break for lunch! Then we moved on to another area of the park. It was a beautiful day to be there. Sunny, warm almost hot and the perfect weather for enjoying friends and a fun place to be. The kids really enjoyed the rides!

The last couple of rides that we did were water related. It was a good thing too as my face was getting sunburned and I needed some cooling off! Of course, the most popular ride at the park requires the longest waiting time...90 minutes later we were on the boat and away we went! Funny how fast the girls forgot how bored they were in line and all the moaning and groaning about having to wait so long turned into "can we ride that again?"

The day flew by and before we knew it the park was closing. After dinner our family came back to our home away from home and four of the girls decided they needed a bath in the big tub. It was more of a party than a bath!

The major frustration of our trip so far....internet access has been fickle. Who'd of thunk that of all the international travel that we do and here we are in Missouri and I can't upload photos to the blog!! Stay tuned for photos!!!

Always something unexpected!

2011-03-10T20:01:00.003-06:00

It began like any other school day. The bus pulls away from the house and a sudden quiet settles over the house. Then the phone rings....school nurse says that Kendalan is in her office with a low grade temperature. So Daddy picks her up and brings her home. Mom rechecks her temp and now it is one degree higher than the nurse reported. I start with the Mommy interrogation...do you hurt anywhere? Is your throat sore? She admits that her tummy "kind of" hurts. After poking around I narrow the area down to the right lower portion. Then I check her temp again....it is now almost 1 degree higher than it was about 30 minutes ago. I holler at Daddy to have him call the peds nurse. It wasn't long before we had the call.."Take her to the emergency room."

It was a very (very, very!) long wait once we arrived at noon, but at 7:30 p.m. she was wheeled off to the operating table to have her appendix removed.

Even though she was feeling pretty bad at this minute after the IV was started..my girl can still manage a weak smile when the camera comes out!!!

She was checked into her room after 9:30 p.m. Needless to say, Mom did not get much sleep last night! Daddy came in this morning to relieve Mom so she could run home and have a shower....and I thought grab a nap.

Then another call from the nurse...Tessa has a temp!! So off to the school to bring home a very sleepy Tessa, who other than a little fever and her "legs aching" has been okay since she arrived home. Mommy and Tessa did get about a 90 minute nap and off to the hospital we went. We switch...Daddy takes Tessa back home while Mommy stays with Kendalan to bring her home. It is now 8:30 p.m. and all the girls are tucked into their beds.

Just another day at the VanCamp house!!

Daddy gets a free "cat scan" at our house...too bad insurance doesn't pay for this!!

What's going on at our house.

2011-03-08T12:54:00.004-06:00

From the lack of posts here on the blog you would think that we have been watching the dust bunnies multiply and grow. You'd be wrong!

RaeAnne and her Mom have been attending Starbase every Thursday for the past 5 weeks. This week will be their last. I think I have enjoyed it almost as much as Rae! The kids have had a lot of hands on experience while learning about physics, math and how things tick! One week they had fun seeing what would happen if you mix Alka Seltzer and water inside a film cannister. The results were Exploding Fun! We toured the refueling plane and actually got to lay in the tail of the plane where the person lowers the boom to refuel another plane while in the air! And sitting in the captains seat at the front of the plane was not too shabby either. Unfortunately, we did not have photo clearance for the plane :(

They have also learned the importance of safety devices and used "Eggbert" to see how well they could combine their efforts and supplies to protect him on his flight. Only two became scrambled out of seven!

Jordis made a trip to Express Care last week. Diagnosis of tonsilitis and allergic reaction came from that trip. Poor girl didn't suffer much from the tonsilitis, but the allergic reaction was miserable for a few days!

We are getting excited for spring break to be here soon. We will be taking a few days off to Branson and we are really excited to meet up with a family that we met in China and get Tessa and their daughter back together again as they are both from LongGang.

Eight years ago.......

2011-02-23T12:46:00.007-06:00

Thanks to my friend Debby for reminding me that 8 years ago today our lives forever changed!

In the Guangdong Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau office we were handed a nine month old, 21 pound armful of JOY! ZoraLin MeiHe quietly arrived accompanied by her orphanage director and a nanny. She was taking in everything that happened around her and very intently checking out these new people in her life. She didn't utter any noises, didn't fuss, didn't cry, she just took us all in. Her new big sister, RaeAnne YuQi, was very busy playing with the toys and took a brief look at this new addition and ran back to play! Big brother, Nicholas was just smiling and watching. When I handed Zora to her Daddy, that little girl wrapped him around her little finger in one heartbeat!

Now that girl is 8 years old going on 25! If something is missing in the house we turn to ZoraLin as she knows everything that is going on! She has accompanied me twice to China to get new siblings and each time "Mini-mom" Zora has saved the trip with her ability to take over showing her sister how things are done and how things will be in the house of Zora!!

Those that know us are aware that ZoraLin has ADHD and living with her has it's ups and downs. When she is good, she is VERY good and when she is BAD....LOOK OUT! But even when she is BAD we can't help but love her to pieces!

We met ZoraLin 8 years ago and Forever Family Day is tomorrow, but she was ours from the get-go! Even if she is giving me the stink eye we love this girl all the way to the moon and back!!

Busy days

2011-02-20T21:24:00.004-06:00

While I have been slowly regaining my strength...I can now walk all the way up the stairs without stopping halfway to catch my breath! Life has not been standing still at home.

We took big Bro out to celebrate his Forever Family Day a few days early. We had some good food and fun at Red Robin.

This past weekend we went to visit our travelmates and help celebrate their little girl's 3rd Birthday. We had a great time visiting and watching the kids play. Amazing how much these kiddos change and grow in 6 months time!! And it is always fun to have adult conversations!!

Did you get the number of that bus......

2011-02-10T21:55:00.006-06:00

That ran over me?!! Funny how life is just swinging along, singing a song and then BAM! Some thing jumped on board my body and the rest is history!!

I was going about my usual routine. Worked all day Thursday, had Friday off and then back to work Saturday. Other than having some residual headache from quitting my Coca Cola habit cold turkey, I was feeling fine. Sunday the girls were busy playing Wii, Daddy was busy watching football and I decided to take a couple of naps. One long nap in the morning and then another in the afternoon. Dishes were caught up, laundry too. Until Sunday night when I started having the fever and chills and nausea...I had been doing great up until that point! BAM!! By 10:30pm I had a fever of 103.5 and was feeling pretty abused. Daddy kept wanting me to call the ambulance to take me to the hospital and I kept telling him that I would probably be told that I have a 24 hour bug that just needs to run it's course. Fast forward to Monday AM and now my temperature is 104.7 and I am dry heaving. Okay, my doctor tells my husband to take me directly to the ER....no stopping!!

So....now I have a much greater perspective of what it feels like to be a patient with pneumonia! And oh no! I can't just go in for a quick patch me up and sent me home visit. I had to stay there from Monday afternoon till Saturday afternoon!!

Then as much as I was excited to come home and sleep in my own bed....there were things that I missed about the hospital. It just sucks to lay in bed and need something and the only way you are going to get it is get up and get it yourself! Call lights are a very nice thing to have when you are as weak as a kitten!!

However, after the first week and one half home, I am glad to say that I am slowly regaining my strength. I will have to admit that I am a pansy! Two women that I work with both came down with pneumonia and they were working through their pain. Gotta love them, they are much younger than I am and I just did not feel like pushing myself to go back to work before my body was up to it.

So I am slowly trying to build up my stamina and strength to be able to go back to work. I am happy that I can finally make it all the way up the stairs without stopping to catch my breath half way up. This is a major accomplishment!

In the meantime, Tessa had her sedated MRI of her heart. The verdict was: really not anything seen on the MRI that the 3 D echo had not already shown them. So the pediatric cardiologist will visit with her colleges and let us know what their recommendations are. Tessa continues to do absolutely amazing! Her weak spot is reading, but I can't imagine what it would be like to learn one language and then all of a sudden switch to a completely different one!

She also had a dentist appointment last week. Two cavities! Today she went in and had them filled and she did great! They used the nitrous oxide on her and it put her right to sleep! She wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot for me the other day. She kept running around to different areas in the living room and would demand, "Taka picture Mom!" So I obliged! She is just cute as a button!!

I love the one where Oreo's tail is in her face!! Funny how much she loves the critters in our house now. Not too long ago she was petrified of them....now she can't get enough of them!!

Snow days revisited!

2011-01-19T19:36:00.004-06:00

Just received the call from our school district...no school tomorrow. I heard a whoop and holler from the basement...guess the girls know! The girls helped me make brownies the last time we had snow days. Then to burn off the calories from the brownies they showed me how to play on the Wii. No photos of it, but Mom showed them she knows a few dance steps!

And yes, they licked the bowls!

Little cheerleaders!

2011-01-18T22:59:00.005-06:00

Last year ZoraLin wanted to do the mini cheer camp put on by our school district's high school cheerleaders. This year was no different and she convinced all her sisters to do it too. Well, except that RaeAnne decided that she was too "old" to do it. Even though they only practiced two nights for an hour each night, the girls did a great job during the half-time of the boys varsity game Friday night.

However, I did discover that there are hazards to going to a basketball game infrequently. First be very careful when you have a husband taking blood thinners. Don't let them try to climb to the highest point of the bleachers. RaeAnne and I were still standing by the entrance to the gym looking for the ideal spot to sit during the performance. I spotted the place I thought looked like would work, then turned to tell my dear hubby and he was already gone. I moved on around the corner to see where he went and found that he had taken a tumble on the bleachers! Seems he went to step up and lost his balance and down he went. I won't bless this blog with photos of his incredible bruise, but will just tell you that it is impressive!

And when you have four girls doing the cheers...it is always hard to be in the right place to catch the best photo ops! So make friends with the other Mom's so you can share photos!!

Snow days!!

2011-01-11T15:04:00.004-06:00

When I was a kid, there was nothing sweeter to my ears than "School has been called off due to snow!" Well, that has been the case here for the last two days. We knew that could be a possibility when we went to bed Sunday night. Daddy was up early Monday watching the school closings on the news and had just told me the good news when our school district telephone notification system rang our house and Daddy's cell phone at the same time to let us know the news too. That woke the whole house up and the girls were thrilled!

Tessa is from the southern part of China and had never really seen snow before. Her sisters couldn't wait to get her out and show her how to sled!

Then at supper time last night we received the news that school was called off for another day! Mom and Dad actually kept that little bit of info quiet until just before bedtime. They actually were able to go to sleep! This morning they couldn't wait to go back outside and sled some more. And they were more than a little upset at Mom when she bundled them up extra carefully as the temperature was 11 degrees and the wind chill was a negative something!

Tessa has decided that she likes sledding...she just doesn't like to do it in the snow!! Here's the girls enjoying hot chocolate and marshmallow's after sledding!

This and that

2010-12-30T21:31:00.006-06:00

I think it is an old wives tale or something about "Busy is as busy does." Well, we have been busy! December gives Mom a double whammy for birthdays. RaeAnne's is four days before Christmas and Daddy's is four days after! Trying not to roll Birthday's and Christmas into the same gifts is sometimes tough....and expensive! RaeAnne was pretty easy...she has been wanting and upgrade to a DSi for a l-o-n-g time. Daddy was harder. (Why is it the older we get sometimes the things that we want have so many zeros behind them?)

So the day before Daddy's birthday, the Geek Squad arrived bearing gifts and had work to do. We have had a projection TV for over 9 years now. It still works great, but the thing is a monstrosity! So Daddy has a new controller and a 46 inch flat screen LCD TV. Mom is the lucky one as it is mounted on the wall and takes up so much less space! And the girls...well they scored too, because their Bubby "loaned" them his Wii and their Aunt and Uncle gave them a Wii fit....wow! We have a real "play" room in the basement!

Jordis had an appointment in Kansas City at Children's Mercy Hospital today. All the girls went along for the ride and posed with the statue children in front of the hospital.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!!!

2010-12-27T19:18:00.002-06:00

From our five lovely princesses!!

RaeAnne is 11 years old!!

2010-12-21T20:44:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday RaeAnne! Still not a teen, but with just enough attitude to get herself in trouble sometimes! As is our tradition, it was her choice for dinner tonight. Red Robin was the pick and afterwards we celebrated with cake and her present at home. I think she liked the present!

We love you all the way to the moon and back!! XOXO!!

School program X's two

2010-12-21T11:42:00.006-06:00

On December 15th we headed out to eat an early supper in town so we could then go to Kendalan's school music program. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature! We literally slid out of the restaurant! It then took us 45 minutes to drive home on the extremely icy roads. Half way home we decided that trying to drive to the school for a program was a risk that we didn't feel like taking! We arrived home, cautiously tip-toed into the house and found a message on the phone from the school that the program was postponed!

So last night they combined the Kindergarten and 1st grade programs into one night of entertainment. Kendalan's program was first. Our normally outgoing girl wasn't too excited about singing in the program, but she did a great job. The music teacher gave them an opportunity to wave and "smile" at family and friends. Our girl gave us the "grinch" look!?!

Next up was Tessa's program. She also had a case of "stage fright" and was hiding behind another classmate when walking in and on to the stage. She did a wonderful job singing and doing all the motions with the songs and she actually would sneak a peek at us from time to time to see if we were watching her!

Tessa is so excited for her hair to grow long that she will not let me trim her bangs right now. She will wet down her hair and and put clips or a headband on at times, but last night I guess she wanted to "hide" under her bangs!

Personally I think we had the two most beautiful girls there!!

Many Blessings & Christmas is in the air!!

2010-12-15T20:09:00.006-06:00

We have been on the run this month! School projects, programs, tumbling, dancing, cold..you name it we have been doing it! Right after Thanksgiving we had a water leak in our basement. Poor Zora has been displaced from her bedroom ever since. Today we finally put the baseboards back on and tomorrow we will have the furniture moved back where it belongs! There is still a hold in the wall in Zora's room, but we want to make sure that the water issue is gone before we have the hole patched. Sounds kind of crazy, but since it is too cold to use the outside faucet where we think the water came from...we want to wait until we can test it out. Hopefully, this will prevent us from having to have the wall tore down for a third time!

Because of all the water in our basement, it was going to be an adventure to get our big Christmas tree out of storage. Plus, part of the lights on it had quit working last year. So I brought out our little fiber optic tree. The lights are so much prettier on it anyway!

Zora had a project for school to decorate a paper Christmas tree. We came up with a few objects to use and I think it turned out pretty cute!

Tessa will be having a sedated MRI of her heart in January. Once they have that report, her pediatric cardiologist and her team will decide if she needs open heart surgery to repair the aneurysm that was discovered. It is really hard to look at her and think that she has a potential time bomb in her chest that could be ruptured at any time. She has been doing absolutely Fantastic! She is learning so much English that it is hard to believe that she has only been with us since August! The only area she has problems in is reading and she is doing pretty good with that too. As for having another in the house, she has fit in so well, it is almost like she has always been here!

Our "Elf on a Shelf" came to live with us on December 5th. Everyone had a suggestion for his name, we decided to put all the names in a bowl and then His name was drawn randomly. So Dasher has been taking information back to the North Pole and Santa Claus each evening and then reappearing in our house. The girls actually look forward to getting up to see where Dasher is sitting each day. The count down to Christmas is coming soon. Everyone is excited to see what Santa brings.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

What happened to November???

2010-11-30T22:38:00.009-06:00

I had to put the Thanksgiving crafts up that the girls had brought home from school. Aren't they cute? They did such a great job and they really look good on my kitchen walls!!

The last four weeks have just flown by. RaeAnne had her best friend from Lindsborg down over the Thanksgiving vacation. They have been BFF's since starting Kindergarten together. We try to get them together at least a couple of times a year. However with our trip to China this year, it kind of threw us off track. So Hollie was here Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving week. As it was a spur of the moment decision, we really didn't have anything planned other than she would be here. Next time we will have to plan things better so that the girls can do something fun together besides just having a sleep-over.

The girls put on a "show" for us one evening. There was a $0.25 fee to watch the program :) Mom, Dad and the little sisters had to pay to see the performance! The girls did a couple of skits that they had planned themselves. Used the drum set to do drum rolls and we even had a flashlight spotlight! I don't think that they will be taking this show on the road soon until they have streamlined it a bit. But they had a great time performing for us!

I emailed Tessa's orphanage about a week ago. Another family had emailed after the returned home and asked for any baby photos of their child. They were surprised to receive back photos! So I decided to try too. Imagine our surprised to receive two photos of Tessa on the day that she was admitted to the orphanage!! These photos are priceless to us. She looks so frightened and almost shell shocked. I can't imagine what was going on in her little head.

This week Tessa had her appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. We were really impressed by the doctor and she ordered an echo cardiogram of Tessa's heart. After the echo we went back to speak to the physician. We were really not sure what kind of heart defect that Tessa had repaired in China. We thought it was some kind of fistula, but everyone here who has listened to her heart assured us that it did not sound like she has a murmur. We were shocked to find that she has an aneurysm of the valve that the blood travels through into the aorta. The doctor thinks that Tessa may have had two holes in her heart. One looks to have been patched during the surgery she had when she was four. However, they said it was hard to tell, but it looked like she had another hole that either they fixed or it healed on it's own. But because of the hole it looks like the valve in the aorta has ballooned out possibly from the pressure of blood moving through the hole. What ever the reason, she will have to have this aneurysm corrected soon before it bursts. The Dr. told us to make sure that Tessa does not wrestle with her sisters or play any kind of contact sports where she could get hit hard in the chest as that could also rupture the aneurysm. She plans to do the surgery late in December. We are just doing a wait and see right now until she can visit with her surgery staff.

And, last but not least, the girls visited with Santa tonight! RaeAnne and ZoraLin each had their list to give to Santa. The Santa is very good with the kids about making sure to find out that they want! I just hope that Santa has a very big sled to haul all the things on their lists!

Thanksgiving.....

2010-11-23T22:19:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving has always just been a regularly scheduled holiday for me. When I was real young, it was held at my maternal Grandpa and Grandma's house which was right across the street from our house. My Mom and I would go over early to help cook. Actually I went to keep Grandpa occupied playing checkers, my Dad would come in later after doing his chores and catch up on his TV time and my Mom would help her mother in the kitchen. Every few years my Mother's sister, her husband and their son would travel to Kansas from California for Thanksgiving. My half brother and his wife would come, always showing up late. We would gather around the table, eat until we were stuffed, then the women would clean up the kitchen and dining room while the rest of us plopped into chairs to watch TV and maybe catch a few zzzzz's. Then around 7 pm we would heat everything back up and stuff ourselves again. Eat, rest and repeat!

Most of those folks are gone now. Thanksgiving is now my responsibility to cook. It has just been a given that I would cook turkey with all the trimmings if I didn't have to work that day. I really never gave it a second thought about the meaning of Thanksgiving. It's a holiday....right?

No this year I look around and see all the people I am thankful for. I think of the family members who are no longer gracing our table and I am sad that my children do not get the chance to meet them. But I am thankful that our beautiful children ARE sitting here at home at our table. I can't imagine our lives without each and everyone of them here with us. I have so much to be thankful for. I will cook, clean, eat and be merry....but most of all, I will be Thankful for the very special life we have.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!

Don't forget!!!

2010-11-08T21:38:00.005-06:00

We are a Hip Mom Jewelry family for the month of November!! Please check out the Hip Mom Jewelry and click on Adoption. This link will take you to the page of beautiful necklaces that any Mom would treasure. Remember that we will get 30% of each necklace's sale for the month of November if you add VAN1110 when you check out.

Just follow this link: Hip Mom Jewelry and don't forget to put in VAN1110 when you check out. It's a win-win situation for all of us!

The holidays are coming up. These necklaces would be wonderful gifts for those who have adopted or who are waiting to adopt! This is the perfect time of year to purchase these!! Also tell your husband, boyfriend, and or your significant others about these cool necklaces!! Put them on your wish list for Valentine's Day or any upcoming celebration. Don't forget that November is National Adoption Awareness Month!! Proudly wear your Hip Mom Jewelry to show that you care about orphans!

And after you place your order for Hip Mom Jewelry...check out this link for 30 Days of Giveaways!!

Ni Hao Y'all

November weather

2010-11-08T21:12:00.004-06:00

We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It is November in Kansas and we have yet to have freezing temperatures for more than a few hours over night! It is not supposed to be in the 70's in November! I just drug the winter coats out of the closet a few days ago. The girls wore them to school and then drug them on the ground to the house from the bus!

So Sunday to enjoy the weather we drove around Shawnee Lake and stopped for the girls to run some energy off on the playground. It was a little windy, but we can handle a little wind. The girls discovered an Acorn tree and were very busy breaking open the acorns for the squirrels...until I told them that the squirrels probably prefer their acorns uncracked! So then they started lining up the acorns in a row. Seems they thought that maybe they could lure the squirrels to "follow" their trail. For what I don't know, but they thought it was a wonderful idea.
I wanted them to swing, climb, slide and run some energy off.

Hope the squirrels appreciated all their hard work!!

We have been Selected!!!!

2010-10-31T22:21:00.004-05:00

For those of you who have adopted before, you know how expensive it is! We look for any way that we can cut corners to save money that can be put aside for our adoption fund. Many families are forced to take out second, or third, mortgage's to pay for fees or travel related to their adoption.

It is very hard to step out of my box and ask for help. But this is a win-win situation for all involved. Our family has been chosen as a family for the month of November to work with Hip Mom Adoption jewelry.

Start your Christmas shopping early this year! It always feels great to be on top of the holiday shopping. And every item that you purchase from the Adoption Page of the site earns us 30% of that sale!!

So share this with family and friends, send the link to your boyfriend or husband telling him which necklace you would like to have. Direct him to this link Adoption necklaces and don't forget to add our family code when you check out. Our family code is VAN1110

Thanks for helping us. Every little bit helps!

Harvest/Halloween time party

2010-10-31T21:18:00.007-05:00

The girls had Halloween parties at school on Thursday. Each came home with a huge bag of candy and goodies and of course, big smiles on their faces! We had a Harvest Party to go to on Saturday. The girls were full of questions. "What is a Harvest Party?" "What are we going to do there?" "When are we going?" "Is it time to go yet?"

Once we arrived at our friend's house all they could think of doing was playing with their friend! I needed a few photos of our whole family together for our post-placement reports coming up. Sophie was great in helping us get that task accomplished. Once the rest of the guests arrived we were off on a hay rack ride! What a beautiful day for one!

After the hayrack ride we arrived back at our friend's house and we had a bonfire! We roasted hot dogs over the fire and enjoyed hot cocoa that was warmed by the fire and for the crowning touch, we made smores! The girls really enjoyed the campfire, roasting their own hot dogs and especially making smores!

The girls also each picked out a Halloween tattoo to have on their faces. It couldn't have been a nicer day for a campfire and party and we all enjoyed it very much!!

A new cat at our house!

2010-10-26T15:33:00.006-05:00

RaeAnne was supposed to wear a mask to school today for the school's against drugs week. Because drugs "Mask who you really are!" As a person who knows, it is very hard to wear a mask when you also wear glasses. We made a quick trip into town last night to see if we could find a mask that would work for her. The only thing that we could find was "Iron Man" masks or gory Halloween masks. Well I came up with a plan. Here is what she went to school today as!!

I quickly did a search on the internet last night after the girls had gone to bed to see what I could find about how to paint a tiger face on a child. Then we all overslept this morning so we had to rush around. I think her face came out pretty cute for our first time and not having the right colors to use. In fact, the reaction that our cat had to her face was amazing!

This is our cat looking at RaeAnne's "cat" face

And this is his reaction!!!

So guess who the biggest cat is in our house now!