Kitties, Ferrets, Snakes, and Alligators!

Last Friday we went to the school Aunt Tammie teaches at to see lots of interesting animals. This was an opportunity for kids to learn about different animals and which ones make good pets. We learned that snakes, turtles and alligators are really cute when they are little, but they grow REALLY big and hard to take care of. Of course the bigger the uglier, the more Amelia liked them! The only thing that scared her, the turtle...because when she touched its leg it hid in its shell.

Speed Racer!

When we stayed with my sister and her family a few weeks ago Amelia got to go to her cousin Hannah's Cross Country meet. The first time I went to one I quickly realized that it was NOT a spectator sport...Amelia however quickly realized that Cross Country is the perfect sport for her! Amelia is a SUPER fast runner...if she could remain on two feet, I'm certain she would win an Olympic Gold medal for distance running in 2013:) Needless to say Amelia had a BLAST trying to keep up with Hannah and her team.

School Photos

Amelia's school pictures came in yesterday and they are SO much better than last year! Of course I don't need a single photo - but I will be keeping her class photo:) Love her little smile!

Tis the Season!

When Black Friday nears I start to get tears...of joy that is! I HATE mornings, but on this one glorious morning of the year I love to get up in the middle of the night - look out the back window of the ambient light coming off the Wal-Mart store, grab a HUGE soda, jump in my car and go!

Black Friday is a team sport in my family. We spend Thanksgiving strategizing who needs what and where - then we plan our attack. Rarely do we miss the deal we are after; with cell phones and lists we are unconquerable!

The last few years I haven't been after any deal in particular for myself, but just the RUSH of getting the bargain...even if it is for someone else is enough to get me up at the earliest of hours.

Stefanie at Ni Hao Y'all is hosting a sharing of Christmas gift ideas - so I thought I would share some of my favorites that are really appropriate for Girls of All Ages!

Personalized Note cards and Address Labels - you can even add a photo for an extra special gift!

Custom Character Necklaces, I received one of these last year with Amelia's Chinese name. I loved it so much I ordered another to save for her when she gets older. The best part is the proceeds benefit the children who remain at her orphanage.

Personalized Tote Bags from Lands' End I can't begin to explain how much I LOVE these bags. I have at least 4 of them in various sizes and have given them and received them as gifts several times. They make great school bags, swim bags, grocery bags, overnight bags...They last forever! Amelia loves having a bag that has her name on it:) Just be careful if you do initials...some people's spell funny things; I still love my "SAG bag" though.

Happy Halloween

Amelia had a blast on Halloween as ALWAYS. After Chinese school she went and played with her cousin Katie while I did homework. I hear Katie did an excellent job taking care of her.
I ran over and got her beautiful Belle dress on her and after a few photos with Katie and Jordan we headed over to Grandma's for the traditional chili and pumpkin bars. We of course took even more photos at Grandma's because, well the light was better. I think the boys were about ready to explode they wanted to go trick or treating SO bad and we were trying to pose them...pretty funny! Then we walked down Grandma's street to trick or treat at the neighbor's who have lived there forever! Mom's been in the same house nearly 50 years, and so have some of the neighbors. Once Amelia saw that people's porch lights were on she started running and didn't stop the rest of the night! After we left Grandma's we headed back to our house where Amelia and Katie went to a couple houses while they waited for the boys to get there. It was then that Amelia decided her Belle dress was just TOO hard to run in. We went up to her dress up drawer, off came the Belle dress and on went a pink tutu and pink wings and she became a fairy. Then off she flittered with Uncle Mike, Aunt Tammie, Jordan, Katie and Jordan's friend Noah.
Tammie brought her back about 2 hours later like this... The boys had gotten hungry, so they went to McDonald's. Tammie said she went up to the counter and said, "I'll have french fries and chocolate milk." Then she saw there were Little Ponies in the Happy Meals, so she said to the guy, "I guess I'm going to need a Happy Meal." That's MY girl!! About half way through her fries she looked at Tammie and said, "T.T. I can't keep my eyes open any longer, and then she passed out." Too much fun for one day!
Tammie filled me in on all the trick or treating escapades. My favorite was Amelia going up to a house where the guy had a mask on. Amelia went up to him and said, "That's too scary!" so the guy took the mask off. Then she got her candy, and said to him as she left, "Maybe next year I will be braver when I come to your house."

Halloween at School

Amelia was so excited that I took my camera into school Friday morning...can't you tell? Seriously, she was the only one who wouldn't smile for me. She did have a great time at the party though! Amelia did get a little mad at me for talking a little too much about how cute Super Girl's costume was, but come on - how cute is that? And she's NOT a princess!!

 

I took photos of the boys too, but lets just say I told them to scoot together and they had rather LARGE personal space needs:) The teachers asked if I wanted to stay to help with the party because well, I think I may have been having a bit too much fun, but I left them to fend for themselves and headed off to work...leaving behind the children I had just seriously wound up...OOPS!

Favorite Adoption Photos

Grown In My Heart is hosting a "Carnival" featuring Photos of Adoption. What are your most treasured adoption photos?
The moment I met Chun Hua Xi I was so nervous that morning. The thoughts in my head; "What was I thinking? Traveling around the world to become a mom? Was I ready?" Then I held her and I knew it was right.The moment Amelia Hua Xi met her Papa My dad was very sick when I decided to adopt; we almost lost him while I was in the process. He said he was going to live to meet his new grandchild...and he did! He even got to celebrate two birthdays with Amelia. Every time Amelia does something REALLY naughty/funny I think of Papa looking down at us and laughing.Sibling Rivalry When Amelia came home; our dog Jack was horribly jealous of her. After I would feed Amelia, I would take her out of the high chair and take the tray out to the kitchen to clean off - and then I would come back to find Jack...sitting IN the high chair. Jack would jump on the chair - onto the table and into the chair...As if to get back at Jack, Amelia LOVED to crawl into her kennel - SAM's kennel was right next to it, but Amelia only ever got in Jack's. I love these photos because they remind me how much and how quickly my life changed after Amelia came home. Amelia's First Birthday Amelia turned 1 - about 3 months after we met. I was SO incredibly happy that I didn't realize how traumatized she was...how much bonding we still had to do. It wasn't until a year later that I was looking at the photos from her birthday party that I recognized the joy on my face contrasting with the distant look in her eyes. It wasn't the same blank stare from her referral photos, but it wasn't too terribly different. It sometimes helps to remember how much changed for AMELIA the day I became her mom.

Guess What Amelia Learned to Draw?

I have NO artistic ability - seriously...not even a stick figure. Amelia on the other had LOVES to draw and craft and I'm continually impressed. I asked her if she drew all of these, "YES!" I then asked her who showed her how; to which she replied, "I just figured it out!"
"Butterfly"

Pumpkin Farm

It took me 3 hours to coax Amelia out of bed this morning, she thought it would be a good day to stay in bed watching movies and playing on the computer. It was a cloudy day, but 60+ degrees and DRY and I was not going to let it pass by without some fresh air after a week of rain. Amelia and I headed out to the Pumpkin Farm and had a wonderful afternoon.
Of course Amelia HAD to wear a dress and a perfect one had arrived in a package earlier this week - she also had to wear sparkle shoes - note the words RAIN and FARM in the paragraph above...it was MUDDY! Like it or not, she WILL be wearing boots next time.After walking around for quite some time checking out all the fun cut outs, and avoiding anything that was too "scary." Amelia helped me pick out some gourds and corn to decorate the house. I'm not sure if she didn't like the corn husks on her face or the smell emanating from the chicken coop but Amelia's expression is priceless!Next it was the quest for the "Perfect Pumpkin" I'm not certain what this pumpkin was supposed to look like, but we looked at EVERY pumpkin there - including the tractor full that just came out of the field. It was in that pile that we found Amelia's perfect pumpkin...see it there behind her in the wagon...Next it was on to investigate the source of the wonderful smells throughout the Pumpkin Farm - no Pumpkin Bread here - this is a working farm...cows, chickens and even a few pigs, ducks and a miniature horse. I've been on a lot of farms in my life, but I've NEVER seen anything like that mama pig eating those pumpkins! Seriously she could eat the guts out of a pumpkin in about a minute flat. The kids were loving it!
Finally we explored the "Hay Maze" there were hay bales set up to form a maze and the kids could run through them; however as Amelia soon discovered running across the top was MUCH more fun. It also made for some wonderful photos. The corn maze (which we didn't make it into) was just behind her, so it looks like Amelia is standing in hay, right in front of a corn field. Someday I'll figure out how to take photos like her, but considering the hazy day with the sun behind her, I was pretty happy with these. I think Amelia could have run here for hours, but the Pumpkin Farm was closing so it was time to head home. We got in the car and before we were on the road it was raining, we certainly timed our trip right.
What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon together!

Mail Call!

Sometimes getting a package is a lot of work...good thing the fashions involved were SO worth the effort!