Christmas Time activities

It's been a very busy week with lots of Christmas activities thrown in. We enjoyed our annual Christmas party at Jessica's house with the families of international adoption. Luke was the first to sit on Santa's lap with a list of wishes, mostly centered around "Spiderman."
On Wednesday we left for Chicago. We stayed at the Fairmont hotel which is only a 5 minute drive to Navy Pier, a wonderland for kids to play in. While John attended his music conference I took the kids over to Navy Pier. We played most of the day in the special winter wonderland area. The kids went on rides and jumped on inflatables until they could move no more. John joined us in the afternoon to help me get the kids back to the hotel. Later that evening we took the kids to the Rainforest Cafe, a real experience in jungle life for the kids. Chicago was in the middle of a snow storm so there were few diners out and Lily had the best time with our waiter Chip. By the time all as done Chip had convinced them that the animals were all real and he was the one who built the place and collected the animals. Lily is still talking about him.
The next day we woke to snow! We took our time getting ready to check out while the street crews of Chicago worked their magic making the snow disappear off the streets. We were able to meet our friends the Morales out on Navy Pier to take in the Children's museum. We traveled with the Morales on our trip to China in March. They were picking up their new son, Tonito while we were picking up Luke. Lily and their daughter Vivi became fast friends in China so it was great to all get together again for a visit. The kids loved the museum especially skating in their socks. We all ate lunch at the McDonalds and then had to part company as we traveled on to Wisconsin.
The roads were clear but the snow kept getting deeper as we headed North to visit our friends the Binzels. They live on acreage and the road and driveway go back about 1/2 miles from the road, but no fear, it was plowed and ready for our arrival. Lily and their daughter, Leah are from Fuling and we traveled together in 2005 to pick up our daughters. The kids started in playing right away and Luke felt a little like the odd man out (being the only boy in a princess world) but soon they were all playing together. Susan made some wonderful pizza with homemade bread dough crust and we quickly ate two pizzas (and drank a bit of wine) It was so cozy with the deep snow outside and all of us warm inside. All too soon it ended as we had to leave the next morning for home.
The weather was kind to us as we made our way back to Missouri. The snow disappeared but the cold weather followed us.
We are home for two days before packing up and heading out to North Carolina to spend Christmas with John's family. Thank goodness for DVD players in the car and mini vans, it makes the long trips bearable.



Luke discusses Christmas with Santa

Ring those bells (with the church choir)

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Happy Siblings


Choo choo express

Luke and Lily pose

Sock skating

Lily and Vivi

three pretty butterflies

Antonio, Maya and Becky

New Pictures!

Holiday with attitude

Star poses

Pierced ear

Silver dollar city fun

Just monkeying around at the Wichita zoo

Visiting friend Maddie in St. Louis

Gymnastic beauties

Living statue

Another month has just seemed to zip by, Halloween was only yesterday wasn't it? In November Lily participated in her first gymnastics meet. Levels 1-3 compete on the uneven bars,the balance beam, do a running spring board jump and a floor routine. This is the beginner level and they vary in age from 4 (I think Lily was probably the youngest) up to around 8. Lily performed every event and I was very proud of her. She got a ribbon for each event. She told me after the event that she wanted to be a really good gymnast when she grew up. I told her it would take a lot of dedication and practise on her part but if it what she enjoys that it fine with me.

This month we had both kids tested for possible kidney stones due to the melamine issue in milk in China. Some doctors are just doing a urine test but our pediatrician recommended an ultrasound with blood work and urinalysis. The tests all came back fine. I was more worried about Luke since he spent so much more time in China and it appears this has been going on for several years.
We also had Luke's hair tested. They cut a bit of hair and have it analysed for minerals and heavy metals. I just got the results this week and it is very interesting reading. Of course they are recommending some daily supplements to help get his ratios balanced out. They also recommended cutting all sugar out of his diet. Ok, that would be a difficult one because I'm not in favor of giving artificial sweeteners to kids. We try to serve healthy food, but come on, all sugar? It's in just about everything. They also said no fruit or fruit juices. As far as I can tell that leave meat and brussel sprouts.

Last week Lily woke up and announced that she was ready to get her ears pierced. I had told her that I would take her when she was ready but that was going to be up to her. We had not discussed it in a long time but all of a sudden she was ready. We went to the mall and there was a teenage girl getting her ears pierced so Lily had the chance to watch the whole operation and ask about a gillion questions. She picked out her own earrings and got up in the chair. They pierced both ears at the same time and she just sat there, never made any expression and said it didn't hurt a bit. She had a crowd of children and adults watching and I think they were all waiting for her to cry but she disappointed them. One ear did hurt for the next few days when I cleaned it but that has cleared up now and she is doing fine with it. I'll try to get a picture to post of those sparkling ears.

We spent Thanksgiving at home. We had two Chinese professors over for dinner as well as a translator. I cooked a huge bird (22#) and now we have enough leftover for several meals. I brined the turkey for a day before cooking it and it really turned out well. I figured it is a health thing for the kids so I can always freeze some of it for later use when we can't face another meal with turkey.
We are going down to my parents this weekend. My sister Sue and her son Chris and his wife will be there also. We are staying at a nearby hotel with an indoor pool so Luke and Lily can show Grandma and Grandpa how well they can swim. My parent's health continues to decline and my Dad is now on O2 24 hours a day. Mom's Alzheimer's continues to progress and it is difficult for Dad to take care of her. Dad is very stubborn and refuses to leave their house until it is absolutely necessary but that time is coming and with all of us scattered around the country (ok, just MO, KS, and Wis) they don't know where to go. They will probably settle on Wichita because they do not want to go where it is cold and with the kids and my work I'm too busy to be of much help. It's just hard to see them in this situation. Our kids will not get to experience the joys of hanging out with their grandparents. That is what happens when you are in your mid-40s and decide to adopt young ones!

Lily and Mung Lei

Luke and Sun Li

Snow White

Spiderman

The scream (John) and Sun Li's husband, Zhang Xudong

Trick or Treating at Sue White's house

Front porch cuties

October 31, 2008-Happy Halloween

So much excitement in the air as the kids got their costumes on and Mommy applied the finishing touches. Luke took on the attitude of superhero in his Spiderman costume and Lily the everlasting princess as Snow White. We first took on the neighborhood making the rounds. Just seven houses later the kids bags were full. We do not get many trick or treaters on our street so they really load up on the ones they get. John had promised the Chinese professors that we would bring the kids over. Although this was a "foreign" holiday for them, Sun Li and Mung Lei really got into the "spirit" of things. John had helped Mung Lei carve a pumpkin earlier in the week so their porch was appropriately decorated. The kids enjoyed performing their repertoire of Chinese songs for the group of professors and translators and many photos were taken (mostly by the Chinese). The kids helped themselves to more candy. Meanwhile, a few teenage trick or treaters showed up. Imagine their surprise when they were invited into the house by Mung Lei and were not allowed to leave until everyone had their picture taken with them. Such a novelty. The group had made a batch of dumplings for dinner so John and I got to enjoy some "real" Chinese food for a change. This morning the first thing Luke asked was, "can I have candy?" and then, "can we go trick or treating?" He caught on to an American tradition quite quickly.

MSU homecoming game

Luke gets an MSU Bear-Grrrrrr!

Luke enjoys the slide at the tailgate party

Lily gets a butterfly on both cheeks

Lily and translater MSU student Kay

The Luke, Daddy and Lily tower

Lily captures the MSU football game on my digital camera (she is a budding photographer)

Last weekend we took the kids to the MSU football homecoming game. The Chinese professors, Sun Li and Mung Lei came with us as well as several of the students who have served as translators. There was a hugh tailgate party across the street and the college of arts and letters had a tent with all the free food you wanted. There were also fancy pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate tied with a bow and a "diamond" ring advertising for a local catering company. By the time we walked over to the game Lily had collected over 10 of those precious stones for her ring collection. She is my bling bling girl. They had face painting for the kids, inflatables and a duck pond. We watched half of the game and then were treated to the MSU band playing at half time. Our family really isn't into football but we love the band performances at half-time.

Luke is making progress every day. He has had a hard time identifying colors but just this week got 9/9 during our color game. He is always so happy when he has success. His speech is improving and he is certainly talking for himself these days, no more stereo affect while he imitates Lily, he is his own person! I watch him at preschool concentrating so hard on a project whether it is cutting with scissors or painting, he has calmed down and focuses much better. We had his eyes checked by a specialist in Joplin who does vision therapy. He said Luke's eyes were very healthy but he is slightly far-sighted. He didn't feel it was a problem at this point in his life but we will check him again in 6 month. I also want to have his speech checked and MSU has a wonderful department for this and it is right across the street from his preschool. At times his speech is crystal clear and at other times he is rambling on and on telling a story and I cannot make heads or tails out of it. He is still my sweet wonderful boy and we have grown very close, I cannot imagine our family without Luke. He lights up like a Christmas tree when he sees me or John when we pick him up but at the same time he loves school and playing with the kids. He is very social. When we are in a situation with kids we don't know Luke is the first to jump right in and interact with them. It has been delightful to watch the changes in his personality.

Urumqi reunion

Back of the house

View of the river from top deck

Lily and puppy Copper

Hot tub "swimming"

Munching on pinata candy

Vivi and Lily with Copper(no animals were harmed in the taking of this picture)

brother and sister love: Vivi and Tonito

Breakfast for a crowd

Drew and Luke horse around

We were able to get together with two of the families we traveled with to Urumqi China back in March this weekend. Both families also adopted boys, one younger than Luke and one older. It was a treat to see them together again. We missed not having Steve and Dianna with us but did discuss a group trip to Disney World (in their neck of the woods) sometime in the future.

Kimber's family owns a vacation home on the current river outside of Doniphan Missouri. Nicer than most people's everyday home, we were able to relax and watch the kids "swim" in the hot tub, take a boat ride on the river, eat wonderful food, whack at a pinata and just relax and get caught up on our kid's progress since leaving China. It has only been just shy of 6 months and already the transformation in each child is amazing. In all we had up to 8 kids running around and 10 adults running after them and no one ended up fighting (kids, or adults) we had a few minor injuries but considering we let them roast marshmallows with sharp sticks next to a swirling river in the dark of night, I think we did very well. Kimber's Mom and Dad joined us on Saturday along with another family that are friends of Kimber and Scott. It was so nice to see Philip and Patsy again as they traveled with the group to China as well to meet their new grandson Drew.

Soon after the kids got reacquainted with each other, the girls (Lily and Vivi) paired up to play with the puppy and the three boys did what boys like to do (chase each other and act like Kung Fu Panda) The kids all started Friday night in sleeping bags on the floor but by morning, Tonito was the only one left. Lily joined John and I almost immediately and Luke came sometime in the night. It was a good thing we were in a king sized bed.

Kim and Scott outdid themselves hosting the group and I know that although Kim would say, "it was no trouble at all" it was clear that she had spent a bit of time preparing food and making sure all would be comfortable.

We hope to visit Becky and Antonio again in December in Chicago and am trying to convince the Miller's to come over for the weekend to attend our big Chinese New Years party.

Enjoy the pictures!

Three Fulingers

We attended the annual Moon festival in Chesterfield park on Sunday. Unfortunately the weather was cold and very windy. We held our ground and ate our potluck and moon cakes and the kids had a great time running around the park and hardly complained at all about the chilly conditions. The kids all huddled together on the South side of the pavilion while Linda Sun told the story behind the Moon festival. My two decided to leave the story scene and play on the swings. Hope, Lily and Jada are all from the same orphanage in Fuling China and so there is a special bond there. I think there have been around 1200 adoptions from that particular orphanage since 2001 and we happen to have been lucky enough to have all traveled there, but not at the same time. I think the bond is more special to us parents at this point, but as the girls grow, they will come to realize what a small world it really is.

Chris and Lindsey Wedding

Ok, it has been a long time between postings. I have some new photos I wish to share of my nephew's wedding this past weekend. Lily was the flower girl. We headed for Wichita on Friday and made it just in time for the rehearsal. Lily did not cooperate at the rehearsal. The fact that she was supposed to walk down the aisle with a boy threw her off guard. I think it was the fact that she had to share the spot light with a boy. She promised to perform when the time came and she lived up to her word. She did not have the happiest expression on her face, but she did her part and stood in place the entire wedding. After the wedding on Saturday there was a dinner and then a dance with a DJ. Luke and Lily danced for three hours straight. I started pouring water into them thinking they might be getting a little dehydrated. I have never seen so much energy. Luke really loves to dance and was trying to imitate a form of break dancing. He was one sweaty boy by the time we left for the hotel. We were able to see both of my sisters and their families. My niece Angie is getting married in April so we will all be together again soon. Enjoy the photos.

Just Catchin' Up

The time just seems to fly these days but I'll try to bring you up to speed with some new photos. Since my last post we have been to Wichita to visit my sister and her family. Lily is the flower girl in my nephew's wedding in September and she needed to have a last fitting of the dress before the big event. Of course she looks like a princess in the floor length ivory sleeveless dress complete with dazzling sparkles. We had a really hard time convincing her to take it off. While in Wichita we visited Exploration Place, a hands on science center. The kids love going there.

Last weekend we took a quick trip down to Bella Vista Arkansas to visit my Mom and Dad. It was Mom's birthday two weeks ago so we brought down a complete meal right down to the birthday cake. The kids had a great time playing at a nearby park.

This week the kids preschool is closed in order to prepare for the new school year starting next week. This means we had to pull out all our resources to make sure one of us was home with them. John starts teaching next week and has many meetings this week to get prepared. I will be taking off tomorrow to play with the kids. I think we will take a trip to the zoo and to jump mania. That should wear them out.

Logan has started marching band for Glendale high school and last Friday we attended the first presentation of their drills learned thus far. He seems to be doing very well and I am looking forward to attending his competitions this Fall. One trip will take us to St. Louis and I have already contacted our friends the Minden's to see if we can get together. Kevin and Stacy were with us on our first trip to China and have daughter Maddie who is only one day older than Lily. Enough of this narration thing, just bring on the photos you say?

Opps, one more event to mention. Camp Panda was all last week and both kids attended. This was a day camp put on for the first time through camp bear, the MSU summer camp series. The kids took classes in Chinese art, music both vocal and instrumental, language and dance. Both Lily and Luke enjoyed the camp and John felt it was very successful for it's first year. I'm sure he is going to tweak a few things here and there to make it even better for next year.