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.