A Mei Mei for Us!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-18T13:13:00.003-05:00

Easter Sunday was beautiful but windy. We were forced indoors for our pictures. I always like to put the Easter baskets out the night before and take a picture before the kids ravage them the next morning! If the boys' baskets look a little lacking in comparison it is only because they had a gift card from Game St*p in them and that doesn't take up a lot of space. BTW~trying to get pictures of four kids and make it to church on time is almost impossible. This is especially difficult if two of them are teenage boys who don't exactly like to have their pictures taken. There are a couple of pictures from an aftenoon Easter egg hunt at the Grandparent's house. James was in charge of the camera and he had subjects that were too quick for him. I think his Mom may have gotten some better shots though. I will have to have her e-mail me some.

Natural Bridge

2009-04-18T12:43:00.001-05:00

We took the kids on a hike to Natural Bridge one day during spring break. Claire enjoyed taking pictures with her V-T*ch camera, but she isn't much into the hiking scene. Not enough shopping for her taste! She didn't like the mud, the heights, or much anything about it. She is also somewhat of a bathroom snob so that also created a problem for her. She says she is never going back there again! Too funny. Claire is more of a beach girl when it comes to the great outdoors unless you count Disney World as the great outdoors!

The Reason is Him

2009-04-10T17:23:00.001-05:00

Ice Storm

2009-02-05T01:10:00.003-05:00

As you may have heard on the news, Kentucky has been dealing with a bit of ice lately. Fortunately, we only lost power for a few hours, but some have been without it for eight days now. People have even had to resort to getting their water from streams since water treatment facilities were also affected. It is bitterly cold here right now. Here are a few pictures of the ice before it melted. (We had two warmer days and got melting.)

Chinese New Year

2009-02-01T13:59:00.007-05:00

We had two events we attended for CNY to help celebrate the Year of the Ox. The first event our whole family went to a Chinese dance and then we went with a large group of families to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Claire and Laura were able to see several of their friends including Oakley, and Lillie, who they had their picture made with. It was a lot of fun seeing all of Claire's "China friends".

The second event we attended was with another group of "China friends" and a lovely lady from China demonstrated some Chinese dances for us and then she allowed the children to all join her on stage as she led them through the steps of the dances. The girls loved this. She even gave them each something to wear for the dance. Laura had a vest and Claire had a headband.

Celebration

2008-12-21T17:20:00.005-05:00

We always like to celebrate Claire's Gotcha Day by going to P. F. Ch*ng's for a special dinner. She gets to open a little something to mark the day. This year she got two books and a bracelet that we had gotten in her province, Guizhou. It is hand-made sterling silver. Since Claire's most favorite dessert is always chocolate anything, we always order her the Great Wall of Chocolate Cake. This year we had them add two candles to celebrate her two years home. (I got that idea from our travel-mates who did this with their sweet AnnaClaire.)

Two Years Today!

2008-12-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today at 8:00 am, the most amazing little girl was placed in our arms. She didn't cry at all, but she she studied us very intently. Her SWI director kept telling her we were her Mama and Baba and she would look at the correct one each time the director said that. We adopted Ling Ling the same day. We were told her name translated to mean "a unique clever girl" and she certainly is that. We called her Ling Ling for several days and added Claire to the end some. Eventually we called her Ling Ling Claire and when she was ready, just Claire. We decided to keep Ling as part of her name and she is now known as Claire Reagan Ling.

I can't describe to you adequately how much this wonderful child has enriched our lives. She makes us all smile and laugh every day. She is a constant source of joy and she has blessed us beyond measure. She is God's gift for our family.

The pictures above are from the first moments we got her and the one with the ball is after we got back in our hotel room. They were all taken on our Gotcha Day.

Here is our very short Gotcha Day video.

The picture below is from today. Two years later. Claire is 4 years old.

The Princesses Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-02T00:30:00.002-05:00

This collage is a "Then and Now". Last year, Laura was Mulan and Claire was Snow White. This year, Claire was Mulan and Laura was Cinderella. It is amazing how much Claire has changed in 12 months!

Collage

2008-11-02T00:06:00.003-05:00

Pumpkin Decorating

2008-11-01T23:49:00.003-05:00

The kids carved their pumpkins a few nights before Halloween. Claire drew the face she wanted on her pumpkin and James carved it for her. Chase designed his own after a favorite video game and Laura did her own with a pattern. Unfortunately, Connor had strep and didn't feel like participating and then he had school activities that kept him from doing one the next couple of nights. I did include a picture of Connor with Claire. We had decorated pumpkin shaped brownies and cupcakes last week and Claire decorated one for her Connor.

Claire's 4th Birthday Party!

2008-10-27T19:51:00.000-05:00

Claire had a wonderful gymnastics party. She loves being 4 and she keeps telling me so! She got lots of great toys and had tons of fun playing with her friends. The first picture with her friend is Kendall and the second one is her friend Jiali. The last picture of Claire with a little girl is of course her sister, Laura! We got her a kitchen and after spending hours putting it together last night, we have been treated to some delicious meals.

More Birthday Pictures!

2008-10-27T18:40:00.007-05:00

Claire had a Tinkerbell cake and she was super-excited about blowing out the candles. The cake was chocolate, of course! In the second-from-last picture, Claire is demonstrating the importance of sticking a landing!

Our Birthday Girl!

2008-10-21T00:48:00.004-05:00

I can't believe Claire is 4 years old today. She is growing up so fast. She is so mature for her age and she uses words that stop me in my tracks most days. Her vocabulary is so vast! The other day we were driving in the rain and she saw some cows in the fields we were passing and she commented that they were getting wet. I told her that it wasn't raining that hard and the cows probably didn't mind the rain very much or they would go into their barn. She said, "People don't like to get wet in the rain. We wear raincoats and use umbrellas for protection." Huh? Where did she learn the word protection and how did she know to use it in that context?
Her party isn't until Sunday, but I didn't want to wait until then to post and wish our "baby" a "Very Happy Birthday!" She has truly brought so much joy and laughter into our home. She is the most perfect fit that God could have ever engineered for our family. She is truly sent from Heaven.
Here are two pictures of our girl that I took today. In the second one she is showing us how old she is!

Claire Gets Political

2008-10-18T00:13:00.005-05:00

James was watching Nickelodeon with Claire (Max and Ruby, her favorite), and their "Kids Pick the President" came on. They first have Obama say a few words and then McCain. When Obama came on Claire said, "That's the one I like. Barack Obama. I don't like John Cain." James and I looked at each other quite shocked at our little political crusader and said "Why, don't you like John McCain, Claire?" She said, "Because he is a BAD man!" (At this point I am wondering what Nick has shown when we aren't watching?!?) James said, "Claire, John McCain isn't a bad man. That isn't a nice thing to say. Why are you saying that?" She said, "He is too a bad man. He killed his brother with a rock!"

Anybody heard of Cain and Able? I heard the campaign was getting nasty, but having 3 year olds stumping with these tales is a little over the top for me!

We Will Never Forget

2008-09-10T23:32:00.001-05:00

A tribute to the heroes and the ones who lost their loved ones. Also, to the ones who are still fighting to keep us safe.

Two Years Ago...

2008-08-28T00:55:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today, I saw this face for the first time. I had gotten on the A Helping Hand website to pay our home study update fee when I just happened to check on the "Special Delivery" link. We were clients of America World with AHH doing our home study. We were on the NSN route, but 3 months prior we had filled out a check-list for SN. When I saw Claire's face I instantly knew that she was our daughter. I recognized her for a lack of a better term. I immediately called James and told him to look at the website and to pray about her and to please not let her SN scare him away. Claire had been diagnosed at less than 5 months with a tumor in her mediastinal cavity. He called me back in just a few minutes and said let's go get her! It was too late to call AHH and I couldn't sleep that night worrying about her! I called first thing the next morning and got the ball rolling on us being able to be considered to adopt her. The committee at AHH allowed us to submit our LOI and we were one of the last families that China allowed to have two agencies work together to bring our child home. When we got home with Claire, we saw her doctor one week later. They did a chest x-ray and we waited in the office while her doctor was on the phone with the pediatric radiologist. She was talking to the radiologist and smiling and giving us the "thumbs up" sign. Claire's x-ray was 100% clear and she is 100% healthy. We have been blessed beyond measure!

Professional PicturesUpdated

2008-07-19T23:21:00.011-05:00

We had professional pictures made on July 2 by a wonderful photographer named
Robin Allen. She has been taking pictures of our kids for 15 months now and this was the first time James and I joined in. We went to James' parents lovely farm and it was the perfect location. There are a lot of pictures so make sure you scroll all the way down and check out all of them. If you are anywhere near, I can't recommend Robin highly enough. She is super-patient with kids and she has a great eye for getting the right shot. You can click on the pictures to see them in a larger size.
*Robin is going out on her own and has a new website. I have linked that website and you can see it when you click on her name. Also, if you scroll down you can see some new picutures of the boys.*

The Whole Crew!

2008-07-19T23:20:00.002-05:00

Claire and her "Peacock Dress"

2008-07-19T23:00:00.006-05:00

From the moment we first met Claire, she has been a "fashion queen". I had read everything about adoption and attachment that I could get my hands on before we went to China and I felt as prepared as possible for what lay ahead. I had read not to rush into changing your child's clothing too soon as they may feel attached to the clothing that they had been put in by their nanny or their foster mother. So, I was doing exactly that. After we had been in the room for awhile, I opened Claire's suitcase to get another toy out and Claire saw the suitcase full of clothes and she sat straight up and started looking in and then she started taking off her clothes and pointing to the clothes in the suitcase! She was so excited that she couldn't wait to try on the new clothes. Everyday in China she was thrilled to put on a new outfit and every night she was just as excited to put on a new pair of pajamas. We had a ritual of going and looking in the mirror at whatever new thing she was wearing and admiring how pretty she was. Once we got back home, Claire turned into a shopper. She would walk into a store at age 2 and start moving the clothes on the rack and looking at everything she could see. She had definite ideas about what she liked and I will admit that she had very good taste! Well, that was a long story to get to the point about this dress. We were at Gap and Claire saw this dress and she actually gasped out loud. She said, "Oh Mommy! I just have to have that dress. That dress will look so gorgeous on me!" (Did I mention she has great self-esteem?) She went on and on until I just had to buy it. She talked about the dress the entire 45 minute drive home. She said, "My Daddy won't believe how beautiful I am going to look in that dress." Well, when we got home she immediately had to put it on and she does this little run-way walk (I'm not joking), and she shows her Daddy the dress and she tells us, "I am so gorgeous in this dress. I am going to call this dress my Peacock Dress because it looks just like a peacock." So, that is why we have pictures of Claire in this dress, because Robin says that any dress that a child has given a name has to be photographed! I think it photographed beautifully.

Laura

2008-07-19T22:55:00.002-05:00

Our Laura is turning 9 this week. It is so hard to believe. It seems like only a couple of years ago that I was in the hospital holding her for the first time. I know everybody says it, but it is just so true.

Our Boys updated

2008-07-19T22:50:00.004-05:00

Here are the boys! They are reluctant subjects at best when it comes to photography sessions. I'm sure it is the age and the gender. It's a good thing that Robin is so good at what she does. Connor who is in the top picture is 13 and Chase, below, is 15.

The Creek

2008-07-19T22:40:00.002-05:00

We took the girls to the creek for some more pictures and it was so hard to just pick a few. We love how in the second picture of Claire, her dress had gotten in the water and she immediately reached down and wrung it out. Laura is looking more grown-up all the time and this picture of her really shows it.

A Day at the Lake!

2008-07-13T19:46:00.002-05:00

We spent a day at the lake with James' parents and his brother Joe and his brother's wife Laura. Claire actually calls her 2Laura because she had to differentiate between her sister Laura and her Aunt Laura and since James also has an Aunt Laura, Claire came up with 2Laura. It is a pretty effective way of keeping the 3 Laura's straight! We had a lot of fun and the kids (and adults) loved being pulled around on this floating thing called "Mable". I somehow ended up without a picture of James, his Dad or 2Laura. I'll get everybody next time.

Chase and Claire

2008-07-13T19:44:00.005-05:00

Lake Pictures!

2008-07-13T19:41:00.002-05:00

America The Beautiful for 232 Years!

2008-07-06T15:48:00.002-05:00

Ray Charles singing a beautiful tribute to our nation and its' heroes.

Our Final Beach Day!

2008-07-03T12:04:00.001-05:00

Our last day at the beach was the hottest yet, but the water didn't seem any warmer to me. Of course, the girls still didn't seem to mind. After our lunch we spent some time in the pool. Normally, Claire wears a swim vest at a pool and we didn't have ours with us. As I turned to take Laura's picture in the water, Claire jumped in. Luckily a lady was there and pulled her right up. Claire got out and told us, "You need to be careful in that big pool. If you go under, you don't come back up!" I think it may be time for some swim lessons! We finished out our day with a photo session of the little ladies with the pay-off of ice cream for pretty smiles. All they needed was a little sign that read, "Will work for chocolate".

2008-07-03T11:59:00.002-05:00

2008-07-03T11:55:00.004-05:00

2008-07-03T11:52:00.001-05:00

2008-06-23T08:14:00.003-05:00

2008-06-23T08:10:00.003-05:00

Claire's Mountain

2008-06-23T08:05:00.006-05:00

Claire decided to build a mountain of sand. In the picture with her arms spread out, she is saying, "Ta-da!"

2008-06-23T07:55:00.005-05:00

Day Two at the Shore!

2008-06-23T07:40:00.007-05:00

On our second day in NJ, it was much warmer to say the least. Try about 20 degrees warmer! I like it warm at the beach though, so that is great with me. Once again, the girls loved the sand, and the surf! Laura found a friend about her age to play with and that is always good. After a yummy dinner at an Irish Pub, we walked the girls to a play-ground for some exercise to run off their sugary desserts! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Playing in the Surf

2008-06-12T15:42:00.002-05:00

Rides!!

2008-06-12T15:39:00.004-05:00

Boardwalk Pictures

2008-06-12T11:41:00.006-05:00

More Beach and Boardwalk Pictures

2008-06-12T11:38:00.007-05:00

First Day at the Beach!

2008-06-12T11:10:00.013-05:00

Our first day at the beach was a little on the cool side, but that didn't deter Laura from getting in the water that was below 60 degrees! Claire was even getting in before we left. I do not like water below 80 degrees so I stayed clear and just took pictures with Emily. The girls were loving the sand and they started digging right away.
That night we took the girls to the Boardwalk in some matching dresses. They were definitely attracting attention as you can imagine! Lucy and Claire loved the rides and AnnaClaire loved the carousel, but...she preferred the rest of the rides from the sidelines. She agreed to ride a truck with all four girls and moments after it started the tears came too and the kind girl running the ride stopped it and let her off. Little Miss Personality shocked us all by being a spectator when it came to rides, but she jumped and clapped while her friends rode. Claire, who doesn't miss many meals, protested that she didn't want to eat because she didn't want to stop riding the rides. At the end of the evening we were eating these wonderful fried doughy treats that were covered in powdered sugar while Emily and Laura rode the big rides. Day 2 ended and we all had a wonderful time! The adults were more ready to go home than the little ones!

To the Shore!

2008-06-10T21:23:00.005-05:00

Very early Thursday morning Laura, Claire and I left our home and flew to New Jersey to get together with 2 other AWAA families. We are all members of a Yahoo Group we call the Chatty Sisters. We all adopted SN girls about the same time. Lucy and her mom, Laura were so generous to invite us to their shore home. We were joined by AnnaClaire, Emily, and their mom Pam. Many of you probably know AnnaClaire from the amazing blog that her sister keeps. On Thursday we arrived and we went to IKEA and ate lunch (who knew IKEA had a cafeteria), and the girls wanted to stay and play all day. They loved the toys and the slide. That evening we took a walk with the girls in the wagon. There were lots of giggles as we walked to a beautiful park in one of the loveliest towns I think I have ever been in. The houses were so wonderful. They were all so charming, and each was so unique. Laura and Lucy and their family have an absolutely beautiful shore home and Laura C was the perfect hostess. I will post more about the rest of our trip later. Lots of cute pictures that include matching dresses coming soon!

Fishing!!!!

2008-05-30T20:13:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday we were visiting the Grandparents and Great-Grandparents and when the weather is cooperating Connor always takes advantage of doing a little fishing! The fisherman,(or should I say fisher woman), in the family is Great-Grandma Campbell. She always has worms ready when the great-grand kids are around. Claire is all about the casting, the holding the rod, and the reeling it in, but I think you can tell from her face, she doesn't actually like the fish part of fishing. Laura is just a ham and happy to be in front of the camera!

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T13:39:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Although it is observed on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day actually falls on May 30th. On that day Americans should fly their flags at half-staff until noon and pause at 3:00 to listen to taps in grateful remembrance for the fallen heroes who have sacrificed all for our nation.

Please Pray

2008-05-21T22:41:00.008-05:00

Please pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman family who have lost their sweet 5 year old daughter, Maria, in a tragic accident. Maria was adopted from China and was the Chapman's 6th child and the 3rd to be adopted from China. SCC is a champion for adoption from everywhere. He advocates for children to be adopted from foster care, China, Ethiopia, Haiti, and everywhere else. Tragically, SCC's teenage son accidentally ran over Maria with a vehicle in the family driveway as she was playing. His son will need all our prayers as he copes with his added guilt and grief.

JUMP!

2008-05-19T07:28:00.001-05:00

Claire getting some air-time on the trampoline!

Young Love

2008-04-15T23:44:00.001-05:00

I saw this short video on Yoli's blog and everytime I watch it I just love it more and more. It only lasts for one minute and a half, but it is so worth viewing. It will definitely bring a huge smile to your face.

Hats On!

2008-04-13T14:18:00.006-05:00

This weeks FFFF's topic is hats! Most people know that keeping a hat on a little one is usually not an easy feat. There are the occasional ones that just like hats. My Connor did. But, for most, those adorable hats that match the outfits get thrown on the floor. I have included 4 pictures of my girls in hats. The 2 most recent pictures where they are in matching hats are from where I just had their picture made and the hats are from Hanna Andersson. Laura is dressed for Halloween in the princess picture with her Bitty Baby. The picture was taken in 2006 and her costume and doll are from American Girl.
Claire's other picture is from October 2007 at her 3rd birthday party. She really liked this hat and wore it for most of the day.
To see more cute kids in hats head on over to Lissa's.

A Family Day at the Zoo!

2008-04-12T16:44:00.003-05:00

Claire Saves Laura from Dangerous Crocodile!

2008-04-12T16:42:00.003-05:00

The Zoo's Merry-Go-Round

2008-04-12T16:34:00.003-05:00

Claire chose the "Big Bad Wolf" because she loves to hear stories where he plays a prominent role. One of her favorites is

The Three Little Pigs

. Whenever we get to the part where the wolf starts to huff and puff and blow the house down, Claire always says, "Again?!?"

Rules for Dating our Daughters!

2008-04-04T22:23:00.009-05:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it was pretty funny. Our girls are 8 and 3 but James thought it would be a good idea to get this out there well in advance ;)
Remember-James is a Major in the Army!

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME _________________________

DATE OF BIRTH ____________

HEIGHT ________ WEIGHT _________

IQ __________ GPA _________

SOCIAL SECURITY #______________

DRIVERS LICENSE #____________

BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES________________________

HOME ADDRESS_____________________________________

CITY/STATE _________________________ ZIP______

Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No
Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No
If No, explain: ______________________________________________
____________________________

Number of years they have been married ______________________

If less than your age, explain:
______________________________________________

ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No
E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No
pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring?

(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND
LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)

ESSAY SECTION:

In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you?
____________________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you?
____________________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you?
____________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES SECTION:

Church you attend _________________________________________

How often you attend ______________________________________

When would be the best time to interview your:

father? ____________

mother? ___________

pastor? ____________

SHORT-ANSWER SECTION:

Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely, all answers are
confidential.

A: If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be:

__________________________________________________

B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:

__________________________________________________

C: A woman's place is in the:

__________________________________________________

D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:

__________________________________________________

E. What do you want to do IF you grow up?

_________________________________________________

F. When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:

__________________________________________________

G. What is the current going rate of a hotel room? __________

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, NATIVE AMERICAN ANTI TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE, RED HOT POKERS, AND HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.

________________________________________________________
Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, moron!)

_______________________________
Mother's Signature

________________________________
Father's Signature

_______________________________
Pastor/Priest/ Rabbi

________________________________
State Representative/Congressman

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual. Please allow four to six years for processing.

You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can't, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentlemen wearing white ties carrying violin cases (you might want to watch your back).

To prepare yourself, start studying Daddy's Rules for Dating.

Daddy's Rules for Dating
Your dad's rules for your boyfriend (or for you if you're a guy):

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're surely not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a 'Barrier method' of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: 'early.'

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing or holding hands. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual themes are to be avoided; movies that feature chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Easter/Spring Pictures!

2008-04-02T22:59:00.001-05:00

I took the girls for some Easter/Spring pictures. I didn't force the boys to go this time as it had only been a few months since we did Christmas pictures and they just are so not excited about getting their pictures made. I really loved the girl's Easter dresses this year and I wanted to get some good pictures of them in them. I of course took pictures at our home on Easter morning, but it was so cold outside we had to do indoor shots only. I really love that my girls will have each other for the rest of their lives. Having a sister is such a wonderful gift.

A Few More Pictures!

2008-04-02T22:57:00.002-05:00

The Last Ones!

2008-04-02T22:46:00.002-05:00

The Birds and the Bees!

2008-03-15T23:25:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, Claire informed me that she knew the difference between boys and girls. Not wanting to appear surprised I simply said, "You do?" and she said, "Yes, I do." Well all sorts of things started running through my head as I tried to decide how to properly address this with a 3 year old without giving her more information than she was prepared for. In short, I didn't want to do what the gentleman in the video below did! :)
Check it out. It is pretty funny!

The Talk!

2008-03-15T23:24:00.005-05:00

As you can imagine, I didn't want to explain far too much when Claire may have something else entirely in mind. I decided to proceed by asking Claire how she can tell the difference and she said, "It's easy. Girls wear panties, and boys wear unnerwears!" Of course they do. All the the boys in this house wear "unnerwears" and we ladies certainly do wear panties. Glad I listened before I starting talking. I bet the father in that video above wishes he had too!

Keri

Piggie Tails!

2008-03-03T21:17:00.003-05:00

I know you are shocked at 2 posts in 2 days, but we had warmer weather here today and it made me long for spring and summer. With this longing came the desire for Claire to have pig tails. Well, after trying this out, she was ready for an impromptu photo-shoot. Here is a collage of Claire showing-off her new do and posing with some "rock-band" style poses.

A New Star!

2008-03-03T00:21:00.006-05:00

Laura has had a very busy and exciting week. She was allowed to be in the high school's production called Silhouettes of Broadway. They basically took a stroll through time and gave the audience a look at Broadway through the years. Laura was a little girl in Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man". As you can see from the pictures she played a normal little girl from the period for the song "Trouble" and after that she raced backstage to change into an Indian costume to perform with the "famous" Mayor's wife. She absolutely loved every minute of it. She loved the practices, the 4:45 AM dress rehearsal to be on the news, the 8 shows and the friendships she formed. I think she may have formed a love for the theatre that won't soon fade. She and Claire have always been able from the age of 2 to sit through an entire video of "Oklahoma", or "The Music Man". This past summer I took Laura to see "Wicked" on stage and ever since then you can hear both she and Claire walking around the house belting out tunes from the CD. As a family we all went to see the "Lion King" when it came within driving distance. Claire went to see the 3 hour show 3 times and sat perfectly still the whole time unless you count the fact that she was singing along with Elfaba and Glinda during the scenes from "Wicked"! She may have sang a few notes from "Hairspray" too. I was also told that during her 3rd trip to the show that she was heard singing "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ," over and over again. Of course this was during "Jesus Christ Superstar". I guess she didn't quite get the superstar word so she just kept singing what she heard. Here are some pictures of Laura on her final day of the musical. The one picture is of her with her favorite star, Elfaba. This girl was an amazing singer. She gave me chills each and every performance. I can definitely see her going places.

Motion!

2008-02-21T23:10:00.005-05:00

We are back this week for Loving Lydia's Family Fun Foto Challenge. I had meant to participate last week but we were knocked out due to the flu. It is really bad when both parents are sick. The inmates were running the asylum around here for a few days! Laura succumbed too, but thanks to Tamiflu she barely noticed she was even sick. She was most upset about missing rehearsals for the high school's musical that she has a small part in. It opens next week and she is a bundle of excitement. So, on to our pictures of motion. You may notice that I don't post a lot of pictures of my boys on the blog, but that is only at their request. They are 15 and almost 13 and I guess they think it isn't cool. More pictures of Laura and Claire and all of these are in motion! They have such a great time together. The fairy pictures are from the summer and the big slide is from Claire's birthday party. In the one picture of Claire in her Christmas dress she is trying out some new Dora roller skates. The latest are of Claire "playing" Guitar Hero at Chase's birthday party and the one picture is of Claire at our local children's museum with our FCC group celebrating CNY. Now, go on over to Lissa's and see other cute kiddos in motion!

For Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T01:24:00.001-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am posting a video of the song from The West Side Story that was sung at our wedding when James and I lit our unity candle. I love this song and this scene from the movie. At our wedding, my brother and sister sang the song. It was beautiful.

CNY Collage

2008-02-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year!

2008-02-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating the Chinese New Year. We welcomed in the Year of the Rat and said "good-bye" to Connor's and my year, the year of the Pig. As Claire says, "Daddy is a rat." She of course means in the astrological sense! The rest of our family is made up of a rooster, a rabbit and one little monkey! We started off our New Year by getting the girls all dressed up and going out with our dear friends to P. F. Changs for some delicious Chinese food. It is a little disappointing that no one there seemed to know that it was the CNY. The girls had their lanterns that really lit up. We had our dumplings, long noodles and since we were at PFC's, we had yummy dessert! On Sunday we got together with our local Families with Children from China and watched a beautiful Chinese dance troupe. They were performing at a Children's Theatre. They were so lovely and talented. Afterwards we went out with a few families for more Chinese food. Again, the food was great, but being with other adoptive families and spending time with their lovely children was the best. The greatest part was walking around the Children's Museum before the performance and recognizing people from their blogs! I saw four children that I "knew" from their family's blogs. Claire was recognized several times too. Blogging really does help us become closer and meet up with other families. Here is my participation in Lissa's FFF. Thanks Lissa for doing this! If you want to check out other families CNY activities, here is the link. http://lovinglydia.typepad.com/loving_lydia/2008/02/ffff-68-cny.html

Dancing With Cinderella

2008-01-29T20:20:00.001-05:00

For anyone who has a daughter, wants a daughter, or is a daughter, you need to see this video. It is all about cherishing each and every moment with our children. The artist is Steven Curtis Chapman who has 6 children. His youngest 3 are adopted from China and he is a huge advocate of adoption. The song's title is "Cinderella".

Mommy, Read me a Story!

2008-01-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

This week's Family Fun Foto Friday is Storytime! Claire loves books and she loves being read to. She listens as Laura reads her Reading assignment every night. Sometimes she will just sit and study the pictures and tell herself a story to go along with the illustrations. The book in the pictures above was one of Claire's gifts for her one year Gotcha Anniversary in December. We love this book and its illustrations. Now, if Mommy could just get through it without crying.

Snow Day!

2008-01-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of snow, but still snow much fun!!!

The kids had a surpise snow day today and it was much enjoyed. The youngest three took advantage of it and made a snowman. There wasn't a lot to work with, but they still had a great time. Claire kept saying "This is so much fun!" Connor was nice enough to let Claire throw lots of snow balls at him. He really plays the part and she loves it. That's probably why she calls him, "My Connor."

Bling Baby!

2008-01-12T01:36:00.000-05:00

This is my second time participating in the Family Fun Foto from Loving Lydia. This week it is all about the bling. And, isn't it all about the bling with girls? Claire loves bling, dress-up clothes, and all things girly. Laura also likes dressing up, but she is a little, (not a lot) less girly than Claire. Claire's favorite color is pink and Laura's is blue. You may wonder then why Claire got the blue Jasmine outfit and Laura got the pink one...well, that's what was left at the clearance sale! I went to the Disney Store after Halloween and I got 7 costumes for just over $100. (I had a 15% off coupon in addition to the sale.) One of the costumes was originally $80! Claire gets up in the morning and wears up to seven different costumes a day. It's tough being a princess!

Time in a Bottle

2008-01-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

Over at Loving Lydia, Lissa is doing a great challenge this week called Then and Now. This is my first time participating! The picture on the left was three days after we received Claire. She truly is a joyful child. :)

Claire's 3 year pictures!

2008-01-08T00:03:00.000-05:00

Pictures of all the Kids!

2008-01-07T23:40:00.000-05:00

It is about time that I posted again. I wanted to share some Christmas pictures. Claire is growing and talking so much. While waiting to pick-up Connor at school the other day I commented that silly Connor needed to zip his jacket up. (It was 14 degrees.) Claire said, "Yeah, that crazy Connor needs to put his roof up too!" She probably doesn't realize how un-cool it is for a 12 year old boy to wear a hood. The first picture of the kids laying down was this year's Christmas card.

Long Time No Speak!

2007-11-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

Well, as you can see, I haven't done very well with a blog. I have kept up with our My Adoption Website site in case you are interested. The link is www.myadoptionwebsite.com/ourclaire I did want to post a link to a very short you tube video marking the moment we first got Claire. It is only 1:30 minutes long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumOHBlelts I hope you enjoy it.

2007-03-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Trying this out

2007-03-27T13:25:00.001-05:00

I thought I would try out a blog and see if I could stand the commitment! I so love reading other people's that I decided to give it a shot. For those of you who don't know, I have been married for 15+ years and I have 4 great kids. Our latest addition just happened to come from the Guizhou province in China. She is 2 years old and an absolute JOY! Her brothers and sister are crazy about her as are we. She is full of personality.