The Magic Of The Holidays

There is something magical about a room full of freshly opened toys, and a child playing in the empty boxes.

Happy Holidays

We all had a Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas.

Big Girl Things

Abbey has been interested in getting her ears pierced for the past six months. It's not that I was ever against it, I had mine pierced for the first time at five yrs old. It's just that I did not feel she was ready for the responsibility of letting me clean them. I was also afraid of how she would react to the pain.

I advised Abbey that she was going to have to prove that she was a big girl, doing her jobs without being told, letting me comb her hair without crying, and most important getting a good report card. Abbey has been doing her best at being a big girl, and "making a difference" as she calls it. To her surprise, there was a pair of earrings wrapped up for her on Christmas morning. She squealed with delight, and wanted to go out that moment to get her ears pierced.

She had to wait until the Monday after Christmas to get it done. It was a long weekend for her. The big question was, how would she react to the procedure? I have two words "ROCK STAR!" She didn't as much as flinch while her ears were being pierced. I just got a big reassuring grin when it was completed.

I Love Milwaukee

Today we took a family field trip into the city. Frogwater with Lil Rev, a very talented local acoustic Irish folk/Bluegrass musical ensemble, that Mark and I listen to played at a coffee shop. Imagine an old restored creme city brick building with huge windows overlooking Michigan. It's a beautiful place, and having coffee there in itself is an event. I packed a backpack full of crayons, books, Leapster, etc with hopes that Mark and I could enjoy some music. I was also hoping that the girls might see the beauty in the sound of a fiddle, and some good old fashioned Christmas music. frogwater has an amazing energy, and the girls loved when they played at our table. Mark and I reminisced about the days as newlyweds with out kids sitting in a little pub called the Dubliner, listening to Frogwater play. We lasted more than hour having lunch, and listening to the music. The girls were awesome, and I hope they loved the music as much as Mark and I did. It was just like old times?! Well, sort of.....

After lunch, Mark and I decided to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. The building is another amazing piece of architecture the city of Milwaukee has to offer. There was an Andy Warhol exhibit, and I have been itching to see it. Love him, or hate him, there is something humbling seeing his work in person. It also was humorous to hear what Abbey had to say about his work. She wasn't as impressed as I was, and thinks that his works with yarn look like splatter paintings her kindergarten class made. However, the girls loved the children's art area. Carina produced a masterpiece that she is pretty proud of. I had to convince her not to take it to bed as a lovey at nap time. Instead, it is hanging on our Christmas tree.

For a a few hours some of the big things seemed a little less important. No one cared if dishes were done or not. The mess in the toy room didn't matter. Each one of us took a bit of inspiration out of today's activities. It was just one of those great days.

Our Visit with Santa Claus

Random Act Of Cuteness

The Usual Saturday Morning

We attend the local Chinese school on Saturday mornings taking in a bit of Chinese culture, and spending time with friends. The girls had a bit more energy than usual after class. Princess manners were not applied, but they were funny.





Ellie is not old enough to start classes. However, she is learning quite a bit of Mandarin second hand from her big sisters. I am looking forward to her starting classes next September.

Hope

Back in 2005, while Mark and I were putting our dossier together to adopt "A dear little one" from China Gymboree put out The Little Lady Line in their stores. It was pink, it was pretty, and full of ladybugs. As some of you may or may not know, ladybugs are a sign of good fortune in Chinese adoption. The China adoption Yahoo groups were abuzz of these ladybug delights. I am certain a lot of retail therapy took place shortly after. Needless to say I was smitten by this line. I wanted to buy every single piece available until I figured that I could pay my car payment and then some with what I would be spending. No purchase was made, and life went on just fine.

About 1.5 years later I was wasting time at the mall, and their happened to be exactly one dress, and one hair bow from the Little Lady line on the clearance rack at Gymboree for a rock bottom price. I felt like I had won the lottery. Still no referral, so I didn't know what size she would be. For all I knew at that time "she" could be a "he." Still, I bought it with hopes that some day, my daughter, whoever she was, would wear it.

When the time came to make the journey to China, Mark thought I was out of my mind when I told him that she HAD to wear the ladybug dress for her Consulate appointment. He didn't understand it, but obeyed my wishes:-) She then managed to get a large portion of that evening's dinner on the dress. The picture told the dirty truth, but thanks to a combination of staining fighting products, the dress was as good as new. The only other time Carina wore this dress was on her readoption day. I don't think it will ever be worn again either. However, it will be kept in a safe place, just in case.

When I look back, that dress represented hope. The adoption process felt like an endless journey of paper work and red tape. At the time, hope kept me focused through the unknowns. I am thankful that I was strong enough to hope, strong enough to dream, and strong enough to wait. There certainly were a lot of twists and turns along the way, but my "little lady" finally came home.