A Difficult Year, But Not Without Blessings

I haven't posted in such a long time but I realize that I should. Our family has been through alot this year. My mother was diagnosed the first week of February with stage IV Lung cancer that had spread to her brain. We lost her May 9th after a very courageous battle. Our lives will certainly never be the same without her. Our family has persevered through that experience and we will always cherish every memory of her.

This summer our whole family ventured to Gulf Shores Alabama for the first time. We didn't pick the greatest hotel, but it all worked out and we had an amazing time. I'll post some pictures from that adventure later.

This fall all 3 of the kids played recreational soccer and that was just insane to keep track of lol ;-) That being said, all 3 of the kids did an awesome job and we couldn't be more proud.

Our family has attended Grace Bible Church pastored by Steve Atwood. This church as been such a blessing to our family and we thank God for them.

Our neighbors are currently in China adopting a 2 yr old who was in Audrey's orphanage and we are sooooo happy and excited for them ! I posted a link to their blog, E makes 5 in the links.

More later ........

ACCA Reunion held by Cirque de Chine

Yesterday we attended an adoptive family reunion for Chinese children held by the Cirque de Chine (Chinese acrobats that have their own theatre and perform right outside Gatlinburg and Pidgeon Forge). This was only the 2nd year the event had been held and I wasn't sure what to expect but I am here to tell you that it far surpassed my expectations and the kids loved it !!! The event opened at 9:30 am and we left home at 7am so we could get there when it opened. The Chinese acrobats had craft and activity centers set up all over the theatre lobby and halls going to the theatre. The Chinese acrobats were in their performing costumes and they helped the children with each craft and activity. They were wonderful with the kids and they let us video and take pics to our hearts content. After the crafts and activities we were treated to some icecream and then around noon we were served a buffet of authentic chinese food. After lunch the kids played on the stage where the acrobats perform until 1:45pm. It was quite a sight to see them all dancing around the stage. Our trio had stage fright so there was no getting them up on the stage except to run across it to the other side lol. At 1:45 there was a pre-show where performers from the "Soul of Shaolin" did an opening act which really made me want to see them perform at their theatre which is right up the street from the Smoky Mountain Palace where Cirque de Chine performs. The Soul of Shaolin is a tony award winning martial arts play and I was in awe even with the short preview we witnessed before the acrobats performed. The two performances together lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes with a 15 minute intermission . Audrey and Lei were entralled with the whole show and I've never seen them so into anything like that before. Rachel did really well although I think it was a little long for her. While we were there we also were interviewed by Channel 8 news out of Knoxville but I'm not sure if we will be on the air or not. There was a little about it on their internet site so that was fun to see. I'll post some pics from our trip and here are the links to Cirque de Chine and Soul of Shaolin.
http://smokymountainpalace.com/
http://www.easternshanghaitheater.com/

Happy 7th Birthday Audrey !!!!!

We celebrated Audrey's 7th B-day with a Pool Party and Severe Thunderstorm last Thursday evening. Everything worked out in the end and we all had a great time, but we ended up with the pool party in our house for over an hour which we really didn't plan for; we were finally able to go to the pool, swim, sing happy birthday and have cake and cupcakes. The kids had a blast swimming and this will definitely be a birthday party we won't soon forget ;-) Here are a few pics.

WoW, It's been a Year and 3 months since I've posted !!!

I'm here to tell ya, that third child was a doosy ;-) I don't mean that he was a difficult child or any more trouble than Audrey or Rachel, but 3 is alot ! Maybe I'm just a lightweight or maybe it's because I'm 42 ................. who really knows, but I can tell you without a doubt that I feel my age these days. I am finally starting to see daylight again this year and I think our family is finally achieving a "new normal".

I am going to make a concerted effort to update our blog once a week because it is really a wonderful thing to look back at the past few years on this blog and see how far we've really come ! I'm hoping to start following others blogs again too. I truly miss seeing all our old friends and reading about their worlds.

Quotable Quotes

Over the past few months, Audrey and Lei have come off with some interesting comments and questions so I thought I'd post a couple of them. It goes without saying that neither of these comments were given further discussion. There are just some things kids say that you can't touch lol ;-)

1) Audrey at dinner table "Mom, you know you and dad don't have to go to China if you want another kid, you could just make one"

2) Lei speaking to Daddy while Mommy is in the bathroom overhearing conversation "Dad, where did you and mom fall in love, on the floor or in the bed?"

Temporary February warm days and park visit

After an unseasonably cold winter, we had a short warm spell and were spoiled briefly. We took advantage of it by visiting one of the local parks and the kids had a blast ! See a few pics

CNY costume pics

Crazy busy times, but very good times !

Sorry I haven't posted in what seems like eons, but having a 3, 5 and 6 yr old and homeschooling definitely keeps me hopping. I'm sure many think I'm insane for homeschooling and some days I wonder myself ;-), but honestly it has been a wonderful blessing and we are enjoying it more than I ever would have imagined. Friday we did school in our P.J.'s because I just was not feeling great and we accomplished everything I had planned and even more. Audrey and Lei are already reading easy readers to me. Ms. Rachel is able to write quite a few of her letters which I'm very impressed with since she isn't quite 3 and a half yet. I have no idea how long we will homeschool, but I'm definitely planning to next year. I also want to mention that the kids are attending a co-op once a week with other homeschoolers at our local YMCA which has been a Godsend. They take Spanish, Music, PE, and Karate for 4 hours every Tuesday and it gives us all a little break from each other too which is perfect.

Audrey, Lei and Rachel are all taking gymnastics and enjoying it all. Lei is a maniac when it comes to gymnastics or anything athletic and he's so fun to watch ! His English is progressing so quickly it is hard to believe. Other than his pronouns being off occassionally or just saying things a little akwardly, he can communicate anything he wants to anyone.

I am posting some pictures from December and Chinese New Year since I'm way behind on my posting, then I'll post a pic from February.

New Video and Slide Show posted to youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNY4el-If7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ234X-5dW4

I tried embedding a video and slideshow here but the resolution was awful so I just decided to post the links. When you click on the link, make sure at the bottom of the video window to click on "higher quality image" so it is in the higher resolution.

Daddy and Lei

Belated Halloween pics

I took the kids trick or treating and Lei was all about it ;-) He raced to each door and had impeccable manners, thanking each person when he left. Audrey's dress was a little long and we had it pinned up all over the place. Her shoes were a little high and at one point she fell down someones stairs but was still in one piece and ready for more. Rachel really enjoyed it but insisted that I visit each house with her and come to the door which I did proudly.

Leaf Hunting with my Posers

Our Homeschooling Journey has began

After having Audrey and Lei in public school for almost 3 months, it became abundantly clear to me that this was not God's plan for our family. It was a totally necessary move to keep our family sane during Lei's transition into our family and Rachel's adjustment to our new family dynamic, but It wasn't the right choice long term. I started out thinking about homeschooling next year, then thinking about homeschooling after Christmas, and then thinking "If I'm going to do this, why wait?". So, we became an official homeschooling family on Monday and I already know this was exactly what we were supposed to do. Audrey and Lei are rested, relaxed and totally into their school work. Neither of them expressed any real regret in not returning to school. Rachel seems to be thoroughly enjoying having her brother and sister around all the time and they are all getting along much better than I could have ever hoped for.

We have started out using Abeka's Phonics, Reading and Writing program and Saxon Math. We are using the reading list from Amblesideonline.com as well. We don't have a formal science or social studies program yet, but since this is Kindergarten, we didn't think this was critical in any way. For Bible we are just memorizing verses from the KJV now, but plan to either create our own curriculum or look into others soon. An FYI, I love Abeka phonics and so do the kids so far !
Saxon math seems well thought out, but the K5 version is too easy in my opinion and I think alot of kindergartners could start with Saxon Math 1 and do fine.

I'll post more as we go along, but I'm wore out tonight !

"I love you all of my days"

I rarely think to post some of the wonderful things the kids say to me, but this one is really special because it comes from Rachel. Over the past few days Rachel has told me on more than one occassion "Mommy, I love you all of my Days". It hasn't been that long ago, that Rachel didn't say "I love you" in any form whatsoever, but now she says it more than anyone else in the family and we are eating it up :-)

I am extremely happy to report that Ms. Rachel is making so many leaps and bounds since she turned 3 that I can't even keep track of them. She is becoming very social and just plain sweet towards other kids, mom and dad as well as her brother and sister (when they aren't attacking each other lol ;-)

Her speech is improving exponentially now and things she said just a couple of weeks ago that I didn't understand, I understand completely now.

Long story short, Ms. Rachel is doing awesome and she is just giving the whole family warm fuzzies :-) Just had to share ....

Lei's 6th Birthday

Lei turned 6 the end of October and the day after his surgery at Vanderbilt Children's hospital. Needless to say, we celebrated his birthday the weekend before his surgery. Lei was very excited to receive his first video game (Leapster) and a new basketball which he specifically requested. Lei is going to be a very successful athlete, mark my words ! He's been in gymnastics for just a couple of months now and he is amazing to watch. Here are some pics of his birthday party we gave him. Oops, also wanted to mention that Daddy made Lei's birthday cake and it was pretty cool ;-)

Rachel's 3rd Birthday !

Rachel's birthday was the end of September and I'm ashamed that I'm just now posting pictures, but we had a wonderful family birthday and she just loved every minute of it. I also brought strawberry cupcakes to her preschool class and we had a little happy birthday celebration there as well. The pictures speak for themselves. Our little munchkin just insn't that little anymore and she is full of big ideas ;-)

Audrey's 5th Birthday

Audrey's birthday party was at her grandma and grandpas house the day before we left to bring home Lei from China. We had a great turnout and lots of family were there. Audrey's birthdays are always memorable.