I needed to get the photo of the nasty opossom off the top of my blog (from earlier this week), so I'm doing a little catching up in the next few posts.

Here are some random photos from yesterday. It was gloomy and raining, so we tried to keep busy indoors. Miyah got some schoolwork done while Mei Lin made a mess.

Miyah started out practicing letters in the cornmeal for school, then it turned to play and Mei Lin wanted to play in the oatmeal.

A box of goodies shows up from Nana and Bumpa and the girls quickly jump into the box of peanuts. Thanks for all the fun stuff, Nana and Bumpa!! (Yes, Miyah's wearing her bunny hat in the house...she's always "dressed" as some sort of animal - today she went to storytime at the library with a kitty mask on)

Oh, this is just to prove that we still have a son. He still lives here, but is rarely home and rarely photographed these days.

Silly, lovee girls!


More posts below...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ana!!

Ana turned 3 the same day Mei Lin turned 2 and I'm just now getting around to posting photos. The girls had a great time at the Dora party! Happy 3rd Birthday, Ana!!

Ana and Josiah during the Happy Birthday song.

Elizabeth's 4th Birthday Party

Here are some photos from Elizabeth's birthday party way back in November. I forgot my camera, and I just got around to uploading these from Anne. The girls had a great time at the pottery painting place.

Happy 4th Birthday, Elizabeth!! The Grinch wasn't invited, but Miyah saw him pass by in the mall and had to have a hug. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of her favorite books!

Miyah absolutely LOVES to paint. At this time she was painting at least once a day, so this was her kind of party

Playdate with Anne and Elizabeth!

These pictures are from a playdate way back in November. The photos were in NEF form and I didn't convert them until just now. Miyah and Elizabeth always have the best time together. And I love to hang out with Anne. She's one of those friends that you just kick back and feel at home with. Mei Lin loves Anne, too. We're pretty blessed to have such amazing friends. Anne and a very sleepy Mei Lin

The girls painted ornaments. Miyah, of course, chose Rudolph.

Visitor

Does anyone know how to get a opossum out of the garage?

That's not just a hypothetical or the opening to a joke.

Our furry little marsupial friend doesn't want to leave.

We've tried many things to scare him off, but he just plays...well...'possum.

Update: I think he's out. He was probably after the dog's food we keep in the garage so we sprinkled some dog food outside on the driveway and left him alone. Apparently they go into involuntary shock when they're afraid so they don't scare-off, just freeze up.

Ew, doesn't he look like a giant rat? No, we won't be making him a pet as Terri suggested :)

My Little Gymnast

Miyah absolutely LOVES gymnastics. She grins from ear to ear the entire hour.

That smile on her face is priceless.
Working on the cartwheel.
Waiting her turn to walk across the beam with beanbags on her shoulders.
Donkey kicks
She says her favorite part of gymnastics is jumping in the foam pit at the beginning and end of each class. This week they walked across the big balance beams (in the background) and jumped off the end into the pit. She thought that was great, but was a little intimidated by the height. She also loves to zipline and swing into the pit.

Oh So Handsome!

(click picture to enlarge)


Ooohh...this little guy is SO handsome and looks so sweet, he deserves a loving home. Apparently he's been on Children of the World's Special Needs list for a while. He's in Yunnan province and appears to be at the Kunming CWI or possibly living in the foster village (where our Mei Lin is from). I know these children are given excellent care. If you go to our China trip blog, you'll see pictures of the facility from our visit to the Kunming CWI (you'll have to scroll down to the bottom set of photos). This little guy turned 8 in November and has a repaired cleft lip and palate (first degree). I don't know a lot about clefts, but his appears to be mild and well-corrected. He may need further surgery and possibly speech therapy, but I would guess that it's possible he's received some therapy and whatever surgery he needs right now (that's just a guess because the orphanage seems to be very good about taking care of medical needs).

He's even holding the same type of toy that one of the physical therapists at the CWI (Children's Welfare Institute) gave to Mei Lin during our visit. This woman seemed to genuinely LOVE Mei Lin.

If you feel even a little tug on your heart, would you please pray and consider giving him a home? I'm sure he'd love a mommy and a daddy!

She's 2!!

Birthday Girl!

Sweet Sisters


Caughtchya peeking!
Sleepy birthday girl. She fell asleep before we left for the skate rink.

~~~~~
My Baby's TWO!!

We had a quiet little birthday celebration at home last night. I don't think Mei Lin completely understands it was her birthday, but she seemed to enjoy her special day. She even got a call from Grace, her foster sister in Germany.

Mei Lin is:

Sweet, fun-loving, outgoing, silly, imaginative, loving, and smart.

Mei Lin likes:

Pretending she's an animal, playing outside, going places, eating, playing with her stuffed animals ( and often tells me, "doggy's not obeying"), helping me cook and clean, dressing herself (kind of), singing and dancing, tagging along with her big sister, and eating candy, and more candy.

Mei Lin has been with us for 9 months now! That means she's been with us longer than she's been anywhere else (7 months orphanage, 7 months foster home). I hope she understands the permanence of her home and family. She definitely seems to feel at home. And she perfectly rounds out our little family.

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y , M E I L I N !!!

YOU ARE SUCH A BLESSING!

(Check out the previous post...I snuck in some photos and family news)

A New Year

Well, it's another new year! Hard to believe how quickly they come, isn't it? We have a lot to look forward to in this year to come. 2008 will bring new members to our extended family. My sister, Tracy, will be bringing home her little boy from China sometime soon. AND my sister, Tammy, will be having a baby in August! We're all so excited. Add to that the summer olympics in Beijing, and a presidential election...it'll be an exciting year!

Here are a few pictures and events to catch up on from the beginning of 2008...

We were driving home from a friends house on New Year's Day when it began snowing! The girls were SO excited.

"If all the snow flakes were candy bars and milk shakes, oh what a snow that would be!" Mei Lin squeals and tries to catch snowflakes in her mouth. I don't think she's ever seen snow before.Elizabeth came over for a playdate this week
After Elizabeth left Mei Lin is found zonked out on the floor...I checked for breathing, then took the photo

Miyah's friend, Sadie, had her 4th birthday party last weekend

Happy Birthday, Sadie!

The kids were chefs and made pizza!

Hannah and Miyah below)

Miyah, Mei Lin, and Grace played at the bouncy place last week

Mei Lin enjoyed the bouncy place after she got used to the noise


The girls went to the skating rink yesterday
Miyah loves to skate