Turkey?

Olivia decided that the roasting pan would be fun - seems she was right!

Thankful, the day after Thanksgiving

When it was all said and done last night, I was just too tired to get on line and post my thoughts. We had a great day, great food and a wonderful family gathering. Mom, Roy, Julie, Rob, Tricia, Ashley, Marilu, Lee, Jordon, Jonah and James joined Michael, Olivia and I. We shared the cooking and were witness to a historic event: MARILU’S FIRST EVER HOMEMADE PIE. For those of you not familiar, Marilu is Michael’s youngest sister. How young, you ask, this being her first pie? 43. Yes that’s right, 43! We are all very proud of her, especially my sister, Julie who was thrilled to know that, at 38, she still has a few years before she has to make her first pie! Both of them are the youngest sibling in the family, I wonder if there is something to that???

Olivia had a great, but painful day. Painful in that, with all the goings on, she had so much to do and look at that she was not terribly careful about where she was going. She fell, hard, several times, most often, it seemed, face first. She now has a pretty icky scratch above and below her right eye. She had fun playing with her cousins, and ate turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans and pumpkin pie.

And speaking of Olivia and being thankful, to steal from a friend’s blog – I am so thankful to God for placing Olivia in our hands and hearts almost four months ago. Michael and I had been looking at the clock and figuring the hours until Olivia the whole time we were in Hong Kong. On Sunday morning, we met up with the group at the Hong Kong airport at 7:15 am for our flight to Fuzhou, Fujian. Looking back now, I can hardly remember anything at all about that flight. I remember, after getting our luggage, we waited as our driver (I so need to find out his name) loaded the bags and all 11 of us (soon to be 14) into the little bus/van sort of thing. There were bags everywhere, and we all filled in between. The drive to the hotel seemed long, but filled with wonderment. We were in Olivia’s home land finally. There was what looked like so much unfinished construction. We checked into the lovely Lakeside (literally) Hotel. I believe that after getting briefly settled in, we all met back up with Mandy and Echo for about a 6 block walk to a market. I think at some point, Michael and I had lunch at the hotel restaurant. Then we sat in the room and waited. Since we did not have to go anywhere, we did not have to worry so much about a diaper bag, but we took one anyway. We met in the lobby at 3:30 then went to the second floor to meet our little girls. Zoie was there and Candi met her right away. Lily came next. We waited a bit longer for Olivia, but soon she was carried in the door by her nanny. The nanny took her over to have her picture taken, then we sat down for the “family picture”. I looked through the pictures and found one from those first moments, a picture of Olivia looking up at me. In the four months in between, we have learned that we have a mostly happy baby who eats great, sleeps pretty good and especially lately, loves to play. She interacts with us so much now – especially wanting us to chase her around the house and hide. We are, without a doubt so thankful for our wonderful blessing.

Mid-November

I try to take pictures now and then when we are playing around the house - that is today collection. The noisemaker is from her birthday cake.


We have been pretty much doing life these last couple weeks. Olivia is walking very well. She will still sometimes land on her bottom, but if she chooses to, she can walk where ever and whenever she wants. She can turn and turn around while walking, and can go sideways to get through a tight space. She gives great hugs, even with a couple pats on the back. Kisses are still full tounge slobbery affairs.


She is "talking" nearly all the time. There are a few actual words, or word like utterances including mama, dada, buh (bye) and ktktkt (kitty cat). She says mmmmm to especially yummy food or when the coffee grinder is on. She will talk louder if you walk away, like down the hall or stairs.


She still eats great but has decided that canned peaches are poison.... and cottage cheese is evil. She will eat pretty much everything else, although has become a bit pickier on occasion. She LOVES spaghetti and mac-n-cheese. She eats yogurt and hot cereal (oatmeal, Malt-o-Meal or Cream of Wheat) every day for breakfast.

1st Birthday Party

1st Birthday Party

Click on the Butterflies and Fireworks cake for more pictures from our wonderful evening!

We had a Chinese themed party with lanterns, Chinese takeout and fireworks. All the grandparents, godparents and nearby family joined us for a good time. Olivia showed off her walking skills, was intrigued by the fireworks and enjoyed feeding Lee the cake (and eating some herself).

Thanks to all who joined us, and thanks to Elaine for making the terrific cake!

EDITED TO ADD: Pictures of the baptism are up!!!! Go to the post about the baptism at http://mgdtochina.blogspot.com/2007/10/olivias-baptism-aka-only-strong-survive.html

I am thankful, and it is Thursday!

In looking at the Halloween pictures below, I started thinking about how thankful I am for our wonderful friends, Brent (giving Olivia the candy) and Elaine. (Okay, well technically, family because Michael and Elaine are cousins) They are such amazing, caring people who make a wonderful life for all of the seven children in their home. They also care deeply about all their friends and family, always willing to open their home and their lives for others. Just this week, they hosted their annual Halloween party, and Elaine was in charge of the school parties for three of their kids, and, she is going to make Olivia’s birthday cake!

I am also thankful for Grammy (note to self, get a picture of Olivia and Grammy at the party tomorrow) and Grampy. They have already been our fill-in babysitter numerous times, but that is just one of the many ways their kindness is part of our lives. Although we do not ask for much, I know that no matter what, if I did ask, Grammy would find a way to make it happen. At the party last night, Grammy hung out with Olivia so that Michael and I were able to get something to eat and when it was time for us to leave, Olivia gave her a huge kiss good-bye!