Darling Diva

On Wednesday night, after dinner, Michael, Olivia and I were all in the living room relaxing. I was reading a book and I think the tv was on, but not certain. Olivia was playing and the next thing we know, she had her purse over her arm, her necklace on and was waiving bye and giving us kisses. She was clearly ready to leave, with or without us. We got her keys, sunglasses and phone for her just so she would be safe!

Below, I added my favorite picture from our eagle viewing days.

So Much Fun.....

.....we decided to do it again! Seriously! We enjoyed the eagles and lunch so much that today after church we went back to Clarksville with Grammy and Grampy (Michael's parents). Another amazing lunch, more awesome eagles, and Olivia's first experience at puddle jumping! She LOVED it!

Eagles at Clarksville

We took a short, scenic drive to Clarksville today to see the eagles. It was wonderful. We started seeing them in trees as soon as we got on the edge of town. We stopped at a viewing area and hung out with some photographers and took the majority of these pictures. Afterwards, we had an amazing lunch at Clarksville Sation where Olivia was VERY good.



Notice all of the eagles sitting in the trees in the background.

Chinese New Year, Part 4, the final 08 edition

The FCC Chinese New Year celebration was this afternoon. While none of the pictures show it completely, there were hundreds and hundreds of people at the event. For our first FCC event, we were certainly surprised and pleased.

We arrived, got our posed photo taken, perused the silent auction items, then visited a bit. We saw cute little Anna from our play date a few weeks ago. After lunch, Olivia played in the toddler room until we were evicted so the entertainment could get ready. The dance troup was great - some of the same that we saw at the restaurant in Part 2 but with a lot more dancers, three lions instead of two, and a dragon dance. We really enjoyed it a lot.

As we were getting ready to leave, we had the pleasure of seeing Jim, Chan and Odessa. We first met them shortly after their return from China, as we were out to dinner on my birthday, 4 days before we got our referral for Olivia. They were seated at the table next to us and shared their story. It was great to see them again as they will always have a special place in our story.

The Perfect Storm

Julie and the girls came over today to help us with some work in the yard. Despite cool weather, we all got to spend quite a bit of time outside and got a lot done. Even with that, the living room got a workout. Here is a picture taken after Olivia and I got out of the hot tub. If you look carefully, you can find all sorts of interesting things - a broom, for instance.


A little while later, the party moved to the kitchen.


Later still, cousins and Aunt Julie gone, we continued partying in the bedroom. Not sure if it was the excitement of the day, hanging out with her cousins, the first time in the hot tub or the ice cream, but Olivia was certainly wound up!

Happy Valentine's Day

Olivia got some wonderful gifts for Valentine's Day - no thanks to her lame parents! LOL Fortunately Grammy, Grandma Gayla, Ju Ju, Aunt Bobbie and Nadia picked up the slack. Check out our stylin' new shoes!

Pink Bear Diaper Change

aka an almost perfect evening... Home from work, leftovers for dinner. Clean up, then to the living room for play and relax time. Between 6 and 8, Olivia colored, read a magazine, talked to the cats, coaxed me to chase her down the hall, talked on the phone, played on the beds by pulling the covers up on her, walked around in one of my shoes, stacked wooden blocks, reaching as high as 7 in a single stack, played with her pipe wrench and channel locks, watched Wheel of Fortune, rode around in her doll stroller, drove her doll stroller around, danced to the number song several times, played with Kleenex, dipped Kleenex in the toilet, read a book in her room, played with the pop up toy in her room, and spent at least 25 minutes diapering pink bear!

First, she sat down by the diaper bag and undid the zippers several times. Then she got out the diapers. Then she put them back in. Then she got them out again. Next the powder - in, out, in, out... then she grabs the bear and puts the diaper on it - well, as in lays the diaper on top of the bears thighs. By this time, Mama was dying to sneak downstairs to grab the camera. I got it, and while I missed the actual bear diaper change, I did get a couple fun shots.





The "almost" part comes from the fact that for the last 4-5 days, Olivia has been screaming everytime we put her in the crib. It only lasts for a minute or two, then she settles down and falls asleep within another 2-3 minutes, but it sure is a hard way to end an evening. If we pick her back up, it stops instantly. We are baffled and are just trying to keep the routine the same as always.

Chinese New Year Part 3

Yesterday, we had the amazing pleasure of having lunch at a Chinese restaurant with a local family who are in the process of adopting from China. They have been waiting over a year so far.

I felt very blessed to be able to share our experiences and story with such a wonderful family. It was such a relaxing time, visiting, watching Olivia eat everything in sight (especially green beans!) and meeting their terrific boys and very sweet daughter.

I had the pleasure of meeting with a family after they came home from China about a year into our wait, and it was such a boost to my spirits at the time. It really made me realize what I was waiting for - that at the end of this hard, hard road, there really is a beautiful, sweet little girl waiting for me.

I've Been Tagged!

Well, a new experience for me – I have been tagged! I am kinda excited about the whole thing. I was tagged by dear sweet Louanne at: http://www.dwimble.com/ and I am too list 7 things you may not know about me. I have used something similar as an ice breaker at work before, and it was lot of fun.

The rules are to link the person who sent this to you and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours. Post the rules on your blog. Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) I have flown an airplane solo (meaning, I was the ONLY person in the aircraft!).
2) I love white water rafting.
3) I really, really can’t sing at all and try to avoid doing it in public at all costs. (Poor Olivia – I hope I am not a bad influence on her singing abilities)
4) My fantasy is to attend culinary school and study bread and pastry.
5) I played field hockey my freshman year in high school then they did away with the team.
6) I have been to all 50 states except Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
7) I am always cold – like to a point that I use a space heater in the summer because the air conditioning at work make me uncomfortably cold.

Now here are the blogs I am tagging – all with adorable little cuties from China!

1) Morgan at http://journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com/

2) Cliff at http://charlilong.wordpress.com/

3) Amy at http://themaninfiors.blogspot.com/

4) Kate at http://kes44p.blogspot.com/

5) Mama Darling at http://deshengdarling.blogspot.com/

6) Deb at http://www.questforcadence.blogspot.com/

7) Linda at http://www.petteplace.blogspot.com/

Chinese New Year, Part 2

We had dinner with all of the grandparents at Emperor's Palace and thoroughly enjoyed the Lion Dancers. Olivia was a bit wary of them, but watched them very closely! Great meal and great fun!

Kung Hei Fat Choi

 

Checking out the snow last week!

 

Daddy's gloves and hat!

 

The beginning of our Chinese New Year Celebration!

We ordered Chinese for lunch today, as pictured above, to start our celebration. We are looking forward to dinner with grandparents this evening. More pictures to come.

I have not yet heard anything about Olivia's orphanage, but will post when I do.

My Heart is Breaking

The southern part of China has been hit repeatedly by winter storms and very cold weather. These areas of China are unaccustomed to and unprepared for such severe weather. The children in the orphanages are suffering. Half the Sky, an organization that assists orphanages in China has reported the following about just one orphanage:

Yueyang SWI, Hunan - has no electricity. The one functioning power generator is being used in the children’s dormitory. They are relying on coal heat but the price has tripled in recent days. They are running out of food and have applied to the local Bureau of Civil Affairs for funds to buy more. Our HTS nannies have been walking for hours to get to work, often slipping on the ice, “even though they try to be cautious.” UPDATE: Request for quilts, 4 large room heaters, disposable diapers, winter clothing and medical assistance. Estimated cost: 30-50,000 yuan; total child population: 192

If you are interested in helping, go to: Half the Sky There is a link on the right side of the page with a little mouse on it.

To add to all of the struggles, this is the week of the Chinese New Year celebration. My people are traveling to visit family. I have emailed my friend in China and asked her to call Olivia's orphanage to see what help they need. After two days, I have not received a response, therefore, I assume she is gone to visit her family or possibly, unable to access her email because of the bad weather.

I am hoping to donate directly to Olivia's orphanage as soon as I hear what their needs are. If you would like to contribute directly to Olivia's orphanage, use the Chip In link to the right. Otherwise, help all of China's children by donating to Half the Sky and get help out there as soon as possible.